Sovereign of the Three Realms

Killing intent instantly appeared on Wei Qing’s face as he looked into the distance. “Elder Wu Hen, the person who snatched the sky rank spirit herb should’ve gone in this direction. Why don’t we catch up to him…”

He didn’t finish his words, but both of them knew what he wanted to say. Elder Wu Hen had a steady personality and knew that it was an extreme taboo to kill within Mt. Rippling Mirage. If news leaked, it would create friction between the great sects and even spark all out battles. But the lure of a sky rank herb was greatly tempting.

“Elder, if we pass this one up, there won’t be any more chances. If he manages to get a fair distance away, it’s likely he won’t even admit to it if we find him.” Wei Qing encouraged, “With one sky rank herb, our Walkabout Sect might be able to cultivate emperor realm cultivators. By then, our sect will be able to summon the wind and rain in the entire Myriad Domain, and reign over everything!”

The various great sects had vied with each other ever since the Myriad Empire had fallen. There wasn’t a single one who didn’t harbor the desire to dominate the Myriad Domain, lord over the rest, and become the dictator of the Myriad Domain. The Walkabout Sect was no exception to that burning ambition.

Elder Wu Hen took a moment to think, and nodded. “Let’s do it, but we need to act with utmost confidence. In my eyes, the person who’s taken the sky rank spirit herb likely isn’t of the elder group. Those old farts are all cunning and wily. None of them would care about this spirit power geysering to the sky. It’s most likely a young genius.”

Wei Qing leered. “A young genius is best. He’ll be easier to handle.”

Elder Wu Hen nodded. “No matter what, it has to be clean. If the target is a young genius, you can go lull him into carelessness first. I’ll ready some methods to trap him. Otherwise, if he wished to escape, he’d be able to leave whenever he came in range of the transportation matrixes.”

The transportation matrixes covered a large area within the mountain. If one ran with all their might, they would be able to reach a matrix’s range within four to six hours. If they were lucky, they would even be able to run into one within fifteen minutes and be able to escape after crushing the jade token. Even emperor realm cultivators would be unable to stop the person from absconding then.

Wei Qing chuckled and gave his elder a thumbs up. “Elder’s thoughts are the most thorough after all. It’s definitely the oldest gingers that are the spiciest!”

The duo picked up speed and sped towards the traces they’d picked up. One had to say, Elder Wu Hen was quite something; his perception was even more sensitive than a dog’s. Jiang Chen had shielded his presence as much as he could along the way by suppressing his aura, but the residual spirit power from the Cloudpine still left a detectable trace on his body. If he had the time to sit down for an hour, he could absolutely refine the spirit traces on his body and become truly invisible. But he was well aware that if he did, he might face an even greater danger. Mt. Rippling Mirage was big, but if he was unlucky, it’d be highly likely that someone would set their sights on him. That bit of spirit power surging into the air was far too large to avoid alarming anyone nearby. They would come barreling in his direction before too long.

Jiang Chen’s speed was already quite fast, but Elder Wu Hen was a fourth level sage realm cultivator. His speed naturally surpassed Jiang Chen’s. It didn’t take long before Elder Wu Hen’s consciousness swept in front of him to find Jiang Chen speeding along on the ground. In addition, that wisp of spirit power around Jiang Chen was the same as the one from the lake.

“It’s him!” Elder Wu Hen was greatly taken aback. Wei Qing was only barely managing to keep up because he had activated his flight rune and was following along in the elder’s wake. When he discovered that the person below was Jiang Chen, Wei Qing was delighted beyond measure. This really was stumbling across something by chance after traveling far and wide in search of it! If he had to pick someone he wanted to kill the most in this time’s Pill Battles, Jiang Chen would absolutely rank first.

It wasn’t just because of the bet that’d been brought to shambles, and not just because for he’d lost the championship of the genius group in the Mt. Rippling Mirage Pill Battles. The most basic reason was Ling Bi’er and that utterly dismissive attitude Jiang Chen had shown in front of him. That kind of attitude was what Wei Qing found hardest to accept from anyone. He would’ve managed to handle it had Jiang Chen been as arrogant as Shen Qinghong.

However, a mere fifth level origin realm like Jiang Chen, a mere ant, dared put on airs in front him, Wei Qing! And he dared show off his love with Ling Bi’er as well— utterly inexcusable. Even though he felt that Ling Bi’er had been using Jiang Chen as a shield, this shield was simply too cocky and too irritating. How would killing intent not bubble from the depths of Wei Qing’s heart? He suddenly started chuckling coldly. “Elder Wu Hen, is this killing three birds with one stone?”

“What three birds?”

“The sky rank spirit herb, the Longevity Pill recipe, and my grudge with this kid. This is three birds at least.” Wei Qing’s tone dripped with viciousness. As he looked at Jiang Chen below, his gaze was that of looking at a dead person.

“Circle past him!” Elder Wu Hen activated a rune that would conceal one’s presence but didn’t descend. He swooped past Jiang Chen and put Wei Qing down a few kilometers ahead. “Wei Qing, he has to pass through here. You keep him here while I go make some preparations. Don’t let him get away.”

Elder Wu Hen was being extremely cautious. Even when the situation was similar to a lion hunting down a rabbit, he felt that he still had to bring his full strength to bear. This opportunity was a once in a lifetime chance. He knew that he would regret it for the rest of his life if Jiang Chen escaped.

