https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-321-Protecting-the-Junior-Shijie-Part-1-/12588706/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-322-Blood-River-Sect-Master-s-Doubtful-Life-Part-1-/12588711/
Chapter 321: Protecting the Junior Shijie (Part 2)
Chapter 321: Protecting the Junior Shijie (Part 2)
Li Yan is a Blood River Grand Shaman of the Nine-Layered Heaven realm, and Li Yongzong is a Curse-Chant Grand Shaman of the Eight-Layered Heaven realm."
He then pointed to another area, where a black shadow loomed, resembling a demon more than a human.
"That's Li Guangchi, the strongest young expert of the Billi Clan."
Lu Fang introduced, "According to our current information, the chief of the Billi Clan, Li De, has no offspring. Li Guangchi is his personal disciple, and both are experts in the art of Dark Sorcery."
Lei Jun nodded in understanding.
He had heard that due to the unique circumstances of the Jiuli people, their practice of witchcraft often underwent changes.
For example, the Gu masters of the Yinshan Cave sect in the Southern Wasteland of the Great Tang realm focused primarily on the soul, neglecting the physical body.
In contrast, the Gu masters of the Jiuli clans combined spiritual Gu with their robust bodies, resulting in a transformation during the casting of Gu spells, often losing their human form and resembling giant worms or demons.
This transformation not only preserved the mystical qualities of witchcraft but also often resulted in an even stronger physical body.
Lei Jun had heard about this, but seeing it with his own eyes was startling. The forms of Li Guangchi and the others were unpleasant, to say the least, but their strength was undeniable.
As Lei Jun looked up at Mount Xiongbo, his heart stirred.
Through the connection between the Tian Tong Di Che Fa Lu and the Qian Li Chuan Yin Fu, he felt that Shen Quibing was approaching.
Indeed, not long after, Shen Quibing arrived.
However, the first person who appeared before Lei Jun was not Shen Quibing but Yang Yuqi and several Jiuli cultivators.
Shen Quibing was chasing another group of Jiuli cultivators from behind.
It seemed that Shen Quibing had brought reinforcements from the Wuli Clan.
Although the Wuli and Polli-Billi Clans were sworn enemies, it was intriguing how Shen Quibing managed to accompany the Wuli Clan cultivators, given his identity as a human from the Great Tang realm.
Lei Jun was curious about this, but he didn't slow his pace as he approached Yang Yuqi and the others, with Lu Fang and his soldiers quickly following suit.
Yang Yuqi performed the guest ritual unique to the Jiuli people, expressing gratitude for their assistance in navigating the human realm, which greatly increased the possibility of Jiuli experts infiltrating the human realm and posed a correspondingly greater threat.
This move put the Tang Imperial Family, the various sects of the Southern Wasteland, and even internal powers of the Great Tang Empire, such as the Celestial Master's Mansion and the Ye Clan of Cangzhou, at risk of gaining formidable enemies.
It was best to nip such dangers in the bud whenever possible.
The radiant Dou Mu Star God manifestation was quite eye-catching in the dimness of the Earthly Sea.
Yang Yuqi and the others quickly noticed Lei Jun as well.
But in the blink of an eye, Lei Jun was upon them! The massive Dou Mu Star God manifestation, combined with the Huan Xing Lie Dou, Ling Guan Lu, and Tian Xing Lu, had increased his strength and speed to a terrifying degree. The starlight condensed into a fist and slammed down towards Yang Yuqi, the Crown Prince of the Sui Dynasty.
Yang Yuqi had endured many hardships over the years and had become adept at adapting to changing situations. His sword intent and thunderous voice rippled as he drew his sword from its sheath.
The dense sword energy wove a barrier of mountains and rivers between him and Lei Jun.
But the landscape of mountains and rivers transformed by the sword qi was consecutively shattered by Lei Jun.
The flowing sword qi rippled and shot out, continuously slashing at Lei Jun's body.
However, Lei Jun paid no heed as the starlight talismans swirling around the Dou Mu Star God continuously revolved and collided with the sword qi, repeatedly disintegrating and regenerating. Stimulated by Yang Yuqi's sword qi, the talismans became even more abundant.
Yang Yuqi frowned.
Previously, when the welcoming ceremony was broken, he was affected and injured due to the connection of qi.
