Chapter 427: Glory of the Survivors
Translator: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy
Yan Beihong placed his sword on his shoulder. He never thought that Miao Yi would charge out at a time like this just to help him. After all, the other party was a high-ranking person from the Ghost Nation. Yan Beihong couldn't help letting out a hearty laugh as he looked at Miao Yi. His expression was full of exhilaration and openly screamed out—'A brother like this makes life worth living!'
At the same time, Miao Yi turned back to look at Zhao Fei and the others who had charged out with him. As his gaze fell upon Pi Junzi, Miao Yi was a little surprised. He never thought that the same Pi Junzi, who was always so afraid of death that he could kneel before a man and call him his granddaddy if it meant he could survive, would actually be able to risk his life.
Pi Junzi felt sheepish when he caught Miao Yi's gaze. He smiled awkwardly, then turned his head away, feeling a little embarrassed.
He didn't know what he was thinking either. He had just felt a rush of blood to his brain, and then before he realized, he was already charging out as well. It should be recalled that back when they were all trapped inside the Demon Refining Gourd, Pi Junzi had cursed Miao Yi mercilessly and wished for nothing more than for the latter to be dead.
Yet because something like this did happen, one could say that it allowed quite a number of people to see the truth of some matters.
In the end, an incident that was on the verge of becoming a major scene passed by rather uneventfully. When they heard the announcement to board ship, most of the participants simply stared at the golden flare of the Geotranscendence Bangle on their wrist.
Miao Yi was no exception either. With a joyless expression, he looked at the shining golden bangle on his wrist, thinking, 'The Subjugation Crusade is really over? I really survived to the end?'
Most of the participants shared the same thought as well. Their mixed feelings were similarly reflected on their expressions.
"Yan Beihong, am I completely invisible to you?" Yue Yao slowly strode over on her Jade Lion, glaring at Miao Yi as she rebuked him.
For the Celestial Nation, besides those who had free passes like them, the rest of the survivors consisted of normal participants, like Miao Yi and his team. With much difficulty, their camp managed to have a total of twenty-three survivors, the largest number out of all six nations. Seeing the Subjugation Crusade finally coming to an end, the Celestial Nation members were already jumping with joy at getting first place. Then, right when everyone least expected it, Miao Yi suddenly charged out on his own, completely disobeying Yue Yao's instructions. It would have been devastating if their camp still suffered casualties right at the end of it all. And as Yue Yao was trying all she could to ensure the survival of as many Celestial Nation cultivators as possible, Miao Yi's actions had undoubtedly caused her much distress.
Miao Yi had no words to respond. Under Yue Yao's cold gaze, Zhao Fei and the others sheepishly kept their silence as well.
Yue Yao didn't know what to say as she glared at this group of cultivators. Given the circumstances, she never would have thought that Zhao Fei and the others would follow after Miao Yi with no regard for their own safety the moment they saw him charge out. Their actions were truly commendable.
Yue Yao then turned to look at the other two people whom she had forced onto this group previously. Seeing them simply standing in place without following after the others, Yue Yao couldn't help having mixed feelings about them.
Previously, she wanted to try and help two more Celestial Nation cultivators still, and heavily objected to Miao Yi taking in two Yao cultivators into his team. From her standpoint, when fighting against outside forces, her own Celestial Nation cultivators had to come first. As such, she had asked Miao Yi to kick out the two Yao cultivators, so that his team could offer their protection to another two Celestial Nation cultivators. However, Miao Yi rejected her idea. At the time, she was very displeased with his decision but now, she couldn't tell who was right and who was wrong.
On the other hand, Miao Yi had no way of seeing things from Yue Yao's point of view. To him, there was no Celestial Nation cultivator who would dare kill Yue Yao in the Subjugation Crusade, but there were many who wanted him dead. He couldn't think of any reason to not protect the people who had shared life and death with him, and instead shield those he barely even knew. Even if he protected them, there was no guarantee that they would share the same sentiment. The way those two Celestial Nation cultivators just stood in place while he and the others charged out clearly highlighted this underlying matter.
"Let's board the ship!" Deciding not to say anything else, Yue Yao slowly strode away on her mount with the others in tow.
Zhao Fei unfastened the bag on his back, and tossed it to Miao Yi.
Miao Yi rushed over to Yan Beihong's side and pushed the bag into his hands. "This is for you."
