Chapter 457 - 442: I’ve Returned Late (Part 2)

Chapter 457: Chapter 442: I’ve Returned Late (Part 2)

At the height of its power, the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect controlled a vast territory and an abundance of resources.

Now that the sect had weakened, it had become an easy target in the eyes of others, and everyone wanted a piece of the pie.

Over the years, the Joyful Union Sect had used all sorts of pretexts to provoke dozens of conflicts with the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect, seizing two Spirit Stone Ore Veins and several mines.

This time, they clearly had a new target, having concocted a flimsy excuse to stir up trouble.

With their three Core Formation True Men, they completely outmatched the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect’s High-Tier Combat Power, which consisted of Honglian alone.

They were also careful enough to lay siege only outside the Market, staying far from the base of Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain so as not to be drawn into the sect’s Mountain Protection Array.

If they besieged the Ten Thousand Beasts Pavilion for a few days, no cultivators would come to do business, and the place would become deserted.

For the already beleaguered Ten Thousand Beasts Sect, whose Market income had become a crucial lifeline, this would be a crippling blow—adding insult to injury.

"But I’m a soft-hearted person, and I can’t bear to see you in such a difficult position, Sister... As long as your sect compensates us with fifty drops of Clear Spirit Jade Marrow, we can put this matter behind us. Senior Sister Lianyu will handle the explanation to Suihan True Monarch. And if you’re short on Core Formation Spiritual Objects... well, I have admired Sister Honglian for a very long time. If you would spend a night with me, sharing the supreme ecstasy of our lives and flesh merging as one, then I would be willing to bear this loss all by myself."

Fairy Jiuru’s voice was gentle, captivating the minds of the nearby cultivators.

Even the closer Ten Thousand Beasts Sect disciples in the Market wore looks of infatuation, gazing as if their very souls were bewitched by the young woman who possessed an air of both innocence and seduction.

"How outrageous!"

Honglian’s cheeks burned with fury. She slapped her hip, and a crimson flash shot out with a piercing screech.

The graceful-looking cultivator drew his sword and blocked it, producing a deafening CLANG of metal. The crimson light, its path obstructed, spun to a halt amidst a shower of sparks.

Only then could it be clearly seen: it was a crimson disk, embedded with dozens of Fire Crystal Stones.

At the same time, the Beauty Serpent coiled around Honglian. Scales rapidly covered half her face, and her pupils narrowed into vertical slits.

Using her hand as a whip, she lashed out, creating dozens of illusory snake tails that cracked through the air like thunder.

The bearded, rugged man stepped forward to block. He opened his mouth and roared, and the sound waves became tangible.

The illusory tails shattered one after another, leaving only the final, real whip-hand, which the rugged man caught with a hand that suddenly swelled in size. He then violently threw her aside.

Honglian’s face turned deathly pale, and her heart sank.

’These two Core Formation True Men are incredibly strong,’ she thought. ’I couldn’t gain much of an advantage against either one of them individually, let alone fighting two at once.’

And all the while, the beaming Fairy Jiuru watched her silently, savoring the pleasure of seeing her two followers engage in fierce combat for her sake.

After a few exchanges, Honglian was at a clear disadvantage, the signs of her serpentine transformation growing more pronounced.

The thought of retreat began to form in her mind. She knew she couldn’t win today. Her only option was to retreat to the Mountain Gate. It was a humiliation she would have to accept.

"Strike!"

Fairy Jiuru suddenly plucked the wooden hairpin from her head, and her silken black hair, so glossy it could serve as a mirror, cascaded down to her waist.

The wooden hairpin transformed into a miniature green phoenix, which flapped its wings and appeared before Honglian in an instant.

With a single peck, it punched a bowl-sized hole in her Protective Dharma Treasure. Her earrings flashed with Spirit Light, but the two layers of her Defense Technique were pierced as if they were made of paper.

The green phoenix’s wings trembled, and it transformed again, this time into a green rope that shot forward to bind Honglian.

A smile touched Fairy Jiuru’s lips. Capturing the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect’s only Core Formation True Man would be a monumental achievement.

Leaving all else aside, the Core Formation Spiritual Object Secret Realm that reliably produced Clear Spirit Jade Marrow and the Tier Three Spirit Beasts raised on Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain were a massive fortune in themselves. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ

If they could absorb the legacy of the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect, the Joyful Union Sect’s foundation would instantly make them the foremost among Core Formation Level Sects, and their chances of producing a Nascent Soul cultivator would increase significantly.

WHOOSH!

A streak of fleeting light flashed by. A red line appeared on Fairy Jiuru’s fair neck, and blood began to gush out.

Despair filled her eyes. She realized that it wasn’t just blood leaving her body—her True Essence was draining away with it, leaving her without the strength to even use a Magical Treasure or activate a Secret Technique.

The Golden Core within her Dantian Qi Sea seemed to have fallen into a deep slumber; no matter how she called to it, it remained utterly still.

