Ao Feng was dragged over. His Spirit Base had been crippled by Ling Han, so his cultivation level had stagnated at the early stages of the Flower Blossom Tier. When he saw Ling Han, he could not control his great hatred, and roared in rage, “If it had not been that b**** pleading at that time, and that I had a moment of soft-heartedness, had I just simply killed you little bastard, there wouldn’t have been so much trouble!”
“How dare you!” Yuan Cheng He’s fist slammed down on the back of Ao Feng’s head, and the impact caused him to immediately drop onto the ground.
Ling Han nodded at Yue Kai Yu and his family as a form of address. Now, he did not have the time to deal with these relatives of his.
Ling Dong Xing stepped out, and said, “Ao Feng, fight me. If you can defeat me, then I will spare you!”
Ao Feng sneered, “Twenty years ago, you were already a loser. That is the case now, and so will it be in future!”
“Then let’s battle!” Ling Dong Xing’s fighting spirit soared as he stepped down with his sword in hand.
Chapter 750 - Ending the Feud
Translator: Henyee Editor: Henyee
Yuan Cheng He could not help but turn towards Ling Han, his gaze quizzical.
Ling Han nodded, and indicated for him to do as said.
With his current prowess, even if Ling Dong Xing really couldn’t match Ao Feng, Ling Han would still be able to rescue his father in time.
Yuan Cheng He released the binds on Ao Feng to allow two men who had developed an enmity twenty years ago to battle for the last time here.
Ling Dong Xing summoned the Demon Birth Sword.
Yes, Ling Han had given this Level Ten Spirit Tool to his father. Although Ling Dong Xing was not able to activate even a single pattern on the sword, a Level Ten Spirit Tool was still a Level Ten Spirit Tool. Merely the sharpness of it was nature-defying.
While Ling Dong Xing had little talent in martial arts, and could merely be considered a somewhat talented person, he was definitely not a genius. He had Ling Han’s full guidance, but even so, he could only manage to form a single flash of Sword Qi.
That was enough; a flash of Sword Qi would enable him to borrow on the might of the Demon Birth Sword, and the destructive power that he could display was unbearably terrifying.
After all, the might of Sword Qi was influenced both by the cultivator and the sword used; how could a Level Ten Spirit Tool be anything but awesome?
Ling Dong Xing and Ao Feng were embroiled in a fierce battle.
A feud that had been buried for twenty years finally exploded. The two men exchanged blows, and Sword Qi danced and Origin Power collided. Both released their strongest abilities.
In theory, Ao Feng was definitely stronger. He had broken through to the Flower Blossom Tier a few years ahead of Ling Dong Xing, and his knowledge of how to use power on the level of the Flower Blossom Tier was far superior to Ling Dong Xing’s. Moreover, he had formed as many as nine flashes of Sword Qi, and was just a single step away from forming ten flashes, at which point he had hopes of solidifying his Sword Qi into Sword Ray.
In comparison, Ling Dong Xing had merely grasped a single flash of Sword Qi. However, he possessed a Level Ten Spirit Tool.
The Sword Qi that was unleashed by the Devil Birth Sword was incredibly severe, and completely crushed Ao Feng’s Sword Qi. Upon contact, Ao Feng’s Sword Qi was shattered; it completely was not qualified to match it.
Peng, peng, peng . The more Ling Dong Xing fought, the stronger he became. He had consumed an unknown number of Spiritual Herbs, but did not manage to make use of all their effects. A lot of their essence was accumulated in his body, and with this battle, all this essence instantly circulated and was endlessly absorbed by him.
This was akin to his energy being continuously replenished. On the other hand, Ao Feng’s Spirit Base had been shattered, and he could not possibly absorb Spiritual Qi with his Spirit Base anymore to convert into his own Origin Power. He could only depend on continuously taking alchemical pills.
However, alchemical pills would induce the development of immunity. The first pill would produce full effects, the second would only have ninety percent effect, then slowly declining to eighty, seventy, sixty percent and further.
In this way, the longer the battle went on, the weaker he naturally became, so how would he be able to match Ling Dong Xing?