Yan Beihong was puzzled at first. After he examined it with his transcendence energy, the sheer volume of treasures inside gave him quite the shock.
Originally, the wealth of all 180,000 participants gathered over millennia was supposed to be split between the top one hundred survivors of the Sea of Constellations Subjugation Crusade. However, most of that wealth had now ended up being divided between Miao Yi's group as well as the representatives of the Six Sages. As for the other survivors, they barely had anything left—Miao Yi had tricked them of most of their possessions. One must know that even a single portion of such massive wealth was enough to cause a person to jump up in fright.
Yan Beihong looked at Miao Yi in shock, and transmitted his voice over, asking, "Little Brother, are you serious—this is for me? Are these the spoils you obtained from 'that incident'?"
Miao Yi nodded and replied, "All my comrades have a share as well. We have split it all equally. How could I miss you out? It's just... since you weren't physically there, and we couldn't divide everything evenly, I took the liberty of giving you a slightly smaller share."
Yan Beihong meekly said, "You didn't have to do so much just for me. I didn't contribute anything at all. How can I accept such riches from you? I wouldn't mind if it was just a small gift, but this is simply too much. I can barely count them all."
"What do you mean you didn't contribute anything? Big Brother Yan, you stayed in the Devil Nation's camp and covered for me, allowing me to use your name to conduct such misdeeds. This is the greatest help I could have ever received. Brother, you've always been an easygoing man. When did you become so indecisive?" Miao Yi said.
Yan Beihong was slightly taken aback by Miao Yi's response. But soon, he simply shook his head and smiled. Fastening the bag around his torso, he said, "Since you put it that way, I will gratefully accept it."
A massive ship was anchored about ten meters away from shore. Standing on deck with their hands behind their backs were three cultivators from the Western Constellations Palace, gazing over the forces approaching the ship.
Ninety-nine cultivators then quickly leaped across the waves and landed on the ship.
Bai Ziliang's expression was incredibly gloomy. All the other Yao cultivators had been completely decimated besides the six of them with free passes. He didn't know how he should face his mother, who had painstakingly gotten him this opportunity, once he reached the Western Constellations Palace.
There had been simply too little Yao Nation cultivators gathered on the nameless island to begin with. As the battles proceeded, their numbers dwindled while the frequency at which they had to battle increased. And the weaker they seemed, the more likely it was for the cultivators of the other five nations to try to take advantage of them. It was easy to predict the eventual outcome of that—three days before the Subjugation Crusade would end, besides Bai Ziliang and his subordinates, the Yao Nation camp had been completely decimated.
To be fair, not all of them were dead. Pi Junzi and Tao Yongchun were considered Yao Nation cultivators as well. However, Bai Ziliang was still not aware of this fact. It would probably have been an even greater slap to his face if he did. None of the Yao Nation cultivators that served him had survived, whereas those that worked for others had instead. How could he possibly accept that?
Initially, Yue Yao and the Celestial Nation camp weren't that much better off than Bai Ziliang either. However, they never expected that Miao Yi would suddenly pop up in their camp and be such a great boon to Yue Yao. With him around, only the Celestial Nation cultivators dared to challenge other cultivators, whereas none of the other five nations' cultivators dared to challenge them. This saved the Celestial Nation cultivators from having to fight many battles, and the further the battles progressed, the more advantageous they became. Ultimately, Yue Yao caused a great upset and dominated the entire competition, helping the Celestial Nation ensure the greatest number of survivors among the six nations.
Out of the thirty-six people sent by the Six Sages, only Yun Feiyang lost one subordinate, bringing it down to thirty-five persons. Together with the twenty-three normal survivors from the Celestial Nation, that made for a total of fifty-eight positions already taken. After which, of the forty-two remaining survivors, there was one casualty towards the end of it all. With all the other Yao Nation members under Bai Ziliang being wiped out, the remaining forty-one spots were all taken up by the other four nations. The outcome was clear as day—the Celestial Nation completely dominated the competition.
After boarding the ship, Yue Yao was being escorted by her trusted subordinates to her room to rest when she suddenly came to a halt. Turning her head around, she swept a gaze across the crowd. Her eyes sparkled as she caught sight of Miao Yi, who at that moment, had just met up with Yan Beihong atop the deck. She couldn't deny that Miao Yi had been a great help to her.
