Beyond the Dragon Gate was a dreary, overcast sky. And it was extremely quiet.
The terracotta warriors’ eyes have opened. It was so spooky that it sent shivers down everyone’s spine.
The Western Liang elite soldiers under Xiang Shaoyun’s command all tensed up, staring at the terracotta warriors.
The Overlord experienced the Secret Realm of the Hidden Dragon Ridge once, so he was not very surprised that the terracotta warriors opened their eyes all of a sudden.
After all, the small ghosts crawling on walls in the Secret Realm of the Hidden Dragon Ridge were not less horrifying than these terracotta warriors who abruptly opened their eyes at all.
Boom!
Xiang Shaoyun punched a terracotta warrior closest to him. As air flowed out of the warrior, Demonic Qi emerged.
That warrior stared at Xiang Shaoyun like an evil, demonic god. Surprisingly, the terracotta knife at his waist was unsheathed, letting out a screeching noise that made everyone cringe.
Suddenly, the terracotta knife and Xiang Shaoyun’s fist collided.
Clank!
Surprisingly, the terracotta knife was not weaker than a forged blade that had been subjected to extremely high temperatures over a hundred times.
Xiang Shaoyun did not bring too many elite soldiers with him. There were only about twenty soldiers beyond the Dragon Gate. Most of them were first-class martial arts practitioners, and two were even martial arts Grandmasters.
Xiang Shaoyun did not bring Xu Chu to the Secret Realm, because he wanted this trusted subordinate of his to guard the periphery.
These terracotta warriors were definitely stronger than the small ghosts in the Secret Realm of the Hidden Dragon Ridge…
Not only in terms of defense but also in terms of attack. Compared to the small ghosts fighting with bare hands, these warriors wielded terracotta knives that were very sharp.
They could easily cut people in half.
Xiang Shaoyun threw another punch.
A warrior cracked in several parts after receiving the two punches.
“You, keep punching it…” Xiang Shaoyun called a martial arts Grandmaster over to hit the closest terracotta warrior.
The martial arts Grandmaster activated his Qi and blood to the maximum without hesitation. His body shivered. Then he unsheathed his knife immediately to cut the terracotta warrior’s head off. He struck the warrior three times more to split it into pieces.
Pure Spirit Qi flowed out of the now shattered terracotta warrior into the martial arts Grandmaster’s body.
The martial arts Grandmaster trembled. He immediately looked at Xiang Shaoyun.
“Mayor… I’m feeling it… Spirit Qi!”
This martial arts Grandmaster was very thrilled.
“Great.”
Xiang Shaoyun’s eyes lit up. It was as he had expected.
Just like those small ghosts in the Secret Real of the Hidden Dragon Ridge, these terracotta warriors were the so-called Immortal encounter.
When the first terracotta warrior had been shattered, the remaining ones all opened their eyes widely in anger. They all unsheathed their terracotta knives.
“Come on!” Xiang Shaoyun roared in a deep voice.
Demonic Qi was surging in him.
He punched one of the terracotta warriors, and it cracked immediately. He told his subordinates to keep striking it…
So that they could be nourished by Spirit Qi.
Soon, with the Overlord’s help, all of the twenty elite soldiers got the nourishment of Spirit Qi. Indeed, some of them failed to refine Spirit Qi, but generally speaking, they were all stronger now.
In the distance…
The gravels on the ground started to gather together, assembling into a new warrior one by one, but there were never more than ninety-nine warriors at one time.
The Overlord was not interested in these terracotta warriors. After all, they could not pressure him or make him break through to Internal Organs Realm.
However, they were good for his subordinates. They could enhance their strengths by practicing on these terracotta warriors.
In fact, if this goes on long enough, he could have an elite team of cultivators.
When all of the twenty elite soldiers had refined their Spirit Qi, Xiang Shaoyun said, “Killing these terracotta warriors will give you Spirit Qi. The more you kill, the more chances you will get to refine Spirit Qi. You can work together to kill them.”
The elite soldiers responded with a piercing cry. Their eyes all lit up.
Xiang Shaoyun nodded at them. Then, carrying his axe and shield on his back, he walked to the iron chain bridge.
A warrior tried to stop him, but he broke it with only one punch.
There was a floating sky island on the other end of the iron chain bridge.
From where he stood, the Overlord looked at the palace on the floating sky island. And in front of the palace, he saw a giant bronze three-legged cauldron, from which smoke was going up.
******
Lake Island, Beiluo.
It was a breezy day.
Cupping his hand around his chin, Lu Fan looked at the Spirit Pressure Chessboard. Lines were jumping in his eyes. On the chessboard, the jumping lines represented what was happening in each Dragon Gate in the Secret Realm.
He checked out each one of them. Then he took a closer look at one of the Secret Realms.
Lu Fan saw the invincible Overlord advancing. Average warriors were not a match for the Overlord at all.
“He has been more mature, indeed.”
Lu Fan smiled as he tapped his fingers on his cheek.
