Chapter 954 – Can"t Believe It"s You
Could the Greater One Sect have completely abandoned this land of eight peaks and set up a new mountain gate somewhere else?
Ye Qingyu was inwardly doubtful.
As he walked through the Void and neared the eight Lotus Peaks, he could not understand this action of the Greater One Sect.
It must be known that the eight Lotus Peaks were not completely destroyed despite being heavily damaged during the Storm Sword Duel gathering. To find such a marvelous, paradise-like place within the Clear River Domain was probably very, very difficult. After all, this Greater One Mountain Range was a land of tens of thousands of kilometers, across which were gathered spirit veins that resembled eight dragons lying in hibernation underground. Such a terrain was not only rich in spiritual qi but also came with a kind of hidden luck which would hugely improve the destiny of the entire sect should it set up its mountain gate here and receive the love of this stretch of land.
For a very long time, the Greater One Sect"s dominance among the large sects and forces of the Clear River Domain had much to do with the luck of this mountain gate.
Others can only wish to obtain such a blessed land on which to set up their mountain gate. Why did the Greater One Sect abandon it?
Ye Qingyu gradually drew near.
He could feel with increasingly clarity that an extremely strange and evil aura was coming out from that ruined mountain gate.
He had not sensed this kind of power among the eight peaks during the process of the Storm Sword Duel gathering.
Could this be the reason the Greater One Sect abandoned this place?
After carefully sensing it further, he shook his head and denied his own idea.
This was because the strange and evil aura was merely indistinct and could not have altered the luck of the eight Lotus Peaks. He thus felt that there should be some other reason.
Suddenly…
Swis.h.!.+ Swish swis.h.!.+
Several beams of flowing light emerged from an unknown place and instantly traversed the world to form a killing array. Ye Qingyu was unable to react before he was trapped within it, before terrifying power bombarded him for a fleeting moment.
He was sent flying back and forth within the Void like a broken sack.
“Disperse!”
As he shouted, Divine Emperor sword will materialized all around him before bursting outward in an instant. Myriad beams of sword light obliterated all of the flowing light around him and caused streaks of blood to spill out of the air. Eighteen figures then appeared and fell onto the ground, having been slain by the Divine Emperor sword will and lost their vitality.
Huh?
Black Armor Warriors?
People from the Greater One Sect?
Ye Qingyu revealed a tinge of surprise as he stood in the Void, looking down at those fallen, dead figures.
These figures, who had been hiding in the Void and could not be detected by Ye Qingyu, were wearing the same battle armor as Miao Wuhen"s Black Armor Warriors, except that they were much stronger than those in the array.
At the same time, Ye Qingyu could vaguely sense that there were more Black Armor killers hiding in the Void all around him.
While remaining motionless in the Void, he spread his consciousness power outward.
Having suffered a huge blow earlier, his white top was covered in numerous marks and was left in tatters. The killing qi which suddenly erupted in the Void earlier was in fact too sudden for him to react at once, and he was thereby struck by it. Fortunately, his strength was comparable to that of a pinnacle Great Saint, and moreover, after suffering the first blow, he operated his yuan qi and hence only his clothes were torn, while his physical body was completely uninjured.
“What a strong secret technique of concealment. I was actually unable to detect...” He slowly kept his consciousness power back, feeling shocked.
Although those sneak-attackers were not really strong, their concealment technique was extremely brilliant.
However, it did not trouble Ye Qingyu much.
“[Void-Listening Technique]… listen!”
As soon as he thought this, his figure and aura altered slightly such that he gradually became translucent, as if melting. At first glance, he seemed to be blending into one with the Void. Layer upon layer of faint void waves diffused outward like ripples formed on a pond by a small stone.
Soon, these waves came into contact with something and were refracted, Ten meters ahead on the right side.
A beam of Divine Emperor sword will light instantly struck across.
Bam!
A dull thud was heard.
A beam of blood light spattered in the Void before the dead body of a Black Armor Warrior emerged and fell toward the ground, devoid of all vitality.
“The first one!”
A smile appeared on Ye Qingyu"s face.
He took a hundred steps forward in the Void.
The [Void-Listening Technique] was one of the FiendG.o.d techniques in the bronze book [FiendG.o.d t.i.tled Chart], and together with the [Void-Walking Technique] could be considered a superb pair of abilities. It was said to be the counter to all concealment techniques, and could hear all concealed figures in the Void. When cultivated to a masterly depth, even a fine speck of dust could be detected.
After Ye Qingyu listened for a period of time, all of the mysterious Black Armor Warriors hiding in the Void all around him were unable to get away.
Streaks of Divine Emperor sword will lit up the universe.
As dull thuds sounded in succession, slain Black Armor Warriors continually appeared in the Void and fell toward the ground.
They were not only wearing the same battle armor as Miao Wuhen"s array of Black Armor Warriors, but the faint power of darkness in their bodies was also completely similar. They apparently did not harbor good intentions, and, during this period of time, had put together several counter-offensive attempts to kill Ye Qingyu, who was however prepared enough to subdue them.
As Divine Emperor sword will worked up, a phantom of a one-hundred-meter primitive longsword appeared and shrouded Ye Qingyu within. From a distance, he seemed to have turned into a heaven-splitting longsword with sword will lingering around him boundlessly. This was yet another wonderful feature of the Divine Emperor sword will – it could render one"s body impenetrable.
Bam bam bam!
Cl.u.s.ters of blood flowers bloomed in the Void.
After a hundred breaths" worth of time.
By now, Ye Qingyu was less than a kilometer away from the eight Lotus Peaks of the Greater One Sect.
