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Chapter 143: Could They All Be the Same Person?
Chapter 143: Could They All Be the Same Person?
Chapter 143: Could They All Be the Same Person?
After leaving the sect hall, Kang Fulu and Qi Yuan walked side by side.
"Junior Brother, you’ve never been far from home all these years, have you? This time, we’re suddenly leaving the Great Shang and heading to Cuiyun Continent. Who knows what lies ahead… and when we’ll be able to return," Kang Fulu sighed, his expression pensive.
With the Hundred Nations Blood War looming, the Great Shang was in turmoil.
The Sect Master had sent the two of them to participate in the Eastern Lands Prodigy Battle, perhaps with the intention of helping them escape the vortex of chaos.
By excelling in the Prodigy Battle, they might catch the attention of a major sect and be taken in, freeing themselves from the confines of the Hundred Nations and Cuiyun Continent.
"The Bright Palace will be destroyed, and we’ll be back as soon as the Prodigy Battle ends. It won’t take long," Qi Yuan said casually, looking relaxed.
Seeing Qi Yuan so calm, Kang Fulu couldn’t help but sigh.
Ah, it’s better to be naive and carefree.
Unlike himself, who, even after forming a top-grade Golden Core, remained constantly worried.
"Junior Brother, just do your best in the Prodigy Battle," Kang Fulu said, a hint of pride flashing in his eyes. "Don’t be discouraged by my top-grade Golden Core. It might be unprecedented in the Great Shang, but it still falls short compared to the prodigies of the Eastern Lands."
Though Kang Fulu was being modest, he was actually showing off.
"The top hundred on the Eastern Lands Prodigy List have those who’ve formed profound, earth, and even heavenly-grade Golden Cores. It’s unimaginable."
Hearing this, Qi Yuan looked at Kang Fulu with a comforting expression. "Senior Brother Kang, don’t lose heart. Sure, a top-grade Golden Core might be a bit weak, but… in our Divine Light Sect, it’s still in the top ten, right?"
Kang Fulu: "…"
He didn’t want to talk. He had come to show off, not to seek comfort.
He really wanted to tell Qi Yuan, "Do you have any idea how valuable a top-grade Golden Core is in a small place like the Hundred Nations?"
Just then, Kang Fulu’s eyes lit up.
Ahead of them, the chief disciple of Ten Thousand Laws Peak, Xu Yiyi, was passing by.
Kang Fulu ignored Qi Yuan and immediately flew over.
"Junior Sister, I recently acquired a treasure. Want to see it?"
"What treasure?"
"My… top-grade Golden Core!"
"A Golden Core? Senior Brother, you’ve reached the Golden Core stage?"
Qi Yuan watched the scene from a distance and sighed. "Thankfully, I aspire to reach the stars and the sea, starting from humble beginnings.
A top-grade Golden Core? As if that could blind my eyes."
Qi Yuan glanced at his own Golden Core.
He sighed inwardly, wondering when his Golden Core could devour more planets, larger stars, or neutron stars.
If that happened, the myriad stars in the sky, apart from those illuminated by the gods, would all be part of his Golden Core.
Such a sight would be truly awe-inspiring, wouldn’t it?
He looked at the small sun in the sky and muttered, "It’s a pity my Golden Core is too far away. Otherwise, if I could show it off like Senior Brother Kang, I’d surely receive a lot of praise."
Of course, it might not be just praise.
If he displayed his Golden Core, those who saw it might all die.
……
In the Bright Palace, Qian Yuan’s face was particularly grim.
"Nearly a hundred Nascent Souls were killed in the Hundred Nations? What a bunch of useless trash!"
In the past few days, nearly a hundred Nascent Souls dispatched to the Hundred Nations were attacked and killed within two days.
The loss of nearly a hundred Nascent Souls was a significant blow to the Bright Palace!
"Mad Taoist, Seven Desires Demon Lord, Blood-Clad Sword God… the people of the Divine Flower Gathering are ruthless!" Black Rope, enveloped in spiritual energy, was like a powder keg ready to explode. The Nascent Souls present watched him, fearing he might lose his temper.