After two hours of battle, Ao Feng had signs of loss of endurance. However, he, too, knew that whether it was Ling Dong Xing or Ling Han, neither could possibly spare him. In the end, he gritted his teeth in bitterness, and did not open his mouth to plead for mercy.
Every strike he delivered was deadly as he intended to destroy both himself and Ling Dong Xing even if it cost him his life so that he could drag the latter down with him.
Unfortunately, if it had been five years ago, Ling Dong Xing would naturally die with him without a doubt, but now, he had his wife, his son, and a grandson too, so how could he be willing to die with this great foe of his?
He merely strengthened his defenses, and waited until Ao Feng had expended all his energy. By then, his only fate would naturally be death.
“On the path to the Netherworld, I’ll wait for you both!” Ao Feng finally declared with a harsh voice and expression as he ran out of strength. His gaze was so venomous that he looked like he wanted to devour them.
Pu !
His chest was pierced through by a single strike from Ling Dong Xing. The Demon Birth Sword pierced his chest, and all signs of life were immediately completely destroyed. With a vital point struck directly by a Level Ten Spirit Tool, even a Heaven Tier cultivator could not possibly survive, what more when Ao Feng was merely in the Flower Blossom Tier.
Ling Dong Xing could not help but feel extremely rueful. He had initially thought that he could not possibly get his revenge in this lifetime, because he knew that Ao Feng’s talent in martial arts was indeed above his own. Moreover, the latter had a colossal existence like the Winter Moon Sect backing him up, so the gap between the two would only become larger and larger.
But who asked him to have a good son?
Ling Han did not start a massacre. He had spared all of Ao Feng’s children. He was not one who enjoyed mindless bloodshed. In truth, as long as someone did not touch his bottom line, he had always been one to opt for peaceful discussion before violence.
At the same time, he was a lazy person.
When he discovered that Helian Xun Xue had exceptional leadership talents, he had her take charge of all national matters. She was, after all, a member of a royal clan in the Northern Sea, and how big was the Northern Sea? She had confidence to manage even the enormous Northern Sea, what more when the current territory was only so small.
Helian Xun Xue accepted the task gladly. In her eyes, this throne would naturally belong to her own son in future, so what would be wrong with helping out her son? However, in front of outsiders, she changed her appearance with the use of the Disguise Pill to avoid being found out by the Sea Race.
As for the territorial expansion, with Yuan Cheng He and Li Feng Yu as great generals and the Rock Spirit as support, there was no place that could not be subdued—at least not in the north region—so he was naturally at ease.
There were others to handle both internal and external matters, so what else did he have to worry about?
If he had to do everything himself, then what was the use of so many followers?
He very happily became a man who told others to work but did nothing himself. He only had one request, and that was to pacify the hearts of the people and prioritize stability. That was because the purpose of the expedition was not to expand his borders, but obtain the power of the nation. Only when the hearts of the people were loyal would power of the nation be strong.
Under Ling Han’s command, the Great Ling Nation 1 began a wide recruitment of troops, and laid out extremely attractive conditions. Another aspect was to improve the lives of the people so as to allow every citizen
to have the opportunity to cultivate and, at minimum, be able to reach the fourth or fifth layer of the Body Refining Tier to keep them fit so as to raise the living standards of the whole nation.
Due to Zhu Xuan Er’s strong suggestion, Ling Han decided to take a trip to the Half Moon Sect.
If they could recruit the Half Moon Sect, they would be able to avoid bloodshed, which would also make Zhu Xuan Er feel better. After all, this was her sect.
Ling Han and Zhu Xuan Er naturally could not be absent. Helian Xun Xue, meanwhile, remained behind to handle national matters. Liu Yu Tong and Li Si Chan continued to accompany Ling Han’s parents, and only Hu Niu, Rabbit, and the Gold-seeking Rat followed.
Ling Jian Xue had not been weaned off his milk yet, so he naturally could only stick with Helian Xun Xue, but Ling Han had purposely subdued a few White Jade Cows that were still nursing so as to avoid his son not having enough milk. The milk produced by this type of Demonic Beast was the most nutritious.
