Chapter 200: Chapter 199: Bloody Battle (Part 1)
"What’s so hard about breaking the Nine Saints Demon Gate’s Grotto Heaven!" another young genius on the battlefield laughed. He went all out, unleashing his Emperor Techniques, sweeping through all opposition, completely unstoppable! This young man was Ji Kongjian, a disciple of Takong Mountain!
He had made an enemy of Li Qiye back on the Ancient Street. Ji Kongjian had staunchly supported the Sheng Tian Heaven Daoist, even preparing to fight Li Qiye with an Emperor’s Treasure. However, before he could even make a move, he was thrashed by the old man in the paper hat.
As a disciple of an Emperor Immortal Gate, Ji Kongjian possessed a sense of superiority that others lacked. He had been proud and arrogant ever since he left his mountain. To be beaten so savagely in public... while he couldn’t challenge that old man, he could certainly make enemies of the Nine Saints Demon Gate, the Xiyan Ancient Sect, and especially Li Qiye. Thus, he blamed Li Qiye for everything.
So, when the Holy Heaven Sect attacked the Nine Saints Demon Gate this time, Ji Kongjian unhesitatingly joined their camp to support the Sheng Tian Heaven Daoist.
BOOM—BOOM—BOOM— In an instant, the experts from both sides were battling from the ground into the heavens. Divine Swords cut across the sky and Celestial Sabers cleaved the earth. If Celestial Ancient City hadn’t been fortified by countless invincible experts in the past, it would have long since been shattered by their battle.
"Old Man Chi, you’re getting old! You can’t keep up anymore!" On the Holy Heaven Sect’s side, Wansheng Jian was facing Chi Yun of the Nine Saints Demon Gate with an invincible posture. Even though Chi Yun was one of the four Supreme Elders of the Nine Saints Demon Gate and a veteran Ancient Saint, he couldn’t gain the slightest advantage against Wansheng Jian and was steadily forced back!
"BREAK—" Elder Yun of the Nine Saints Demon Gate roared, leading his most elite disciples in an attempt to break through the encirclement. However, they were blocked and forced back by the Holy Heaven Sect’s elders.
It was clear the Holy Heaven Sect had come prepared. Besides a peak Ancient Saint like Wansheng Jian, two other elders from the Holy Heaven Sect had taken the field! These two elders were pinning down Elder Yun, making it impossible for him to break through.
ZING—ZING—ZING— Elsewhere, the ringing of swords was incessant and a draconic cry pierced the heavens. Tu Buyu had unexpectedly erupted with the power of a True Master. With the Ice Qilin Sword in hand, he was unbelievably ferocious, his battle intent soaring to the heavens, each of his sword strikes fatal!
Seeing Tu Buyu’s ferocity, not only the experts from the Holy Heaven Sect but even many of the observing Sect Leaders, Emperors, and Demon Kings were deeply moved.
"Is that the legendary War God Technique?" an older Emperor murmured as he watched Tu Buyu fight. "A centipede dies but never falls down. The Xiyan Ancient Sect is truly worthy of being an Emperor Immortal Gate. To think they still possess such deep Emperor Essence after being in decline for so long!"
As incredible as Tu Buyu was, he was powerless to turn the tide. He had to both protect Qu Daoli and the other youths and fend off enemies for the disciples of the Nine Saints Demon Gate. He couldn’t guard everyone by himself. Tu Buyu, leading Qu Daoli’s group and the young disciples of the Nine Saints Demon Gate, failed in several attempts to break out.
BOOM— Finally, with a deafening crash, the Nine Saints Demon Gate’s Grotto Heaven could no longer hold. Its entrance was breached! The horde of enemies roared as they charged into the Grotto Heaven.
"Activate the formation! Ignite the foundation stone!" Chi Yun bellowed. Following his roar, the Nine Saints Demon Gate’s Grotto Heaven once again shone with a brilliant light. The disciples had activated its foundation stone, using massive amounts of Essence Jade to repair the Grotto Heaven and prevent its collapse. Despite this, it was still not enough to turn the tide of their retreat.
"The Nine Saints Demon Gate’s fate is sealed. Unless reinforcements arrive, I’m afraid they won’t be able to hold this foothold," a Sect Leader sighed softly upon seeing the Grotto Heaven breached.
