On Ning Fan’s side, out of the five blood wolves, almost all of them had already died. Even though the last one had ignited its blood, there was no way it could endure under the continuous barrage of attacks from the black dragon and the puppet. Gradually, the damage it took got more serious and was eventually defeated. That large wolf corpse was then brutally swallowed by the black puppet along with its skin and bones.
The remaining eight star wolves were eliminated one after one under the joint attacks from the women and the Honorable Demon Generals.
Ning Fan guarded the entrance of the snowy valley. Whenever a wolf approaches, he would wield his sword and slash them.
Piles of wolf carcasses were stacked beside his legs, yet none of them could get through his defense.
At the moment the eight star wolves all finally died, Ning Fan took a step forward and leaped onto the golden flame chariot, intending to go ahead of the others. When all the experts of his group had boarded the chariot, it rushed into the valley of snow, leaving Lu Jiefen and the others behind.
“It’s bad! The key is going to fall into Lu Bei’s hands!”
When Lu Jiefen, Qu Shun and the two old men saw Ning Fan had already made a move to rush into the snow valley first, their expressions immediately turned grim and they no longer reserved their strength.
Even though they were still surrounded by large groups of wolf demons, all the star wolves and blood wolves had already been killed, so they only left behind quite a number of Nascent Soul Realm and Divine Transformation Realm cultivators there to slaughter the wolves. Lu Jiefen and the other three experts no longer dawdled. At once, they turned into four light beams and trailed behind the golden flame chariot.
“Damn it…”
Lin Su’s eyes were filled with jealousy.
His strength was not strong enough for him to kill his way out of the enormous packs of wolves. What he could only do was to watch those Half-Step Void Refinement experts compete for the key of the Star Palace.
At first, the path of the snow valley was at least ten zhang* (1 zhang = 3.33m) wide. But as they reached the deepest part of the valley, it was only three zhang* (1 zhang = 3.33m) wide. That width was rather hard for the golden flame chariot to pass through.
Sometimes, the chariot would collide against the walls of the mountains, leaving some scratches on its body. That just showed how hard and solid those star mountains were.
After travelling for a few hours, the end of the valley of snow was only half a zhang* (1 zhang = 3.33m) wide. The surroundings were completely blocked by the star mountains, making their view of the sky became as thin as a line. Doubtlessly, the golden flame chariot was unable to pass through it. The width of the path only allowed a single person to enter one at a time.
After passing through that narrow path, their scope of vision widened. A huge ice basin which was covered in snow appeared. The surroundings suddenly became bright.
At the centre of the basin stood a silver iceberg. It was nearly ten thousand zhang* tall (1 zhang = 3.33m).
However, if one takes a closer look, they will find out that it isn’t a silver iceberg at all. but a ten thousand zhang* (1 zhang = 3.33m) large giant egg which was condensed from ice instead.
The shell of the egg was formed from frozen ice. Within the ice crystal, a huge body of a wolf demon which was at least five thousand zhang* (1 zhang = 3.33m) was sealed. Apparently, it seemed to be in the middle of sleeping. Even though it was separated from them by the iceberg, it emitted a steady but powerful breath.
“The iceberg must be the “Slumbering Demon Egg”! Perhaps that monster sealed inside it is the slumbering Wolf King?” Xi Ran exclaimed with her little mouth covered.
Even though she was a member of the demon race, she did not have much experience in life. In fact, it was her first time seeing the place where the experts of the demon race slumbered.
Moreover, Xi Ran got so excited that she even wanted to try flying to the top of the iceberg and take a good look at the posture of the sleeping Wolf King.
“Shhh! Silly little girl, lower down your voice…If we wake the Wolf King up, I’m afraid that you will immediately be eaten by him with his Void Refinement Realm cultivation!” Seeing Xi Ran who was curious, Wu Yan quickly held her back and stopped her with a smile.
Well, Xi Ran could not be blamed for being so excited. After all, the ‘Demon Egg of Slumber’ was the sealing technique which only the members of the ancient demon race knew. It was a technique to seal themselves. As long as the demon egg is sturdy enough, it was possible to enclose an expert inside the demon egg and allow him to slumber for billions of years without perishing.
Lu Wu, Lu Daochen and the others were all members of the ancient demon race. As a matter of fact, they had lived for over 150 million years without dying inside the demon egg.
The greatest advantage of slumbering inside a demon egg was that it could isolate one from the erosion of time and thus, let those ancient creatures survive to be part of future generations.
But the biggest drawback of it was that the slumbering cultivator would not be able to cultivate. Besides, it had no guarantee of safety and it was impossible for one to precisely control the time for them to wake up.
Tan Lang’s slumbering process was a little special. He was not completely in deep sleep. Thus, he could not isolate himself from the erosion of time. He only used the demon egg as a means to condense his demon power. Therefore, he would age. He would die. But he could also cultivate while slumbering inside the demon egg.
However, regardless of anything, Tan Lang was still sleeping. Without being woken up by those blood wolves outside, it would be extremely hard for him to wake up by himself!
“So this is, the ‘Demon Egg of Slumber’?!”
Ning Fan’s eyes flashed with surprise. It was also his first time seeing how a demon race expert slumbered, just like Xi Ran.
However, an egg was still just an egg after all.
When Ning Fan was a still mortal kid, he had heard a lot of myths and legends which were widely spread around in the mortal world.
For example, a giant who had slumbered inside an egg for several years eventually broke free from the shell of his egg, creating the heavens and earth and forming a chiliocosm.
Another one was a fairy who once used pebbles to repair the heavens. However, in the end, one of the pebbles she used was left on an island in the mortal world which in turn gave birth to an expert from the ape race.
When he was still a mortal, he did not believe in these myths at all. Whenever he heard of them, he would just treat them as a joke.
However, as his cultivation level improved, he began to see more and more strange and unusual things.
So it turns out that the ‘Demon Egg of Slumber’… really exists!
“Almost all of the blood wolves have been killed. The nine blood wolves and eighteen star wolves should have received the Power of Bestowal from this Wolf King. It’s why all of them are much stronger compared to other normal wolf demons. At the same time, they also possess the ability to wake up the Wolf King…Unfortunately, those blood wolves and star wolves are all gone now. Hence, no matter how much we attack the giant egg, the Wolf King will never wake up…This is the risk that the demon race faces when slumbering! Some outstanding beings of the ancient demon race who were unable to dominate the world in the past chose to seal themselves off in their eggs with the hope that they could succeed in Dao Inquiry in the future…However, no one knows how many of them were secretly assassinated during their slumber...”
Lu Daochen let out a few sighs continuously. Before entering the Third World, other than him and Ning Fan, no one knew that Lu Wu was already dead.
The other eight Honorable Demon Generals who entered the Third World carried the same intention as Lu Jiefen. In fact, they did not harbor any kind intentions like awakening Lu Wu from his slumber. Instead, they were here, plotting and scheming to assassinate Lu Wu.
This was the sorrow that every member of the demon race would face after getting into slumber…
This was the price that they had to pay for isolating themselves from being eroded by time!
“What are you all waiting for? Smash the iceberg and kill the Wolf King!”
The Wind General and Thunder General’s faces were filled with exhilaration.
To any belligerent demon generals, being able to kill a Void Refinement Realm ferocious beast like the Wolf King was indeed an honor for them.
However, just as the two of them stepped forward, there were another four rays of travelling light flashing past the narrow sky and catching up with them. Upon arrival, they transformed into four human shadows. They were none other than Lu Jiefen, Qu Shun and the rest of the Half-Step Void Refinement experts.