This naturally made Helian Xun Xue very displeased. Her breasts were just a little small, but she really had abundant milk, all right?
Ling Han and the others set out and advanced towards the Half Moon Sect. Seven days later, they arrived at their destination, and with Zhu Xuan Er to inform the sect of their arrival, they soon received summons. Next, Ling Han revealed a bit of his prowess, which naturally intimidated the Half Moon Sect.
Added with the fact that Zhu Xuan Er would become Ling Han’s beloved consort in future, which meant that after the Half Moon Sect surrendered their allegiance, their status would not decline, the higher-ups of the sect made a most wise decision—resistance would be undoubtedly fatal, so was there need to still consider which choice to make?
This could be considered a conclusion that everyone was satisfied with.
Ling Han did not immediately return, but instead set out towards the Agriculture Enclosed Mountain.
This was where Zhu Xuan Er’s Master experienced a Dao injury. Ling Han had been very interested when he heard about it. However, at that time, his power was inadequate, so he had set the idea aside. Now, his battle prowess could match the Heaven Tier, so he was naturally full of confidence.
Another seven days later, they arrived at their destination. This was the westernmost area of the north region. If they traveled a bit further, they would reach the region barrier separating the north region and the west region.
Agriculture Enclosed Mountain, Eaglewood Valley. This was a forbidden land.
Chapter 751 - Eaglewood Valley
Translator: Henyee Editor: Henyee
There were a few dangerous places in the north region called Life-Restricted Areas, which were incredibly dangerous. Even if such extremely powerful elite cultivators like Spiritual Infant Tier cultivators entered them, they would be in danger of dying, just like in the Dark Devil Forest. Demonic Qi bubbled furiously in the core area, and it was possible for anyone to be affected and become a zombie that lost all sense of will.
The Eaglewood Valley was one such Life-Restricted Area, but was not as well-known as the Dark Devil Forest, because this valley was filled completely with rocks, and no one had ever heard of Spiritual Herbs growing here, which naturally meant that it had no attraction to cultivators at all.
… Cultivators were naturally willing to risk their lives only because there was something they could get out of it; wasn’t risking their lives without any kind of benefits something only an idiot would do?
Ling Han’s group stopped outside this valley. From the outside, they could vaguely see random rocks protruding skywards inside the valley, just as if it was covered with spikes. Thick and dense purple fog soared endlessly, forming different scenes which produced the effect of visual obstruction. Even when Ling Han activated the Eye of Truth, he was not able to see too far inside.
“The Dark Devil Forest had Chaos Source Rocks, then what does this place have?” Ling Han mumbled, and turning to Zhu Xuan Er, he asked, “Why did your master come here?”
Zhu Xuan Er pondered for a moment, and replied, “Master loves to travel the world and investigate all kinds of dangerous areas. She said that the formation of every danger zone was not something simple, and there could possibly be extraordinary treasures hidden within.”
Ling Han could not help but laugh. “I’ve never thought that your master is actually a money grubber!”
Zhu Xuan Er rolled her eyes at him in annoyance, but the gesture was still very beautiful, and caused Ling Han’s heart to throb madly. She continued, “Master said that the fog here could take various forms and there are some that fit some kind of natural Dao, so there is possibly some universally shocking secret treasure hidden within!”
Ling Han shook his head, and said, “So your master ventured in, and the result was she suffered a calamity!”
“More or less.” Zhu Xuan Er sighed softly. To heal her master’s Dao injury, she had really been driven haggard by how busy she had been the last few years. Because she had lost her master’s protection, there was a considerable number of people in the sect that revealed their desires to take possession of her by force, and she was almost driven to a breakdown by dealing with them.
“Then I would really have to take a look.” Ling Han pulled out Gold-seeking Rat, and said, “Fatty, go in and see if there’s anything valuable!”
The Gold-seeking Rat hurriedly scrambled back up to his shoulder, and squeaked madly. It was trying to signal that this place, just from the looks of it, looked incredibly dangerous, and it was almost scared to death, so what else was it supposed to see!
