Translator: Radiant Translations Editor: Radiant Translations
"What!" Xue Ying was startled. Wu Ma Hai? He was the commander of the team from the Temple of the Earth God.
"Did he really die on the first vine leaf world?" Xue Ying did not dare believe it.
"Indeed," Uncle Fu continued. "He left a Qi Avatar behind with the others in the Xia Clan world. Just moments ago, his Qi Avatar actually dissipated right in front of us. He died with a look of unreconciliation on his face."
Chen Jiu nodded.
He had seen the savage and frenzied expression that this cold young man garbed in golden armor—Wu Ma Hai—had before dying. He couldn’t help but feel some sympathy. If Wu Ma Hai died in the first leaf vine world, then what about Uncle Fu? Or even Chen Jiu? How could they get through all five vine leaf world trials and become honorary disciples of Crimson Rock Mountain?
"Ai." Xue Ying shook his head lightly.
Wu Ma Hai had indeed treated him coldly. He had even demanded five Deity-grade scrolls from the Xia Clan. But even if he was furious, Xue Ying couldn’t really hate him for it. After all, he had not actually gone through with the exchange. Yet who would have thought that their team would be annihilated so quickly.
"Neither he nor Jian Huang could use Deity grade scrolls. The first vine leaf world is still quite dangerous, and Jian Huang himself previously confirmed that he’d already fought a total of 35 battles!" Chen Jiu said. "Wu Ma Hai didn’t really talk much, but he most likely also went through a lot of battles. Even if we include this battle which we had with the Mirage Creature, we’ve still only been in a total of 16 battles."
Uncle Fu also added, "Not only did they go through many battles, they were all very suddenly too. All of those fights would have occurred accidentally after stumbling upon dangerous areas."
Without any scrolls with effects like the Eyes of Space…
And also without scouting methods such as what Xue Ying’s Mirage Avatars provided, Wu Ma Hai’s death could be considered quite normal.
Meanwhile, Jian Huang specialized more in long-range attacks. Even without Eyes of Space, he could still discover enemies from a distance.
...
Wu Ma Hai’s death caused the hearts of Xue Ying, Chen Jiu, and Uncle Fu to start tightening from their previous carefree state.
"Let’s check out the contents of this box." Xue Ying’s Mirage Avatar walked toward the black metallic box. Ba, da! He twisted the lid, and the box opened. It was totally empty except for a bronze command seal.
"It’s the command seal for the Deity warrior." Chen Jiu nodded. "Right. There was only a Mirage Creature that specializes in sneak attacks. While it might have had a Deity grade combat power, a reward of one offensive Deity item as well as a defensive Deity item in addition to a Deity warrior is about what we should expect."
Xue Ying nodded too.
The Mirage Creature was actually quite hard to deal with, but unfortunately, it met someone who could enter the Mirage as well. The rewards were actually not bad. Several Xia Clan Demigod ancestors had been in the first vine leaf world, but never had they been able to obtain any Deity-grade equipment. Xue Ying, on the other hand, had found some them on his first try.
"Brother Dong Bo, this was only possible due to your effort," Chen Jiu said. "It was you who killed the Mirage Creature, so it’s only normal that the battle rewards should belong to you. However, I’ll have to make a shameless request of you to temporarily lend me this defensive Deity armor. What do you say? Should I manage to return alive, I’ll definitely return the Deity armor to you! If I die…whether it will find its way back to you will be up to luck."
"You don’t have to say anything else. Brother Chen Jiu, you’ve also taken care of me along this first vine leaf world, and I can’t even use Qi. There’d be no point in me taking this armor seeing how I couldn’t even use it. Brother Chen Jiu, you can have it for now, but as you said, I expect you to return it once you leave Crimson Rock Mountain alive," Xue Ying joked.
"Definitely, definitely." Chen Jiu revealed a joyful expression.
Having an additional defensive item inside the Crimson Rock Mountain would greatly increase his chances of getting out alive.
As for once he left?
What use would he even have for armor at that point? Once he returned to the Deity world, his own defensive Deity equipment would be waiting for him within his Flying Sword Mountain Manor! Furthermore, he would be greatly rewarded by that World Deity according to the oath sworn for such a huge contribution.
