Chapter 618 - 336: Unless Those on the List Make a Move

Chapter 618: Chapter 336: Unless Those on the List Make a Move

Three days later, Han Meixue could no longer hold on and was knocked unconscious by Zhuo Qingcheng.

Zhuo Qingcheng herself felt like she was reaching her limit. She could last another day or two at most; the oppressive feeling in the air was becoming increasingly pronounced. And this was with the shelter blocking out the vast majority of the aura. One could only imagine how terrifying the situation outside had become.

Another day passed before Zhuo Qingcheng sought out Jiang Man, but in the end, she too was knocked out.

Now, Jiang Man was the only person left awake in the entire shelter. The environmental pressure had absolutely no effect on him; his concern remained fixed on the situation outside.

It had been going on for quite a while. This conflict was likely the largest the region had seen in decades. In the past, such events were at least confined to sealed-off locations, but this area was considered a normal zone.

The oppressive atmosphere had reached its absolute peak, and now, faint traces of the aura itself were beginning to seep in. Jiang Man felt it as a physical pressure. Practicing the techniques for channeling power during Cultivation would be much more difficult in this environment, but the resulting progress would also be much faster.

Having confirmed this, he sat down cross-legged and began to use the external pressure to perceive the power within his body. Not long after, he realized that someone else in the shelter had actually gotten up.

"A mole?" he wondered. "To think there’d be an unexpected harvest. One of them must be worth at least fifty thousand."

He didn’t rush, merely waiting in silence. The other person seemed to be confirming the identities of their accomplices. Then a second person appeared, followed by a third, and a fourth. In the end, five people had gotten to their feet. They gathered together and approached where Jiang Man and the others lay.

"So this is a Grand Sect Fairy. Her skin looks so soft and dewy. This desolate backwater could never raise a Fairy like her," a rather sleazy voice said.

"Don’t touch her," a woman’s voice chimed in. "First, let’s open this thing and let the Immortal Spirit in." She then walked over to Jiang Man and continued, "And this must be the senior from the grand Sect. His temperament is completely incomparable to anyone else’s. Do you guys think he has a Dao companion?"

"I do," Jiang Man said, suddenly opening his eyes to answer her question.

Startled by his sudden awakening, the woman jumped back in fright and immediately tried to flee. The others also froze in shock, then instantly scrambled to open the cave.

However, in a mere instant, Jiang Man’s Primordial Spirit Power swept over them. Everyone was suppressed.

"I ask, you answer," Jiang Man said, looking at the five.

The crushing weight of his Primordial Spirit left them gasping for breath. The terrifying aura of his power made them feel as though they would die in the very next second. They had assumed that under the Immortal Spirit Power, no one could possibly remain conscious and functional. They never expected the man before them to have avoided passing out.

"What is the name of this Immortal Spirit you speak of?" Jiang Man asked.

"The Immortal Spirit is just the Immortal Spirit. We don’t know its name either," the woman closest to him replied.

Jiang Man frowned. "It doesn’t even have a name?"

"It really doesn’t. One day, a voice suddenly echoed in our minds. It was vast, boundless, mysterious, and incredibly powerful," she explained.

"And this Immortal Spirit wanted you to open this cave?" Jiang Man pressed.

"Yes. The Immortal Spirit ordered us to open every place holding people. It said that as long as we did, it would allow us to break through our bottlenecks instantly and even bestow Dao companions upon us," the sleazy-sounding man added.

Jiang Man furrowed his brow. What kind of Immortal Spirit was this? It was skulking in the shadows like a coward. However, unlike the Ling Hua Immortal Spirit, this one didn’t seem to have much need for subordinates.

He asked a few more questions before simply knocking them unconscious. They knew too little to be worth anything.

At that moment, he felt the surrounding aura begin to fluctuate, followed by a loud BOOM. The entire cave shook, and a sharp CRACK echoed through the air.

CLANG!

A Magical Treasure shattered and fell to the ground. Jiang Man immediately grew vigilant. The shelter was about to be breached. He wondered if the Sect’s people would be able to hold them off.

BOOM!

BOOM!!

BOOM!!!

Massive explosions rang out, making the very earth tremble. Magical Treasures dropped one after another.

Jiang Man saw that only two remained. Two more hits, and this place wouldn’t be able to hold out. If it was breached, he would have to leave. To face an Evil God directly, a person would need more lives than they could count. An Unparalleled Celestial Pride was still far too young in front of beings like these.

Fortunately, after waiting for a long time, the attacks ceased. It seemed the situation outside wasn’t quite that dire; at the very least, the Sect was able to fend them off.

Then, a voice echoed from all directions.

"Three high-ranking members of the Wuyun Sect’s Zhenyue Bureau, four Peak Masters, one Guardian, and a Sect Leader. You certainly arrived fast enough.

"But your people took something of mine, and this matter will not be glossed over. Since he had the skills to take it, I hope he also has the skills to face me.

"Have him return the item to me, and we can put this behind us.