……

Meanwhile, although Jiang Chen was covering ground with every iota of speed he could muster, he also hadn’t let his guard down. He had deployed his consciousness to its fullest extent, and Psychic’s Head immediately sensed enormous danger coming. This forewarning wasn’t any less than the one from Ding Tong pursuing him. “It looks like someone’s still set their sights on me in the end.” Jiang Chen sighed tragically and halted, looking behind him to see just who had come in pursuit. But no matter who it was, he wouldn’t be treating the situation lightly.

Apart from Mu Gaoqi, every single one of the first batch who’d entered Mt. Rippling Mirage possessed cultivation levels that were in excess of his. If he didn’t summon Long Xiaoxuan, he would be in for a tough fight no matter who he ran into. If it was one of those earth sage realm elders, he’d have no other choice than to flee if he didn’t summon Long Xiaoxuan.

Jiang Chen didn’t want to cause trouble, but that didn’t mean he was afraid of trouble. If someone really was so blind as to keep forcing him down a narrow road, Jiang Chen didn’t mind sending them down the same path as Ding Tong instead. I will not strike back if no one gives offense, but if someone offends me, I have no problem returning it tenfold.

Jiang Chen was still rushing forward while thinking when God’s Eye focused on something in the distance. He suddenly screeched to a halt. “Wei Qing!”

Jiang Chen was a bit taken aback. It was obviously not a good thing that Wei Qing had appeared here, and judging that all-knowing expression and relaxed posture, he’d been lying in wait. But Jiang Chen had approached from the opposite direction, only to run into Wei Qing waiting in the front. Did he have the ability to see into the future? Multiple thoughts quickly ran through Jiang Chen’s mind.

“Jiang Chen, if I recall correctly, I warned you long ago to not bump into me in Mt. Rippling Mirage. Why is it that you can’t seem to remember that, hmm?” Wei Qing spoke with exaggerated tones as he sized up Jiang Chen with a mocking look.

Jiang Chen flicked his glance casually over Wei Qing, smiling derisively. “Is this mountain your home? Or did you build this road? I walk where I want; what can you do about it?”

Wei Qing was slightly surprised. When Jiang Chen had been cocky in Rippling Mirage Hall, Wei Qing had understood that to be a result of his sect’s backing, and that Jiang Chen hadn’t believed that Wei Qing would really do anything with Ling Bi’er off on the side. But now, Jiang Chen was caught out all alone. Shouldn’t he have been shuddering with fright now that he’d bumped into Wei Qing? How was this kid’s cockiness still unaffected?

“Idiot!” Wei Qing spat out with a cold smile. “You’re probably still dreaming, thinking this is the Rippling Mirage Hall! Do you think that old fogey Yun Nie can still cover for you? Do you think Ling Bi’er can still protect you?”

Jiang Chen furrowed his brow impatiently. “So the so-called top genius in the Walkabout Sect is only good at running his mouth? What do you want to do? I don’t have time to waste on you right now.”

His thoughts were indeed not with Wei Qing. Jiang Chen was certain that Wei Qing had caught up from behind. Jiang Chen could also capture the traces of spirit power on Wei Qing’s body, just like Wei Qing had done on him. Both had clearly originated from the Hidden Chameleon Cloudpine.

Therefore, Jiang Chen was certain that Wei Qing had managed to overtake him from behind and was here to stop him. However, there was no way he would be able to do that from the ground. Jiang Chen strongly suspected that Wei Qing had flown through the sky. But in order for that to be true, it was highly likely Wei Qing had a comrade, and one whose strength was at the sage realm. Therefore, Jiang Chen was in no mood to spar with Wei Qing. He kept using Psychic’s Head to continuously scan where the other was hidden.

“Kid, I admit that you really can put on an act. Let’s speak frankly. Hand over the Longevity Pill recipe, the sky rank herb you’ve just obtained, and then kill yourself for your sins. Then I’ll consider leaving you as a whole corpse.” Wei Qing’s tone was domineering, as if his words dictated the natural order of the world and that he, Wei Wing, ruled over the Myriad Domain. His tone was that of one qualified to pick from other people’s lives and wealth at his whim.

“Are you dreaming?” Jiang Chen couldn’t help but be taken aback by Wei Qing’s naiveté.

Wei Qing leered. “Don’t be a fool! Do you dare say that you didn’t receive a sky rank spirit herb just now? Dare you say that you don’t have the Longevity Pill recipe on you?”

Jiang Chen smacked his head and displayed a bizarre smile. “Well now, I happen to actually have both of those. Now how about that? You want them?”

Wei Qing was delighted to see Jiang Chen admit to it. He immediately flashed a vicious smile. “I want it all, and also your cheap, base life!”

Jiang Chen’s consciousness suddenly sensed a sliver of another presence. He had been humoring Wei Qing thus far to try and discover where the other person was. When he sensed a trace of another consciousness, Jiang Chen felt a jolt. It was the presence of that Elder Wu Hen!

Jiang Chen snorted softly. “Wei Qing, you really are shit. Do you travel with a house servant? Pardon me, but I won’t be hanging around to play any longer.”

With that, he turned and dashed into the thick forest off to the right.