Chapter 1796: The One Who Escaped

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Until now, Duan Ling Tian still felt fear lingering in his heart when he recalled the strength the old man had demonstrated with the cultivation of an Early Refined Saint Stage powerhouse during the final trial in the Abyssal Swamp.

If it was other ordinary Martial Cultivators, it would be impossible for them to defeat that old man even if their cultivation base had reached the peak of the Refined Saint Stage.

For this reason, in his opinion, the reason he had passed the final trial of the Abyssal Swamp and obtain the Elementary Devouring Tactic was all thanks to the Sun True Origin Elder Huo had given him.

When Elder Huo heard Duan Ling Tian’s words, he merely smiled nonchalantly. “It’s your fate since you managed to obtain the Seven Treasures Exquisite Pagoda and meet with me… It’s also your fate for being able to obtain the legacy from the Saint Sword Feng Qing Yang. This time, it’s also your fate for obtaining the Elementary Devouring Tactic. All in all, the reason you obtained the Elementary Devouring Tactic is not mainly due to the Sun True Origin. It’s all fated.”

Even Elder Huo could not help but muse over Duan Ling Tian’s fate and luck.

When he recalled his past, among the people he knew in the Devata Realms, very few people could be mentioned in the same breath as Duan Ling Tian in regards to fate.

Naturally, he did not say this to Duan Ling Tian. In his opinion, it would only harm Duan Ling Tian if he told him about it.

If Duan Ling Tian became negligent because he knew about his fate, he might not be able to achieve anything great even with such amazing luck. Fate was like one’s luck. However, one could not solely depend on it.

Elder Huo had lived for many years and had witnessed many sad tragedies. For this reason, he did not wish for Duan Ling Tian to follow in those people’s footsteps.

Duan Ling Tian fell silent when he heard Elder Huo’s words.

Now that he thought about it, he was indeed lucky.

Naturally, as someone whose soul had transmigrated over from another world, Duan Ling Tian did not take his luck or fate for granted. In his opinion, his soul transmigrating to this world was the luckiest thing to have happened to him. Otherwise, he would have been dead.

Duan Ling Tian had the right mindset in regards to this. Naturally, Elder Huo did know this so he did not reveal his thoughts to Duan Ling Tian.

“Elder Huo, I’ll begin to look for materials to repair the fourth level of the Seven Treasures Exquisite Pagoda soon.”

Duan Ling Tian bade Elder Huo farewell before he went to the third level of the Seven Treasures Exquisite Pagoda to cultivate. Gu Li should have returned from the Rising Sky Mansion by the time he came out from his closed-door cultivation.

During his closed-door cultivation, Duan Ling Tian wanted to focus more on raising his cultivation base and also to further comprehend the profundity of the Supreme Sword Dao Mental Cultivation Method, the Sovereign Heart Sword.

Currently, he had only comprehended the second stage of the Sovereign Heart Sword, the Sword Shadowed Heart. The Sovereign Heart Sword had five stages in total.

He still had a long journey to go.

While Duan Ling Tian was cultivating, the fourth-rate force located far away, the Rising Sky Mansion, suffered a huge catastrophe.

The Rising Sky Mansion was originally peaceful and tranquil. However, a commotion broke out when their Mansion Master was killed by a mysterious powerhouse.

The Mansion Master of Rising Sky Mansion was the strongest person in the Rising Sky Mansion. Very few people in the Lower Province of the Dao Martial Saint Land could kill him without alerting anyone.

For this reason, the group of Mystical Sky Mansion’s high-ranking officials and disciples was in a panic when they learned their Mansion Master had been killed. Subsequently, a few other Rising Sky Mansion’s high-ranking officials were killed as well. In the end, almost every Mystical Sky Mansion’s high-ranking official was killed. Even the outstanding Rising Sky Mansion’s disciples were not spared.

The Rising Sky Mansion’s people who were killed had one thing in common. All of them knew that Xu Jing, the Young Mansion Master of their Rising Sky Mansion, had cultivated an elite Devil Dao Cultivation Method that contained the Soul Congregation technique.

However, they would never know, even in death, that the cause of this calamity was because of the cultivation method their Young Mansion Master, Xu Jing, had cultivated.

The people who made their moves were none other than the people from the Mystical Sky Mansion. Among these people, Gu Li was the weakest one.

Naturally, he was only here to watch the fun. From the beginning until the end, he did not have any chance to make his move at all as he followed his father, Gu Ci Yun.

Apart from Gu Li, the next weakest people were the Vice Mansion Masters of Mystical Sky Mansion. It was exactly because of this, they managed to remove the backbone of Rising Sky Mansion before most of them could figure out what was happening.

“Has everything been cleaned up?” In the sky above the Rising Sky Mansion’s estate, a group of people gathered from all directions. They were none other than the Mystical Sky Mansion’s high-ranking officials. The person who had spoken was none other than Meng Qing, the Mansion Master of Mystical Sky Mansion.

Gu Ci Yun who was standing with Gu Li replied, “Mansion Master, the east side has been cleared.”

The old man standing together with Zhao Deng replied as well, “The west side has been cleared too.” This old man was Zhao Deng’s father. He was the other Guardian of the Mystical Sky Mansion.

In the Mystical Sky Mansion, his strength was on par with Gu Ci Yun. He was only inferior to the Mansion Master.

The four Palace Masters led by Zhu Lu Qi, the Palace Master of Heaven Palace, had also arrived. Zhu Lu Qi respectfully said to Meng Qing, “Lord Mansion Master, the southern side has also been cleared.”

