Chapter 682 A storm within the storm
Chapter 682 A storm within the storm
"How strange, there was not one Seven Profound Realms cultivator among them…" Hua Ziyan spoke with a bit of surprise, noticing that most of the cultivators they just saw were in Core Reformation Realm, with only leaders in Mortal Transcendence Realm.
"Did you expect Seven Profound Realms experts to be as common as Nine Mortal Realms are in the Boundless Mortal World?", Ye Ling asked with a gentle smile, understanding her sentiment, as it was the same for her when she first arrived in the Boundless Profound World.
"I guess Mortals make up the majority of population regardless of the Boundless World?", Hua Ziyan wryly smiled, asking back and Ye Ling nodded.
"I cannot say for the ones that I haven't been to, but as far as I know that is the case. Though as you can see we encountered a few Mortal Transcendence Realm cultivators as soon as we arrived, which is a big difference to the Boundless Mortal World, where they are still considered elite", she explained as Old Yen approached Wu Long.
"Should I start gathering information in the territory of that Yu Zhen's group?", Old Yen asked, earning a smile from Wu Long.
As Fen Baihu turned for the explanation to Liang Yuhan, she chuckled, and explained the decision to approach that group specifically over any other, with "Since those in the Iron Claw Group are the top dogs here, there's less leverage to bargain with them if we were to gather information. We would be in far stronger position to negotiate with the other groups, especially if there is at least a slight tension between them and the rulers of the region"
Meanwhile Wu Long nodded to Old Yen, "Yes, but in time. First we need to make sure that you are not traceable", he chuckled.
"So it indeed is possible to tell we just arrived from the Boundless Mortal World…", Butler Bang nodded as they could predict this was the case.
After all, there was a fundamental difference in the environment they lived in, and there were bound to be signs of that showing in their cultivation and auras.
"Mm, it is also one of the reasons I did not have you go through your Heavenly Tribulations back in the Battle God's Cradle. Advancing to the Seven Profound Realms here would be far more beneficial, but also would instantly mask your origins. It also eliminates the trouble of going through a secondary tribulation upon arriving here, something known as 'baptism' of the Heavenly Daos. Although it is minor, it is still an additional step", Wu Long nodded.
"So I guess there's quite the work for me then", Lian Zhiqiu smiled, as there was no way they would not attract a lot of attention if they started undergoing their Heavenly Tribulations.
"Haha, don't worry, a Masking Formation is of course a must, but that is just to conceal the auras that would be out of control and the breath of Heavenly Daos. With the power of the Dao Runes all that is far less trouble than it would have been", he chuckled.
"We better move soon then, since there would be massive manhunt in these areas soon", Madam Liang nodded, judging from the fact that the group which was in control of this region was already notified of someone arriving through the World Stone.
As they moved out to a more remote location, away from the World Stone and any landmarks, Wu Long started subtly manipulating the surroundings with Dao Runes, pressure building up in the skies.
To those who did not know of Wu Long's abilities, it would seem that a storm was naturally forming, although rather abruptly, but not completely out of norm of natural weather, especially with how subtly he started influencing the weather, starting with a very minimal effects.
He gradually raised the level of humidity and electric charge within the skies, also making sure to use his newfound knowledge of how Earth played its role in the creation of lightning to track the charges running through the ground.
People in the greater area surrounding them could feel a massive storm was gathering, as all precursors pointed toward a natural cataclysm.
After a few hours, the winds picked up, carrying the forming clouds toward a massive vortex.
"Wouldn't they start searching already?", Shen Min cautiously observed their surroundings, since it would likely not take that long for the search parties to begin circling the area.
"Not with the signs of storm", Wu Long chuckled, as surprised gazes turned toward him.
"Those big swords they were standing on are a type of Flying Treasures. While useful, they are not really sophisticated equipment" he replied to those gazes with a smile as Ye Ling nodded along.
"They're only useful for travel, and hardly have the maneuverability to be used in combat. Flying one of those in severe weather conditions is also very troublesome, unless one has excellent skills of controlling the artifact and coordination", she added to the explanation.
"But wouldn't they at least deploy Mortal Transcendence Realm cultivators?", Cao Mei asked with caution, but Wu Long shook his head.
"While we cannot be absolutely certain that the groups that arrived at the World Stone are indicative of their entire forces, it is still almost confirmed that the majority of their forces are below Mortal Transcendence Realm. Had they the resources to mobilize an army of Mortal Transcendence Realm experts, they would have send groups consisting of them to investigate something so significant as the disturbance of the World Stone", he replied explaining his logic.
