Chapter 971: The Hardest Trial
Translator: Lordbluefire Editor: Lordbluefire
The demonic bird immediately disintegrated, returning to the void. It was originally formed from the void, but it possessed a terrifying strength. It was as though it hailed from the primordial era, with an overwhelming power that could easily slaughter peak ascendants. Its deadly aura towered up into the sky, and there was no need to say how terrifyingly tough its body was. However, Qin Wentian had managed to forcibly tear it in half. From this, one could very well imagine Qin Wentian's current level of raw strength.
At present, Qin Wentian's hands were in the shape of a wind roc. His indomitable talons clutched forth with crushing force, shining with a terrifying blood-colored light as demonic qi gushed out from him in waves, able to destroy everything. Fearsome terrifying runes covered his talons, granting Qin Wentian an inconceivable amount of power. Right now if he were to fight against ordinary peak-level ascendants, a single palm strike would be enough to shatter them apart. Even 'normal-tier' geniuses, wouldn't be able to defend against a single strike from him.
The light ahead flashed as another astral gate appeared above him. The Ancient Path of Stars led upwards, higher and higher until one could reach the heavens and pay their respects to the divine.
Qin Wentian's eyes gleamed sharply. He didn't hesitate and immediately stepped towards the gate. After all, since they'd managed to encounter a divine ruin here, how could he not explore it to his heart's content? If it turned out that he wasn't strong enough and then expelled from the ancient path, his heart would have neither regrets nor grievances. But if he didn't even have the guts to forge ahead, then why even bother pursuing the peak of cultivation?
Following the Ancient Path of Stars, Qin Wentian moved towards the astral gate and stepped through it. He reappeared in another illusory world, and in the sky, there was another ancient demon in the form of an ape waiting for him. Exuding a towering killing intent, the ape had a huge cudgel in its hand and looked like it could sweep across anything in the heavens and earth.
This ancient demon instantly smashed its cudgel down right where Qin Wentian stood, instantly causing the space itself to churn and vibrate violently. The smashing down of the cudgel could even shatter mountains, let alone mere ascendants. Its supreme attack power even made Qin Wentian feel his heart shudder. This desolate beast was much more savage and powerful compared to the demonic bird from earlier. Even for the geniuses here in the City of Ancient Emperors, Qin Wentian was sure that no one was strong enough to resist against that kind of overwhelming attack prowess.
Rumbling sounds rang out, and Qin Wentian's body expanded to 100 meters in height, becoming the same size as his opponent. The boundless astral energy within him transformed into mountain-type divine energy, and he blasted out with a palm strike infused with the pure-white light from his bloodline. A thunderous explosive sound rang out, and numerous ancient mountains manifested in the air, capable of suppressing everything around them. The suppressive might swept over this entire realm, and the rumbling sounds continued endlessly as one after another the mountains exploded as if to shatter apart this world.
Qin Wentian's Suppression Constellation shone brilliantly, cascading its glow onto him. There seemed to be a towering divinity on his back as countless golden figures of suppression descended from the skies, all smashing towards that demonic ape. The ape roared in anger and swung wildly with its gigantic cudgel, but the golden figures of suppression rained down ceaselessly, exploding one after another with no end to them.
At the same time, Qin Wentian blasted out an immense palm imprint directly onto that demonic ape, a volley that was able to shatter the sun, moon, and stars, annihilating all in existence.
"ROAR!" A heaven-shaking roar thundered out, rocking everything. Humming sounds emitted from the gigantic palm, and at the point of impact, it only managed to injure the ape. However, there was no change in Qin Wentian's expression. A pair of wind roc wings appeared behind him. He stepped out and transformed into a shadow before launching out a flurry of palm strikes. The demonic ape frenziedly tried to defend itself as it cried out endlessly in pain and agony. Finally, with a deafening blast, Qin Wentian shattered its body apart, and it vanished into the void.
The Ancient Path of Stars appeared once more, manifesting an astral gate. Qin Wentian's eyes were like lightning as he stepped through it. He wanted to see how many trials this path had, and what could possibly obstruct him from advancing.
Qin Wentian fought in combat again and again, against the most dangerous primordial demonic beasts that ever existed. The demonic beasts naturally grew stronger with every gate, and at the end, he could only manage to kill them if he activated his God's Hand.
This continued for a total of eight times. And once again, he entered another illusory world for the ninth time, waiting for the desolate beast of this stage to emerge.
Such a trial caused Qin Wentian to sigh. Most probably, not many people in the entire immortal realms would be able to pass this. If it was an immortal king or emperor character that entered the Ancient Path of Stars, would the desolate beast be at the immortal king/emperor level? How terrifying would that be?
At this moment in the sky of the illusory world, a terrifying light flashed as the baleful aura of a desolate beast descended. Terrifying runes blasted down like lightning as a fearsome desolate annihilative pressure swept across Qin Wentian, causing him to feel an impending sense of doom.
Nine was the ultimate number. This was the ninth trial. Was this the final test for the Ancient Path of Stars? If this was it, how terrifying would the test be?
The devastating might brewing earlier bore down on Qin Wentian completely, causing his expression to turn incomparably solemn. The entirety of the energy in his body circulated as he activated the God's Hand. At present, his gigantic body emitted a heaven-shaking rumbling sound, and it was as if he himself had transformed into a terrifying desolate ferocious beast that exuded enough power to startle the heavens.
Qin Wentian inclined his head, only to see that the sky was now painted a scorching shade of red. This seemed to be an indication of a heavenly tribulation as destructive bolts of lightning blasted down endlessly. A vortex appeared in the sky—a desolate ancient demonic beast from the primordial era was about to spawn from there.
Blinding golden rays cascaded down, and a more terrifyingly threatening pressure enveloped Qin Wentian. After which, Qin Wentian saw an immense shadow shuttling through the sky like a bolt of golden lightning, instantly appearing before him and attacking with such speed that Qin Wentian couldn't even catch its movements.
It was too swift, excessively so.
Qin Wentian could only blast out with the God's Hand based on instinct, and a terrifying collision sound rang out as his body was flung through the air. Groaning in pain, he discovered his God's Hand was about to be shattered. Such power caused him to feel more than just fear. Another brilliant light flashed as that supreme primordial demon rushed at him again. It moved so fast that Qin Wentian practically didn't have time to react.
Qin Wentian roared, unleashing boundless strength. He explosively blasted out with his God's Hand, as it shimmered with a pure-white glow akin to candle flames. Another heaven-rumbling sound thundered out as Qin Wentian was flung through the air once more. However this time, that supreme greater demon was also similarly forced back to retreat. It floated in the air, finally giving Qin Wentian a clear view of what species it was.
Its entire body seemed to be cast from gold, radiating a bright, pure-gold luster. Its wings glimmered with golden rays of light, and each feather seemed even sharper than swords, able to lacerate anything. And just by staying in the air, the flapping of its wings had already generated a windstorm so powerful it was equivalent to the sharpness exuded from countless swords.
Only its eyes were black in color, so deep that it could stir a person's soul. It emitted a baleful aura so strong that it towered up into the sky.
"Golden-Winged Great Roc!"
Qin Wentian's heart trembled. The Golden-Winged Great Roc was the strongest of all roc species. Qin Wentian had cultivated wind roc techniques, but that was merely derived from the movements of a real roc. But even so, the roc-type innate techniques were already extremely formidable. One could very well imagine how powerful a real great roc was.
The golden roc in front of him was none other than a Golden-Winged Great Roc. It had the purest bloodline, inheriting the divine talent and might of the roc species.
Qin Wentian's constellations gleamed with a resplendent light, exuding a supreme pressure that crushed downwards. However, the Golden-Winged Great Roc shot forth powerful beams of golden light, enveloping itself with it and easily mitigating the pressure. Those baleful eyes had no change in expression. The attack Qin Wentian unleashed, one that could easily destroy peak-level ascendants, couldn't even touch it.
In the cold eyes of the golden-winged roc, gleams of sharpness shot out. It blasted out another attack, forcing Qin Wentian to utilize his wind roc techniques to their limits, but it was impossible for him to win against his opponent in speed. A swishing sound rang out as the wings of the golden-winged roc directly slashed towards Qin Wentian. Its terrifying golden light sundered the area directly in half. Qin Wentian explosively retreated while simultaneously blasting out with the God's Hand in a frenzied attempt to obstruct the roc's attacks.
However, in the next moment, the golden-winged roc transformed into a whirlpool of wind, spiraling gracefully in an incomparably swift manner. The golden shadow spun around like a tornado, causing rays of golden light to blast out in all directions. Qin Wentian frantically retreated, staring at the spiraling great roc as his countenance turned incredibly unsightly to behold. Such an attack could continue without end, unless he could somehow break the wings of the great roc...but it would most likely be an impossible feat.
The sword qi gushing from Qin Wentian towered into the sky. The God's Hand shone with a resplendent boundless light, materializing countless sharp swords that pierced towards the supremely sharp wings, but one-by-one, the swords only ended up being ground into dust. The shrill sound of clashing metal rang out endlessly, and Qin Wentian felt that his God's Hand was about to be crushed into nonexistence. Recoiling from the force of the impact, he retreated once more. Under such lacerating might, even if his body were made of divine steel, he would still be sliced into pieces.
Comparing the sharpness of their attacks, he was inferior to his opponent. There was no need to even talk about speed. The only method available to him was to use the strongest force he could muster to launch an overwhelming attack.
Qin Wentian's blood thrummed, circulating the power of two bloodlines. His God's Hand materialized a long spear as the power of his bloodlines infused it. All the divine energy in his body erupted forth and coated the spear, creating a level of power sufficient enough to cause all the geniuses in the City of Ancient Emperors to grovel before it.
The Golden-Winged Great Roc's spiral killing technique was exceedingly resplendent and beautiful; it clearly contained a supreme slaughtering might within.
—BOOM!— Qin Wentian's body erupted forth with a power that originated from the primordial era as overwhelming amounts of demonic qi gushed forth from him, sweeping across the realm. At the same time, he radiated the pure-white light of his second bloodline as he channeled all its destructive might into his spear.
"DIE!" A thunderous roar sounded out, Qin Wentian's spear stabbed towards the golden-winged roc spinning its way towards him. The entire power of the God's Hand erupted forth completely in this strike, piercing towards the roc's wings. This time, the spear didn't shatter. Piercing sounds rang out, a surge of divine might permeated the atmosphere as the long spear penetrated the roc. The golden-winged roc abruptly stopped its movement—the spear stabbed all the way through its wings, right into its body.
Qin Wentian's God's Hand disintegrated completely. By unleashing that earlier attack, he'd exhausted all the energy within the God's Hand. It was the strongest level of destructive might he could muster.
The roc's intensely cold black eyes stared at Qin Wentian, flashing with astonishment. Its mouth opened as two words rang out...
"God's blood..." As the sound of its voice faded, the long spear shattered and the golden-winged roc vanished into the void, disappearing completely from sight!
Chapter 972: Divine Statue
Translator: Lordbluefire Editor: Lordbluefire
"God's blood?" Qin Wentian furrowed his brows as his eyes gleamed with sharpness. The long spear he'd materialized with the God's Hand had dissipated. His heart was filled with bewilderment. What did the Golden-Winged Great Roc mean by its parting words?
He stared at his palms that were shining with a resplendent light, both interwoven with currents of power from his two bloodlines.
"That golden-winged roc was truly fearsome. I'm afraid it most probably still had many other innate techniques it had yet to display. I could only kill it by piercing through its body with an overwhelming attack." Qin Wentian's heart trembled. If his last attack had failed to penetrate the great roc, he would've truly been at a loss on what to do next. There were no other attacks in his arsenal of techniques that could surpass the power of that final strike.
Right now Qin Wentian was confident that his strength had reached its true supreme peak below immortality. It was highly likely that there wouldn't be any opponents that could match him below the immortal-foundation. Ordinary peak ascendants could be effortlessly destroyed just by the power of his constellations alone, but that Golden-Winged Great Roc had truly given him such pressure that he could feel death.
Right now, an ancient pathway appeared before him, heading upwards into the sky. Qin Wentian's eyes gleamed, the trials should be over, right?
If that wasn't the final trial, then he was truly helpless.
Stepping out, Qin Wentian walked onto the ancient pathway and he was instantly seized with the feeling of being shuttled across worlds. An instant later, as his foot landed, he arrived at the other end of this ancient pathway.
On the other end, he saw a holy-looking hall under the stars. Astral light cascaded down, giving it a sacred and imposing feeling. Qin Wentian stared ahead; he could see the statue of a figure standing between the heavens and earth, so tall that its head touched the sky. Was this the statue of a divine being?
Other than him, there was no other being.
"Is this place really a divine ruin?" Qin Wentian stared at the statue. He'd passed so many trials and had come all this way just to see a statue?
Qin Wentian's gaze flickered. He noticed there was a scepter in one of the statue's hands. This statue was also immense, as though it symbolized supreme authority and power, exuding an incomparable prestige. Stepping out, he walked towards the statue. His eyes gleamed with a dazzling light as he stretched out his hand and reached for the statue.
The moment he did, boundless runes flowed frenziedly around the scepter. Right as his hand closed on it, Qin Wentian's mind was invaded with streams of information. He could see the entire Antiquity City through his eyes, staring past the Ancient Path of Stars. In his mind, he was currently standing in a divine estate. The Antiquity City was situated at a space below this divine estate, and this place could only be reached by traversing the Ancient Path of Stars.
The divine statue and scepter in this divine estate, symbolized an unparalleled authority. It could peer down on everything that happened in the Antiquity City, and could even control the trials of the city.
Closing his eyes, Qin Wentian could even see the scenes of those outside the Antiquity City. The disciples from the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect were pacing about. They were still obstructed merely from the first test. Qin Wentian felt an extremely strange sensation. It felt like with the scepter in his hand, he could even shut down the Antiquity City if he wished to.
"There are three paths. A total of three entrances." At this moment, Qin Wentian's perception continued extending outwards as more scenes appeared in his mind. The Ancient Path of Stars he'd taken wasn't the only passageway to arrive here. There were two other pathways that led to two separate places. The two other places might be linked to the second and third level of the City of Ancient Emperors.
