novelThe Penglai Sect… Is Gone!
| ← Ch.334 | Ch.336 → |
What sort of power does explosives that could blow up with a 270 million ton-yield actually unleash?
To tell the truth, no person would ever know. That is because no nation in this world has ever developed a hydrogen bomb of such astounding yield, although there is not telling if there were any such ordnance made after the Revival of Qi.
That Little Boy dropped all those years before had merely blown up with a yield of ten thousand tons, but it had still flattened Hiroshima in a split second and inflicted over a hundred thousand casualties.
As a matter of fact, even the nuclear bomb 'Ivan' that was developed later under the leadership of 'Mad Bomber' Nikita Khrushchev had a yield of merely fifty million tons. However, after it was detonated, the resulting explosion had basically laid to waste every building within several hundred kilometers, and the raging storms that its eruption had caused extended up to a thousand kilometers away!
According to the numbers, the scorching winds that 'Ivan' would release, which had a yield of fifty million tons, could inflict burns to a person standing 170 km away, just as the flash from the explosion would inflict agony and burned the retinas of someone looking at it from 220 km away, even causing blindness in more severe cases.
And after the explosion itself, the resulting release of electromagnetic pulse could cause a full hour of downtime for wireless communication signals and electric devices, even pushing the entire continent of Europe and Asia nine centimeters down south.
In other words, once the Doom Shrooms with a total of 270 million ton-yield erupted in a single instant, that Mahayana-tier elite's massive hand conjured out of mystic energies vaporized instantly. Moreover, being at the very heart of the explosion and despite having equipped a premium-grade sage combat garments to shield himself in the very first instant, the searing heat that reached up to several hundred thousand degrees melted his premium-grade sage combat garments, incinerating his physical body violently in that very second. Even though his Yuan Spirit tried to escape, it was engulfed by the ensuing heat wave right after it flew out of his body.
If that was what happened to Mahayana-tier elites, there was certainly less need to speak about the cultivators who were merely Sufferance-tier, Convergence-tier, or Yuan Spirit-tier.
Even if they were quite far from the explosion and would have the time to react, all of them were still consumed by the great flash, blazing inferno, and electromagnetic pulse when they tried to flee away in the distance.
Ka-boom!
As the heaven-splitting rumble resounded amidst the seas, a mushroom cloud of immeasurable proportions shot up to the skies above the island belonging to the Penglai Immortal Sect. The heat waves that ignited as a result actually forced apart both Jiang He and the White Brows Daoist who were clashing up in the skies, and continued flying higher up above to escape the blast.
A towering wave kicked up from the seas, stirring a tsunami that reached several hundred meters in height and surged toward every direction.
"What the hell!"
"Are the Doom Shrooms that erupted with the twenty seventy million ton-yield that scary?"
Jiang He was left taken aback.
He looked towards the center of the explosion, but he had to turned his eyes away when he felt tremendous pain and a burning sensation from his retinas.
On the other hand, the White Brows Daoist felt as if his entire being had lost all traces of sanity.
He was yelling and screaming his heart out.
Even so, he was forced to retreat fruitless from each of his attempts to charge inside the explosion.
At the same time, the many elites who were hiding in the distant had fear showing in the faces. Strands of divine mind were interweaved as they communicated, wondering what immortal art on earth Jiang He had released, just as several streaks of immortal lights paused up in the air further away at the horizon.
They were all elites from the Ten Thousand Swords Sect.
And there were up to eight of them.
The one in the lead was the one and only Mahayana-tier elite of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect. He appeared to have the visage of a middle-aged person and he was standing upon the Dragon Abyss Sword—the greatest treasure of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect—while a Sufferance-tier elite who had weathered seven retributions stood behind him.
One could say that the Ten Thousand Swords Sect had sent forth everything they had.
At the very least, a Sufferance-tier elite who had weathered five retributions was staying behind to defend their sect, while every other cultivator came forth solely for the immortal sword that Jiang He was holding.
