AGM 203 - Revenge of the Nine Mystical Palace

After the news of Xiao Lan’s death leaked out, Diyi, who was prepared to depart Chu, decided to stay instead. At the same time, he commanded those students that had yet to leave, to flee far away from the Royal Capital of Chu. As long as they fully dispersed, the Nine Mystical Palace couldn’t easily hunt them down one by one.

Today, Chu Tianjiao led a group of people to stand ceremoniously at the entrance of the Royal Capital, but it was unknown as to who they were welcoming.

From afar, roars and shrieks of demonic beasts could be heard, as a few powerful demonic flying-type beasts of immense stature soared through the skies. Upon flying over, they gradually descended. The gusts of wind generated from the flapping of their wings buffeted Chu Tianjiao on his face, yet he didn’t dare to show any hints of displeasure, and remained respectfully positioned there, waiting to greet the visitors.

As they slowly floated downwards, a few silhouettes stepped out from the back of the demonic beasts, shooting cold glances at the group of people gathered around Chu Tianjiao. Ultimately, the gaze of one of them landed onto Xiao Lǜ.

“Are you the Crown Prince of Snowcloud?” inquired the man in a low voice, his tone extremely icy. Xiao Lǜ bowed, replying, “Xiao Lǜ of the junior generations pays his respect to the clan elder.”

“Enough,” replied the man with indifference, “Tell me everything. I want the truth, and if I sense dishonesty in your words, you will bear the consequences yourself.”

Xiao Lǜ respectfully bowed again, as he recounted the history of past events, mentioning how Xiao Lan clashed against the Emperor Star Academy, how the expert Yuanfu cultivators of the Nine Mystical Palace were slaughtered by Diyi, how Diyi spared Xiao Lan in the end, but ultimately, Xiao Lan was killed outside the entrance of the Royal Capital.

Upon hearing Xiao Lǜ’s words, that man s.h.i.+fted his gaze onto Chu Tianjiao as he asked, “There should be one Heavenly Dipper Sovereign in your Chu Clan. Why did he not partic.i.p.ate in the battle, thus allowing disciples of my Nine Mystical Palace to be freely slaughtered?”

As the sound of his voice faded, an overwhelming pressure enveloped Chu Tianjiao, causing him to tremble in fear.

“Junior wasn’t aware that there was a Heavenly Dipper Sovereign in the Emperor Star Academy. When we realized what had happened, it was already too late. Junior understands that I should be responsible for Xiao Lan’s death, and I am willing to accept any punishment,” Chu Tianjiao humbly replied, appearing extremely courteous, but in his words he clearly expressed that he wasn’t responsible for Xiao Lan’s death.

“Since you weren’t aware in the past, we can forget it. But now that you have learnt of his existence, I command the Heavenly Dipper Sovereign of Chu to kill Diyi,” added the man, tyrannically. Chu Tianjiao’s heart turned cold, yet he dared not show any hint of disobedience. He could only respectfully reply, “This Junior shall inform my ancestor.”

That person didn’t bother to reply. After Chu Tianjiao departed, the group of people he brought were trembling with fear and trepidation and didn’t dare to say anything else.

After some time, a terrifying aura emanated forth from the Royal Palace in Chu, shocking everyone within. After which, the silhouette of an old man walked out from the palace, as an oppressive aura of blood-might gushed savagely towards the direction of the Emperor Star Academy. Wherever it pa.s.sed by, those within its proximity could feel their bodies corroding, as they let out bloodcurdling screams, before transforming into pools of blood.

“Mandate of Blood. It seems like the second level of the Mandate of Blood he comprehended, was the insight of corrosion.” Those from the Nine Mystical Palace mumbled in a low voice, as they felt that oppressive sense of blood-might.

That overflowing, oppressive aura of blood-might pressured the entire land, causing the entire Royal Capital to tremble in fear. However, a few moments later, as if in answer, a similarly terrifying aura emanated from the direction of the Emperor Star Academy. In the next instant, those within the areas surrounding the Emperor Star Academy, all felt as though the movements of their bodies were restricted, exceedingly uncomfortable, to the point where it felt there was someone choking their throats.

