Chapter 331: The Champion of the Golden Core Group
Divine Heavens Sect's Patriarch Dong Wu's expression darkened. Nobody else knew much about the effectiveness of the sword array apart from him. Within his sect, a few disciples managed to break through to the Soul Formation stage because of it. He was hoping against hope that the other sects would never find out about how effective the sword array was, so that he would be able to keep it away from them. Yet, a disciple from his own sect was spoiling this plan of his.
"Jing Qi, shut up! Stop being disrespectful." Dong Wu attempted to stop Jing Qi from talking. Indeed, his Junior Brother Wu Xiang produced a mess of a disciple.
"Sect Master!" Jing Qi showed no intention to retract his challenge. He turned to fix his gaze on Yi Qing, saying, "His cultivation is similar to mine. If we do not compete, your disciple will not dare to accept the championship title."
Dong Wu became furious, yet he had no reason to ask his disciple to come back down. Yi Qing, whose reaction remained stony from the beginning, stepped forward. Just when everyone expected him to accept the challenge, Yi Qing asked, "What has your inability to accept the championship title got to do with me?"
Jing Qi: "…"
Dong Wu, "…"
Everyone: "…"
That's true - they had nothing to say in reply!
"You…" Jing Qi's face became flushed with anger. All of a sudden, he felt like he was being shamed in front of everyone. "Are you looking down on me?"
Yi Qing paused and replied, "Why should I respect you?" Who are you? I don't even know you.
Jing Qi felt the urge to vomit blood. Even the audience around him was beginning to feel pity for him. Of course, this reply from Yi Qing would cause anyone to feel frustrated.
Seeing that Jing Qi was about to explode from rage, Shen Ying narrowed her eyes and stopped eating her pastry. Eh?
Suddenly, she turned to Yi Qing. "Chef, go and try!"
Yi Qing paused. A moment later, he nodded. "Yes, Master!"
Once he finished speaking, he jumped onto the competition stage. With a wave of his hand, a snow white spirit sword appeared.
Jing Qi's expression hardened. He took in a deep breath to suppress the anger, then laughed mirthlessly. He was finally here. Jing Qi guessed that Yi Qing had already formed his core as well. That was no issue, however. Today, he swore to take revenge on Yi Qing. He would make sure of it.
The two of them said nothing more. They began fighting immediately. There were flashes of light from their swords as they attacked each other rapidly. They were moving so fast that the audience could not make out whose figure was whose. Everyone had to activate their divine perception to see clearly what each of them were doing.
Their sword techniques were frighteningly good. Each of them knew thousands of different moves, but for some reason, both of their techniques looked somewhat similar. Yi Qing's was only a bit sharper. Initially, Jing Qi could hold his own against Yi Qing. After awhile, however, he got tired. There were several times when he failed to dodge Yi Qing's attack, thus allowing Yi Qing's sword to brush against his body. If not for the Dharma clothing he had on, he would likely have lost the competition already.
Jing Qi became more and more anxious. He did not expect Yi Qing to be this skillful. Even though Jing Qi had obtained the inheritance from the Origin-Returning pearl, his skills could not beat Yi Qing's. Was this the kind of sword technique his master had passed down to him? The more he thought about this, the angrier he felt. If not for Yi Qing, Jing Qi would have been able to learn the same amazing sword techniques. Then, he would not have ended up under an ingrate like Wu Xiang! Indeed, Yi Qing was his jinx. If he did not get rid of him now, Jing Qi would meet greater obstacles in the future. With this renewed hatred in his heart, Jing Qi gritted his teeth. A huge gust of sword Qi charged toward Yi Qing as Jing Qi changed his approach. He focused all of his mind on connecting with the Origin-Returning Pearl in his heart. Suddenly, he felt recharged with formidable power. The spirit Qi around his body seemed to explode as the sword Qi that was attacking him rebounded back to Yi Qing, causing the latter to stumble backward.
There was a suppression greater than that belonging to a cultivator in his Soul Formation Stage. The suppressive force headed straight for Yi Qing. Hundreds of thousands of spirit swords appeared, pointing toward Yi Qing and shooting straight toward him as well. Each one of those swords seemed to have a life of its own. Each one brought different elements with it - wind, lightning, fire, light…
Yi Qing tried to dodge, but he was not quick enough to dodge all of them. A moment later, his body became covered with open wounds. The suppression from the pearl was restricting his movement so much so that he could hardly move his limbs anymore.
"Five-Elemental Lightning and Fire Array!" The stage was itself protected with an array, so that the audience could not feel the suppression. Yet, every single one of them recognized the array that Jing Qi was using. They looked on with shock. This was not the kind of array that a cultivator in his Nascent Soul stage could set up, yet here Jing Qi was, conjuring it up and having so much control over it. This kind of skill was unparalleled in the Three Azure Realms.
Yi Qing had no choice but to summon sword Qi as a protective shield around his body to block off the spirit swords that were coming at him from all directions. The suppressive force, however, was so strong that his chest was now beginning to tighten up. He tasted something sweet in his mouth as he fell onto one knee. Yi Qing did not expect his opponent to have this much skill, but this array…
Just as he was questioning Jing Qi's skill, he heard something flying toward him from behind. Instinctively, he moved to dodge it. He heard cracks as a gray air flashed past him.
This was… demonic Qi?
Yi Qing hesitated. Before he could figure out what was going on, he heard Jing Qi's voice. "Hmph! I did not think that you would be able to dodge that. But how long can you hang on?"
The next moment, Yi Qing found himself surrounded by all kinds of strange auras charging at him from all directions. Each one of those auras brought with it an unmistakable killing intent. Yi Qing's expression hardened as he forced himself to stand back up despite the pressure. Using his sensitivity toward auras, he began to block off the invisible yet potent auras flying around him.
"You're still forcing yourself to hang on!" Jing Qi's voice was cold and filled with hatred. "Let's see how long more you can stand there."
He had been using his arm to support the array. Suddenly, he drew his sword and ran toward Yi Qing with a victorious expression. "Yi Qing, from the first time I saw you, I knew you were my greatest obstacle. Is that what you think as well?"
"…" What?
"I must get rid of all my obstacles! Nobody will know that I'm the one who killed you! Everybody will think this was an accident!" His sword reached Yi Qing's neck. "My immortal journey will be smooth once you're dead."
"…" So who was this?
"After today, I will be the strongest Golden Core cultivator in the Three Azure Realms. I will then become the strongest sword cultivator."
"…" Sword cultivator?
"As for your master, who's gifted in sword techniques… I will take care of her." He suddenly burst out laughing.
Master…
Yi Qing's gaze turned cold. A burst of cold air emanated from his body. "What did you say?" "I think she will be happy to take in an exceptional disciple like me." The more he spoke, the prouder Jing Qi sounded. He pressed the sword into Yi Qing's neck with more gusto. "As long as you're dead-"
"Shut up!" Before he could finish speaking, strong sword Qi exploded around Yi Qing, who looked defeated just moments ago. It resembled a tsunami, which swallowed up the spirit swords and special aura around him, causing Jing Qi to rebound backward.
Chapter 332: Mental Demons and Lightning Tribulation
"What!" Before Jing Qi could react, his whole body hit the ground with a bang. The array surrounding him disappeared instantly, and even the Origin-Returning Pearl on him cracked. "How can this be!" His face was full of disbelief, and with a pain in his heart, he spitted out blood.
The great amount of sword qi produced by Yi Qing cracked even the ground, and the isolation array at the side was, of course immediately broken. Yet the sword qi over his body was still rising tremendously. Sword flashes could be seen all around and a white sword qi surrounded him, and gradually took shape. Within a short while a giant white dragon was formed. The shadow-like giant dragon roared.
Not only Jing Qi who was inside the field, but even those on the audience stand felt a buzz in their ears and a tremble in their hearts.
"This… this is sword intent!" Never had they seen such a strong sword intent, it was just like… a real dragon. Everyone was stunned. Was he indeed merely a Golden Core cultivator? Yi Qing looked straight towards Jing Qi opposite him, who kept vomiting blood, his eyes shone like it contained an all- destructive fire. He said word by word, "Stay away from my master, little bastard!"
As he finished speaking, the giant dragon formed by sword intent opened its huge mouth and rushed right towards the person in front.
