Chapter 360: Springboard
Translator: CKtalon Editor: CKtalon
Qin Yun rode on a black wind, whistling through the sky, when he suddenly saw a tribe in a distant forest. The place was littered with corpses but there were thirteen men on horseback standing amidst them.
They were looking coldly at their surroundings.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Curved blade Dharma artifacts flew back to the men, who retrieved them.
There was also a golden light that returned to a lanky man that seemed the leader of the pack. It wrapped around his wrist, forming a golden bangle. A black luster swirled above the golden bangle.
"Brother, more than a thousand of these Qilian Tribe tribesmen are dead. Not one of them escaped." One of the horseback riders said respectfully.
"Counting the children in the pregnant women, there was a total of 1222 lives," said the lanky man softly. "Their souls have been absorbed by my treasure. It will take just short of three thousand before I reach a hundred thousand."
"That's just the massacre of another two or three tribes. Brother, you will be able to amass a hundred thousand lives by today," said one of the horseback riders.
"We have to be careful. "This is City Lord Tiemo Tu's territory! If he learns that we were killing tribes in his territory, there will be trouble," said the lanky man. "Make haste. We will leave Tiemo Tu's territory the moment I amass enough souls. Hmph, we traveled hundreds of kilometers to slaughter a few tribes. I doubt Tiemo Tu will be able to figure out it was us."
"Brother, your Hundred Thousand Bloodfiend Dharma will be mastered after you amass a hundred thousand souls. Is there a need to fear Tiemo Tu?"
"Yes, Brother will become city lord when he kills Tiemo Tu!"
Everyone began lavishing him with praise.
The leader revealed a cold, sinister smile and said indifferently, "He should not be underestimated. My strength is still far from Tiemo Tu's. I can only match him when my Hundred Thousand Bloodfiend Dharma is mastered to a high degree! To kill him… I need to completely master it. Quickly search the bodies and see if there are any treasures."
"Yes."
The twelve men immediately dismounted their horses and rapidly searched the area.
But the moment they dismounted their horses, they heard a bellow. "How dare you engage in mindless slaughter in City Lord Tiemo Tu's territory?" A black wind filled with bloodlust descended.
"Oh no."
The lanky man's expression changed as he turned to look at the black wind. He immediately waved his hand, sending the golden bangle on his wrist out in the form of a golden beam in a bid to attack the black wind.
However, the black wind put up an immense resistance against the golden beam. The lanky man's expression changed. "No good, this person is far stronger than I am! What an unlucky coincidence for me to meet Tiemo Tu's subordinate! I have to leave quickly."
Sou!
He immediately jumped off his horse and, tapping his feet, transformed into a shadow as he rapidly escaped.
As the black wind howled, it swept through the twelve subordinates. They knelt down to beg for mercy in horror but the black wind blew past them mercilessly. Their bodies disintegrated, turning to dust before scattering into the world.
The lanky man ran all the way but the howling black wind caught up to him very quickly.
"I'm doomed." The lanky man was horrified.
"Sir, spare me! Spare me!" yelled the lanky man immediately. "I'm willing to be your slave. Spare me, please!"
Sou!
The black wind dissipated, revealing an austere-looking man dressed in black. He had a saber hanging by his waist and there was a hint of darkness to his aura. The lanky man could not help but shudder when he felt the man's gaze land on him.
"Who is this person? I should know all of the experts serving Tiemo Tu. But this person…" The thin man was secretly puzzled.
"Do you wish to live?" Qin Yun looked him coldly in the eye.
The lanky man said extremely reverently, "Yes, I wish to live. As long as you spare me, I'm willing to be your slave and forever be loyal to you."
"Raise your head and look at me," said Qin Yun.
Only then did the lanky man raise his head.
However, his eyes instantly fell into a daze when he saw a formless wave emit from Qin Yun's eyes.
Qin Yun's strength had already reached the peak third Firmament Essence Soul realm. It was extremely easy to control the soul of an existence equivalent to the Connate False Core. As for strength of the heart and mind, the beings of the Great Chu world were unlike the Daoist and Buddhist cultivators in Qin Yun's homeworld. It could be said that as a world ruled by fiendcelestials, they cared most about strength and so put little effort into cultivation of heart and mind.
