Chapter 532 A Fair and Square Battle?
“We’ve already seen a ton of corpses on the way. There seems to be a big fight here.”
After Xiao Dong, Lu Xun, Luo Xuanxin, and Qiu Shuiming entered the s.p.a.ce mist, they were lucky enough to be teleported to the same place and soon met up. As to where the others were teleported to, they had no idea.
The inside of the Mount Shu Heaven was basically the same as they had imagined. Solitary peaks stood on the land like lone swords. The peaks were not adjoined. Deep rivers and overcast valleys were all over the mountains. Xiao Dong and the others could only trudge on in the canyon between the solitary peaks. When they looked up at the sky, they saw nothing but a c.h.i.n.k of sky.
The most unusual part was that the height of those mountain peaks was far higher than any mountain on Earth. They were tens of thousands of meters high and very precipitous, which created a sharp angle of 90 degrees at the ground. The mountains were too steep. Even with their strength, they could not climb to the top.
But soon, they discovered a phenomenon that was of substantial importance.
This Mount Shu Heaven housed some living creatures that were not from Earth.
Because in the valleys and the ravines, they saw the bodies of the human race who had died in a battle.
The bodies were wearing clothes and armors in ancient styles. Broken limbs and fragmented bodies could be seen every now and then in the ravines. There were also some strange bodies of the half-human, half-animal, which seemed to have fallen from the sky or from the lone peaks. The bodies were smashed on the ground, and their blood dyed the streams red.
They were definitely not creatures from Earth.
The Mount Shu Heaven was the first Heaven ever found to hold intelligent creatures!
Moreover, from the look of these damaged corpses, these intelligent creatures had already developed a rather high-level civilization.
“Their strength is much higher than ours. We have to be careful.”
Lu Xun pointed at another corpse they encountered and say, “Look, these corpses must have been dead for a long time, but their flesh and blood are still like those of living people. This corroborates our teacher’s heads-up that the flesh and blood of those in the Natural Realm will not decay after death. I’m afraid that these dead people were all Natural Experts.”
Luo Xuanxin nodded. She had the vampire’s physical const.i.tution, so she was the most sensitive to blood. She said, “I smell powerful energy in the blood, which is rare on Earth… These dead creatures were very powerful when they were alive.”
“Who on earth was capable of killing them?” Qiu Shuiming asked with a grave expression, “We’ve seen more than several hundred bodies along the way. The one who can kill such a number of Natural Experts must be extremely formidable. If we run into him, we’ll most likely meet our doom.”
“Will the world ahead us be the one our teacher has described?” Xiao Dong asked thoughtfully.
Ever since taking lessons from Li Mu, the members of the Chinese martial arts circle began to address Li Mu as their teacher.
As they were talking, a low moan suddenly came to their hears from the cliff ahead, which sounded like a whine of someone seriously injured.
The four of them felt a chill run down their spines.
“There’s a living person here?”
They looked at one another and drove their cultivation to the peak. The four gingerly rounded the cliff and saw a girl about 17 or 18 years old in a green dress hiding behind a huge rock and a mess of broken limbs. Her left shoulder and legs were severely injured and she had fallen into a coma. She was unmistakably groaning without realizing it. And blood had dyed half of her green dress crimson.
She was beautiful.
These three words were almost the first thing that occurred to the four people when they spotted the girl.
She was like a fairy that only appeared in paintings.
Among the four people, Luo Xuanxin was also one of the most beautiful women on Earth. Yet, compared with this girl, she was put in the shade.
Seeming to have sensed someone approaching, the unconscious girl suddenly snapped her eyes open.
“Have you heard it? The Decent Alliance decided to fight a fair and square battle with the Devil Cult!” Stated Ding Yi.
Ding Yi was always the most well-informed one.
“A fair and square battle?” Li Mu stared at him and said, “That is to say, the Decent Alliance also thinks that the previous battle was unfair?”
