Chapter 615: Everything had a Cause and, Naturally, an Effect!

Ao Lu was indeed cheating!

He was the guardian of the Mystic Divine Palace and had the authority to cheat. Of course… for more than 700,000 years, he had never cheated. He didn’t dare to; neither did he have any reason to do so.

Right now, it was different. He was going to leave the Mystic Divine Palace in two more weeks and would be completely free. He was no longer the guardian of the Mystic Divine Palace, and this palace wasn’t going to have any more treasure hunts. He was to bring it up Mt. Mystic Divine and let some fateful individual obtain it.

The person that caused all this was Jiang Yi!

Back then, the Mystic Thearch bragged himself to be exceptionally intelligent and had casually mentioned that no one would notice the hidden pieces that he had set up. He said that no one would comprehend his true intentions, and no one would be able to see through the Fengdu City’s ghost king’s identity.

As a fact, Fengdu City did only have one ghost king who was 300 meters in height and had a horrific appearance. His combat strength was comparable to a Heaven Monarch and the one that was controlling the ghost king was Ao Lu.

During that time, Ao Lu plotted a scheme and used reverse psychology to make a bet with the Mystic Thearch. He said if someone was able to see through his identity as a guardian, he would have his freedom returned.

How could the Mystic Thearch not know of Ao Lu’s scheming intentions? He actually approved it, and Ao Lu had obediently complied with the Mystic Thearch’s arrangements. Ao Lu didn’t dare to give any hints; neither did he dare to reveal any flaws.

However, he had to admit that the Mystic Thearch’s level designs were too brilliant. The first level, the Bridge of Helplessness’, horrific gravity torment would make the martial artists lose all their disposition and break their drive. The second level, the Yellow Springs Path, had the Soul-Devouring Crocodiles that were impossible to defend against. The third level was filled with the zombies in Fengdu City, which made everyone feel as though they had come to the Netherworld.

Every level was designed according to the terrain of the rumored Netherworld. Even if someone smart had figured out that this was just a deliberate design that was meant to scare people, who would be able to think that the Fengdu City’s ghost king’s voice was actually the guardian of this palace?

A normal individual would have a typical mindset and assume that the guardian of this Mystic Divine Palace would be at the final level, where the martial artists would have a fight to the death with the guardian. The third level’s ghost king had a horrifying appearance, and under such circumstances, who would go and think so much about him?

Hence, Ao Lu waited for more than 700,000 years!

As time passed, the possibility of the ghost king’s identity being exposed would be lower. No human or demonic beast would be able to live for such a long time. A demonic beast’s lifespan might be very long, but even a demon thearch would only be able to leave for a few thousand years. It was already surprising enough for one to live for 10,000 years.

No one could have imagined that this world had a type of demonic beasts who had a lifespan which was a hundred times of an ordinary demonic beast… the Black Tortoise [1. The Black Tortoise, which is also known as Xuanwu, is one of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellations.]!

Ao Lu had basically given up all hope. He might be very formidable, but he was ultimately unable to take the final step to reach the Mystic Thearch’s level in the past. His lifespan might be a million years, but more than 700,000 years had already passed, and no one was able to see through the Mystic Thearch’s intention. If no one was able to expose his identity, he would have to die of old age in this place.

Until today, Jiang Yi appeared!

Jiang Yi was able to see through the Mystic Thearch’s intention and his hidden pieces. In fact, it wasn’t because he was clever but because he had a unique soul spirit.

Had it not been for his unique soul spirit, he wouldn’t have been able to pass the second level; neither would he be able to see through the body constitution of the zombie soldiers in the third level. Doing so allowed him to see the core that was controlling the zombie soldiers, which helped him to guess the ghost king’s identity.

In the end, Jiang Yi had to be grateful to his unique sword-shaped soul spirit and his strange Nameless Divine Art. If it wasn’t for that divine art, his soul spirit would have such transformation.

Everything had a cause and, naturally, an effect!

If it wasn’t for Yi Chan, Jiang Yi wouldn’t have come to the Mystic Divine Palace, and if it wasn’t for Fei Tian, he wouldn’t have entered the Mystic Divine Palace. If it wasn’t for the Martial Arts Hall, Fei Tian wouldn’t have a feud with him. If it wasn’t for the Martial Arts Hall, he wouldn’t even have to travel to the East Imperial Continent. Everything seemed to have their own destiny, cause, effect, and appropriate retribution.

