Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio
Mu Lingxi, Luosha Princess, Qing Mo, Su Qingling, and Bu Ji all followed Zhang Ruochen toward the 99 saint mountains. An ancient mountain loomed before them. It was shaped like a turtle and radiated with a strong icy aura.
Bu Ji gazed up at the snow that kept falling from the sky. It felt strange. After all, another mountain was spewing fire hundreds of miles away.
One cold and one hot, they were unpredictable.
“Will we really be able to reach the merits record wall by entering this saint mountain?” Bu Ji asked.
“If we want to know the answer, we have to enter the mountain first.”
Holding the Abyss Ancient Sword, Zhang Ruochen walked at the front.
He released his Spiritual Power and kept alert, wary of any unknown dangers.
The ancient saint mountain was shrouded by a mysterious power. The further they went, the more densely packed the rules were. An invisible force also fell upon them, making their pressure greater and greater.
They’d only gone 30 miles when the gravity that Zhang Ruochen felt was ten times heavier than the outside world.
No cultivator dared to lower their guard. They followed Zhang Ruochen closely, going forward in the ice and snow.
Su Qingling pointed somewhere halfway up the mountain and cried out, “Look, there’s an ice person.”
Everyone stopped and followed Su Qingling’s finger.
The ice person was more than 50 miles away from them. However, with a Saint’s eyesight, they could see the figure’s features clearly even with the levels of icy Qi.
It was a short and stooped elder in dazzling battle clothing. Ice sealed his entire body. He stood there without moving.
Bu Ji’s eyes gleamed. “That’s a sect leader from a major Hell Blade Field sect. His name is Qiu Wanli. His cultivation reached the middle of the Absolute Saint Realm. I saw him once not too long ago in Zuling Field. We almost got into a fight. I didn’t think that he’d already died in this ice saint mountain.”
“Are you sure that’s Qiu Wanli?”
“Yes.”
Bu Ji nodded firmly.
Su Qingling had heard Qiu Wanli’s name before. She knew he was a top fighter from Hell Blade Field. Even such a powerful figure had died on this mountain. It was honestly hard to keep optimistic.
“Qiu Wanli must not have entered the mountain alone,” Zhang Ruochen said. “It’s possible that the cultivators of Hell Blade Field have also figured out how to reach the merits record wall from here.”
Su Qingling nodded. “I heard long ago that White-robed Fang Yi, Heir of Hell Blade Field, is at the Whale River Territory. But no cultivator has seen him. He might have already entered the saint mountain from here. Everyone, we must be more careful. Fang Yi is an extremely scary person. Once we find him, we must avoid him.”
Hearing this, Princess Luosha let out a scornful laugh.
Su Qingling was clearly annoyed with Princess Luosha. She scoffed and activated her saint soul territory. Instantly, 72 Holy Qi halos appeared, wrapping around her. She protected herself first.
Luosha Princess looked over at Zhang Ruochen. “There’s a group of human Saints following us. Should we take care of them first?”
Zhang Ruochen glanced back and shook his head. “Since they want to follow, just let them follow!”
Sword Saint Jiuyou and his three disciples were following Zhang Ruochen’s group. They were around ten miles apart.
Wang Su’s figure appeared amidst the white snow. His eyes hardened. “Master, Zhang Ruochen and that demoness seem to have discovered us.”
“With their cultivation, it would be even stranger if they didn’t discover us. Since they haven’t attacked, we’ll continue to follow.” Sword Saint Jiuyou stepped forward and continued on.
About two hours later, Zhang Ruochen’s group had walked more than 50 miles. They reached the location of the ice man.
“Hey, where did Qiu Wanli’s corpse go? It was here earlier. How come it disappeared suddenly?”
Qing Mo blinked and looked around.
Even Zhang Ruochen and Princess Luosha had serious expressions. They stood in place and manipulated Spiritual Power, tentatively searching the space.
It was clear that they’d already perceived that huge danger was approaching.
Crackle, crackle.
A soft sound came from under the piled snow. It was like an unknown creature was grinding its teeth.
That sound kept changing position with incredible speed. Suddenly, it appeared under Bu Ji’s feet. Then white pincers poked out of the snow underfoot.
At the same time, a sword clanged. Zhang Ruochen stabbed right under Bu Ji’s feet.
Crack.
Red blood poured out of the buildup of snow.
Zhang Ruochen pulled the Abyss Ancient Sword out again. The blade had pierced through a white scorpion. It was probably the size of a basin. The two sharp pincers were one meter long.
The white scorpion contained immense power. Densely-packed light flowed across the shell. It struggled violently while letting out deafening screams. The bursts of soundwaves hurt their eardrums.
Mu Lingxi and Qing Mo had the lowest cultivation. Attacked by the soundwaves, blood flowed out of their ears. They almost fainted and fell to the ground.
Zhang Ruochen huffed coldly. He shook his arm and cut the white scorpion in half.
