Volume 1 Volume 7 Chapter 66

Volume 7 Chapter 66: It Has Begun

Seeing that members of the Shura Clan had appeared, all the masters in the arena could not help but snort coldly, yet a strange look flashed in their eyes. The Shura Clan focused on body training and magical powers, looked down on the way of crafting weapons, and could not use magical tools at all. The "Azure Crystal Treasure House" was useless to them, so why did they come here?

Humans and the Shura Clan have been fighting for many years, filled with intense hatred for each other. If it weren’t for the imminent opening of the "Azure Crystal Treasure House" and the unstable world, once they fought, their strength would surely cause the world to shake. Everyone couldn’t believe what would happen then and didn’t dare to test it.

Everyone present was a top master, skilled and powerful, but in the face of the world’s power, even the mightiest masters were like ants.

So when the masters saw the Shura Clan approaching, although they felt extremely envious, they restrained themselves, just staring fiercely at the Shura Clan members with cold expressions.

After the Shura Clan members arrived, they merely stood aside, a mocking look on their faces, coldly laughing at the human cultivators as if they were hunters watching lambs ready for slaughter.

Xu Qingfan seemed as if he did not see the Shura Clan people at all. He calmly flew to Immortal Zizhen, Mr. Liu, and the others, bowed to them, and said, "It’s been many years since we last met, esteemed seniors."

As they looked at Xu Qingfan, the masters all had strange expressions. After a long hesitation, they each bowed back to Xu Qingfan, except for Immortal Zizhen and Mr. Liu, who remained still and just nodded at Xu Qingfan.

"Esteemed seniors, it has been many years since we last saw each other. Your skills have become even deeper and more mysterious."

Xu Qingfan smiled at Immortal Zizhen and Mr. Liu.

Immortal Zizhen nodded and said slowly, "Not like you. Your progress is rarely seen in history. In a few hundred years, I might not be your match anymore."

But Xu Qingfan shook his head and sighed, "At your level, to make even a tiny bit of progress would take hundreds of years. Surpassing you is not so simple. Even to reach your level, I would need hundreds of years."

Immortal Zizhen nodded, then turned to look at the Shura Clan people and stopped paying attention to Xu Qingfan.

Xu Qingfan turned to Mr. Liu and solemnly bowed, saying, "Esteemed senior, we finally meet again."

Mr. Liu’s smile was unchanged. He nodded and asked, "You are well. Your achievements are much greater than I expected."

As he spoke, Mr. Liu’s smile suddenly vanished, and his face became serious. He asked, "In business, we talk business. Do you have what you owe me?"

Xu Qingfan knew Mr. Liu’s nature well, just as he himself said, "In business, we talk business." So he stood up and smiled, "I’ve brought it."

Saying this, Xu Qingfan took out a white jade bottle and a treasure pouch from his sleeve and presented them to Mr. Liu with both hands.

Two hundred Immortal Ascending Pills and two hundred heavenly-level magical tools—this was all Xu Qingfan was willing to invest in the entire Tianzuo Camp. To gather these spirit pills and magical tools, most of the materials collected after slaying all the demon beasts across three thousand miles of Rainbow Spirit Seven Islands had been refined into these items, aside from the rewards given to the ten camps after the battle.

Although it pained Xu Qingfan to give these things up, he did so without hesitation. Without Mr. Liu’s support, Xu Qingfan would never be able to bring so many cultivators from the Human Alliance to serve him in Rainbow Spirit Seven Islands. Even though the Spirit Qi there was nearly liquid, and there were countless rare treasures, it was still just seven islands. Many of the things Xu Qingfan needed over the years relied on Mr. Liu to help collect.

It can be said that without Mr. Liu’s secret aid, there would be no Rainbow Spirit Seven Islands today, and in the future, Xu Qingfan would need Mr. Liu’s help even more. So, although it pained Xu Qingfan to part with these items, especially since they made up almost half of Jiuhua’s yield over the years, he had to give them. In a way, Mr. Liu was definitely someone who only cared about profit.

Sure enough, upon seeing what Xu Qingfan handed over, Mr. Liu’s stern face relaxed, and he smiled widely. He put the jade bottle and treasure pouch into his sleeve, checked them out for a moment, and his smile grew even brighter as he asked cheerfully, "It seems there’s a bit more here."

"You deserve it."

Xu Qingfan bowed and said.

Mr. Liu nodded with a smile, and then suddenly seemed to remember something. He turned to Immortal Zizhen and said, "Zizhen, this young man Xu Qingfan is visiting the ‘Azure Crystal Treasure House’ for the first time and knows nothing about it. I will go with him this time to guide him along. Besides, you have enough people here."

Immortal Zizhen looked at Xu Qingfan as he made a tribute deal with Mr. Liu. His expression grew more serious and strange. After a long while, he said, "My friend, be careful with those Shura Clan people. They are not here for the ‘Azure Crystal Treasure House,’ but for us inside it. Once we are in there, it may lead to a battle."

Mr. Liu’s expression also became slightly serious. He nodded and said, "I understand this well. You all be careful too. It’s different from before; be sure not to act alone."

