Enveloped in the grand monarch’s flesh aura, the entire Domain of Nether Heaven became increasingly dark. No stars could be seen in the starry river anymore.
One of the Bonebrutes’ ancient stars.h.i.+ps seemed to be sailing at a slow speed in the dark void, but it was actually moving extremely fast.
The exceptionally large Grand Patriarch Bone Crusher was standing at the prow of the enormous stars.h.i.+p, scanning the vicinity with his flesh aura.
He had spent the past few days searching the starry river around realm number nine for Nie Tian and the others.
He was convinced that as special as Pei Qiqi was, she couldn’t have gotten very far after breaking the powerful restrictions of the Heaven Freezing Spell.
“Hmm?” Grand Patriarch Bone Crusher’s emerald green eyes suddenly lit up as he clearly sensed something.
Pergson, who was sitting on his shoulder, also sprung to his feet.
Grand Patriarch Bone Crusher lifted his huge arm and pointed at a dark-gray cl.u.s.ter in the extreme distance, which was none other than the dead realm where Nie Tian, Huang Jinnan, and Pei Qiqi were holed up. “There’s an intense spirit beast flesh aura in one of the dead realms ahead of us. Let’s go take a look.”
Pergson then shouted something in the Bonebrutes’ language.
As soon as he did, the ancient stars.h.i.+p adjusted its direction and sailed off at full speed.
Eyes closed, Grand Patriarch Bone Crusher strained his senses, and could even get a sense of what the Goldskin Beast skull looked like. “The residual flesh power in that spirit beast skull is so rich that I suspect it was at the ninth grade when it was killed. Those from the Nether Spirit Society wouldn’t leave something that valuable in a dead realm.”
The ancient stars.h.i.+p sailed at full speed as pale-gray death power exuded from it and the Bonebrutes on it.
“How is the situation on the other battlefields?” Pergson asked, looking relaxed.
“We went to great lengths to set this trap with those human sects. Of course we’re at an advantage.” Grand Patriarch Bone Crusher said arrogantly. “Even Grand Monarch Withered Bones is here. We’re definitely going to inflict serious damage on the humans this time. We’re now facing three human G.o.d domain experts, Mo Heng, Ji Yuanquan, and Lu Jiefeng. If we can kill any of them, it’ll be a significant loss for the humans.
“Aside from them, a few Sons of the Stars of the Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace and Divine Children from the Five Elements Sect are also trapped in this domain. The humans consider them to be the cornerstones of their future. Their sects have placed high hopes in them and showered them with cultivation resources. If they die here, the great sects will suffer an even heavier blow.
“Right now, Mo Heng from the Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace is engaged in a fierce fight against our Grand Monarch Withered Bones, while Ji Yuanquan from the Void Spirit Society is entangled by the Phantasms’ Grand Monarch Dark Nether. Even if our two grand monarchs could defeat their respective opponents, they probably won’t be able to kill them. Lu Jiefeng from the Five Elements Sect is the only human expert we might be able to kill in the Domain of Nether Heaven.”
Pergson was taken aback. “I understand that Ji Yuanquan from the Void Spirit Society will be hard to kill because he’s well-versed in spatial magics. However, Mo Heng from the Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace doesn’t have a deep understanding of spatial power, nor will he be able to leave the Domain of Nether Heaven within a short time. Grand Monarch Withered Bones should be strong enough to kill him this time, right?”
Shaking his head, Grand Patriarch Bone Crusher said, “Defeat him? Perhaps. But kill him? That’s far too difficult. You still don’t know much about human G.o.d domain experts. Even though Mo Heng, Ji Yuanquan, and Lu Jiefeng are all at the early G.o.d domain, Mo Heng is the most powerful of the three of them.
“As the grand elder of the Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace, Mo Heng has been regarded as the humans’ G.o.d of slaying during the past thousands of years he has fought in the Dead Star Sea. Back when he was only at the Saint domain, he single-handedly killed two Demon grand patriarchs in the depths of the Dead Star Sea. Judging by their grades, both of them should have been stronger than him.
“Later, he entered the G.o.d domain, and didn’t fight in battles as much as he used to. That’s probably why you haven’t heard much about his battle prowess.
“The fact that Grand Monarch Withered Bones sat back and watched him shatter the Heaven Freezing Spell with his dharma idol earlier proved that he was apprehensive about his battle prowess, and wanted him to consume some of his strength first.
