Easy Way of Cultivation: Power Harvesting

Chapter 562: Chapter 344: Trouble Strikes, the Martial Saint’s Predicament

On this day, a message spread from Thunder Mountain, during the martial arts tournament at Thunder Mountain, Thunder Mountain exploded, and the Thunder Mountain Celestial Skill, which nobody had comprehended for thousands of years, disappeared along with Thunder Mountain.

The entire Beiding Continent was shaken by this message, and various speculations arose.

Because in Beiding Continent, it’s said that every Martial King, regardless of strength, had gone to Thunder Mountain to try and comprehend it.

Of course, accompanying these messages were also the news of Wei Fan appearing at Thunder Mountain, first slaughtering the core disciples of Zilan Sect and then killing Tian Qiuping, a Martial Saint disciple from Nan Heng State Fire Cloud Cave.

This message also caused quite a stir in Beiding Continent because, according to the message, Wei Fan had already reached the Martial King Seventh Level of Cultivation, and it had been little over a month since the Linyao City incident, and he had already become a Martial King Seventh-layer Powerhouse.

The exaggerated speed truly shocked many people, though some believed that Wei Fan had been hiding his cultivation all along.

"No news yet?"

At Zilan Sect, Grand Elder Sun Tao was somewhat uneasy, sensing something amiss.

Originally, he had already hired Black Nether assassins to kill Wei Fan, not wanting Zilan Sect to directly deal with Wei Fan, just waiting for Black Nether to eliminate Wei Fan. After all, Wei Fan had made significant contributions in Linyao City, and in the matter of their grudges against Wei Fan, they were at fault.

If Zilan Sect blatantly killed Wei Fan, even if the Demon Hunter Organization didn’t intervene, some self-proclaimed righteous Demon Hunters would.

However, unexpectedly, at Thunder Mountain, Wei Fan killed two core disciples of Zilan Sect and caused the death of a Martial King Ninth-layer Elder, leaving them no choice but to find Wei Fan.

If they didn’t seek revenge against Wei Fan, everyone would think Zilan Sect was afraid of him, and afterwards, anyone would dare to kill Zilan Sect disciples.

Of course, the reason for his unease was that with so much time passed, logically Black Nether should have already made their move against Wei Fan, but Wei Fan not only was alive and well but even went to Thunder Mountain for the tournament.

Did Black Nether’s men not yet make a move against Wei Fan, or did Wei Fan counter and kill the Black Nether assassins?

Just a few days ago, Zilan Sect had sent their Martial King Ninth-layer experts to avenge Wei Fan, and today came the news that Wei Fan’s true cultivation was Martial King Seventh Layer, and that he killed the disciple of Fire Cloud Cave Martial Saint Tian Chunqiu at Thunder Mountain.

This meant the information he had earlier was inaccurate, Wei Fan’s cultivation was not at all Martial King Fourth Layer, but rather the Martial King Seventh Layer. Not only would the ones sent like Fang Nanfei possibly face accidents, but the information provided to Black Nether was also incorrect.

"If Black Nether’s assassins have already made a move and failed..."

Thinking of this, Sun Tao couldn’t help but feel a chill in his heart.

Black Nether is not easy to provoke, if due to the incorrect information he provided which led to the death of Black Nether assassins, he would have his own troubles.

"Don’t rush, perhaps Wei Fan is still at Thunder Mountain, where there are many people. Any reckless action might affect others and cause unnecessary trouble, Fang Nanfei and the others are likely still waiting for the right moment. With their three levels of cultivation, even if Wei Fan is at the Martial King Seventh Layer, the probability of him being slain is high."

Second Elder reminded, the Thunder Mountain event attracts people from other continents as well. Disciples of the Holy Sect gather in droves, and unless absolutely necessary, few dare to make a move in such a crowd.

Martial artists are all valorous people, once affected by someone else’s battle, it will inevitably explode. In the Holy Sect, Zilan Sect is not the strongest, they cannot afford to provoke a crowd of Holy Sect disciples.

