Wang Yinru was growing anxious. A few days had passed, and she was still unsure how Gu Jingman was holding up. Gu Jingman was last seen single-handedly taking on Shao Tianqi, the leader of the Petrification Cult. In her heart, Wang Yinru feared that Gu Jingman would be no match for the red-headed old master.

But the fact that the old master had not been spotted since did give her a glimmer of hope that Gu Jingman was still alive.

Gu Jingman!

Mo Wen’s face hardened when he heard the news. No wonder he had not seen that old fool, Shao Tianqi, anywhere about. Could he still be fighting Gu Jingman?

He knew that Shao Tianqi was the present leader of the Petrification Cult, and that he held the highest level of cultivation among the cult members.

“Gu Jingman has set out to restrain Shao Tianqi?” Mo Wen asked, somewhat surprised. “That old man is a monk of the Tide Changing realm, and has been so for at least 200 years. His cultivation must be much higher by now. Would Gu Jingman have the ability to restrain him?”

Mo Wen still had his doubts. He recalled that Gu Jingman had been just ordinary back then, and she had not displayed any exceptional strengths to him. Even at the Dragon City Martial Arts Circle Convention, Gu Jingman was hardly impressed.

It was Mo Qingge who spoke highly of her. Mo Qingge reasoned that Gu Jingman had not only made it to the seventh level of the Goddess’ World, but had also persisted the longest in that realm; almost as long as Mo Wen himself. Among her peers, she further pointed out, Gu Jingman was the last to leave the place.

“I’d say, anyone who could persist that long in the seventh level of the Goddess’ World would certainly be considered extraordinary,” Mo Qingge surmised. Mo Wen concurred, a sense of hope returning.

He had known that Gu Jingman belonged to the lineage of the Blood God. Mo Wen knew little of that ancient bloodline, only that one notable Blood God arose from among the Blood Kindred. He only knew for certain that, in his time, the Blood God was very likely a supremely powerful figure.

“Where’s Gu Jingman now?” Mo Wen asked suddenly, concern etched on his youthful face.

He hadn’t seen Gu Jingman on his way here, and he couldn’t help but notice the extensive damage done to the Tan Zi Beast Lair. A multitude of beasts had been caught in the crossfire, and they now laid in ashen heaps; evidence of a violent, unnatural death.

“Probably somewhere in the lower levels of the Beast Lair, I don’t think she’s gone too far from here,” Wang Yinru said, and added, “We know some people from the Ming Palace held there, so even if Gu Jingman had been able to restrain Shao Tianqi, she wouldn’t have ventured too far.” There were other sects aligned to the Petrification Cult lurking about, had she wandered too far out, it was unlikely she would have been able to make it back in time to rescue them.

“You stay here, Older Sister Fengwu, and don’t head out. There are likely to be some stragglers from the Petrification Squad and other sects. I’ll head down to the lower level and look around,” Mo Wen said. He then morphed into a black dot and disappeared into the distance.

A small jade pagoda immediately appeared, at the very spot where he stood before vanishing. This was the Junior Master’s Pagoda. It hovered briefly in the air, then quickly enlarged, coming to rest on the ground. Then, lo and behold, the people from the Ming Palace appeared, safely held within it!

The Junior Master’s Pagoda was not merely a magical treasure that could manipulate space and time. A grotto was concealed within the vessel, a hold where persons and materials could be stowed and safeguarded. This magical vessel was also the abode of the three great masters, among them, the Jade Xiu King, famed for his great attainment of the Tide Changing realm. Each one of the masters would prove more than a handful to their foes. Hence, there was little need to worry about the safety of the Ming Palace people, now in their care.

Mo Wen did not want the people of the Ming Palace to wander. He was well aware that it wasn’t just the Petrification Cult that had it out for him, several other large sects from the Peng Lai Immortal Realm did as well. He wondered if the people of the Petrification Cult had, by now, covertly entered into the main area without the Huatian Palace even noticing.

