Chapter 65: Brothers!

Ao Tian wasn’t lying.

The True Dragon Clan was truly not afraid of a Great Sword Immortal. A Great Sword Immortal would be a bit tricky to handle, but they were not invincible. The True Dragon Clan was perfectly capable of fighting a Great Sword Immortal.

After all, the True Dragon Clan was a branch of the Main Guanxuan Academy’s Ancient Heavenly Dragon Clan, so they had a rather powerful background.

Chen Diao went silent, seemingly in deep contemplation.

According to the Immortal Treasures Pavilion’s investigation, there was a high chance that Ye Guan’s backer wasn’t an ordinary Great Sword Immortal.

The Immortal Treasures Pavilion’s intelligence network was comparable to that of the Guanxuan Academy’s intelligence network. The fact that they had no clue about Ye Guan’s backer meant that things were more complicated than they seemed.

Ao Tian suddenly said, “Manager Chen, I’ve heard you’ve reached a bottleneck in your cultivation. Perhaps you will find it useful.”

Ao Tian flipped his palm open, revealing a gold internal pill the size of a thumb.

Chen Diao’s pupils constricted at the sight. A Dragon pill!

Chen Diao went silent. He remained silent for a long time before he decided to accept the pill.

“Clan Leader Ao Tian, please give me a few moments,” he said before leaving.

Ao Tian closed his eyes and waited for Chen Diao’s return.

Meanwhile, Chen Diao soon found himself in a secret chamber. He took out a scroll and wrote two characters—Ye Guan.

An individual clad in black appeared in front of Chen Diao.

Chen Diao passed the scroll over to them.

The individual clad in black asked, “Why do you want to investigate him?”

“It’s confidential,” Chen Diao replied calmly.

After a few moments of silence, the individual clad in black said, “Show me your manager seal.”

Chen Diao frowned and asked, “Is that necessary?”

The individual clad in black didn’t reply. Moments later, Chen Diao took out his seal and stamped it on the scroll.

The individual clad in black finally turned around and left.

Chen Diao stood in silence for quite a while. Soon, a cold glint flashed in his eyes. “I’ll take this gamble!”

To be honest, he wasn’t willing to get involved in the matter between Ye Guan and the True Dragon Clan. After all, the Immortal Treasures Pavilion prohibited their employees from participating in any worldly disputes.

However, the True Dragon Clan offered him a lot in exchange for his participation. He couldn’t resist the temptation of a dragon pill and a hundred thousand gold spiritual crystals.

There was also a saying about how one had to take risks if one wanted to become rich. In other words, the timid would remain poor their entire life.

I, Chen Diao, can bear the karma of hunting down a Great Sword Immortal!

Ao Tian waited for about fifteen minutes before Chen Diao returned and said urgently, “Clan Leader Ao Tian, please hurry up and return to your clan.”

Ao Tian frowned and asked, “Why?”

“He’s in the True Dragon World again!” Chen Diao exclaimed.

Ao Tian’s eyes narrowed. The strongest members of the True Dragon Clan were out hunting for Ye Guan, which meant that they were pretty much defenseless at the moment.

Ao Tian’s face turned ugly, but he soon sneered, “Is he looking down on my True Dragon Clan?”

He turned around to leave, but Chen Diao stopped him.

“Use our teleportation array!” shouted Chen Diao.

Ao Tian obliged and flew to the Immortal Treasures Pavilion’s teleportation arrays.

Left all alone, Chen Diao stared blankly in the distance for quite a while. A hint of worry flashed in his eyes.

…

Ye Guan returned to the True Dragon World and found that there weren’t any cultivators strong enough to stop him.

Little Pagoda suddenly exclaimed, “Turn right!”

Ye Guan was slightly stunned, but he obliged and soon arrived at a desolate land after climbing a tall mountain. The desolate land looked boundless at a glance, and Ye Guan saw a few enormous True Dragons roaming the desolate land.

However, the True Dragons in front of Ye Guan seemed lifeless. He frowned slightly and asked, “Are we in the True Dragon Clan’s Dragon Tomb?”

