Chapter 1030: The War Begins

The situation in the Green Ancient Mystery Dimension was becoming increasingly complicated. Good and bad intermingled, and people of varying levels of power existed. There even people from different mystery dimensions who had come over to join the crowd here. They harbored no ill intentions towards the Ming Palace and were here solely here to join in the fun. Those who were here to spectate were really only here to do that. Never mind that others were out there fighting to their deaths and shaking up the world. This had absolutely nothing to do with them; to them, the fight was but another conversation topic during dinner.

Mo Wen and Gu Jingman spent a good half month in seclusion. As the leader of the Ming Palace, his general state of health was naturally of the utmost importance. His disappearance for such a long time had generated all sorts of rumors outside. Ultimately, it appeared as if everyone agreed that Mo Wen and Gu Jingman had both suffered grievous injuries, so they had to be in seclusion.

There was no way to trace who started this rumor, but they really hit the mark.

Wang Yinru was down in the dumps and a little concerned at the same time. There was no way this could be kept under wraps forever. Mo Wen and Gu Jingman were acting strange, and the people outside had ultimately caught on. The Green Ancient Mystery Dimension might seem calm on the surface, but things were becoming increasingly tense. It was difficult to tell when it would come to a head.

As the Deputy Palace Lord for the Ming Palace, she could not afford to waver at this moment. She had to take charge of everything within the sect while preparing for the storm to come.

Intentionless City was very heavily guarded now. The Ming Palace disciples were acting as a garrison, stationed on the city walls. Anyone coming in or going out through the city gate would be subjected to intense checks.

Martial art practitioners with high levels of cultivation were patrolling the city non-stop from the skies to ensure they could respond to mishaps in time. The city had already been in lockdown, and no one could fly in as they wished; only those on patrol could do so.

It was indeed not excessive to be this cautious. The martial art practitioners from the Peng Lai Immortal Realm were, at the very least, at the Martial Arts Grandmaster Realm, and they posed the greatest threat to the Ming Palace. If ultimate martial arts masters like Mo Wen and Gu Jingman were not here on their side, the vanguard alone would be able to wipe out the Ming Palace several times over.

To this day, there were only twenty-odd people in the Ming Palace martial arts sects, and this was despite the fact that the Ming Preservation Faction had been sending people in ceaselessly. If not for Mo Wen, who had provided a large number of resources to allow the Ming Palace to raise a large number of strong practitioners in a short amount of time, the Ming Palace would not even have been able to gather twenty martial art sects.

Outside the city, in a dense forest, a group of people gathered. There were about twenty of them and they dressed in plain garbs. On the surface, it seemed like there was nothing much going on. They looked like a regular group of people who were merely idling.

But they were no idlers. All of them were from the same sect—the Sinister Wind Sect.

The Sinister Wind Sect had not been as brazen as the Petrification Cult, who had barged into the Green Ancient Mystery Dimension dressed in the robes of their own cult. Members of the Sinister Wind Sect had donned on disguises before making their way in so they could blend in with the crowd.

“Senior Brother Zou is indeed wise. It’s a good thing we didn’t barge in recklessly, or we’d end up in a state worse than the Petrification Cult. To think there are so many strong practitioners within the Ming Palace.”

A middle-aged cultivator wiped the cold sweat from his head. He had been pro-war before, planning on storming into the Green Ancient Mystery Dimension alone and taking the Ming Palace. It was a good thing he was not the leader, or these people might have become corpses long ago.

“That’s right! Senior Brother Zou is steady and reliable. We made the right choice when we decided to sneak in and collect intel. Elder Shao Tianqi of the Petrification Cult had been a strong cultivator at the Tide Changing realm. To think that he died here, in a place as tiny as the Green Ancient Mystery Dimension. Even if all of us weaklings joined forces, they’d probably only need to lift a single finger to wipe us out,” the other elder spoke, fear lingering in his heart.

