Chapter 323: Onward to the Soul Pagoda
The Storm Sword was activated using Water-type Celestial Chi. Ye Chen invoked the Nine Astras and turned all the Celestial in his body to Water-type. When he poured them into the Storm Sword, the sword shone brightly in deep-sea blue. One of the three seals on the sword began to glow radiantly and emitted an enchanting light.
One of the seals entered Ye Chen’s mind. Ye Chen suddenly gained a revelation in his mind. This seal was a secret Water Spirit Sword Formation!
This Water Spirit Sword Technique had been carved on the sword!
The Water Spirit Sword Technique that Zong Yi had cast previously was very powerful. If not for Ye Chen’s Black Turtle Guard, he might not have been able to block the attack.
The destructiveness of the Water Spirit Sword Technique cast by Zong Yi would be far inferior if Ye Chen were to cast it! With this Water Spirit Sword Formation, Ye Chen added yet another lethal technique to his arsenal.
Ye Chen smiled. He wondered what the other two seals were. It did not look like he was able to unlock them at the moment.
“Big Brother Ye Chen, hide the Storm Sword for now, don’t carelessly use it in the future. It’d bring a lot of trouble if it attracted the fighters of the House of Storms,” Ye Rou advised him. She knew just how powerful the House of Storms was.
“Hm.” Ye Chen nodded, stashing the Storm Sword.
“When does Big Brother Ye Chen plan to go to the Soul Pagoda?” Ye Rou asked, looking at Ye Chen.
“Right away, I don’t feel safe with Second Uncle and the rest of them staying at the Scarlet Flame Sect. I plan to take them to the Oracle Sect,” Ye Chen said, looking at Ye Rou. Ye Zhanlong, Ye Meng, and the rest staying at the Scarlet Flame Sect would only bring more problems to the Scarlet Flame Sect. On top of that, they did not exactly have a good relationship with the Ye Clan of the Scarlet Flame Sect.
When Ye Rou heard that Ye Chen was leaving right away, a hint of sadness flashed past her eyes. “Be careful on the way there, Big Brother Ye Chen. No matter when it is, Little Rou will wait for brother Ye Chen’s return. I’ll go say my farewells to Second Uncle and the others later.”
“Little Rou must be careful and take care of yourself. If anything ever happens to the Scarlet Flame Sect, you can go to the Oracle Sect or the Stygian Sect any time,” Ye Chen cautiously reminded Little Rou.
“Hm, Little Rou understands.” Ye Rou nodded.
All things must come to an end. Ye Chen sighed in his mind. He felt a little melancholic.
The Scarlet Flame Sect was hard at work preparing themselves. Ye Chen left many Soul-amassing Pills, Soul-consolidating Pills, Purple-gold Divine Pill, and all sorts of other medicinal Pills. He hoped that they would be helpful to Ye Rou’s cultivation. He also assigned Second Uncle, Ye Meng, and the other six men to go to the Oracle Sect with Mu Dongyuan. He then rode the Golden Sun Condor with Little Wingsy, and left the Scarlet Flame Sect.
Northern River Fields.
A group of nomads inhabited the vast field. They lived in tents that stretched continuously across the fields. At the end of the field, there was an endless mountain range. Inside the mountain ranges, there was a gigantic tower that pierced into the skies. The tower was so tall that you could not even see the top without falling over backward.
In the ballads of these nomads, they said that the Soul Pagoda connected the underworld and the heavens above. Even the most powerful warrior among the nomads was unable to reach the top nor the bottom of the Soul Pagoda. Nobody knew who built this structure. It seemed that the Soul Pagoda had always been here ever since their tribe was started.
To the nomads, one could only be considered a real warrior after having gone into the Soul Pagoda.
The exterior layers of the Soul Pagoda were laid with extremely rigid gems. Even a Grand Supreme Rank fighter or a fighter with Peerless Power was not able to carve the gems out. Whenever someone had advanced to a higher level in the tower, the gems on that respective level would sparkle brightly. Up till now, the highest level the members of the major sects had managed to get to was the seventh level. There were also tales that someone was able to reach the seventh level underground as well.
The Soul Pagoda opened in the seventh month of every year. Each year, there would be members of each major sect arriving to prove their worth in the Soul Pagoda and there were up to a thousand of them. This year was an outlier, the Soul Pagoda had opened three times this year alone. The number of people who flocked to the Northern River Fields had gradually increased.
The first ones that came were the House of Storms and they numbered in ten thousand. They set up countless tents on the northern region of the Northern River Fields. Thereafter, the top fifty sects of the Central Empire had dispatched their men as well. There were up to several tens of thousands of them. They each reserved their territory as well. Thereafter, some mysterious groups came as well and they also set up their tents. Nobody dared approach them and there were dozens of such mysterious factions arriving. Some of the members of the sects had a slight clue about them and they knew that these mysterious individuals came from very secretive super families. They consisted of super factions such as the City of the Apothecary King, the Tribunal Council, and such.
Apart from these large forces, there were also many wandering mercenaries and warriors. They also boasted great numbers, amounting up to a million.
Several million people situated themselves in the Northern River Fields. Due to these visitors, the gathering places and the markets of the nomads had also become livelier. Each sort of trade was conducted. There was a lot of trading of spirit artifacts and similar items. During the first few days, the river was dyed red due to battles breaking out everywhere. After the Tribunal Council had interjected, the situation returned to its usual calm again.
In a tent close to the markets, Ye Chen sat with Little Wingsy sleeping beside him. Ye Chen had been here for several days. He had rented the tent from an elder of the nomad and had been staying here the past few days.
