Chapter 49 - Do What is Possible
Outside the large array of swirling clouds, tens of thousands of cloud beasts danced in the air, investigating the array, some of them even excited. Tens of thousands of cultivators were no longer afraid of Gu Hai"s army. On the contrary, they were largely antic.i.p.atory.
The temptation of the Hundred Years Longevity Peach Tree was truly too big. Everyone"s eyes had a look saying that they could not wait to take the Hundred Years Longevity Peach Tree away, and yet that prodigal Gu Hai was actually thinking of destroying it?
Tens of thousands of cultivators had their eyes slowly turn red from staring constantly. Perhaps, perhaps, I will still have the opportunity to obtain a Hundred Years Longevity Peach when we rush together?
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Within the clouds array...
Chen Tianshan, Gao Xianzhi, and Little Rou watched Gu Hai together as he gently picked the remaining seven Saturn Peaches, and then placed six in jade boxes before storing them in the small s.p.a.ce of his token thereafter.
Looking at the last remaining Golden Peach, Gu Hai opened his mouth and ate it.
As expected, the Golden Saturn Peach melted immediately after entering his mouth, sending a pleasant feeling through every cell of his body.
Instantly, Gu Hai"s body shuddered as a dazzling glow bloomed from all over his body.
RUMBLE!
Suddenly, a large amount of Spirit Qi rushed straight towards Gu Hai from all around.
Chen Tianshan stared with wide eyes, his eyes flickering with ardent desire. That"s but one Hundred Years Longevity Peach! How will Throne Master be affected by eating it?
BOOM!
Suddenly a loud bang resounded inside Gu Hai"s body.
Once again, nine True Yuan beads combined into one.
"Fourth level of Xiantian Stage, huh!" Gu Hai"s eyes lit up.
A Golden Saturn Peach has actually allowed me to break through to fourth level!? Of course, there was another type of energy existing inside Gu Hai"s body, he could feel a sense of vitality from it. However, that was not important; having entered the fourth level of Xiantian Stage was already quite sufficient.
Gu Hai"s face bore a beaming smile.
Chen Tianshan, who was by the side, on the other hand, cried out in shock, "What? Throne Master has only broken through to fourth level of the Xiantian Stage?"
"En?" Gu Hai looked at Chen Tianshan, perplexed.
Chen Tianshan looked back at Gu Hai in confusion also. "How is that possible? That"s but a Hundred Years Longevity Peach, the most precious longevity treasure in the world. Just one can be exchanged for a mountain of spirit stones in the outside world, and yet Your Grace"s cultivation could only advance by this little bit?"
"This is a longevity herb, and not some spirit herb. Didn"t you say that a longevity herb would not necessarily help people in advancing their cultivation!" said the nearby Gao Xianzhi, shaking his head.
Chen Tianshan looked at Gu Hai, his eyes perplexed. "Throne Master, that"s a Hundred Years Longevity Peach! It"s just improved your cultivation by this little bit, it is really wasteful, exorbitant!?"
Previously, the three eaten by Little Rou could be accepted as it was for saving her life. But you cannot be so wasteful by using one just to advance a bit in the Xiantian Stage! No matter how many spirit stones you want, I will give you, just give me one, okay?
"Exorbitant? There is no such thing as extravagant as long as it can help me improve my cultivation; no matter how precious those treasures, they are nothing!" declared Gu Hai as he shook his head.
"Alright! It"s your Saturn Peaches, you can be capricious!" Chen Tianshan said resentfully.
"Throne master, more and more outsiders are gathering. Tens of thousands of cultivators are about to attack the array, what should we do? We may not be able to defend!?" said Gao Xianzhi, worried.
"My array is extremely unusual, therefore, I will have to ask you to help me take charge of it together and block them. It"s not that difficult!" replied Gu Hai, shaking his head.
"Four of us against tens of thousands of them?" exclaimed Chen Tianshan as a horrid look painted his face. Obviously, Chen Tianshan was somewhat reluctant.
In Chen Tianshan"s opinion, it was no different than serving up his head on a platter. They had the army, but the opposite side numbered far more than them. Wasn"t this simply courting death?
"Don"t worry, no matter what the outcome is, just try your best, okay? I will reward everyone with a Hundred Years Longevity Peach after the campaign!" said Gu Hai calmly.
