548 Escape

"The things they say about you?"

Black Roc's smile stiffened.

"About that...I'm not sure. All I've heard is that Your Excellency's mastery of martial arts and dream dao is matchless. A prodigy that only turns up once every few thousand years!"

"Is that so?"

Fang Yuan stared at him, eyes twinkling.

He was in fact very much aware of his own reputation. He had killed sages, which was an act of taboo as a dream master. He had also made a name for himself as a martial artist, which gave people a sense that he had been punching above his weight.

The martial artists, on the other hand, were jealous of his spectacular achievements in the dream dao.

Fang Yuan had virtually offended everyone and had thus achieved widespread notoriety.

Fang Yuan had not made things difficult for Black Roc though.

Black Roc was once a master of the illusionary divine stage but after his foundations had been destroyed, years of cultivation had all gone down the drain. He was left with only the cultivation of a dream-building master. It was a very long fall down indeed and his plight evoked sympathy.

This was the current state of most dream masters.

Unless they had a backer or switched to another discipline, they would have a very low chance of survival.

'Actually...the amount of dream elemental energy within Black Roc's body has not changed. It just lacks the direction of the dao, which is why Black Roc has been unable to utilise its full power...his current skill level is similar to that of an illusionist.'

Fang Yuan threw a glance at the Black Roc Beast and knew that if the creature had not been raised by Black Roc since young, he would not be able to control it given his current abilities.

"Mountain leader, if you don't mind, I am willing to pledge my allegiance to you!"

Black Roc was nervous as Fang Yuan eyed him calmly.

He would be an idiot if he did not choose to join Fang Yuan's ranks.

Back in the days when he was still in possession of his previous levels of cultivation, he could afford to become a lone ranger. But now, he would be courting death if he did not manage to find a backer for himself.

"Hmm...fly to Nine Extremes Mountains after you drop me off at the Heavenly Eye Lake and my men will receive you!"

Fang Yuan took out a jade token.

Fate had arranged their meeting and Fang Yuan did not mind helping a friend in need.

"I have travelled across the 99 regions and do know a thing or two about the world…"

Black Roc was eager to display his loyalty.

"Could I be of any help to Your Excellency?"

"You?"

Fang Yuan shot a glance at him and shook his head.

"No need...you may leave after you drop me off. I don't want to be held back!"

The location of the temporary headquarters of the Realm Alliance remained a secret. Dream masters of Black Roc's level would never be able to access it. Black Roc would never have thought that Fang Yuan was targeting the headquarters of one of the 5 Grand Organisations!

Even though the dream masters were weakened, it was still an unthinkable venture!

Nevertheless, Black Roc was a clever man and knew that given Fang Yuan's status, the fact that he was dealing with this matter personally meant that it was a pressing issue indeed. Thus, he dropped the matter entirely when Fang Yuan said that he did not require help. Fang Yuan was impressed with Black Roc's situational awareness.

...

The Heavenly Eye Lake had its vast waters enveloped in a fog. The waters were deep and fathomless. It was one of the Great Lakes of the Jin Region.

The headquarters of the Realm Alliance was hidden within. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack and there was no way that outsiders could trace it. Even the Black Roc felt lost when he had dropped Fang Yuan off.

The Heavenly Eye Lake had not been known to have any treasures. Why did the great Fang Yuan choose to come here?

But he understood the need for secrecy and knew better than to question Fang Yuan's decisions. He was not looking for trouble after all and left immediately.

"What a huge lake…"

Fang Yuan boarded a little canoe, which cut smoothly across the water without the aid of the wind.

"I would've gotten lost if the Ye sisters had not given me a specific address...what kind of story can I cook up for my purpose for this visit?"

After all, he was once a member of the Realm Alliance.

Even though the Realm Alliance has treated him harshly, it was not unreasonable for an organisation to haze newcomers.

Fang Yuan had killed two sages and if he orchestrated another massacre over here, his traitorous name would spread further and wider.

"Forget it, I shall conceal my identity and focus on eliminating the Ancient One...the world is in such a big mess. The demise of a True Elemental spiritual knight would not be unexpected. No one would suspect a thing."

This was the main reason why he had taken Black Roc under his wing. He had placed a tracker on Black Roc. No harm would befall him if he followed Fang Yuan's orders and flew back to Nine Extremes Mountain. Otherwise, Fang Yuan would see to his execution.

Having decided to kill anyone who gave him away, Fang Yuan could not be bothered to put on a disguise.

The operation was supposed to be undertaken secretly anyway. In the event he was discovered, he would fight! There was nothing to hide.

The best outcome was for Fang Yuan to find out where exactly the Ancient One was conducting his closed-door cultivation. He would then kill his target and escape immediately.

If he was harder to kill or had several lines of defence, then Fang Yuan would have no choice but to reveal himself.

There was nothing personal about this. It was just inevitable that they would cross paths.