“Seems like they"ve all been slain. And even if there are survivors, they"ve already fled.” Ye Qingyu kept the [Void-Listening Technique] back, for he had detected no more lurkers in the Void. There was no longer anyone who dared to impede and attack him.
As fast as lightning, he approached the Greater One Eight Peaks.
Meanwhile.
More than fifty kilometers away.
Dozens of Black Armor Warriors gradually appeared from the Void, every one of them wearing a terribly horrified look on their face.
“Who"s this person? How did he actually break the killing and concealment techniques handed down by our master?”
“What should we do? We couldn"t get near to him at all, and couldn"t stop him from killing our companions one by one.”
“We must quickly report this to the emissary.”
“What should we do about that thing in the mountain gate?”
“It doesn"t matter. That thing is too strange and scary for even the emissary to subdue. Besides, after it evolves, this invader won"t be able to bring it away and might even be killed by it, powerful as he is. Let"s just imagine that it"s currently under refinement. When it has ripened, our master will naturally send men to collect it… We should go report the news to the envoy while leaving two people behind to observe the situation.”
After a period of discussion, the Black Armor Warriors split up and took action.
“There"s nothing and no one here. Everything here has been destroyed.”
Ye Qingyu let out a sigh as he set foot on the eight Lotus Peaks.
He had already screened through the eight peaks. Just as he had guessed, the mountain gate was already devoid of any other being, as if it had become a dead realm. Only green trees and weeds were growing frantically, such that many uncollapsed divine palaces and stone statues were covered by vegetation, giving the impression of an abandoned world.
All of these oddities were very likely to have something to do with a piece of stone.
The Storm Platform!
Ye Qingyu revealed a doubtful expression as he stood one hundred meters away from the Storm Platform.
The Storm Platform was once the most valuable treasure of the Greater One Sect. Several Storm Sword Duel gatherings, which had far-reaching impact on the Clear River Domain, had been held here and became well-known as a result. As an indication of its significance, the Greater One Sect had ma.s.sacred another sect in order to acquire this treasure. Ye Qingyu could not believe that the Great One Sect would not only abandon the mountain gate but also this supreme treasure on a Greater One peak.
“Was the strange and evil aura I sensed when I was outside just now actually coming from the Storm Platform?”
Ye Qingyu halted his footsteps.
This was because, aside from emanating the strange aura, the appearance of the Storm Platform had changed in some ways. Like giant blood vessels, streaks of red patterns not only covered the exterior of the Storm Platform, which was said to be impregnable, but also grew inward. Moreover, it was even contracting and expanding at a regular rate, resembling the heart of a giant!
More importantly, Ye Qingyu had detected an indistinct surging vitality in the altered Storm Platform, as if something was about to be born from within.
“During the first Storm Sword Duel gathering, countless Clear River Domain experts spilled blood on the Storm Platform.” He recalled the scenes back then vividly. In one particularly clear scene, he saw that the blood and flesh of those experts were silently absorbed by the Storm Platform after their deaths. Linking this to the scene in front of his eyes, he immediately realized that there was something problematic about the Storm Platform.
Could it be that the changes to the Storm Platform have brought about some disastrous consequences, and that"s why the Greater One Sect was forced to abandon the mountain gate they had painstakingly maintained for thousands of years, despite coming back much stronger than ever before?
Ye Qingyu was beginning to realize something.
What kind of disaster could"ve scared the Greater One Sect off?
As someone who was brave due to being confident in his abilities, he did not retreat at once.
Just as he was hesitating whether or not to go closer to investigate, a strange streak of blood-colored splendor suddenly began to flicker on the Storm Platform. Then, those blood-colored patterns detached from the surface of the platform and extended outward fanatically toward Ye Qingyu like the bloodied tentacles of a monster, as if they wanted to bind him up.
“Huh? Divine Emperor sword will… strike!”
Amid his great shock, sword will burst forth in a hundred streaks and turned into the form of ancient swords before striking out.
However, what caused him even greater shock was that the Divine Emperor sword will, which was all-destroying and could injure a Great Saint, could only cause a dull thud on those blood-red tentacles and could not slice them into pieces.
What exactly are these blood-colored tentacles?
He hurriedly stepped back.
At the same time, he shot forth myriad streaks of Divine Emperor sword will.
However, those tentacles were even faster than him, and instantly parried the strikes of the countless streaks of Divine Emperor sword will before twining around him. They then dragged him nearer to the Storm Platform, and actually intended to force him into the Storm Platform alive.
“Dammit...”
Ye Qingyu cursed as he revealed a look of great shock.
“[True Will of the Sky Dragon]… turn into a dragon… and break this for me.” He summoned up all of his physical strength and turned into a dragon, intending to break free. He had sensed a terrifying danger which was the omen of death, and never expected the changes to the Storm Platform to be so frightening. This kind of power completely surpa.s.sed that of a pinnacle Great Saint and rendered Ye Qingyu nearly resistless against it.
It was at this moment that he suddenly realized why the Greater One Sect abandoned the mountain gate so readily.
The Storm Platform must have devoured many of their disciples and experts, giving them no other choice.
In dragon form, Ye Qingyu frantically struggled but remained unable to break free, and was even becoming increasingly trapped. Countless tentacles coiled round him, wrapping him into a giant blood-colored dumpling.
“[Cloud Top Cauldron]!”
He prepared to use his last resort.
Just then, however, all of the blood-colored vines suddenly loosened, and a familiar voice rang out. “Eh, I can"t believe it"s you, little fellow...”