In truth, Chen Jiu was well aware that he might die along the way. Furthermore, once they got a bit further, they would have separate and move alone. If he died, there would be no way for him to return the Deity equipment.
"I’ll have to thicken my skin and leave it at that then," Chen Jiu replied. "Brother Dong Bo, you should quickly refine this warrior command seal."
"Mn." Xue Ying extended his hand, sending the bronze command seal flying towards him. He then began to refine it with blood.
The originally struggling fat warrior immediately stopped once that happened.
Chen Jiu also loosened the shackles.
"Greetings, master," the fat warrior respectfully greeted.
"What are you called?" Xue Ying asked.
"Master, you can call me Tu Shuang!" it answered. "Once I was successfully refined, I was moved over to this vine leaf world by Senior Xi Wei."
"Place down the two Deity items you have. There’s no sense in you holding them," Xue Ying said.
"Right, right." The fat warrior rapidly placed down the Wolf Teeth Cudgel and got out of the armor. "These weren’t even my items in the first place, and I don’t even like to use such equipment."
Xue Ying retrieved the Wolf Teeth Cudgel, while Chen Jiu rushed to refine the armor with a silly smile.
The Deity items inside Crimson Rock Mountain were quite useful to them. They were absolutely ownerless and could easily be refined!
A silvery-gray armor immediately appeared over Chen Jiu’s frame.
"What kind of equipment do you normally wield?" Xue Ying asked. He would, of course, not leave the Deity equipment to the Deity warrior to use. If they were taken away during a battle, it would be too late for him to regret. Meanwhile, the Wolf Teeth Cudgel might prove useful in the future if he were to take it back to the Xia Clan.
"Shield and a greataxe, " Tu Shuang replied.
"I have a shield here with me, but no greataxe." Xue Ying waved his hand, throwing over a shield and a saber. "Use these for now."
Xue Ying amassed quite a large amount of equipment from the Demonic Faction. The important ones he gave over to the Xia Clan, leaving behind only several that were worth less, such as Demigod rank spears of which he had three. The only reason he held onto those was because he was afraid that the Stellar Fire-Cloud Spear might fail and break against the enemy’s armor due to its weaker material composition! Naturally, he had to prepare several spare weapons. Prior to coming to Crimson Rock Mountain, he had also prepared two shields and other weapons such as sabers or polearms, all of them Demigod-ranked weapons left behind by General Ku Meng and Nuo Nuo An.
"Right." The fat warrior immediately grabbed that shield and saber happily. "Master, I, Tu Shuang, will definitely be loyal and fight to the death for my you!"
That sculpture-like warrior, who had not moved for a long time, had suddenly broken down!
Xue Ying laughed upon hearing those words. "Hopefully, you’ll get a chance to fight." Most likely, however, the warrior would not be of much use to him.
"Master, you want to leave, right? Let me open the door," Tu Shuang hurriedly said before walking over to the side of the cabin and pressing a part of the wall.
Ka ka ka~
The sealed cabin cabin door started opening slowly, eventually revealing the wilderness outside.
"I’ll let you come out during battles." Xue Ying waved his hand to store Tu Shuang.
"Let’s go." Xue Ying, Chen Jiu, and Uncle Fu went out.
As soon as they left the cabin room, Xue Ying could no longer see it upon turning back.
They moved without hesitation; they had the Mirage Avatar scouting the path ahead! With Uncle Fu keeping guard in all four directions, the entire team could rapidly move toward the long vine in the center of the leaf vine world.
...
Xue Ying and the others were very close to the central long vine. They approached at a rapid pace—50,000 kilometers, 25,000 kilometers, 15,000 kilometers…
On a very tall mountain, there were many trees and various plants. Amongst them, a particular huge tree was looking into the distance.
"Mn?" Eyes had actually appeared on one of the tree’s branches. It was keeping a lookout on the horizon when it saw Xue Ying, Chen Jiu, and Uncle Fu rushing in its direction.
"Master, I’ve discovered Dong Bo Xue Ying."
