Chapter 129: Criticized; Rat Sniffing for Opportunities!
Chapter 129: Criticized; Rat Sniffing for Opportunities!
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Chi Ling and Ye Ling also encountered trouble.
Not long after they entered the Ancient Immortal Continent, they encountered a powerful beast at the True God Realm that resembled a rhinoceros.
Although Chi Ling was a Young Supreme, she was only in the Initial Stage of the Conferred King Realm, and only had the might to contend with a False God Realm master.
Dealing with a True God was something she found hard.
Even if she used a Mystical Weapon, she wouldn’t be able to kill it without using some forbidden art or treasure.
But…she couldn’t bear to do that.
She couldn’t comprehend why her luck was so damned, so much so that she encountered a True God Realm beast as soon as she stepped foot on the Continent.
The rhinoceros-like beast was in the Middle Stage of the True God Realm, and held great might..
As soon as it opened its mouth, it would spit out a surging flame that gushed forth like a sea of fire; quite a few of her followers died under its attack, and the rest were frozen in terror.
“Chi Ling, let’s join forces! You attract its attention and I will kill it.”
Right then, Ye Ling, who was hidden among her followers in a disguise, spoke up.
After they entered the Ancient Immortal Continent, he gave Chi Ling quite a few hints to let her know that Gu Changge wasn’t a good person, and she must stay away from him, but Chi Ling seemed to not understand his hints, or maybe, she ignored them on purpose and didn’t care about his opinion.
This left Ye Ling helpless.
After all, Gu Changge’s reputation was far too clean.
What’s more? His appearance could easily trick women, too, so he decided to keep quiet.
But now that he saw the scene in front of him, he could no longer sit still.
Ye Ling had always believed that he could fight those in higher realms, and come out on top; after all, he held innumerable Mystical Abilities and means that allowed him to triumph over countless foes.
Right now, he believed that it was about time he showed Chi Ling and the others just how great he was.
Chi Ling looked over and said nothing when she heard Ye Ling’s words.
“What did you say? Surely, you don’t need to do something so dangerous just to get in the limelight, right?”
“Do you want to court death? Even if you want to get the goddess’s attention, you don’t have to sacrifice your life, right?”
The expression of the rest of Chi Ling’s followers changed, and they couldn’t believe what they heard — some even cursed Ye Ling in rage.
To them, Ye Ling seemed like a toad wanting to get Chi Ling’s attention, and that soured their mood because they, who were stronger than him, now looked like timid fools who dared not go forward.
At the same time, they wondered if the bastard who hadn’t even reached the Conferred King Realm wanted to court death? How dare he say that he would slaughter a beast of the True God Realm with a straight face?
“You are courting death! We are already in a precarious situation, and you are still thinking about scoring some brownie points?”
The group of Chi Ling’s followers, including the female disciples, couldn’t help but show strange expressions when they heard Ye Ling’s claims, and some even ridiculed him.
Ye Ling was used to this form of sarcasm, so he said nothing in response to them. After all, he only appeared to be in the Conferred Lord Realm no matter how they looked at him.
In their opinion, it was impossible for him to win against a True God Realm beast.
What they didn’t know was that he had another identity!
“Open your dog eyes and watch how I do it!”
“Today, I will show you how it’s done!”
[TL/N: finally, it’s here! The protagonist’s time to shine before dog eyes.]
Ye Ling touched his nose out of helplessness and then sneered at the onlookers.
He decided to go all-out to slap these so-called geniuses who looked down on him.
With that, Ye Ling prepared to attack as a black and white light covered his body. Mysterious fluctuations spread from his figure, and the onlookers felt the sky almost fall on their heads.
‘Ye Ling turned out to be so strong…’
Chi Ling couldn’t help but nod in acknowledgement, and felt that they could kill the beast if Ye Ling lent his help.
[Hum!]
Immediately, the void trembled.
