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Translator: Fate
Translation Checker: Silavin
The island was filled with Celestial Energy and divine light. It had fog everywhere. It was both like a dream and the Celestial Realm. Divine Beasts were in harmony and phoenixes flew amongst green pines, ancient trees, and strange rocks. On one side was an ancient well-like, crystal-clear spiritual lake surrounded by mist. Some kind of strange and inexplicable rhythm and Dao were intertwining there.
“Is this the future…” Gu Xianer murmured. Due to her disbelief, her delicate face had turned pale. She was even frozen in place as if she had been struck by lightning.
The somewhat-balding big red bird seemed to find her reaction disdainful as it squinted at her.
“Just what did you see? To put on an expression as though you have seen a ghost?” The childish voice that came out from its beak sounded almost childlike. Soon, the bird waddled towards the spiritual lake. It didn’t know for sure what exactly Gu Xianer saw in the lake because it couldn’t see what the young woman saw.
Lake of Rebirth was extremely mysterious and abstruse. There was a saying that it was cast by a supreme expert who was proficient in the Dao of Time and Reincarnation during ancient times.
The big red bird was not one to be trifled with. It knew many secrets, and it knew about many mysterious places in the Upper Realm. That was why it brought Gu Xianer here to try her luck and see if she could find something good. As a result, the bird and Gu Xianer were trapped on the island because they mistakenly touched the trial arrays left by the former owner of this place.
If it weren’t for Gu Xianer’s talent and strength, they wouldn’t have been able to break through these protective arrays in such a short time.
As for the Lake of Rebirth, the big red bird only recognised it after staring at it for a long time. Initially, the bird didn’t believe that an Artifact like the Lake of Rebirth could appear at such a place. This was a place where even an existence that had already turned into an Immortal would have its past and future revealed. There was no secret in front of the Lake of Rebirth. Being someone in the Sacred Realm, Gu Xianer naturally couldn’t escape the mysterious power of the lake.
However, Gu Xianer seemed to not have recovered from her earlier state after seeing the unimaginable scene. She kept muttering, “How is this possible… Why is this the future…”
“What did you see!?” the big red bird asked in puzzlement as it leaned over.
Gu Xianer had turned pale as though she was in pain. She shook her head and suddenly grabbed the bird by its wing. “Quickly, tell me that what I saw is fake. Tell me it is not true.”
Hong seemed irked when it asked again, “What did you see in the lake for you to overreact like this!? This is the Lake of Rebirth which can show the future. You may not believe it, but what it shows must be true.”
After hearing what the bird said, Gu Xianer seemed to be discouraged all of a sudden as she slowly squatted down. She was a heart-wrenching sight to behold when tears started streaming down her face as beautiful as a goddess’.
“It’s not true… Gu Changge… How can he be like that… I know he won’t…” she murmured. However, her voice when she whimpered was shaking uncontrollably as if she was in extreme pain.
“Did the future you see have something to do with Gu Changge?” The big red bird’s eyes seemed to go wide in shock when it heard those words.
It had seen a lot and had a broad range of knowledge, and its background could only be described as mysterious. However, it had never met anyone as unpredictable and unfathomable, and couldn’t even be deduced like Gu Changge. For that reason, it wanted to keep Gu Xianer away from Gu Changge as it thought that Gu Changge had impure motives and was up to no good. Yet, Gu Xianer couldn’t be bothered to heed its warning. She cared too much about Gu Changge. She even held him close to her heart.
“You… What exactly did you see from the Lake of Rebirth?” the big red bird grew solemn and asked again.
Gu Xianer shook her head without saying a word. She seemed to calm down only after she stayed crouched for a while. Still, her eyes were red when she insisted, “I’m going to look for him.”
Raising her chin, she looked into the distance. There were traces of glowing, wet tears on the porcelain-like skin of her beautiful face.
…
Gu Changge was unaware that Gu Xianer was on her way here from a faraway place after she was greatly affected by the glimpse of the future she had caught. He was now on his way to an arena in the depths of Vermilion Bird, in the Battlefield of Hundred Worlds, with Ah Qing.
As the sky dimmed, the entire ancient city looked extremely majestic and foregone. Brilliant lights shone and bright dawn light drifted among the pavilions and halls. There were also hung lanterns whose flames were alight, reflecting a warm lustre between the inns and restaurants on both sides. In addition to the people who lived here, most of the people on the streets were patrol guards in charge of patrolling and maintaining the rules here. They ride fearsome beasts and run rampant, forcing all pedestrians to back away.
