Yin Yanan lowered her voice, astonishment filling her eyes.

Nie Tian also looked as if he was facing a formidable foe.

He had never expected that he had only left for about two hours, and yet Yuan Jiuchuan had arrived here.

From Mo Qinglei, the future sectmaster of the Heavenly Thunder Sect, he had already learned the fact that Yuan Jiuchuan was a reborn cultivator.

His peak cultivation base from his previous life had been at the middle Saint domain, and he had earned himself the name of Thunder Devil.

Since his path of cultivation had been filled with blood and killing, all those who practiced lightning incantations had viewed him as a dreadful devil.

What he had done was to forcibly channel power from those who practiced lightning and thunder power to enhance his own strength and cultivation base.

Eventually, a group of lightning power cultivators had come together, lured him to the depths of the Shatter Battlefield, and killed him there. The current sectmaster of the Heavenly Thunder Sect had participated in that operation personally.

This man was the reason why Nie Tian and the girls had left the Fortune Wells in a hurry.

After taking Mo Qinglei’s Thunder King Seal and draining him of his lightning power, Yuan Jiuchuan had massacred almost everyone who had been gathered at the Fortune Wells at that time, humans and outsiders alike.

Now, a year had passed, and Yuan Jiuchuan had already entered the early Soul realm.

However, Nie Tian was well-aware that his actual battle prowess was far beyond his current cultivation base. After all, he had reached the middle Saint domain in his previous life, and he had gained the Thunder King Seal.

As the Star Boat flew closer, Nie Tian discovered that Yuan Jiuchuan and Zong Zheng were actually chatting.

Yuan Jiuchuan’s old man appearance and early Soul realm cultivation base were very deceptive. It would be hard for others to see him as the cold-blooded killer that he really was.

Zong Zheng must not know how deadly the person he was talking to actually was.

Zong Zheng’s eyes lit up as he saw the Star Boat approach. He let out a sigh of relief and exclaimed, “Nie Tian!

“I can’t believe you actually brought brother Qi and brother Hua back alive!”

With a heartily smile, he continued, “Let me introduce you. This is Yuan Jiu. He’s very interested in the spatial rift that leads to the Realm of Maelstrom, and he wishes to visit the Realm of Maelstrom through it after it stabilizes.”

Apparently, Zong Zheng had been deceived by Yuan Jiuchuan’s early Soul realm cultivation base and friendly attitude, and thus had a conversation with him regarding the Shatter Battlefield.

From him, Yuan Jiuchuan had learned that one of the spatial rifts would soon stabilize, allowing them to return to the Realm of Maelstrom in the Domain of Heaven Python. Therefore, he had expressed his desire to visit the Realm of Maelstrom and see if he would be able to find some spiritual materials that agreed with him.

A bitter smile appeared at the corner of Nie Tian’s mouth. “Yuan Jiu...” 

Hua Mu and Qi Bailu, who were standing beside him, had heard Yin Yanan’s exclamation and seen the grim expressions on Nie Tian and the girls’ faces upon seeing Yuan Jiuchuan.

The two of them remained silent, but their faces also grew somber as they looked at Yuan Jiuchuan.

Yuan Jiuchuan had a cold look in his eyes as he listened to Zong Zheng introduce them. Then, a peculiar smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, and he said, “It’s you.”

Zong Zheng went blank. “Have you met before?”

Yuan Jiuchuan nodded gently with his eyes fixed on Nie Tian. “Yes, we did. That Mo Qinglei person from the Heavenly Thunder Sect left with you. Do you know where he is now?”

After the Star Boat floated slowly to Zong Zheng’s side, Nie Tian signaled for him to get on board.

Though quite puzzled, Zong Zheng picked up Nie Tian’s hint and stepped onto the Star Boat.

As he did, Nie Tian’s expression grew somewhat relaxed. He steered the Star Boat to put a certain distance between them and Yuan Jiuchuan.

Only then did Nie Tian answer, “We parted ways soon after leaving the Fortune Wells. I don’t know where he went after that.”

With a forced smile, Yuan Jiuchuan said, “No need to be so nervous. Did that little rascal from the Heavenly Thunder Sect say anything to you?”

Nie Tian shook his head. “No, nothing.” 

Yuan Jiuchuan smiled. “Really? He said nothing about me?” 

“Really, nothing at all,” Nie Tian answered.

Yuan Jiuchuan then took a deep look at him and nodded. “I guess it doesn’t really matter whether you know about it or not. That air-transportation spiritual tool of yours seems to be a Star Boat from the Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace, right?”

“Yeah,” Nie Tian said.