Jing Qi's eyes widened, and the fear for death hit him. He forgot all his sword techniques and Dharma spells, and started screaming loudly, "Help! Save me…"
"Holy shit, Yi Qing!" Lonemoon was shocked. How did he suddenly get angry? With such a sword intent hitting him, the intruder would not even have his ash left, not to mention staying alive. He couldn't die just yet! A rush of anxiety came to him, and he flew right into the field. But just as he was about to stop it, someone had been quicker than him.
"Chef!" Shen Ying suddenly appeared beside him, and she called out. The person who was advancing rapidly a moment ago trembled, and the Sword Qi dragon also came to a violent halt. It stopped directly less than a finger's distance from Jing Qi, and its lifelike whiskers touched his face, producing two blood stains. He was so scared that he rolled his eyes and fainted.
"Ma-ster?" Yi Qing turned his head, and instantly all the anger in his disappeared. He turned and directly hugged the person. "Master, don't…" Don't you worry about other little bitches.
In the next moment, the Sword Qi all around him, together with that giant dragon, disappeared into thin air.
And he also swayed, as though he had exhausted all his strength, and fell upon Shen Ying.
"Chef? Chef!"
"He's going to complete Nascent Soul Formation!" Lonemoon looked at the rapidly increasing Spirit Qi all over Chef, and he frowned immediately. That was why he opposed Chef joining some contest. "Bring him back to Invincible Peak!" His one hand supported Chef, and his other dragged Shen Ying. He looked up towards Lou Hong on the audience stand and said, "Sect master, the rest is for you to take charge." With that said, he directly flew on his sword towards Invincible Peak.
Lou Hong was yet to recover from the astonishing sword qi just now. Only after they had left did he make a late response, "Oh, okay!"
Wait a moment!
Just now Supremacy Lonemoon was saying, Nascent Soul Formation? Yi Qing!
So the sword qi just now was from his epiphany!
A Nascent Soul cultivator less than 20 years old?!!
(⊙_⊙) All sects present thought about this, and for a time, the whole place remained silent.
Nobody remembered Jing Qi, who was still unconscious from shock.
——————
Once Lonemoon had returned to Invincible Peak and placed Yi Qing on flat ground, he hurried to make a few lightning- attracting arrays. It mattered less at Core Formation level, but the Lightning Tribulation of Nascent Soul period was special. Without making any noise, who would believe that he was completing Nascent Soul Formation?
"Father Niu, what are you doing?" Shen Ying looked at Father Niu busying around, and her expression was blank.
"Making lightning-attracting arrays, of course!" Lonemoon rolled his eyes at her. "Even a blind man could realize that sword qi of his just now couldn't belong to a Golden Core cultivator. So we must make him complete Nascent Soul Formation as soon as possible." He was most familiar with the ways of immortal cultivators. Should Yi Qing keep being at Golden Core level, they would inevitably wonder where that kind of sword qi came from. They would definitely try to ask around. They weren't afraid for themselves, but Honesty Sect were sure to suffer too. They were here for lodgment anyway, and couldn't make the sect bear the burden for them.
"Oh." Shen Ying nodded, took a bite of a fruit and said, "Must it be a red lightning?"
"Red?" Lonemoon stopped short. "What red lightning?" There was no such thing as a red Lightning Tribulation.
"Like that!" She pointed towards the sky.
Lonemoon was stunned. He looked up and saw that somehow large amounts of lightning clouds had suddenly filled the sky. Small flashes red lightning appeared among the clouds from time to time.
"Holy shit!" He was shocked. "How could there be a Lightning Tribulation? Didn't you say that with his cultivation, he only needed to pass through the process smoothly?"
"I don't know!" Shen Ying's head inclined. "Maybe it's different this time round."
"Different?" Lonemoon was stunned. Speaking of which, the sword intent that Chef used just now was indeed different from the past. In the past, his sword intent was a giant golden sword, and it was only cultivated because Shen Ying taught him some 'one strong man can overcome ten' nonsense. Yet what appeared just now was in the shape of a dragon. It actually looked rather like Chef's real body as a dragon. Could this be the reason the Lightning Tribulation was drawn?
But, whatever the case, there shouldn't be a red Lightning Tribulation. It's not like he himself never completed a Nascent Soul Formation. Regarding Lightning Tribulation, he also experienced quite a lot. Red lightning would only appear in…
His face whitened, as his eyes widened sharply. He looked in the direction of Chef in disbelief. Red Lightning Tribulation… He had only seen it in the Demon World. Why would Chef draw a demonic lightning? His heart sank. He examined Chef's body carefully, and indeed saw a hint of faint demonic qi. And Chef's look didn't seem right as well. Apparently, all his past rises in level were all finished with merely sleeping and waking. But his expression now seemed extremely painful, his forehead covered with sweat and his eyes closed tight, as though he was fighting something.
This is… Mental Demon Tribulation!
"Holy shit, Chef actually ignited Mental Demon Tribulation!" His eyes widened and his face was full of disbelief. "How can he possibly have a mental demon?!" Among the three of them, Chef must have been the one with the purest mind. It was like a straight road towards the end for him. By right, anyone could have a mental demon but Yi Qing! Why for just a simple repetition, he actually got a mental demon?
"What happened? Do you know what's his mental demon?"
Shen Ying's eyes narrowed, and she seemed to remember something. Only after a while did she reply, "Let's see first." The first Lightning Tribulation already came down, and it hit Chef directly. The person who looked painful at first opened his mouth and spat out blood. His expression worsened.
One Lightning Tribulation following another fell, and his expression grew even more painful. His body was hurt all over, and his breath was very weak.
Chapter 333: Successful Tribulation Transcendence
"No, Chef won't be able to pass through the Mental Demon Tribulation like this!" Hit had only been hit by more than 50 lightening so far. There are 30 more!
"Oh." Shen Ying's look darkened, "Let's pause it then!"
With that said, she suddenly reached out and made a snap in the air.
Instantly, the white lightening that was coming down from the sky stopped right there above Chef's head, as if a "pause" button had been clicked. It was as if a red lamp post appeared between sky and earth.
Wow.
Lonemoon, "…" You can even do this! Shen Ying walked right up to the person undergoing tribulation. She looked at his blackened body and painful expression, sighed, squatted beside him and poked the person.
"Chef!"
Yi Qing's expression worsened, and only after a long time did he open his eyes. Instantly, a pair of red eyes looked straight towards her. He was completely inside his mental demon, and the look he gave her actually contained some angst for the first time ever.
"Master!" His eyes widened, and he asked accusingly, "Who am I? Who is it that you have been seeing me as!?"
Shen Ying was stunned, and some surprise went across her eyes. "Che-"
"I'm not your Chef!" He suddenly cried out, as though many suppressed emotions all erupted at the same time. "I'm not Chef, I'm not Yi Qing. I don't know your past! Master… Master, why do you always have to treat me as someone else?" "…"
"Both you and Lonemoon, how do you see me after all? I am really willing to and working hard to do everything well. I'm really trying hard. Can you please look at me and not look at someone else through me?"
"…"
"Master… Did you take me as a disciple because I was me, or because I was him? Am I just a shadow for you to miss him?"
"…"
"But, what if… what if I am not him? If you have been wrong all along…"
"But you are!" "I am not!" He roared, even louder than before, and the emotions in his eyes became crazier. "I am not! I don't want to be someone else's replacement. I don't want you to look at him through me. I just want you to look at me, and me alone! Master is my…"
Before he could finish, Shen Ying suddenly slammed him on his head, making his head drop. He seemed unable to react for a moment. Then he looked up with a confused expression, and even the crazy expression on his face seemed to freeze.
"How did you start having such sickly affectation?" He must have been badly influenced by Father Niu.
"Master-"
"I mean… is there something wrong with your brain? What nonsense are you thinking about?" Shen Ying scratched her head in irritation. "What replacement? There had only been one Chef all along, from past to present. The only one who separated the two was yourself." "I-"
"Are you too free? So that you are playing such things with yourself? If you are so free, how about do some more cooking?"
"…"
"I had never thought about between you of the past and you at the moment, which was better? If you have to compare, at least compare with others. What's up with troubling your own self?"
"…"
"Besides… You can't remember things from the past yourself.
Can you blame me for it?"
"But what if I am not him…"
"Not him?" Shen Ying's eyes narrowed, unhappiness written all over her face. "Are you doubting the vision of Father Niu, or myself?"
