Chapter 2689: Hidden Issues

“d.a.m.n it, I never thought these insignificant figures that are merely G.o.ds and OverG.o.ds would receive such special treatment. Jin Hong is a supreme prodigy who gained the legacy of a Grand Exalt. Without a single doubt, he’s the strongest among us. Those people hid in divine halls held by Jin Hong, so not only can they avoid the risk of fighting the Life-devouring Beasts outside, but it’ll even save them from the burden of travelling.” The prodigy from the Chu family, Chu Jie, was both jealous and envious as he looked at all the divine halls with Jin Hong.

“Under Jin Hong’s protection, they’re more likely to survive than staying outside here. d.a.m.n it. If I had known this earlier, I would have broken through to G.o.dking later. That way, I too can hide within a divine hall and wait comfortably. There would have been no need for me to take risks outside,” Chu Jie thought. He looked at the divine hall that held thousands of G.o.ds and OverG.o.ds in his own hand and sighed to himself.

From the encounter with the tree-shaped Life-devouring Beast, they had understood that Life-devouring Beasts did not only take the forms of animals. They could appear as plants as well. If the Life-devouring Beasts hid well, they would struggle to discover them even if they were nearby. As a result, they had to constantly be on guard against sudden attacks from Life-devouring Beasts. Not only did they have to keep their guard raised constantly, but it would even become exhausting after a long period of time. All of them would become tired. It was nowhere near as comfortable as remaining in a divine hall.

As a result, Chu Jie basically wished he was one of the people who had entered the divine halls.

There were quite a lot of people who shared the same thought as Chu Jie among the G.o.dking prodigies. From their clashes with the Life-devouring Beasts, they saw the cultivators who had fallen to the beasts, which made them feel great fear.

Most of these prodigies were afraid of death. They were snowflakes, nowhere near as courageous and fearless as the prodigy from the Empirelotus Sword sect and the others.

“Young master Jin Hong, I’ve only broken through to G.o.dking recently. I haven’t consolidated my cultivation completely, so I won’t be of any help against Life-devouring Beasts. Why don’t you let me enter a divine hall as well? I’ll leave all the G.o.dking guards under me to your command, young master Jin Hong.” At this moment, the leader of an organisation arrived before Jin Hong and spoke meekly, a little like he was sucking up to Jin Hong. His eyes expressed his desire to enter a divine hall.

The G.o.dkings guards he spoke of were naturally the sacrificial soldiers raised through Hundred Tribulations G.o.dking Pills.

“Guang Wanhua, you’re a mighty G.o.dking no different from us, yet you’re so afraid of death. The Scarlet Light clan should be ashamed for having a descendant like you,” said the prodigal G.o.dking from the Sun family. He was mocking him.

Guang Manhua became completely flushed from that, yet he felt powerless, as most of the G.o.dkings who remained outside were early G.o.dkings, the same as him.

As a matter of fact, some of them had even broken through later than him.

“Guang Wanhua, I’ll turn a deaf ear to what you just said. I just hope you understand that at a time like this, not only do you represent yourself, but you also represent the Scarlet Light clan behind you. The Scarlet Light clan is a renowned peak clan in the Saints’ World after all. In particular, the Scarlet Light Ancestor is a figure of indomitable spirit. As the descendant of the Scarlet Light Ancestor, while there’s no need for you to share the same indomitable spirit as him, you definitely shouldn’t tarnish the Scarlet Light clan’s reputation,” said Jin Hong. He spoke very mildly, completely without being demanding, yet there was a sense for firmness and courage that seemed to be able to stand up to even death.

“Yes. Young master Jin Hong is right,” Guang Wanhua replied in shame, no longer willing to bring up the matter of hiding in a divine hall again.

Originally, Chu Jie also wanted to hide in a divine hall, but once he saw what had happened with Guang Wanhua, he forgot about it immediately.

“Jin Hong sure is a man of talent,” Jian Chen nodded secretly nearby. Jin Hong was not old either, only having cultivated for under a millennium. To be able to accomplish so much in such a short amount of time and still maintain such a calm and steady mindset really was rare. If he did not die young and managed to mature, his future would definitely be extremely astonis.h.i.+ng.

The shrunken group gathered back into a circle and continued onwards. They a.s.signed all the G.o.dking guards to the edges, while the prodigies gathered in the centre. As a result, even if a Life-devouring Beast attacked, it would come into contact with the sacrificial soldiers first. They could limit the deaths of normal cultivators.

After all, sacrificial soldiers could only live for a century at most. Among them, some had already lived for several decades, so they did not have much time left. As a result, it was not too big of a deal to lose them.

As the group continued to advance, the grey mist that permeated the mountains and forests became denser and denser. In the end, even G.o.dkings could not see over a hundred kilometres away. Fortunately, they still could use the senses of their souls. Through their senses, they could observe everything within a ten kilometre radius.

