Swish!
The appearance of a pitch-black path above the Mystic Divine Mountain attracted the attention of the Zhan Clan disciples who were keeping guard around the area. One of the elders brought several Heaven Monarchs with him and sprinted up the mountain. Their divine senses locked in on Jiang Yi, who had just landed.
“Jiang Yi?”
The Zhan Clan’s disciples’ expressions changed. All of them stopped in mid-air, retrieving their command tokens, prepared to send a message back home. At that moment, Jiang Yi realized what they were doing. He released a strong, oppressive force that engulfed the entire group. A cold voice rang in their ears: “Whoever moves will be killed without hesitation!”
The elder was only a four-star martial artist. The other four or five people with him were merely advanced Heaven Monarchs. Once Jiang Yi released that force toward them, all of them felt frozen still. None of them were able to move. Jiang Yi activated his legs at once, running down toward them like an arrow being released from a bow. At the same time, he used the soft sword in his hand to activate the Divine Sound Heaven Skill. Everybody’s souls were stunned. He took the chance to grab all of them and send them into the Mystic Divine Palace. He rushed in after them and then caused the Mystic Divine Palace to disappear in mid-air.
“En?”
In the Mystic Thearch City below the Mystic Divine Mountain, one Demigod of the Zhan Clan flew out. He felt the space moving around him, but by the time he used his divine senses to sweep the area, the Mystic Divine Palace had already disappeared into a crack in the sky. He scanned the area several more times, but he still found nothing out of the ordinary.
…
“Jiang Yi, what’s the matter?”
The Buddha Thearch and the others had been waiting inside the Mystic Thearch Pavilion all this time. When they saw Jiang Yi enter with a group of people in tow—people from the Zhan Clan at that, they were astonished. Jiang Yi smiled and nodded. “We’re alright. We’re out of the Void Ancient Path, and we got teleported to the top of the Mystic Divine Mountain. There were a few Zhan Clan’s disciples there. I brought them back so that we can find out what’s going on outside.”
“The Mystic Divine Mountain?”
All of them stared, at a loss as to what was to be done. The Death God Mystic Realm was located in the Black Sea, west of the continent. The Mystic Divine Mountain was in the middle of the continent. After making it through the Void Ancient Path, they actually ended up on Mystic Divine Mountain.
Yet, knowing that they were out was a huge relief for all of them. The Buddha Emperor walked toward the elder of the Zhan Clan and hit his head hard. The elder immediately woke up. He wanted to attack, but on seeing the Buddha Thearch, Yin Thearch, Night Empress, and the others, his expression changed. He looked like he had seen a ghost. His entire body shook violently.
“You’re Zhan Tiandi, right?”
The Yin Emperor knew this person so he immediately spoke up. “None of us are dead yet. We aren’t ghosts. Are you not going to bow on seeing our clan heads?”
The elder of the Zhan Clan widened his eyes and got to his knees in fear. “Zhan Tiandi pays his greetings to all his Lords. Are you… really not dead?”
“Nonsense…”
The Yin Emperor tutted. On behalf of everyone else, he asked in a low voice, “What’s going on outside? Tell us everything in full detail. If you hide anything from us, then be prepared to lose your worthless life!”
“Uh?”
The other fighters of the Zhan Clan regained consciousness at that moment and looked around at the group with blurred vision. Yet, they said nothing. Everyone here was highly revered by people. They did nothing but stare at Zhan Tiandi.
Zhan Tiandi took several glances at Jiang Yi, his expression filled with hatred. “My Lords, why… are you together with this traitor of humanity? This man killed my clan head. Please, avenge us.”
“What?”
The Yin Thearch, the Xuan Thearch, Jiang Yi, and everyone else were astonished. Only the Buddha Thearch and the Saint Emperor, as well as the sixty Chieftains with them, remained expressionless. The Buddha Thearch sighed softly and said, “I knew that something big happened outside. Old Zhan has really been killed.”
The Buddha Emperor’s eyes widened. In a cold voice, he asked, “When did the Battle Thearch die? Where did he die?”
Zhan Tiandi glared at Jiang Yi and answered, “He died three or so months ago. My Clan Head was assassinated by Jiang Yi and Ao Lu together in the Fire Beacon Continent. The entire continent knows about this. Please, my Lords, take revenge on my Clan Head’s behalf.”
