Translator: Silavin Tia
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain Dhael Ligerkeys
The large banner fluttered, flapping loudly in the wind. The cultivators holding the Array Flags at all sixty-four Array Nodes activated them according to the Secret Technique taught to them by Black Crow Divine Monarch. Then, the Array Flags began to resonate with the control banner.
A vibration that came from the depths of one’s Soul resounded through the air. The entire world seemed to shudder for a moment and crimson red mist emerged from the ground before spreading out to cover the entire mountain valley in the blink of an eye.
They had all witnessed the strangeness of this blood mist earlier. The cultivators who fell into it had quickly turned into mummified corpses; therefore, everybody was terrified when the blood mist appeared once more and their scalps tingled with fear.
Black Crow Divine Monarch shouted, “Focus! If you dare to slack off, then don’t blame this Monarch for being ruthless!”
Everybody felt very uneasy. Nevertheless, they could only grit their teeth and continue cooperating with him to activate the Grand Array when they thought about his horrifying methods. Fortunately, the blood mist only lingered within the mountain valley and flowed around their bodies.
The blood mist soon squirmed like a living creature under the influence of those Array Flags and gradually gathered together to form a gigantic array in the mountain valley! A faint outline suddenly appeared out of nowhere. The outline only revealed the tip of the iceberg, but it looked like a part of an enormous palace.
All the cultivators were stunned by the sight of that outline. Only then did they realise that Black Crow Divine Monarch did not deceive them. The rumoured Blood Monster Divine Palace was truly hidden in this place. It was just that it had always been protected by a barrier, so it was never revealed. If not for Black Crow Divine Monarch’s guidance, most would have never noticed any of the mysteries in this place even if they were standing in front of them.
Yang Kai stood at the top of the mountain in his original spot. He looked at the outline and became more certain that Blood Monster Divine Monarch had no intention of passing his legacy and inheritance down to anyone. Everything in this place could not be accessed by a cultivator in the Emperor Realm. Without Black Crow Divine Monarch, it would have been impossible for them to even find any traces of the Blood Monster Divine Palace.
The blood mist twisted and squirmed back and forth within the mountain valley, constantly climbing over the outline of the palace. Over time, the outline revealed more and more parts of the palace while at the same time, the outline became more and more solid.
Next to Yang Kai, Qu Hua Shang, Gu Pan, Zhang Ruo Xi, Lin Feng, Ning Dao Ran, Wei Bu Que, Ding Yi, Chef, Accountant, and Lang Qing Shan were all ready to attack at a moment’s notice. However, there were no signs indicating the appearance of the Seventh-Order Monster Beast despite waiting for so long.
Ding Yi scratched his head and chuckled, “Could Black Crow Divine Monarch have been mistaken? There doesn’t seem to be a Seventh-Order Monster Beast sleeping in this place. With such a commotion going on, any Monster Beast would have woken up a long time ago if they were sleeping here.”
Wei Bu Que grinned, “It’s best if there’s nothing. We can just watch them work; then, we can rush in and search for treasure once the Blood Monster Divine Palace opens.”
Ding Yi reacted like he had found his best friend and looked at Wei Bu Que enthusiastically, “I was thinking so too.”
“Keep your guard up!” Yang Kai suddenly shouted. Although they had yet to see anything resembling a Seventh-Order Monster Beast, there was obviously a reason why Black Crow Divine Monarch was so serious about this matter. It was most likely that there really was a Seventh-Order Monster Beast sleeping in this place.
During the conversation between Ding Yi and Wei Bu Que, a faint and barely perceptible Monster Qi suddenly spread out. It didn’t take long before the Monster Qi became dozens of times more potent. Moreover, the Monster Qi was so pure that it was simply indescribable. Even the Golden Gorilla King could not compare. There was no doubt that the Seventh-Order Monster Beast sleeping in this place had been awoken from its slumber.
Everybody’s expressions froze. The mouths of Ding Yi and Wei Bu Que, who had been joking around, twitched slightly. They realised that their words had jinxed the situation. They had only just mentioned the Monster Beast and the Monster Beast immediately showed signs of appearing.
Yang Kai’s expression was solemn. Spreading out his Divine Sense, he monitored the surroundings. He wanted to know where the Monster Beast would emerge from for, at this moment, there was no sign of it. Even so, just the Monster Qi permeating the air alone was enough to create a sense of terror in their hearts. One could only imagine the horror of a Seventh-Order Monster Beast.
A short while later, Yang Kai looked down and shouted, “It’s coming from below!”
The entire view in the mountain valley was unobstructed, but there was no trace of the Monster Beast at all. Thus, the only possibility was that the Monster Beast would emerge from underground.
As soon as the words left Yang Kai’s mouth, they heard a loud rumbling coming from deep below. It was followed by an earthquake, almost as though a behemoth was crawling out of the ground.
Without any warning, an enormous head suddenly popped out from below the ground, accompanied by a deep roar. A large bloody mouth opened and swallowed up several dozen people standing nearby in one bite, along with the soil they were standing on.
All of a sudden, there was one less Array Node among the sixty-four. Fortunately, Black Crow Divine Monarch had obviously anticipated this issue when setting up the Grand Array. Even though there was one less Array Node, it did not affect the operation of the Grand Array at all. The blood mist continued to drift over the Blood Monster Divine Palace, making it appear more and more solid. It was even starting to show signs of emerging from the Void.
*Hong hong hong…*
The Monster Beast broke out of the ground in the next moment, causing a gigantic pit to appear. Its enormous body was as large as a small hill, with thick scales covering its body forming a powerful defence. The blood mist swirled around the sides of its body but could not corrode it at all.
