Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
The Ancient Ape Demons comprised many branches that included the Crimson Gorillas, the Extreme Spiritual Divine Monkeys, the Six-Horned Divine Monkeys, the Nine Netherworld Ghost Monkeys and the Heavenly Demons Apes, etc.
The branches were not all on friendly terms. For instance, the Nine Netherworld Ghost Monkeys were at odds with the Crimson Gorilla Ape Demons.
When Lin Feng and Shi Tianhao encountered the Crimson Gorilla Grand Sage during their expedition into the Barren Expanses years ago, the Crimson Gorilla Grand Sage was already aware that Shi Tianhao murdered some disciples of the Six-Horned Grand Sage but he wasn’t too hostile about the fact.
However, the Heavenly Grandmaster Grand Sage had no choice as he was the tribe leader of the entire race of Ancient Ape Demons, and he had to seek justice for his entire race.
Furthermore, the Six-Horned Grand Sage had always been his loyal subordinate and it was only natural that he would attempt to find justice for the Six-Horned Grand Sage.
Some ape demons were already dissenting and were disapproving of the Heavenly Grandmaster Grand Sage’s lack of action the last time Lin Feng was inside the Barren Expanses.
However, the Heavenly Grandmaster Grand Sage was revered and highly respected, so the negative emotions displayed by his subordinates quickly dissipated.
The prowess Lin Feng displayed in his battle against the Golden Cicada Master and the Earth Dragon King silenced the demon monkeys. Furthermore, the Heavenly Grandmaster Grand Sage’s pursuit of the Golden Cicada Master wasn’t completely futile and benefited a great many of his kinsmen.
However, the death of the Six-Horned Grand Sage by Lin Feng’s hands in the Ancient Desolate Galaxy right in front of the Heavenly Grandmaster Grand Sage humiliated him.
The Six-Horned Grand Sage was the tribe leader of the Six-Horned Demon Monkeys, and he was also as the Heavenly Grandmaster Grand Sage’s right-hand man. At the same time, he was also a powerful demon in the third-level undying demonic soul stage.
A powerful individual from his race was murdered by Lin Feng – how could this not infuriate the Heavenly Grandmaster Grand Sage?
The Heavenly Grandmaster Grand Sage held himself back in the plot against the dragons, but when Lin Feng and the Zheng Yi Holy Man chose him as their target, he lost his cool and eventually triggered the downburst of the Starry Sea without hesitation.
His position inside the downburst was as close to the center as Lin Feng was. Even with the treasure left behind by the Emperor of Extremity, his safety wasn’t guaranteed but the Heavenly Grandmaster Grand Sage was ready to take the risk in order to retaliate against Lin Feng.
Before this, the Heavenly Grandmaster Grand Sage had never entered the Star Tomb before and he had never experienced the downburst of the Starry Sea. There was no way he could verify whether the item left behind by the Emperor of Extremity could protect him or not.
He felt extremely fortunate, even though he was treading on thin ice, that the treasure passed down from the Emperor of Extremity was enough to protect him inside the downburst and his gate to the Starry Sea was still functional.
The only problem was that the Heavenly Grandmaster Grand Sage didn’t dare to make another move and there was no way he could launch an assault, and could only watch on as the downburst beat down upon the company from the Celestial Sect of Wonders.
In the end, the downburst didn’t let him down. It resembled all the stars in the universe which were raining down repeatedly upon the combined defenses set up by Lin Feng’s Two Elements of Creation Formation and the Crucible of the Divine Lands. The seemingly impregnable force was already quivering, and it was crumbling.
Once this layer was broken, Lin Feng would probably be able to support himself for a few moments longer. However, Shi Tianhao, Wang Lin and the others would never be able to protect themselves against such an unrelenting and immense force of nature.
Cai Fengzhou turned towards the Zheng Yi Holy Man. “Senior Uncle, should we help him?”
The Xuan Lin Holy Man said coldly, “The downburst of the Starry Sea is still in its peak. If we extend our aid, we will simply drag the recovery of the Supreme Heavenly Mirror. We can help him, but he will have to give us the gate to the Starry Sea and the Crucible of the Divine Lands in exchange.”
