“Ghost sect…”
Nie Tian furrowed his brows and quietly observed An Ying and Zheng Rui, harboring suspicions towards the both of them.
This was his first time where he was truly thinking about the significance of leaving Black Cloud City.
Previously, he had always been cultivating in Black Cloud City in the Nie Family Household. Slowly growing up, the affairs that he had heard the most about were matters regarding the Lingyun Sect.
To him, the Ghost Sect was still a novelty sect that he had never heard about.
He didn’t know a single thing about the Ghost Sect, and as such he didn’t understand why Pan Tao and the other two would be so frightened and uneasy, after finding out that disciples of the Ghost Sect had appeared in the Green Illusion Realm.
Just like him, most of the other youngsters, who came from the seven cities, didn’t have any impression towards the Ghost Sect and had puzzled expressions on their faces.
Only two youngsters, who seemed to have overheard some information from their respective elders, knew of the Ghost Sect’s origins.
After they heard that people from the Ghost Sect had also entered the Green Illusion Realm, their faces turned pale. In a flash, their eyes were filled with fear.
They clearly seemed to be even more afraid of the Ghost Sect than An Ying and the other two!
“Many of you have probably never heard of the Ghost Sect. It’s necessary for me to explain it to all of you.” Pan Tao looked at Nie Tian and inhaled deeply with a grim expression on his face, “The Lingyun Sect, Grey Valley, Black Mist Palace... all of us belong to the same Lianqi Warrior Alliance. The Ghost Sect, Blood Sect as well as the Prison Government on the other hand, come from our enemy Lianqi Warrior Alliance.”
“The Ghost Sect, Blood Sect as well as the Prison Government. The power of those three sects isn’t inferior to ours in the slightest.”
“For several hundreds of years, in order to fight over the ownership of the secret realms and spirit mines, our four sects have fought against them for G.o.d knows how many rounds, both overtly and covertly.”
“In this endless period of time, we actually have never really defeated them. Both parties’ strengths are more or less equivalent to one another.”
Pan Tao paused for awhile and then continued speaking: “Our four sects also secretly battle in private, but everything is to a controllable extent and huge casualties don’t usually occur. However, every time our four sects have a b.l.o.o.d.y battle with them, there will definitely be countless casualties! Not only people like us, who’re still young and weak, but even the formidable Elders of our four sects find an early demise in this endless struggle!”
“Both parties have power like water and fire. So long as we run into each other, the outcome will definitely be that they won’t cease until one party has been annihilated!”
“Since people from the Ghost Sect have arrived in the Green Illusion realm this round, I suspect that their objective is to annihilate us!”
“It’s clear that the spirit beasts aren’t their targets, but rather, it is us! Only when we have been exterminated, will they withdraw from the Green Illusion Realm!”
After he had finished talking, all of the trial takers, including Nie Tian, fell silent.
Everyone’s faces had turned dark and unsightly. Due to the appearance of the Ghost Sect, the Green Illusion Realm seemed to have suddenly turned into a b.l.o.o.d.y battlefield.
“Elder Sister An Ying, how about… we first return to the area where the secret realm’s gate is located and inform your elder sister of the news that the Ghost Sect has entered the Green Illusion Realm?” Jiang Miao timidly suggested.
The other youngsters, that had heard the news of the Ghost Sect’s arrival and were trembling with fear, quickly nodded, echoing Jiang Miao’s suggestion.
“Going back is also useless.” An Ying shook her head and extinguished their hopes with one sentence, “After everyone has entered, the secret realm’s gate will temporarily be sealed off. This is to prevent people from cheating by secretly entering the Green Illusion Realm to help us.”
“We can only wait until the trial is over and the allotted time of half a year is up for the secret realm’s gate, that enables us to leave, to open up once more.”
“In this period of time, we’re completely isolated from the outside world. We cannot leave and they also will not enter.”
“It’s to say that regardless of what happens inside the Green Illusion Realm, we will also have to wait for half a year.”
“Then are we not screwed?” Guo Qi desperately cried out in grief, “No one knows how many people of the Ghost Sect have arrived and at what realm they’re at. If they’re Houtian and Zhongtian cultivators, then they can definitely kill us all in half a year. I fear that not a single one of us is able to leave alive and we’ll be mercilessly persecuted by them.”