"When did our Bright Palace provoke so many… 'terrifying' enemies?" Qian Yuan was furious.
In the Divine Flower Gathering, several individuals from the Hundred Nations suddenly targeted them.
They all appeared at once, and each was a prodigy. It was unbelievable.
"Do you think they could all be the same person, playing multiple roles to attack us?" the red-bearded elder suggested.
"That’s unlikely," Elder Black Rope’s voice was gruff. "The Mad Taoist has a strange treasure resembling a kitchen knife, which he uses to kill Nascent Souls like slaughtering chickens;
The Seven Desires Demon Lord practices some forbidden technique that can summon divine lightning to strike enemies;
And the Blood-Clad Sword God, needless to say, wields original divine powers as a Purple Palace master.
Each of these individuals is extraordinary. They shouldn’t be the same person!"
Everyone present agreed with Elder Black Rope’s words.
The ones who slaughtered the Bright Palace’s Nascent Souls were as many as ten.
Each had distinctive traits and exceptional abilities, with their own unique paths of cultivation.
Such distinctiveness made each of them stand out as a prodigy in their own right.
How could they all be the same person?
"How could a tiny place like the Hundred Nations produce so many middle-aged prodigies?
It’s evident they’re all from the Divine Flower Gathering!" Qian Yuan concluded.
The term "middle-aged prodigies" typically referred to those who were on the prodigy lists of the previous generation.
The individuals who attacked the Bright Palace’s Nascent Souls all had the strength of middle-aged prodigies.
This was terrifying.
It was clear they were all members of the Divine Flower Gathering.
"The Divine Flower Gathering…"
The mention of this organization made the stewards present exchange uneasy glances.
It was a loose yet powerful organization.
Its headquarters weren’t even in the Eastern Lands.
If the Divine Flower Gathering decided to target them, it would be troublesome.
Seeing the stewards’ fear, Qian Yuan reassured them, "Don’t worry, everyone. The Divine Flower Gathering can’t interfere with our affairs in the Eastern Lands.
The Grand Palace Master has already gone to the Imperial Sacred Continent to meet with the Eastern Lands Leader of the Divine Flower Gathering to seek an explanation."
Hearing this, the stewards breathed a sigh of relief.
Qian Yuan continued, "The Mad Taoist, Seven Desires Demon Lord… and others are already on the Bright Palace’s wanted list.
If they dare to step into Cuiyun Continent, they will meet certain death!
As for the Blood-Clad Sword God, the three of us have already sent a challenge letter to the Divine Flower Gathering.
If he dares to come, he will die!
Until the Blood-Clad Sword God is dealt with, there’s no need to send any more stewards to the Hundred Nations!"
"Understood!" The stewards present were relieved.
They were genuinely afraid of being sent to the Hundred Nations now.
That would be suicide!
……
When Qi Yuan logged into the Divine Flower Gathering’s Four Emperors chat group, he saw many messages of praise.
"Origin Heavenly Lord, you’re truly formidable, killing nearly a hundred Nascent Souls just like that!"
"A night raid across thousands of miles, truly impressive!"
"This is how we should act."
Seeing these compliments, Qi Yuan felt a little flattered but also somewhat embarrassed.
"Compared to the big shots in this group, who can speak things into reality, I’m still weak!" Remembering what the Ice Empress had said about the Heaven-Grade Foundation Establishment that could make gods fall with a word, Qi Yuan felt quite ordinary by comparison.
"You’re too modest!" Rogue Immortal Lord, who had now become Qi Yuan’s top fan, responded. "Origin Heavenly Lord is already slaughtering left and right, killing Nascent Souls like they’re nothing, while I still have to go participate in the Eastern Lands Prodigy Battle.
Comparing myself to you… the gap is just too big."
"You’re also participating in the Eastern Lands Prodigy Battle?" Qi Yuan’s eyes lit up.
