Chapter 164: Lord of the Shadow Sky Realm

“Don’t release Qingyan and the others for now,” Luo Feng instructed, “I’ll send you to Huyang City as soon as possible.”

Huyang City had one of his powerful incarnations stationed there, enough to deal with many dangers.

This weaker incarnation was lucky to have killed the gray mist being. On one hand, it was due to his possession of the “Lieu Yuan Technique,” but on the other, it was because the mind and will of the gray mist being were too weak.

Even for a Divine King at the first stage, such weak mental will was rare. Many peak Chaos Realm beings had mind and willpower at the level of Divine Kings.

“A Divine King with such weak willpower is truly rare,” Luo Feng thought to himself.

“Master, the assassination this time targeted me and Qingyan,” Morosa said in confusion. “Logically, neither of us should attract such a powerful enemy.”

“It was because of me,” Luo Feng replied, “not long ago, I destroyed a major opportunity for the ‘Wuxiang Divine King’ of the Shiguo.”

The fact that he could hire a member of the Shadow Sky Realm to launch an assassination! Luo Feng thought about it for a moment and immediately guessed the mastermind behind it.

Since arriving on the Origin Continent, he had kept a low profile, and his enemies were few. For someone to go so far as to hire the Shadow Sky Realm just to kill a servant and disciple… the most likely culprit had to be the Wuxiang Divine King.

“You ruined his big opportunity? How big?” Morosa asked.

“Perhaps it was the accumulation of all his cultivation resources,” Luo Feng speculated.

A guest Divine King required fifty million merit points to exchange for a spot. Although Wuxiang Laozu was at the peak of the first stage of the Divine King realm, securing such an opportunity wasn’t easy.

In reality, Wuxiang Laozu had obtained that opportunity by sacrificing his brotherhood with the Heavenly Kun Ruler and essentially selling himself to the Two Realms Palace.

“All of his cultivation resources? No wonder the Wuxiang Divine King is going mad,” Morosa commented. “Master, you’ve made him your mortal enemy.”

Luo Feng smiled but said nothing more.

The flying boat, under Luo Feng’s control, sped through the void at an incredible pace.

Luo Feng was also inspecting the body of the Divine King he had just collected.

“This Divine King’s treasures…” Luo Feng found some storage treasures on the corpse, as well as a hidden Divine King weapon. It was evident the opponent hadn’t had time to use the weapon.

“A few ordinary treasures and a golden spike, a Divine King weapon at the first stage,” Luo Feng examined the golden spike in his hand. “Altogether, the total value barely reaches one trillion Cosmos Sand.”

“Is this Divine King so poor?” Luo Feng was puzzled.

Even the City Lord of Arid Wind, who cultivated the Primordial Bloodline and spent all his resources on his body, could come up with 800 billion Cosmos Sand.

Yet this Divine King, who had clearly accumulated wealth over time, only carried so few treasures?

Too poor!

“Even many Chaos Realm transcendents are wealthier than him,” Luo Feng continued examining the corpse.

“This corpse…”

Upon investigation, Luo Feng realized the corpse was extraordinary.

The gray mist had condensed into a liquid form, slowly circulating, with a layer of gray mist covering the surface.

It appeared to be mist, yet it was incredibly resilient.

“Sizzle.” Luo Feng tried to destroy it, and though the gray mist was damaged, it naturally recovered.

“Even in death, this corpse remains extraordinary.” When Luo Feng had used his blade formation to kill the gray mist being, he had already noticed how troublesome the mist was. Despite exhausting his blade formation, the mist body had barely been affected.

“He must have invested all his resources into his body,” Luo Feng speculated.

“This will benefit Morosa,” Luo Feng thought with a smile. The more remarkable the corpse, the greater the benefit for Morosa when he absorbed it.

Moments later.

The flying boat arrived above Huyang City.

“Master, that corpse…” Morosa glanced at Luo Feng.

“When we return, go claim it from the Star Tower,” Luo Feng said, glancing at him. Even if he absorbed it, it had to be done inside the Star Tower. With that, Luo Feng vanished.

Morosa was eager to return, but there was nothing he could do. He had to accompany his disciple, Qingyan.

Whoosh.

Morosa waved his hand, releasing Moyu Qingyan, his wife, and a group of attendants back into the flying boat.