"No good, Qingxuan is in danger!" Suddenly, Qin Wentian discovered that Zi Qingxuan, who was in the midst of taking the trials of the Ancient Path of Stars, was in grave danger after being heavily injured by a powerful ancient demonic beast.
"Exit!" Qin Wentian's will transmitted outwards via his connection with the scepter. As she fought for her life, Zi Qingxuan suddenly felt a supreme will bore down on the demonic beast. She instantly retreated, leaving through the astral gate, and then appearing outside the Ancient Path of Stars. Her heart pounded violently as she stared at the sky. Earlier, that supreme will she felt was like that of a God. There was no way to resist it at all. Was that a divine decree?
But why did it feel like the supreme will was trying to save her?
Qin Wentian then turned his attention to the others taking the trials of the Ancient Path of Stars. He used his strength, and tried to take the scepter from the statue; yet the moment he attempted to do so, a terrifying runic light flashed as a thunderous rumbling rang out. The image of a gigantic black dragon appeared and its immense eyes were looking right at him.
Qin Wentian opened his eyes, staring at the black dragon.
"You are still too weak. The you right now still cannot take the scepter away." The black dragon spoke, his words causing Qin Wentian's heart to tremble. This was the black dragon guarding the oceans surrounding the City of Ancient Emperors. However, the figure here was most likely only manifested from a strand of that black dragon's immortal sense.
"Since I've passed the trials of the Ancient Path of Stars, why can't I bring the scepter away?" Qin Wentian asked.
"You've already formed a strand of connection with the will of the scepter. In the future you can come here any time. When your cultivation realm reaches a certain level, you can come back again. I will protect this place for now and close this divine estate for you," intoned the black dragon. Qin Wentian's eyes flickered. Ancient Emperors had all come here for the purpose of gaining control of a divine estate, but all had failed to do so. From black dragon's words, it seemed that he could inherit this particular divine estate?
"Little fellow, your luck is truly good. In the river of history, there were many supreme talents who've come to this place before. But it was precisely due to their excessive strength that the the trials on the Ancient Path of Stars generated even more fearsome opponents for them. But in spite of this, there were quite a few supreme figures who fought all the way till the ninth trial before they were defeated. You have outstanding talent, and have undergone the baptism of the Sacred Luminance, cultivating the secret art of an ancient emperor. And with the benefits of your tyrannical bloodline, you have managed to make it all the way here. Your lower cultivation actually became an advantage for you. But sadly, with your current cultivation level, you are still not strong enough to control the scepter."
The black dragon spoke unhurriedly as it continued, "Come back again in the future."
"But to leave just like that will make me feel that this divine estate has failed to live up to expectations. At the very least, could Senior grant me a few treasures? Maybe...some ancient sacred treasures would be good." Qin Wentian stared at the black dragon with a smile. "Oh, and the Sacred Luminance! I feel like taking some of its holy light with me. Senior should have a solution, right?"
"You are truly greedy," said the black dragon. "Look at the left hand of the divine statue. You'll find a treasured cauldron. It's none other than the ancient treasure that you wanted. The Sacred Luminance can only be contained within an ancient storage treasure such as that."
A look of blazing heat flickered in Qin Wentian's eyes. An ancient treasure!
He stared at the left hand of the divine statue, and saw that the gigantic hand was truly holding onto a treasured cauldron. It was a square-shaped cauldron with mysterious ancient-looking runic words engraved onto it. Despite his attainments in divine inscriptions, Qin Wentian couldn't understand the meaning of those runes.
Qin Wentian stretched his hand out to lift the cauldron. However, he discovered that he couldn't even move it. It weighed at least several million kilograms.
"So heavy." Qin Wentian's expression stiffened. His body expanded, and he used both his hands and wrapped them around the cauldron. Resplendent runic light circulated around him, and with a loud shout, a thunderous rumbling sound rang out as the cauldron was finally lifted up by a bit. However at this moment, a dazzling light shone from the ancient runes on the cauldron. After which, a terrifying vortex unleashed an intense absorption force so strong that Qin Wentian couldn't resist. His gigantic body was effortlessly sucked inside of the cauldron.
"This..." Qin Wentian reappeared in the interior of the cauldron. Despite his gigantic body, he was still absorbed into the space inside the cauldron. The ancient-looking complex runes possessed a mysterious energy. A bright light suddenly flashed as a towering might radiated, enveloping around Qin Wentian's gigantic body. In the next instant, Qin Wentian felt as though his body was about to be refined by the cauldron. His countenance instantly paled as he struggled to get out.
"You lied to me?" Qin Wentian tried to soar into the air. However, the boundless streams of energy wrapped around him—he had no way to exit the cauldron.
"This is an ancient treasure. It's purely beneficial, and would be of no harm to you. Just relax and enjoy the process." Qin Wentian's body felt like it was about to be ripped apart. The ancient runes generated waves of terrifying might, endlessly blasting into him. At this instant, he felt like he was enduring a combination of power from countless innate techniques. As the attacks blasted continuously into him, his gigantic body gradually turned illusory.
"ARGH!" Qin Wentian unleashed the power of his bloodlines and let out an earth-shaking roar. That flowing pure-white light circulated around his entire body, repairing the damage dealt to it.
His body was continuously being destroyed and rejuvenated again and again. Such agony made Qin Wentian feel his will was about to collapse. He was almost at his limits and couldn't endure for much longer.
"NO!" Qin Wentian roared wildly, gritting his teeth and persisted on. He'd already made it all the way here. How could he allow a cauldron to destroy him? This ancient treasure wouldn't be able to destroy his will.
Beams of runic light rushed straight into Qin Wentian's body, causing the power of the runes to seep deep into his blood and his bones. However, such agony caused Qin Wentian to faint many times. This lasted for about an hour, but to Qin Wentian, it felt as long as an eternity.
When everything stopped, Qin Wentian's entire body was doused in his perspiration. However, his skin shimmered with even more brilliant light. In his body and his bones, he could feel a wild surge of vibrant energy just like that of a desolate beast. Turning his gaze to the treasured cauldron, its engraved runes seemed to be much clearer than before. The runes faintly resembled diagrams that floated before his eyes. He understood now that storage was just a small function of this ancient treasure. Its main purpose was for attacking, as it contained boundless supreme might.
"There are innate techniques inherent to this cauldron?" Qin Wentian felt his heart shuddering. Right now, he could sense the connection between him and this ancient treasure, but the smile on his face was bitter. He still didn't know who it was that had refined whom.
Qin Wentian's body flickered, exiting the cauldron. He glared harshly at the black dragon—this dragon had actually lied to him!
However, the black dragon was as emotionless as before. It faintly spoke, "I've already sent away your friends and that other fellow. I've also closed the entrance. Do you want to leave now?"
"No hurry, I'm going to fill this ancient cauldron full of Sacred Luminance first," Qin Wentian replied. With a wave of his hand, the ancient cauldron spun about, shrinking in size, and then flying to his palm. With his other hand around the scepter, he directed his will at it and he immediately vanished, reappearing at the area filled with the Sacred Luminance.
Qin Wentian stared at the beautiful holy radiance cascading from the sky. The hatred he felt for the black dragon gradually vanished. This was the Sacred Luminance from the legends. Once he filled the ancient cauldron up with it and took it out, even immortal emperors would have to grovel before him if they wanted it. However, Qin Wentian clearly understood that if he managed to bring the Sacred Luminance out, this must be kept an absolute secret or he would end up dying an extremely miserable death.
With another wave of his hand, the cauldron expanded, becoming extremely immense as it flew into the area of the Sacred Luminance. Instantly, the boundless holy light flowed into the cauldron, transforming into numerous light runes, filling it to the brim!
Chapter 973: Commotion in the City of Ancient Emperors
Translator: Lordbluefire Editor: Lordbluefire
"Sacred Luminance!" Qin Wentian's eyes shone brightly. He shared a connection with the cauldron and could already sense that his attempt was successful. The Sacred Luminance filled the giant cauldron, fusing together as one.
Qin Wentian somehow understood why only ancient sacred treasures could contain Sacred Luminance. The Sacred Luminance was a holy light from ancient times; it was something formless. For ordinary treasures that sought to contain it, the Sacred Luminance would dissipate upon entering it. The only thing that could store it were true ancient sacred treasures—the ones that were able to 'fuse' together with the light runes the Sacred Luminance transformed into.
Since that was the case, Qin Wentian would be able to use the Sacred Luminance to help those around him to evolve. Naturally, the prerequisite would be that the will of the person undergoing the baptism must be strong enough, or their body would surely be destroyed by the baptism process.
Nanfeng Yunxi even said that the Sacred Luminance was something even ancient immortal emperors longed for in their dreams. Although he possessed the Sacred Luminance now, he could never divulge this fact. In future, after developing himself to a certain extent, he would be able to use this to recruit immortal kings and emperors, or even nurture demon-level talents.
The light runes from the sacred radiance continuously flowed into the cauldron. Qin Wentian acted like he feared that the amount he was taking out would be insufficient, and took his time in storing more. Finally, the black dragon remarked, "Hey, enough. The cauldron is already filled with the Sacred Luminance."
An embarrassed smile appeared on Qin Wentian's face. After that, with a wave of his hand, a runic glow flashed in the sky as the cauldron flew back to his hand, becoming miniature in size again. Qin Wentian then stowed it away. This ancient sacred treasure contained a supremely unrivaled attacking-type innate technique as well. He would have to spend some time to cultivate it more seriously after they were all out of here.
This time around, being hunted by the disciples of the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect had actually turned out to be a blessing instead of a disaster. It had allowed them to find the Antiquity City and even helped them learn some of the secrets of the City of Ancient Emperors. All of them had benefitted from the chase, and it could even be said that they'd had a bout of good fortune. It looked like he owed his thanks to the Eastern Sage Immortal Emperor. If he hadn't sent his army out to hunt them down, it would've been impossible for them to find this good fortune.
"Time to leave." A marvelous energy enveloped Qin Wentian and sent him out of the Antiquity City, right at the entrance. Qing'er, Nanfeng Yunxi, and the others were all there as well. When they saw Qin Wentian appearing, strange expressions could be seen on their faces as they looked at him.
"What's the matter?" Qin Wentian stared at the curious looks of the others, raising his brows.
"We were all sent out together." Nanfeng Yunxi smiled as she looked at Qin Wentian. This normally cold and arrogant Southern Phoenix Princess could finally smile and laugh in their presence now.
"That includes Mo Xie. However, that fellow and those from the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect joined forces and used their immortal weapons to flee. If not, we would have forced them to remain here," said Jun Mengchen. He then continued, "Senior Brother, you're the last to come out. Did you encounter anything special?"
"After passing the final trial, I arrived at a divine estate and came across a divine statue. After that, the protector of the City of Ancient Emperors, that black dragon, told me that my cultivation was too low and sent me out from there. This is why I came out later than you guys," Qin Wentian explained. He didn't explain or mention the Sacred Luminance. It wasn't that he didn't have a good relationship with his companions. There were just too many people here, and there was nothing that guaranteed that they would keep it a secret.
Nanfeng Yunxi was a princess of the Southern Phoenix Clan. Could Qin Wentian guarantee that she wouldn't tell Matriarch Southern Phoenix? He didn't think that he had such charisma.
Hua Taixu also had a sect of his own and was a personal disciple of the Myriad Incarnations Immortal King. It was to be expected that Hua Taixu would tell her the news.
Regarding the Sacred Luminance, the moment it was revealed, Qin Wentian would die for sure. The immortal kings and emperors of the immortal realms would all hunt him down for it.
Hence it would be for the best if he alone knew this secret. After all, everyone here had all undergone the baptism of the Sacred Luminance and had already gained its benefits.
"There's a divine estate?" Nanfeng Yunxi stared at the Antiquity City ahead. "You stepped inside it after passing the trials of the Ancient Path of Stars. It's highly likely that you'll be the only one who can enter it from now on. This is something of great fortune for you!"
"Maybe. But that's still a matter for the future," Qin Wentian remarked. "Let's go. We will return to the City of Ancient Emperors."
"Mhm. Everyone nodded." Qing'er took out her spatial leaf boat, they all climbed on it and departed the area. As they sped away, all of them turned their heads and stared at the Antiquity City that gradually disappeared into the horizon.
On the way back, Qin Wentian saw a group of figures also traveling in the same direction as them. These were none other than the experts from the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect. They also saw Qin Wentian and his companions at the same time. Their countenance shone with coldness as they took out their immortal weapons, causing waves of immortal might to sweep through the sky.
"Want to do them in or not?" Jun Mengchen's eyes flickered with a terrifying sharpness.
"There's no need to bother ourselves with them. Qing'er, let's continue on our way," said Qin Wentian. Although they had transformed through the baptism, there were still over three hundred experts from the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect. If all of them took out their immortal weapons, Qin Wentian and his companions would still be at a miserable disadvantage.
Qing'er nodded. The void leaf boat continued shuttling through the air, shooting past the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect. The experts coldly glared at them but didn't do anything to stop them.
"After we return, we will restructure the Qin Sect and recruit even more people. In that case, be it a battle with or without immortal weapons, we won't be at a disadvantage," stated Qin Wentian. Jun Mengchen nodded. No matter what, right now their strength had already reached the ninth level. As long as they had more people, the three hundred experts from the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect wouldn't be much of a threat.
"Fine, we will let them strut around a little while longer," said Jun Mengchen coldly.
During the time Qin Wentian and the others entered the Antiquity City, something had happened in the Underworld Mountains. Zi Daoyang was recovering in the Underworld Mountains, and after that, he coincidentally met with Zhan Peng who'd just finished comprehending his portion of the inheritance of the Brahma Heavenly Emperor.
Although Zhan Peng had managed to seize a spot of the inheritance for himself back then, the resulting cruel end had told everyone in the City of Ancient Emperors that truly powerful inheritances only belonged to the supremely strong. If you weren't one of the powerful ones at the peak, then even if you managed to obtain an inheritance, it still counted for nothing, and you may even lose your life at the end.