Along the duo’s journey to the arena, Ah Qing, who had a slender figure and light makeup on to enhance the features on her delicate and charming face, led the way for Gu Changge while explaining to him, “Apart from the brutes who accumulate points, there are also many sinners sent in by various Forces to atone for their sins.”
The arena was surrounded by many dungeons, where many Ancient Aristocratic Families, Formidable Sects, Ancient Royal Clans, and even sinners of Immortal Forces were imprisoned. Due to some reason, they were sent here to collect corresponding points and exchange them for something before they could be pardoned to leave. Of course, there were rumours that these people were death knights of their respective Forces, which was why they were specially trained for the arena.
When Ah Qing saw Gu Changge nod, she flashed a smile and continued explaining. “These sinners fight each other for everyone to watch or gamble. If they piqued the guests’ interest, the guests could buy and plant a Slave Mark on these prisoners and have them serve the buyers as slaves or handmaids for the rest of their lives. Of course, there are also customers who enter the arena to fight the prisoners on death row and hone their life-and-death skills.”
They walked along the main road in the city. Although it was nighttime, the surroundings were brightly lit.
Many patrol guards recognised Qinger, and that was also why they were so shocked. They didn’t expect that someone like her would be in the company of a young man. Even though Gu Changge never used any Secret Techniques to cover up his true appearance, no one could see his face clearly unless he allowed them to at his current cultivation level.
Despite not seeing his face, they could guess who he was from Ah Qing’s attitude. All of them grew solemn, and none dared to show any disrespect.
On the contrary, Gu Changge seemed casual about this. He actually didn’t want to appear too high-profile, otherwise he would easily alarm his targets if this place was in uproar due to his presence. Nevertheless, since he had made his appearance in the Battlefield of Hundred Worlds, the Forces present most likely were already keeping their eyes on him.
The arena was located in the deepest part of the city centre. In fact, it was a small island where a Grandmaster of Arrays spent tens of thousands of years to almost lock in the essence of the universe and the World Principles.
One would have to take the risk of passing through an endless lake to reach the island. It was said that the various Forces supporting the arena spent huge sums of money to build it and engrave several extremely powerful arrays in it. Other than that, there were many kinds of ferocious beasts in the lake. Even a cultivator in the Sacred Realm would be severely injured if they forced their way in.
The night was getting darker as many figures rushed over from all directions. Here, bursts of immortal clouds soared to the sky as the arrays lit up and the murderous intent soared. A layer of mist formed on the lake, sparkling like fragments of silver. Other than the jade boats and phoenix boats dashing by at high speed towards the small island in the centre of the lake, many other cultivators were also on their way over.
However, anyone without a certain cultivation level would most likely be torn apart by the beast in the green lake if they crossed it. Humongous black shadows were swimming at the bottom of the water, waiting for an opportunity to devour someone. Knowing that, the cultivators had to proceed with caution. No one would be able to save anyone who accidentally fell into the water.
Plenty of cultivators among the crowd came from the Lower Realm, hoping to gain insight on how cruel the fights on the Battlefield of Hundred Worlds were. A group of people from Blue Flood Ancient World, including Lu Ming and Xue Yan from Mysterious Rainbow Sect, and young prodigies from other Forces, were all here right now. All of them had solemn faces on as they approached the place carefully. These people had all chosen to join Vermilion Bird as they didn’t want to have to face the ancient world they were enemies with so early on.
Compared with the other regions, the environment in Vermilion Bird was indeed much more peaceful. It was said that it was because the master of Vermilion Bird was a woman, and compared to the other leaders, her ways of ruling were extremely gentle.
“Just follow me into the arena and watch the fights quietly. Remember not to get into any conflict with others. You have to hold it in no matter what happens, or there will be a conflict that could determine your life and death. If that happens, I won’t be able to protect you.”
Lu Ming, Xue Yan and other young prodigies from Mysterious Rainbow Sect were now following behind the leader of the group, who was a dignified-looking man in a scholarly robe. On their way here, he kept warning everyone over and over again to be careful as he was worried that they would cause trouble here.
Although the man in a scholarly robe’s Ancestors were related to the Blue Flood Ancient World, and he had received many benefits from everyone in return for helping them here, he was just an insignificant person who didn’t dare to get on anyone’s bad side in this enormous ancient battlefield. The only thing he could do was to be a guide.
His palms were now drenched in a cold sweat. There seemed to be a few potential reasons that could easily cause problems among the young prodigies he was guiding.
The one thing he was most uneasy about was the beautiful female cultivators.
