Chapter 190: "Ao Tian, Hurry Here!"

Chapter 190: "Ao Tian, Hurry Here!"

"Hold on."

The Patriarch of the Three Spring Tower narrowed his eyes, a chill flashing in his gaze. "It's not easy for me to come out of seclusion. I should at least meet with my old friends."

"Didn't you just say that Chen Qiu is the newly emerged Heaven's Pride of the Xuantian Continent, possessing the power to kill a Peak Nascent Soul at the Fifth Layer Nascent Soul? He even claimed the top spot on the Nascent Soul Battle Strength Rank Secret Realm and single-handedly annihilated an entire Evil Clan while still at the Golden Core Apex."

"His achievements are indeed remarkable."

"Why don't we organize a Kill Xiu Banquet and invite all my old friends? We can also gather and catch up."

The young master's eyes flashed with understanding, and he nodded immediately. "Your words are wise, Patriarch. I'll make the arrangements right away."

The Patriarch's intentions were clear. After a long seclusion, he had reached Half-step Essence Refinement, just short of the Essence Refining Stage. He wanted to show off his strength to everyone.

Otherwise, wouldn't this seclusion have been in vain?

It was also an opportunity to raise the reputation of the Three Spring Tower.

Although Chen Qiu's strength wasn't exceptional, his fame was renowned. By killing him in front of everyone, the Three Spring Tower could leverage Chen Qiu's reputation to gain fame.

Indeed, the older generation was thorough in their considerations.

A situation that could bring tenfold benefits could, with a little flexibility, yield thirteenfold gains.

"Hmm."

The Patriarch nodded in satisfaction. "It seems I made the right choice in selecting you as the young master. You're quick-witted. Go ahead and make the arrangements. The banquet will be held tonight. I'll go and set up the formation."

"Understood."

In Central Province, within a small family named the Cao Family...

At that moment, an older and younger man sat in a study, their brows furrowed in deep thought.

Cao was a rare surname, but even if the chances were one in a billion, there was still a slim probability of its existence, and indeed, there was such a family.

Moreover, they had developed quite well.

The strongest member of the Cao Family was the family head, who had reached the mid-stage of Divine Transformation.

Although the Cao Family was an obscure small family in Central Province, they seemed insignificant compared to the major powers. The family head was the only one who had reached the Divine Transformation Stage.

However, if they were in the Lower or Upper Nine Provinces, a Divine Transformation cultivator would be a formidable force capable of dominating a region. Even the strongest cultivator in Quzhou was only at the early stage of Divine Transformation, and none had reached the mid-stage.

If the Cao Family were to relocate to Quzhou, they would instantly become the most powerful force in the region.

At that moment, the atmosphere in the study of the Cao Family's courtyard was rather oppressive.

"Father."

After a long silence, the young man spoke up, his brows furrowed. "You told me that even if I found Chen Qiu's trail, I shouldn't report it. You said I should hide in the family and not go anywhere during this time."

"But now..."

"The Three Spring Tower has invited us to attend the Kill Xiu Banquet tonight. They plan to execute Chen Qiu as an appetizer before midnight."

"They seem very certain, as if the Three Spring Tower has already captured Chen Qiu and will easily behead him before midnight."

"You said Chen Qiu was unpredictable, but now it seems he's been caught."

"No, no, no..."

The middle-aged man took a deep breath, his expression turning solemn as he looked up at his son. "I ask you, if you were in the Twelfth Rank Golden Core or Nascent Soul stage, what would be your deepest obsession upon breaking through to the Divine Transformation stage?"

"Well..." The young man furrowed his brows in thought before responding thoughtfully, "The Twelfth Stage Soul Transformation Realm?"

"Exactly!"

The Cao Family Patriarch slammed his hand on the table and spoke in a heavy tone. "Indeed, the Twelfth Stage Soul Transformation Realm! A Heaven's Pride who has consistently achieved perfection in the Golden Core and Nascent Soul stages would undoubtedly prioritize the Twelfth Stage Soul Transformation Realm upon reaching Divine Transformation!"

