Chapter 036: Cloud Beast
“I got careless?” Ninth Young Master revealed a cold smile.
“Growl!”
“Growl!”
“Growl!”
The surrounding animal spirits growled. It seemed that they would immediately charge into the valley and tear apart the cultivators with a command from Ninth Young Master.
The cultivators around Gu Hai revealed worried expressions. Back then, the animal spirits forced the cultivators in. Could they escape this horde of animal spirits now?
“Back then, it was these four thousand animal spirits that forced you in. Now, the four thousand animal spirits are still here. What are you going to use to fight? Do you think you still have the earlier evil dragon? The earlier evil dragon only borrowed power from the Heavenly Saber Death Match!” Ninth Young Master sneered.
“Division Master Gu, what should we do?”
“Division Master Gu, what is the best course of action?”
Everyone felt anxious, but Gu Hai just smiled faintly.
“Indeed, our numbers do not match the animal spirits. However, why should we fight with the animal spirits?” Gu Hai sneered.
“Huh?” Everyone looked at Gu Hai.
“Fellow cultivators, do you see him? That person?” Gu Hai pointed to Ninth Young Master.
Everyone looked at where Gu Hai pointed.
“We do not need to fight to the death with the animal spirits. Don’t see the animal spirits as our enemies. We have only one enemy, him. Everyone can only limit themselves to the Innate Realm in the Innate Puzzle World. We have two thousand Innate Realm cultivators, and he is only one. Two thousand against one, would we lose?” Gu Hau called out to all the cultivators as he pointed to Ninth Young Master.
“Ah?” All the cultivators immediately felt excited.
“Indeed, the animal spirits seem to obey him. We just need to kill him, and the animal spirits will be leaderless!”
“If he dies, will the animal spirits scatter?”
“There are two thousand of us fighting just one of him!”
The eyes of the previously horrified cultivators lit up. All of them simultaneously stared at Ninth Young Master, showing bloodshot eyes. As long as we kill him, everyone will survive!
We might run into obstructions. However, there are two thousand of us against him alone. Even if we get blocked, we can still handle it.
Many people drew their weapons, eyeing Ninth Young Master.
On the mountain peak, Ninth Young Master’s expression changed.
Gu Hai stepped forward and stared at Ninth Young Master while saying, “This mister, I managed to make out Old Mister Guan Qi’s play style from the game earlier. He should be a straightforward and upright person. I believe that the Heavenly Go Pavilion carries his dying will and would not do such untrustworthy things, right?!”
Ninth Young Master stared at Gu Hai.
“Since we already solved the Heavenly Saber Death Match, I ask that you bring your men and animal spirits away. Otherwise, my fellow cultivators will target you, aiming to kill you regardless of their survival. If they don’t kill you, they die. If they try to kill you, they might die, but they might also survive. Just leave!” Gu Hai said coldly.
Ninth Young Master stared at Gu Hai, showing a cold look. A sinister smile appeared on his face as he said, “You’re threatening me? Brat, you are too inexperienced. Tear them apart!”
“Roar!”
“Roar!”
“Roar!”
The many animal spirits roared together, charging at the cultivators.
However, Gu Hai smiled faintly at Ninth Young Master’s indifference. “Remember, my name is Gu Hai!”
“Roar!”
Gu Hai turned his body. Then, the multitude of cultivators raised their weapons and charged towards Ninth Young Master.
“Kill! Kill him, and we can live. Otherwise, we die!” the frontmost cultivator shouted.
“Quick! Quick! Keep that person here before the animal spirits arrive!”
“No matter how strong he is, he is also limited to the Innate Realm. We are all limited to the Innate Realm. He cannot stop us!”
“Those who don’t want to die, charge!”
The many cultivators immediately charged up the mountain peak at Ninth Young Master, appearing berserk.
Ninth Young Master showed a sullen expression as he looked at the countless experts rushing towards him.
The surrounding black-clad men moved towards Ninth Young Master, wanting to protect him.
The animal spirits charged over from all directions. They soon arrived at the frontmost cultivators, blocking these crazed cultivators from advancing.
Boom!
“Beasts! Die!”
“Roar!”
The frontmost cultivators clashed with the animal spirits. Their weapons met the animal spirits’ sharp claws. Plenty of shattered rocks shot out while smoke and dust rose.
The cultivators behind did not hesitate. They overtook the cultivators in front and continued charging up the mountain.
Now, they did not need any directions. Everyone understood that they could survive only by killing Ninth Young Master. Otherwise, the animal spirits would tear them apart. The cultivators had nowhere to flee to. If they advanced, they would live. If they retreated, they would die. Their desire to live had intensified after experiencing the horror of the Heavenly Saber Death Match.
Rumble…!
A huge bloody battle started. Plenty of animal spirits’ blood spilled in the area, but the animal spirits also injured many cultivators. At this moment, no one cowered. Instead, they continuously advanced.
The more they advanced, the nearer they got to Ninth Young Master.