If they could just obtain the immortal sword, the Ten Thousand Swords Sect would reign supreme over the world even if they only had with a single Mahayana-tier elite.
Be that as it may, in this very moment, there was a look of fear in the said Mahayana-tier sword cultivator. Staring at the distant mushroom cloud taking to the skies, he exclaimed in shock, "What is that?"
The other Sufferance-tier cultivators all shook their heads, indicating that they had no idea.
They had kept themselves secluded for a very long time and only ever left confinement when they had to suffer their retribution, not to mention that they would only do so in lone islands in the oceans where no one else was in sight. How would they even get to know modern technology?
Of course, they were certainly not bothered to know.
In the eyes of these cultivators, everything else was merely profane. What could those so-called scientific technology even possibly cook up anyway?
Some of those present had seen those matchlocks and fire cannons or whatnot, but that would not even be enough to scratch their itch.
"Eh? Wasn't that direction... where the Penglai Sect actually was?"
That was when suddenly someone gasped in surprise and the everyone else's faces twitched. One of them promptly took out a jade charm to contact the Thousand Sword Daoist, but was only left with a dejected expression following that acoustic transmission."There's no reply. Moreover, the spiritual mark that Brother Thousand Sword had left is incredibly weak and on the verge of crumbling..."
As long as the spiritual mark existed, the person would not perish.
But even if he was not killed yet, the Thousand Sword Daoist was almost no different from in this very moment.
Meanwhile, though the shockwave from the explosion had begun to fade, for the Penglai Island at least, that mushroom cloud up in the skies had yet to diminish.
A scattered handful of figures appeared over the surface of the ocean then, just as several feeble and nearly crumbling Yuan Spirit showed up...
Up in the air, the White Brows Daoist vomited a mouthful of blood with a loud rasp, and quickly went down.
His divine mind was searching wildly across every direction, looking for any person from the Penglai Sect who had survived... as well as the Penglai Island itself.
And yet, was there still a Penglai Island?
All that was left was several scattered rocks hovering up above the surface of the ocean. In fact, after around nine hundred Doom Shrooms had blew up at once, the island that had stretched over a hundred kilometers squared was completely gone.
"Brother..."
That was when a weak Yuan Spirit materialized out from under the ocean.
It was the other Mahayana-tier elite of the Penglai Sect. His physical body had completely been reduced to ashes, and even his Yuan Spirit, which managed to escape, was almost vaporized beneath the ensuing searing height. It was only fortunate that Yuan Spirits held no weight and he managed to escape rapidly, and hence managed to escape with his life by a hair's breadth.
Even so... so what if he survived?
At the moment, the strength of his Yuan Spirit would only reach Convergence-tier at best...
It was impossible for him to recover even if he wanted to.
"Founding master..."
The other cultivators of the Penglai Sect gathered around the White Brows Daoist then.
There was only a total of seven of them.
Among the seven, three had been further away from the heart of the explosion and managed to escape rather quickly, not to mention that they had sage items that protected themselves. As a result, they at least existed even if they had sustained some serious injuries.
On the other hand, that other Mahayana-tier elite and the other three did not even have a single physical piece of themselves left.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaah!!!"
The White Brows Daoist reared his head to scream at the skies, bellowing like a ferocious beast.
"Jiang He..."
His white beard and white hair were dancing. Just as his entire being started showing signs of falling to the darkness right then, he seethed in fury."You destroyed the very lands of my Penglai Sect, laying waste to an immortal sect that stood for thousands of years. My Penglai Sect would never rest unless one of us is vanquished, for there is no coexisting between us..."
***
Meanwhile, up in the air...
"Hmmm?"
While he looked upon what the Penglai Sect was reduced to by his bombardment, Jiang He felt a sudden flash of... inward commiseration, and felt a sinking feeling right then!
Still...
Commiseration?
What a laugh!
All of those people had been cultivators.