“Move three thousand meters ahead. Hurry up!” Little Pagoda cried out.

Ye Guan obliged and disappeared before reappearing three thousand meters away.

An extremely massive True Dragon was in front of him. At first glance, it seemed like it spanned three thousand meters. In addition, the True Dragon had two heads.

Ye Guan felt as small and insignificant as an ant in front of the massive True Dragon.

“Master Pagoda, this dragon is huge! It even has two heads!” he exclaimed in awe.

“This dragon should be an ancestor of the True Dragon Clan. It’s an Imperial-rank dragon, but it perished long ago. Anyway, its carcass is extremely precious, and it will definitely be useful to you,” Little Pagoda explained.

“Master Pagoda, this bastard won’t fit in my storage ring!” exclaimed Ye Guan.

“I’ll store him for you,” Little Pagoda said.

Ye Guan was delighted. “You can finally open your world?”

“Yes, but I can’t do it for long,” Little Pagoda replied.

Ye Guan was dismayed at the replay. He reckoned that the world in the tiny pagoda was a sacred cultivation ground. It was a shame that he couldn’t take advantage of it at the moment.

A golden light emerged and enveloped the extremely massive True Dragon. A few seconds later, the True Dragon was whisked away by Little Pagoda into his tiny pagoda.

Ye Guan was about to say something, but Little Pagoda beat him to the chase.

“Hurry up, let’s go,” said Little Pagoda.

Ye Guan turned around.

His figure trembled ever so slightly as he soared into the skies with Sword Travel.

“Where do you think you’re going?!” an enraged voice echoed from the horizon.

Ye Guan turned and saw an enormous dragon charging at him. The enormous dragon was none other than Ao Tian.

Ye Guan was puzzled. He couldn’t help but ponder how Ao Tian got here so quickly.

However, Ye Guan soon dismissed the thought. He flicked his sleeve and traveled through space, disappearing into the horizon.

Ao Tian roared and spat a beam of golden light toward Ye Guan.

Boom!

The distortion in space proved too much for spacetime travel to bear.

Ye Guan had no choice but to emerge from a rift in space with his Path Sword.

Slice!

Ye Guan decisively sent his Path Sword toward the beam of golden light.

Boom!

Ye Guan’s Path Sword and Ao Tian’s beam of golden light collided.

Moments later, the Path Sword carved a beautiful arc in the air and returned to Ye Guan’s hand. Afterward, Ye Guan unhesitantly hopped onto his sword and disappeared into the horizon.

Ao Tian froze.

Did Ye Guan just break my dragon flame with a slash of his sword?

It had to be known that Ao Tian was three cultivation realms above Ye Guan. Ao Tian was also from a Dragon Clan, which meant that humans could only hope to match his fighting prowess.

His sword! Ao Tian frowned. His dragon flame was capable of scorching just about anything into ashes. However, Ye Guan’s sword managed to slice his dragon flame into two as if his dragon flame were air.

In addition, the examination of the dragon carcasses had told them that Ye Guan had sliced through the dragons' defenses as if they were pieces of paper.

Ao Tian couldn’t find any other explanation for this other than the presumption that Ye Guan’s weapon had to be an extraordinary weapon.

There’s something strange here! Ao Tian calmed down and realized that the matter was more complicated than he thought. Ye Guan’s backer was definitely not just a Great Sword Immortal.

Ao Tian couldn’t allow Ye Guan to lead him by the nose anymore, so he decided not to chase the latter.

A cultivator of the True Dragon Clan appeared in front of Ao Tian. The cultivator’s face was dark as he reported, “Ye Guan has stolen Ancestor Ao Hu’s carcass…”

Ao Tian didn’t explode in fury upon hearing the report. He didn’t look even slightly angry. He knew that he had to approach this matter with a clear mind.

Ao Tian finally said, “Invite Clan Leader Lee Yun here...”

“Understood!” said the cultivator with a nod before leaving.

