“However, the despicable methods of these riffraff are truly chilling! To come up with such a moniker for me just to deal with this Young Master!
This is absolutely intolerable!” The Fourteenth Young Master of Jiuyou ground his teeth as he spoke. Clearly, the title ‘First Lord of the Nine Heavens’ fabricated by Jun Mo Xie, which originated from the Three Great Sacred Lands and the Illusionary Mansion, had ignited his towering rage!
“Precisely so. When two tigers fight, one is bound to be wounded!
The enemy of one's enemy, even if they cannot become friends, should not rashly become an irreconcilable foe!” Jun Mo Xie spoke with a tone of reason and gravity, “That is why I have come here today.” “The guarantee you seek is no issue for this Young Master! The battleground is the same regardless of the location!
If you genuinely lend me a hand right now, and your required conditions are so ordinary, then why shouldn't this Young Master agree to it…” The Fourteenth Young Master of Jiuyou pondered for a moment: “Furthermore, the time for a battle between you and me—after that fight, once the victor is decided, it will not be too late for me to deal with the Heavenly Punishment! If I ultimately cannot defeat you, even if you don't mention it, this Young Master will not shamelessly attack the juniors of the Heavenly Punishment!” The words of the Fourteenth Young Master of Jiuyou revealed an immense self-confidence, as if he had already emerged and become the supreme sovereign of the world… Jun Mo Xie curled his lip but spoke with solemn assurance: “A gentleman’s word is as good as a drawn arrow!
I can give you a definite timeline: Since we both intend to oppose the Three Great Sacred Lands and the Illusionary Mansion, the day they are annihilated will be the day of our decisive battle! At that time, with no lingering concerns, we can fight to our hearts’ content… There is one more point I must clarify: I cannot truly appear alongside you to deal with them, because nominally, you remain the public enemy of the continent; you must understand this!
You may not care, but I… cannot…” Jun Mo Xie spoke with a tone of wry amusement: “On this point, I admit I am not your equal!” A high compliment. “Hah!
That’s a minor matter. You fight your battles, and I’ll fight mine… Does the Fourteenth Young Master of Jiuyou require assistance for anything he intends to do?
However, you are too timid; are these few people really something to fear?” The Fourteenth Young Master of Jiuyou indeed felt a surge of pleasure in his heart. He laughed wildly, speaking with an utterly contemptuous and disdainful tone: “The Three Great Sacred Lands… the Ethereal Illusionary Mansion?
They are nothing but a pack of hypocritical wretches! Sacred Lands?
Illusionary Mansions? Nonsense!
They are weak as rotten wood!” “A man of direct speech! Since that is the case, have our terms been agreed upon?” Jun Mo Xie smiled.
“Indeed! I agree!
This Young Master always keeps his word a thousand times over! It shall never change!” The Fourteenth Young Master of Jiuyou snorted, a hint of eagerness in his voice: “But how… how will you help me break this seal?
Are you truly certain?” “This seal is simple for me!” Jun Mo Xie pointed to the multicolored radiance still above his head. “In a moment, I will use my divine ability to exit through that central point!
Once I am out, this seal will naturally possess a gap… Heh heh, with even this tiny hole… when you finally exit, you will certainly save at least a third of your power!” “Far more than a third!” The Fourteenth Young Master of Jiuyou rolled his eyes and waved his hand carelessly: “If it is so simple, what are you waiting for? Get on with it then!” Jun Mo Xie chuckled slyly: “Then you must watch carefully exactly where I exit from.” A black gleam flashed in the eyes of the Fourteenth Young Master of Jiuyou, and he stated heavily: “Rest assured… on this matter, I am more aware than anyone.” Jun Mo Xie secretly chuckled; it seemed this fellow, over these past few centuries, must have explored every single inch of this seal countless times, knowing it intimately by now… Under the intense gaze of the Fourteenth Young Master of Jiuyou, a hazy, phantom figure flickered ghost-like in mid-air, then drifted languidly toward the very center of the five-colored seal, stopping motionless.
Then, it slowly and completely vanished… And that section of the seal truly underwent a subtle change, as if… the sealing power within was being diminished, eroded, bit by bit… A minute shift occurred every single moment, though infinitesimally small. Yet, how deeply familiar was the Fourteenth Young Master of Jiuyou with this seal?
He had tasted the bitterness of its tenacity many times over! The fact that Jun Mo Xie could cause the seal to change in such a short time made this feat awe-inspiring and astonishing to him!
Recalling the spot where Jun Mo Xie had appeared moments before, the furious Fourteenth Young Master of Jiuyou couldn't help but secretly smack his lips: “So this fellow has been hiding so close to me all this time… This level of skill is truly extraordinary… But, it seems nothing too incredible, merely some trickery of minor arts… Hmph, your true strength might not necessarily surpass mine!” This statement was not born of arrogance or blind self-confidence. Jun Mo Xie could hide because he harbored no malice, let alone killing intent!
If he had intended harm toward the Fourteenth Young Master of Jiuyou, the latter would have detected it and reacted instantly! At that very moment, Jun Mo Xie’s chilling voice suddenly echoed again from the void: “Watch closely.