“We’re alive?”

Moyu Qingyan and his wife were both astonished. When they were collected, Luo He the Great Sage’s blade formation had already fallen, and the enormous gray mist being was charging at them. Yet now, they were above a city?

“We’ve arrived at Huyang City,” Morosa said. “Qingyan, go see your father quickly. Once you’ve finished your business, return to Xiangjie City as soon as possible.”

“Yes, Second Master,” Moyu Qingyan couldn’t help but ask, “Second Master, how did we get here alive?”

“Don’t ask too much,” Morosa shot him a glance, already stepping out of the flying boat and flying toward the City Lord’s Mansion below.

Moyu Qingyan and Zhang Yunge exchanged confused looks, and with their attendants, they flew down together.

…

In a vast and hidden world, known as the “Shadow Sky Realm.”

“Completely dead? All of his incarnations are destroyed?” A figure shrouded in thunder learned the news and, shocked, flew out of an ancient palace!

Whoosh!

He transformed into a bolt of lightning, crossing vast distances in an instant, arriving at a quiet pavilion in the Shadow Sky Realm.

“Master,” the thunderous figure, with an aura of terror, stood outside the pavilion, but his demeanor was respectful. “The Mist Envoy has completely perished, and all his incarnations are destroyed.”

“How did he die?” A figure inside the pavilion was seated.

Simply by sitting there, this figure naturally influenced the entire Shadow Sky Realm. His influence even extended beyond the Shadow Sky Realm, affecting many places on the Origin Continent.

“We received a task from the Wuxiang Divine King of the Shiguo, to kill Luo He the Great Sage’s servant, Luo Sa, and disciple, Moyu Qingyan,” the thunderous figure reported respectfully. “This task was assigned to the Mist Envoy. He sent his incarnations to carry out the assassination… When his incarnations failed, the Mist Envoy descended in person! After that, he never returned, and all of his incarnations vanished. Even the causal traces are gone.”

“He is completely dead,” the figure inside the pavilion said.

“Master, although the Mist Envoy’s strength was only at the extreme level of the first stage of the Divine King realm, his life-preservation abilities were exceptionally strong. How could he have died so suddenly?” the thunderous figure asked.

“He had incarnations in the Shadow Sky Realm,” the figure inside the pavilion said. “No causal attack descended upon the Shadow Sky Realm… so it should have been some form of soul-related attack, possibly a mental will assault, a soul annihilation, or perhaps illusionary control. All are possible.”

The thunderous figure said, “Although the Mist Envoy’s mental will was weak, it had at least reached the threshold of the first stage of the Divine King realm! To kill him with mental will alone would require a willpower far beyond the ultimate realm of a Divine King… there aren’t many on the Origin Continent who have reached that level. As for soul-path attacks, techniques at the Divine King level are also quite rare.”

“There are two possibilities: either he encountered a terrifying being with immensely powerful mental will who killed him in an instant,” the figure inside the pavilion said with a smile, “or he ran into someone accomplished on the soul-path. It’s a trivial matter, don’t concern yourself too much.”

“Understood,” the thunderous figure replied respectfully.

As one of the core members of the Shadow Sky Realm, he understood that many of the envoys were just ordinary members of the realm.

“Although I have bestowed power upon you, you must temper your own will. Without sufficient mental will, you cannot perfectly wield that power,” the figure inside the pavilion said.

“Yes, Master,” the thunderous figure bowed respectfully, then departed.

The figure seated inside the pavilion watched this scene.

“Cultivating strong warriors through external force has significant flaws,” the figure pondered. “No matter how many I cultivate, when faced with a truly powerful existence, their wills are swept away, and one by one, they are all annihilated.”

“However, that world beast in the Heavenly Wood Kingdom… the life it nurtures within its internal world is quite perfect. And that being in the Eastern Polar Domain, whose life was enlightened through the Origin Path of Life… those lives are also more perfect than the ones I’ve cultivated.”

“The one from the Eastern Polar Domain, after all, survived the great destruction of the Source World. He’s indeed different.”

“There are still some key insights I haven’t grasped.”

The figure inside the pavilion continued to reflect. “I can select a god-child and try to cultivate a new Mist Envoy.”

