Spirit Mountain Sect was a strong sect that was rumoured to have the backing of a Sky Body Formation Expert, it might not be strong as the Supreme Sword Sect or Temple Of War but below them, it was a publicly recognized strong force.
"Hmm… I think it's good that they came," Rex smirked.
"Does Master Rex has a plan?" Sung Lee grasped the meaning behind Rex's words.
"Once we start exploring the inheritance ground, our base here would be in a weak condition, at that time some forces might try to take advantage of us. Right now, this is a good opportunity to set an example and show our strength," Rex said.
Sung Lee was inwardly excited, he of course thought of this but he couldn't mention it. After all, he was far weaker than Rex both in power and status, directly asking for such help was not something he could do, although Rex was more carefree than other powerhouses he had met before, he could still not help but be cautious.
"Yes, if Lady Lerna makes a move," Sung Lee's eyes brightened.
"What Lady Lerna? Are you blind, don't you see me sitting here?" Rex said in a dissatisfied tone.
Sung Lee shrunk his neck, it was not that he didn't trust Rex but Lerna looked more domineering to him when she defeated the Desert Killer Whale, on the other hand, Rex never even revealed his aura.
But regardless of what he was thinking, he couldn't say it so he immediately retorted.
"Master Rex, you misunderstood me, I just thought Lady Lerna has such a hot temper so she could easily drive them away without making a move," Sung Lee explained.
"You better be, now let's go," Rex lightly snorted then he stood up and headed outside.
Sung Lee exhaled a breath of turbid air and followed behind him.
When they arrived outside the base, Rex saw a group of people wearing green and brown robes mixed confronting the group made of people from Black Scorpion Sect and Cold Heaven Sect in an argument.
The cultivators in green robes were all humans while the cultivators in brown robes were humanoid in shape but had differences in looks when compared to humans, they had fur on their cheeks, their mouth was a little big with their nose attacked to it, they somehow looked like tailless monkeys.
Ji Biyu, Ji Baozhai, Sung Suyin, and Sung Huang were also present.
When one side had three Core Breaking stage experts joining the argument, the other side couldn't be simple either.
Rex was about to interfere when a voice rang in his head.
Rex quietly summoned the Mini-Map and checked Lerna's location, apparently, she was above him, he couldn't see her naturally meant that she was flying way above in the sky.
He didn't bother to find the Sky Body Formation stage using Mini-Map, as the maker of Mini-Map he clearly knew its capabilities and the limits.
When Lerna heard his words, she sighed deeply.
[Yes, it's the life that is joking with you,]
"…" (Rex)
'And I was wondering if you had matured a bit,' Rex bitterly laughed.
[Can't do anything about it, my origin is you,]
Rex realized that talking anymore would just be making fun of himself, he contacted Lerna and asked for the location of the Calamity Lord in the group. If he wanted to, he could have used Appraisal on each of them to find out the one in disguise but it would be a waste of his mental strength, he had no intention of developing mental fatigue for something like that.
When Lerna heard him asking a meaningful question, she replied almost instantly.
Rex didn't doubt her words, he didn't even ask how did she find out, it was his trust in her. He could guess that the man was trying to hide his aura from other powerhouses too right now, after all, a Calamity Lord wouldn't be idiotic enough to blazingly show off its aura, when the purpose for disguising was to secretly observe Rex from up close.
According to the man, he was likely undetected right now, not just from Rex but from other powerhouses like Lerna.
Rex looked at the middle-aged man at the backside of the crowd who was laying low all along.
He could guess the reasoning for the man's behaviour even without using Fast Clock. It was to probe him.
Most Sky Body Formation experts in the vicinity were fully sure that Lerna was in the same realm as them, although her bracelet hid her cultivation base but the aura she had expanded to scare away beasts were sensed by them when the Canopy King entered their range, and after a careful inspection they confirmed it.
But same could not be said for Rex, most factors said that, he too was a Sky Body Formation expert but the proof was not as solid as Lerna.
They could believe that Lerna and Rex might be a couple, but the cases of a powerful person falling for a weaker one in love weren't that rare.
In midst of all those doubts, there was bound to be someone who would make a move, just like the man in the crowd.
His aim was naturally not Rex but Lerna, he might not bother to fight right now because of preserving strength but after he makes sure that Rex isn't a Calamity Lord, he would approach Lerna at a later date.
Rex had a perfect humanoid appearance, if he was of the monster race then he is definitely a Calamity Lord but beastman and even some humans can also have such appearance, they put out the possibility of him being human as the love between human and monster race was uncommon, but the possibility of him being a beastman was still there.
'Fast Clock'
Rex used Fast Clock to confirm his plan once more and check if any obvious loopholes were left.