“I suspect that he didn’t have total confidence in defeating him in a fair battle.”
Deeply surprised, Pergson asked, “Is he really that powerful?”
Grand Patriarch Bone Crusher let out a sigh. “Well, if I were at the same level as him, I’d definitely lose in a battle against him. I met him once many years ago, when he was still at the Saint domain. The impression he gave me was unforgettable. I was there when he killed one of those two Demon grand patriarchs...”
The Bone Crusher looked downcast as he spoke of these things, even though he had already risen to a position that was second only to the three grand monarchs among all of the Bonebrute clans.
Even Pergson could sense fear from him as he recounted the old stories of Mo Heng, the grand elder of the Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace.
...
In a secluded corner of the dead realm.
Nie Tian’s expression flickered with delight as he channeled residual flesh power from the ninth grade Goldskin Beast’s skull by using Life Drain.
Before this, he had only contended against Grand Patriarch Cardy’s residual flesh power.
Back then, the flesh power Cardy had left in Fang Tianyi’s domain had already been bereft of soul power, yet his bloodline power still hadn’t been able to absorb any of it. All he had been able to do was dissolve it.
But this time, it went surprisingly smooth as he used Life Drain to channel flesh power from the ninth grade Goldskin Beast’s skull.
What surprised Nie Tian the most was that just that skull alone contained a dozen times more flesh power than the whole body of an eighth grade Lizardman.
If this ninth grade Goldskin Beast’s corpse had been intact, the amount of flesh power it contained would be greater than the amount of flesh power in a few dozen dead Lizardmen.
Soon, Nie Tian finished channeling flesh power from the skull and went on to heal Pei Qiqi’s injuries.
As he did, the Goldskin Beast skull still shone with golden light and exuded vigorous flesh power.
Two days pa.s.sed...
Pei Qiqi’s knit brow relaxed as she opened her eyes. Looking at Nie Tian, who had just withdrawn his hand, she said softly, “My injuries are stable now. Even though I still can’t wield the kind of power that got us through that Heaven Freezing Spell, I’m strong enough to use Void Travel one or two times now.”
Nie TIan’s expression flickered with excitement.
To him, it was great news that Pei Qiqi could use Void Travel again. This meant she would be able to take him and Huang Jinnan and leave this dead realm whenever she wanted.
Since this dead realm wasn’t sealed by spells like the Heaven Freezing Spell, she would be able to take them to another nearby realm.
Their safety was guaranteed to a large extent.
At this moment, Huang Jinnan exclaimed anxiously as he rushed over from the distance, holding a crystal ball in his hands. “Something is wrong! Look!”
Inside the transparent crystal ball was an image of Grand Patriarch Bone Crusher’s ancient stars.h.i.+p sailing at full speed in the dark starry river.
“That Bonebrute ancient stars.h.i.+p will get here in a few hours,” Huang Jinnan explained with a deep frown. “On the stars.h.i.+p is Grand Patriarch Bone Crusher, who we saw in realm number nine, and many Bonebrute soldiers.”
“They’re too late,” Pei Qiqi said plainly. “Nie Tian has already healed my injuries to a great extent with that Goldskin Beast skull you generously gave him. I can get us out of here with Void Travel long before that ancient stars.h.i.+p arrives.”
Huang Jinnan’s eyes lit up.
“In fact, let’s go now. Grand Patriarch Bone Crusher may have some special bloodline talent that’ll allow him to leave that ancient stars.h.i.+p and arrive in front of us in a flash.” With these words, Pei Qiqi rose to her feet. As she wove her hands in the air, numerous spatial blades flew out to gnaw at the void like a school of fish.
Moments later, a spatial rift appeared. “Since I haven’t fully recovered my strength yet, I can only get us to a nearby dead realm.”
Huang Jinnan laughed. “That’s good enough already! Even these dead realms are separated from each other by great distances. Even with their ancient stars.h.i.+p, they won’t be able to find us within a short time!”
The three of them rapidly stepped into the spatial rift.
Since this was a stable spatial tunnel, they didn’t have to suffer from the multicolored das.h.i.+ng light the way they had before. Instead, they went through it without any encountering difficulties or harm.
A few seconds later, they appeared in another dead realm.
“Alright, that stars.h.i.+p won’t be able to get here any time soon,” Pei Qiqi said with a light tone. “Unless those outsiders have accessible spatial rifts or teleportation portals in this area.”