The Zheng Yi Holy Man said nothing. Under the dome of light reflected off the Supreme Heavenly Mirror, he made a probing step towards the center of the Star Tomb.
He made just one step. However, his actions fell into the eyes of both Lin Feng and the Heavenly Grandmaster Grand Sage. Xuangang’s bloody eyes sparkled with hostile lights.
Even though nothing was being said, Lin Feng understood the Zheng Yi Holy Man’s intentions.
He glanced at the Zheng Yi Holy Man before he withdrew his gaze and made no attempt to respond.
The Zheng Yi Holy Man’s expression returned to normal and his eyes grew deep and profound but did nothing else. He began to meditate and silently waited for the downburst to calm down before he would engage in a furious competition with the Heavenly Grandmaster Grand Sage to claim the gate to the Starry Sea that would soon be without an owner.
The Heavenly Grandmaster Grand Sage saw everything and took him only a tiny moment to understand what was going on. Relief surged from the bottom of his heart as he said, “Leader of the Celestial Sect of Wonders, you still wish to hold on to the end? Such arrogance! Nobody can save you!”
“You killed Yun Guang, so I will eliminate these two avatars of yours!”
“You have doted upon your disciples, so I will kill them all right here!”
Even though the Two Elements of Creation Formation and the Crucible of the Divine Lands came together to form their own Heaven and Earth, the collapse under the assault of the starlight became increasingly obvious and apparent. Lin Feng’s expression was still calm, and he still had the spare energy to send out stream after stream of mana to interact with the chaotic downburst of the Starry Sea.
He tried his best to understand the transformations and the intricacies inside the downburst. Even though it was brutal, violent and disorganized, Lin Feng managed to grasp and understand some of the delicate changes within.
He listened on to the antagonizing words of the Heavenly Grandmaster Grand Sage before he turned around and chuckled, “It’s not that nobody can save me – I don’t need saving at all.”
“It’s a pity that you will realize today that you will no longer have the face to remain as the tribe leader of the Ancient Ape Demons.”
“Shouldn’t you be thinking about who your successor shall be, and about who’s the most suitable? I think the Crimson Gorilla Grand Sage is the optimal choice. Even though he hasn’t been doing much in recent years, he must have been attempting the tribulations and breaking through to the Vipralopa Stage. With the flesh and essence of the Golden Cicada Master, I believe the process will be a lot smoother than otherwise.”
Lin Feng laughed again and continued, “Once the Crimson Gorilla Grand Sage reaches the Vipralopa Stage, he would have the qualifications to take over you. What do you think?”
The Heavenly Grandmaster Grand Sage’s blood-red eyes widened as he glared at Lin Feng. He forced himself to retain his rationality and his cool as the treasure from the Emperor of Extremity was barely able to protect him. If he made any rash decisions or movements, the layer of blue light surrounding him could break and he would be pulverized by the force of the downburst of stars.
Still, Lin Feng was right and the Crimson Gorilla Grand Sage was indeed pushing through to the Vipralopa Stage.
Five years ago, Lin Feng broke the Golden Hoop Incantation that was holding down the Monkey. The Monkey chased after the Golden Cicada Master and ended up severely injuring the latter. The Heavenly Grandmaster Grand Sage and the Golden Roc Grand Sage pursued the pair and eventually harvested something from the death of the Golden Cicada Master.
The flesh and essence of the Golden Cicada Master was highly beneficial for demons attempting the tribulations, and the Heavenly Grandmaster Grand Sage also shared some with the Crimson Gorilla Grand Sage.
Even though this act threatened his own position, the ascension of the Crimson Gorilla Grand Sage to the Vipralopa Stage was good for the overall strength of the Ancient Ape Demons and there was no point for the Heavenly Grandmaster Grand Sage to hold back.
Furthermore, the Heavenly Grandmaster Grand Sage himself possessed other powers and influence and even if the Crimson Gorilla Grand Sage managed to reach the Vipralopa Stage, it was unlikely that he would be able to command the same things that Xuangang could and did.
However, under these particular circumstances, the Heavenly Grandmaster Grand Sage was already indignant and Lin Feng’s words felt extremely irritating.