The tenth-ranked Zhan Peng died at the hands of Zi Daoyang, who then gained his portion of the inheritance and fused them together. Now, the one ranked first in the Immortal Ascension Rankings had just grown even stronger.
After killing Zhan Peng and devouring his portion of the inheritance, Zi Daoyang headed into the depths of the Underworld Mountains. In the end, he had also caught sight of the Antiquity City, but sadly, the passageway leading into it had already been sealed off. Qin Wentian and the others had already left, and Zi Daoyang could only gaze at the Antiquity City with strong reluctance in his eyes as he departed as well.
...
When Qin Wentian and the others returned to the Qin Sect's headquarters, they discovered only a few of their original members had remained. The majority of them had already dispersed.
As they flew over, a number of figures rose into the air, smiling when they saw Qin Wentian and his companions returning safely.
"You all still know that you're supposed to return to this place?" Li Yu joked as he folded his arms in front of his chest. Staring at Qin Wentian and the others, Li Yu could feel that their individual demeanors had changed. This caused Li Yu's eyes to gleam with a dazzling light.
"We were the ones who founded the Qin Sect. Of course, we'll return." Qin Wentian smiled back.
"Don't blame the others. You guys were being hunted by the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect army, and the Evil Palace and the Violet Sect were all hiding from sight, eyeing us like tigers eyeing their prey. Xiao Lengyue even threatened us and told the people of our Qin Sect to scram, and so many of our former members have all left..." Xu Ruxue explained quietly. Qin Wentian gave a casual wave of his hand, "I don't blame them. If it were me, I would have done the same as well."
After all, the Qin Sect was merely a power he established in the City of Ancient Emperors. And for their group, who had been in the lead, to now be hunted? How could he expect everyone to give up their lives for him? It wasn't realistic.
"Summon them back. In addition, I plan to step up our recruitment. Our plans will be to prepare for the final battle in the City of Ancient Emperors. For those who are willing, they can join the Qin Sect. What are your opinions on this?" Qin Wentian asked Li Yu and Xu Ruxue.
"Final battle...? Are you sure?" Li Yu had an expression of shock on his face.
"Yes. Help me to inform the entire City of Ancient Emperors that once I, Qin Wentian, have finished off the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect, I will issue a challenge to the top-ranked and second-ranked in the Immortal Ascension Rankings, Zi Daoyang and Mo Xie." Qin Wentian declared, his words causing the eyes of Xu Ruxue and Li Yu to gleam with a dazzling light. Qin Wentian was going to challenge the top two existences in the City of Ancient Emperors.
"Okay. Leave this to me," Li Yu responded.
"Me, too." Xu Ruxue's countenance was sharp, had she reached the point of witnessing history being made?
"I will have to trouble you two then." Qin Wentian nodded to them as they all stepped into their headquarters.
Very swiftly, a shocking piece of news circulated the City of Ancient Emperors. Qin Wentian was summoning back the members of the Qin Sect, and they were ramping up on recruitment. Qin Wentian had also issued a challenge to Zi Daoyang and Mo Xie, saying that once he finished off the people from the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect, he would formally invite them to a match.
The news naturally caused a great deal of commotion in the City of Ancient Emperors. Could it be that those at the peak were preparing to have a showdown to see who was superior?
It seemed like Qin Wentian had already broken through to the ninth level of Celestial Phenomenon. The three powers at the top were rumored to have fought in the Underworld Mountains, yet Qin Wentian and his companions had actually returned safely. Qin Wentian had once claimed that if he broke through to the ninth level, he would fight solo against Zi Daoyang. He was now fulfilling that promise, but not only to Zi Daoyang, he was also challenging Mo Xie.
The experts from the Qin Sect gradually returned after they learned that their sect leader was safe. Afterward, there were even more geniuses who joined the Qin Sect. All of them despised the actions of the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect and even said that they wanted to crush those little clowns. To think that the Eastern Sage Immortal Emperor had actually sent an army to settle the grudges that were made in the City of Ancient Emperors. How shameless was he?
Back then, how arrogant were the people of the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect? Using words to humiliate the Qin Sect, but in the end, they couldn't even withstand a single strike the moment they met Qin Wentian. The Eastern Sage Immortal Emperor couldn't stand the loss of face, and so he summoned the strongest ascendants within his Eastern Sage Army just to deal with Qin Wentian. By extension, this already counted as interfering in the matters of the City of Ancient Emperors. This made many people look upon the Eastern Sage Immortal Emperor with contempt, and they all joined the Qin Sect to prepare to exterminate the experts from the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect. At the same time, they also wanted to personally witness the outcome of the fight between Qin Wentian, Zi Daoyang, and Mo Xie. This then was truly a battle between men. No one could interfere in this showdown to determine who stood at the very peak!
Chapter 974: Eve before the Grand Battle
Translator: Lordbluefire Editor: Lordbluefire
In the City of Ancient Emperors, many were descendants of immortal kings and emperors. Even if they weren't, they would be their disciples. Hence, all of them were lofty individuals whose arrogance towered up into the sky. They looked down on the actions of the Eastern Sage Immortal Emperor. If back then, the Eastern Sage Immortal Emperor had sent his more powerful personal disciples here to kill Qin Wentian, that would be fine. But he'd actually sent out an army, and so his actions naturally incurred the ridicule of many.
At the same time, Qin Wentian's challenge to Zi Daoyang and Mo Xie, the two top rankers of the Immortal Ascension Ranking, had truly stirred up the spirits of many. This should be what a genius from the City of Ancient Emperors should be like.
Comparing the two, it was clear that Qin Wentian's spirit made those in the City of Ancient Emperors have a more unfavorable opinion of the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect.
Hence, another storm of commotion arose in the City of Ancient Emperors. Many people were rushing to join the Qin Sect.
In a few short days, the number of geniuses in the Qin Sect exploded. They were all here because they wanted to witness the making of history, to personally see Qin Wentian fight against Zi Daoyang and Mo Xie.
The Qin Sect today was a far cry from the tranquil place it had been before. As a result of their recruitment efforts, it was now extremely lively, with geniuses from all kinds of locations gathering there. Qin Wentian had also changed his previous policy—now they were accepting anyone who wished to join. As a matter of fact, they weren't going to stay too long in the City of Ancient Emperors, so it would be impossible for sect members to form a truly close relationship like that of real brothers. He was also thinking he might as well take the opportunity during this short period of time to gather people and carry out the things he should do. In the future, if they ever met in the outside world, it would naturally be good if they could drink and chat happily. But if they ended up on opposite sides, there would be no regrets as well.
"Nanfeng, did Qin Wentian really break through to the ninth level of Celestial Phenomenon? I remember when he first entered this city and joined the Xiao Sect, he was only a seventh-level ascendant. How can he break through two levels to the ninth within such a short period of time? Did you guys go through some miraculous encounters?" Hearing someone among them directing this question to Nanfeng Yunxi, many of the geniuses who joined the Qin Sect all had expressions of interest on their faces.
"There were indeed some miraculous encounters." Nanfeng Yunxi nodded, admitting it honestly.
"Wow, what miraculous encounters?" someone asked.
"In the City of Ancient Emperors, in the very depths of the Underworld Mountains, there's a city in the sky containing many enigmatic secrets. It was none other than the Antiquity City. We took on the trials and obtained the benefits, causing Qin Wentian to smoothly break through in his cultivation." Nanfeng Yunxi chose not to hide anything. This Antiquity City would be known to many sooner or later. Rather than hiding things and arousing suspicions, she might as well tell the truth.
"Is this true?" As expected, the eyes of several experts gleamed with sharpness; all of them were directing their attention towards Nanfeng Yunxi.
"Yes, is there any reason for me to lie to you? You can all seek out that city for yourselves. But regretfully, because the cultivation level requirements are too high, we were all asked to leave that place. If not, we would have surely established our immortal foundations inside it," Nanfeng Yunxi said calmly. "And sadly, the pathway to that city has already been sealed."
"Oh?" Many people had disappointment flashing through their eyes. Since the path had already been sealed, didn't that mean that they had no chance at all?
"Nanfeng isn't lying. The things she's said are all true." At this moment, Qin Wentian walked over, sitting together with Nanfeng Yunxi.
"Brother Qin." Everyone clasped their hands in politeness.
"Sect leader Qin!" some experts called out. After all, Qin Wentian was the sect leader of the Qin Sect.
"Brothers, you are all too courteous. I must truly thank you for your help by willingly joining my sect," Qin Wentian said in a forthright manner, clasping his hands as well.
"A power like the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect that can only bully people with their numbers, we should make them wake the fuck up and remind them that this place is the City of Ancient Emperors."
"That's right. The Eastern Sage Immortal Emperor actually sent out an army to this place to deal with Brother Qin? That shouldn't have happened at all."
"Brother Qin, we still have to make things clear first. We're all extremely willing and happy to take care of those clowns from the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect. But since you've proclaimed a challenge to Zi Daoyang and Mo Xie, that will ultimately have to depend on yourself. But, if the people from the Violet Sect and the Evil Palace interfere and join in on the battle, we'll of course act against them. If they don't, then we won't involve ourselves, since after all, we would also like to see a battle between the three individuals at the very peak of the City of Ancient Emperors," someone stated.
"That's only natural." Qin Wentian nodded. "In any case, the reason why I, Qin Wentian, have established the Qin Sect, was never to bully others through brute force. I just have no wish to encounter the same circumstances as back then—being surrounded by major powers on all sides. That was nothing but a humiliation, and since I dared to challenge Zi Daoyang and Mo Xie, I will naturally fight against them alone. I have no need for the help of others."
"Right!" Someone in the crowd cheered.
"Brother Qin is truly bold. Right after arriving at the City of Ancient Emperors, you were already challenging the first and second-ranked in the Immortal Ascension Rankings. We are all truly impressed."
"It looks like your miraculous encounter in the Antiquity City has caused Brother Qin's strength to rise to another level."
"There's also another thing I think you all might not know about. Back then, Mo Xie was closely pursuing us, and so he has also stepped into the Antiquity City as well. So, that miraculous encounter was also experienced by Mo Xie," Qin Wentian added, causing everyone's eyes to gleam sharply.
"Mo Xie also managed to step into the Antiquity City with you guys?!" someone exclaimed in shock.
"Mhm, that's right." Nanfeng Yunxi nodded.
"Nanfeng was speaking truthfully. We experienced good fortune there, but were forced to leave because our cultivation levels were too low. It's truly regretful that the path leading into the Antiquity City has now been sealed. If you guys don't believe us, you can head over to the depths of the Underworld Mountain and take a look for yourselves," Qin Wentian added honestly. None of the geniuses present doubted his words.
"Since Brother Qin and the Southern Phoenix Holy Maiden have already put it that way, we will naturally believe in you. We will wait until the conclusion of the battle between Brother Qin, Zi Daoyang, and Mo Xie before we head to the Antiquity City for a look," stated someone in the crowd.
"Okay. Since that's the case, let's finish off those from the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect first. If they choose to use immortal weapons in this upcoming battle, it may escalate to something beyond our control. Everyone should prepare their hearts," advised Qin Wentian, and the others nodded.
"The members of our Qin Sect have already been designated to different locations within the City of Ancient Emperors. The Eastern Sage Immortal Sect will have no idea which of us are part of the Qin Sect. All their movements are already being monitored, and even if they wish to leave the City of Ancient Emperors now, it will be too late."
...
Naturally, the Qin Sect weren't able to hide their activities from the eyes and ears of the experts from the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect. They were also secretly monitoring the Qin Sect's movements, and upon knowing that the Qin Sect was ramping up on their recruitment, this left the experts from the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect in a position where it was difficult for them to advance or retreat.
"Everyone, what are your thoughts regarding this?" In the location occupied by the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect, the four leaders looked to their subordinates, asking them for their opinions.
"We can team up into supremely strong battle formations, so there's no need to fear the Qin Sect. This is a mission given to us by His Majesty, so we must kill Qin Wentian no matter what," someone replied.
"The Qin Sect isn't so simple to deal with. Nanfeng Yunxi, Qin Wentian, and Princess Qing'er are ranked third, fourth, and fifth in the Immortal Ascension Rankings. This is something we didn't know before we arrived here. And Qin Wentian managed to enter the Antiquity City and encounter another bout of good fortune, so now he's dared to challenge the ones ranked first and second. Now, it looks like he's going to be more difficult to deal with. And with so many more geniuses joining the Qin Sect, I'm afraid we are at a disadvantage." Several people were worried.
"The battle formation's amplification effect won't be too overwhelming. Between our group and Qin Wentian, we have already reached a point where neither will rest until the other dies. If we truly were to fight, it would be a battle fought with immortal weapons, which could cause chaos to erupt everywhere. The circumstances are truly against us since after all, we can only kill Qin Wentian and his companions, but we're not allowed to kill those other geniuses who joined the Qin Sect. If not, we'll surely form death grudges between the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect and the many powerful factions out there." The majority of people from the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect were all extremely pessimistic; they didn't feel too good about their chances in this upcoming battle.
"Could it be that we arrived with too much grandeur and style, and now we have no choice but to cut a sorry figure and flee in defeat? How can we answer to His Majesty?" someone exclaimed in anger, feeling disdain with regards to those pessimistic people.
A conflict between two powers. Before this, they had thought that with so many experts it would be a piece of cake to kill Qin Wentian and destroy the Qin Sect. However, at their very first battle they actually discovered that the Qin Sect was a tough nut to crack. And now that the Qin Sect's numbers had explosively increased, they were in danger of losing their lives if they continued fighting against them.
"Stop talking." One of the four leaders waved his hand, calling for silence.
"Us being divided is not the solution. Make preparations for battle. If we were to simply flee just like that, our Eastern Sage Immortal Sect need not bother raising their heads in the immortal realms ever again."
