Lian Shang Ni Kan Shu Wang… The fastest updates for Swallowing Heaven Emperor!
Chapter 1314: What is that?
After those groups emerged, the three great powers, along with many other forces, immediately began searching for news of them.
For Canglong Sect, it was to protect them. For the two hostile powers, it was for revenge and to seize opportunities.
As for the other forces, they naturally wanted to curry favour with the three great powers in hopes of gaining benefits.
Moreover, not everyone from the three great powers had left. Teams in other areas were still exploring opportunities within the Domain of Evil.
Hearing all this, Lin Xiao felt a slight sense of relief. Thankfully, the Fifth Peak Master of Canglong Sect, Xi Yucheng, and the others had not fallen.
Of course, anger still burned within him.
As he walked along the streets, he overheard people discussing other opportunities within the Domain of Evil.
The three great powers and others had sent new teams inside once more.
However, those opportunities were not particularly significant and did not attract nearly as many people as the ancient temple or Evil Valley had.
Afterwards, Lin Xiao found an inn, sat quietly in a corner, listened to all kinds of information while eating and drinking heartily. After going so long without proper food, the meal tasted especially good.
Another day passed. Lin Xiao obtained a map and information about the nearest Ji family branch, the Thirty-Eighth Division. He travelled light and set off quickly towards it.
The Ji family’s Thirty-Eighth Division was said to be led by a Ninth-layer Martial Emperor elder. The clan had several thousand direct members, and including family, collateral relatives, and attached forces, the total numbered five or six thousand. It was located in front of a mountain range.
It lay tens of thousands of li from the Thirty-Seventh Division, making them relatively close neighbours among the Ji family branches.
However, there was no teleportation array between the Thirty-Eighth and Thirty-Seventh Divisions, so travel between them took considerable time.
Most importantly, the Thirty-Eighth Division was the closest to Lin Xiao, which was why he chose it.
Without his Void Heavenly Phoenix Wings, travelling proved much more troublesome. Just getting from that small city to the Thirty-Eighth Division took him several days.
One day, under the blazing sun, when Lin Xiao was still several thousand li from the Thirty-Eighth Division, he spotted a group of more than a dozen people flying in the same direction.
Their cultivation was not particularly high. Most were early-stage Martial Emperors, led by a single Fifth-layer Martial Emperor elder.
From their attire, they looked like a merchant caravan.
Most were middle-aged or elderly, with only one youth at the First-layer Martial Emperor realm.
The merchants flew far slower than Lin Xiao, so he overtook them easily.
“Brother!” The youth enthusiastically approached. “Are you also heading to the Ji family?”
Lin Xiao glanced at him and nodded.
“May I ask if you are going to do business with the Ji family or to pay a visit?” The youth was extremely warm, displaying the typical merchant’s friendliness and desire to make connections.
“To pay a visit,” Lin Xiao replied.
“It seems brother is no ordinary person. Those who can visit the Ji family are all extraordinary.” The youth smiled. “To be honest, we are also going to the Ji family on business.”
As he spoke, he extended his hand with a grin. “I am Guang Tao. May I know your esteemed name, little brother?”
“For you all, it is best if you do not know who I am,” Lin Xiao said. He did not shake the offered hand and exchanged no further words. Instead, he accelerated to full speed and shot towards the horizon.
For these people, whether they sided with the Ji family or remained neutral, it was truly better that they did not recognise him.
Otherwise, he would only bring them enormous trouble in the future.
Watching Lin Xiao vanish into the distance in an instant, Guang Tao and the entire caravan stood stunned.
None of them had expected a youth in his twenties to possess such astonishing speed.
Even their leader, the elder, admitted he was far inferior.
“Could he be a genius of the Ji family?” Guang Tao muttered in a daze.
Given the other’s strength, they were simply not on the same level. It was natural that the youth had no interest in befriending him.
The gap was too vast. Guang Tao could only climb upwards, yet he had nothing to offer in return. From a merchant’s perspective, such a connection held no value.
In other words, their paths would never cross.
The youth’s blunt words had actually been quite polite.
Guang Tao could only sigh. Coming from a humble merchant background, reaching his current cultivation and worldly experience at this age was already impressive.
Yet compared to others, his starting point was far too low, and his talent insufficient. Geniuses of the Ji family were figures he could only look up to.
Who did not wish to become a dragon among men, shining in all directions?
Unfortunately, one’s starting point often determined one’s future.
What Guang Tao did not know was that Lin Xiao’s starting point had been far lower than his own. Lin Xiao had simply encountered tremendous opportunities and endured far more life-and-death trials.
…
Ahead, Lin Xiao naturally gave no thought to Guang Tao’s feelings. He flew at maximum speed towards the Ji family’s Thirty-Eighth Division.
When he was two or three hundred li away, he could already see a sprawling complex of grand courtyards standing before a mountain range.
There were no tall buildings, yet every structure exuded solemn dignity. Ancient trees stood among them, as though the Thirty-Eighth Division had been rooted here for centuries. Their lush branches half-concealed the buildings in dappled shadow.
At the very front stood an imposing gate. Above it rested a massive stone tablet, its material unlike ordinary stone, radiating an aura of grandeur from the first glance.
Carved upon the tablet in flowing script were the words: “Ji Family Thirty-Eighth Division.”
Though the characters bore no imprint of power, those few words alone served as the greatest deterrent.
Two middle-aged guards stood watch on either side of the gate.
From afar, their strength was unclear, but their presence alone was imposing.
“Let me see just how strong you really are!”
Lin Xiao began hurling storage rings from his collection, each one releasing two thousand skeleton soldiers. In moments, the entire army of over ten thousand skeletons poured out.
He immediately activated the Undying Skeleton Technique, rousing the commander skeleton and designating the target.
The moment the commander moved, the piled skeletons seemed to awaken. They swiftly spread out and formed perfect ranks in the void before Lin Xiao.
Their formation remained the same as in Evil Valley: greatswords and heavy axes at the front, archers in the middle, spearmen at the rear, clearly an assault formation.
Once arrayed, the commander shook his golden spear, producing a ringing metallic clash. Then the army of over ten thousand skeletons surged through the sky towards the Ji family’s Thirty-Eighth Division. An invisible aura of ghastly chill filled the void. Wherever the army passed, the very air grew cold and gloomy.
“That… what is that?” One of the middle-aged guards at the gate stared in horror at the dense tide of skeletons rushing towards them.