"Otherwise, my Arrays will blanket the entire surrounding area of your Dazhi. I’d like to see just how much manpower your Immortal Sect has to deal with me.

"Even the Zhenyue Bureau and Tai Hua may not necessarily be able to find me, unless you dare to send out the people on the list.

"Otherwise, I will not stop," the vast voice boomed.

Soon after, the oppressive power began to recede.

Jiang Man could feel a terrifying might carried within the very tone of the speaker’s voice. It left one feeling entirely defenseless.

However, he was quite curious about what this item could be. "Could it be the stone containing the Supreme Skill?" he wondered.

If that were truly the case, then this entity was throwing out threats.

"Is she threatening me? But she’s threatening the wrong person," he mused. If she wanted to find the stone, she should be looking for Meng Qiewei. He wondered if she would still be able to maintain this arrogant clamor when facing Meng Qiewei. After all, that was the aloof and icy Meng Qiewei, not the gentle and naive Miss Ji Meng.

The next day, the oppressive power completely vanished.

The stifling atmosphere also cleared. The remaining Magical Treasures in the cave withdrew, and the main doors were finally thrown open.

Ren Qian stumbled weakly inside. The injuries covering his body were extremely severe.

"Are you alright, Junior Brother?" Ren Qian asked. Seeing the others unconscious did not surprise him in the least. As long as they were alive, that was enough.

"Shouldn’t you be resting, Senior Brother?" Jiang Man asked curiously.

"It’s not that I don’t want to. I was the one who sealed this door, so I’m the fastest at opening it," Ren Qian explained.

Jiang Man was shocked. Did Dazhi’s Immortal Sect value them this much? To insist on opening the shelter at the very first opportunity. To force someone so heavily wounded to open the door.

"Someone needs to see you, Junior Brother. It can’t be delayed," Ren Qian stated bluntly, shattering the illusion.

Jiang Man fell silent. He couldn’t help but suspect that the higher-ups had paid a hefty sum just to make Ren Qian hurry up and open the door. Even crawling out of his deathbed was worth it for the right price.

A moment later, Jiang Man saw the situation outside. The entire area had been leveled to the ground, leaving only the mountain range where the Sword Tomb was located intact. It was evident just how intense the battle had been.

Afterward, he met three people amidst the ruins. One was a one-eyed man, a hideous scar extending from beneath his eyepatch all the way down his cheek. Another was a woman who appeared to be in her late twenties, dressed entirely in black robes. The last was a handsome middle-aged man.

However, all of them carried significant injuries. None of them were in good condition.

"Greetings to the three seniors," Jiang Man said, bowing respectfully. He had already figured out that these three were the high-ranking members of the Zhenyue Bureau.

"I heard from Ren Qian that you dug up a stone in the hidden cave?" Xiang Tianlin asked.

"It really is about the Supreme Skill," Jiang Man thought to himself before answering, "Yes."

Hearing this, all three of them let out a sigh of relief.

Xiang Tianlin then asked, "Is the stone on you?"

Jiang Man shook his head, stating that it had already been sent back to the Sect. This took the three of them by surprise, though sending it to the Sect was perfectly fine. They then expressed their intent to purchase the stone.

Taken aback, Jiang Man asked, "For how many Spiritual Sources?"

"Why don’t you name a price?" Xiang Tianlin countered.

Jiang Man pondered for a moment before saying, "I’ll defer to the Sect’s decision."

Xiang Tianlin chose his words carefully. "Since you reported it, and Ren Qian received that report before you dug it up, it technically belongs to the Sect, so you should hand it over. However, your timing in digging it up was impeccable. Asking you to surrender it for nothing would obviously be unreasonable, so you will be compensated with other resources—Cultivation Skills, Magic Skills, and various other things. There will also be Spiritual Sources, though not a massive amount. It should only be around a few hundred thousand."

Jiang Man froze upon hearing that last sentence.

Not a massive amount... only a few hundred thousand. The disparity between people truly was vast.

After a brief pause, Jiang Man asked curiously, "Is this stone the core of it?"

"No, but the opposing party seems to value the whole rather than the contents themselves. That is to say, missing even a single piece is unacceptable, making every piece a core component," Red Eagle replied.

Jiang Man then affirmed that he would hand it over. However, he would need to find something else to trade with Miss Ji Meng. He hoped he would be able to make the exchange.

Following that, Jiang Man asked if he could return first.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t possible. The Evil God’s Array still existed, and it was clearly intended to harass the surrounding area. They lacked the manpower to escort anyone back, and Ren Qian and the others were heavily injured. They could only wait. The Immortal Sect’s reinforcements were already on the way. The situation with the Evil God this time was extremely dire.

Afterward, Jiang Man found a spot and built himself a temporary shelter.

The moment he finished, he noticed flora springing up around him. The structure he built was soon overlapped by a flowing river. An entirely new environment was rapidly spreading toward him.

Finally, a stone stele came to a halt right before him.

The Magpie Bridge had opened.

In mid-July, Ting Fengyin finally arrived. But the fighting was already over. He hadn’t made it in time for this one.