Right then, however, a crystal clear and beautiful palm print rushed towards the beast faster than Ye Ling!
The palm print appeared to be carved out of immortal jade as it broke through the void and directly fell on the hill not far away from it with a surge of its mighty divine aura.
With a puff, the beast in the True God Realm found itself injured and terrified as it couldn’t even react to the attack that hit it.
Its hard scales couldn’t stop the palm at all as it tore them apart like a man tears apart paper.
[Hiss!]
The scene in front of them caused all the onlookers to take in a deep breath and look at a hill not too far away from them.
There they saw a group of powerful geniuses wearing golden armor and riding atop powerful, ferocious beasts like knights.
The leader of the group was a gorgeous woman dressed in a hunting robe, with her azure silk-like hair fluttering in the wind. Her eyes were full of deep indifference, and she resembled a peerless Empress as she stood there and watched them!
“It’s her!”
“Yue Mingkong!”
“The Crown Princess of the Supreme Immortal Dynasty!”
All the geniuses of the Vermillion Bird Family showed a change in their countenance out of horror..
Chi Ling couldn’t deal with the beast of the True God Realm, yet the future Empress seriously injured it with a single palm strike.
She was too strong and terrifying!
‘She’s strong! She’s at least above the Middle Stage of the Conferred King Realm, or there’s no way she would be able to injure that beast like that…’
Chi Ling, too, was surprised by Yue Mingkong’s sudden appearance.
She had only recently broken through to the Conferred King Realm, but even if she broke through to the Middle Stage of the Conferred King Realm right now, she reckoned that she wouldn’t be able to match Yue Mingkong.
Although both of them were Young Supremes, it was clear that Yue Mingkong was far stronger than her.
After all, even Young Supremes were divided into Upper, Middle, and Lower Classes.
She was only a Middle Class Young Supreme, while Yue Mingkong was an Upper Class Young Supreme or even higher.
‘Yue Mingkong…’
Ye Ling was also stunned by her sudden appearance, and a look of surprise flashed past his eyes.
Amazement filled his heart every time he encountered this world-famous beauty. She was as gorgeous as a fairy, and seemed to have walked out of an Immortal painting — in his eyes, Yue Mingkong was the most perfect masterpiece sculpted by the Heavens.
Her peerless temperament that made her seem as if she was looking down on everything in the world moved his heart.
‘Dammit! What dog-shit luck! I hate that bastard Gu Changge…’
Ye Ling never thought that Yue Mingkong would one-up him and injure the beast right when he was about to deal with it.
Right now, his heart was full of envy, jealousy, and unwillingness.
He felt that Gu Changge was the one who sent Yue Mingkong to assassinate him the last time, so his hatred for him obviously soared.
There was no way he wouldn’t put that blame on Gu Changge’s head now.
At the same time, Ye Ling remembered that his disguise was perfect beyond measure, so even Yue Mingkong wouldn’t be able to recognize him.
After all, even Gu Changge failed to recognize him…
“Thank you for helping us, Crown Princess Mingkong!”
The young heavenly geniuses of the Vermillion Bird Family expressed their gratitude to Yue Mingkong, who stood in the distance.
Chi Ling showed a complicated expression on her face and then cupped her hands, and said, “Thank you for helping us, Crown Princess Mingkong!”
She knew that Gu Changge was probably the reason Yue Mingkong helped them out of nowhere. And most likely, it wasn’t a friendly gesture from her…but a demonstration for her.
She was declaring her sovereignty over him.
After all, Yue Mingkong clearly saw her happily chatting with Gu Changge on Supreme Peak that day, so it was very likely that she was now demonstrating her might because of the events of that day.
This made Chi Ling show a bitter smile as she had no idea about how to explain herself.
It had to be said that women understood women well, and she clearly guessed the reason behind Yue Mingkong’s actions just now.
Yue Mingkong, who stood on top of a mountain, merely looked at Chi Ling with an indifferent glance and said nothing. After that, she turned around and took her followers towards the depths of the Continent.
