Chapter 447: Losing Control Over the Situation
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
Lin Feng felt that something was amiss and hence, he kept quiet and did not capture the two Qiong Qis.
"After the dozens of the Cloud Forest Trees had their consciousness removed, they are still tightly intertwined with one another. Evidently, this was a formation that someone had set."
Lin Feng's eyes flashed as the situation became increasingly clear to him. "Without a trigger, I could not see what the formation is specifically. However, since it's able to envelop this entire Middle World, it is not so simple."
From the conversation between the two Qiong Qis, they appeared to be anticipating the presence of more people.
The Qiong Qi Demon Tribe wished to use the persistent Buddhist cultivator to trick one of his comrades into coming here. In terms of seniority, it appeared that he was his 'uncle'.
While the Buddhist cultivator possessed the mastery of a late-Nascent Soul stage cultivator, his mastery could not represent his seniority. However, since the Qiong Qis mentioned that they sought to trick the other Buddhist cultivator into coming here rather than capturing him, one could assume that his uncle's cultivation was higher than his. In that case, his uncle was probably an Immortal Soul stage cultivator who had mastered the highest Buddhist teachings.
After he was tricked over, it appeared that all the people that the Qiong Qis had anticipated would have arrived. Evidently, the other people that the Qiong Qis had anticipated possessed the same level of mastery as the 'uncle'. In other words, they were probably Immortal Soul stage cultivators too.
Hence, for these Immortal Soul stage cultivators, were the Qiong Qis referring to themselves or Yan Mingyue and company?
If it was the latter, it meant that the entrance by Lin Feng and the rest had been predicted by their opponents.
Lin Feng quietly sensed the Cloud Forest Trees around him and then shook his head and said, "At best, they could sense our presence but they are unable to pinpoint our exact location. While these few Cloud Forest Trees are strong, they are nowhere near the level of the Ten Demonic Saints who had formed their Undying Demonic Souls."
Regardless, what had happened in front of him was unexpected.
Lin Feng telepathically communicated to Yan Mingyue and the rest. He did not even miss out the Guanchong Swordmaster. Under such circumstances, they needed to band together and face their common enemies together.
"The situation is changing, please maintain high alert." Lin Feng told them everything except the fact that the monk possessed a sarira on him.
Everyone's response to the news was pessimistic. Lin Feng was not the only one who felt that there was something strange about the Cloud Forest Trees. All other Immortal Soul stage cultivators had the same sentiments.
Prince Anliang of the Great Qin Empire, Shi Zongyue, said, "Since we ascertained that the demons residing here are the Qiong Qis, then there's nothing more that needs to be said. I will bring the strongmen of the Great Qin Empire to this Cloud Forest World. No matter what trick they play, they will crumble under our might."
Yan Mingyue and the Guanchong Swordmaster pondered for a while before saying, "That's the way it should be."
Lin Feng did not say anything but quietly allowed them to make their decisions. Suddenly, he felt four powerful waves of mana from different directions.
"Yan Mingyue must have triggered two powerful waves of the mana to pierce through the void." Lin Feng's eyes narrowed. "One wave connects to the Great Void Sect while the other one connects, unfortunately, to the Great Zhou Empire."
"She is no longer just a simple member of the Conservative Faction of the Great Void Sect."
Regardless whether it's the Great Void Sect, or the Mount Shu Sword Sect or the Great Qin Empire or the Great Zhou Empire, there were already people in the Divine Lands waiting for Yan Mingyue, the Guanchong Swordmaster and Shi Zongyue to send news back so that they could respond immediately and create the space path.
The top cultivators of the major powers were all awaiting orders to attack the Cloud Forest World.
The Qiong Qi Demon Tribe was strong and brimming with powerful individuals. They possessed 3 members who had already formed their Undying Demon Souls. The Grand Sage of the Qiong Qi possessed the Second Stage of the Undying Demon Soul and was amongst the Ten Demonic Saints.
However, if the major human forces deployed their powerful cultivators to the Cloud ForestWorld, not even the Nine Luminaries Heaven-Crushing Formation could save them from destruction. The only question was whether the humans would be willing to pay such a heavy price.
The main enemy of the Mount Shu Sword Sect, the Great Qin Empire and the other forces was still one another. After destroying the Qiong Qi Demon Tribe, the ownership of the Nine Luminaries Heaven-Crushing Formation would surely trigger a massive brawl.
Of course, they must factor in the dozens of the Cloud Forest Trees in this Middle World.
Lin Feng was still calculating earlier on how should he maximize the benefits for the Celestial Sect of Wonders and himself. He even considered stopping Yan Mingyue from opening the space path.
However, as the situation before him had changed for the unexpected, Lin Feng began to feel uneasy too. Hence, he quietly agreed to the actions of Yan Mingyue and the rest. At this time, they needed all the help they could get to eradicate their foes.
As for the distribution of the spoils of war, that had to be built on the premise that they won the battle. After they had won, it did not matter if they fought amongst themselves of what, but if they lost, then it would be a complete joke.
At this point, the entire world trembled.
Lin Feng was shocked, "Indeed, the Cloud Forest World trembled."
He looked carefully and realized that white light began emerging from the branches of the Cloud Forest Trees before him. The dozens of Cloud Forest Trees, whose canopy enveloped the heavens, were all glowing white.
