Chapter 732: A Sudden Change Of Events
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
Even the Sea Dragon King was slightly unhappy with the outrageousness of the Marquis of Jinghuan.
However, the battle prowess that he displayed was truly petrifying. If Xiao Zhener with two magic treasures in hand was enough for the Sea Dragon King to take her seriously, then the rich background of the Marquis of Jinghuan was even more of a problem for the Sea Dragon King even though he was already in the Undying Demonic Soul Stage.
The overall power of the God-Slayer Puppet was not yet at the Immortal Soul Stage, but based on pure physical strength alone the God-Slayer Puppet rivaled immortal soul stage cultivators.
A Metaplasia-level magic treasure – the Immortal Royal Flag.
A Gestation-level magic treasure – the Great Ice Moonlight Ruler.
In addition to the fact that the Marquis of Jinghuan himself was already at the pinnacle of the nascent soul advanced stage, was adept in the Martial Way and had experienced countless battles in his lifetime, his real battle prowess was not something typical nascent soul advanced stage cultivators could match. Even though he could not channel the maximum powers of the Immortal Royal Flag and the Great Ice Moonlight Ruler, the power he wielded was spectacular and impressive enough.
With such a rich and privileged background, even if he was faced with immortal soul stage cultivators, the situation would be something like a tiger hunting down a porcupine – there was just no way they could assault him.
It was still quite a challenge for the Marquis of Jinghuan to defeat and kill an immortal soul stage cultivator. However, most first-level immortal soul stage cultivators could not do anything to him either.
This was the result of his misplacement of the Ancient Royal Sword inside the Void Battleground. If not, with yet another Gestation-Level magic treasure in his possession, Xiao Zhener and the others would truly be speechless about his unbelievably good fortune.
The Marquis of Jinghuan glanced at the Ancient Royal Sword in Xiao Zhener’s hands and grunted. "To the Ancient Royal Sword: You ended up in the hands of the Celestial Sect of Wonders not too long ago, and I will not fault you for submitting to them. However, you will return to me soon enough."
The Ancient Royal Sword trembled a little and a thick middle-aged male voice came out from within. "Both are nascent soul stage cultivators, but I would rather have Xiao Zhener as my master."
The Marquis of Jinghuan brushed aside the Sword’s statement with a laugh. "You will still have a chance to change your mind before I ascend to the immortal soul stage. It doesn’t matter if you regret after I reach the immortal soul stage as you will cease to be of importance to me then."
He turned towards Xiao Zhener. "In truth, you being in the hands of the little beauty is nothing much. She has ties to the Emperor of the Ancients. Back then, I wanted to take her in as a mistress, and if she accepted my request I would have given you to her as dowry anyway."
"As fate would have it, you ended up in her hands anyway. However, I am still without a wife and if she is willing to marry me, I have a host of other magic treasures beyond just the Ancient Royal Sword."
The Marquis of Jinghuan laughed as he continued, "I do not allow the other normal girls that I accept under my wing to see outsiders, but Xiao Zhener will be different. If I am married to such a talented prodigy, you will be my confidante and we shall explore and develop the future side by side."
Xiao Zhener did not pay any attention to Liang An’s words. She looked down at the Ancient Royal Sword and whispered, "Sorry for all the trouble that you had to go through. You must be rather glad that the Celestial Sect of Wonders managed to help you out of your predicament."
The Ancient Royal Sword buzzed in response but said nothing else. The emotions that it just put on display was enough to answer Xiao Zhener.
Xiao Yan guffawed at Liang An’s outrageousness. He shot a mocking look at the Marquis of Jinghuan and said, "Liang An, you may have a lot of treasures, but you don’t have to keep thinking about the things that you can’t get. Today, you get to choose – which treasures are you prepared to leave behind? Do put some thought into it."
Fire seemed to flicker in the deepest recesses of his pupils. It was quite unlike the fiery look that Xiao Yan typically possessed. Within every pupil, five sparks of flame seemed to be purposefully placed according to the positions of the compass and were jumping around.
"Ignorant little child." The Marquis of Jinghuan chuckled. Frighteningly explosive auras began to exude from his body as clear light rippled over his head. A beam of air shot up into the sky like the beacons used in ancient armies.
