Chapter 268: Shadow

Zhong Yue got to the Golden Summit and he handed over the jade seal in front of everyone before he walked away without saying anything. Qiu Jin'er on his side then took out her wheelchair from a hall and left with him.

Grandmother Lu, who saw Qiu Jin'er from afar, quickly rushed out from the Celestial Sun Palace and Zhong Yue's face darkened when he saw Grandmother Lu who was about to follow Qiu Jin'er again. It was at this moment when Madam Qiu walked out from the Celestial Sun Palace, and said, "Grandmother, come back. I think we should let them off for their happy world for a few days and you should stop following them."

Grandmother Lu looked at Zhong Yue, and she replied, "Madam?"

Madam Qiu summoned her back and said, "Let them go, we can't possibly stop Jin'er from going to the outside world. Besides, it will only serve her well in the long run for her to have exposure to the outside as well. And after all, the Sun and Wood Innate Spirit Body are very compatible as well."

After Zhong Yue and Qiu Jin'er left, Shui Zhizheng constantly checked on the Seal Suppression Hall and to his dismay, failed to detect any signs of Tian Myriad Mother each time. Time slowly passed, and it was soon two months since the incident involving Tian Myriad Mother. When Shui Zhizheng arrived at the Seal Suppression Hall again only to return disappointed, he began to search around the hall with his psyche in his frustration to location Tian Myriad Mother.

To his horror, after searching through the entire Seal Suppression Hall, he failed to find out anything about Tian Myriad Mother again, and cold sweat started forming on his forehead.

Zhong Yue said that she is in a crucial point of cultivation so she shut herself in but I couldn't even see her in the hall... Could it be that she is cultivating in the Seal Suppression Hall....

Even more cold sweat started dripping down from his cheeks as he was, after all, one of the ten elders of the Elder Council who knew deeply of the Seal Suppression Hall's function. If Tian Myriad Mother were in the Seal Suppression Hall, she would undoubtedly have been sealed away!

How is that possible? Zhong Yue does not possess the ability to overwhelm her! How did she get sealed away? She is in charge of the hall. I have to save her no matter what!

Shui Zhizheng then left hurriedly, and he returned quickly not long after. His shadow then moved vigorously and split into two clones; one of which slithered on the ground and the other climbed the mountain walls opposite him.

Eerily, the two shadows did not belong to Shui Zhizheng as there was another shadow under him! The two shadows then stood at the entrance of the Seal Suppression Hall, but they were blocked outside of the hall as the entrance was sealed.

"So Tian Myriad Mother was sealed in the hall by Zhong Yue?"

Said a seemingly old shadow, "This Zhong Yue has the power to defeat her? It is impossible, even if he has the Innate Sun Spirit Body, it wouldn't be enough to outdo an old timer demon god like Tian Myriad Mother. Shui Qingyan's body that she possessed may only be in the Atman Body level, but the power of her soul is far stronger than that, it is impossible for Zhong Yue to be able to seal her."

The other shadow, which looked younger shook and said, "But if Zhong Yue lured Tian Myriad Mother into the Seal Suppression Hall and worked with the Innate Wood Spirit Body, then it is possible that they could do it."

The two shadows and Shui Zhizheng nodded, and the older shadow said, "The individuals sealed in the hall are extremely powerful, and with the addition of her body in it, Tian Myriad Mother will definitely not have rejected Zhong Yue's invitation into the Seal Suppression Hall. This must've been the opportunity he used to seal her. But Tian Myriad Mother and her true body are way too important as well. However, Zhong Yue and Qiu Jin'er left the Swords Gate and handed over the jade seal to the headmaster. This little brat is surprisingly smart. He must have discovered Tian Myriad Mother's true identity, which made him so determined to exterminate her. With these moves he pulled off, he forced us to divert our attention to the jade seal in the headmaster's hands instead of pursuing the two of them."

A man who had managed to open his five Yuan Shen secret realms in reverse was indeed one not to be underestimated. Their potential is virtually unlimited, and they had a high probability of ascending into a god in the future."

The younger shadow then said, "The old geezer is about to die, and the jade seal will fall into our hands sooner or later. Don't worry; he will definitely pass the jade seal to someone as his son is still in the Seal Suppression Hall. He is very intelligent and wise so he would definitely not allow us to proceed with our plans that easily. He surely has many hidden precautions or some other insidious trap for us to fall into. But he too has his own fatal weakness!"

"His dearest family will be his greatest weakness!"

The older shadow nodded and said, "He will not be able to get through this year so these remaining four months are extremely crucial as he will have to pass his position to someone else soon. I wonder who it will be in the end; Jun, Feng, and Fang are all bright individuals whose power can match magnate Qi Practitioners. Now it all depends on which one of them will break through their limit and achieve the True Spirit level. Whoever ascends to the next level will be appointed the new headmaster of Swords Gate."

The younger shadow laughed and said, "Don't worry, the next headmaster will definitely be you regardless. All I want are those things under the mountain of Swords Gate. Elder Shui, have you contacted the East, South Barrens and the Barrens overseas?"

Shui Zhizheng smiled and said, "The Zhong Li Celestial Race's Xia Tianshi of the South Barren wants back the body of the Wu Dao Celestial Being, and the East Barren's Shi Buyi wants the Barren Celestial Beast, while the Overseas Barren's Yi Laomo wants the spirit of their ancestor returned. At that time, they will each send strong individuals or arrive personally. But they also said that they refused to come before the old geezer's death. After all...."