Ao Tian looked up and muttered, “Your backer doesn’t matter. I’ll make sure to wipe you and your backer off the face of the earth!”

…

Ye Guan was sitting cross-legged on the ground in an unknown mountain forest. A huge pot of dragon meat was being stewed in front of him. The meat belonged to an Imperial-rank dragon, no less!

Dragon meat was rather tasty, and he had also discovered that consuming something related to dragons would strengthen his physique. Ye Guan had already noticed the changes in his physique after consuming a ton of dragon meat every day.

“You should bathe in dragon blood later. It’ll strengthen your bones and muscles,” said Little Pagoda.

“All right,” Ye Guan replied with a nod.

He finished his meal of dragon meat and took out a bathtub from his storage ring. He poured the Imperial-rank dragon’s blood inside the bathtub before jumping right into it stark-naked.

Ye Guan felt as if he had been set on fire the moment he was in the bathtub, but the pain was still bearable. He closed his eyes and submerged himself.

At the moment, dragon blood and dragon meat were the best supplements he had to strengthen his physique. They were even better than pills at enhancing one’s physique!

Ye Guan was a swordsman who specialized in speed, but even he couldn’t ignore the benefits of a strong physique. He was well aware that speed required a strong physique, so Ye Guan decided to endure the pain.

Ye Guan’s expression turned heavy upon recalling Ao Tian’s attack. He managed to cut down Ao Tian’s dragon flame, but Ye Guan didn’t think that he was already strong enough to fight Ao Tian.

He managed to stop Ao Tian’s dragon flame because of his Path Sword. If it hadn't been for the Path Sword, Ye Guan would have had to take the brunt of such a powerful attack.

The Path Sword emerged and levitated in front of him.

He stared sullenly at the floating sword, seemingly thinking of something.

“What is it?” Little Pagoda asked.

Ye Guan answered, “This sword is too strong, Master Pagoda…”

“Isn’t that a good thing?” asked Little Pagoda.

“It’s great, but I’m afraid of developing a dependence on it,” said Ye Guan.

Little Pagoda went silent.

“This sword has bolstered my strength beyond my current level. If I use it too frequently, I’ll inevitably rely on it. I’ll never improve if I rely on this sword in the long run, and if I ever lose it one day, I’ll become powerless,” Ye Guan said.

After a few moments of silence, Little Pagoda sighed softly and said, “I’m glad that you think that way.”

There used to be an outstanding talent like him. His talent was comparable to Ye Guan’s, but it was a pity that he eventually ended up walking on the wrong path.

Ye Guan’s words were right. There were many people who appeared strong, but their strength was mostly because of their tools. Take their tools away, and they would become powerless.

The Path Sword was the reason why the True Dragons’ defenses were like pieces of paper in front of Ye Guan.

“However, I don’t have any choice but to wield this sword right now. Otherwise, there is no way I can go head-to-head against the True Dragon Clan. I want to make sure that I won’t end up relying on it too much, so I’m only going to use it during a life-or-death crisis. I won’t use it if it’s not necessary,” Ye Guan added.

“That works,” Little Pagoda said.

Ye Guan took a deep breath and put the Path Sword away. The True Dragon Clan will never let me go.

The True Dragon Clan had already suffered twice at Ye Guan’s hands, so they would definitely learn from their mistakes. In other words, Ye Guan would find it extremely difficult to repeat his actions so far.

In addition, his situation would only become more dangerous as time went on.

If I were Ao Tian, what would I do? Ye Guan thought about it hard and long before finally opening his eyes. If he were Ao Tian, he wouldn’t play around anymore, he would force Ye Guan to come out of hiding.

The Ye Clan! The Daoist Sect! Ye Guan’s expression turned grim.

He reckoned that the True Dragon Clan would target the Ye Clan. He had come to this conclusion because the Ye Clan in Nanzhou wasn’t as strong as Monk Dao.

The situation had changed as well.

The True Dragon Clan once cared a lot about their reputation, which was why they had never attacked the Ye Clan, but now, it was a different story. Their reputation was already rock bottom, so why not throw caution to the wind?