Moreover, Mo Wen did not want to reveal their presence until the crucial moment. He intended that they would remain, instead, his secret weapons. As long as he did not reveal them, he would still hold his trump card.

Considering the circumstances, Mo Wen decided to err on the side of caution. He had too many opponents to deal with, all strong and worthy adversaries. Many among the cults of the Peng Lai Immortal Realm that arrived at the Green Ancient Mystery Dimension, were forces to be reckoned with. However, no other cult had a leader with the prowess of Shao Tianqi, a master of the Tide Changing realm.

If these cults found out about the existence of the three great masters too soon, it wouldn’t only be the people from the Tide Changing realm coming at him the next time. Who’s to say that an ancient sect like the Petrification Cult, wouldn’t have a great master from the Supreme Profundity realm within their ranks. If that were to be, Mo Wen would not even have the time to catch his breath.

Being mindful of this, he wisely decided to leave the Junior Master’s Pagoda behind, with the Ming Palace people held safely within.

Mo Wen was traveling so quickly that he soon reached the outlying space in what seemed like a flash. Before he knew it, he was already above the abyss.

From the fifth level, he would have to negotiate through the sixth and seventh levels, before he could finally make his way to the eighth level.

There, on the eighth level, existed the Fire Domain, a fiery abode filled with dread, and reeking of deadly fumes. Mo Wen had once visited there while he was still cultivating his powers at the Embryonic Breathing realm. He knew well what to expect.

As Mo Wen flew out of the abyss in good speed, it began to shake violently, causing debris, large and small, to come crashing down dangerously. A multitude of beasts, frightened by the chaos, scurried in all directions. Beasts of flight had taken to the air, hovering aimlessly, each looking down into the abyss in fear and desperation.

Rumble!

Another loud crash, and the abyss shook yet again! Beneath, a deep crack started to appear, dark and bottomless.

Huh?

Mo Wen looked down into the crack in the abyss, and could immediately sense two opposing forces of immense energy, colliding fiercely against each other, deep in the bowels of the earth. “Could they be at the Tide Changing realm?” he mused.

He couldn’t be sure exactly, but he could sense they were not far below, and with that, Mo Wen’s eyes lit up with newfound hope. “Could this be her?” he thought. He had been doubtful if he could ever find Gu Jingman. Now that he thought she was close by, he felt everything would work out.

The ongoing battle was creating endless waves of seismic shocks. This could be felt even from the levels above, a telling testimony to its ferocity. As the battle raged on, the two opposing forms now appeared to be turning white hot! The inner force generated by a monk of the Tide Changing Realm, fighting for his life, was a dangerous thing. If this went on, the entire Beast Lair would founder and collapse, burying everyone within.

Without delay, Mo Wen immediately transformed into a beam of light. Ignoring the fixed passages, he headed straight to the cracks that appeared on the floor of the abyss, quickly filtering through the closest opening. The layers between each level of the Beast Lair were several miles thick. But a monk of the Tide Changing realm, if he so chose, could still force a path through, provided he focused all his powers to the task.

The abyss continued to rumble dangerously. The fearsome battle taking place far below had loosened the ground, causing deep cracks to appear on its floor and the walls surrounding it. This worked to Mo Wen’s advantage.

As he progressed deeper, Mo Wen could now clearly make out the positions of both adversaries, their blazing auras acting like beacons. Calmly, he released his deified soul. Despite being separated by a thick layer of earth that restricted the range of his deified soul, Mo Wen’s cultivation was far more superior to that of a monk at the Tide Changing realm. This allowed him to pierce through the divide to reach the two below.

“It’s Gu Jingman indeed! Huh, that scoundrel with burning hot flames rolling off of him must be Shao Tianqi!” Mo Wen muttered coldly under his breath. After what he had found out about Shao Tianqi, he had added the man to the list of people he would kill. Whether it was for a debt from the past, or as a precaution for the future, there was absolutely no way this man could stay alive.