"It's a matter of human cognitive bias."

"But Chen Qiu is from a loose cultivator background and likely lacks resources. What should he do in such a situation?"

"Naturally, he would resort to plunder. Perhaps Chen Qiu has already taken the Three Spring Tower's Patriarch hostage, spreading this information to lure us into a trap and wipe us out!"

"Although the Three Spring Tower's Patriarch has reached Half-step Essence Refinement after his seclusion, crushing Chen Qiu's cultivation by a whole realm, almost entering the realm of invincibility in the Xuantian Continent..."

"But—"

The Cao Family Patriarch muttered in a daze, "That's a Twelfth Rank Nascent Soul, a being unseen in the Xuantian Continent for tens of thousands of years. Do you really believe someone like him could be killed so easily?"

"I don't understand how a Peak Nascent Soul cultivator could hold a Half-step Essence Refinement cultivator hostage."

"However, I also don't understand how a loose cultivator could forge a Twelfth Rank Golden Core and form a Twelfth Rank Nascent Soul. Anything is possible with someone like him!"

"Therefore, I suspect that this Kill Xiu Banquet is a trap set by Chen Qiu!"

"His goal is to wipe us out. Moreover, did you notice that the Three Spring Tower didn't invite any top powers from Central Province? They only invited small families like ours, with whom they have no prior dealings. Why invite us out of the blue?"

"It suggests that Chen Qiu's strength is currently limited to swallowing small families like ours and can't yet provoke the top powers of Central Province."

"Additionally..."

The Cao Family Patriarch glanced at the Virtue Value Shop, where the Soul Transformation Domain items were displayed, and said meaningfully, "Do you see those Soul Transformation Domain items, each worth 200 billion virtue points?"

"No one on the Xuantian Continent can afford them, except for one person—Chen Qiu."

"Do you believe someone of his caliber would die so easily tonight?"

"It's more likely that those who attend the banquet will meet their end."

After a long period of contemplation, the young man raised his head and looked at his father, giving him a thumbs-up. "Father, you're indeed an old hand at this. Your perspective on the issue is unique. Does this mean we should refuse the invitation?"

"That won't do either."

The Cao Family Patriarch shook his head. "This is just my speculation. Perhaps the Three Spring Tower has indeed captured Chen Qiu and plans to execute him publicly. If we refuse now, the Three Spring Tower might hold a grudge against our Cao Family in the future."

"We'll accept the invitation, but we'll take our time getting there. There's no rush. If the Three Spring Tower does execute Chen Qiu in public, we'll say we were delayed on the way. If something unexpected happens, it won't involve us."

"No matter how the situation develops, it will always be harmless to the Cao family."

"Indeed!"

The young man was thoroughly impressed. He sighed, "Father, you've truly lived up to your reputation, leading the Cao family from a small clan in the Upper Nine Provinces to the Central Province."

"Hmph!"

Cao's patriarch couldn't help but feel a sense of pride as his son praised him.

On the highest peak of Dragon Island, Ao Tian looked at Chen Qiu with a serious expression, "Brother, it seems our plan has hit a snag. Weren't we supposed to wait for the chaos and conflicts to begin on Xuan Tian Continent before secretly taking advantage of the turmoil to rob others?"

"But now, the Human Clan, Demon Clan, and Evil Race are all extremely stable."

"These three powerful races on Xuan Tian Continent show no signs of turmoil, and there's no indication of an impending battle."

"What should we do?"

"Hmm..."

Chen Qiu rested his chin on his hand and contemplated for a while before speaking softly, "Let's wait one more day. If, by tonight, there's still no movement, we'll take the initiative and strike first."

"We'll start with some of the weaker forces."

"Good."

Ao Tian nodded heavily, a hint of urgency in his voice, "This batch of dragon cubs will be born soon, and I need to prepare resources for their Divine Transformation breakthrough."

"Oh, right—"

Ao Tian suddenly remembered something and hesitated, "You mentioned the Vast Continent after the Heaven Repair, didn't you? When I heard the name, it sounded familiar."

