Chapter 1068: Accepting Reluctantly
Immortal Venerate Yun Chen was very famous in the entire Heavenly Starry Ocean. He was good friends with all the various Holy Masters.
Aside from Immortal Venerate Yun Chen’s Magic Skills and Magic Treasures, his Alchemy skills had reached the peak, which daunted anyone who wanted to be enemies with him.
Immortal Venerate was not actually an Immortal Cultivation Realm. It was just a form of address for an Immortal Cultivator who had cultivated to the limits of the Martial Epoch.
As such, an Immortal Venerate was very powerful and possessed many Magic Skills. If this were still the Immortal Epoch, they could trigger their tribulation and easily clear it at any time, advancing to immortality and reaching the Dao.
In the entire Penglai Sea, there were only three Immortal Venerates.
Even though the Immortal Dao no longer existed and there was no tribulation, by relying on their Magic Skills and many Magic Treasures, an Immortal Venerate could go head-to-head with a Sovereign Martial Emperor.
Since these were people from Immortal Venerate Yun Chen’s sect, this situation was rather difficult to deal with.
“Do you think you can scare us by using Immortal Venerate Yun Chen’s name?”
A cold voice resounded. The one who spoke was Chu Yang. Compared to the Palace Master of the Cyclic Astral Palace, one of the Heavenly Starry Ocean’s three Primes, Immortal Venerate Yun Chen was much inferior in strength and status.
Gongshan Yu smiled and replied, “Naturally, I do not dare to. I, Gongshan Yu, am not someone obdurate to reason. By bringing out my master’s name, I just wanted to come to an agreement with all the outstanding talents here.
“The treasure sword that the source of despair was refined into is at my feet. If anyone can pull out the sword, the sword is theirs. If they cannot, then my junior brothers and I will work together to obtain it. How’s that?
“Of course, to maintain fairness, all the seniors of your sects cannot make a move.”
The many outstanding talents whispered among themselves, discussing with their elders. Gongshan Yu’s suggestion was beneficial for everyone.
There was only one treasure sword. Even if Gongshan Yu did not compete for it, the other outstanding talents would not submit to each other, either. They would start a huge chaotic battle together with the experts of their sects.
Although the source of despair was precious, there was no need to pay such a huge price.
The harvest later from the heart of the ocean was the main priority of this trip.
Although Gongshan Yu’s suggestion clearly favored him, it would not be easy for him to pull out the despair sword, either.
However, all the outstanding talents were proud people, all of them believing themselves better than the others. They all felt that they could pull out the sword.
“Senior Brother, will they agree to your idea?” Gongshan Yu’s two junior brothers whispered to him on the Sword Mound.
Gongshan Yu revealed a smile, feeling very confident. He said indifferently, “Don’t agree? Haha! If they do not agree, they will lose face. It would mean that they fear me, an Immortal Cultivator.”
“My Five Poison Sect agrees to your suggestion!” The Five Poison Sect’s red-clad young master decided after consulting the two old men of his sect.
Unwilling to fall behind, that elegant scholar of the Heavenly Province Academy shouted, “The Heavenly Province Academy does not object!”
Once some people had agreed, even if the others did not want to agree, they had no choice. This result really demonstrated Gongshan Yu’s ability to scheme.
As for the loose cultivators that had rushed over, they all could only look on with green eyes of envy. In such a stage, they did not dare risk expressing their dissatisfaction.
If these loose cultivators actually stepped forward, the few Holy Lands might just work together to suppress them. They could not afford such a loss, so they could only glare and watch the liveliness unfold.
“Who wants to go first?”
Standing in the middle of the Sword Mound with the black hurricanes swirling overhead, Gongshan Yu smiled faintly and voiced his invitation.
For a while after Gongshan Yu spoke, no one moved. Everyone knew that the sword containing the source of despair would definitely not be simple.
No one here was a fool. Gongshan Yu could not make such a suggestion and let someone else get the despair sword first.
Everyone wanted to be the first, so they could snatch the sword. However, they feared the negative consequences. All the outstanding talents felt very conflicted.
“I’ll go!”
After a period of silence, the red-clad young master from the Sword Mound soared into the air with a cruel and unrestrained look in his eyes.
The black hurricanes howled, and the horrifying state of despair inflicted unbearable pain on the people around.
The red-clad young master narrowed his eyes as he resisted the despair trying to enter him. His figure flashed as he went through the dense aura of despair and appeared before Gongshan Yu and the other two.
Now, the red-clad young master was in the eye of the storm. This place was calm, without any sound of wind at all.
“Please!”
Gongshan Yu and his two junior brothers backed off, stopping only when they were no longer on the Sword Mound.
The red-clad young master looked down and fixed his gaze on a black sword glowing with a faint light. He walked on the air and slowly came before this sword.
Everyone watched anxiously, hoping that this fellow would not be able to take the sword. Otherwise, they would all take a huge loss.
Risk came hand in had with fortuitous encounters. The first person up definitely took the most risk. However, the fortuitous encounter would be the greatest as well.
The red-clad young master held his breath as he descended. As he walked among the swords, he advanced with measured steps.
“This young master wants this sword!”
After shouting, the red-clad young master stretched out his hand and grasped the sword handle. Then, he circulated all his Law Energy, intending to pull upwards with all his might.
With this action, all ten thousand swords in the Sword Mound buzzed at the same time and emitted a black sword Qi.
The black sword Qi spewed out and gathered into one like countless tributaries converging into an immense river. In that instant, that aura became a hundred times—a thousand times—stronger.
The sword Qi tore through the air, moving like a meteor, as fast as lightning—incredibly fast.
