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Translator: Fate
Proofreader: Silavin
In a blink of an eye, three days had passed.
*Boom!* In an abandoned area on the eastern region of the Celestial Ancient Continent, an explosion broke out among the gargantuan mountains as a terrorizing strike burst out. A forbidden weapon resembling an umbrella surged up into the sky, shooting out godly beams downwards, disintegrating the vast land underneath it.
“Get her! Don’t let her escape!” A huge group from the Ancient Sea Family screamed as they were in pursuit.
At that moment, among the uproar, a slender woman barged out and swiftly summoned an Arcane Bridge. Her movements were incomparably agile, as though significantly improved by some sort of secret technique.
“They are everywhere! Why is the influence of the Ancient Sea Family so big?” Gu Xianer’s frowning face carried a tinge of fatigue. Turning around, she drew an ebony polearm that was surrounded with runes, cloaked in a dense aura. Piercing through the air, the polearm annihilated a group that was chasing after her. That was the third wave of pursuers since a hunt was set upon her. If it weren’t for her keen senses, she would have been fatally injured by the forbidden weapon resembling an umbrella.
“That young girl dressed in green is still being pursued…”
“How pitiful! No one will help her given that she has upset the Ancient Sea Family in such a place…”
“It’s said that she’s from the Gu Family. So, she is somehow related to the Young Master of the Gu Family, but that’s merely a rumour.”
“Even if they are related, rumours have it that she’s in conflict with the Young Master right now though. Tsk, what a shame… She’s such an elegant girl as well… “
“Even if the disciples of Skyward Schloss were here to see this, I doubt they’d come to her rescue.”
Witnessing the incident taking place in front of them, countless cultivators were thoroughly dumbfounded as they only dared to watch from afar. Such a scene had become a normal sight for the past few days. As word spread, more cultivators came to join in on the hype.
The influence of the Ancient Sea Palace knew no limits. They remained unaffected despite knowing that Gu Xianer was potentially related to Gu Changge. They kept sending men after men, all for her head. Right now, under the command of the Ancient Sea Palace, numerous members of the Ancient Sea Family had come to the Celestial Ancient Continent. The Seventh Princess of the Ancient Sea Family even declared that anyone who succeeded in capturing Gu Xianer would be rewarded handsomely with a mystic weapon and possibly, a favour from the princess herself!
Although the offer was highly tempting, cultivators, upon considering that the Gu Xianer was from the Gu Family and potentially connected to Gu Changge, ultimately decided not to interfere and entertain themselves from afar instead.
“D*mn it! There are so many of them!” Gu Xianer’s face was filled with utmost coldness. Having just escaped from a group of pursuers, she was chased down by another group before she could catch a breath.
All of a sudden, innumerable runes wafted and trembled in the air. There came another forbidden weapon with an equally daunting aura. Instantaneously, the mountains before Gu Xianer’s eyes exploded. Hit by the shockwave, she felt the taste of blood in her throat. It was clear that she got injured. Although her physique was unquestionably strong, having been pursued continuously for so many days and spared no chance to rest, made her exhausted. She was frustrated and enraged. Yet, she was left with no other choice.
Members of the Ancient Sea Family were charging at her like swarms of bees. Worse, she couldn’t find a way to shake off the endless pursuit. Among them, there were even young prodigies in the Honoured King Realm. When faced with their combined attacks, Gu Xianer had no choice but to flee.
Although Gu Xianer had cards up her sleeves, and that was to use the precious magic weapons her masters bequeathed upon her. she wasn’t willing to use them. Especially for such a trivial feud between peers. Thus, she perceived the abysmal situation as tormentful training.
Nonetheless, she was now regretting the fact that she had killed the young man, which had drawn forth such a massive vengeance upon herself. Though, to be fair, that man’s eyes were indeed rage-instilling, which had led to him being murdered.
[It’s all Gu Changge’s fault! If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t have been so tilted, and I wouldn’t have killed that man… Arrgh! It’s all his fault! And I’ll make him pay for sure!] Gu Xianer shifted the blame onto Gu Changge. [Besides, didn’t he say he’s the only person who gets to bully me? Now that I’m being chased around by these ‘aquatic creatures’ to the end of the world, why is he nowhere to be found!?]
Gu Xianer would have been fine without remembering Gu Changge, but once his face popped up in her mind, she immediately grew vexed, and even a little conflicted. [I’m being dramatic, aren’t I? He stopped looking for me anyway. So, why would he be concerned about my situation? My death would only mean that he has one less nemesis. It’s something he should certainly be happy about. Word about the Ancient Sea Palace coming after my head surely has gone around. With his enormous influence and abundant followers, there’s no way he’s not informed about this. It’s been so many days yet he’s still not here for me… I guess that’s just Gu Changge being Gu Changge.]
“Gu Xianer, what are you thinking? What are you expecting!?” Quickly, Gu Xianer shook her head as she erased such impractical thoughts from her head. She continued running as a pair of glowing wings covered in runes appeared on her back. It was another Spell of extreme speed that was, fortunately, passed down to her by her many masters. With this, she could stall the danger for another lengthy period.