"I looked it up in the Dragon Clan's ancient texts, and it's indeed mentioned there."

"But only the Dragon Clan can understand the ancient texts. Others won't be able to comprehend them. I copied down some relevant information. Take a look and see if it's useful."

After Ao Tian left, Chen Qiu flipped through the few pages of information Ao Tian had copied. There wasn't anything too important, just that the Dragon Clan's first Dragon Emperor had come from the Vast Continent.

This had happened tens of thousands of years ago, and he seemed to have been a prisoner of the Dragon Clan.

After a quick glance, Chen Qiu didn't think much of it and instead pondered over the remaining Milestone Tasks. Among the twelve tasks, one was the most challenging: "Unify Xuan Tian."

To achieve this unification, all major and minor forces, be they sects, families, or cities, must have the words "Under the Jurisdiction of Mock Heaven Sect" prominently displayed in various noticeable locations.

This included the Evil Race, Demon Clan, and other races.

If 95% coverage is achieved, it is considered a unification of Xuan Tian, and this is the most challenging task among the milestones.

The Xuan Tian Continent is teeming with countless forces, and even if he has the strength to suppress the entire continent, it would still be a daunting task to send out all the disciples of the Mock Heaven Sect to handle this matter door-to-door.

Alternatively, he could issue an order for all forces to follow suit, allowing them to report on non-compliant neighboring forces. The reporting party would be heavily rewarded, and the non-compliant force would be annihilated.

However, there might be a better approach.

When the numerator is difficult to handle, one can tackle the denominator.

By annihilating most of the forces on the Xuan Tian Continent and leaving only a few, then forcing these remaining forces to submit to the Mock Heaven Sect, the unification of Xuan Tian can be easily achieved.

He shook his head and didn't dwell on the thought. The remaining milestone tasks were progressing steadily, but completing them all would likely take two to three years.

By then, the Dragon Clan's dragon cubs would have hatched several batches.

His Nascent Soul would have also produced multiple offspring.

He then turned his attention to the "Sin Value Shop."

The items in the "Sin Value Shop" were vastly different from those in the "Virtue Value Shop."

Among them, there were also Soul Transformation Realms.

For example—

"One Thought Universe."

A rare-grade Soul Transformation Realm, this realm has only one effect. All living beings that die within the realm will be transformed into life force and absorbed by the user."

This included Spirit Trees and Spirit Grass.

He was quite tempted by this realm.

However, the price was absurd—20 billion sin points. He couldn't afford it in his entire life. He had only obtained 2.9 billion sin points from annihilating the Evil Province, and that was with the bonus for exterminating the entire race. Without the bonus, killing so many people wouldn't have earned him that much.

Earning sin points was much more challenging than virtue points.

20 billion sin points were equivalent to annihilating seven or eight Evil Provinces.

". . ."

He temporarily gave up on this realm, suddenly feeling that it wasn't worth 20 billion sin points. After all, it was just a domain for killing small monsters to regain health.

It wasn't that impressive compared to his "Boundless Essence" and "Thousand Thunder Surge."

If there's still no movement from the Human Clan and Demon Clan by tonight, he'll take the initiative and strike. Speaking of which, the Evil Race usually incites discord at this time, but why is there no reaction this time?

Are they asleep?

On the Xuan Tian Continent, in the Evil Province, a middle-aged man sat in a palace in the core city, looking down at his only son with a hint of satisfaction.

"How is it?"

"It's been three days, and neither the Human Clan nor the Demon Clan has attacked us."

"It seems our strategy is working. A few days ago, we announced that if either the Human Clan or the Demon Clan attacks us, we will unconditionally surrender to the other side."

"The Human Clan and the Demon Clan are not far apart in strength, and our Evil Race can play a decisive role at this time."

"Hmm," the young man of the Evil Race standing below remained expressionless and silent.

"Great!"

The middle-aged man looked around at his trusted generals, nodding in satisfaction. Then, he stood up and shouted, "Let the Evil Race officially initiate this Age of Chaos!"

