Devour

In the distant Golden Desert, Liu Suyan brought Ruan Taoran back to Tianxuan City.

Ruan Taoran is not much stronger than an ordinary person now, so he is inevitably inconvenient to move. Fortunately, Liu Suyan's Ironback Bear mount is very stable and has a fast speed, gradually approaching the location of Tianxuan City.

"Master, why haven't you arrived yet?"

Ruan Taoran was a little anxious and wanted to return to the city to practice martial arts again. He was sure that he could reach his goal at a faster speed. Maybe it would only take six or seven years to recover his previous strength.

"Strange, we should be arriving at Tianxuan City soon."

Liu Suyan looked around. As the master of Tianxuan Palace, she was very familiar with her home address. However, after searching for a long time, she found only scattered traces of an oasis nearby.

Looking into the distance, the huge oasis city is still far away on the horizon.

Puzzled, Liu Suyan took Ruan Taoran and urged the Ironback Bear to run towards a distant destination, but it seemed as if they would never reach the other side of the desert.

"No, this is an illusion, we have been fooled." Liu Suyan suddenly woke up and turned to look in the distance where they came from, where Tianxuan City and the surrounding oasis were full of vitality.

"How is this possible? This has never happened in Tianxuan City." Ruan Taoran was confused.

The Ironback Bear carried the two people back to the scattered oasis they had just been to, panting with exhaustion. The Tianxuan City they had just seen was gone again. When they turned around, the oasis city was still far away in the horizon.

Liu Suyan felt horrified and said in a trembling voice: "Not good, Tianxuan City is lost, someone... no, a powerful person has blocked the entire city, and no one can enter."

Far away in the Tianji Temple, Huangfu Sanchuan, who had hurried back on the Cloud Piercing Shuttle, looked at the altar in the open-air hall with a solemn expression.

A violent whirlwind came out of the small hole on the altar. It was small at the bottom but got bigger as it went up until it reached the cloud layer, forming a funnel-shaped tornado that connected the sky and the earth. Looking up, there was a boundless expanse of space. Anyone and anything that approached was sucked away and no one knew where they were.

The eldest senior brother of Tianji Temple reported: "Since last night, the Conferred God Altar has become like this. A total of 54 disciples of the temple are missing."

Huangfu Sanchuan had no choice but to give an order: "Seal off the altar hall, and no one is allowed to approach."

The three people who caused these disasters now dismounted their silver griffin mounts one after another and looked towards the magnificent walls of Tianquan City.

The Jade Banner Master panted and said, "We have rushed through five cities. The Silver Griffin can hardly bear the thousands of miles it travels every day. Can you let me sleep in the city before working? Otherwise, I will be lost forever like Tianxuan City."

The leader of the Red Jade Banner shook his head and said, "No, Cen Ge has sent Qiao Beihao away. If it's any later, he will go back to the city. If things go wrong, the three old monsters from the academy will be alerted. We may have to go through a fierce battle. There is no Huang Yu to help us today."

The Black Jade Banner Master agreed: "It's better to start early than late. Let's get started."

……

Cheng Bai rested in the Tianquan City Inn and counted the treasure bag left by the master of the Huangyu Banner. In addition to some daily necessities, the most valuable items were the Ghost King Fan and 6 taels of gold.

Lu Miaoting inherited the estate and returned 20,000 taels to Cheng Bai.

If you borrow, you must repay. It is not difficult to borrow again, but it is a pity that there is no interest... No, there is.

Lu Miaoting actually gave Cheng Bai another 20,000 taels: "We are from the same country, I am the captain, and I will give you half."

Cheng Bai felt a little apologetic because he was not so generous to Lu Miaoting and even wanted to dump her several times.

He thought for a moment, then took out three Yunzhen Lianxin Pills and gave them to Lu Miaoting: "I have learned how to refine pills. I will give you half of these Yunzhen Lianxin Pills."

Lian Guiyu also gave her three of them: "I picked them up on the Sky Island. Let's go and complete the task together."

Lu Miaoting was very happy and smiled like a carefree child.

