Cyan Radiance Superior Celestial asked, “What about the man who is favored by the celestials?”

“Ignore him. Our first and only priority now is to find the Kunlun Divine Palace and the celestials!” Jiang Yunlai declared without hesitation.

Xuanyuan Xin already promised him that she would cure his Life Tribulation and teach him the celestial ways as long as he found the slumbering celestials for her. That was already far beyond what he expected to gain when he first came to the Kunlun Ruins. As such, it no longer mattered if the thief favored by the celestials found the celestials first and ruined their opportunity.

In fact, he wanted the thief to find the celestials. It would save him much time and effort.

As for Cyan Radiance Superior Celestial and Supreme Origin Profound Sovereign’s plight… that was no longer his concern now, was it?

In fact, it would be best if they both died here!

“Is there a problem?” Jiang Yunlai asked after noting Cyan Radiance Superior Celestial’s unusually long silence.

“Why do I feel like you have changed, Dao Brother?” Cyan Radiance Superior Celestial asked after a while.

It was a feeling he had had since their stay at the Nine Nethers Rift. Not only was his aura sporting strange characteristics that he could neither pinpoint nor describe, he happened to catch a glimpse of Jiang Yunlai standing on the altar and seemingly talking to himself a while ago. That was decidedly not a normal behavior for a Sage.

Besides that, Jiang Yunlai’s attitude did a one-eighty after they left the place. They all wanted to find the celestials as a matter of course, but the Sage seemed to be a lot more anxious than before.

“You’re overthinking this, Dao Brother.”

Jiang Yunlai replied with an impeccable mask, “You’ve seen it yourself that the Nine Nethers Demonic Qi is growing richer by the second. It is only a matter of time before something big happens in the Kunlun Ruins. We need to find the celestials and resolve our curse before it’s too late, or all of our efforts would be for naught, no?”

Cyan Radiance Superior Celestial mulled over his reasoning and found no problems with it. In the end, he nodded. “That’s true. Very well.”

Suddenly, the duo seemingly sensed something and looked in the same direction.

“The Stranger caught up to Silver Moon and Dao Brother Supreme Origin again. Just as well. Let’s kill her!” Jiang Yunlai declared and took a step forward. Immediately, a fierce sun bright enough to illuminate the nine provinces appeared.

“I fully agree.”

Cyan Radiance Superior Celestial nodded and lowered his palm. Clear qi immediately turned into a gigantic palm and descended toward the ghost bride.

As if she could sense her fellow Sages’ intention even without communication, a silver moon rose into the air and met with the blazing sun and the gigantic palm.

Fire and water were opposing elements, just as cold and heat were the antithesis of one another. And yet, the blazing sun and the silver moon in the air actually blended together instead of clashing.

Tyranny and gentleness, blazing heat and soothing cold. For a moment, the sun and the moon shone in the same sky.

𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

At the same time, a sword beam shot into the air. One sword beam turned into two, two sword beams turned into three, and three sword beams turned into infinity.

In just the blink of an eye, wind and rain blew from every direction, and both the heavens and the earth were filled with sword beams.

The storm blew the sun and the moon from the sky, and the giant palm sealed off the mountains and the rivers.

In just one breath, Jiang Yunlai, Cyan Radiance Superior Celestial, Supreme Origin Profound Sovereign and Silver Moon Sacred Lord attacked at the same time and without mercy.

There was nowhere for the ghost bride to run, nowhere for her to hide!

……

Inside the pond, Ye Qing was sitting on a giant rock the size of a mountain. As he breathed, profound light shone around him, and his immense vigor naturally pushed the water away from him.

Earlier, he had obtained a huge boon at the Five Colors Mountain and improved majorly in his martial way and cultivation. However, advancement in his martial way and cultivation did not necessarily mean an improvement in strength. Only by continuously refining his power and solidifying his foundation could he convert power into true strength.

“Ooh, they’re fighting again!”

