Chapter 644: Finally Out |
A significantly larger deal? The middle-aged man was intrigued. "What bigger business is there?"
Ye Guan stared at him. "Your goal is to unite the Mountain Sea World, right?"
The middle-aged man nodded honestly. "Yes."
"Why don't we work together?" Ye Guan suggested.
The middle-aged man stared at Ye Guan without speaking.
"I'm not going to hide it from you. I have many enemies that are raring to kill me, and they're pretty strong. Even the weakest of them is at the Divine Dao Realm…"
"I know. The Qi Family, the Temple of the Gods, and the Dao Market."
Ye Guan was astonished. "You've investigated me?"
The middle-aged man shook his head and replied, "Not really. My subordinate was doing business in Dao Market when he heard of…"
The middle-aged man laughed without saying anything.
"What do you think of my suggestion?" Ye Guan asked.
The middle-aged man shook his head. "Young man. Forgive me for being blunt, but I do not wish to be involved in the matters between you and them. Although I am not afraid of them, there is no need for me to become enemies with them, right?"
"Whatever they have will belong to yours once they're dead."
The middle-aged man remained silent.
Ye Guan was about to speak when the middle-aged man beat him to the chase. "A collaboration is possible, but you have to help me deal with two people. Help me deal with them, and I will work with you."
"Who are they?" Ye Guan asked, sounding curious.
"Not long ago, two outsiders walked in here. One is a Spirit Progenitor, while the other one is an evil beast... their presence here has brought the biggest change to this place's environment since time immemorial."
Ye Guan suddenly shot up and spoke in surprise, "What? A Spirit Progenitor? And an evil beast?"
The middle-aged man looked at Ye Guan. "Yes."
"Is the evil beast a little girl?"
"You know them?"
Ye Guan blinked before speaking seriously, "I won't say that I know them, but they'll definitely give me some face."
The middle-aged man instantly became suspicious.
"Let me deal with the two of them. Once you've united the Mountain Sea World, you have to help me deal with the Gods of the Qi Family, the Temple of the Gods, and the Dao Market."
"Young man, I'm powerful, but I cannot say for sure that I can help you get rid of them… they're powerful as well. Especially the Dao Market, the waters of that place are quite muddy and deep."
"How are you going to deal with them, then?"
"If you can trick them into coming into the Mountain Sea World, then I can kill all the cultivators with below fifty percent divinity. If you want me to go outside, then I can only help you deal with one cultivator that has fifty percent divinity at most. That is my limit."
Ye Guan pondered briefly for a moment before saying, "All right."
The middle-aged man nodded slightly, and then he looked at the Qingxuan Sword in his hand.
"This sword of yours..." the middle-aged man trailed off. He had been holding the sword for quite a while now, but he couldn't feel its presence. Simply put, he couldn't use it at all.
Ye Guan looked at the Qingxuan Sword. "Qingxuan, be obedient."
The Qingxuan Sword trembled slightly, and the middle-aged man could finally feel the presence of the Qingxuan Sword.
The middle-aged man couldn't help but muttered in awe, "This sword is indeed unique. Without the approval of the sword itself, no one will be able to use it."
Ye Guan asked, "Can you deal with that war beast on your own?"
The middle-aged man smiled. "Equipment becomes particularly important in a fight between experts with similar strength."
Ye Guan nodded. "That's true."
When the strength of two experts was equal, then the winner would be the one with the better equipment.
"Young man, please give me a moment., the middle-aged man said. He stood up and soared into the air before disappearing into the distant horizon.
Soon, a terrifying roar came from the depths of the distant mountain range.
It was that war beast's roar!
Ye Guan looked up at the distant horizon and was thrilled. He didn't expect that Erya and Little White would come here.
They must have come to bring me some items! Perfect timing; I think it's about time for me to update my gear.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A series of thunderous booms echoed from the distant mountain range. The next moment, the entire Mountain Sea World trembled as if it was in the middle of an extremely terrifying earthquake.
The battle was getting intense!
Soon, a piercing and miserable scream echoed. It was the roar of that war beast!
After a while, Ye Guan saw the middle-aged man dragging a carcass through the sky. The middle-aged man landed in front of Ye Guan and tossed the carcass of that war beast aside. He then looked at Ye Guan with a smile. "Young man, this carcass is yours."
Ye Guan glanced at the carcass of that war beast, which was covered in sword scars.
The middle-aged man looked at the Qingxuan Sword in his hand and sighed. "Young friend, your sword is truly formidable. This war beast's defense was extremely formidable, but it crumbled like paper in front of your sword."
A complex glint flashed in the middle-aged man's eyes. He had been fighting that war beast for thousands of years without a clear winner between them, so he never expected that today—with the help of the Qingxuan Sword—the battle would end in just a few minutes.
Excellent equipment was indeed important!
Ye Guan smiled and exclaimed, "Congratulations, senior!"
