Once in secluded cultivation, ti seed to lose all aning. In a flash, several weeks had passed.
On this day, Lin Tang erged from the secret chamber, his face clear and his spirits refreshed. He had finally absorbed all the Spiritual Energy contained within the Spirit Crystals that the Yaochi Heavenly Palace had provided as compensation. His cultivation had grown by another large asure.
HMPH!
HA!
EE-YAH! EE-YAH!!
Lin Tang heard a woman's strange cries, and a smile of amusent crossed his face. He strode closer and saw Wei Zichu wearing a tal hoop on her head that resembled the Tight-Binding Spell, diligently practicing the Monkey Fist.
Yes, she was cultivating the Heart Monkey Nine Calming Techniques. She had tried everything, from the Life Creation Technique to other Heaven-rank Cultivation Techniques. After going in circles, she finally discovered that the Monkey Fist she started with was still the relatively easiest for her to master. The hoop, aside from being able to restrain a martial artist practicing this technique, also served as an auxiliary aid. Coupled with Lin Tang frequently helping her with Yijing Cleansing and a variety of nourishing elixirs, Wei Zichu's rate of improvent was astonishing.
Watching Wei Zichu's tranquil expression, paired with the rabbit-like speed of her punches and kicks, Lin Tang nodded in satisfaction. He also felt a little dazed. He was suddenly reminded of how Lee Encai had once acted in such a boisterously cute manner before him.
Poor girl… She's still in a state of suspended animation.
"Uncle Long, what are you spacing out for? Hurry and give so pointers. See if I'm doing anything wrong," Wei Zichu said, hopping onto Lin Tang and playfully pawing at his face.
Lin Tang casually fended her off, and the two began to playfully scuffle. As they did, the mood between them gradually heated up. Before they knew it, they were back in the secret chamber, tangled up with each other.
While they were shalessly entwined, up on the surface, the vast martial arts field was once again filled with nurous Martial Artists practicing the Celestial Stars Formation. The more familiar they beca with the formation, the more they could feel its profound mystery and power, which greatly invigorated them.
「Elsewhere.」
In the Death Sea, known as one of the world's seven deadliest zones, any ordinary person who dared to enter would face a near-certain death, regardless of their equipnt. Yet, on this day, its core region saw the arrival of one team after another.
So teams were large, while others were small. Most of them deliberately concealed their faces, and all were experts, each emanating a mysterious and strange aura. These teams found their own spots to set up camp, remaining mutually wary of one another.
As the sun set and darkness fell, the last team arrived late. When the others saw the banner they carried—an eyeball containing a recursive pattern of smaller eyeballs—their hearts all sank. In their circles, the followers of the Eye of Truth were undoubtedly the most formidable group. The flags of their respective teams all represented a particular deity.
"Is everyone here? I presu the divine oracle we all received this ti is related to the blaspher nad Long Tianji, correct?"
"That's right, it's him. A re Martial Artist King who not only blasphed against the great deities but also laid his hands on their sacred treasures. This man must die!"
"Hmph, he's no re Martial Artist. He is a legendary Cultivator. He must not be underestimated!"
"So what if he's a Cultivator? With so many of us here, along with the various Divine Artifacts bestowed by the gods, we still can't take down one man?"
"Exactly! The most important thing for us to discuss now is how to divide that item in his possession after we capture or kill him…"
A secret eting went on for several hours. During this period, the area was struck by terrifying dust storms. At tis, swarms of venomous insects would suddenly attack, followed by ferocious beasts. But no matter the danger, they dispatched all of it with ease, barely even bothering to look up.
Finally, once all the details were settled, they marched out in force, heading straight for Central Earth!
Had it been a single faction entering Central Earth, they would have concealed their movents and laid low, needing to show the Central Earth Official so respect. Now, however, relying on their combined numbers and representing a union of various major powers, they were so brazen they might as well have been banging gongs and beating drums!
Naturally, the Central Earth Official wasn't blind. They detected the intrusion imdiately and filed an urgent report.
