All the visions disappeared from the sky, as did the overpowering and scary fluctuations, leaving a cooling breeze in their wake.
It was nightfall again, a silent and chilly one.
Tian Yu was still hovering in the sky with the coin stuck in between his brows. He stayed motionless and unblinking. He could feel the cracks on his body getting wider and deeper. His body became so fragile that with a small movement, he could shatter completely and be carried off by the wind.
Naturally, he did not want to die yet. How did things end up like this? Victory was within his grasp, how did it end up like this? Also, what was up with the Ultimate Chaos Treasure? It was so weird. How could it change the channel without asking?
“That was the coin I used to make a wish.” Qin Chuyue looked at the coin in a daze, her eyes full of disbelief. “Is the… Suffering Sea helping us?”
“It’s the expert who’s helping us!” corrected Qin Zhongshan. He clearly knew the Suffering Sea had not changed for a thousand years. Nothing in the world could make a ripple on its surface so there was no way the sea was helping them.
But…it can choose not to entertain anyone except for the expert. The expert had not lent a helping hand from the very start except for lending them the TV which connected them to the Suffering Sea. The most important thing was the Suffering Sea was many worlds away from the Area of the Gods and yet it was able to cross over the endless chaos to reverse the law of karma. Tian Yu’s life was bought with the coin Qin Chuyue tossed into the sea.
The life of Chaos Daluo Golden Immortal, who was at the peak of his power and imbued with Heavenly power, could be bought with just a coin? No one would ever believe that.
Qin Zhongshan and the rest of the group stared at the motionless Tian Yu with mixed feelings. They were suddenly awed by the impermanence of everything — surprised could be found anywhere if one looked hard enough.
Tian Yu stared back at them. He wanted to ask them ‘why’ but found himself unable to open his mouth.
“Left Messenger asked me to come over for a good show. He delivered on his promise,” said a voice coming out from the night sky. His giggle echoed through the air.
Afterwards, a black energy gathered in the air and transformed into a man in a black robe. He looked down condescendingly at the Empath Sect group and continued on in a mocking tone. “Using Tian Yu as a pawn to capture three Chaos Daluo Golden Immortals was totally worth it.”
Misfortune never comes singly.
Everyone’s heart sank with dread.
Qin Zhongshan looked at the man in a black robe. “Who are you?” he asked cautiously.
The man in a black robe giggled unsettlingly. “Me? I am your master from now on and you all will become my guinea pig.”
Qin Zhongshan felt his mouth grow numb with coldness. “The Ministry?” he asked gravely.
The Ministry was infamous among the circle of Chaos. The word evoked an image of street rats — disgusting but there was nothing you could do about them.
They were active in Chaos and had a finger in all the worlds’ trends. They could be found in every corner and plotted from behind the scenes. One had to be very careful not to fall into their traps.
What made them even more disgusting was everyone had come into an unspoken agreement that they would rather die by their own hands than be captured by the Ministry. They all knew that being captured alive would be a punishment worse than death.
Without saying anything further, all the people from the Empath Sect activated their magical aura with their thoughts at the same time — not to revolt but to end their own lives.
However, at the next moment, all their faces suddenly changed at the same time — as if their magical aura had frozen them in place and only silence could be heard.
“Don’t even think about ending your own lives. Only I can decide if and when you stay alive,” said the man in a black robe.
A black fog started to rise up from the ground beneath their feet and transformed into a cage, trapping everyone inside. This caused them to fall into despair.
The man in a black robe was certainly very strong, judging by his aura. Although he was not as strong as Tian Yu when he was at his peak, he was very close. There was no chance they could ever defeat him in the conditions they were in right now. Not to say they would have ever been able to defeat him even when all of them were in their peak condition.
If given the choice of getting killed by Tian Yu or being captured by the Ministry — they would have chosen the former.
The man in a black robe admired his handiwork. “The chance to capture three Chaos Daluo Golden Immortals in one go doesn’t come by that often. The most important thing is…” He turned his gaze towards the TV and excitement danced around his face. He had to pinch himself to believe it was real. “What’s this I see? An Ultimate Chaos Treasure? It doesn’t look like any of you’ll be using it anymore so it’s mine now!”