"Wasn’t Li Fairy of the Nine Saints Demon Gate in Celestial Ancient City? And what about that impossibly arrogant Li Qiye? Didn’t he appear not long ago?" a Cultivator wondered aloud, seeing the Nine Saints Demon Gate’s Grotto Heaven breached and its disciples in full retreat.
At the mention of Li Qiye, many people exchanged glances. That brat was impossibly arrogant, having even coerced the Sheng Tian Heaven Daoist. He forced a figure like the Sheng Tian Heaven Daoist to kneel and confess in public. The kid was arrogant beyond belief, so why hadn’t he shown up now?
"The Nine Saints Demon Gate, a mere minor sect, dares to challenge the world." Just as many fell silent, a cold voice echoed. A Copper Vehicle appeared in the sky above the Nine Saints Demon Gate’s Grotto Heaven.
An old man stood upon the Copper Vehicle, a green aura pulsing from his body. The aura was incredibly dense, coiling and swimming around him like a Flood Dragon.
The Copper Vehicle he stood upon wasn’t pulled by any bird or beast, but by four Copper Horses. The four Copper Horses were so lifelike, they seemed to be living steeds! Moreover, the Copper Vehicle was extremely ancient, so old that it had developed a greenish patina.
This Copper Vehicle was a War Chariot, ancient and verdigris. Its body was pitted and scarred, covered with countless arrow holes and blade marks. One glance was enough to tell this War Chariot had fought on innumerable battlefields!
The Copper War Chariot had a coiling dragon carved on its right side, a Divine Phoenix on its left, a Qilin on the front, and a White Tiger on the back. Whether it was the dragon, the phoenix, the qilin, or the tiger, they had all lost their color, becoming dull and faded. They were now merely decorative patterns.
Standing atop this strange Copper Vehicle was an old man wreathed in a green aura. He was incomparably imposing as he stood there, looking down upon the crowd with an air of absolute superiority.
"Qingxuan Yuanhe—" The Old Turtle King from Feijiao Lake recognized the old man, his expression changing drastically as he cried out involuntarily.
"Qingxuan Yuanhe! The blood brother of the Qingxuan Ancient Country’s Human Emperor!" Upon hearing this name, the older generation of Sect Leaders and Demon Kings couldn’t help but gasp, muttering his name.
"He’s a Heaven Repairing Saint! Once he ascends to the Saint Venerable realm, he’ll be able to instantly kill any opponent at the same level!" a Demon King who knew of Qingxuan Yuanhe’s origins exclaimed.
The Ancient Saint Realm, from lowest to highest, is divided into: Little Saint, Young Saint, and Great Saint. The peak is the Great Saint realm, and a breakthrough from there means ascending to become a Saint Venerable.
However, a Cultivator in the Ancient Saint Realm who possesses five Life Palaces is known as a Heaven Repairing Saint. Such an existence is far more terrifying than a Great Saint. A Heaven Repairing Saint, even one with Dao Practice only at the Little Saint realm, could likely slay a Great Saint thanks to their five Life Palaces!
At this, many people exchanged knowing glances. For a Heaven Repairing Saint like Qingxuan Yuanhe to personally appear could only mean he was here to back the Holy Heaven Sect!
At this moment, everyone understood how the Holy Heaven Sect dared to risk universal condemnation by attacking the Nine Saints Demon Gate’s Grotto Heaven in Celestial Ancient City—they had absolute confidence.
The Holy Heaven Sect and the Nine Saints Demon Gate were both first-rate Great Sects in the Middle Grand Realm, and their strengths were comparable. The Holy Heaven Sect would never dare to attack the Nine Saints Demon Gate rashly; they wouldn’t necessarily gain any advantage by making them an enemy.
However, things were different with the support of Takong Mountain and the Qingxuan Ancient Country! Takong Mountain was the newest Emperor Immortal Gate, so its Emperor Essence was unquestionably rich and powerful. As for the Qingxuan Ancient Country, that went without saying. As a lineage that had produced two emperors, there were few Great Teaching Territories in the Middle Grand Realm that dared to oppose them, unless the War God Hall intervened!
