Liu Hao solemnly explained, “The Thirteen Swords came from the Sword Monument. A long time ago, one of my Liu family’s elders disappeared. He was the only person to this day to have received the Thirteen Swords, and that inheritance disappeared with him. I never would have thought that that elder might have gone to the Forsaken Land. You’re actually his descendant.”
Liu Tianmu’s eyes grew sharper after she heard Liu Hao’s story.
“Give me the Thirteen Swords, and I can keep you alive. After all, you’re also a member of my Liu family,” Liu Hao spoke sharply. While his eyes were hot, they did not shine with greed. He pursued the peak of the sword, and thus the Thirteen Swords held a strong attraction for him.
“Liu Hao, back down!” Xia Shenfei’s voice sounded a little strange.
Liu Hao frowned and turned to look at Xia Shenfei. He saw the excitement in Xia Shenfei’s eyes, and an indescribable look on the Junior Progenitor’s face. Liu Hao’s expression changed a bit. This was not good, and there was going to be trouble; Xia Shenfei was stepping into the fight.
“Brother Xia, this woman is a descendant from my Liu family, so please, stay your hand,” Liu Hao asked.
Xia Shenfei smiled, though he still looked very excited. “I’ll leave her alive. Step back, I want to play this game.”
Liu Hao was left feeling helpless. He understood Xia Shenfei, and while the Junior Progenitor usually behaved in a very laid back manner, he could not be provoked. Once that happened, things would end badly even for those closest to Xia Shenfei. This thought ran through Liu Hao’s head and he jumped back and retreated to the edge of the hole in the branch.
Whether other youths wished to admit it or not, they were always a step behind the Junior Progenitors. It was a difference like heaven and earth.
The gap between the victors and runners up in Yuanlun Festival was too big to overcome.
Huh? Suddenly, Liu Hao noticed something strange. There were bugs in the hold in the branch that they had been directed to by the map, and all of the bugs had already been smashed. Seeing this, Liu Hao jumped down.
At this moment, Xia Shenfei attacked. He stepped forward and appeared right in front of Liu Tianmu, covering an impressive distance. His hand was raised to attack. Liu Tianmu retaliated with the Twelfth Sword, but it was instantly overpowered by Xia Shenfei. A Force Explosion and a gravity ball both appeared at the same time, but Xia Shenfei instantly destroyed both of them with his Divine Martial Armor. One attack forced Liu Tianmu back, while also repelling Yao Xuan and Unseen Light.
Suddenly, Xia Shenfei felt a sense of danger from behind, and he spun around and released a kick. The kick shattered the approaching Mountains and Rivers Imprint. The Junior Progenitor looked up, and in the distance, he saw Wu Taibai covering his face with a hand. He was already using the Divine Martial Armor.
Xia Shenfei grinned. “Is this worth it? You betrayed Shenwu’s Sky! Did you really believe that uncovering a few secrets would wipe that clean? I was the one who suggested bringing you to the Dominion Realm so that I could eliminate you for the clan.”
Wu Taibai’s body was covered with the Divine Martial Armor. He stared back at Xia Shenfei. “I know that. However, are you sure you can handle me? Fighting four of us on your own is enough to cause even you to struggle.”
Xia Shenfei frowned. “It will be quite difficult.”
“Don’t forget, Bai Shaohong, Long Tian, and Wang Su are all just as strong as you. What’s more important, settling things here, or getting the Origin Matter?” Wu Taibai pressed.
Xia Shenfei laughed. “Wu Taibai, Wu Taibai, when have you ever seen me, Xia Shenfei, acting timid? Since I decided to get rid of you, you shouldn’t even dream of leaving the Dominion Realm alive.”
“Brother Xia, someone already went in!” Liu Hao shouted from the hole in the branch. “It looks like it was Wang Su.”
Xia Shenfei’s face completely changed, and he raced into the hole without any hint of hesitation. He abandoned the entire battle.
Yao Xuan was stunned, What does this mean? Didn’t he just say that he had to take care of us? He really changed his mind that fast?
