Chapter 369: Scatter Like The Clouds
Translator: Novel Saga Editor: Novel Saga
Men of Jun Wu Yi, Dongfang Wen Qing and Sikong An Ye’s status came forward to wish farewell. Venerable Mei only nodded in an absent-minded manner. Most of the Spirit Xuan and Sky Xuan experts were nothing in her opinion. There was nothing wrong with the Third Master Jun and the three Dongfang brothers when it came to it. However, Venerable Mei didn’t wish to engage with them much since it would be rather embarrassing for someone of her status. In fact, she’d even wish to economize on the ‘nodding’…
She hadn’t even paid attention to what they had spoken since the worry in her own mind hadn’t been settled yet. A long, long while passed in this manner. She then raised her head towards the sky, and saw a river of stars along with a bright moon…
[It’s night time already!]
[I didn’t pay attention that so much time passed while I was immersed in thoughts. But, what was I thinking about? What had me so entranced? This has never happened to me before? What is happening to me…?]
Then, she turned around, but noticed that only three people remained there. The Tiger and the Lion Beast Kings had already led the Xuan Beasts into the forests in a calm and quiet manner. A faint cloud of dust could be seen in the depths of the sky above the forest. The faint dust that had spread in the air was obviously due to the retreat of the Xuan Beasts…
[This is very unusual. So many Xuan Beasts have retreated. They may have retreated in an orderly and peaceful manner. But, they still must’ve made a tremendous noise. But, I still didn’t notice any of it. I haven’t been this absent-minded for nearly a hundred years…]
Venerable Mei didn’t care about the human allied forces. They had also retreated in a neat order some time back. Even the dead bodies on the ground had been taken away. The only exceptions were the bodies of the father-and-son duo — Li Jue Tian and Li Teng Yun. One had turned to ash, while the other was a pile of meat. The allied forces had buried them in haste. In fact, they had basically piled-on a mound of earth on top of them. The setting sun had shone upon that mound, and a white plank of wood stood upon it. This plank had obviously been chopped from a nearby tree. It looked rather conspicuous. A barely legible line had been carelessly written on it —"The tomb of the Li father and son."
Not a single word was written apart from that.
He had been one of the Great Masters of his generation. He had been well-regarded in the past. But, he had been very arrogant. And, he had unexpectedly met such a miserable and gloomy fate in the end…
Venerable Mei became clear-headed when she saw that plank of wood. She decided to take a closer look at the plank. Then, she laughed bitterly before she muttered, "The Second Great Master is dead. His reputation is gone too. He’s just like a common beggar who’s hungry and cold."
She sighed and her eyes flitted around. Only the four of them were left amidst this grand mountainous forest.
Over a month of fighting, blame, and grievances had come to an end. The heroes and experts from around the world had gathered there. But, they had also dispersed like the scattering clouds.
Everything was back to the way it used to be. However, the number of the living had reduced…
There was still a faint scent of blood in the air, and this made this wide expanse of open area seem even more miserable.
"You fought Lei Bao Yu and Bu Kuang Feng. How do you feel about it? You’ve measured the four Great Masters who had come here. How do you feel about the strengths of the Eight Great Masters? I wish to know where you place the strength of our Tian Fa against the Elusive World of Immortals…"
Venerable Mei placed her hands behind her back, and looked into the distance for a long time after she had asked this. It seemed that the three individuals who stood beside her had been asked a very dull question. However, the three Xuan Beast Kings felt an immense pressure.
"Those two men… were very fierce… and quite difficult to deal with…" Long Crane had carefully thought about the situation of the battlefield a while ago. So, his flat and long mouth expressed his view, "Their strength was greater than that of the four Great Masters who had arrived today. In fact, they were stronger than Li Jue Tian — the greatest of the Four Great Masters. Moreover, their swords worked in perfect harmony when they joined hands to fight. Their strength was also increased by many-folds when that happened. The chances of victory are lesser than that of defeat if we three fought them… even if we were in our original forms. And, this is merely an assessment based on the strength they had displayed in that one instance…"
"I agree with what the Third Elder Brother has spoken. The Elusive World of Immortals’ Lei Bao Yu and Bu Kuang Feng had only displayed the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the determination of their strength. Their true strength would be somewhat higher than that of our Tian Fa." The Snake Queen stroked the hair in front of her forehead, and the expression on her face became serious.
"’Somewhat higher than us…’ Is too conservative an argument! I won’t dare to exaggerate our hopes! I feel that their strength superior to ours. In fact, it’s much higher than ours!" Venerable Mei slowly turned around, and spoke in a chilling manner, "Your progress has been very slow! I’m very disappointed in all of you!"
The faces of Long Crane and the other two Beast Kings turned red as they lowered their heads.
"The Three Sacred Lands are very fierce… and the Tian Fa forest… has been declining very fast over the past few years… Perhaps we’ll end-up losing the title of a Fearsome Place in the near future. What a shame! He he… Big Bear and Long Crane!" Venerable Mei sneered and continued, "The two of you had guaranteed me something when you lost the Sacred Fruit. What would the two of you do if we have no news of it after the three years have passed?"
Venerable Mei’s tone had become very sharp.
Long Crane and Big Bear straightened-up their bodies, and replied in a solemn tone, "Rest assured, Eldest. We two brothers will remove our heads if things go south when the time comes!"
"Humph!" Venerable Mei said in a dark tone, "Do you two think that your heads are… that valuable?"
Everyone remained silent for a while.