An image resembling a vast army with a force so formidable that the Earth shook seemed to appear from within the beam of air. It was as if the willpowers of millions of soldiers were injected into the beacon.
The group of cultivators behind him all had furious looks in their eyes as they channeled the power of the Immortal Royal Flag and black light began to surround Xiao Yan and company.
The Sea Dragon King was also preparing to engage in battle. The Ancient Lightning Jade Earring flickered over her head as she gripped the Ancient Royal Sword tightly in her hands. She stood calmly beside Xiao Yan as Yang Qing, the Kui Cow King and the Spiritual Horse King prepared to fight.
At face value, it was not an optimistic setup for the Celestial Sect of Wonders. Xiao Yan was paired with the Marquis of Jinghuan and Xiao Zhener was to battle the Sea Dragon King. Battles could not be resolved within a short period of time, and even if the outcomes of these battles were temporarily ignored, Yang Qing and the others would have a hard time dealing with the Immortal Royal Flag.
Even if there was nobody channeling the power of this particular magic treasure, a small part of its power was already extremely formidable.
Xiao Yan appeared to be arguing with the Marquis of Jinghuan on the surface, but he was analyzing the critical points of the situation at the same time. He quickly thought of the counter-play, "If both Zhener and I can dispatch our adversaries quickly enough, we can face the Immortal Royal Flag together."
"We are on top of the ocean. Even though the Ying Sea is sinister and unpredictable, the Sea Dragon King still holds some form of geographical advantage. It’s quite difficult for Zhener to emerge victorious against him – that means the crux of the situation will be my battle. Even if I can’t defeat him quickly enough, it may force Liang An to use the Immortal Royal Flag to protect himself."
In truth, what made Xiao Yan more anxious was the golden light from the mirror that Liang An shone on him previously. It was not an abhijna – rather, it came from some exotic treasure that the Marquis of Jinghuan chose to remain hidden even now.
As he was contemplating his options, a crisp female voice rang out from beyond the horizon. "Falling Waves Sea Dragon, you are now a Sea Dragon King with an undying demonic soul. Battling a human cultivator that has yet to attain the immortal soul stage may be a little unsuitable for your status and even mildly embarrassing."
The thick white mist trembled a little but did not dissipate. Everybody present could feel that there was a powerful consciousness watching them from within.
As they heard this voice, be it Xiao Yan’s camp or the Marquis of Jinghuan’s, everybody was stunned.
"Yan Mingyue of the Great Void Sect?"
There was nothing too different about the cloudy mist. It formed the face of an individual – and it looked just like Yan Mingyue.
She had directly locked in on the Sea Dragon King with her mana from the very beginning. The Sea Dragon King, who was originally committed to watching the battle from the sidelines, grunted once as his expression changed a little and was just about to dive back into the sea when Yan Mingyue interrupted with a faint smile. "Don’t be so hasty. The ensuring battle is between two of the most powerful individuals of the younger generation, and it shall be spectacular. You and I can bear witness."
The Falling Waves Dragon King stopped abruptly in his tracks and the look on his face was ugly. Yan Mingyue’s tone was casual, and she was hidden within the cloudy mists yet seemed omnipresent. Her consciousness was dead-trained upon him and her hostility was conspicuous. If the Falling Waves Dragon King wanted to tuck tail and run, Yan Mingyue’s subsequent assault would come crashing down on him with a force so great that he would not be able to handle her and may even result in his own death.
The Falling Waves Dragon King was already in the Undying Demonic Soul stage and his spiritual powers were developed. He could faintly feel that the sea beneath him – originally his paradise – was suddenly a lot more dangerous and insidious.
He was extremely suspicious that Yan Mingyue’s original body was waiting for him below the ocean’s surface.
His speed under the water was unrivaled and he was confident that he could shake off Yan Mingyue. However, if Yan Mingyue was waiting for him right under the surface, she would be able to launch her assault the moment he entered the water before he could even attempt to swim away.
The Falling Waves Dragon grunted coldly again and said, "Then I shall see how powerful the ‘talented’ youngsters of the generation actually are."
