Chapter 637: Urgent Mission

Chapter 637 -636: Urgent Mission

「The Netherworld, Celestial Nether Divine Kingdom.」

“What’s going on? Are the Cultivators in the Mortal Realm that strong? We sent so many experts up there, and we still can’t topple a mere Mortal Realm Empire?”

Ji Yang, the National Preceptor of the Celestial Nether Divine Kingdom, angrily swept everything off the table in front of him. The many ministers kneeling on the ground beside him trembled, terrified that his palm would strike their faces. If that happened, they could forget about keeping their heads.

“According to the intelligence we received, this Celestial Cloud Emperor is incredibly powerful, with a cultivation level reaching the Saint King Stage. The empires that chose to cooperate with us were all ultimately destroyed…”

The kneeling minister’s voice trembled. The National Preceptor before them was known to kill at the slightest disagreement. He didn’t care about your status; if he was displeased with you, he would strike you down.

That was in extreme cases. Normally, it would just be a slap that would leave them gravely injured, requiring a period of quiet recuperation. Even so, no one was willing to be on the receiving end of that slap.

“A Saint King Stage-level expert in the Mortal Realm?” Ji Yang’s gaze sharpened; he found it somewhat unbelievable.

He was very clear on the situation in the Mortal Realm. The restrictions there were quite strong, and the Spiritual Power was thin. For a Saint King Stage expert to appear under such conditions was indeed quite incredible.

“Yes, that is what the previous intelligence reports indicated,” the minister reported.

“Useless!” Ji Yang sent a slap flying through the air. With a loud CRACK, the minister was sent flying, his jaw twisted. He was barely breathing.

The ministers kneeling beside him felt a chill in their hearts. It was terrifying. He would strike without hesitation, showing no mercy. The worst part was that this minister had done nothing wrong. He was only responsible for gathering intelligence; he couldn’t go up to investigate personally and was powerless to change anything, yet he was beaten for it.

“Drag him away and treat him well!” Ji Yang gave the minister lying on the ground a cold glance, then turned his head back to the others. “Every last one of you is useless! You can’t even handle a single task properly! You didn’t even investigate the matter thoroughly! How do you expect to get anything done?!”

“The World Dragon Empire was supposed to be our puppet empire, helping us get things done, but who knew it would be destroyed! This matter must be investigated thoroughly! Haven’t I told you that before?!”

“We were incompetent. Please punish us, National Preceptor!” They could only lower their heads and admit their mistakes.

Inwardly, they were indignant. After all, whatever Ji Yang said was law. Previously, he had ordered them to quickly suppress and take down the Celestial Cloud Empire. Now, he was telling them to investigate thoroughly. Did he think they didn’t want to investigate properly before acting? It was because Ji Yang had demanded speed that they hadn’t dared to take their time.

If they had actually slowed down to investigate, they would have been slapped again. It was an impossible situation.

“Enough. We’ll set this matter aside for now. A Saint King Stage-level power in the Mortal Realm is indeed difficult to deal with,” Ji Yang said coldly. “The passage is currently in a phase where it’s hard to cross. After some time, its power will weaken, and then I will be able to go up there myself and suppress this Mortal Realm Great Emperor!”

His eyes were filled with killing intent. The capable Grand General he had dispatched was killed instead; how could he not be furious? Since the opponent was a Saint King, he had no choice but to take the field himself. Otherwise, no matter how many Spirit King Stage experts he sent, they would only be cannon fodder.

“National Preceptor, you intend to go up there yourself?” They were all shocked. They truly didn’t understand why he was so fixated on the Mortal Realm.

“If I don’t go, are you going to?” Ji Yang shot him a cold glance, causing the minister to tremble in fear.

The minister immediately fell silent, not daring to utter another word.

“However, we don’t have the energy for that right now. Let’s focus our efforts on the Phoenix Nest first.” After a moment of thought, Ji Yang looked at them and said, “What’s the situation at the Celestial Altar?”

“Nothing has changed for now. We still can’t break through. The Divine Runes remain impenetrable,” one of the ministers said.

“The Divine Runes of the Creation Celestial Divine King are not so easily broken…” Ji Yang’s gaze turned cold. He looked at the minister beside him and asked, “Are the rest of the troops ready?”

“Reporting to the National Preceptor, the Phoenix-Slaying Squad has been assembled and is ready to be deployed at any moment!” The minister at his side had been standing all along, unlike the others who were required to kneel. His entire aura was completely different, like a sharp sword standing at the ready, its edge exposed!

“Excellent!” A smile finally appeared on Ji Yang’s face. “Then let’s march on the Phoenix Nest now! We’ll force those old fossils out and bleed every last one of them dry! After so many years of preparation, we can finally reap a hefty harvest. When the time comes, we’ll have the Ancestor emerge and coordinate with us from the inside. Even if the Phoenix Race’s ancestors climb out of their graves, they will only find a dead end!”

“Yes!” The minister beside him nodded emphatically, a bloodthirsty light flashing in his eyes. He was ready to kill at a moment’s notice.

“Finally, something exciting to do. Once we annihilate the Phoenix Race, we can use their blood to cultivate a large batch of powerful experts!” Ji Yang said with a laugh. “I wonder how the Nether God Divine General’s preparations are coming along?”

“Lord Nether God is already prepared and can be deployed at any time!” the minister reported.

“Very good!” Ji Yang swept his gaze over the many ministers kneeling on the floor and said coldly, “All of you, go back and investigate the situation in the Mortal Realm thoroughly. I want every single detail, inside and out!”

“Yes, National Preceptor!” The ministers felt as if they had received a pardon. They scrambled to their feet and left, not daring to linger for even a second longer.

“We can depart now. To the Phoenix Nest!” A vicious light glinted in Ji Yang’s eyes, as if he could already smell the scent of blood.

…

「Inside the Phoenix Nest.」 The situation was unchanged. Everyone was cultivating as usual, oblivious to the approaching crisis.

Just as they thought the day would pass like any other, a sudden BOOM resounded from outside. The outermost spatial gate was blasted open, and the guards stationed outside were sent flying. It all happened so suddenly—the spatial gate was breached just like that!

“Enemies… enemy attack…”

The guard who had been sent flying used the last of his strength to crush a leaf in his hand. Immediately, all the Fire Phoenix Trees in the Phoenix Nest burst into a crazed blaze, instantly linking together to form a massive array. In a flash, the inside of the Phoenix Nest transformed into a gigantic Flame Cage, which even extended to envelop the area outside the spatial gate, sealing everything off completely!

“So the Phoenix Race does have some tricks up its sleeve. The Fire Phoenix Trees in this entire region can link together to form a Defense Array. Interesting.” At this moment, Ji Yang led his forces in from outside, a smile on his face, as if none of this had anything to do with him.

「Meanwhile, at the Netherworld passage.」 Yi Tianyun was busy repairing the Divine Runes. Suddenly, he raised an eyebrow, feeling that something was off.

‘Strange, why do I feel like something is wrong?’ Yi Tianyun hadn’t entered the Netherworld yet; he was still repairing the Divine Runes here to prevent them from collapsing.

“DING! Emergency Quest accepted: ‘Rescue the Phoenix Race’! Reward for completion: 500 million experience points, 100,000 Madness Value, 10,000 Sin Value, and Phoenix Race Favorability +200!”

The quest that popped up from the system was precisely what told him why something felt wrong!