The Ancient One wanted to utilise the power of the Ancient Realm to become one with the dao again. Fang Yuan, on the other hand, wanted to harvest the energy of the Realm to boost his own abilities. Their objectives were in conflict with each other and their conflict could only be settled in a death match.

'The Ancient One is a shrewd man. He knew that the Da Qian of today is not a good place to live in...he had begun to grow and expand his farmlands so that he can surprise everyone with his progress one day!

After the sky turned dark, Fang Yuan put on white robes and came to one of the islands on the lake.

On first sight, the island was no different from the rest. However, upon closer inspection, one could see buildings and spots of light lining the shore like stars in the night sky.

"The array set up over here...it's the Nine Skies Heaven and Earth Array. Although a superb and profound array, the person who set up the array did not have sufficient cultivation, resulting in the array not being able to keep higher beings out…"

Fang Yuan saw a ray of light and shook his head. He broke out into a laugh and wriggled his way through the array.

The protective arrays of Baize Mountain and the Evil Divine Sect were set up personally by the sages and maintained by many 7th tier masters of the illusionary divine stage. Those arrays would hold in the face of all sorts of disasters.

The Realm Alliance, however, was not as organised and was not housed in a fixed location.

Their array was a hastily set up one and was thus unable to unleash its full power despite its exquisite potential.

Fang Yuan could pass through the boundaries of the array as and when he liked.

"The Ancient One would be located at the core of the array. It would not be so easy to get to him!"

Fang Yuan turned himself into a spectre and walked about within the array. The patrolling guards did not manage to detect him at all. Slowly but surely, Fang Yuan moved closer to the heart of the island.

"The Dream Masters Alliance is planning a large-scale operation. It is currently gathering all the dream masters and consolidating all its resources. I doubt the Ancient One would want to miss this opportunity. I wonder what his choice would be."

Fang Yuan's level of cultivation was at the True Divine stage, making him one of the most powerful men alive. He had a 30% chance of succeeding in an invasion via brute force. Fang Yuan scanned his surroundings and locked onto a target.

"Is the Ancient One in that hall?"

An old bronze hall stood alone a short distance away. Closely woven runes formed chains that surrounded the building, which emitted a bright light.

This was an array that could block out higher beings!

"Whoosh!"

Fang Yuan's gaze hardened as he turned into a blast of wind and rushed into the array.

"Sizzle!"

This was the toughest part of the array and now that Fang Yuan had barged into it, a chain reaction went off.

The entire array was now an enraged beast and began to roar. Lines of runes floated out and encircled Fang Yuan.

"Kaboom!"

There was a jolt in the void and a great weight came crashing down on Fang Yuan's shoulders. The gravitational force in Fang Yuan's surroundings had increased by 9 times!

If it was not for Fang Yuan's invulnerable physical condition, he would have died a horrible death.

"Nice try…"

Fang Yuan exhaled nonchalantly. The attack had barely taken anything out of him.

"Crack!"

The rune chain around his body shattered into pieces. It was as if they had been used to hold a ferocious tiger, who had broken free after a token struggle.

"Who goes there?"

"Who dares to break into the headquarters of the Realm Alliance?"

"Where's the patrolling team? The elders must be alerted immediately!"

...

Fang Yuan's actions had launched the whole island into an upheaval.

Fang Yuan had already begun his assault and came before the bronze hall. He clenched his fists and threw out a heavy punch.

"Bang!"

The two great doors were blown apart, revealing an empty chamber.

Within the silent and mysterious hall, arrays and rituals were set up all over the place. An armillary sphere was placed in the middle and gave off a blinding light.

The Ancient One stood before the sphere and looked over at Fang Yuan with a stunned expression.

"It's you!"

A steely determination suddenly came over his face. The Ancient One bit down on his tongue and spat out a mouthful of blood on the sphere.

"Rotate!"

"Buzz!"

A ray of light sped up towards the heavens and tore open the dark skies.

"Hmm?"

In a flash, Fang Yuan had come to the side of the Ancient One and pressed a hand to his forehead.

"His physical form is lifeless now? How resolute of him!"

Fang Yuan was impressed by the Ancient One's cold decisiveness.

Upon seeing Fang Yuan, the Ancient One knew that he was going die today. Even with the entire Realm Alliance behind him, there was no escaping Fang Yuan given his abilities.

Thus, the Ancient One had sent his true aura through the armillary sphere and into a portal.

The dream-traversing of a dream master only involved a little of their true aura so that they would keep their physical form in the event they met with any harm. The Ancient One, however, had gone all in.

"In other words...the Ancient One had become a new time traveller! Travelling to the Ancient Realm?"

Fang Yuan rolled his eyes.

It was obvious that the Ancient One had not planned to do that at first. Fang Yuan's entrance into the hall was the triggering factor.

"When did I become such an abhorred figure?"

Fang Yuan rubbed his cheeks gingerly. His mere appearance had scared a sage into running away. Fang Yuan was speechless and slightly proud of himself.

Truly, if the Ancient One had been any slower, Fang Yuan would have destroyed the very core of his being!