Rise of Humanity

by <unknown>

  Ma Shaojun was shocked, he turned to Shang Qing, and the latter nodded at him. Rays flashed across Ma Shaojun’s eyes and he laughed, “It’s a wise choice you’ve made to not act rashly. Only an outstanding expert can acquired nine divine herbs in such a lawless place like Returning Ruins. Brother Shang Qing can never protect the two of you while battling with such an opponent at the same time! However, my junior martial brothers and I can work together with the three of you, that way, there will be no dangers anymore. Where is this man at?”

  Rays flashed across Shang Qing’s eyes as well, and he smiled in reply, “Not far from here, just behind of us. However, I ask for your pardon as I have no ill-intentions of not working with Brother Shaojun, but that he is a friend of mine. We’ve met before, and I can’t have possibly killed him for his treasures. I can’t join with Brother Shaojun in this. I’m sorry for that and I wish you luck. If you will, please excuse us!”

  As he finished saying, Shang Qing then turned and left with his two followers.

  Ma Shaojun watched as they left, rays flashed across his eyes, and he looked toward the direction where Zhong Yue was at. He strode forward in firm steps and sneered coldly as he said, “Cowards. They are afraid of him, but we aren’t!”

  The two Tian Si Qi Practitioners then quickly followed behind.

  It wasn’t too far before Shang Qing stopped moving and the middle-aged Qi Practitioner finally had a chance to ask, “Why didn’t mister join hands with Senior Martial Brother Shaojun?”

  “What is in it for us?”

  Shang Qing sneered coldly, he said, “An alliance formed has to split every penny among the allies. But … if I let Ma Shaojun fight Zhong Yue, no matter if either any one of the parties won or both suffered great damages, I will still be able to snatch the end prize from them all. Be it Ma Shaojun or Zhong Yue, their treasures will all be mine!”

  The two Qi Practitioners were stunned, they then praised, “Mister, praise your intelligence!”

  Shang Qing turned, and they went back the same path as they came, he was saying placidly, “When the mantis is stalking at the cicada, it would be oblivious of the oriole behind it. Now, we shall turn back and nicely play the role of oriole. We shall claim all the goods for our own use!”

  The three of them quickly rushed back, they could hear the sounds of weapon clashings and hollers of cultivators coming from the battlefield, growing louder in their ears as they drew nearer. Shang Qing was overjoyed, he thought in his heart, They did clashed! Ma Shaojun, Zhong Yue, both of you are too naive to ever fight with me!

  Then, the three of them saw a sky-piercing ray coming from the back of a mountain. Then, there were the godly totem patterns moving around.

  Dong, dong, dong——

  There was the sounds of drum thrumming and also neighs of horses and clattering voices as the horse herd started galloping on the field. Clearly, Zhong Yue and Ma Shaojun have clashed together.

  From the sounds created from the clashing of skills and divine weapons, Shang Qing could tell that Zhong Yue and Ma Shaojun have fought all their might right from the start. Their attacks were fierce and violent as both attempted to kill the other one in strong force.

  Their prowesses are really strong! But the stronger the fight, the more severe their injuries would be and the faster they will die!

  Shang Qing and his followers hiked the mountain and reached the other side. They looked forward and met right with a soul trembling scene — Zhong Yue was in the form of a human-headed snake, he clenched the Golden Peng Sword and pointed the sword tip on Ma Shaojun’s throat on the ground. While a loud thundering noise crashed within Zhong Yue’s light wheels and Ma Shaojun was shattered into pieces!

  Shang Qing was shocked, his heart shuddered and it was this moment, Zhong Yue’s divine third eye opened. A flash of godly ray flitted out thrusting at him!

  Shang Qing quickly put his hands out from the sleeves and held a divine mirror in front of him. The godly ray shot on the divine mirror and was reflected back at Zhong Yue!

  Zhong Yue let out a raging roar, the Kui Long Divine Drum flew out and he swung his snake tail out with incredible force. The divine drum was struck, and a loud booming noise was created, breaking the godly rays into three parts and shot them back at Shang Qing!

