Chapter 399: The Final Battle (First)

Translator: Minotauruz

Yu Wanrou was incensed and filled with resentment because her hard-earned map of the Arcane Realm had been suddenly seized from her. After some discussions with her following of men, they decided to disclose and spread the news that the map of the Arcane Realm was in the possession of Jun Xiaomo’s faction.

Jun Xiaomo had never expected her modicum of mercy to be met by such ingratitude. Back then, she thought that the plan of spreading such news to incite a bloodbath was far too devious, and that was the only reason she thought not to use it on Yu Wanrou and her following of men. Who would have thought that they would end up using the same plan on her?

After fending off the third group of attackers in quick succession, Jun Xiaomo’s faction finally overheard the attackers mentioning the map of the Arcane Realm.

“Yu Wanrou’s faction must have spread the news that we’ve obtained the map of the Arcane Realm.” Chi Jingtian muttered with hatred boiling in his heart. He tightened his clenched fists, fervently resisting the urge to beat up Yu Wanrou and her faction.

“This is why I’d said that this plan is highly effective, but all ye young sprouts thought that it was just too devious or ineffective. Look at where we are now? Someone has stolen even our ploy!” The old man took a large bite out of another fruit as he complained.

Jun Xiaomo chuckled bitterly, “Master is right. We’ve been far too soft-hearted.”

“It’s a good thing we still showed that damn Yu Wanrou a thing or two earlier.” Chi Jingtian waved his fists about in the air angrily.

A gleam flickered across Jun Xiaomo’s eyes as she thought to herself – That might not be just “a thing or two”.

Interjecting, Ye Xiuwen broke the disheartening spiral of chatter by offering a suggestion, “Why don’t we send a transmission to Old Man Chi? With him around, our odds of survival and victory is going to be much higher.”

“I’m of the same mind as well.” Rong Ruihan seconded the idea.

Shortly after receiving the message, Old Man Chi led his team of elite clansmen to where Jun Xiaomo and the rest were located using Teleportation Scrolls. As soon as she appeared, he immediately patted Rong Ruihan and Chi Jingtian’s shoulders with approval, “Well done, young lads. You’d actually managed to obtain the map of the Arcane Realm, hmm?!”

The sprightly old man coughed dryly as he shorted, “Don’t make it sound as though yer dear disciple and great-grandson were the only ones who had done all the heavy-lifting.”

“Tsk. How old are you now? Why are you still vying with others over credit for the work?” Old Man Chi retorted unyieldingly.

Jun Xiaomo knew that there was never going to be an end to all the bickering once the two old men fired up their engines, so she rubbed her temples slightly and interjected, “Might I suggest the two esteemed old men to shelf the issue of credit and leave its discussion to another time? Right now, the map of the Arcane Realm is of the utmost importance, is it not?”

Several factions had already learnt of the whereabouts of the map of the Arcane Realm by now, and Jun Xiaomo’s faction was most certainly going to face many more dangerous encounters on their way to the heart of the Arcane Realm. Rather than dally about here, it would make far more sense to make haste towards the heart of the Arcane Realm. After all, Jun Xiaomo had reason to believe that the resistance they would encounter there would be the largest yet.

“Disciple-in-Law makes sense. We should make haste.” The sprightly old man nodded his head as he snatched the map from Jun Xiaomo’s hands and directed everyone to follow him as he motioned to leave.

Old Man Chi was displeased by the fact that the sprightly old man was holding onto the map, and he immediately glared at the sprightly old man, thinking to seize the map from his hands. Sensing the “threat” behind him, the sprightly old man took off with the map. Naturally, a mindless and pointless chase ensued.

That said, it was precisely because of this that the atmosphere in the group lightened up, causing everyone’s hearts to become far more at ease than it had been just moments ago.

Jun Xiaomo smiled radiantly, and her face was awash with warmth.

On the other side, Yu Wanrou’s following comprised of men who were blessed by the gods. Each and every single one of them was well-known throughout the cultivation world, and they possessed both stature as well as looks that were top-notch. Back then, they had gathered by Yu Wanrou’s side for the personal gains they could potentially reap. But now, with an incredible twist of fate, Yu Wanrou’s body was now faced with a critical problem, and there was a good chance that she would never be able to dish out any benefits for each of them any further. Thus, the hearts and minds of these men naturally began to run wild.

