AGM 496 – Unwilling to Give Up
It was unknown how many countless years the Celestial Constellation Tree had to be nurtured for before it had born such a small amount of fruits. For the sake of acquiring these fruits, Xuan King City’s strongest powers, including the demon-level geniuses from the various major powers, had all stood up to contend for it.
But in the end, over half of those Constellation Fruits had been taken away by a young man in white whose cultivation base was only at the third level of Heavenly Dipper. Not only that, he did so in a bold and forthright manner, fiercely fighting against the various experts. He killed over half of the experts who went to the hidden realm and even when facing the six chosen from the major powers, he still had the ability to resist.
This matter swiftly circulated through the Xuan King City. This time around, the face and prestige of those chosen had been utterly trashed.
This was simply too humiliating, there were some who failed to even acquire one Constellation Fruit. To them, this was a matter of the greatest shame.
Their eyes stared at the deep crater in the space ahead. Intense waves of anger could be felt gushing forth from all the six chosen.
He escaped! Qin Wentian used a spatial transference scroll to safely retreat.
“Shang Yue!” Shang Qi roared. Shang Yue instantly flew towards him, how could the rush of impact not be intense to her? That young man in white was actually this powerful. Only now did she understand why Qin Wentian didn’t fear to stand against her in the Treasure Seizing Assembly.
Not only was he a Divine Inscriptionist, he was at the level of Grandmaster. Putting that incident into perspective, no wonder he wanted the spatial brush so badly; Qin Wentian had even dared to seize the Constellation Fruits in front of so many demon-level characters. How could the magnitude of him snatching away the spatial brush be compared to this event? Frankly, it wasn’t even worthy of mention.
Standing among the crowd of spectators, Xu Feng and Ji Xue were also stunned into speechlessness. So, it turned out that Qin Wentian could have left long ago. However, he didn’t wish to waste the spatial transference scroll, only using it after slaughtering a large number of experts. Even Xie Yu was almost killed by him at the end.
He saved Xie Yu’s life, but Xie Yu wanted his death. How could he not want to take back Xie Yu’s life before he left? In fact, Qin Wentian had almost succeeded. Xu Feng and Ji Xue were thinking that if the other chosen weren’t also present, Xie Yu would have fallen right there and then, without a doubt.
“Shang Yue, that spatial transference scroll, was it something he created after he acquired that spatial brush?” Shang Qi directed the question to Shang Yue.
“I think so, he’s a Divine Inscriptionist after all.” Shang Yue nodded. The surrounding crowd were all stunned by her words. With such combat prowess, that guy was still a Divine Inscriptionist that was good enough to create spatial transference scrolls?
“In that case, he should have more than one spatial transference scroll on him.” Shang Qi’s countenance turned extremely icy. Evidently, he had no thoughts to spare Qin Wentian. Disregarding their great humiliation, the Constellation Fruits alone were priceless. Where would their reputation go if they gave up now?
However, if Qin Wentian still had more spatial transference scrolls on him, even if they found him again, they had no way to stop him from leaving.
At this moment, Shang Qi and the rest abruptly looked up. The backup from the various major powers had finally arrived. Sadly, they were a step too late—Qin Wentian had already escaped.
“What’s going on?” A middle-aged man had a look of bewilderment on his face. Wasn’t there supposed to be a battle against the other major powers to seize the Constellation Fruits? Why was everyone standing here blankly in a dumbfounded manner?
“Uncle.” Shang Yue stared at the middle-aged man who spoke, as she explained everything to him. Only then did the experts who’d just arrived understand what was going on.
“Don’t the Wind Roc Aristocrat Clan have the Ten-Thousand Miles Tracking Mirror?” An expert from the king’s manor inquired another expert from the Wind Roc Aristocrat Clan.
That person from the Wind Roc Aristocrat Clan nodded his head slightly.“We do, but it’s useless even if we can track his movements. He will simply use the spatial transference scroll to teleport away again. To catch him, we must borrow that sealing treasure from the Yin Clan as well.”
“Indeed, if the Wind Roc Aristocrat Clan and Yin Clan are both willing to take out their treasures, as long as that white-robed man is still around in this area, he will have no way to escape,” stated an expert from the Heaven Shocking Sword Sect, nodding his head.