“Keke!”
Jiang Yi laughed softly, but he did not bother explaining anything.
The Buddha Emperor, however, spoke up in a cold tone. “Jiang Yi has been with us in the Black Sea for four or five months. How could he have been the one who killed the Battle Thearch in Fire Beacon Continent? Quick, tell us everything that has happened on the continent since we were gone. This concerns the lives of the people of Stellarsky Domain!”
“This…”
Zhan Tiandi looked at the group suspiciously. Not believing their words, he asked, “Has Jiang Yi really been with you all for four or five months?”
“Bullsh*t!”
The Yin Thearch spat. “Why would we lie to you?”
The Buddha Thearch, the Yin Thearch, the Night Empress, and the Xuan Thearch were present; those were four great thearchs. People like that would not lie, especially the Buddha Thearch, whose reputation was well-known. Zhan Tiandi hesitated for a while, half-believing their words. He said, “Three months ago, there were strange movements detected in Fire Beacon Continent. Several continents were initiating battles there. My Clan Head and the North Thearch gathered the formidable martial artists of the continent to go there and suppress the wars, but in the end…”
Zhan Tiandi told the group everything that happened recently in full detail. When he talked about the Battle Thearch being killed, everybody looked distressed. Even Jiang Yi’s expression became somber. He had never gotten along with the Battle Thearch, but it was obvious he was not the mastermind. One of the greatest martial artists of the human race had been murdered. This was a huge loss to humanity.
Later, Zhan Tiandi talked about the North Thearch forming the Human Race Alliance Army and becoming the leader. The entire group’s expressions were mocking. The North Thearch had finally revealed his true colors. He indeed sought to take over the entire world and become the second Mystic Thearch.
Zhan Tiandi went on to tell them about the Beast Thearch and the Sword Thearch being made the assistant leaders, who supported the North Thearch as he rose to power, and the appearance of Xing Mengwan. The Buddha Thearch and company all looked incredulous.
The Sword Thearch and the Beast Thearch were the North Thearch’s lackeys? This should be almost impossible. The Nine Thearch Clans have always followed strict rules, and each of the Nine Thearchs had huge pride. They would not easily agree to become the North Thearch’s lackeys and help him to have his way. What’s more, the Beast Thearch and the Sword Thearch had nothing to gain from following the North Thearch!
“Could they be under his control? Have they become his soul slaves? That’s impossible…”
The Yin Emperor muttered to himself under his breath. Strong martial artists like them would be extremely hard to control. If they realized their souls were being controlled, they would surely rather kill themselves.
No one could figure this out. Only the Sword Thearch and the Battle Thearch would know the answer. As for Xing Mengwan’s appearance, none of them were surprised. The Heaven Nether Sect and the North Thearch were on the same side. These two clans were the masterminds all along. In fact, it would be surprising if Xing Mengwan did not help the North Thearch.
The way things developed after that was almost unbearable for Jiang Yi. He heard that Qi Tianchen was killed, along with most of the formidable martial artists of the Qi Clan. At that moment, the Beast Thearch was number one on his to-kill list.
Boom!
Zhan Tiandi went on to talk about how the second Holy War ended. Jiang Yi heard that Ao Lu, the Shadow Emperor, and all the great demons in the Endless Deep Sea were killed in battle. His mind clouded over. It took him a long time to recover from the shock.
He owed Ao Lu a favor—a great favor. Ao Lu was both a teacher and a friend to Jiang Yi. He had only gone to the Black Sea and back, and yet the two of them were now separated by life and death. Rage began to build up in his heart, threatening to overflow. He gritted his teeth and turned to Zhan Tiandi, asking, “Where is the North Thearch now?”
“He’s at… at…”
Zhan Tiandi felt his soul freeze up once again when he met Jiang Yi’s gaze. Stuttering, he said, “Thirteen days ago, the Human Race Alliance Army set off for the Snow Region. They should be battling them now!”
“What?”
Jiang Yi shouted in shock. Without any hesitation, he steered the Mystic Divine Palace toward the north as fast as he could, using Heaven Evasion along the way. If the Human Race Alliance Army set off thirteen days ago from North Thearch City, they likely would arrive at Snow Region anytime soon. By the time Jiang Yi and company arrived, the region would probably be wiped out.
