Chapter 140: Chapter 140: Conflict
"Immortal Master, the Martial Kingdom’s Celestial Essence Spirit Lake is severely depleted. We cannot provide that much Spiritual Spring."
The Emperor of the Martial Kingdom said, troubled.
"Hm?"
The emissary from the Celestial Profound Sacred Land looked down on the Emperor of the Martial Kingdom, his tone merciless. "Emperor of the Martial Kingdom, are you trying to bargain with our Celestial Profound Sacred Land? I said ten springs of Spiritual Spring, so it shall be ten springs of Spiritual Spring! The fact that our Celestial Profound Sacred Land has already granted you so much time is a great kindness. Emperor of the Martial Kingdom, do not push your luck!"
The Emperor’s brow furrowed deeply. "Immortal Master, if we forcibly extract ten springs of Spiritual Spring, the Celestial Essence Spirit Lake will be left completely dry."
"That is the Martial Kingdom’s affair. What has it to do with our Sacred Land? I am here today, and the Martial Kingdom must hand over ten springs of Spiritual Spring!"
The emissary from the Celestial Profound Sacred Land was completely unyielding.
"Celestial Essence Spirit Spring? What’s a Celestial Essence Spirit Spring?"
The Ninth Princess looked up at Shen Daoxing, her face filled with confusion.
Shen Daoxing shook his head. It was his first time hearing of the Celestial Essence Spirit Spring as well. ’But seeing how much importance the Celestial Profound Sacred Land places on it, it must be something incredibly vital.’
Just then, a hoarse voice rang out. A gaunt, elderly man slowly walked out and stood before the crowd. "Why do you suppose the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi exists?"
The old man looked ancient, as if he might collapse at any moment, yet for all his frailty, he possessed a pair of sharp, brilliant eyes.
Seeing the old man, the Ninth Princess and the other Princes were stunned for a moment before stepping forward to bow respectfully.
"Ancestor!"
"Ancestor!"
"Ancestor!"
Shen Daoxing was surprised. ’This ordinary-looking old man is actually the ancestor of the Martial Kingdom.’
The Martial Kingdom’s ancestor nodded and continued.
"The reason our Martial Kingdom possesses such abundant Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi is fundamentally because the Celestial Essence Spirit Lake exists. If the Great Wu Dragon Vein is the lifeblood and foundation of our Royal Family, then the Celestial Essence Spirit Lake is the lifeblood and foundation of the entire Martial Kingdom. And the Celestial Essence Spirit Spring is the very essence of that lake.
Our Martial Kingdom has been able to survive under threat from surrounding empires thanks to the protection of the Celestial Profound Sacred Land. The price for this protection, however, is that we must hand over a sufficient amount of Spiritual Spring every year.
However, after being drained year after year, our Martial Kingdom’s Celestial Essence Spirit Lake has grown increasingly thin. It is no longer as full as it once was and is now on the verge of drying up completely."
At this, the Martial Kingdom’s ancestor fell silent, seemingly lost in memory. After a long moment, he spoke again, his voice full of longing. "You must understand, a thousand years ago, before the Celestial Essence Spirit Lake began to deplete, our Martial Kingdom was a mighty nation in its own right—a power the surrounding countries dared not underestimate. Experts emerged one after another, and our Royal Family even had two cultivators at the Refining Dust Realm at the same time!"
The Refining Dust Realm!
Shen Daoxing was astonished.
Enlightenment, Profound Platform, Grotto Heaven, Spirit Transformation, Earth Profound, Refining Dust!
The Refining Dust Realm was the supreme realm above the Earth Profound Realm. It was incomparably profound and could not be reached through hard work alone. Many had exhausted their entire lives in pursuit of it, only to fail to break through. In the entire Martial Kingdom today, there wasn’t a single Refining Dust expert. The ancestor of the Martial Kingdom himself had exhausted his lifespan trying to reach it.
’To think the Royal Family of the Martial Kingdom once had two such experts at the same time.’
...
Meanwhile, the Emperor of the Martial Kingdom’s brow furrowed ever tighter.
"Immortal Master, ten springs of Spiritual Spring is simply too much. The Martial Kingdom truly cannot provide it!"