Ling Han shook his head, and said, “Hey, when it’s time for food, you’re always afraid to be the last and fight to get the first bite, but when I need you to do something, you have all kinds of excuses. I’ve really raised you for nothing!”
The Gold-seeking Rat rolled its eyes. It was a Gold-seeking Rat, not a Treasure-seeking Rat, and was definitely no Battle Rat. There was no way it was going to a dangerous place like that.
“Then we can only go!” Ling Han drew Zhu Xuan Er into the Black Tower. At the time, her master had similarly been in the Spiritual Infant Tier, yet still suffered a Dao injury, so she obviously would not be able to withstand it, either.
The group of three—Ling Han, Hu Niu and Rabbit—walked together into the valley. None of them dared to be careless, and they prepared to duck into the Black Tower at any moment.
“Yi, there’s a kind of implicit charm that makes Lord Rabbit feel light and airy as if I were about to fly here!” Rabbit suddenly exclaimed.
Ling Han sensed for a while. Although this purple fog did not contain Spiritual Qi, there really seemed to be some kind of substance that the world outside did not possess in it. He could not identify what it was, but merely felt that this thing seemed to possess a high level.
Just like Level Ten precious metal completely dominated over Level One material, it possessed a natural advantage.
“It’s no wonder that Xuan Er’s master would come here.” Ling Han nodded. There was no cultivation technique above Seventh Tier in the north region. Thus, if Zhu Xuan Er’s master wanted to break through to the Deity Transformation Tier, she could only think of some other way.
The purple fog affected visibility and blocked divine sense, causing the group of three to be only capable of seeing about six meters ahead. Their divine sense’s range was also the same. If they met with any kind of ambush at this time, they would definitely be caught unawares.
Hong!
They had just been thinking about ambush, and they really did meet with an ambush as a pile of purple fog took the form of a leopard that rapidly pounced towards them. It was astonishingly fast, and was definitely not inferior to the Heaven Tier.
Ling Han gave a humph and formed his hands into seals, clapping down in the direction of the purple leopard.
Earth Overturning Seal!
Both his hands were covered with patterns that exuded golden light, just like the light of the universe, and
actually managed to disperse a bit of the purple fog.
… Although he had restored the Earth Overturning Seal’s single-handed version, he had not drawn his sword now, so, naturally, it was stronger to use it with two hands.
The purple leopard was unafraid, opening its large mouth to bite him.
It was obviously formed by fog, yet they seemed to be able to see its eerie white fangs and blood-red tongue, which made it look very twisted.
Peng!
The Earth Overturning Seal clapped down on the purple leopard’s body. Golden light shot out in all directions, and it instantly exploded from the impact, turning back into purple fog that vanished in the valley.
Although the opponent could not even last a single strike, Ling Han’s expression was a little serious as he said, “It had the battle prowess of a single Star of the Deity Transformation Tier. Furthermore… it seems capable of using a sliver of power of regulation!” He raised his hand, and they could see there was actually a wound on his palm, though it was very shallow.
Its battle prowess of merely a single Star of the Deity Transformation Tier was actually capable of tearing his physical defenses. Even if it was just a bit, it was shocking enough.
His current physique was something that could match Level Nine precious metal in toughness. Even if an ordinary Heaven Tier cultivator threw furious blows in his direction, it would be very difficult to injure him unless a considerable number of Heaven Tier cultivators joined forces and refined him like they would Level Nine precious metal—only then would it be possible that he would be refined successfully.
Yet now, he was actually injured by a Demonic Beast formed out of fog!
This was really hard to believe.
“No wonder Xuan Er’s master suffered a Dao injury. This place is really not simple, and is not inferior to the Dark Devil Forest in any way!” Ling Han said seriously.
“Then we had better retreat. There’s meat to eat outside and carrots to chew, so why must we come here to seek our own discomfort?” Although Rabbit felt a strong curiosity as well, it obviously had a greater fear of death.
Alchemy Emperor of the Divine Dao c1-1294 Page 385