...
Beside the long vine, in between several random rocks located tens of kilometers away.
Within a hidden space, the black-skinned teenager wrapped in white cloth, Lord You Lan, suddenly opened his eyes. "Have they arrived?"
He stood up and looked in the same direction as the tree.
He was actually able to see into the outside world from inside the hidden space, while anyone in the outside world would be completely unable to discover his existence—at least until he left the hidden space. There had originally been enemies inside the hidden space, ready to ambush anyone who passed nearby, but Lord You Lan killed the previous occupants and took temporary refuge inside.
After some time passed—
"I see them." Lord You Lan could now also see the approaching team. Around three thousand kilometers away from his location were three figures moving in a joyous mood. It was normal for Xue Ying and the others to be excited; after all, they were already quite close to the central long vine.
"My little darlings, it’s time to act." Lord You Lan grinned.
About six hundred fifty kilometers to the left of the central vine, there was a low mountain. All of a sudden, roars reverberated from the direction of this mountain,.
"Kill!"
"Kill it!"
Waves surged from the body of the mountain as a four-hooved mutated beast fled in a disarray after being surrounded by a total of ten deep azure-colored tentacles. With so many tentacles binding it, the beast was essentially trapped within moments. Soon after, pu chi~ the four-hooved mutated beast was completely torn apart. Other mutated beasts were also fleeing all over the place in panic, but the direction they moved toward was exactly where Xue Ying and the rest were located.
...
Xue Ying’s team was making good time, all while in a jubilant mood. That enormous central vine was becoming very clear in their sight. The closer they got, however, the more careful they felt they had to be.
The Eyes of Space covered an area of fifteen hundred kilometers around them.
Meanwhile, Xue Ying’s True Meaning of Mirage could cover the surrounding five thousand kilometers.
"Mn?" Xue Ying’s expression changed. He turned toward an area about six hundred fifty kilometers to the left of the central long vine. The space in the first vine leaf world was strange. There were many enemies that could move stealthily inside and that he could not discover with the Mirage. Mirage Creatures, however, were among the sorts of creatures which he could still spot.
To the side of that mountain…
He saw many eight-tentacled Mirage Creatures moving swiftly inside the Mirage, all of them with auras as vast and mighty as the one he had previously faced off against. A total of one hundred of such creatures were chasing a group of four-hooved mutated beasts, seemingly guided in their direction.
"Eight-tentacled Mirage Creatures!" Xue Ying’s expression darkened as he hurriedly transmitted. "A total of 139 of them, heading in our direction. Run, quickly!" The organisms in the first vine leaf world would relentlessly pursue any outsiders as soon as they spotted them.
"A total of 139 of them?" Chen Jiu’s eyes widened as well.
Eight-tentacled Mirage Creatures had combat power similar to that of a Deity. When a hundred such creatures gathered? Even a hundred Stone Sculpture Protectors could be considered dangerous to them.
"Why would there be so many Mirage creatures, and why are they moving exactly in our direction?" Uncle Fu did not dare believe such a thing. In spite of his disbelief, however, he did not hesitate to run away.
Hong~
All of a sudden, a figure appeared in mid-air, a distance from the team. He was a barefoot black-skinned teenager wrapped in white cloth. As soon as he appeared, he tore apart the scroll he was holding.
A terrifying power suddenly enveloped the surrounding an area of five thousand kilometers surrounding his position. Countless golden threads emerged, and under his control, they rushed toward Xue Ying and the other two, spinning around them.
Xue Ying, Chen Jiu, and Uncle Fu sensed the golden threads spreading in every direction and began to feel apprehensive. They turned to see where the threads were coming from.
From a glance, they saw the black-skinned teenager standing mid-air in the distance.
"Lord You Lan!" Xue Ying’s eyes were filled with killing intent.
"You Lan, I’ll certainly kill you!" Chen Jiu’s eyes were blood-red as well; he was turning mad.
"Haha, you want to kill me? Let me see you survive the attacks of over one hundred Mirage Creatures first," Lord You Lan’s voice spread all around Xue Ying and the others. He smirked as he simply watched them from afar.