"Call upon all cultivators above the Golden Core stage to join the battle!"

"Annihilate the Dwarf Race and plunder their racial fortune to strengthen our Evil Race!"

"All for the Evil Race!"

"Ula!"

In the hall, several burly men with demon horns on their heads shouted passionately, placing their right hands on their left chests, "Ula!"

"Hmm," the young man of the Evil Race nodded silently once more, then pushed through the enthusiastic crowd and returned to his study, where he sat and stared blankly out the window.

He was born into a prominent family, the only son of the Demon Clan's Chief. The Demon Clan was one of the major clans on the Xuan Tian Continent, and he was born with a golden spoon in his mouth, so to speak. His cultivation journey was smooth, and he effortlessly reached the Divine Transformation stage.

He acquired the 8th-stage Divine Transformation Domain, "Heavenly Demon Annihilation," which made him nearly invincible among his peers.

His life was destined for greatness.

But...

A minor mishap occurred.

Historically, the Demon Clan had always been cautious, but ever since his father assumed the position of Chief, everything changed.

His father was a fanatical warmonger.

In his father's eyes, the Demon Clan should instill fear in others; that was the essence of being a demon.

Hiding at home all day, afraid to venture out—that's a rabbit clan, not a demon clan.

What is fear? It's the determination to bite off a piece of flesh, even in death.

Although he didn't agree with this idea, he had to admit that his father's fanatical thoughts were highly infectious. Soon after taking office, he had infected many of the clan's elders with his ideology.

Especially in recent years, the Demon Clan had been feeling oppressed, and in this situation, his father's thoughts perfectly aligned with the clan's needs.

However, he looked down at the small jade ball on the desk.

Deep within his inner breath, he had a secret he hadn't shared with anyone—this small jade ball.

The young demon sat in the study, glancing around, and only after confirming that the soundproofing array showed no signs of damage did he turn his attention to the jade ball and whispered.

"Senior, is the Mock Heaven Sect truly that terrifying?"

Within the jade ball was a wisp of a demon clan's remnant soul that had been drifting on the Xuan Tian Continent for tens of thousands of years. His rapid growth was due to the guidance of this remnant soul, which had helped him immensely.

To outsiders, it seemed like he had achieved his current status effortlessly.

But only he knew the truth.

Much of his success was due to the help of this remnant soul.

As his words fell—

A wisp of remnant soul suddenly emerged from the jade ball on the table, and a demon clan's phantom floated above the desk. The phantom's face was hazy as it gazed at the young demon in the study with a complex expression.

"After tens of thousands of years, the Demon Clan has indeed changed a lot. They dare to initiate the first battle."

"Mock Heaven Sect."

"Too much time has passed. Even with scattered records in ancient texts, people today still cannot comprehend the terror of the Mock Heaven Sect back then."

"Millions of sword cultivators, like locusts, leaving nothing but devastation in their wake!"

"Hundreds of Divine Transformation sword cultivators, when they simultaneously unleashed their domains, it was like the end of the world. That was the true number one power on the Xuan Tian Continent, and no one in the world could stop them!"

"In the end, it took the combined forces of the Human Clan, Demon Clan, and Evil Clan to eradicate the Mock Heaven Sect. But who would have thought that after tens of thousands of years, the Mock Heaven Sect would rise from the ashes, and the current sect leader is even more talented than the previous one."

"It's unclear if there was an issue with the inheritance, as they switched from sword cultivation to spell cultivation."

"That battle was earth-shattering!"

"The Mock Heaven Sect allied with the Dragon Clan to fight against the Human Clan, Demon Clan, and Evil Clan of the Xuan Tian Continent!"

"The final outcome was a narrow victory for the Human Clan and Demon Clan, with the Evil Clan suffering the heaviest losses. The Mock Heaven Sect was completely annihilated, and the Dragon Clan was almost wiped out. Because of this battle, even though the Evil Clan has survived to this day, the Human Clan hasn't sent experts to eradicate them. Occasional minor frictions are ignored by the higher-ups."

"What was the Demon Clan doing during that battle?" The young demon frowned and asked.