Jian Chen looked at the obscuring mist and frowned slightly, as he had discovered that as the mist grew thicker, it gradually changed as well. It was actually leaching into his body slowly through his skin, his pores, or even through his lungs, and then remaining inside and devouring his life force.

Even though it was not evident at all, enough to fool even Jin Hong who had the legacy of a Grand Exalt, it was unable to fool Jian Chen who had reached the Primordial realm and whose soul had also become extremely sensitive after mutating.

“Miss Qian, this mist is strange. If you trust me, immediately cloak yourself with energy. Don’t let the mist approach your body,” Jian Chen said to He Qianqian secretly.

He Qianqian turned around and glanced at Jian Chen in surprise. However, she said nothing. Instead, she closed her eyes and tried to sense for something.

Jian Chen sighed inside at the sight of this. He knew his warning out of goodwill would probably require some explaining, as these G.o.dkings would not be able to discover the hidden issue in the mist.

Let alone G.o.dkings, even some Infinite Primes would not be able to detect it.

The mist seemed like parasites. Once it entered the body, it would silently hide away, fusing with the cultivator. Without any special methods or exceptional cultivation, it was impossible to discover its existence.

Lodged within a cultivator’s body, it would slowly strengthen through devouring the cultivator’s life force. The cultivator would not be able to sense the life force devoured, as the life force would remain within the cultivator’s body. No one would be able to discover anything different. The only difference would be that a portion of the life force would no longer belong to the cultivator.

“I just wonder if this mist in the cultivator’s body will change once again once it absorbs life force to a certain existent,” Jian Chen thought suddenly. He could not help but think about the Life-devouring Beasts in the Two World Mountains and began to guess and hypothesise.

At this moment, He Qianqian opened her eyes and stared at Jian Chen in doubt. “Yang Yutian, I haven’t discovered anything strange at all. What are you trying to say?”

“The mist here is nowhere near as simple as it seems. It can invade and lurk within the body of people. If they don’t guard against it, it will definitely lead to significant problems and unimaginable consequences in the future. As a result, just in case, don’t let the mist approach your body. Don’t ask me why I know. My senses are much sharper, so I can discover things that you can’t,” said Jian Chen.

He Qianqian looked at Jian Chen in doubt. She seemed like she wanted to understand what he was thinking through his eyes, to understand whether Jian Chen was telling the truth or not.

She did not believe Jian Chen at all. She originated from the Heavenly Crane clan. She received the direct guidance of Primordial realm experts since a young age, having been filled up with knowledge. She believed her insight was far greater than the ordinary man’s, so in her eyes, even if there was something wrong, she should have discovered it first. It was impossible for Jian Chen, who was just an independent cultivator, to find out before her. Not to mention that she had discovered nothing when she tried.

He Qianqian snorted in contempt when she heard Jian Chen’s explanation that his senses were sharper. Was she, a supreme prodigy from a peak organisation who had practised various ancient secret techniques, not even as great as an independent cultivator?

Sensing He Qianqian’s doubtful gaze, Jian Chen could not help but feel powerless. “Miss Qian, don’t worry. I hold no ill intentions towards you. Just listen to me.” Jian Chen was unable to find a convincing reason, as he definitely could not afford to expose his strength. Otherwise, once the Darkstar race learnt a Primordial realm expert had come in from outside, they would definitely raise their guard and prepare precautions against him. It would become far, far more difficult for him to save Sacredfeather like that.

He Qianqian put some serious consideration into it before saying, “This place isn’t like the Saints’ World, where you can absorb the origin energy in the surroundings to replenish your own whenever and wherever you want. If I really do cloak myself in energy, I will consume my origin energy extremely rapidly. I’ll go find young master Jin Hong. He’s the successor of a Grand Exalt. Let’s see whether he can discover anything wrong. If the mist really is hiding problems, then you would have done a deed of great merit, Yang Yutian. However, if it does not…”

When she reached there, He Qianqian paused, and her cold eyes suddenly sharpened. She said solemnly, “I hope you understand that in a place like this, once I have discovered you are fooling around with me, the consequences will be thousands of times more severe than any other time.” With that, He Qianqian turned back around and approached Jin Hong.

“Sigh, to return good intentions with ill will.” Jian Chen felt powerless. He directly ignored He Qianqian’s threat. If he wanted to, he could leave this group whenever he wanted.

The Two World Mountains were a h.e.l.lish place from the perspective of others, but in his eyes, it was like his own backyard.

“Though, the Two World Mountains are too vast. With the senses of my soul suppressed, I can’t get a complete view of this place. Moreover, this world is formed from a huge beast. The area deep underneath the Two World Mountains seems to beat like a huge beast’s heart. Every time it thumps, the geography changes, and our location changes slightly as well. It makes this place no different from a labyrinth. If I want to make it out, I have to follow these people. I’ll only be able to leave easily through their secret techniques which can sense the location of Hundred Saint City,” thought Jian Chen.

“Yang Yutian, have you really discovered something strange about the mist here?” Very soon, Jin Hong personally arrived before Jian Chen and asked sternly.