It was not until this moment that Yang Kai, who had been paying close attention to his surroundings all this while, finally had a good look at the Monster Beast. It was a Star Turtle with a 200 metre long and 50 metre tall body. In addition, it was covered in a layer of dazzling yellow light.
Yang Kai was both disappointed and relieved, “An Earth Element Monster Beast!”
He was disappointed that this Monster Beast was not of the Metal Element or Yin Element like what he desperately needed, but rather the Earth Element. He had already condensed an Earth Element Power; moreover, he had used the Dragon Bead of a Great Dragon. There was nothing much to gain even if he killed this Star Turtle.
At the same time, he was relieved that it was an Earth Element Monster Beast. The Earth Element was mainly about defence, so although it would be difficult to kill, the posture of this Star Turtle indicated it had poor offensive abilities so the risk of facing it was minimised to a great extent.
Furthermore, the Star Turtle had been sleeping for many millennia, so at this moment, it was still a little dazed and sluggish from having just woken up. It blankly rolled its eyes around, looking very drowsy.
The cultivators forming the Array Nodes nearest to the turtle trembled uncontrollably. They had witnessed with their own eyes as the Star Turtle gulped up an entire batch of cultivators as soon as it appeared. Therefore, they were scared that it might turn around and eat them too. One should not be fooled by its dazed appearance. Nobody present was its opponent if it decided to attack; after all, its strength lay in its defence. The possibility was high that nobody could put a scratch on it.
One of the cultivators from a Second Class great force gulped nervously and subconsciously took a few steps back. He wanted to hide behind the others to seek a sense of security, but who could have known that his retreat would cause him to fall into the blood mist? There was a series of sizzling sounds and that person screamed in pain. The blood mist crawled up his body like snakes, enveloping him completely. By the time the blood mist dissipated, the man had become a mummified corpse.
Black Crow Divine Monarch coldly snorted while waving the control banner, “Stand where you are! Whoever dares to move about rashly will die!”
Everybody felt a bitter taste in their mouths. It was not until this moment that they realised they were stuck in this situation with no way out. Out of all the areas covered by the Grand Array, only the areas around the Array Nodes were safe. Everywhere else was flooded with the blood mist. In other words, they could only stand at their respective Array Nodes once Black Crow Divine Monarch activated the Grand Array; otherwise, they would have to bear the risk of death.
Yang Kai was delighted when he saw this situation. He initially thought that he and the others had taken on a laborious task while the others had it easy, but it would now seem that fighting the Star Turtle was undoubtedly better than having no say about one’s own life.
He couldn’t help looking in Yin Xin Zhao’s direction, secretly hoping that the Star Turtle would kill the latter. Coincidentally, Yin Xin Zhao also happened to be looking this way. Their gazes met for a moment and Yin Xin Zhao immediately figured out what Yang Kai was thinking; thus, he angrily shouted, “Yang Kai, why aren’t you moving yet!?”
The Array Node he was managing was not that far from where the Star Turtle was located, so he had reason to be uneasy.
Yang Kai calmly called out, “There’s no rush!”
Yin Xin Zhao nearly spat blood at those words. [You might be in no rush, but I’m about to die from anxiety!]
Yin Xin Zhao never imagined that the situation would turn out this way after the Grand Array was activated. If he had known earlier, he would have volunteered to trade places with Yang Kai. At the very least, he would have some control over his own life or death. At this moment, he was unable to move a single step from this spot. Whether he lived or died was completely up to fate. It was a horrible feeling.
“You should act now before it’s too late.” Black Crow Divine Monarch’s voice rang out, “This Monster Beast has been sleeping for eons, and now that it’s just woken up, its strength has yet to recover. This is the best time to take it down. If you delay, it will be even harder to handle.”
How difficult would it be to inflict heavy damage upon such a defence-oriented Seventh-Order Monster Beast? Yang Kai was not sure if they could put a scratch on it even if everybody on his side used their full strength. Nevertheless, Black Crow Divine Monarch was right about one thing. This was indeed the time when the Star Turtle was at its weakest!
At that thought, Yang Kai nodded, “Since Divine Monarch has said so, then this Junior will comply!” Then, he shouted, “Kill!”
Swinging his arm widely, Space Principles surged to form a huge Moon Blade that broke the void and slashed towards the Star Turtle.
Everybody around Yang Kai swiftly unleashed their Secret Techniques one after another. Colourful lights swept towards the Star Turtle, showering down on its huge figure in an instant.
The people gathered around Yang Kai were a mix of both the strong and weak. For example, many from Emperor Heaven were rather weak. However, there was no shortage of elites like Gu Pan, Qu Hua Shang, and Ning Dao Ran either. The attacks of these Core Disciples from the various Cave-Heavens and Paradises were extraordinarily deadly.
*Hong hong hong...*
Explosion after explosion rang out deafeningly as numerous halos of light from these explosions spread out in all directions. When the lights dissipated, everybody looked over and felt a headache. Although they had known that the Star Turtle would have high defensive strength, they never imagined that it would be so outrageous. Their previous barrage had not even broken through the yellow layer of light surrounding its body, let alone cause any form of damage.
Wei Bu Que grinned, “This bastard sure is tough!”
Yang Kai shouted, “Again!”
Another round of attacks was launched and nobody dared to hold back. The best method to deal with the Earth Element was to counter with the Wood Element. Among the Five Elements, Wood suppressed Earth. Unfortunately, the Wood Element was generally focused on restoration and healing. Few people could comprehend Offensive Divine Abilities from their Wood Element.