The greatest mystery of a Cultivation Grand Scholar at the third layer of the Governing the Nation realm in the Eightfold Heaven was the majestic qi transformation of the nation and its people. However, Yang Yuqi was currently unable to exhibit this ability.
Even so, he still possessed the foundation of an Eightfold Heaven Cultivation Grand Scholar.
But faced with Lei Jun's ferocity, Yang Yuqi had no choice but to first move his body, controlling the distance between them.
Over the years, Yang Yuqi had heard of Lei Jun's reputation and knew that his cultivation had progressed rapidly, and his combat skills were exceptionally strong.
However, it was only when facing him directly that Yang Yuqi could truly appreciate the formidable skills of this young foe.
"Five Peaks to Stabilize the Tripod," the former prince of the Sui Dynasty intoned in a sonorous voice.
Five ceremonial longswords appeared simultaneously.
The sword qi was vast and yet condensed, resembling the five great mountains propping up the heavens, capable of stabilizing the earth.
These five peaks were not the Five Peaks of the Earthly Sea but were derived from the true essence of the Five Sacred Mountains.
They were the ceremonial swords that Yang Yuqi had painstakingly refined after losing his treasured seal in the previous Great South Wilderness War.
By offering reverence to the Five Peaks, the mountains and rivers would stabilize, and the mountains and rivers transformed by his sword qi and thunderous voice became more solid and substantial, blocking the path between Lei Jun and Yang Yuqi.
However, Lei Jun's footsteps did not pause.
The darkness, which seemed even more mysterious and profound in the dim environment of the Earthly Sea, silently spread.
The black sea of abyssal thunder engulfed Yang Yuqi's five sacred mountains.
Initially, Yang Yuqi was not alarmed.
Lei Jun's reputation as the master of the Abyssal Immortal Thunder had already resounded throughout the Great Tang and beyond, so the Tang Crown Prince was mentally prepared.
But the next moment, he suddenly felt that within the dark and gloomy thunder sea lurked something else.
Aside from Yang Yuqi's Five Peaks ceremonial swords, there was indeed something else hidden within the black thunder sea.
They were also longswords.
Taoist magic swords.
Altogether seven of them.
It was the Seven Star Sword! The seven stars descended and rotated, forcibly inserting themselves between the Five Peaks ceremonial swords, ruthlessly severing the connections between them!
"What is this?" Yang Yuqi was startled.
But before he could react further, from within the black thunder sea that engulfed the mountains, a black thunder dragon silently emerged, its massive head lunging directly at Yang Yuqi, and his Five Peaks swords were unable to stop it.
Lei Jun, in the form of the Dou Mu Star God, also charged forward, no longer hindered by the mountains and rivers.
Suddenly, a pale stream of air appeared around Lei Jun's body, forming a vortex.
Even in the dim environment of the Earthly Sea, this pale aura was strikingly conspicuous.
Deep Abyss Descent!
Above Mount Xiongbo, a tall and robust figure with a fierce expression and a face covered in totem tattoos glared downward at Lei Jun.
It was none other than Lei Yongzong, the young patriarch of the Broken Li Clan and a Cultivation Grand Scholar in the Eightfold Heaven realm.
As the Deep Abyss Descent formed, a pale vortex abyss emerged, swallowing Lei Jun.
But in the next moment, a thunderous roar shook the heavens and the earth.
An indomitable purple thunder dragon, like an angry dragon surging out of the sea, burst out of the pale vortex abyss.
Amidst the undulating nine divine thunders, the evil spirits were swept away, and the pale abyss was scattered by the counterforce.
Lei Jun emerged from the purple thunder dragon.
On the other side, Yang Yuqi had just moved his body, narrowly avoiding the pounce of the black thunder dragon.
Unexpectedly, the purple thunder dragon appeared behind Yang Yuqi.
At the same time, the black thunder dragon, which seemed to have missed its target, suddenly turned its massive head in mid-air and continued its assault on Yang Yuqi.
The purple and black thunder dragons converged in mid-air, colliding at the point between them.
At the center of the clashing dragons, Yang Yuqi was struck by the purple and black thunderbolts, his entire body engulfed. All his protective ceremonial artifacts were destroyed, and his longsword had long been reduced to useless scrap metal.
The ownerless Five Peaks ceremonial swords were also unable to withstand the black thunder sea and were successively cut down by the Seven Star Sword.
"Your son, Yang Tai, is waiting for you below." As the purple thunder dragon charged toward Yang Yuqi, Lei Jun, in the form of the Dou Mu Star God, punched downward.
