Following that, Chu Kuangren took out some of the poison that he had brewed back when he had nothing to do and made Zhao Tianlong consume them. He now had total control over this spy.
This incident of the Underworld Palace sneaking spies into the Black Heaven Sect had served as a lesson for Elder Ruyan and the others to filter through all their disciples. With help from Chu Kuangren’s Eye of Revelation, they did indeed discover a few impostors amongst them.
However, unlike Zhao Tianlong, these few disciples were either outer or inner sect disciples. Hence, the sect’s resources that they could get their hands to did not warrant much concern.
Chu Kuangren did not get rid of these spies as well, and instead, he made Elder Ruyan send people to keep a close eye on them. This was done in case these spies could be put to good use someday.
Time passed by very quickly.
A few days had now gone by.
On this day, Elder Ruyan came to see Chu Kuangren, with a solemn look on her face.
“Sect Leader, one of our affiliated forces in the coastal region was attacked yesterday. They’ve sustained heavy losses,” Elder Ruyan said.
“Who’s behind this?”
“It’s the Scaled Tribe. They said that if you don’t hand out the Trident Halberd and the Emperor-Grade treasure that you’ve obtained from the unnamed island in a day, they will massacre a hundred thousand people each day until all our Black Heaven Sect’s affiliated forces are completely wiped out!” Elder Ruyan gritted her teeth as she said.
Upon hearing this, Chu Kuangren took a deep breath, and a cold gaze swept across his eyes. “Where are these Scaled Tribe people at now?”
“They’re in the coastal region, at the Snowstorm Sect!”
“Got it. I shall pay them a visit myself.”
Chu Kuangren said emotionlessly.
When he walked out of Longevity Hall, his figure disappeared into a stream of light.
Meanwhile, news of the Scaled Tribe causing Black Heaven Sect trouble had spread like wildfire. Almost half of Firmament Star had gotten wind of this in no time.
Everybody watched on from the sidelines.
The Scaled Tribe was an oceanic Sage Tribe. Their wealth and power may not compare to that of the whole Human Tribe, but it was still more than any single sage orthodoxy. They had produced a lot of Sages in the sea for many years.
Chu Kuangren himself may not be a Sage, but he was as strong as one.
Chu Kuangren had enjoyed a meteoric rise in power in just a short few years. In lightning speed, he had quickly become one of the brightest legends that the Firmament Star had ever seen in almost a hundred millenniums!
This duel between him and the Scaled Tribe would surely be a sight to behold.
At the coastal region of the Azure Dragon Domain, the territory of the Snowstorm Sect.
Over several hundred thousand Snowstorm Sect disciples and common folk laid dead on the coast, their corpses washed up onto the shore, and they emitted a repulsing bloody stench.
Beside the dead bodies were several humongous, two-legged oceanic beasts that were nibbling away at these corpses on the shore.
Not far away, the Snowstorm Sect’s executive elders and their Sect Leader were all handcuffed and trapped inside a prisoner’s cage. They watched the scene unfold before them with blood-streaked eyes.
“Take a look for yourself. This is what you get for going against the Scaled Tribe.”
Beside the cage, a Scaled Tribe admiral in azure blue armor laughed coldly and said, “Don’t worry, you Snowstorm Sect people won’t be the only ones who’ll experience our wrath. Until Chu Kuangren gives us what we want, there will be more bloodshed, until we’ve annihilated all the Black Heaven Sect’s affiliated forces. We’d like to see just how much perseverance this Chu Kuangren has.”
“Sect Leader will never let you get away with this!”
The Snowstorm Sect Leader shrieked back at him.
“Haha, that’s exactly what we want. I’m curious to see what kind of waves this Chu Kuangren could stir.”
“We, the Scaled Tribe, are one of the most powerful and influential groups of all. Plus, we live deep in the ocean. No matter how strong Chu Kuangren is, I don’t suppose he’s capable of diving straight down and battle us in the ocean? The deep-sea is our Scaled Tribe’s territory.”
The Scaled Tribe admiral burst out in laughter. Unlike sage orthodoxies from the four domains, the Scaled Tribe was not at all afraid of Chu Kuangren.
To them, it did not matter how great Chu Kuangren was.
He was just another creature that lived on land, whereas they lived deep in the ocean. In the seas, nobody could do anything to the Scaled Tribe people.
A night had gone by just like that.
The Scaled Tribe admiral watched as the sun rose above the horizon and smirked. “It’s the second day now, and Chu Kuangren is still not here yet. Go, go and capture a hundred thousand more people from the Snowstorm Sect territories to feed the oceanic beasts.”
“Yes.”
A troop of Scaled Tribe soldiers marched towards a fort in the distance. When the Snowstorm Sect Leader witnessed this, he let out a miserable yowl. “Stop this. If you want it, come get us instead!!”
