CH 146

Chapter 146 – Vast Ocean Primordial Lord

The Zhaojiang River System was boundless and vast. The tributary river at the border between the Shan Mountain Territory and the He Yin Territory wound and snaked its way across the land, extending across almost half of the entire eastern territory of the Human Realm.

The river currents surged powerfully along in a broad and magnificent manner. Countless monsters lived and reproduced in these waters, and there were signs of human inhabitation here and there on either side of the river bank.

On the He Yin side of the river bank, a gigantic red and gold palace appeared. Its gates were tightly shut, and there were several hundred people gathered before them.

“All of you get lost. My Demon Sound Sect wants this area in front of this palace,” a disciple said in an overbearing manner as he landed alongside several streaks of purple and black light. He looked disdainfully at the group in front of the palace, which was composed of rogue cultivators, disciples from small sects, and small aristocratic families.

“The Demon Sound Sect!”

“Hurry up and make way. The Demon Sound Sect’s disciples are known for being extremely malicious. They’re known for often taking living people and refining them for their cultivation. Rogue cultivators like us simply can’t afford to provoke them.”

“I heard that recently, for the Demon Sound Sect had a birthday celebration for their Phantom Sound Spirit Master, and they refined the bodies and essences of 30,000 men to concoct a pill. They’re extremely cruel and overbearing!”

When the rogue cultivators and small aristocratic families heard this, they all hurriedly started to make way, scared that they might end up getting involved with them.

There were some among the group who regarded the Demon Sound Sect with disdain, but they didn’t dare to show it on their faces. They simply silently turned to the side to make a path for them.

“Senior Martial Sister Zhang, please,” the disciple who made the entry earlier gestured with a bow, his expression immediately turning respectful and servile as if he was extremely afraid of the woman.

“Mhm,” Zhang Lingruo acknowledged with a curt nod. She led the disciples of Demon Sound Sect to the front of the palace. When she saw the tightly closed gates, she waved her hand and summoned a gorgeous purple chariot. With a slight lift of the hem of her dress, she sat elegantly upon it.

The disciples of the Demon Sound Sect, including the man who spoke at the beginning, Lu Zhuo, stood behind the chariot, their expressions showing extreme respect.

“That’s Zhang Lingruo?!”

“Who is she? Why haven’t I heard of her before?”

“You rogue cultivator, from under what rock did you crawl out from? You haven’t even heard of the Scorpion Beauty Zhang Lingruo of the Demon Sound Sect? She is a peak Dao Foundation stage disciple, and the direct disciple of Phantom Sound Spirit Master. I heard that when the Demon Sound Sect sacrificed 30,000 men to concoct a pill, a large portion of them were slaughtered by her.”

“What?!” that rogue cultivator exclaimed, his expression suddenly coloring with dread as he looked at Zhang Lingruo.

Zhang Lingruo’s elegant brows furrowed as if she felt the gazes of the rogue cultivators upon her. Her slender lily-white hands lightly plucked the air, causing an incorporeal sound wave to echo out.

That rogue cultivator was merely at the peak Sea of Qi stage and only came here to join in the fun. But suddenly, his body froze up as if his body was bound by some technique, his expression stuck in place. In the next moment, his body melted into a puddle of flesh, not even leaving a skeleton behind.

Lu Zhuo came forward and surveyed the area, then shouted reprovingly, “Silence, all of you!”

Half of the several hundred people present were rogue cultivators, while the remainder practically all belonged to nameless sects and small aristocratic families. There were only a few dozen Dao Foundation stage cultivators. The overwhelming majority were at the Sea of Qi stage.

At this moment, the Demon Sound Sect had taken control of the scene. Not only was there Zhang Lingruo, a peak Dao Foundation stage genius, but there were also two other Dao Foundation stage disciples and several peak Sea of Qi stage elite disciples present. Under their imposing presence, no one dared to resist.

“Senior Martial Brother Zhao, look at how lively this place is!” Several streaks of sword light closed in from a distance, followed by the sound of laughter.

The gazes of the several hundred people present all turned to look at the incoming streaks of sword light. There were four men in black clothes, carrying swords on their backs.

The one called ‘Senior Martial Brother Zhao’ was clearly the leader among them. His gaze swept over the red and gold great hall and finally the place where the Demon Sound Sect was standing. He let out a cold snort and said, “The people of the Demon Sound Sect sure showed up early. But there are still at least two days until the main hall of this Primordial Lord’s inheritance opens up, so what’s the point in coming so early?”

Back in her seat on the chariot, Zhang Lingruo simply waved her silk handkerchief, not even bothering to lift her head and spare him a glance.

However, Lu Zhuo’s expression became a bit unsightly. He shouted, “Zhao Changhe, how dare you be so impudent in front of Senior Martial Sister Zhang?!”

Zhao Changhe sneered and several dozen pale sword lights appeared. They even had a faint hint of the power of heaven and earth on them as they flickered into being in the space above the front of the great hall. All of the sword lights suddenly shot out at full power, ruthlessly slashing in the direction of the people of the Demon Sound Sect!

Boom!

A gigantic purple barrier of light appeared in the air above the Demon Sound Sect, blocking the several dozen ruthless sword lights and causing them to scatter. Some of them flew into the crowd, slicing through several Sea of Qi stage rogue cultivators like tofu before they could move out of the way.