"Yes, Your Grace!" Gao Xianzhi"s eyes shone brightly.
"Benefactor, there is no need to give me one, I have already eaten three!" Little Rou immediately shook her head.
"Really?" Chen Tianshan"s eyes turned bright immediately.
No matter what the result is, we can get a Hundred Years Longevity Peach as long as we do our utmost?
The horrid look on his face vanished immediately as Chen Tianshan said excitedly, "Rest a.s.sured, Your Grace, I will definitely spare no effort!"
Gu Hai nodded.
"Your Grace, if Wei Shengren has not appeared in the next ten days, are you really going to destroy the Hundred Years Longevity Peach Tree?" Gao Xianzhi looked at this tree with a frown, extending his arm to touch it.
BUZZ!
Gao Xianzhi"s figure quivered, he seemed to be in a trance.
SLAP!
Extending his hand, Gu Hai struck out, immediately bringing down Gao Xianzhi"s arm.
"What happened to me?" Gao Xianzhi"s expression became distorted. Chen Tianshan was also staring at the Hundred Years Longevity Peach Tree in astonishment.
"Do you still remember that jade disc in the Carefree Valley?" asked Gu Hai in a solemn tone.
"Oh? That so-called array diagram by Bodhisattva Lian Sheng, that jade disc from which we acquired the golden weiqi piece? At that time, we all entered a dreamland when we touched it, but it suddenly broke into pieces when Your Grace entered the dreamland last!?" asked Gao Xianzhi, confused.
Gu Hai nodded, "The same is true for this Hundred Years Longevity Peach Tree. If I had not interrupted you, you would have entered a dreamland, just like before!"
"Dreamland? What"s going on...?" exclaimed Chen Tianshan in surprise.
"I think this Hundred Years Longevity Peach Tree is just like that jade disc, a trick devised by Elder Guanqi. And surely nothing good would happen if you entered the dreamland!" Gu Hai explainedin a heavy voice.
"Oh?" Gao Xianzhi and Chen Tianshan"s countenances became distorted.
"I"m also not sure what had Elder Guanqi planned to do, but it should be nothing good to us. Although he has fallen, there are so many things he had left behind that are shrouded in secrets; he must have some kind of plan. This Hundred Years Longevity Peach Tree is important, even more so. It is holding an even bigger secret inside for sure. I felt it, but I could withdraw safely and did not get to the bottom of it. It"s not that I did not want to, but my current strength, status, and forces are too weak. I simply cannot afford to get involved in such horrifying cause and effect! As the matter stands, it"s better to not explore!" said Gu Hai, shaking his head.
"But...!" Gao Xianzhi knit his brows.
"There is no but, Gao Xianzhi, let me give you an important piece of advice: the most important thing for a person to do is to realize the things they can do; otherwise, your life and death will not be in your control if you try to do things beyond your range!" advised Gu Hai solemnly.
A look of reverence appeared on Gao Xianzhi"s face as he came to his senses immediately. He immediately nodded, "Yes, I will surely etch it in my mind! Thank you, Your Grace, for your guidance!"
Chen Tianshan, who was nearby, was, on the other hand, unable to understand a bit and looked at the two in a daze.
"Your Grace, it would be a pity to destroy this Hundred Years Longevity Peach Tree, right?" Chen Tianshan said regretfully.
"Pity? Oh, tell me, if I gave you a Hundred Years Longevity Peach Tree, can you take it with you?" asked Gu Hai, as a smile crept upon his lips.
"Uh? Gave it to me?" Chen Tianshan"s eyes twinkled.
"Are you sure you can leave Tianyuan Island alive?" asked Gu Hai, still smiling.
Chen Tianshan immediately came to his senses as his expression flickered, revealing a bitter smile as he said, "Your Grace has made this Lowly Servant realize that I was obsessed and had lost my head to this treasure!"
"Just as I said a moment ago, the most important thing for a person to do is to realize the things they can do. Although treasure is important, you have to also look whether you have the good fortune to be its master. If you don"t have the ability to protect it, then it"s not a treasure but a scourge, a scourge that will bring you death!" explained Gu Hai.
"Yes!" everyone nodded.
RUMBLE!