"Good question."

The phantom of the demon ancestor in the study remained silent for a moment before answering, "The Demon Clan naturally hid. What else could they do? The grudge with the Dwarf Clan was formed during that time."

"When everyone hid underground, conflicts naturally arose."

"But I went to witness that battle. I swear, I just wanted to watch, and then I died. Fortunately, I had some foundation, so I didn't completely perish. I left a wisp of my remnant soul in this jade ball. As long as you help me find the materials to gather my soul in the future, I can be resurrected."

"Because I witnessed that battle, I may be the person on the Xuan Tian Continent who currently understands the terror of the Mock Heaven Sect the most."

"Although the Demon Clan didn't seclude themselves, they only went to war with the Dwarf Clan and didn't provoke the Mock Heaven Sect. So, things were still manageable."

"As long as they don't provoke the Mock Heaven Sect, it's acceptable."

After a long silence, the young demon asked, "If the Mock Heaven Sect is so powerful, why can't the Demon Clan seek their protection?"

"Hehe."

The phantom of the demon ancestor let out a cold laugh. "Don't even think about it. Although the Mock Heaven Sect is powerful, their former ally, the Dragon Clan, is now almost extinct."

"Being an enemy of the Mock Heaven Sect is terrifying, but being their ally isn't much better."

"It's best to stay uninvolved."

Xuan Tian Continent, Central Province.

Night had fallen.

The Three Spring Tower was brightly lit, with guests arriving one after another. A grand array had been set up in the tower's backyard, ready to forcibly bring Chen Qiu to the venue.

"Congratulations, congratulations."

The head of the Wen family in Central Province looked at the young master standing at the entrance of the Three Spring Tower and admiredly said, "Young Master, you truly are a talented youth. Chen Qiu has been arrogant on the Xuan Tian Continent for some time, and no one could rein him in. I didn't expect the Three Spring Tower to directly host a 'Kill Qiu Banquet' tonight."

"Killing Qiu is not the main purpose."

The young master of the Three Spring Tower looked at the late-stage Divine Transformation elder before him and calmly replied, "He's just a Nascent Soul stage ant. I can easily suppress him. The main purpose tonight is for our sect's ancestor to meet with his old friends after coming out of seclusion."

"Hahaha, I understand."

One after another, guests arrived at the Three Springs Tower with gifts in hand.

What a lively scene.

Meanwhile, in Quzhou, the head of the Su family gazed at the direction of the Three Springs Tower with a complex expression. He never imagined that Chen Qiu would actually be captured alive.

Before the chaos descended, he had brought his entire family to the Central Province.

After all, he was the only Divine Transformation Cultivator in Quzhou, and it was too dangerous. The Central Province was home to many powerful cultivators, and even if war broke out, there was still some sense of security.

Although he was a First Rank Divine Transformation Cultivator in Quzhou, ruling as a king, in the Central Province, he was rather insignificant.

"What a pity."

After a long while, he sighed. He was completely powerless in this situation. The patriarch of the Three Springs Tower was a Peak Divine Transformation Cultivator, and although he wanted to rescue Chen Qiu, he had no idea how.

"Is there really no way?"

The young master of the Su family, standing beside him, spoke with reluctance, "Why don't we go and plead with the patriarch of the Three Springs Tower? Father, you sent gifts to the Three Springs Tower just the other day, and they accepted them."

"It's hopeless."

The head of the Su family sighed and shook his head helplessly, "Chen Qiu is still young and hot-headed. He didn't listen to me. I told him not to kill those people."

"She is the younger sister of the young master of the Three Springs Tower."

"He didn't listen to me."

"Chen Qiu is too stubborn. He can't bear any slight. I knew that Chen Qiu would eventually bring trouble upon himself because of his personality. Now, see, the disaster has come."

"Fortunately, I acted decisively and immediately found the Three Springs Tower to apologize and clarify that this matter had nothing to do with the Su family of Quzhou. Otherwise, there might have been a 'Kill Su Banquet' tonight."