Then, he noticed that the sky and earth before him appeared to be covered in a thick layer of white light. The light appeared slightly faded, but it was infinite. It wrapped around the Cloud Forest World.
Yan Mingyue and the rest who sought to communicate with the cultivators in the Divine Lands to form a space path found that they were blocked by this white light.
Under the cover of the white light, the dozens of branches and leaves of the Cloud Forest Trees appeared to have melted into pure light. They turned into bright, flashing pillars of light as they grew ceaselessly in size into all directions.
The entire Cloud Forest World, a Middle World unto itself, appeared to have turned into a world of trees. The red plains had disappeared almost completely and one could only see giant glowing trees.
Underneath their leafy canopies, the trunks, roots and branches of these trees expanded downwards and appeared to have penetrated deep into the void. The ground was gone and replaced by a few, extremely thick barks. At their bottom-most extremities, it was similar to dozens of thick, interconnected pillars of light that came together as if they were from the same source.
Everyone's face changed slightly. Shi Zongyue said suddenly, "The Qiong Qi could not possess such power. Even if he used the powers of dozens of Cloud Forest Trees, he would not have been able to do it. This was akin to using the entire world as one's avatar."
The cultivators from the Divine Lands too realized that something was amiss. They sought to break into the Cloud Forest World but were kept outside. The Space-Time Turbulence made it impossible for them to locate the Cloud Forest World.
Within the main pavilion of the Imperial Palace of Tianjing, the capital of the Great Zhou Empire, Liang Pan and Zhu Hongwu looked at the gradually disappearing entrance of the space path. Their faces were solemn. The Zhou Emperor, Liang Pan, sighed and said, "It appears that the combined might of Mount Shu, the Great Void Sect, the Great Qin Empire and us were unable to break through the barrier. I could feel that the three Immortal Soul stage cultivators who went first would be defeated there too."
Zhu Hongwu said slowly, "Whoever it was, he used the powers of an entire Middle World to produce such a powerful suppressive force to achieve such a result."
Liang Pan nodded his head, "Correct, however, the Grand Sage of the Qiong Qi is unable to pull something like this off."
Zhu Hongwu then said, "Your Majesty is right. Only with a Third Level Immortal Soul or a Third Level Undying Demon Soul, along with the help of special spells, could one pull this off."
He squeezed his hands as if he sought to control all creations. He said quietly, "However, if Your Majesty wishes it, it is not impossible to break through the barrier and head over. If Your Majesty wishes it, I will head over right now."
The Zhou Emperor Liang Pan shook his head slowly and said, "Don't be hasty, Hongwu. Now is not the time."
While he said that, the sovereign of an entire country still looked slightly uneasy as he sat on the dragon seat.
Not only were they uncomfortable, many people from the Great Void Sect, the Mount Shu Sword Sect and the Great Qin Empire too were uneasy.
What they minded most was the fact that events were no longer in their control. Over in the Cloud Forest World, it appeared to be a trap.
Yan Mingyue, Shi Zongyue, the Guanchong Swordmaster and the Stellar Holy Man were all trapped there.
Within the Cloud Forest World, Lin Feng's expression was neutral as he looked at the scene before him. He thought, "Other than Qiong Qi, could there be another demon here that is much more powerful than the Qiong Qi?"
A supremely powerful demon with a Third Level Undying Demon Soul!
"Could it be one of the Ten Demonic Saints? The Grand Sage of the Qiong Qi, who possessed a murderous weapon in the form of the Nine Luminaries Heaven-Crushing Formation, could willingly submit to someone else?" Lin Feng exhaled and continued, "Furthermore, could it be that another demon tribe had made their way into the Cloud Forest World and subdued the Qiong Qi Demon Tribe?"
At this point, Yan Mingyue communicated to Lin Feng, "Something unexpected happened. Someone used a formation spell to manipulate the consciousness of the entire Middle World and cut us off."
"With the suppressive powers of the Middle World, it would be difficult even for a cultivator with a Third Level Immortal Soul to break into it. Hence, there has to be a Third Level Undying Demon Soul demon here. The situation is extremely dangerous and we must re-group immediately to tide over this problem."
"To unify and manipulate the consciousness of an entire world is taxing, even if he possessed a Third Level Undying Demon Soul. He would be unable to maintain it for long and after a while, the way to the Cloud Forest World would be clear again. Until the barrier is eliminated, we have to try our best and survive this period."
The Guanchong Swordmaster, who had not said anything till now, finally said, "The opponent will not waste time. Other than maintaining the seal over this world, he will attempt to kill us all."
Yan Mingyue said, "Exactly. The situation is uncertain, but the enemies will not just consist of the three powerful Qiong Qis. Expect other more powerful enemies."
Shi Zongyue grunted, "Together we stand, divided we fall. We need to re-group and then make our subsequent plans."
Lin Feng said slowly, "The opponent will surely possess other methods, particularly after everyone he anticipated has arrived."
The other Immortal Soul stage cultivators fell silent and then nodded their heads, "Correct, we must pay attention."
Breaking off their connections, Lin Feng dashed into the glowing white canopy. Suddenly, he felt a tug in his heart. He stopped and turned to look.