After the Bloodwing Pavilion and Threesolute Manor’s people left, the academy temporarily had peace. However, this event was a reminder to the academy that this was only the beginning. Everyone knew that the real challenge would begin in the Withernorth Sea.
Over the next few days, they ran into more teams, but the journey continued to be smooth. Finally, a week later, they successfully walked out of the Flamecloud Mountain Range. Their eyes suddenly expanded as they could see the Withernorth Sea in front of them.
“This is the Withernorth Sea?” Lin Yun looked at the reddish-orange sea that stretched to the far ends of the horizon like a desolate painting. The boundless sea of sand was an impactful scene.
The atmosphere was filled with a blazing fire from the surrounding spiritual energy. When a breeze blew past, it didn’t provide a cool feeling at all. On the contrary, it was blazing hot.
“What the hell is this place…it’s already so hot and we’re not even on the sand…” Mu Chen wiped his sweat and was forced to circulate his origin energy to disperse the heat building up in his body. The others weren’t in a better position either. The heat was constantly trying to invade their bodies, so they had to circulate their origin energy to protect themselves. After all, even someone with a high cultivation couldn’t last long in the heat.
The Withernorth Sea looked bigger than the Nether Prefectural City. The size made sense since it was an ancient battlefield. After all, it only became a desert after the earth-shattering battle. Although the golden era had passed, everyone could still see traces of the ancient era.
At the far end, everyone could see a black storm, which Lin Yun was shocked by. “What a powerful sandstorm.”
Tang Yu smiled and explained, “Sandstorms can be frequently seen in the Withernorth Sea. There’s a fixed day every month when the sandstorms will calm down. Otherwise, not even someone in the Heavenly Soul Realm will dare to enter.”
It’s that terrifying? Lin Yun couldn’t imagine how powerful a sandstorm would need to be in order to scare Heavenly Soul Realm experts.
Tang Yu smiled, “You’ll know when we get there. Let’s find a place to set up our camp for now.”
Under Tang Yu’s lead, the group headed towards the border of the Withernorth Sea. The entire journey took two hours and everyone could clearly see the boundless sandstorm. It was more massive than what anyone imagined. Every speck of sand in the sandstorm looked like a blazing meteor and Lin Yun finally knew what Tang Yu meant.
If anyone intruded carelessly, the consequences were unimaginable. Even someone with a powerful physique would be instantly incinerated. This was why Heavenly Soul Realm experts didn’t dare to enter carelessly.
Even if they could make it out alive, they would definitely be covered with injuries. As for those beneath the Heavenly Soul Realm, they would certainly die.
The other sects also gradually arrived at the border of the sandstorm and the number of people present reached a few thousand. This included sects from other prefectures, not just the Nether Prefectural City’s sects.
The first to arrive from the Nether Prefectural City was the Shattered Sword Pavilion. Lin Yun noticed that there were many experts in their party and most of them were in the Yang stage. When making a comparison, Lin Yun could tell that the academy’s foundation in martial cultivation was weaker even though they were both quasi-overlord forces. After all, the academy didn’t have many disciples in the Yang stage.
Hmmm? Lin Yun noticed Liu Chenyi. The direct descendant of the Shattered Sword Pavilion’s chief and also one of the four elites in the Nether Prefectural City. He was also on the Dragoncloud Ranking. Lin Yun had met him once back in the Infernal Realm.
From that encounter, Lin Yun had a deep impression of Liu Chenyi, who said that he would regret not joining the Shattered Sword Pavilion. When Liu Chenyi sensed a gaze on him, he raised his head to see Lin Yun. He was briefly shocked before he nodded his head as a greeting.
“I would be surprised if he wasn’t here. But there will be lots of experts on the Dragoncloud Ranking on this trip. I’m afraid he will be disappointed…” Liu Chenyi muttered to himself. He only had a meeting with Lin Yun, so he didn’t have a deep relationship with the latter.
There were too many monstrous geniuses here. Lin Yun might have defeated Cao Zhen, but he was far from being the center of attention. However, Lin Yun wasn’t bothered by it. When he shifted his gaze away from the Shattered Sword Pavilion, Lin Yun narrowed his eyes from shock.