There is also a large parchment book in the inheritance, which records many experiences. Inside it is a large world map of the Qiongqi Continent with many marks and annotations, indicating many places he has visited.

Lu Miaoting glanced through it, her expression changing: "He... hopes to save the entire continent? It's unbelievable."

The leader of the Huangyu Banner, Lu Duanyi, as recorded in the sheepskin book, considers himself to be arrogant and hardworking, and puts family feuds and clan hatred first, but the world is unfair and he repeatedly runs into obstacles.

He hoped to leave the mainland by participating in a martial arts hunting contest, but failed; as the patriarch, he wanted to lead Lu Village to prosperity, but also failed miserably; he tried to make friends, but ended up making enemies everywhere, until his family was broken up and he became disheartened.

Cheng Bai pondered and said, "Everyone has his own justice in his heart. He finally joined the Disaster Legion and found some sense of accomplishment there. Why did he always want to leave the continent?"

Fang Wanzhan also mentioned this matter before, but didn't take it seriously at the time.

Lu Miaoting pointed out the key point: "Only the top three in the martial arts hunting competition can be recommended by the academy, and the great geniuses have the hope of being promoted to the next level."

Cheng Bai had been in the Hunter Academy for too short a time, and he still didn't know many of the ins and outs. He asked, "You're making your debut with this? Why?"

Lu Miaoting explained: "The top three in the conference will be the representatives of the continent's geniuses. They will be recommended by the academy to go to the core area of ​​the star field, and then take the examination of the superiors, and then go to the Emperor Star to take the exam. Then they can rise straight to the top and be ranked in the immortal class."

Cheng Bai inquired in detail and finally understood that the Martial Arts Hunting Conference was really equivalent to the imperial examination in the Qiongqi Continent, and it was the simplest one at the grassroots level, commonly known as the "Provincial Examination", which was a rare way to be promoted.

Unfortunately, after more than ten thousand years, only the first hunter Wang Shiqi has returned victorious from Shanhui City, but why he did not get promoted again was kept a secret at the time.

"The netherworld road from Qiongqi Continent to other star regions has been cut off, and travel depends on the Sky Patrol Spiritual Boat, so to go to higher-level areas, you can only reach the nearest Shanhui City. Not every Hunter King has the opportunity to go out, and even if they go, they will return empty-handed, but it is still a chance."

Lu Miaoting is indeed a veteran hunter and knows a lot.

“Back then, when the leader of the Weapon Sect, Fang Wanzhan, was awarded the title of Hunter King, he missed the chance to become famous because he didn’t have a Sky Patrol Spirit Boat to transport him. Later, even when he used all his financial resources to refine a Sky Patrol Spirit Boat, it was too late.”

Cheng Bai suddenly realized, "No wonder Master Fang has such resentment."

Lu Miaoting was teleported to the academy, and the news spread everywhere that the Light Blade King and the Mad Staff King had returned victorious with Ghost Feather and achieved outstanding results.

"The ghost feather obtained by the Light Blade King is nine feet and seven inches long, and the guild points reward is 3 points."

"The ghost feather obtained by the Crazy Staff King is nine feet and five inches long, and the guild points reward is 3 points."

The Dean of the Hunter Academy, Luo Youwei, personally announced the results. The top two winners had the same score, and they topped the martial arts hunting rankings on the first day.

But on the second day of the conference, someone changed the outcome of the battle.

"The three ghost feathers obtained by Lu Miaoting are nine feet six inches, nine feet five inches, and nine feet three inches long, and the guild points reward is 9 points."

"Cheng Bai obtained three ghost feathers, which are nine feet eight inches, nine feet four inches, and nine feet three inches long, and the guild points reward is 9 points."

Cheng Bai took back the inspected Ghost Feather. This treasure was the biggest reward for the Battle of Sky Island. It was kept by the participants themselves, and the academy was only responsible for recording the results. There was still one feather that he had not taken out.

Lu Miaoting asked: "Why did you leave one?"