How could the heads of the two Beast Kings not be valuable? However, what would significance would the removal of their head bear if the things took a turn for the worse? It would only reduce the strength of their side for no reason. One genuinely couldn’t understand what these two were thinking…
Venerable Mei looked up and thought in silence. [‘Tian Fa won’t find what it seeks. The Beast Kings will die. The Tian Fa’s million will depend of the success of failure of one person’. What profound meaning was hidden behind these words? ‘Tian Fa won’t find what it seeks’. This line’s meaning has already been cleared out. But, what did the other words mean?]
Venerable Mei figured that they next phrase indicated a major change in the circumstances regarding the Beast Kings’ fate. That would explain "the Beast Kings will die" part. It would certainly seem so, but one couldn’t be sure. However, the last part regarding "The Tian Fa’s million will depend of the success of failure of one person" was still a profound mystery.
[What does this mean at the end of it all?]
"Eldest… since you wanted to receive that kid as a disciple… so why not…" Snake King asked.
"I obviously have other means," Venerable Mei leisurely looked into the distance and spoke slowly, "How can I let him escape so easily from my palms? Wouldn’t it be too much if I can’t even educate him on his behavior?"
She had become very cold and gloomy by the time she had spoken those last few words. In fact, her teeth had started to gnash with anger within her mouth. The three Beast Kings had known her for many years. So, they trembled as they thought about how she would to take her revenge. They couldn’t help as they looked at each other in dismay. [Eldest wants to take him in as a disciple. But, she wants to take revenge? What kind of a sinister and ocean-deep hatred do you possess for this kid?]
"I’m on the verge of a breakthrough. I had a flash of realization during today’s battle. The path of non-penance is the better option if one wishes to break through the final barrier. One must travel this world!"
Venerable Mei then laughed a bit and spoke, "Bear King, Crane King… the two of you will guard Tian Fa properly. You won’t leave it for the next two years. Meanwhile, Green hunter and I will go and explore the world."
She sighed after she finished speaking. One would see that Venerable Mei’s clear and limpid eyes were full of loss and contradiction if they could go beyond her black cloth and see her face.
Big Bear and Long Crane bowed and agreed.
Venerable Mei remained stationed in a calm manner as the curtain of night descended upon the land below. The biting-cold wind started to rise on the top of the mountain. Venerable Mei wasn’t using her Xuan Qi to protect her body. There was a fluttering sound on the summit as her black cloak left her body, and fluttered away in the wind. The figure that had been hidden underneath it was surprisingly the exquisite figure of a woman. In fact, this figure could bring a ‘rise’ within any man even if they saw it vaguely from the side…
That peerless beauty could awaken feelings of first love…
The mere outline of her figure would leave the entire world to mutter, "What a beautiful woman!". The other women would be left to feel inferior. She hadn’t revealed her true features, but the manner in which she stood in the wind had already displayed her peerless and refined structure. In fact, the moon in the sky had already lost its luster in front of her beauty.
The sky had turned dark by now.
The most refined and elegant creation still remained gracefully upright on the summit. She didn’t move herself, but her elegant body swayed magnificently in the night-wind…
A person had seemingly been sighing softly for a long time. That person’s voice seemed low… as if they were talking in their sleep. And, their voice became even fainter as it wafted through the air…
"I… how should… I treat you…?"
The whistling night-winds breezed away, and those words lingered continued to linger within. Then, that magnificent and exquisitely beautiful figure flashed. And, darkness truly descended on the world after that...
The last touch of light had apparently gone out. The sky had become dark a while ago, but the figure on top of the mountain had seemingly emitted the radiance of a green lotus that grew atop a snowy mountain peak. And, that last bit of light had also disappeared after she left…
The greater part of the allied forced had already scattered after the humans had returned to the Southern Heaven City. They had suffered a crushing defeat. And, the strongest faction of the humans — the Xue Hun Manor — had been thoroughly crushed. Even Li Jue Tian — one of the Eight Great Masters — had died. However, the final outcome of the battle was that the Xuan Beasts of Tian Fa had returned to their forest. Moreover, they weren’t going to trouble humanity anymore. Thus, the basic aim of the allied forces had been achieved. No one was idle at this time. Each person was moving-about, and was bidding their farewells.
However, the person who had been most in the limelight during that war — Jun Wu Yi — had a worried frown on his face.
Jun Mo Xie had gone missing!
The Young Master had mysteriously disappeared, and hadn’t returned since. And, this had frightened everyone! Everyone was very worried. People like the Solitary Falcon and Dongfang Wen Qing searched everywhere, but they couldn’t even find a trace of him. So, Jun Wu Yi helplessly decided to postpone the return trip, and planned for everyone to rest in the meanwhile.
However, he was completely unaware of the things that were happening in the world while he was recuperating. The Xuan experts from every powerful family which had participated in this war were wantonly propagandizing the Jun Family’s might after they had departed from the Southern Heaven City. Therefore, the Jun Family’s reputation had sky-rocketed to the top in the brief time of a few days…
The Jun Family had always been regarded as a famous family. But, that was mainly due to its military prestige. A common family of the society couldn’t provoke the Jun Family. However, this didn’t mean that the other families couldn’t… especially when it came to the families which had Sky Xuan or Spirit Xuan experts to keep watch over them…
The factions that nobody would provoke weren’t many in number. The Silver Blizzard City and the Xue Hun Manor were amongst the handful of factions that no one would dare to provoke...
However, the circumstances were different now. In fact, they were entirely different. Who wouldn’t know that the Jun Family had a patron in a man who could be regarded as the ‘strongest under the heavens’? And, this shocking news had spread like a storm across the entire continent…