On the other hand, Wu Taibai was not surprised. This was Xia Shenfei’s personality, and nothing he said could be trusted. He spoke of grandiose righteousness as if it was the most important thing, but it was all nothing but an act. “Let’s get going then! We won’t get anything if we fall behind.”
Xia Shenfei rushed into the hole, and he then continued to follow the map’s directions. Once he reached the bottom, he found traces of someone digging.
“It’s impossible to leave such marks on the wood of the Mother Tree without having the power of at least a Semi-Progenitor,” Liu Hao commented quietly as he stared into the rough and winding path ahead of him.
Xia Shenfei frowned. “Stay here and stall those four rats.”
“I can’t block them,” Liu Hao replied bluntly. He was confident in his own strength, and believed himself to be more powerful than the other four, but he also saw that it was impossible for him to stop them on his own.
Xia Shenfei rolled his eyes. “Just stall them for a bit while I go on ahead and see what the deal here is.”
“If I can’t stop them, I’ll retreat,” Liu Hao stated in a completely serious manner.
Xia Shenfei was left speechless. While the members of the Liu family focused on the sword and appeared to be simple-minded, the truth was that each and every one of them was no better than a thief. This was what ran through the Junior Progenitor’s mind as he stepped onto the winding path through the tunnel.
Still, Xia Shenfei could no longer concern himself with such things, as he needed to completely focus on getting his hands on the Origin Matter. As for what he had said a bit earlier, had he said anything at all?
Before long, his eyes went wide as he stepped into a large opening that should still have been within the branch. Up ahead, he saw a massive pillar of tribulation crystals, and on top of it was a leaf. On the ground beside the pillar sat Wang Su in a cross-legged position.
…
Three days later, Long Tian and his team arrived at the fork in the branch. Bai Shaohong’s team arrived at the same time.
As he looked around, Long Tian was surprised. “Someone got here earlier.”
Bai Shaohong examined the marks on the branch. “There’s traces of the Liu family’s sword qi here.”
“Also Shenwu’s Sky’s Divine Martial Armor,” Long Tian remarked.
Everyone approached the edge of the hole in the branch and looked down. Cold air blew up from the depths, and it looks very gloomy.
Long Xi glanced over at Lu Yin.
Lu Yin stepped forward and released his domain and spread it to the bottom of the hole. He found it very strange that while the Perennial World possessed methods to cultivate a domain, very few people did so. For example, both Long Tian and Bai Shaohong had no domain at all. It was very odd.
His domain spread all the way to the bottom of the pit. “Someone fought there, and it was a very intense battle.”
Bai Shaohong jumped down, and everyone followed without hesitation.
As they fell, they saw numerous bugs that had been smashed to pieces.
Bai Shaohong’s eyes went wide. “Wang Su.”
“Xia Shenfei should also be here,” Long Tian said.
Bai Shaohong smiled gently. “Looks like we’re too late. The two of them had quite a lively fight.”
“Wang Su’s only remaining team member is that guy with his eyes closed, so how can she stand up to Xia Shenfei’s team?” Long Tian wondered.
No one could provide an answer.
The two teams soon reached the bottom of the hole. As they looked around at the marks left behind on the walls and ground from a fierce fight, none of them had much to say.
“Brother Long, we’re clearly late. While there might be some corpses inside, they may not possess anything that we want,” Bai Shaohong spoke casually. He did not sound very disappointed. This location had not originally been part of the plan. Each of the four ruling powers had chosen their own places to explore, and there was a high probability of finding Origin Matter in those places.
Long Tian and Bai Shaohong glanced at each other. “What do you want?”
Bai Shaohong smiled lightly. “Let’s team up and rob them?”
Long Tian nodded in agreement. “Of course.”
Bai Shaohong glanced back at Long Xi. “It is my honor to be able to join forces with the White Dragon Clan. In the future, our relationship will grow even closer.”
Lu Yin frowned. As they had traveled, this man had never stopped talking like this, and he had kept up his provocations towards Lu Yin. It was truly revolting.
Lu Yin looked at Bai Shaohong, but the Junior Progenitor did not even glance at Lu Yin. He was focused entirely on Long Xi and was utterly ignoring Lu Yin. Lu Yin had not once responded to the various barbs, and he stayed silent this time as well. People saw him as nothing but a coward.