He was stunned, and hurried to shake forcefully, "No, I have never doubted Master."
"Good." Shen Ying suddenly reached out and touched his head, messing his hair up at the same time. "So… are you done with the affliction?"
"…" Yi Qing was stunned. Some confusion remained in his eyes, but the redness in them faded gradually, and the angst over his body disappeared completely. He returned to his original state, like he had finally figured it out.
"Finish it off quickly, I haven't eaten lunch yet!" Shen Ying added.
His look slowly went back to a firm one, and the aura around his body improved a lot instantly. He cupped his fist and replied in a clear voice, "Yes, Master!" "Oh yeah, make a few more meat dishes."
"Yes, Master. No problem, Master!"
Only now did Shen Ying stand up, turn back and walk out of the scope of Lightning Tribulation. In the next instant, the rumbling of thunder was heard once more. The red color of the lightning was seen to fade gradually, first becoming light red, and then instantly returning to white.
"His mental demon disappeared!" Lonemoon looked towards the sky, turned and looked at Shen Ying who walked back. "What did you talk to him about? Even his mental demon was gone with your chatter." Her trickery abilities had improved.
"You weren't listening?" Shen Ying inclined her head.
"What is that look you're giving me? Am I that kind of person?"
"Yes!" "…" Motherf*cker!
The tribulation lightening became even thicker in the sky, and a wave of white light illuminated the surroundings. Yet as that was merely tribulation lightening of Nascent Soul, besides the Mental Demon Tribulation just now, the rest paled in comparison to Heavenly Tribulation of the Celestial World. Lonemoon felt completely relieved now. The two didn't wait long before all the tribulation lightening finished. However, the last wave of lightening seemed especially powerful, with its brightness dozens of times as bright as the previous ones. When it came down, even the protective arrays that Lonemoon made on the way shook, and almost collapsed.
Yet Chef, who was in the middle of everything, didn't seem to feel much. On his body, there were no more injuries besides those from the mental demon just now. A moment later, the tribulation clouds cleared in the sky, and the surroundings started to brighten. At the same time, a great amount of Spirit Qi rushed over, filling Honesty Sect instantly. Especially in the direction of Chef, the Spirit Qi was so thick that it looked like it could materialize. Even the injuries on him healed visibly at a rapid speed.
He walked straight towards the two. They didn't know if it was an illusion, but they felt that the look in his eyes was calmer than before. He looked straight towards the direction of Shen Ying, and something flashed in his eyes. He said calmly, "Master, I'm back."
Shen Ying was stunned for an instant. Her eyes narrowed, "Oh… I'm hungry."
"Okay, Master!" Chef dived into the kitchen just now without a moment of stop. He even forgot to contain the overflowing Sword Qi all around him.
Speaking of which, the Sword Qi on him seemed a bit too thick…
Wait a moment!
Lonemoon looked at his cultivation subconsciously.
"Holy shit! Why are you at Soul Formation?" Lonemoon chased him into the kitchen and looked carefully over his body. It was Soul Formation cultivation indeed! Wasn't he still at Nascent Soul just now during the lightening? How did he jump up another level with the blink of an eye?
"Hmm." Yi Qing dug for ingredients, a casual look on his face. "There was too much Spirit Qi."
"Shit. You are rising a bit too fast now." Can there be a problem? "Is your body okay?"
He shook his head while cutting vegetables, "It's okay."
"This won't do. You are rising too fast. If there is really a problem, we would have sent you down in vain." Lonemoon became ever more worried as he thought about him. "Your body had just recovered. What if a problem comes up?"
"Oh." Yi Qing replied casually. He pointed to his side and pointed, "Father Niu, pass me that plate!"
Lonemoon handed it over casually. "I had better examine it carefully for you later. It is best that Shen Ying also help check the data, etc."
"Hmm."
"I'm going to look for Shen Ying!" As he said that, he started walking out of the kitchen. After a few steps, he suddenly stiffened, as though he remembered something. He opened his eyes wide and turned his head somewhat mechanically. "What did you call me just now?"
(゚Д゚≡゚Д゚)
Chapter 334: Return of Memories
Yi Qing turned and directly pushed two plates of dishes he just finished into his hands, "Father Niu, you take them to Master first. It's already one hour late."
"You… you…" Lonemoon took the two plates subconsciously, and his eyes widened in even more surprise. Only after a long while did he say loud, "You've remembered!"
Holy shit! No wonder he suddenly reached Soul Formation. It was actually because he had restored his original state.
"Yeah!" Yi Qing nodded.
"Why didn't you say just now then?"
"I thought you have realized it." Master did.
"…" Motherf*cker! What does he mean by realized. Does this master-disciple pair have to be the same in manners too? Are you worthy of all my worries?
——————
Perhaps because of that last lightning, Yi Qing's memories recovered, and his cultivation speed naturally returned to that of a divine race. Yet only due to the limitations of his body, it had yet to return to his original level.
The reason that he was Soul Formation now might be because this was the lower realm. Since he had not received the assistant seal completely, he was limited by the rules of the lower realm, and his cultivation was suppressed to Soul Formation.
Lonemoon thought that this was good news indeed. It seemed that before that, they would be able to return to the Celestial World. It's just that…
"What the hell is this?" Before Lonemoon was able to put down the two plates of dishes, he saw that there was a vague shadow beside the lazy Shen Ying. Ghost Qi came out of its body. It was a ghost indeed, where on earth did it come from?
"It came out of someone's body!" Shen Ying replied casually.
"What bo-" Lonemoon stopped halfway through the sentence, and as if he remembered something, his face tightened. "The original soul that was trapped inside the intruder's body!"
"Hmm." Shen Ying took over the dishes in his hands, and grabbed the chopsticks and immediately started eating, "So hungry."
Lonemoon looked towards that ghostly shadow, whose expression was all horrified. Upon a closer look, he indeed had the identical body to Jing Qi at the moment. But it was extremely weak, and translucent like smoke that would disperse with the slightest gust of wind.
"How did he end up here?" His expression was blank. "Wasn't he suppressed by Jing Qi inside the body, and unable to get out?" Shen Ying replied in the break between eating, "Chef's Sword Qi."
Lonemoon was stunned, remembering the contest just now. "You mean Chef's Sword Qi directly forced him out?"
"Hmm."
"But it can't be. How can Sword Qi be enough to force it out?
The intruder was able to suppress it because of the karma…"
Wait. When they brought Chef back just now, the karma on that Jing Qi seemed… pretty much gone. Is it due to this, beside Chef's sudden burst of Sword Qi, that it lost the suppression on the original soul, letting this one be squeezed out?
"Did you guess early on that this would happen, so you let Chef fight?" Apparently, before he fought with Chef, the karma on that boy was abundant. After the fight, there wasn't much left, and even the original soul was squeezed out. Shen Ying didn't reply, but actually used the break when drinking water to say, "Father Niu, after eating you go and get that little girlfriend of Chef here for a moment."
"For what?" Lonemoon glanced at her. Isn't she your new girl fan?
"Master, let me go!" Yi Qing had already come out of the kitchen. He laid out the finished dishes on the table in front of Shen Ying one by one. Then his body shape flashed, and he disappeared.
In a short while, he brought a girl, whose expression was all excited, to the two.
"Big sister!" Lily's eyes brightened instantly, and she was already jumping and rushing towards Shen Ying.
Chef moved fast and dragged her back at once.
Lily immediately stared towards Yi Qing behind her like a fireball.
"This person is in your charge!" Shen Ying suddenly spoke, pointing towards the ghost which wore a blank expression, and was already starting to lose consciousness.
"What person?" Lily was shocked too, and as though she had only seen the ghost at the side, she cried out, "Gh-Ghost! Big sister, it's so scary!" Her little face whitened, and she turned to rush towards Shen Ying again.
But again she was stopped by Yi Qing, who with a height advantage, grabbed the girl's collar and threw her out.
Hmph! Little bitch! If I really let you near Master, I'm not called Chef!
╭(╯^╰)╮
"Shen Ying, what are you doing?" Lonemoon's face was all confused. "Why are you giving him to a little girl?" What if she got possessed by the intruder again?
"Ah?" Shen Ying's head inclined. "Aren't ghosts in the charge by Meng Po?"
"Ghost are in Meng Po's charge indeed. But what's it to do with…" He stopped mid-sentence, and as if something in his mind clicked, he turned towards the girl at the side. "You are Meng Po!"