He straightened his back and walked to the crowd, when Sung Suyin and others sensed him, they respectfully made way for him.
Ji Biyu and Ji Baozhai were already informed about Rex, Ji Biyu had tried to meet him before for a chat but he had used the excuse of secluded cultivation to deny her request. Rex knew that she wanted to meet him so that he doesn't misunderstand their reason for not joining their alliance.
"What's the problem with you people?" Rex said in a lazy tone, his eyes landed on the hidden Calamity Lord for a second before he completely ignored him.
The man frowned for a moment but remained lowkey, he decided to observe more before concluding.
The group of people in the opposition keenly stared at Rex but kept quiet.
"Who are you?" An oval faced man finally asked, he was one of the Core Breaking stage experts in the opposite team, seeing that everyone in the opposite party respected Rex he became a little vigilant.
"Brother it doesn't matter who am I, let's just focus on the problem, for now, I ask again, what's the problem?" Rex asked in a kind tone.
Sensing the friendliness and politeness in Rex's tone, the fear and cautiousness in their eyes disappeared, their morale surged, they looked into each other's eyes then a man with long thin mustache and beard came forward, he was wearing a green robe which was the dress code of Green Mantis Sect.
"Problem? You ask what's the problem? Both of your sects are from Golden Bird Continent, you despicable people harm our beastman and monster race brethren, you take them as slaves, kill them for benefits and now that heavens have sent a treasure to us you shamelessly came here to get a piece of the cake? Aren't you being shameless enough? If you want to enjoy the benefits, at least give us some compensation," The man rubbed his mustache as he spoke.
"I reached out a finger and you held my hand, hehe…" Rex muttered to himself.
"What did you say?" The man frowned.
"Nothing, so what's the compensation you want?" Rex asked in amusement.
"Humph, you seem like a smart person, we don't want much from you, we will even let you accompany us while exploring the inheritance grounds, you just have to take the vanguard position. You are an assassination-based sect so it should be easy for you to find traps right? As for the gains, we can discuss that later, I assure you that we will be fair to you when dividing the gains," The man said in a serious tone.
Rex chuckled at his words.
Green Mantis Sect was also an assassination based sect but the man seemed to have completely forgotten about it, aside from that, Spirit Mountain Sect consisted of beastman who were known for their superior sense compared to normal humans. The man still had the gall to say that they were more suited to be the vanguard, in simple words he was just asking them to be cannon fodders.
As for the excuse of harming their brethren, if they were really that bothered then why didn't they used the strength of their sect to save some of them at the very least.
"I see, it's better to finish it as soon as possible," Rex said.
The man's eyes flickered, he didn't expect Rex to agree that easily, and for some reason he had a very bad feeling inside his heart, he was just not able to comprehend it at the moment.
On the other hand, Ji Biyu and others frowned, if Black Scorpion Sect surrendered then the next would obviously be Cold Heaven Sect.
Unlike them Sung Lee was somewhat excited, he even sent a message to his two sect ancestor telling them about the show name Wrath Of A Calamity Lord that is about to start.
Rex ignored all those people that were looking at him with different expressions and observed the cloudy blue sky.
'Atmokinesis + Calm Mind'
[Your INT has increased by 385% temporarily]
[All your status except WIS, LUC, and SPT has been decreased by 50% temporarily]
A sense of weakness assaulted Rex but he started laughing without holding back.
"385%? Haha… Looks likes today, even heavens got annoyed by you people," Rex laughed.
The man frowned, he didn't understand the meaning behind Rex's sudden actions and words.
Calm Mind's active mode can make his reach enlighten but its when he is in meditation, reason he can do that is that the active mode randomly increases his INT from 200% to 400% by summoning all his physical energy to support his brain, after using it he will be in a temporary weak state this is one of the reasons why he doesn't use Calm Mind in succession.
When everyone was confused, Rex sent a message to Ji Biyu to back off with her forces. She didn't understand the meaning but she still followed, Rex didn't warn Sung Suyin because when he looked around he found out that Sung Brothers had already retreated far away, waiting for the show to start.
The green-robed man got a vague idea of what was happening, he thought that Rex was intending to resist and fight them alone but before he could speak, he noticed that something was wrong, it was day time but the sky had turned dark.
He turned to look up and his pupils shrunk to 1/10 of their original size.
…Crackle...Crackle….
The whole sky had turned dark, blue lightning was swimming in the whirlpool of black clouds.
Everyone completely forgot about the matter at hand and started in the sky with lingering fear in their back. Thunder tribulation was the nightmare of most cultivators and graveyard of many. The situation right now might be different but it still reminded them of the fear they felt when watching others' tribulations and hearing the stories about the invincible heroes falling under its might.
"Now it's time for the compensation," Rex said in a loud tone.