The expressions of all the experts turned heavy. Indeed, this place was the City of Ancient Emperors. These people were from all over the immortal realms, and hence, news of their actions would definitely circulate around. If they sneakily tried to leave, the reputation of the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect would be destroyed by their hands. They were here for one reason, and one reason only—to kill Qin Wentian. And now, if they were to flee out of fear, the face and prestige of the Eastern Sage Immortal Emperor would be tarnished completely.
"Send a few men to the Violet Sect and the Evil Palace. Let's see if we can negotiate an alliance to deal with the Qin Sect," commanded one of the leaders, his words causing the eyes of the experts to gleam. This was indeed a good plan. If the Violet Sect and the Evil Palace were willing to ally together with them to deal with the Qin Sect, they would no longer need to fear them.
Very swiftly, several experts headed over to the Violet Sect and the Evil Palace to discuss an alliance.
The people of the Violet Sect and the Evil Palace weren't idling about as well. Zi Daoyang and Mo Xie had long heard of Qin Wentian's challenge. The entire City of Ancient Emperors was waiting—waiting for this supreme battle at the peak to commence.
It has been a very long time since such an intense scene had happened in the City of Ancient Emperors.
...
The sun's rays shone upon the City of Ancient Emperors, a place that had lasted for countless eras. There were people flying in the air in all directions—geniuses who were fighting against each other, various powers pitting against the other, experts who were searching for ancient ruins, people who were exploring forbidden grounds. As usual, they were all trying to temper themselves.
At the place where the experts of the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect were located, the atmosphere was filled with tension. Not long ago, they received news that the Qin Sect's experts were currently being led by Qin Wentian and were heading towards them. Evidently, not only were they monitoring the movements of the Qin Sect, the Qin Sect was also monitoring them. Both parties were in plain sight, and it was unnecessary to think about hiding their movements from each other.
And now, their battle was finally about to start.
After hearing the report, they learned that there were a total of around five hundred geniuses preparing to slaughter their way over, all aiming for the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect. This made all the experts from the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect fall into panic. In fact, they were even thinking of fleeing the City of Ancient Emperors.
The situation seemed to have been reversed.
However, they ultimately decided not to flee. Zi Daoyang and Mo Xie had both promised them that once the Qin Sect made their move, they would instantly rush over. Right now, they could only place their hopes on the alliance they'd made with the Violet Sect and the Evil Palace.
The experts from the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect weren't the only ones to be struck by waves of commotion. The geniuses in this entire city all received the news, and were currently starting to rush over, intending to spectate the conclusion.
A grand battle of an unbelievable scale would occur at any moment!
Chapter 975: Battle of the Supreme
Translator: Lordbluefire Editor: Lordbluefire
Countless geniuses were gathering within the City of Ancient Emperors, seemingly formed into a powerful current as they collectively flowed in the same direction. In fact, for the purpose of hurrying over, they'd even taken out immortal-ranked treasures to increase their speed, and they shot through the sky like bolts of lightning.
Currently, at the place where the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect's experts were located, over three hundred geniuses had already formed a total of four battle formations. Their eyes turned to the horizon, and they saw a black swath of experts flying over. They halted when they were finally in the sky above them, and they looked as dazzling as the piercing rays that cascaded down from the sun.
Naturally, the man in the lead was none other than Qin Wentian.
Standing beside Qin Wentian, the two pillars of support, the powerful Nanfeng Yunxi and Qing'er, could be seen. Other than them, Hua Taixu, Jun Mengchen, and Zi Qingxuan were all there as well. There were also two immensely powerful demonic beasts on the left and right, protecting Qin Wentian. One was a majestic and gigantic desolate beast; its body was golden and had eyes that radiated an intense balefulness. The other was a body covered in boundless flames. That was none other than a divine avian beast, the vermillion bird. This seemed to be of the purgatory variant and the flames crackling around it caused everyone who stared at it to feel their heart shuddering.
The experts from the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect were gradually feeling more nervous. Their expressions were heavy as they stared ahead. Everyone standing at the lead of their enemies was giving them immense pressure—they were all supreme geniuses. Each of them had undergone the baptism, and were many times stronger compared to the past.
Finally, the people from the two powers faced each other in opposition. The experts from the Qin Sect stopped behind their leader. Qin Wentian coldly swept his gaze over the people of the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect and icily stated, "The Eastern Sage Immortal Emperor's personal disciple was trash. That is why he was obliterated by me. To think that he would actually send an entire army unit to come after me. A group of more than three hundred geniuses were sent here, all of which are most likely the top-tier talents from the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect, right? Tell me, how do you think the Eastern Sage Immortal Emperor would react if all of you were to die here?"
"Qin Wentian, you borrowed the power of other geniuses in the City of Ancient Emperors to war against us. Do you even know shame?" One of the four leaders of the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect stared at Qin Wentian coldly.
"What a joke." Qin Wentian stepped out, pointing to the four in the lead. "The Eastern Sage Immortal Sect led more than three hundred experts into the City of Ancient Emperors just to kill me? This is something unprecedented in the history of the City of Ancient Emperors, and now you even have the face to talk about shame? How about this, the four of you step out now and I will fight against you four alone. Do you dare face me?"
The expressions of the four in the lead turned stiff. Their eyes flickered with coldness. Qin Wentian was actually challenging them all in public.
"Hmph." A person coldly snorted, but he didn't accept the challenge. Qin Wentian was one of the few ranked at the top of the Immortal Ascension Rankings. Now that he had undergone the baptism, he could only be stronger. Even if the four of them joined hands, they had no confidence that they would be able to defeat Qin Wentian.
"You won't even dare to fight. This is the true face of the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect!" Jun Mengchen spat in contempt.
"What? The Qin Sect is planning to use their numbers to bully others?" From afar, a voice thundered out, filled with cold arrogance. A group of experts was currently rushing over—they were all experts from the Violet Sect. Naturally, the man in the lead was none other than the one ranked first in the Immortal Ascension Rankings, Zi Daoyang.
Zi Daoyang currently had two portions of the Brahma Heavenly Emperor's inheritance. His aura grew even colder as an intense sense of danger exuded from him.
"Zi Daoyang." Qin Wentian stared at his opponent, his eyes gleaming with sharpness. "The Violet Sect wants to ally with the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect?"
"That would have to depend on how your Qin Sect acts." Zi Daoyang laughed coldly.
"Zi Daoyang, as I said before, after I settle matters with the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect, I will challenge you alone. The experts of my Qin Sect can bear witness. I believe that the experts of your Violet Sect aren't willing to fight a life-death battle with the people of my Qin Sect. And you, as the sect leader, if you don't even have the courage to accept my challenge, won't your members look stupid dying for you? It isn't worth it at all." Qin Wentian's eyes shone with a sharp light.
"When I made my name, you, Qin Wentian, were still an unknown worm crawling about in some random location. And you're assuming I won't dare to accept your challenge?" Zi Daoyang arrogantly responded.
"Since that's the case, just stay by the side and observe for now. Otherwise, if you, Zi Daoyang, truly wish to fight, I don't mind fighting you first." Qin Wentian's tone was filled with an intense provocation.
"You think you're so strong? Daoyang gege is ranked first in the Immortal Ascension Rankings, how can he be someone you could ever win against? You don't even have the qualifications to challenge Daoyang gege." Xiao Lengyue, who stood beside Zi Daoyang, also spoke up.
"Shut your mouth," Qing'er coldly stated, turning to look at Xiao Lengyue. The ice in her eyes seemed to penetrate right through Xiao Lengyue.
"You..." Xiao Lengyue's countenance turned cold, staring at Qing'er. In the past, she had been defeated by Qing'er. In front of a victor, she truly had no qualifications to talk about the word 'qualifications.'
"Xiao Lengyue, you haven't discarded enough face yet?" Jun Mengchen mocked. Xiao Lengyue's countenance was now like frost, and even her aura turned chilly.
"Zi Daoyang, since these people want to fight so badly, let's remind them how to act like humans," said an expert from the Violet Sect.
"That's right. They're too arrogant. This is a battle that will settle things once and for all, so you should suppress their leader immediately. The Qin Sect will naturally disintegrate after that," suggested another expert.
Zi Daoyang stared at Qin Wentian as he slowly spoke, "Since you put it that way, I shall comply with your wish. I shall wait for you to settle your grudge with the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect."
Qin Wentian shifted his gaze away from Zi Daoyang. With a wave of his hand, the experts of the Qin Sect instantly surrounded the experts from the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect. Qin Wentian then coldly commanded, "If any one of them takes out an immortal weapon, we will respond in kind and make this a battle with immortal-ranked weapons."
"Formation!" shouted the leaders of the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect. This time, they were at a disadvantage in terms of numbers. If they fought using immortal weapons, they would suffer without a doubt. In that case, they might as well battle without them. They still might have a chance to win if they depended on the power of their battle formations.
Two out of the four battle formations led the way. They were none other than the primordial devil ape and giant cauldron formation. Instantly, the might they exuded towered up into the sky. Originally, they had another battle formation held back in reserve but today, they no longer possessed the advantage. Hence, the other two groups chose to split into smaller teams of nine people each, which enabled them to react to the changes in the battlefield at any given moment.
"Mengchen, Taixu, Qingxuan, and Purgatory. You guys go and destroy those small teams of nine. Qing'er and I will take care of the devil ape battle formation. Nanfeng and Little Rascal will be in charge of breaking the giant cauldron battle formation," said Qin Wentian, issuing his commands. A moment later, they all divided themselves into the groups instructed by Qin Wentian, as experts of the Qin Sect followed from behind. Qin Wentian then commanded, "Brothers of the Qin Sect, distribute yourselves well according to the circumstances and cooperate with any side that has an advantage to crush our opponents. First, we break their formation, and then we kill them."
Qin Wentian wasn't going to initiate a battle with immortal-ranked weapons. Although they would have the advantage if they did so, he wouldn't sacrifice the people who had chosen to join his Qin Sect. Once immortal weapons were involved, the battle could no longer be controlled, and life and death would be decided in an instant. Nobody could guarantee that they'd survive this. Hence, he would rather choose not to involve immortal weapons.
Even if his enemies could form battle formations, they still had an advantage in terms of numbers. And even if they fought one-on-one, the Qin Sect's members were evidently stronger than those of the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect.
All of a sudden, terrifying black clouds appeared in the sky as a surge of stifling pressure descended. The clouds had a faint feeling of tribulation force within, blotting out the entire sky. The geniuses spectating from afar froze at the scene. What was going on? The law energy of the City of Ancient Emperors had descended—did it wish to spectate the battle as well?
"Fight them in close combat, break their formation." Qin Wentian and Qing'er rushed towards the primordial devil ape battle formation. Wings could be seen on their backs as a hundred experts from the Qin Sect followed closely from behind. To break the two battle formations, they would still require the aid of a sizable number of experts.
"ROAR!" The devil ape materialized, causing the color of the sky to change. An earth-shattering roar rang out as its giant palm smashed down towards the rushing experts.
Qing'er radiated boundless spatial light, releasing spatial law energy as the Immortal Slaying Diagram was unleashed. It transformed into a gigantic picture that seemed akin to a vortex. As it shot towards the giant palm, it immediately enveloped it, swallowing the power of the ape's strike into the void. A thunderous boom rang out as both the palm and diagram were destroyed by the impact.
Whether they were experts from the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect or the Qin Sect, they were all extremely stunned by what they just saw as great waves rocked their hearts. With just her strength, Qing'er had neutralized a supremely strong attack issued by a powerful battle formation.
"How powerful. Princess Qing'er's Immortal Slaying Diagram has become much stronger than before. Their group must have truly run into some miraculous encounters and evolved their strength," mumbled the spectators from afar. It could be said that the power of that strike was unrivaled in the Celestial Phenomenon Realm, it was simply too powerful.
Since the ape's palm attack had been neutralized, the experts of the Qin Sect could advance closer to the battle formation. Despite the formation's immense power, they were prevented from unleashing their attacks because Qing'er was neutralizing everything they threw out, which created an opportunity for the Qin Sect.
The devil ape then let out a thunderous howl. Stomping its foot down, the earth quaked and the air trembled. The might of its stomp was so powerful that it felt it could even crush the heavens and earth.
Qin Wentian materialized a long spear with the God's Hand. His body expanded to 100 meters, matching that of the devil ape as his spear erupted forth, shimmering with boundless runic light. A wave of destruction frenziedly gushed out, infused by the power of his bloodline.
—bzz!— Qin Wentian's spear strike could startle even the heavens. It collided into the foot of the ape with a force that could devastate everything. The indomitable force tunneled its way through, and caused the devil ape's leg to explode.
The strike earlier executed by Qing'er, and the strike currently executed by Qin Wentian; both of them could depend on their own strength, that of a single individual, to fight against the might generated by a battle formation. Their strength was simply terrifying.
In the short moments that the battle started, the spectating geniuses were already completely in a daze. Their hearts pounded and they felt their souls stir. This was truly a battle of the supreme experts who were at the peak.
These two attacks were already enough for the members of the Qin Sect to draw close. Numerous rays of resplendent light shot forward as they launched their killing techniques, aiming for the experts of the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect in the battle formation. They wanted to cause panic, to disrupt their control and break it. Undoubtedly, this was the best way to neutralize the battle formation. As long as it flustered the experts within it, the battle formation would naturally disintegrate on its own!
Chapter 976: Irresistible Force
Translator: Lordbluefire Editor: Lordbluefire
While Qin Wentian and Qing'er were fighting, the battlefield had already erupted into chaos. Everyone was in a state of frenzy as they fought madly against their opponents.
Nanfeng Yunxi and Little Rascal joined forces, and their strength was also extremely powerful. Nanfeng Yunxi was cloaked in phoenix flames, and she stabbed out with her finger as the ancient phoenix phantom cried out. Her flames intensified, devastating everything. Little Rascal's body seemed to have been cast from pure gold. Its gigantic body was incomparably fierce and unrivaled. Every attack it made had the power to break the heavens. Both of them effortlessly shattered the descending ancient cauldron manifested by the battle formation, and the other experts added to the chaos by joining in the fight.
As for the other battles, Jun Mengchen, Hua Taixu, and Zi Qingxuan each led a group of experts, tearing apart their enemy's smaller teams of nine.
