Chapter 700: Chapter 699: Arriving One After Another
Zhuge Hong’s Life Qi Mechanism was disappearing at an astonishing rate.
He looked down at the sword wound in his chest, and deep fear arose in his heart.
It was a fear of death, and also a fear of that sword stroke.
He knew that even if his body had still been in its prime, it would have been very difficult to avoid that stroke of the sword, it was too fast, too powerful!
When he slowly lifted his head, a figure flashed by; an elegant and handsome middle-aged man with a sword wrapped around his waist appeared in front of the cliff cave.
"You are indeed a successor of the Qingtian Sect. That stroke just now, must be the Qingtian Sword that no one in the Qingtian Sect has mastered for a thousand years, right?" Zhuge Hong asked looking at Helian Zhan.
Helian Zhan did not hide it and slowly nodded, "Junior has only caught a glimpse of the path of the Sword Dao, and caused Senior to laugh."
Zhuge Hong let out a bitter smile, "It is said that the true Qingtian Sword could decapitate a person from a thousand miles away. No matter the enemy, it would only take one stroke of the sword, haha, such swordsmanship could never be mastered by us mortals. The swordsmanship you have displayed today is the true limit of the Sword Dao that mortals can control. Wu Zheng indeed had unique insight to have chosen you, a disciple born for the sword."
Helian Zhan glanced at him and turned to leave.
A moment later, Zhuge Hong closed his eyes.
His life should have ended several decades ago, but he chose to sleep using his deep Turtle Breath Skill to sustain himself until now.
He seemed to have lived several decades longer, but in reality, it was meaningless.
What difference was there between decades of sleep and death?
However, his Primordial Spirit was indeed the strongest that Helian Zhan had ever seen.
Perhaps this method of stealing life through sleep wasn’t entirely without meaning. If the Primordial Spirit Consciousness became even stronger, possessing the domineering ability to Body Seize as told in Taoist legends, then one could be reborn through another method.
Helian Zhan did not dwell on such matters. To him, at over fifty years old, he still had plenty of time ahead, just like his master Wu Zheng had chosen in his time, to live a splendid life within a limited lifespan, to do some earth-shattering deeds – that was the meaning of life.
Those who attained immortality, once they reached a certain age, the time that followed was just a tasteless repetition of life, like walking corpses, meaningless.
The Nine Dragon Formation was broken, Zhuge Hong was dead, and the Zhuge Family had no one left who could obstruct Helian Zhan’s path.
Soon, he arrived at a spot halfway up Wolong Ridge.
There was a huge natural abyss here.
Around the abyss, a massive circular wooden tower was constructed. Had this tower appeared in the outside world, it would definitely be considered one of the wonders of ancient mortise-and-tenon architecture.
The entire wooden tower was a great mechanical Array. Even with Helian Zhan’s formidable martial prowess, he encountered layers of resistance.
In the end, an old man from the Zhuge Family, who really couldn’t bear to see the Mechanical Tower destroyed by Helian Zhan’s brute force, intervened to guide him, saving the tower from calamity.
Nonetheless, Helian Zhan and Zhao Wuji developed a sliver of awe in their hearts for the Zhuge Family.
In aspects such as talismans, Formation, and Mechanical Techniques, the Zhuge Family indeed had a very good heritage, and if it hadn’t been for the absence of the Zhuge Cang brothers from home this time, with the three of them defending the Nine Dragon Formation, Helian Zhan would not have been able to withstand it alone.
Moreover, even if Helian Zhan could eventually break through the Mechanical Tower, it would have taken a considerable amount of time and energy.
If super-powerful figures like Zhuge Cang from the Zhuge Family were defending this place, with all sorts of Magic Array Mechanism Techniques, Helian Zhan would stand no chance of overcoming the Zhuge Family on his own.
After entering the Mechanical Tower, the huge abyss appeared before him.
Zhao Wuji immediately exclaimed, "What... what is this place? It’s bottomless, like the abyss of Hell?"
The old man of the Zhuge Family said with a complex expression, "This is the great secret that our Zhuge Family has guarded for generations. The core of the Hidden Sect Plane World Array, and also the birthplace of the Spiritual Energy of the entire Hidden Sect World."