As he spoke, Mr. Liu and Xu Qingfan flew towards Liu Ziqing and Wang Zegang.

On the way, Mr. Liu carefully asked Xu Qingfan about the developments and happenings of the Rainbow Spirit Seven Islands over the years. After flying to Liu Ziqing and Wang Zegang, Mr. Liu suddenly asked, "Xu Qingfan, do you know why I have been helping you so much over the years?"

Liu Ziqing chimed in jokingly, "Isn’t it to collect more treasures?"

Mr. Liu laughed heartily and said, "That is true, but there are other reasons."

While speaking, Mr. Liu turned to look carefully at Xu Qingfan, Liu Ziqing, and Wang Zegang. The carefree expression on his face was gone, and he said solemnly, "You should all know the situation on Shenzhou Continent, the situation with the Human Alliance. The Shura Clan has already begun secretly growing their numbers. I know it’s happening in the prosperous southwest of Middle-earth, but so what? Now we can only disturb them and dare not confront them head-on. Why? Because we are still not strong enough and can only watch the Shura Clan’s strength grow until it becomes unstoppable for our Human Alliance. And the Zhong family? They have grown the fastest in strength over the years. The situation within the Human Alliance is even more dire; the major Holy Lands are making their moves, using their accumulation over a thousand years to produce many powerful experts. Yet, Zhang Xusheng’s strength is still uncontrollable, and he has now reached a level that can rival me and Immortal Zizhen. For every ten Condensed Core Stage disciples trained by the major Holy Lands, he finds a way to recruit thirty of them. Haha."

Mr. Liu sighed and said, "In my life, I have always approached everything with confidence. I never thought there was anything I could not accomplish, and I never believed I was inferior to anyone. But this time, facing the Shura Clan, the Zhong family, and Zhang Xusheng… I really feel overwhelmed. Everything and everyone in this world seems to be out of control… So, I must leave a way out for the cultivation world and for humanity."

"Is this back road us?"

Xu Qingfan asked with a smile.

Mr. Liu nodded and said, "Yes, it’s you."

"But I don’t want to be just a backup option."

Xu Qingfan sighed and said with his hands behind his back.

"I know you have your own plans, but you should understand, my involvement in Rainbow Spirit Seven Islands, although I remain in the background, is not less than yours. Rainbow Spirit Seven Islands is not only yours."

Mr. Liu stared at Xu Qingfan with sharp eyes and continued, "I know you have your own plans, but I need you to promise that whenever you are able, you can bring people into the chaos of Shenzhou Continent, but you must never involve the entire Rainbow Spirit Seven Islands."

After hesitating for a moment, Xu Qingfan bowed and said, "I will follow your advice."

After hearing Xu Qingfan’s promise, Mr. Liu finally smiled, but changed the subject, saying, "You have never been to the ‘Azure Crystal Treasure House’; let me tell you about what it’s like inside…"

…

During the conversations among Xu Qingfan and the others, a few skilled humans arrived one after another.

Among them was an old woman with a face full of wrinkles, holding a Nine Dragons Staff, standing tremblingly in the clouds. She seemed completely still, and no one knew when she had appeared.

Another cultivator, dressed like a human swordsman, had a serious expression and was confronting a middle-aged scholar who held a peach blossom fan.

There was also a cultivator wrapped in white robes and a white hood, standing far away from everyone. Xu Qingfan was surprised to see that this person had a much stronger connection to the Spirit Qi of heaven and earth than anyone else present.

What puzzled Xu Qingfan the most was that the cultivation level of these four people was not lower than that of Immortal Zizhen. However, apart from these four, there were no other masters at the level of Xu Qingfan, Liu Ziqing, or Wang Zegang.

"Are there really so many top experts in the world? They must be hidden masters. But why are there only these peak masters of the Soul Splitting Stage, while none at a slightly weaker level?"

Looking at these four, he asked Mr. Liu in disbelief.

Mr. Liu’s face was pale, and he replied calmly, "There are many hidden masters and unknown experts in the world. People only think that the cultivation world has tens of thousands of cultivators and that a master only appears every few hundred years. What they don’t know is that once a cultivator reaches the master level, they can live for a thousand years. Those at our level live even longer; each is like a thousand-year-old turtle, their lives spanning several eras. The accumulation of new and old generations together adds up, and thus the numbers increase. It’s not as rare as you might think. In many cases, the number of Soul Splitting Stage masters is even greater than the combined total of Nascent Soul Stage and Astral Projection Stage."

As Mr. Liu spoke, his voice grew colder, "These people do not want to be restrained. Even when humanity is in great danger, they prefer to act alone. As far as I know, nearly half of the Shura Clan members killed over the years were by their hands. The Shura Clan dares not launch a full-scale attack on the Human Alliance, partly because of them. And now, it seems there are only four of them left. Why are only these top individuals left? Because those who were slightly weaker have all been killed by the Shura Clan."

Just as Mr. Liu’s voice fell, the skies over Lingzhou State changed dramatically.

"It has begun."

Mr. Liu said with a smile.