Lily was stunned, her face in complete confusion. "What Meng…" Just as she was about to ask, her look suddenly changed. The original innocent expression was replaced with a knowing looking, and the aura all over her body changed at the same time, as though some seal was suddenly broken. After a while, she smiled at them regretfully. "Sect master is a manager indeed. Even this gets recognized by you."
His body changed suddenly from the look of Lily back to that of a little dwarf. She said, a bit upset, "I've clearly sealed the memory already." Lonemoon, "…" It was real!
Holy shit shit shit shit shit shit shit!
"You knew it early on!" Lonemoon stared at Shen Ying in disbelief, and as he remembered something, looked also towards Chef, "You knew it too!"
"Yup!" The two nodded together. Isn't this very obvious?
"What 'yup'!" He went a little crazy. "Why did neither of you tell me?" What happened to your love for teammates? Would it hurt to give a notice?
"Eh?" The two looked at one another and said together like one, "I thought you knew!"
"How can I possibly know!" It would be strange if he did okay? Seeing that the person in front of her was going to go away in a craze, Shen Ying suddenly looked up and said, "Father Niu! Have you never activated the assistant authority?"
"What assistant…" He was stunned for a moment. With a movement in his mind, some light seemed to suddenly flash in front of his eyes. In the next instant, everything in front of him looked different, especially Lily: the words "turbid residual consciousness" suddenly appeared above her head. All the info about her also appeared suddenly in his mind, as if a character intro was suddenly opened. Even the ghost at the side had the words "Jing Qi" appearing above his head. Yet his info was only up till ten years old, and there was nothing afterwards.
Shit! So the manager assistant actually has such a special function!
"Next time, with any assistant functions, can you please give me a notice beforehand!" He stared towards Shen Ying. I am an assistant, not a nanny!
"Don't so concerned over these small details." "Get lost!"
You're just freaking lazy, aren't you?
"Wait!" He suddenly remembered a problem. He turned towards Chef. Shen Ying was a manager, it was not strange that she recognized Meng Po. "How did you recognize her then?" He wasn't a real assistant yet.
Yi Qing looked at him and replied in all seriousness, "Because nobody can see Master at first sight!"
Lonemoon, "…"
Meng Po: "…"
Shen Ying: "…" Son of a b*tch!
She felt like she was stabbed somewhere!
Chapter 335: A Serious Fiendish Cultivator
Yi Qing stepped forward naturally, waved his hand to push the ghost who was almost dispersing towards the direction of Meng Po. "This one is in your charge."
"Oh." Only then did Meng Po's attention return. She produced a hand seal, and instantly that ghost flashed and turned into a light which flew into Meng Po's palm. After keeping the ghost, she looked towards Shen Ying, her eyes shining, "Sect master, please rest assured, I will send him back into the sect myself."
Shen Ying nodded, "Hmm. You are free to go!"
"Sect master…" Meng Po looked at her, her eyes heavy, as if she wanted to say something. "I… Can't I stay a bit more?"
Before Shen Ying could reply, Yi Qing beside her actually side- stepped directly and said boldly, "Meal is not prepared for you!"
"…" Who mentioned the meal? Meng Po felt very upset. Seeing that Shen Ying showed no intention to keep her any longer, she had to turn and leave, her head turning back frequently as she walked.
"The ghost trapped by the intruder is already out. Now we only have to chase him back to his plane and that's it, right?" Lonemoon looked at Shen Ying. He expression was saying: if you dare say one more thing that you thought I knew, I'm going to deduct your food expenses.
"Yes." Shen Ying nodded.
"I'll go and get that stupid boy then!" To do it before those from Divine Heavens Sect left, Lonemoon stood up. As long as that intruder is chased back into his original plane, this matter is solved.
Just as he was turning around, rings of a bell suddenly sounded from the horizon. Each ring was louder than the previous, and the sound was heard all over the Three Azure Realms. It was sounded ten times. What was that?
"You heard that?" He turned to look at the two.
Yi Qing nodded, and his expression was also confused. What was that?
Before they had time to think carefully, Lou Hong already flew up hurriedly, his face white and his expression flurried. His footsteps were also messy. He spoke to Lonemoon hurriedly, "Supremacy, did you hear that? It was ten bell rings… The bells of Mirage Sea sounded!"
"What's the matter?" Lonemoon was all confused. What ten bell rings? "Tell me clearly, what ten bell rings?"
"It's the Beast Tide of Mirage Sea, Supremacy!" He was so anxious that even his body started trembling somewhat. "Just now the bell sounded ten times. By now, the seal of Mirage Sea has probably already been broken. The sects have already left to stop it." Lonemoon turned and indeed saw large groups of people flying out of sects and rushing towards the north.
"The Beast Tide has already broken into Three Azure Realms. Unless it is stopped in time, the whole Three Azure Realms will cease to exist. By now, the best disciples of all sects are probably already leaving and hurrying over." Lou Hong said impatiently. "I want to ask Supremacy, should our sect leave in full number towards Mirage Sea to stop the Beast Tide?"
Beast Tide?
Since when had there been such a horrible phenomenon in Three Azure Realms that required all sects to go together to block it?
"Gather all disciples above Foundation Establishment and leave together. The rest will stay in the sect!" Lonemoon asked. If it really was a Beast Tide, Qi Refinement disciples would die even if they went.
"Okay!" Lou Hong nodded, turned and went to gather the disciples.
"Let's go, Chef, Shen Ying!" Lonemoon turned and said.
"Oh."
Lonemoon only just stepped out, when he turned back to drag a certain foodie over and gave her to Chef. Only then did he fly towards the audience hall on the main peak
Lou Hong's speed was fast, or perhaps everyone had gathered themselves upon hearing the bells. When they arrived, all disciples above Foundation Establishment level were already gathered on the square in front of audience hall. Seeing them, Lou Hong for once didn't say anything much, but only called "set off", waved, and brought everyone towards the north.
Lonemoon only got to ask and understand about the situation regarding this Beast Tide on their way. In the Three Azure Realms, after every 100 years, a Beast Tide would happen on the northernmost Mirage Sea. The beasts from the Mirage Sea would take the opportunity to go on land and attack the people of Three Azure Realms. Besides, the number of beasts was huge, almost always in thousands. Furthermore, most of them were beasts around the seventh level, with even some above tenth level. In the past, there had been an ancient array left by some unknown ancient cultivator, which formed a screen to keep out the beasts.
In the past, the sects gathered by Mirage Sea in the name of beating back the Beast Tide, while in fact they just killed those who happened to break through the screen.
"In the recent centuries, the power of that ancient array kept weakening. Oftentimes, a Beast Tide came before the hundredth year was reached. And the number of demon beasts that rushed in increased." Lou Hong sighed while flying. "This time, the bell sounded suddenly, and it seems that the ancient array is finally unable to continue working, and let the Beast Tide rush inside. I'm also not sure if Three Azure Realms can survive this."
His face was full of sorrow, and so were the disciples behind him, but nobody retreated. They rushed hard towards the north as they knew clearly that there was no other way.
Lonemoon frowned. He had an impression of the Mirage Sea. He remembered that in the past, Yi Clan of the Four Great Clans guarded the edge of the Mirage Sea. At that time, Bai Ze stayed in Yi Clan to prevent those beasts from coming on land. And that black dragon of the Divine World, back when it was still a green dragon, had once led the Beast Tide and fought with Bai Ze. Afterwards, it was forced by Shen Ying to accept Yi Clan as its master, and kept guard at Mirage Sea for years.
After that, the black dragon achieved Immortal Ascension. But he didn't imagine that after so many years, the beasts at Mirage Sea had grown to such numbers. Lonemoon vaguely felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't think of what it was.
"We're here!" Lou Hong suddenly stopped.
Indeed, they could already see disciples of many sects fighting with beasts down below. Mostly three to five of them fought with one or two beasts. They looked to be at fourth or fifth levels.
"Foundation Establishment disciples, go down and help. Golden Core disciples, follow me ahead!" Lou Hong commanded in a familiar manner, before he continued flying forward. The further they went, the more beasts and more cultivators there were on the ground. There were cultivators fighting beasts everywhere. Some were dressed in disciples' clothing of various sects, some were probably itinerant cultivators. To Lonemoon's surprise, there were even those whose body showed a faint heretic aura.
