Chapter 342: The Mysterious Master Shows Up, and Has Some Other Plans
Translator: Novel Saga Editor: Novel Saga
The Snake King felt very guilty. She looked at everyone with an expression of regret. In fact, her expression was almost that of shame…
"Search everything carefully! Check every blade of grass, and every tree’s nook! Do it even if it seems like a waste of time!" Long Crane raised his hand as he issued this command. His voice was stern, and his eyebrows were raised as if he was in a murderous mood, "There are eight of us here. So, we’ll each be responsible for one particular direction. We must pay attention to each other’s actions, and co-ordinate accordingly. The beasts of level nine and above must prepare themselves for a fight. We mustn’t allow that man to escape if he’s present here. Be warned that this man is extremely capable and skilled. So, anyone who discovers anything unusual must first issue a warning signal!"
The Xuan Beast Kings agreed in response. They had crazed expressions in their eyes. They had been waiting for the Tian Fa’s Scared Fruit for hundreds of years. And, it had been stolen just like that…? Who here wouldn’t be mad?
The Xuan Beast Kings were on the verge of setting into action…
When suddenly…
An extremely terrifying and earth-shattering pressure descended from the heavens with a loud "Bang!". It seemed as if the nine heavens had exerted their pressure on Tian Fa from the sky above. In fact, this pressure pressed so heavily on their heads… that one could reach out with their hand, and touch the heavens if they were close by!
This power was immense, magnificent and formidable. It felt like a lofty mountain had descended down upon them. Big Bear and the other Xuan Beast Kings felt that they couldn’t ever resist such a thing. In fact, this feeling had arisen from the bottom of their hearts. Therefore, they couldn’t help turning pale with fear and shock.
The Xuan Beast Kings’ cultivation still fared decent against this pressure. However, the beasts below their cultivation level slunk down on the ground in one movement. They then neatly lowered their heads to the ground, and didn’t dare to make any movements! The Level Nine Xuan Beasts could barely stand on their feet. However, their bodies — including their legs — trembled. And, it was evident that they didn’t have any fighting spirit left in them.
This scene was similar to one when an ordinary person would come face-to-face with a lofty God. This Great God could easily manipulate that person’s life in the palm of his hand once he had appeared. So, the said-person had submitted to him, and had allowed the God to amuse himself to his desire…
Perhaps that said-person was marvelous, and might even be a royal by blood. And, perhaps he possessed overwhelming and superhuman power, and could control many people in his territory. But, it didn’t matter how frightening… or marvelous… or grand he was! He would still be an ordinary mortal in front of this lofty God! Therefore, the difference between them would be such… that he would never be able to resist the God’s influence!
The eight Xuan Beast Kings felt the same thing in their hearts. [The entirety of Tian Fa’s strength won’t be able to retrieve the Sacred Fruit if this person has taken it!]
No one had heard this person’s voice. Nor had anyone seen this individual as of yet… However, this thought had already crossed the minds of every Xuan Beast King…
[This man seems to be more frightening than the heavens! He’s like a God! We will die if we are rash enough to challenge him!]
The eight Xuan Beast Kings struggled, and raised their heads to look into the air. However, only they had the courage to do so…
A black figure was suspended in the air. He was clothed in black. His face… and even his feet were covered with a black cloth. However, he appeared as steady as a formidable mountain as he hovered midair. It was night time, and the man was completely garbed in black. But, it still seemed like an extremely bright sun had set forth its unending rays! This figure seemed so dazzling that one simply couldn’t look at it directly!
It was only Long Crane and Big Bear who felt a familiar feeling in their hearts…
[Is it him?]
"That fruit was mine. So, I have taken it," the mysterious man announced in an elderly, sonorous, and clear voice. The tenor of his voice was enough to tell of the undeniable authority he possessed. One could discern from his voice that he thought in the following manner; [this is my world. And so, I will take whatever I so desire. This is the natural course of things.]
However, the mysterious person also explained his words, "Because this heavenly material will be too great a waste in your hands." He then let out a mournful sigh, and this sorrowful sigh lasted for ages. Then, he said, "The mere wastage of this material wouldn’t have been an issue on its own. The eight of you are at an advance stage, but none of you can safely consume this spiritual fruit’s essence and efficacy. I fear that each one of you will explode and die if you do go ahead, and try to absorb its efficacy. There will be no exceptions to this outcome!"
Then, he snorted in a dignified and cold manner, "It would be reckless for anyone to try and take this fruit with such a low cultivation. Such an individual must’ve become tired of living by then. So, such an individual might as well take a knife to his throat, and slash it if they don’t wish to live-on. But, why should such a worthwhile spiritual treasure be wasted?"
The eight Xuan Beast Kings looked at each other in dismay after they listened to those words. There were many wild and untamed hearts present amongst them. They knew that the opposite party’s strength was a mystery, and they wouldn’t be able to match him. However, they also knew the benefits of the Sacred Fruit. So, how could they be convinced of that one-sided story? Therefore, a bewildered clamor rose in response…
This was especially true for the Snake King. Her beautiful eyes were shooting flames, and her fists were clenched. It seemed that she was about set into action…
"Sire… did we have the pleasure of meeting you in the Tian Xiang City as well?" Long Crane waved his hand to suppress the rising revolts from his younger siblings as he asked his question in a very cautious tone. He seemed rather uncertain, and couldn’t help but wonder, [this feeling is very familiar. But, this person is still giving a very different feeling. It feels that this person is far superior to the one we brothers met in Tian Xiang City. In fact, he seems far more powerful!]
