Steady Cultivation: Starting With the Perk “Work Hard, Rest Hard” - Chapter 685: The Unlucky Void Venerable
“You…” Void Venerable’s heart trembled.
“Ooh-hoo-hoo, I can tell. You know me. There aren’t many people who recognize me!” The Chaos Stone Eagle looked at him with a half-smile.
Void Venerable steadied himself and said, “You are the supreme powerhouse guarding the treasury. I’ve heard of you!”
“Hahaha, that’s hilarious. I’m the guardian, sure, but anyone who knows about me would never spread the news. So where did you hear about me? You’re nothing but a civilian artificer. How could you possibly know of my existence?”
The Chaos Stone Eagle chuckled cheerfully. “And showing up out of nowhere to investigate artificers, while being pretty familiar with me… Oh dear, your identity is just so hard to guess!”
Void Venerable’s face darkened.
His gaze darted around, as if searching for a way to escape.
“Don’t bother trying to run or kill yourself. This place is already sealed off by me. I’ve been waiting here for you for quite a long time, Seventh Speaker.”
Void Venerable’s expression grew even more grim. He knew perfectly well that he couldn’t hide his identity from the Chaos Stone Eagle, so he stopped pretending entirely.
“How did you find me? Did you already know about my contingency plan, and you’ve just been waiting for me to activate it?”
Void Venerable stared intently at the Chaos Stone Eagle.
The Chaos Stone Eagle laughed. “Man proposes, heaven disposes. You style yourself as the Shepherd of Heaven, the master of the heavenly flock, yet you don’t understand that heaven’s net is vast and wide, and nothing escapes its mesh. As long as you’ve done it, traces will always be left behind.”
Void Venerable snorted coldly, then activated the means within his body, intending to annihilate himself.
However, the Chaos Stone Eagle was faster. An attack landed in an instant, and Void Venerable’s aura plummeted by ninety-nine point nine percent. His will was also shattered by the Chaos Stone Eagle’s Willpower Impact, knocking him unconscious.
The Chaos Stone Eagle controlled his power with exquisite precision, perfectly preserving Void Venerable’s avatar.
The next moment, the Chaos Stone Eagle flew into the depths of the military camp and summoned the Speakers.
The Speakers descended one by one, all turning to look at the Chaos Stone Eagle.
Xie Tingfeng spoke first. “Old Eagle, why have you called us here?”
The Chaos Stone Eagle immediately opened his palm, revealing a figure sealed within it.
“Take a look. Who did I find? An avatar of the Shepherd of Heaven!”
The Chaos Stone Eagle grinned widely. “This counts as a great merit, right?”
First Speaker Ying Wenzheng raised an eyebrow and said, “Really? If it’s true, then you have indeed earned a great merit!”
“Haha, of course it’s true!”
The Chaos Stone Eagle guaranteed.
“Good. In that case, let’s join forces and probe his secrets!” Ying Wenzheng knew this opportunity was rare, so he immediately gave the order.
The six Speakers acted in unison, with the Chaos Stone Eagle assisting from the side. The seven of them instantly released various Chaos Great Daos to probe the former Seventh Speaker’s secrets.
During this process, Void Venerable’s face twisted with resistance, but how could he possibly break free? Even if his true body were present in person, he couldn’t withstand the combined probing of seven Speaker-level existences!
A flood of information poured out from Void Venerable’s will.
Ying Wenzheng and the others instantly learned many secrets, including the Scavengers’ attack plans, the various strengths and weaknesses of the ten Void Speakers, secret strongholds, and the hidden spies and covert agents lurking within the Second Frontline.
One could say that Void Venerable’s secrets were laid bare for all to see.
Suddenly, Ying Wenzheng probed into a special area that seemed to seal some even more peculiar secret.
The moment before he reached it.
Far away in the Nothingness camp, Void Venerable’s true body had already realized something was wrong with his avatar.
His avatar had become uncontactable. So, in the span of a single breath, he chose to self-destruct the avatar!
Thus, right before the eyes of the assembled Speakers, Void Venerable’s avatar dissipated into thin air, as if it had never existed.
The seven Speaker-level beings exchanged glances.
“Let’s move!”
In an instant, Ying Wenzheng rose, and the remaining Speakers followed suit.
Except for the Chaos Stone Eagle, who stayed behind, all six Speakers set out at the same time.
The six crossed through the Nothingness, teleporting toward a certain location.
After destroying his own avatar, Void Venerable’s true body wasted no words, merging into the Nothingness in an attempt to flee this dangerous place.
But the next moment.
Six terrifying attacks instantly blanketed the area around Void Venerable’s camp.
With a thunderous explosion, the entire camp was reduced to ashes. The army of Scavengers, numbering over a hundred million, was wiped out in a single strike.
Void Venerable was also blasted out of his hiding form, staggering backward in flight, having lost a tenth of his Nothingness origin.
“Chop!”
Ying Wenzheng said nothing else, slashing his blade at Void Venerable.
Void Venerable activated a Nothingness Supreme Treasure, condensing a massive tripod cauldron that hung above his head. Waves of Nothingness light cascaded down, protecting his body.
The blade light struck the Nothingness Great Cauldron, and the two forces underwent the most violent annihilation reaction, unleashing a powerful shockwave that swept outwards, flattening most of the camp’s rubble once more.
Void Venerable’s aura grew another degree weaker.
The others also attacked, leaving Void Venerable completely unable to defend.
They struck continuously, reducing Void Venerable’s origin to nearly thirty percent of its original strength.
“Save me!”
Void Venerable cried out.
In the distance, ten figures had already crossed through the Nothingness, heading his way.
“Retreat!”
Ying Wenzheng knew when to stop. He instantly rolled up a pile of spoils from the camp and then left without looking back.
The remaining five also vanished in an instant.
The First Void Speaker and the others gave chase, but they had obviously missed their window. By the time they reached the city wall, the six Speakers were already standing atop it, coldly staring down at the ten Nothingness Dominators.
The First Nothingness Dominator glared at Ying Wenzheng, snorted coldly, and led his people away.
Xie Tingfeng showed a hint of regret. “So close. We almost finished that bastard off.”
Second Speaker Xuchang said calmly, “His combat power has already been crippled by more than half. It will take him a long time to recover. Besides, we successfully eliminated a large number of Scavengers. The gains are substantial.”
Ying Wenzheng nodded with a smile. “We scouted a safe route and attacked the core camp without alerting them. This will definitely spark internal strife among them. That Shepherd of Heaven is absolutely going to get what’s coming to him!”
“Hahaha, he changed his name to Void Venerable. He’s got such boundless arrogance!” Fifth Speaker laughed heartily. “What a pity he’s just a clown!”
Everyone burst into laughter, then immediately returned to the interior of the frontline. Using the intelligence obtained from Void Venerable’s consciousness, they began cleaning out informants, hidden posts, spies, and moles within the frontline.
Pulling up a radish brought out the mud. In the process, they uncovered even more spies, giving the interior a satisfyingly thorough cleansing.
On the other side.
Void Venerable was trembling as he looked at the ten Void Speakers.
“I swear, I am not a mole!” Void Venerable vowed.
“Heh.”
The First Void Speaker’s gaze turned icy. “I’ve already sent people to investigate thoroughly. Over at the Chaos Alliance, not only has the number of artificers not decreased, but their quality has actually improved. Is this what you call suppression and targeting? Assassination? Who exactly did you assassinate? Now even my informants have been uprooted. You owe me an explanation!”
