Chapter 685 - 80: Old Thief, Prepare to Die

"How did it come to this?"

High above nearing Funiu Mountain, Tong Jiesheng’s expression was gloomy, his tone sinister.

The Joyful Union Sect, with its legacy of thousands of years, was annihilated just like that!

Two elders stood behind him, heads bowed in respect, silent as cicadas in winter.

"You tell me, why did two... no, three True Monarchs descend here? And why did they set their sights on the Yin-Yang Spring Dao Field?" Lost in thought and mumbling to himself without clarity, Tong Jiesheng slightly turned his head and asked sharply.

The two Core Formation Middle Stage elders trembled slightly.

"This... Patriarch, it must be due to the fierce battles in the Central Battlefield. The three True Monarchs didn’t want to become cannon fodder, so they came here," one cautiously suggested.

"Could it be that a True Monarch from the Joyful Union Sect had offended someone on the Central Battlefield? So much so that they would travel hundreds of thousands of miles to extinguish its legacy?" Another elder suddenly had a flash of insight.

Upon hearing this, Tong Jiesheng looked at the latter with a softened expression.

Clearly, he also leaned towards this possibility.

Otherwise, no matter how dire the Central Battlefield was, it hadn’t reached the point where True Monarchs would team up to escape.

Which True Monarch would abandon the rich cultivation environment of the Central Ten Domains unless absolutely necessary?

"Hmph! Self-inflicted suffering cannot be lived," Tong Jiesheng snorted coldly, slowly exhaling a breath.

If that’s all there was to it, he believed it wouldn’t affect him.

However, it did require him to reassess the matter of finding that little thief.

"Patriarch, now that the Joyful Union Sect has been destroyed, what about that Yaoyao girl?" Seeing Tong Jiesheng’s expression soften, one elder took the opportunity to ask.

"What? You still want to bring back that unfilial descendant who has forgotten her roots?" Tong Jiesheng’s gaze swept over coldly.

"This..." The elder was shocked, his gaze towards Tong Jiesheng complicated.

In his eyes, ever since the "Huang Jie" at Feihong Dao Field formed a Golden Core, Tong Jiesheng underwent a great change in temperament.

Before that, he had high hopes for Tong Yaoyao and even saw her as a successor, nurturing her diligently.

But after his fruitless pursuit of Huang Jie and returning to the clan, he’d become a different person.

He no longer nurtured the younger generation of the clan, and no longer cared about Tong Yaoyao’s whereabouts.

This time, he even disregarded the opposition within the clan and formed a deal with Huang Qiyu.

This left them perplexed and unable to voice their grievances.

"Why?" Tong Jiesheng slightly squinted his eyes, looking at the elder with a faint smile.

He indeed had changed.

Before encountering the Golden Core thief, before meeting Beixuan True Monarch at the Dao Field in the Central Ten Domains, he believed achieving the Ascendant level was his life’s limit, and he was content to groom a successor to carry on the family legacy.

However, Beixuan True Monarch gave him genuine hope of advancing to the Nascent Soul stage.

Upon reaching Nascent Soul True Monarch, he would gain a thousand years of longevity!

This would give him more time to accomplish more.

He might even be able to bring the Nine Tripods Commerce Association and Business Alliance into the Central Ten Domains.

For the ancestors’ long-cherished wishes, sacrificing a family prodigy was nothing. Bearing infamy, so be it.

"Hmph, after the clan’s strenuous efforts to cultivate her, barely achieving something, she doesn’t prioritize the family. Instead, she privately went to the Joyful Union Sect to vent her personal grievances, ultimately bringing shame upon our clan and damaging the Commerce Association. Such an unfilial descendant is better off gone."

"Yes!" The two elders sighed inwardly, bowed their heads, and didn’t speak further on the matter.

"Did you see any sign of her after the chaos?" Tong Jiesheng casually inquired again.

He had fled the moment the True Monarch’s might assassinated Huang Qiyu and didn’t witness Tong Yaoyao’s fate.

"Reporting to Patriarch, amid the heroes’ chaotic struggle, we dared not linger. However, Yaoyao was sealed by Huang Qiyu with her Magical Power. Under those circumstances, even if she wasn’t met with disaster, she was most likely captured as a Joyful Union Sect’s Demon Cultivator," an elder replied.