Sun Tao nodded, indeed, even if Wei Fan is at the Martial King Seventh Layer, the combined fighting power of Fang Nanfei and the others is enough to slay Wei Fan.

"Grand Elder, bad news, the soul tokens of Fang Nanfei, Sun Yongyi, and Zhang Yongxiang have cracked."

Suddenly, a disciple guarding the Soul Hall ran over in a panic.

"What did you say?"

Sun Tao and Second Elder abruptly stood up, their expressions changed dramatically.

"Trouble has indeed occurred!" Sun Tao’s expression was grim.

The cracking of soul tokens signifies the death of their owners.

The fall of three Martial King Ninth-layer Elders at once is a huge loss for Zilan Sect, and the fact that three Martial King Ninth-layer Powerhouses died means it is highly likely they did not kill Wei Fan.

"Even if he is at the Martial King Seventh Layer in cultivation, and has that woman by his side, it’s impossible for them to have killed Fang Nanfei and the others!"

It’s important to note that the ones sent were not the first-tier ninth-grade Martial Kings who died at Thunder Mountain, but the second-tier top experts. Even if Wei Fan has that powerful woman by his side, both of them together can overwhelm, leaving one to kill Wei Fan easily.

But the result was that all three Martial Kings died.

"I have friends at Thunder Mountain, I’ll ask them what’s going on."

Second Elder flipped his wrist, and a communication jade token appeared in his hand, starting to communicate with his friends.

In fact, the news about Wei Fan being at the Martial King Seventh Layer was also just recently transmitted by his friend.

Zilan Sect, being a dominant Holy Sect in Beiding Continent for years, naturally has many friends, with many channels to get information.

A few moments later, his expression changed.

After the communication ended, he put away the Communication Jade Token and said solemnly: "Fang Nanfei and the other two indeed went to assassinate Wei Fan. Wei Fan has a terrifying Great Tripod, whose power can almost rival a Holy Soldier, and all three were crushed to death by him with that Great Tripod."

"They should have been sent down the mountain with the Holy Soldiers!" Sun Tao’s face showed regret, yet he was also worried about harming Feng Hua, as that was someone the Zilan Sect could not afford to provoke.

"Grand Elder, what should we do now?" The Second Elder, full of killing intent, looked at Sun Tao: "Only by bringing the Holy Soldiers down the mountain and slaying this adversary can we restore the face of our Zilan Sect."

Initially, they wanted to kill Wei Fan just to please someone. But the situation has developed to the point where three core disciples of the Zilan Sect have directly died at Wei Fan’s hands, along with three Elders of the Ninth Layer of Martial King. Although the last one was killed by Feng Hua, it still needs to be counted against Wei Fan.

"I have urgent business down the mountain, Wei Fan’s issue will have to wait until I return."

Sun Tao naturally wanted to kill Wei Fan right now, but he was more anxious about the matter with Black Netherworld. Wei Fan, being at the Seventh Level Cultivation of Martial King and possessing the Great Tripod, needed to be reported to Black Netherworld first.

Because if the misunderstanding of innocence led to the death of Black Netherworld’s assassin, it might cause a great disaster for the Zilan Sect, something much more urgent than killing Wei Fan.

With those words, he hurriedly left the Zilan Sect.

...

On the official road, Feng Hua and Zhi Hua were discussing matters related to the Holy Sect with Wei Fan.

Since killing Fang Nanfei and the other two, he wondered why a strong Holy Sect would only send three Ninth-Grade Martial King powerhouses to kill him. Logically, a Holy Sect that has existed for thousands or even tens of thousands of years should have dozens or even hundreds of Ninth-Grade Martial Kings.

Sending only three clearly indicated that they had no one to send.

During the conversation, Feng Hua mentioned that within the Holy Sect, the Saint Son could only serve for a hundred years and had to be rotated out if unable to break through to Martial Saint within that time.

This was the first time Wei Fan had heard such news.

