Chapter 675: Diverting the Heat
The Myriad Domain group could obviously hear their conversation too. Everyone’s hearts skipped a beat as surprise shook them on the inside. They had thought that there was no way the Regal Pill Palace could break through the encirclement with just their number. Contrary to their expectations, the Regal Pill Palace had actually succeeded in their attempt. Literally no one had expected this outcome. For a time, everyone in the Myriad Domain was wracked with regret. Honored Master Tian Ming especially wanted to slap his own face.
He was such good friends with Dan Chi, but because he’d hesitated during a critical moment and failed to listen to his friend, he had missed out on an opportunity to break free of this siege. It would be incredibly difficult to escape now that he and his sect were trapped like turtles in a jar by four emperor realm cultivators.
Various shades of dejection and regret flashed through the hearts of every Myriad Domain cultivator. But their shock was exceeded only by the shock the Great Scarlet Mid Region sects felt. Someone had actually managed to slip through their perimeter? This was a mark of extraordinary shame and humiliation! Even if they were to annihilate everyone in this place, this battle would never be considered perfect again.
Their emperor had ordered them to suppress the Myriad Grand Ceremony. It had been clear that he meant annihilating every single person, with no exception. Their achievement would be marred if any one person had managed to escape, let alone an entire group. Now, when they went back to report the completion of their mission, they would be shamed. Every dispatched fourth rank sect had their own missions to fulfill during this operation. Obviously, they were competing with each other too. Now that one Myriad Domain sect had slipped through their grasp, there was no doubt that their merits would be greatly diminished!
As the sect responsible for guarding the southeast, the Bamboo Sect’s share of responsibility was without a doubt the greatest. The blue clad and blue eyebrowed Sect Head Leng’s dark expression turned almost sadistic as as he swept a slow glance across the Myriad Domain.
“Who wishes to live?” The question came out of nowhere. Everyone on the Myriad Domain’s side cast puzzled glances at him, but there were also those people whose face turned ashen as they desperately endured the focused aura of an emperor realm expert. They didn’t know what this cultivator was planning to do next. “I’ll give this one chance to just a single person!”
Sect Head Leng stretched out a finger, “Who amongst you will tell me which sect made their escape? The first one to answer shall spared from death.”
His offer was like a thunderclap in the ears of the Myriad Domain denizens. There were plenty of people who were moved by the offer. A hint of curiosity crept into their eyes. They were obviously wondering whether or not he was telling the truth. Their instinct to live caused some to grow restless.
“I will count to five. It’s up to you whether you want to squander this opportunity.” That Sect Head Leng stretched out his five fingers and began counting, “One, two, three…”
Many people began to breathe rapidly in the crowd. It was obvious that many were tempted by the offer. They all wanted to step forward and seize the opportunity to escape death. After all, this battle was far too one-sided. They had no doubt that they would die if they were to continue the fight. Therefore, this opportunity was the chance of a lifetime, a ray of light in a hopelessly dark tunnel. However, anyone who stood up under such circumstances would become a Myriad Domain traitor. That label would follow them for the rest of their lives.
“I-I’ll tell you!” While everyone else was still struggling to make a decision, a voice suddenly piped up. It was none other than the Sacred Sword Palace’s Wang Han. He walked out of the crowd with a dark expression on his face.
Loud boos resounded from the Myriad Domain group. While there were plenty of people who were sorely tempted by the offer, still no one was more despicable than Wang Han. Hisses and jeers resounded from every direction. The majority of the crowd looked down on Wang Han’s cowardice. They couldn’t believe that he was so willing to turn traitor. Meanwhile, a small number of people were regretting profusely for not being quick enough in coming to a decision.
“What is your name?” Sect Head Leng stared indifferently at Wang Han.
