Plundering the Heavens

The catastrophe of Jambu had become inevitable within only three days. From the first plundering of the Huangu cultivators, to the localized area of mass murder between Jambu cultivators, to some cultivators from Videha joining in afterwards, this once small-scale massacre extended beyond the Qingqiu Tombs into the Bohai Kingdom. Even those who hadn’t yet left the Mysterious Domain’s perimeter were sucked into it, and there were signs that it’d burn through the Chufung Kingdom to envelop all of Jambu itself.

Many of Jambu’s cultivators had already obtained their opportunities and left, but there were still some who were remaining within the Mysterious Domain to the very end. There were still a good number of people with treasures on them nearby, and they were undoubtedly the first group to experience the terrible misfortune of being plundered. It radiated out from there to some sects and other forces until everyone was left trying to fend for themselves.

It was fortunate the Videha cultivators had all come from the smaller sects on their continent. Although Videha had taken up three quarters of the entire Mysterious Domain, it was naturally very difficult for the smaller sects to take their share of the cake with so many superpower sects lording over the area and their gains had been minimal at best. They started to focus on the Jambu cultivators, all of them holding the same thought in their minds: a barbaric place like Jambu did not deserve to have any opportunities from the Mysterious Domain….

Aside from the cultivators from Videha, there were also some mysterious forces that joined in on the plunderings as well, which some speculated to be the beasts from the northern Kulu continent and the demons of the western Godaniya continent. They weren’t permitted to enter the Mysterious Domain but didn’t dare to annoy the Videha sects and clans, so they shifted their focus onto the Jambu cultivators and muddied the already chaotic waters further to obtain a portion of the opportunities for themselves.

The only powers that were able to stop this catastrophe were Spirit Mountain Temple and the Huangfu clan. That being said, the Huangfu clan had just lost ten Golden Cores and their young master on top of not gaining anything of value from the Mysterious Domain; not only did they not intend to stop it, they poured even more oil onto the fire until the catastrophe was pushed to its peak and could no longer be reversed. The Spirit Mountain Temple made several attempts to ease the crisis, but they were unsuccessful and had no choice but to retreat to save themselves.

The origin of such a disaster was tied directly to Fang Xing and his assassination of the Huangfu clan’s young master. For this reason, not only was a great deal of hatred directed his way, the Jambu cultivators also gave him a new title: seed of disaster. Countless calamities followed wherever that little demon went—an observation that had practically become a fundamental truth in the cultivation realm by this point.

Although there were cases where they sent some of their disciples to join in on the plunderings, the true superpowers of Videha didn’t involve themselves too much in the catastrophe sweeping across Jambu. The cultivators from the larger Videha Sects had a great deal more secret information than what the other continents had, and they viewed the Qingqiu Tombs with such particular importance they valued it more than the opportunities from the Mysterious Domain.

“The fog can be resolved by crafting detoxification antidotes, the formations can be solved step by step by those specialized in it. Only the Yin Ghost Thralls are particularly difficult. Not even Golden Cores are strong enough to be their opponents, so does that mean we have to invite the great grand elders in the Budding Soul Stage in order to enter the immortal’s hall?”

“The aura of the Budding Soul Stage great grand elders is too powerful and would awe the heavens and earth; if they get too close, the immortal’s hall will either attack or flee. It’s possible even the Mysterious Domain might shut down due to their proximity! These kinds of opportunities can only be obtained by Golden Cores at most!”

All the large powers of Videha gathering near the Qingqiu Tombs were focused on finding a way inside the immortal’s hall. Some were extremely troubled when they realized they couldn’t find a safe method to enter the immortal’s hall, but how could such a great opportunity as this not be a bit dangerous?

Some of the cultivators were more impatient than others and wanted to get inside as soon as possible, forcing them to make a tough decision. “It’s possible we might be able to avoid the Yin Ghost Thralls if we’re extra careful. If someone enters the depths of the immortal’s hall, they’ll supposedly have the chance to gain the entire inheritance. I can’t wait any longer; if all the large sects arrive, I doubt there’ll be a chance for us anymore. Immediately find people to enter; even if there is a high risk of death, we still must get inside as soon as possible!”

All kinds of speculation and thoughts pushed some of the sects to enter the immortal’s hall regardless of the extreme risk for death. Although all cultivators valued their lives, there were still plenty of those who’d risk it for the sake of great opportunities, and it didn’t take long before many sects had sent out fully-armored Golden Cores who were determined to explore the immortal’s hall despite the consequences….

When the first group of Golden Cores entered, it was as though the gate to a forbidden ground had suddenly opened up and more Golden Cores flooded inside like waves from the ocean. Countless people were torn apart by the formations, and countless others were killed by the Yin Ghost Thralls, until the Qingqiu Tomb’s interior had become akin to an abandoned graveyard.