Among the group of Half-Step Void Refinement Realm, Qu Shun was an exception as he was just a Peak Divine Transformation cultivator. However, he had once beaten a Half-Step Void Refinement to the point of being crippled. His strength was beyond all doubt. He too was indeed a monstrously talented person. Of course, he was just not as talented as Ning Fan.
“Hehe, General Bei’s Golden Flame Chariot was really fast. All of us almost could not catch up with you.”
The reason why Lu Jiefen and the others rushed here in a hurry was naturally because they wanted to share a part of the benefits from the upcoming mission.
Once the Greedy Wolf was killed, they definitely would compete for it without any hesitation.
The condition, however, was that Tan Lang must have the key to the Star Palace.
“They came just in time! Why don’t we deal with the four of them first before we kill the Wolf King!” Yue Lingkong was slightly displeased. She hated sharing the fruits of victory with others the most.
Her words immediately caused Lu Jiefen and the other four experts’ expressions to change drastically. The atmosphere became tense as if each of them was going to draw their swords and prepare for a showdown. Especially Lu Jiefen, he looked at Yue Lingkong and felt startled deep inside his heart.
This little girl who looks rather ordinary actually has such courage to start an internal fight right before the Wolf King… This girl can’t really be judged just from her appearance. It’s beyond my expectations that she would be such a cruel person…
Upon hearing Yue Lingkong’s suggestion, Ning Fan waved his hand disapprovingly, rejecting her idea. At the same time, he held this violent little girl back.
“Silly little Yue Er…”
“You say that I am silly!? I’m just trying to help you seize the key, okay? Also, let go of me! Am I that close with you? Pay attention to how you address me and politeness!”
Yue Lingkong struggled to move her body with dissatisfaction, trying to break her wrist free from Ning Fan’s evil grip.
However, after Ning Fan’s power had skyrocketed, his strength had also improved a lot. Thus, with the current body that Yue Lingkong was in, she was unable to break from Ning Fan’s grip. What she could only do was to let her little hand be touched by Ning Fan and be taken advantage of.
“Silly girl. In order to kill the Wolf King, this ice egg has to be broken first. Only then could we harm the Wolf King. However, this ice egg is not easy to shatter. We will still need to work together and only then will we be able to succeed… No matter if you want to fight or kill them, let’s talk about it only after Tan Lang is killed!”
Ning Fan’s words had calmed the tense atmosphere.
One of the reasons why he stopped the fight was because he had already known that Tan Lang did not have the key with him. It was completely meaningless for him to engage in any fights.
As for the other reason, it was because the four experts including Lu Jiefen gave him a rather heavy threatening feeling.
Lu Jiefen and Qu Shun are not simple to deal with. As for the other two elderly men, however, they had already been set up by me. They could be killed whenever I want.
Ning Fan harbored the intention to kill Tan Lang not because he wanted to get the key but because he wanted to open up the path to the central domain of the Heaven Hall.
He wanted to leave this place as soon as possible. Therefore, when facing Lu Jiefen and Qu Shun, he did not have the intention to end their lives.
Translated by Tommy, edited by Roel
Most of the people that were there also became composed after seeing Ning Fan open his mouth to stop a conflict from arising. As he said, if they really want to fight, they should do it after breaking this iceberg-like giant egg together.
“It’s not a simple thing to do! The ice egg where the Wolf King is sleeping inside was condensed borrowing the cold qi of the whole snow valley. I’m afraid its hardness might already be strong enough to withstand an attack at the Mid Void Refinement Realm… It seems that we all still need to join hands one more time and attack it together at the same time to break this ice egg!” Qu Shun suggested with a solemn expression.
“Alright! I will make a count of three and then let’s cast our strongest techniques together to break the shell of this egg!”
Lu Jie Fen said and glanced at everyone there. Qu Shun was the first one to nod his head in agreement with his words followed by Ning Fan. As for the two elderly men from the White Devil Sect, they also agreed after exchanging glances with each other.
Once the plan was set, they all took out their magic weapons and performed hand seals. Each of them began to raise their own auras. All of a sudden, the temperature within the basin raised drastically as a strong gale began to blow.
Ning Fan patted his storage pouch and took out his Blood Sword. His eyes were gradually being filled with traces of sword intent. The aura of the sword turned into sword threads that whirled around him.
“One!”
“Two!”
“Three!”
At the exact moment Lu Jie Fen shouted out ‘three’, everyone pulled themselves away from each other and cast their strongest strikes at the ice egg.
Except for… the two elderly experts from the White Devil Sect!
A series of attacks bombarded the giant egg of ice. Although it had been struck by attacks from tens of Divine Transformation Realm experts present, there were only a few cracks on the egg. Moreover, through the cracks, a trace of faint golden demon blood began to flow out.
Ning Fan also wielded his sword at the ice egg. However, his mind was constantly perturbed by the two elderly experts of the White Devil Sect beside him.
Once everyone was exhausted after striking the ice egg. Both the elderly experts’ eyes were filled with killing intent.
Each of them took out an immortal charm that emanated a forceful cold qi. A column of ice flames flashed on the tips of their fingers and the charms were ignited. And then, they turned into two traces of bone-chilling wind and blew towards everyone in a moment!
“Hehe! Just like the saying goes that there is too little gruel for too many monks. As for the matter of breaking the ice egg, both of us will figure out another way ourselves. Small fry from the Mortal World like you all can die now!”
Robbing the treasure! Without a doubt, they were attempting to rob the treasure and take it all for themselves!
Most of the people harbored some other thoughts within their minds. During their first attempt in attacking the egg, all of them had reserved half of their strength in case somebody among them violates the agreement.
However, even though they had taken precautions, none of them expected that the elderly men from the White Devil Sect would be so arrogant as to try to keep the ice egg for themselves by attacking all the experts here.
Under the icy windstorm, even Lu Jie Fen and Qu Shun were slightly hurt when they were blown by it. Their eyes were filled with anger.
“Detestable! You two are actually trying to keep the Key of the Star Palace for yourselves?!”
“Haha! So what if we do? Be incensed!”
The two elderly experts shouted and murmured some incantations. The icy wind immediately got stronger. An Early Divine Transformation Realm cultivator might also be torn apart by it even if they were prepared to defend against it!
After Lu Jie Fen and Qu Shun were blown away, the two elderly men’s gaze locked onto the ice egg which was already half-broken after the previous barrages of attacks. In a flash, they appeared in front of the iceberg. They both exercised immense strength which was strong enough to move a mountain and literally lifted the egg off from where it was and placed it on their shoulders. Apparently, they were trying to keep it in their storage pouch!
That icy wind was so powerful that it could at least drag away all the experts at the scene for at least the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. To them, that amount of time was enough for them to run away with the ice egg containing Tan Lang. Afterward, they could pick a safer place to slowly break it and kill Tan Lang!
The icy windstorm blew towards Ning Fan and his group. It was so fierce that it seemed like it was going to blow them all away.
Each of the Honorable Demon Generals’ faces was seething with rage. They intended to scold the two elderly men for their disgraceful actions. However, before they could even open their mouths, a wall of black flames abruptly appeared from the ground and soared into the sky. It had blocked out parts of the wind, protecting all the female cultivators and Honorable Demon Generals from being injured!
Moreover, after the icy wind was stopped, the wall of flames transformed into nine black fire dragons which were one thousand zhang* (3.33m per zhang) long each. Their appearance had caused the power of the icy wind to be greatly weakened!