The middle-aged man snapped back to reality. He was about to return the Qingxuan Sword to Ye Guan when a hint of greed flashed in his eyes.
If he were to claim this sword as his own, his strength would increase by multiple times. He would become unbeatable among his peers, and he'd face no pressure even when facing opponents of higher divinity percentage.
He was currently at the Divine Dao Realm with forty percent divinity, but he'd have no issues slaying those with fifty percent divinity outside as long as he had this sword. The middle-aged man was even convinced that he'd have no issues against Divine Dao Realm cultivators with sixty percent divinity.
The sword's strength enhancement was that terrifying.
Ye Guan looked calmly at the middle-aged man, who was seemingly lost in his own thoughts.
The Qingxuan Sword had a special trait that wouldn't allow others to wield it unless Ye Guan allowed it. To make matters worse, they'd even suffer a backlash from it. Only those who had been recognized by the sword could wield it.
If the middle-aged man were to act on his evil intentions, he'd immediately suffer a backlash from the Qingxuan Sword.
Just then, the middle-aged man smiled and returned the Qingxuan Sword to Ye Guan. "Young friend, this sword is yours."
In the end, he had chosen not to take the sword, as his reason had overcome his greed.
Ye Guan definitely had extraordinary origins. If he were to kill this young man for the sword, he'd incur a great karmic debt. Moreover, the sword was quite special.
If it hadn't been for the young man's words earlier, he wouldn't have been able to use the sword at all.
And that was why the middle-aged man chose to restrain himself despite the temptations...
Killing for the sword would bring endless troubles. It's better to make friends... If I encounter unbeatable opponents in the future, I might be able to borrow it. That's the perfect plan, the middle-aged man thought, erasing all greed in his mind.
Ye Guan accepted the Qingxuan Sword and asked, "How should I address you, senior?"
The middle-aged man smiled, "Just call me Shen Ye."
"I hope we'll have a pleasant cooperation," Ye Guan said.
"Young friend, there's still the matter of that evil beast and the Spirit Progenitor…" Shen Ye trailed off with a smile.
"Would you mind taking me to meet them?" Ye Guan asked.
Shen Ye stared at Ye Guan, "Are you sure they'll give you face? To be frank, that evil beast is very hard to get along with. She's... been eyeing my treasures."
Ye Guan fell into deep contemplation.
Shen Ye shook his head with a smile. "So, it's best to put away your sword when you meet her. Otherwise, she might snatch it away..."
"Haha." Ye Guan chuckled and said, "It's fine. Bring me to meet them."
Seeing Ye Guan's confidence, Shen Ye didn't bother persuading Ye Guan to do otherwise.
"Follow me," Shen Ye said and left.
Ye Guan put away the carcass of that war beast before transforming into a streak of sword light to chase after Shen Ye.
Soon, Shen Ye led Ye Guan to a lake, and he pointed at the bottom of the lake.
"They're down there," Shen Ye said.
Ye Guan was puzzled. "What are they doing down there?"
Shen Ye said in a deep voice, "Searching for treasures."
Ye Guan turned to look at Shen Ye, who added, "They began searching for treasures everywhere the moment they arrived in this world, and that Spirit Progenitor is special. She can find hidden relics and ruins..."
Little White! Ye Guan shook his head with a smile. He knew that Little White had the ability to search for treasures.
Just then, the bottom of the lake trembled slightly.
"Let's go down," Ye Guan said before transforming into a streak of sword light that plunged into the lake.
Shen Ye hesitated briefly before chasing after Ye Guan.
***
There was a hidden world in the depths of the lake, and it was located directly beneath the lake.
A little girl punched the stone door right before her, and the seal on the stone door trembled violently. It fractured, but it didn't shatter.
The little girl was surprised, but she quickly gave it another punch.
Boom!
The stone door finally shattered, revealing a pitch-black corridor reminiscent of the abyss.
The little girl scooped the white-furred creature into her arms before walking down the corridor without bothering to hide her presence. She looked around and saw countless blood-red runes on the walls of the corridor.
The little girl merely glanced at the runes before licking her candied hawthorn. She wasn't concerned at all, as evil things had always felt cozy to her.
Soon, Erya brought Little White to a door. The door was blood-red as if it were made of blood, making it appear extremely eerie.
Erya licked her candied hawthorn and punched the door.
Bang!
The blood-red door trembled violently and cracked, but it didn't shatter.
Erya frowned and punched it again.
Boom!
The blood-red door was reduced to ashes.
Swoosh!
The mysterious blood-red runes on the walls of the corridor were set ablaze, becoming ashes at the same time as the blood-red door.
Erya frowned, realizing that she had shattered some kind of seal.
"Haha..." A peal of boisterous laughter suddenly came from behind the door. "Ten thousand years! It's been ten thousand years! I can finally come out! Haha..."