For the past few days, the tension between Guo Jufeng's faction, who sided with Xiao Xuanye, and the Night King Wen Dingchen had been explosive. Yan Qinghe and the other elders could barely keep them in check. Upon hearing that such a large contingent of foreign powers had arrived, the elders were shocked.
They imdiately warned Xiao Xuanye and the others—"Foreign enemies are invading! All internal strife must cease at once!"
Guo Jufeng and the others were also surprised, and then their surprise turned to rage.
"A bunch of heretics! Do they think they can just ignore us?"
"Relay my military order! Assemble at once and drive these hyenas out!"
"Those who invade Central Earth will be shown no rcy!"
"KILL!"
The elites from the Dragon Combat Camp, the Iron Blood Camp, and others deployed in armored vehicles ard with high-energy weapons. They quickly moved to intercept the foreign powers, setting up a defensive line. Gun and cannon barrels aid in unison, and a grim, murderous aura erupted from them.
The elites roared together: "Invaders, halt!"
"You have five minutes to drop your weapons and surrender with your hands up!"
Facing a modern army that stretched as far as the eye could see, the mbers of the Eye of Truth and the other factions were not the least bit flustered. A representative at the front nad Perod was one of the very few who did not conceal his face. His aged features were not sinister; rather, he appeared kind and benevolent, like a great sage who loved all of humanity. Who, not knowing him, could ever guess that the notorious Evil God of Gluttony was the one backing him?
Perod took a step forward, completely unconcerned by the guns and cannons aid at him. With a faint smile, he said, "We are rely passing through and have no intention of harming innocents. Please, step aside. You don't want to anger the people behind . The consequences would be quite severe!"
Though his tone was gentle, the ssage carried a profound threat. This only served to further infuriate the Central Earth army.
"You have four minutes! Get out!"
"OUT! OUT! OUT!"
The unified shouts of the army were deafening, like the tolling of a great bell.
"Heh…" Perod's smile grew wider, but his gaze was incomparably frigid. "It seems that unless we teach you a lesson, you people will…"
"Wait, you're Perod?"
"And those people behind you… they're actually…"
At that mont, Guo Jufeng, Xiao Xuanye, and several other Grandmaster leaders stepped forward together. After a mont of careful inspection, they were visibly shocked, their expressions turning grave. They realized this group would not be easy to eliminate. Even if they succeeded in annihilating them, the price their side would have to pay would be imnse.
Imdiately, Xiao Xuanye gestured for his subordinates to hold their tongues. He frowned deeply. "Perod, Central Earth has always minded its own business. For you to trespass into our territory without any notice is crossing a line! State your purpose."
"It's simple. We're here for Long Tianji!"
"The divine oracle has declared that Long Tianji is a cataclysmic star of misfortune, the likes of which appear only once a century. Such a scourge, which threatens the entire planet, must be eliminated as soon as possible!"
"Step aside. Once we have dealt with Long Tianji, we will imdiately withdraw from Central Earth. We will not plunder your resources, nor will we harm your people."
After Perod and the other representatives finished speaking, Xiao Xuanye and his n understood, but they were also faced with a difficult choice.
Should we let these foreign powers clash with Long Tianji? Or should we step in now and help Long Tianji crush them? If we choose the forr, we could sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight. But if Long Tianji holds a grudge against us afterward… we can't bear his wrath! If we choose the latter, it would an sacrificing a great number of our elites. And Long Tianji isn't one of us. Why should we die for him?
The matter was too important. Xiao Xuanye and the others decisively passed the buck, reporting the situation to Yan Qinghe.
Yan Qinghe and the other elders were equally troubled. They recalled the satellite footage of nurous mysterious entities joining forces to besiege Long Tianji, yet he had managed to break through and was still alive and well. Yan Qinghe surmised that the massive forces that had suddenly barged into Central Earth were backed by those sa mysterious entities.
