novelraw Chapter 1056: Stay or Leave!
Chapter 1056: Stay or Leave!
Little butterfly...
Little butterfly...
Little butterfly...
Every word and sentence spoken by the Emperor Butcher contained these three words. She did not know why she was rambling at this moment, nor did she know what the three words "little butterfly" represented. All she knew was that she was very angry now, angrier than she had ever been since birth!
If Ning Fan’s anger over the destruction of the Punishing Ring by the Silver Robe Immortal Emperor was one, then hers was ten, even a hundred!
Ning Fan would often consider the worst possible outcome in his actions, so when his Punishing Ring was destroyed today, he was slightly angry but quickly accepted the fact and contemplated his next move.
But not the Emperor Butcher!
She was fiercely protective of her own, and in her eyes, anyone working for Ning Fan was considered her own! Anyone who dared touch her people would have to pay a bloody price!
But today, her protective instincts were excessively heightened... almost over the top, such that her killing intent was, for the first time in her life, so intense that it spiraled out of control!
Let it spiral out of control then!
Who cares about the Scruffy Immortal Emperor of the Leiyin lineage from the Holy Mountain! Who cares about the four Scruffy Immortal Emperors from the Middle State! Who cares about the pursuit by the entire Dabei Clan!
This time, even if the Bright Buddha himself came, even if two of the Five Supremes acted, she would allow no one to harm Ning Fan one bit!
They cannot touch her people!
The Emperor Butcher rose slowly from the God-Slaying Giant’s shoulder, turned around slowly, and with her one open right eye, exuded a coldness that had persisted for eons, staring coldly at the pursuers in the distance.
Then, she leapt lightly, jumping off the God-Slaying Giant’s shoulder, riding the wind, stepping on the clouds, walking step by step toward the back. The sky above her, in her moment of anger, was bombarded by myriad thunders. Those thunderous roars resembled the ancient giants’ angry howls, deafening; those flashes of thunder resembled the ancient deities’ wrathful eyes, penetrating everything.
Step by step, the Emperor Butcher’s gaze grew colder, like eternal ice.
Step by step, her aura grew stronger, yet her delicate body brought a world-shattering oppressive force.
For every increment in momentum, her internal injuries worsened by a degree!
But she did not care!
"Why is she constantly mentioning the word ’butterfly’!"
"Is she planning to battle five Immortal Emperors by herself! Her injury..."
Ning Fan frowned as he reined in the momentum of the God-Slaying Giant, pausing in mid-air.
If the Emperor Butcher was uninjured, Ning Fan wouldn’t worry about her half-step Quasi-Saint cultivation against five Six Calamities and Seven Calamities Celestial Emperors. But one must know, the Emperor Butcher’s injuries were absolutely severe at this moment; when entering the Netherworld, Ning Fan had almost perished in the Illusory Art, and it was the Emperor Butcher who paid a great price to save him. In truth, her injuries were so severe that she was on the verge of falling from her realm!
An ordinary person would first enter seclusion to heal such wounds.
But the Emperor Butcher, despite her severe injuries, was risking everything to help him...
Facing the impending pursuit of five Immortal Emperors with injuries severe enough to drop her cultivation level, and soon, the Bright Buddha might well pursue them here! Would such a heavily injured body not hinder?
"Don’t stop here! Go! Fly far away, leave Dabei! In at most twenty more breaths, the Bright Buddha can descend upon Liuli City in pursuit. I’m heavily injured now and can’t hold back the Bright Buddha for long! But warding off these riffraffs shouldn’t be too hard!"
These were the transmitted words from the Emperor Butcher, urging Ning Fan to leave!
Leave...
Leave the Dabei Clan in such a sorry state...
Indeed, once the Punishing Ring is destroyed, it would incur the endless pursuit of the entire Dabei Clan; only by leaving the Dabei Clan, leaving the Supreme Pill Sacred Domain, would such a pursuit stop because the dabei clansmen wouldn’t leave the Supreme Pill Sacred Domain and rarely ventured beyond its outer regions.