The strength of a battle formation with nine people was far inferior to the grand battle formation formed by eighty-one people. The Clear Sky Worldly Diagram appeared behind Jun Mengchen. Every one of his punches contained a startling might. He was enveloped with layers of emperor-king armor, and could borrow power from the Clear Sky Worldly Diagram for all his attacks. Small teams simply couldn't withstand his savage power. In addition, with a group of experts from the Qin Sect acting as his support, it almost required no effort for him to crush these small teams of nine.
"DIE!" Jun Mengchen punched out. His emperor-king fist transformed into a golden current that tore apart everything. In just an instant, several teams of nine were crushed under a single punch. In fact, they didn't even have time to use their trump cards.
Hua Taixu was similarly just as terrifying. After the baptism of the Sacred Luminance, his samsara eyes had evolved. When he opened his eyes, the light of the samsara world could be seen flashing in their depths, and the heavens and earth lost their color. The experts subjected to this only felt themselves sinking into Hua Taixu's world, and the only image on their minds was the spiraling samsara—their teamwork was instantly disintegrated.
The experts from the Qin Sect followed closely behind, using absolute strength to dominate and crush the teams of nine. Their hearts were all shaking when they saw how powerful their leaders were. Jun Mengchen, Hua Taixu, and the others must have truly discovered a miraculous encounter. All their strength seemed to have evolved to the next level, somehow becoming even more terrifying. In addition, they had all broken through to the ninth-level of Celestial Phenomenon.
Zi Qingxuan and Purgatory were also slaughtering their enemies with incomparably ferocious attacks.
The strength and talent of the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect's members basically couldn't compare to Jun Mengchen, Zi Qingxuan, and the rest. These people had also undergone the recruitment test of the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect, and had even come out in the top ten. Not only that, they had already experienced the baptism of the Sacred Luminance. How could these 'peak' geniuses from the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect stand up to them? The battle was completely one-sided.
"What overwhelming combat prowess. It's simply too terrifying. This small group of people have enough strength to be ranked within the Immortal Ascension Rankings' top ten." The spectating geniuses felt their hearts tremble. At present, it was no longer Qin Wentian, Qing'er, and Nanfeng Yunxi that made up the strong pillars of the Qin Sect. Jun Mengchen, Hua Taixu, and Zi Qingxuan were all overwhelmingly powerful as well, able to effortlessly sweep through everything. They were like deities who had descended, unexcelled in this world.
"The Eastern Sage Immortal Sect is doomed." A thought flashed through the minds of the spectators. This battle was doomed to end with the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect's defeat. It was hopeless for them to try, even if they depended on their battle formations.
"Daoyang gege, their strength..." Xiao Lengyue's countenance was extremely cold. She was once ranked sixth in the Immortal Ascension Rankings. Although her ranking had dropped, she was still within the top ten. But when she saw the strength Jun Mengchen and the others, she suddenly realized that they could all fight equally against her. Of course, this was based on what she saw of their strength on the surface. But as to their exact level of power, she would only know if she fought with them personally.
Qin Wentian, Jun Mengchen, and Zi Qingxuan had joined her Xiao Sect soon after they entered the city. At that time, they were insignificant beings, only at the seventh-level of Celestial Phenomenon. They had all undergone a transformation in the City of Ancient Emperors, and had suddenly rose up with such explosive strength. Currently, Xiao Lengyue felt extremely strange to witness their rise in strength. Her entire self just felt extremely uncomfortable.
Zi Daoyang's eyes gleamed with sharpness as he stared at Qin Wentian and his companions, silently observing their individual levels of strength. Indeed, they had all grown stronger. It must be because they had stepped into the Antiquity City!
"Antiquity City..." Zi Daoyang clenched his fist. Why didn't he try to go there earlier? What miraculous encounters had Qin Wentian and his companions come across?
Mo Xie had also entered there, so he must have experienced the same miraculous encounter as them. If Mo Xie's strength had risen again, how strong would he be? Would Mo Xie be strong enough to threaten his position as number one?
"I will first complete the inheritance of the Brahma Heavenly Emperor. And when I do, I'll be able to use the energy of all attributes after I devour these people," Zi Daoyang mused, filled with an intense hope. Right now, his goal was to complete all nine portions of the inheritance first.
—BOOM!— At this moment, a wave of devastating might descended from the sky, shocking the battling experts. This was caused by the activation of a strand of immortal sense on one of the geniuses from the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect. However, even before the immortal sense of an immortal king could fully manifest, a wave of law energy instantly destroyed it.
"The law energy of the City of Ancient Emperors...it's personally witnessing this battle." The hearts of the geniuses trembled. This battle had actually aroused the interest of the city's protector—that black dragon wasn't going to allow the immortal sense of immortal kings or emperors to disrupt the battle. Apparently, that was the reason for its presence.
"This..." Everyone inclined their heads and stared up at the sky. For the first time, the law energy of the City of Ancient Emperors had interfered in a battle. It was acting like a protector.
And with that, time continued to pass by. Although not a lot of time had passed, the battle was incomparably intense. All the attacks were filled with intent and enough power to kill. Experts were slaughtered, causing immortal senses to activate, only for the tribulation law energy to disperse them. All of this happened in rapid succession, causing the hearts of the spectators to pound violently. They could only sigh as they continued to spectate.
At this moment, the group of people led by Qin Wentian and Qing'er had already arrived right above the devil ape battle formation. They were all enveloped by the demonic light of the devil ape, who had chosen not to defend against Qin Wentian's and his companion's attacks separately. The demonic light formed a screen, as runes sparkled on its surface.
"SCRAM!" A heaven-shaking roar thundered out, and all the experts within the battle formation simultaneously threw out punches, manifesting streams of fist light as they channeled all their strength into the devil ape. The devil ape mirrored their movements, tyrannically throwing out a punch that erupted with streams of light, all packed with enough dominating force that it could shatter everything. Qin Wentian's expression turned ugly. His gigantic body stabbed his spear out with lightning speed, aiming at countless locations as a deafeningly explosive sound rang out without end. White rune light flashed as the streams of fist light were all obliterated.
But even so, the experts from the Qin Sect were still being struck. They coughed out blood as they were flung through the air.
"The defense of the devil ape is constantly being diminished. Brothers of the Qin Sect, do your best, we must shatter the formation! I will act as protector for all of you!" Qin Wentian roared. A terrifying ancient demon constellation appeared in the air as numerous greater demons were actually summoned from the void, descending from the sky. All the summoned demons exuded an incomparably violent demonic might.
At the same time, the Sword Slaughter and Suppressive Annihilation constellations both appeared. Boundless astral light cascaded down as sword might filled the sky. Golden figures of suppression shot out, capable of suppressing even time, and all aiming for the devil ape. Qin Wentian was doing his best to protect the people from his sect.
"He's managed to cultivate his constellations to such an extent, he's simply unrivaled!"
Qin Wentian alone could defend against the strength of a battle formation. If the experts from the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect hadn't banded together in a battle formation, who could stand against a single one of his attacks? They would all be destroyed with just one hit.
"KILL!"
The morale of the Qin Sect's members rose explosively. With Qin Wentian, such a powerful sect leader acting as a protector for them, how could they still fail to break apart the battle formation?
Qing'er's countenance was like ice, and she radiated boundless spatial light. She stood at the front of the battlefield, directly facing against the battle formation. With a blast, she slammed a palm strike onto a screen of light and instantly, flowers of spatial destruction bloomed endlessly. The power contained within the spatial law energy could penetrate everything.
Her long hair fluttered in the wind, and it seemed like she had just activated the Green-Lotus Sacred Compendium. A seat of lotuses bloomed underneath her feet, and the lotuses on the battlefield radiated beams of deadly light. The light shot outwards, terrorizing the experts within the battle formation. All their strength was to control the formation; the moment they were distracted, the battle formation would fall apart. This battle formation was so powerful because everyone was united. They moved not as individuals, but as a single entity. Hence, if their minds were seized by panic, everything would be over.
In that instant, Qing'er's attack seeped into the heart of the battle formation, aiming for the lives of the geniuses within.
Puchi... Several beams of light shone brilliantly, and the deadly lotuses bloomed resplendently as it bypassed the screen of light. The expressions of the experts inside all changed to panic, and they frantically recalled their energy to defend against Qing'er's attack. At this instant, the devil ape grew intensely weak, and was now on the verge of fully disintegrating.
"BREAK!" The experts of the Qin Sect launched even more savage attacks when they saw this happen. Their strength was originally overwhelming. But this time around, their attacks shook the heavens, causing the sounds of rumbling to echo relentlessly. Qin Wentian stabbed out with another domineering spear strike, and with an explosive boom, the spear penetrated the screen of light and shattered it, instantly taking the lives of quite a few experts.
In that instant, one of the battle formations had completely disintegrated.
"The people from the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect are in for it now," the spectators mused. Many of them were standing in midair at a distance, watching the battle as they felt waves rising in their hearts.
As the spear pierced forth, all the spectators already knew there would be no feelings of suspense in this battle. The Eastern Sage Immortal Sect was destined to be punished by Qin Wentian.
"KILL!" Upon seeing the battle formation disintegrating, the experts of the Qin Sect all frenziedly rushed in. Numerous golden figures of suppression fell down from the air above those from the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect, forcibly suppressing them as Qin Wentian's death-dealing spear shot out once again. Many of the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect's experts didn't even have time to defend, and accepted their fates of death. Just like the spectators had anticipated, without a battle formation, no one among the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect could withstand even one of Qin Wentian's strikes.
At this instant, the faces of all the experts from the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect were filled with terror and despair. They had come here in style, and by right, it should have ended with the destruction of the Qin Sect. Why was it like this instead?
Qin Wentian's countenance was completely different from those experts of the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect. His eyes were filled with cold disdain. The Eastern Sage Immortal Emperor had actually sent an army of over three hundred troops to the City of Ancient Emperors to kill him? In this battle, he'd make sure the Eastern Sage Immortal Emperor would regret his actions—he would further tarnish his reputation and throw out his face by killing his people.
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Author's Note: My brothers and sisters, this is Qin Wentian's last battle in the City of Ancient Emperors. A new arc will begin soon after.
Chapter 977: Boiling with Anger Once Again
Translator: Lordbluefire Editor: Lordbluefire
The battle formation fell into pieces, and the experts of the Qin Sect were like a bunch of tigers encountering a flock of sheep as they started their slaughter. The expert in the lead of this formation retreated into the crowd. His face was pale as he stared at the gigantic figure ahead—Qin Wentian's figure.
That Qin Wentian led his experts and actually managed to break the battle formation. More than three hundred geniuses from the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect had all come here to hunt him. But now, could it be that they were all destined to die in this place?
The enmity between both parties had long escalated into a death grudge. Qin Wentian showed no mercy, and with every stab of his spear, there would surely be someone that died.
chi... A brilliant ray of immortal light shot out. The leader of this battle formation had finally taken out his immortal weapon. From his feelings of despair and knowing it was impossible to reverse the tides, he'd ultimately chosen to take out an immortal-ranked weapon. The other experts all froze when they saw this. Right now, only one path remained to them. By taking out their immortal-ranked weapons, only then would they still possess the slightest strand of chance.
Qin Wentian's launched his long spear out of his hand, and it arced through the air like an incomparably resplendent bolt of lightning, shooting that expert who was the first to take out his immortal weapon. That overwhelming spear contained a supreme slaughtering might. That expert's countenance was painted with terror, and he didn't even have time to think and directly used the immortal weapon to block the area before him. A deafening blast rang out, and the impact let loose a stifling pressure. A suppressive might bore down on him, and yet another long spear shot out. However, this spear shone with an immortal light—it was the immortal-ranked weapon that Qin Wentian had previously forged for himself.
The long spear lengthened by 100 meters, piercing through the void and directly into the person's body, nailing him in the air. A fearsome energy wave gushed out, but an instant later, a strand of immortal sense from that expert's body activated, and a voice filled with authority coldly rang out.
"VILE CREATURE, YOU ARE COURTING DEATH!" thundered a voice filled with anger, but at the same time, a tribulation fire descended from the sky and landed directly on the expert. Right as the sound of his immortal sense rang out, it was destroyed completely, returning back to the void. Only a faint shadow could be seen as it tilted its head and roared with displeasure.
This scene caused everyone's hearts to tremble, those experts from the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect were now hesitant, unsure of whether they wanted to make this a war of immortal weapons.
"Whoever takes out an immortal weapon, we will collectively hunt them down first!" Qin Wentian coldly announced, holding another immortal weapon in his hand. The experts from the Qin Sect all switched their weapons, shimmering with immortal light. As soon as someone from the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect took out an immortal weapon, that person would instantly be targeted by a multitude of arrows. Everyone would instantly launch their attacks to kill that person.
Regardless of how they chose to fight, they had already been checkmated.
The Eastern Sage Immortal Sect had killed their way into the City of Ancient Emperors to hunt Qin Wentian down. Since their arrival, they had already been destined to encounter a calamity—the calamity of death.
"EVERYONE FLEE, FLEE IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS, AND TRY TO SAVE YOURSELVES!" thundered a voice from among the experts of the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect. This was the only solution left. They could only try their best to escape, killing a path out in all directions. It all depended on luck now.
"It's over, the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect's morale has already plummeted, and there's no way they'll be able to reverse the situation," the spectators mused. Without morale, it was like the collapse of a mountain. This was a battle on the scale of thousands of experts; maintaining morale was extremely important. Since they had already lost it, they wouldn't last long even if they tried to slaughter out a path to escape. They were like sitting ducks waiting to be shot.
"Hua Taixu, your master, Myriad Incarnations Immortal King, resides in the Eastern Sage Thirteen Prefecture. He is filled with reverence for the Eastern Sage Immortal Emperor. You would actually dare to kill our members?" a voice filled with rage abruptly roared.
