Men slaughtered with every ten steps,
And, one's journey will be unobstructed for a thousand miles.
Path taken, job done.
Leave taken, name and identity hidden!
This was a poem from a famous poet, Li Bai, in the ancient times from Duan Ling Tian's hometown in his previous life. Apart from being known as a Poet Saint, Li Bai was also an extraordinary swordsman. He traveled the world alone, chivalrous and unfettered, with only his sword as his company.
After slight modifications to Li Bai's poem, it described Duan Ling Tian's actions quite well.
Several killed with just a thought,
A short-lived cry of a sword rings in the air.
Path taken, job done,
Leave taken, name and identity hidden!
After Duan Ling Tian left the passageway where Huang Qi Ling was at, he continued sweeping the remaining passageways.
After some time, a new group of Human-Devils entered the passageways again. As expected, Duan Ling Tian began to devour their Innate Spiritual Roots again. The second time did not take as long as the first time.
After Duan Ling Tian's Innate Spiritual Root improved from a normal violet to dark violet, he made a decision to leave. 'It's probably time for me to leave now...' He knew he had killed quite a handful of elite Human-Devil disciples from various forces during this time. He knew they were elites because he had devoured many blue and indigo Innate Spiritual Roots. Only the elites possessed such Innate Spiritual Roots. He knew if he stayed any longer, he might not make it out alive. There were certainly going to people who would come looking for him. Although he was confident about his strength, he was not so arrogant to think he would be able to take on the entire Human-Devil clan alone.
Currently, everything was calm, but Duan Ling Tian knew this was just the calm before the storm. It would not take long for a commotion to break out in the Human-Devil clan when they discover the number of Human-Devils whom he had killed!
“Huh? There's no one here?' When Duan Ling Tian reappeared outside the stone forest, he began to look around. To his surprise, he did not find anyone. He had expected the elders from the Wandering Saint Palace who were families of the disciples he had killed would be waiting for him here. Who knew he would not find anyone here at all. He found this strange. If he was in their shoes, he would definitely wait here.
Could it be possible that Huang Wen Jing has said something?' Duan Ling Tian was not stupid. It did not take him long to figure it out. He was certain that Huang Wen Jing had helped him. In the end, he only smiled wryly and shook his head. Initially, he thought he could test his strength on the elders from the Wandering Saint Palace. He wanted to see how strong he had gotten now that he had completely mastered the Divine Ability, the Elementary Devouring Tactic. It did not cross his mind that Huang Wen Jing would interfere.
"With my strength, I've nothing to be afraid of. Nevertheless, I still appreciate the thought..." Duan Ling Tian muttered under his breath. "Eh?" Suddenly, Duan Ling Tian seemed to have sensed something, and he turned to look north immediately. That was the direction of the Human-Devil Saint City.
"Someone finally came?" Duan Ling Tian muttered to himself again. He moved, and in just a blink of an eye, he disappeared into thin air.
Not long after Duan Ling Tian left...
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The sound of wind howling rang in the air as a few figures that came from the direction of the Human-Devil Saint City appeared above the stone forest.
There were two groups of people and they arrived one after another.
The group that arrived first was led by a tall and sturdy-looking young man. Those people who followed him were mostly burly men who looked intimidating without even trying.
The young man in the lead was dressed in a blue robe that looked tight on him due to his muscular build. He had a scowl on his face as he surveyed the area.
The second group that arrived later was led by an old skinny man. Three middle-aged men, a young man, and a beautiful lady followed behind him. All of them had a grim expression on their faces.
The old man was glaring fiercely as though he could swallow a person whole.
The two groups of people hovered above the stone forest. No one said anything for a while.
At this moment, the beautiful lady standing behind the old man saw someone she knew among the burly men. She had quite a close relationship with this person. Their eyes met.
Due to the somber atmosphere, the beautiful lady did not dare to speak up. Instead, she sent a Voice Transmission to him. "Jiang Zhen, you..."
Jiang Zhen was one of the burly men standing behind the blue-clad young man.
The beautiful lady did not wait for Jiang Zhen to answer before she asked again through Voice Transmission, "Don't tell me someone from the Great Spirit Palace has also died in there?" She knew who the blue-clad man was. He was a powerhouse at the peak of the Eighth Form of the Saint Celestial Stage who was only second to the Palace Master of the Great Spirit Palace, one of the Human-Devil clan's Three Palaces and Six Halls.