"What, Origin Heavenly Lord, do you have a junior participating too?" Rogue Immortal Lord asked.
"I’m still young, haven’t even gotten mar…"
Qi Yuan was about to say he wasn’t even married yet.
But then he remembered, wasn’t Xiao Jia his wife?
"I don’t even have a child."
That’s what he said.
"I’m participating in the Eastern Lands Prodigy Battle. Rogue Immortal Lord, let’s meet up when we get there!
I haven’t met any of the big shots in the group yet!" Qi Yuan was excited.
This left Rogue Immortal Lord a bit confused.
"Origin Heavenly Lord, aren’t you slaughtering Nascent Souls like they’re nothing and wielding original divine powers? Why are you participating in the Eastern Lands Prodigy Battle?"
"I’m just a little Golden Core cultivator. Isn’t it reasonable for me to participate in the Eastern Lands Prodigy Battle?" Qi Yuan asked.
"Well, it’s reasonable… but what about the Blood-Clad Sword God? Aren’t you a Purple Palace master?"
"I’m a Golden Core."
"But you have original divine powers and kill Nascent Souls like they’re nothing!"
"Who says a Golden Core cultivator can’t have original divine powers?
Who says a Golden Core can’t kill Nascent Souls?"
"…No one says that."
"Hmph, I haven’t even summoned my Golden Core yet. If I did, it would scare the Yin Gods!" Qi Yuan boasted.
Rogue Immortal Lord was at a loss for words.
Is it my mind that’s messed up, or is it Origin Heavenly Lord’s?
But Origin Heavenly Lord is clearly a Purple Palace master, and their minds can’t be messed up.
So… is it my mind that’s messed up?
Rogue Immortal Lord felt he needed to find a healer to soothe his fragile soul.
"It’s a pity I’m not in the Eastern Lands right now. Otherwise, I’d definitely go to see the meeting between Origin Heavenly Lord and Rogue Immortal Lord," Great Sun Flame Emperor said regretfully, clearly disappointed.
"It’s fine, the world is big, but we’ll meet someday.
After all… we all live in the same era.
As long as we don’t die, there’ll be a chance to meet," Qi Yuan said.
"Why does it sound so heavy when you say it’s just a meeting?" Ice Empress chimed in.
"Just a bit of melancholy."
After exiting the Divine Flower Gathering’s communication jade slip, Qi Yuan’s consciousness entered the gaming jade slip once again.
After a while, he looked disappointed. "Still no… new games?"
Since leaving the Flowing Wind Realm, Qi Yuan had tried to enter the gaming jade slip to access a new game.
Unfortunately, the jade slip remained empty, as if a new game hadn’t been created yet.
He scanned the jade slip with his divine sense but couldn’t find any new games.
"Is the jade slip too large for my divine sense to fully explore, making it hard to find the new game?"
"Or does it require a trigger?"
"With no new games to play and no way to return to my Golden Core for now, at least I have the Bright Palace as a plaything. Otherwise, life would be too boring."
Qi Yuan sighed.
……
Three days later.
On a massive spirit boat, there were four people.
They were Qi Yuan, Kang Fulu, Jiang Ya, and the elderly Nascent Soul woman.
Jiang Ya was also participating in the Eastern Lands Prodigy Battle.
Since they were heading the same way, Qi Yuan and Kang Fulu hitched a ride on Jiang Ya’s spirit boat.
It must be said that Jiang Ya’s spirit boat flew much faster than an ordinary one.
What would normally take half a month to reach Cuiyun Continent now only took five or six days.
At that moment, on the large spirit boat, Qi Yuan looked down at the vast desert below, a curious expression on his face. "The combination of desert and sea… is really strange."
Below the spirit boat, an endless desert stretched out, but occasionally there were glimpses of the sea.
The strange sight of desert and sea merging was intriguing.
Jiang Ya, who had been meditating with her eyes closed, opened them and slowly explained, "This bizarre landscape was caused by a battle between Yin Gods.
Whenever a force exceeds the Purple Palace level, the power unleashed in battle is so great that it enters the Void Realm.
