Chapter 1728: Fate |
Some young cultivators pointed at Ji Sheng and the others and openly mocked them.
“So these are the core disciples of Fangcun Realm and Shenwang Realm? They don’t look like much. If it were me, I’d at least hold back from screaming. Crying out every time you get burned like this, aren’t they a bit too afraid of pain?”
“Looks like the Fangcun Realm and Shenwang Realm sending reinforcements to the Wandao Immortal Sect was just a joke.”
“It’s only been a few years, and so many core disciples have already been captured alive. I’d say it won’t be long before the Taicang Realm is completely pacified.”
Their voices drifted with the breeze into the ears of the twenty-four core disciples. In the past, if such juniors dared to ridicule them like this, they would have reduced them to ash. But now, most of them showed no reaction at all. A few barely managed to lift their heads, glance around, and then slowly lower them again, seemingly with little strength left.
Fang Chen knew Old Sheng was glancing at him from the corner of his eye, but he showed no response. He simply watched the core disciples with a calm expression.
Above, the Great Virtue Heavenly Venerable and the Yuanyang Saintess stood with their hands behind their backs, smiling as they observed the crowd. In just half a day since arriving, Fang Chen had already noticed their gazes sweep over him more than a dozen times.
Their purpose was obvious at a glance—or rather, they had no intention of hiding it. They intended to use the lives of these twenty-four core disciples to force him to reveal himself.
These two are both seventh-transformation Ancient Immortals. Their Immortal Boat Formations aren’t even with them, yet they’ve made such a grand move without fear of being ambushed. That means they’re extremely confident. Under the assumption that no ninth transformation expert will appear, they believe they can handle any eighth transformation opponent.
Fang Chen’s divine soul left his body, hovering directly above the Great Virtue Heavenly Venerable and the Yuanyang Saintess, observing them at close range. From what he could currently perceive, he couldn’t determine whether they carried treasures powerful enough to rival an eighth-transformation Ancient Immortal.
Without confirming it, he couldn’t summon the Ghost Infant for assistance.
They think I’m Wang Ye. And when I killed Yun Xiujie, Ye Daoling and the others already saw the Ghost Infant take action. As such, they know I have an eighth-transformation Ghost Immortal protecting me. In that case… the source of their confidence must be…
Fang Chen’s divine soul suddenly shot into the sky. Beyond the clouds, he saw over a million ghost soldiers standing in silent formation. Among them, he sensed at least four auras belonging to eighth-transformation Ghost Immortals.
At that moment, a figure piloting an Immortal Boat quietly approached, looking down toward Fire Spirit Valley. Upon seeing the scene below, he couldn’t help but curse under his breath. “Damn it, they are really ruthless. They actually captured twenty-four core disciples!?”
His arrival caused the million ghost soldiers to turn their heads in unison, their gazes locking onto him. Yet he remained completely unaware.
Fang Chen sighed softly. Lin Qiang… of all places to go, he had to come here. Unlucky.
The newcomer was none other than Lin Qiang, a core disciple of the Shenwang Realm. Fang Chen had thought he would remain hidden, but unexpectedly, he had come here to watch the spectacle.
Lin Qiang frowned, rubbing his chin. “Strange… can those eight fools really have been killed by Wang Ye? Wang Ye… is he really that strong? He could instantly kill eight core disciples? So fast I didn’t even have time to turn my head and look?”
Meanwhile, the four eighth-transformation transformation Ghost Immortals had quietly approached him, surrounding him from the four directions. One of them signaled the others, intending to capture him. But another Ghost Immortal shook his head slightly.
“The Great Virtue Heavenly Venerable is targeting the core disciple of the Enlightenment God Palace, not this person.”
“How do you know he isn’t Wang Ye? What he just said might have been deliberate misdirection.”
“Wang Ye has an eighth-transformation Ghost Immortal protector. If he were here, he would’ve already noticed us. Would he really walk straight into this trap like a fool?”
One of the Ghost Immortals suddenly looked displeased. “That makes sense… but still, why should the four of us, dignified Venerables, take orders from the Great Virtue Heavenly Venerable?”
“Our division is only cooperating with them. We’ve never directly intervened in the war for the Taicang Realm. If we act today, it could provoke the wrath of both the Fangcun Realm and the Shenwang Realm.”
Another Ghost Immortal sneered. “Enough. This is the command of the Division Lord. Do you think we, as Venerables, can defy his orders?”
He glanced at Lin Qiang. “Why not just capture him? From what he said, he might be the one those eight core disciples were pursuing earlier. Even if he has nothing to do with Wang Ye, he’s likely a core disciple of the Fangcun Realm or Shenwang Realm.”
“Don’t rush. Let’s see what he does first. He might have some tricks up his sleeve,” said one Ghost Immortal.
He moved close to Lin Qiang, bent down, and brought his face nearly level with Lin Qiang’s, observing him at close range before smiling smugly.
Lin Qiang suddenly touched his cheek, a trace of vigilance appearing in his eyes. “Huh? A cold wind? Strange… could there be a Ghost Immortal nearby?”
The eighth-transformation Ghost Immortal was momentarily stunned, then chuckled. “This kid’s pretty sharp.”
“Maybe there really is a Ghost Immortal… After all, Mingwang Star has somehow gained access to the Underworld. Could Ghost Immortals be coming here silently through it…” Lin Qiang muttered softly.
Access to the Underworld!?
The previously relaxed expressions of the four Eighth-Turn Ghost Immortals instantly vanished as they all turned to look at Lin Qiang. Their expressions became extremely serious.
One of them attempted to cross over to the Underworld. Sure enough, white mist began to surge around him, and the Yellow Springs Road faintly emerged.
“Someone has lifted the forbidden restriction here!” exclaimed an eighth-transformation Ghost Immortal, looking excited.
“So the rumors we heard are true, someone really can break the forbidden technique set by those people.”
“This is undoubtedly a great advantage for us!”
“They didn’t tell us about this, meaning they probably don’t yet know that the restriction here has been lifted.”
“Let’s go down and take a look. The Underworld below might hold something interesting.”
The four Ghost Immortals exchanged glances, clearly tempted.
“You two stay here and keep vigilant. Just make sure the Great Virtue Heavenly Venerable and the Yuanyang Saintess aren’t killed. We’ll go down first, then we’ll switch later.”
“Fine. But don’t stay down there too long. If you refuse to come back up, don’t blame us for turning against you.”
After some discussion, two of the eighth-transformation Ghost Immortals immediately led nearly half a million ghost soldiers and vanished into the vast white mist.
Fang Chen suddenly felt a surge of excitement. Two Venerables here and two Venerables in the Underworld…
It was rare to encounter four Venerables of the Motian Division acting together. If he didn’t do something, it would be a waste of such an opportunity.
In the next moment, his figure also disappeared into the white mist.