Chapter 438: The Aura of the Earth Origin Realm
Although Zuo Lan’s sudden recruitment was unexpected, it was made at an ingenious time. The emotions of those in the four sects were all very complicated.
The three sects were all patently worried that Jiang Chen would change his mind and be tempted by Zuo Lan’s words. Although he hadn’t offered any promises, in the end, he was an earth origin realm cultivator and possessed quite a background. He was much stronger than the Precious Tree Sect.
In addition, Jiang Chen had only verbally agreed to joining the Precious Tree Sect. He hadn’t even completed the induction ceremony yet. Would Jiang Chen have any feelings for the Precious Tree Sect at all?
In the face of such a stark contrast in strength, would Jiang Chen choose to remain in the sect and not answer Zuo Lan’s call?
It was no wonder they were worried. After all, many would choose to flock to the banner of the stronger Sky Sect in these circ.u.mstances and toil for Zuo Lan, not the weak Precious Tree Sect.
If Jiang Chen did so, then the sects’ last trump card was gone. They would have no other choice but to lay their lives on the line to defy Zuo Lan.
If they didn’t, they could only accept the harsh reality of becoming the other’s va.s.sals.
The three great sects were worried, and the Purple Sun Sect was a Gordian knot of envious hatred.
There was a deep feud between Jiang Chen and the Purple Sun Sect. If Jiang Chen chose to accede to Zuo Lan, his position would rise and even eclipse that of the Purple Sun Sect.
If that was the case, they would never be able to exact revenge on Jiang Chen in the future, much less act against him.
Sunchaser’s heart felt as if a viper had sunk its teeth in. But since Zuo Lan had spoken, Sunchaser didn’t dare pipe up.
The atmosphere at the scene was extremely odd in that moment.
All pairs of eyes focused on Jiang Chen. It was apparent that everyone wanted to see how Jiang Chen would decide.
A small smile played around on his face. Jiang Chen’s silence seemed to be the only response he thought they deserved.
Zuo Lan seemed to read something from Jiang Chen’s smile. His tone hardened, “Jiang Chen, this is your last chance. Your birth is base and lowly. If you don’t take advantage of this opportunity to change your fate, you’ll be relegated to the fate of a wild dog in a remote backwater even if you have some potential. And, you should know that death is the only future that awaits you in defying an envoy of the Sky Sect.
“Sky Sect?”
Jiang Chen had always been extraordinarily sensitive to the word “sky” in this life, and was particularly ticked off by “geniuses”.
That Zuo Lan proclaimed himself from the Sky Sect really irked the h.e.l.l out of him.
“Sky”. That was the birth of Jiang Chen’s past life and an unparalleled honor. Judging from Zuo Lan’s p.i.s.s poor appearance, his sect wouldn’t be much better. How dare they call themselves the Sky Sect?
It was one thing to call themselves the Sky Sect, but how dared they mouth off without shame in front of the son of the Celestial Emperor about fate and a base birth?
Zuo Lan never would’ve thought that his pompous words would thoroughly cross over that bottom line in Jiang Chen’s heart and elicit his deep irritation.
“Zuo Lan, don’t talk about wild dogs. You should really look at yourself in the mirror. This is Precious Tree Sect territory, but here you are yapping your head off. What are you if not a wild dog?”
Jiang Chen smiled faintly. “Remember, only I am the master of my destiny. I don’t need to change anything and I have absolutely no need to rely on your Sky Sect to change my fate. Whether it’s the Sky Sect or the underworld, I would ashamed to keep such company as long as you are here!”
Those of the three sects all cheered raucously and applauded vigorously, filling the air with tumultuous applause.
Jiang Chen’s att.i.tude had been more than clear in his words and he’d clearly declined Zuo Lan’s recruitment, thoroughly planting himself on the side of the Precious Tree Sect.
The forefathers looked at each other, immensely gratified. Only Ye Chonglou nodded his head lightly, having long since antic.i.p.ated this result. He had nothing but admiration for Jiang Chen’s decision.
Although none in the Purple Sun Sect cheered, they all relaxed inwardly.