Eyes narrowed, Yuan Jiuchuan fixed him with a intrigued gaze. “The Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace’s Star Boat... You’re not just anyone, are you? The Domain of Heaven Python is only a Medium grade human domain, whose strongest experts are only at the early Saint domain. Plus, they don’t seemed to have any connections with the Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace. How come you came to the Shatter Battlefield from there?

“As far as I know, the Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace’s portal is in the depths of the Shatter Battlefield.”

Nie Tian remained silent, not answering his questions.

Zong Zheng, who had chatted with Yuan Jiuchuan for a while, gradually noticed the anomaly.

In a low voice, he asked, “You’ve met this man before? You were able to rescue brother Qi and brother Hua from seven Soul realm Qi warriors, but you’re afraid of him?”

Qi Bailu and Hua Mu were puzzled as well.

Even though Yuan Jiuchuan was not very far from them, Zong Zheng was confident that, given his late Soul realm cultivation base, he was able to seal their voices so that Yuan Jiuchuan wouldn’t be able to hear them.

Nie Tian and the girls, however, smiled bitterly.

The three of them were well-aware that Yuan Jiuchuan was able to catch every single word that came out of their mouths.

“Nie Tian, is it?” Yuan Jiuchuan suddenly raised his voice. “Why didn’t you enter the Shatter Battlefield with other disciples of the Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace? And why are you returning to the Realm of Maelstrom, instead of the Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace?”

“I was taking a trip in the Domain of Heaven Python,” Nie Tian said aloud.

“Taking a trip?” Yuan Jiuchuan muttered, fixing the Star Boat with an examining look. “Not every disciple of the Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace can have a Star Boat like this one.”

Nie Tian fell silent again.

Seeing this, Yuan Jiuchuan seemed to lose interest. “Forget it. It has nothing to do with me anyways. All I want is to visit the Realm of Maelstrom.”  

He looked up at the interweaving spatial rifts with narrowed eyes. Then, he took out a few stones that were wreathed in lightning and started cultivating with them.

Within seconds, he completely drained the lightning-attributed stones of their power, reducing them to regular stones.

Upon seeing this, Zong Zheng’s eyebrows jumped up. “That was quick!”

He could tell that those stones contained copious lightning power. No early Soul realm Qi warrior could have completely drained them of their lightning power within such a short time.

“If that’s the case, I’ll leave you alone, senior, so that you can focus on your cultivation.” With these words, Nie Tian flew cautiously away from Yuan Jiuchuan on his Star Boat.

After the time it takes an incense stick to burn, the Star Boat flew to a place that was a great distance from Yuan Jiuchuan’s location.

Only then did Nie Tian let out a sigh of relief and say, “Who would have thought we’d run into that eccentric again?”

“Who is he exactly?” Zong Zheng asked with a puzzled expression.

“He’s a reborn cultivator. People call him the Thunder Devil...” Nie Tian told him about Yuan Jiuchuan’s true identity.

Zong Zheng and the others gasped with astonishment upon hearing this, and the fact that Yuan Jiuchuan had been a middle Saint domain expert in his previous life.

Hua Mu took a deep breath and said, “Once a reborn cultivator awakens his memories from his previous life, he’ll immediately master all of the profound incantations and magics he had learned in his previous life. We can’t treat a man like him lightly. Common sense doesn’t apply to him. No wonder you were so apprehensive about him. I’m afraid, even though he was technically still at the early Soul realm, his actual battle prowess might be at the Void domain!

“Besides, he can channel lightning and thunder power from humans, outsiders, and Ancientbeasts. No wonder people gave him the name Thunder Devil.

“Luckily for us, none of us practice lightning power. Otherwise, we might have been in big trouble.”

Everyone’s heart fluttered with fear as they thought of what might have happened.

Face grim, Nie Tian nodded. “We’d better keep our distance. I have feeling that even banding together, we won’t be able to match him in battle. And if we let him go to the Realm of Maelstrom, many will die at his hands. Those in the Domain of Heaven Python who practice lightning power, and even lightning-attributed spirit beasts, will face calamities because of him.”

Yin Yanan nodded vigorously. “If he is deciding to go to the Realm of Maelstrom, instead of seeking revenge with the Heavenly Thunder Sect in the Domain of Heaven’s Origin, then he must have not recovered his peak strength yet. Even so, as a reborn cultivator who has received mysterious soul power from the Fortune Wells, he’ll be able to further awaken his old memories, making his future cultivation path obstacle-free.

“As long as he can find a sufficient amount of spirit beasts and cultivators who practice lightning power in the Domain of Heaven Python to absorb their power, then he’ll be able to make rapid breakthroughs in his cultivation.

“When he finally returns to his peak strength, or even takes an extra step into the late Saint domain, the Heavenly Thunder Sect would face the possibility of being annihilated.

“If it comes to that, it would be a nightmare for all lightning-attributed cultivators and spirit beasts.”

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