The Sovereign's Ascension

Chapter 135 - Failed Scheme

Back at the fake stone coffin, the Blood Cloud Sect and Golden Flame Sect’s battle grew intense, with everyone executing their killing moves. Some of them even summoned their Martial Souls.

Several corpses were lying on the ground, infusing the atmosphere with the stench of blood. Both parties were equally matched in strength. If the battle continued, regardless of who won, both parties would suffer huge losses.

However, they could accept everyone dying here as long as they could obtain the Cosmic Treasure. The Golden Flame Sect did not have a reason to retreat, which was the same for the Blood Cloud Sect.

On top of the stone coffin, Mei Zihua and Xue Tu were both fighting. The two of them had squeezed out the very limits of their High-Grade Profound Artifacts, with every attack causing space to tremble.

However, Mei Zihua had obtained a slight advantage in the fight. His Golden Flame Art had reached the fourth stage. Combined with his robust cultivation and the Demonic Flame Halberd, his strength had reached a terrifying height.

Even someone as powerful as Xue Tu would be heavily injured if he suffered an attack. However, his Crimson Bone Whip was equally powerful.

The whip flew out like a dragon, releasing thunderous snaps while flying through the air. The whip was like a snake, attacking from unpredictable positions. Mei Zihua did not have an easy time facing Xue Tu either. Even if he held the advantage, he couldn’t injure Xue Tu.

Whoosh!

The nine segments of the Crimson Bone Whip flew and swung down like a long spear. But before it fell, it suddenly became flexible, spiraling through the Demonic Flame Halberd like a venomous snake towards Mei Zihua’s arm.

Mei Zihua’s face darkened and he circulated his spiritual energy to knock the Crimson Bone Whip back.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

While he dissipated Xue Tu’s attack, he also took a few steps back and reached the stone coffin’s border. He was pushed back again after another clash and his eyes flashed with irritation.

“Mei Zihua, is that all you got? No wonder Lin Yun could rob you of your Dragoncloud Fruit!” Xue Tu mocked. He held onto the whip’s handle with his right hand and fiddled with the whip using his left.

Xue Tu sneered in his heart. This fool was still under the impression that this stone coffin contained the treasure, when in reality he had sent people out to the real one. He wondered how Mei Zihua would react if he knew that about it.

But he had to bear his laughter for the time being, so he could only sneer inwardly.

“Shut up!” Mei Zihua was incredibly prideful and Lin Yun was the greatest prick in his heart. He was already irritated, so his fury boundlessly grew when Lin Yun was mentioned.

“Am I wrong?” asked Xue Tu, “Don’t you know that there is no eternal secret in the world?” Xue Tu felt great seeing Mei Zihua’s fury. His smile became eerier as he continued to mock Mei Zihua.

“You have the gall to comment about me?” questioned Mei Zihua, “Weren’t you the one who got blasted away by his punch outside the valley?”

“That’s because I was careless! If you didn’t attack, he would’ve already died under my whip.” Xue Tu barked as his face changed.

Boom!

This time, his whip lashed out like a ferocious dragon, emitting a blood radiance filled with spiritual energy.

“You’re courting death!” Mei Zihua wasn’t afraid and swung his Demonic Flame Halberd, launching his retaliation.

Boom!

The two clashed, creating an earth-shattering thunderous roar.

Crack! Crack!

The stone coffin had absorbed many of their attacks and cracks began to spread out on it.

Whoosh! action

The stone coffin exploded and turned into fragments.

“The stone coffin has shattered!” The two parties immediately stopped their fight.

Mei Zihua immediately directed his gaze over and was dumbfounded; there was nothing in the stone coffin.

“It’s empty!”

“Where’s the Cosmic Treasure?”

“Was it already taken?! But there were no traces of it being opened!”

“Then why is it empty?”

Mei Zihua was shocked and looked at Xue Tu. Xue Tu’s eyes narrowed into a smile as if he had expected this scene. The elders of the Blood Cloud Sect also held a smile on their faces without any shock.

“Why is it empty? Hahaha! It would be strange if something was inside!” Xue Tu finally couldn’t hold back his laughter anymore, looking at the dumbfounded Mei Zihua.

“You knew about this!” Mei Zihua barked, looking at Xue Tu coldly.

“How long have you guys researched the Sword Grave? My Blood Cloud Sect has been working on this for nearly a hundred years and we’ve already scouted out the terrain. There are two cores in the array, one is fake and the other is real. We’ve already determined that there’s no treasure in this stone coffin.” The Quasi-Profound Martial Realm elder sneered.

“Then, where’s the real one?” Mei Zihua asked.

“Haha! Mei Zihua, your silliness is adorable. We’ve already sent people out to the real stone coffin. They should have finished right about now.” Xue Tu felt terrific from fooling Mei Zihua.

“Damn it!” Mei Zihua’s anger blazed when he knew that he was fooled and he released his killing aura.

“What? Do you want to fight? Now that my Blood Cloud Sect possesses a Cosmic Treasure, we will rule the Azure Sun County. Mei Zihua, it’s best if you kneel and beg for your life. Otherwise, your Golden Flame Sect will be the first to be eradicated when we get out!” Xue Tu replied coldly.

Mei Zihua was stunned and his aura waned. The Golden Flame Sect’s elders and disciples also felt a chill run down their spine. The Blood Cloud Sect was known for their brutality, so how would they spare the Golden Flame Sect now that they possessed a Cosmic Treasure?

