Plundering the Heavens

The mysterious coffin’s arrival heralded both great opportunity and disaster for the Jambu continent, but its conclusion brought about an even larger calamity. Due to the incidental appearance of the immortal’s hall and the Summit of Nine Heavens that had occurred afterwards, however, all of the plunderings between cultivators were stopped. The sects and clans could only put their focus on secret schemes and competitions that allowed everyone to show their own unique abilities to the fullest.

In such circumstances, those young elites of Jambu who’d left their names on the Monument Slab or had obtained great opportunities all received attention by the large Videha sects. The Videha sects had originally intended to take them in due to having such a connection with the coffin, but now that the plunderings had been forcibly stopped, their desires became even more apparent and innumerable branches were extended.

It was also worth mentioning that after such a great event, Fang Xing—the little demon of Jambu—had become a unique existence.

A total of one hundred and eight people had left their names on the Monument Slab, but only eighty-one of those were known. A person’s name would appear if their rank was moved or replaced by someone else, but whenever their names appeared, it was quickly covered by a thick fog to prevent outsiders from seeing the full list. The eighty-one names that were known had been recorded by people specifically placed in the depths of the Mysterious Domain to observe the changes, but there were still some cultivators who’d either left their name with a bizarre method or had done it too early for the recording cultivators to see it. For that reason, neither their names nor methods were known, and even after the final statistics had been tallied, there was still no one who had any information about it.

Some speculated that these twenty-seven ranks belonged to beasts from the north or demons from the west who’d secretly managed to get inside. Although they’d been prohibited from entering the Mysterious Domain, there should still be some who’d managed to sneak inside and receive a good number of opportunities in the process.

There were also others who might be extremely talented but didn’t have their name appear on the Monument Slab due to improper timing. Fang Xing was a good example; after he’d killed the young master of the Huangfu clan, no names had appeared above the grand hall housing the slab, which could only mean all the killings outside the Mysterious Domain did not affect the rankings.

For this reason, Fang Xing had also lost any chance of being invited by one of Videha’s clans. Videha didn’t lack for any so-called geniuses, what they wanted instead were people connected to the Monument Slab and would only invite those known to be within the rankings. No matter how powerful Fang Xing might be, since he didn’t have any relationship with the Monument Slab, no large sects of Videha were willing to invite him over. On the rare occasion a Videha sect wished to take him in, it was typically due to all the treasures he’d obtained. Regardless, even if they publicly announced their desire, after the battle of the Qingqiu Tombs had been resolved and he’d successfully schemed against all the Huangfu cultivators there, Fang Xing had disappeared.

The Huangfu clan had asked Videha’s Palace of Divine Mystery to act on their behalf to calculate the precise location of the little demon, but it was to no avail. This could only mean he’d already left Jambu, which caused all cultivators to become anxious and fearful the little demon had fled to their region instead. The title “Seed of Disaster” wasn’t just for show—chaos would follow him no matter where he went. This had already become a fundamental truth in the realm of cultivation that all Jambu cultivators were completely convinced of.

The news that Fang Xing had left Jambu did bring relief to two people, however: the elders Xiao Shanhe and Qin’nyao of the Qing-Yun Sect. After witnessing Fang Xing shooting and killing Tie Rukuang, they’d been filled with terror at the thought they might wake up one day to find the little demon brandishing a blade in their direction. This kind of fear had effectively become a personal demon nesting in their minds.

When Elder Qin’nyao received the spirit herbs Xu Linyun had picked before departing for Videha, she was more regretful than ever. If she had known Xu Linyun had done such things and had gathered so many resources for her, why would she have felt the need to offend that little demon? If the world had medicines that could cure regret, Elder Qin’nyao would have taken a great number of them by now—not only had she offended the little demon, but Xu Linyun was clearly determined to leave. Xu Linyun had merely asked someone to deliver the spirit herbs and letter without coming in person to bid goodbye herself, so it was clear she was no longer willing to see her teacher any longer. With this, Qin’nyao had lost everything.

Upon hearing the little demon had left Jambu and likely didn’t dare to come back for the time being, Qin’nyao was finally able to let out a sigh of relief. She’d use this time to form the golden core to at least have some ability to fend off the little demon when he came back for revenge. The fear she and Xiao Shanhe felt towards Fang Xing was so great they didn’t feel safe with their current Foundation Stage cultivation.

“No matter what you say now, it cannot be of any help,” Xiao Shanhe finally opened his eyes and declared after Elder Qin’nyao had spoken on the topic for over two hours. “It is best we think of how to break through into the Golden Core Stage!”

“So what if we break through into the Golden Core Stage?” Elder Qin’nyao was so panicked she appeared paranoid, her fear so great she believed she still wouldn’t be safe even if she did manage to break through. “Did you not hear the little demon managed to plot and kill ten Golden Cores in one go?”