He had always thought that the Saint Son of the Holy Sect was destined to inherit the position of Sect Leader because within the sect, the Saint Son was undoubtedly the most talented. The position of Sect Leader could only be inherited by the Saint Son, and he never thought that being ousted was a possibility.

He looked at Feng Hua in confusion and said: "If that’s the case, isn’t there a bunch of ousted Saint Sons within the Holy Sect? Given that the Zilan Sect has existed for so long, at least a dozen former Saint Sons would have been ousted. Why didn’t they send these Saint Sons to kill us?

If they had sent such people, it’s uncertain who would be killing whom today."

A Martial King has a lifespan of one or two thousand years but can only be the Saint Son for a hundred years. From this, it can be inferred that within the Holy Sect, there might be a dozen or two ousted Saint Sons.

Adding in true disciples and core disciples, the number of Ninth-Grade Martial King powerhouses in the Holy Sect certainly exceeds several dozen.

The Zilan Sect sent Martial Kings to kill him who were not only not top-level in quality but also few in quantity. If seven or eight together had attacked, even with the Profound Yellow Tripod, it’s uncertain who would kill whom.

Feng Hua shook her head and replied: "In theory, that’s how it is, but the Holy Sect engages in battles with others and people die, just like in the Zilan Sect, where you killed three core disciples in a short time.

In fact, an average Holy Sect has about a dozen Ninth-Grade Martial King powerhouses, with the larger ones having over twenty.

Of course, the actual number of Ninth-Grade Martial King powerhouses in the Holy Sect doesn’t match the theory, and fighting with others is not the main reason. There won’t be too many deaths from that."

Wei Fan was stunned: "Then what is the reason for the disparity between the theoretical and actual number of Ninth-Grade Martial King powerhouses in the Holy Sect?"

Feng Hua looked at Wei Fan. Sometimes she was quite at a loss for words with Wei Fan, who mastered unparalleled Martial Arts like the Scripture of the Three Emperors and the Five Emperors Fist and even possessed mysterious items such as the Golden Bell that could crush evil spirits and Martial Saints. He had a myriad of impenetrable secrets.

Many times, she suspected that Wei Fan had an unparalleled old monster as a master teaching him, yet he was ignorant of many things considered common knowledge.

For example, not knowing about the Wilderness or the Five Great Domains could be excused, but being ignorant of such crucial matters as Martial Saints was unexpected.

"It’s because of breaking through to the Martial Saint Realm!"

She said in a serious tone, realizing that Wei Fan likely had little understanding of the Martial Saint Realm, hence his belief that over time, dozens or even hundreds of Ninth-Grade Martial King powerhouses would accumulate in the Holy Sect, resulting in a bunch of ousted Saint Sons.

Wei Fan’s gaze sharpened: "Because of breaking through to the Martial Saint Realm?"

Feng Hua’s tone grew more solemn: "Breaking through to Martial Saint is not as simple as you think. The process of breaking through is not only arduous but also extremely perilous.

To put it this way, out of ten people attempting to break through to the Martial Saint Realm, about half will transform into Dao upon failure, instantly dying and sitting in death.

The remaining half, even if they are lucky enough not to die, will suffer depletion of Blood Qi, great damage to their Origin, resulting in a drastic reduction of lifespan, unable to live for more than a thousand years. Among the hundred or so people who survive the breakthrough failure without any cost, there are only three or four.

Martial Kings are said to live for two thousand years, but in the Jianghu, almost none live beyond a thousand.

The three Ninth-Grade Martial King powerhouses from the Zilan Sect earlier, did you think they were weak? In fact, they were not in peak condition at all. Although they survived the process of breaking through to Martial Saint, their foundation was damaged.

They looked like they were over a thousand years old, but in reality, these three people are probably only two to three hundred years old."

Wei Fan was shocked to the core, realizing the terrifying nature of breaking through to Martial Saint—a high chance of death, and even survival means half-disability.

This meant that the Ninth-Grade Martial King powerhouses encountered were almost all half-disabled, and those who weren’t were the most inferior third-grade Martial Kings.