“You don’t have to worry too much.” An Ying secretly despised his courage in her heart, but she couldn’t help but to try and console them: “Although those fellows of the Ghost Sect, Blood Sect and Prison Government are merciless, vicious and blood-thirsty, but they’re also extremely arrogant. They also know that the trial takers from the four sects that enter the Green Illusion Realm’s trial every time are all only at the Lianqi Realm.”
“Based on their arrogance and how conceited they are, they’ve most likely arranged for their sect juniors, who are at the same realm as us, to enter the Green Illusion Realm.”
“Under the same realm, their battling experience possibly might be even richer than ours and all of them have experienced the baptism of fresh blood, but as for strength… they should be equivalent to us.”
“As long as the difference in the number of people from both parties isn’t too high, we might not necessarily end up being hunted!”
Guo Qi was stunned and said: “Are you saying that those fellows from the Ghost Sect, that have entered, are also in the Lianqi Realm, just like us?”
“I suspect that it’s like that.” An Ying nodded.
Guo Qi heaved a sigh of relief and strengthened his courage, snorting: “Everyone’s in the same realm. What are we to be afraid of? Elder Sister An Ying, I saw that the complexions on all of your faces weren’t that good just a moment ago and thought that there would be Houtian and Zhongtian powerhouses coming from the Ghost Sect. Heh, it’s you three who have given us a fright.” He pretended to relax.
The others, who had heard Guo Qi speak in this manner, also seemed to somewhat relax.
Even Nie Tian who had initially been nervous rapidly calmed down and thought to himself: “If they’re only in the Lianqi Realm, then the Ghost Sect… might not be that frightening after all.”
Only An Ying, Pan Tao and Zheng Rui didn’t relax in the slightest. They glanced at each other and saw through the agonising look in the other party’s eyes.
They were the only ones that truly understood how frightening the Ghost Sect, Blood Sect and Prison Government were.
Every single disciple from these three sects had grown up in ma.s.sacres and fresh blood. Every single one of them viewed killing people as a common household affair in their lives.
Even they, who were from the Ling Bao Court, were far from adequate in the aspect of real combat. They could only rely on their spirit weapons to make up for their disadvantage in this aspect.
As for Guo Qi and those that came from the subordinate families, they believed that once they battled with the people of the Ghost Sect, they would most probably be scared by the other party’s b.l.o.o.d.y and ruthless means and have a mental breakdown.
Those people were all flowers from the greenhouse, who hadn’t experienced ruins that were like the howling winds and torrential rains.
As a result of that, the four sects organised the Green Illusion Realm trial, knowing that they severely lacked battling experience. They had sharpened their skills in advance in order to let them gradually be accustomed to possible future b.l.o.o.d.y battles.
However, the Green Illusion Realm trial hadn’t even ended for them and they already had to face the Ghost Sect disciples, whose second nature was a.s.sa.s.sination.
This was really overly cruel to them.
After An Ying, Pan Tao and Zheng Rui had exchanged gazes, they didn’t speak about the fearfulness of the Ghost Sect in any more detail, fearing that they would scare the others to such an extent, that they would lose all their will to battle.
“Thump, thump! Thump, thump, thump!”
It was at this moment, that the sounds of footsteps approaching, suddenly rang out nearby.
The colour on An Ying’s face agitatedly changed. She suddenly patted her head and said with extreme regret: “Darn, I forgot to first leave this place!” She took a glance at the sky.
Nie Tian raised his head and looked at the black mist in the sky, which still hadn’t dissipated, and immediately understood.
The signal that Pan Tao had released, had turned into a black mist that headed straight up into the sky. The black mist that An Ying and Zheng Rui could see, the others could also similarly see it.
As long as they were within the surrounding ten Li range, and they looked up at the sky, they could see the thick fog in the sky.
After An Ying and the others had a.s.sembled, all of them were only focused on talking about the fearful aspects of the Ghost Sect and they forgot to instantly leave this place. This was a grave blunder on their part!
“The Ling Bao Court! It is you!”
A youngster, who was wearing grey from head to toe and clearly seemed to be from the Grey Valley was blood-soaked from head to toe. He was heading towards them in a panic, carrying a thin sword that had a chunk of it chopped off.
His face was filled with fear and hatred. Once he saw An Ying and the others, it was like he had seen his saviour and immediately shrieked in ecstasy.