"Tell me in detail about the ten strongest experts in the surrounding five hundred kilometers," instructed Qin Yun.
"Yes," said the stupefied lanky man.
…
After ten minutes of questioning, Qin Yun learned that the lanky man was only at the Connate First Firmament according to the Great Chu world's strength demarcation. His strength and knowledge were relatively limited but it was enough for Qin Yun to start with.
The lanky man suddenly snapped back to his senses and looked at the austere man who appeared to be ruminating over something in front of him.
"What just happened? What happened to me?" The lanky man felt something amiss but he could not recall what it was. He did not have the luxury of time to ponder it in full.
After all, his life was now at stake.
"Sir, I know I committed a huge crime but as long as you keep it a secret, I believe City Lord Tiemo Tu will not be able to identify the murderer," said the lanky man sycophantically.
"City Lord Tiemo Tu?" Qin Yun paused in thought and shot a glance at him. "Don't worry. City Lord Tiemo Tu will not know of this matter."
The man was instantly delighted. "Thank you, Sir! Thank you!"
Qin Yun flicked his hand and shot a wind straight at the man. His eyes widened in horror as the black wind rapidly disintegrated his body, reducing it to dust that returned to the land.
"There's no need to thank me," said Qin Yun calmly. He looked at the corpses that littered the ground. The poor tribespeople were of all age and sexes, many forming families. There were plumes of smoke rising from the tribe's campsite. He could even smell food. Unfortunately, the tribe had been wiped out completely.
"Although I already knew what sort of world the Great Chu world is from the Other Realm beast, to see it with my own eyes… It's truly hellish," thought Qin Yun. "It's hell for the weak."
Qin Yun flicked his finger.
Swoosh.
A green flame flew out! With his control of the Heaven and Earth powers, Qin Yun's green flame rapidly split into more than a thousand wisps and landed onto each corpse.
"Dust to dust, ash to ash." Qin Yun muttered softly. "I wish that all of you will reincarnate into a better world in your next life."
All the corpses of the tribe turned to ash under the flames.
Swoosh.
Qin Yun rode the oppressive black wind once again as he headed north.
Qin Yun flew all the way, for about a hundred kilometers, before seeing a city. The city gates had the words Tiemo written in the Great Chu world's language.
Tiemo Tu's surname was Tiemo.
"Although I received a lot of intelligence from the Other Realm beast, most of the intelligence was from thirteen thousand years ago. The intelligence is most likely outdated! Most of the fiendcelestials would have died from the tribulations long ago and new fiendcelestials will have risen." Qin Yun was cognizant of the possibilities. Thirteen thousand years was just too long. It was enough for dynasties to change in the Great Chang world. Entire sects could be obliterated in that time. For instance, the Daoist sacred land, the Scenic Mountain Sect, had declined while the new Daoist sacred land, Divine Firmament Chapter, rose up.
And in the Great Chu world, perhaps only the strongest forces like Skyfiends would be able to endure the shifting of ages! As for fiendcelestials, they were probably in constant flux.
Therefore, he was in need of new intelligence!
"Thankfully, this world also has a Myriad Temple." Qin Yun nodded silently. "The Myriad Temple is indeed impressive. According to Ancestral Master Zhang, Myriad Temple is in many of the worlds surrounding the Great Chang world."
"However, the price of buying intelligence about the Great Chu world while in the Great Chang world is ridiculous! It's at least the price of an inferior-grade Numinous treasure," sighed Qin Yun.
Purchasing high-end intelligence on another world was extremely expensive.
After all, it was not easy for Myriad Temple to infiltrate these worlds either.
"However, it is much cheaper for a local to buy the Great Chu world's intelligence." Qin Yun looked at the distant city. "City Lord Tiemo Tu is the strongest person for hundreds of kilometers. He has strength at the peak second Firmament Connate realm. He once escaped from a third Firmament Connate realm expert! He's equivalent to being at the peak Connate True Core of my homeworld and is approaching that of the Connate Golden Core."
"I should gain enough renown to be invited as a customer of the Myriad Temple by killing him."
Qin Yun looked at the city.
He had decided to use the murder of Tiemo Tu as his springboard!