Yang Tai, the most important heir and the most outstanding son, had died an unclear death during the Great South Wilderness War. Although it couldn't be considered a thorn in Yang Yuqi's side, he still felt regret whenever he thought about it in the following years.
Hearing the name Yang Tai at this moment, he was taken aback, but his eyes soon widened in rage, "...You again?!
He had just opened his mouth to speak when his entire body was blasted apart by Lei Jun's Dou Mu Star God!
There were several Nine Li Grand Witches in the sky, including Lei Yongzong, shouting unintelligible curses.
However, including Lei Yongzong, they were all preoccupied with their own predicaments.
Shangguan Yunbo and the others were pressing forward step by step, and on the other side, a fierce cyan light suddenly flashed, reaching Lei Yongzong and the other Nine Li Grand Witches in an instant.
Lei Yongzong hastily tried to help Yang Yuqi by performing the Deep Abyss Descent, but Lei Jun's strength exceeded his expectations, and the technique had no effect. Yang Yuqi was killed in the blink of an eye.
Lei Yongzong himself was in danger due to his divided attention.
The cyan light condensed into arrows, directly striking Lei Yongzong.
Lei Yongzong consumed a precious witch artifact to survive this crisis.
He glanced at Lei Jun below before turning his gaze to the distance.
Over there, a tall and elegant armored general fired arrows in rapid succession, the cyan light flashing across the sky above Mount Xiongbo, threatening Lei Yongzong and the other Nine Li Grand Witches.
The general constantly changed his position, using his arrows to support his allies while avoiding the Nine Li Grand Witches, especially the patriarch of the Bi Li Clan, Li De.
Lei Jun glanced over, and the old general turned out to be Ye Morong, the representative of the Cangzhou Ye Clan in the Great Tang Godly Strategy Army.
Although Ye Morong's attention was mostly on the Nine Li experts, his peripheral vision also swept over Lei Jun.
Yang Yuqi had failed in his endeavor, but over the years, his fluctuating fortunes had caused quite a stir within and outside the Great Tang. Who would have thought that he would meet his end today, dying at the hands of a Daoist who wasn't even a third of his age... The old general thought to himself.
Upon witnessing Yang Yuqi's demise, the other Great Tang cultivators, as well as the many Southern Wasteland Wu Clan cultivators who had interacted with the former Sui Dynasty descendants, were also inwardly shaken.
It was not only because of Yang Yuqi's unique identity but also because of Lei Jun's formidable strength!
Even though Yang Yuqi was injured due to the ritual and was already at a disadvantage, he was still a Cultivation Grand Scholar at the eighth layer of the Eightfold Heaven. Yet, he was swiftly killed by Lei Jun, who was also at the eighth layer.
If it weren't for the ferocity of the Nine Li cultivators, many of the Great Tang cultivators' attention would have been drawn to Lei Jun.
South of Mount Xiongbo, only Lei Jun himself remained calm and collected.
He casually killed one of the Nine Li cultivators who had been following Yang Yuqi, then turned to look at Shen Quibing, who was chasing after Yang Yuqi from another direction. "General Shen, it's been a while."
Shen Quibing, having seen Yang Yuqi perish, first breathed a sigh of relief before replying with a smile, "It's been a long time, Elder Lei. Your divine abilities and cultivation have far surpassed what they used to be. I am truly impressed."
"This man's connections are significant, and to prevent him from escaping, I had no choice but to use ruthless means. However, I truly have no intention of taking credit for this. I hope General Shen doesn't mind," Lei Jun said as he glanced at Yang Yuqi's remains.
Shen Quibing, however, was unconcerned. "Elder Lei, what are you saying? Indeed, as you said, Yang Yuqi's matter is of great importance. Preventing him from escaping is the most crucial thing."
Lei Jun asked, "How is General Shen's injury?"
Shen Quibing had been injured earlier and managed to break through the siege temporarily to stabilize his condition. He had then borrowed troops from the Wu Li Clan in the Earthly Sea to disrupt Yang Yuqi's ritual. Now, although he was no longer in immediate danger, his face was pale, and he looked rather bloodless, which, for a martial cultivator, indicated a weakened state.
"It's nothing serious," Shen Quibing replied honestly. "But I'll need some time to recover."