“Lord, this humble one is Wang Han, a disciple of the Sacred Sword Palace. I’ve long since admired the Great Scarlet Mid Region, and now I finally have the opportunity to worship you all in person. Wang Han wishes strongly for the experts of Great Scarlet to take him in. I believe that even working like an ox or horse in the Great Scarlet would be a hundred times more interesting and filled with potential than a hopeless place like the Myriad Domain.” Wang Han clamped down on his nervousness, trying to project his voice into a deep tone.
For a moment all four emperor realm experts were stunned by his words. They obviously didn’t expect Wang Han to voluntarily surrender to them. In their views, the Myriad Domain and the Great Scarlet Mid Region were sworn enemies; how could something like this possibly happen? The other three emperor realm cultivators wore ruminating smiles on their faces.
“Sect Head Leng, not only did this kid voluntarily surrender himself to us, he even seems to possess a bit of talent. He may even turn out to be an unpolished jade if we take him back with us.”
“Hehe, Sect Head Leng, this kid is more flexible than those people. It’s obvious that his powers of comprehension are excellent. He is indeed good material, don’t you think?”
Sect Head Leng’s face changed slightly as he assessed Wang Han and smiled indifferently, “Talk. Which sect’s escaped?”
Wang Han hardened his heart. He had came this far already. He tossed all notions of life and death to the back of his head. It was time for the biggest gamble of his life.
“Lord Sect Head, this junior had betrayed the Myriad Domain with only one wish in his mind, to obtain your protection. If this humble one may obtain your protection, then I have more secrets to tell you. I believe that all the experts here would be very interested to know those secrets. Not only can I tell you about the sky rank spirit herbs…” Wang Han had just finished those words when the stooped Zither sect head Qin Mo abruptly shifted and appeared before Wang Han. He immediately grabbed Wang Han, lifting him into the air. His body flickered once again, and he was once again back in a corner of the sky.
Sect Head Qin Mo’s sudden movement shocked the other three emperor realm experts. Sect Head Leng was especially unhappy with this turn of events. Wang Han had asked him for protection, and thus Sect Head Qin Mo’s unwanted interference angered Bamboo Sect Head Leng. “What do you mean by this, Daoist Qin Mo?”
The old man cackled, “Younger brother Leng, since you’re apparently uninterested in taking him as your disciple, this old man has reluctantly decided to do so for you. Alright, let’s cut the nonsense. Let us so settle upon this happily.” This old man was at third level emperor realm, a full level higher than all three other sect heads. Therefore, although both the sect heads of the Qitian Sect and the Golden Glyph Sect were tempted and exchanged glances with each other, they decided not to claim Wang Han.
Sect Head Leng’s darkened face was filled with reluctance and anger, but when he considered his current strength, he ultimately decided to swallow his irritation, “Brother Qin Mo, we all serve at the pleasure of the emperor. Don’t you think you’re being a little overbearing with this little act of yours?”
The old man smiled indifferently, but his face told a different story, “Does that mean you want to teach me how to do my work, Sect Head Leng?”
The old man’s voice was raspy, but when his face darkened, a mountain-like pressure instantly descended upon on Sect Head Leng, causing the latter’s hackles to rise. This was no ordinary threat! He had no choice, grudgingly backing off in the face of absolute strength, “Very well. I will be sure to report everything to the emperor.”
The old man chuckled in an odd tone, “Do what you want. I serve the emperor, and my conscience is clear.” As he said this, he slowly drifted down to the ground and dropped Wang Han. He started to assess his new prize with a stern gaze. After a moment, he said indifferently, “Kid, I can give you a chance to earn your protection. I may even consider taking you as my disciple. However, you should choose your words carefully, do you think your intel is useful enough to me to be worth my protection?”
Wang Han pointed at the sky and vowed, “If my intel is false, then this junior will willingly take a palm strike from you and die.”
The old man Qin Mo nodded, his face still expressionless, ‘Tell us this first, what is the name of the sect that escaped this place?”
“It is the Regal Pill Palace.”
“Regal Pill Palace?” Old Man Qin Mo abruptly recalled what the Great Scarlet Emperor had specially reminded them of before they’d departed. He asked, “Is it the same Regal Pill Palace who refined the Longevity Pill?”
