Chapter 1503: Bagushidu's Power!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Bagushidu's attacks were not very showy, but his Stellar Energy was extremely dense, and he seemed even more frightening than members of the Great Tang Imperial Court like Gao Xianzhi and Fumeng Lingcha, or members of the martial arts world like the Black Yin Ancestor, the Bone Devil Ancestor, and even Song Yuanyi.
Most alarming of all was that Wang Chong sensed the energy of the Subtle realm on Bagushidu. Before this, the energy of the Subtle realm that Wang Chong had encountered had always been as fierce and scorching as the sun.
But the energy oozing from Bagushidu's body was something else entirely. It was dark and sinister, bursting with destructive capacity. It was the exact opposite of the bold and blazing energy of the Subtle realm, but the two were on exactly the same level.
This was the first time Wang Chong had encountered another kind of high-level energy, and it completely overturned his understanding of the Subtle realm.
The Great Tang divided the Turkic Khaganate into the Eastern and Western. The Western Turkic Khaganate under Ishbara Khagan has the stronger army, whereas the Eastern Turkic Khaganate under Ozmish Khagan has the more thriving martial tradition and the most experts. In particular, Mount Otuken, the holy land for martial arts in the Eastern Turkic Khaganate, is the place in the Khaganate where one could spot the rising sun the earliest. Thus, it's also called the Solar Holy Land.
This lineage of martial arts is completely different from that of the Central Plains, and it can be considered a lineage separate from the Central Plains and the Great Snow Mountain. As Bagushidu is an Eastern Turkic King and given his outstanding martial arts, he must have come from the Solar Holy Mountain! Wang Chong finally determined, countless thoughts rushing through his mind.
Every martial arts holy land could create an empire. For example, the Great Snow Mountain Holy Temple on the Tibetan Plateau was able to produce one batch of experts after another for the Ü-Tsang Empire. Thus, no matter how many times it waned or how many sovereigns came and went, Ü-Tsang was able to rise again and repeatedly cause problems for the dynasties of the Central Plains.
The eastern world was home to three holy lands. In Wang Chong's last life, the only experts Wang Chong had never interacted with were those of the Solar Holy Land.
Across the empire, the one who most frequently clashed with them was Andong Protector-General Zhang Shougui.
"Bagushidu, what are you planning? If you want the Origin Immortal Art, no one can stop you now!" Wang Chong quickly said as all these thoughts ran through his mind..
His expression was calm and devoid of panic.
"Heh, I naturally want the Origin Immortal Art, but, King of Foreign Lands, you are also my target!"
Bagushidu lightly chuckled.
"Everyone says that the Great Tang is a land of heroes, but I never believed it until I met Your Highness. At the age of sixteen, you pacified the southwest, defeating Ü-Tsang and Mengshe Zhao. At the age of seventeen you were made Marquis, and before the age of eighteen, you even defeated the Arabian Empire that swept unstoppably across the western world, slaying one million of its soldiers. If this continues, no one in the world will be a match for Your Highness. It's no wonder the Great Tang's Sage Emperor favors you so much and even made you King of Foreign Lands."
Buzz!
Wang Chong, the Demonic Emperor Old Man, the Wushang Village Chief, and even the distant Lone Silence Ancestor instantly paled.
Anyone who appeared here would be after the Supreme and Infinite Origin Immortal Art, and if they all hadn't been so determined to obtain it, fighting as soon as they saw anyone else, many conflicts could have been avoided. But Bagushidu's words meant that this incident took on an entirely different character.
Wang Chong's heart sank, but as his entire body was sealed at this moment, there was no way he could fight back.
"King of Foreign Lands, let's go!"
Bagushidu smiled and pointed ahead.
The eyes of the others gleamed, but they did not dare to do anything. Despite being surrounded by foes, Bagushidu remained relaxed and fearless.
He led Wang Chong toward the distant stone bridge.
At this moment, everyone else was incredibly conflicted. Wang Chong had tried several times to have the third-generation successor make trouble, but the slight clenching of Bagushidu's fingers was enough for him to dispel those ideas.
He had also tried several times to attack him with Psychic Energy. But Bagushidu was no ordinary martial artist. He was at least half a step into the Subtle realm, perhaps even higher.
Moreover, unlike the walking corpses, Bagushidu still had a healthy and tenacious will. A few Psychic Energy attacks were far from enough to deal with him.
And no one was more conflicted at this point than the Lone Silence Ancestor.
He stood next to the stone stele, the long bridge behind him. He only needed to step onto the stone bridge to find the Supreme and Infinite Origin Immortal Art hidden here by the Origin Immortal Lord.
Moreover, he clearly did not share as close a relationship with Wang Chong as the Demonic Emperor Old Man and Wushang Village Chief. Bagushidu had taken Wang Chong as a hostage, but this had little effect on the Lone Silence Ancestor.
