Chapter 49: One More Casualty
“The Ghost sect…”
Nie Tian quietly observed An Ying and Zheng Rui’s faces, his brow furrowed and his heart clouded with suspicions.
This was the first time that he had ever been out of Black Cloud City for so long.
All his life, he had practiced cultivation in the Nie clan in Black Cloud City, and most of the fascinating stories he had heard were about the Cloudsoaring sect.
To him, the Ghost sect was a new, unheard-of name.
He knew nothing about the Ghost sect, and didn’t understand why the three disciples of the Spiritual Treasure sect became so scared and anxious after learning that they had entered the Green Illusion dimension.
Just like him, most of the teenagers from the seven major cities also knew nothing of the Ghost sect, and puzzled expressions could be seen on their faces. Only two of them seemed to have heard about the Ghost sect from their respective clan elders.
As for those two, the moment they heard that Ghost sect disciples had also come to the Green Illusion dimension, their faces immediately turned pale, and their eyes filled with terror.
Apparently, the two of them were more scared of the Ghost sect than An Ying, Zheng Rui, and Pan Tao!
Pan Tao looked over at Nie Tian with a very serious look in his eyes. Taking a deep breath, he said, “Many of you have probably never heard of the Ghost sect, so I should probably give you a brief introduction. Our sect, together with the Cloudsoaring sect, the Grayvale sect, and the Mystic Mist sect, belong to the same Qi warriors’ alliance. The Ghost sect, the Blood sect, and the Hell sect, on the other hand, belong to the enemy alliance.
“The power of the Ghost sect, the Blood sect as well as the Hell sect isn’t inferior to ours, not even in the slightest.
“For several hundred years, our four sects have fought them countless times over the rights to mysterious dimensions and spiritual material mines, both overtly and covertly.
“Over such a long time, we have never truly defeated them. Both sides are pretty much equally strong.”
After pausing to let the information sink in, Pan Tao continued, “Although our sects secretly fight with each other from time to time, those fights are under control. Normally, there won’t be mass casualties. However, every time our sects go to war with them, there are always tremendous casualties! Not only low stage disciples like us, even powerful sect elders from the four sects may be killed in those battles!
“The two sides are now as incompatible as fire and water. Upon encountering each other, both sides will fight to the last man!
“Since people from the Ghost sect have shown up in the Green Illusion dimension, I guess their goal is to kill us all!
“Only when we’re killed off will they retreat from the Green Illusion dimension!”
Upon hearing these words, every trial taker, including Nie Tian, became silent.
Everyone’s face grew grimmer than ever. Due to the appearance of the Ghost sect disciples, the Green Illusion dimension seemed to have suddenly turned into a bloody battlefield.
Jiang Miao suggested in a timid voice, “Elder sister An Ying, how about… we return to the Secret Dimension Gate and inform your elder sister that people from the Ghost sect have entered the Green Illusion dimension?”
All the teenagers were trembling with fear upon the news of the Ghost sect’s arrival, and hurried to nod in agreement with Jiang Miao’s proposal.
“It won’t work for us go back.” An Ying shook her head, and killed their hope with one sentence. “After everyone entered, the Secret Dimension Gate was temporarily sealed, to prevent people from cheating by sneaking into the Green Illusion dimension to provide assistance.
“Only when the trial is over and the allotted half year is up will the Secret Dimension Gate be reopened.
“In the meantime, we’re completely sealed off from the outside world. We can’t get out, and they can’t get in.
“Whatever happens in the Green Illusion dimension, we’ll have to survive these six months.”
“Then, we’re screwed, aren’t we?” Guo Qi said in desperation. “No one knows how many of them came here and what cultivation stage they’re at. If they’re all Lesser Heaven and Heaven stage experts, they can definitely kill us all in half a year. If that’s the case, none of us will be able to get out of here alive. Instead, we’ll all be tortured and murdered by those people from the Ghost sect.”
Although An Ying secretly despised his cowardliness, she had to comfort the crowd. “You’re worrying too much. People from the Ghost sect, the Blood sect and the Hell sect are blood-thirsty, brutal, and merciless, but they’re also extremely arrogant. They know that the trial takers our sects send to the Green Illusion dimension are in the Qi Refining stage.
“Since they always have a high opinion of themselves, those they’ve sent to the Green Illusion dimension should also be juniors, probably in the same stage as us.
“Perhaps they have more battle experience than we do, and have been baptized by blood. However, as for strength… we should be equally strong.
“As long as we are not outnumbered, we might not necessarily end up being killed!”
Guo Qi was stunned. “Do you mean that the guys the Ghost sect has sent here are also in the Qi Refining sage?”
An Ying nodded. “I believe so.”
Guo Qi heaved a sigh of relief, and even built up a bit of courage. Snorting, he said, “If we’re in the same cultivation stage, why do we fear them? Elder Sister An Ying, I saw your expression just now, and figured powerful experts of the Lesser Heaven and Heaven stage had come for us. Hahaha, it’s the three of you that have frightened us.” He pretended to be worry-free.
Hearing Guo Qi’s comments, everyone else seemed to loosen up.
Even Nie Tian, who had initially been nervous, soon calmed down and thought to himself, “If they are all in the Qi Refining stage, then those from the Ghost sect may not be so deadly.”
Only An Ying, Pan Tao, and Zheng Rui didn’t relax in the slightest. They exchanged a glance, and understood the bitterness in each other’s eyes.
They were the only ones who truly understood how terrifying the Ghost sect, the Blood sect, and the Hell sect actually were.
Killing and bloodbath had accompanied the growth of every disciple of those three sects. They all viewed slaughtering people as common as everyday affairs like eating and sleeping.