The Void Realm is a space of emptiness, where nothing exists and no mortals are harmed.
But… every now and then, some remnants from the Void Realm fall into the world, creating these strange landscapes."
"What if a Yin God fights a Purple Palace master? Would they also enter the Void Realm?" Qi Yuan asked.
"A Yin God wouldn’t need to use their full power to deal with a Purple Palace master," Jiang Ya replied, her eyes filled with ambition.
That realm was what her master pursued for a lifetime.
Anyone who stepped into the Yin God realm was no longer bound by the world’s limitations.
"But what if the Yin God wanted to unleash power beyond the Purple Palace level?" Qi Yuan asked.
"Then that entire region would be passively drawn into the Void Realm," Jiang Ya patiently explained.
Though it was a bit early for a Golden Core cultivator to be asking such questions.
"Passively?" Qi Yuan’s eyes narrowed. "Is it being dragged in by the Heavenly Dao?"
In that case, Yin Gods don’t seem that strong either.
Jiang Ya glanced at Qi Yuan, a bit surprised. "Yin Gods vary in strength, just as the Heavenly Dao does.
A powerful Yin God might be able to break free from such constraints."
Hearing this, Qi Yuan began to understand.
"Sigh, if only I had known when I formed my Heaven-Grade Foundation Establishment, I should have used the Heavenly Dao of the Canglan Realm instead of the one from the Wangyue Continent. What a mistake!"
The Heavenly Dao of the Wangyue Continent clearly seemed weaker than that of the Canglan Realm.
Jiang Ya glanced at Qi Yuan but said nothing.
She had already learned from Jiang Lingsu that Qi Yuan was a cultivator on the path of madness, and his mind seemed somewhat troubled.
The spirit boat flew swiftly, and Jiang Ya didn’t speak to Qi Yuan again. She was entirely focused on a jade slip.
Frowning, she was deep in thought.
The master of the Ascending Heaven Pavilion, Wutian Elder, who was also her mentor, had given each of his direct disciples a challenge.
Jiang Ya’s challenge was a Heaven-Grade technique called the "Heartless Sutra."
Her master had mentioned that this technique contained several flaws.
If she could identify these flaws and then successfully revise the technique, she would qualify to enter the Ascending Heaven Tower and join her master in accomplishing a significant task.
Currently, out of Wutian Elder’s five direct disciples, only one had passed the test and entered the Ascending Heaven Tower.
Jiang Ya had been studying the "Heartless Sutra" daily, but her progress was minimal.
So far, she had only discovered three flaws.
As for revising the technique, that was still out of reach.
After all, this was a Heaven-Grade technique, and it was specially given by Wutian Elder, not just an ordinary Heaven-Grade technique.
Qi Yuan noticed Jiang Ya’s troubled expression and couldn’t help but ask, "Senior Sister Jiang, are you facing a difficult problem? Why not share it?"
According to what his junior sister had told him, Jiang Ya was the direct disciple of the Ascending Heaven Pavilion Master.
The Ascending Heaven Pavilion collected countless techniques.
And Qi Yuan was most in need of techniques.
With Jiang Ya carrying such wealth, it was hard not to be interested.
So Qi Yuan decided to be a helpful sycophant.
Even though a sycophant usually doesn’t have a house, as long as he doesn’t flatter just one person but flatters all the rich women, he becomes a sea lion.
Naturally, Qi Yuan was much more enthusiastic about Jiang Ya.
Jiang Ya opened her eyes again, her expression gentle, but Qi Yuan still noticed a hint of rejection in her eyes.
"It’s just a small matter, no need to trouble you, Junior Brother."
The challenge set by her master was something that even a Purple Palace master might not be able to pass.
Qi Yuan, being from the Hundred Nations, probably hadn’t seen many Earth-Grade techniques, let alone this "Heartless Sutra."
His shallow foundation might not even allow him to understand the technique.
As for her sister Jiang Lingsu’s claim that Qi Yuan was skilled at revising techniques, the content of those revisions was dubious.