Suddenly, Ye Qing inhaled deeply and swallowed all of the profound light and spiritual qi into his stomach, causing the pond to return to darkness. Then, he opened his eyes and cracked a smile of schadenfreude on his face.

The smile was immediately replaced by astonishment and seriousness, however. “Jiang Yunlai and Cyan Radiance Superior Celestial finally deigned to show up?”

It was because he sensed the other two Sages’ presence. They were joining hands with their compatriots and attacking the ghost bride with all they got.

Jiang Yunlai and Cyan Radiance Superior Celestial’s appearance signaled both good news and bad news.

The bad news was that the ghost bride, as powerful and resilient as she was, could not possibly withstand the combined power of four Sages. It wouldn’t be long before she was defeated and killed. This would free Silver Moon Sacred Lord and Supreme Origin Profound Sovereign to find him and make trouble for him.

The good news was that Jiang Yunlai and Cyan Radiance Superior Celestial were no longer missing. He longer had to worry about them plotting in the shadows and surprising him with some scheme he could not anticipate.

An enemy in the open would always be easier to handle than an enemy in the dark.

“I thought so.”

As expected, the ghost bride’s presence leaked like a dam and became incredibly weakened just a moment later. Then, it disappeared completely.

Ye Qing wasn’t sure if the ghost bride was dead, or if she had escaped elsewhere. It was because the aquatic creatures he controlled became much weaker after they left the pond and so could not get close to the battlefield at all. Even if they weren’t, he wouldn’t dare to get them too close for fear of being discovered. As a result, he could sense that the ghost bride’s aura had disappeared, but he wasn’t sure if she was dead or alive.

“Let’s hope that this place is sufficiently well hidden!”

After the ghost bride’s aura disappeared, Jiang Yunlai, Cyan Radiance Superior Celestial, Supreme Origin Profound Sovereign and Silver Moon Sacred Lord’s aura disappeared as well. He could no longer sense anyone.

Clearly, the four Sages had taken their leave after defeating or killing the ghost bride. He wondered if their next objective was the celestials… or him.

Therefore, he could only pray that this mysterious pond was sufficiently well hidden and safe.

Ye Qing withdrew his demonic thought after that. He was about to return to his cultivation when suddenly, he let out an exclamation of surprise and looked in a certain direction.

Just now, an Irontoothed Alligator Turtle under his control killed a giant fish. After that, a stone mirror fell out of the giant fish’s belly.

This wasn’t a problem. The giant fishes ate anything and everything that remotely caught their fancy. What was a problem was the fact that the Irontoothed Alligator Turtle actually broke several of its teeth while it was attempting to bite the stone mirror. On the other hand, the stone mirror was perfectly unharmed. Not a dent could be found on its surface.

The Irontoothed Alligator Turtle was no ordinary Stranger. A Phenomenon-class Stranger that rivaled a Disaster-class Stranger, its teeth were unbelievably sharp, and its bite force absolutely terrifying. It could break rocks and chew metal like rotten wood. Even an ordinary body-tempering Grandmaster could be bitten in half if they were caught unawares.

Could that stone mirror be a treasure?

Ye Qing’s curiosity was piqued immediately.

A few breaths later, the water currents around Ye Qing suddenly grew violent, and a massive, intimidating creature came to a stop in front of Ye Qing.

The creature was a giant turtle that was over thirty meters long and as big as a hill. Sharp spikes covered its shell, and sharp claws adorned its four limbs. It was absolutely overflowing with violence and bloodthirst.

And yet, the vicious creature acted unbelievably meek before Ye Qing. It took special care to move slowly and gently to avoid disturbing Ye Qing.

The giant turtle was, of course, the Irontoothed Alligator Turtle Ye Qing was controlling.

The Irontoothed Alligator Turtle opened its mouth, and a stone mirror fell into Ye Qing’s hand.

Ye Qing gave it a gentle pat on the head and said softly, “Thank you. You can leave now.”

The Irontoothed Alligator Turtle rubbed its head against Ye Qing’s palm with obvious pleasure. After letting out a soft cry, it swam away.