Luosha Princess rolled her eyes. “I said before that the weak aren’t qualified to befriend the strong. They’ll only be deadweight. Zhang Ruochen, let them go back. The two of us will go to the merits record wall.”
Su Qingling ground her teeth in anger. The saint sword in her hands trembled. She probably would’ve stabbed Luosha Princess if her abilities weren’t so terrifying.
“What? You don’t think so?” Luosha Princess said without holding back. “At least three of you would’ve died if Zhang Ruochen hadn’t been here. What are you if you’re not weak? What are you if you’re not deadweight?”
“Who hasn’t developed from a weak person?” Zhang Ruochen said indifferently. “Compared to Saint Kings, which one of us isn’t weak?”
He walked to the corpse of the white scorpion and lifted the shell with his sword tip. After searching, he furrowed his brows. “Strange. This scorpion is so strong, but how come there’s no saint source?”
“That’s the Pluto Ice Jade Scorpion.”
Su Qingling was very knowledgeable and knew the white scorpion’s background. She continued, “In legends, the Pluto Ice Jade Scorpion was born from the Pluto Winter Water. They can cultivate the Power of Pluto Ice inside their bodies. Mature scorpions are very strong and can even fight with half-step Saint Kings.”
Saint Kings mainly cultivated the Rules of Saintly Way, so it was hard to really define different levels. Usually, one needed a special tool to test a Saint King’s level.
In Kunlun’s Field, there was the Emperor Divine Ruler.
In the Heaven World, people used the Nine Steps to the Sky Path to measure a Saint King’s level. Thus, it divided Saint Kings into nine levels. Each step they could take on the path was one level.
The Saint King’s first step, second step, third step…
The ninth step was the peak level. If a cultivator could take steps on the path, it was clear that they’d entered the Supreme Saint Realm. They could call themselves an emperor in a major world.
As for half-step Saint Kings, they weren’t true Saint Kings because their Rules of Saintly Way weren’t strong enough. They were above the Saints but not at the Saint King Realm yet.
Even so, half-step Saint Kings were still much stronger than Absolute Saints.
The scorpion that Zhang Ruochen had killed wasn’t mature yet. It hadn’t reached the half-step Saint King level yet.
“Look, Wan Qiuli’s head is inside the Pluto Ice Jade Scorpion,” Bu Ji said. “It hasn’t been digested fully yet.”
There was half of a bloody head inside the scorpion’s corpse.
Zhang Ruochen continued staring at the Pluto Ice Jade Scorpion’s corpse. He squatted down and extended a finger, placing it on the white shell. “There’s the aura of Ning True Saint Dew inside its body. Also… It must ingest Ning True Saint Dew frequently. Could it be that a great amount of dew is hidden somewhere in this mountain?”
“That’s not impossible,” Luosha Princess said. “You should know that a near-god is buried in the 99 saint mountains. Every mountain in the outside must contain a treasure. However, opportunities and danger exist together. The more treasures there are, the more dangerous it is.”
Right now, Zhang Ruochen had around 2,000 drops of Ning True Saint Dew. It wasn’t enough to reach the middle of the True Saint Realm. Thus, if there really were large amounts of Ning True Saint Dew in this mountain, it would definitely be tempting for him.
The others’ eyes all blazed as well. If they could receive large amounts of Ning True Saint Dew, they would definitely have breakthroughs quickly. By then, would Luosha Princess still mock them for being weak?
Face red, Bu Ji said impatiently, “Then what are we still waiting for? Let’s hurry and go. The Saints of the Hell Blade Field may be ahead of us. If we’re late, there won’t be any Ning True Saint Dew left for us.”
The nine-headed bird behind Luosha Princess also let out strange cries. It seemed to want the Ning True Saint Dew too. That bird was only in the middle of the Absolute Saint Realm and still had a lot of room for improvement.
Everyone picked up their pace. They continued forward and soon entered the heart of the saint mountain. They were halfway up.
The gravity was even stronger here—100 times higher than the outside world. Even with their strong cultivation, they still felt a bit of pressure.
Here, they found the corpse of an adult Pluto Ice Jade Scorpion. It was very large—at least four or five times larger than the one they had encountered earlier.
“An adult Pluto Ice Jade Scorpion is able to fight with a half-step Saint King. Whoever killed it must have been an abominable figure.” Mu Lingxi gasped.
Zhang Ruochen reached out to check the scorpion’s injuries.
A beam of Broadsword Qi spread from the injury. It sliced Zhang Ruochen’s finger, leaving a shallow cut.
“Such strong Qi. Even the remnant power can cut through my physical defense.”
Zhang Ruochen was shocked inwardly. Then he stood up and looked forward, saying to everyone, “This adult scorpion was killed an hour ago. We’re already very close to the cultivators of Hell Blade Field.
“Also, I discovered even heavier Ning True Saint Dew aura in this adult scorpion. It’s evident that there may really be a large amount of dew in this mountain.”
