Chapter 859 - 130: The Current Situation of Old Friends, a Surprise for True Monarch Nine Swords! (Part 2)

Chapter 859: Chapter 130: The Current Situation of Old Friends, a Surprise for True Monarch Nine Swords! (Part 2)

"Speaking of it, in this battle he should be credited with the foremost merit!"

At this point, True Monarch Yama’s face showed a trace of complicated emotion. He paused for a moment, then continued.

"Daoist Profound Thunder held off five people, and paid an enormous price himself. When I saw him, he was already almost withered to a husk, like a dried corpse,"

"After we returned, even with top-grade spirit medicines to save him, it was still beyond saving,"

"In merely half a year, he sat down and passed away!"

Hearing this, Zhou Xun couldn’t help being stunned, recalling the days when they once ventured through the Thunder Prison together. He had never thought that they would be parted as Celestial Human and departed soul so soon.

"Daoist Brother Profound Thunder has always been one to sacrifice his life for righteousness!"

Back when the Demon Race invaded, it was likewise True Monarch Profound Thunder who disregarded life and death, desperately stalling the South Abyss Demon Emperor and two other of the same realm,

his fleshly body beaten to pieces, only his Nascent Soul escaping,

thus winning the time for Zhou Xun and the others to arrive, preserving the Southern Front.

Now here in this West Desert, he made the same choice. Worthy of respect, worthy of praise!

"Indeed." True Monarch Yama sighed once,

"Therefore, on this battlefield, even for Late-Stage Nascent Soul Cultivators, there is no absolute safety. When you and Daoist Ji and the other went to roam the Ghostly Mist Land,"

"you must be prudent and cautious. In all things, preserving your own lives is paramount!"

The Ghostly Mist Land is the region of several million li surrounding the Ghost Realm passage. It has now been entirely shrouded in dense ghostly mist, becoming the domain of the Ghost Race,

and at the same time the battlefield where the Human and Ghost Races hunt and kill each other.

"We shall naturally bear this in mind!" Zhou Xun nodded.

"There are still some matters to pay attention to when going to the Ghostly Mist Land to hunt the Ghost Race." True Monarch Yama’s face grew solemn as he began to speak of true battlefield experience,

Zhou Xun and the other two straightened their postures, listening closely, not daring to miss a single word.

"First, the ghost qi in the Ghostly Mist Land is extremely dense. According to Elder Ji, its environment can almost be compared with the Ghost Realm itself, and poses the danger of eroding the Divine Soul of us cultivators,"

"Even for Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators, the time spent in the Ghostly Mist Land is best not to exceed one year,"

"And after returning, they must rest and recuperate for at least three months before entering again,"

"At the beginning, some Daoists did not heed this matter, stayed too long in the Ghostly Mist Land, had their Divine Soul corroded by ghost qi, and in the end ended up deranged in mind. To this day they have yet to recover!"

"Therefore, when you enter the Ghostly Mist Land, this one-year time limit is iron law. Remember it, remember it well!"

Hearing this, Zhou Xun and his two companions exchanged glances.

They had experienced ghostly mist more than once already. Previously, the hundred-some Ghostly Mist Lands in the Eastern Wilderness had all been handled by them,

and they had never thought there could be such danger.

’So the ghostly mist here is not ordinary. No wonder—it is a passage directly connected to the Ghost Realm!’

"Second, the Ghost Race in the Ghostly Mist Land appear and vanish unpredictably, often hiding to one side and striking in ambush,"

"In addition, within the ghostly mist they seem to have mastered some extremely special method of communication. Once you engage them, the Ghost Race within a hundred thousand li around will flock over,"

"Therefore, once battle is joined, you must fight quickly and finish quickly. If you cannot take them down in one blow, you must immediately flee far away,"

"Otherwise, if you are surrounded by the Ghost Race, all is finished!"

"That day True Monarch Profound Thunder did not know of this matter. At first he fought a High-Grade Ghost King, then drew the surrounding Ghost Race together, and in the end five Tier Four High-Grade Ghost Kings gathered,"

"which is how he met with such an end!"

"Of course, after this happened, I and other Daoists set down a countermeasure to turn their scheme against them!"

"We hid the bulk of our forces, and had only a small number strike, drawing the surrounding Ghost Race near, then besieging the point and striking those who came to support!"

"By this means we slew quite a number of Ghost Race, causing them to somewhat restrain themselves,"

"But in the end it remains a hidden danger, and you must still be extra cautious!"

"As for the third matter, it concerns the recognition of battle merits." Speaking thus far, True Monarch Yama’s expression relaxed somewhat,

"Here, when recognizing battle merits, there is only one thing that is considered, namely Ghost Pearls, akin to the Demon Pills within the Demon Race,"

"Any Ghost Race at Tier Two or above has a Ghost Pearl born within its body,"

"Each time you slay one, you can take it back and go to the camp’s Merit Department for evaluation!"