The two hegemonic auras clashed in midair as countless people fled the region. This time around, the situation was different from before, when Diyi slaughtered the Yuanfu experts of the Nine Mystical Palace. This time around, just the aftershocks from the clas.h.i.+ng auras, were sufficient to deal out deaths.

From afar, Chu Tianjiao stared at the battlefield, as he sighed in his heart. His old ancestor was supposed to be their Chu Clan’s reserve, the final trump card, and only to appear as a last resort if their Chu Clan was on the verge of annihilation. However, because of the death of Xiao Lan, he was forced into action to deal with the Heavenly Dipper Sovereign Diyi. This caused Chu Tianjiao to silently vow in his heart, when he was powerful enough, one day he would definitely make the Nine Mystical Palace dance in his palms.

“Mandate of Blood clas.h.i.+ng against the Mandate of Force, with both at the second level, but it seems that Diyi has the advantage.” A powerhouse from the Nine Mystical Palace stated in a low voice, “Diyi should be from the ‘hidden’ Azure Faction of the Azure Emperor Palace.”
As the sound of his voice faded, those from the Nine Mystical Palace flew towards the region where the clash of mandates took place.

The confrontation between Diyi and the Ancestor of Chu rose to terrifying heights. Diyi’s Astral Mandate was stronger, but he only had two Astral Novas while his opponent had three.
While Diyi and the Ancestor of Chu both had four Astral Souls, the reason why they had not nurtured all four into Astral Novas was because in order to successfully nurture even one,  one would require astronomical amounts of Astral Energy before they could do so. The amount of Astral Energy needed was beyond the realm of terrifying, even with the resources of an entire country supporting him, the ancestor of Chu was still unable to nurture his 4th Astral Nova.

The Chu Country, to a Heavenly Dipper Sovereign, was really too small. After one reached a certain level, they would be restricted by the lack of cultivation resources available.

Diyi’s robes were fluttering in the wind, and as he saw the approach of those from the Nine Mystical Palace, a sharp glint of light flashed in his eyes.

“Although I may die, I have no regrets. But before that happens, I must eliminate the source of this threat to Chu.” Diyi’s eyes were calm, he was already prepared to lose his life. If he took the ancestor of Chu down with him, then as long as those from the Nine Mystical Palace didn’t act against Qin Wentian, there would be no need to worry about his safety.

As he thought of this, he slowly stepped out. The overflowing oppressive aura of blood-might gushed towards him, but both his hands were already positioned in a stance, grabbing outwards. Momentarily, tens of thousands of fist shadows filled the skies, defending against the blood-might, as he grabbed hold of his opponent’s body.

The Ancestor of Chu froze, was Diyi looking for death?
“KILL!” The haggard frame of the ancestor stepped out, as a shocking blood-colored glow shone on Diyi, instantly corroding his body. However despite this, Diyi still closed the distance between them.

BOOM! Both heaven and earth trembled, the ancestor of Chu felt his body sinking. An inconceivable amount of force was pressing against his body, while at the same time, countless formless fist shadows were locking his body in place. Diyi increased his speed, transforming into a stream of light, blasting explosively towards him.
The light sparkled as the wind howled, in his heart, he was ready to face death. He had no other regrets.
BOOM! An earth-shattering force ruthlessly slammed into the body of the ancestor of Chu. Diyi’s entire being was corroding, but he still had strength left to fight. Grabbing his way forward, he abruptly released a gigantic palm-type Astral Nova so large that it seemed to have no boundaries, securely locking the body of the ancestor within.
“HAVE YOU GONE CRAZY?!” the ancestor of Chu roared in fear. Diyi’s countenance was a mask of ruthlessness, as he abruptly clenched his fist, causing a nightmarish sound to ring out from within. Before dying, his opponent transformed into a stream of blood-colored light, zooming towards Diyi, causing the entirety of Diyi’s body to be dyed in blood. As of now, the corrosion had already eaten half of his body.

Bzzz~ At this moment, from the direction of the Nine Mystical Palace, a silver light erupted as chains penetrated through Diyi’s shoulder, binding him securely as his blood splattered out in great amounts, dying the surface of the ground red. After which, Diyi was mercilessly dragged skywards.