“Keeping a treasure for yourselves is not something you should do…”
Ning Fan passed through the black flames and stepped on one of the fire dragons, rushing past the icy wind. In a flash, he landed heavily on top of the iceberg. His moves were as fast as lightning. At the next moment, he violently sucked at the crack on the egg, extracting droplets of faint golden demon blood from within.
These droplets of demon blood were similar to those he got from the First World. They contained tremendous power within.
These droplets of blood initially belonged to Lu Wu. After that, they were consumed by Tan Lang. Now, however, Ning Fan had literally sucked all of them out from just an injury on Tan Lang!
Nobody noticed that Ning Fan had taken advantage of the chaos to extract all of Tan Lang’s demon blood. Under his sleeves, eighteen drops of golden demon blood congealed!
After Tan Lang’s demon blood was sucked dry, he was now dying and his breath became weak and feeble!
Sympathetically, the two elderly experts from the White Devil Sect had yet to realize that Tan Lang who was slumbering inside the giant iceberg above their shoulders was going to be a dead wolf soon.
This wolf did not have the key. Besides, after its blood was completely drawn out by Ning Fan, it was completely worthless.
Since these two old monsters of the White Devil Sect want it, then I’ll just let it be!
“Break!”
Standing at the peak of the iceberg, Ning Fan suddenly bent down and landed a strong hard fist on it.
*Rumble*
More cracks were formed on the iceberg. Furthermore, the force of his punch spread into the internal parts of the iceberg through these cracks, affecting Tan Lang’s slumbering demon body. Upon receiving the impact, Tan Lang’s demon soul was shattered, completely eradicating that sinful wolf!
The remaining force of his punch then spread towards the shoulders of the two old monsters. Upon impact, the bones of their shoulders were totally crushed. They spat out mouthfuls of fresh blood. Even so, their eyes flashed with ferocity and they forcibly kept the iceberg into their storage pouch.
“Young man! The next time we meet, it will be your death! Get lost!”
They glared viciously at Ning Fan. They knew that it was not a good time to fight with Ning Fan and they should immediately flee away with the treasure.
One of them held the Black Ice Tortoise Shield while the other held the Pure Flask of Wind and Snow. When they both vanished into the distance, the group of experts yelled in anger.
“Shameless! How dare you go against your own words! It’s such a shame to regard yourselves as experts from the White Devil Sect of!”
“Hmph! You wanna keep the Key of the Star Palace to yourselves? In your dreams!”
In the blink of an eye, Lu Jie Fen and Qu Shun teleported with all their might and pursued the two elderly experts in anger.
Upon seeing what had happened, Yue Lingkong and Yuan Yao were panicking. They also wanted to go forward and chase after them too. But they were held back by Ning Fan with his palm.
“We don’t have to fight for it!”
“But why? They have just taken the key to the Star Palace away!”
“Nope. They didn’t!”
Ning Fan smirked and kept the eighteen drops of golden blood into a flask. After that, he comforted the worried female cultivators including Yuan Yao using telepathy.
“Ever since the beginning, the key has already been with me …”
“What?!”
Other than the female corpse whose face remained relaxed and composed, the other four female cultivators were all taken by surprise.
“H… How could it be? I don’t understand… ” Xi Ran was confused. After all, if the Key had always been with Ning Fan since the beginning, then why did he work so hard to slaughter the Wolf King?
“There is not much time for me to explain now. I have killed Tan Lang during the mess earlier. Before those guys find out about it and come back, we should take advantage of this opportunity to enter the central domain of the Heaven Hall… ”
Ning Fan only said those words to the female cultivators through telepathy and only they could hear him.
Not to mention Lu Daochen, he, of course, had already known that the key was in Ning Fan’s hands as he was the one who presented the key to him.
As for the other seven Honorable Demon Generals, some of them were kept by Ning Fan as his slaves while the others only had a shallow relationship with him. Thus, all of them were unworthy to be told about this secret.
“Master Lu, I’m now going to fulfill my promise… As Honorable Demon Generals, I recommend that you all should leave the Star Palace as soon as possible and return to the Second World to manage the tribes. I have a hunch that the Star Palace is not going to be peaceful soon…”
When Ning Fan thought of the imminent sense of crisis which grew stronger and closer as time passed by, his eyes became solemn.
“Alright. Just go and fulfill the promise between you and me… I just have one word for you… Thank you for this great favor!”
Lu Daochen who had a pair of old cloudy eyes was more than thrilled to bits. He could finally accomplish his lifetime wish: to free Demon Marshal Lu’s remnant soul from punishment.
It was Ning Fan who helped him accomplish his long-cherished wish. He had deeply carved the debt of gratitude which he owed Ning Fan into his mind.
No matter how successful he would be once he ascends to the Land of Demons in the future, he would never forget that there was once a person named Lu Bei who had helped him accomplish his longstanding wish which was even more important than his own life.
The icy wind had not totally dissipated. However, the atmosphere within this frozen land had gradually died down.
The other seven Honorable Demon Generals were looking at each other with doubt.
“Uhhh… That’s it? Is it over? Is it time for us to go home now?”
They did not know that the key was now in Ning Fan’s hands. Each of their faces still had a hint of indignation for not being able to get even a share of the benefits.
After hearing Ning Fan’s words, they understood that Ning Fan was implying for them to leave. Obviously, there were some secrets that could not be told within the central domain of the Heaven Hall. Therefore, he did not plan on bringing anyone along.
These Honorable Demon Generals only knew that the key was robbed by those two White Devil Sect experts.
Translated by Tommy, edited by Roel
After putting so much effort, they only came to realize that all the benefits had been cheated out of them by the White Devil Sect. None of them could do anything about it.
But when they thought of it from another perspective, the journey in the Star Palace was full of danger and most of the time, everyone was only able to survive because of Ning Fan who protected them.
Besides, out of the seven Honorable Demon Generals excluding Lu Daochen, four of them had all been planted with demon seal by Ning Fan and were kept as demon slaves.
Anyhow, the seven of them should show some courtesy by having a polite conversation with Ning Fan for their parting, even though they were very unwilling to do so.
“Hai, Lu Bei. The key… is gone and it can only be blamed on the shamelessness of the experts from the White Devil Sect. None of us have expected that the two of them would suddenly betray us so you need not take it to heart…”
Both the Wind General and Thunder General comforted Ning Fan. With unreadable facial expressions, they then took out their formation disks and left the Star Palace, returning to the Second World.
The rest of them greeted Ning Fan with cupped fists as an act of courtesy one after another and left after bidding him a brief farewell.
Since the Key of the Star Palace had already been seized by others, there was no point for them to continue staying here as it was impossible for them to obtain the emperor’s star. Moreover, staying in the Star Palace would only put themselves in greater danger.
“Let’s go. We shall all dismiss ourselves now… Furthermore, we still have to return to our tribes and disseminate the news of Marshal Lu’s death …”
As they thought of Lu Wu’s death, no matter how iron-hearted each of the Honorable Demon Generals were, they could not help but sigh and sob about it.
The seven Honorable Demon Generals left in succession and finally, it was Lu Daochen’s turn. He felt slightly pleased and relieved. With reluctance, he then cupped his fists, activated his formation disk and vanished...
“Lu Bei, be careful in your journey… If there is a chance in the future, come back to visit Wan Er …”
“Of course I will!”
Ning Fan cupped his fists as well and his eyes flashed with a hint of sadness.
Life is a mixture of happiness and sadness, whenever there is a meeting, there is bound to be a parting as well.
Setting all his feelings aside, he kept all his spiritual puppets, leaving only the black dragon and black puppet by his side for self-defense.