He didn't need to finish his sentence for the other two shadows to understand what he meant.

The old man may be old, but he was still a Sword God!

As long as he was still alive, no one would be able to touch Swords Gate without paying a huge price!

"His death is inevitable. All the previous headmasters entered the Devil Soul Forbidden Land before their deaths, and none of them managed to return alive. This headmaster's life will also end from this asinine tradition.

The Devil Soul Forbidden Land was just like an active volcano under the Swords Gate, and every headmaster nearing the end of their lives would enter the forbidden land to cull the population of evil beings underneath the Sword's Gate to ensure another temporary period of peace before the next headmaster does the same!

And the old man entering the forbidden land would be the sign of his imminent death, and the signal for them all to act!

Shui Zhizheng then said, "That Zhong Yue...."

"He may have a bright future ahead, but now, he lacks the time for him to grow into someone we would all expect. He has no significant power to change the outcome with that puny strength of his!"

The younger shadow then said, "As long as our victory is secure, he will die for sure as I have grasped onto his exact position and from what I know, he and Qiu Jin'er have arrived at the South Barren. It will be straightforward to eliminate him when the time comes."

Shui Zhizheng and the older shadow nodded, and Shui Zhizheng smiled before he frowned and said, "Then will the dearest man of the old geezer betray him? He is a true madman and a madman whose actions cannot be read by anyone! If we rein him in, he might become a serious problem for us!"

The young shadow dispersed before saying, "Don't worry, that madman's weakness is just like his father's."

South Barren, Fiery Capital.

A huge leaf with a radius of three feet floated in the sky with a long green vine at the bottom of the leaf. The vine was acting as the legs of the leaf, walking on the streets of the Fiery Capital.

Zhong Yue stood on the green leaf while Qiu Jin'er sat on her wheelchair beside Zhong Yue. There was also a little cloud that floated on top of her head, covering her from the sunlight, and there was a small drizzling around her that chased away the scorching heat.

This capital was one of the most important capitals of the South Barren. The South Barren was huge, even bigger than the Great Wilderness. Unlike the Great Wilderness, the South Barren was very close to the sea, allowing the Zhong Li Celestial Race to keep on invading the Southern Sea to continue encroaching on the dragons' territory.

The Fiery Capital was built on a vast coastal island, and Qiu Jin'er and Zhong Yue traveled all the way here on the green leaf and vine that Qiu Jin'er visualized.

In these two months or so, they flew everywhere and enjoyed the scenery around them before they entered the South Barren.

Zhong Yue had been to the East, West Barrens and the Eastern Sea, which were all problematic regions. But he had yet to go to the South Barren. And this was why he suggested exploring the South Barren to observe the Martial Masters of the South Barren.

Qiu Jin'er was okay with his suggestion as the cultivation path of the martial art grandmasters in the South Barren was different to the path they walked. The two of them were intrigued by this different path that others walked on and were curious to learn more about it.

The Fiery Capital was the base of the most well known and noble family, the Xia Family of the entire Zhong Li Celestial Race. Legends said that the Xia Family did not have the surname "Xia" in the ancient days and they were conferred the surname "Xia" by the Celestial Emperor back then. This instantly elevated their status to a level above others of the Zhong Li Celestial Race since being bequeathed a surname by the emperor himself was a grand honor. This allowed the Zhong Li Celestial Race to dominate the entire South Barren for themselves while the many other celestial races were cramped in the West Barren.

"Other than Xia, there is also another huge family in the Zhong Li Celestial Race. This family is the Zhu Rong Family but their status is not as high as the Xia Family's."

On the leaf, Qiu Jin'er whispered to Zhong Yue, "The Fiery Capital is the most developed place in the entire South Barren as it is connected to the ocean. With that, Qi Practitioners from the various Barrens and Seas including the Qiu Tan Clan will come here to trade. I have not been here until now, but I heard that there are many interesting things around here...."

Zhong Yue looked around, and he couldn't help but praise the prosperity of this bustling capital where huge merchant ships could be seen everywhere around the harbor and massive amount of Qi Practitioners from different races filling up the streets.

These Qi Practitioners were also varied in appearance as well; Zhong Yue even saw dragon, celestial and monster Qi Practitioners around here too.

In the middle of the Fiery Capital stood a huge Xia Guan statue, which was the ancestor of the Xia Family, who appeared to be beast faced, human bodied with two fiery dragons shrouded in blazing flame under his feet.

"The Xia Family holds the great secrets about the martial arts, therefore, the Martial Arts Skymasters are normally from the Xia Family as the other martial arts heritage of the other clans cannot compare to that of the Xia Family."

Zhong Yue then said to Qiu Jin'er, "The martial art grandmasters we saw along the way are not the most proper ones, I wonder if we could see any true grandmasters."

Qiu Jin'er replied with a smile, "Senior martial brother, I heard from the Qiu Tan Clan's merchants that the Zhong Li Celestial Race loves fighting a lot and the lesser void world in the capital often held fights among the Zhong Li Celestial Race."

"Lesser void world?"

Zhong Yue's heart thumped, and he said, "Does this lesser void world have anything to do with the void?"