Stand up for Long Tianji? And offend so many mysterious beings? Wouldn't that be putting all of Central Earth over an open fla? When the gods eventually return, who could possibly withstand their fury?
"Sigh, that Long Tianji," one elder lanted. "He's already made enemies of the entire world, so why does he insist on staying in our Central Earth? Aren't there more volcanoes abroad?"
In their eyes, Long Tianji was a walking plague. They truly wished he would just leave imdiately.
After a brief discussion, Yan Qinghe gave a decisive order for Xiao Xuanye and his troops to withdraw.
Guo Jufeng, having just borrowed a Heaven-rank Cultivation Technique from Lin Tang, felt indebted. He couldn't help but ask, "Should we give Long Tianji a heads-up? Let him prepare himself, or maybe advise him to flee?"
He knew Long Tianji was incredibly powerful and didn't think any of these foreign factions could defeat him in a one-on-one fight. But that was the key! So many powers had united! Their collective strength surpassed that of an entire army! Even if Long Tianji was forged from iron, how many nails could he endure?
Yan Qinghe, however, shook his head firmly. "Absolutely not!"
If Long Tianji flees and just runs in circles within Central Earth, these powers will continue their pursuit. The collateral damage alone would harm countless innocents! And even if no one was hurt, if word of this got out, what would the citizens of Central Earth think? Allowing foreign powers to rampage through our territory, unopposed wherever they go? The sha would be unbearable! Therefore, the news must be contained. It cannot be leaked! And we cannot allow Long Tianji to escape beforehand!
Unfortunately for them, they had no idea that Xiao Xuanye had already beco Lin Tang's puppet. On the surface, he did nothing, but in secret, he had already relayed every detail of the situation.
"Oh?"
Lin Tang, who had just gone three hundred rounds with Wei Zichu and was enjoying a ceasefire, suddenly sat bolt upright. Wei Zichu was smiling dazedly, as if lost in a sweet dream. Seeing Lin Tang's sudden movent, she thought he was ready for another round.
She couldn't help but shudder. "Big Brother Lin, I really can't… Let's do it another day!"
Lin Tang gave her a light slap on the behind. "What are you talking about? Get up and get dressed. Enemies will be attacking soon!"
As he got himself ready, he changed his appearance back to that of Long Tianji. Then, he went up to the surface. After a mont of thought, he distributed the nourishing pills his second body had refined over the past few days.
"According to my intelligence, a coalition of foreign powers is about to attack our Heavenly chanism Martial Alliance! This will be our first large-scale battle. Take these pills and build up your strength. The ti has co to test your formation!"
"What?"
"Foreign powers are coming to attack us?"
"Who are they? How could they be so blind? Don't they know Heavenly King Long is here?"
"I think they're just asking to die!"
The mbers were astonished, then imdiately disdainful. It wasn't just that they had Long Tianji; even without him, they were confident in the Celestial Stars Formation!
"Good! That's the spirit!" Lin Tang was very satisfied with their eagerness and fighting spirit.
He then added casually, "They're not any particularly powerful factions. Just the Gluttony Corps, the Eye of Truth, the Demonic Knight Order, the Blood Sect…"
He reeled off a long list of nas, seemingly oblivious to the fact that the faces of his followers were growing paler and paler. The more timid among them were already trembling, wishing they could desert on the spot.
My gods, and he says they aren't powerful factions? If I rember correctly, any single one of those is an international-level super-organization… Our Heavenly chanism Martial Alliance is just a fledgling organization that was recently established. Even with a Heavenly King presiding, it would be incredible if we could fend off one or two of them. With so many coming at once, how are we supposed to survive?
Panic set in. The crowd was thoroughly terrified. All thoughts of the Heavenly King and the Celestial Stars Formation were thrown to the wind.
Soone summoned the courage to speak up. "Heavenly King Long, why don't we run for it?"
The mont he spoke, many others echoed his sentint.
The once-soaring morale collapsed in an instant.
User Comments
0 comments from readers