Vast waves of energy spread out in all directions, and the Jade Sword Gate disciples took the brunt of it. They were almost instantly evaporated, melted down together with their possessions.
Even the Heavenly Extinction Sect disciples were caught up in the calamity. They had drawn close during combat, and so even if Tu Baixiong had tried to control their movements somewhat, the battlefield was constantly shifting, and it was impossible to keep track of everyone.
Thus, in this explosion, while the Jade Sword Gate disciples were obliterated by the immense power of the Heavenbane Lightning Pearl, many of the Heavenly Extinction Sect disciples also died.
The Astral Wind did not dissipate after the explosion, continuing to howl around in the vicinity.
“The domain Astral Winds?” Tang Jie gasped in surprise as he observed the battlefield from a distance.
The power contained in the Heavenbane Lightning Pearl was clearly that of the Astral Winds that protected the Rosecloud Domain.
When he was dealing with the fiend tiger, he had spent a heavy price to buy a sliver of a refined Astral Wind Flame to use in his formation. This had been the most expensive material he had purchased, so he was extremely familiar with this Astral Wind.
He had not expected these domain Astral Winds to appear today.
But this Astral Wind seemed fiercer, more violent and frenzied. It was no wonder Heavenbane Lightning Pearls were so powerful and so difficult to produce. It was because they were made from domain Astral Winds.
But from the look of it, the Heavenbane Lightning Pearl’s Astral Wind was much weaker than the actual domain Astral Winds. Though the tide of flames was like an all-devouring monster, turning everything into ash, there was one person who was just barely holding on: the old man.
In that frenzied surge of flames, the elder made hand sign after hand sign, his body flashing with light. The barrier of red and blue light constantly shifted around as it fended off the rampant Astral Winds.
But there was a limit to his ability to hold on. As the Astral Flames howled, the elder’s barrier began to crack and groan. Finally, in a rush of Astral Flames, the elder screamed, and his body was instantly torn to shreds. All that was left was his head, flying in the air, its eyes still wide open as if in disbelief at the sight.
At this moment, the power of the Astral Flames was finally spent. In a howl, all of the Astral Winds gathered together into a single golden Astral Flame in the air.
This was the true domain Astral Wind.
“Strange. The Heavenly Extinction Sect has been in decline for some time. It hasn’t had anyone at the True Lord level or stronger for a while, right? So how can they make Heavenbane Lightning Pearls…?” Tang Jie muttered.
He suddenly recalled the Astral Wind Flame he had bought, and he immediately understood.
As he analyzed the relationship between the Basking Moon Sect and the numerous minor sects of the Sageheart Kingdom, on the other end, the battlefield was a scene of devastation.
The explosion of the lightning pearl had essentially wiped out the Jade Sword Gate group. Even the one who had run the fastest, Leng Xiyu, had been caught up in the aftershock and had been badly injured. And this was only because Tu Baixiong had wanted to protect the head and hadn’t put him in the center of the pearl’s explosion.
But the Heavenly Extinction Sect had also lost nearly half its number, and the survivors were heavily injured.
But these people felt no fear and seemed excited and invigorated.
This was because the moment they entered the Heavenly Extinction Sect, they had developed the mindset of investing all their wealth and profit into cultivation, getting anything else they needed from adventuring. So long as they could survive, they were certain to develop into capable people.
For the survivors, now that they had survived this lethal calamity, they would have a smooth road in the future. If they could come back with the head, the sect would confer upon them great resources.
When it came to stuff like this, the Heavenly Extinction Sect had never been petty.
What did it matter that Tang Jie had risked exposing his identity to get the attention of the Basking Moon Sect? He was really quite average when compared to these crazies of the Heavenly Extinction Sect. But at least he had managed to pay less for more.
Tu Baixiong’s attack had succeeded, and when he saw that the Mustard Seed Bag was still there, he heartily laughed. “I said that you would be fine if you just handed it over, but you just had to fight with me. This is what happens when you make an enemy of the Heavenly Extinction Sect!”
Leng Xiyu had been heavily injured, and his entire backside was scorched black. He was still struggling on the ground, but when he saw Tu Baixiong walking over, he knew that he was doomed. He ruthlessly said, “If my Jade Sword Gate can’t have it, you shouldn’t dream about getting it either!”
Tu Baixiong paled. “No!”
He rushed over to Leng Xiyu, but he was still a step too slow. Leng Xiyu slapped the Mustard Seed Bag, and under his palm, the Mustard Seed Bag exploded into dust, disappearing along with all its contents.
“Bastard!” Tu Baixiong was enraged by Leng Xiyu’s decisive action.
He had used a Heavenbane Lightning Pearl and lost so many of the sect’s disciples, but in the end, he had gained absolutely nothing. Enraged, he struck Leng Xiyu with a palm, instantly killing this young master.
Feeling that this wasn’t enough, he took out his saber and chopped the young lord of the Jade Sword Gate into chunks of flesh—a sight which made Tang Jie’s blood run cold.
He had never seen someone be so crazy and act so much like a lunatic.
Even though he knew there was a lot of darkness in the corners of society, someone who had never experienced it before would never be able to truly understand this sort of madness.
Tang Jie had mentally prepared himself for the darkness of mankind, but he had not prepared himself for the madness of a cultivator. Tu Baixiong was giving Tang Jie a lesson, letting him know that people were simply impossible to fathom.