“How did things turn out this way…” The party from the Golden Flame Sect was crestfallen.

Looking at the crestfallen Golden Flame Sect, who had been arrogant, the Blood Cloud Sect’s party felt terrific. But suddenly, the Array Master, who was heavily injured by Lin Yun, ran over.

“Elder Mo!”

“Elder Mo, what’s wrong? Why are you so injured?”

The Blood Cloud Sect’s party was shocked when they saw the Array Master. When Mei Zihua looked at the Array Master, his face looked weird.

Xue Tu immediately felt an ill premonition rising in his heart. He went over and asked, “Elder Mo, where’s the Cosmic Treasure?”

This person was the Array Master responsible for retrieving the Cosmic Treasure. In that instant, both parties turned to look at the Array Master.

Elder Mo had bitterness on his face and replied with his voice trembling, “Lin Yun snatched the Cosmic Treasure. He attacked me the moment I retrieved the Cosmic Treasure, injuring me heavily. All I could do was run…”

“What?!” The Blood Cloud Sect’s party was dumbfounded.

“Elder Mo, can you repeat that?” Xue Tu asked with disbelief on his face.

“The Cosmic Treasure was taken by Lin Yun.” Elder Mo replied with his head lowered.

Xue Tu’s mind buzzed and he nearly fell on his butt. He had schemed against the Golden Flame Sect, but he never imagined that the Cosmic Treasure would be taken by someone else instead.

An elder by the side immediately helped him up.

At this moment, Mei Zihua, who had all the emotions pent up in his chest, started laughing, “So where’s the Cosmic Treasure? Didn’t you claim that you’ll eradicate my Golden Flame Sect with the Cosmic Treasure just a second ago?”

“Y-you!” Xue Tu stuttered, his body trembled, bearing the urge to hack Mei Zihua apart. “I have no time for you right now! Elder Mo, bring us over!”

“Follow me.”

The Blood Cloud Sect’s party headed in another direction with gloomy faces.

Mei Zihua snorted and slammed the Demonic Flame Halberd on the ground. “Falling into Lin Yun’s hands is better than letting the Blood Cloud Sect have it. At the very least, he won’t be staying in the Azure Sun County for long…”

Everyone from the Golden Flame Sect felt the same way, with fear lingering in their hearts. Profound Martial Realm cultivators could fully unleash the power of Cosmic Treasures. So if the Cosmic Treasure fell into the Blood Cloud Sect’s hands, it would break the balance in the Azure Sun County.

No one wanted to experience the Blood Cloud Sect’s brutal means.

“If it wasn’t for Lin Yun, I’m afraid that the Blood Cloud Sect would’ve tricked us. Zihua, what should we do now?” A Quasi-Profound Martial Realm elder asked.

“What else? Follow them! Wouldn’t it be great if we could kill Lin Yun and take the Cosmic Treasure for ourselves? At that time, I’ll see if the Blood Cloud Sect still dares to be so arrogant!” Mei Zihua replied.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The Golden Flame Sect’s party swiftly followed behind the Blood Cloud Sect under Mei Zihua’s lead. An hour later, both of the parties arrived at the real array’s core. All of them had shock on their faces when they looked at the scene before them.

The stone coffin was replaced by a black hole, with an eerie wind whistling out. It sounded like demonic chimes, which made everyone feel uncomfortable.

Above the hole, the torrential sword aura in the Sword Grave was gathered together, forming a massive invisible sword that prevented the black miasma from leaking out. That sword looked like an illusion, but everyone here could sense the terror.

“Demonic miasma!” An elder of the Golden Flame Sect exclaimed out with dense fear in his eyes, looking at the black miasma.

Everyone from the Blood Cloud Sect was also filled with fear, which manifested in their eyes. Their sect could be considered to be from the demonic path based on their cultivation techniques and behavior. However, they were trembling in fear when they looked at the demonic miasma coming from the black hole. The black hole was pitch-black and felt like it was full of destruction.

Looking at Xue Tu, Mei Zihua raised his lips, “Didn’t you claim that your Blood Cloud Sect researched this place for a hundred years? What’s with that look on your faces?”

“The Sword Grave was a massive sword array to suppress the demonic miasma here. Lin Yun is dead, falling into the black hole. You can go down and take a look if you have the guts.” Xue Tu raised his head to look at Mei Zihua.

“Do you think I don’t dare?” Mei Zihua snorted. He then started discussing with the Golden Flame Sect’s elders. The Blood Cloud Sect did the same, discussing their next course of action.

Ultimately, the two sects decided to send one Quasi-Profound Martial Realm cultivator each. Both of them took the High-Grade Profound Artifacts that belonged to their sects and then jumped into the black hole. They were instantly swallowed up by the darkness.

Everyone waited anxiously as they stood on guard against each other.

It didn’t take long for the two cultivators to return. When they came out, everyone was shocked to discover that those two looked older by more than a decade and their eyes were radiated with fear.

Pffft!

The two Quasi-Profound Martial Realm cultivators spat out a mouthful of black blood and collapsed onto the ground.

Looking at them, everyone from the two sects were shocked. The two Quasi-Profound Martial Realm cultivators only went a hundred meters down, yet they were reduced to this state? Just how terrifying was the black hole?