Ling Han decided to first take a different path. Otherwise, negotiations would still take time, so it would be better to take a detour, saving time and effort.
But he soon realized that this was not a realistic strategy.
When they came to the middle course, there was only a long, narrow plain on this side of the river, with tall mountains by the side. At present, the plain had been occupied by the various tribes, so if he wanted to take a different path, he would have to pass through the mountains. However, the mountain path would be too difficult to travel; not only would he have to circle around a very far distance, it was not peaceful in the mountains, either, as there were peak stage Saint King-level Demonic Beasts.
True, all the tribes lived by the river course so that other tribes would not have the chance to obtain the river water from further up the river course, so how could they possibly allow others to easily travel via a different path?
Then they would just have to stick to the same path.
Ling Han told Xiao Gu not to imitate the speech of others no matter what. Wasn’t imitating their speech in front of Saint-level elites an insult to them? Furthermore, this guy was getting more and more fluent in its words recently. It did not even pause in its words now, and was very fast even when it was repeating the words of others.
The first middle course tribe they encountered was called the Yue Tribe.
A great formation rippled. With the great river as its foundations, its power also originating from the river flow, and sharing the same origins as the cultivation system here, it belonged to a completely new formation system. What Ling Han had previously learnt was completely useless here.
If he wanted to unravel the formation, he could only barge through with brute force.
“All of you, follow behind me,” Ling Han said. The strength of this formation should be comparable to an early stage Saint King’s, and was definitely not something that the Heavenly Phoenix Divine Maiden and the others could stand against. In Xiao Gu’s case, it would not be convenient for it to make a move. Otherwise, there would be no need for them to negotiate. Not only would they have to battle all the way through, they would also alert all the tribes which would begin hunting them down.
Long Xiangyue had long since entered into the Spatial God Tool. The four of them followed behind Ling Han, with Xiao Gu bringing up the rear. It was powerful enough, so if any unexpected situation happened, it could take care of their group from the rear while Ling Han would be in charge in the front.
Ling Han waved a palm, splitting the formation open, and calmly entered.
Whether it was a formation or attack, they all had one basic rule, and that was that strength was the most important factor. At present, Ling Han’s power was close to a peak stage Saint King’s. Thus, he did not have to be concerned which system the formation belonged to, nor did he have to look for any kind of weakness, and only had to break it open with brute force.
Suppressed under his frightening power, the power of the formation could not corrode them. It was like the formation itself was a sea, and they had gained the ability to avoid the water, forcibly setting up a safe passageway through the water.
The Heavenly Phoenix Divine Maiden and the others all clicked their tongues in amazement. The violent power of the formation was roaring two or three feet away from them, yet could not approach them in the slightest.
“Humph, who dares barge into our Yue Tribe?” A cold voice rang out, sounding out in everyone’s minds through divine sense.
Ling Han smiled slightly. “Friend, we only want to pass by, please accommodate us!”
“Outsiders?” This voice paused slightly, seeming to be considering. After a while, it finally exclaimed, “You all have to travel by the river course, and cannot veer off the path. If you enter into our tribe, then don’t blame us for being rude!”
This meant that he was going to let them pass.
Ling Han nodded. This was not because that man was easy to deal with, but rather the strength that he showed was powerful enough, so the former agreed to have them pass through to prevent any accidents from happening for no reason. If it had been the Heavenly Phoenix Divine Maiden and the others asking for passage outside the formation, this man would have ignored them.
Only with enough strength did one’s words have adequate weight. Otherwise, it would only be shouting that would serve no purpose.
Ling Han naturally did not point that out. This kind of matter needed a tacit mutual understanding. He strode over, and suddenly discovered that the might of the formation had weakened considerably. Clearly, that person from the Yue Tribe had deliberately controlled the formation, showing them benevolence.
“Many thanks, friend,” Ling Han said with a smile.
The person did not speak, and remained silent.
