“Aiya.”
Normally, Yi Chan would not cry out in pain. However, since she had been attacked earlier, she had already been feeling a lot of pain in her entire body. Jiang Yi jumped and quickly carried her up again into a room just beside them.
He lay Yi Chan down on the bed and gave her some recuperation medicine. It was then that he said in shock, “Yi Chan, are you sure that’s a nine-star dao pattern? That can’t be right. I realized a nine-star dao pattern just by studying a Heaven Painting? How can it be that easy? If things were really that simple, everybody would be nine-star martial artists. I’ve not even become a Demigod yet. How can I control the Fire Dragon Sword this way? I haven’t refined the Mystic Divine Armor, and yet I can activate it? This is too weird…”
“It is weird indeed…”
Yi Chan was feeling better after resting for a while. She leaned back on the bed and frowned. She muttered, “Our clan has a record of three of the Mystic Thearch’s most powerful attacks. The first is the astral wind attacks. The second is the Divinity Slayer. The third is the scariest. The Divinity Slayer was named by the Mystic Thearch himself. Other people had no idea what it was. If you are sure that the dao pattern is the Divinity Slayer, then it is a nine-star dao pattern without a doubt.”
“Of course, I’m sure!”
Jiang Yi said confidently, “I got the message from the Heaven Painting itself. It said that this dao pattern is the Divinity Slayer. That can’t be right—why did this nine-star dao pattern not produce star sphere powers? Could it be that this dao pattern is a supreme dao pattern just like the Fury of Thunder?”
Ao Lu had taught him before that there were three types of dao patterns. The first type was the elemental dao patterns like wind-elemental, fire-elemental, and water-elemental dao patterns. The second type was heaven and earth dao patterns like destruction dao patterns, spatial dao patterns, and time dao patterns. The last type was supreme dao patterns!
“This Great One doesn’t really understand human cultivation. But since your dao pattern can directly borrow the power of heaven and earth to attack, then it should be a supreme dao pattern. This type of dao pattern is beyond the elemental dao patterns and heaven and earth dao patterns and is extremely hard to comprehend. If you can borrow the power of heaven and earth, why would heaven and earth bestow you with the power of stars?”
Jiang Yi recalled Ao Lu’s words. Suddenly, the Divinity Slayer made sense to him. The Fury of Thunder borrowed the power of thunder and lightning to attack enemies. Now, the Divinity Slayer was even more powerful. It borrowed the power of heaven and earth to attack enemies. Naturally, heaven and earth would not bestow him the power of stars.
“It looks like this Divinity Slayer really is a nine-star dao pattern. It’s a supreme dao pattern! However… when I realized the Fury of Thunder back then, I spent a long time in order to get it right. What’s more, I only realized it after merging the lower-level dao patterns together one by one. I had a much easier time realizing this Divinity Slayer. Does this have something to do with my refinement of the Mystic Divine Palace, my strange body type, and the Fire Dragon Sword?”
Jiang Yi was still quite some way from figuring it all out. However, he cast all of these questions aside quickly. There were too many weird things happening to him. Now, he was numb to it all. Perhaps as his powers and knowledge increased, he would get more answers to these questions. For now, he decided there would be no point in trying to understand it.
He heaved two long sighs before asking, “Yi Chan, why are you so silly? Why did you get so close to that thunder array formation? Did you want to die with me? You’re really a silly woman! What’s going on outside?”
Yi Chan smiled bitterly. She did not even manage to get close to the array, and yet she dared to dream of breaking it apart. There was no point in explaining. With the energy she could muster, she said, “The situation outside is pretty bad, but I’ve arranged for the disciples of the Yi Clan to move to the Snow Region. Situ Yixiao and the others have gone to Sin Island. The people of the Stellarsky Continent have all moved to the Snow Region as well. Ruobing is still in seclusion. Your other two… women are safe on Buddha Mountain.”
At this point, Yi Chan glared at Jiang Yi. Jiang Yi touched his nose guiltily. Then, he plucked up the courage to ask, “How bad is ‘pretty bad’?”