"For fights in the City of Ancient Emperors, we side with the factions we form here. Since I, Hua Taixu, have joined the Qin Sect, I will naturally be on their side. In any case, back when you guys surrounded the Qin Sect, none of you planned on showing me any mercy, did you? What do you hope to achieve by dragging our masters into this now?" Hua Taixu said softly. "This matter is my matter alone. And although I've joined the Qin Sect in combat, I have never killed a member from your Eastern Sage Immortal Sect."
In the immortal realms, even if the juniors were engaged in life-and-death battles, the elders of the senior generations were rarely involved in their disputes. For example, if the disciple of an immortal king were in conflict with a disciple of the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect, and then ended up killing that disciple, would the Eastern Sage Immortal Emperor then deal with that immortal king? It would be deemed almost impossible. There was only a slim possibility of that happening if, for example, the person killed was a descendant of the immortal emperor himself, or a truly favored personal disciple.
Naturally, this time the Eastern Sage Immortal Emperor had ordered more than three hundred elite geniuses to the City of Ancient Emperors to hunt down Qin Wentian. The fact that he, Hua Taixu, had decided to stand by Qin Wentian would undoubtedly cause the Eastern Sage Immortal Emperor to bear some hostility towards Hua Taixu's master, the Myriad Incarnations Immortal King. However, Hua Taixu didn't mind this at all. His master was merely residing at the Eastern Sage Thirteen Prefectures, and would occasionally show up at the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect's events to give them some face. She wasn't really a subordinate of the Eastern Sage Immortal Emperor, and if the immortal emperor was unhappy with her, she would at most, just move away.
"Hua Taixu, you'd best not step into the Eastern Sage Thirteen Prefectures in the future. Our Eastern Sage Immortal Sect will never spare you," a disciple from the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect said coldly.
Qin Wentian turned his gaze over there. Those small teams of nine were of no huge threat—they 'd all been crushed by Jun Mengchen and his companions. And the devil ape formation had already been broken, so it seemed that victory was at hand. It didn't matter if he acted or not, they were already destined to win this battle. Right now, only the other battle formation had yet to shatter. Nanfeng Yunxi and Little Rascal were still doing their best.
"Qing'er, let's go provide reinforcements for Nanfeng and Little Rascal." Qin Wentian spoke and Qing'er nodded her head, retreating back to Qin Wentian's side.
"Brothers, I will leave things here to you," said Qin Wentian.
"Don't worry, what I like most of all is to pulverize an already defeated enemy." Someone laughed.
"Using numbers to bully the weaker ones. Are all the geniuses of the City of Ancient Emperors so shameless?" Many of experts from the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect were utterly flustered and exasperated, frenziedly trying to kill their way out. They were now surrounded from all sides and ravaged, like prey trapped in a cage.
"Haha, I'm truly impressed by the people from the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect. You all actually have the courage to say this to us?" Some of the Qin Sect's members started laughing. "Before this, more than three hundred people from your side tried to gang up on our Qin Sect when we merely had a hundred members. What the hell was that then? How thick can your skin be? In any case, we shall properly let you all enjoy the feeling of being killed while being surrounded."
"Why are the people from the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect so humorous? The Eastern Sage Immortal Emperor has truly nurtured a good batch of clowns!"
The Qin Sect completely occupied the advantage, and they even felt free to crack jokes now.
And as they spoke, Qin Wentian and Qing'er advanced towards the other ancient cauldron battle formation. Qin Wentian's spear stabbed out with heaven-shaking might once more. When they noticed that reinforcements had arrived, Nanfeng Yunxi and Little Rascal put in even more effort, causing their attacks to grow more overwhelming. Aside from them, the other experts from the Qin Sect also joined in the fray, frenziedly launching their attacks to break the battle formation.
Over at the ancient cauldron battle formation, the experts of the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect stared in panic as the densely packed members of the Qin Sect surrounded them. Their will for battle had long since collapsed into pieces.
They looked imposing and powerful, but everyone knew in their hearts that they were now nothing more than lambs waiting to be slaughtered. Cold smiles appeared on the faces of the members from the Qin Sect. This was like a smile of judgement, preparing to reap all their lives away.
"WHAT CAN WE DO?!" Finally, someone broke down and started roaring. No one could maintain a state of calmness when death was staring them in the face. Their hearts were slowly corroding away from fear.
—BOOM!— A startling reverberating might slammed into the battle formation, and it began to crack.
"Let's surrender!" someone roared frantically.
"QIN WENTIAN!" A voice rang out from within the formation. "We call for a temporary ceasefire, we have something we wish to say."
The members of the Qin Sect glanced towards Qin Wentian, only to see Qin Wentian's countenance had remained ice cold. "Continue to break their battle formation. Kill them all."
Ceasefire?
That was simply nothing but a joke.
The Eastern Sage Immortal Sect were in such dire straits, and now they wanted to ask for a ceasefire?
"ARGH!" A voice filled with misery rang out. More cracks appeared in the ancient cauldron formation as Qin Wentian wounded the experts inside. The terrifying impact immediately gushed into the battle formation.
"We are willing to surrender and leave the City of Ancient Emperors immediately!"
The experts of the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect roared. However, Qin Wentian had no intention of stopping. He showed no hesitation as he continued attacking. Were they joking with him?
"WE ARE WILLING TO GIVE YOU ALL OUR TREASURES. PLEASE SPARE OUR LIVES!" Someone had completely broken down. More and more experts were heavily injured.
"The Eastern Sage Immortal Sect is nothing but a joke," Qin Wentian said coldly. How arrogant had they been when they surrounded him back then, pursuing him and his companions all the way to the Antiquity City? Now that they were losing, they wanted him to call a ceasefire, and they wished to surrender?
"Indeed, these people are like clowns. It would have been if they had accepted their defeat, but now, they're even throwing away the face of their sect as well."
The spectators all sighed. Finally, with a thunderous boom, the battle formation shattered and the slaughtering began. The disciples of the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect finally spared nothing, and took out their immortal weapons. But right now, the onesfacing them were experts of the Qin Sect who had an overwhelming advantage in terms of numbers. The disciples of the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect couldn't do anything despite taking out their immortal weapons. Fresh blood continued to spray through the air.
The hearts of those spectating trembled violently. This was the largest battle they had ever witnessed in the City of Ancient Emperors. Similarly, there had never been a case where this many experts had died in the same battle. Today's outcome had set a precedent.
Today was destined to be a day of calamity for those in the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect!
...
In the Eastern Sage City, within the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect, its countless palaces exuded a glorious feeling of majesty.
However at this moment, inside one of the majestic palaces, a tyrannical aura blasted out as a voice thundered throughout the sky.
"Yi'er has died!" The voice of an old man quivered as he rose into the air.
"My best disciple."
"There's something big happening in the City of Ancient Emperors."
Countless figures soared up into the sky, as the voices of rage filled the air without end. The entire Eastern Sage Immortal Sect was swept up in their fury.
At a public square before a large palace, countless experts descended. Their faces were all sharp and solemn, and their auras were chilly. Their disciples had been sent out on a mission for the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect, but now all of them had actually died.
Some of their immortal senses managed to appear in the City of Ancient Emperors for an instant, and they personally witnessed the battle. They knew that their disciples' lives were all finished.
"What happened?" asked the immortal kings who had just arrived; they had no idea what was going on. However, for those who knew what had happened, their faces were black with anger. But even so, they couldn't blame his Majesty for issuing that order.
~RUMBLE~ In the air above, a heaven-shaking might rumbled as a terrifying fire blazed through the sky—it indicated that a supreme expert had just arrived.
"It's one of the four paragons, and even he is enraged." The immortal kings of the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect felt their hearts trembling. One of the four paragons of the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect had also sent a descendant of theirs to the City of Ancient Emperors; they had been part of the group that led more than three hundred experts to hunt down Qin Wentian.
At this moment, another wave of rumbling might rocked the area as a faint image appeared in the sky. This was none other than the image of the Eastern Sage Immortal Emperor, but not his true body.
"From now on, if anyone in our sect encounters Qin Wentian, Jun Mengchen, Zi Qingxuan, and their companions, kill them all without mercy. And, the disciple of the Myriad Incarnations Immortal King, Hua Taixu, is included in the killing list as well." A cold voice thundered out, filled with incomparable authority that contained the towering flames of rage. This time, the prestige of their Eastern Sage Immortal Sect had been completely tarnished. The Eastern Sage Immortal Emperor had personally issued the order, and his decision had ended up burying over three hundred elite talents from his own sect!
The anger felt by the Eastern Sage Immortal Emperor towered up into the sky. His blood was boiling, and without even giving face to the Myriad Incarnations Immortal King, he'd issued a kill order for her disciple Hua Taixu!
Chapter 978: Warring Against the #1 Ranker of the Immortal Ascension Rankings
Translator: Lordbluefire Editor: Lordbluefire
In the boundlessly vast City of Ancient Emperors, blood flowed like a river. It was unknown how many experts died in that fight. The members of the Qin Sect had completely suppressed and overwhelmed the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect. Although some members of the Qin Sect had been injured from the attacks of the battle formation, none of them had died. This was because the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect's experts only dared to heavily injure the geniuses here at most, they didn't dare to kill any of them in fear of incurring death grudges towards the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect.
From the beginning to the end, the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect's experts were completely dominated. After their battle formations shattered, it became a free-for-all slaughter for the Qin Sect's experts. Although there were a few who managed to tear a bloody path and escape, this incident was undoubtedly a bloody lesson painful enough to make the upper echelons of the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect's heart ache. People couldn't help but wonder what the Eastern Sage Immortal Emperor was feeling now. In any case, he was the one who gave the order.
Right now, it was most likely that the Eastern Sage Immortal Emperor was completely infuriated. He must want nothing more than to slice Qin Wentian and his companions into a thousand pieces.
"Qin Wentian's strength is completely different from the past. It's not just him, Nanfeng Yunxi, and Princess Qing'er, but even Jun Mengchen, Zi Qingxuan and his demonic beasts have all undergone a transformation." The spectators couldn't calm their hearts when they saw this scene.
After this battle, the Immortal Ascension Rankings would have to undergo a shocking change once more with the top ten rankings being rearranged. The names of many people would be ranked down from within the current top ten.
Qin Wentian swept his gaze over the battlefield and returned to his normal size. His entire body shimmered with light, and he clasped his hands at the Qin Sect's experts. "I, Qin, offer my thanks to all the brothers and sisters that helped me out in this battle. If not for your participation, we would definitely be the one at a disadvantage. Our sect would end up being chased down by people of the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect."
"Sect leader is too courteous. Everyone is a brother and sister after joining the Qin Sect. We simply can't overlook the Eastern Sage Immortal Emperor's decision. Now, he'll surely understand the rules of the City of Ancient Emperors. How dare he send an army for revenge just because a disciple of his was killed? He has no concept of shame."
"That's right, Brother Qin's combat process is already enough to shake the heavens and earth. We all deeply admire you! However, we acted to destroy the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect because we didn't approve of them. For the next battle, Brother Qin will have to depend on his own power."
"Brother Qin, I feel that your current strength is sufficient enough to fight against Zi Daoyang and Mo Xie. Next, let me be in charge of forming a cheering team for you. We're all anticipating your rise to the top in the Immortal Ascension Rankings!"
"Haha, yeah, we're all filled with anticipation for this battle!"
The members of the Qin Sect all smiled. Being able to personally witness this clash of the supreme in the City of Ancient Emperors was naturally a grand occasion. If not, they wouldn't have joined the Qin Sect. These people were all hot-blooded people and loved nothing more than to spectate the combat between two peak-tier experts.
There had never been anyone strong enough to challenge the positions of the first-ranked Zi Daoyang and the second-ranked Mo Xie before. Even Nanfeng Yunxi, who had always been ranked third, wasn't powerful enough to do so. Now, they were all here to spectate the battle that would determine whether the current Qin Wentian, who'd gone through a transformation, could knock Zi Daoyang and Mo Xie off their divine pedestals.
"Don't worry, as long as the members from the Violet Sect and the Evil Palace don't participate, the experts of my Qin Sect will only observe. I, Qin Wentian, have now broken through to the ninth level of Celestial Phenomenon. How can I still join forces with others to battle Zi Daoyang and Mo Xie? If I truly did that, I would be unfit to be the sect leader of the Qin Sect," Qin Wentian spoke valiantly, with an air of heroism in his words.
"Good!" The Qin Sect 's experts cheered. They were all filled with anticipation for this battle.
"You think you're invincible just because you defeated the people from the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect? Don't forget, the experts there are merely a bunch of lowly grunts. Qin Wentian's strength may be enough to dominate that group, but he still won't be able to withstand a single strike from my Daoyang gege, the #1 ranker in the Immortal Ascension Rankings. It's best not to be so cocky, you'll all end up as laughingstocks in the City of Ancient Emperors." Xiao Lengyue couldn't stand the sight of those experts from the Qin Sect being in such high spirits. It was like they felt victory was already within their grasp. She couldn't stop herself from saying something to mock them.
The expressions of the Qin Sect's experts turned stiff. Although Xiao Lengyue's words were arrogant, they were logical as well. Earlier, Qin Wentian's performance was extremely dominating, akin to a god of battle when fighting against those of the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect. He slayed whoever blocked his bath, and nobody could surpass him. But that was only because his opponents were weak! This was why Qin Wentian appeared to be so overwhelming. If his opponent had been Zi Daoyang instead, the circumstances would naturally be different.
The first-ranked Zi Daoyang had always been an unparalleled existence in the City of Ancient Emperors. In addition, he not only had a portion of insight from the Brahma Heavenly Emperor's inheritance, he'd also consumed another portion from the former tenth-ranked Zhan Peng as well. Now, he'd grown even stronger. And even leaving aside Zi Daoyang, Mo Xie's original strength was already tyrannical beyond comprehension and he, similar to Qin Wentian, had experienced a miraculous encounter in the Antiquity City. How could he not be strong?
In the end, everything still had to depend on their actual battle with each other.
