Chapter Ninety-One: Returning with a Trophy Head

The stronger the person who enters that little world, the more fiercely that world suppresses them; they could not even send anyone whose cultivation was above the level of Martial Lord. One must know that the eleven realms of the martial path are: martial artist, martial master, martial platform, martial core, martial infant, martial lord, martial king, martial emperor, martial sage, martial exalted, and supreme. A cultivator at the level of Martial Lord is indeed already enough to found a third-rate power, yet it is still only a small stage on the long road of cultivation.

In truth, suppression during interworld travel was not uncommon. What was rare was suppression of such magnitude; this was the first time they had encountered it. If they sent only a Martial Lord, then once suppressed there, he might not even be able to display the strength he possessed at the Martial Core stage.

Even so, the Great Freedom Heaven Demon Sect, with its deep foundations as a holy land force, could attempt a method no one else would even dare imagine: first send people of low cultivation into that little world, then pour in endless resources and treasured artifacts, forcibly raising several Martial Lords from zero within that lesser world!

Yet those cultivated by such means were best chosen for their lack of natural potential; if their innate talent was extraordinary, then to forcibly boost them in this way would be like stretching seedlings to help them grow. Even if the person were willing, Zhuge Yi would never allow it. But to cultivate someone of merely ordinary potential would consume even more resources.

And the few subordinates tentatively raised in this way, when they returned to the Azure Heaven Realm to inspect hidden troubles in their bodies, discovered that the little world had actually stripped away the cultivation they had gained there!

So all those heavenly materials and earthly treasures had gone down the drain. How could anyone not be furious? That little world was like a bloodsucking landlord, stripping you bare when you entered and stripping you again when you left, leaving you to come and go naked.

Besides, although Chen Zili’s cultivation had not yet reached its peak, the people following him could still swarm like ants biting an elephant to death. Human life in that little world was likewise worthless, or rather, this was common to many worlds where force reigned supreme. So was the Great Freedom Heaven Demon Sect to expend the resources of the Azure Heaven Realm in a contest of lives against that little world? The Great Freedom Heaven Demon Sect could certainly do it, but it would look rather foolish.

Moreover, because of the difference in time flow, the power Chen Zili had established had already nearly reached the pinnacle of that little world. Winning over the native forces, promising them benefits, and using wolves to devour tigers had all become empty talk.

Thus there remained only one unconventional method: without descending in one’s true body, one could use soul arts, such as the soul technique Lingxiaohua had employed before on the airship with the Three-Feather Bird while peeping at Zhang Ning, or the primordial spirit arts used by the Immortal Venerable of Golden Radiance and Vast Sea, and other such side methods, to fully possess the body of someone in that little world who was dying or weak of mind. In this way, the suppression suffered there while growing could be greatly reduced; and if one did not even use the resources of the Azure Heaven Realm, then one could cultivate there like a native of that world, normally and unhindered.

If the person sent over were gifted with extraordinary talent and peerless comprehension, unbound by bodily aptitude or resources, then by relying on himself alone he might break through on the spot. Before Chen Zili’s forces could discover his whereabouts, he could grow into a position where he could contend with them; and even if he could not win, he could at least escape. Then, after everything was done, he could return to his true body in the Azure Heaven Realm without damaging his own potential.

Yet though this condition differed in some respects, it was even more demanding. After all, the person not only had to possess transcendent understanding, but after breaking through to Martial Lord, he also had to have the ability to stand above the crowd, slaughtering those of the same rank as easily as butchering pigs and dogs. Such a heaven-sent figure... who could possibly see through him before he had shown such brilliance?

Chen Zili had originally been nothing more than a trifle the Great Freedom Heaven Demon Sect could pick up at will, yet he had somehow grown into a hedgehog.

So to this day the Great Freedom Heaven Demon Sect could only first gather more intelligence about that little world and try to find a breakthrough from another angle, leaving that traitor to roam free there for the moment.

After learning this, Zhang Ning fixed his gaze on his fourth senior brother, Han Zhifei. Han Zhifei did not avoid his look either. “Junior Brother need not be anxious. We have already decided to act.”

As their eyes met, Zhang Ning instantly read Han Zhifei’s thoughts. Clearly they were planning to make a grand move and use the first method for a full-scale hunt. Zhang Ning of course understood that although Third Senior Brother Zhuge Yi had never been willing to go to such lengths just to kill a traitor, to suffer losses both in men and in gain was absolutely not what he wanted. Yet whether as a holy land force or as fellow disciples, they could no longer tolerate that man’s existence. The two failed assassinations had made Chen Zili’s presence as intolerable as a fishbone stuck in the throat.

But Zhang Ning’s thoughts on this matter were the same as those of his Third Senior Brother: such a massive display—who did Chen Zili think he was?!

An indescribable fury surged through Zhang Ning, an unpleasant sting as though someone had brutally stabbed the softest part of his heart. He forcefully suppressed the thoughts in his chest, let his expression settle back into normality, and ensured that not even the slightest gesture betrayed his mind. Quietly exhaling, he lifted his head. “Then, Fourth Senior Brother, you must be sure to take me with you then!”

Zhang Ning’s disguise... had failed.

Han Zhifei looked at him with the gaze one would give a little cat bound to run away from home, yet after a moment of silence he said nothing. Instead, he reached out and squeezed Zhang Ning’s shoulder. “All right.”

In the blink of an eye, it was already late. After parting from Zhang Ning, Han Zhifei saw that the palace where Second Senior Brother stayed was ablaze with lights, and could well imagine how busy he must be.

The matter of the master and the other Supreme Exalted counterinvading the other world’s strongman in the middle world had to be kept tightly hidden from most of the Azure Heaven Realm. Besides that, the fact that Zhuge Yi had been assassinated again also had to be absolutely sealed from the informed, or Zhuge Yi’s prestige would certainly plummet. In that case, all the scattered sect affairs...

Han Zhifei knew full well that he was lacking in this area, so he did not go over to add to the chaos. He decided to visit in the morning instead. Yet before the dawn had fully spread across the land, he was awakened by Second Senior Brother, who looked at him with unusual severity. “The formation in the back mountain has been activated. Fourth Junior Brother, who did you send there this time? Did I not say that the solution to this matter was within sight?”

Han Zhifei woke at once, blurting out, “Little Ning!”

At the time, when Han Zhifei saw Zhang Ning’s eyes, he knew Zhang Ning would not stay put. But he had thought Zhang Ning knew his limits. What cultivation was he even at now?!

Second Senior Brother was startled by Han Zhifei’s words. “The Fifth Junior Brother newly taken in by the master went over? That’s far too reckless!” The two hurried toward the formation in the back mountain, and when they arrived, beneath the faint light of dawn they saw a small figure walking out of the formation, tightly carrying a bundle the size of a human head in his hands.