Once all the female cultivators had boarded the golden flame chariot, Ning Fan leaped onto it and maneuvered it to the other side of this snowy ground without caring about the fights between the White Devil Sect experts and Lu Jiefen and Qu Shun anymore.
“Is the key really in your hands? Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” Yuan Yao’s eyes were filled with a faint trace of petulance. Her current facial expression was extremely like that of a woman who was bickering with her lover.
“I was afraid that if I told you earlier, you will fight me to death to obtain the key … To be honest, I don’t want to fight with you. If I obtain the inheritance of the emperor’s star, I would certainly give you a trace of the black star’s power so that you can save your sister.”
“This… Thank you…”
Yuan Yao sighed softly. Originally, she had something to tell Ning Fan. In the end, however, those words were stuck in her throat.
“I’m also unwilling to be your enemy…”
Along with Tan Lang’s death, the enormous iceberg which sealed off all the paths at the end of the ice basin was now only an outward show. As soon as the golden flame chariot crashed through it, a path was literally opened up. At the end of the path was a bright glowing gate.
In a golden flash, the golden flame chariot charged into the gate, entering the next area…
Yuan Yao, Wu Yan and Xi Ran all felt a sudden feeling of reluctance. They can’t help but feel that they were going to part with each other soon.
“Lu Bei will leave once he gets the emperor’s star… In this life...will we meet each other…again?”
It was the same question that arose within the three women’s minds. However, nobody dared to open their mouths and ask as it would only add up more sadness.
On the other side, the two elderly experts of the White Devil Sect carefully kept the storage pouch containing Tan Lang’s corpse. They certainly had no idea that Tan Lang was already dead.
They also did not know that because of their actions, Ning Fan did not instantly activate the power of the black snow which he planted within them to kill them but let them become the scapegoats instead.
Activating it is just to let them die earlier.
Even if I don’t activate it right now, the power of Wind Snow would also activate itself soon.
However, before their deaths, Ning Fan made use of them by using them as a decoy to draw Lu Jiefen and the others’ attention away.
He then took advantage of the opportunity to find Lu Wu to complete his mission and obtain the inheritance of the emperor’s star.
Lu Jiefen was very infuriated, extremely infuriated!
He had already reserved half of his power earlier to defend himself in case someone broke the agreement and started an internal fight.
However, who Lu Jiefen was keeping an eye on was Ning Fan. What he felt most worried about was that Ning Fan, the cunning young man who never played by rules, would sneak-attack him at any moment.
“I never expected that Lu Bei wasn’t the one who attacked me but the two helpers whom I brought along! If I had known about it, I wouldn’t have invited the White Devil Sect and I shouldn’t have saved Lin Su back then! I would just let him die!” Lu Jiefen yelled in fury.
“This prince also didn’t expect it either. This time, Lu Bei has already behaved himself but it was the two other rats from the White Devil Sect who were making trouble… There is nothing to be afraid of from the two elderly experts. It isn’t difficult to kill the two of them, let alone obtain the Wolf King back. But I have one thing that I can’t understand… Lu Bei is a person who never does anything with a loss. With that personality, why didn’t he come and chase after the two traitors after he was sneak-attacked and had the Key to the Star Palace stolen away from him? It just does not seem like the way he would do things… Don’t tell me that he did not have the intention of obtaining the emperor’s star. Is there something that I’ve missed?”
Qu Shun’s eyes turned solemn.
However clever he might be, he would never figure out that whatever Ning Fan had done to contend for the key all the way was just for show.
Ning Fan had already gotten the Key of the Star Palace long before coming to the Third World.
Within the snow valley which were covered with wolf carcasses, there were only seven Divine Transformation Realm cultivators from the Demon World, seven Divine Transformation Realm experts from the White Devil Sect including Lin Su and a few Nascent Soul Realm cultivators who were still alive. The others had already perished during the battle.
A moment ago, both parties were still fighting alongside each other and saw the wolves as their enemies. But at the moment when the two experts from the White Devil Sect returned, another fight immediately began between the two groups.
“Junior! We’ve obtained the key! Let’s go now!” The White Devil Sect experts shouted hastily at Lin Su.
“Zhao Ge! Do it! Kill the members of the White Devil Sect!” Qu Shun’s eyes were cold and indifferent as he ordered one of his subordinates.
Zhao Ge and Lin Su’s expressions immediately changed upon hearing Qu Shun’s words. None of them were fools. Since the White Devil Sect had seized the key, then their enemy was no longer Ning Fan or the wolf demons but the White Devil Sect itself!
“Kill!”
Lu Jiefen’s wielded his Purple Yang Mirror and blocked two the White Devil Sect experts’ escape route for. Qu Shun took this opportunity and took out a golden palm-leaf fan. With just a single flap, a column of golden flames was shot out vigorously.
From the bottom of their hearts, the two elderly experts knew that it would be hard for them to keep the key for themselves if they don’t fight with Lu Jiefen and others until they die.
“Humph! You are just courting death to have become enemies of our sect, the White Devil Sect!”
“So what if you guys are from the White Devil Sect? We are demons and you all are humans. Naturally, you are our enemies. What can others do to us for killing both of you?! Hand over the ice egg of the Wolf King and everything can still be forgiven!” Lu Jiefen shouted with wrath.
“Don’t even think that’s possible!” The two White Devil Sect experts sneered coldly.
Thus, another clash began!
However, nobody noticed that there was a ray of light that flashed past outside the snow valley with a burly man who was draped in a long cloak appearing at the peak of a star hill. He lowered his cold-piercing eyes and looked attentively at the fight which had just started.
“The demon race… The White Devil Sect…”
No one knew his presence.
However, when he heard of the word ‘key’, his eyes lit up with joy.
“That’s it! The Key of the Star Palace! If I get the key, then I would obtain the emperor’s star! Then, that lowly slave woman would surely come looking for me to obtain that emperor’s star. I would then kill her! I have plenty of ways to end her life in mind!”
The burly man grinned sinisterly. Standing at the top of the star mountain while bathing in the icy snow, he then made a stomp on the ground!
That move he made caused the hollow space within the vicinity of one hundred thousand li* (500 m per li) to be crushed entirely!
The experts of the two parties who were engaging each other just now were abnormally fearful at the same time.
“A Void Refinement Realm expert! Why is there a Void Refinement Realm expert here?”
“Crushing the hollow space within one hundred thousand li* (500 m per li) with just a single step! I’m afraid not even a Mid Void Refinement Realm can compare to that level of strength… That person must be at the Late Void Refinement Realm!”
The atmosphere was filled with exclamations of fright and cries. However, at the next moment, all of them were drowned by a domineering voice.
“Give me the key and I shall kill all of you with your corpse intact.”
The cloaked burly man said with a menacing tone.
“That friend over there, we are from the White Devil Sect…” Lin Su’s eyes glinted with surprise. Facing that burly man in front of him, he had no courage to resist him at all.
The only thing that he could do was to declare his identity in order to threaten him.
“Who is your friend?!”
The burly man then made another stomp. Without showing any signs, pieces of jet-black knives condensed from the power of the void shot towards Lin Su, shredding him into pieces.
In an instant, Lin Su’s life was snuffed out!
The two elderly men were both frightened and angered at the same time. However, that expression on their faces turned into terror at the next moment.
It was because the burly man who was standing a certain distance away had his gaze fixed on both of them.
“Give me the key!”
Well, it was proven that a loss might not necessarily be a bad thing but a blessing in disguise.
