Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The Fourth Palace was just a sheer cliff. A palace had been magically constructed on it without any flight of steps or road leading there. There were now four or five people eager to set off there. They all wanted to make their way to the Fourth Palace and leave their names on the cliff.
However, all of a sudden, they detected a disturbance behind them and turned around and looked back. It was obvious that the disturbance came from the Third Palace.
âThat is...did all Eighteen Stone Statues come to life?â
If they observed the Third Palace from the Fourth Palace, they could easily see the commotion caused by the stone statues inside it; hence, why they were all stunned. Since all Eighteen Stone Statues came back to life at the same time, it could be said that the difficulty had reached an outrageously high level.
âAn accident must have occurred there. I feel bad for those unlucky people,â someone said. This was the only reasonable explanation they could find for this matter.
âThey are really out of luck, and they will end up dying for nothing.â Since all Eighteen Stone Statues had been activated, the people there would surely all die.
The Doctrine Palace had existed for countless years, and many treasure hunters passed through here. So it was obvious that such issues and accidents might occur, and an unlucky crowd would end up running into them.
âSirs, I will go first.â They quickly concentrated once again on what was before them. A youth in white clothes among them strode forward. He had already taken a journey up to the Fourth Palace, yet his shoes were still spotless and clean. That was weird because it was impossible to fly up the cliff so he must have climbed. His face was as pale as snow, and not even a wisp of blood could be seen in it. It was like a piece of ice. He didnât have an outstanding appearance, but his special skin color still let him stand out more than others. He had seemed light and graceful while walking and looked like he wanted to start flying at any moment. The youth went to the cliff and looked up at the palace, which was almost 1,000 feet above the ground.
Just as the youth was just about to start climbing it, a rumbling sound could be heard from the cliff, and the ground quaked. Just after that, a boundless stream of water surged down, and it seemed like a water dragon which would sweep them all away. The youth clenched his teeth. He didnât shrink back and just extended both his hands.
Meanwhile, another incident occurred in the Third Palace, and familiar-sounding voices could be heard echoing from there.
âWhat! He succeeded?â
âImpossible! He will surely die with how high is the Eighteen Stone Statuesâ difficulty.â
âIs he a Great Venerable who came here to look for treasures?â
âEverything that could be taken away in the Doctrine Palace has already been collected, and there isnât any treasure left.â
A person who had teleported from the Third Palace arrived at the Fourth Palace before their amazed gazes.
âItâs a youngster.â
âHeâs in the Celestial Venerable Realm.â
The person sent here was Jiang Chen. He had just made a narrow escape from death, and it was only through using his entire power that he managed to finally reach the Fourth Palace.
âIt seems like breaking through the Doctrine Palace isnât easy. The Fourth Palace would be surely more difficult.â
When the confident Jiang Chen ran into the Eighteen Stone Statues, who awakened all at the same time, his will started wavering. All of a sudden, he noticed several pairs of eyes examining him.
Awful! Jiang Chen said to himself. Even though his body didnât have any visible injuries and the Flame Emperorâs clothes werenât damaged, his current state was still far from good. He wouldnât be able to fight again for at least several minutes. He quickly witnessed the three guys mentioned by Wu Hui and the others. One was an Earth Spirit, one a Wood Spirit, and the last one was a Half-Spirit.
âWhat is your name?â The guy called Shui Mu furrowed his brows and asked calmly.
Jiang Chen was startled by this and heaved a sigh of relief. It seemed as if they didnât recognize him. He didnât answer and just waved his hand at them, before he consumed an elixir and started recuperating.
âIâm asking you a question!â Shui Mu spoke in displeasure.
âHey, Iâm just wondering what do you all plan to do? Heâs already heavily injured, yet you still want him to have a chat with you?â
The other two people who were oblivious to the situation questioned them.
âIt has nothing to do with you,â Shui Mu replied. His gaze fell on Jiang Chen, and he asked, âAre you Jiang Chen?â
Jiang Chen didnât move as he tried to quickly recover his power.