I am leaving first… Good luck to you!” Then, the air seemed to shudder, and the indistinct shadow truly vanished completely! And at the exact moment the blurry shadow disappeared, there was a faint ‘pop,’ so slight it was almost inaudible, as if a sharp steel needle had gently pierced a balloon… On the five-colored barrier of the seal, a minute hole appeared, so small it was nearly negligible… finer even than a strand of hair… A breath of fresh, clean air suddenly wafted in from the outside world!
The Fourteenth Young Master of Jiuyou greedily inhaled two lungfuls—this atmosphere, long absent for three hundred and seventy-five years! His eyes suddenly lit up, and he roared with laughter, soaring into the air.
His entire body erupted in dazzling black light, and with a mighty shout, he crashed into the seal like lightning! After several centuries, such a slight opening had finally appeared!
At this moment, the Fourteenth Young Master of Jiuyou could not wait another second! He even overlooked the fact that his strength had just been depleted!
He was desperate to get out! With a thunderous boom!
Heaven and earth shook around the seal! The five-colored ring of the seal suddenly bulged upward from the center point where the small breach had formed!
This tiny bit of progress alone energized the Fourteenth Young Master of Jiuyou immensely! He roared again and attacked frantically.
Continuous booming sounds erupted at that single spot! Every impact was like heavenly thunder striking a volcano!
Outside, the mountains shook violently, massive boulders leaped into the air before crashing back down with heavy thuds, and ancient trees that had stood for millennia trembled so violently that branches as thick as a man’s embrace snapped off and fell away… The entire Heavenly Punishment Forest seemed to plunge into a sudden, savage chaos, trembling and shaking… An aura of the end of days enveloped the hearts of every Profound Beast. The sounds of impact grew more intense!
Interspersed with them were that crazed, wild laughter! All of this heralded the imminent emergence of a world-destroying fiend, about to reappear in the mortal realm!
The masters of the Three Great Sacred Lands and the Ethereal Illusionary Mansion watched the bulging five-colored seal with solemn expressions, their eyes unblinking. None of them had anticipated that the date for the seal’s breach would arrive so much sooner than expected; their faces were etched with gravity.
The leader, a man in white with a tall hat, frowned deeply, spoke a few rapid words, and then waved his hands repeatedly. Six figures in purple silently vanished toward the south, while six in white disappeared to the east.
Three figures in blue suddenly leaped up and landed atop the three tallest trees; though the trunks shook violently in the earth’s tremor, they seemed fused with the wood, completely undisturbed… The remaining group consisted of eleven robed figures and nine burly men clad in ragged, coarse clothing; these men were exceedingly sturdy, with fierce expressions, but the divine light in their eyes was distinctly scattered… as if they were severely wounded. These nine burly men were none other than the veteran Beast Kings of the Heavenly Punishment!
The five-colored seal was divided into nine cardinal points! Over these three centuries, these nine Beast Kings of the Heavenly Punishment had dutifully guarded one corner each, using all their primal energy to cooperate with the seal and resist the onslaughts of the Fourteenth Young Master of Jiuyou!
In the recent years of his attacks, they had finally begun to falter one by one, inevitably suffering extremely severe internal injuries! Otherwise, the Fourteenth Young Master of Jiuyou would not have been able to break through… Yet even so, even knowing the Ethereal Illusionary Mansion harbored ill intent and that the Fourteenth Young Master of Jiuyou was about to emerge, they held their ground here, not abandoning their posts by even half a step!
Further in the distance, Xiong Kaishan, He Chongxiao, and the rest of the Heavenly Punishment Beast Kings watched the unfolding scene tensely. The white-robed leader glanced at the nine men, a flicker of shame crossing his eyes, and stated grimly: “Once the Fourteenth Young Master of Jiuyou appears, you must strike with your full power to kill him!
He absolutely must not escape the Heavenly Punishment Forest!” The nine burly men all started simultaneously, looking at him in surprise, anger flashing in their eyes. The one in the center stepped forward and shouted: “Brother Cao, this is absolutely unacceptable!
If the battle takes place right here, what becomes of our Heavenly Punishment? Will it not be destroyed in this very fight?” “Brother Lu, if not here, are we to wait until the Fourteenth Young Master of Jiuyou recovers and leisurely slaughters us?” That ‘Brother Cao,’ with his hands hidden in his sleeves, stated ominously: “Besides, this place is far from human habitation and isolated—it is the perfect location to eliminate this villain!” “But we clearly agreed back then that no battle would take place within the Heavenly Punishment, under any circumstances!
That is why we agreed to guard the seal! Do you think we don’t know the function of your Illusionary Mansion’s mist?” The stout man retorted angrily: “Are you now going to disregard the promise made back then?
The Heavenly Punishment may be remote, but are we Heavenly Punishment Profound Beasts not life forms too? We have also protected the continent for ten thousand years!” “So what if…” The voice of that man had not finished speaking… Suddenly, everyone’s expression changed drastically!
That ‘Brother Cao’ had no time to finish his sentence before roaring: “Form the array!” Finally… With a sound like the rending of the heavens and earth, the five-colored seal suddenly shattered into tangible fragments that flew high into the air, flashed once, and vanished into nothingness!