’The Celestial Profound Sacred Land is becoming more and more unreasonable,’ he thought. ’In the beginning, the Martial Kingdom only needed to provide five springs of Spiritual Spring annually. But in recent years, the Celestial Profound Sacred Land has suddenly and without reason increased the amount, pushing our kingdom to its breaking point and causing the Celestial Essence Spirit Lake to gradually run dry.’
’How could the Martial Kingdom possibly endure this?’
The emissary from the Celestial Profound Sacred Land looked down upon the Emperor, his tone cold and not to be questioned. "Emperor of the Martial Kingdom, I don’t care what methods you use. This time, I must bring back ten springs of Spiritual Spring."
As he spoke, he turned his head and scanned the surroundings. "Where is Ren Changfeng, the Dean of Celestial City Academy? The Celestial Profound Sacred Land ordered you to collect the Martial Kingdom’s Spiritual Spring. Why have you delayed so long that I had to come here myself?"
Then, his eyes landed on Ren Changfeng, who was covered in blood and missing both his hands and feet.
"Hm?"
The emissary’s brow furrowed. "What happened here?"
Just then, Ma Zheng approached the emissary’s side and whispered a few words in his ear, explaining everything.
As Ma Zheng spoke, the emissary’s brow furrowed deeper and deeper. But then, as if he heard something of great interest, his eyes suddenly lit up. He scanned the crowd and fixed a meaningful gaze on Shen Daoxing.
"How audacious! You dare kill a man of my Celestial Profound Sacred Land?"
The emissary from the Celestial Profound Sacred Land suddenly roared, unleashing a majestic aura that made it hard for the surrounding crowd to breathe. Those with weaker cultivation fainted on the spot.
"If someone tries to kill you, are you supposed to just stand still and let them?"
Shen Daoxing retorted with a cold smile.
The emissary, however, ignored Shen Daoxing’s words and said coldly, "Audacious! You dare to openly contradict this Immortal Master? What do you take our Profound Celestial Sacred Land for? Something you can insult at will? I shall capture you today and take you back to be dealt with by the Saint Master!"
Without another word, the emissary flicked his embroidered sleeves. A purple-gold hoop flew out, rapidly expanding in mid-air as it shot toward Shen Daoxing to ensnare him.
Bai Yi frowned. ’I don’t know what Ma Zheng told the emissary, but it’s obvious he also covets the Dragon Vein inside Shen Daoxing and wants to take him back to the Sacred Land.’
His expression flickered, and he was just about to intervene.
But the gaunt old man beat him to it, flying out first.
"ROAR!"
With a resonant dragon’s cry, the ancestor of the Martial Kingdom shot into the air. A glittering golden dragon erupted from his body and slammed headfirst into the purple-gold hoop.
In that instant, the purple-gold hoop was sent flying back.
It was true that the Martial Kingdom’s ancestor wanted to kill Shen Daoxing, but he would never tolerate Shen Daoxing falling into anyone else’s hands.
The emissary from the Celestial Profound Sacred Land caught the returning purple-gold hoop. His eyes darkened as he looked at the old ancestor. "Gu Zhenxing! What do you think you’re doing?"
"Emissary, your Celestial Profound Sacred Land first demands the Celestial Essence Spirit Spring, and now you want the Great Wu Dragon Vein. Isn’t that going a bit too far?"
The Martial Kingdom’s ancestor gazed coolly at the white-robed man.
"Hehehehe!"
The emissary from the Celestial Profound Sacred Land let out a disdainful laugh. "My Celestial Profound Sacred Land has protected your Martial Kingdom for a thousand years. What does taking one measly little Dragon Vein matter? What’s this, Gu Zhenxing? Are you planning to defy our Sacred Land?"
"Emissary, our Martial Kingdom’s Celestial Essence Spirit Lake is already dwindling by the day, and the Great Wu Dragon Vein is crucial to my Royal Family. Forgive me, but I cannot hand it over to you!"
The ancestor’s gaze on the white-robed man grew cold, and his aura began to swell.
"What, you want to resist?"
The emissary gave a contemptuous smile. "Fine. Then on behalf of the Saint Master, I will teach this disobedient Martial Kingdom of yours a lesson today!"
"Emissary, you and I are both at the Ninth Layer of the Earth Profound Realm. The victor has yet to be decided!"
the Martial Kingdom’s ancestor said calmly.
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