Cheng Bai said leisurely, "There are a maximum of nine ghost feathers in the record, and one has not appeared yet. I'm leaving some hope for others, so that they can stay on Tiaokong Island to search. This way, we'll have a better chance of finding it on Giant Beast Island."

Lu Miaoting suddenly realized and snickered, "You are so mean."

Women don't love men who are not bad.

Cheng Bai was thinking about the question in his mind and suggested, "Let's go visit Dean Si Bao."

When we got to the office, the college steward said the same thing: "President Si Bao is very busy, so we need to make an appointment to meet him. Please wait for the arrangement."

Cheng Bai didn't want to waste time, so he stuffed a hundred taels of gold into his pocket and said, "Please arrange it immediately. We have something important to discuss in detail."

The deacon weighed the gold ingot, put it in his arms, and put on a kind smile: "I will go and inform them. Please wait a moment."

Money talks, and you can easily skip the appointment process.

Si Bao has white eyebrows and beard, and wears an eye patch to cover his right eye. He is dressed in a snow-white robe that flows freely in the air, with a belt with auspicious cloud patterns tied around his waist and ornaments made of fine black jade, giving him a simple and elegant look.

He received the two people in the reception room and laughed loudly, "Thunder Blade King Chengbai and Divine Spear Lu Miaoting are both outstanding young people. It's rare that two young talents are interested in me. I wonder what's the matter?"

Cheng Baizhi said with a junior's greeting, "I have heard my mentor Fang Wanzhan repeatedly praise the dean for his erudition and talent. I have long admired your great name, but I regret that I have never had the chance to meet you." He did not say that he heard it from Zhuo Zhibang, but mentioned their origins from the Weapon Sect. This was to avoid mentioning the Disaster Legion in order to prevent any enmity between the two sides.

Si Bao laughed and said, "Your master, Sect Master Fang, is extremely talented. Young friend Cheng, you are too kind to praise me. I am ashamed to accept your praise. If you have anything important to say, please tell me clearly."

Cheng Bai just said: "I heard that fifteen years ago, Dean Si discussed the war in the Yingmen Star Region with his mentor, Sect Master Yang, Senior Zhuo Zhibang and others. Can you tell me a little bit?"

Si Bao recalled the past and couldn't help sighing: "Mr. Zhuo was of a noble generation, older than us, and everyone thought he had passed away. Who knew that he was still strong and healthy after living in seclusion for so long? He came to the academy fifteen years ago, but no one recognized him."

Cheng Bai continued, "Small seclusion in the wild, medium seclusion in the city, and great seclusion in the court. Dean Si's way of seclusion is to truly forget about the world and enjoy oneself."

Si Bao accepted the compliment and had a pleasant conversation: "Qiongqi Continent is located at the border of Shuidong Star Region, close to Yingmen Star Region. It is a remote and poor place with barren land and poor people. Because of this, it has not been affected by the war so far, but it cannot remain immune. What is coming will come."

Cheng Bai asked: "Who is the enemy?"

Si Bao was silent for a moment and said, "They call themselves Sun Chasers, and they conquer the heavens and the myriad realms, extinguishing the stars. Their life system is completely different from that of the Cloud Realm, but I don't know how they are different."

Cheng Baiqi asked: "Then how do we know the situation of the Yingmen Star Region?"

Si Bao drank a cup of tea and continued, "I once settled in the Yingmen Star Region in my early years, and I haven't been there for a long time. The one that is well-informed is Shanhui City, the foreign city closest to Qiongqi Continent. There are 84 million netherworld roads in the city, leading to multiple worlds of the heavens and myriad domains. It is adjacent to Qiongqi Continent every 14,800 years, and can easily reach the Yingmen Star Region. The last time was fifteen years ago, a Void Spirit Boat descended there, bringing a lot of news, including the fall of the Great Emperor, the invasion of the Sun Chaser, chaos in the various domains, and so on."

The specifications of the Void Spirit Boat and the Sky Patrol Spirit Boat are very different. If the Sky Patrol Spirit Boat is equivalent to a frigate, the Void Spirit Boat is like an aircraft carrier. The difference is huge. The Void Spirit Boat has never been built in the Qiongqi Continent for more than ten thousand years.