Sunchaser in particular was almost bent over with laughter inside. “He’s too young, that sc.u.m Jiang Chen. He has no idea of the depths of the heavens and earth. He’s pa.s.sed by his only chance to change his life. Good. This way, I won’t have to worry about the Sky Sect envoys not supporting my decision to kill him in the future. This kid is dead without a doubt after offending Zuo Lan!”
Zuo Lan’s face abruptly darkened upon hearing these words.
He’d have never thought that his series of proposals and even threats wouldn’t result in even a split second of hesitation in the other.
Jiang Chen had not only rejected him, but jeered at them, calling them the wild dogs instead. He had even said he was ashamed to be in the same company as Zuo Lan!
The phrase of “whether the Sky Sect or the underworld” was an even more blatant desecration of the Sky Sect! Zuo Lan was very proud of his affiliation with the Sky Sect. He would never allow for a single word of disrespect to his sect!
A layer of frost instantly appeared on his face. “Kid, you will kneel before me after turning down my invitation! Desecrating the Sky Sect will result in the annihilation of your clan. Jiang Chen, accept your fate!”
Zuo Lan began to build up his momentum after speaking, bent on doing things himself.
“Hold!” Forefather Thousandleaf couldn’t sit still anymore. Jiang Chen had already expressed his stance, there would really be no excuse if the forefathers still didn’t step out and protect him.
“Envoy Zuo Lan, Jiang Chen has already won two matches according to the agreement of the nine matches. You were the one who said that as long as we win even one match…”
Zuo Lan laughed heartily, “I only said that you would have the right to negotiate with me if you won even one match. I already proposed my terms to Jiang Chen just now and he declined. Since he has declined, you have no more right to negotiate.”
Thousandleaf didn’t have a comeback to that. The other had indeed said that they would have the right to negotiate if they won one match.
Zuo Lan’s fan startle to crackle with h.o.a.rfrost as his tone suddenly chilled. He called out, “From now on, the Precious Tree Sect, Myriad Spirit Sect, and Flowing Wind Sect no longer exist! Those who are willing to surrender, come to me. Those who will not will die!”
“You only have this one chance. Those who do not step over within the span of ten breaths will be viewed as defying the Sky Sect. There will be no exceptions made in the slaughter!” Zuo Lan’s gaze was domineering as he swept his eyes across the three sects.
Forefather Ninelion was incensed. “Zuo Lan, the elite disciples of our three sects are all here. Do you truly want to fight to the death?!”
Zuo Lan smiled coldly. “Fight to the death. You sure think highly of yourself. Why do I need to risk my life to kill you? What right do you have to speak of fighting to the death with an earth origin realm cultivator?!”
Zuo Lan’s body s.h.i.+fted like a ghost as soon as he’d finished speaking, shooting towards forefather Ninelion.
Forefather Ninelion didn’t dare take this charge lightly given Zuo Lan’s fierce momentum. Ninelion’s hands covered his vitals as he took a few steps backwards, the sect treasure of a rosary made of beast bones around his neck suddenly shooting out beams of purple light, forming an enormous barrier of protection. At the same time, Ninelion’s hands pushed outwards and formed an origin realm qi wall with a surge of qi.
It was obvious that Ninelion didn’t dare underestimate Zuo Lan’s vigorous attack.
However, as strong as Ninelion’s defenses were, Zuo Lan’s attacks were even stronger.
The latter had already flashed to Ninelion in the span of a moment.
Wham!
Ninelion punched out with fast reflexes, also just managing to defend himself as he hastily tried to counter.
Bam!
But he had to take the other’s punch with both his hands. The purple splendor from the rosary exploded and then disappeared. Ninelion’s body was flung several meters backwards from the punch.
If it hadn’t been for the defensive capabilities of the rosary, Ninelion likely would’ve received broken bones and ripped tendons from this punch.
The other forefathers congregated around him, fanning out to block off Zuo Lan.
Thousandleaf asked in a low voice. “Ninelion, how are you?”