On the Battlefield of Hundred Worlds known for chaos and killing, it was easy to attract the coveting eyes of powerful people. Resources, skills, women, territory… These things had always been what those on the Battlefield of Hundred Worlds found necessary to fight over. The man knew that he couldn’t count on the Elders backing the young prodigies, with their weak cultivation levels.
“Is this the arena? The outside looks more glorious than any natural scenery…”
“What an eye-opener.”
Lu Ming’s group boarded a jade boat and crossed the centre of the lake until they reached the opposite side. When they saw the scene in front of them, almost everyone’s eyes widened in surprise and disbelief. They even held their breaths as they wondered if they had found the wrong place.
What appeared in front of them were palaces and pavilions that looked as if they were standing in the void!
The aura of the arrays circulating around seemed to be shrouded in clouds and mist. Endless streams of cultivators could also be seen going in and coming out of the buildings. From the outside, it was almost difficult to tell that this place was, in any way, related to the arena and death-row prisoners. Instead, it looked like a heavenly palace.
“Don’t make a fuss. The Space Principles here are extremely miraculous. There is even a universe inside. You will know it soon after you see it.” The man in the scholarly robe shook his head and ignored the bumpkin-like expressions on everyone’s faces. As he explained, he started to lead the group inside. It was a fact that there was nothing special about this arena from its appearances alone.
*Boom!*
And right when everyone was talking, a burst of soaring energy came gushing from the east.
Impressive-looking young prodigies with two wings on their backs, with appearances very different from that of a human, appeared from a jade boat and stepped onto the island. Each of them had a look of arrogance and disdain as they ignored the cultivators around them and strode into the palace as they pleased.
“They are members of Vermilion Bird’s Ancient Royal Clans. Let’s get out of their ways so that we don’t bump into them. Or, we will be the ones who regret it afterwards.”
Seeing this, many cultivators were apprehensive, and they retreated quietly. They didn’t expect this group of people to show up here.
There were many powerful Forces in Vermilion Bird, one of them being the Ancient Royal Clans. The Ancient Royal Clans were titles given to Clans. Thus, there were more than one. Sometimes, even the Successors of Forces who came here to train were afraid of getting in conflict with these people.
“Get out of the way, quickly! Don’t block their way. They won’t even try to reason with you.” Seeing that the group of cultivators from Mysterious Rainbow Sect were still standing there, seemingly sizing up this group of disciples from the Ancient Royal Clan, the man in the scholarly robe immediately turned pale and hurriedly urged them to get out of the way.
[Get out of the way?] All the young prodigies from Mysterious Rainbow Sect also quickly reacted by moving aside. The reason they were curious was because it was their first time seeing members of an Ancient Royal Clan with such amazing auras despite their young age.
In their world, there were also independent and terrifyingly powerful Ancient Royal Clan. However, their bloodline was countless times thinner.
Meanwhile, the blood of any one of the disciples from the Ancient Royal Clan in front of them was so thick these Lower Realm cultivators couldn’t even imagine it to be possible. And even though Lu Ming’s group had moved out of the way just in time, they still appeared annoyingly slow in the eyes of the group of Ancient Royal Clan’s disciples behind them.
“Where did these blind pests come from? You dare get in our way?” One of the young disciples with a burly figure hissed. He looked like a golden rhinoceros as a flash of killing intent appeared in his cold, cruel eyes.
To these disciples, this group of young prodigies in front of them from the Lower Realm were pests, way more inferior than ants. Lu Ming’s group was simply looking to die by standing in the middle of the road and preventing them from entering the arena!
[He is going to kill us.] Lu Ming and the rest of them immediately wore a different expression when they felt the terrifying killing intent enveloped them. The man in the scholarly robe also paled, and he couldn’t help trembling. [This is bad! We’ve made a big mistake…]
The muscular man from the Ancient Royal Clan snorted. As a member of the Ancient Mammoth Clan, he was frighteningly strong. With a sweep of his trunk, it seemed as if a mountain was sent spinning away by the shocking power. A prodigy from Blue Flood Ancient World didn’t even have time to retreat or scream as he, with a bang, immediately exploded into a cloud of Bloodmist.
The faces of all the cultivators around also fell, and they hurriedly stayed away for fear of being involved. Their eyes when they peered at this group of young perogies from the Lower Realms were filled with pity and sympathy. However, these young prodigies had no one to blame but themselves. They were the unlucky ones for offending this group of Ancient Royal Clan disciples.
At this very moment, no one could save them.