And in the realm of cultivators, the strong only ever prey upon the weak. If Jiang He would act like a Saint right now, he would never know what killed him in the future...
Now, there was no easing the hostility between himself and the Penglai Sect!
"And since there is no easing it, so...."
He must nip it at the bud!
Gritting his teeth, Jiang He's figure could be seen streaking down from the skies above, as he charged toward the White Brows Daoist without saying a single word.
At the same time, the White Brows Daoist drove his mystic energies to full-gear. In his hand, the Clear Sky Mirror was bursting with godlike power as he attempted to overwhelm and kill Jiang He. However, it did not matter how much power he unleashed, for he could hardly hold up against the power of the immortal sword Jiang He was holding.
An immortal weapon...
Though it only differed from the demi-immortal item by a single word, the power each respective weapon unleashed was a different as the sky and the ground.
At the same time, the seven cultivators left of the Penglai Sect who had been lingering behind the White Brows Daoist quietly backed away, for they received his command.
"Leave!"
"I will hold Jiang He. All of you must run immediately, for that brat is a sword cultivator with great power and wields an immortal weapon as well. His combat power is no weaker than mine..."
Pow!
With a single swing of his sword, Jiang He deflected a beam shot out of the mirror.
At the same time, streaks of sword light fired out from between his brows.
Right now, he may lack a lot of things, but he did not lack mystic treasures and flying swords. After having counter-killed many other cultivators such as True Habitant of Scarlet Sun, Zhong Wanshan, and Hong Shanze, he had obtained a lot of mystic treasures and flying swords, and after planting them...
Aside from the Greenwood Sword, he now had two superior-grade sage flying swords as well as six mediocre-grade sage flying swords
It was only a further pity, therefore, that the attributes of the flying swords were incompatible and he was unable to pool them to charge the Sword Array of Five Elements and Six Pulses.
As such, Jiang He had to take a step back and compromise, hence learning the stronger sword array that was the Sword Array of Seven Stars and Eight Trigrams.
[Ding!]
[-1 million Farm Points. ]
[Congratulations, Host. You have cultivated the Sword Array of Seven Stars and Eight Trigrams up to mastery... ]
A System Notification jingled in Jiang He's head and as volumes of complex and mysterious information about the sword array poured into Jiang He's very mind. After that, as he pointed and flicked his fingers, his numerous flying swords shot out—the immortal sword Mosquito Cutter in the lead and seven flying swords followed, instantly laying out the Sword Array of Seven Stars and Eight Trigrams.
The primary function of the Sword Array of Seven Stars and Eight Trigrams was to subdue an opponent.
But in that split second, all heaven and earth seemed to turn still. All that exist was infinite Sword Qi rampaging, forming the colossal Sword Array of Seven Stars and Eight Trigrams as it bore down upon the White Brows Daoist from on high!
"What is that?!"
Stunned, the White Brows Daoist quickly bit through the tip of his tongue and spat out a mouthful of blood and essence upon the Clear Sky Mirror. Igniting his own essences, mystic energies, and not even holding back the very core of his being, he drove the Clear Sky Mirror to the very limit of its power. With that, solid golden radiance that resembled the rays of twilight fired out, conjuring a world out of thin air through mystic energies as the White Brows Daoist attempted to block the Sword Array of Seven Stars and Eight Trigrams.
However, it did nothing.
In the next split second...
Ka-boom!
The radiance emanating from the Clear Sky Mirror shattered.
Likewise, the White Brows Daoist was subdued by the Sword Array of Seven Stars and Eight Trigrams.
In that very moment, Jiang He directed his mystic energies to charge the Sword Array of Seven Stars and Eight Trigrams. He was also reaching out with a grasping motion, taking out every piece of Five Thunder Talisman he had and throwing them out towards the seven remaining cultivators of the Penglai Sect.