In only about 15 minutes’ time, they had already exited the formation. A boundless plain appeared in front of them. This area actually still belonged to the territory of the Yue Tribe, but the formation would ordinarily be used to guard against the tribes from the lower course, so there was no protective formation set up here.
When they headed further up, and exited the territory of the Yue Tribe, they would see the formation that had been laid out by the next tribe, which was used to guard against the Yue Tribe.
Ling Han stopped, and smilingly said to Xiao Gu, “Xiao Gu has performed well this time.”
“Humph, who dares barge into our Yue Tribe[1]?”
“Friend, I only want to—”
Ling Han had just spoken up when Xiao Gu immediately imitated his speech impatiently, repeating the words of Ling Han and that member from the Yue Tribe again, involuntarily causing the four of them to erupt in laughter. Apparently, Xiao Gu had controlled itself with much difficulty previously, and thus was impatiently imitating speech again.
After Xiao Gu had finished repeating their words, it looked blankly at the four of them. ‘Why are you laughing?’ It slanted its head to one side.
“Yiyaya!” It then began laughing dumbly as well.
After a day of travel, another formation appeared in front of them.
The five of them still barged through forcefully. That was the territory of the Tong Tribe. Thankfully, the elite that was in charge of the formation had no desire to start a battle, and after Ling Han said a few polite words, he allowed them to pass through, but he was not as benevolent as that person from the Yue Tribe. He did not weaken the might of the formation, and only acted as if he did not see the five of them.
Their luck was not too bad. They only had to politely say a few words, and they would be allowed to pass. However, when they entered the upper course area, they encountered trouble at the first passing.
“Scram!” When they entered into the formation, they immediately heard a sharp rebuke ring out.
Ling Han frowned. From the very beginning, this was their attitude; it looked like it would be slightly difficult for them to ask for passage.
The upper course tribes were too overbearing!
“Friend, we are only asking to pass through!” he stated calmly.
“I told you all to scram, did you not hear me?” The person’s tone was very provoking.
“Hoho, I do not know how to scram, so forgive me for not obeying!” Ling Han strode over, his anger also spiking.
“Insolence!” The person sneered. Boom, a burst of great power suddenly came from the formation. A pitch-black wild beast suddenly appeared, and pounced to attack Ling Han and the others. This wild beast looked like a giant lion, but it had a pair of horns on its head and as many as nine tails.
It clearly had been produced from that person actively channeling the formation, starting an offensive towards Ling Han and the others.
Ling Han flicked out a finger. Weng, Sword Qi surged out, dazzling the skies, and splitting this fierce beast in two. However, it had been formed from the great formation, so even if it was cut in half, it would not die. Instead, it would absorb the power of the formation, and when it was split, it would become two fierce beasts.
“Haha, this is the Ten Thousand Manifestations Great Formation. The more you all resist, the greater the power will be provoked from the formation; you are all merely seeking death!” The person laughed. “Despicable outsiders, all of you will die!”
From his tone, it seemed that he was filled with fury towards outsiders. Perhaps he had suffered at the hands of outsiders previously, and was thus venting his hatred on Ling Han and his group.
Ling Han spread out his divine sense. Though the power of the formation was very strong, and would cause damage to one’s spirit, his present divine sense was incredibly resilient, so he was not afraid at all. He forcibly spread out his divine sense within the formation.
This was not an illusion formation, so Ling Han soon located the person who was controlling it—a large man wearing a feathered crown on his head and whose upper body was bare. Because he was presently channeling the formation with his full effort, the black rings on him had also appeared.
Nine rings, and the ninth ring was clearly not dark enough. His cultivation level probably should be equivalent to middle stage Great Saint Tier.
“Humph, you actually dare release your divine sense towards here. Are you dissatisfied that you are not dying fast enough?” The large man also discovered Ling Han was spying on him. He immediately clenched his fist, and shot out a punch at Ling Han’s divine sense.
Xiu, Ling Han immediately withdrew his divine sense, and menacingly declared, “I am coming to find you now!”
[1] This should be a typo from the author as the previous tribe was already the Yue Tribe, but he uses Yue Tribe again here.