To the Lord of the Shadow Sky Realm, cultivating an envoy was merely an experiment in his secret method of cultivation. Moreover, these experimental subjects were absolutely loyal, working hard to earn resources for him.

******

In Shiguo, within the city of Wuxiang.

Wuxiang Laozu had been waiting for a response from the Shadow Sky Realm.

“Wuxiang Divine King, the mission has failed,” came the eventual reply from the Shadow Sky Realm.

“Failed?” Wuxiang Laozu couldn’t believe it. “Just an ordinary Chaos Realm being and an Eternal True God, and the Shadow Sky Realm failed?”

“Luo He’s incarnation was protecting them,” the Shadow Sky Realm replied. “If you need another assassination attempt, it will cost 500 billion Cosmos Sand. We can strike again, and this time we’ll send even more powerful members.”

“No need.”

Wuxiang Laozu immediately cut off the transmission.

Five hundred billion Cosmos Sand? Just to kill a servant and a disciple? Even if they succeeded, it wouldn’t be worth it!

“That Shadow Sky Realm has such a big reputation, yet it’s so useless,” Wuxiang Laozu muttered angrily. He had already lost a great opportunity once, and now, after spending 60 billion Cosmos Sand to hire the Shadow Sky Realm, they had failed. Naturally, he was furious.

Buzz—

Wuxiang Laozu couldn’t suppress his rage, but he knew that acting personally would be foolish. So, he contacted his elder brother.

“Wuxiang, what’s the matter?” the Heavenly Kun Ruler responded.

“Big Brother,” Wuxiang Laozu held nothing back from his brother and immediately explained everything that had happened in the Infinite Space, as well as how he had hired the Shadow Sky Realm.

“I can’t bear the fact that the great opportunity I fought so hard to obtain is gone!” Wuxiang Laozu said.

“You’ll have to bear it,” the Heavenly Kun Ruler’s voice came through coldly.

Wuxiang Laozu was taken aback.

“The Shadow Sky Realm rarely fails, which is why they’re known as the top assassination force on the Origin Continent,” the Heavenly Kun Ruler’s voice continued. “When they act, they consider many factors. Since Luo He had many incarnations, they surely took into account the protection of those incarnations. But they still failed… clearly, something unexpected happened.”

“An unexpected situation?” Wuxiang Laozu was puzzled.

“I’m well aware of how the Shadow Sky Realm operates. This unexpected situation holds great value. If you offer a high enough price, they’ll be willing to tell you,” the Heavenly Kun Ruler explained.

Wuxiang Laozu knew that his brother, being at the second stage of the Divine King realm and an official member of the Two Realms Palace, was deeply involved in the high-level power struggles on the Origin Continent. His understanding of the various forces was indeed much greater than his own.

“This assassination attempt has some unexpected factors worth investigating,” the Heavenly Kun Ruler added. “On the other hand, continuing your feud with Luo He will not end well. He is Emperor Chu’s direct disciple. If you continue fighting him… not only will you fail to kill him, but you’ll also damage my relationship with the Ancient Flame Kingdom.”

“My relationship with several emperors of the Ancient Flame Kingdom is very close, and I won’t let you ruin it,” the Heavenly Kun Ruler said.

“I understand,” Wuxiang Laozu replied.

One of the reasons his brother could traverse the Origin Continent so freely was because of his excellent relationship with several emperors of the Ancient Flame Kingdom. Of course, his brother’s mastery of culinary arts at the Divine King level was another reason, as it had earned the admiration of those emperors.

“The Ancient Flame Kingdom and the Ancient Thunder Kingdom are the two most central forces on the Origin Continent. As long as we maintain good relations with the Ancient Flame Kingdom, everyone else will have to think twice before dealing with us. So, your matter with Luo He ends here!” the Heavenly Kun Ruler commanded.

“Yes, I understand,” Wuxiang Laozu obediently replied.

After cutting off the transmission, Wuxiang Laozu was quite dissatisfied. “My brother, despite being at the second stage of the Divine King realm, is bending over backward to please the Ancient Flame Kingdom! Now, he won’t even risk offending one of Emperor Chu’s disciples.”

Though he was unhappy, Wuxiang Laozu had no choice but to comply.

After all, if he wanted to secure more great opportunities and benefits, he still had to rely on his brother!

(End of this chapter)