Translator: Radiant Translations Editor: Radiant Translations
"What!" Xue Ying was startled. Wu Ma Hai? He was the commander of the team from the Temple of the Earth God.
"Did he really die on the first vine leaf world?" Xue Ying did not dare believe it.
"Indeed," Uncle Fu continued. "He left a Qi Avatar behind with the others in the Xia Clan world. Just moments ago, his Qi Avatar actually dissipated right in front of us. He died with a look of unreconciliation on his face."
Chen Jiu nodded.
He had seen the savage and frenzied expression that this cold young man garbed in golden armor—Wu Ma Hai—had before dying. He couldn’t help but feel some sympathy. If Wu Ma Hai died in the first leaf vine world, then what about Uncle Fu? Or even Chen Jiu? How could they get through all five vine leaf world trials and become honorary disciples of Crimson Rock Mountain?
"Ai." Xue Ying shook his head lightly.
Wu Ma Hai had indeed treated him coldly. He had even demanded five Deity-grade scrolls from the Xia Clan. But even if he was furious, Xue Ying couldn’t really hate him for it. After all, he had not actually gone through with the exchange. Yet who would have thought that their team would be annihilated so quickly.
"Neither he nor Jian Huang could use Deity grade scrolls. The first vine leaf world is still quite dangerous, and Jian Huang himself previously confirmed that he’d already fought a total of 35 battles!" Chen Jiu said. "Wu Ma Hai didn’t really talk much, but he most likely also went through a lot of battles. Even if we include this battle which we had with the Mirage Creature, we’ve still only been in a total of 16 battles."
Uncle Fu also added, "Not only did they go through many battles, they were all very suddenly too. All of those fights would have occurred accidentally after stumbling upon dangerous areas."
Without any scrolls with effects like the Eyes of Space…
And also without scouting methods such as what Xue Ying’s Mirage Avatars provided, Wu Ma Hai’s death could be considered quite normal.
Meanwhile, Jian Huang specialized more in long-range attacks. Even without Eyes of Space, he could still discover enemies from a distance.
...
Wu Ma Hai’s death caused the hearts of Xue Ying, Chen Jiu, and Uncle Fu to start tightening from their previous carefree state.
"Let’s check out the contents of this box." Xue Ying’s Mirage Avatar walked toward the black metallic box. Ba, da! He twisted the lid, and the box opened. It was totally empty except for a bronze command seal.
"It’s the command seal for the Deity warrior." Chen Jiu nodded. "Right. There was only a Mirage Creature that specializes in sneak attacks. While it might have had a Deity grade combat power, a reward of one offensive Deity item as well as a defensive Deity item in addition to a Deity warrior is about what we should expect."
Xue Ying nodded too.
The Mirage Creature was actually quite hard to deal with, but unfortunately, it met someone who could enter the Mirage as well. The rewards were actually not bad. Several Xia Clan Demigod ancestors had been in the first vine leaf world, but never had they been able to obtain any Deity-grade equipment. Xue Ying, on the other hand, had found some them on his first try.
"Brother Dong Bo, this was only possible due to your effort," Chen Jiu said. "It was you who killed the Mirage Creature, so it’s only normal that the battle rewards should belong to you. However, I’ll have to make a shameless request of you to temporarily lend me this defensive Deity armor. What do you say? Should I manage to return alive, I’ll definitely return the Deity armor to you! If I die…whether it will find its way back to you will be up to luck."
"You don’t have to say anything else. Brother Chen Jiu, you’ve also taken care of me along this first vine leaf world, and I can’t even use Qi. There’d be no point in me taking this armor seeing how I couldn’t even use it. Brother Chen Jiu, you can have it for now, but as you said, I expect you to return it once you leave Crimson Rock Mountain alive," Xue Ying joked.
"Definitely, definitely." Chen Jiu revealed a joyful expression.
Having an additional defensive item inside the Crimson Rock Mountain would greatly increase his chances of getting out alive.
As for once he left?
What use would he even have for armor at that point? Once he returned to the Deity world, his own defensive Deity equipment would be waiting for him within his Flying Sword Mountain Manor! Furthermore, he would be greatly rewarded by that World Deity according to the oath sworn for such a huge contribution.