But, many of his purposes on this trip were yet to be accomplished; how could he willingly leave in such disgrace!
Ning Fan’s God-Slaying Giant stood in mid-air, motionless, in hesitation, and in unwillingness.
Clearly, he thought he adhered to the rules of the Dabei Clan, yet his Punishing Ring was destroyed by an ambush. Clearly, he didn’t intend to antagonize the Dabei Clan yet faced their full-scale pursuit...
All his hard work and sacrifices led to results where the South Sea Spring Water was not obtained, the Innate Soul-Nourishing Spiritual Medicine was not fully gathered, the Burying Moon’s needed Corpse Seizing Flesh was not found, and the Baihua Great Emperor reneged on their agreement, refusing to reveal the whereabouts of the Jiuli Ritual Vessel...
This expedition to the Supreme Pill Sacred Domain was indeed full of misfortunes and achieved nothing!
Especially in the second round of the tomb seizure battle, where everything seemed smooth one moment, then collapsed the next, with the Punishing Ring being destroyed by surprise, leading to the failure of the entire plan, forcing him into enmity with the entire Dabei Clan...
He should have no grievance with the Silver Robe Immortal Emperor of the Thunder Sound lineage, so why does the latter go to great lengths to destroy his Punishing Ring! Could there be someone behind the Silver Robe Immortal Emperor secretly driving all this...
And then there’s Emperor Butcher... Emperor Butcher suffered such severe injuries, is it really okay to leave her here to cover his retreat?
"If I leave, what about you? My Punishing Ring was inexplicably destroyed, inexplicably making me a criminal; you’re helping a criminal, standing against the Dabei Clan, is it really alright?"
"Don’t worry, the Five Supreme Beings don’t meddle in worldly affairs; the strongest in this realm are only the Death Emperor and Bright Buddha. Your crime regarding the Punishing Ring might at most cause Bright Buddha to act, but that damn bald-headed thief alone cannot do anything to this lady!"
"But your injuries... and your left eye..."
"So tedious, endless babbling! Go now, I’m suddenly a bit annoyed with you and don’t want to see you anymore!"
Emperor Butcher’s tone seemed very impatient; with a big wave of her hand, a fierce wind suddenly arose around, instantly sweeping away the God-Slaying Giant, rendering it vanished without a trace.
After sending Ning Fan away, Emperor Butcher finally barely showed a gentle smile she hadn’t even realized herself.
That boy refuses to flee, is it because he’s concerned about her injuries... hehe, what an interesting kid, how she likes him indeed.
It’s a pity, this bit of gentleness was soon replaced by the subsequent chill.
Because those pursuing Ning Fan were closing in!
Before her, a pursuit team consisting of five Immortal Emperors and over twenty Immortal Venerable Immortal Kings—only they could ignore the Central State Forbidden Sky, flying and hunting Ning Fan, only they could chase to Liuli City’s perimeter, within a hundred miles!
Toward these people, Emperor Butcher naturally couldn’t show any gentleness, only near-brutal killing intent!
This killing intent was so astounding that the originally confident pursuers suddenly felt scared, stopping in mid-air, too afraid to advance further, standing at a hundred feet’s distance from Emperor Butcher!
No one wasn’t shocked!
Above this delicate woman’s head, a myriad of thunder descended, this kind of Emperor’s Wrathful Thunder Greeting is seen only when an Immortal Emperor gets angry!
Who is this woman! This increasingly intense aura... so powerful! She is undoubtedly an Immortal Emperor!
Strange, strange indeed, this woman seems to be a member of the Huanhai Clan and previously walked out of the Fire Soul Tower with Ning Fan...
This woman’s identity within the Huanhai Clan is certainly false, but her true identity, who exactly is she... Does the Dabei Clan have an Immortal Emperor like this...
"Everyone hold on, let me first ask about this woman’s background before we make any moves!"