Lin Feng said calmly, “Just think about it right now. If you manage to survive this calamity, you can return to the Barren Expanses to give away your status in no time at all. You can save so much time and energy.”
The Heavenly Grandmaster Grand Sage snarled and said, “Leader of the Celestial Sect of Wonders – you still dare to speak so outrageously at this point?”
“I can return to the Barren Expanses as and when I want to,” as he spoke, he tapped on the body of the gate to the Starry Sea beside him, “However, whether you can return to the Divine Lands is another story altogether.”
“Or perhaps you don’t care too much about these two avatars of yours? How about the disciples that you brought with you into the Starry Sea? Aren’t you going to feel sad about the fact they’re going to die with you inside this place?”
There was only mockery on Xuangang’s face. “Perhaps you’re trying to piss me off and cause me to lose my cool, so that I’d leave the protection of the blue light, so that I will die with you inside this downburst?”
“I have been angry this whole time. However, the sight of the overbearing and dominant leader of the Celestial Sect of Wonders ending up in such a dire and desperate situation dispelled every ounce of my fury.”
The Heavenly Grandmaster Grand Sage grunted coldly and smiled. “You don’t’ have to worry. I will watch the downburst destroy you, and then I will collect your remains and your gate to the Starry Sea.”
Lin Feng looked up at the Heavenly Grandmaster Grand Sage and casted his eyes toward the Qiongqi Grand Sage, the Zhujian Grand Sage and the Peacock Grand Sage, who were all looking back at him with gloating eyes. Lin Feng glanced at the Zheng Yi Holy Man and the others before he shook his head faintly.
His eyes returned to the body of the Heavenly Grandmaster Grand Sage and he said plainly, “Your ignorance isn’t your fault. However, pretending to know when you don’t is an extremely laughable thing to do. Ignorant people should just keep their mouths shut, because they will just embarrass themselves otherwise.”
As he spoke, he flipped his palms and a jade stone appeared in his hands. It was translucent all over like a jewel. It was unassuming and appeared like a typical jewel stone, was the size of a goose egg and silently landed in the center of Lin Feng’s palm.
The appearance of this stone caught the attention of the Zheng Yi Holy Man and the two others. “Is this the stone that break through dimensional planes that Liang Pan and Zhu Hongwu spoke of?”
“Can he still create inter-world passages in the downburst of the Starry Sea?” Cai Fengzhou muttered under his breath, “If he’s able to escape such a perilous situation, he can really be proud of himself, especially so when it’s not his original body that’s present.”
The Xuan Lin Holy Man glanced at the Zheng Yi Holy Man and said, “Senior Uncle, we have to find a way to claim the Crucible of the Divine Lands and the gate to the Starry Sea.”
Lin Feng stole a glimpse at the company from the Great Void Sect and murmured, “Seems like you guys recognize this item? It appears that Liang Pan and Zhu Hongwu have told you a lot.”
“The downburst of the Starry Sea has distorted void space to a great extent. Even this magic item may not have a hundred percent effectiveness in an environment such as this to create a stable inter-world passage from the Ancient Desolate Galaxy. However – who says I’m leaving?”
Lin Feng chuckled and continued, “I have to thank this downburst of the Starry Sea. From now on, everything has just begun!”
He slapped on the Crucible of the Divine Lands as purple energy rolled about inside. All of a sudden, brilliant starlight erupted from the tip.
Lin Feng growled as the Barrier-Breaking Stone released a formless and invisible energy that shimmered in between reality. This energy combined with the starlight unleashed by the Crucible of the Divine Lands, and Lin Feng channeled it onto the gate to the Starry Sea beside him!
The gate to the Starry Sea remained closed, but it started to quiver and tremble vigorously.
Lin Feng opened his palm once again. There was something else in the center of his palm – it was a remnant piece of a disc.
The Heavenly Grandmaster Grand Sage’s face turned black the moment this piece of the disc appeared in Lin Feng’s hands.
This piece was obtained from a disc that belonged to the Golden Cicada Master. After it was shattered, the remnant pieces flew in all directions and one of them ended up in Lin Feng’s hands.
And that circular disc was also a treasure left behind by the Emperor of Extremity. The Golden Cicada Master had used this treasure before to stir up the entire Lingyuan mountains!