Up in the air, thunderclouds promptly began to gather as the godly thunderbolts of five elements seemed to lock on upon those seven individuals, shooting down upon them one after another. All of those cultivators had been maimed and on the verge of death in the first place, but they still put up every move at their disposal right then... be that as it may, they all perished after blocking seventy thunderbolts released from fourteen Five Thunder Talismans, and even the Yuan Spirits was reduced to scraps.
"No..."
Inside the Sword Array of Seven Stars and Eight Trigrams, the White Brows Daoist was roaring madly in rage. He was bleeding from all of his orifices even as he burned his Daoist essence to the limit, to the point that scarlet flames were alit around his body. As the fires raged on, ripples were stirred upon the very air around him and space itself quaked.
"What a man!"
Jiang He was actually stunned.
That thing that would not die from old age was actually that fearsome?
Though burning one's essence to such extent would allow a person to rapidly unleash overwhelming combat ability, it was basically the same as severing oneself from one's very own being. When the fight ends, their tier of cultivation would definitely fall, and any intention to advance another inch would be incredibly difficult.
Once Jiang He put himself in the White Bro Daoist's shoes, an elite who had reached Mahayana-tier for over a thousand years would not only have to face a degrade in cultivation, but would also have to live through the tragic life of having his sect destroyed and all his disciples and grand-disciples slain...
Jiang He hence decided to end things for the man.
"System, how many Farm Points does it take to cultivate the Sword Array of Nine Skies Thunderflame?"
The System was silent in respond.
Cursing inwardly, Jiang He then cut to the chase."System, cultivate the Sword Array of Sword Array of Nine Skies Thunderflame!"
[Ding!]
[Insufficient Farm Points... ]
Jiang He was left at a loss for words.
He had earned a total of a 112. 8 million Farm Points... and it was already falling short?
"It costs ten million to completely cultivate into a Convergence-tier, and a hundred million to improve from there to full-fledged Sufferance... And then there is the Sword Array of Seven Stars and Eight Trigrams which costs ten million... so all that is left is just 1. 8 million Farm Points, huh?"
Jiang He hence sighed softly and reluctantly took out a pepper.
There was no helping it.
He now had to rely upon the pepper's fifty percent boost to combat power to help the White Brows Daoist die.
Finishing the pepper with several chews, the aura of his body improved by fifty percent. He could not help feeling pride as if the world was now beneath him as his mystic energies ran rampant, and he undid the Sword Array of Seven Stars and Eight Trigrams with a wave of his hand.
The White Brows Daoist could not help being delighted upon being freed from the restraint of the sword array. Clear Sky Mirror in hand, he charged toward Jiang He.
"Jiang He!"
"I shall take you down with myself..."
However, in the very next second, a sword flash of no other dazzle ignited.
Mosquito Cutter, First Style of the Three Thousand Calamities—White Foal Crosses the Rift.
A single swing of his sword shattered the Clear Sky Mirror.
At the same time, the White Brows Daoist was cut in twain.
Because he had been burning his Daoist essence and Yuan Spirit, the White Brows Daoist's Yuan Spirit was with blazing in a ferocious inferno. He attempted to fly off and escape, but by the next instant, boundless sword radiance flashed upon the world.
It was the Twenty-Three Swords.
Snikt.
The White Brows Daoist's Yuan Spirit was torn through with a single cut.
Then, it utterly dissipated with a loud bang.
Beckoning to every flying sword to return to him with a wave of his hand, Jiang He was now rather tired after having released the Twenty-Three Swords twice on this very day. Yawning, he was just about to search for spoils when his eyes turned by reflex to the nearby sea.
A frail Yuan Spirit had just weaved out from beneath the waves and was quickly fleeing toward the distance.
"The Thousand Sword Daoist?"
Jiang He laughed out loud, and punched out from the distance...
Ka-boom!
Overwhelming qi and mystic energies consumed the Yuan Spirit, and the frail Yuan Spirit of the Thousand Sword Daoist instantly blew up.