She wouldn’t have bothered to take action if she hadn’t seen Chi Ling.
Although she knew that this prideful girl was Gu Changge’s pawn, she still needed to make sure…no one could tell what went through Gu Changge’s mind, after all.
Speaking of which, it was also for Chi Ling’s good, since she was helping her not fall into Gu Changge’s conspiracies.
Alas! Yue Mingkong failed to notice that Ye Ling was hiding among Chi Ling’s followers.
In her last life, Ye Ling wasn’t made to carry the name of the Taboo Inheritance’s successor, so he was able to enter the Ancient Immortal Continent without needing a disguise.
Inside, Ye Ling chanced upon countless opportunities.
Yue Mingkong didn’t know anything else about him other than these facts.
Of course, the most important matter for her was to get opportunities that some Young Supremes had gotten in her previous life — Yue Mingkong knew the exact location of those opportunities, after all.
Yue Mingkong held complete confidence in the fact that this trip to the Ancient Immortal Continent would allow her to reach the False God Realm without issue.
And if she could get her hands on the Immortal Spirit, then it won’t be impossible for her to directly break through to the Sacred Realm either.
After all, the Immortal Spirit was the source of an actual Immortal, and even Supremes would salivate over it.
‘According to my memories from my past life, the Ancient Immortal Continent will fall into turmoil any time now as someone will destroy the ancestral tombs of the aborigines…’
‘I never thought too much into the matter back then, but it must have been Gu Changge who sneaked in there somehow.’
‘He holds the [Immortal Devouring Demonic Art] and the ancestral tombs of the aborigines hold the corpses of mighty immortals from ancient times…as long as their corpses haven’t decayed to the point of losing all their origin, Gu Changge will be able to swallow them and raise his power.’
‘The Ancient Immortal Continent is his natural breeding ground. I can’t imagine just how high his Cultivation Base will be by the time he leaves the Ancient Immortal Continent…’
‘What’s more? Gu Changge is also eyeing the Immortal Spirit that is about to be born.’
Yue Mingkong rubbed her glabella and felt a sense of powerlessness and discouragement. Even though she knew all this, there was nothing she could do about it.
Gu Changge was far too terrifying.
Be it his strength or means, he seemed to leave no openings for others to attack him.
Although she was a regressor and could guess Gu Changge’s actions, she couldn’t do anything to stop him, so what use was her regression?
Although Gu Changge said that he couldn’t bring himself to kill her a few days ago, Yue Mingkong didn’t trust him completely as she understood his temperament better than anyone else and knew that his statements held no credibility.
Even though she could sleep more peacefully now, staying by Gu Changge’s side still meant that she was in great danger at all times.
After all, Gu Changge from her past life traumatized her beyond measure.
She didn’t believe that Gu Changge’s ruthless heart could change.
The reason he didn’t kill her, and even treated her well, was because she held some value in Gu Changge’s eyes.
It was because of this that Yue Mingkong kept on thinking about methods to increase her strength as soon as possible.
‘Xian’er’s actions and fate hasn’t changed all that much since she offended the Sea King Palace just like what I remember. Although they will hunt her and she will end up in a sure-death situation, she will end up escaping by a hair’s breadth. Instead of dying at their hands, she will break through during the battle and turn her situation around.’
Yue Mingkong’s expression showed no change even though she thought about countless matters. After that, she brought her followers towards the closest place of opportunity she knew about.
She recalled that in her past life, a Young Supreme found a corner of an Emperor-level Formation in this direction.
Just then, Ye Ling sensed fluctuations of battle from not too far away, and turned towards that direction with a frown.
His expression changed as soon as he looked in the direction and saw a figure dressed in red escaping in his direction.
‘That’s…Yin Mei…’
‘She’s in danger!’
Ye Ling moved without hesitation when he saw her in a predicament; his figure turned into a brilliant ray of light and flew into Yin Mei's direction.