“Puff…” Ding Yi spurted out the tea that he had just swallowed. Then, with a careful and heedful look, he remarked, “Boy, don’t talk nonsense. If others hear you, you will be branded as a remnant of the Devil Cult.”
Li Mu teasingly put on a face of terror.
Three days ago, with the arrival of Tan Rushuang, the Top Sword of Western Sea, also the contemporary head of the West Sea Sword Sect, and her overtaking the Desktop Peak, the silver figure never showed up again.
And there were no more prisoners escaping from the grotto prison.
Obviously, the appearance of the Top Sword of Western Sea, one of the Seven Supreme Beings of the time, had deterred the expert of the Devil Cult who had been hiding in the dark and disheartened him to turn up again. The current Seven Supreme Beings of the Decent Alliance were all in the Void-breaking Realm. When the immortals came to the stage, who else could compete with them?
But the problem lay in the fact that the Devil Cult was holed up in White Emperor City. Although the Decent Alliance had been attacking the city for several months, they were unable to break in. As people always said, “The first drumming cheers fighters up, the second weakens, while the third devitalized.” With every defeat, the morale of the Devil Cult gradually declined. Hence, all the leaders of the Decent Alliance decided to confront the Devil Cult head-on. Each side would send out 10 experts to have a fair duel. If the Decent Alliance won, the Devil Cult would retreat from White Emperor City, and in the next decade, the devil and the decent must cease to engage in battles. But if the Devil Cult won, the Decent Alliance must release the captured experts of the Devil Cult, withdraw their army, and make compensation to the Devil Cult.
“Well, it’s impossible for the Devil Cult to agree to this unless they’re out of their minds.”
After hearing Ding Yi’s enthusiastic account, Li Mu said in surprise.
The Devil Cult had had White Emperor City as their safe house. Since the Decent Alliance could not break through the city, the Devil Cult had been absolutely safe. So why would they engage in this so-called “fair and square battle”?
Moreover, if they lost, they would have to hand over White Emperor City. Wasn’t this ridiculous?
The reason why the Devil Cult had been able to exist in this world over all those years was that they had White Emperor City as their last stronghold. Once it was handed over, even if the devil and the decent did not fight for the next decade, what would happen after that? 10 years later, with White Emperor City lost, wouldn’t the Devil Cult be nothing more than a fish on the chopping board, ready to be slaughtered?
“Haha, on the contrary, the Devil Cult accepted it.” Ding Yi laughed.
Li Mu was really astounded this time and asked, “Why?”
Ding Yi said with a chuckle, “Haha, you still have to rely on me, a famous hero in Jianghu, to answer your questions… It’s because there is news saying that if White Emperor City can’t be conquered by a prolonged attack, the immortals in the heavens will descend. Once the immortals arrive, White Emperor City will surely be unable to defend itself. The Devil Cult has no choice but to agree.”
“Oh, I forgot about that.”
Li Mu patted his forehead.
Ding Yi continued in a glib tone, “Legend has it that below White Emperor City lies a treasure-trove that even immortals yearn for. Thus, as long as the Devil Cult retreats from White Emperor City, the immortals won’t wipe them out. Besides, they can also rest for another 10 years. Anyway, who can say for sure what will happen 10 years from now? Accepting the terms is definitely better than being wiped out by the immortals right now.”
Li Mu sneered inwardly and then remarked, “In this case, if the Decent Alliance loses, will they really withdraw their troops? When the immortals can’t get the treasure they want, they will still descend to this world to launch a ma.s.sacre, won’t they?”
Ding Yi was stunned for a moment, then said, “Uh… The immortals should be able to keep their word.”
Li Mu continued to sneer in his mind.
“Immortals?”
Li Mu had seen the true colors of those extraterrestrial cultivators. Those people could do anything for their own interests.
“Anyway, the Devil Cult has agreed.” Ding Yi said, “It seems that the Devil Cult has no alternative but to say yes. Whatsoever, they might hope to play for time with this battle… Hey, you little scholar, don’t worry about this. Even a famous hero in Jianghu like me doesn’t care about these things. All we should do is to enjoy the show.”
