Chapter 658: Mandala and the Nine Nether Bird
"Why have you come to the Skylaw Continent? Are you planning to establish a power here? The Great Havenlaw Domain is just one of the seven major forces in the North Territory, and its strongest member is merely a Lesser Earth Sovereign. Why did you choose it?" Qing Yanjing looked towards the floating island, her gentle features tinged with a hint of confusion.
"I have indeed come here to establish a power," Xiao Ming turned his head and explained. "But as you know, I need to find a few companions and prepare for the Fire Spirit Festival in a year. That's why my focus is not solely on that. The North Territory has not yet been touched by the forces of any Heavenly Sovereign, making it an ideal starting point. No one is going to disturb it while I am away."
"Then why did you choose the Great Havenlaw Domain? The Divine Pavilion is the strongest power in the North Territory. Subduing it would save you a lot of time."
The seven major powers in the North Territory were the Great Havenlaw Domain, Sky Profound Palace, Demon Gate, Netherworld Palace, Myriad Saint Peak, Serpent God Palace, and Divine Pavilion.
While Qing Yanjing considered these powers to be fairly equal and believed that conquering any one of them would be the same, Xiao Ming had bypassed several other powers to head straight for the Great Havenlaw Domain. This behavior puzzled her.
Or perhaps the mysterious Domain Ruler of the Great Havenlaw Domain turned out to be a beautiful lady, and Xiao Ming had come here specifically to collect beauties?
The absurd thought almost made Qing Yanjing laugh, but Xiao Ming's next words took her by surprise.
"The Domain Ruler of the Great Havenlaw Domain is actually the Primordial Mandala Flower that the ancient Heavenly Emperor nurtured in the Ancient Haven Palace."
"The ancient Heavenly Emperor and the Primordial Mandala Flower?!" The usually composed Qing Yanjing was uncharacteristically slightly astonished.
Whether it was the ancient Heavenly Emperor or the Primordial Mandala Flower, either one was enough to amaze anyone.
In the Great Thousand World, it wasn't just humans who could cultivate, nor was it only Divine Beasts that could possess spiritual intelligence. Some high-level plants could also cultivate, though their methods differed, and their speed of cultivation was generally lower than that of humans.
This was similar to the Divine Beast Clans; the higher the innate bloodline, the faster and greater the potential for cultivation.
The Primordial Mandala Flower was akin to royalty among plants. It was an extremely noble flower. Its strength could even surpass that of an ordinary Heavenly Sovereign once it reached maturity.
Moreover, the Primordial Mandala Flower possessed unique abilities, such as sealing and dissolving all things. Even if its main body was destroyed, it could still escape as long as a single bud remained on one of its branches.
It was rumored that each Mandala Flower, upon reaching its peak of evolution, would possess a strength comparable to that of a true dragon or phoenix.
If the ruler of the Great Havenlaw Domain was indeed a Primordial Mandala Flower, given her current strength, she was most likely still in her juvenile stage.
Such a unique individual with no clan and immense potential would be highly coveted by any superpower. After all, cultivating a Heavenly Sovereign was no easy task. It was no wonder that Xiao Ming had come straight to the Great Havenlaw Domain.
Moreover, this Mandala Flower had ties to the ancient Heavenly Emperor, and there were many aspects worth exploring.
Seeing Qing Yanjing deep in thought, Xiao Ming decided not to elaborate any further.
Actually, he had another reason for coming to the Great Havenlaw Domain, and that was its proximity to the Hundred Battles Domain. The Hundred Battles Domain was not a power, but a chaotic area with a complex network of factions.
Among them was a faction called the Demonic Lightning Sect, which possessed a fragment of the Supreme Demon Heart Scripture.
The Supreme Demon Heart Scripture was the legacy of the ancient Demon Heart Lightening Emperor and was now the supreme Divine Ability of the current superpower known as the Lightening God Palace.
Cultivating the Supreme Demon Heart Scripture to a state of perfection allowed one to compete with a Heavenly Sovereign, even if one's cultivation was only at the Quasi-Heavenly Sovereign Stage. It was truly heaven-defying.
