Chapter 109
Chapter 109
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 109
Chapter Title: The True Disciples of the Primal Saint Sect
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Heaven-Connecting Cloud Sea, beneath Sacred Fire Cliff.
A black-robed youth with a阴翳 countenance sat cross-legged on a lone skiff, breathing in and out in steady rhythm. Only after a long while did he turn his gaze toward the vast cloud sea before him.
Boom!
In an instant, the cloud sea churned. Waves surged toward the heavens, rolling in with the rhythm of the black-robed youth's breaths, crashing down upon him!
At the same moment, the black-robed youth opened his eyes. His mana surged to its peak before erupting outward. The hard-won strand of "Heavenly Craft True Qi" slammed down with a thunderous crash, seizing rivers and oceans, grasping clouds and pressing mists. It forcibly quelled the oncoming wave.
But before he could catch his breath, a second wave followed hot on its heels.
"Well come!"
The black-robed youth let out a long howl. His Heavenly Craft True Qi stirred in response, manifesting blades, spears, swords, and halberds in rapid succession—chariots and cavalry thundering forth. With a whistling cry, it met the second wave head-on.
Bang!
Another massive boom. The black-robed youth's face flushed red as he staggered back a step. Yet the incoming wave shattered under his strike, smoothing out in its wake.
The waves on the cloud sea showed no sign of stopping, however. If anything, the black-robed youth's exertion of mana—drawing in the essence of heaven and earth—seemed to provoke the once-calm sea. It erupted with greater fury. The third assault came not as one wave, but three crashing toward him in tandem.
"Hmph!"
This time, the black-robed youth lost his earlier poise. His face turned beet red, his true qi draining rapidly as he locked in a stalemate with the waves.
Neither side yielded.
Seeing this, the black-robed youth could only grit his teeth in silence. He shifted his hand seals, gradually reining in the vast, ocean-like mana surging from him.
Strangely, as his mana withdrew step by step...
The raging waves of the cloud sea subsided in kind. In the end, they receded alongside his fully retracted mana, returning to their original tranquility.
"Hoo..."
The black-robed youth finally exhaled in relief. His body swayed—he was spent, barely able to stand. He hurriedly urged the skiff onward, putting some distance between himself and that stretch of cloud sea. Only then did he produce a pill, swallow it, and sit to regulate his breathing. It took a good while before he recovered.
Just then, a streak of escaping light descended from the sky.
The light parted to either side, revealing a handsome youth in feathered fan and silk headscarf. He alighted gracefully onto the skiff and smiled at the black-robed youth.
"Tianhe, your cultivation has advanced nicely."
"This 'Guarding Equilibrium Sea' encircles the entirety of Sacred Fire Cliff. The principle is simple: the greater your displayed mana, the mightier the cloud sea's waves."
"Most disciples at the peak of Qi Refining can't even withstand a single wave."
"Even we True Disciples, with our third-grade true qi, can typically handle only two. Only those with exceptional mana control can contend with three."
"And you, Tianhe—you held off four. That's top-tier even among the True Disciples."
The black-robed youth, Qin Tianhe, felt a swell of pride at the handsome youth's praise but shook his head modestly all the same.
"I'm just a few years older, that's all."
"I've been a True Disciple for years now, and I can barely suppress four waves."
"I hear that Yin Shan back in the day had third-grade true qi too, yet he quelled a full nine waves. They say it was nearly on par with a Foundation Establishment cultivator."
At these words, the handsome youth's face lit with admiration.
"I've heard from the sect elders that only a true Foundation Establishment cultivator can cross the 'Guarding Equilibrium Sea' without stirring a ripple. To reach that level requires both status and true qi in harmony—at minimum, the ability to instantly suppress ten waves."
"Yin Shan quelling nine back then truly put him on the cusp of the Perfected Beings' realm."
The two sighed in shared admiration for a moment longer before Qin Tianhe turned to the handsome youth with curiosity.
"Xu Xin, you're usually holed up in your cave abode cultivating. What brings you here?"
"You haven't heard?"
Xu Xin blinked in surprise.
"The four orthodoxies are challenging our Primal Saint Sect to another Dao-Seizing War. True Lord Clear Skies Flying Snow has emerged from seclusion to personally oversee the battle."
"The summons have already gone out to all four directions."
"Aside from us idle True Disciples, plenty of Qi Refining disciples have been recalled to the cloud sea too—the weakest among them are late-stage Qi Refining."
"Oh, right—there's a newcomer too. Poor timing for their promotion to True Disciple."
"Oh?"
Qin Tianhe's brows shot up, his interest piqued.
"Which newcomer? Favored by which Perfected Being?"
"Rumor has it Yin Shan recommended them."
Xu Xin's expression turned oddly amused at that.
"But from what I hear, this newbie hasn't even set foot on the righteous-demonic battlefield."
".Not even been there?"
Qin Tianhe frowned deeply. Realization dawned, twisting his features in distaste.
"Another one like Chen Xinan?"
True Disciples of the Primal Saint Sect came in factions.
Some, like Qin Tianhe and Xu Xin, had earned their spots through blood on the righteous-demonic battlefield. They despised the others—those who bought their way in with family wealth and connections, deeming them unworthy of the title.
The latter, like Chen Xinan from immortal clan stock, scorned the former as mud-legged survivors who got lucky.
"Not sure."
Xu Xin shrugged with a grin.
"But regardless, this Dao-Seizing War will sort the mules from the horses. We'll see what the newbie's made of."
"If they're another dud like Chen Xinan, I won't mind giving them a lesson—to keep them from screwing up the war and dragging us down."
"Well said!"
Qin Tianhe nodded, letting the matter drop. His thoughts turned to the looming Dao-Seizing War, a fire kindling in his chest as he clenched his fist.
As a battlefield True Disciple, he'd clawed his way through hellish trials to reach this point. He'd survived fully two Dao-Seizing Wars already. Win one more, and he'd have a fifty percent shot at Foundation Establishment.
He was determined to claim this victory!
At that moment, a thunderous boom erupted from the distant cloud sea—like rolling thunder racing in from the horizon's edge.
"Someone's coming?"
The sudden commotion silenced Qin Tianhe and Xu Xin mid-conversation. With a mix of awe, they peered toward the source.
As the roar intensified, both their expressions grew grave.
To generate thunderous blasts merely from flight—what manner of mana must the cultivator wielding that escaping light possess?
The next instant, the light arrived.
Boom!
The immense mana instantly roiled the surrounding "Guarding Equilibrium Sea"—several times fiercer than the four waves Qin Tianhe had stirred.
In a flash, fully ten waves surged skyward.
But before Xu Xin or Qin Tianhe could react, an even vaster force descended from above, slamming down upon the cloud sea waves in one breath!
Bang!
Hundreds of miles of cloud sea fell instantly still. All waves smoothed as if stroked flat by an invisible giant hand. Clouds parted, mists scattered, revealing a lone, ethereal figure.
"This the place?"
Lu Yang surveyed his surroundings, spotting the skiff below amid the cloud sea, two Primal Saint Sect disciples aboard. He descended at once.
"You two..."
Before Lu Yang could finish, Qin Tianhe and Xu Xin—who had just witnessed him quell the cloud sea with a single breath of qi—dropped to their knees without a word.
"Disciple Qin Tianhe,"
"Disciple Xu Xin,"
"greets the Perfected Being!"
(End of chapter)