Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
The beam of dark energy crashed against the Great Void Nine Heavenly Palaces, and swept across it like a blizzard as it dispelled the surrounding layers of light in great amounts.
When these unnamable mystical layers of light came into contact with the pillar of dark energy, they started to sparkle brilliantly like the refraction of crystals.
However, they lost the quality of inexplicability, of inscrutability, of formlessness and the everything that made the concept of power special.
It felt as if they crashed from the clouds down onto earth. As radiant as they became, they were no longer any different from the other rays of light in the world, as if they had suddenly lost their uniqueness that made them extraordinary.
The light rays around the Great Void Nine Heavenly Palaces undulated like raging tides as they were gradually tunneled through by the pillar of dark energy.
That frightening beam of dark energy seemed like it was going to annihilate everything in its path as it created a haze of terror around everyone.
It was not the same as the Hades’ Dark Mantra of the Hades Emperor of old. This was something that belonged uniquely to the Illusory Sun Hades, and it was named the Supreme Mystical Energy of Hades. It wasn’t as domineering or as overbearing as that of the Hades Emperor when he reigned supreme over the entire world, but it was enough to shake the world at its very roots.
This world-shaking source of power battered the Great Void Nine Heavenly Palaces continuously and it felt like the divine world created by Mount Baiyun was about to be sliced into two.
The other powerful individuals from the Hades Tribe watched on as they nodded their heads in approval. “The Cheng Heaven Great Void Celestial Light is an impressive spell, especially when it’s used for protection. It’s a truly multi-purple spell, and if it had been someone else, even if the standard of power was similar, he or she would have surely been barreled through by our tribe leader.”
“It’s only a matter of time,” one of the two most powerful Hades beasts murmured quietly, “And it will be a very short period. All this is also happening without our intervention.”
Another Hades Beast behind him chimed in. “Then do we still have to fight? Our tribe leader remarked before that we have to end this battle as quickly as possible.”
Even though both parties were battling in the void outside of the dimensional barriers of the Greater World, the sheer immensity of the rippling power was enough to shake the Divine Lands and affected the other humans residing within.
Somewhere in the Southern Wilderness, a colossal golden arch stretched across heaven and earth as if it connected one end of the world to the other – it was Zhu Yi’s Higan Golden Bridge.
There were three people standing on top of the bridge at this moment. Besides Zhu Yi and the Tiangang Swordmaster, there was another lanky youth.
This youth was clad in purple and his physical ratio was balanced. He was big in size, but robust and not excessive while his features were distinct and good-looking as long black hair hung down behind him.
It was Shi Tianhao, Lin Feng’s disciple.
The Shi Tianhao of today no longer had the casual and indifferent look that he used to have. There wasn’t a single trace of a smile on his face, and his eyes were ice cold as he watched the inter-world passage between the Divine Lands and the Barren Expanses.
Even though he couldn’t yet see anything and neither could he sense anything, Shi Tianhao was well aware that there was something on the other side of the opening – there was a single Celestial Dragon, who was already in the Vipralopa Stage, roosting on the other side, watching the same opening as he stood off against his company.
Shi Tianhao was silent. His entire being was like a volcano that could erupt at any time and gave off an ominous aura to the people around him.
Despite knowing that his unseen opponent was a powerful demon from the Dragon race called the Shen Dragon King, who was also in the Vipralopa Stage, Shi Tianhao made no attempt to mask his hostility.
When he discovered that Gu Lei and Li Kuiyin met their unfortunate ends, Shi Tianhao’s mood plummeted to the very bottom of the abyss.
Fortunately, Yue Hongyan had already eliminated the direct culprit, the Extreme Tooth Dragon King. If not, Shi Tianhao’s frame of mind would have been even worse.
The Tiangang Swordmaster glanced at Shi Tianhao from the corner of his eye. The youth beside him, ever since he witnessed Yue Hongyan dragging back the corpse of the Extreme Tooth Dragon King, had consumed half the body of the gigantic dragon in front of everyone. That frightening display caused even he, who had been through thick and thin across the endless passages of time, to frown in dismay.
