âHowever, what do you want me to do since Iâm now following you?â Xie Wang asked.
âWeâll decide this later. We want to go into seclusion for a period of time, so go settle down somewhere ten kilometers away. Prevent anyone from approaching us. Guard us,â said Jian Chen.
Xie Wang nodded. âAlright, Iâll do that. I do hope you wonât go back on your words. You have to give me the divine water within fifty years.â Xie Wang turned around and left, carving out his own cave to settle down in.
âJian Chen, why are you getting him to follow us? He is quite strong but heâs of no great help to us. And can you really obtain more divine water within fifty years?â Nubis asked in doubt after Xie Wang had left. He felt extremely confused with what Jian Chen had just done.
Jian Chen raised his head slightly and zoned out as he stared the deep-blue sky. âWe have a piece of the Octoterra Map, so we should have the right to enter the Octoterra Divine Hall. From those experts whoâve fought over the fragment, Iâve heard that only those below Saint Kings can enter. Xie Wangâs of the Ninth Heavenly Layer and heâs not weak. There shouldnât be a lot of people who are his opponents at the same level. When we enter the divine hall, he should be of great help to us.â
âWhat? Only those below Saint King can enter the divine hall? Doesnât that mean we canât break through?â Nubis was surprised.
âRight. Before we enter, we cannot break through. This is why you must limit your growth this time when you go into seclusion.â
âF*ck it. Since I canât break through, then I wonât break through. Though I still can take in some of the hidden essence from that old snake. Itâll take me to a level where Iâm only an inch away from breaking through. Itâll also make breaking through successfully much easier in the future. Alright then, Iâll be cultivating.â Nubis left the cave.
Soon afterward, Jian Chen also returned to his secluded cultivation. He began to refine the monster cores in the saint artifact with the help of the sword spirits.
Right now, the chaotic neidan was only the size of a pigeonâs egg. He still had a long road ahead of him before he reached the third layer of the Chaotic Body. He needed to reach the peak of the second layer as soon as possible.
âMaster, you should be able to absorb the energy of the Yinyang Saint Rock once you reach the fifth layer,â said Zi Ying. His voice carried a sliver of urgency.
âZi Ying, what layer of the Chaotic Body will I reach after absorbing the energy?â Jian Chen asked out of curiosity.
âMasterâs Chaotic Body should be able to reach the seventh or eight layer, or even the ninth, after master absorbs all the energy of the rock,â Zi Ying replied after some thought. He was not exactly sure.
Jian Chenâs heart began to beat uncontrollably after he heard that. A sense of urgency ignited in his heart, tempting him to try and reach the ninth layer at this very moment.
âJust what level of strength will I have after I absorb all the energy? Will it be Saint Emperor? Or beyond that?â
âIf I gain the power that surpasses Saint Emperors, Iâll definitely copy Mo Tianyun and charge into the Forsaken Saint World. Iâll cause an upheaval there and form rivers of blood from my slaughter. Iâll make it so that they will never have the ability to threaten the Tian Yuan Continent ever again.â
Jian Chen thought as he clenched his fists.
A few days later, a furious cry resounded from a grand divine hall that hung a hundred meters in the air, several tens of thousands of kilometers away from where Jian Chen was.
âYou trash, you pieces of trash. Youâre literally incompetent trash. You couldnât find them even when there were the two of you!â Charlie howled angrily.
The four emissaries trembled as they knelt in front of Charlie. Their faces were filled with horror. They had spent so many days outside yet they had still failed to find Jian Chen and Nubis. All they could do was return to the hall and report this to the hall elder.
âJust wait for your death once the hall master comes out of seclusion if you canât get it back. You pieces of trash, just how the f*ck did you screw up such an easy mission?â Charlie paced around the hall furiously. He was extremely worried.
âCharlie, that thing has its own, unique presence and it was also forged by an emperor thirty thousand years ago. It contains a sliver of the emperorâs power. That power should be the same as the power of the divine hall, so why donât we cast the Water Mirror Technique together and see if we can find its whereabouts through borrowing a sliver of the hallâs power?â Yensenâs master said.
âAlright. Thatâs all we can do now. I hope the hall master doesnât become angered when we use a sliver of the hallâs power.â Charlie nodded before turning to the four emissaries. âWhy donât the four of you hurry up and piss off?â
The four of them hurriedly climbed up off the ground and left the hall.
Around fifteen minutes later, the two hall elders walked out as well. Both of them seemed slightly weary, while Yensenâs master held a piece of paper, âWeâve found their whereabouts. Their positions are marked on the map. Immediately go with the two 15th Star elders to get the item back and redeem yourselves.