In Xiao Ming's memory, the only thing that could be more heaven-defying than this was the Sacrificial Demonic Punch created by the Blood War Monarch, an ancient supreme expert of the ancient Divine Beast Origin.
The Blood War Monarch used this Spiritual Art to fight to the death against a Ghost Demon Monarch with a Perfected Earth Sovereign cultivation.
Such achievements left Xiao Ming deeply impressed. He could only say that the ancient era was truly full of extraordinary talents.
If it hadn't been for the invasion of the Fiend Clans, the Great Thousand World might have had more than one Half-Step Ranker by now.
Putting his thoughts aside, Xiao Ming smiled gently at the two women and said, "Let's go. We might be staying here for the next few days."
Qing Yanjing snapped out of her thoughts at his words, smiled sweetly, and nodded.
Xiao Ming took the lead and flew out, not revealing too much of his strength as he headed straight for the hovering Greatlaw Sky on the horizon. The two women followed closely behind him.
As they gradually got closer, the Greatlaw Sky also became more distinct, with countless streaks of light flashing by.
High above the Greatlaw Sky was a massive Spiritual Array. The array formed a protective screen of light that covered the entire Greatlaw Sky. The Spiritual Energy fluctuations emanating from it were enough to terrify anyone below the Earth Sovereign Stage. These fluctuations rippled faintly, causing the surrounding space to distort endlessly. This was the Protective Spiritual Array of the Great Havenlaw Domain.
Within the array's protective range was a colossal light gate, about a thousand meters high, with a tunnel of light behind it that led directly into the Greatlaw Sky. This was the only passage into the Greatlaw Sky.
The three of them landed in front of the light gate.
"Hold your steps, the Greatlaw Sky forbids the intrusion of others. Anyone who violates this will be killed without mercy!"
A stern shout rang out as soon as they landed. Over a hundred black-armored figures with sharp eyes appeared, pointing their long spears at them.
An intense aura of killing intent emanated from the guards, but as it reached Xiao Ming and his companions, it quietly dissipated.
A flicker of multicolored fire flashed in Xiao Ming's pupils as he raised his gaze slightly.
The guards instantly froze like puppets, then naturally returned to their former positions as if nothing had happened.
"Screech!"
Just as Xiao Ming was about to step into the Greatlaw Sky, a clear cry filled with ferocity sounded from behind him.
Turning around, he saw a Divine Bird with wings ablaze in black flames whistling towards him.
"Looks like you decided to make a move after all." Xiao Ming watched as the black Divine Bird swooped down in an attempt to seize him.
He merely stretched out his hand, and the Divine Bird's hundred-meter-long body quickly shrank. By the time it reached Xiao Ming, it was only the size of a child's palm, looking bewildered as its tiny body was held by him with one hand, leaving only its small head exposed.
"Oh, this is a Nine Nether Bird, right?"
Qing Yanjing and Qing Tan remained unfazed by the attack. However, the flames on the bird caught Qing Yanjing's attention, and she quickly recognized its origin.
The Nine Nether Bird was a Divine Beast Race that possessed the bloodline of the ancient Undying Bird. It was born in the Northern Lands. Its wings could cover the mountains, and its underworld light could devour the sun and the moon.
However, the Nine Nether Bird in Xiao Ming's hand appeared to be an immature one.
"Oh?" Xiao Ming scrutinized the gradually extinguishing flames on the Nine Nether Bird. This couldn't be the same Nine Nether from the original story, could it?
The Nine Nether Bird seemed startled by Qing Yanjing's voice. The confusion in its eyes quickly disappeared as black flames erupted again, enveloping Xiao Ming's hand. The bird struggled furiously but could not escape his grasp, and the flames had no effect on him.
Gradually, it ceased its efforts and slowly closed its fierce eyes in resignation.
Seeing the Nine Nether Bird give up struggling, Xiao Ming extended a finger and flicked its head.
The Nine Nether Bird immediately opened its eyes in anger, and a clear voice rang out.
"Despicable intruder, what are you doing? If you want to kill me or slice me up, just do it, but stop messing around!"