Mo Wen forged ahead, unleashing his Sword Qi with consummate skill, cutting into the earth, a scarred path that extended for a great distance. And in such fashion, he tunneled downwards through the earth in no time.

Rumble!

This was a world consumed in flames. Everywhere, the sight of red-hot, rolling waves of molten rock. A rocky landscape ringed by a sea of magma.

The Fire Domain!

This was the spawning ground of the Dragon Horse. To a beast of the Fire domain, this was paradise.

In this dark and fiery abode, two beams of blinding light continued to violently crash into each other. Every impact, a cataclysmic collision that sent the Fire Domain into violent tremors.

Fissures had begun to appear on the edge of the magma ocean, unable to recover from the unending chaos. Around the sea of fire, laid heaps of dead beasts, carcasses of fire domain beasts everywhere you looked. To these lesser beasts, the battle between two beings of high order, had proved fatal. Indeed, when a monk of the Tide Changing realm monk pushed his limits, the power he unleashed could wipe out the entire earth.

“Die! You crazy woman!” A venomous roar rose from the direction of a ball of fiery light. Almost at once, a huge flaming sword swept out, seeming to split heaven and earth into two. In the deafening din, countless scars marked the walls of the abyss, where the sword had struck.

Time and time again Shao Tianqi swung his flaming blade, but his opponent was quick and nimble. She appeared as a blazing ball of blood-hued light, easily evading each stroke, moving far quicker than her foe. Flashing around at staggering speeds, she was constantly on the move, finding an opportunity to counterattack.

“Old man, is your humiliation turning into anger now?” She teased. “Are you envious of my skills? Why, you can’t even touch me.” A soft chuckle issued from somewhere within the blood light, in a voice as light as silver bells. To Shao Tianqi, every note evoked strong emotions of desire and temptation, as if being seduced by a superior being. Her every move, and every gaze, coy, and inviting.

“You demon, take this!” Shao Tianqi screamed, shaking off the spell.

From within the fiery ball of light, Mo Wen could make out a red-headed old man of great martial bearing. He was rather tall, and his bones were thick and heavy. He wielded a huge sword, a wide, straight-edged broadsword that almost resembled an unbroken door plank. A terrifying aura of destruction emanated from it. Even a monk of the Tide Changing realm would be seriously injured, if not killed, were he smote by this mighty weapon.

Shao Tianqi had mastered a formidable attacking style. His strength-based attacking technique made it difficult for his peers to match him. It has been told that, when Shao employed his attacking pattern, “flames roared and the winds howled.” As the sages often say that a good painter is not defined by the quality of his brushes. This applied aptly to Shao Tianqi, who had perfected the art of strength-based offensive techniques.

Gu Jingman, on the other hand, a mere slip of a girl, relied wholly on her nimbleness. She was akin to a gust of wind, a billow of smoke, a fleeting illusion. Her movements were precise, yet unpredictable, and she was impossible to catch! Such a style was the perfect foil to Shao Tianqi’s power-based technique.

“You’re such a brute, no wonder you’re so filled with fire. You don’t have a girlfriend, I’m guessing?”, she teased. “Makes sense. What lady would want someone as ugly, classless and boorish as you?” Gu Jingman continued to taunt him as the battle wore on. Even if she was not quite a match for him yet, there was no way she would lose when it came to bickering!

“But I’ll take pity on you since you’re so pathetic. I know a mother beast in this Fire Domain, why don’t I set you two up? She might be a beast and she might be a little ugly, but she’s still a mother. We should at least find someone to comfort you, since you’re already so old, or you might not die in peace. Who knows when your last breath would be?”

“You demon, I’ll have your head today!” Shao Tianqi was livid, seething with anger at the insult. He was an elder of the Petrification Cult, a respected senior. To have a demon poking fun of him like this was simply unacceptable.

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