"Chen Qiu will never understand that enduring humiliation and bearing a heavy burden is not cowardice. Only by bending can one stand tall again. Unfortunately, he will never have the chance to understand this principle in this life."

"I hope he will understand in his next life."

"But since we did have a relationship, let's send him off on his final journey here. After midnight, we can offer incense from afar, and it will be enough to honor the friendship we had when we fought side by side in the Evil Province."

In the Central Province, at the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect.

"Master, you're the best. You're a Peak Divine Transformation Cultivator. Although the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect isn't a top-tier power, it's not weaker than the Three Springs Tower. There must be a way, right?"

Xiao Yue, dressed in white, pitifully tugged at the corner of the elder's robe in front of her master of what she was about to say.

"Please, Master."

"It's not easy for my disciple to find someone she admires. Master, you don't want to see your disciple's beloved just die like this, do you?"

"Sigh."

The elder looked at his pleading disciple for a long time before sighing, "The patriarch of the Three Springs Tower has just broken through to the Half-step Condensation Void Realm. He's not weak, and the news of the 'Kill Xiu Banquet' has already spread."

"If we try to stop them now, it's like asking them to swallow their own spit. The Three Springs Tower would never agree. Not only can they not save Chen Qiu, but they would also create a powerful enemy for the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect for no reason."

Just as the elder was about to say something, he saw the pitiful look in his disciple's eyes and eventually softened, sighing, "Fine, Master will take you to the Three Springs Tower tonight, but I can't guarantee success."

Xiao Yue immediately broke into a smile, "I knew Master was the best!"

". . ."

The nine-tailed fox curled up in the corner rolled her eyes and remained silent. Chen Qiu was about to be forcibly pulled over, she had checked the Virtue Value Shop the moment it opened.

Most people browse from top to bottom, where the items require the least Virtue Points. She, however, scrolled directly to the bottom.

In the Virtue Value Shop, there were two limited-sale tokens: the "Virtue Attack Token" and the "Virtue Defense Token."

Although they were instantly bought and disappeared from the shop, she quickly noticed who had purchased them—there was only one person in the entire Xuantian Continent with enough Virtue Points to buy both tokens at once.

And so—

While others were still debating whether to kill or rescue Chen Qiu, she was already waiting for death.

Nearly a hundred billion Virtue Points could destroy the entire Evil Province.

Two thousand billion Virtue Points could effortlessly annihilate the entire Central Province without any pressure.

Whether staying at the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect or going to the Three Springs Tower, it was a dead end. She found their conversation pointless, as going or not made no difference.

Instead of running around, it was better to stay put and wait for death, at least it was more relaxing.

What an interesting life, either facing death or waiting for it every day.

On Dragon Island, atop a mountain peak.

Night had fallen, and it was just past midnight. Stars adorned the sky.

Chen Qiu, sitting cross-legged on the mountaintop, gazed at the "Boundless Essence Domain" and "Thousand Thunder Surge Domain" Divine Transformation Realm totems in his hands, longing to comprehend them, but he had not yet broken through to Divine Transformation and could only temporarily admire them.

He planned to go to the Xuantian Continent the next day, find a suitable place near the Three Springs Tower, and then start to cross the Thunder Tribulation, just as Ao Tian had suggested. After all, this was a Thunder Tribulation triggered by 2.9 billion Sin Points and a Twelfth Rank Nascent Soul, and it couldn't be wasted.

But at that moment—

He suddenly felt an extremely powerful suction force enveloping him, and the force was rapidly intensifying.

A spatial rift appeared before him, and through it, he saw a middle-aged man standing on an empty ground, smirking at him.

Forced traction?

Chen Qiu was slightly startled, and then his expression gradually became strange as he noticed the three characters "Three Springs Tower" embroidered on the man's robe.

What the...

Are you sure you want to forcibly pull him over?

Almost immediately, before the suction was strong enough to pull him in, his divine sense rapidly enveloped the entire Dragon Island.

"Stop cultivating!"

"Grab your weapons, prepare for battle!"

"Ao Tian, come quickly!"

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end