“Not bad….” Xiao Shanhe surprisingly didn’t try to console Elder Qin’nyao; instead, after some moments of thought, he replied, “That brat is indeed a dangerous character. If I’d known about his ability, I wouldn’t have offended him either…. But we’re still not completely out of options. This little brat has already left Jambu, after all, without taking the time to seek revenge against us. This is our only chance; as long as we can step into Golden Core during this period of time, we might have the chance to seek cover under the Huangfu clan or another large sect. Although we might lose our freedom, at least we’ll have a sturdier umbrella of protection. This would at the very least cause the brat to have second thoughts about seeking revenge!”

Elder Qin’nyao felt even more worried after hearing this. She’d originally thought she’d be able to live her life unhindered as a grand elder somewhere after forming the golden core, but who would have thought she’d have to sell her life afterwards instead? Besides, this little brat wasn’t even afraid of the Huangfu clan—it was unlikely he’d feel any fear even if she did join some large sect. Yet it seemed to be her only choice right now….

“I’ve decided,” Qin’nyao suddenly declared after some thought, her voice filled with determination that left even Xiao Shanhe surprised, “I’m going to seek Linyun! Linyun that girl has no conscience at all. I saved her from a hill of corpses and nurtured her into adulthood, yet she left behind only a single letter and a few spirit pellets? I’m going to find her and follow her to Videha. That little demon might be cruel, but his relationship with Linyun isn’t small; I don’t believe he would dare to kill me in front of her!” As she spoke, she felt more and more that her decision was correct and rose to her feet.

Xiao Shanhe looked at her excited expression without saying a word. Even he slightly felt that this shimei of his was being a little shameless, but that was nonetheless a good plan. It was unfortunate that he did not have the same good choice, so he could only think of a way to join the Huangfu clan. Although the entrance criteria for the Huangfu clan was high, if the enmity between him and the little demon was taken into account, he might actually be given a chance to work for them.

The two of them both made separate plans and prepared to set them in motion, but two visitors arrived before they were even able to leave the mountain.

The one who sought out Xiao Shanhe was a young man with a cold expression adorned in clothing from the western deserts. He rode atop a large, handsome horse carrying a long lance on its back, and when he arrived at the Qing-Yun Sect, he followed a guide servant to Shanhe Valley.

The young man studied Xiao Shanhe before proclaiming, “I came here because of a letter and for the sake of retrieving something on someone else’s behalf!” Xiao Shanhe seemed confused at this and looked at the young man with suspicion and surprise, but the young man soon took out a letter from his storage sack and passed it over. When Xiao Shanhe opened the letter, he saw two lines of crooked words: “My dear sworn brother, help me kill someone….”

Xiao Shanhe immediately jumped up in shock. The young man didn’t say a word before he picked up the lance from the back of his horse, turned the lance forward while blue smoke began seeping from the weapon’s body, and thrust the weapon towards Xiao Shanhe.

Meanwhile, in Qin’nyao’s cavern estate within Danxia Valley, a child with an upward-pointed ponytail looked at Elder Qin’nyao with a smirk. “Once I finish you off, this prince shall depart for Videha. Don’t you think I’m so awesome? But before I leave, that little bastard sent me a letter asking me to kill you off. This little favor is the least I could do for him since we’re technically sworn brothers, don’t you think? Well, don’t think about escaping. All of this Qing-Yun Sect has been encircled by my men from the Ghost Kingdom; there’s no escape for you at all….”

“You… you… if you kill me, my student Linyun would surely avenge me….” Elder Qin’nyao’s expression was filled with shock and fear. She could tell from the disdainful expression this ugly child was showing that she wouldn’t be able to scare him with Xu Linyun, so she clenched her teeth and flew up, forming a hand seal to activate her Qi before pushing her hands down towards Li Ying. Li Ying’s cultivation level was lower than hers, and attacking first to suppress him was her only chance for survival..

“Hahahaha, you dare attack this prince?” Li Ying impudently laughed as red Ghost Qi flew out. “I am someone who left their name on the Monument Slab….” The Ghost Qi formed into a giant spectral head and attempted to swallow Elder Qin’nyao whole.

After enough time had passed for a cup of tea, Li Ying dragged the heavily wounded Elder Qin’nyao while flying towards Qing-Yun’s main peak, where the punishment platform erected by the Huangfu clan for Tie Rukuang remained. it had been such a huge disgrace for the Qing-Yun Sect, but Sect Master Chen Xuanhua hadn’t yet had it removed.

Li Ying threw Qin’nyao onto the punishment platform and hanged her alive with an Immortal’s Snare. Just as Qin’nyao was taking her final breath, a loud explosive noise rose up from Shanhe Valley. A young cultivator riding a Dragon Horse had slammed a blooded Xiao Shanhe against the side of a mountain wall with a long lance and pinned him to the stone with the tip.

Everyone within the Qing-Yun Sect was able to see this with their naked eyes. Some cried, some trembled in fear, yet none dared to stop any of what was happening. Even Sect master Chen Xuanhua chose to sit within his main hall and quietly watch.

Pah ….

A scroll was suddenly tossed inside the hall and rolled to the front of Chen Xuanhua’s feet. Sneering laughter rose up from outside, “I found this golden core scroll from that bi*ch. It’s yours now!”