The Silver Robe Immortal Emperor with his Seven Tribulations cultivation felt a certain amount of fear towards Emperor Butcher’s aura and couldn’t perceive Emperor Butcher’s specific cultivation level, secretly astonished, naturally afraid to act rashly, he intended to probe into Emperor Butcher’s depth first. After taking a deep breath, he barely steadied his heart spirit, and then slowly asked.
"Dare I ask which sect Daoist fellow comes from, are you a secluded Immortal of the Holy Mountain, or from the Three Flames, and why do you stand blocking us from pursuing the criminal foreign cultivator’s path! Are you indeed with that criminal foreign cultivator! You must know, this child privately destroyed the Punishing Ring, openly violating our clan’s commandments, guilty of death! Although you are an Immortal Emperor, you cannot protect this child. If you insist on keeping your hands in this matter, don’t blame us for being disrespectful to you!"
The Silver Robe Immortal Emperor’s words were spoken neither humble nor arrogant, sonorous and forceful. Unfortunately, as soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly opened his eyes wide, his face turned pale, and then let out a scream.
It was Emperor Butcher standing a hundred feet away, while he was speaking, her delicate body slightly swayed, as if moved or perhaps not at all, yet in that extremely short instant, there appeared a bloody severed arm in Emperor Butcher’s hand!
That arm was clearly torn off from the Silver Robe Immortal Emperor’s body!
A piercing pain came from the broken right shoulder, causing Silver Robe Immortal Emperor to grimace in pain, his face paled, moreover... fear!
He is a dignified Seven Tribulations Immortal Emperor!
His physical defense had undergone the refinement of the Thunder Sound Body-Refining Secret Art from the Thunder Sound lineage, a strong physical defense even within the Seven Tribulations!
Yet, the delicate woman in front of him tore off his arm with her bare hands!
And the woman’s speed was absurdly fast, he couldn’t even see clearly the process of his arm being torn off!
What is this woman’s cultivation level! Absolutely not an ordinary Immortal Emperor! Even being an Eight Tribulations wouldn’t be possible... Could she be a Nine Tribulations Immortal Emperor!
A thick atmosphere of terror instantly rose from this place, not only was the Silver Robe Immortal Emperor terrified facing Emperor Butcher, every one of the pursuers stared at Emperor Butcher’s relatively small frame, their foreheads cold with sweat!
"I am Lei Cang, fourth patriarch of the Thunder Sound lineage, you tore off my arm, you’re openly being an enemy against my Thunder Sound lineage! Such audacity, who are you, who exactly are you! Whether it’s the Holy Mountain or the Three Flames, among the famous Immortal Emperors, there’s definitely no such figure as you! Could it be you’ve come from outside..."
"Stop guessing randomly, it’s fine to tell you all, I come from... Middle State underground Blood Martial Arts!"
"What, actually the Blood Martial Master! Bad, leave now! It’s that legend, the madman!"
"You harmed my little butterfly, and still want to leave, wishful thinking!"
Sounds of screams came from up in the sky.
...
The fierce wind swept the God-Slaying Giant, flying across countless distances, out of Middle State, over one grassland after another, and eventually to the outskirts of the Supreme Pill Sacred Domain.
It was an act of Emperor Butcher’s divine skill, sending Ning Fan away. This distance would take considerable time to cover even at full flight under the forbidden force, yet was directly crossed through the Emperor Butcher’s divine skill!
This is the power of a Half-Step Quasi-Saint!
Emperor Butcher has the ability to send the God-Slaying Giant away with a single move, and equally can break its powerful defense with ease. Ning Fan’s defense is insignificant before Emperor Butcher.
Judging from his aura, the Bright Buddha seems even stronger than Emperor Butcher... Does it mean that even the strongest defense of the God-Extinguishing Shield may not be able to withstand the Bright Buddha’s divine skills?
Ning Fan’s heart sank slightly.