Naturally, she wouldn’t seek his help.
Hearing this, Qi Yuan felt a bit disappointed.
If only all rich women were as easy to please as his junior sister Jiang Lingsu.
For several days, Qi Yuan was incredibly bored.
He spent his time either secretly studying the techniques his junior sister Jiang Lingsu had given him or tirelessly criticizing the Bright Palace on the Divine Flower Gathering forum.
Now, his alias as the Blood-Clad Sword God had become a star on the forum.
Whenever he posted, dozens of people would rush to praise him.
This made Qi Yuan feel so proud that he even considered abandoning his main identity to become the Blood-Clad Sword God full-time.
Of course, that was just a thought.
"Rogue Immortal Lord, in a few days, I’ll be arriving in Cloud City. When will you get there? Let’s meet up!" Qi Yuan asked in the group chat.
"I’ll probably be a bit late. I’m coming with my Senior Brother," Rogue Immortal Lord replied in the chat.
He wasn’t in Cuiyun Continent, so it would take him longer to get there.
"Who’s your Senior Brother? Which great figure or Immortal Lord?" Qi Yuan couldn’t help but ask.
"He’s not."
"It seems even Rogue Immortal Lord is no match for you." Rogue Immortal Lord had praised Qi Yuan so many times that Qi Yuan felt he had to return the favor.
This is called reciprocity.
Otherwise, when he shows off in the group in the future, if no one praises him, it would be awkward.
At that moment, in the Eastern Lands, Thunderwalk Continent, Rogue Immortal Lord sat on a spirit boat.
Looking at Origin Heavenly Lord’s compliment, he felt a bit helpless.
"I’m just a small fry, and my Senior Brother is ranked in the top three hundred of the Eastern Lands Prodigy List. I can’t compare."
"Top three hundred? That’s too weak. It’s nothing compared to you, Rogue Immortal Lord." With Jiang Ya, who was ranked seventeenth on the Eastern Lands Prodigy List, by his side, Qi Yuan felt like he was ranked seventeenth too. He spoke boldly, looking down on anyone ranked lower than seventeen.
"Cough, cough…" Rogue Immortal Lord replied awkwardly.
Just then, a tall man walked over.
The man wore a green robe and had slanted eyes, not particularly handsome. "Junior Brother, we’ll arrive in Cuiyun Continent in ten days. Remember to set aside your personal grievances. We’ll go together to visit Huang Tu, the prodigy of the Bright Palace!"
Rogue Immortal Lord hesitated upon hearing this. "Senior Brother, I’m a member of the Divine Flower Gathering, and the Divine Flower Gathering is currently in conflict with the Bright Palace. I’d better not go."
Right now, Origin Heavenly Lord was at war with the Bright Palace.
As one of the Divine Flower Gathering’s Four Emperors, he might not be able to help in battle, but he should at least maintain solidarity, right?
"Hmph!" The man with slanted eyes snorted coldly. "Junior Brother, the Cuiyun Continent is the Bright Palace’s stronghold. How can we not meet the prodigy there?
This is a great opportunity to make connections. How can you miss it?
Besides, has there really been a major conflict between the Divine Flower Gathering and the Bright Palace?
That Blood-Clad Sword God is just a Purple Palace master provoking the Bright Palace. He’s courting death!"
Hearing this, Rogue Immortal Lord was quite frustrated. "Senior Brother, I’ve already arranged to meet a friend."
The man with slanted eyes raised an eyebrow. "If I remember correctly, your friend hasn’t even made it onto the main Eastern Lands Prodigy List."
"His strength is enough!" Rogue Immortal Lord defended Origin Heavenly Lord.
"How about this, let’s bring him along when we meet Huang Tu?" The man with slanted eyes generously suggested.
Hearing this, Rogue Immortal Lord quickly replied, "No!"
Origin Heavenly Lord and the Bright Palace were like fire and water!
If they brought him to meet Huang Tu, who knows what would happen!