Chapter 1017: The Mysterious Duan Ru Feng

"Where are you from?" Duan Ling Tian asked again.

He did not miss the cautious gaze the black-clad middle-aged man used to look at the talisman in his hand. He could not help but feel surprised.

The talisman in his hand was previously given to him by his miserly father.

It did not cross his mind this powerhouse, whom he suspected came from outside Cloud Continent, would dread the talisman in his hand.

"Where am I from?" The black-clad middle-aged man glared at Duan Ling Tian in rage after he took a deep breath. "Are you kidding me? If you have a talisman drawn by a Saint Rudiment Stage Dao Cultivator, how is it possible you don't know where I'm from? For the sake of the Saint Rudiment Stage Dao Cultivator behind you, I won't hold you responsible for ruining my Human Puppet this time! Otherwise, I'll kill you even if you have the talisman he left for you, and I have to risk being seriously injured!" The black-clad middle-aged man hissed coldly.

Judging from his words, it was obvious the talisman in Duan Ling Tian's hand could inflict serious injury on him.

The moment the words left the black-clad middle-aged man's mouth, he vanished into thin air before Duan Ling Tian and Feng Tian Wu's eyes. It was as though he was never there.

When Duan Ling Tian saw how the black-clad middle-aged man came and went freely as he pleased, he could not help but smile wryly. "I still have many questions I want to ask him. Why did he leave so fast?"

Whether it was the Mortal Stage Martial Cultivator or the Saint Rudiment Stage Dao Cultivator or something, Duan Ling Tian had never heard of such words prior to meeting the black-clad middle-aged man.

Even if he ransacked the memory of the Rebirth Martial Emperor's two reincarnations, he could not find anything related at all.

"Mortal Stage Martial Cultivator, Saint Rudiment Stage Dao Cultivator... Even the Rebirth Martial Emperor had never heard of such thing in his two reincarnations!" Due to this reason, Duan Ling Tian was taken completely by surprise.

"Could it be the Mortal Stage Martial Cultivator and the Saint Rudiment Stage Dao Cultivator are actually the cultivation stages in the other continent of the deep sea or even other continents on the other side of the world? Stages that are similar to the Void, Martial Monarch, and Martial Emperor Stage in our Cloud Continent?" Duan Ling Tian finally regained his senses, and he could not help but speculate.

The more he pondered on it, the more certain he became.

"Apart from this, what's that Dao Talisman the black-clad middle-aged man kept referring to when he spoke about the talisman in my hand? Moreover, it's a Dao Talisman that was inscribed by a Saint Rudiment Stage Dao Cultivator." Duan Ling Tian sighed again when he thought about this.

The talisman, or more precisely, the Dao Talisman, in his hand, was left behind by his miserly father, Duan Ru Feng, before he left.

'How did father get his hands on these Dao Talismans? C-Could it be that he's actually...' A bizarre thought instantly formed in Duan Ling Tian's mind.

His miserly father might not be in Cloud Continent during the 20 years he was gone.

Otherwise, how did he manage to get his hands on the Dao Talismans?

It was obvious the Dao Talismans did not originate from Cloud Continent.

"Don't tell me father actually took mother, Jing Ru, and the others away from Cloud Continent and brought them to the other continent overseas?" The corner of Duan Ling Tian's mouth twitched uncontrollably when he thought about this.

"It's no wonder there's no record of the Dao Talisman in the memory of the Rebirth Martial Emperor's two reincarnations. As it turns out, it doesn't even belong on Cloud Continent." Duan Ling Tian's gaze fell on the Dao Talisman in his hand as a bitter smile hung on the corner of his mouth.

In the past, he thought as long as he could stand at the highest position in Cloud Continent, it would be enough to grant him a grand view of the world so he would be able to overlook the people from the top.

However, it seemed like even if he had already stood at the highest position in Cloud Continent just like the Rebirth Martial Emperor had, there was still another continent far at sea that housed many other individuals who were stronger than him.

'Looks like the older Martial Emperors in Cloud Continent really did move to the other continent on the other side of the sea just like what the Rebirth Martial Emperor had speculated. That must be the place that has all these Mortal Stage Martial Cultivator, Saint Rudiment Stage Dao Cultivator, and Dao Talisman,' Duan Ling Tian thought to himself.

"If father really brought mother, Jing Ru, and the others away from Cloud Continent to the other continent overseas, his current strength must be far better than the average Martial Emperors," Duan Ling Tian muttered gravely to himself after he inhaled deeply.

"I'm almost certain the voice that was deliberately concealed as a hoarse voice that appeared when I was fighting Zhao Ming and the other three Guardian Elders from the Azure Forest Tri-Sect along with Peak Master Qin Xiang from the sky above the Imperial City of the Crimson Sky Kingdom must be father's voice! Father must be the mysterious powerhouse that's hidden in the Crimson Sky Kingdom!" Although Duan Ling Tian had long suspected this, he had no way to confirm his theory at all.

At this moment, he was 100% certain.

That mysterious powerhouse was none other than his miserly father. A person who could easily overpower the three Sixth Level Void Initiation martial artists at the sky above the Imperial City through him was inside the Imperial City of the Crimson Sky Kingdom.

Even the current Duan Ling Tian could not do that yet.