To him, Yin Mei wasn't just Bai Lie's fiancee, but she was also a witness who could prove that he wasn't the one who murdered Bai Lie.
"Ye Li—"
Chi Ling frowned when he saw his actions, but then decided not to care about Ye Ling anymore. After all, even though he was following her as one of her followers, he didn't really listen to any of her commands.
She didn't care, but that didn't mean her other followers weren't extremely dissatisfied by Ye Ling.
After all, that bastard ran away without telling anyone, and didn't even listen to Chi Ling's instructions.
"I keep thinking that this guy is quite strange — do any of you know when he came in with us?"
Just then, someone couldn't help but ask in wonder.
"He wouldn't be the successor of the Taboo Inheritance sneaking in with us?"
Another person couldn't help but say, but a lot of his friends showed him a cold expression.
The successor of the Taboo Inheritance made a lot of noise recently, and that made countless people panic.
They felt suspicious of Ye Ling now.
Right now, Chi Ling couldn't help but feel helpless and find an excuse to explain Ye Ling's existence.
Still, Ye Ling's behavior dissatisfied her quite a bit. She helped him out of kindness, yet he seemed to take her help for granted.
‘Ye Ling indeed can't compare to Daoist Brother Changge.'
Chi Ling shook her head and said nothing as Ye Ling brought her disappointment over disappointment.
On the other side, Ye Ling watched Yin Mei fight against a brilliant-looking Young Supreme. Mountains collapsed as they clashed, and fierce wind swept away sand and gravel.
The two used all sorts of treasures against each other, and brilliant runes flooded the place as they attacked both parties.
Still, he could see that Yin Mei was the one at a disadvantage; she had a haggard appearance and blood trickled down from the corner of her mouth.
Her followers, on the other hand, were entangled by a fierce beast, so they couldn't come forward to help her.
‘Yin Mei's in danger! I must help her.'
Ye Ling didn't hesitate in taking action. He had experienced countless such situations where he would play the hero saving a beauty, so he was used to the actions he needed to take.
So, now that he went forward, he was obviously not afraid of failure.
He attacked with a scarlet dagger at once.
[Shua!]
A terrifying tear appeared in the sky as the dagger turned into a crimson glow and reached the target at breakneck speed, like a rainbow with a single color.
"Who is it?!"
The Young Supreme resembled a young god covered in flames, and radiated a mighty aura.
As soon as the dagger targeted him, he sensed it and used his strong Mystical Abilities to counter it.
At the same time, he glanced at Ye Ling, who tried to assassinate him, and frowned.
For some reason, he always felt that the woman in front of him, Yin Mei, wasn't going all out and intentionally letting him beat her down.
So, now that he saw another person join the fray, he decided to give up on fighting her. He no longer cared about the sword grass, so he turned into a brilliant ray of light and left the scene.
A glint flashed past Yin Mei's eyes, but her expression showed no change, and she said with a grateful-yet-curious tone, "Thank you for your help, Daoist Brother!"
From what Gu Changge told her, the white-faced handsome man in front of her was Ye Ling in disguise.
After all, only someone fond of women like him would rush to be ‘a hero saving a beauty' whether it was risky or not.
Yin Mei couldn't help but mock him in her heart.
Ye Ling hesitated in responding to Yin Mei after listening to her words.
After all, if he chose to reveal his identity, and Yin Mei turned out to have some malicious intentions towards him, then he would end up in danger.
However, after thinking for a while, and recalling Yin Mei's temperament and past actions, he chose to believe in her and said, "Yin Mei, I am Ye Ling!"
"What?!"
Yin Mei's eyes widened in shock and disbelief when she listened to his words, and she asked in a hurry, "Are you trying to court death? How dare you come here and still have the guts to reveal your identity?"
"Why are you so dumb? What if I wanted to harm you?"
