Translator: Silavin & Tia
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
As for whether or not Old Chen would hide any secrets from them, there was no need to worry. Seeing as he had sworn an oath on his Martial Heart, he would have to pay a steep price in order to deceive them. If he caused a crack to appear in his Martial Heart, there was a high possibility that he would lose his chance to become a Great Emperor in this lifetime.
It could be said that if the three of them could obtain this first-hand information, then they would surely be able to take the lead in the upcoming Grand Dao battle. They would also have a better chance of becoming the Great Emperor.
The moment that thought crossed their minds, both the middle-aged woman and the other man couldn’t help but stare at the Stone Demon with fiery eyes. It was as though the person in front of them was not part of the hated Demon Race but a plate of mouth-watering delicacies.
At that moment, Old Chen was investigating the secrets within the Stone Demon’s Knowledge Sea when his expression suddenly changed drastically. His aura burst out violently without any warning, catching the middle-aged woman and other man off guard, sending them flying from the impact as a result.
“What happened!?” That man was furious, thinking that Old Chen had found some incredible information and attacked them because he was unwilling to share it with them. If that was really the case, then it only went to show that Old Chen was very short-sighted indeed. However, he realised at a glance that the situation was not what he had initially thought.
[Old Chen’s condition…]
“Something… seems to be wrong with Old Chen.” The middle-aged woman had also noticed the abnormality of the situation and stared straight ahead while speaking.
At this moment, two streams of blood were flowing out from Old Chen’s eyes. Not only that, but his face was also flushed red. A turbulent wave of Spiritual Essence erupted like a tide from his head, as though he was suffering from a dissonance in his cultivation.
“Xue… Xue Li!” Old Chen gritted his teeth and roared, staggering backwards. He was unable to control himself and fell to the ground, blood spurting from his mouth and his aura quickly weakened.
“What!?” The middle-aged woman’s beautiful face turned pale and instinctively checked her surroundings. The meaning behind the name ‘Xue Li’ was something all the Pseudo-Great Emperors from the Star Boundary knew. It was referring to one of the Demon Saints, an existence that was equivalent to a Great Emperor. It was just… could a Demon Saint enter the Profound Heavens Temple?
“A Soul Seal!” The other man was quick-thinking and immediately caught on to what was going on, calling out in alarm, “There was a Soul Seal in the Stone Demon’s Knowledge Sea! We were tricked!”
Realisation dawned on the middle-aged woman at those words. Only then did she realise that Xue Li had not entered the Profound Heavens Temple. Rather, he had left a seal in the Stone Demon’s Knowledge Sea that caused Old Chen to suffer.
“Save… Save me!” Blood was flowing out of Old Chen’s seven orifices as he cried out for help. Even the two Pseudo-Great Emperors next to him could clearly perceive that he was fighting against some sort of power inside his own body, and that power undoubtedly originated from the Demon Saint, Xue Li!
The middle-aged woman and the man looked at each other and saw the conflicting emotions in each other’s eyes. The reputation of the Demon Saints was too intimidating; thus, they did not have the courage nor the confidence to fight one. It would not be worthwhile if they not only failed to save Old Chen but also fell into trouble themselves. Even so, it was unbearable to just watch Old Chen suffering without doing anything. What’s more… Xue Li only planted a Soul Seal in the Knowledge Sea of the Stone Demon, so the power he could exert should be limited.
There was only a brief hesitation before the two of them moved in unison and came to Old Chen’s side. They each pressed a finger on Old Chen’s forehead, one on the left and one on the right. Their Divine Senses surged as they couldn’t afford to care about anything else at the moment. When their Soul Avatars rushed into Old Chen’s Knowledge Sea, their expressions changed drastically.
About half an hour later, both the middle-aged woman and man suddenly opened their eyes and gasped for breath. Their complexions were pale and looking at each other, they saw the horror in each other’s eyes.
“We were careless!” The middle-aged woman gritted her teeth. Who could have known that Xue Li would leave a Soul Wisp in a Half-Saint’s Knowledge Sea? Even if the other party was a Demon Saint, doing something like this would still be a huge burden for him.
Just a mere Soul Wisp had given the three Pseudo-Great Emperors such a difficult time. The strength that the other party could exert might not be stronger than any one of them individually, but Xue Li’s mastery of his strength was far above anything those three could even hope to compete with. Not to mention, the battlefield was located within Old Chen’s Knowledge Sea, so the movements of both the middle-aged woman and the man were somewhat restricted. On the other hand, Xue Li’s Soul Wisp had no such scruples.
While they eventually managed to destroy Xue Li’s Soul Wisp in this difficult battle, the price they had to pay was not small. The man glanced at Old Chen with a sad look on his face, “Old Chen, he…”
Likewise, the middle-aged woman had a gloomy look on her face as she sighed heavily, “His life is in no danger, but…”
“Let’s find a place to hide for now,” the man suggested.
“En. That’s our best option right now.”
A short while later, the middle-aged woman stuck her head into a cave, and once she confirmed that there was nothing dangerous inside, she drew upon her Divine Sense and sent a message. The man soon entered this place with an unconscious Old Chen on his back, placed Old Chen down in a clean place, and went back outside the cave to make preparations.
Old Chen was in a coma for three whole days and when he finally did awaken, as a Pseudo-Great Emperor, he knew exactly what kind of situation he was in even though he had been unconscious the entire time. The gazes of his two companions immediately turned to look at him the moment he opened his eyes and the middle-aged woman asked with concern, “How are you feeling, Old Chen?”