âMaster, weâll definitely bring it back this time,â swore Yensen as he took the map. Afterward, the four of them left together.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Charlie said with a deep voice as he gazed into the direction they had disappeared off to, âI hope they succeed this time.â
âSigh, that itemâs just too special. We canât let any part of it leak out or attract the attention of the other two halls. Thatâs why we canât send too many people, or I wouldâve moved out personally long ago,â said Yensenâs master with a sigh.
...
Several days later, Xie Wang lied in boredom as he stared blankly at the ceiling of the dark cave. He was carrying out his task silently, guarding Jian Chen and Nubis. He prevented any disruptions to their cultivation.
âCan he really get me the divine water within fifty years?â Xie Wang cradled his head as he murmured on the icy-cold ground. He had already repeated similar words countless time that day.
âTo think that I, Xie Wang, someone who was also renowned among the people, someone who moves alone and does what he wants, would have such a day where I fall to such a level. Iâve become someone elseâs pawn.â
âWhatever. This is my only hope of reaching the 15th Star. If there isnât even the slightest hope, I wonât have any chance at all. Iâll trust them for now. Just some temporary grievances are nothing,â murmured Xie Wang. He really struggled to yield and work below others with his personality. All he could do was constantly comfort himself and his unhappiness.
Xie Wangâs eyes narrowed at this moment. âCrap, someoneâs come.â He disappeared with a flash, having already left the cave. He appeared once again floating a thousand meters in the sky this time.
Far away, six figures shot toward them with lightning speed. In the end, they stopped a hundred meters from Xiew Wang, staring at him with narrowed eyes.
âYouâre emissaries of the Serpent God Hall.â Xie Wangâs expression changed slightly when he noticed their clothes.
Yensen looked at Xie Wang but did not pay any further attention to him. He looked around and said, âThey should be here according to masterâs map but itâs not this person.â
The two old men who followed the emissaries looked in the same direction in unison. One of them said, âThere are two people in secluded cultivation right now. I wonder if itâs them.â
âWell thatâs not a problem. Just get them to appear this instance and weâll know whether theyâre who we were searching for,â said the other old man. Afterward, he grabbed at the empty space and the energy in the surroundings quickly began to condense. In the end, it formed a huge palm a hundred meter wide that fell on the mountain on where Jian Chen and Nubis cultivated.
Boom!
The mountain collapsed loudly. The palm strike sent countless pieces of loose rock flying everywhere, while the barrier cast down by Nubis was obliterated like tofu. It could not withstand it.
âA 15th Star Seasoul Warrior.â Xie Wang immediately revealed an ugly expression when he saw this. The light in his eyes flickered uneasily.
âWho dares destroy my dwelling?! Are you looking to die!?â A furious roar resounded from the collapsed mountain. Nubis flew out furiously from the rubble, while a cold light glimmered in his eyes. He radiated with great killing intent.
The four emissaryâs eyes lit up when they heard this extremely familiar and arrogant voice. They pointed at Nubis. âItâs him, itâs him. Elders, he was the one who took the item.â
A sliver of joy flashed past the old menâs eyes when they heard this. They thought, âHe really isnât at the 15th Star. Looks like the hall elderâs mission will be a piece of cake this time.â
Boom! Loose rubble flew in all directions and Jian Chen also shot out of the rocks with the Dragon Slaying Sword in hand. He shot toward Yensenâs group with Nubis with a darkened complexion. He faced the people from the hall. They were separated by a distance of several hundred meters.
Nubisâ eyes narrowed as he examined these people. In the end, he locked onto the two old men and he could not help but become slightly stern. He said heavily, âI didnât think two 15th Star experts would come as well.â
Jian Chenâs face could not help but twitch when he heard that two Saint Kings had actually come. He could only deal with Ninth Heavenly Layer Saint Rulers with his current strength. He was not the opponent of Saint Kings.
Yensen could not help but laugh aloud as he saw Jian Chen and Nubisâ stern expressions, âHaha, donât you regret it now? This is the outcome of offending the emissaries of the hall. Too bad itâs all too late now. Thereâs no use regretting it now. Just obediently accept your deaths.â
Note: By âemperorâ, theyâre referring to Saint Emperor. Itâs just that among the Sea race, they use å¤§å¸ (translates roughly to great emperor) instead of å£å¸ (Saint Emperor). So in other words, the emperor in âOctoterra Emperorâ has the same connotation. Theyâre not really an emperor of anything.