Right now, she looked even more anxious and worried for Ye Ling than his own mother.
If Gu Changge were to see her right now, he would surely praise her for her ingenuity.
Her acting skills surely made her worthy of being the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox Family's Holy Maiden.
Be it her expression or words, everything was on point and one couldn't find any flaws in her acting.
Ye Ling was thoroughly confused by her response.
He felt his heart move when he saw Yin Mei's worry and concern for him.
There was still someone in the world who believed in him!
Sure enough, he didn't misunderstand Yin Mei.
Ye Ling lowered his voice and said to Yin Mei, "Don't worry, my disguise is perfect and no one would be able to see through me."
Yin Mei calmed down after listening to his words, but there was still some worry visible on her face.
"You are too bold! How could you come in here? Don't you know countless cultivators are looking for you?"
"You know I was framed by someone! I will soon find a way to prove my innocence; the reason I came to the Ancient Immortal Continent is that it has what I want."
Ye Ling replied.
Yin Mei nodded in response to his words.
"Yin Mei, you don't think I murdered Big Bro Bai Li?"
Ye Ling couldn't help but ask out of curiosity.
Yin Mei shook her head and then looked into Ye Ling's eyes and said, "I never doubted you! Although Bai Lie was enraged after you left that night, he wasn't enraged to the point where he would want to murder you."
"He wouldn't disregard your brotherhood cultivated over many years…what's more? He believed in your character."
"Also, I don't believe that you would do something like that!"
Her tone held not the slightest bit of doubt.
Ye Ling never thought that Yin Mei would trust him so much, and that further moved his heart and said, "The one who framed me was…"
Anyway, Yin Mei had also offended Gu Changge, so Ye Ling felt no hesitation in telling her his thoughts, so as to increase Yin Mei's caution towards Gu Changge when inside the Heavenly Immortal Dao Palace.
"What?! It's Senior Brother Gu?"
Yin Mei showed extreme shock at Ye Ling's revelation, and fright and disbelief covered her face.
In her heart, however, she said, ‘Master wasn't wrong! This Ye Ling's brain isn't completely in the trash, and he's already suspecting Master. Alas! He's smart but not smart enough.'
She secretly shook her head.
Before, Ye Ling succeeded in introducing himself as Yin Mei's ‘old friend' in front of her followers.
Chi Ling and the other's were shocked when they learned the news, and didn't know what to say.
Still, Chi Ling and Yin Mei decided to work together for the time being for Ye Ling's sake.
After that, their group headed towards the depths of the Continent.
Ye Ling kept smiling all the way.
On the way, he slowly revealed his means and convinced everyone around him that he wasn't weak. At the same time, everyone got to know about his heaven-defying luck that allowed him to chance upon countless rare herbs and treasures.
He even found some Divine Armaments buried underground.
‘Turtle Bro, can we really find the Dao Enlightenment Platform of the Ancient Heavenly Emperor of Reincarnation if I follow your lead?'
Ye Ling asked the turtle in his pendant. Right now, he was extremely confident as everyone in his surroundings subconsciously treated him as their leader.
‘Yeah! The Heavenly Emperor specially left the Platform behind for you, and you will surely find a lot of good stuff once you get to the Enlightenment Platform.'
The old turtle said to Ye Ling.
Ye Ling's excitement soared when he listened to the turtle's answer.
What he didn't know was that Yin Mei kept a close eye on him!
At the same time, she carefully left a trail for Gu Changge, worrying that Gu Changge might not be able to find them otherwise.
After all, the Ancient Immortal Continent was massive.
So she made these preparations just in case.
No one noticed her actions, however.
Yin Mei couldn't help but mock the excited Ye Ling in her heart, and thought, ‘Not only is he helping Master take all the blame, but he's also helping Master look for opportunities everywhere; oh, how poor you are, Ye Ling!'
[Release Note(s)]
Full-length chapters go brrr… (it's a permanent return)