Chapter 514 - 513: Mission
"Must you be so shocked that the Evil Soul was killed?" Bai Shuihuang watched them, a flash of killing intent in her beautiful eyes. If not for her fear of immediately starting a war with the Celestial Nether Divine Kingdom, she would have struck at once and killed Ming Chen right then and there.
Bai Shuihuang’s cultivation was far superior to Ming Chen’s, so killing him wouldn’t have been an issue. The truly terrifying part, however, was the faction backing him!
They needed to dismantle them piece by piece. By the time the Celestial Nether Divine Kingdom realized what was happening, more than half of their strength would be gone. Starting a war then would undoubtedly be much easier.
A passive defense was inferior to launching a direct, forceful assault and showing them the might of the Phoenix Race.
"Well, that is a bit of a surprise. The Phoenix Race has been unable to solve this difficult problem for so long, so for it to be resolved so suddenly is rather startling," Ming Chen said with a congratulatory smile. "In any case, since the Phoenix Race has handled it, it seems our help is no longer needed. We apologize for the intrusion."
"Nonsense. We are very grateful that you came to offer your help. It’s just that we’ve already dealt with the matter, so we feel terrible that you came all this way for nothing. Why don’t you stay with our clan for a few days? We of the Phoenix Race would be honored to host you both. What do you say?" Bai Shuihuang’s faint smile was pointed. She seized the opportunity, repeatedly emphasizing that they had dealt with the Evil Soul themselves, which made Ming Chen’s face twitch.
"That won’t be necessary. We only rushed here because we were concerned about the Phoenix Race’s situation. Now that everything is resolved, there’s no need for us to disturb you further," Ming Chen offered an apologetic smile.
Soon after, they said their goodbyes and departed in a hurry.
As he watched them leave, Yi Tianyun’s eyes glinted. ’If Ming Chen had been alone, I could have secretly followed him and finished him off. But with several Spirit King Stage experts present, dealing with them would be a struggle. Unless my cultivation improves further, taking on even two Spirit King Stage experts would put me under considerable pressure.’
’Looks like I need to raise my cultivation level quickly. There are just too many experts out there...’ Yi Tianyun’s eyes flashed. His progress was already swift, but he needed to be even swifter!
’I don’t need to reach the Spirit King Stage. Breaking through to the eighth or ninth level of the Void Spirit Stage would be enough to utterly crush Ming Chen!’
"What’s wrong? Frustrated that they got away?" Bai Shuihuang said in a low voice. "To be honest, I wanted to take their lives right here, too. But that would have completely exposed our plans..."
"Indeed. It is a bit frustrating watching our target just swagger away," Yi Tianyun said with a faint smile. "But next time, he won’t be walking out."
Bai Shuihuang stared at him, momentarily stunned. ’Such confidence. Could Yi Tianyun already be at the Spirit King Stage? She certainly couldn’t sense it; at most, he felt to be at the Void Spirit Stage.’
"It seems you’re full of confidence. Having a partner as powerful as you is truly a fortunate thing," Bai Shuihuang said with a laugh.
Yi Tianyun nodded without speaking. He felt equally fortunate to have a powerful ally like the Phoenix Race. With them running interference, it would be difficult for the Celestial Nether Divine Kingdom to attack the Mortal Realm.
"Ding! The forces of the Celestial Cloud Mansion have successfully overthrown a faction of sin. Acquired 100,000,000 Experience, 1,000,000 Madness Value, and 50,000 Sin Value! Acquired Item: Tenfold Experience Card."
A message popped up, and his eyes lit up. ’No wonder I kept getting notifications about Xu Fei killing powerful enemies. So they took out a den of bandits.’ The Netherworld Continent was full of such entrenched factions.
If the Celestial Cloud Mansion was to firmly establish an Empire here, these factions first had to be completely cleaned out. Otherwise, it would be impossible to gain a stable foothold.
’Looks like while I’m working hard over here, they’re working just as hard...’ Yi Tianyun was deeply gratified. He believed this was only the beginning and that they would soon report even greater victories.
Of course, the rewards he received were much more substantial this way, although the item drops were limited. ’If I had gone to kill them myself, I would’ve gotten piles of equipment.’
"Ding! The forces of the Celestial Cloud Mansion have successfully overthrown a faction of sin. Acquired 80,000,000 Experience, 800,000 Madness Value, and 30,000 Sin Value!"
Before long, the pleasant notification sound rang out again, leaving him stunned once more. ’It seems they’ve split their forces to eliminate different factions.’ This was the advantage of having a powerful organization; they were no longer dispatching just one team at a time, but several.
’Too bad they aren’t my generals, otherwise the experience I’d gain would be even more astonishing!’
"What’s with the sudden laughter?" Bai Shuihuang found it odd when Yi Tianyun suddenly started to laugh. Just a moment ago, he had been frustrated about Ming Chen getting away, and now he was laughing. How could it not be strange?
"It’s nothing, I just remembered something," Yi Tianyun said with a smile.
"Alright. In that case, we’re about to put a major plan into motion. Would you be willing to participate?" Bai Shuihuang inquired.
"What’s the plan?" Yi Tianyun’s eyes lit up. If the Phoenix Race didn’t have a mission for him, he was planning to take action on his own anyway.
"We’re going to raid one of the Celestial Nether Divine Kingdom’s treasure vaults and seize their resources!" Bai Shuihuang clenched her fist, smiling. "My initial investigation has pinpointed a general location, but it will be difficult to breach. We’ll have to sneak in. If you’re up to the task, you can join the operation. How about it?"
"A treasure vault? Where is it?" Yi Tianyun asked.
"There’s no harm in telling you. It’s at the Celestial Nether Altar! The intelligence I gathered is highly accurate, but it’s incredibly difficult to break into," Bai Shuihuang said, shaking her head.
"The Celestial Nether Altar..." Yi Tianyun’s eyes brightened. He had never been to the place, but he knew how to get there. More importantly, he knew how to get deep inside.
Because the place marked on the Netherworld Treasure Map in his possession was, in fact, the Celestial Nether Altar!
This wasn’t hard to figure out. He had obtained the map from Ming Chen’s group, so it was bound to be related to them. The overlap was perfectly logical.
’Looks like I have no choice but to go on this mission...’
Yi Tianyun smiled, brimming with confidence. He might not know about other places, but he was quite familiar with this Celestial Nether Altar.
"Oh? You seem to know the Celestial Nether Altar well?" Bai Shuihuang asked, puzzled. "Didn’t you just come from the Mortal Realm? How could you be so familiar with this place?"
"You could say that. I just so happen to know the route to the Celestial Nether Altar, and what’s more, I know the situation inside. So, what do you think? Should I go?" Yi Tianyun said with a grin.
"You really do?" Bai Shuihuang slapped him on the back in her excitement and laughed. "You sly kid, you’re full of surprises! If that’s really true, this will be a massive contribution!"
The slap was surprisingly hard and actually stung a little. In the next moment, Bai Shuihuang reverted to her usual carefree demeanor, leaving Yi Tianyun unable to get a read on her.
"Ding! Quest accepted: ’Breach the Celestial Nether Altar and Seize the Treasure.’ Completion Reward: 300,000,000 Experience, 1,000,000 Madness Value, 50,000 Sin Value, Phoenix Race Favorability +100."
The new quest notification brought a smile to his lips. This was exactly the result he wanted.