'Perhaps, father's strength is even stronger than the Rebirth Martial Emperor in his prime... I really wonder what kind of experience he had gone through in these twenty years for him to be able to obtain such horrifying strength! Compared to him, the fortuitous adventure that I've been on — such as the memory fusion with the Rebirth Martial Emperor's two reincarnations, or the other various encounters after that — is not worth mentioning at all.' Duan Ling Tian laughed at himself when he thought about this.

"However, if father is really a powerhouse from the other continent overseas, why didn't he bring me along with mother, Jing Ru, Bi Yao, and Xiao Lan when they left?" Duan Ling Tian was puzzled.

No matter what, he was still the biological son of his miserly father.

By right, his miserly father would not have left him alone in Cloud Continent to fend for himself.

"There must be some other reason father did not bring me along." Duan Ling Tian currently had no other explanation other than this.

After all, which parents did not wish for their children to stay by their side.

Duan Ling Tian was suddenly hit by a pang of realization as he suddenly remembered something.

He lifted up his hand and took out a jade box — it was the exquisite jade box his miserly father, Duan Ru Feng, left for him.

Duan Ling Tian studied the exquisite jade box in his hand as he recalled the message his father left for him in the Voice Transmission Jade Slip.

"Other than these three talismans, I'm leaving this exquisite jade box for you as well. When you finally have the ability to open it, you'll find out where your mother and I are."

— that was the original words left behind by his miserly father, Duan Ru Feng.

"Even if I don't use the Quasi Royal Grade Spirit Sword, my entire strength currently is equivalent to 2,000 over ancient horned dragons. It should be enough to open this exquisite jade box right?" Duan Ling Tian's heart jolted as he placed both of his hands on the jade box. His Origin Energy immediately soared up as his Concepts followed like shadows.

Soon after, the Heaven and Earth Energy whirled above his head and eventually gathered into 2,200 silhouettes of life-like ancient horned dragons that writhed as they descended.

Feng Tian Wu felt it was strange when Duan Ling Tian kept muttering to himself from time to time about some matters she did not understand. Although she found the situation strange, she did not disturb Duan Ling Tian and just quietly stood at the side.

At this moment, shock crept up on her delicate face when she saw the Heaven and Earth Phenomenon that appeared above Duan Ling Tian.

It did not cross her mind Big Brother Duan had become so powerful.

"Back then outside of Qing Feng Palace in the Martial Emperor's secret treasure, Big Brother Duan's strength was only equivalent to 1,600 ancient horned dragons after he exerted his full strength with the aid of his spirit weapon when he fought Lei Zhong, the strongest person among the younger generations in Izumo Sect. However, just with his Origin Energy and Concepts without the aid of his spirit weapon, Big Brother Duan can currently exert the strength of 2,200 ancient horned dragons!" Feng Tian Wu gasped loudly. She was taken aback by the strength Duan Ling Tian currently possessed.

At this moment, she finally understood why her Big Brother Duan was confident he could protect her and Zhang Shou Yong during their journey back to the Darkhan Dynasty from the northern desert.

As it turned out, her Big Brother Duan had already possessed such great power.

'It seems like Big Brother Duan's was quite lucky with his encounters in Qing Feng Palace,' Feng Tian Wu thought to herself.

After leaving the Martial Emperor's secret treasure, she had never once left his side.

Due to this reason, she came to a conclusion the reason her Big Brother Duan made such huge progress was due to some fortuitous encounter the Martial Emperor's secret treasure.

"It still refuses to move!"

Soon after, Feng Tian Wu heard Duan Ling Tian's sigh. Only then did she notice the reason he mobilized his strength of 2,200 ancient horned dragons was to open this exquisite jade box in his hands.

Judging from her Big Brother Duan's words, the jade box still refused to open even after he used his strength that was equivalent to 2,200 ancient horned dragons.

"What jade box is that? Even with the strength of 2,200 ancient horned dragons, it still won't open?" For a time, Feng Tian Wu was dumbfounded.

Before she had time to comprehend what was going on, she noticed a sword had appeared in Duan Ling Tian's palm as he raised up his hand. The sword emanated a terrifying aura.

It was none other than Duan Ling Tian's Quasi Royal Grade Spirit Sword.

The moment the Quasi Royal Grade Spirit Sword made its appearance, another 800 silhouettes of ancient horned dragons appeared in the sky.

Whoosh!

With a shake of his hand, the sword that contained the strength of 3,000 ancient horned dragons struck like lightning at the seam of the tightly-shut exquisite jade box in an attempt to forcefully pry it open.

Clang!

A faint sound reverberated in the sky, but the exquisite jade box still refused to open

The seam that was tightly shut did not even carry a tiny trace of being pried open at all.

"What exactly is this exquisite jade box made off? It's so damn tough!" Duan Ling Tian could only give up.

When he withdrew his Quasi Royal Grade Spirit Sword, he sighed once again. He knew his current strength was insufficient to open this exquisite jade box.

"Father's becoming more and more mysterious..." When Duan Ling Tian returned to his senses, he could not help but smile wryly as he put the exquisite jade box away.

"Big Brother Duan, what's that jade box? Not only did your sword that contains the strength of 3,000 ancient horned dragons failed to open it, it didn't even leave a scratch on its surface!" Feng Tian Wu witnessed the entire process with her eyes from the beginning until the end, and she was completely dumbfounded by what she saw.