Lu Fan had high expectations for the Overlord. After all, the Overlord was almost on the verge of breaking through to Internal Organs Realm.
He might be the first cultivator to make it.
However, he still needed more push.
Seeing the Overlord running amok, Lu Fan broke into a smile. He recalled a saying.
“Putting on the thickest armor and getting the fiercest thrashing…”
“Looks like I should pressure him more.” Lu Fan straightened up, with his hand hovering over the Spirit Pressure Chessboard.
Clatter.
He snapped his fingers.
******
On the iron chain bridge, the Overlord took one step forward.
Behind him, the war cries from the terracotta warriors and his elite soldiers were instantly gone.
It was extremely quiet.
A cloud of thick purple smoke rose from the three-legged cauldron. It turned into two misty figures—a man and a woman. Both of them were holding a sword and standing on the iron chain of the bridge.
The oppressive fluctuation of Spirit Pressure spread.
Feeling this wave of Spirit Pressure, Xiang Shaoyun tightly closed his fists. His body slightly trembled.
But it was not because of fear. It was because of excitement!
“These two are even a little stronger than the ancient Qi Refiner in the Secret Realm of the Hidden Dragon Ridge!”
This was only the first small palace in this Dragon Gate in the Secret Realm, and there were already such strong opponents.
So what would he find in the massive main palace where the eight Dragon Gates converged?
However, Xiang Shaoyun did not flinch. He was taking steady steps on the wooden boards of the iron chain bridge. His footsteps echoed around the place.
The misty figures of the man and the woman, which transformed from the cloud of smoke, stood on the iron chain bridge. They suddenly turned into two purple shadows that rushed toward the Overlord!
The Overlord, standing on the wooden boards of the bridge, with his body bulging, roared like a beast at the two shadows charging at him.
Demonic Qi surrounded him.
He grasped the handle of the axe he was carrying on his back and threw it over with much effort.
******
Tiandang Mountain.
The servant that worked in the inn took a silver ingot from Nie Changqing and went to the main gate of Daoist School in person.
It was good business for him.
Daoist School was quite famous in South County. It was after all one of the Hundred Schools of Philosophy, so that meant there were no bandits around Tiandang Mountain, nor would anyone be stupid enough to go to the territory of the Daoist School and rob the place. As a result, it was quite a safe trip.
The young Daoist priest who had taken the two letters was running on a flagstone-paved road.
He climbed onto Catching Stars Peak, the top of the mountain where the Daoist School was located.
However, he was stopped as soon as he arrived there. He was driven away after the two letters had been taken.
There was a blockade at Catching Stars Peak. On his way down the mountain, the young Daoist priest kept looking back out of curiosity. He could only vaguely see an exquisite gate floating over the peak.
At Catching Stars Peak, on a field paved with flagstones…
There were furnaces were producing smoke.
“Elder.”
A Daoist priest wearing an azure robe took the letters and then handed them to an old Daoist priest sitting cross-legged under an old pine tree.
The old Daoist priest looked away from the Dragon Gate.
He looked at one of the letters after tearing the envelope open. The old Daoist priest’s face gradually grew sullen.
“Nie Changqing… Disciple of White Jade City.”
“An exiled disciple is going to bite back at the Daoist School? His Excellency trained him in person. He is really ungrateful,” the old Daoist priest said coldly.
In the old Daoist priest’s eyes, since it was Daoist School who had imparted Nie Changqing’s martial arts techniques, they certainly had the right to take those techniques back. They could even kill him.
“He had these letters sent to Catching Stars Peak… Is he challenging Daoist School? Is this a declaration of war?”
The old Daoist priest crumpled up the letter.
The other Daoist priests who were there looked like they were confused by his remark.
“Elder… What happened?”
The old Daoist priest threw the crumpled letter in his hand to one of them. The Daoist priest who caught the letter unfolded it. He turned pale after reading.
“Nie Changqing?!”
“I heard he had joined White Jade City and is now a coachman under the command of Lu Ping’an from Beiluo… How dare he come back?!”
“Before His Excellency started the seclusion, His Excellency had told us not to send people to Beiluo… But now, he came in person. That ungrateful bastard!”
The other Daoist priests all grew indignant after reading the letter.
“Nie Changqing will intrude into Daoist School tomorrow…”
“After all, Lu Ping’an helped him, and he is now a cultivator. But now we have a Dragon Raising Site and an Immortal encounter at our main gate. Sansui has the dragon’s help and the grand formation of Daoist School…”
“If he has the nerve to come, he won’t be able to go back!”
“We’ll absolutely kill him!”
The old Daoist priest struck the old pine tree with the palm of his hand. Some pine needles fell. His voice was resonant.
He took out the other letter from Nie Changqing.
It was for Nie Changqing’s wife, the biological granddaughter of His Excellency of the Daoist School.
The old Daoist priest snorted coldly.
And he tore into pieces the letter Nie Changqing had written with his heart after five years’ waiting.