In truth, Chen Jiu was well aware that he might die along the way. Furthermore, once they got a bit further, they would have separate and move alone. If he died, there would be no way for him to return the Deity equipment.
"I’ll have to thicken my skin and leave it at that then," Chen Jiu replied. "Brother Dong Bo, you should quickly refine this warrior command seal."
"Mn." Xue Ying extended his hand, sending the bronze command seal flying towards him. He then began to refine it with blood.
The originally struggling fat warrior immediately stopped once that happened.
Chen Jiu also loosened the shackles.
"Greetings, master," the fat warrior respectfully greeted.
"What are you called?" Xue Ying asked.
"Master, you can call me Tu Shuang!" it answered. "Once I was successfully refined, I was moved over to this vine leaf world by Senior Xi Wei."
"Place down the two Deity items you have. There’s no sense in you holding them," Xue Ying said.
"Right, right." The fat warrior rapidly placed down the Wolf Teeth Cudgel and got out of the armor. "These weren’t even my items in the first place, and I don’t even like to use such equipment."
Xue Ying retrieved the Wolf Teeth Cudgel, while Chen Jiu rushed to refine the armor with a silly smile.
The Deity items inside Crimson Rock Mountain were quite useful to them. They were absolutely ownerless and could easily be refined!
A silvery-gray armor immediately appeared over Chen Jiu’s frame.
"What kind of equipment do you normally wield?" Xue Ying asked. He would, of course, not leave the Deity equipment to the Deity warrior to use. If they were taken away during a battle, it would be too late for him to regret. Meanwhile, the Wolf Teeth Cudgel might prove useful in the future if he were to take it back to the Xia Clan.
"Shield and a greataxe, " Tu Shuang replied.
"I have a shield here with me, but no greataxe." Xue Ying waved his hand, throwing over a shield and a saber. "Use these for now."
Xue Ying amassed quite a large amount of equipment from the Demonic Faction. The important ones he gave over to the Xia Clan, leaving behind only several that were worth less, such as Demigod rank spears of which he had three. The only reason he held onto those was because he was afraid that the Stellar Fire-Cloud Spear might fail and break against the enemy’s armor due to its weaker material composition! Naturally, he had to prepare several spare weapons. Prior to coming to Crimson Rock Mountain, he had also prepared two shields and other weapons such as sabers or polearms, all of them Demigod-ranked weapons left behind by General Ku Meng and Nuo Nuo An.
"Right." The fat warrior immediately grabbed that shield and saber happily. "Master, I, Tu Shuang, will definitely be loyal and fight to the death for my you!"
That sculpture-like warrior, who had not moved for a long time, had suddenly broken down!
Xue Ying laughed upon hearing those words. "Hopefully, you’ll get a chance to fight." Most likely, however, the warrior would not be of much use to him.
"Master, you want to leave, right? Let me open the door," Tu Shuang hurriedly said before walking over to the side of the cabin and pressing a part of the wall.
Ka ka ka~
The sealed cabin cabin door started opening slowly, eventually revealing the wilderness outside.
"I’ll let you come out during battles." Xue Ying waved his hand to store Tu Shuang.
"Let’s go." Xue Ying, Chen Jiu, and Uncle Fu went out.
As soon as they left the cabin room, Xue Ying could no longer see it upon turning back.
They moved without hesitation; they had the Mirage Avatar scouting the path ahead! With Uncle Fu keeping guard in all four directions, the entire team could rapidly move toward the long vine in the center of the leaf vine world.
...
Xue Ying and the others were very close to the central long vine. They approached at a rapid pace—50,000 kilometers, 25,000 kilometers, 15,000 kilometers…
On a very tall mountain, there were many trees and various plants. Amongst them, a particular huge tree was looking into the distance.
"Mn?" Eyes had actually appeared on one of the tree’s branches. It was keeping a lookout on the horizon when it saw Xue Ying, Chen Jiu, and Uncle Fu rushing in its direction.
"Master, I’ve discovered Dong Bo Xue Ying."