Then, she watched as the jubilant Yun Feiyang joined the crowd, grabbing onto Miao Yi's wrist and pulling him away. Her brows unconsciously creased as she wondered why this guy was always so close to the people from the Devil Nation...
The ship started sailing as soon as everyone was on board. Dragon steeds weren't used as the driving source this time. Instead, transcendence artifacts were used to power the Western Constellations Palace's ship, making it incredibly fast, and the ship rode across the waves at breakneck speed.
The Sea of Constellations Subjugation Crusade was actually meant to end in another month or so. But considering it had already gone on for almost ten years, it was no big deal to end it a month before its supposed due date. After all, everyone still needed to spend an extra two to three months to get back home.
There was a place within the boundless, jade sea, where the jagged reefs easily stood over three hundred meters tall, their craggy tips laid out sporadically across the surface of the blue ocean. Like the massive fangs of a monstrous living behemoth of nature, it instilled a sense of awe and amazement within all who looked upon it. This was the Western Constellations Palace.
Almost everyone who was on the ship came out to look. Some stood on deck, some on the rooftops, and some on the ship's bow. They all stared in awe at the towering structure before them. Even Yue Yao and the others had never been to the Western Constellations Palace before.
To be able to visit the Western Constellations Palace while possessing a Blue Lotus cultivation was indeed an honor in its own right. This was a privilege enjoyed only by those who have survived the Sea of Constellations Subjugation Crusade. Once they returned, they would be able to boast to the other cultivators—" I have been to the Western Constellations Palace!"
Normal cultivators would surely be astonished by this. Although the Western Constellations Palace was not extremely extravagant or situated within an extremely beautiful landscape, most cultivators would probably never have the chance to see it in their entire lives. Simply because within the vastness of the Sea of Constellations, various demonic creatures ran amok. One could hardly come close to the Western Constellations Palace, much less pay it a visit.
The ship slowly turned and twisted its way into the 'great fangs' of the island, as though they were entering a maze upon the surface of sea. At times, the waters would crash violently against the mighty reefs; other times, they would be deathly still. In some parts, the surface of the ocean was a bright turquoise in color; and in others, a murky black. And within those waters, a shark's dorsal fin would be seen moving about the surface from time to time. There would also be an occasional mysterious claw bursting forth from the ocean depths. It was truly terrifying to behold. There was no way an average person could even approach this palace at all.
The giant ship soon reached a dead end. With no further way to continue, it came to a stop. As they set up anchor, the enforcers of the Western Constellations Palace asked everyone to have their mounts remain aboard the ship. For the final bit of their journey, everyone had to make their way up a towering wall of rock.
What lay before them was a steep precipice! As everyone looked up, they could see the rough, jagged face of the wall they had to climb. They couldn't help feeling like they were trapped within an underwater prison, as though they had become frogs sitting in the bottom of a well staring up at the sky. Occasionally, they would either see a frightening tentacle emerging from the surface of the water, swaying about beside the ship, or feel as though something was crashing into the bottom of it.
Miao Yi and the others decided to store their mounts in their beast sacks and bring them along.
After Yue Yao and the others leaped up and started climbing the rock wall, the other cultivators quickly followed their lead, beginning their speedy ascent as they propped themselves up against the wet precipice.
One after the other, all the participants made their way up to the peak of the wall a thousand feet above the surface of the water, as though crawling out of hell and onto the mortal realm. Up there, it was an entirely different scene altogether. Lush trees were abound as colorful flowers blossomed everywhere in sight. Before them lay an immense palace, surrounded by ancient trees, with a myriad of terraces and pavilions of different heights. It was a grand and imposing structure indeed.
The infinitely grand and ancient aura surrounding the palace caused everyone's hearts to race. This was the Western Constellations Palace—one of the four divine palaces belonging to the Sea of Constellations' Four Constellations Masters. This was the divine residence of Western Constellations Master Fu Qing, a person who was rumored to have once fought against the Six Sages.
Prior to joining the Sea of Constellations Subjugation Crusade, none of them had ever expected normal cultivators like themselves would have the opportunity to visit the Western Constellations Palace. However, as their eyes fell upon this lofty palace overseeing the realm, everyone was hit with a wave of excitement, feeling as though all the pain and struggles they went through to get here was worth it after all.
Only the dead would rest eternally in silence...