Suddenly, three mounted soldiers stepped out of the army. While the three cavalrymen were coming, their respective figures began to transform. Suddenly, pieces of armor began to appear on the cloud beast soldiers; they grew stronger and stronger, and a tremendous change also took place in the weapons in their hands.
"Zhao Zilong of Changshan has seen Your Majesty!" a cloud beast shouted immediately.[1]
"Gao Xianzhi, you will take charge of this cloud beast. It’s the form of a valiant general I have congealed from the array using my imagination, Zhao Zilong. He is good at using the long spear. The long spear will mow down everything, wherever it is pointed at!" Gu Hai introduced calmly.
"Yes!" accepted Gao Xianzhi.
Putting away his own golden piece, Gao Xianzhi stepped onto the head of Zhao Zilong, before his body gradually started sinking into the head of the Zhao Zilong cloud beast.
BOOM!
A fierce gale erupted from Zhao Zilong"s body as a ferocious aura spread in all directions.
"Guan Yunchang of Xie County has seen Your Majesty!" another cloud beast soldier suddenly shouted.[2]
"Chen Tianshan, you will take charge of this cloud beast. It’s the form of a valiant general I have congealed from the array using my imagination, Guan Yunchang. He is best at using the Green Dragon Crescent Blade[3]; his blade can sweep away everything in its path!" introduced Gu Hai patiently.
"Yes!" answered Chen Tianshan.
Having stepped onto the head of the Guan Yunchang cloud beast, Chen Tianshan"s body slowly sank into the cloud beast"s head.
BOOM!
Guan Yunchang touched his beard as an ominous aura broke out from his body, spreading in all directions.
"Your Grace, your cloud beast general is really imposing, he is also stronger than my giant bull!" exclaimed Chen Tianshan in happy astonishment.
Gu Hai didn’t pay attention to Chen Tianshan and looked at the last transformed cloud beast.
"Zhang Yide of Yan has seen Your Majesty!" the final transformed cloud beast shouted.[4]
"Little Rou, you will take charge of this cloud beast. Zhang Yide is a valiant general congealed out of my imagination with the array, he is good at the serpent spear and will sweep everything in his wake!" introduced Gu Hai calmly.
"Yes!" answered Little Rou excitedly.
At last, she could help her benefactor! Little Rou happily jumped onto the head of cloud beast Zhang Yide before her body plunged into its head.
BOOM!
As Little Rou controlled the serpent spear, it immediately obeyed her will. The moving serpent spear seemed no different than a giant snake dancing in the hands of Zhang Yide, very proficient, displaying an eager blood l.u.s.t.
"This is the 28x28 Heaven and Earth Great Array. I have divided it into four positions. Each of us four will take charge of a position, commanding the army, and be ready to meet the cultivators from all around. Remember, save for a last resort, try not to personally take action. Just command the army!" said Gu Hai solemnly.
"Yes!" answered the three in serious tones.
"Don"t worry, unless something happens, your three valiant general cloud beasts should not take any action. You three won"t have to attack until I am there!" a.s.sured Gu Hai, smiling.
"En!" the three nodded.
RUMBLE!
Thereafter, Gu Hai instructed the three on how to use the three valiant generals to command the troops. The three commanded the army excitedly. It was a satisfying and delightful feeling.
RUMBLE!
Thunderous rumbles echoed out from the clouds array. The furious cultivators all seemed to have reached their limit.
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On the ground, inside a mountain forest, Ninth Young Master looked at the sky with a cold expression. Standing behind him were a group of people dressed in black robes.
"Ninth Young Master, it"s about time. We have already aroused the desires of everyone according to your plans. As long as you give the command, our people mixed among the outsiders will immediately arouse their fighting intent, making them attack the array right away!" a black-robed man reported respectfully.
Narrowing his eyes, Ninth Young Master looked at the sky. "Gu Hai, indeed you have many cloud beasts, but that is just an army. But the outsiders are greater in number than you. Let"s see how your preparations are!
"Begin a full-scale attack!" ordered Ninth Young Master coldly.
Translator Notes:
[1] Zhao Zilong or Zhao Yun.
[2] Guan Yunchang or Guan Yu.
[3] Green Dragon Crescent Blade.
[4] Zhang Yide or Zhang Fei.