Before this, he had believed that he had won because of all the effort he had put into planning, leaving nothing to luck.
But today, after seeing what had happened to the Jade Sword Gate, Tang Jie finally understood that he was still fortune’s pet.
Luck had made it so that his opponent was rational, had desires, and had a goal, and it was these reasons that let him fall into a trap.
But in the future, there was no guarantee that the enemies he encountered would all match these criteria.
Human nature was the most unpredictable of all!
…Especially when it came to cultivators!
Little Yiyi was also stunned. If she hadn’t experienced the battles in Tiger Roar Valley, hadn’t experienced Tang Jie’s gruesome battle with Gu Changqing, this horrifying scene would have traumatized her.
Even so, Yiyi was still badly frightened.
Crawling onto Tang Jie’s back, Yiyi said in a trembling tone, “Big Brother, those people are scary.”
“Mm,” Tang Jie grunted.
He stood up and turned to leave.
Yiyi was confused. “Didn’t you say you were going to kill them? Big Brother.”
“The art relics have all been exploded to bits, so there’s nothing to kill for,” Tang Jie replied as he walked away. “Moreover, this is a pack of mad dogs. Fighting with them isn’t wise. Using bait to lure them and make it so that they serve you and bite the people you want them to bite is the far superior policy… I’m starting to understand why the Basking Moon Sect tolerates these scoundrels.”
Yiyi fell silent.
After a long while, Yiyi finally said, “Big Brother…”
“What is it?”
Yiyi very seriously said, “I think being with you is going to ruin me at some point!”
Fairy Mountain.
This was a famous mountain located in the Sageheart Kingdom’s Min Province. Its name was drawn from the fact that its principal peak, Fairy Peak, appeared like a fairy maiden grooming herself.
Fairy Peak boasted gorgeous scenery and was awash with pink ducktail flowers. Every year, when spring started to become summer, ducktail flowers bloomed and turned Fairy Peak into a sea of pink. It was a beautiful sight that drew countless tourists every year to appreciate the flowers, and there were numerous tales about couples who came to Fairy Peak to seal their eternal bonds.
Fairy Peak had a monastery known as White Rose Cloud Monastery. It was said that the incense sticks here were infused with spirituality and were extremely effective for those praying for marriage partners and for children, and so it had many pilgrims.
It was early summer, and the ducktail flowers had yet to wither. This was usually Fairy Peak’s most beautiful time of year.
At the summit of Fairy Peak, Tang Jie held the tiger cub like he was a housecat and looked down at the sea of flowers and the numerous tourists, his heart carefree and relaxed. He couldn’t help but say, “This is truly an excellent view. Yiyi, why don’t I tell Basking Moon Academy that I found you here?”
“Okay!” Yiyi replied from her seat on Tang Jie’s shoulder. “But there’s only ducktail flowers here, not green roses. What do we do about that?”
“That’s simple. We’ll just say that you’re a mutant,” Tang Jie said with a laugh.
“I hate you!” Yiyi pummeled Tang Jie with her little fists. The two of them freely laughed and teased each other on the summit, appearing like a brother and sister and attracting side-eyes and smiles from quite a few tourists.
After leaving the Cloud Marsh, Tang Jie had started to make his way back to Basking Moon Academy, and so he had to pass through Fairy Peak. Without the Hawk Hall hunting him down, he was in a good mood, so he decided to play around and see the sights.
Not since Xu Muyang’s death many years ago had he enjoyed such free and relaxed days.
This was the lightness that came after killing off a major foe, and also the freedom that came from accomplishing a part of his aspiration.
Tang Jie himself had not noticed that he had changed somewhat after this battle. He was no longer silent and taciturn, constantly thinking about his plans. He smiled more, was more relaxed and more active.
“Eh?” Tang Jie suddenly stopped and looked nearby.
A group of people was coming up the mountain. From their dress, they appeared to be people who lived nearby and were coming up to offer incense and make prayers. Their leader was a young lady from some clan. She was luxuriously dressed and was rather pretty. Behind her was a maid, and she was flanked by servants.
What Tang Jie had taken notice of was the maid behind the young lady.
This maid was about sixteen. She wore a jade-green jacket and carried an umbrella that she used to shade her young lady.
Those people noticed Tang Jie’s stare, and someone pointed at him and shouted, “Kid, you’re being rude!
“You dare lust after the daughter of Secretary Li?”
Tang Jie didn’t know who this Secretary Li was, but he knew that a secretary was an official rank with a grade of five.
He paid little regard to a mere grade-five official.
Cultivators were a higher class of people, and anyone who stepped onto the Immortal Path no longer needed to bow to officials. Upon entering Mortal Shedding, one would have the same status as a grade-four official. A Spirit Lake Tier cultivator had the same status as a grade-six official, but as he came from Basking Moon Academy, even a grade-five official would not dare to disrespect him.
Thus, he ignored the yelling of the servant and continued to stare.
That servant saw that Tang Jie was ignoring him and started to tremble in anger. He wanted to rush up and beat this rude brat, but his young lady pulled on him and told him not to lower himself to his level.
The party continued up the mountain and entered the monastery at the summit. Tang Jie’s gaze followed them until they disappeared into the monastery, and only then did he chuckle. “Interesting, interesting.”
“Big Brother, what happened?” Yiyi whispered.
“Didn’t you notice something weird about that maid?”