Chapter 204 - Beast Wisdom
“This is ridiculous! The Ye’s will become the strongest family in the region very soon with these treasures!” Images of nine locations flashed inside Ye Wei’s head, followed by the image of a precise runic array design. Ye Wei quickly realized that it was a selective translocation array.
Before his death, Supreme Ye Yu had predicted where the nine treasures would sp.a.w.n and had placed the arrays to transport the more powerful artifacts from the nine sp.a.w.ns to the tenth location. A location that was chosen by him, protected by ten drops of his own blood.
‘Supreme Ye Yu had created a runic vault…’ Ye Wei thought to himself in shock. ‘The other nine spots are insignificant if the array has functioned as intended!’
Having been prepared to give up all the marks, which had left him with no hopes for gaining anything but peace for the city, Ye Wei was startled by what he had just discovered.
“How hilarious would it be if they killed each other for the mediocre treasure left by the arrays. Ha.” Ye Wei imagined the conflicts outside caused by the nine surfacing sacred marks, chuckled, then muttered to himself.
With Helian Jieyuan as a guardian, Ye Wei was not at all worried about the Drakehead location being exposed. The young Runemaster had to gain experience and find inspiration by roaming the outside world; staying in the Drakehead would not help him figure out how to transform his cultivation base to the returned prime stage.
“This is great! Once I manage to break through, I will come back to consolidate my cultivation.” Ye Wei closed his eyes and planned the near future in his head. ‘I will tell Grandpa about the Drakehead when I become strong enough and when the family has control over the treasures and artifacts...’
After carefully putting the mark away, Ye Wei decided to continue studying the Eternal Star stance. He wanted to stay close to Green Moon City while the storm and battles for the rights to the sacred marks raged on.
‘I will prepare myself!’ The young Runemaster glanced across the hall and saw Helian Jieyuan cultivating. He went over and sat down next to the sage-like old man. Both of them were still as statues, the occasional sound of crushing current was the only sound.
The pillar-shaped will-force reached the stars and drew energy from the constellations back down to Ye Wei. Inside a globe of twinkling cosmic energy, he began to interpret the second runic pattern.
***
While Ye Wei was focused on cultivating at the Supreme Yu palace, the Skeleton Demon King’s army, Quadwing Barren Beast’s horde, and the Huyan’s forces were shedding each other to pieces, viciously fighting for the marks.
The home to ancient trees and historical rivers was ravaged by the fire of war. Skirmishes between the powerful forces turned woods into deserts, many of the North Barren Mountain’s magnificent peaks were flattened into small deserts.
Out of the nine marks, four were obtained by the Skeleton Demon King, two by the Quadwing Barren Beast and another two by the Huyan’s. All three forces traced the last mark to a lake three hundred miles north of the bay area.
“Bones, you’ve gotten four already, don’t you think you are a bit greedy?! Get out of the way!” Huyan Haoze, the royal family’s young seven star returned prime Warrior was outraged by his inferiors’ incompetent, which he thought was the reason why he only got his hands on two marks. ‘If the family sent stronger men to fight by my side, you all will be dead.’
“Swoosh!”
A jade colored fire-blade drew a line in the sky and flew right at the Demon King’s right hand where he held the marks.
“The North Barren Mountains is my territory, both of you need to show some d.a.m.n respect!” The leader of the beast said as his four wings flapped in quick succession. His body was immediately sped up by the thrust, his twenty-feet-long claws pointed right at the seven-star returned prime Warrior.
The blood stains on the beast claws were set aflame by the speed it traveled, the scent of rusty iron filled the air when the paw struck onto the fire-blade, and hundreds of shock-waves rippled outwards from the point of impact.
“Stop that winged abomination!” Huyan Haoze commanded, going on to confront the Skeleton Demon King. Three of the royal family’s elders, who were exchanging blows with other demons and beasts, knocked their opponents back and leaped towards the beast’s head.
“The last mark is ours you filthy animal!” They empowered their bodies with Qi, glowing golden and fell at the beast like comets.
On top of a towering peak just a few miles away from the battleground, a sleek-figured girl sat quietly spectating the brawl. She was calmly still, while her cyan dress and violet hair flowed in the pungent wind.