However, no matter the case, Jiang Yi was Ao Lu’s benefactor and allowed the despaired Ao Lu to obtain his freedom. He was now able to return to the Endless Deep Sea and see his descendants.

Thus, Ao Lu was still very grateful to Jiang Yi; hence, it resulted in him cheating. Jiang Yi had been able to see through two of the Mystic Thearch’s hidden pieces; Ao Lu believed that Jiang Yi would be able to see through the rest. Jiang Yi had chosen the hell-grade difficulty; he would be the ultimate winner.

Of course, most importantly…

The Mystic Thearch’s remnant soul left a statement which dissatisfied Ao Lu. He wasn’t allowed to touch any of the treasures in the Mystic Divine Palace? Then, it meant that he could abide by the rules and bestow it to others, right?

Jiang Yi had done him a favor, and he didn’t wish to owe anyone a favor. Furthermore, he was a youth of the Human Race so everything came back to a cause and effect. This was the reason behind all these changes in the situation.

…

Jiang Yi didn’t know the cause and effect, but he knew that he had struck a jackpot and obtained this heaven-defying opportunity.

“Destitute Dragon Grass!”

He didn’t go look at the Fire Cloud Armor and the Heaven Evasion divine skill but stared straight at the jade box by his feet. His hand trembled as he reached out and picked up the jade box.

The jade box was very light, but he felt it was as heavy as a ton. He felt that he wasn’t holding on to a jade box, or the Destitute Dragon Grass, but a hope. Hope for him to soar like a dragon towards the Nine Heavens, a hope for him to achieve a meteoric rise!

Back at the Stellarsky Continent, the Demon Empress, Shui Youlan, and Zhuge Qingyun had advised him not to refine the celestial stones; otherwise, his future would be ruined. He had a peculiar cultivation art, and if he was to cultivate diligently in this life, he would have a limitless future.

However, during his previous circumstances, how many individuals wanted to kill him? How many were eyeing at him covetously? If he didn’t drastically increase his strength, he was immediately going to perish.

Therefore, he refined a huge number of celestial stones and ruined his own future!

It was impossible if he said that he didn’t have any regrets. Which martial artist didn’t yearn to step on the pinnacle of the martial dao? Which martial artist didn’t desire to constantly grow stronger and stand above all people?

The path of the martial dao was a long and arduous one, but not every martial artist would be able to experience and to possess the power to casually overturn the mountains and the sea. To experience those feelings and thrill.

Hearing about the legends of the Mystic Thearch, it made Jiang Yi’s heart even bitterer and made his desire for the Destitute Dragon Grass even more intense.

To shatter the void and transcend!

This was perhaps the ultimate dream for all martial artists, right?

Right now, Jiang Yi’s dream could be extended. He once again had hopes to rise above the Nine Heavens, be unrivaled, and look down upon all heroes. It was imaginable how stirred up his emotions were.

As long as one had strength, one would never be oppressed by others and would be able to protect their family and loved ones. They would be able to dictate their own life, to… take pleasure in their revenge!

He wanted to find Yi Piaopiao, and he wanted to rescue the woman he loved the most. He wanted to extinguish the Martial Arts Hall which was his nemesis. In order to do all those, there was a prerequisite… strength!

In order to obtain more strength, he required the Destitute Dragon Grass. Otherwise, he was destined to be a hidden dragon that was trapped in the deep sea and unable to soar in the skies for eternity.

“Huff…”

He let out a long breath and forced his hands to stop trembling. He slowly circulated his essence force and opened up the jade box. When he saw that stalk of spirit herb that was glowing with divine white light, he closed his eyes.

Plop!

He closed the jade box and knelt down on one knee. He then said in a solemn tone, “Many thanks to Senior. I am lost for words for your kindness!”

Finishing his statement, he bowed three times with utmost respect and kept the Destitute Dragon Grass into the Fire Spirit Pearl. He then picked up the luxuriously red battle armor and the pale yellow manual.

Ao Lu wasn’t trying to frighten anyone with his earlier statement, saying that everyone would be teleported out in two weeks. If he didn’t refine the Fire Cloud Armor and comprehended the Heaven Evasion divine skill in time, he was definitely going to perish; and this Destitute Dragon Grass would be conveniently taken.

He didn’t refine the Fire Cloud Armor first but flipped through the Heaven Evasion divine skill first. He took a detailed read of the divine skill’s description, and just moments later, his eyes lit up so brightly that it was comparable to the sun, the moon, and the stars.

…