Chapter 1194, The Summit

Translator: Silavin

  

At the mid-slopes of Vibrant Vermilion Peak, everyone felt the oppressive pressure that radiated outward from the depths of that frozen world. Their expressions were solemn, yet burning within their eyes was an unmistakable heat of desire.

 

The stronger the Demonic Beast guarding the site, the more it confirmed that the news about the Sacred Energy Fruit was genuine.

 

“Leave the Treasures here alone. Head straight for the summit.” Zhao Xueqi’s voice, slightly grave, carried forward from up ahead, and even those within his contingent who had already reached out toward certain rare medicinal herbs they had spotted stopped their hands at once.

 

Nearby, a number of other sharp-eared experts quietly smothered the greed rising in their hearts and fell in sensibly behind the group, climbing toward the summit.

 

As he pressed steadily deeper into the frozen world, Qin Yichen observed that despite the bone-deep cold of this place, the World Energy here was extraordinarily abundant. Within his line of sight there was no shortage of treasures, yet there was not a single Demonic Beast anywhere.

 

The more powerful a Demonic Beast, the higher its intelligence, and the keener its sense of territory. Ordinary Demonic Beasts would not dare venture anywhere near their domain.

 

And as they continued deeper, that staggering pressure grew stronger with every step, and from time to time, through the howling snow and wind, came the sound of an earth-shaking roar, shaking the Heavens and moving the Earth.

 

Yet for all the warning fury contained within those roars, faced with the assembled might of nearly a hundred powerful experts, they were clearly insufficient to deter the greed beating in a hundred hearts.

 

It was perhaps also that the Demonic Beast at the summit, sensing that among this contingent of Myriad Beasts War Domain experts there were certain extremely troublesome presences, chose not to strike first, even from its position at the peak.

 

Figure after figure swept on under the lead of Zhao Xueqi, Zhang Heng, and the others, and before long had pressed through layer after layer of the frozen world and arrived at the summit of Vibrant Vermilion Peak.

 

The moment he set foot on that summit, Qin Yichen’s pupils contracted sharply.

 

Before him lay an enormous lake. Its surface stretched roughly a thousand metres across. A gentle breeze moved across it, sending light shimmering and dancing in ripples across the water.

 

Wind and snow still raged here, yet that vast expanse of water showed not the slightest trace of ice.

 

With the arrival of more than a hundred Martial Ancestors, even the rampaging wind and snow seemed to show signs of abating.

 

More than a few experts couldn’t help the flush of excitement that crossed their faces. It seemed this legendary Demonic Beast, said to have half a foot already crossing the threshold into the Saint Realm, was not so formidable after all. Under this sort of lineup, it had apparently been frightened into hiding without even daring to show itself.

 

Yet there was no excitement on Qin Yichen’s face. He did not join the others in sweeping their gaze around in search of the Sacred Energy Fruit. His eyes remained fixed on the gently rippling surface of the lake, and his expression carried a distinct direness to it.

 

“Boss…”

 

After a full search turned up no sign of the Sacred Energy Fruit, the gazes of the Blood Hand Five Eagles converged on Zhao Xueqi.

 

“There’s no need to look. The Sacred Energy Fruit will only appear at the meeting of the Sun and the Moon. The time has not yet come.”

 

Zhao Xueqi glanced at the sky and spoke in a low voice. Then his gaze moved toward the lake before them, and his voice, carrying a hint of gravity, came slowly, “What matters most right now is dealing with that Demonic Beast. The story goes that a hundred years ago, Vibrant Vermilion Peak was claimed by an Azure Sky Demonic Flood Dragon. It appears the story is true.”

 

Zhang Heng’s eyes were likewise locked upon that expanse of water, and his voice, too, had grown somewhat heavy.

 

“An Azure Sky Demonic Flood Dragon?”

 

At that name, the pupils of every expert present contracted in unison. Gaze after gaze swept rapidly in every direction, but found nothing. At last, every single one of them settled with wariness and gravity upon the unfathomable depth of that lake.

 

At this moment, beyond the gentle ripples stirred by the clear wind, the lake showed nothing unusual whatsoever. And yet almost every expert present understood full well that this was merely the calm before the storm.

 

And with so many powerful experts now assembled, this stretch of Heaven and Earth was filled with a taut and straining tension. The gathered experts exchanged glances, and in each pair of eyes was a thick, mutual wariness and hostility.

 

Were it not for the fact that the Azure Sky Demonic Flood Dragon had yet to reveal itself, still requiring them all to fight together, the scene would most likely have already descended into chaos.

 

“The good show is about to begin.”

 

Qin Yichen breathed out slowly, a white plume of mist curling from his lips. A faint, amused smile settled onto his bookish face.

 

With this many powerful experts gathered here, every one of them having come prepared, and the Azure Sky Demonic Flood Dragon having guarded this Sacred Energy Fruit for the better part of a hundred years, it would naturally never sit idle while the fruit neared maturity and watched as others came to take it.

 

The fact that it had not yet shown itself suggested that it was no fool either. It likely intended to wait for these experts to fall into conflict with one another, and then swoop in and claim all the profits. For the moment, however, though the air was tight with tension, not one of the experts gathered here was a fool, and none would be rash enough to start a fight before the Sacred Energy Fruit appeared.

 

*Roar!*

 

At a certain moment, a thunderous bellow abruptly tore across the sky. That roar was saturated with ferocity and fury, and it was evident that these intruders bold enough to trespass upon its domain had finally exhausted the patience of the Azure Sky Demonic Flood Dragon.

 

That bellow, striking like a wave of pure sound, swept the wind and snow into a churning frenzy. Countless snowflakes, in that instant, became blades of deadly sharpness that slashed outward in every direction.

 

Those whose physical bodies were not sufficiently robust were immediately scored with lines of blood, and one after another the experts circulated their Yuan Energy to shield themselves.

 

“”Careful, the Demonic Beast is coming out!””

 

The resonant shout of Zhao Xueqi, laden with rolling Yuan Energy, and Zhang Heng’s voice alongside it, spread outward in a surging wave.

 

*Boom!*

 

At that instant, the surface of the lake, so tranquil a moment before, erupted into massive churning swells, and then a whirlpool fully a hundred metres across began to take shape before every watching eye.

 

That whirlpool opened like an enormous mouth. From the moment it appeared, the wind and snow from every direction shrieked toward it, condensing into a colossal storm of ice and snow. The sheer force of it was utterly terrifying.

 

The storm took shape with astonishing speed, and within the span of only a few breaths it had formed into a snow dragon roughly a thousand metres in size. Then, before the stunned and awestruck gazes of the crowd, that thousand metres storm was wrenched apart, and a pair of colossal wings sheathed in ice crystals suddenly unfurled from within it.

 

*Boom!*

 

As the blizzard burst apart and endless snowflakes came drifting down, a titanic creature revealed itself amidst the swirling white, and a torrential surge of Yuan Energy erupted outward with it, a terrible Yuan Energy pressure flooding across all of Heaven and Earth.

 

Staring up at that titanic creature, which reigned over the wind and snow like its sovereign master, the pupils of more than a hundred powerful experts contracted in a single moment, and their breathing hitched and stalled.

 

Gaze after gaze, heavy with deep wariness and solemn dread, fixed itself upon that vast, looming shadow hanging in the sky above.