"Heh, Lone Silence Ancestor, first come, first served. You got here before me, so why don't you take the bridge first? The Origin Immortal Art is yours!"
Bagushidu looked at the Lone Silence Ancestor and smiled.
Buzz!
The Lone Silence Ancestor was still pondering his options, but Bagushidu's words made him freeze.
He who obtained the Origin Immortal Art first would be the world's number one. In front of such a treasure, who could remain so unperturbed, so yielding?
Bagushidu's proposal only made the Lone Silence Ancestor more hesitant and fearful.
Bang!
The Lone Silence Ancestor suddenly thrust out a palm, sending a powerful wave of Water Element Stellar Energy at the stone bridge.
Clang! There was a metallic ring amidst the haze, and then the world fell silent once more.
The Stellar Energy unleashed by the Lone Silence Ancestor vanished into the darkness.
"That's not necessary. Your Highness should go first!"
The Lone Silence Ancestor immediately stepped to the side.
The Demonic Emperor Old Man, the Wushang Village Chief, and Wang Chong didn't understand Bagushidu very well, but the Lone Silence Ancestor resided in the northeast, his territory bordering the Eastern Turkic Khaganate, and there was also the supreme status of this King within the Eastern Turkic Khaganate to consider. Thus, the Lone Silence Ancestor knew much more about him.
He had long ago surpassed the peak of the Saint Martial realm and reached a higher level. If it wasn't absolutely necessary, the Lone Silence Ancestor was not willing to fight him. In truth, if they actually fought, the Lone Silence Ancestor would be forced to admit that he was no match for this Eastern Turkic King.
Most importantly, Bagushidu had outstanding strength and had arrived earlier than them. If the Origin Immortal Art were that easy to obtain, Bagushidu would have taken it for himself and silently departed.
But this Eastern Turkic King had instead chosen to hide and ambush Wang Chong. There was definitely something fishy going on.
"Ha, you've got a good eye!"
Bagushidu glanced at the Lone Silence Ancestor and smirked. Holding Wang Chong, he proceeded toward the mysterious stone bridge.
Bang!
As he stepped forward, a white dragon made of Stellar Energy suddenly emerged from the ground and attacked his back.
This white dragon was much larger than any other one, and the Stellar Energy forming it was incredibly dense and packed with destructive power.
'White Dragon Swallows the Sun'!
The Wushang Village Chief had chosen this moment to launch his sneak attack.
In the legends of Wushang Village, the ancestor of all dragons was an enormous white dragon who was also the source of the White Dragon Divine Art. The first white dragon was said to have been born from primordial chaos and was capable of devouring the sun.
This was a move of immense power, but it required an incredible amount of time to use, as one needed to constantly condense the Stellar Energy in one's body. Thus, it wasn't practical to use it in battle. But a time like this was perfect.
This was why the Wushang Village Chief had remained quiet all this time.
How could he and the Demonic Emperor Old Man possibly sit back and watch as Wang Chong was taken away?
Bang!
In an explosion of light, the Demonic Emperor Old Man took action, a massive azure palm descending from the heavens to come down on Bagushidu's head. The two of them had struck with no warning and with astonishing speed.
In the blink of an eye, they were less than three feet behind Bagushidu.
And this was only the beginning. Boom! A tangible wave of Psychic Energy slammed into Bagushidu's mind. This came so suddenly that even someone of Bagushidu's ability momentarily paused.
Wang Chong possessed such immense amounts of Psychic Energy that even though he couldn't use it to control Bagushidu like he controlled the walking corpse, he could still deliver him a heavy blow that would momentarily daze him.
In a clash of experts, every second mattered, and for experts of Wang Chong's level, it was enough time to do many things.
Buzz!
The three of them had not exchanged a single word, but they worked with such cohesion that Bagushidu was instantly forced into an extremely disadvantageous position.
"Success!"
Wang Chong's eyes lit up in delight.
Bagushidu was not someone who could be easily ambushed. The group's only opportunity would come when he had succeeded and let down his guard.
Moreover, Wang Chong had realized that Bagushidu, after capturing him, had placed the majority of his focus on the third-generation successor. He seemed to be very frightened of this former disciple of the Origin Immortal Lord.
All these factors had come together to give them a chance.
Bagushidu had started by ambushing this group, and now, the three of them had joined together to ambush Bagushidu. This was called returning like with like.
In the short time available, even Bagushidu would probably find it hard to fend off this danger, but suddenly—
Bang!
Two thunderous explosions resounded, and then destructive shockwaves rippled outward, scattering the dense green haze and clearing out an area with a radius of one hundred feet.
The two frightening attacks had utterly failed to achieve the desired result.
Amidst a deafening metal ringing, two black cauldrons about one foot tall emerged to the left and right of Bagushidu. With only a moment to spare, they had blocked those two determined strikes.