Cheng Bai suddenly thought of the incomplete ruins at the ends of the Yunqiong Palace. Could it be that the place where they were connected was once Shanhui City and other places?

Si Bao brewed a pot of fresh tea and confirmed his guess: "In ancient times, there was a Heavenly Palace on Qiongqi Continent that connected to the Netherworld Road of Shanhui City. Unfortunately, it was destroyed in a war more than 10,000 years ago. To travel back and forth now, at least a Sky Patrol Spiritual Boat is needed. If there is no Spiritual Boat coming from Shanhui City, then the only remaining Spiritual Boat on the continent is the Qi Zong and a smaller one."

Cheng Bai's mind was beating fast, and he suddenly thought: "Shanhui City leads to the myriad realms of the heavens, can I also return to Earth through there?"

Lu Miaoting interrupted and asked, "What was the debate about at the meeting fifteen years ago?"

Si Bao was surprised and asked, "Didn't Sect Master Fang tell you?"

Lu Miaoting burst into tears: "Is it not okay for me to ask now?"

Cheng Bai secretly wiped his sweat when he heard this.

"Of course, how to resist the invasion of the Sun Chaser. The enemy is too powerful to be matched by the mainland's strength. At that time, the five of us discussed many methods."

Si Bao thought back to the past, paused for a moment and continued, "Fang Wanzhan planned to build a large-scale patrol boat to retreat to Shanhui City, but the cost was too high and the number of people to be transported was limited. Yang Kaiping thought that if they accumulated enough Dragon and Lion Blood Reversing Pills and fought a desperate battle, their lifespan would be greatly reduced, and those who survived would not live long. Zhuo Lao proposed to release the ancient gods to fight against them, but there were many difficulties, and success might also bring great disasters, which is even more dangerous."

Cheng Bai pondered and said, "What do Dean Si and Cen Longtou think?"

Si Bao closed his eyes, pinched his brows, and sighed, "I think Sect Master Fang's opinion is good, but I can't come up with the money. Cen Ge supports Elder Zhuo's opinion. These ideas are ultimately empty talk. Facing the upcoming war, the consequences are unpredictable, and few major forces on the continent respond."

Is there really so little response?

Zhuo Zhibang did not just talk empty words. He worked hard with Cen Ge to recruit like-minded people to form a disaster army and gradually achieve the goal.

Cheng Bai didn't believe that the seven holy temples would be completely indifferent. The temple masters must have secret plans.

Si Bao tasted the tea and said hesitantly, "Things have changed recently. Dean Luo Youwei has found a new way to maintain the stability of Qiongqi Continent. We are also considering it carefully."

The ground suddenly trembled slightly, as if there was a minor earthquake. The sound of the sea tide was heard faintly, and then the grand sound faded away.

"Could it be that something happened in the Tianquan Temple... I have to go there, please do as you please." Si Bao's face turned pale with horror, he looked in the direction of the Tianquan Temple where the voice came from, stood up and left in a hurry.

Cheng Bai took Lu Miaoting away from the academy.

Lu Miaoting muttered, "Does President Luo have a better idea? If it can prevent the mainland from falling into a war disaster, that would be the best way."

Most people hope so. Cheng Bai thought for a moment and said, "I'll ask Dean Luo for advice when I have a chance."

The two came to the Hunter's Guild and had enough points to buy a new Level 28 Hunter mark. However, more and more points were needed to upgrade the level, making it difficult to advance.

The guild was bustling with people.

Someone asked the governor, "What was that sound of the sea just now?"

The guild governor was dumbfounded and could not answer.

The hunters present muttered, "It seems to be coming from the Tianquan Holy Temple, and there is no sea inside. Palace Master Qiao has not returned yet, and only the three deans went to visit together."

Listening to the discussions around him, Cheng Bai thought something was wrong and pulled Lu Miaoting and said, "Let's go to the Tianquan Temple and take a look."