“Father. In the future, I will shatter the void and ascend to meet you.” Meng Huan’s words still lingered in his ears.
Qin Yun was looking at his son across vast distances and through various obstacles with his Eye of Lightning.
The memories of the fifty years they spent together flooded his mind. The intense feelings seemed to explode in him as tears glimmered in his eyes. He watched his son fight.
“Good. Very good. He did shatter the void. We can finally reunite again as father and son.” Qin Yun was extremely excited and delighted.
“Huan’er’s cultivation level is a lot higher than when I left him.”
Qin Yun looked at his son carefully.
Although Meng Huan had cultivated for a relatively long period of time, his appearance did not change much. After all, back when Qin Yun ascended, Meng Huan was already a Connate Golden Core that had stepped into the Dao. The number of changes to his soul was very minute.
“He has matured greatly and seems more restrained. However, he still appears to be a man of few words.” Qin Yun could not help but smile as he watched his son. He turned happier the more he looked.
While the trio formed a combat formation, the other two would frequently shout and talk.
However, Meng Huan spoke very little.
“He is quite strong. He should have reached the peak second Firmament Essence Soul realm.” Qin Yun nodded. “That’s right. In Huan’er’s homeworld, shattering the void and ascending would typically demand a Dao domain of fifteen kilometers. And that world’s cultivation Dharmic formulations are extremely lacking, far worse than what we have in the Great Chang world. Those that can ascend in that world are no doubt rare geniuses. Once someone like Huan’er obtains the Dharmic formulations of top sects in the Effulgent Great World, their strength would immediately improve by leaps and bounds. Huan’er must have easily attained the peak second Firmament Essence Soul realm once he came here.”
“But then again, time is a factor. The Effulgent Great World’s time passes slowly. A year here is three years in my Great Chang world.” Qin Yun frowned slightly. “That means that it hasn’t even been a few years since Huan’er ascended to this plane.”
“He came to the Ancient Augury World for a trial shortly after his ascension? He sure is messing around!” Qin Yun was a little displeased.
What sort of world was the Ancient Augury World?
It was a land of trial, a place where many top factions in the Effulgent Great World sent their elite disciples to train. Those that obtained a spot needed to have some illustrious background. For instance, Qin Yun was strong enough that East Sea Skydragon was willing to vouch for him.
Everyone that came was an elite! How intense would the battles be? Furthermore, the Ancient Augury World itself was dangerous. It was only thanks to the Transference Token that could save lives with a thought that sects sent their precious disciples there. Without those, the losses sustained would be terrifying.
“Even with the Transference Token, coming to the Ancient Augury World just shortly after he ascends is just too rash.” Qin Yun would be sure to reprimand Meng Huan if he had the chance.
But Qin Yun was unaware… that Meng Huan wished to see his father more than anything after ascending to the Effulgent Great World. He believed his father’s talent to be a lot higher and that he would end up in a top sect. However, regardless of how he searched, Qin Yun was nowhere to be found. Therefore, he came to the Ancient Augury World. There were many treasures and the Transference Token ensured a low-risk environment. Wasn’t such a place something cultivators dreamed of? Once he acquired enough treasures here, he could seek powerful seniors to help divine the location of his father.
“How should I meet him?” Qin Yun wanted to meet his son that very instant.
“He does not recognize me as Qin Yun,” thought Qin Yun. “I should meet him as Meng Yiqiu first.”
As he considered how to reunite with his son, he carefully monitored the ongoing situation with his Eye of Lightning.
While paying attention to Meng Huan, he would also look elsewhere.
Finally—
Qin Yun discovered the cause of the ongoing brawl.
About twenty-five kilometers away from Qin Yun, there was a huge chasm. It was five kilometers in diameter and countless trees beyond its boundary had collapsed.
In the middle of the chasm was a dazzling treasure pagoda!
“What an impressive treasure pagoda.” Even Qin Yun’s Eye of Lightning was blinded by the treasure light. It shone clear despite the luster the treasures and array formation emitted.