They were not cultivators who were at or above the Primordial Soul realm, so it had been quite some time since they smuggled themselves into the Green Ancient Mystery Dimension. They had even been right in front of the people from the Petrification Cult, but they did not act rashly, choosing to hide away to learn more about Mo Wen instead.

“It’s not that I’m being overly cautious. There have been people who had suffered at the hands of the Ming Palace before, which is why I’ve decided to go about doing this carefully. The woman called Gu Jingman is really very scary. Even the seniors at the Primordial Soul realm might not necessarily be able to defeat her.”

The leading Senior Brother with ‘Zou’ as his last name shook his head; he knew the rest of them were just buttering him up. Before he came to the Green Ancient Mystery Dimension, he had already known about Gu Jingman. Only a fool would rush into the Ming Palace and stir up trouble without any of the seniors of his sect finding out. What was he looking for if not for death? There had been a few seniors at the Primordial Soul realm who had died in her hands. Honestly speaking, given the lot of them, the people in the Ming Palace would not even need more than a finger to wipe them out.

“You’ve met Mo Wen, Junior Brother Hu Shuo. Is he really that formidable?”

Leading Senior Brother Zuo looked towards an old man. He was none other than Hu Shuo, an extremely strong practitioner. He had once been the leader of the Sinister Wind Sect at the Martial Arts Circle Convention. Back then, he led the Sinister Wind Sect bravely, charging forth without retreating. Although he had never personally exchanged blows with Mo Wen, he could still estimate Mo Wen’s level.

This Mo Wen had been reputed to have killed Elder Shao Tianqi of the Petrification Cult, but was he really that scary? Had a young cultivator, who had been taking part in the Martial Arts Circle Convention just a year ago, become capable of killing a powerful practitioner at the Tide Changing realm? He could not help but feel as if he was listening to a story.

“Mo Wen is powerful indeed. His innate skills are peerless, much like how Zhang Poxiao had been back in the day. But in terms of how strong he really is, I think that claiming he is able to kill a powerful practitioner at the Tide Changing realm is a reach. We’re better off not believing in that rumor.”

Hu Shuo shook his head. He had just seen Mo Wen a mere year and a half ago, and Mo wen had been close to the Primordial Soul realm at that time. He was a practitioner who was not even at the Primordial Soul realm. How was it possible for him to kill someone at the Tide Changing realm? There were so many rumors out there these days, each one more ridiculous and inaccurate than the last. So, how could they take the rumors to be true?

“We should be careful regardless of whether Mo Wen was the one who killed Shao Tianqi. At least there’s one thing we can be certain of. That is the fact that the Ming Palace is backed by a mysterious, powerful practitioner capable of killing a practitioner at the Tide Changing realm.”

Senior Brother Zou Xing furrowed his eyebrows. They had been lurking near the Intentionless City for about a week now, always keeping a close eye on the happenings within the city. There were rumors that Mo Wen and Gu Jingman had sustained heavy injuries and were now recovering, so they could not be there to help the city. However, they would be in trouble if they acted rashly, only to realize that the rumor was false. Besides, there was no way for anyone to know for sure if there were other mysterious, powerful practitioners backing the Ming Palace.

“When are the elders of the sect going to arrive?” A middle-aged man remarked wearily. They had no faith without the elders present.

“Any time now. The sect disappeared half a month ago and they’ve been deploying people here since, but that took up a bit of time. The Huatian Palace route was also a bust; it didn’t work even when we tried to pull strings. It was almost as if someone at the top had cut us off. For some reason, the heretic forces raised their demands after what happened with the Petrification Cult. They’re straight-up ripping us off,” Senior Brother Zou Xing said.

The cultivators of the Sinister Wind cult had also wanted to use the channels of the heretic forces to sneak out. However, they only got tangled with them. The heretic forces had demanded too much of them, so much so that it was difficult even for a sect as big as the Sinister Wind Sect. It was because of this that there was a half-month delay.