Yi Chan’s expression reverted to normal. In a low voice, she responded, “Sin Island is finished! Just two weeks ago, Sin Island was destroyed. All thirteen clans fell completely at the hands of the East Imperial Continent’s army. Tens of millions of warriors died, and hundreds of millions of civilians perished as well…”
“What?”
Jiang Yi’s gaze hardened. His voice was trembling as he said, “What has happened to Big Brothers Wanguan, Wushuang, Yixiao, and Taotian?”
“They’re not dead.”
Yi Chan continued, “All the young disciples of the thirteen clans had been transported to the Snow Region quietly. On your account, the Saint Empress kept them all safe, but… according to my sources, Qian Wanguan and Zhan Wushuang went to Endless Deep Sea. I’m guessing that they wanted to ask Ao Lu to break the array for you, but Ao Lu did not come. The two of them did not emerge from Endless Deep Sea since.”
“Uh…”
Jiang Yi’s expression darkened. His eyes darted around as he analyzed the situation in his head. Suddenly, his head snapped up. “How was Sin Island destroyed? Tell me everything in detail.”
“Alright!”
Yi Chan plucked up more strength to describe everything that had happened in full detail. She knew that the matter was urgent. The alliance army was about to wage war on the demons. If that happened, more people would perish. The alliance army had already gathered almost all their formidable martial artists. If this group died in battle and the mastermind finally showed himself after, the continent would have no more power to defend itself against him.
At this time, Yi Chan still did not believe that Ao Lu was the mastermind. After explaining everything to Jiang Yi, she explained her guesses and allowed Jiang Yi to analyze the situation for himself. He was to make his own judgment.
She did not rush Jiang Yi to the Black Sea. If the Buddha Thearch and the rest had fallen, they would be dead anyway. If not, they would be able to hang on for that little bit longer. The real world war was about to begin. If they made even one tiny mistake, the entire human race would pay the price. Yi Chan wanted Jiang Yi to stop this catastrophe.
One’s family comes before the country, and the country comes before the rest of the world!
Yet, if the entire world is destroyed, where would one’s country and home be?
“Why did Ao Lu not help and break the array? Why didn’t he help Sin Island? Why did he stand by and watch it fall?”
Jiang Yi had many questions in his heart. He was confused. Yi Chan had a point though. The Mystic Thearch would not have let a demon loose in the human race. However, there were far too many questions surrounding Ao Lu’s actions. This was causing Jiang Yi’s judgment to be clouded.
“Let’s go to the Endless Deep Sea!”
Jiang Yi quickly made up his mind. Whether Ao Lu as the mastermind or not, he had to go to Endless Deep Sea. Jiang Xiaonu, Qian Wanguan, and Zhan Wushuang were all there. He had to go and confirm they were alright, as well as confront Ao Lu himself.
“Ao Lu, if you really are the mastermind, I can only apologize to you. I would have to kill you. I cannot leave billions of people from the Stellarsky Continent unavenged. So many humans have died. This feud runs too deep…”
Jiang Yi muttered coolly under his breath, his eyes filling with killing intent. Although he owed Ao Lu a lot, this problem was much bigger. Jiang Yi could not let his heart soften. This was not just between Ao Lu and himself—it was between humans and demons.
All of a sudden, Yi Chan said, “What if Ao Lu is not the mastermind? What would you do? By the time we rush over, the war between humans and demons would have started. Which side would you help? Would you help the demons kill humans?”
“I…”
Jiang Yi hesitated. He had no idea what he should do. Yi Chan smiled gently. “Jiang Yi, if I were in your shoes, I would help the demons and stop the war from beginning! If Ao Lu is not the mastermind, then the mastermind must be a human. You cannot help the mastermind achieve his goal. He wants to cause the war so that both races would be wiped out. That’s why you have to stop the war from taking place. This will foil his plans and retain the humans’ strength…”
“That’s right!”
Jiang Yi rejoiced. He grabbed Yi Chan’s hand and nodded profusely. “Yi Chan, you get some rest. Go to sleep. Leave the rest to me. I will find the mastermind and stop the catastrophe.”
“Alright!”
Yi Chan smiled sweetly and closed her eyes to take a nap. The sweet smile on her peach-blossom-like face would cause anyone’s heart to stop.