The pagoda was eighteen hundred feet tall as it sat deep in the chasm. It emitted a resplendent light that seemed to light up the floors beneath it in waves.
The array formations of the first and second floors had been destroyed and no longer had any treasures.
There were a string of treasures lining the awnings of the pagoda on the third floor. They were of every color imaginable with their glows illuminating each other. But a closer look revealed that they were actually various treasures of nature. Just a simple rock or a tree core could match the value of a first-grade Dharma treasure.
On the fourth floor’s awnings hung sabers, spears, staffs, poles, hammers, calabashes, bells, fans, ropes, mirrors… All of them were transcendent-grade Dharma treasures.
On the fifth floor’s awnings hung fifteen inferior-grade Numinous treasures.
On the sixth floor’s awnings hung six medial-grade Numinous treasures.
Finally, on the seventh floor’s awnings hung a flying boat, an armor set, and a golden seal, all superior-grade Numinous treasures.
Even Qin Yun held his breath.
This was the first time he was seeing so many treasures. He was beyond excited.
“That many treasures? And if I’m not seeing wrong, the pagoda itself is an extremely powerful Numinous treasure. It’s at least a superior-grade Numinous treasure,” thought Qin Yun. “It’s no wonder it caused so many Essence Souls to go into a frenzy.”
Even if they were disciples of top sects, they were only at the Essence Soul realm after all.
The appearance of such a pagoda naturally sent them into a fit.
“The pagoda has seven floors. The array formations of the first two levels have been destroyed. The treasures must have already been taken,” thought Qin Yun. “There are five levels left.”
…
At that moment, a group of peak third Firmament Essence Souls was surrounding the pagoda. They were attempting to crack the array seals while also fighting each other.
The Daoist, Buddhist, and Fiends were the top three sects in the Three Realms. It was the same in the Effulgent Great World!
The Daoists had the deepest heritage after all, and they were split into the three lineages—Grand Supreme, Primordial Beginning, and Numinous Treasure!
For instance, the Scenic Jade Palace that Qin Yun was associated with and the Jade Tripod Sect that Meng Huan was part of were of the Primordial Beginning lineage.
The Daoists under the Three Pure Ones would work together against external threats! There were veiled contentions with the Buddhists but on the surface, they maintained decorum and never fought each other to the death.
However, when the Daoists and Buddhists allied against the Fiends, they spared no mercy!
Similarly, the Fiends were equally crazy when they fought the Buddhists and Daoists.
As for the rest?
The dragons, demons, Godfiend lineages, and magus lineages fought on the sidelines. They were prepared to snatch the treasures at any moment.
“Boom!”
While a group of Essence Souls were embroiled in battle, they constantly attacked the pagoda. With a loud boom, the third floor finally succumbed.
Amid the pagoda’s boom, the thousands of treasures on the third floor surged into the sky, flying in every possible direction.
“Treasures!”
“They’re ours!”
Instantly, the Essence Souls deployed all the tricks available to them to snatch the treasures that were flying in every direction.
Even the Godfiends and magi that kept a low profile went into a frenzy once this happened. After all, the snatching of treasures only lasted an instant. If they did not take risks, all the treasures would be swiped clean. People would use their Transference Tokens as soon as the treasures were obtained, so it was nearly impossible to snatch the treasures once they were taken.
“They are all extremely valuable natural treasures. The ordinary ones match first-grade Dharma treasures. The more precious ones come close to a transcendent-grade Dharma treasure. Even the weaker ones are second or third-grade Dharma treasures. Just gathering a few dozen would be quite a killing.” The Essence Souls watched as thousands of streams of light flew into the sky. They fought to snatch them by deploying even more ruthless means.
The third Firmament Essence Souls were the closest to the pagoda so they had the easiest time grabbing the treasures. The fiendcelestials simply expanded their arms, sweeping their massive palms across the sky to grab the streams of light. A simple grab netted numerous treasures!