In that moment, the Tiangang Swordmaster felt as if there was only a fearsome beast in human form standing before him.
He was already extremely powerful, and his potential was even more terrifying. Even though he was only in the first-level immortal soul stage at this point, his power and his mantras were enough to attract the attention of the entire world.
The Tiangang Swordmaster was positive that he was no match for Shi Tianhao of today back when he was in the third-level immortal soul stage.
This meant that even though the Tiangang Swordmaster was already in the Vipralopa Stage, he had no choice but to take the youth before him seriously. The number of years that Shi Tianhao spent cultivating was not even close to his own, and maybe even lesser than that of his disciples and grand-disciples, but his power and his potential was not something that the Tiangang Swordmaster could afford to dismiss or overlook.
While he was still stronger than Shi Tianhao at this point in time, the track record of this youth was enough to show that his future was boundless.
On the other side, Zhu Yi was exactly the same – except, he was perhaps already one step ahead of Shi Tianhao.
During his battle against the Earth Dragon King and the Azure Sky Dragon King, Zhu Yi had experienced a sudden increase in his powers. The Tiangang Swordmaster wasn’t sure if he was holding back before this, but his insidious mantras were so clear and smooth that the Tiangang Swordmaster couldn’t take him lightly either.
Zhu Yi glanced at Shi Tianhao and said quietly, “The Shen Dragon King is a lot more cool and patient than the Earth Dragon King, to the point where he’s quite unlike the rest of the dragons.”
“When you guys came back from the Barren Expanses, I deliberately waited with the Tiangang Swordmaster for a moment longer to reinforce you guys. He even let such a great opportunity go and he refused to come out even though he knew it will be difficult to find another.”
Even though he seemed a lot calmer and emotionally stable, Zhu Yi was equally infuriated when he found out about the demise of Gu Lei and Li Kuiyin.
Shi Tianhao answered, “Second Senior, your presence here with the Tiangang Swordmaster is applying too much pressure on that dragon. Let’s just leave and fake a trip to Mount Baiyun. We will turn around midway, and if the dragons decide to attack the Great Qin Empire, we will be in time to intercept him. Even if we can’t kill him, we will cripple him.”
Despite his boiling emotions, Shi Tianhao retained his rationality. Their current standards meant that their chances of capturing or killing a Vipralopa Stage Immemorial Celestial Dragon was highly limited.
Unless the Shen Dragon King wished to fight to the death, it was hard to keep him if he decided to make a run for it.
Even if the Shen Dragon King wanted to fight to his last breath, even with any form of geographical advantage, killing him would come at a great cost for his company.
From Zhu Yi and the Tiangang Swordmaster’s perspective, this was a risky endeavor but was an option worth considering.
The Hades Tribe were back in the Divine Lands in force, and were currently invading the Great Void Sect and Mount Baiyun. At this moment, Mount Baiyun was stuck in the void and their situation was precarious.
Zhu Yi and Shi Tianhao had received news that their master, Lin Feng, had returned from the Barren Expanses. However, the current situation was simply too confusing and befuddling, and there was no telling which direction the battle would swing.
The humans had lost their initiative to a certain extent. Wishing to turn the tables in their favor by continuing on their defensive stance was an unviable option, as not taking a different course of action when they were already a step behind would mean they were about to lose even more ground.
Only if they attempted to make a breakthrough in the situation did they stand a chance to stem the demonic tides and steal back the initiative.
The presence of Zhu Yi and the Tiangang Swordmaster in the Southern Wilderness and their impasse with the Shen Dragon King was equivalent to tying down the Shen Dragon King as neither party was willing to take the risk of making the first move.
Under such circumstances, Zhu Yi and company would naturally attempt to change the situation for the better. The moment Shi Tianaho and the others returned from the Barren Expanses, they made their first attempt, but the Shen Dragon King was too composed and patient and didn’t take the bait.