He had previously tested the waters with Tong Jiesheng, wondering if they should try to retrieve her, considering she was coerced and not a true Saintess of the Joyful Union Sect.

"It’s a pity for the Spiritual Talent our clan invested in her," Tong Jiesheng frowned and shook his head, sighing without further comment.

Half a month later, the three of them descended on a steep slope ten thousand miles away from Funiu Mountain.

Tong Jiesheng’s Divine Sense was fully engaged, gazing towards Funiu Mountain.

The two elders didn’t understand why he didn’t enter Funiu Mountain, but dared not speak out, and simply waited quietly on the side.

After waiting for a while, a trace of impatience appeared on Tong Jiesheng’s face.

Amid the Joyful Union Sect’s chaos, his original intention was to swiftly leave the calamity-ridden land of the Yellow Heaven Domain.

But a few days ago, he received a message from Master Chunyuan. For the Nascent Soul opportunity of Beixuan True Monarch, he had to make his way here.

Nevertheless, entering Funiu Mountain was utterly out of the question.

The Funiu Ascendant and that Cyan Ox posed significant threats to him.

Previously, in his haste to chase the Golden Core thief, he had somewhat relied on the Joyful Union Sect’s formidable influence to disrespect Funiu Mountain.

Thus, when he received Master Chunyuan’s message, he agreed initially, but now he was outside Funiu Mountain, sending a message to Master Chunyuan to meet here.

"Here they come!" Just as he was getting impatient, the aura of Master Chunyuan appeared in the distance.

Seeing the calm and composed Master Chunyuan, Tong Jiesheng felt slightly displeased.

He always felt that ever since Master Chunyuan appeared in the Yellow Heaven Domain, he wasn’t as enthusiastic about finding that Golden Core thief.

Last time at Funiu Mountain, he had probed.

And he had roughly understood his intent.

Compared to him, Master Chunyuan’s cultivation was lacking, and his Dantian had been damaged during his advancement to Ascendant. If not for the intervention of the True Monarch of Ten Thousand Laws, he would have perished long ago.

Therefore, he didn’t hold much hope for Beixuan True Monarch’s Nascent Soul opportunity.

Nevertheless, for him, this was actually beneficial.

"Do you know of the Joyful Union Sect incident?" As soon as Master Chunyuan approached, Tong Jiesheng hastened to ask.

Master Chunyuan nodded, "I was truly shocked upon hearing this for the first time."

"If you’re aware of it, why insist on meeting me? Speak quickly; I must return to the Ten Thousand Merchants Domain swiftly," Tong Jiesheng complained.

"Patience, my friend, this matter..." Master Chunyuan began slowly.

"Zheng~"

However, mid-sentence, a metallic twang abruptly resounded from beneath the ground.

Suddenly, a dark gold color erupted from the underground grassland, directly aiming for Tong Jiesheng’s Dantian.

Bang~

The Magic Robe on Tong Jiesheng, worth tens of thousands of Spirit Stones, reacted instantly, surging with earthen-colored glows.

The Dark Gold Crescent Saber clashed with the earthen glow, producing a muffled sound.

But within just a breath, the earthen glow dimmed, and the Dark Gold Crescent Saber advanced further.

Boom boom boom...

After shattering another three layers of glow, the Crescent Saber could progress no more.

By this time, Tong Jiesheng’s Body-Protecting Dharma Shield was fully activated.

"Vile creature!" The robe’s four layers were breached, and Tong Jiesheng was greatly alarmed. This strike possessed at least Tier Three Middle Stage peak power.

If not for the robe’s protection, his own passive defense shield, under such a sneak attack, could possibly result in severe injury.

Even now, with his fully activated Body-Protecting Dharma Shield, facing this Demon Beast’s assault was not entirely reassuring.

After all, while he had Core Formation Late Period Magical Power, it wasn’t sufficiently deep and lingering. If the opponent kept launching such fierce attacks, it could deplete his Magical Power.

However, as long as the Magical Shield was activated, his life wasn’t at risk. At worst, he could flee.

"Boom~" Just as he breathed a slight sigh of relief, a familiar Fire Lotus emerged again from that Demon Beast’s mouth, attacking alongside the previous Dark Gold Saber.

"Old thief, meet your end!"