Yet, indescribable dissatisfaction remained in her heart.
…
“Is this one of the lands inhabited by the natives?”
In the meantime, an enthralled Gu Changge was standing on top of a mountain. From where he stood, a valley could be seen in front of him.
The valley was surrounded by grand indigo mountains, with an ambiguous indigo aura floating all over the area. The valley itself was immensely wide, comprising ruined sites and ancient cities. Furthermore, there were more than ten giant palaces and numerous extravagant taverns. Clearly, this valley used to be a holy land.
“Young Master, this is where our base is.” A number of natives were kneeling before Gu Changge. Fear was all over their blanched faces as they spoke with their quivering voices.
After a wary journey, they finally led Gu Changge to the mountain. Within the ancient cities before them were powerful men from their faction who could rescue them. Right now, they were feigning timidness as they knelt on the ground. Meanwhile, they were secretly planning to contact their allies in the ancient cities with their secret technique.
Out of nowhere, Gu Changge shot them a glance with his uncanny eyes.
*Splat!* Instantly, blood splattered before his eyes. Bodies were instantaneously torn apart as Gu Changge’s glare was too overwhelming. Indubitably, that little mischievous plan of theirs was within his prediction. Even if he was wrong, it did not matter.
“Wait here.” Gu Changge blandly voiced an order to his followers before his figure grew blurry. As the air trembled, his body twisted and disappeared into thin air.
“Yes, Master.” Gu Changge’s followers were no longer affected by his various, mysterious abilities. However, they still dared not question his goals. Since their master had told them to stay still, they could only wait obediently for his return.
Swiftly, Gu Changge travelled through the void.
*Whoosh!* He noticed that there was a great number of natives with daunting auras in the ancient city. Most of them were in the Enlightenment Realm. This included True Enlightenment Realm and Enlightened Noble Realm. There were even beings in the Enlightened King Realm and Sacred Realm. However, the strongest ones were covered in godly lights, all sitting in a palace, silently cultivating without moving a muscle.
[Killing this Sacred Realm native would be easy with an ambush, but it’s best that I take a look at their ancestral burial site first.]
At that moment, Gu Changge’s body blended with the void, with gleaming runes in his palms. Those were the Divine Concealment Runes that allowed him to perfectly hide his aura.
[Judging by their strength, their ancestors are definitely formidable. Maybe in the Sacred King Realm? If I manage to sneak in, I’ll easily ascend to the Enlightened King Realm, and if there’s enough energy, achieving the Quasi-Sacred Realm won’t be an issue! Good things sure don’t come easy, do they? Though, any of this is hardly a challenge.]
Thanks to his unparalleled abilities, even if there were beings in the Sacred Lord Realm hiding among the natives, he wouldn’t feel any pressure.
*Whoosh!* As the air lightly trembled, creating a small anomaly that drew no attention, Gu Changge appeared. He had successfully sneaked into the depths of the ruined site. He continued passing through the buildings and palaces towards the deepest part of the valley. From time to time, he would sense an intimidating aura with the weight down on him like a monumental mountain. This made him frown.
[To think there are beings who surpassed the Quasi-Sacred Realm in this tiny ruined site…] Gu Changge though, not bothered by this discovery at all. He had an Inner World to depend on, so as soon as he stepped into trouble, he could immediately escape into the Inner World. Since he was aware of how these natives performed their burial ceremony, he was confident he could locate the real ancestral burial site.
He continued to travel safely, causing no unnecessary noise and commotion.
About half an hour later, Gu Changge finally saw a giant ancient tombstone with ancient glyphs carved on it. It clearly indicated that this tombstone was made at least a deca-millennium ago. Furthermore, he noticed that the room was decorated with altars and petroglyphs. Before the tombstone were guarded by two violet-faced powerful natives with the appearance of centipedes. Both of them were in the Quasi-Sacred Realm.
[The tombs in the Celestial Ancient Continent have been ‘marinated’ with spiritual energies for years, so they surely possess substantial essence, which far exceeds that of the corpses in the Outer Domain… If the natives were to find out that their ancestral burial site got robbed, they’d definitely go insane. And that’s where you inevitably come in, Mr. Ye Ling, my precious scapegoat!] Gu Changge revealed a look of fascination as he pondered.
An anomaly surged in the air before Gu Changge stepped out of it along with the Eight Barren Demon Halberd engulfed in demonic energy. As soon as the weapon fell into his hands, he drew a powerful pierce that could destroy the universe. His one strike had caused noise to reverberate through the room.
“Who’s there!?” The two were dumbfounded, and before they realised anything, a blinding black gleam flashed before their eyes.
*Thump!* Instantly, sturdy scales imploded as blood was scattered everywhere. One of the two was easily devastated by Gu Changge with its body impaled. It was sticking on the tip of his halberd in the air. Like a sheet of paper, the body of a Quasi-Sacred Realm being, unable to withstand the might of the Eight Barren Demon Halberd, got torn apart.