He could not believe his luck at finding a rare Ultimate Chaos Treasure. It was hard to control his emotions even with his trained mental state. Lady Luck must be by his side to be favored by the Gods.
“You can’t have it. It belongs to an expert. Heed my advice to control your greed,” said Qin Zhong shan.
“I can’t believe you would say something like this,” said the man in a black robe mockingly. “You’re in no position to tell me what to do. This belongs to me now!”
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Suddenly, the sound of footsteps could be heard from afar as if the owner of the feet had no intention of keeping himself hidden. There was an air of nonchalance to it.
The man in a black robe’s expression froze slightly and a sudden chill entered his heart. His divine consciousness did not detect the newcomer’s presence, meaning to say the newcomer must be incredibly powerful.
A coldness flashed in his eyes, he straightened his figure, raised his hand and laid out a few tactics around him, quietly waiting for the arrival of the newcomer.
Under the gaze of everyone, three voices belonging to three long shadows could be seen appearing under the moonlight. Little by little, they became nearer.
Two women appeared. One as white as the moonlight, majestic and holy, emitting a faint glow. The other was as red as the flames, long hair flying, burning so bright that one had to avert one’s eyes away.
Between them stood a man who looked as ordinary as one could be. It could be said he was nothing but a mere mortal.
The man in a black robe automatically ignored the man because he felt a threatening aura coming off the two women.
Gulp!
Qin Zhongshan and the rest of the group took a gulp at the same time. They looked at the three figures with shining hope in their eyes. ‘It’s the expert!’ they cried in their heart.
Li Nianfan was originally trying out the Double Flying Stone with Daji and Fire Phoenix. They were having lots of fun and even unleashed the spells stored inside the stone on a few low-level demons to test out its power.
He was quite satisfied with the result when he heard a big commotion here and out of curiosity, came to check it out.
Li Nianfan gripped the Double Flying Stone tighter, still feeling very excited. He explicitly instructed Daji and Fire Phoenix to not intervene if the situation got out of hand because he wanted to use the Double Flying Stone.
Eventually, the three of them found out what was going on as they got nearer to the scene. The Empath Sect had been trapped in a black cage and was signalling for help with their eyes. They would have shouted for help if they could.
Standing on top of the black age was a man in a black robe. It did not take much to guess correctly he was the villain in this situation.
The man in a black robe coldly stared at Li Nianfan which made him panic slightly. The villain must be very powerful if he could trapped the Empath Sect in a cage. Not to mention the black robe certainly added to his gravita. Li Nianfan would need to be careful when it came to dealing with him.
Suddenly, the man in a black robe pointed his finger at the three newcomers. “The three of you…”
Li Nianfan’s heart jumped violently as he thought the man in a black robe was activating an attack. Acting according to the principles of taking the first strike, Li Nianfan activated the Double Flying Stone with his thought and a ball of flame appeared, illuminating the sky.
The flame transformed into a golden Fire Phoenix. It travelled through the night and aimed straight for the man in a black robe with a screech.
The man in a black robe was momentarily shocked by the overpowering flames. ‘What in the world is happening? Is he seriously pulling out the big guns at the first attack?’ he thought. ‘What’s more, I should have been more cautious towards the mere mortal instead of the two women.”
He quickly reacted with a cold scoff. He raised his hand and his black robe swirled around his body and transformed into a protective wall.
‘Wait a minute! There’s something off about the flames,’ he thought. His heartbeat became increasingly more and more violent. He sensed that an imminent disaster was about to befall on him.
All the hairs on his body stood up and the coldness surging up his heart made him break out with goosebumps.
‘I won’t make it. The flames are going to devour me!’ he thought.
He wanted to run but it was too late. The fire phoenix became bigger under his horrified and helpless gaze. There was a very, very, very scary aura coming from the fire phoenix.
‘How could this be possible? Isn’t he a mere mortal?’ he asked himself.
Whoosh!
The flames burned through his protective robe like it was made out of paper. But the fire phoenix did not stop there as it continued to fly around the man in a black robe.
Until there was nothing left in his place.
The man in a black robe did not even have the chance to scream before it evaporated into thin air. The air lingered with his thoughts of disbelief and fury.
‘I have underestimated you!’