"You're already a laughingstock among the geniuses here in the City of Ancient Emperors. Your mouth is as despicable as ever, slut." Jun Mengchen crossed his arms in front of his chest, disregarding the beauty of Xiao Lengyue. He'd instantly humiliated her with his words. He truly disliked Xiao Lengyue—he had disliked her since long ago. To think that this woman could still keep calling out Daoyang gege in that seemingly sweet and affectionate manner? How utterly disgusting.
"You..." Xiao Lengyue pointed at Jun Mengchen with her trembling fingers.
"You what you?" Jun Mengchen stomped the ground. "What are you pointing at me for? Do you want to fight one-on-one and make it a death match? Your father's immortal sense is already used up, right? Without his protection, are you planning to seduce more guys for your own preservation again?"
Jun Mengchen's tone was sharp, his words filled with provocation. Xiao Lengyue grew even more enraged as a chilly aura gushed forth from her.
"FIGHT!" Xiao Lengyue coldly spoke. No matter what, she was once ranked sixth in the Immortal Ascension Rankings. How could she suppress her anger after being publicly humiliated by Jun Mengchen, a once seventh-level ascendant who used to be a member of her sect?
Xiao Lengyue stepped out, only to see Zi Daoyang holding her back. Violet light gleamed in Zi Daoyang's eyes, exuding an extreme coldness as he spoke to Jun Mengchen. "Bullying females? Are you not ashamed of yourself? If you want to fight so badly, I shall accompany you. Killing you will be as easy as flipping my palm over."
"My junior apprentice brother is the same as me, we were both merely seventh-level ascendants when we entered the City of Ancient Emperors. At that time, you were already ranked first in the Immortal Ascension Rankings. How can you still feel superior from challenging my junior apprentice brother? Are you so shameless?" confronted Qin Wentian After that, he stepped out and faced Zi Daoyang. "Since Mo Xie isn't here, let's you and I battle it out, Zi Daoyang."
Qin Wentian pointed his finger at Zi Daoyang, "Come at me."
~COME AT ME~ Qin Wentian's voice echoed through the sky, like an endless boom of thunder. The experts of the Qin Sect retreated, opening up the battlefield for the two of them. Even Jun Mengchen and his other companions retreated, and they all stood behind Qin Wentian. They stared at Zi Daoyang with an open challenge in their eyes—they were also filled with anticipation for this battle.
The experts of the Violet Sect retreated as well. They voluntarily withdrew without waiting for Zi Daoyang to give the command. Zi Daoyang must fight this battle; he had no reason to reject the challenge. The City of Ancient Emperors is a place where geniuses gathered. They, more than others, were all inclined towards strength. If Zi Daoyang didn't dare to fight, there was no longer a need for the experts of the Violet Sect to continue following Zi Daoyang.
There were many experts in the Qin Sect, but no one tried to initiate a battle between the sects. Qin Wentian wanted a one-on-one battle against the first-ranked Zi Daoyang. The moment Qin Wentian had stood out among the rest, this battle had already been fated to happen.
—BOOM!— Zi Daoyang stepped out. He was shrouded in violet light, and his constellation flared as a fearsome aura gushed forth from him. His eyes gradually turned violet, emitting purple rays of light that could stir a person's soul. With incomparable arrogance, he said, "I once said it before: even if you stepped into the ninth level of Celestial Phenomenon, you won't be able to withstand a single strike. Since you wish to die so badly, I will grant you your death."
Qin Wentian similarly stepped out. A violent surge of energy gushed forth as his constellation shone brilliantly in the sky. His eyes were like lightning as he coldly replied, "I truly have no idea where your self-confidence comes from."
"It's from being ranked first in the Immortal Ascension Rankings. It's the self-confidence of the strongest expert in the City of Ancient Emperors." Zi Daoyang's arrogance soared into the skies. He pointed at Qin Wentian, "Qin Wentian, you are fated to become a joke, nailed to the board of humiliation in the City of Ancient Emperors. You'll only end up a topic of ridicule for the geniuses here."
"I've never seen anyone who could posture as much as that guy there. I want nothing more than to rush over and punch his face." Jun Mengchen had an impulsive character. His aura gushed forth, as though he himself wanted to fight against Zi Daoyang. This damnable fellow was simply posturing too much. Although Zi Daoyang was truly the top ranker on the Immortal Ascension Rankings, he acted like he was truly number one under the heavens.
"Arrogance." The eyes of the surrounding spectators shone with a dazzling light. Qin Wentian was a star that had recently rose up in prominence. Would he be able to defeat Zi Daoyang who had stood at the peak of the City of Ancient Emperors for ages?
Or would it be just as Zi Daoyang had said—Qin Wentian was destined to be humiliated. The answer would soon be revealed.
Zi Daoyang possessed two secret arts: the Ultimate Violet Sacred Immortal Art, and the Thousand Autumns Emperor Art. He activated both, and the faint shadow of a divinity appeared in the air above him. It was none other than his constellation. Zi Daoyang had never before tasted defeat in the City of Ancient Emperors. He was unexcelled, and practically invincible.
The two of them locked gazes with each other as their battle intent towered up the sky, clashing frenziedly against the other.
—BOOM!—
—BOOM!—
The two of them moved forward at the same moment. With just a single step, they crossed an immense distance, staring into the eyes of the other. A supreme might radiated from Zi Daoyang, like that of an invincible sovereign king. Within Qin Wentian's body, a rumbling force that could shake the heavens thundered out endlessly. His aura climbed upwards, incomparably majestic, like a battle divinity that could triumph over everything in existence.
"Die!" Zi Daoyang punched out, the violet light gathered into a Heavenly God Extermination Fist, containing an unparalleled killing might that blasted everything away.
Qin Wentian's star-seizing palm imprint devastated the surroundings, containing boundless might. The palm imprint shimmered with a resplendent runic light, imbued with a supreme destructive power. The two attacks collided and the entire area shook from the powerful impact
"How overwhelming! He attacked without being boosted from the God's Hand. They're both evenly matched!"
The crowd exclaimed in surprise. Qin Wentian's aura was incomparable to the him of the past. He had undergone a transformation, and was now akin to a god of battle.
~swish~ Zi Daoyang's left hand blasted out. The constellation in the air shone its radiance down—the beams of light interweaved and formed a gigantic diagram of violet light. Qin Wentian didn't hesitate and slammed his palm out, aiming for the diagram. But as the palm imprint blasted out, it was actually obstructed. The gigantic screen of light first neutralized its power, absorbing its energy, before reflecting the star-seizing palm strike back at Qin Wentian. Not only that, the reflected attack was further amplified by the power of Zi Daoyang's fist attack. The amount of power had doubled.
"The Thousand Autumns Emperor Art is too strong. It's much more powerful in comparison to the Heavenly Mystical Mirror Art of the Xuan Emperor. It can even restrain and reflect Qin Wentian's powerful palm strike. It truly lives up to its reputation for being one of the Violet Emperor's secret arts."
"Back then it was still fine when Nanfeng Yunxi, Princess Qing'er, and Qin Wentian joined forces to fight Zi Daoyang. Now that Qin Wentian is alone, he's doomed to be countered by the Thousand Autumns Emperor Art."
Many people were silently speculating the battle. It was impossible for Zi Daoyang's Thousand Autumns Emperor Art to reflect all the attacks if people chose to join forces against him. But now that Qin Wentian was alone, this particular secret art would counter him for sure. Unless...he uses God's Hand!
Chapter 979: Domineering Qin Wentian
Translator: Lordbluefire Editor: Lordbluefire
Qin Wentian's expression remained unchanged at seeing his own attack, amplified with Zi Daoyang's power, shoot straight back at him. His body sparkled like a crystal as runes flowed around him. A platinum armor then formed, and he radiated a vast boundless might similar to a god of battle. Both his fists punched out at the same time, capable of destroying everything. The two brilliant beams of fist light were imbued with the power of fiend-gods, causing devastation in their surroundings as they shot through the void.
And when their attacks collided, fearsome shockwaves rocked the heavens and earth. It was terrifying to the extreme. But right now in the midst of the chaotic aftershocks, Zi Daoyang suddenly stabbed out with a violet spear. This spear contained towering amounts of violet qi, and even had a trace of law energy within. It struck forth with indomitable might. Its reputation might be somewhat exaggerated since the Violet Emperor's Ultimate Violet Sacred Immortal Art was known as the most tyrannical attacking technique in the immortal realms, but there was no doubt that its might was extremely horrifying.
This spear pierced through the sky, emitting a sound akin to the ghoulish howls and cries of wolves. It contained profound might, able to shatter the heavens and earth. The entire sky was enveloped within a violet-colored windstorm that manifested from the attack.
Qin Wentian's boundless power was gathering in his body. With rapid speed, various imprints of sword-type divine energy were being condensed. Every sword rune possessed a world-shaking might, able to exterminate everything. Stabbing out with a finger, his surrounding atmosphere turned heavy. The sword qi instantly flashed with a white light that materialized into a powerful ultimate sword, colliding head-on with the violet long spear. Although both weapons eventually shattered from the impact, there was still some excess power remaining from the ultimate sword, and it swept forward, aiming for Zi Daoyang.
Zi Daoyang retreated, and as the runic glows shone resplendently, he unleashed his Thousand Autumn Emperor Art to its limits. The remaining power of the ultimate sword slashed down in an attempt to slice all the runes apart and cut through Zi Daoyang. But sadly, it didn't succeed and was eventually neutralized.
"What power! Qin Wentian hasn't even activated the God's Hand, but none of his attacks are weaker by comparison. He's too powerful! Before this, he'd already possessed absolute dominance in the fight against the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect, but many experts had yet to determine his true strength. But now that he's fighting against Zi Daoyang, it's already proven that Qin Wentian's attacks are so strong that they have reached a realm of tyranny that will not lose out to Zi Daoyang."
The hearts of everyone trembled. Regardless of the experts from the Qin Sect or the Violet Sect, or any of the other spectators, they were all completely shocked by Qin Wentian's power. Even without the God's Hand, he was powerful enough to keep Zi Daoyang at bay.
"Is this the spirit of the number one ranker in the Immortal Ascension Rankings? Is this the self-confidence of the top expert in the City of Ancient Emperors? He doesn't seem like much after all. He's actually inferior in terms of attacks!" Jun Mengchen loudly exclaimed. Before this, Zi Daoyang had been extremely brazen with his arrogant words, disregarding everyone around him. Even before the fight, he'd thought he was invincible and would be able to effortlessly suppress Qin Wentian. But it was a ridiculous notion. Could he truly pay the price for the experts who followed him? The name of the man that would be nailed to the board of humiliation would only be him, Zi Daoyang.
"You have some strength. You must be joking if you think you can win against me with just your level of ability ." A towering violet giant appeared behind Zi Daoyang. It was like the descent of a heavenly god, causing boundless violet light to flood the area, shrouding Zi Daoyang within. Every inch of Zi Daoyang's body was shining with a brilliant purple light. He was unleashing the Ultimate Violet Sacred Immortal Art to its maximum limit.
—BOOM!— That violet giant divinity was none other than his constellation. It transformed into an unparalleled and supreme attacking might, causing numerous violet long spears to penetrate through the void, erupting towards Qin Wentian. The entire sky was covered by its violet silhouette, and the eruption of ten thousand spears devastated the surroundings, able to annihilate any existence underneath the heavens.
"Hmph." Qin Wentian snorted coldly. His eyes gleamed with sharpness as the rumbling sounds in his body continued unceasingly. There seemed to be a boundless energy thrumming in his body. Suddenly, numerous golden figures of suppression appeared above him from all directions, their light protectively enveloping Qin Wentian. Above Qin Wentian's head, a light screen shimmering with endless runic power appeared. The ten thousand violet long spears all blasted into the light screen, yet they were all suppressed by the overwhelming pressure, and were slowly crushed to pieces.
"Competing constellations? You are completely not my match" Qin Wentian arrogantly announced. A rumbling sound rang out from the air as the sky changed color. His constellations were originally extremely strong. And after the baptism from the Sacred Luminance, he only needed to unleash his constellation to destroy ordinary ninth-level ascendants. Although the power of his constellations alone weren't sufficient enough to kill Zi Daoyang, his opponent was far from being able to compete in constellations with him. This was nothing but courting his own humiliation.
Resplendent light flashed as four constellations were unleashed. Numerous ancient demons were being summoned, and their frenzied roars shook the heavens and earth. All of the summoned demons were glaring at Zi Daoyang, exuding a deadly air. At the same time, a towering sword might swept forth towards Zi Daoyang, obliterating everything in its path.
Zi Daoyang froze, and he activated the Thousand Autumns Emperor Art to its limit. A bright light flashed brilliantly, forming a screen of light that blotted out the sky. The sword might gushed over, slamming against the screen of light and causing endless ripples to appear.
"Your Thousand Autumns Emperor Art is just like your Heavenly Mystic Mirror Art. Both can be broken. I wonder how strong my attack needs to be in order to break through it." Qin Wentian's aura grew even more vast as a swishing sound rang out. Numerous golden gigantic bells manifested around him, floating in the air. These bells radiated intensely calamitous rays of golden lightning, all blasting towards Zi Daoyang.
"Each and every one of his innate techniques feel so overpowered." The spectators were stunned at the power of Qin Wentian's attacks. This man was just too terrifying. The might from the ancient bells were able to oppressively annihilate everything.
Qin Wentian had cultivated the Ten Thousand Laws Record. Any kind of innate techniques he unleashed would be able to reach their ultimate peak of potential. In addition to the baptism by the Sacred Luminance, he had boundless energy within him. Coupled with the fact that he also had a fiend-god-like body, as well as the augmentation effect from the Spiritual Refinement Method, then even his normal attacks were extremely tyrannical, let alone his true innate techniques.
Zi Daoyang activated his Thousand Autumns Emperor Art to its maximum limit. Boundless golden calamitous lightning rained down relentlessly on the screen of light. At the same time, the numerous gigantic demonic beasts launched an all-out assault. Zi Daoyang wielded a giant violet sword in his hand, but Qin Wentian only snorted coldly in response. Qin Wentian stepped out as a thunderous rumbling sound echoed from within his body. The silhouettes of countless golden wind rocs manifested as he hovered in the air above Zi Daoyang. Directing them with his fingers, the terrifying golden rocs lacerated everything in their path as they zoomed down towards Zi Daoyang.