As for the other Vice Mansion Masters, they followed Meng Qing and were in charge of the northern side as well as dealing with those who tried to escape. After all, this matter had to be dealt with as discreetly as possible.

Since this matter involved a top-tier Devil Dao Cultivation Method, even the Mountainshade Black Market and Azure Cloud Mansion would be interested in it.

“Very good.” Meng Qing nodded his head in satisfaction. “Xu Jing, the Young Mansion of the Rising Sky Mansion, has already been transferred to a secluded place by me… Since we’ve already cleaned up what should’ve been cleaned up, we can return now. However, judging by Xu Jing’s conditions, his soul that has yet to recover might not be able to endure it if we use the Soul Searching Secret Tactic on him. For this reason, we’ll bring him back for now and lock him up,” Meng Qing said.

“He had used the Soul Congregation technique previously, and his soul was obliterated. Due to this reason, it’ll take a few years, at least, for it to recover. We’ll have to wait for another year and a half or so before we can use the Soul Searching Secret Tactic on him. Otherwise, judging by his current condition, I’m afraid his soul will shatter completely before we can extract any information regarding the Devil Dao Cultivation Method from his soul.” Gu Ci Yun nodded.

“Then, let’s wait for another year and a half or so… I hope the Devil Dao Cultivation Method he obtained is not the inhuman type. In that case, our Mystical Sky Mansion will definitely be able to rise up even higher in the Lower Province of the Dao Martial Saint Land with the help of that cultivation method!” Zhao Jin’s eyes flashed when he spoke. He was the old man standing next to Zhao Deng. He was the other Guardian of Mystical Sky Mansion. His tone was slightly excited when he reached the end of his sentence.

The moment these words left his mouth, even Meng Qing, the Mansion Master of Mystical Sky Mansion, could not help but slightly lose his composure, let alone the others.

In the Dao Martial Saint Land, the Mystical Sky Mansion was one of the quasi third-rate forces. In ordinary people’s opinion, the Mystical Sky Mansion was one of the most elite forces in the Lower Province of the Dao Martial Saint Land.

However, only those people who stood at a higher level in the Lower Province of the Dao Martial Saint Land knew that despite being a quasi third-rate force, the Mystical Sky Mansion was still far inferior compared to the Mountainshade Black Market and the Azure Cloud Mansion that were quasi third-rate forces.

At this moment, Qian Ping Sheng, the Palace Master of Yellow Palace, said hesitantly, “Lord Mansion Master!” It immediately disrupted the joyous atmosphere.

Everyone, including Meng Qing, shifted their attention to Qian Ping Sheng.

“Yes?” Meng Qing was curious.

“One person might have escaped…” Qian Ping Sheng smiled wryly.

One person might have escaped!

The moment these words left his mouth, everyone, including Zhu Lu Qi, the Palace Master of Earth Palace, and the Palace Master of Mystical Palace, could not help but feel horrified.

Before Meng Qing could speak, Zhao Jin looked at Qian Ping Sheng and asked in a near interrogative tone, “Didn’t Palace Master Zhu said everything’s cleared?”

“Junior Brother Qian, what’s going on?” Zhu Lu Qi looked at Qian Ping Sheng with a very grave expression since he did not mention this to him earlier.

Qian Ping Sheng looked at Zhu Lu Qi and said, “Senior Brother Zhu, didn’t Xu Jing have a lackey? We didn’t find that lackey, did we?”

“That hunchback lackey of Xu Jing?” Upon hearing that, Zhu Lu Qi’s frown eased up immediately. “He’s merely Xu Jing’s lackey, and I’m sure he doesn’t know about Xu Jing obtaining that Devil Dao Cultivation Method, right? Moreover, while we were cleaning up the mess, nobody mentioned anything about the lackey knowing anything about that cultivation method.”

“Those people were all arrogant so they might not bother with Xu Jing’s lackey.” Qian Ping Sheng shook his head. “Originally, I wasn’t too bothered by that lackey. However, something seems to be amiss when I thought about it. I heard that a year before the Rising Sky Ranking Battle took place, Xu Jing’s lackey was not in the Rising Sky Mansion’s district and had seemingly followed Xu Jing when he left. If he had followed Xu Jing, this means…”

Before Qian Ping Sheng could finish his sentence, he was already interrupted by Gu Ci Yun. “At the side I was in charge of, one Rising Sky Mansion’s disciple had mentioned that Xu Jing’s lackey had accompanied him to the Rising Sky Ranking Battle. In the end, he even followed Grand Elder Xu Cen of Rising Sky Mansion back here. Other than that Rising Sky Mansion’s disciple, nobody mentioned him at all. It seems like nobody had taken him seriously. After all, his position was extremely low in the Rising Sky Mansion. However, if he had followed Xu Jing when Xu Jing left, I’m sure he must know about that Devil Dao Cultivation Method!” When Gu Ci Yun reached the end of his sentence, his expression had turned completely grave.

“The side I was in charge of also had one person who mentioned Xu Jing’s lackey. However, since the lackey was at the side Palace Master Zhu was in charge of, I didn’t investigate more. I thought Palace Master Zhu would get rid of him, I didn’t expect him to escape!” Zhao Jin looked at Zhu Lu Qi accusingly.

“What?!” Horror dawned on Zhu Lu Qi. He did not expect the only person who managed to escape had done so under his watch.

“Lord Mansion Master, although we don’t know for certain if Xu Jing’s lackey knows about that Devil Dao Cultivation Method, we have to search for him before he disappears. He doesn’t seem to be in the Rising Sky Mansion’s estate in the first place,” Qian Ping Sheng chimed in.