“Hahaha, such great courage. Are you all not afraid of death?” The stone tortoise within the immortal’s hall sensed more people entering and had let out a cold laughter filled with anger. “Since you all want to risk your lives to fight, I shall take them from you! The more cultivators die here, the more powerful the formations become. I wish to see how long you all want to keep dying!” It let out a cold roar and pushed the formation with excessive force like a great millstone, causing group after group of cultivators to perish. “The more, the better….”

“The number of deaths and injuries are extremely high! We cannot keep forcing ahead like this!”

The Videha cultivators were certainly filled with regret; despite the large number of people who’d been sent inside, none had returned. Many hadn’t even gotten past the initial stone cavern, and such great pressure forced them to realize it was far too difficult to continue. The complex formation and the abundance of Yin Ghost Thralls had already turned this stone cave into a place of death—a burial tomb of Golden Cores.

“The way we’re doing it now isn’t working, but it’s not completely impossible. Let’s capture and seize people, feed them Hibernation Pellets, and hide them within the storage sacks. When the Yin Ghost Thralls get close, we’ll throw the people out to help us gain some time and avoid death!”

Some of the cultivators who managed to narrowly escape death began thinking of such vicious methods and coldly shouted them out. By now, all the cloth had been torn away and the cultivators’ true colors were exposed. Cruelty, madness, the desire to do whatever it took to get what they wished for; these were the raw and bloody qualities of the cultivation realm where the rule of the jungle prevailed.

People immediately acted on this and started capturing weaker cultivators. There were even those who directly seized an entire city of ordinary men, hypnotized them, sealed their spirits, and placed them into their storage sacks before trying to enter the stone cave once more.

“You wish to enter the immortal’s hall using such methods?” The stone tortoise within the hall was so agitated its eyes had grown red with murderous intent. “Since you are so persistent, I shall destroy you all!”

RUMBLE !

Innumerable cultivators were ground to death within the maze-like paths of the Qingqiu Tombs, making this place look like an Asura’s hell….

Resentment flew into the air, deceased spirits scattered about, blood sprayed out in large mists, and it was all collected by the immortal’s hall and guided by an invisible force towards the lotus pond at the center. The blood lotus began to absorb everything, causing three blood lotus flowers to bloom and wilt into matured lotus heads prepared to fall, before the blood essence reversed and returned to nurture what was at the bottom of the pond. In such a peculiar environment, an ever-so-soft sigh could suddenly be heard, as though a girl was about to awaken from a long, long dream….

“Haha, watch me kill you—” The stone tortoise had been rather enjoying killing so many people with the formation, but he suddenly flinched after hearing this very slight sigh. The fearful gaze he showed as he looked towards the lotus pond was as though he’d just seen a ghost, and the terror was so powerful he even forgot to control the formation. “Is it… awake? That being… has awoken?”

Under the terrified gaze of the stone tortoise, an arm made from a pure-white lotus root lifted up from the surface of the blood lotus pond and began lazily searching the outside. The stone tortoise’s shock upon seeing this arm was beyond belief, its gaze fearful and panicked as though it was a thief who’d just been caught stealing red-handed—if the stone tortoise had a heart, it would’ve leapt into its throat by now. The arm held onto the side of the pond for some time before a voice suddenly muttered, “Let me sleep a bit more…” and the arm slowly returned back inside….

‘Go back and f*cking sleep for another few hundred years…’ the stone tortoise thought with a sigh of relief.

Before the tortoise could even finish its sigh, loud noises of surprise and all kinds of flying motions could be heard just outside as a few people rushed to the outside of the hall. The tortoise’s control of the formation had left many people dead or gravely injured, but the sudden awakening of the being inside the lotus pond had simply been too shocking, causing the stone tortoise to forget about the formation for a moment—just long enough for many people to take advantage of it.

Everyone who’d dared to enter the stone cave were all Golden Cores with great battle prowess and ability. Not a single one of them were weak, and they’d successfully managed to seize the opportunity to arrive just outside the immortal’s hall.

“This… why are there so many kneeling corpses?”

“Could they be… are they the great masters who disappeared when fighting for the inheritance of the immortal’s hall back in the day?”

“This is indeed the same immortal’s hall from seven hundred years ago; I’ve heard people describe its appearance before!”

A countless number of shocked voices rose up. There were those who even kneeled down out of respect while others hastily rushed inside the hall.

“Nn?” So much noise surprised the young girl within the lotus pond, and that sleepiness seemed to gradually fade away while her aura became more and more evident. The being within the lotus pond slowly began to wake up, and a lotus-root arm once again explored the outside of the pond before a head with a crown of long black hair gradually rose above the surface. “Who is disturbing the sleep of this little miss?” she asked, her tone filled with dissatisfaction.