Keeping Tan Lang’s demon egg for oneself might not necessarily be a good thing as well…
Translated by Tommy, edited by Roel
On Ning Fan’s side, out of the five blood wolves, almost all of them had already died. Even though the last one had ignited its blood, there was no way it could endure under the continuous barrage of attacks from the black dragon and the puppet. Gradually, the damage it took got more serious and was eventually defeated. That large wolf corpse was then brutally swallowed by the black puppet along with its skin and bones.
The remaining eight star wolves were eliminated one after one under the joint attacks from the women and the Honorable Demon Generals.
Ning Fan guarded the entrance of the snowy valley. Whenever a wolf approaches, he would wield his sword and slash them.
Piles of wolf carcasses were stacked beside his legs, yet none of them could get through his defense.
At the moment the eight star wolves all finally died, Ning Fan took a step forward and leaped onto the golden flame chariot, intending to go ahead of the others. When all the experts of his group had boarded the chariot, it rushed into the valley of snow, leaving Lu Jiefen and the others behind.
“It’s bad! The key is going to fall into Lu Bei’s hands!”
When Lu Jiefen, Qu Shun and the two old men saw Ning Fan had already made a move to rush into the snow valley first, their expressions immediately turned grim and they no longer reserved their strength.
Even though they were still surrounded by large groups of wolf demons, all the star wolves and blood wolves had already been killed, so they only left behind quite a number of Nascent Soul Realm and Divine Transformation Realm cultivators there to slaughter the wolves. Lu Jiefen and the other three experts no longer dawdled. At once, they turned into four light beams and trailed behind the golden flame chariot.
“Damn it…”
Lin Su’s eyes were filled with jealousy.
His strength was not strong enough for him to kill his way out of the enormous packs of wolves. What he could only do was to watch those Half-Step Void Refinement experts compete for the key of the Star Palace.
At first, the path of the snow valley was at least ten zhang* (1 zhang = 3.33m) wide. But as they reached the deepest part of the valley, it was only three zhang* (1 zhang = 3.33m) wide. That width was rather hard for the golden flame chariot to pass through.
Sometimes, the chariot would collide against the walls of the mountains, leaving some scratches on its body. That just showed how hard and solid those star mountains were.
After travelling for a few hours, the end of the valley of snow was only half a zhang* (1 zhang = 3.33m) wide. The surroundings were completely blocked by the star mountains, making their view of the sky became as thin as a line. Doubtlessly, the golden flame chariot was unable to pass through it. The width of the path only allowed a single person to enter one at a time.
After passing through that narrow path, their scope of vision widened. A huge ice basin which was covered in snow appeared. The surroundings suddenly became bright.
At the centre of the basin stood a silver iceberg. It was nearly ten thousand zhang* tall (1 zhang = 3.33m).
However, if one takes a closer look, they will find out that it isn’t a silver iceberg at all. but a ten thousand zhang* (1 zhang = 3.33m) large giant egg which was condensed from ice instead.
The shell of the egg was formed from frozen ice. Within the ice crystal, a huge body of a wolf demon which was at least five thousand zhang* (1 zhang = 3.33m) was sealed. Apparently, it seemed to be in the middle of sleeping. Even though it was separated from them by the iceberg, it emitted a steady but powerful breath.
“The iceberg must be the “Slumbering Demon Egg”! Perhaps that monster sealed inside it is the slumbering Wolf King?” Xi Ran exclaimed with her little mouth covered.
Even though she was a member of the demon race, she did not have much experience in life. In fact, it was her first time seeing the place where the experts of the demon race slumbered.
Moreover, Xi Ran got so excited that she even wanted to try flying to the top of the iceberg and take a good look at the posture of the sleeping Wolf King.
“Shhh! Silly little girl, lower down your voice…If we wake the Wolf King up, I’m afraid that you will immediately be eaten by him with his Void Refinement Realm cultivation!” Seeing Xi Ran who was curious, Wu Yan quickly held her back and stopped her with a smile.
Well, Xi Ran could not be blamed for being so excited. After all, the ‘Demon Egg of Slumber’ was the sealing technique which only the members of the ancient demon race knew. It was a technique to seal themselves. As long as the demon egg is sturdy enough, it was possible to enclose an expert inside the demon egg and allow him to slumber for billions of years without perishing.
Lu Wu, Lu Daochen and the others were all members of the ancient demon race. As a matter of fact, they had lived for over 150 million years without dying inside the demon egg.
The greatest advantage of slumbering inside a demon egg was that it could isolate one from the erosion of time and thus, let those ancient creatures survive to be part of future generations.
But the biggest drawback of it was that the slumbering cultivator would not be able to cultivate. Besides, it had no guarantee of safety and it was impossible for one to precisely control the time for them to wake up.
Tan Lang’s slumbering process was a little special. He was not completely in deep sleep. Thus, he could not isolate himself from the erosion of time. He only used the demon egg as a means to condense his demon power. Therefore, he would age. He would die. But he could also cultivate while slumbering inside the demon egg.
However, regardless of anything, Tan Lang was still sleeping. Without being woken up by those blood wolves outside, it would be extremely hard for him to wake up by himself!
“So this is, the ‘Demon Egg of Slumber’?!”
Ning Fan’s eyes flashed with surprise. It was also his first time seeing how a demon race expert slumbered, just like Xi Ran.
However, an egg was still just an egg after all.
When Ning Fan was a still mortal kid, he had heard a lot of myths and legends which were widely spread around in the mortal world.
For example, a giant who had slumbered inside an egg for several years eventually broke free from the shell of his egg, creating the heavens and earth and forming a chiliocosm.
Another one was a fairy who once used pebbles to repair the heavens. However, in the end, one of the pebbles she used was left on an island in the mortal world which in turn gave birth to an expert from the ape race.
When he was still a mortal, he did not believe in these myths at all. Whenever he heard of them, he would just treat them as a joke.
However, as his cultivation level improved, he began to see more and more strange and unusual things.
So it turns out that the ‘Demon Egg of Slumber’… really exists!
“Almost all of the blood wolves have been killed. The nine blood wolves and eighteen star wolves should have received the Power of Bestowal from this Wolf King. It’s why all of them are much stronger compared to other normal wolf demons. At the same time, they also possess the ability to wake up the Wolf King…Unfortunately, those blood wolves and star wolves are all gone now. Hence, no matter how much we attack the giant egg, the Wolf King will never wake up…This is the risk that the demon race faces when slumbering! Some outstanding beings of the ancient demon race who were unable to dominate the world in the past chose to seal themselves off in their eggs with the hope that they could succeed in Dao Inquiry in the future…However, no one knows how many of them were secretly assassinated during their slumber...”
Lu Daochen let out a few sighs continuously. Before entering the Third World, other than him and Ning Fan, no one knew that Lu Wu was already dead.
The other eight Honorable Demon Generals who entered the Third World carried the same intention as Lu Jiefen. In fact, they did not harbor any kind intentions like awakening Lu Wu from his slumber. Instead, they were here, plotting and scheming to assassinate Lu Wu.
This was the sorrow that every member of the demon race would face after getting into slumber…
This was the price that they had to pay for isolating themselves from being eroded by time!
“What are you all waiting for? Smash the iceberg and kill the Wolf King!”
The Wind General and Thunder General’s faces were filled with exhilaration.
To any belligerent demon generals, being able to kill a Void Refinement Realm ferocious beast like the Wolf King was indeed an honor for them.
However, just as the two of them stepped forward, there were another four rays of travelling light flashing past the narrow sky and catching up with them. Upon arrival, they transformed into four human shadows. They were none other than Lu Jiefen, Qu Shun and the rest of the Half-Step Void Refinement experts.