“I have nothing to do with Xiao Lan’s death.” At this moment, Diyi was still unperturbed, since he already knew that the Nine Mystical Palace wouldn’t spare him, he might as well make his att.i.tude clear to all and hope that the Nine Mystical Palace wouldn’t take out their anger onto the students of the Emperor Star Academy.

Those from the Nine Mystical Palace didn’t say anything, as they pulled the chained Diyi about, parading him in the air. Everyone in Chu was dumbstruck, was this the strength of the Nine Mystical Palace? In front of them, Chu was really too weak.

Chu Tianjiao felt extremely p.i.s.sed off in his heart. Although they captured Diyi, but the ancestor of Chu had died, using his life for this. The Nine Mystical Palace was too callous, if they acted earlier, the ancestor of Chu wouldn’t have died. But they didn’t, they wanted to make Chu pay a price for the death of Xiao Lan.
“Exterminate all from the Emperor Star Academy, leave none alive. Also, investigate who the killer was.” The power experts from the Nine Mystical Palace mounted their demonic beasts as they flew away. Diyi’s chained body was pitifully dragged in the air, a spectacle too horrible to behold.
Very quickly, those from the Nine Mystical Palace disappeared into the horizon.

However, a glint of ice-cold light could be seen flickering in Chu Tianjiao’s eyes. He knew that if he still chose to go to the Nine Mystical Palace for cultivation now, he would surely end up in a sorry state.

“Pa.s.s my command down, capture all the students from Emperor Star Academy,” Chu Tianjiao coldly ordered, his voice resounded throughout the Royal Palace.
It seemed as though the Chu Country would again be drenched in a storm of blood once more.
&h.e.l.lip;&h.e.l.lip;&h.e.l.lip;.

On the outskirts of the Dark Forest, a white crane was soaring through the skies. On top of the white crane sat a graceful silhouette, as they both flew into the Dark Forest.

Mo Qingcheng’s beautiful eyes were filled with anxiety and concern, knowing that Qin Wentian had entered the Dark Forest. And now that Diyi had been captured, and the Emperor Star Academy had dissolved, if Qin Wentian were to meet the people from the Royal Clan, he would undoubtedly die as well. She needed to inform Qin Wentian not to return.

However, the Dark Forest was truly vast, making it extremely difficult to locate someone in there. Mo Qingcheng searched through the Dark Forest for about half a month but still had not found any traces of Qin Wentian.
At this moment, Mo Qingcheng’s clothings were stained with dirt, with her countenance appearing extremely haggard. Humans always feel the most fatigue when worrying about someone else, and now, she was truly afraid that Qin Wentian would return to Chu.

“Demonic Beasts.” At this moment, Mo Qingcheng’s countenance froze, as she discovered a few powerful demonic beasts staring in her direction, emanating an exceedingly brutal aura.

“Go.”

The white crane soared up into the skies, fleeing with great speed. However, those powerful beasts chased after the white crane, their roars and howls causing a commotion that attracted even more demonic beasts to join in the chase.
Qin Wentian himself had no idea what was currently happening; he was still in the heart of the Dark Forest, sitting in a cross-legged posture beside the two statues.

The beautiful manifestations of the heavenly constellations enveloped the entire s.p.a.ce, and from the two statues, Qin Wentian could clearly sense the power of their wills. This feeling was reminiscent of when Xiao Lan’s will directly entered his mind back in Chu. That, was also a type of will.
Naturally, Xiao Lan’s strength obviously couldn’t be compared with the might that the constellation manifestation was emitting. The two statues beside him, caused him to gradually have a faint feeling that the doorway of a higher realm in cultivation had been pushed open.

Astral Novas, why were they so powerful? And as for Constellation Manifestations, how were they manifested?
The power that Astral Souls bestowed to cultivators, was it really so simple as granting amplifications in strength, as well as causing the cultivator to have special attributes relative to the Astral Souls they condensed?
Qin Wentian released his Astral Souls, as he silently regarded them. The countless numbers of demonic beasts were still behind him, as Little Rascal behaved extremely aggressively by growling threateningly at them and baring its fangs and claws. If Mo Qingcheng were to see this, she would definitely find it amusing. That usually docile and meek little puppy looked as though it was actually taming these ferocious and brutal demonic beasts!