Yan Mingyue’s laughter resonated through the clouds. "Just wait and see."
The sudden change in events stunned both Xiao Yan and the Marquis of Jinghuan momentarily. Yan Mingyue’s actions were clearly to the benefit of the Celestial Sect of Wonders.
The smile on the Marquis of Jinghuan’s face disappeared and an ice-cold look shot out of his eyes. "Quite a pity – I have always been thinking of speaking to you after I ascend to the immortal soul stage."
Yan Mingyue smiled faintly and said, "You and I can’t really hit it off anyway. What’s the point?"
"You are so conservative. The last time I spoke with Long Ye, her answer seemed to suggest that she will never let me have a chance to ascend to the immortal soul stage in my entire lifetime," the Marquis of Jinghuan was not too troubled but looked up at the sky as he laughed. "It’s a pity that she was unable to do so by herself."
"I unintentionally entered a tiny world elsewhere because I had to engage in battle with her. It was an unexpected opportunity which gave me the Great Ice Moonlight Ruler."
The Marquis of Jinghuan shook his head as he laughed even louder. "I am perfectly fine with it if you wish to sit back and watch the fight."
He turned to look at Xiao Yan and smiled, "Alright. Even though the circumstances have changed a lot, the outcome will still be the same."
He tapped the God-Slayer Puppet and the giant body of flesh let out a blood-curdling howl and shot up into the void. It transformed into a straight black line as it lunged towards Xiao Yan. The black line left traces in the sky, as if the sky scarred in its wake.
Xiao Yan glanced at Yan Mingyue’s face in the clouds but said nothing more. The Grand Sun Primordial Fire transformed into the form of the Blood Red Sparrow behind him and it extended its wings as he dodged the lunging attack from the God-Slayer Puppet.
At the same time, Xiao Zhener, Yang Qing and the others locked into battle with the company of the Marquis of Jinghuan, and a chaotic battle ensued.
The Immortal Royal Flag swayed in the wind as black light permeated the skies and eclipsed the sun. The great army within the black light howled hysterically as a concept of bloody power expanded outwards.
However, with Yan Mingyue holding back the Falling Waves Dragon King, Xiao Zhener was free to help out the rest of her company. The Ancient Lightning Jade Earring exploded with sharp silver lightning and clashed directly with the array set up by the black light from the Immortal Royal Flag.
The Ancient Royal Sword flickered with golden radiance and slashed open the various layers of black light.
The two different magic treasures were both of a surprisingly aggressive and offensive quality. One was silver and the other was golden as both gestation-level magic treasures faced off the metaplasia-level magic treasure – the Immortal Royal Flag – with confidence and fearlessness.
On the other side, Xiao Yan began to display the true power of the form of the Blood Red Sparrow. His entire body transformed into a stream of flowing fire and surged around the layers of the void. The God-Slayer Puppet was ultimately just a blunt instrument comparatively slower to react. Even though its piercing speed was incredibly fast, it was unable to catch up.
The Marquis of Jinghuan was not too worried by what he saw. He started to channel the power of the Great Ice Moonlight Ruler and a ray of icy light shot up into the sky. It exuded a chilly and insidious quality that could be felt even from across the layers of cloudy mist. The sphere of icy light resembled the Moon in the sky as the world fell into silence and winter came over the earth in respect of this divine phenomenon.
Under the reflection of the Great Ice Moonlight Ruler, Xiao Yan began to feel the form of the Blood Red Sparrow that was transformed into by the Grand Sun Primordial Fire start to slow along with the flow of mana within his body. It was as if his entire body was being frozen in place.
The Marquis of Jinghuan chuckled and said, "That’s why I said, fate is on my side. You have offended me, so fate placed this Great Ice Moonlight Ruler in my hands to counter your primordial fires to facilitate your defeat in my hands."
"Others treat you like the great disciple of the Celestial Sect of Wonders and an up-and-coming prodigy of the younger generation, so you begin to think the same about yourself. But do you know what you are to me? You’re just a fat pig waiting to be slaughtered. I haven’t murdered you before only because I wanted to feed you till you’re even fatter than you are now before I take you to the slaughterhouse. All your treasures, your women and your primordial fires will belong to me!"