Merely relying on the God-Extinguishing Shield, it is indeed impossible to protect oneself before such a formidable foe as the Bright Buddha.
Could it be that Emperor Butcher sent him away, considering he’s far from being the Bright Buddha’s match...
At this moment, Ning Fan, heavily wounded, could not maintain the God-Slaying Giant for long. Since they’ve already moved away from Middle State and escaped the pursuit, he dismantled the defense of the God-Slaying Giant, landing on the ground with Ouyang Nuan and others.
Both Ning Fan and Ouyang Nuan and the others were unhappy, clearly not expecting things to escalate so suddenly.
"Husband, what should we do now... Should we go to the space node on the outskirts of the Sacred Domain and leave..." Ouyang Nuan sighed softly, asking.
She understands that Ning Fan has many major tasks to undertake and is certainly unwilling to leave, but staying in Dabei doesn’t seem wise either.
This time the pursuit was thwarted by Emperor Butcher, but what about next time, and the time after next?
"Let’s go to the space node first..."
Ning Fan sighed slightly. He is certainly unwilling to leave, having no fear facing endless pursuits.
But he must consider the safety of Ouyang Nuan and the others; perhaps he could first go to the outer space node and send Ouyang Nuan and the others away, while he stays alone within the Dabei clan to continue the mission...
"Husband intends to go to the space node first, send Nuan’er, Sister Burying Moon, and Mister Wu out to the outside world, right? Husband doesn’t plan to leave, intending to stay here despite the Dabei clan’s pursuit, is that so?" Ouyang Nuan asked.
"Indeed, nothing can be hidden from Nuan’er. Yes, that’s my plan. Now that I’m pursued by the entire Dabei clan, this matter will surely implicate all of you. I’m confident to tangle with those immortal emperor-level pursuers, but I have no confidence to protect you in the face of those pursuers."
"I’m sorry, Nuan’er is too weak, only becoming my husband’s burden." Ouyang Nuan slightly bit her lip, saying.
"No, it’s not your fault, it’s me who is weak. If only I had the cultivation of an Immortal King, surely I wouldn’t be conned or have the Punishing Ring destroyed... If I had the cultivation of an Immortal Emperor, I wouldn’t even question any Dabei rules, I’d just roam freely... Anyway, since things have happened already, talking about them holds no meaning. I don’t know if the Dabei clan has special means to track criminals who secretly destroy the Punishing Ring. If they do, even having escaped to such a distance, it’s still unsafe. Let’s go to the space node sooner so I can send you out...
"Nuan’er won’t go!"
"I won’t go!"
"Little Ba won’t go!"
Ning Fan was a bit surprised, looking towards Burying Moon and Wu Laoba.
Ouyang Nuan unwilling to leave, wanting to stay by his side and help despite the danger, he certainly understood that intention.
But for Burying Moon and Wu Laoba to not want to leave was somewhat unexpected for Ning Fan...
From Ning Fan’s knowledge, Burying Moon is the most fearful of death, and Wu Laoba is someone who would rather betray friends than sacrifice himself. Now in such dire circumstances, according to their personalities, it would be wise for them to leave the Supreme Pill Sacred Domain early, so why would they want to cling to his side now?
Is it because he planted Slave Restraints on them? After all, with Slave Restraints intact, if the master dies, the servants also perish...
No, it seems like that’s not it...
Ning Fan was extremely surprised to find that Burying Moon and Wu Laoba were both showing unabashed anger on their faces!
It’s not an act, but genuine anger!
Are they angry on his behalf because he was conned? With their personalities, is this possible... Ning Fan had his doubts.
Yet despite his doubts, at this moment, Burying Moon and Wu Laoba were truly furious with the Silver Robe Immortal Emperor, standing up for Ning Fan!