Old Chen coughed slightly, forced himself to sit up, and laughed bitterly, “We tried to steal a chicken but ended up losing the rice instead.”
The other man said, “Who could have imagined that Xue Li would set up something like that… Old Chen, you…”
Old Chen raised his hand to stop the other man, “I know my own situation best. I’m afraid I won’t be able to participate in this Grand Dao battle anymore.”
His demeanour might seem rather light and carefree, but both the middle-aged woman and the other man could see the deep despair and unwillingness in his eyes. Who would be willing to accept something like this? The Grand Dao battle was a monumental event that only occurred once every few tens of thousands of years. It was an opportunity many Pseudo-Great Emperors never experienced even after waiting for their whole lives. It was not easy for the opportunity to reach the peak of the Martial Dao to come by, but Old Chen ended up in this state so quickly after the Grand Dao battle began.
He might have received help from his two companions and retained his life as a result, but his Soul had been gravely injured in the process. This kind of wound was something that completely cut off his future path toward the Martial Dao. Moreover, he would never recover from the trauma to his Soul for the rest of his life. Falling from the Pseudo-Great Emperor Realm was only a matter of time.
It could even be said that the Grand Dao battle no longer had anything to do with him. It was only thanks to many millennia of mental tempering and cultivation that he did not go insane. If anybody else went through something like that, there was a good chance they would have immediately gone crazy and committed suicide.
“This is simply my fate. However, I did find a piece of information, so my sacrifice was not in vain,” He gave a self-deprecating laugh, then he looked at his two companions with a solemn expression, “This information must be passed on no matter what. Inform our other companions and let them be vigilant. Don’t let them follow in my footsteps.”
“Don’t worry. We will definitely let the others know if we meet them.” The middle-aged woman nodded solemnly.
The other man sighed, “It’s such a pity. If only the Space Beacons could be used…”
They immediately discovered the drawbacks of being unable to use the Space Beacons when they arrived in this place, which ultimately resulted in the inability to transmit vital information to one another.
“The two of you have accompanied this old man for so many days. Don’t delay here any longer. Please go quickly. My sacrifice will be in vain if you miss this opportunity. I can only trouble the two of you to bring me along with you.”
The middle-aged woman replied, “Old Chen, if you can trust me, I will do everything possible to ensure your safety.”
Old Chen smiled, “How can I not believe you?”
The middle-aged woman nodded, took out a World Bead, and stretched out a hand towards him, “Please.”
Old Chen relaxed his mind and was instantly transported into the World Bead.
Inside the cave, the middle-aged woman and her only remaining companion exchanged a glance with each other before she spoke, “Let’s go. We need to meet up with the others as soon as possible.”
The man had no objection.
Inside the World Bead, Old Chen’s expression was gloomy as two tracks of tears made their way down his cheeks…
It had only been less than ten days since the Profound Heavens Temple opened, but great battles had already broken out everywhere. A fight would basically occur whenever the Pseudo-Great Emperors and Half-Saints encountered each other.
The Pseudo-Great Emperors of the Star Boundary were more restrained in their movements as there were more Half-Saints after all. Furthermore, they were completely clueless about the situation in the Profound Heavens Temple. They were disadvantaged due to the lack of information, so they did not want to cause too much trouble before they figured out what was going on. However, if they had an absolute advantage in numbers, such as in the case of Old Chen’s group, they didn’t mind killing off a few Half-Saints.
Compared to the Pseudo-Great Emperors, the Half-Saints were much more radical and acted ruthlessly as long as they had the slightest advantage.
In just a short span of ten days, as many as six Pseudo-Great Emperors and Half-Saints died in the Profound Heavens Temple, an extremely terrifying number. The war between the two worlds had gone on for so many years and involved hundreds of millions of cultivators, but even so, less than 20 Pseudo-Great Emperors and Half-Saints combined had died. The brutality and bloodshed of the Grand Dao battle were evident.
With the passage of time, the Pseudo-Great Emperors and Half-Saints continued to encounter companions from their respective camps and joined forces. No matter how big the Profound Heavens Temple was, there were limits to its size, so it was inevitable for them to occasionally run into each other when they were all in the same Sealed World.
Nevertheless, whether they were a Pseudo-Great Emperor or a Half-Saint, they would instantly be turned into mummified corpses if they died in the Profound Heavens Temple, as though they were being sucked dry by some kind of invisible force.
With the deaths of those Masters, the chaotic aura around the Giant Furnace located in the deepest part of the Profound Heavens Temple became more and more apparent. Accordingly, the darkness surrounding it also became much lighter.
*Hu…*
Inside the Small Sealed World, Yang Kai gently exhaled and the emerald light surrounding his body gradually disappeared. All the injuries he sustained during his battle with the Sand Demon Half-Saint were finally healed. That was not all; he had learned a great deal about his own shortcomings after digesting his experiences from his last battle.
After all, that was the first Half-Saint in peak condition whom he fought and killed all on his own. All sorts of details from the battle had been constantly replaying in Yang Kai’s mind over the past few days and he was confident that if he was given another chance now, he would be able to win against that Half-Saint with far less effort, though it would likely need to sustain quite severe injuries again. Unfortunately, there would always be a price to pay if he wanted to kill his opponent.
[Strength! I need greater strength! I am only a High-Rank Demon King right now. If I can become a Half-Saint…] Yang Kai clenched his fists tightly. There were countless opportunities in the Profound Heavens Temple, so who could say whether he might be able to become a Half-Saint in this place?