"That is… a Fiendish Cultivator?" Lonemoon was shocked, not believing his eyes.
"That's a disciple of Latent Fiendish Sect." Lou Hong took a break in commanding Golden Core disciples to go down, and answered in a natural voice, The demon beasts here were apparently many times more than the area just now.
"Fiendish Cultivators would come to deal with the Beast Tide too?" Lonemoon burst out subconsciously, "Aren't you afraid that they would contain bad intentions, and have other…"
"Supremacy Lonemoon!" Lou Hong suddenly spoke, and he refuted him with a sense of disapproval and disbelief for the first time, "You can't speak as such!" "…" Eh?
"Fiendish Cultivators are merely different from us sects in the method of cultivation. We are all equal cultivators, and we do not see an 'us' versus 'them'." He said with a righteous manner. "Besides, right now we are faced with an enemy, and should naturally stand together."
"…" The relation between immortal sects and Fiendish Cultivators are actually so harmonious now?
"Supremacy, please don't say anything like this again ever.
They are all good, serious Fiendish Cultivators!"
Chapter 336: Beast Disaster at Mirage Sea
Lonemoon was amazed. The world changed fast indeed, even Fiendish Cultivators were trustworthy friends now. He somehow remembered Roasted Chicken Gal from the past. Ah! There were indeed nothing that time was not capable of changing.
"That was an indiscreet remark." He hurried to apologize. Looking at the beast tide which was getting even thicker in front and facing the only two Nascent Soul cultivators left in the air, he said, "You two can stay here to stop the Beast Tide. We'll go ahead and take a look."
"Okay!" Lou Hong nodded. He also understood that if they continued forward, the beasts would not be within their ability to deal with any more. He turned to look at Yi Qing, who just rose to Nascent Soul level, "Then Yi…"
"He'll come with us," Lonemoon said, "Rest assured, he can definitely deal with it." Lou Hong was stunned for a moment, but didn't ask any further. He cupped his fist, and said with an expression of farewell, "Two Supremacies, please take care." With that said, he gave the two another look, and flew down towards the beasts below.
The three continued to fly forward, but the further they went, the more they were shocked by the scene in front of them. The beasts were so dense everywhere and rushed in like tides. He could only see waves of them. He had never seen so many demon beasts before.
"How can there be so many demon beasts!" And their levels weren't low.
They could already vaguely hear the fighting in front. He used Divine Perception to glance at it and realized those were all Soul Formation cultivators there. There were a few dozen in total. They stood in the forefront and focused on attacking the high level beasts, so as not to hurt the disciples behind.
It seemed that the Beast Tides were indeed frequent, that the sects were clear of the positions of their resistance without discussion. Lonemoon's hand turned, and instantly his long flute turned into a spirit sword. He gave Shen Ying and Chef a look and flew straight towards those Soul Formation cultivators in front.
Those people looked familiar too. They were indeed the people who went to Honesty Sect for the contest earlier. They probably came straight over upon hearing the bell rings.
Lonemoon instantly produced a sword rain, which went towards several twelfth-level demon beasts in front of them,. He originally had the cultivation of imperial ascension, and though it was suppressed, a few lower-realm demon beasts wouldn't be able to fight against his spirit swords. The swords pierced right through their bodies and the beasts fell to the ground.
"Supremacy Lonemoon!" Dong Wu who was preparing for battle was joyful. "You're here!"
Lonemoon nodded and greeted them, before he rushed over with Chef. In an instant, the few who were struggling just now suddenly felt much easier. The demon beasts fell in waves, and there was sword qi everywhere. The Soul Formation Supremacies were all stunned, and could only sigh that sword cultivators were different after all, each counted for several of them. But that cultivator beside Lonemoon with dreadful sword qi, why did he look a bit like that person who was fighting with Divine Heavens Sect for the top position of Golden Core level?
Before the few had time to think carefully, they re-entered the battle.
With the addition of the two, they were able to press back the Beast Tide within a certain distance. However, the number of beasts was indeed too large, once they retreated to the seaside, they didn't retreat any more. There were only more and more demon beasts emerging constantly from the sea.
And it was actually endless!
As Lonemoon fought, he felt even stranger. This situation was too abnormal. By right, beasts always advanced in levels with great difficulty, and unlike demons, they didn't get their wisdom first. Therefore, their numbers were never large, and they hardly acted in groups. Yet the Three Azure Realms saw a Beast Tide every century, it didn't seem right whichever way he thought about it.
He observed the surroundings and actually found that there were four pillars that seemed very out of place. Two of them were already broken. Some strange shapes were drawn on the pillars. Perhaps it was an illusion, but the beasts seemed to be avoiding those pillars somehow.
"What's that?" He asked Dong Wu at his side.
"It's the foundation of the ancient array that used to stop the Beast Tide!" Dong Wu sighed and replied, "A pity it had already been broken by the Beast Tide now."
"What array is it exactly?" Maybe it could be fixed.
"I don't know." Dong Wu shook his head while opening up a demon beast with his sword. "The knowledge of this array had long been lost. In the recent million years, not a single person has knowledge of this array!" Lonemoon's eyes darkened. "I'll go and take a look. With that said, he looked at the person behind him and called, "Chef!"
In the next instant, Yi Qing's sword turned in his hand, and the Sword Qi all over his body produced a sword intent, a long dragon which went right in front of Lonemoon. With a dragon's roar, a way towards the pillars had immediately been cleared.
Lonemoon flew over directly and took a close look at the Dharmic talismans engraved on the pillars, but couldn't understand a single thing.
"What's this?" He was about to open the assistant authority to see if there was some automatic explanation.
But Yi Qing suddenly spoke, "It's a Dragon Trapping Array!"
"What?"
"It's the Dragon Trapping Array of the dragon clan." Yi Qing said certainly. "There's such an array in the heritage of dragon clan."
So it's an array of the divine race. Wait! Could this array have been left by that long worm in the past after it became a dragon?
"Can you set this array?" Lonemoon asked hurriedly.
"I can." Yi Qing turned to look at the dense, constantly emerging wave of beasts on the sea. "But the setting of this array cannot be interrupted. Right now…"
"This is easy!" Lonemoon's eyes brightened. It's good so long as it can be fixed. "You just focus on setting the array."
With that said, he returned to the crowd in the back in a flash. He looked up and shouted towards the right side, "Hey, Shen Ying, hurry down here and help Chef clear the space!"
"Ah?!" Shen Ying who sat on the tree shaking legs inclined her head, a lazy look on her face. The Soul Formation cultivators at the side were shocked. Not to mention that there was actually a complete tree over here that wasn't affected by the beast time, who is that person on the tree? When did she come? How did they never see her coming at all?
And…
They subconsciously glanced at the fruit cores which surrounded the ground beneath the tree. How long had she been up there eating fruits?
"Don't ramble. Come down quickly!"
Only then did Shen Ying shake her legs, jump down from the tree and walk over slowly. "So troublesome!" She wasn't full and didn't feel like moving.
"To hell with your 'troublesome'! Hurry up!" Lonemoon rushed up and dragged her over, pressing his sword into her hand conveniently. "Okay. Go quickly! I know you're not full. There'll be extra for dinner, okay?" With that said, he pushed her into the dense crowd of demon beasts.
"Supremacy Lonemoon, you…" The Soul Formation Supremacies were shocked. That girl did not show any visible cultivation. Isn't he sending her to die?
Several went forward to stop it, but it was already too late. They saw that giant demon beasts rushed up from the sea and opened their huge mouths to bite her.
Dong Wu even cried out loud, "Girl, be care-"
Before he could finish, they heard her sigh, and suddenly raising the hand which grabbed the sword, and in an almost playful manner, she waved it towards the front.
Instantly, a white line appeared beside the sword which advanced in an all-destructive, powerful manner towards the sea. In a moment, the dense wave of beasts were all bisected at the waist. Even the giant waves that were made by the beasts fell, coloring the sea surface to a blood-red instantly. It was completely silent.
Dong Wu, "…"
Everyone: "…"
Where were they? What just happened?
Chapter 337: The Weird Beast Tide
"So tired!" Shen Ying turned to hand the sword back to Father Niu, her shoulders fell, and her expression was upset.
"I know, I know." Lonemoon took the sword, and turned to take down the storage bag at his side. "I packed food for you just now. Go back to your tree to eat!"