Wang Han nodded hurriedly, “Yes, they are. Do you know about the Regal Pill Palace, my lord?”
Seeing that this Lord Qin Mo seemed to be strongest out of everyone here, he spoke with the intention of taking credit for an achievement, “My lord, not only does this Regal Pill Palace have the Longevity Pill, they also have plenty of sky rank spirit herbs too. I am positive that the group of people who broke through the perimeter and escaped possesses some sky rank spirit herbs!”
These claims finally caused old man Qin Mo’s expression to change. Even his heart couldn’t help but itch a little. Forget the sky rank spirit herbs, he couldn’t even claim all the earth rank spirit herbs that he wanted. As an emperor realm cultivator, their cultivation had to be laboriously supported by earth rank spirit herbs. Only then would they find the opportunity to break through to the next level. However, earth rank spirit herbs were also precious plants. Although he was the master of a sect, the amount of earth rank spirit herbs he could obtain was limited. Therefore, he was very much tempted when he heard that the Regal Pill Palace possessed over a hundred earth rank spirit herbs. It was only natural that he felt a little irritated when he heard that the group who escaped was none other than that Regal Pill Palace.
He knew that Regal Pill Palace would be running to their doom even if they managed to escape back to their sect. However, if that was the case, then all the good stuff would fall into the hands of the two sects heading towards Regal Pill Palace: the Thunder Note Hall and the Great Roc Sect. When that happened, all the profits they obtained would have nothing to do with him at all!
The old man hesitated greatly for a moment. On one hand, he had been personally given the mission of suppressing the Myriad Grand Ceremony. On the other, he had to face the temptations the earth and sky rank spirit herbs represented. To put it bluntly, if he acted alone and caught up to the Regal Pill Palace’s group, there was no way the emperor would notice if he turned in four sky rank spirit herbs to him and kept one for himself. As long as he offered up the rest of the sky rank spirit herbs, the emperor would even praise the effectiveness of his work. As for the earth rank spirit herbs, everything he obtained had been decreed to belong to him. Therefore, this was an extremely attractive proposal for Sect Head Qin Mo.
The old man stared at Wang Han and asked, “Kid, what is the strongest level of cultivation in the Regal Pill Palace? What kind of special ability do they possess that actually helped them to break through our perimeter?”
Wang Han thought for a moment, “The Regal Pill Palace’s martial power is ordinary, but I heard that they managed to beat back a true disciple of the Ninesuns Sky Sect a while ago. Rumors spoke of a mysterious expert aiding them in secret.”
“Mysterious expert? What level are they?” Old man Qin Mo frowned and asked.
Wang Han hastily said, “I’m not sure about their rank, but I heard that the true disciple of Ninesuns Sky Sect was at peak ninth level sage realm.”
“Peak level sage realm, huh?” A smile appeared on old man Qin Mo’s face. He was at the third level of emperor realm. How could a mere peak level sage realm possibly match up to him?
Seeing that old man Qin Mo was tempted to hunt down the Regal Pill Palace, Wang Han hastily messaged him in secret and said, “Senior, I actually have even more important information to tell you.”
“What is it?” Old man Qin Mo grew solemn when he saw that Wang Han had purposely messaged him instead of voicing it aloud.
“What you’ll obtain from hunting after those people may not necessarily be better staying here. There is a kid called Jiang Chen inside the Paramount Realm. He’d previously obtained many sky rank spirit herbs from Mt. Rippling Mirage and even more earth rank spirit herbs. Moreover, he is of a dragon’s bloodline, and he possesses many strange treasures. Last, but not least, he was the one who refined the Longevity Pill too…” Wang Han did hate Regal Pill Palace with a passion, but the one he hated the most was Jiang Chen. Naturally, he was going to try and divert the heat of the Great Scarlet Mid Region and burn Jiang Chen with it!
Woot woot, Check it out for a chat group connected to the Heavenly Realm, in which the MC gets to train with the gods later on.