Jiang He's eyes turned then as he realized that a Spatial Ring had dropped out after the exploded Yuan Spirit. Reaching out with a grasping motion, he caught the Spatial Ring and could not help laughing out loud."To be honest, I did not really notice the sly old fox that is the Thousand Sword Daoist. If my Yuan Spirit had not improved by leaps and bounds while metamorphizing after I had ascended to full-fledged Sufferance-tier, thereby gaining incredible senses, that doggone thing would have managed to escape me."
With that, Jiang He nonchalantly put the Spatial Ring away.
Wrinkling his brow, he then looked at the air around him.
Though there was not a single person in sight, the veins of powerful auras that were hidden did not escape Jiang He's notice. It appeared that the elites from the secluded immortal sects and demonic sects, as well as the ancient daemon cultivators, had never left. After all, age had turned them crafty, so why would they retreat so easily?
All of them were waiting for the conflict between Jiang He and the Penglai Sect to end in mutual destruction, with neither coming out on top as they, the third party, reaped all the winnings.
In the end, the temptation of obtaining an immortal sword was too great!
Moreover, there was the Clear Sky Mirror aside from the immortal sword. At first, they had been coveting the treasure vault of the Penglai Sect which was accumulating in riches for several thousand years... but the Penglai Island was gone entirely now, and the Penglai Sect's treasure vault was completely destroyed from the violent explosion.
That being said, merely one immortal sword and one demi-immortal item was plenty enough for them to risk it.
Hence, as he felt the numerous veins of auras, Jiang He felt himself having a headache.
Damn it...
He was too careless.
Would these people attack him?
The chance that it would happen... was considerable.
All of these people must have been convinced that fighting the White Brows Daoist would take a massive toll on Jiang He and cause some serious injuries. What if they had even thought that he looked strong but was actually very weak?
And he... definitely...
Sustained some minor injuries.
Having released the Twenty-Three Swords two times in a single day, his spirit was a little depleted and fatigued. It would most certainly affect them if he kept fighting.
Among the people observing him were Mahayana-tier elites and elites of varying cultivation in Sufferance. If all of them worked together to take Jiang He down, he would at best kill one... No, he would only be able to take down two elites on the White Brows Daoist's level, no to mention that he would have run away right after!
"I absolutely must not be cowed. If I really did, these people would be making a move."
Hence, Jiang He started to fish out some of the scattered mystic treasures and Spatial Rings from the seas, when a thought occurred to him... perhaps his bunch of observers would be kept in check if Jiang He adopted a more overbearing presence.
He went beside the corpse of the White Brows Daoist and took his Spatial Ring, as well as the Clear Sky Mirror which had floated over eight hundred meters away, having almost been cut in two by his own sword.
"Someone is preparing to attack me!"
Jiang He's heart skipped a beat then, and he promptly laughed faintly.
He looked around, his face looking ever smug as he chuckled, "Friends, shouldn't you be going home now that you are done watching the show? Hmmm... that friend out there over at southeast. You are a daemonic cultivator, aren't you?"
"A mere Sufferance with eight retributions, daring to show hostility towards me?"
"Where is your Holy Grounds? Should I go plant some shrooms at your place?"
Whoosh!
The Mosquito Cutter materialized over Jiang He's head at that.
Killing intent flaring over his body, he promptly slashed out from several hundred kilometers away.
There was a muffled cry as blood splashed down from the skies right afterwards. A daemon whose Daemonic Qi was Sufferance-tier with eight retributions weathered hence dropped out from the clouds, and he promptly turned into a scarlet radiance as he fled, his voice echoing, "Brother Jiang He, it was just a misunderstanding—in fact, it was all a misunderstanding... I bear no grudges against you at all, Brother Jiang He..."
With that, he escaped at once.
Jiang He waved his hand and retrieved the Mosquito Cutter in return.
The many elites who had been watching were left in discreet shock and awe.
Was that the power of an immortal sword?