“Your highness, are you sure we should leave the mark be?” The silver-haired old man energetically darted his eyes around to keep up with the fights, turned, and asked in an urgent pace, slightly nervous.
“The Dragon ridge was left behind by a Ye, so it belongs to the Ye’s.” Lin Ziyan stood up slowly and said emotionlessly. Her delicate facial features made the battlefield seem more vile than it already was.
She did consider retrieving a couple of marks for Ye Wei but realized it will do more harm than good, considering the Ye family’s current state of affairs.
The old man reluctantly looked at the mark that was being contested for, moaned, and asked: “If we are not here for the mark, why did you bring us here at all?”
“I just needed some fresh air, and my feet led me here.” Her lips curled up to a natural, bittersweet smile as her memories brought her back to the moment when she had first cast her eyes onto the boy that slept through her lecture.
“Miss, I don’t wish to be minding your business, but you will be heading to the Rain Sect soon. You should cut all ties with people from your past. You are going to be in a different world.” He sighed and frowned, understanding Lin Ziyan’s sentiment, but he said what he thought had to be said.
“I know.” She cleared her throat and closed her eyes, her voice clear and sweet as a bell but slightly shaky.
Lin Ziyan knew better than anyone else about her own future, but it only made her realize that, once she has left, she might not be able to see Ye Wei ever again.
“You told me you wanted to relax outside before you head off, and that was three years ago. And you have been wandering around since!” The old man sighed again. “I don’t understand why you picked this kid, miss. You’ve met so many outstanding boys in your life, but you shut them all down…”
“Senior Qin, that’s enough,” Lin Ziyan bit her lips and interrupted, “I will get going once the brawl is over.”
“So you are not going to say goodbye to him?”
“No, it’s fine.” Lin Ziyan shivered and shook her head, deciding that seeing the end of the battle was enough. ‘He and his family should be safe when these fights end...’
A loud laugh from afar caught her attention.
“Hahahaha! Huyan Haoze, who did you think you were? Your cousin Beiyan?” The Demon King held tightly onto the ninth mark, “Have you seen how pasty your face is? I haven’t even used half of my strength!”
The Skeleton Demon King had the strength of an eight-star returned prime Warrior, came from the bloodline of a Demon Emperor, and completely outcla.s.sed the human squad’s leader.
“Don’t speak of his name with your filthy mouth! He could have beaten you with just one finger if he was here!” Huyan Haoze was ugly in defeat, extremely displeased to only have gotten two out of nine marks. He enviously gritted his teeth, realizing he had no way of competing.
‘This is okay, I can use the Lu’s reports to locate the Drakehead while they go for the treasures…’ The young seven-star returned prime Warrior thought to himself, ‘it will make up for everything!’
For most cultivators, training at the Drakehead speeds up cultivating speed by more than fifty times normal. its value was no less than the nine treasures put together.
“I will get you another time when my cousin is around!” Huyan Haoze shouted and signaled his men to withdraw.
The Skeleton Demon King and the Quadwing Barren Beast knew that they could win a fight against the human squad but were never able to wipe them out completely from the past few days of constant fighting. They began a telepathic talk right in front of the returned prime Warriors.
“Ha! You can go if you want!” The Skeleton Demon King gazed at the royal squad; his eyes had a sinister glow, his pupils as red as blood. ‘I know they will be searching for the Drakehead, so, as it is useless for you and I, I will destroy it!’
‘Humans are annoying as they are, we don’t need them to get stronger.’ The Demon King chuckled and spoke to the beast’s mind. ‘He and his silly family have no authority over us!’
‘Wait, Bones. We don’t know where the Drakehead is, how are we supposed to destroy it?’ The Quadwing Barren Beast moved its colossal head, stirring up a storm as it shrugged.
“You can send a couple of your dogs to tail these humans.” The Demon King muttered to himself, sighed, and rolled his eyes.
“Smart! We will just wait for them to show us the way huh!?” The leader of the beast found the idea amusing, chuckling until he ran out of breath.
‘This idiot, how did he even grow that big? Did he grow up with men and other beasts dropping dead in front of him?’ The Demon King frowned, ‘I should have listened to dad. I’d rather work with humans than these beasts if it wasn’t for their stupid righteousness and self-justifying att.i.tude…’