Ole Mo The Eighth was dismayed. He couldnât quell his trepidation even now. He was one of Qin Thirteenâs loyal followers and the only one whoâd made it out alive. That wench wasnât any stronger than Qin Thirteen, but the ominous weapon sheâd suddenly unleashed was too dreadful.
His face pallid, Ole Mo trembled from head to toe at the mere thought of that flash of light followed by heads rolling. Heâd never heard of such a terrifying treasure.
He and his companions had been indulging in pleasure just moments ago, only to see the sectmaster die the next instant, along with all his companions. All of them, dead! Ole Mo himself was now a stray dog.
He looked back as he ran, afraid the mighty weapon would catch up to him if he even blinked.
âElder Qiu at the Empyrean River Palace wonât take Sectmaster Qinâs death lying down! This girl might be powerful, but Elder Qiu is an advanced emperor realm powerhouse. She wonât look so mighty in front of him. Thatâs right, I must tell Elder Qiu immediately.â Ole Mo recovered his clarity of thought after a moment of panic.
âWait, if I inform Elder Qiu right now, heâll know Iâm the only one who survived out of the entire group. If heâs angered by that, he might put me to death as a sacrifice for the sectmaster. Wonât I get the worst of it then?â Ole Mo had his own personal worries as well.
But as he was fretting, a strand of consciousness suddenly swept through, originating from the sky above. The next moment, a cold haughty voice sounded. âSenior brother, the man below seems a little familiar. I think Iâve seen him somewhere!â
âHm? He does really look a little familiar. Letâs go down and have a look.â
The two men speaking were young men in sect robes, giving off a dignified and extraordinary feeling, particularly the senior brother walking in front. With the dignified gait of a dragon among men, he seemed to exude an undeniable presence, radiating a crushing pressure.
The junior brother behind him seemed younger and more immature, but his expression was equally haughty, as if not many things under the sun were worth his attention. The two of them dropped from the clouds and materialized in front of Ole Mo like two ghosts.
Ole Mo froze when he saw them. He recognized them as Elder Qiuâs disciples. In particular, the older one with the extraordinary presence had an exalted identity, being a true disciple. His cultivation was as high as his status was lofty, and he ranked as one of the most notable cultivators amongst the Empyrean River Palaceâs younger generation.
Ole Moâs impulse was to pick up his feet and flee, but he couldnât move an inch despite the urge. His feet wouldnât budge. They were rooted to the ground. He knew that if he tried to run, it would be no effort for the two disciples to crush him to pieces.
âSenior brother, I think this man is Qin Thirteenâs subordinate.â The junior brother with a frosty, haughty tone seemed to recognize Ole Mo.
With a wry face, Ole Mo stepped forward and kneeled in greeting. âThis humble one is Ole Mo, here to pay respect to the two geniuses of the Empyrean River Palace.â
âOle Mo? Oh I remember, one of Qin Thirteenâs men. Ole Mo is it? Why are you sneaking around? Whereâs Qin Thirteen? Tell him to hurry up and come out so he can welcome us two brothers. Our master will also grace him with his presence today, so tell him to make the necessary preparations!â The junior brother was called Lu Yi. He was also Elder Qiuâs disciple, but he wasnât a true disciple, hence he was far below his senior brother in standing.
Ole Mo started bawling. âMy lords, Sectmaster Qin... He can no longer welcome the two of you. You came a moment too late!â
âWhat?â The senior brother, Zhao Mang, frowned. As a true disciple of the Empyrean River Palace, his position was extremely high amongst Elder Qiuâs followers, and he held far greater weight in Elder Qiuâs heart than a so-called distant nephew like Qin Thirteen.
âA woman came to the Tree Spirit Sect today. She rampaged her way through the mountains and slaughtered Sectmaster Qin, along with many other brothers!â Ole Mo sobbed. âThat women is terrible. I donât know what evil treasure she used, but heads rolled on the floor as soon as I saw a flash of light...â
âWhat? Qin Thirteen is dead?â Lu Yiâs brows rose in surprise. âOle Mo, what the hell are you saying? Is there anyone who can kill him in this damn backwater?â
âMy lord, this Ole Mo isnât brave enough to lie to your exalted selves! Judging from her bearing, that woman isnât a local cultivator. Sectmaster Qin tried to pry information out of her, but there was something very off about her. Even the Empyrean River Palace was unfamiliar to her.â
âNonsense.â These words infuriated Lu Yi. âDid you believe her just because she said that?â
Zhao Mang waved him off. âJunior brother Lu, donât get overexcited and listen to what he has to say.â
âGo on, Ole Mo. Tell us all the details. Donât be evasive and donât even think about concealing anything,â Zhao Mang calmly laid out.
In spite of his fear, Ole Mo stammered out a recounting, narrating everything from beginning to end.
Zhao Mang frowned when he heard the entire story. âA beautiful young woman? She fought Qin Thirteen to a standstill at first? If so, she doesnât sound like a genius from a great sect.â
As one of them himself, Zhao Mang was aware of how strong one of such geniuses were. If she was merely even with a fifth level sage realm like Qin Thirteen, it would be impossible for her to be a true disciple in a first rank sect despite her passable cultivation.