Shen Ying's eyes brightened. "Okay, Father Niu! No problem, Father Niu!" Instantly, she grew all excited, as she took the bag from him and walked back to the tree from just now.
In front of the dozen or so Soul Formation Supremacies, she hugged the tree trunk and started to climb the tree. Probably due to the lack of experience, she only went up a short way before she slid down again.
She then remembered something, gave up climbing and sat down under the tree directly, took out many delicious dishes from the bag and laid them all over the ground. Then she took the bowl and started eating rapidly. In between the eating, she glanced at the Soul Formation cultivators at the side whose expressions were still completely stunned. She took the pastry, which only had a small bit left, and asked, "Wanna eat?"
The group stiffened and shook their heads together.
"Oh," she replied, and continued to eat.
Everyone: "…"
Yet Lonemoon looked like he had long been used to it. He turned and cried loudly towards Yi Qing who was beside the pillars, "Chef, that's it! You may start."
Huh?
The Soul Formation cultivators were stunned. Start? Start what?
Before they had time to think, in the next instant, a golden array suddenly appeared on the ground, and like a giant mattress, it covered the entire seashore. Many golden talismans that they had never seen before brightened.
In the next instant, those talismans gathered slowly, and in a while they formed the shapes of sixteen light pillars. The ground shook. Within a series of banging sounds, sixteen pillars rose from the ground to mix with the light pillars.
After a quarter of an hour, following a loud roar of a dragon, a transparent screen appeared between the sixteen newly emerged pillars. The screen rose to the sky, blocking out the whole Mirage Sea.
"This… This is…" Dong Wu and the Soul Formation cultivators were full of disbelief. The array formation was repaired! No, more accurately, a new, identical array was formed.
Lonemoon looked at those sixteen pillars, couldn't help but said to Chef who was already walking back, "Wasn't there only four at first? How did it become sixteen?" "The Dragon Trapping Array consists of sixteen foundations in the first place," Yi Qing replied, "The previous array wasn't complete."
Lonemoon nodded. It made sense. It was an array of the divine race, and even after so many years, it shouldn't have been broken by demon beasts of the lower realm. In any case, the black dragon was nobody in the divine race, and naturally couldn't compare to Yi Qing, with his mixed parentage of dragon and phoenix and the heritage he was born with.
He was different indeed!
"Supremacy Lonemoon…" The group of Soul Formation cultivators had finally been able to react. They walked over rapidly, very excited looks on their faces. "We're not sure how this… Supremacy… got to know this ancient array of Mirage Sea?"
Lonemoon was stunned, and only then did he remember about Yi Qing. Earlier before they left, Yi Qing suppressed his cultivation back to Nascent Soul, so Lou Hong didn't realize that he was already at Soul Formation. But with his attack of beasts just now, coupled with the setting of arrays, his Soul Formation cultivation couldn't be hidden any longer, naturally.
"This was Yi Qing from the contest just now." Lonemoon's mind worked, and he said with a smile, "Actually, he was a Soul Formation cultivator at the beginning, just that he suffered severe injuries a few years ago, his meridians were hurt, and that's why his cultivation never recovered. Right now his injuries healed, and he naturally returned to his original cultivation." He purposely left out the history of raising him since young. They were not from Honesty Sect, anyway.
Only then did everyone look understood. On the other side, Yi Qing actually went right past them and towards Shen Ying. He looked at the person on the ground at frowned.
"Master, the ground is too cold, you can't sit there for long."
With that said, he immediately took out a small round table… and four chairs. He dragged the person onto the chair, and with a serious manner, placed all the dishes onto the table one by one. Lonemoon, "…"
Everyone: "…"
Did you come for a picnic?
"Uhh… I mean…" Lonemoon coughed, his mouth twitched, and while trying his best to ignore a certain pair of master and disciple, he turned to remind them, "Although the array was reformed, there are still some demon beasts that rushed in to be taken care of. We had better go back and help!"
Only then was everyone able to react. "Yes, yes. There are still the demon beasts."
"Yi Qing and I will come to help after Shen Ying finishes eating."
The group shuddered subconsciously. They immediately remembered that single sword slash which destroyed the whole beast herd, and their hearts suddenly numbed. They smiled, nodded and said," Yes, yes. Of course, of course!"
Then they flew up on their swords and hurried back to help. As they flew, they couldn't help but turn back to look at Shen Ying who was enjoying her 'picnic', and Yi Qing who was busy handing over dishes.
Not to mention Yi Qing who knew the ancient array who was that woman? She looked like an ordinary mortal, without any trace of spirit qi shown, but why would she have such horrifying strength? That sword slash looked like it could break the sky.
Oh yeah, what was that woman's name?
——————
Lonemoon only started speaking after Shen Ying finished her meal and made a loud burp.
"Did you realize that there's something wrong with this Beast Tide?"
Yi Qing's eyebrows tightened. He casually poured a cup of tea for Shen Ying and nodded. "Indeed! For normal demon beasts, unless they were disturbed, they don't easily attack humans. Besides, this number…"
Yes, it's the number that is strange!" Lonemoon said in a deep voice, "Though water-bred demon beasts breed faster than ordinary ones, that kind of enormous numbers just now was unbelievable. However huge this Mirage Sea, it is impossible for it to produce so many demon beasts even in hundreds of thousands of years. But Lou Hong said that this kind of beast tide occurs every hundred years." And it seemed to have the side effect of improving friendly relations between Fiendish Cultivators and immortal sects.
"That's right." Yi Qing nodded. He looked at Shen Ying and said, "Master, this beast tide is abnormal indeed. Besides, in the beasts just now, there were plenty of demon beasts beyond tenth levels. By right, demon beasts above tenth level are supposed to be able to achieve manifestation and develop spirits. But all of them only kept the animal shape and attacked by instinct, unless… "They never developed a spirit!" Lonemoon continued.
"Exactly!" Yi Qing nodded. For demon beasts who had developed a spirit, however low it is, they would always avoid danger. Yet that group of demon beasts clearly knew that those who came to stop them were Soul Formation cultivators, but didn't show any inclinations to retreat, and rushed over all together. Even before he and Yi Qing attacked, those demon beasts didn't show a hint of knowing the impending danger, or a hint of fear.
"Shen Ying, what do you think?" Lonemoon turned towards Shen Ying.
"I don't know." Shen Ying shook her head. Maybe the Mirage Sea started a baby bonus. "In any case, along the way, did either of you see that stupid kid?"
Lonemoon, "…"
Yi Qing: "…"
Chapter 338: Beast-Bearing Pool
Only then did the two remember about that intruder called Jing Qi. Upon careful thinking, they realized that they indeed didn't see him on the way. Especially when they saw those Golden Core disciples fighting the demon beasts, disciples from various sects who attended the contest were all there, but only him was not seen. It was unlikely that Divine Heavens Sect left him alone.
Lonemoon's heart sank, and without hesitation, he produced a tracking seal. That was left by him very long ago for the convenience of looking for him. Yet strangely, the tracking seal did not respond to him.
"How can this be?" His expression changed. "Where did he go?"
"He should be…" Shen Ying suddenly turned and pointed towards the Mirage Sea, "There!"
"The Mirage Sea!" Lonemoon and Yi Qing exchanged a look, and their hearts both sank. "Can it be that this beast tide has something to do with him?" Just now he was busy dealing with Chef's explosion of Sword Qi and didn't care what happened to that stupid kid after the contest. And he didn't imagine that within only one day, he had produced a big trouble.
"With his ability, it's impossible to cause such a big Beast Tide!" Yi Qing shook his head. "There should be another reason."
"Let's go and take a look!" Shen Ying suggested.
The two then flew up on their swords and went towards the depth of Mirage Sea. Great numbers of half-body beast corpses floated on the surface of the sea. Shen Ying's sword movement might have been too violent, that only after the three had flown for a long while, they finally ceased to see those corpses.
Yet a great lot of demon beasts newly appeared from the bottom, and the numbers looked even larger than just now. They rushed in their direction in herds. As if they couldn't see all the corpses filling the sea, they flooded past blindly, as though they were controlled by something. This is too strange!
"I'm going to catch one to take a look!" said Lonemoon, before he flew down and produced a trapping array with the wave of a hand. The array formed a net filled with Spirit Qi. Lonemoon caught an eighth-level demon beast and brought it up.