’The Nine Saints Demon Gate is done for in this generation,’ a Sect Leader thought, his heart sinking as he saw Qingxuan Yuanhe backing the Holy Heaven Sect. ’They’re probably going to be the second Great Sect to fall after the Xiyan Ancient Sect.’ He couldn’t help but feel a pang of sorrow, as if seeing his own potential future.
With the full support of two Emperor Immortal Gates, especially a colossus like the Qingxuan Ancient Country, the Holy Heaven Sect’s arrogance soared to the heavens. As a newly ascendant power, its rise was inevitable. For the Nine Saints Demon Gate to oppose it was simply courting death!
"Opposing the Qingxuan Ancient Country is suicide!" After seeing Qingxuan Yuanhe, even the Great Teaching Territories on good terms with the Nine Saints Demon Gate could only watch from the sidelines.
Qingxuan Yuanhe’s presence here signified the Qingxuan Ancient Country’s full support for the Holy Heaven Sect! Before, some allies had considered helping when they saw the Nine Saints Demon Gate’s dire situation. But after seeing Qingxuan Yuanhe, even those Sect Leaders who were willing to help abandoned the thought.
Allies were valuable, but opposing the Qingxuan Ancient Country was tantamount to suicide and could even invite sectarian annihilation. At this critical moment, not even former allies were willing to provoke a behemoth like the Qingxuan Ancient Country for the sake of the Nine Saints Demon Gate.
"I heard that back on Demon’s Back Ridge, Li Qiye of the Xiyan Ancient Sect made an enemy of Celestial Emperor Qingxuan! Now the Nine Saints Demon Gate is recklessly supporting the Xiyan Ancient Sect. How could the Qingxuan Ancient Country possibly spare them?" At this critical time, certain individuals began spreading such rumors, seemingly for fear the world wasn’t chaotic enough.
Hearing these rumors, one Sect Leader was stirred and said: "This brat, Li, is truly audacious to make an enemy of the Qingxuan Ancient Country. Isn’t that just courting death? And the Xiyan Ancient Sect... they really need to discipline their disciples better. They should expel a black sheep like him, or he’ll bring annihilation upon their sect!"
"What’s so great about that brat Li? He just parades around showing off the Emperor’s Treasures left by the Mingren Immortal Emperor. Hmph! When a truly major event happens, a junior like him who just borrows others’ power will cower and hide, not daring to come out." Mentioning Li Qiye made countless younger-generation Cultivators unhappy, especially some of the geniuses with high opinions of themselves. They were particularly resentful. ’A piece of trash, yet he gets the favor of both Li Shuangyan and Chen Baojiao. It’s completely unfair!’
Some young prodigies, seeing the Holy Heaven Sect backed by Emperor’s Lineage Immortal Sects like Takong Mountain and the Qingxuan Ancient Country, saw the sect’s rise as inevitable. They seized the opportunity to speak well of the Holy Heaven Sect and curry favor with people like the Sheng Tian Heaven Daoist.
"Exactly! That brat Li is just a piece of trash who acts arrogant because of an Emperor’s Treasure. Without an Emperor Artifact, he’s nothing! What right does a loser like him have to be the Sheng Tian Heaven Daoist’s enemy? Bah! He’s not even worthy to carry the Sheng Tian Heaven Daoist’s shoes!" A young prodigy, deliberately trying to curry favor, raised his voice, afraid the Sheng Tian Heaven Daoist wouldn’t hear him.
The bonus Chapter release plan starts today. I, Xiao Sheng, just tallied the monthly ticket count. As of 0:00 yesterday, the count was 7,555. Starting from this number, I will release one bonus Chapter for every additional 30 monthly tickets received during the month of October, with no other time limit.
Another issue is about Chapters being split into upper and lower parts. Because I, Xiao Sheng, was originally writing for print publication, the Chapters were 6,000 characters long. The digital version is now divided into 3,000-character sections, so I have to split one original Chapter into two.
When I, Xiao Sheng, am busy, my wife helps me split the Chapters. Therefore, the splits are sometimes less than ideal. Please bear with us.
To better suit the digital version’s Chapter length, I, Xiao Sheng, have successfully communicated with the publisher. From now on, all new Chapters I write will be standardized at 3,000 characters.
Of course, it will still be some time before you all see Chapters that are no longer split into parts.
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