“Save me! I’m being attacked by the Ghost Sect. Two of my teammates have already died. Only I have escaped!” He madly bolted towards them and looked behind him from time to time, as though the people from the Ghost Sect were just behind him.
“How many people from the Ghost Sect are after you?” An Ying shouted out.
“Three! They’re right behind me. All of you must be slightly more cautious, they’re going to arrive at once!”
The youngster, who was wearing grey clothes, was staggering slightly. After he pa.s.sed An Yin, Pan Tao and Zheng Rui, he rapidly made his way into the group with Nie Tian and the others.
Now, everyone had been shocked by the words that the youngster had said, and all of them nervously and uneasily looked towards the direction that he had come from.
It seemed like there would be three Ghost Sect disciples frantically chasing out from that area in the next moment.
“Something is wrong!”
Nie Tian violently shouted out and he didn’t have time to think about anything else, as he immediately punched towards the youngster from the Grey Valley.
“Bang!”
He condensed a punch mixed with rich spiritual energy in it and pounded the youngster in a flash. The youngster, who had eradicated the panicked looked in his eyes, started to reveal a deceitful look in them and was forced to rapidly back away.
“Nie Tian! What the h.e.l.l are you doing?”
Guo Qi was the closest to that youngster and seeing this, his face abruptly changed and he furiously glared at Nie Tian, “I know that you have enmity between Yuan Feng and the others, but since the Ghost Sect has appeared, you have to temporarily put down your hatred towards them! He has already been severely injured and you still want to take the opportunity to punch out such a poisonous hand. Do you still want face?”
“You don’t understand a d.a.m.n thing!” Nie Tian exploded furiously and stopped paying attention to him, dashing straight for the youngster from the Grey Valley, “Guo Qi! You motherf.u.c.ker! You almost got killed!”
“You’re the one who is going to die!” Guo Qi angrily said.
At this moment, the youngster from the Grey Valley had dodged Nie Tian’s attack and arrived by another person’s side, suddenly thrusting out the broken sword in his hands.
That person was completely unaware, as he blankly looked at the youngster from the Grey Valley, unable to instantly react.
Only when he was aware that something was amiss, had the broken sword in the hands of the Grey Valley’s youngster already firmly pierced through his thoracic cavity, protruding from the back of his heart.
“Hehe!”
The Grey Valley youngster grinned, before he maliciously laughed. He, who had killed a person, only took one glance at Nie Tian and headed off into the distance like lightning, not continuing to stay any longer.
“Huang Ye has died!”
“He killed Huang Ye!”
Only now did everyone come to their senses and let out shrill cries in panic.
An Ying and the other two had originally placed their attention on the direction that the Grey Valley youngster had come from and were waiting with serious expressions on their faces for the three Ghost Sect disciples to appear.
When they heard Guo Qi and Nie Tian arguing and turned around to look, it was already too late.
Huang Ye had already been killed!
“He’s a Ghost Sect disciple!” Pan Tao finally came to realise this fact.
“Haha! A bunch of immature fools! You people, who are behaving this way, don’t have the illusion of leaving the Green Illusion Realm alive!” The youngster quickly withdrew, while arrogantly ridiculing them: “You wait. We’ll kill and behead all of you one by one! When I appear once more, I will no longer be alone!”
- Xiu! -
Like light mist that was green in colour, he swiftly moved between the huge icy trees that were like gems, rapidly disappearing.
Guo Qi had been frightened, as cold sweat was dripping down his back. He looked at Nie Tian, who had a frosty-cold look on his face, and completely lost the ability to talk.
But in his heart, he was clear, that if it wasn’t for Nie Tian who had revolted, the youngster, that was nearest to him, wouldn’t have avoided him and would definitely have attacked him.
It was exactly as Nie Tian said. He… should’ve died a moment ago.
“It’s precisely because I have enmity between Yuan Fang and the others, that I’ll remember the faces of every single one of them. When we ran into them last time, I carefully remembered each and every face!” There was a cold look in Nie Tian’s eyes, “I clearly remember every single one of their faces and prepared to leave it until later to deal with them, one by one! That person just now, however, clearly isn’t from the Grey Valley!”
“Sorry, I-I was wrong.” Guo Qi drooped his head.