A single cut actually maimed an eight-retribution daemon from around two hundred kilometers away. The daemon would have been killed instantly if it was just fifty kilometers away!
Up in the air, the various Sufferance-tier elites who had weathered seven or eight retributions quickly left.
On the other hand, the divine minds of the Mahayana-tier elites had an exchange before all of them fled as well.
Jiang He laughed several times at that, and said, "It is just as I had expected. Those antiques that could not die from old age even after living one or two thousand years are actually all cowards. Just a little intimidation, and they would run quicker than anyone else."
After that, he searched the seas around... and end up feeling very helpless.
The treasure vault of the Penglai Sect had indeed been blown away.
Spirit stone, mystic treasure, or whatnot—everything that were a little low in grade were directly vaporized. All that was left were a dozen scattered mediocre-grade and superior-grade sage items, floating on the surface of the ocean.
There was also a premium-grade combat garment.
It must have been belonged to the Mahayana-tier elite. He had been at the very heart of the explosion when the nine hundred Doom Shrooms detonated, and only the trousers were left after it was incinerated with the searing heat of several hundred million degrees.
Regardless, Jiang He picked up every last one of the sage items...
It did not matter if it was broken... all he had to do was bring it home and plant of it.
"In fact, it does not matter if I had or did not have these mystic treasures. I am more concerned about the cultivation manuals the Penglai Sect had... what a shame!"
Jiang He was beside himself with regret.
The immortal sect that had several thousands of years' worth of history would definitely possess uncountable cultivation manuals passed down across generations. It would be enough for Jiang He to establish his own sect and faction if he did get them, and even if he had no intention of doing that, he could give it to Wang Hou, who in turn would treat Jiang He as if Jiang He was his actual father. It was also a very good idea for Jiang He to hold on to the manuals for himself as a leisure reading material to kill time, or use it for reference when he created new cultivation manuals later.
"It is a good thing that I do not have any Doom Shrooms left now. Wouldn't I blow up everything the Ten Thousand Swords Sect had if I were to throw the shrooms by instinct when I visit them?"
As the thought flashed in Jiang He's mind, he suddenly remembered something...
Why had he not seen any elites from the Ten Thousand Swords Sect?
Reasonably speaking, should they not have received word once Jiang He himself had showed up at the Penglai Sect, what with the Thousand Sword Daoist being present?
"What a bother!"
"The Ten Thousand Swords Sect did not come... I would have to visit them when I head home later!"
Jiang He was rather troubled.
Those folks were not playing their cards normally!
You lot are an entire sect of sword cultivators. How would an immortal sword not tempt you in any way?
That being said, Jiang He himself had yet to deliver on his promise to the Superpower Research Department about capturing a Feral King... even so, after having just released the Twenty-Three Swords two times, he was getting a little tired.
That being said, Ten Thousand Swords Sect would not flee if he really decided to delay matters until after he woke up and captured a Feral King... would they?
"They would not do that, would they?"
"The Ten Thousand Swords Sect has laid out their foundation for over several thousand years. They would not throw in the towel, would they?"
"Yes, well, as the saying goes: the monk could run away, but he cannot run away from the temple..."
Jiang He muttered to himself, yawning."I will go to sleep for now and head to the Ten Thousand Swords Sect after I wake up...."
As for catching a Feral King?
Jiang He was becoming a little reluctant to do that.
Now that he had become even more powerful, even with his physical beast taming method, his temper would still flare if those Ferals remained stubborn as ever, with his single breath being very much able to blow the Feral King to death.
"Perhaps I should just look for a Holy Ground of on those ancient daemon cultivators, and have them give me two daemonic cultivators who are Daemonic Pellet tier?"
"Actually, I wonder which Holy Ground that eight retribution daemonic cultivator I maimed with a single sword strike belonged to... After I wake up and deal with the grief against the Ten Thousand Sword Sect, I will definitely go looking for daemonic cultivators who are Daemonic Pellet tier!"
| ← Ch. 334 | Ch. 336 → |