Among the group of Half-Step Void Refinement Realm, Qu Shun was an exception as he was just a Peak Divine Transformation cultivator. However, he had once beaten a Half-Step Void Refinement to the point of being crippled. His strength was beyond all doubt. He too was indeed a monstrously talented person. Of course, he was just not as talented as Ning Fan.
“Hehe, General Bei’s Golden Flame Chariot was really fast. All of us almost could not catch up with you.”
The reason why Lu Jiefen and the others rushed here in a hurry was naturally because they wanted to share a part of the benefits from the upcoming mission.
Once the Greedy Wolf was killed, they definitely would compete for it without any hesitation.
The condition, however, was that Tan Lang must have the key to the Star Palace.
“They came just in time! Why don’t we deal with the four of them first before we kill the Wolf King!” Yue Lingkong was slightly displeased. She hated sharing the fruits of victory with others the most.
Her words immediately caused Lu Jiefen and the other four experts’ expressions to change drastically. The atmosphere became tense as if each of them was going to draw their swords and prepare for a showdown. Especially Lu Jiefen, he looked at Yue Lingkong and felt startled deep inside his heart.
This little girl who looks rather ordinary actually has such courage to start an internal fight right before the Wolf King… This girl can’t really be judged just from her appearance. It’s beyond my expectations that she would be such a cruel person…
Upon hearing Yue Lingkong’s suggestion, Ning Fan waved his hand disapprovingly, rejecting her idea. At the same time, he held this violent little girl back.
“Silly little Yue Er…”
“You say that I am silly!? I’m just trying to help you seize the key, okay? Also, let go of me! Am I that close with you? Pay attention to how you address me and politeness!”
Yue Lingkong struggled to move her body with dissatisfaction, trying to break her wrist free from Ning Fan’s evil grip.
However, after Ning Fan’s power had skyrocketed, his strength had also improved a lot. Thus, with the current body that Yue Lingkong was in, she was unable to break from Ning Fan’s grip. What she could only do was to let her little hand be touched by Ning Fan and be taken advantage of.
“Silly girl. In order to kill the Wolf King, this ice egg has to be broken first. Only then could we harm the Wolf King. However, this ice egg is not easy to shatter. We will still need to work together and only then will we be able to succeed… No matter if you want to fight or kill them, let’s talk about it only after Tan Lang is killed!”
Ning Fan’s words had calmed the tense atmosphere.
One of the reasons why he stopped the fight was because he had already known that Tan Lang did not have the key with him. It was completely meaningless for him to engage in any fights.
As for the other reason, it was because the four experts including Lu Jiefen gave him a rather heavy threatening feeling.
Lu Jiefen and Qu Shun are not simple to deal with. As for the other two elderly men, however, they had already been set up by me. They could be killed whenever I want.
Ning Fan harbored the intention to kill Tan Lang not because he wanted to get the key but because he wanted to open up the path to the central domain of the Heaven Hall.
He wanted to leave this place as soon as possible. Therefore, when facing Lu Jiefen and Qu Shun, he did not have the intention to end their lives.
Translated by Tommy, edited by Roel
Most of the people that were there also became composed after seeing Ning Fan open his mouth to stop a conflict from arising. As he said, if they really want to fight, they should do it after breaking this iceberg-like giant egg together.
“It’s not a simple thing to do! The ice egg where the Wolf King is sleeping inside was condensed borrowing the cold qi of the whole snow valley. I’m afraid its hardness might already be strong enough to withstand an attack at the Mid Void Refinement Realm… It seems that we all still need to join hands one more time and attack it together at the same time to break this ice egg!” Qu Shun suggested with a solemn expression.
“Alright! I will make a count of three and then let’s cast our strongest techniques together to break the shell of this egg!”
Lu Jie Fen said and glanced at everyone there. Qu Shun was the first one to nod his head in agreement with his words followed by Ning Fan. As for the two elderly men from the White Devil Sect, they also agreed after exchanging glances with each other.
Once the plan was set, they all took out their magic weapons and performed hand seals. Each of them began to raise their own auras. All of a sudden, the temperature within the basin raised drastically as a strong gale began to blow.
Ning Fan patted his storage pouch and took out his Blood Sword. His eyes were gradually being filled with traces of sword intent. The aura of the sword turned into sword threads that whirled around him.
“One!”
“Two!”
“Three!”
At the exact moment Lu Jie Fen shouted out ‘three’, everyone pulled themselves away from each other and cast their strongest strikes at the ice egg.
Except for… the two elderly experts from the White Devil Sect!
A series of attacks bombarded the giant egg of ice. Although it had been struck by attacks from tens of Divine Transformation Realm experts present, there were only a few cracks on the egg. Moreover, through the cracks, a trace of faint golden demon blood began to flow out.
Ning Fan also wielded his sword at the ice egg. However, his mind was constantly perturbed by the two elderly experts of the White Devil Sect beside him.
Once everyone was exhausted after striking the ice egg. Both the elderly experts’ eyes were filled with killing intent.
Each of them took out an immortal charm that emanated a forceful cold qi. A column of ice flames flashed on the tips of their fingers and the charms were ignited. And then, they turned into two traces of bone-chilling wind and blew towards everyone in a moment!
“Hehe! Just like the saying goes that there is too little gruel for too many monks. As for the matter of breaking the ice egg, both of us will figure out another way ourselves. Small fry from the Mortal World like you all can die now!”
Robbing the treasure! Without a doubt, they were attempting to rob the treasure and take it all for themselves!
Most of the people harbored some other thoughts within their minds. During their first attempt in attacking the egg, all of them had reserved half of their strength in case somebody among them violates the agreement.
However, even though they had taken precautions, none of them expected that the elderly men from the White Devil Sect would be so arrogant as to try to keep the ice egg for themselves by attacking all the experts here.
Under the icy windstorm, even Lu Jie Fen and Qu Shun were slightly hurt when they were blown by it. Their eyes were filled with anger.
“Detestable! You two are actually trying to keep the Key of the Star Palace for yourselves?!”
“Haha! So what if we do? Be incensed!”
The two elderly experts shouted and murmured some incantations. The icy wind immediately got stronger. An Early Divine Transformation Realm cultivator might also be torn apart by it even if they were prepared to defend against it!
After Lu Jie Fen and Qu Shun were blown away, the two elderly men’s gaze locked onto the ice egg which was already half-broken after the previous barrages of attacks. In a flash, they appeared in front of the iceberg. They both exercised immense strength which was strong enough to move a mountain and literally lifted the egg off from where it was and placed it on their shoulders. Apparently, they were trying to keep it in their storage pouch!
That icy wind was so powerful that it could at least drag away all the experts at the scene for at least the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. To them, that amount of time was enough for them to run away with the ice egg containing Tan Lang. Afterward, they could pick a safer place to slowly break it and kill Tan Lang!
The icy windstorm blew towards Ning Fan and his group. It was so fierce that it seemed like it was going to blow them all away.
Each of the Honorable Demon Generals’ faces was seething with rage. They intended to scold the two elderly men for their disgraceful actions. However, before they could even open their mouths, a wall of black flames abruptly appeared from the ground and soared into the sky. It had blocked out parts of the wind, protecting all the female cultivators and Honorable Demon Generals from being injured!
Moreover, after the icy wind was stopped, the wall of flames transformed into nine black fire dragons which were one thousand zhang* (3.33m per zhang) long each. Their appearance had caused the power of the icy wind to be greatly weakened!