Ye Guan got up and rushed to the Immortal Treasures Pavilion. If he wanted to return to the Lower Realm, he had to use the teleportation arrays of the Immortal Treasures Pavilion.

…

There was a vast and desolate mountain range somewhere. It was a quiet mountain range, and it had been that way for many years. However, the silence was suddenly replaced by the loud rumble of the earth.

There was a deluge of Great Earth Force, and it headed toward a man sitting cross-legged with his hands on his knees.

Boom!

The man was struck, but he remained unperturbed. Moments later, the powerful Great Earth Force rushed into him and was absorbed. Not even a drop of Great Earth Force was left behind.

A tiny gold character appeared on his forehead. If a third party who knew what the imprint meant were here, they would be stupefied at the sight. It was all because the imprint was the Great Earth Law Imprint!

There were nine Laws in the universe, and they were aptly referred to as the Nine Laws.

They had been keeping the power of heaven and earth in check.

Each of the Nine Laws contained terrifying power, and there were rumors that one would be able to unleash a cataclysmic power upon gathering the Nine Laws.

The man with a tiny gold character emblazoned on his forehead was Ye Qing, and he was from the Lower Realm!

After a while, Ye Qing finally opened his eyes.

Two rays of terrifying golden light shot out from his eyes, and there was a loud explosion as the ground in front of him was shattered. The dust eventually settled, and a wide and deep ravine spanning at least a hundred meters appeared.

Ye Qing took a deep breath and said excitedly, “Master, I’ve mastered the Great Earth Law!”

An old voice echoed in his head. “Great! Now, let us go to the Immortal Treasures Pavilion. We need help in finding the next Law.”

“Okay!” Ye Qing said with a nod. He stood up and lightly tapped his heel on the ground. He abruptly transformed into a ball of golden light that soon disappeared into the distance.

It didn’t take Ye Qing that long to arrive at the nearby Yuan City.

Ye Qing was walking down the streets, but he suddenly turned his head upon hearing someone’s name from a stranger’s mouth.

“Ye Guan… what an amazing guy. Not only did he kill over thirty True Dragons, but he also stole the True Dragon Clan’s dragon eggs! He’s apparently only a Space Shattering Realm cultivator! I can’t believe it!”

“I don’t think that’s the most impressive part. This is the most impressive part! I heard that he went to the True Dragon Clan a second time and stole the carcass of one of their ancestors! Tsk, the True Dragon Clan has truly declined over the years!”

“Hmph! Yeah, what he did is impressive and all, but he’s in imminent danger. I heard that the cultivators of the True Dragon Clan are rushing toward the Lower Realm right now. I’m sure they’re going to use the Ye Clan to bait him out!”

Ye Qing’s eyes constricted. The Ye Clan!

Ye Qing decisively rushed to the Immortal Treasures Pavilion.

The old voice asked him, “Are you going to the Lower Realm?”

Ye Qing replied, “Yes.”

After a few moments of silence, the old voice continued. “You have a long road ahead of you, considering your talent. It is unwise to go against the True Dragon Clan for the sake of the Ye Clan in Nanzhou.”

Ye Qing closed his eyes and clenched his fists.

“Master, I’m a member of the Ye Clan. How can I stand idly by and just watch while the Ye Clan is in danger? Everyone has their own reasons for walking down the path of cultivation, and the reason I became a cultivator was to lead the Ye Clan to glory.”

“You’re not the Ye Clan’s heir. The rightful heir is Ye Guan…” said the old voice.

Ye Qing didn’t get agitated at the reminder. He remained calm as he said, “He’s stronger than me, so I have no issues with him being the rightful heir.

”I’m glad to help him, but I will naturally become the rightful heir if I become even stronger than him in the future. By then, I believe that Brother Ye Guan will return the gesture in kind by helping me as well.”

Ye Qing went silent for a few moments before continuing. “We’re brothers as well, so I don’t think being the rightful heir matters between us.”