With these words, she took out that irregularly shaped crystal and sensed it with rapt attention.
“We’re in luck,” Pei Qiqi said, looking even more relaxed. “There aren’t any accessible spatial rifts or large-scale teleportation portals in the vicinity.”
Then, she gave Nie Tian a meaningful gaze and said, “If you’re up to it, will you continue healing me? Once I’m fully healed, I’ll be able to use Void Travel more frequently.”
Nie Tian smiled heartily. “Absolutely. The ninth grade Goldskin Beast’s skull Brother Huang gave me contains more than enough flesh power for me to heal your fleshly injuries.”
Seeing that they were safe for the time being, Huang Jinnan left the two of them alone with a dry smile.
Nie Tian then started channeling the residual flesh power within the ninth grade Goldskin Beast’s skull to heal Pei Qiqi.
A few days pa.s.sed before Huang Jinnan returned and informed them that the Bonebrute ancient stars.h.i.+p had showed up again.
Pei Qiqi therefore launched Void Travel another time.
Just like this, the pursuit went on as Nie Tian, Huang Jinnan, and Pei Qiqi traveled from one dead realm to another, until Pei Qiqi’s fleshly wounds were finally fully healed.
That Bonebrute ancient stars.h.i.+p stopped again right before reaching a dead realm.
“What the h.e.l.l?!” Grand Patriarch Bone Crusher exclaimed testily, “Those three human juniors escaped again right before I got to them! That girl from the Void Spirit Society must have consumed a significant amount of power to pierce through the strong sealing effect of the Heaven Freezing Spell. In that situation, she can still use Void Travel repeatedly. This is unbelievable!”
Having fought the four great human sects for so long, the outsiders had already come to deep understandings of their respective secret magics and incantations.
He was well-aware that Pei Qiqi must enjoy a very special status in the Void Spirit Society. Otherwise, she couldn’t have been able to travel around with Void Travel like she did at her level.
Not to mention that she had just recently broken out of realm number nine, which had been sealed tightly by the Heaven Freezing Spell.
After appearing in yet another dead realm, Pei Qiqi fixed her eyes on a distant dead realm. Thrumming with strong spatial fluctuations, she said, “Hmm?! One of my sect elders is over there. She was supposed to be helping Sikong Cuo and his subordinates travel around. But why are they in that dead realm now?”
Huang Jinnan let out a cold harrumph. “Sikong Cuo! Nie Tian, forgive me for saying this, but that Son of the Stars of your sect has earned himself a bad name among the great sects. Over the years, his subordinates have gotten into conflicts with every great sect, and caused more trouble than you can imagine.
“All those who have ever carried out operations with him spoke poorly of him afterwards.”
Before Nie Tian could say anything, he turned to Pei Qiqi and said, “Miss Pei, I don’t want to work with someone like him. Even if he’s surrounded by fierce subordinates, I want nothing to do with him. How about we just leave them be?”
Pei Qiqi pondered the matter. Just as she was about to nod, Nie Tian chimed in, “Wait.”
Huang Jinnan was taken aback. “Nie Tian, you’re not friends with him, are you? As far as I know, he has been nothing but hostile towards you. His subordinates mocked you back when I visited you in Fragmentary Star City. Don’t you remember that?”
“Of course I remember,” Nie Tian said with a cunning smile. “Grand Patriarch Bone Crusher has been pursuing us, right? It seems to me that he’s not going to give up until he catches us. Sikong Cuo is also a Son of the Stars of the Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace. His status and importance matches ours. I bet Grand Patriarch Bone Crusher will be just as interested in him as in us.”
Huang Jinnan immediately realized what Nie Tian was thinking. With a chuckle, he said, “You’re catty...”
“Senior Martial Sister Pei, let’s go to that dead realm, but not in the same area as Sikong Cuo and his subordinates are,” Nie Tian said. “If you can communicate with that elder of your sect in secret, tell her not to tell Sikong Cuo about our arrival.”
Pei Qiqi shot him one of her sideways glances and said, “You’re full of dirty tricks indeed… If you’re sure that’s what you want to do, we can wait for that Bonebrute stars.h.i.+p to come closer before we move out. And I’ll try to leave signs of where we’re going, so that it’ll be easier for Grand Patriarch Bone Crusher to locate us.”
“Good thinking, Miss Pei!” Huang Jinnan said, smiling.