They were not prepared to be hung and sacrificed together with Yu Wanrou. Without Yu Wanrou as the glue holding all of them together, the relationship among her followers grew more and more strained. In fact, they were almost akin to enemies travelling together whilst treading on thin ice.

In Jun Xiaomo’s previous life, the person who ended up seizing ownership of the Arcane Realm was Yu Wanrou, and these men were naturally willing to submit themselves to her and be at her beck and call. Thus, there were no issues with conflicts among her following of men.

But as things were right now, the men were already beginning to have a change of heart. Naturally, their differences also began to surface, giving rise to tension and conflict within the group.

None of them were willing to cede the opportunity to seize ownership of the Arcane Realm to the other, and every one of them wanted the throne for themselves. Thus, each of them secretly transmitted news about the Arcane Realm to their own backers – including Greater Sects, Hidden Sects, as well as two powerful nations from the mortal world.

All of them desired to seize the Arcane Realm for themselves with the aid of the powers backing them.

Yu Wanrou was unaware of the tension and undercurrents within her following of men. Instead, she simply continued to drink whatever spiritual waters she could lay her hands on over the next few days. Unfortunately, her body showed no signs of improvement whatsoever, and she gradually began to sink into the mires of despondence.

Without a spiritual root, she would no longer be able to cultivate. Without cultivation, she would no longer be able to muster, operate and direct spiritual energy. Without the ability to do so, she would never again be able to open the spectral demiplane within her body!

Furthermore, she felt as though the colour and luster of the totem demarcating her spectral demiplane had slightly darkened and grown fainter. It was almost as though it was showing signs of fading into nothingness.

Impossible! I can’t let things continue like that!

Yu Wanrou cried out despondently in her heart. Her disposition was filled with ever-increasing anxiety, and she began to grow manic and frenetic as days passed.

After tasting what life on the peak of the cultivation world was like, could she ever return to normal life once again?

There must be a way. There has to be a way! Yu Wanrou tightened her grasp around the silken handkerchief in her hands as she gnashed her teeth. Even though the Ninth-Grade Root Revivification Pill could reconstruct and restore her spiritual root to pristine condition, she knew it was going to be a nigh impossible task to obtain one.

After all, did anyone really know where to start looking for something as rare as the Ninth-Grade Root Revivification Pill?

After some moments of deliberation, Yu Wanrou knew that the only possible way out of her present predicament was to seize ownership of the Arcane Realm.

Perhaps her spiritual roots would be restored as soon as she seizes ownership of the Arcane Realm. As Yu Wanrou thought about these things, her gaze darkened slightly.

Meanwhile, after linking up with Old Man Chi and his troupe once more, Jun Xiaomo and the rest found their journey much, much easier. Finally, they had managed to find their way to the locations stipulated to be the heart of the Arcane Realm on the map. Unfortunately, all they saw was a patch of barren land in the wilderness. Nothing else notable was around.

“What’s going on here? Could the map be wrong?” The sprightly old man ruffled his own hair as he exclaimed aloud.

Jun Xiaomo shook her head, “The map isn’t wrong. Unfortunately, there is a massive formation array here that is concealing the entrance to the heart of the Arcane Realm.”

The sprightly old man rubbed his chin as he muttered, “Formation array, huh...I guess we’ll have to count on Disciple-in-Law, then...”

After all, none of the others around were as well-versed as Jun Xiaomo was in the discipline of formation arrays.

Jun Xiaomo naturally wouldn’t reject such a suggestion. That said, as soon as they recalled the condition of Jun Xiaomo’s body, Ye Xiuwen and Rong Ruihan still each took a step forward and hugged her gently about her waist before she entered the formation array.

“Be careful.” Both Ye Xiuwen and Rong Ruihan said at the same time.

Jun Xiaomo smiled faintly and nodded her head, before walking into the formation array without any hesitation.