  Dong——

  The Kui Long Divine Drum was also shot out and rammed on the divine mirror, pushing it down and caused Shang Qing to take a few steps back to unload the impact force but was unharmed. While his two followers were not that fortunate as him, they were struck by the godly rays and blasted into two clouds of blood mist!

  The Kui Long Divine Drum then flew flew revolving back to Zhong Yue and entered the Yuan Shen secret realms behind him. Zhong Yue raised his head and looked at Shang Qing, he then said in his usual calm tone, “Brother Shang Qing, I just said they are dead men. So how can I go back on my words? Now, I’ve killed them right in front of you, because I want to let you know something you would be wise to remember — that I am a man of my word.”

  Chapter 450: Heaven River Swamp |

  Shang Qing’s face slightly faltered; the two Qi Practitioners that died in Zhong Yue’s hands were, in fact, his martial brothers. Who would’ve thought that Zhong Yue wouldn’t even think to negotiate before just killing them!

  Ma Shaojun and the others were also killed in the same anticlimactic fashion!

  “What is this, Senior Martial Brother Zhong?”

  Shang Qing’s face returned to normal and he placed his hands in the sleeves again. But the divine mirror was left outside, it hovered in mid-air and flew into the light wheels behind him. He said placidly, “Senior Martial Brother Zhong, don’t you think you are a little overbearing to just kill my martial brothers right when we arrived?”

  Zhong Yue shifted his sights at Shang Qing’s sleeves as if he were trying to see through what was underneath them. Zhong Yue then answered placidly as well, “If only you hadn’t come back, your martial brothers wouldn’t have had to die. But you did, and so you brought them straight to hell.”

  It wasn’t hard for Shang Qing to understand what Zhong Yue meant by that.

  When Zhong Yue saw them coming back, he instantly knew that it was Shang Qing who told Ma Shaojun of his presence. As for Shang Qing coming back right after he and Ma Shaojun clashed, he could easily tell what Shang Qing was planning, and that was to be the oriole lying in wait.

  Since Shang Qing had such thoughts, there was no reason for Zhong Yue to spare their lives anymore!

  Shang Qing’s face turned gloomy, and his hands could be seen moving inside the sleeves. Zhong Yue’s face also turned solemn as he readied himself.

  Shang Qing was not a good target to tamper with, definitely not!

  This was a strong opponent. From just the two bouts they had just now, Zhong Yue could tell that Shang Qing’s arcane energy was no any weaker than his. And also that bizarre divine weapon, it had reflected the godly rays from the divine eye and shot it back at Zhong Yue!

  What was more scary was that Kui Long Divine Drum’s power was also reflected by the divine mirror!

  Such a strong divine weapon, this was the first time Zhong Yue had ever seen something like this.

  Furthermore, what caused Zhong Yue’s heart to tighten more than anything else was whatever Shang Qing had in his sleeves. He had already revealed the divine mirror, and yet, his hands were still in the sleeves. This was more than enough to prove that the divine mirror was not Shang Qing’s trump card.

  There must be another divine weapon in his sleeves, one that exceeded the divine mirror!

  Although Zhong Yue had cultivated his Awakening and Atman Body cultivation level to the extremity, his Inner ore and Heavenly Dharma had significant flaws. His cultivation in these two levels was not as refined as the Kun Lun Qi Practitioners’ were. On the other hand, this Shang Qing was an expert among the Kun Lun Qi Practitioners, a young god and a formidable opponent for Zhong Yue!

  The two of them locked eyes, an
d their auras surged out while their clothes began to flutter.

  Suddenly, there were noises coming from a distance away from them, and some Qi Practitioners were heading in their direction. The two of them frowned while Shang Qing left without hesitation.

  He didn’t hesitate at all when he left… What a decisive man.

  Zhong Yue dispersed his rising aura as well. It wasn’t smart to fight with others potentially waiting by the side for an opportunity to attack, and it was because of this that Shang Qing had turned and left.

  Husan Weng then suddenly asked, “This brat is strong. He must have some other strong weapons with him, you think you can beat him?”

  “He is strong, but I’m stronger!”