Various attacks were launched simultaneously, causing the sky to change color. Everyone who was spectating felt their hearts trembling. Even Xiao Lengyue's countenance turned pale at that moment, as the circumstances were far from favorable. This Qin Wentian was so strong to the point of dominance. Even when faced against Zi Daoyang, he wasn't the slightest bit inferior.
Zi Daoyang's violet sword broke the sky, slashing outwards as he aimed for a golden-winged roc. But at the same time, multiple cracks were gradually forming on his sword. Qin Wentian descended and he immediately blasted out a gigantic palm. He wasn't going to give Zi Daoyang a chance to catch his breath. Thee demonic beasts continued to roar and attack, trying to rip Zi Daoyang into pieces.
—BOOM!— Suddenly, amidst the violet illumination, a shocking black ray of light erupted forth. A terrifying power permeated the air, shaking the heavens and earth.
"What a fearsome aura!"
"That's the power of the Brahma Heavenly Emperor's inheritance. Zi Daoyang already has two out of the nine portions. He definitely possesses its extraordinary might."
Numerous violet-black hands manifested from Zi Daoyang, stirring the hearts of others. The hands joined together, causing the surrounding area to change color, transforming into a black vortex that unleashed an absorption might that moved to devour everything. Many of the demonic beasts let out earth-shaking roars, but they were grabbed by the hands of darkness and fed into the black vortex.
"You think you can deal with me just like that?" Rage painted Zi Daoyang's features. He was Zi Daoyang, the one ranked first in the Immortal Ascension Rankings. He was the strongest expert in the City of Ancient Emperors, yet somehow this battle had left him sorely suppressed and at a disadvantage. How could he not be angered? When Qin Wentian had stepped into the City of Ancient Emperors, he had still been a mere junior at the seventh level of Celestial Phenomenon. At that time, Zi Daoyang was already ranked first.
His pride, his dignity; they were all trampled flat by this battle. He wouldn't allow himself to fail.
"I truly have no idea where your self-confidence comes from. Now you're nothing but a defeated dog. In all aspects you've been dominated and suppressed. You still dare to flaunt your arrogance even now?" Qin Wentian coldly snorted. Stretching out his palm, a terrifying tempest manifested, rumbling ceaselessly. He exuded boundless might as his body expanded. Activating the God's Hand, he looked like a battle god that could shake the world.
"How can your pathetic two-ninths of an inheritance defend against the God's Hand?!" Qin Wentian roared. The God's Hand materialized a spear infused with the power of his bloodline. The inconceivably powerful spear pierced out. Zi Daoyang's hands of darkness were unable to evade in time, and the spear directly penetrated through it. With a thunderous boom, the destructive runic light flooded the space as cracks appeared on the hands of darkness, causing the vortex to dissipate.
"You said that I won't be your match even after breaking through to the ninth level of Celestial Phenomenon? Let me wake you up from your foolish dreams. I, who am at the ninth level, am not someone you can afford to antagonize." Qin Wentian's long spear stabbed out once again, launching a flurry of attacks that caused a thunderous sound to ring out endlessly. The hands of darkness continued to shatter apart. How could a mere two-ninths of the Brahma Heavenly Emperor's inheritance stand against the God's Hand, the secret art of Ancient Emperor Yi?!
Chapter 980: Zi Daoyang Fleeing in Defeat
Translator: Lordbluefire Editor: Lordbluefire
"How tyrannical!"
The spectators all felt their hearts trembling as they watched on. Qin Wentian was simply too tyrannical, and this was true even if his opponent was Zi Daoyang, #1 ranker in the Immortal Ascension Rankings.
Zi Daoyang once said that even if Qin Wentian were to break through to the ninth level of Celestial Phenomenon, he still wouldn't be his match. Qin Wentian's domineering reply—now that he's at the ninth level, he wasn't someone Zi Daoyang could afford to provoke. How tyrannical was that?
The experts from the Violet Sect had solemn expressions as they watched this battle.
Was the legend of the #1 ranker going to be destroyed today?
The surrounding spectators all had sharp countenances as they stared unmovingly at the battlefield. This was a fight at the very peak of the City of Ancient Emperors. Was the position of the #1 ranker going to shift owners?
"Too powerful... Qin Wentian has already mastered Emperor Yi's secret art 'God's Hand' to an unbelievable level. That long spear seems to be condensed from killing-type divine inscriptions. Although that stab appeared simple, it was actually powered by a fearsome rune formation. Every single one of its attacks has the power to shake the heavens. Zi Daoyang's inheritance of the Brahma Heavenly Emperor was already considered very powerful, but after coming face to face with the God's Hand, it still ended up being suppressed."
Everyone's hearts shuddered. Zi Daoyang's reflection art had gradually been shattered. Those floating ancient bells continued their endless attacks, while the numerous demonic beasts violently rampaged everything. Even his Thousand Autumns Emperor Art couldn't withstand such a frenzied attack. Every time the reflective runes converged, they were shattered apart an instant later. Qin Wentian didn't plan on giving Zi Daoyang any room to breathe.
"GET LOST!" Zi Daoyang roared in rage. The violet divinity was superimposed on Zi Daoyang's figure. It felt like a violet immortal had just descended, and he blasted out with his palms to destroy everything. Rumbling explosive sounds rang out relentlessly, Qin Wentian's aura grew increasingly stronger as his body expanded once more. His long spear also grew in size, stabbing out with world-shaking might and he pierced through the body of the violet immortal, resulting in another explosion. Regardless of what power Zi Daoyang unleashed, it was unable to block Qin Wentian's attack.
"Zi Daoyang, is that all your strength amounts to?" Qin Wentian's entire body radiated a divine glow. He was like an unrivaled battle god, capable of utter devastation.
The #1 ranker on the Immortal Ascension Rankings had actually been humiliated with the phrase, 'Is that all your strength amounts to?'!
With another flash of intense light, Qin Wentian activated the immortal battle art. It was unknown how terrifying Qin Wentian was in that moment.
His body generated vast waves of might, akin to having an immortal physique. His skin, muscles, flesh, and bones all contained boundless strength that circulated frenziedly within his body. It infused itself into the heaven-shaking spear, which pierced towards Zi Daoyang's body.
puchi... That long spear penetrated past the screen of light and stabbed into Zi Daoyang. Zi Daoyang roared in anger, materializing a violet shield, but it was instantly destroyed by Qin Wentian's spear. Zi Daoyang wasn't strong enough to obstruct his spear attack.
"This..."
"Is Zi Daoyang going to be defeated?"
"Qin Wentian's strength has actually reached such a tyrannical degree."
Everyone felt shivers down their spines, the absolute might within the spear blasted into Zi Daoyang as the violet protective light shattered apart. Zi Daoyang coughed out fresh blood and was flung through the air from the powerful impact, towards the direction of experts from the Violet Sect. He was blasted back at a speed that caused the hearts of everyone spectating to tremble in terror.
—BOOM BOOM BOOM!— Many of the Violet Sect's experts joined hands and caught hold of Zi Daoyang. Zi Daoyang was completely pale. Fresh blood kept seeping out of his mouth, and his outer robes were completely torn, revealing a thin, violet inner-shirt that had no signs of damage. Despite the power of that spear, the violet shirt was left without a blemish on it.
Suddenly, the violet shirt shimmered with runic light, containing so much power that those who'd witnessed it trembled.
"Immortal-ranked weapon. That's a powerful, immortal-ranked, defensive-type weapon. Although it cannot completely neutralize the force of the attack, it still managed to shave off most of the damage. But even so, Zi Daoyang is still so seriously injured, to the point of narrowly dying."
"The immortal sense of the Violet Emperor manifested."
At that moment, a supreme silhouette appeared, containing a fearsome imposingness. But the instant he materialized, the law energy from the sky immediately thundered down and enveloped him completely.
"Insolence!" The Violet Emperor inclined his head and roared. He lifted his palms, and actually tried to fight against the law energy of the City of Ancient Emperors. However, before he could do anything, the burst of law energy intensified and completely enveloped his immortal sense, destroying it amidst the Violet Emperor's howls of anger.
"How terrifying, the immortal sense of a peak immortal emperor was destroyed just like that!" someone exclaimed. The Violet Emperor's immortal sense had been destroyed the instant it manifested.
"If he didn't have that immortal-ranked violet shirt protecting him, that strike would have already cost him his life. The battle has ended with Zi Daoyang's loss."
"Zi Daoyang, ranked first in the Immortal Ascension Rankings, was defeated by Qin Wentian."
At that instant, the surrounding spectators had a multitude of thoughts flashing through their minds. Their hearts were all shaking. From the beginning until the end, Qin Wentian had never been at a disadvantage in this battle. In fact, he'd been the one initiating the exchange of blows every time. Zi Daoyang simply wasn't a match for him.
It was just as Qin Wentian had said. Now that he was at the ninth level, Zi Daoyang couldn't afford to antagonize him.
Qin Wentian used strength to prove his words were right. Zi Daoyang truly couldn't afford to offend him.
For this battle, Qin Wentian had domineeringly proved his worth. In the past, he was always passive and was even hunted by people only because his cultivation level was low. Now that his cultivation level had caught up, even the #1 ranker on the Immortal Ascension Rankings had been defeated by him. Who else could still contend for supremacy against him?
After this battle, the position of the first rank would undergo a shift.
"Qin Wentian." Everyone's eyes were all on that supreme silhouette standing in the air. The City of Ancient Emperor would always remember his name. Among all the experts that had come to this place to temper themselves, being able to rank first in the Immortal Ascension Rankings was undoubtedly an indication of how high his talent was.
The expressions on the experts of the Violet Sect were extremely complicated. They had always felt proud to be part of the Violet Sect because their sect leader, Zi Daoyang, was the undisputed number-one expert in the City of Ancient Emperors.
In here, Zi Daoyang was an invincible legend. But now, this legend had been broken by someone who'd recently entered the City of Ancient Emperors.
Xiao Lengyue looked like she couldn't accept the truth of what she was seeing. Her body was trembling, and she stared at the defeated Zi Daoyang with an expression of intense disbelief etched on her face. How could this be possible? How could this happen? Qin Wentian had actually defeated her Daoyang gege. In that case, everything that happened in the past was nothing more than sarcastic mockery.
Only the experts from the Qin Sect wore expressions of excitement on their faces. Their eyes gleamed with sharpness, and they took pride in the fact that they participated in this battle. Qin Wentian had not disappointed them.
"Ranked first in the Immortal Ascension Rankings?" Jun Mengchen mocked. "Zi Daoyang, in the past it was only because our cultivation bases were still not at the ninth level. You, who were ranked as number one, have such a low level of talent. As for the woman beside you, she's even more ridiculous, calling you Daoyang gege here and there. Annoying to the max. Did you truly believe you were invincible under the heavens? That you could easily defeat my senior brother? But what's the end result now?"
Zi Daoyang was speechless. Xiao Lengyue was speechless as well. They both had nothing to say to that.
The winners had become the king, while the losers were vilified. The end result of the battle was much more persuasive than any words one could utter. If Zi Daoyang had won, the only things remaining for Qin Wentian would be disdain and humiliation. But since Qin Wentian did win, Zi Daoyang was knocked down from his divine pedestal. He no longer shone as brilliantly as before, and he now had to face many looks of contempt.
Zi Daoyang coughed out even more blood. He took out a medicinal pill and threw it into his mouth. Tilting his head, he stared straight at Qin Wentian as a terrifying coldness flickered in his eyes.
"You don't need to look at me in this manner. You brought this humiliation on yourself." Qin Wentian said softly when he saw the coldness in Zi Daoyang's eyes. "How arrogant were you before? Do you still remember the first time you appeared before me? How lofty and high-up you were then? Unexcelled in this world. Ranking first in the Immortal Ascension Rankings, with an arrogance that knew no bounds, having no one in your eyes at all. Think about it. The amount of arrogance you had back then should be equal to the amount of misery you feel now that you are defeated."
"Your arrogance depended on your unrivaled strength in the City of Ancient Emperors. But now, that halo of invincibility has already been plundered away by me. Before me, Zi Daoyang, what do you even count for?" Qin Wentian stepped out, his voice thundering through the heavens and earth—his words pierced directly into Zi Daoyang's heart.
What did Zi Daoyang count for before him?
His earlier arrogance was nothing but a joke now that he'd been defeated by Qin Wentian. If he wanted to cleanse away his humiliation, he would have to defeat Qin Wentian with his own strength. But until that day happened, he would always remain a joke in the eyes of the geniuses of the City of Ancient Emperors. And if he continued to use his identity - that of the Violet Emperor's son - to continue to dominate others, his actions would be even more ridiculous.
One's identity could bestow many things upon you. But if your personal strength was weak, and you depended on your father for everything, that identity would be nothing but a disgrace. A true genius would surely hold such actions in contempt.
—BOOM!— Qin Wentian took another step forward, causing the space to vibrate. Xiao Lengyue's countenance stiffened, "What are you trying to do?!"
"The battle has yet to end." Qin Wentian brandished a long spear as he spoke, his countenance ice-cold. His long spear erupted forth, becoming 100 meters in size, and obliterated everything as it stabbed at Zi Daoyang's head.
The experts of the Violet Sect all retreated. Although they had chosen to follow Zi Daoyang, this was a battle Zi Daoyang had to fight alone. So now that he was defeated, he had to settle everything himself.
A runic talisman appeared in Zi Daoyang's hand. It flared with a brilliant light and with a wave of his hand, the runic light enveloped him completely. He then coldly spoke, "Qin Wentian, I will remember this humiliation today. In the future, I shall pay you back ten-fold."
As the sound of his voice faded, a beam of violet light shot into the skies as Zi Daoyang vanished from sight. As the son of Violet Emperor, it was evident that Zi Daoyang would naturally have many treasures on him. Qin Wentian knew this point well. He watched on calmly as Zi Daoyang disappeared from sight. It truly wasn't easy to kill someone with an identity like Zi Daoyang!