"I’m not leaving! This cannot end just like this, a mere Seventh Tribulation Immortal Emperor dare to con my master, huh! The Thunder Sound Lineage is so high and mighty? Back in my peak days, I once violently thrashed the highest cultivation Eight Tribulation Immortal Emperor of the Thunder Sound Lineage! What nonsense Thunder Sound Secret Technique, I’ll teach you a way that ensures to restrain the opponent’s sound attack!" Burying Moon said indignantly.
"Mistress is right! Master, we can’t leave in such disgrace, this isn’t Little Ba’s style! We shouldn’t do anything that would cause loss! If the master gets bullied, then let Little Ba help the master get even! What kind of nonsense Immortal Emperor of the Holy Mountain, once I unleash my Black Fortune, I’ll ensure that the Thunder Sound Lineage has no return!" Wu Laoba said through gritted teeth, even going further by directly destroying the Punishing Ring, fully restoring his cultivation, black mist surrounding him, this was his Black Fortune stirred by anger.
"Little rogue, quickly help me find a physical body, I’ll help you flatten the Thunder Sound Lineage!"
"Master, I need to set up an Ancient Altar, I must cast a spell, I have to curse the Thunder Sound Lineage! Just give me the materials, and I’ll definitely make the Thunder Sound Lineage pay!"
"Little rogue! I have another plan, it requires Nuan sister’s aid, let’s first find a new place to land, as a base, to launch revenge against the Thunder Sound Lineage..."
"Master! Little Ba has one more plan, requiring Nuan’er to exert some effort, surely it will make the Thunder Sound Lineage wail in agony..."
These two were genuinely and sincerely contributing ideas for Ning Fan!
Ning Fan’s anger, originally stirred by the schemes of the Thunder Sound Lineage, calmed down, replaced by a smile.
In his heart, for some reason, he felt threads of warmth...
First the Emperor Butcher, then Ouyang Nuan, Burying Moon, Wu Laoba... People say adversity reveals true feelings, at this moment he faces great danger, even in the next moment, he may be hunted by the Dabei Clan, yet there are people truly caring for him.
Ouyang Nuan was expected, but the Emperor Butcher, Burying Moon, and Wu Laoba were unexpected...
Interesting, since you are unwilling to abandon me and leave, we shall face the pursuit of the entire Dabei Clan together, what does it matter!
Just a mere Dabei Clan, soldiers will block, and water will cover it!
Ning Fan is never one to silently suffer loss, having suffered this time, naturally, he would repay ten or a hundredfold!
Of course, the first thing to solve is how to evade tracking...
Wu Laoba angrily destroyed the Punishing Ring, and though it was satisfying, this destruction seemed to generate some kind of sensing, causing the Middle State direction from afar to have a slight causal sensing towards Wu Laoba...
Wu Laoba couldn’t see this causality, but Ning Fan waved his five fingers, and pulled out this thread of causality from the heavens and earth, and understood it.
Interesting...
People from the Holy Mountain use causal sensing to track those who privately destroy the Punishing Ring, and execute their pursuit?
If one could sever the causality, could they still track down!
Slice!
Ning Fan flicked a few streams of light from his fingertips, slicing through the air. No one knew what he cut, but at this moment, the Holy Mountain lost its sensing of Ning Fan’s tracking!
And the sensing generated by Wu Laoba’s recent destruction of the Punishing Ring also disappeared...
Then Ning Fan swept his sleeve robe in a wave, the Vertical Golden Light flickered briefly, and he, along with Ouyang Nuan and others, vanished.
Time passed, suddenly at the place Ning Fan left, space flickered, and out walked an old monk with a face full of white stubble.
This old monk carried a bloodstained burlap sack on his back, the bloodstains still fresh, with something inside the sack struggling to break free, but unable to escape.
"Stop struggling, Ji Qingling, with your severely injured body, you can’t escape my [Creation Bag], if you were at peak condition, then there would be a five percent chance. Had you not sheltered the sinner’s escape and used Illusory Art to cover, I would not have spent so long chasing here. Causal sensing has been severed. Either that person has left the Supreme Pill Sacred Domain, or his abilities are heaven-defying enough to sever causality... Hmm, it shouldn’t be the latter, even I can’t achieve that, he should also be unable to."