She weakly pressed her hands to the wound, but the blood continued to seep through her fingers, blooming like vibrant flowers on her plain white dress.

In just a few breaths, the life of this pretty, innocent, and stunningly charming young woman faded away, and she collapsed heavily to the ground.

The fleeting light let out a sharp cry, changed direction, and left several afterimages in the air.

Simultaneously, a bloody hole appeared in the necks of both the rugged man and the graceful Sword Cultivator, gurgling as bloody bubbles frothed forth.

A rattling sound escaped their throats, but in the end, they couldn’t manage a single word before their breathing ceased entirely.

"Honglian is eternally grateful to the elder who has come to our aid..."

Honglian was still reeling from the shock. A moment ago, she had been on the verge of activating the final trump card Fang Tiancheng had left her just to survive.

She never expected such a sudden turn of events: three Core Formation Cultivators, slain in an instant.

To kill with such nonchalant ease... The cultivator who struck was, in all likelihood, a Nascent Soul True Monarch, or perhaps one of those equally rare Perfect Core Formation Cultivators with unparalleled combat prowess.

Only someone like Bai Zichen of the Qingfeng Sect could so effortlessly slay three Core Formation True Men in an instant.

A youth dressed in somber green appeared in the distance. His pace was neither hurried nor slow, each step covering the exact same distance as if measured with a ruler.

In just a few steps, he crossed the distance and arrived before the Ten Thousand Beasts Pavilion. The streak of light gave a joyful cry and landed on his shoulder.

The fleeting light that had slain three people in an instant was actually a palm-sized, long-beaked dove with silver plumage.

The youth in somber green reached out to stroke the Floating Light Dove’s back. His voice was deep and hoarse as he slowly said, "I came back too late."

Honglian stared at the man before her. The face was familiar, but his hair had turned to silver threads, and his eyes held a deep, indelible weariness. Her own eyes reddened. "Junior Martial Uncle Feng, you’re back..."

"Master is dead. Junior Martial Uncle Fang is dead. Senior Sister Hu is dead... Everyone is dead. Only I, the most useless one, managed to survive."

Honglian’s knees gave way, and she collapsed to the ground, finally letting out all her grief in unrestrained sobs.

From the youth before her and the Floating Light Dove, she felt a powerful aura as deep as an abyss and as vast as the sea—the terrifying pressure of the Nascent Soul realm.

An elder of the sect had returned, and as a Nascent Soul True Monarch at that. She finally had someone to rely on; the heavy burden of the sect would no longer rest on her shoulders alone.

This was the first time she had cried since her fellow Core Formation True Man had taken his own life right in front of her, leaving her to return to the sect as the sole survivor.

"I know. You’ve suffered all these years... Once I achieve another breakthrough in the Spirit Control Scripture, I will pay a visit to that Blood God Son. One day, I will avenge Senior Brother Fang and the others."

Feng Moyun’s tone was detached, as if devoid of emotion, but the slight tremor in the hand stroking the Floating Light Dove betrayed his inner turmoil.

"You take some people and clean up this mess. I’m going to inform the various sects that as of today, our sect will once again be known as the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect... And as for those who took our things, they will spit every last piece back out."

"I haven’t yet congratulated you, Junior Martial Uncle, on your ascension to True Monarch and fulfilling the age-old dream of our ancestors."

Honglian reined in her emotions and got to her feet.

With their three leading Core Formation True Men dead and powerful reinforcements on the side of the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect, the remaining disciples of the Joyful Union Sect didn’t dare to make a move.

At her command, they all dropped their Magical Artifacts and obediently bound their own hands and feet, awaiting their fate.

Feng Moyun nodded slightly, then dissolved into a streak of light, reappearing dozens of miles away in an instant.

This tunneling speed far exceeded the limits of what Early-Stage Nascent Soul Cultivators could muster; he was clearly borrowing power from the Floating Light Dove.

’To think such a world exists beyond the Endless Sea of Suffering,’ he mused. ’Who could have imagined that the legendary Bitter Cold and Desolate Land had become like that...’

It was true he had found a great opportunity in that fabled land, allowing his Lifebound Spiritual Beast, the Floating Light Dove, to become a Tier Four Great Demon. He had then seized that momentum to overcome his Celestial Tribulation and become a Nascent Soul Cultivator.

But the journey had been fraught with peril, and recalling it still made Feng Moyun shudder with lingering fear.

Even with his memories to guide him, he knew that if he were to attempt it again, he could very well fail. There was no guarantee of success.

’Once I’ve sorted out the sect’s affairs and demonstrated enough power to make the houses of the Northern Domain take us seriously, I’ll set off for the Southern Domain to complete the task that elder entrusted to me... Since I agreed, I cannot go back on my word, even if I know the trip will be meaningless and a complete waste of time.’

At this thought, the Floating Light Dove merged directly into Feng Moyun’s chest. His tunneling speed increased yet again, becoming a streak of light too fast for the naked eye to follow.