There were not many black-clad men, only about one hundred of them. As they saw the ferocious outsiders closing the distance, the group of black-clad men showed worried expressions. This group of cultivators seemed utterly reckless.
The group of black-clad men clutched their weapons as they looked at Ninth Young Master.
However, Ninth Young Master narrowed his eyes and peered through the roiling dust clouds, looking at Gu Hai at the bottom of the valley.
Gu Hai did not move but merely looked back at Ninth Young Master coldly. Gao Xianzhi, Chen Tianshan, and Xiaorou stood by his side.
“Division Master, are we leaving now?” Gao Xianzhi whispered.
“Leave? Why should we leave? Gao Xianzhi, what do you mean by this? Didn’t the division master make it very clear? As long as that person dies, everyone will be safe. With two thousand people attacking him, can they fail?” Chen Tianshan glared from the side.
However, Gu Hai did not rebut Gao Xianzhi. Instead, he took a deep breath and said, “Something is not quite right.”
“Huh?” Gao Xianzhi said, feeling confused.
“It seems that we cannot leave.” Gu Hai’s expression changed.
“What do you mean?” Chen Tianshan also appeared confused.
On the other side, Meng Tai pressed his hand to his wounds as the Elite Hall disciples surrounded and protected him.
“Quickly leave. This is a great opportunity that will not come again. We should take advantage of the chaos to leave,” Meng Tai said.
“Yes!”
The Elite Hall disciples carried Meng Tai and fled to the back.
At the very front, the group of experts looked like they would reach the summit soon, getting close to Ninth Young Master. They all showed ferocious expressions as they clutched their weapons, looking like they wanted to chop apart Ninth Young Master with one strike.
As the many experts approached, Ninth Young Master seemed like he had nowhere to escape.
“Die!” the frontmost cultivator roared.
Ninth Young Master revealed a cold smile, not getting flustered. He suddenly took out a golden Go stone, holding it between the index finger and the middle finger of his right hand.
“My will in the world, take form!” Ninth Young Master shouted coldly.
Boom!
A strong force immediately knocked the frontmost cultivators into the air. They saw a boundless cloud and vapor suddenly appear around Ninth Young Master. Then, clouds instantly covered the surrounding mountains and the valley.
These clouds were even vaster than the earlier Heavenly Saber Death Match’s dark clouds. A white mist suddenly covered everything, forming a roiling cloud sea close to the ground.
Whoosh!
The expressions of the fleeing Elite Hall members immediately changed. With the clouds blanketing the place, they lost their bearings. They did not know where to flee to.
However, a horrifying aura coming from Ninth Young Master pressed down in all directions.
“What is that?” Chen Tianshan, who was in the valley, exclaimed.
Then, he saw a huge tail sweep through all the cultivators charging up the mountain peak.
Boom!
“Ah!”
“Ah!”
“Ah!”
Dozens of cultivators immediately went flying.
Fear suddenly gripped the hearts of all the cultivators charging up the mountain. They stopped and stared at the summit in horror.
Clouds ringed the summit. However, there seemed to be something large at the center of the clouds, looking like the earlier coiled evil dragon.
It was a huge snake formed by clouds. This snake was one kilometer long with nine heads.
The nine-headed cloud snake uncoiled itself, its various heads showing ferocious expressions. Ninth Young Master looked half-buried on the centermost snake head. The golden Go stone in his hand seemed to be placed on the snake head, controlling the huge nine-headed cloud snake.
“Roar!”
“Roar!”
The nine-headed snake exuded a berserk evil air as it roared at everyone. When it roared, whirlwinds formed and raced towards the cultivators in all directions.
Boom!
As the strong wind blew, it pulled all the cultivators to the middle of the whirlwinds.
“Ah!”
“Ah!”
“Ah!”
Strings of miserable cries rang out as everyone fell towards the middle after being blown high up. The whirlwinds even picked up the Elite Hall members who had just fled.
“Roar!”
The nine-headed snake turned its body and quickly slithered towards all the cultivators.
A vast ferocious aura pressed down on everyone.
They all surrounded Gu Hai, showing horrified expressions.
“What’s going on? Isn’t everyone limited to the Innate Realm?”
“What is this?”
“What is this monster?!”
Terrified cries filled the surroundings.
“A cloud beast? It’s that golden Go stone in his hand!” Meng Tai suddenly shouted.
“What?” Everyone looked at Meng Tai.
“Someone used it in the past. The Innate Puzzle World’s laws are constructed like a large, boundless Go game. There are many golden Go stones hidden in this world. As long as one finds a golden Go stone, one can use one’s Go skills to connect to this world and form a corresponding cloud beast to fight one’s enemies. He is using that golden Go stone to connect to this world to form this cloud beast!” Meng Tai’s expression changed.
“What should we do? Division Master Meng, what should we do?” the crowd asked anxiously.
“I have no idea, either. We can only deal with this if someone finds another golden Go stone and connects to this world to form a cloud beast!” Meng Tai replied anxiously.
“Ah?” Everyone turned flustered.