He noticed many experts here and that half of the disciples were in the Yang stage. There were many in the pinnacle Yang stage and there were those who weren’t weaker than Zhang Yuan. What shocked Lin Yun even more was the fact that there were a few youths who had roughly come in contact with the Yin-Yang stage. Furthermore, the aura they were giving off wasn’t any weaker than the Yin-Yang stage elders.
“So many familiar faces…” Mo Ling sighed with a grave expression.
“Mo Ling, you’re more familiar with them than I am. Why don’t you tell me about them?” smiled Zhang Yuan. Mo Ling had participated in the previous Draconic Banquet, not to mention that she was on the Dragoncloud Ranking. It was only natural that she recognized more people on the ranking than him.
Nodding her head, Mo Ling explained, “It’s pretty much just like you said. They’re all experts from the outer ranking. But outer rankings are also classified into different rankings. The weakest were naturally those at the rear of the ranking, but even they are in the pinnacle Yang stage.
“Anyone who can make it into the seventies on the outer ranking is even more terrifying. I remember that they already reached the Yang stage three years ago. As for the top ten on the outer ranking, they’re even more terrifying. They’re practically invincible in the outer ranking.”
Mu Chen pursed his lips and said, “They’re just in the pinnacle Yang stage. Are they really as terrifying as you’ve described?”
“You can’t imagine what kind of fight it was without joining the Draconic Banquet. Cultivation cannot be the only method in estimating someone’s strength. There are naturally those who are invincible in the same cultivation and there are also monstrous geniuses who can fight those above him. You might be from the Heavenly Sword Sect, but you’re not even qualified to participate in the Draconic Banquet with your strength,” said Mo Ling as she glanced at Mu Chen.
“Is that so? Then I have to experience their strength when we’re in the Withernorth Sea,” said Mu Chen as his eyes blazed with fighting spirit. Anyone could tell that Mu Chen was confident in himself and that he had considered this trip to the empyrean’s tomb as an opportunity for him.
As a monstrous genius from the Heavenly Sword Sect who reached the greater Yang stage at the age of eighteen, he naturally had the qualification to be proud of himself.
Lin Yun ignored Mu Chen and asked, “Senior Sister, are there any individuals that we have to take note of?”
Mo Ling nodded and turned to the east. With fear flickering in her eyes, she said, “Look there, that person donned in black clothes is Ji Wuye of the Bloodwar Pavilion. He’s twenty-two this year and he’s ranked fifty-three on the Dragoncloud Ranking. His sword is a lot more terrifying than Leng Haoyu’s. Not only is he strong, but he’s also brutal. In the previous Draconic Banquet, at least a hundred people were killed by him. That’s why he’s also known as the Bloody Butcher!”
Lin Yun smacked his lips. This was a common nickname, but he couldn’t imagine it for a swordsman. No matter how brutal a sword could be, was it even more brutal than a knife in a butcher’s hand?
Mu Chen and the rest looked at the black-clothed youth surrounded by a group of people. He wasn’t eye-catching, but a single glance from him could make everyone feel a chill.
“He’s a terrifying person,” said Zhang Yuan. As a core disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect, he had keen senses. He recognized that Ji Wuye was even more terrifying than Leng Haoyu even though he didn’t participate in the previous Draconic Banquet. After all, Ji Wuye could send chills down their spines with just a mere casual glance.
Mo Ling shifted her gaze as she looked at someone else, “That person is Yan Kong. He’s the same age as Ji Wuye and he’s ranked fifty-four. They can be considered arch-enemies from the Draconic Banquet. They’re also pretty much evenly matched. He’s called the Ghost Blade Yan Kong and his brutality isn’t any inferior to Ji Wuye.”
Lin Yun examined the two of them and could sense a dense killing aura from them. It was rare to see such dense killing aura from those that weren’t wandering cultivators.
Lin Yun was a decisive person and he had killed many people along the way. But he was also inferior to these two. But he was confident in facing their killing aura with the Seven Slaughtering Seal.
Right at this moment, a group came from the north. When they appeared, they instantly attracted everyone’s attention. Zhang Yuan immediately identified them, “The Cloud Trigram Sect has come…”
The Cloud Trigram Sect was one of the nine overlord forces in the Ancient Southern Domain.
Lin Yun instantly paid attention to the Cloud Trigram Sect because Jiang Yi told him that he had an acquaintance from the Great Qin Empire in the Cloud Trigram Sect. Would that person be here today?