The three stopped on a small island near them and threw the demon beast on the ground. The beast looked as though it was mad, hitting the trap around it in a craze. Even when the hitting had made it all bloody, it did not stop. Its eyes shone with a strange red light.
Lonemoon frowned and hit it with a sword spell. The beast fell to the ground instantly. He directly opened its belly with a wind blade, looked over it carefully, and then explored with Divine Perception. His eyes suddenly opened wide.
"This demon beast actually has no beast core!" How can this be? By right, for any demon beast, a Spirit Pill is always formed if it cultivates. Otherwise, there would be no way for them to concentrate Spiritual Power. This was apparently an eighth- grade demon beast, so it can't have no Spirit Pill. "Father Niu, how about trying soul-calling?" Yi Qing spoke to remind him.
Lonemoon stopped short, his hand gestures changed, and he used a soul-calling spell immediately. A flash of light was emitted from his fingers and swept directly towards the beast.
In an instant, a faint smoke rose from the beast corpse, which dissipated within a short while, not even forming a shape.
"This is… a remnant soul!" Lonemoon cried out in surprise, and Yi Qing's eyes were also full of surprise.
There was definitely no problem with Lonemoon's spells, which meant that the smoke just now was indeed the soul from this demon beast's body. In the body of an eighth-grade demon beast, there was actually only a remnant soul. No! That might not even make for a remnant soul.
No wonder these beasts would only rush blindly towards the land. They probably didn't have any spirit. There wasn't even a soul in their body. "What happened to their souls? Who took them?" By right, if somebody had done soul controlling they must be able to find the record. Not even Meng Po noticed this one.
"Perhaps, there wasn't one in the first place." Shen Ying's eyes deepened, as she suddenly spoke.
"There wasn't?" Lonemoon was stunned. "But… this demon beast was apparently alive. How could it not have one to begin with?"
"Over there…" Shen Ying inclined her head, and she suddenly pointed towards the sea surface on the right side. "There's something interesting."
"What?"
"There's a… thing that doesn't belong to this world."
Can't there be another intruder? Lonemoon and Yi Qing exchanged a look, and both of their expressions changed. "Let's go over and see!"
Once more they went on their swords and flew in the direction that Shen Ying mentioned.
The further they went in that direction, the more demon beasts there were. The sea surface was filled with layers of many kinds of demon beasts, and their levels increased, with some even reaching that of Earth Immortal. However, they still took no form, and hurried crazily towards the direction in which they came.
They were almost reaching the edge of Mirage Sea. After another more than ten minutes of flying, a black island could be vaguely seen. After looking carefully at the situation on the island, all of them couldn't help but gasp. There were even more demon beasts on there, and they stacked on one another for many layers, as they climbed out into the sea.
As compared to the beasts inside the sea, these looked even crazier, but there were actually red bloodstains on their bodies. For many, the scaled skin on their bodies wrinkled, like they had just been born. But once they went into water, they turned into adult demon beasts. It was as though with every step that they crawled, they underwent hundreds of years of growth.
The slower they climbed, the higher their levels when they entered the water.
"What island is this?" Lonemoon felt a foreboding premonition. He had never seen anything like this.
"There's something in the middle of the island." Shen Ying reminded him.
Lonemoon and Yi Qing flew directly towards the center of the island in the next moment.
From far away, they saw a wave of silvery lights. There was a pool two to three meters wide in the center of the island. The water in the pool was very strange. It was silvery white, like mercury. And those constantly emerging demon beasts came of this pool. They were small at first, but once they came on land, they grew with tremendous speed. "What is… this thing?" Even Yi Qing was stunned. He used with his Divine Perception and realized that there was actually not a single hint of Spirit Qi flowing. Besides the color, it looked just like normal pool water, yet it could give birth to so many demon beasts. This was a miracle.
Lonemoon felt for his assistant marking in an attempt to see the situation of this pool, but after a while, his eyes suddenly opened wide. "This pool doesn't belong to this plane!" The word "intruder" suddenly appeared above the pool.
"How can this be?" Lonemoon was confused. "Why is there no alarm for this plane invasion?" There apparently was one in the case of that stupid kid.
"Perhaps it's been here for too long!" said Shen Ying.
"You mean this thing has been here since before you became a manager?"
"Hmm." Lonemoon frowned. This was possible indeed. This was not the first time a Beast Tide occurred. Even in the past when they were still in the lower realm, the side of the Mirage Sea had not been peaceful. There was only no Beast Tide because of Bai Ze. Which meant this pool likely already existed then.
"Whatever the case, the pool can't be left to continue working like this." said Yi Qing, who directly called out his spirit sword.
"Hmm." Lonemoon nodded. "If this goes on, the Beast Tide will be endless."
Chapter 339: Dragons <segment 19848>
The two flew right over, and in a moment, a rain of swords appeared all over the sky. Lonemoon called out a sword array, which cleared out an empty space around the pool. Only then did they fly down. Lonemoon's sword technique was strong, and those demon beasts that just came out of the pool were severed into pieces.
"I'll go and destroy that pool!" Yi Qing flew up to the top of the pool, directly mobilized his sword intent, which formed a giant dragon which flew straight down towards the pool.
When it was almost reaching the pool, a white light suddenly emerged from the surface of the water, and it sucked in the whole dragon directly. Yet the pool was still intact, without even a single ripple.
Yi Qing was stunned, and before he could react, in the next instant, the dragon roared, and the sword dragon which he produced just now suddenly rushed out of the pool, and came directly in his direction.
This was… Yi Qing was shocked, and as he hurried to dodge, the sword dragon went straight into the sky. This pool could actually rebound his sword qi!
"Careful!" Before he could think carefully, Lonemoon suddenly cried out towards him. Only then did he realize that several arrays had appeared in the air. The shape of the arrays were very strange. He had never seen anything like that. Especially the words on them, they didn't look like anything in this world. There was no visible movement of Spiritual Power, yet the array shone brightly. Almost instantly, several sword dragons, the same as the one he called out just now, rushed out from those dozen or so arrays, and went straight towards him.
There were indeed too many sword dragons, and those were his own sword qi besides, so the power was overwhelming. For a time, even he himself could not resist it. Lonemoon rushed over directly, and the two stood side by side to form a defense array together. They combined force finally managed to block out those sword dragons.
"Ho, I didn't expect you to actually dodge that!" A familiar cold voice came from the front. The space above the pool distorted, as though some disguise was removed. The figure of a man suddenly appeared in front of the two. "Stupid kid… uh, Jing Qi!" Lonemoon recognized the person instantly. So he was here indeed. He came to a sudden understanding. "You caused this Beast Tide!"
"That's right!" He snorted, stared straight in the direction of Yi Qing, and his eyes were full of hatred which looked like they were about to overflow. "I just slightly ignited the magic of this 'spring of life'. But I didn't imagine that you not only didn't get killed by the beasts, you can even discover this place."
"What on earth do you want?" Yi Qing frowned. If not for the presence of Master, with the scale of the Beast Tide, cultivators of Three Azure Realms were completely insufficient to stop them. At that time, the beasts would definitely sweep across the Three Azure Realms, killing both cultivators and mortals, including of course, those from his own sect.
"What do I want? Revenge, of course!" Jing Qi's look towards him grew even fiercer. "For during the contest, you destroyed my cultivation, maimed my spirit root, made my practicing over all these years go wasted and made me a cripple. You've done this to me, of course I must destroy everything you have to relieve the hatred in my heart." "I destroyed your cultivation?" Yi Qing's expression was blank. When did that happen?
Lonemoon's eyes narrowed. As he observed him, he noticed that there was indeed not a trace of cultivation left. And in less than two days, he felt that Jing Qi had fattened significantly, such that his body shape was almost the same as that vague shadow. The key was that the thick karma that once filled his body had none remaining any more.
"But that doesn't matter now." A hint of excitement went across Jing Qi. His look towards Yi Qing was like the look towards a dead person. "If not for you, how could I have discovered this place, and gained such great magical power?" The more he said, the brighter his eyes went. He raised a hand to trace something in the air. Suddenly, an array appeared in front of him, facing the two directly. "Today is the time that you pay."
As his voice fell, a ray of light suddenly went out from the array, rushing directly toward the two from the opposite side.
Lonemoon and Yi Qing immediately went on their swords and dodged, but in the next instant, they saw that the ground that the light swept through was severed in the middle.
What the hell is this spell?