Even though An Ying, Zheng Rui, and Pan Tao had been cultivating in the Spiritual Treasure sect, they were far from adequate in the aspect of real combat, and only could make it up with their powerful spiritual tools.
As for those from the subordinate clans, like Guo Qi, once they engaged in battle with the Ghost sect’s disciples, they would most likely be scared so badly by their enemies’ bloody and ruthless means that they would have a mental breakdown.
These trial takers had grown up like flowers in the greenhouse. Not one of them had ever passed through the storm of real combat.
The reason the four sects organized the Green Illusion dimension’s trial was to hammer them like steel, to ready them for possible bloody battles in the future.
Who would have guessed that before the Green Illusion dimension trial even ended, they would have to face the blood-thirsty disciples from the Ghost sect.
This was indeed overly cruel for them.
An Ying didn’t go on and tell the others more about the dreadfulness of the Ghost sect, for fear of frightening everyone else so much they would lose the will to battle.
THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!
It was at this very moment that the sounds of footsteps suddenly rang out in distance, and drew nearer and nearer.
Suddenly, An Ying’s expression flickered. She patted her head and regretfully said, “Damn! I forgot to leave this place first!” She looked up into the sky.
Nie Tian looked up and saw the black smoke in the sky, which still hadn’t dissipated, and immediately understood.
The signal Pan Tao had released was a line of black smoke that shot up into the clouds. Since An Ying and Zheng Rui had seen it, so could others.
In a five kilometers radius, whoever looked up at the sky would be able to see the thick, lingering smoke.
After An Ying and Zheng Rui’s teams had assembled with Pan Tao’s team, they only focused on talking about how frightening the Ghost sect was, and completely forgot to leave that location as soon as possible. This was a huge mistake!
“People from the Spiritual Treasure sect! It’s you!”
A gray-garbed, blood-soaked teenager, ran towards them in a panic, a thin, broken sword held in his hand. From the way he dressed, he was clearly from the Grayvale sect.
He had fear and bitterness written all over his face. The moment he saw An Ying and her group, he seemed to have found his savior, and immediately cried out with ecstasy.
“Help me! We were attacked by the Ghost sect. Two of my teammates are dead, and I’m the only survivor!” As he ran madly towards them, he kept looking behind him from time to time, as if the people from the Ghost sect were just behind him.
“How many Ghost sect disciples are after you?” An Ying shouted.
“Three! They were right behind me. You guys be careful. They’re coming!”
The gray-garbed teenager staggered by An Ying, Zheng Rui, and Pan Tao, who had been in the forefront, and rapidly made his way to the center of group where Nie Tian and the others had been.
By this point, everyone had been shocked by his words, gazing nervously into the direction which he had come from.
It seemed as if three disciples from the Ghost sect would dash out from that direction, and head their way in the next moment.
Suddenly, Nie Tian shouted, “Something is wrong!”
Without the slightest hesitation, he attacked the teenager from the Grayvale sect, condensing a large amount of spiritual power into his fist and unleashing a punch.
BOOM!
The teenager was instantly forced to back away. At the same time, the fear and anxiety vanished from his eyes, and was replaced by a look of deceit.
“Nie Tian! What are you doing?!” Guo Qi, who had been standing right next to that teenager, suddenly changed his attitude, and glared at Nie Tian. “I know that you harbor hatred towards Yuan Feng, but now that people from the Ghost sect have showed up, you’d better put aside your hatred! He has already been badly injured. Do you want to take the opportunity and kill him now? Do you have no shame?”
“What the hell do you know?!” Nie Tian replied furiously. Once again, he threw himself towards the teenager from the Grayvale sect. “Guo Qi! You almost got fucking killed!”
“You’re the one who’s gonna get killed!” Guo Qi said angrily.
At that very moment, the teenager from the Grayvale sect dodged Nie Tian’s attack, shifted to another person’s side, and suddenly thrust the broken sword in his hands forward.
That other person was completely confused and unguarded, looking at the teenager from the Grayvale sect and not doing anything in response.
When he finally realized the danger, the teenager from the Grayvale sect had already pierced through his chest with the broken sword.
“Hahaha!”
The Grayvale sect teenager’s face twisted with a ferocious smile. With a brief glance at Nie Tian, he bolted away like lightning.
It was not until this moment that everyone realized what had happened, and started to shriek.
“Huang Ye is dead!”
“He killed Huang Ye!”
An Ying, Pan Tao, and Zheng Rui had focused all their attention in the direction that the Grayvale sect teenager had come from, waiting for the three Ghost sect disciples to appear, expressions serious.
When they heard the quarrel between Guo Qi and Nie Tian, and turned around to see what had happened, it was already too late.
Huang Ye had already been killed!
“He’s a disciple of the Ghost sect!” Pan Tao finally awoke to the fact.
“Haha!” That teenager taunted arrogantly while running away like a flash. “A bunch of naive dumbasses! Don’t imagine any of you can walk out of the Green Illusion dimension alive! You’ll see. We’ll slaughter every one of you! Next time you see me, I won’t be alone!”
SHEW!
Like a gray flash, he shifted his position among a grove of ice trees, until he disappeared into the distance.
“I, I…”
Guo Qi had been terrified and soaked in sweat. He looked at Nie Tian’s ice-cold face, not knowing what to say.
However, he knew in his heart that he had been standing right next to that teenager, and if it weren’t for Nie Tian, that teenager would have laid his murderous hand on him first.
It was exactly like Nie Tian had said, moments ago he… almost died.
Nie Tian said, face cold, “It was precisely because of the hatred between Yuan Feng and me that I memorized every one of his men’s faces when they were demanding you to hand me over! I engraved every single one of their faces in my head and prepared to settle with them later! That person was clearly not one of them!”
Guo Qi bowed his head down. “Sorry, I, I was wrong.”