Ninelion’s blood churned and roiled. He felt like the punch had smashed his spirit ocean. He gathered his strength several times before finally managing to regain his calm.
“Hoo!”
Ninelion exhaled a breath of putrid air, clearing out some of the irritation in his heart.
“What a strong punch!” A trace of wariness flashed through his heart and he spoke to the others in a low voice. “Everyone be careful, the boxing aura from this thug is vicious. He doesn’t seem like fourth level origin realm at all.”
Everyone’s hearts grew grim when they heard this.
To be honest, Zuo Lan really was only of fourth level origin realm. However, he was from the Sky Sect, and so the various profound mysteries and divine arts he trained were all from the Sky Sect.
The Sky Sect was a super sect, its foundations were at least tens of thousands times deeper than the three sects. It was absolutely not something that a small sect like the Precious Tree Sect could measure up to.
Therefore, Zuo Lan’s fourth level origin realm was a completely different concept than the one in the forefathers’ minds.
Jiang Chen didn’t dare to lag behind. He stood next to Ye Chonglou and asked in a faint tone, “Envoy Zuo, once the declaration of war has been proclaimed, it will be difficult to retract. Are you sure you want to fight to your very last breath?”
Zuo Lan snorted derisively. “How many times must I repeat myself? A fight to the death? Down to my very last breath? What kind of wishful delusion are you belaboring under? If I, Zuo Lan, wish to kill all of you, it will be no different than killing a dog!”
After concluding his words, Zuo Lan’s gaze continued his inspection and swept past the disciples of the three great sects once more.
“You still have five breaths worth of time. All of you only have this amount of time to be in charge of your destiny. After the five breaths, those that still disobey the decree of the Sky Sect will all be killed without exception!”
“Four.”
“Three.”
“Two.”
“One!”
Zuo Lan’s face was devoid of expression and was as unfeeling as the frost covering the ground. There wasn’t the least bit of human emotion on him, as if the people he was speaking to were all a pile of stones, a cl.u.s.ter of statues.
When he counted down to one, Zuo Lan’s face had completely darkened. “Outstanding, indeed outstanding. I didn’t think the three great sects were all tough birds. Looks like all of you won’t be convinced until death stares at you in the face. That’s just as well, I’ll personally send all of you on your path to the netherworld.”
When he finished, he suddenly combusted his aura, and it was as if endless tidewaters and enormous waves had surged into the great hall.
The suffocating pressure from the earth origin realm aura made the tiles on the ground shatter. Countless cracks spiderwebbed through the surroundings.
“What a strong aura! This is bad, I can’t open my eyes!”
“Ah! My ear drums burst!”
“d.a.m.n it, just what is going on?”
Cultivators with lower cultivation levels all began crying out tragically towards the rear of the three great sects.
Zuo Lan’s mindset was exceedingly perverted. He seemed to thoroughly enjoy the cries of his prey. The smile on his face became even more manic and wanton.
“You chose this path for yourselves, accept your fate!”
Zuo Lan increased the pressure from his aura again.
At this time—
Strum…
A minute sound came from the air, piercing with incredible force through the explosion of aura that was cras.h.i.+ng down like a tsunami. It was like a small blade of gra.s.s had suddenly poked out through a crack in the stone.
Strum strum strum…
The sound echoed unceasingly after it sounded. It was like the rain, first pattering down in droplets, then a gentle drizzle. It turned into an enormous downpour in the span of a second and formed an undeniable momentum within a few breaths.
This was the sound of a qin!
To be more exact, it was the sound of a guzheng!
It had thoroughly transformed from the barest hint of a weak sound into the force of a torrential downpour in only a few breaths.
It even started gathering into wind and wisps of clouds in the next moment, as expansive as the waves beating down on the sh.o.r.e.
Zuo Lan’s aura was slowly suppressed by the music sounds that had come from an unknown place.
Not too long after, the sound of the guzheng began to form invisible blade fragments, slicing into Zuo Lan’s presence.
Whoos.h.!.+
Suddenly, beneath the ruthless dicing of the music notes, the entirety of Zuo Lan’s aura collapsed.