The blue-clad young man's name was Xing Yuan Ba! He was widely acknowledged as the strongest person below the Ninth Form of the Saint Celestial Stage in the Human-Devil clan.
You're right," Jiang Zhen replied promptly through Voice Transmission. It was obvious they were close.
She gasped when Jiang Zhen confirmed her guess. She was curious so she continued to ask through Voice Transmission, "For Lord Xing Yuan Ba to personally come... Who died in there?"
"It's Lord Xing's only son," Jiang Zhen replied through Voice Transmission with a bitter smile.
The beautiful lady's eyes widened when she heard Jiang Zhen's words.
Xing Yuan Ba's only son had died? The beautiful lady knew a thing or two about Xing Yuan Ba's only son. Although he could not be considered as an elite among the Great Spirit Palace's younger generation, his innate talent was still acceptable. He was even accepted as a direct disciple by the Palace Master of the Great Spirit Palace. Naturally, he was only accepted as a direct disciple of the Palace Master because of Xing Yuan Ba's status. There was no way he would be accepted as a disciple of the Palace Master if he was not Xing Yuan Ba's only son. This was no secret in the Human- Devil clan.
That's why Xing Yuan Ba hasn't greeted Vice Palace Master Gongsun up until now... As it turns out, his only son has died,' the beautiful lady thought to herself.
Jiang Zhen glanced at the beautiful lady and asked through Voice Transmission, "Lei Luo, what about you? Why are you here? Did something happen in the Azure Sheen Hall as well?" Based on his words, it was obvious the beautiful lady's name was Lei Luo and she was from the Azure Sheen Hall.
There were nine major factions in the Human-Devil clan. They were referred to as the Three Palaces and Six Halls. The three palaces were the Wandering Saint Palace, the Great Spirit Palace, and the Crimson Blaze Palace. On the other hand, the six halls were six factions in the Human-Devil Clan, and the Azure Sheen Hall was one of the six halls.
Yes." Lei Luo nodded in response to Jiang Zhen's question.
"Did someone die as well?" Jiang Zhen's expression turned solemn the moment Lei Luo nodded.
"Two of Vice Hall Master Gongsun's direct disciples, as well as some elders' direct disciples, have died... Before their deaths, they had come to explore this ruin as a group. We came as soon as we discovered their Soul Pearls had shattered."
Vice Hall Master Gongsun was the skinny old man leading Lei Luo's group. His name was Gongsun Jin, and he was one of the three Vice Hall Masters of Azure Sheen Hall. Due to his strength, he had been acknowledged as the leader of the vice hall masters in the Azure Sheen Hall! He was the second strongest person in Azure Sheen Hall.
Currently, two of the second strongest people from the Great Spirit Palace and the Azure Sheen Hall were here.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Moments later, the sound of wind howling rang in the air again and caught the attention of those from the Great Spirit Palace and the Azure Sheen Hall.
As it turned out, another group had arrived from the Human-Devil Saint City. This group of people were dressed in long fiery-red robes. When their robes fluttered as they flew in the distance, they resembled dancing flames.
"It's the people from Crimson Blaze Palace!"
It did not take long for the Great Spirit Palace's Jiang Zhen and the Azure Sheen Hall's Lei Luo to identify the group of people.
The Crimson Blaze Palace was also from the Human-Devil clan's Three Palaces and Six Halls.
The people from the Crimson Blaze Palace were led by a middle-aged man who was dressed in a fiery-red robe. He was tall and well-built even though he was not as muscular as the men from the Great Spirit Palace. However, that did not make him look any less imposing. At this moment, he had a grim expression on his face as well. However, his expression softened slightly when he saw the people from the Great Spirit Palace and the Azure Sheen Hall. He took the initiative to greet them. "Vice Palace Master Xing, Vice Hall Master Gongsun."
Xing Yuan Ba and Gongsun Jin greeted him in return. "Vice Palace Master Wu."
This middle-aged man was called Wu Tian Jin. He was one of the four Vice Palace Masters of Crimson Blaze Palace.
"Both of you don't look well... Could it be that someone from your faction has also died in there?" Wu Tian Jin instinctively asked when he saw the grim expressions on Xing Yuan Ba and Gongsun Jin's faces.