In these few days, Ye Chen put all his effort into cultivating while he waited for the Soul Pagoda to open. He heard that the Soul Pagoda was going to open tomorrow.
In the past few days, Ye Chen had noticed a Godly Venerable Rank fighter in the markets. Thankfully, both parties had avoided a direct confrontation. Ye Chen’s Astral Body had made brief contact and he quickly retracted it. The Godly Venerable Rank fighter took leave as well. There were also countless Mystique Venerable Rank and Mystique Adept Level in the markets and even more Heavenly Venerable Rank.
Ye Chen could hardly believe just how many fighters there were near the Soul Pagoda. He spied on several conversations of some sect members using his Astral Body and gained a brief overview of the situation around the Soul Pagoda.
The Great Eastern Continent was a very vast land and hosted more than three hundred countries, each of them had their respective large sects. Among these countries, ten countries were categorized as supreme empires, their influence rivals the Central Empire or at the very least were just slightly below. The rest of the empires were a lot weaker in comparison. Places like the Xiwu Empire could not even earn its spot among them as Xiwu was like a barren ground that nobody would step foot in. There was an unimaginable number of powerful fighters in this area.
Near one-tenth of all of the fighters in the Great Eastern Continent were gathered here at the Soul Pagoda. They were here for the Cosmic Stone.
The Cosmic Stone was incredibly rare. It was said that the last time the Soul Pagoda opened, someone had found a passage that led to the eighth level. Therefore, many powerful individuals wanted to come over and see for themselves.
There were many tales and rumors about the Soul Pagoda, most of them unproven. There was also some classified information that only several super factions were able to get their hands on. A lot of these super factions came here, each with their motives which were unknown to others.
Ye Chen’s Astral Body reached toward a tent that served as a tavern. He could hear the conversation of three men as clear as day. All three of these men were Heavenly Venerable Rank, they each carried a small golden dagger. These were the men of the Tribunal Council.
“I heard that this time, the head council dispatched an elder of Peerless Power. In addition to the three sub-council leaders, we’ll have a total of one Peerless Power master, three Godly Venerable Ones, up to thirty Mystique Venerable Rank masters, and as many as three hundred Heavenly Venerable Ones and Heavenly Adept masters. Is this Soul Pagoda that important?” One of them raised the question in a low voice full of suspicion.
“I’m not certain either. The head-council is putting a lot of priority on this matter. They say that we’ll be split into three waves. The first waves will consist of ten Mystique Venerable Rank masters and sixty Heavenly Venerable Ones and Heavenly Adept masters. We might be assigned to the initial waves. The mission of the first waves is still unknown but they say that the Soul Pagoda is lurking with dangers so there might be some terrifying Spirit Beasts showing up. A large portion of the first wave might be wiped out.” One of them smiled bitterly.
Ye Chen frowned when he heard their conversation. One Peerless Power and three Godly Venerable Ones, the Tribunal Council was truly powerful! It was not surprising that they were able to rule over the entire Great Eastern Continent. Among all the powerful fighters Ye Chen had met, even Tantai Ling was just Grand Supreme Rank which was somewhat close to the Peerless Power fighter.
“Spirit Beast aside, the largest threat is the battle between the different factions. Apart from our Tribunal Council, several super families have also made their appearances. They are the sworn enemies of our Tribunal Council. If we run into them, who knows what would happen!”
“The Thunder Beast Clan, several Daemon King Kingdoms, and the royalties of the supreme empires have also sent their men.”
Based on the information he had obtained from their conversation, Ye Chen had also managed to get a better understanding of the hierarchy in the Great Eastern Continent.
On the side of the Celestial Beast and mystical beast in the Great Eastern Continent stood two supreme species. They were the Sea Demon Clan and the Thunder Beast Clan. As the North Sea Ruler, Tantai Ling was probably one of the more powerful presences in the Sea Demon Clan. The so-called Bi Mie the Beast Emperor of the Great Eastern Continent belonged to the Thunder Beast Clan. The ones that were slightly below these two supreme species were the twelve Daemon Kingdoms and ancient species with ancient blood flowing within their veins.
This time, the Thunder Beast Clan had come but the Sea Demon Clan did not send anyone over.
On the side of humans, there were the City of the Apothecary King, Spirit Artifact Council, and the Temple of War which established themselves as super factions. Apart from them, six super families were not to be underestimated either. Their leaders were masters that possessed Peerless Power. Then, there were the royalties of the ten supreme empires which were forces to be reckoned with too. Not to mention, the super sects such as the House of Storms with a history dating back to the ancient ages.
Standing above all these major forces was an entity of incomprehensible existence, it was the Tribunal Council!
It was said in the legends that it was under the guidance of some Almighty being in the ancient ages that prompted humans, Celestial Beasts, and mystical beasts to form the Tribunal Council. They ruled over the entire Great Eastern Continent. After countless years had passed, the Tribunal Council still reigned as they did in the past. They had the largest number of supreme fighters and countless unknown, powerful ancient inheritance. Whether it was the super factions of the Sea Demon Clan, the Thunder Beast Clan or the humans, none of them were able to overthrow the Tribunal Council.
Currently, the only ones who dared to defy the Tribunal Council were the six super families of the human race. However, they had never managed to gain the upper hand in the battle against the Tribunal Council. Instead, they suffered one defeat after another and went into hiding, rarely ever showing themselves anymore. Even the Tribunal Council was not able to find out their whereabouts. In this instance of the Soul Pagoda opening, the members of the six super families did not come out in the open but instead hid among the wandering warriors.