"However, once the merits are evaluated, the Battle Merit Jade Scroll has already recorded the aura and a mark is placed on the Ghost Pearl. Younger Brother must not entertain the idea of reporting the same merits twice,"

"You must know that the aura of a Ghost Pearl is like the palm prints of our Human Race—each one is unique,"

"If, when you report battle merits, you present the same Ghost Pearl again, it will inevitably be discovered!"

"Some people have done such things before. Once investigated, they were personally killed by Elder Ji!"

"For it to draw the personal action of a Divinity Transformation Celestial Monarch shows how serious this matter is!"

As he spoke, True Monarch Yama’s tone halted for a moment. He slapped his hand to his waist,

"Here, this is the thing!"

A pitch-black bead flew out, landing in his palm.

Concentrating to look, this bead was about the size of an adult’s fist. Its surface emitted a strange radiance, as if strands of ghost qi coiled and moved within.

Zhou Xun and the others carefully examined this Ghost Pearl. They saw that on its surface were inscribed some obscure runes, faintly exuding an evil aura that made one feel involuntary chill.

True Monarch Yama pointed to a spot of Spirit Light on the Ghost Pearl and spoke:

"This is the mark after battle merits have been recorded, but it does not affect the pearl’s usefulness!"

Hearing this, Zhou Xun looked over, nodded to show he understood, then carefully asked,

"The runes on this Ghost Pearl seem to have some special meaning. Could they be related to the Ghost Race’s system of power or to their level classification?"

True Monarch Yama nodded slightly and said: "Younger Brother truly has a keen mind. Generally speaking, the higher the Level of the Ghost Pearl, the more complex the runes and the denser the ghost qi, which represents that the Ghost Race’s strength in life was accordingly greater."

"The one in my hand is a Tier Four High-Grade Ghost Pearl, worth 500 points of battle merit!"

"If it were Tier Four Middle-Grade, then it would be one hundred and fifty points, Low-Grade fifty points!"

"That’s exactly the same as the Contribution Points in the Great Jin Secret Vault Department!" Zhou Xun said, and then briefly explained the meaning of the Secret Vault Department and Contribution Points.

"Perhaps these battle merit points can be exchanged mutually with Contribution Points!" True Monarch Yama speculated.

"Aside from this, are there other ways to gain battle merits?" True Monarch Tianci asked.

"Naturally there are. For example, completing missions and participating in major battles—these will all have battle merits calculated in accordance with Contribution Points!"

"Otherwise, relying solely on hunting the Ghost Race, I would never have been able to accumulate seven thousand points of battle merit!" True Monarch Yama answered.

"May I ask, Daoist Brother, where in the camp might one exchange for these Ghost Pearls?" Zhou Xun suddenly asked. The ’Spirit Rhinoceros Cyan Light Pupil’ he cultivated required Tier Four Ghost Pearls to reach the second layer.

Hearing this, True Monarch Yama’s expression involuntarily grew serious, then he slowly said:

"Younger Brother, although the main camp has not forbidden such things, it is still best to obtain this item by hunting on your own. Even if you buy it, the price is far from ordinary!"

"Daoist Brother misunderstands. I have a Pupil Technique that requires Tier Four Ghost Pearls to advance. Those that have already had battle merits recorded will do." Zhou Xun said.

"So that’s it. I have quite a lot of these. How many do you need? I can gift you a few." True Monarch Yama said, taking out a handful of Ghost Pearls, no fewer than four or five,

and placed them in Zhou Xun’s hand.

"To me, this thing is of no use. Since it is useful to you, I’ll give it to you!"

"This... then I must thank Daoist Brother greatly!"

As they were speaking, a streak of fire-light flew in and landed in True Monarch Yama’s hand.

His Divine Sense swept over it, and he couldn’t help but reveal a smile.

"Haha, it’s Daoist Tianyi and the others who’ve arrived!" With that, he stood and walked out toward the door.

Zhou Xun and the other two followed close behind, especially Wang Erniu, whose face already showed anticipation. After all, his master True Monarch Nine Swords was precisely stationed here on the West Desert Front.

Coming to the doorway, they opened the main door,

and saw four people standing outside.

The leader was deep and still as an abyss, towering like a mountain, with a calm and harmonious bearing—it was True Monarch Celestial One. On his left was a middle-aged man dressed as a Confucian Scholar, True Monarch Profound Resonance of the Righteous Alliance,

and on his right was True Monarch Nine Swords, whose face at this moment was full of excitement as he looked at Wang Erniu. He truly had not expected to meet his own disciple in this place,

and what delighted him even more was that the aura emanating from Wang Erniu’s body was clearly that of a True Monarch Nascent Soul!

At the rear was a small old man with a chilling temperament. Zhou Xun also knew this person and even had some entanglement with him,

it was the Blood Refining Old Demon, Supreme Elder of the Blood Refining Sect.

Though he possessed only Middle-Stage Nascent Soul Cultivation, with that Blood Demon Emperor present, his combat standard was that of Late-Stage Nascent Soul as well,

These four, together with True Monarch Yama, represented the highest level of the Central Continent’s forces now gathered on the West Desert Front.