However, the eyes of those from the Wind Roc Aristocrat Clan and Yin Clan all flickered with uncertainty, and soon after, that earlier expert from the Wind Roc Aristocrat Clan spoke, “It’s easy to speak of it. However, to borrow the treasures, we have to report this matter up to the respective clan lords of our clan. Also, since we are all fighting for the Constellation Fruits, why would we need the rest of you? My Wind Roc Aristocrat Clan and the Yin Clan will be enough to guarantee our success.”
“How about this? Both the Wind Roc Aristocrat Clan and the Yin Clan will acquire two Constellation Fruits each. The other three fruits will belong to the royal clan,” spoke the middle-aged man from the king’s manor.
Those from the Wind Roc Aristocrat and Yin Clan contemplated for a moment, before nodding in agreement; they weren’t too willing to offend the Royal Clan. As for the other major powers, they could only curse in their hearts. With the king’s manor making such an offer, didn’t that mean that there would be nothing left for them?
“Alright, I would have to trouble the both of you to return to your clans and borrow the treasures,” the middle-aged man stated. The two from the Wind Roc Aristocratic Clan and Yin Clan nodded as they turned and left. Their cultivation base had already reached the upper tier of seventh to ninth level of Heavenly Dipper—the Constellation Fruits could allow their Mandate to reach the Perfection Boundary of the second level insight and would be exceedingly effective for their future cultivation. Hence, this was an opportunity they couldn’t afford to miss out.
“Uncle, there’s still a Constellation Fruit over here.” At this moment, Shang Qi pointed his finger straight at Xu Feng and Ji Xue. The eyes of the middle-aged man gleamed as he spoke out, “The two of you, stop right there.”
Xu Feng’s expression stiffened, he knew that there was no way for them to escape now. Turning around, he stared straight at the middle-aged man and said, “Junior Xu Feng and my junior sister Ji Xue hail from the Qinghua Mountains. This Constellation Fruit in my possession is won through my painstaking efforts. Surely, it wouldn’t sound too good if news of a senior forcibly seizing it away from me were to be leaked out.“
“Merely an external disciple of the Qinghua Mountains. Do you even have the qualifications to talk to me? Hand over the fruit and scram.” The middle-aged man from the king’s manor snorted in disdain. He was a seventh-level Heavenly Dipper Sovereign, and the grandson of the current King of Xuan King City. Although the position of King hadn’t been handed over to him, he was still a direct descendent of the royal bloodline. With his status, how could he even care about an external disciple from the Qinghua Mountain?
Xu Feng’s expression became incredibly ugly to behold, but even so, he had no choice. He reluctantly handed over the fruit.
“Hmph.” Shang Qi snorted as he stowed the fruit away, coldly staring at Xu Feng.
“Senior, farewell.” Xu Feng clasped his hands as he icily spoke. After which, he left the place together with Ji Xue, his heart boiling with an intense hatred.
“Senior, what’s the Ten-Thousand Miles Tracking Mirror they were talking about?” Ji Xue curiously inquired.
“This treasure is able to lock onto a person’s aura, pinpointing their location. Given how recent that battle was earlier, they could use that treasure to lock onto traces of his aura, thus tracking him,” Xu Feng replied, his words causing Ji Xue’s expressions to change. “In that case, isn’t Brother Qin in great danger?”
“Everything will depend on his fate. This time around he snatched away seven Constellation Fruits and even killed many experts from the major powers. How can the major powers of the Xuan King City not be incensed? They definitely won’t spare him.” Xu Feng sighed, his words causing worry to bloom in Ji Xue’s heart. Could the young man in white survive this incoming calamity?
……….
And as they predicted, Qin Wentian was still within the mountain range. Although he could create spatial transference scrolls, he was still inexperienced and only a fourth-ranked Grandmaster. How far could his created scrolls teleport him? At most, they could only teleport him over a few hundred li away in a random direction, but luckily, it was already sufficient to throw his pursuers off his tail.
Currently, in a place four hundred li away from his pursuers, spatial fluctuations rocked the area as a young man in white appeared.
Right now, his aura was fluctuating wildly. His white robes were stained with blood and he was obviously injured. However, both his eyes shone as bright as torches, flashing with steadfast resolve.
“This place is only a few hundred li away, I have to continue moving or else they’ll easily track my movements.” Qin Wentian silently mused as he continued moving on ahead.