“It should be soon. There’s no way the sects would let Mo Wen go, especially not under such circumstances. They’re even less likely to let him go now.”

Back then, they had only wanted to kill Mo Wen so that they could steal the Sacred Fire Sword from him. Now, killing him was tantamount to wiping out a threat. Mo Wen’s innate skill and talent was more than enough to scare even the sects of the Peng Lai Immortal Realm.

…

On the other side of the forest, a few people had also gathered. All of them were from the Blood Evil Temple. In the Peng Lai Immortal Realm, the sect that most wanted Mo Wen dead was not the Petrification Cult, Sinister Wind Sect, or the Sword Valley… It was the Blood Evil Temple.

The Blood Evil Temple would perish if Mo Wen did not die. Things had already come to a head, and the Blood Evil Temple Leader knew full well. This was why he had so fervently wished for Mo Wen’s death. Xue Chu had been so happy he could barely sleep, knowing that there were dozens of sects in the Peng Lai Immortal Realm that were working together to take down Mo Wen. He wished, at every second, for Mo Wen to drop dead.

“Elder Yang, do you think the Temple Leader is back yet?”

One of the martial arts grandmasters from the Blood Evil Temple looked at Yang Zonglin. Their journey to the Green Ancient Mystery Dimension was led by none other than Yang Zonglin, who could be said to be Mo Wen’s nemesis. They had been at odds during the Martial Arts Circle Convention. That incident in Li’an City had been the doing of Yang Zonglin. The man had sent news to instigate Xue Chu into defeating Mo Wen.

“The Temple Leader won’t be able to make it. The Huatian Palace is not letting him go, and we have no way of going through other channels.”

Yang Zonglin shook his head. The Blood Evil Temple was only a small sect, and it was obvious the heretic organization did not think much of them. They were not able to meet the demands stated by the heretic organization; only the big sects with a sizeable foundation had the qualifications to work with the heretic organizations.

“I hope Mo Wen dies soon. I hope he dies a grievous death,” Lord Merciless spat through gritted teeth.

He had not thought that Mo Wen could make it this far. Fear and unease seized his heart every day. If Mo Wen did not die, the Blood Evil Temple would die instead, for sure. Honestly, they had regrets about their insistence on offending Mo Wen back then. If not for that, there was no way they would have reached this point of no return.

It was a good thing Mo Wen had really rotten luck—to think he was the successor of Zhang Poxiao.

“The goal of our journey here today is to see how things will unfold. The best outcome is for Mo Wen to die in the hands of those sects, and that seems par for the course. There’s no way Mo Wen will be able to contend with those ancient sects alone,” Yang Zonglin remarked mildly.

His heart had long settled because he knew that there was no way Mo Wen would be able to escape the pursuit of the other sects. How could a puny little brat like him contend against the big sects of the Peng Lai Immortal Realm? He really did not know what was good for him.

“That’s right! Mo Wen will die, for sure! Haha, so what if he is a genius? So what if his potential is limitless? He’s a dead man walking, but I’m still alive.”

Lord Merciless laughed raucously. He felt rather carefree. You might be great and all and yet, here you are, dying at my feet. Your innate skills are much better than mine, and yet you’re still dying at my feet. Some people were simply unable to tolerate the sight of seeing another person happy. Lord Merciless was actually really happy that Mo Wen was about to die.

…

The gathering place of the Petrification Cult.

The gathering place of the Sword Valley.

The gathering place of the Shattering Cloud Sect.

At this moment, there were several gathering places outside Intentionless City. All of them were waiting for the powerful practitioners to step forward.

One day, such people finally stepped forth from the darkness. They were a group of thirty people, all of whom were martial arts grandmasters—there were even about seven or eight Infinite Powerhouses. They traversed through the air flagrantly, heading towards Intentionless City.

Everyone’s gaze fell upon them. Everyone, whether they were inside or outside of the city, was looking at them.

…