âLad! You are courting death!â Upon witnessing Jiang Chen refusing to answer, the robust Earth Spirit thrust his fist at Jiang Chen angrily.
âHe, he!â The person, who had just questioned them a moment before, kept talking in front of Jiang Chen. He said, âSpirits are really arrogant! Donât you all see that he is trying to recuperate now?â
âWhy do you want to meddle in other peopleâs business?â The Half-Spirit shouted.
âTsk, tsk, tsk. Donât try to scare me, you are just a Half-Spirit, and you are still half human. So, donât forget your roots.â This person obviously didnât take those three people seriously and just chuckled carelessly.
âHateful!â The Half-Spirit pulled his sword out and his sharp and deadly Sword Doctrineâs power erupted out. His sword shone in a dazzling light that illuminated the cliff.
âI already said, donât try to scare me.â This person was also young and was just at the early stage of the Celestial Venerable Realm. His smile still didnât disappear, and he looked at the Half-Spirit with his sharp gaze. It seemed like the Half-Spirit had just sustained heavy injuries. His face turned pale, and he drew back, while his swordâs aura disappeared completely.
âHow is this possible?â Shui Mu was started by this. How could a mere gaze possess such destructive power? Even if he tried to use his aura to harm him, he still shouldnât have been able of achieving such a matter, unless he was a Great Venerable.
âWhat is going on?â Shui Mu and the Earth Spirit asked hurriedly, while they got on guard against him.
This person had come to the Fourth Palace before them all, and they all didnât know him. However, proud and haughty Spirits like them didnât take him seriously.
âFriend, this person may have killed my friendâs little brother and driven away my little sister.â Upon witnessing that the Half-Spirit was left at a loss of words, Shui Mu could only inform him of this matter.
âYou just said that it may be that person, and he also may not be that person, isnât that the case? I donât want to meddle in other peopleâs business. But itâs only after this person has finished recuperating that you can take care of your feud with him.â He spoke firmly. Upon witnessing his usual confident smile once again, the three Spirits didnât dare take any rash actions.
After a short while, the sound of someone else passing through the Third Palace successfully echoed once again. It was Yao Yuntong who appeared here. Shui Mu didnât know Jiang Chen, but she knew him. When Yao Yuntong appeared, her gaze swept the surroundings, and it fell in the end on Jiang Chen.
âHe, he, you should take care of your affair by yourselves.â The busybody had sharp observation powers and quickly noticed something. He drew back and observed calmly how this matter would unfold.
âYao Yuntong, is he Jiang Chen?â The Earth Spirit spoke in an ice-cold voice.
Yao Yuntong was taken aback by this, and she quickly noticed Jiang Chenâs current condition. She said, âWhat do you mean by this?â
âDonât act stupid here. The person who was with you killed my little brother, Gang Yang. You canât shirk responsibility for this matter.â The robust man had intense killing intent, and he strode forward toward Jiang Chen.
âHe isnât Jiang Chen, and I donât know him,â Yao Yuntong spoke.
âSince you said this, we can be almost sure it is him. Move out of the way.â Shui Mu didnât believe her.
The robust Earth Spirit clenched his fists, and a crisp sound echoed out. His murderous aura turned into a hurricane, whose wind was as sharp as knives, and attacked the sitting Jiang Chen.
It was at that moment that Jiang Chen stood up. Most of his internal injuries were healed, and his heart throbbed strongly. A magnetic field appeared around him and extinguished the wave of the murderous aura.
âAre you getting anxious, and you want to quickly meet your little brother?â Jiang Chen sneered coldly.
âHateful!â Upon hearing him admit it personally, the robust man couldnât bear it any longer. Even the ground beneath the cliff started quaking.
âSince you killed my little brother, you will surely die today. Anyone who dares to obstruct me will become my Earth Spirit Clanâs enemy.â He shouted angrily to deter Yao Yuntong and the man who had just helped Jiang Chen a moment ago.