Zhao Changhe didn’t care about those rogue cultivators and small aristocratic families. He only looked at Zhang Lingruo and said, “People of the Demon Sword Sect, back away 30 meters right this instant. If you don’t, you can’t blame my Peak Destroying Sword Sect for being discourteous.”

The purple barrier transformed into a small and exquisite crystalline lotus with purple and black petals as it returned to Zhang Lingruo’s hand. She gently caressed the flower petals and felt the shallow cracks now webbing over its surface. Still not lifting her head to look at him, she spoke in a voice that was as melodious as a black-naped oriole. “Since you said so, Senior Martial Brother Zhao, how could I dare to not oblige?”

Her voice was extremely pleasant on the ears. Many of the Sea of Qi stage cultivators’ faces flushed red as they stared at Zhang Lingruo with an entranced look on their faces as if their souls had been stolen away by her.

“Retreat 30 meters,” Zhang Lingruo commanded. Through some unknown method, the gorgeous purple chariot flickered and appeared 30 meters away in the blink of an eye.

“Senior Martial Brother Zhang…” Lu Zhuo started, still seeming somewhat unwilling to retreat. But when he saw the cold look in Zhang Lingruo’s eyes, he swallowed his words and waved his hand, gesturing for the disciples of the Demon Sound Sect to back up and take their positions behind Zhang Lingruo.

Zhao Changhe nodded and put away the sword intents before speaking to the vicinity. “All of you scram. This great hall is the inheritance of a Primordial Lord, a Primordial Spirit stage existence. It’s not something that you rogue cultivators and small aristocratic families have the right to covet.”

The rogue cultivators and small aristocratic families revealed hesitant expressions, but through the sheer force of mob mentality, none of them turned to leave. They clearly all harbored hopes to somehow get lucky.

Standing behind Lu Zhuo, Liu Yuxuan smiled and said, “Senior Martial Brother Zhao, why bother with them? If they really don’t know their place, just kill them.”

Zhao Changhe nodded once, no longer looking at the rogue cultivators. He walked with the other disciples of the Peak Destroying Sword Sect to the large open area in front of the hall, occupying the space.

“Senior Martial Brother Zhao, would you happen to know which Primordial Lord this inheritance hall belongs to?”

Unexpectedly, it was Zhang Lingruo who spoke, her melodious voice ringing like birdsong when she laughed. Based on her tone, she was now intentionally placing herself in a lower status position when speaking.

Zhao Changhe raised a brow, turning his gaze towards her beautiful and alluring face. “I only know this is the inheritance of a Primordial Lord from the human race. But I still don’t know exactly which one.”

“This inheritance belongs to a supreme powerhouse at the half-step Clone Avatar stage known as the Vast Ocean Primordial Lord,” Zhang Lingruo said, gazing at the red and gold great hall. “As someone who was at the half-step Primordial Spirit stage, Vast Ocean Primordial Lord’s inheritance is extremely powerful. It can’t be compared with the likes of an inheritance from an ordinary Primordial Spirit stage cultivator.”

She deliberately spoke in an overt manner so all of the people nearby could hear her clearly.

“What?! Vast Ocean Primordial Lord?!”

“How could that be possible?! Weren’t there rumors that the Vast Ocean Primordial Lord had broken through to the Clone Avatar stage and left for the eastern territory?”

“Vast Ocean Primordial Lord was one of the few known Primordial Spirit stage rogue cultivators. No one has heard news of him for ages. Who would have thought that he silently met his end?!”

All of the rogue cultivators’ expressions changed dramatically as they lifted their heads to look at the red and gold great hall.

Vast Ocean Primordial Lord was a rogue cultivator from the Shan Mountain Territory. He only had a Rank 6 Spiritual Root and never joined a sect, but by relying on a water element cultivation method he accidentally found one day, he managed to cultivate to the Primordial Spirit stage, which earned him the title of ‘Vast Ocean’ Primordial Lord. He was known for sheltering other rogue cultivators.

There were some Dao Foundation stage rogue cultivators among the group present who had clearly once received Vast Ocean Primordial Lord’s favor, as their faces turned unsightly. They stared at the great hall for a moment, then hurriedly began to send out jade slips to inform others of this shocking news.

“So she says, but the Demon Sound Sect and our Peak Destroying Sword Sect are right next to each other, but we’ve never heard of it. How would Zhang Lingruo know this?” Liu Yuxuan said with a mocking sneer, unconvinced by her words.

She shook her head and pointed with a slender finger at the sign smack dab in the middle of the area above the great hall’s main entrance. “You dumb swine, take a look at what it says right there.”

Liu Yuxuan and her were both at the Dao Foundation stage, so being insulted by her like this caused him to lose more face than he was willing to surrender. Just as he was about to erupt with anger and lash out, Zhao Changhe stopped him.

“Senior Martial Brother Zhao…” Liu Yuxuan said unsteadily, his expression filled with dissatisfaction.

However, Zhao Changhe ignored him. He looked at the sign that Zhang Lingruo pointed out, upon which the four characters ‘Great Harmony Water Palace’ were engraved.

“Junior Martial Sister Zhang, I’ve certainly never heard of this Great Harmony Water Palace before, but how did you figure out from this that this great hall was the inheritance of Vast Ocean Primordial Lord?” Zhao Changhe asked Zhang Lingruo, the sharp, cutting edge in his tone from earlier replaced by a more consultatory tone.