The other experts used their various tricks or Dharma spells. Some even controlled their Dharma treasures to snatch the treasures in fistfuls.
Some even began attacking each other!
The second Firmament Essence Souls stayed in formation in the outer perimeter to snatch anything that slipped through the cracks.
There were just too many treasures. With the third Firmament Essence Souls attacking one another to hold each other back, many treasures slipped through the cracks. One batch flew towards where Meng Huan and company were situated.
“That’s ours.”
“Do it!”
The woman in azure clothes shouted. The trio formed a battle formation, readying themselves to snatch the treasures.
A blurry mist flew out and enveloped a batch of treasures that numbered more than a hundred.
“It’s ours!” The woman, thin man, and Meng Huan turned delighted. The mist was carrying the treasures towards them.
“Scram.” A stocky fiendcelestial chased after the treasures as he withstood the lightning bolts that struck him. Although his skin was charred black, it was rapidly recovering.
The fiendcelestial brandished a red bronze pole that suddenly expanded to more than a kilometer. He swept it towards Meng Huan and company with a whistling sound.
“Bam!”
The pole fell down like a heavenly pillar. As Meng Huan and company retreated, they braced for a full-strength impact.
“Boom!” Water waves appeared around them, enveloping the three of them and blocking the strike. However, their faces were pale.
“You want to compete with me?” The fiendcelestial continued brandishing his pole with savage ferocity.
“Senior Sister.” The woman sent an urgent voice transmission.
A blue-robed woman from the Jade Tripod Sect noticed it from afar. As she waved her fan, an astral wind whistled over like a blade.
“Fairy Snow, are you planning on saving your junior brothers and sister?” A black-robed youth who was vying for the treasures scoffed. He flicked his sleeve and immediately a dark cloud appeared in midair to intercept the astral wind.
…
The situation on the battlefield was chaotic due to the vying of treasures.
Meng Huan and company were in dire straits.
“Hold on! When we can’t hold on any further, we will use the Transference Token.” The woman in azure clothes gritted her teeth while sending a voice transmission. She refused to give up. Meng Huan and the thin man nodded as well. If they held on a little longer, perhaps other Daoist sects would lend a hand! However, they were ultimately not from the same sect. It was unlikely they would be so enthusiastic about helping them.
Since they were only second Firmament Essence Souls, they could always activate their Transference Tokens to escape if they failed to defend. They could not turn the tables in any way.
Even without the common enemy of the fiendish sects, the Daoists sects had their own internal conflicts.
Meanwhile, deep in the nest’s passageway, Qin Yun turned anxious seeing the long pole crash down at Meng Huan and company like a heavenly pillar. “How dare you, Fiendcelestial. You are courting death!”
He was still planning his method of meeting his son but now, he no longer had the luxury of time.
“Whoosh.”
With a flash, Qin Yun transformed into Meng Yiqiu. He cast a concealment aura Dharmic formulation, changing his soul’s aura to that of Meng Yiqiu. Others might not know of Meng Yiqiu’s soul aura but he naturally knew.
In his dream of a hundred years, he was Meng Yiqiu. Naturally, his looks, aura, comportment, and the look in his eyes were identical. Even if a powerful expert were to check the karma ties, they would clearly see that Qin Yun and Meng Huan were bound.
That was because… Meng Yiqiu was indeed one of Qin Yun’s real identities.
“Huan’er!”
After transforming into Meng Yiqiu’s appearance, Qin Yun did not hesitate at all. He instantly cast his Beam Transformation Art. His speed was a lot faster than his pre-Skyimmortal days. Without stopping for a moment, a wave of his hand produced a wisp of misty rain from his fingertip.
The distance separating him from the surface was only slightly more than five kilometers. The Misty Rain Sword instantly tore out of the ground and flew towards Meng Huan and company!
Immediately following the Misty Rain Sword… was Qin Yun!