That was not all. The black hurricanes above the Sword Mound seemed to be intelligent, attacking at the same time.
Even if the red-clad young master could deal with the ferocious and unparalleled sword Qi, he still had to contend with the ten-odd despair hurricanes that seemed almost solid. With such a pincer attack, even if he did not die, he would be severely injured.
A complicated expression appeared in his face. He had not expected such a thing to happen just by touching the sword handle; he had not even applied any strength yet.
In the time it took for a spark to fly, the red-clad young master decided to let go and dodge the sword Qi. His figure flashed as he found an opening and escaped the encirclement of the black hurricanes.
“Bang!”
Who could have anticipated that the ten-odd hurricanes would merge into one, generating a horrifying black shock wave? The red-clad young master failed to avoid it and got swept up in the shock wave.
He vomited blood and went flying back. Then, he fell into an illusion of despair, his face filling with horror.
The experts of the Five Poison Sect quickly stood up and roused the red-clad young master from the illusion.
Challenge failed!
Gongshan Yu’s lips curled up into a faint smile, his expression suggesting that he expected this outcome.
He was currently in the Soul Transformation Stage. When even he could not pull out the sword by himself, he did not believe that this group of outstanding talents would succeed.
Even if a Small Perfection quasi-Emperor wanted to pull out the sword, they would have to think twice, faced with such continuous attacks.
The difficulty of pulling out this sword was exceptionally high. The outstanding talents all remained silent, reconsidering.
These outstanding talents weighed the cost of getting severely injured while attempting to pull out the sword against obtaining one source of despair.
An injury would mean a lot of trouble in the heart of the ocean later.
An elegant scholar of the Heavenly Province Academy stepped forward and said, “I’ll give it a try!”
The Five Poison Sect was famous for their poisons. Its disciples’ combat prowess might be high, allowing them to fight even above their cultivation. However, the current situation still relied on basic cultivation and strength. Tricks like poison would be ineffective.
In terms of basic cultivation, the elegant scholar was stronger than the red-clad young master. He should stand a chance.
By paying a small price, the elegant scholar might be able to pull out the sword.
As long as the elegant scholar could scatter that despair sword Qi while retaining some strength, his Movement Technique should be sufficient for him to pull out the sword and quickly flee.
The elegant scholar’s Movement Technique was very graceful. He easily dodged the surrounding hurricanes and landed beside the despair sword.
Then, he reached out and grasped the sword. The sword Qi appeared, and the hurricanes merged, reenacting the earlier scene.
The elegant scholar pulled his folding fan back. The Righteous Qi in his body was like a broad river, vast and boundless. It flowed along his folding fan and turned into a beam of light opposing that despair sword Qi.
“Bang!”
The two attacks clashed, producing an intense report. To the elegant scholar’s surprise, even after using fifty percent of his strength, he only scattered most of the despair sword Qi. The remainder continued to shoot towards him.
The elegant scholar frowned slightly and released the sword handle decisively.
Then, the elegant scholar soared up like an eagle and circled three times, flying several kilometers up. Then, he swooped down and landed outside the Sword Mound.
The elegant scholar managed to dodge the shock wave generated when the hurricanes merged. Although he failed the challenge, he was unhurt.
After waiting for the despair hurricane to return to its original state, a few more people attempted the challenge one after another.
However, when facing the despair sword Qi and the hurricanes at the same time, they had difficulty matching the moves. Clashing head-on would only result in severe injuries, which were not worth the risk.
“First Brother, you should go and try. Given your strength, you definitely can obtain it easily,” the Myriad Fiend Island’s Mu Qingyun encouraged.
Di Xinhan shook his head and said, “I cannot expose my trump card yet. It is not worth it.
The Lunar Palace’s Holy Daughter looked around while standing on the golden war chariot, as if she was searching for someone.
However, after checking several times, Yue Bingyun did not see the person she expected to find, so she could not help but reveal a suspicious expression that nobody could notice.
The Young Treasure Master, Yi Ling, knew whom Yue Bingyun was searching for. He looked around as well, feeling it was strange.
This is such an important event. Why do I not see that person’s figure? Does he not care about this sword?
There is no need to care about this for now, though. Yi Ling collected his thoughts and shook his head. More importantly, he also chose to give up.
As for the remaining experts who had not made a move yet, Chu Yang, Leng Shaofan, and Tong Susu, they all thought for a while and chose to give up as well.
Their reason was the same as Di Xinhan’s: they did not want to expose their own trump cards here.
Gongshan Yu smiled faintly and said casually, “Everyone here is extraordinary, the cream of the crop. If there is no one else willing to try, then I can only attempt to pull the sword together with my two junior brothers.”
Seeing Gongshan Yu’s pleased expression, all the outstanding talents present were very upset, feeling extremely depressed.
No one would feel good about being made a fool of by others.
However, no one said a word or stepped forward to try.
Gongshan Yu smiled and said, “Since there is no one else, then I thank the various Holy Scions for their maturity and grace. I shall accept this sword reluctantly.”
Just as Gongshan Yu and his two junior brothers were about to make a move, a hostile voice resounded in the air.
“Since you are reluctant to accept, I think you had better not accept, then.
The sudden objection gave everyone a strange feeling. Who was so bold to not show any face to Immortal Venerate Yun Chen?
Everyone who had the confidence to say such words in the Heavenly Starry Ocean were all here already. Who could it be?
Looking in the direction of the voice, everyone saw only one person. This person was dressed in white robes, and his face was still dripping with blood as if he had just been through a fight before rushing over without rest.
There was a blue headscarf around this person’s forehead, above his delicate countenance. He walked over step by step, appearing cold and emotionless. Aside from the deep calm in his eyes, he did not display much of an expression.