Although he’d instantly teleported a few hundred li away, with the terrifying speed of fifth-level Heavenly Dipper Sovereigns, it wouldn’t be that difficult if they wanted to track him. However, even Qin Wentian himself didn’t know which direction he’d been sent to, let alone where his pursuers were. But still, to be safe, he picked a random direction and continued advancing forward.
A few hours later, Qin Wentian arrived at a barren mountain. He sat there cross-legged, with Little Rascal beside him. Little Rascal gave a bark as he spat out a Constellation Fruit. This was none other than the Demon Mandate Fruit which Qin Wentian asked Little Rascal to pluck for him.
“If this is useful for you, just go ahead and consume it.” Qin Wentian could feel intense fluctuations from the will of the Mandate of Demons emanating from the fruit as he spoke to Little Rascal.
“Yiya!” Little Rascal nodded and then instantly swallowed the Demon Mandate Fruit with a gulp.
Qin Wentian then took out the six other Constellation Fruits. Because these fruits had already been plucked, severing the connection between them and the Celestial Constellation Tree, they no longer radiated waves of pressure.
“These two Space Mandate Fruits shall belong to Qing`er. I will gift them to her next time, but I’m afraid she won’t be able to find me so quickly for now” Qin Wentian kept the Space Mandate fruits and stared at the other four.
These other fruits were none other than the Earth Mandate Fruits as well as the two dark-red fruits at the uppermost layer of the Celestial Constellation Tree.
“Such powerful wills of Mandate within. Although these aren’t the Mandates that I cultivate in, I can still contemplate and try to gain insights from feeling their auras.” But right now, he was totally exhausted from the earlier frenzied battle. This wasn’t the time to contemplate the Constellation Fruits.
“Little Rascal, after you swallowed the crimson-eyed demonic spirit, does it mean that Purgatory will be able to return?” Qin Wentian gently stroked Little Rascal’s fur.
Little Rascal let out a few barks of yiyiyaya as it nodded its head in assurance, causing a gentle smile and a look of anticipation to appear on Qin Wentian’s eyes.
The Purgatory Vermilion Bird was going to be revived soon.
Taking out a pile of Yuan Meteor Stones, he casually laid on the ground and entered into his dreamscape for his cultivation. In there, his absorption of astral energy was several times faster compared to the real world.
In the blink of an eye, a night passed. The silence in this area was so quiet it was somewhat unnerving.
As Qin Wentian opened his eyes, he saw two silhouettes lying down beside him. Other than Little Rascal, there was also a fiery, dark-red, bird-type demonic beast staring at him. Upon seeing his eyes open, the Purgatory Vermilion Bird let out a long screech as it soared up to the skies, circling above Qin Wentian’s head.
Qin Wentian had a smile on his face when he saw the Purgatory Vermilion Bird in such high spirits. A long moment passed before it finally landed, perching on his shoulders.
“Little Rascal, good job!” Qin Wentian stared at the little puppy in front of him. Little Rascal wagged its tail before jumping onto Qin Wentian’s thigh, with an extremely pleased expression on its face as though it wanted credit.
“Bzzz!” However, right at this moment, a baleful light erupted from Purgatory’s eyes. Its body soared up to the skies once more, letting out a terrible screech of anger as it stared at the horizon.
Qin Wentian frowned and he stretched his perception outwards. Soon after, he noticed several silhouettes currently flying towards his direction.
“Persistent bastards.” An extremely cold light flashed past Qin Wentian’s eyes. Who would have thought these people would actually manage to find their way here? His body zoomed forwards, like an arrow leaving its bow, instantly closing the distance between him and the pursuers. Below him, the six chosen had brought along a huge number of experts. All of them were currently inclining their heads to look at him.
“Do you think you can still survive?” Shang Qi coldly spat out. Sword intent radiated forth from Qin Wentian, as the will to fight shone in his eyes. Yet at this moment, a terrifying sealing energy suddenly gushed forth from a middle-aged man.
“Damn…” Qin Wentian’s eyes shifted towards that man. This person had intentionally concealed his cultivation base earlier—and now, Qin Wentian’s perception had sensed that his cultivation base was at the seventh level of Heavenly Dipper. Yet, that wasn’t the reason he was worried; a fearsome sealing energy had filled the air around him and as he surveyed his surroundings, he realized that the entire space had been sealed off by a layer of light—the area had been completely severed from the outside world!