  Zhong Yue smiled, he answered, “In the Returning Ruins, I haven’t met anyone that is stronger than me other than the magnates. The first time we met, Shang Qing didn’t dare to fight me with his true strength. The last time we met, it was the same. Although he is strong, his mind is weak, and he takes way too much into consideration. The next time we meet, it’ll be fine whether or not he walks away. If it's the former, then I shall send him to reunite with his two dead martial brothers!”

  Husan Weng curled its lips and mumbled, “What a braggart!”

  Zhong Yue was indifferent to Husan’s attitude, and he continued walking forward. He soon saw a few demon Qi Practitioners looking at him from the other side of the mountain; it was precisely those that scared Shang Qing away.

  Although the few demon Qi Practitioners saw Zhong Yue, they didn’t do anything as the distance between the two parties were way too far beyond their reach.

  Zhong Yue and the demon Qi Practitioners exchanged a look, and it wasn’t long before the demon Qi Practitioners noticed the huge carrot beside Zhong Yue. They were startled for a moment but regained their usual composure and ignored Zhong Yue to continue their journey,

  Zhong Yue and the demon Qi Practitioners went on separate ways, moving in different directions.

  In front of them were clouds of grey mist. They usually hung in ruins and valleys, and when the breeze blew over, the grey mist would move as well.

  The few demon Qi Practitioners had walked right into the grey mist and disappeared from his vision. But after some time, when the grey mist flew away, the demon Qi Practitioners were still nowhere to be seen. Zhong Yue’s heart then skipped a beat, and he quickly looked around and confirmed his visions — the demon Qi Practitioners have disappeared as well!

  Where did they go?

  A cold chill traveled down his spine. The demon Qi Practitioners were not weaklings, and the grey mist’s coverage was rather limited. Logically speaking, there was no way for them to not walk out from the grey mist!

  Strange, how strange!

  Suddenly, a patch of grey mist flew toward Zhong Yue. Seeing what happened to the demon Qi Practitioners, Zhong Yue sidestepped it, and the grey mist flew past his side. Zhong Yue activated his divine third eye to inspect the mist and shocked at what he found.

  “How is this … possible!?”

  This wasn’t mist, but an uncountable number of stars and planets that were greyish black in color and compressed to a point as small as the water vapors. They were condensed together and moved in a clump like mist.

  However, Zhong Yue knew what they truly were. Celestial bodies that might even be larger than any planet he had ever been on and were compressed down to particles that were imperceptible to the naked eye. They were crashing, crumbling, shrinking and compressing unceasingly!

  These were dead stars and planets — barren and deserted celestial bodies that were compressed and constrained to a limited space!

  And the breeze that blew on them was the cosmic winds that were only present in space.

  What would happen if one walked into it?

  Even if you don’t die, you wouldn’t be able to walk out from there as well. Even if you fly at full speed for the rest of your life, you won’t be able to fly out from the grey mist at all. But what’s more probable is that you will just be killed by the cosmic wind the moment you walk into it!

  Zhong Yue grew even more cautious. He had maintained his divine third eye all the time. Before this, he was still worried that opening the divine third eye would consume too much power, but seeing that the God's Land was so dangerous, he couldn’t risk it.

  The God's Land was so dangerous that even the huge carrot tensed itself and was incredibly cautious when leading the way. It had been here before, but it wouldn’t call itself familiar with this place. After all, there were too many dangers that may also change and morph over time. It could only barely determine the location of the Immortality Peach Tree and headed toward there.

  Along the way, Zhong Yue met quite a number of Qi Practitioners that were heading in the same direction as him. He thought, Seems like there are also people that have been here before. Some might even have knowledge on which paths to use. Perhaps, they have a map?

  “We are now at the Heaven River Swamp.”

  Husan Weng was now even more nervous as it mumbled, “Everything here now will be water and water only. We need to be careful, we mustn’t…”

  A godly ray burst out from the river surface and a crocodile-like skeleton gnawed on a few Qi Practitioners that were treading on the river surface.

  There was even a True Spirit magnate among the crocodile-like skeleton’s victims. Yet, he couldn’t even put up a fight and was killed by the skeleton and was brought into the swamp.