“Keeping a treasure for yourselves is not something you should do…”
Ning Fan passed through the black flames and stepped on one of the fire dragons, rushing past the icy wind. In a flash, he landed heavily on top of the iceberg. His moves were as fast as lightning. At the next moment, he violently sucked at the crack on the egg, extracting droplets of faint golden demon blood from within.
These droplets of demon blood were similar to those he got from the First World. They contained tremendous power within.
These droplets of blood initially belonged to Lu Wu. After that, they were consumed by Tan Lang. Now, however, Ning Fan had literally sucked all of them out from just an injury on Tan Lang!
Nobody noticed that Ning Fan had taken advantage of the chaos to extract all of Tan Lang’s demon blood. Under his sleeves, eighteen drops of golden demon blood congealed!
After Tan Lang’s demon blood was sucked dry, he was now dying and his breath became weak and feeble!
Sympathetically, the two elderly experts from the White Devil Sect had yet to realize that Tan Lang who was slumbering inside the giant iceberg above their shoulders was going to be a dead wolf soon.
This wolf did not have the key. Besides, after its blood was completely drawn out by Ning Fan, it was completely worthless.
Since these two old monsters of the White Devil Sect want it, then I’ll just let it be!
“Break!”
Standing at the peak of the iceberg, Ning Fan suddenly bent down and landed a strong hard fist on it.
*Rumble*
More cracks were formed on the iceberg. Furthermore, the force of his punch spread into the internal parts of the iceberg through these cracks, affecting Tan Lang’s slumbering demon body. Upon receiving the impact, Tan Lang’s demon soul was shattered, completely eradicating that sinful wolf!
The remaining force of his punch then spread towards the shoulders of the two old monsters. Upon impact, the bones of their shoulders were totally crushed. They spat out mouthfuls of fresh blood. Even so, their eyes flashed with ferocity and they forcibly kept the iceberg into their storage pouch.
“Young man! The next time we meet, it will be your death! Get lost!”
They glared viciously at Ning Fan. They knew that it was not a good time to fight with Ning Fan and they should immediately flee away with the treasure.
One of them held the Black Ice Tortoise Shield while the other held the Pure Flask of Wind and Snow. When they both vanished into the distance, the group of experts yelled in anger.
“Shameless! How dare you go against your own words! It’s such a shame to regard yourselves as experts from the White Devil Sect of!”
“Hmph! You wanna keep the Key of the Star Palace to yourselves? In your dreams!”
In the blink of an eye, Lu Jie Fen and Qu Shun teleported with all their might and pursued the two elderly experts in anger.
Upon seeing what had happened, Yue Lingkong and Yuan Yao were panicking. They also wanted to go forward and chase after them too. But they were held back by Ning Fan with his palm.
“We don’t have to fight for it!”
“But why? They have just taken the key to the Star Palace away!”
“Nope. They didn’t!”
Ning Fan smirked and kept the eighteen drops of golden blood into a flask. After that, he comforted the worried female cultivators including Yuan Yao using telepathy.
“Ever since the beginning, the key has already been with me …”
“What?!”
Other than the female corpse whose face remained relaxed and composed, the other four female cultivators were all taken by surprise.
“H… How could it be? I don’t understand… ” Xi Ran was confused. After all, if the Key had always been with Ning Fan since the beginning, then why did he work so hard to slaughter the Wolf King?
“There is not much time for me to explain now. I have killed Tan Lang during the mess earlier. Before those guys find out about it and come back, we should take advantage of this opportunity to enter the central domain of the Heaven Hall… ”
Ning Fan only said those words to the female cultivators through telepathy and only they could hear him.
Not to mention Lu Daochen, he, of course, had already known that the key was in Ning Fan’s hands as he was the one who presented the key to him.
As for the other seven Honorable Demon Generals, some of them were kept by Ning Fan as his slaves while the others only had a shallow relationship with him. Thus, all of them were unworthy to be told about this secret.
“Master Lu, I’m now going to fulfill my promise… As Honorable Demon Generals, I recommend that you all should leave the Star Palace as soon as possible and return to the Second World to manage the tribes. I have a hunch that the Star Palace is not going to be peaceful soon…”
When Ning Fan thought of the imminent sense of crisis which grew stronger and closer as time passed by, his eyes became solemn.
“Alright. Just go and fulfill the promise between you and me… I just have one word for you… Thank you for this great favor!”
Lu Daochen who had a pair of old cloudy eyes was more than thrilled to bits. He could finally accomplish his lifetime wish: to free Demon Marshal Lu’s remnant soul from punishment.
It was Ning Fan who helped him accomplish his long-cherished wish. He had deeply carved the debt of gratitude which he owed Ning Fan into his mind.
No matter how successful he would be once he ascends to the Land of Demons in the future, he would never forget that there was once a person named Lu Bei who had helped him accomplish his longstanding wish which was even more important than his own life.
The icy wind had not totally dissipated. However, the atmosphere within this frozen land had gradually died down.
The other seven Honorable Demon Generals were looking at each other with doubt.
“Uhhh… That’s it? Is it over? Is it time for us to go home now?”
They did not know that the key was now in Ning Fan’s hands. Each of their faces still had a hint of indignation for not being able to get even a share of the benefits.
After hearing Ning Fan’s words, they understood that Ning Fan was implying for them to leave. Obviously, there were some secrets that could not be told within the central domain of the Heaven Hall. Therefore, he did not plan on bringing anyone along.
These Honorable Demon Generals only knew that the key was robbed by those two White Devil Sect experts.
Translated by Tommy, edited by Roel
After putting so much effort, they only came to realize that all the benefits had been cheated out of them by the White Devil Sect. None of them could do anything about it.
But when they thought of it from another perspective, the journey in the Star Palace was full of danger and most of the time, everyone was only able to survive because of Ning Fan who protected them.
Besides, out of the seven Honorable Demon Generals excluding Lu Daochen, four of them had all been planted with demon seal by Ning Fan and were kept as demon slaves.
Anyhow, the seven of them should show some courtesy by having a polite conversation with Ning Fan for their parting, even though they were very unwilling to do so.
“Hai, Lu Bei. The key… is gone and it can only be blamed on the shamelessness of the experts from the White Devil Sect. None of us have expected that the two of them would suddenly betray us so you need not take it to heart…”
Both the Wind General and Thunder General comforted Ning Fan. With unreadable facial expressions, they then took out their formation disks and left the Star Palace, returning to the Second World.
The rest of them greeted Ning Fan with cupped fists as an act of courtesy one after another and left after bidding him a brief farewell.
Since the Key of the Star Palace had already been seized by others, there was no point for them to continue staying here as it was impossible for them to obtain the emperor’s star. Moreover, staying in the Star Palace would only put themselves in greater danger.
“Let’s go. We shall all dismiss ourselves now… Furthermore, we still have to return to our tribes and disseminate the news of Marshal Lu’s death …”
As they thought of Lu Wu’s death, no matter how iron-hearted each of the Honorable Demon Generals were, they could not help but sigh and sob about it.
The seven Honorable Demon Generals left in succession and finally, it was Lu Daochen’s turn. He felt slightly pleased and relieved. With reluctance, he then cupped his fists, activated his formation disk and vanished...
“Lu Bei, be careful in your journey… If there is a chance in the future, come back to visit Wan Er …”
“Of course I will!”
Ning Fan cupped his fists as well and his eyes flashed with a hint of sadness.
Life is a mixture of happiness and sadness, whenever there is a meeting, there is bound to be a parting as well.
Setting all his feelings aside, he kept all his spiritual puppets, leaving only the black dragon and black puppet by his side for self-defense.