"The sinner has escaped, someone must bear today’s dire consequences. Eleven Immortal Venerables fell, five Immortal Kings fell, my Daoist friend from the Heavens’ Spirit was gravely injured, his cultivation fell from the Immortal Emperor Realm, Spirit Bones, one hundred types of flowers, Emperor Foqi, these three Daoist friends had their physical bodies destroyed, only their Spirits escaped, the Thunder Sound Lineage’s four ancestors, Lei Cang’s form and spirit were utterly destroyed... look at your handiwork. I know you have the protection of the Supreme Ox Demon, and are deeply entangled in causality with the Ten Bees Supreme, but this crime is too great, I cannot let you off easily. Death can be extinguished, life cannot escape, I will gather a quantity of thunderous force, refine a [Primordial Realm Peeling Whip], and enact the Path-Extermination punishment on you, don’t blame me for being harsh, this is your due, your cultivation should be abolished..."
If any strong presence from the Holy Mountain were here, they would surely recognize that this stubbled old monk is none other than the strongest presence of the Holy Mountain... Bright Buddha!
Not the rumored Half-Step Quasi-Saint cultivation, but rather a peculiar aura, sometimes Half-Step Quasi-Saint, sometimes Second-Grade Quasi-Saint! That Second-Grade Quasi-Saint aura doesn’t seem to belong to the old monk, but the power it contains can be utilized by him.
The old monk released a spirit sense, meticulously searching the perimeter of the Supreme Pill Sacred Domain, eventually concluding that Ning Fan had left, subtly silent, flickered his form, and departed from this place.
Days later, a shocking message spread at an astonishing speed through all the Dabei grasslands, even reaching the Sanyan Continent!
The strong presence of the Dazu Clan in legend, the Blood Martial Arena’s mastermind, a few days ago committed heinous acts outside Liuli City, heavy with slaughter, furthermore for sheltering a criminal’s escape, was finally captured by the Holy Mountain’s Bright Buddha!
Issued a notice to all the Dabei clans, within ten years, by all means, gather adequate thunderous force, enough quantity to allow Bright Buddha to refine punitive instruments, to punish the Blood Martial Master, without fail!
Among numerous Fierce Realm Continents, on an unremarkable Sixth-Level Fierce Realm Continent, in a desolate city, this intelligence was conveyed.
In the city’s tavern, several tables of Sanyan sentinels in black armor, were drinking while discussing this matter.
It’s rare for such cities to be established on Fierce Realm Continents, only those with extremely important geographical positions have Sanyan cultivators stationed there. Most Fierce Realm Continents are deserted and barren.
Nearby the window seat in the tavern, sat an old man in black armor, dressed identically to other Sanyan cultivators, drinking with an indifferent manner, while eavesdropping on the Sanyan cultivators’ discussions, his little mung bean eyes occasionally darting around.
"Ji Qingling, Blood Martial Master... they must be talking about the powerful Immortal Emperor who covered the retreat of the star of misfortune back then. This is trouble, real trouble. That woman, just by looking, one can tell she’s intimately connected with the star of misfortune, most likely one of his many companions, otherwise, how could she selflessly protect the star of misfortune’s escape. If the star of misfortune finds out his companion was captured by Bright Buddha while trying to save him, he will surely go mad, might even charge to wreak havoc at the Holy Mountain in anger... but Bright Buddha is really formidable, were it not for the Blood Martial Master’s rescue, the one captured would be the star of misfortune... Hmm, should this bad news be reported to the convalescing star of misfortune..."
The elder’s face exhibited a few degrees of unease.
Upon closer inspection, this old man disguised as a Sanyan sentinel, secretly gathering intelligence, who else could it be but Wu Laoba?
Wu Laoba, in his flight from Middle State, fled to the absolute forbidden land of the Dabei people... the Fierce Realm Continent!