If not a true disciple of a first rank sect, how would she be so contemptuous in front of his Empyrean River Palace? Or say sheâd never heard of the faction? A genius from a small sect would never dare utter these words even if they had ten times the courage.
âCan it be an enemy sect? Is that why she humiliated us on purpose?â Lu Yi voiced his own conjecture.
Zhao Mang pondered for a moment, but couldnât come to a definite conclusion.
âOle Mo, lead the way, letâs go take a look.â As a bold and adventurous man, rather than being paralyzed by fear, Zhao Mang was keen to get to the bottom of the matter.
The old manâs expression exposed his reluctance. âMy lords, that woman isnât gone yet. Sheâs still inside sect grounds as we speak. If we go there now, itâll be impossible for us to avoid her.ân/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
âWhat are you afraid of?â Lu Yi erupted with indignation. âWith my senior brother here, why would we be afraid of fighting against a nameless woman? Not to mention that my master will also arrive soon.â
Ole Moâs anxiety finally abated somewhat when he heard of Elder Qiuâs imminent arrival. But now, he worried whether the elder would take anger out on him when the elder learned of Qin Thirteenâs death. He couldnât extricate himself from this hesitation.
âYouâre not going?â Zhao Mang asked with a faint smile.
Ole Mo prostrated himself, repeatedly knocking his forehead on the ground. âMy lord, Iâm not as brave as you and donât dare go back. If my lords want to go there, I can tell you the way or even draw you a map if you wish.â
Zhao Mang nodded. âYou can leave in that case. We naturally have our own ways of finding a trivial Precious Tree Sect.â
Ole Mo almost thought his ears werenât functioning. Glancing up, he saw the tranquil look on Zhao Mangâs face, as if the latter was really willing to let him go.
âMany thanks, my lord.â Ole Mo scrambled away, trying to leave.
An icy glint flashing in his eyes, Zhao Mang thrust a sudden palm into the void, the blow as heavy as a hammer. Ole Mo flew straight into the air, dropping back down in a rather spectacular posture, a big hole pummelled through his body. He was dead as a mackerel.
Without batting an eye, Zhao Mang told his companion, âLetâs go.â
Lu Yi chuckled and spat on the ground. âHehe, this guy really didnât know how to appreciate kindness. As Qin Thirteenâs man, he let his master die while escaping himself, then dared to haggle with us? He was really looking to die!â
Zhao Mang offered no reply, his thoughts already on the Precious Tree Sect. Heâd arrived in advance at the command of his master, but he hadnât expected to happen upon such a situation. He was well aware his master cared very much about this place. The elder had specially dispatched a distant nephew to gather some men and pick up the pieces, setting up a local base in Myriad Domain for the Empyrean River Palace.
But no one foresaw that someone would destroy this so-called Tree Spirit Sect a mere few years later, killing Qin Thirteen in the process.
âSenior brother, who do you think she might be? Someone who has no scruples killing even after hearing our sectâs name must be a remarkable figure. Even if itâs a girl, it must be a fierce girl whoâs not easy to deal with.â
Zhao Mang tuned out Lu Yiâs prattling. It didnât matter to him where she came from or who she was. She was barely strong enough to fight Qin Thirteen to a standstill and had to rely on a heaven defying treasure to kill him. Why would he dread that sort of strength?
She had a treasure, but as a true disciple of the Empyrean River Palace, would he be without his own treasures? For that reason, he didnât take her too seriously. The only thorny issue was the death of his masterâs nephew. Although his master Elder Qiu might not be very close with his distant kin, Qin Thirteen was nonetheless the masterâs blood relative.
Zhao Mang could only imagine his masterâs wrath when he learned of what had transpired. He might even blame his disciple from being too slow and too late to prevent Qin Thirteenâs death and the Tree Spirit Sectâs destruction. The only thing he could do now was to hurry there, apprehend the killer, and hand her over for his master to handle.
Zhao Mang hastened his steps, afraid the killer might have left.
Dan Fei looked for clues in every nook and cranny of the Precious Tree Sect, but to her chagrin, her efforts ended up fruitless yet again.
âIt seems the Precious Tree Sectâs departure was so sudden that they didnât leave any clues behind,â Dan Fei concluded.
At this moment, two very aggressive streams of air shot from the sky and blew her way. They contained very invasive strands of consciousness. The streams shot inside the Precious Tree Sect, sweeping back and forth across the mountains.
Dan Fei found herself very averse to this sort of untoward action.
âWhoever killed Qin Thirteen, step forward!â A rumbling voice sounded from outside the sect. It naturally belonged to Zhao Mang.
Lu Yi also shouted, âWench, come out and let my Empyrean River Palace have a look at you. Do you have three heads and six arms? You must be amazing if you dare make a move against my sectâs subordinates!â
Men from the Empyrean River Palace? Dan Fei was rather surprised. She hadnât expected them to come so quickly.
Just as she was about to respond, two formidable gusts of wind rumbled down from the sky. With a bang, they crashed into a mountain peak, the enormous impact shaving off a part of the top.