Once all the female cultivators had boarded the golden flame chariot, Ning Fan leaped onto it and maneuvered it to the other side of this snowy ground without caring about the fights between the White Devil Sect experts and Lu Jiefen and Qu Shun anymore.
“Is the key really in your hands? Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” Yuan Yao’s eyes were filled with a faint trace of petulance. Her current facial expression was extremely like that of a woman who was bickering with her lover.
“I was afraid that if I told you earlier, you will fight me to death to obtain the key … To be honest, I don’t want to fight with you. If I obtain the inheritance of the emperor’s star, I would certainly give you a trace of the black star’s power so that you can save your sister.”
“This… Thank you…”
Yuan Yao sighed softly. Originally, she had something to tell Ning Fan. In the end, however, those words were stuck in her throat.
“I’m also unwilling to be your enemy…”
Along with Tan Lang’s death, the enormous iceberg which sealed off all the paths at the end of the ice basin was now only an outward show. As soon as the golden flame chariot crashed through it, a path was literally opened up. At the end of the path was a bright glowing gate.
In a golden flash, the golden flame chariot charged into the gate, entering the next area…
Yuan Yao, Wu Yan and Xi Ran all felt a sudden feeling of reluctance. They can’t help but feel that they were going to part with each other soon.
“Lu Bei will leave once he gets the emperor’s star… In this life...will we meet each other…again?”
It was the same question that arose within the three women’s minds. However, nobody dared to open their mouths and ask as it would only add up more sadness.
On the other side, the two elderly experts of the White Devil Sect carefully kept the storage pouch containing Tan Lang’s corpse. They certainly had no idea that Tan Lang was already dead.
They also did not know that because of their actions, Ning Fan did not instantly activate the power of the black snow which he planted within them to kill them but let them become the scapegoats instead.
Activating it is just to let them die earlier.
Even if I don’t activate it right now, the power of Wind Snow would also activate itself soon.
However, before their deaths, Ning Fan made use of them by using them as a decoy to draw Lu Jiefen and the others’ attention away.
He then took advantage of the opportunity to find Lu Wu to complete his mission and obtain the inheritance of the emperor’s star.
Lu Jiefen was very infuriated, extremely infuriated!
He had already reserved half of his power earlier to defend himself in case someone broke the agreement and started an internal fight.
However, who Lu Jiefen was keeping an eye on was Ning Fan. What he felt most worried about was that Ning Fan, the cunning young man who never played by rules, would sneak-attack him at any moment.
“I never expected that Lu Bei wasn’t the one who attacked me but the two helpers whom I brought along! If I had known about it, I wouldn’t have invited the White Devil Sect and I shouldn’t have saved Lin Su back then! I would just let him die!” Lu Jiefen yelled in fury.
“This prince also didn’t expect it either. This time, Lu Bei has already behaved himself but it was the two other rats from the White Devil Sect who were making trouble… There is nothing to be afraid of from the two elderly experts. It isn’t difficult to kill the two of them, let alone obtain the Wolf King back. But I have one thing that I can’t understand… Lu Bei is a person who never does anything with a loss. With that personality, why didn’t he come and chase after the two traitors after he was sneak-attacked and had the Key to the Star Palace stolen away from him? It just does not seem like the way he would do things… Don’t tell me that he did not have the intention of obtaining the emperor’s star. Is there something that I’ve missed?”
Qu Shun’s eyes turned solemn.
However clever he might be, he would never figure out that whatever Ning Fan had done to contend for the key all the way was just for show.
Ning Fan had already gotten the Key of the Star Palace long before coming to the Third World.
Within the snow valley which were covered with wolf carcasses, there were only seven Divine Transformation Realm cultivators from the Demon World, seven Divine Transformation Realm experts from the White Devil Sect including Lin Su and a few Nascent Soul Realm cultivators who were still alive. The others had already perished during the battle.
A moment ago, both parties were still fighting alongside each other and saw the wolves as their enemies. But at the moment when the two experts from the White Devil Sect returned, another fight immediately began between the two groups.
“Junior! We’ve obtained the key! Let’s go now!” The White Devil Sect experts shouted hastily at Lin Su.
“Zhao Ge! Do it! Kill the members of the White Devil Sect!” Qu Shun’s eyes were cold and indifferent as he ordered one of his subordinates.
Zhao Ge and Lin Su’s expressions immediately changed upon hearing Qu Shun’s words. None of them were fools. Since the White Devil Sect had seized the key, then their enemy was no longer Ning Fan or the wolf demons but the White Devil Sect itself!
“Kill!”
Lu Jiefen’s wielded his Purple Yang Mirror and blocked two the White Devil Sect experts’ escape route for. Qu Shun took this opportunity and took out a golden palm-leaf fan. With just a single flap, a column of golden flames was shot out vigorously.
From the bottom of their hearts, the two elderly experts knew that it would be hard for them to keep the key for themselves if they don’t fight with Lu Jiefen and others until they die.
“Humph! You are just courting death to have become enemies of our sect, the White Devil Sect!”
“So what if you guys are from the White Devil Sect? We are demons and you all are humans. Naturally, you are our enemies. What can others do to us for killing both of you?! Hand over the ice egg of the Wolf King and everything can still be forgiven!” Lu Jiefen shouted with wrath.
“Don’t even think that’s possible!” The two White Devil Sect experts sneered coldly.
Thus, another clash began!
However, nobody noticed that there was a ray of light that flashed past outside the snow valley with a burly man who was draped in a long cloak appearing at the peak of a star hill. He lowered his cold-piercing eyes and looked attentively at the fight which had just started.
“The demon race… The White Devil Sect…”
No one knew his presence.
However, when he heard of the word ‘key’, his eyes lit up with joy.
“That’s it! The Key of the Star Palace! If I get the key, then I would obtain the emperor’s star! Then, that lowly slave woman would surely come looking for me to obtain that emperor’s star. I would then kill her! I have plenty of ways to end her life in mind!”
The burly man grinned sinisterly. Standing at the top of the star mountain while bathing in the icy snow, he then made a stomp on the ground!
That move he made caused the hollow space within the vicinity of one hundred thousand li* (500 m per li) to be crushed entirely!
The experts of the two parties who were engaging each other just now were abnormally fearful at the same time.
“A Void Refinement Realm expert! Why is there a Void Refinement Realm expert here?”
“Crushing the hollow space within one hundred thousand li* (500 m per li) with just a single step! I’m afraid not even a Mid Void Refinement Realm can compare to that level of strength… That person must be at the Late Void Refinement Realm!”
The atmosphere was filled with exclamations of fright and cries. However, at the next moment, all of them were drowned by a domineering voice.
“Give me the key and I shall kill all of you with your corpse intact.”
The cloaked burly man said with a menacing tone.
“That friend over there, we are from the White Devil Sect…” Lin Su’s eyes glinted with surprise. Facing that burly man in front of him, he had no courage to resist him at all.
The only thing that he could do was to declare his identity in order to threaten him.
“Who is your friend?!”
The burly man then made another stomp. Without showing any signs, pieces of jet-black knives condensed from the power of the void shot towards Lin Su, shredding him into pieces.
In an instant, Lin Su’s life was snuffed out!
The two elderly men were both frightened and angered at the same time. However, that expression on their faces turned into terror at the next moment.
It was because the burly man who was standing a certain distance away had his gaze fixed on both of them.
“Give me the key!”
Well, it was proven that a loss might not necessarily be a bad thing but a blessing in disguise.
Keeping Tan Lang’s demon egg for oneself might not necessarily be a good thing as well…
Translated by Tommy, edited by Roel
