Ashes Of Heaven Book 1 : Solar Calamity

Jin Tuyi couldn't help but stare in incomprehension at the Seal of Myriad Laws revolving above in the sky.

Had something gone wrong with it? Even though it was beginning to go out of the main body's control, he could still sense that the major law fragments that nullified all the newly made law fragments here were still properly active and running.

"Write down a law fragment and try to activate it," Jin Tuyi ordered one of the vessels while he kept his focus on those law fragments in particular.

A few seconds later, the vessel tried to activate the law fragment he had written...and failed.

The law fragment was neutralized the moment it became active, just as expected from it with the Seal's suppression.

Then how did those three teleport away?

And why hadn't he been able to sense the activation of the law fragment they had used?

Confused and furious, Jin Tuyi ordered his vessels to begin searching for their trail. If the main body didn't manage to expel the corrupt parts of its soul shards soon, the decades of suffering and planning would all have been for naught.

...... ........ ........

Han Xuhan felt an extremely painful sensation of having his limbs stretched till it felt like they were about to be ripped off.

With an added bonus, the dizziness stemming from teleportation seemed to have gone up a notch or two.

Finally feeling the hard ground beneath his feet, Xuhan shook his head violently and looked around.

The three of them had landed in a heap in front of a familiar-looking portal on the ground. There was a crimson-colored skeleton standing not far away, surrounded by at least a dozen or so cultivators, all of whom were ready for combat, by the looks of it. Swords, arrows, and qi were primed to cut them down.

"Wh-who the hell are you? Why did the three of you appear when we were trying to drag my master Shen Kai out of the world fragment?"

The red skeleton, who recovered faster than anyone else, asked in a panicked manner.

Good acting, Zhanxian!

Han Xuhan exclaimed inwardly. Due to the lack of skin, nerves, and muscles, nobody could read the skeleton's facial expressions or body language that would give away certain details...

In short, Zhanxian could lie and fool others very well. And that skill manifested at that moment beautifully.

Mu Ran and Yuen Zhou were still bound together with him. During the sudden teleportation, they had felt an odd and terrifying power gluing them together. Every inch of their bodies that were in contact with each other made them feel like all three of them had merged into one body.

That odd feeling had disappeared the moment the teleportation ended. But both Yuen Zhou and Mu Ran vaguely guessed what had happened just then.

But this was not the time to discuss that issue. The cultivators surrounding them by no means looked friendly.

"Boss, dump the entire blame on Shen Kai and pretend we are victims of his scheme as well. These are the guys I kicked out from the first stage," Han Xuhan whispered to Mu Ran using the cover provided by his mask. If he opened his mouth to speak loudly, those guys might recognize his voice. So Xuhan passed the ball to Mu Ran.

Mu Ran had already gotten a gist of what had happened due to being acquainted with Shen Kai and knowing full well what Xuhan had done under that guy's name. So he understood what to do immediately.

"Shen Kai? Are you talking about that scum who kept kicking everyone out of the inheritance ground?" Gritting his teeth, Mu Ran answered their aggressive question passionately. His reply definitely seemed to rouse the burning embers inside their heart, stroking the fire of hatred.

"Yes! That's him!"

"Scum Kai!"

"Where is he?"

Such shouts drowned the tied-up trio for the next few seconds. Han Xuhan felt a strange sense of immense satisfaction welling up in his heart.

What is this refreshing feeling? Is this the sweetness of vengeance?

"He's the one who tricked US as well!" Mu Ran continued to spout more and more bullshit with Xuhan whispering suggestions beside his ears. Since the three of them were closely tied together with a sturdy, magically enhanced rope, the cultivators surrounding them didn't find anything suspicious about the way Xuhan's head was sticking close to Mu Ran's.

"Did you all use a law fragment to teleport Shen Kai over?" Mu Ran shouted, his gaze focused on Zhanxian's bony form.

The cultivators nodded as they explained what had transpired there.

To teach that scum Kai a lesson, all of them had been waiting outside while some of them ventured inside the portal, scouting the area that wasn't occupied by the fog.

Hours later, when most of them had almost given up, a red skeleton had appeared from within the foggy area.

All of them knew this unusually colored skeleton. It belonged to that bastard Shen Kai. Instantly, the skeleton had been besieged by the scouts and brought over to the main camp outside.

The skeleton was very weak and cowardly. Once it had been lightly threatened by the powerful cultivators surrounding it, it had started bawling and confessed everything.

Its master Shen Kai was in great danger inside the inheritance ground. So he had sent this skeleton minion to seek help from one of his acquaintances who was supposed to be waiting in Pine Town.

The skeleton had even shown them the letter its master had written for that acquaintance.

The contents of the letter roughly described the inheritance ground and the secret to deciphering the archaic texts inside the circle of laws.

According to the letter, to save Shen Kai, the acquaintance only had to come over outside the portal and create a law fragment that would allow him to teleport over. Shen Kai had even written a template law fragment for him to use in that letter, as well as giving the minion an emerald orb to use as a power source.

At this point of the explanation, the guy who was speaking to Mu Ran laughed angrily.

"Hah, guess he never thought that we would intercept his minion first! But that's where the problem starts...This teleportation law fragment should have summoned Shen Kai, its creator over to us. Why is it you three?"

"Fellow cultivators, you have been fooled again! How could you trust that scum's minion so easily?!" This time, it was Yuen Zhou who answered him in an aggrieved tone. Han Xuhan had just advised her on what to do during the lengthy explanation from the other party.

A pitiful, grieving maiden had much more credibility than a buff guy like Mu Ran...Han Xuhan did not intend to let go of a single opportunity to perfect their act.

"Fooled again? How?" The dozens of cultivators exclaimed, their hearts shuddering and fists clenching. All gazes fell on Zhanxian, who was silently enjoying the spectacle.

"Shen Kai was indeed in grave danger. In fact, all of us inside the testing ground were in danger. This inheritance test has only three stages. There is a deadly trap in the third stage that favors only demonic cultivators like Shen Kai. That bastard managed to find a fortune in that stage and broke through to the soul reformation realm, thus managing to avert the danger he was in. But we were his opponents. So he beat us up and subdued all of the cultivators inside using his superior cultivation base.

But his realm hasn't stabilized yet, and he wanted to get out of the land of laws before he overdrafted his own strength. So he decided to send a scout to check if the portal outside was safe to use. Moreover, he wanted to send us out in case we banded together to fight against him when he was in a weakened state. So he created a law fragment that would teleport us over, disguising it as something that would summon him, and handed it to his minion before sending it out."

The moment Yuen Zhou's words were finished, the cultivators surrounding them rushed toward Zhanxian to give him a beating.

Such a hateful trap! They had all been fooled by a damned weak minion!

"Oops, guess I got found out. See you, losers! My job is done here..."

With those last words, Zhanxian suddenly disappeared from his spot before anyone could reach him.

It was clear to everyone that the minion had been summoned back to his master...