  Husan Weng was still saying, “... alert … alert those big guys in the swamp…”

  Seeing what had just happened, Zhong Yue turned even more cautious. He would scan every inch of the swamp before walking on them. If he had found anything strange around him, he would then immediately change his route.

  With Husan Weng and the divine third eye, Zhong Yue was able to keep himself safe treading on the river surface. While although the other Qi Practitioners have the maps, they might not be able to survive either as the topography of the swamps and the river would change over time. Some of these maps then only be leading unfortunate souls to the skeleton’s mouth.

  In comparison, Zhong Yue’s way of moving was still relatively safer, but the downside was its slower speed.

  Other than him using the divine third eye, Zhong Yue could also find a few others scanning their surroundings with their divine eyes as well. Clearly, these were the more cautious ones that didn’t place their lives in the maps they were given.

  It wasn’t strange for the others to have divine third eyes. Some of the strong and great races had them too. The Western Mother Celestial Race and the demon race’s Asura Saint Clan with their Asura Divine Eye were a couple of races that had divine eyes.

  But this was the God's Land, and those at the bottom of the river were gods. Their skeletons were affected by the residue energy of the Six Paths Reincarnation that had gone through unpredictable changes. This was something that not even the divine eyes could have seen through, and thus, many were still caught up by the skeletal hands or claws or mouths that rippled out from the water surface.

  “A ship!” Suddenly, a Qi Practitioner could be heard shouting out loud.

  Zhong Yue looked over to the direction where the Qi Practitioner was pointing at. There, a huge warship a hundred miles long was horizontally anchored on the river surface.

  The warship was heavily damaged and defaced with holes, one could even see through to the other side through some of the holes.

  “Weird, I didn’t see it the last time I was here…” Husan Weng mumbled lowly.

  The other Qi Practitioners were also puzzled, “This warship … my predecessors had never spoken of it in the records of the Heaven River Swamp before!”

  Some of the Qi Practitioners then took out their ancestor’s recordings and flipped through the books. They were discussing and mumbling but there wasn’t a single word about it.

  Zhong Yue furrowed his brow, he stopped moving and watched a few Qi Practitioners moving
toward it to cross it.

  As the Qi Practitioners neared to it, their hairs began to fall to the ground, and their muscles fell off from their bodies. It was only a few moments before they fully turned into walking skeletons that quickly shattered to pieces on the ground!

  “The imperial warship that was ejected from the black hole!”

  Husan Weng exclaimed in shock, “No wonder I saw a streak of light flitting across the sky into the core of Returning Ruins. It was this warship!”

  Zhong Yue then quickly asked, “Those that came out from Returning Ruins, are they really that strange?”

  “More than you can imagine!”

  The huge carrot said loudly, “Those things that were ejected from the black hole carry either one of the two attributes. Either they were extremely slow in the flow of time, or they were extremely fast. To some of them, the flow of time is nearly close to completely stopping, it’d be as if thousands of years had gone by, when in fact, it had only been seconds in the real world! While some, you’d feel like just a few seconds had passed, but in reality, thousands of years had elapsed! This warship must be the latter one. Those guys tried go across the warship, but before they could, their lives had already ended from the warped flow of time!”

  “Is there really such a thing in this world?” Clamor rose across the Heaven River Swamp. Many Qi Practitioners heard Husan Weng and looked at the huge carrot, and their eyes flared in envy.

  Although their predecessors had recorded their own experiences of the Returning Ruins, the time they spent here was limited, and thus, their records were still unable to provide much insight. However, Zhong Yue captured a native divine herb which could lead the way. This greatly reduced the danger he would have to face.

  In the Returning Ruins, there were many divine herbs, but they were incredibly difficult to captured. What was even rarer was that those divine herbs that could speak, and even rarer, those that knew well of the various dangers!

  Husan Weng was one of the rarest divine herbs. This huge carrot liked to roam around, traveling to many places, and despite it being only an ordinary divine herb, it had the balls to enter the God's Land to try and steal some divine soil for itself.