"I'm about to enter the Earthly Sea to look for our sect's Sect Master," Lei Jun said. "Since Yang Yuqi is dead, General Shen, you should take some time to recuperate."
Shen Quibing couldn't withdraw to the human realm to rest for the time being. He needed to stay in the Earthly Sea to maintain contact with the Wu Li Clan.
Lei Jun bid farewell to Lu Fang and the others, leaving them to assist Shen Quibing, while he continued deeper into the Earthly Sea to search for Tang Xiaotang.
With the battle of Mount Xiongbo still raging, Lei Jun had already made an outstanding contribution by killing Yang Yuqi, the former prince of the Sui Dynasty, at the beginning of his journey into the Earthly Sea. From then on, he could simply coast along, and the Tang Imperial Family would undoubtedly commend and praise Elder Lei of the Celestial Master's Mansion after the war.
Moreover, since the Tang Celestial Master and the Celestial Master's Sword were also crucial factors in this battle, it was only natural for Lei Jun to go in search of them, and Shangguan Yunbo agreed with this decision.
After moving away from the public eye, Lei Jun once again donned his Taqing Bajing Treasure Cloak, concealing himself.
As he navigated the disasters of the Earthly Sea, he followed the guidance of the Tian Tong Di Che Fa Lu, arriving at a hanging abyss beneath the sky, one of the seven abysses of the Earthly Sea.
Lei Jun wasn't sure which of the seven abysses this was, but Tang Xiaotang was indeed here.
On a hanging island in this upside-down abyss, Lei Jun found her.
"You're here?" The tall woman greeted him casually.
Lei Jun's attention, however, was drawn to the upside-down island and the surrounding abyss, "Is this... the Extreme Yin Tide?"
Although it wasn't as violent as the usual Yin Tide in the Earthly Sea, the concentration of extreme yin energy was much stronger.
It was a rare and astonishing phenomenon in the Earthly Sea, something that hadn't been seen in many years.
If one could grasp this opportunity, with the principle of yin reaching its extreme and giving birth to yang, this place would undoubtedly become Tang Xiaotang's blessed ground for achieving great success in her cultivation.
And so...
"Junior Shijie is indeed planning to take advantage of this place to cultivate and directly break through to the Great Vehicle Realm, aren't you?" Lei Jun asked.
Previously, she had mentioned that she would surpass Xu Yuanzhen's speed of reaching the Great Vehicle Realm from the Divine Court Realm by 25 years.
It had been about 24 years since she had achieved the Divine Court Realm.
Tang Xiaotang smiled cheekily, "I've said it before, sometimes I do have some luck."
However, looking at Lei Jun, she quickly pouted, "Okay, I admit, I can't compare to your outrageous luck, but it's still good enough. To be precise, I've been cultivating here for some time now, and I'm just one step away from success."
Lei Jun nodded, "I brought the Heavenly Master Seal with me."
Tang Xiaotang said, "You keep it with you. As long as the Heavenly Master Seal is near me, it'll be fine. I've also handed the Heavenly Master's Sword to you. By the way, I also got some other small things along the way."
She handed the Heavenly Master's Sword and some crystals to Lei Jun.
As the crystals entered his hand, Lei Jun's mind automatically registered a name:
Yuro Rainbow Crystals
There were exactly seven crystals, each glowing with a different color of the rainbow, vibrant and radiant, and filled with spiritual energy. They were flawless and added a touch of brightness to the gloomy Earthly Sea.
Lei Jun carefully examined the spiritual energy within the crystals, his eyes lighting up as various ideas emerged in his mind, connecting with some of his previous thoughts.
Beside him, Tang Xiaotang closed her eyes and began to meditate. Golden light radiated from her body, spreading endlessly in all directions, as if forming a golden ocean in the Earthly Sea.
This attracted a large amount of the black extreme yin energy, which gathered around her, gradually obscuring the golden light.
Finally, on the spot where they were standing, a mysterious three-layered altar appeared, pure black yet with a faint golden glow.
"Junior Shijie, your actions are a bit too conspicuous. I wanted to use my Taqing Bajing Treasure Cloak to help you hide, but I'm afraid it won't be enough to conceal this from others." Lei Jun raised an eyebrow but remained calm as he sat cross-legged next to the altar, which was glowing with golden light, and closed his eyes to rest, with the Heavenly Master's Sword placed horizontally on his knees.
PS: 8k for 4 chapters.
(End of Chapter)
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