“Who are you!?” The other one was absolutely shocked to see such a young man appearing in the ancestral burial site. Given how its partner was defeated in an instant, he quickly lost his will to fight.
“Move if you wish to live.” Gu Changge stated with a casual smile, seemingly having no intention for a sneak attack.
“You—” The remaining centipede-like native got enraged. It understood Gu Changge’s insinuation. His daunting aura of the Quasi-Sacred Realm burst forth but the black gleam arose once again.
*Splat!* It was instantly amputated as its black blood splattered all over the ground.
Unaffected by its attempt, Gu Changge effortlessly took its life. Quickly, he looked away from the petroglyphs and entered the ancestral burial site.
*Zoom!* A primordial, rotting aura quickly gushed out. With his Eight Barren Demon Halberd, Gu Changge slashed open each of the coffins. Upon a series of *thumps,* corpses fell out of the coffins.
“What a good hull.” Gu Changge exclaimed, obviously satisfied.
What he was seeing were a number of premium corpses that contained dense essence. These corpses belonged to individuals of different ages and genders, donned with distinctive clothing and ornaments. They were visibly of another era that was distant from the present. All of these corpses were of people who died millennia ago. Even the weakest one here was in the Sacred Lord Realm. It was definitely an uncanny sight.
Among the corpses, there were old cultivators donning torn feathered gowns covered in rotting aura. It was as though they were recently dug out by their caretakers. There were even Ancient Emperors with broken crowns as though they just crawled out of the earth; prodigal ladies in elegant garments that were sadly aged and ripped, as if they were gnawed by beasts; monks in kasaya with wrinkled but golden skin; beings of the Ancient Immortal Races that were huge in size, but with wings broken and dried.
With a sway of his arm, a series of black runes surged out from his palm in an orderly manner. The corpses started to levitate in the air. Radiant green beams would then appear from the corpses, which seemed like starlight. It was a surreal sight.
Sitting with his legs crossed, a door gradually appeared behind his body. As gloomy lights surged, a black Grand Flask absorbed all the green beams. As it was absorbing the essence, Gu Changge’s aura consistently intensified while black spirals appeared one after another. It was eerie yet mysterious.
…
With the flow of time, three days had passed since Gu Changge’s venture into the ancestral burial site underneath the small ruined site.
At that moment, in the vast mountainous area, there were blood prints at the corner of Gu Xianer’s lips as she stared coldly into the distance. There was nothing but snowy fog wafting everywhere, veiling regions kilometers away from her. At the same time, there were also glowing runes and a suppressive aura swirling around.
Apparently, those from the Ancient Sea Family had set up an ambush, with their wild beasts being seen wandering everywhere. They were massive in size, and their presence alone was frightening; their bodies were surrounded with gleaming runes as if they were miniature mountains.
In order to kill Gu Xianer, the Seventh Princess of the Ancient Sea Family sent even more of their young to pursue her. She would stop at nothing until she finally avenged her brother.
For the past three days, Gu Xianer had slaughtered many cultivators from the Ancient Sea Family. This had thoroughly humiliated the Seventh Princess, enraging her even more. And so, the Ancient Sea Family laid out the Ancient Sea Formation to trap Gu Xianer in the area for the sole purpose of taking her down.
The area was engulfed in thick fog, as if she were under the sea. The thunder roared while the storm howled; runes were intertwined, glowing like stars in the sky. At the same time, countless cultivators were drawn to the area as they observed the incident from afar with different looks.
“That Seventh Princess of the Ancient Sea Family is merciless! She had sent so many cultivators just to kill one little girl and had even resorted to using the Ancient Sea Formation! Even someone in the True Enlightened Realm would have a hard time escaping.”
“Can’t blame her for wanting to avenge her brother.”
“By the way, I heard the Heir of Unrivaled Celestial Destiny wanted to help her but she’s being pinned down by another female prodigy. Since they are in battle, it may be difficult for her to send support over.”
While the cultivators were discussing, a deafening noise thundered through the sky. The menacing sound of a horse galloping could be heard. Every step seemed to shake the world. It was so intimidating as though a force of a thousand soldiers were charging over with intense murderous intent filling the sky.
Soon, a golden battle horse was seen galloping in the air with golden flames underneath its hooves. On its back was a blue-haired woman clad in golden armour holding a lance. Her eyes were ever so icy. Glaring at Gu Xianer’s pale face, who was standing amidst the mountains before her, she coldly scoffed, “Little girl, let’s see where you’ll run to this time!”
At once, those from the Ancient Sea Family nearby respectfully greeted her, “Greetings, Seventh Princess!”
Seeing such a scene, the cultivators watching from afar were thoroughly dumbfounded. “So that’s the Seventh Princess of the Ancient Sea Family! What a daunting aura! She must have achieved Peak Honoured King Realm!”
“No wonder she’s this bold! She truly seems invincible!” The cultivators were stunned by the might of the Seventh Princess. And it was reasonable that she was the one who commanded the young generation of the Ancient Sea Family.
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