The two were shocked. Yet in the next instant, several such arrays appeared in the sky. For a time, light rays appeared all over the sky, and started to attack the two like laser beams.
They could only dodge, but they would still accidentally be swept. Even their Dharma clothing seemed unable to block those strange lights. Lonemoon even got half his sleeve cut off accidentally.
"Destroy those arrays!" Yi Qing said aloud.
Lonemoon nodded. He turned and dogged the light rays, while at the same time rushed towards those arrays. Holding his sword, he waved it towards those arrays. With a cracking sound, the lights in the array changed into mere sparkles and disappeared. It seemed that those lights were powerful, yet surprisingly fragile. The two attacked together side by side, and within a short while, they had dealt with those arrays. "You can actually break my Holy Light Array!" Jing Qi seemed like he didn't care at all, and his look grew even colder. "Never mind, it was only to delay time, anyway." His hand turned, and a half-man long wooden stick decorated with jewel suddenly appeared in his hands. He mumbled something, and another giant array suddenly appeared in the sky.
The array was huge, almost covering the whole sky above the small island. The red lights from the array covered the whole area with a blood red color. Lightning appeared and strong gusts of wind rose around the array.
"What do you want?" Lonemoon's heart sank.
"I only need to call it out, and all of you will have to die here!" He suddenly burst into a crazy laughter, his face full of the joys of revenge, and his hand raised the stick even higher. "Come out, giant dragon!"
"What?" Dragon? Lonemoon was shocked. Could he actually summon the dragons from the Divine World? Before he had time to think carefully, the lightning in the sky became even more rampant. A piece from the array protruded, as though something was breaking out of the array. In the next instant, hot airs descended from the sky, and a huge body shape came out from the array. A giant head emerged first, following a body tall as a mountain. There was a pair of giant wings behind it. It opened its mouth and made a thunderous roar.
Yi Qing: "…"
Lonemoon, "…"
This is… a dragon?
What dragon! How can such a small monster with wings and can only blow fire be a dragon?
"Dark beast that can destroy the world, tear them up, and burn this world down!" A certain person who felt that he did something great shouted loudly to the beast, an excited look on his face. "…" F*cking retard.
Chapter 340: Spring of Life
Indeed, in the next instant, the big-bellied giant dragon opened its wings, churning a huge gust of wind which rushed directly towards the two.
Lonemoon's mind was completely calm. He even doubted the teaching standard of Divine Heavens Sect for a moment. Had nobody told this stupid kid about the level of monsters in this world?
"Chef!" Lonemoon patted the shoulder of the person beside him, "Show him what is a real dragon!"
Chef's mouth twitched. He withdrew his sword and flew up towards the dragon above them. White light shone all over his body, and in the next instant, golden light flashed, and a giant golden dragon appeared in the sky instantly. It flew straight up.
They heard a roar of a dragon, and immediately many flashes of lightning occurred as if it was about to rain. All of them fell upon that small monster. The air was suddenly filled with the thick scent of burned meat. Chef turned in the air, and his tail swept towards the burned little monster.
The little monster which was roaring a moment ago fell upon the ground with a bang the way a ball does. Chef's figure flashed, and he returned to human shape. He looked at the little monster in the hole that it made when colliding with the ground, and… he took out a kitchen knife in silence.
Hmm… I don't think Master has tried this type of meat yet.
Save a bit. Save a bit.
"You… How is this possible!" Seeing that the dragon which took him so much effort to call out was killed immediately, Jing Qi's face was full of disbelief. That was apparently a world- destroying dragon that nobody could defeat in the previous world. How could this be? And the look that Yi Qing turned into… "You… Who are all of you?"
"Us?" Lonemoon sneered. "Before you invaded this world, didn't you first ask around who is in charge here?" "How do you know…" His eyes opened wide suddenly, and some panic finally showed upon his face, as though his biggest secret was known.
"Wherever you came from, smuggling is not welcome in this world. Get back to where you belong."
His expression changed, and he shook his head hard. "No, I can't go back!"
"It's not up to you!" Lonemoon was too lazy to continue talking to him. He flew straight over and intended to catch him. When he was just about to get him, he actually went right through him and grabbed nothing but the air.
Holy shit!
What's going on?
He stopped short, and sent over a sword spell to hit him, before he realized that it went right through the person's body. It was as if he had no physical body.
Jing Qi was also slightly stunned. He looked at his own body, suddenly remembered something, and started laughing wildly. "Hahaha… I have the protection from the divine light of the Spring of Life. This is a godly power, and besides those blessed by god, you kind of dirty people cannot touch me at all! I am immortal!"
"Is that so?" Just as he finished talking, a lazy voice suddenly sounded.
Nobody knew when did Shen Ying start to squat down beside the pool. She was looking up right at him, one hand holding her chin.
Jing Qi was shocked, and before he had time to contemplate when this person arrived, Shen Ying suddenly conveniently grabbed a demon beast coming out from the pool, raised her arms and threw it towards him.
He heard a ringing in the wind, and before he could react, the world went black in front of him. With a bang, a demon beast flew right towards him, directly hitting him down from the air. He fell to the pool's side with a bang.
It… it hit!
(⊙ o ⊙)
Only then did Shen Ying continue slowly, "The blessing of your god is so cheap." Even little animals could have it.
"You… You…" Jing Qi's face was full of disbelief. After he finally struggled to climb down from the body of that demon beast, he gave the pool in front of him a look, something flashed in his eyes, and he suddenly rose to rush towards that direction.
Lonemoon's face darkened, and he gave a loud reminder, "Shen Ying, don't let him enter the water!" This pool apparently belonged to his own plane, and could provide Jing Qi with some powers that they did not understand. Seeing that Jing Qi was almost going to jump inside, Shen Ying suddenly threw out a blue cube towards the pool. Almost instantly, the water in the pool rushed madly towards that cube, and with the blink of an eye, the silvery white color had disappeared from the pool. On the ground was only a hole, and a stupid youth who couldn't draw back in time and fell into the hole.
The cube sucked out the last drop of pool water, before returning to Shen Ying's palm. It was still the size of a palm, but it changed from sky blue to silvery white, and the water inside flashed.
Lonemoon came down to the ground, casually set up a trapping array in the emptied pool and trapped the person inside. Only then did he turn to look at that silvery, translucent cube box in Shen Ying's hand.
"What's this?" asked Lonemoon.
Chef who just finished cutting the meat also returned. He gave the box a close look. "This looks a bit like a mystic realm?" "It's an isolation space." Shen Ying replied and threw the thing to Father Niu casually.
Lonemoon took it, gave it a close look, and realized that the box was indeed quite similar to a mystic room. Inside it was a space that didn't belong to this world, but it was a bit more advanced, and sealed, so that not a trace of air could leak out. "Where did this come from?"
"I just made it."
"…" So she didn't fight all the time just now because she was making this.
Lonemoon looked at the hole in front. Without the water, not a single demon beast crawled out of it anymore. But Jing Qi in there still wore a resentful look and stared hard at them.
"What are we doing with this one?" Lonemoon pointed towards him. "Open the plane now and throw him back?" Before Shen Ying answered, the person in the hole stared shouted. "You think you've won over me?" He suddenly looked up and sneered at the three, took out a bottle out of nowhere and poured its contents right down.
"Shit! It's the pool water from just now!" Lonemoon cursed.
Didn't expect this one to keep a bottle.
"Hahahaha…" Jing Qi burst out in a self-satisfied, crazy laughter. "A drop from Spring of Life makes one an immortal forever. What does it matter if you've taken the spring? You can't win against me."
His laughter grew ever madder. The aura over his body changed, and a completely unknown aura burst from his body, breaking out of Lonemoon's trapping array instantly, and swept towards them.
The three stepped back subconsciously, and Jing Qi actually suddenly flew up from the bottom of the hole. He rose higher and higher, and that strange aura grew thicker and thicker. His whole body shone in silvery white light. "Hahaha… It's useless however high your cultivation. With the Spring of Life, you just can't kill…" Before he could finish, the white light all over him suddenly darkened, and he fell from the sky. Even that thick aura from just now withdrew like it was never there. "What happened? How can this be!" His face turned, and a terrible panic seized him. "Spring of Life is supposed to make one immortal. How can this be?" His expression grew uglier and uglier. He remembered something and turned to stare at the three opposite him, "It's you! What did you do?"