Chi Jingtian squatted on the floor and propped up his chin with his palms as he puffed up his cheeks with displeasure – he was unable to squeeze himself into that situation earlier. He, too, wanted to tell Xiaomo to be careful.

After Jun Xiaomo walked some distance towards the heart of the Arcane Realm, everyone detected a faint disturbance of the spiritual energy in the area, and they noticed the air ripple slightly. Just like that, Jun Xiaomo disappeared into the space in the barren lands.

“Xiaomo!” Ye Xiuwen and Rong Ruihan cried out. Just as they were about to charge forward, Old Man Chi and the sprightly old man both held them back.

“Don’t be anxious. Xiaomo has always been incredibly talented in the field of formation arrays, so nothing is going to happen to her even if she enters that place. On the other hand, ye two would’ve perished if ye had dove right in like that!” The sprightly old man chided them, dispelling any thoughts of running after Jun Xiaomo in the minds of both Ye Xiuwen and Rong Ruihan.

However, this also meant that they would have to remain outside where they were unable to keep an eye on Jun Xiaomo. The feeling of uncertainly plagued them and weighed their hearts down heavily, and they began to castigate themselves for having allowed Jun Xiaomo enter the formation array alone.

They had complacently thought that disabling the formation array was going to be a simple task. Who would have thought that Jun Xiaomo would vanish entirely from sight?

𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

To make matters worse, the thing which left them most ill at ease was the fact that the formation array prevented Transmission Talismans from working. In other words, there was no way of communicating with Jun Xiaomo as long as they remained on the outside.

Just like that, they waited outside the formation array for three whole days. Over the three days, Rong Ruihan, Ye Xiuwen and Chi Jingtian found themselves so worried that they were practically unable to rest at all. The three of them were on the brink of breaking down.

“Just wait for a little while more. Perhaps today is finally the day that Xiaomo will be able to make it out.” Old Man Chi and the sprightly old man found themselves consoling the rest for the umpteenth time.

Truth be told, none of them knew this with any certainty anymore. After all, three full days had elapsed now, and anything could have happened during this time.

That said, the consequences would be even more dire if they simply allowed the three young men to dash into the formation array after Jun Xiaomo. After all, none of the three men were adept or even well-informed in the discipline of formation arrays, so diving in right after Jun Xiaomo would spell only certain death for them.

Just as their patience finally wore thin, a large group of people suddenly appeared.

That’s right. This was not Jun Xiaomo. Instead, it was a large group of people – a large group of their nemeses. Yu Wanrou stood in the midst of the multitude that had arrived as she stared hatefully at Ye Xiuwen and the rest, as though she couldn’t resist the urge to tear them to shreds.

“Ye Xiuwen, if you know what’s best for you, then hand over the map of the Arcane Realm quietly. Otherwise, don’t blame us for what we’re soon about to do!” One of the men barked loudly at Ye Xiuwen with a grim, vicious expression on his face.

Ye Xiuwen placidly replied, “I’m sorry, the map of the Arcane Realm isn’t with me right now. Besides, even if it was, I would never hand it over to you.”

“You’re asking for it!”

Ye Xiuwen’s words had thoroughly irked Yu Wanrou’s following of men, and they immediately retrieved their spirit tools and weapons and charged straight towards Ye Xiuwen’s faction.

“It looks like there are quite a lot more people than before.” The sprightly old man quipped as he rubbed his chin meaningfully. There wasn’t a single modicum of fear in the depths of his eyes. In fact, one could even make out some traces of excitement lacing his gaze.

“I’m afraid that they’ve all summoned the various forces backing them as well. All of them desire to seize ownership of the Arcane Realm for themselves.” Ye Xiuwen responded coldly.

If they had not recalled the Chi Clan and consolidated their forces, this battle would have been incredibly difficult for them. They might even have lost to the oncoming force and consequently lost their lives.

But now, with Old Man Chi and his team of elites joining the fray, there was nothing to fear at all.

No matter what, they had to do their best to keep the assailants clear of the entrance to the heart of the Arcane Realm before Jun Xiaomo made her way out of it.