Helian Zhan seemed to have already known about this, as he stared into the abyss below and said in a deep voice, "Since this is the birthplace of Spiritual Power, why does it seem like a pool of stagnant water here, devoid of any ripples of Spiritual Energy, and even the surrounding Heaven and Earth Power seems to be converging towards this abyss? To me, it looks like an insatiable beast of gold, constantly devouring the Heaven and Earth Power of the Hidden Sect World."
The elder from the Zhuge aristocratic family gave a wry smile and said, "Young Master Helian’s reputation is well-deserved. Indeed, the Spiritual Energy of the Hidden Sect Plane World has been disappearing from here. Originally, this place was the birthplace of Spiritual Power, but an anomaly began three hundred years ago. Not only did it stop producing Spiritual Power, but it also slowly started to devour the Spiritual Power of the Hidden Sect Plane. After more than three hundred years of long years, the other forces of the Hidden Sect World gradually discovered that the Spiritual Energy of the entire world was depleting, leading to the collapse of the Plane World."
"How did the Zhuge aristocratic family come to know that this place leads to the outside world?" Zhao Wuji couldn’t help but ask.
"The Zhuge family has been guarding this place since ancient times, protecting the entire Hidden Sect World. This is another transmission portal that has been recorded since ancient times," said the elder.
Helian Zhan pondered slightly with a smile and said, "No wonder after the transmission portal was sealed by the outside world, the Zhuge family showed anger, but it was not as intense."
The elder snorted and said nothing.
Helian Zhan continued, "So, through this transmission portal, has the Zhuge family been continuously sending out disciples over the years, trying to seize the initiative to enter the world?"
The elder snorted again, giving no answer.
Helian Zhan chuckled but did not trouble him further and said, "I want to see what sort of chaos the Zhuge family has caused in the outside Divine Continent."
After speaking, he leaped into the terrifyingly bottomless abyss below.
Zhao Wuji’s expression changed dramatically, "Master..."
But it was too late to stop him.
As he watched Helian Zhan disappear into the abyss, he gritted his teeth and, with his eyes closed, jumped down.
If his master was convinced this was the transmission portal, how could he harbor any doubt?
Outside the gate of Zhuge Manor.
With a flash, Wang Chunyang appeared.
He glanced at the manor gate and was about to stride forward when he heard a voice from behind, "Brother Wang, wait a moment."
Upon hearing this voice, Wang Chunyang’s eyes slightly narrowed, and he said slowly, "Brother Ouyang didn’t come with Helian? What, has he decided not to join forces with Brother Ouyang anymore?"
"Hahaha, my Poison Sect is a bit farther from this place, naturally, I can’t match Helian Zhan’s speed," Two figures emerged from the woods, an old man and a young woman—the old man was indeed Ouyang He, and the young woman beside him was Helian Rong, also known as the Little Demon Girl, Immortal Yan, from the younger generation of the Poison Sect.
"Hahaha, you must have been attracted here by the celestial phenomenon a few days ago, right? I thought I was the fastest."
Just then, a hearty laugh sounded, and a burly man with a giant sword on his back approached with large strides.
It was Wang Changchun from Giant Sword Manor.
The Hidden Sect Eight Great Forces, three had arrived in an instant.
Aside from Helian Zhan, who had come earlier, and the Duanmu Family, which had already secretly allied with the Zhuge family, only the people from the Ji Family and the Zhang Family had not yet arrived.
However, the Ji Family and the Zhang Family had always been relatively low-key, showing far less desire for dominance compared to the other six forces. It was not surprising that they had not yet arrived.
"Has Helian Zhan already gone in?" Wang Changchun asked.
Wang Chunyang nodded, "He seems to have gone ahead of us."
"What are we waiting for then, let’s go together and see. I can’t wait to uncover what kind of secrets are hidden inside the Zhuge family," Wang Changchun said as he walked towards the manor.
Ouyang He and Wang Chunyang nodded and followed closely behind.
Helian Rong, on the other hand, kept close to her master.