Big Bear had the same apprehensions. The two brothers had somewhat realized who this individual was, but they weren’t fully convinced yet…
[Could it be that the mysterious and masked person was able to make such a tremendous breakthrough in just two months? This is a very frightening speed of progress! Isn’t this just too freakish?]
However, they were completely unaware that Jun Mo Xie had only revealed a small subset of his real ability when they had met in the Tian Xiang City. In other words, he had only set-off a small portion of the Hong Jun Pagoda’s real aura field. However, his ability and control had increased since then. Moreover, this object was far more precious. Therefore, he’d need to create a stronger and overwhelming deterrent effect if he wanted to win this fruit over. Thus, the Young Master Jun hadn’t held back one bit, and had unleashed the Hong Jun Pagoda’s aura field to the maximum potential he could achieve at his current level of strength!
The end-result wasn’t very different in this case either. However, there was still a world of difference in the force he had mobilized. How could these two instances be mentioned in the same breath…?
Jun Mo Xie had showed himself for two reasons. The first was to follow his original plan. The second was the extremely distraught appearance of the Xuan Beast Kings he had gotten to see; he couldn’t bear that sight. After all, how many of them must’ve cultivated this plant for hundreds of years? He couldn’t fathom the effort and the labor which had gone into growing it. [How many generations were spent to successfully bring this plant to fruition?]
[Would it be fitting if I were to take it for myself? I should only take a small part of it. Perhaps half of it…] Jun Mo Xie had a clear conscience in this regard. However, he wasn’t going to act despicable when it came to the other half of it. Jun Mo Xie wasn’t going to allow the generations’ worth of hard work of those beasts, and the labors of millions go to waste…
These straightforward Xuan Beasts were much better and amiable than humanity in Jun Mo Xie’s eyes. Therefore, he would obviously wish to help them if he could. [How can I just look on as these high-level beasts explode to their deaths?]
[It doesn’t matter what happens to my future plans or the other goals I have… It’ll be a huge pity if these beasts die. It doesn’t matter if I use them or not. I will do this for good karma, and because this is the right thing to do… even if I don’t use these guys in the future.]
It was important to note that every person wanted to meet such a master, but couldn’t. Therefore, it was obviously important to illustrate this situation in an ideal manner. And, this pretense was an optimal means to do so.
"Long Crane, Big Bear… hehe… your acts have genuinely surprised this Old Man!" Jun Mo Xie sighed like an old and decrepit man, "This Old Man didn’t wish to involve himself in dealing with a matter as trivial as the Xue Hun Manor. So, I gave it to the two of you… he he… it was such a simple task. However, engaging the two of you has turned into a ‘Xuan Beast Uprising’ beyond all expectations; this is quite unreasonable. But, the issue still remains unresolved. Moreover, half of the world’s Xuan experts have gathered here…"
"This is your business, and this Old Man has no relation with it. It had to happen, and so it happened. But, this Old Man is quite curious. When did Tian Fa’s strength become so weak? This Old Man remembers that we had agreed upon a deadline. It was one month, wasn’t it? Since when did one month become seventy days long in Tian Fa?"
"It really is you, Old Sire…" Long Crane and Big Bear recognized him, and burst out together. They suddenly breathed easy. But, they were also flushed with anger and shame. Their faces were hot with embarrassment. In fact, they would dig a hole and hide in it if they could…
[This is very embarrassing! This person hasn’t given us any room to save our reputation in the public…]
And, as for the reasons for breathing easy…
It was rather simple. [How could such a mysterious and capable master steal something like a common thief? He presumably has some deeper reasons that we can’t understand. In any case, we are certain that we won’t suffer any disadvantages in this matter…]
They knew that this mysterious master was accustomed to using such methods in every encounter. They knew that his man practiced his forte of lies and deceit with an "unscrupulous, shameless, and faithless" policy at will. He would break things, hit things and what not… he would take advantage of a situation for personal gain with ease. In fact, this man’s mastery in this art was so profound that it almost came to him naturally…
And, they had guessed this right. One would rarely find any trace of conscience in the Young Master Jun…
"We’re ashamed, Esteemed Sire. But, you mustn’t blame us brother for this. We genuinely went over to that Xue Hun Manor. But, Li Jue Tian isn’t a good man. And, he has united half the continent’s Xuan experts against us. So, we were left without any other option. And, we then organized this uprising with the entirety of Tian Fa’s strength. In fact, we discounted any cost or effort we may incur to complete your task. We made you a promise. So, we have decided that we would accomplish this goal even if it was very difficult. After all, the Esteemed Individual has given us a task. So, we’ve been going ‘all-out’ to finish it."
Long Crane looked at him, and hurriedly explained in his defense.
The true meaning behind his words was rather obvious — [we’ve gathered such a huge force here. And, we’ve done it just for your task. How can you disregard that? You mustn’t side with the humans to deal with us now. You can’t act against us now. We did all this for your task, and assembled such a large force to complete it. We’ve made so many efforts for you alone. But, you are such a unique and exceptional individual… so, we can’t say this openly. However, we feel hurt…]
"Ah… the reason why I had given that task to the two of you is because my identity is too important to deal with the Xue Hun Manor. Wouldn’t it be too excessive for Li Jue Tian’s status if I went and bullied them myself? Was this not clear to the two of you until now? The two of you knew enough to gather such a large force, but you still hadn’t realized something this elementary about my assignment?"
Jun Mo Xie’s belly had started to cramp. But, his tone was still steady and stable. Though, it conveyed an meaning of regret…