“Roar!” The nine-headed snake roared.
“As I said before, you cannot escape!” Ninth Young Master showed a sinister smile from the largest snake head.
As Ninth Young Master spoke, the huge snake tail slashed down towards the two thousand-odd cultivators.
The cloud beast was simply too strong. As the snake tail swung over, the resulting pressure made breathing difficult. It seemed even more ferocious than the earlier evil dragon.
“Ah!”
“I don’t want to die!”
Everyone felt horrified. Suddenly, a gigantic blue palm appeared from behind everyone. The translucent palm was one hundred meters tall.
Then, this gigantic palm moved towards that snake tail.
Boom!
A loud sound rang out, and the surroundings trembled. The huge shock waves sent everyone tumbling to the ground. However, the palm managed to knock the snake tail back.
“Who is it?” Ninth Young Master demanded in shock, and his expression turned cold.
“Amitābha! Ninth Young Master, you should spare people when you can. Back then, Old Mister Guan Qi’s words were ironclad. Don’t let the Heavenly Go Pavilion’s reputation be ruined in your hands!” A voice rang out from behind the crowd.
The gigantic, translucent blue palm returned to behind the crowd.
Everyone turned their heads back to look and saw an old monk wearing a kya. He held a Buddhist monk staff and showed a solemn and dignified expression. He used one hand to present a Buddhist greeting gesture.
“Venerable Lian Sheng?” Xiaorou cried out in surprise.
“How can this be? Doesn’t this place limit everyone to the Innate Realm? How can Venerable Lian Sheng bring out such strength without a golden Go stone?” Chen Tianshan exclaimed in shock with an expression of disbelief.
On the nine-headed snake, Ninth Young Master’s expression changed. “Bodhisattva Lian Sheng?”
“Bodhisattva? He is a bodhisattva?” Many people appeared shocked.
Gu Hai also looked at Venerable Lian Sheng in surprise. He is a bodhisattva?
“Bodhisattva Lian Sheng, what are you doing in my Innate Puzzle World?” Ninth Young Master asked, scowling.
Bodhisattva Lian Sheng smiled and replied, “Back then, Old Mister Guan Qi promised me something. It should be with your first elder, right? This time, this humble monk is here for that. Ninth Young Master, are you going to silence me for the sake of the Heavenly Go Pavilion’s reputation?”
Ninth Young Master looked at Bodhisattva Lian Sheng uncertainly. However, when he looked at the cultivators, he appeared reluctant. Even so, as reluctant he might be, he could only suppress the rage in his heart.
“Humph! Consider yourselves lucky today!” Ninth Young Master said coldly.
Ninth Young Master clenched his fist, and the golden Go stone entered his palm. The nine-headed snake immediately turned into mist and disappeared. The blanket of clouds also scattered, turning into water vapor and dissipating. Then, the surroundings turned clear again.
“Greetings, Bodhisattva Lian Sheng!” the group of black-clad men in the distance greeted respectfully.
Bodhisattva Lian Sheng nodded and said, “Later, go back and tell your first elder that this humble monk will be arriving soon.”
“Yes!” the group of black-clad men replied respectfully.
“Let’s go, then!” Ninth Young Master shouted coldly. He stepped onto the head of an animal spirit, looking like he wanted to leave with the animal spirits.
“Wait up!” Gu Hai suddenly shouted from the crowd.
“Huh?” Ninth Young Master frowned and stopped.
Everyone looked at Gu Hai. The cultivators had been celebrating, but Gu Hai’s shout caused them to worry.
“Brat, are you still trying to stop us?” Ninth Young Master smiled coldly.
“Friends of the Heavenly Go Pavilion, this humble self is Elite Hall’s Gu Hai. I did not come into the Innate Puzzle World to target anyone. Instead, I am here to search for someone. This world is very vast; finding someone is like searching for a needle in a haystack. Since everyone is here now, I would like to ask about one person. If anyone knows him, please do let me know or inform him about me,” Gu Hai said gravely.
“Oh?” Ninth Young Master narrowed his eyes.
“This person is called the Unborn Man. If anyone knows where he is, please inform him that the Elite Hall Master is searching for him. I will wait at the exit of this world during the final month!” Gu Hai said gravely.
The Heavenly Go Pavilion’s black-clad men all revealed confused expressions; they had never heard this name before.
“The Unborn Man?” However, Ninth Young Master’s pupils constricted.
“Oh? Do you know him?” Gu Hai immediately revealed some joy.
“Hahahahaha! I do know him. However, why should I tell you where he is? Go on and search. Keep searching. You will never find him. Let’s go! Hahahahaha!” Ninth Young Master cackled.
Rumble…!
The Heavenly Go Pavilion disciples, the animal spirits, and Ninth Young Master left quickly.
As Gu Hai watched those departing figures, he heaved a long sigh. Then, he revealed a faint smile. “I finally have a clue.”
“Many thanks, Bodhisattva Lian Sheng!” The group of cultivators bowed to Bodhisattva Lian Sheng, thanking him for helping them.