Li Mu said pensively, “Just imagine, how many people will die in the b.l.o.o.d.y battle between the devil and the decent? Brother Ding, you’re a famous hero in Jianghu. Why don’t you stop such a fierce battle? You can do this, can’t you?”
Ding Yi did not hesitate to say, “Of course I can. But I no longer have any interest in fame and wealth. And I am tired of the Jianghu, shrinking from getting involved in these da*n things…”
Li Mu demanded, “Then why did you come here to watch the scene?”
Ding Yi was speechless.
Clap!
He flung a hand at the back of Li Mu’s head and yelled, “Why are you talking so much nonsense today?”
While they were talking, the sound of footsteps drew near from outside.
Soon, all the handymen of the outer sect, including Li Mu and Ding Yi, were gathered together.
“This is Master Zhu Hong, Chief of Tactical Deployment of the Xuanji Family. He’s in charge of building the fighting ring for the battle between the devil and the decent,” announced a disciple of the West Sea Sword Sect, introducing a middle-aged man with grey-white hair to thousands of handymen and disciples of other sects. “From today onward, everyone will follow Master Zhu’s instructions and construct the fighting ring.”
“What?”
“To build a fighting ring?”
“You’re serious?”
“Or are you playing some tricks in the dark?”
“Thank you.”
Qin’er, the green-clothed girl, said gratefully to Luo Xuanxin and the other three.
Under the care of Lu Xun, Xiao Dong, Luo Xuanxin, and Qiu Shuiming, her injury had recovered a lot. Finally, she could manage to run her cultivation method for the recuperation of her health, and the bizarre force in her body and internal injuries were almost stabilized.
“Sister Qin’er, you’re welcome. How did you get hurt?” Luo Xuanxin asked with a smile.
Having spent a few days with her, the four found that the girl named Qin’er was an authentic human being. And she had a cheerful and pure personality, which made her very easy to get along with.
The reason they were able to communicate with Qin’er was that, back on Earth, their teacher, Li Mu, had taught them the language used on the Divine Land, which was not much different from the popular mainstream language in the Brilliance Immortal Star Region… Mastering a “foreign language” was still quite important. At that time, Li Mu had planned prudently for the distant future, for his aim was to bring these talented Earth residents to the vast universe. Thanks to his foresight, the four now found the new language come in handy.
“There was a great war between the sects, and we were ambushed. Her Ladys.h.i.+p and I were separated. I was hunted down, and fell from the Sword Peak…” When Qin’er spoke of this, she immediately became anxious. “No, I have to hurry back to defend the city. It’ll be all over if I’m late.”
“Defend the city? What city?” Lu Xun could not help but ask.
Qin’er said in surprise, “You don’t know? Then why are you here? Judging by the strange attires you wear, aren’t you the disciples who have come to help the Divine Sect get through the danger?”
Qiu Shuiming clapped his forehead with a hand and admitted, “In fact, we lost our way and came here by accident… So, we still don’t know what’s going on.”
Qin’er said, “I see. That’s right. Your strengths are way too low. You are supposed to be unable to enter Mount Shu… But with your strange appearance and dressing style, once you’re seen by the people from the Four Cities or the Three Grand Sword Sects, you’ll definitely be mistaken as members of the Divine Sect. Then you have no chance to escape death… Why don’t you all come with me to White Emperor City? The Divine Sect will protect you.”
“White Emperor City?” Lu Xun and the other three exclaimed in unison.
The name sounded quite familiar.
There was also a city called White Emperor City on Earth!
Mount Shu and White Emperor City were both the names for places on Earth.
What was going on?
After some discussion, the four of them finally accepted Qin’er’s proposal.
“I know a secret path near White Emperor City,” Qin’er said. “It’s Her Ladys.h.i.+p who told me this. The others definitely don’t know about the path. I’ll take you there.”