The Scaled Tribe admiral responded nonchalantly, “Nah, we can’t do that. You guys are the leading figures of Snowstorm Sect. I want all of you to watch how we slaughter the people who have been entrusted in your protection.”
“Just like Chu Kuangren. As long as he doesn’t hand out the things that we want, we the Scaled Tribe want him to watch his affiliated forces getting diced off one after another!”
“D*mn you!!”
The Snowstorm Sect Leader shouted in fury, but there was nothing he could do.
A large group of Scaled Tribe soldiers charged towards the fort. These Scaled Tribe soldiers had bodies covered in various colored scales, and they also had strange body parts like horns on them, which made them look extremely menacing.
The people of the city were plunged into a state of despair and hopelessness when they saw the Scaled Tribe soldiers swarming over them.
Some cultivators even gritted their teeth and charged out bravely, leaping onto the fort walls and attempting to protect the common folk inside the city. Nevertheless, they were clearly outnumbered by the incoming forces of Scaled Tribe soldiers.
“Waaa…” As if having sensed something, an infant in the arms of a pregnant lady started to weep.
The mother could not help but tighten her embrace around her child. “Oh, dear Lord, please send somebody to save us…”
The Scaled Tribe soldiers were already at the city walls and were about to breach the city. The cultivators on top of the fort walls had also braced themselves to fight till their last breaths.
Just then, a purple sword ray suddenly swooped in from afar.
This sword ray was as powerful as water current, and it was so blinding that it covered the entire horizon of the sky!
The sword ray flashed past countless people as it glided across the sky and then surged into the very center of the Scaled Tribe army. All the Scaled Tribe soldiers, whether of the Nascent Soul, the Paradise Realm, or the Battle Monarch Realm, were utterly defenseless against this sword ray. They were all reduced into blood mists instantly.
In just a blink of an eye, a hundred thousand Scaled Tribe soldiers had been reduced into nothingness, vanishing from existence!!
In the distance, in the sea of clouds, a deafening howl was heard, and a massive red light illuminated the sky.
A crimson red Godly Phoenix that exuded a regal aura was seen soaring in from the distant sky. While on the Godly Phoenix, was a peerless figure whose poise was as transcendent as a Sage. The figure was donned in a white long wide-sleeved robe and an exquisite longsword draped over his waist.
A divine-looking phoenix rider amidst the sea of clouds!
“It’s the Sect Leader!”
“It’s the Black Heaven Sect Leader, Chu Kuangren!”
“He’s here. He’s finally here.”
“We will be saved now.”
When some people recognized Chu Kuangren, they could not resist their cheers.
The woman held her baby close and shed tears of joy.
All the cultivators who braved themselves breathed a sigh of relief.
Meanwhile, on the far side of the shore, the few oceanic beasts let out several restless growls too when they sensed the presence of the Godly Phoenix.
The Scaled Tribe admiral’s eyes squinted as he exclaimed grimly, “So this is Chu Kuangren? Such an imposing aura is indeed extraordinary!”
The cultivators and common folk who were wounded by the Scaled Tribe invasion slowly recovered themselves and stared at Chu Kuangren with earnest eyes. They looked like they were some pious believers who had met their god-sent savior.
After doing all these, Chu Kuangren rode the Godly Phoenix to face the Scaled Tribe admiral and the others, where he said nonchalantly, “Let them go, and then I’ll serve you your deserved death!”
“Haha, no wonder they call you the land’s strongest sky-pride. You really are extraordinary. We can definitely let these captives go, but the terms are that you hand over the things that we want. From thereon, the Scaled Tribe will not invade your place any longer.” The Scaled Tribe admiral laughed in reply.
“You’re not in a position to bargain with me.”
“Oh, is that so?”
The Scaled Tribe admiral let out a cold laugh and then waved his arm. The few Scaled Tribe soldiers beside him then strode towards the Snowstorm Sect Leader and the others.
“If you don’t comply, I’ll have them killed immediately!”
“Why don’t you try?”
At that, an invisible force rapidly spread outward from Chu Kuangren as the center. It was his Battle Monarch Domain!
Inside this Domain, the Scaled Tribed soldiers who were close to the Snowstorm Sect and the sect’s elders were all pressed onto the ground, strained in their movements.
“What is this?!”
The Scaled Tribe admiral’s face was visibly shocked. His figure turned into a flash as he tried to fend off the oppressive force from the Battle Monarch Domain and charged towards the Snowstorm Sect Leader and the others. He wanted to capture these few people as hostages, so he could force Chu Kuangren to comply.
However, in just a second, a stream of light swooped across and stopped right in front of him. Then, a fair-skinned palm that kept on expanding in size grabbed him by the throat with an unstoppable might.
“As I said, you’re not in the position to bargain!”