...
Beside the long vine, in between several random rocks located tens of kilometers away.
Within a hidden space, the black-skinned teenager wrapped in white cloth, Lord You Lan, suddenly opened his eyes. "Have they arrived?"
He stood up and looked in the same direction as the tree.
He was actually able to see into the outside world from inside the hidden space, while anyone in the outside world would be completely unable to discover his existence—at least until he left the hidden space. There had originally been enemies inside the hidden space, ready to ambush anyone who passed nearby, but Lord You Lan killed the previous occupants and took temporary refuge inside.
After some time passed—
"I see them." Lord You Lan could now also see the approaching team. Around three thousand kilometers away from his location were three figures moving in a joyous mood. It was normal for Xue Ying and the others to be excited; after all, they were already quite close to the central long vine.
"My little darlings, it’s time to act." Lord You Lan grinned.
About six hundred fifty kilometers to the left of the central vine, there was a low mountain. All of a sudden, roars reverberated from the direction of this mountain,.
"Kill!"
"Kill it!"
Waves surged from the body of the mountain as a four-hooved mutated beast fled in a disarray after being surrounded by a total of ten deep azure-colored tentacles. With so many tentacles binding it, the beast was essentially trapped within moments. Soon after, pu chi~ the four-hooved mutated beast was completely torn apart. Other mutated beasts were also fleeing all over the place in panic, but the direction they moved toward was exactly where Xue Ying and the rest were located.
...
Xue Ying’s team was making good time, all while in a jubilant mood. That enormous central vine was becoming very clear in their sight. The closer they got, however, the more careful they felt they had to be.
The Eyes of Space covered an area of fifteen hundred kilometers around them.
Meanwhile, Xue Ying’s True Meaning of Mirage could cover the surrounding five thousand kilometers.
"Mn?" Xue Ying’s expression changed. He turned toward an area about six hundred fifty kilometers to the left of the central long vine. The space in the first vine leaf world was strange. There were many enemies that could move stealthily inside and that he could not discover with the Mirage. Mirage Creatures, however, were among the sorts of creatures which he could still spot.
To the side of that mountain…
He saw many eight-tentacled Mirage Creatures moving swiftly inside the Mirage, all of them with auras as vast and mighty as the one he had previously faced off against. A total of one hundred of such creatures were chasing a group of four-hooved mutated beasts, seemingly guided in their direction.
"Eight-tentacled Mirage Creatures!" Xue Ying’s expression darkened as he hurriedly transmitted. "A total of 139 of them, heading in our direction. Run, quickly!" The organisms in the first vine leaf world would relentlessly pursue any outsiders as soon as they spotted them.
"A total of 139 of them?" Chen Jiu’s eyes widened as well.
Eight-tentacled Mirage Creatures had combat power similar to that of a Deity. When a hundred such creatures gathered? Even a hundred Stone Sculpture Protectors could be considered dangerous to them.
"Why would there be so many Mirage creatures, and why are they moving exactly in our direction?" Uncle Fu did not dare believe such a thing. In spite of his disbelief, however, he did not hesitate to run away.
Hong~
All of a sudden, a figure appeared in mid-air, a distance from the team. He was a barefoot black-skinned teenager wrapped in white cloth. As soon as he appeared, he tore apart the scroll he was holding.
A terrifying power suddenly enveloped the surrounding an area of five thousand kilometers surrounding his position. Countless golden threads emerged, and under his control, they rushed toward Xue Ying and the other two, spinning around them.
Xue Ying, Chen Jiu, and Uncle Fu sensed the golden threads spreading in every direction and began to feel apprehensive. They turned to see where the threads were coming from.
From a glance, they saw the black-skinned teenager standing mid-air in the distance.
"Lord You Lan!" Xue Ying’s eyes were filled with killing intent.
"You Lan, I’ll certainly kill you!" Chen Jiu’s eyes were blood-red as well; he was turning mad.
"Haha, you want to kill me? Let me see you survive the attacks of over one hundred Mirage Creatures first," Lord You Lan’s voice spread all around Xue Ying and the others. He smirked as he simply watched them from afar.