Long Xi’s expression remained the same: utterly calm.
Long Tian gently said, “Let’s go. We can talk about that later.”
Bai Shaohong nodded with a smile. The two Junior Progenitors took the lead, and everyone quickly entered the meandering tunnel.
Long Xi dragged Lu Yin to the back of the group. Over on Bai Shaohong’s team, Shang Qing had intended to take the rearguard, but Yun Tingting kept her position, and Shang Qing was forced into the middle of the group.
Gradually, the wandering tunnel grew wider and larger. They had reached the center of the branch.
It was hard to believe that there were so many people inside a branch and wandering around and exploring its interior.
They soon saw a faint light in the distance. Bai Shaohong and Long Tian looked at each other and picked up their pace. They turned a corner, and the tunnel opened up completely. The first thing that everyone saw was a massive pillar of tribulation crystals and a green leaf. They then quickly noticed Wang Su, Xia Shenfei, and others all sitting cross-legged on the ground.
Lu Yin turned the corner and saw the strange scene. His mouth fell open and he stared blankly, This- this- isn’t this the place I saw when I rolled six pips and Possessed the corpse? Is this really a coincidence?
Despite matter how strange the scene was that the group had stumbled upon, no one could match the turmoil currently churning in Lu Yin’s heart. He had not expected to end up in this place. He looked around, and sure enough, there was a mummified corpse some distance behind the crystal pillar. That was it. That was the corpse he had Possessed and that he had not been able to move or control.
This was an incredible coincidence. He averted his eyes and suppressed the shock that had hit him, and he managed to prevent anyone from seeing his shock. He looked around once more. This pillar of tribulation crystals was very large, and it dwarfed the pillar that Long Ding had used to open his lower meridian point. It was believed that this pillar would be enough for someone to open their middle meridian point. However, despite other people being present, they were all seated cross-legged on two sides of the pillar. Lu Yin saw Unseen Light and Liu Tianmu among their numbers.
Wang Su, Xia Shenfei, and the others did not move. They all remained sitting cross-legged on the ground. They all seemed peaceful, and there was no indication of any sort of fight in this chamber. It was very odd.
Neither Bai Shaohong nor Long Tian dared to act rashly after seeing the situation.
Seven people were sitting cross-legged on the ground: Wang Su, Xia Shenfei, Wu Taibai, Yao Xuan, Liu Tianmu, Unseen Light, and Liu Hao. They represented three teams, and the damage that had been left on the pit on the other side of the tunnel leading to this chamber had clearly come from these people, and yet this chamber looked completely peaceful.
Lu Yin looked at the seven people sitting on the ground, and his eyes flashed. This was not good; Unseen Light had already been exposed.
Wang Su, Xia Shenfei, and Liu Hao were sitting cross-legged on the left side of the pillar, while Unseen Light, Wu Taibai, Yao Xuan, and Liu Tianmu sat on the right side. There was a clear delineation between the two sides, yet Yao Xuan and Wu Taibai had both been on the team from Shenwu’s Sky. Thus, the only explanation for the pattern was that the trespassers had been exposed.
Lu Yin sighed to himself. It looked like it really would be impossible for him to remain hidden until the end. The moment that these people woke, they would not hide the truth, and even if none of them awoke, it was impossible for Shang Qing to remain hidden and not compete for the Origin Matter, as it was the entire purpose behind infiltrating the Perennial World.
At this thought, Lu Yin looked at Long Xi in an apologetic manner. He had endured everything while traveling to his place because he did not want to cause Long Xi more suffering. However, it looked like there was no path to escape at this point.
Bai Shaohong gazed at Dong Shan, indicating for him to act, and Dong Shan shouted, “Junior Progenitor Xia!”
No one reacted. It seemed that Xia Shenfei had not even heard anything.
Dong Shan frowned and shouted again, “Junior Progenitor Wang!”
Wang Su also did not move. It was as though she had not heard anything.
Bai Shaohong’s gaze grew sharp. He looked around the chamber, and then focused on Lu Yin. “Use your domain to examine this place.”
Lu Yin ignored him, too.