Shi Tianhao’s idea was to draw the enemy deep inside. Zhu Yi said, “Unless there’s actual news that we have appeared on the battlefield at Mount Baiyun, and that we are locked in battle with the Hades Tribe, the Shen Dragon King isn’t likely to take any action at all.”
“After the unforeseen changes in the Immortal Dragon City have stabilized, how long will the mark you left upon the Earth Dragon King need to take effect?” Shi Tianhao passed a voice-projected message, and Zhu Yi answered with the same method. “I don’t think it will stabilize in such a short period of time.”
Shi Tianhao nodded his head but said nothing more before he turned towards Zhu Yi and the tiangang Swordmaster and clasped his hands together. “I will leave this place to the two of you. I need to hurry towards Xiling City now.”
Both Zhu Yi and the Tiangang Swordmaster tilted their heads with understanding. Zhu Yi remarked, “Take care on the road. Take care of our little junior, Huang Zhenting, Wanqiu, and the rest as well.”
Shi Tianhao answered, “Naturally.”
With that, he prepared to make a move before he felt a violent tremble that came from both heaven and earth.
Beside him, both Zhu Yi and the Tiangang Swordmaster detected the sudden change and looked up at the sky in shock.
Their current powers enabled them to see into the sky. Above them, the Energy of the Draconic Origins surrounding the borders of the Great Qin Empire materialized into streaks of light that surged through the skies lie real dragons.
At this moment, the light dragons condensed by the draconic energies suddenly experienced drastic chances and became unstable and chaotic.
The three of them looked down at the ground. They could clearly feel that the energies running through the ground were complementary to that of the draconic energies, and they advanced and retreated together at the same time with seamless harmony.
However, at this very moment, both the light dragons in the sky and the flow of spiritual energy through the veins of the earth grew unsettled and rocky.
“This disturbance isn’t just about losing control. Somebody is trying to change it forcefully, to change the course of the entire process. The new course is incompatible with the previous one, causing everything to destabilize,” Zhu Yi’s eyes sparkled as he drew a deep breath, “In such a time…”
The Tiangang Swordmaster and Shi Tianhao didn’t need him to prompt any more as they both realized what was going on. “It’s the Great Zhou Empire! They’re fighting with the Great Qin Empire for the Energy of Draconic Origin!”
Inside the royal palace of the Great Qin Empire at Xiling City, the group of cultivators from the Great Qin Empire were as furious as they were astonished. “How are they doing it?!”
Shi Zongtang had already ascended to the throne, and he was currently sitting on top of the dragon throne inside the center of the great hall, clad in his dragon robe and all, and was simply staring up at the ceiling.
There were originally unlimited amounts of draconic energies that were condensing from all directions toward a single point over there before they were infused into his body
However, the concentrated draconic energies were leaked outward into unknown directions and stolen by another party.
“The Imperial Palace! The Imperial Palace has returned to its peak condition!” Prince Gunyang, Shi Zongmao’s expression turned black. “Nothing like that has ever happened before. This is the reason why we never expected the Imperial Palace to have such special effects.”
When Emperor Tai was still around, he was the only supreme ruler of the Divine Lands and was the first human emperor of the Antiquity Age. Ever since he met his demise, the Imperial Palace had been severely damaged as well, and had never been restored to its original glory and its peak condition before today. This was the reason why nobody knew that the Imperial Palace, in its peak condition, could forcefully redirect the Energy of Draconic Origin across the entire Divine Lands.
Some of the elder cultivators from the Great Qin Empire exclaimed with exasperation. “Emperor Tai! The one and only Emperor Tai!”
Upon the dragon throne, Shi Zongtang lowered his voice and said, “The Great Qin Empire has been developing for many years. Even if Liang Pan has the Imperial Palace, it doesn’t mean we don’t have a chance to retaliate. We can’t let him succeed!”