"Hmm, then sending out lesser numbers of Mortal Transcendence Realm experts would be indeed ineffective, it would be far more efficient to wait out the storm and then conduct a thorough search with all of their forces", Feng Yi nodded with understanding. Meanwhile the signs of the storm continued to rise in intensity, as the skies as far as the eye could see were enveloped by clouds and shadow fell onto the lands.
"Heh, I think I underestimated how much control I had at this point", Wu Long chuckled, as he felt the gathering thunderstorm, which now exhibited signs of turning into a giant hurricane.
'He used the new waves of Spiritual Qi coming through the link to mask the formation of the hurricane, as the sudden reopening of the link could be blamed…", Fen Baihu inwardly thought, looking impressed by his abilities once more. There was almost no signs these weather conditions were artificial, since the effects of his Dao Runes felt to an average cultivator as the movement of natural forces rather than a power wielded by an individual.
'The only ones that can close to this are probably Elementals, but even then their meddling would still be far more detectable…"
They soon stopped in a secluded valley, where Lian Zhiqiu began creating a large-scale formation with Liang Yuhan helping her.
The Thousand Eyes Palace and Twin Essence Palace members came out to arrange Spiritual Stones according to the Formation Master's instructions.
At the same time, the hurricane already started to gain momentum, the massive clouds covering the skies of the region, shallow rain starting to pour, carried by the wind, and the distant rumblings of thunder beginning to reach the ears of those in the vicinity, the lightning producing them flashing in between the clouds.
The valley Wu Long's group was in was located right in the center of the Eye of the Storm, as the surrounding lands were pushed further and further into chaotic and intense storm.
Wu Long's eyes flashed with a profound light, electric arcs sparking around his body, as bolts of lightning rained down on the region, explosive sounds of which reverberated far into the distance.
With this massive scale even he had to concentrate, so to not lose control over it, as the storm he made, began to be amplified by natural forces, as the inertia of his artificial manipulation made a ripple effect and effectively produced a natural disastrous hurricane that now was fed by the environmental conditions, and not solely his own efforts.
"I guess those who had plans for a picnic deserve my apologies", he chuckled, as the proportions of the storm continued to grow.
As they finished the preparations, Lian Zhiqiu deployed a masking Spiritual Formation, and as the storm was raging outside, those in half-step Essence Awakening Realm gathered in the valley, keeping a certain distance from each other.
His ladies were the last to take their positions, as he gave each of them a hug and a reassuring kiss, calming their nervousness. Even knowing that he was going to help, there was still a natural trepidation when facing Heavenly Tribulation, almost on instinctual level.
Yu Huan was the only one who was ready to advance but did not participate, as her presence would turn the Tribulation clouds into Heavenly Punishment. She stood to the side, along with Gong Liwei, Hong Yue and Cai Yin, all three of them had yet to reach the Mortal Transcendence Realm.
Wu Long closed his eyes for a moment, taking a few breaths and concentrating, creating the thunderstorm hurricane already gave him time to warm up and adjust, so he only required a moment to focus.
As he opened his eyes again, he silently nodded, and the concealed auras broke out, rising into the skies. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
Immediately, dark and heavy clouds of Heavenly Tribulation formed within the Eye of the Storm that they were located in, and flashes of lightning started running within them.
This time, Wu Long was far more experienced in influencing the Heavenly Tribulation, calmly controlling the process with familiarity.
The larger scale of the Tribulation was not a problem, as his abilities rose dramatically during his Enlightenment.
Not to mention, that now he felt the Heavenly Tribulation's presence in the ground beneath, filling in the missing piece of his control over this process.
As the last bolts of lightning flashed, more than a thousand powerful auras rose in the valley.
The ladies of the Frozen Garden Palace made up the majority of those who advanced, but even among the other Palaces of the Eternal Duality Valley were those who caught up to them.
Old Yen and Butler Bang also advanced ahead of Kwon Qianhong and Nie Guanting who were still in the Nine Mortal Realms.
"Congratulations on advancing", Wu Long spoke with a wide smile as Wu Mengqi ran up to hug him tightly, followed closely by Gong Cui, and then all of his ladies, who were expressing their excitement.
Wei Lan and Cao Xiang had slightly red eyes, as they were among those who had already once faced the limitations of her talent, especially the former, who was stuck in the Foundation Building Realm for a long time. Wu Long then helped Yu Huan overcome her Heavenly Punishment, unlike with the others, standing next to her to physically block most of the lightning as he did before when her Alchemy Flame received the Blessing of the Grandmist Keepsake.
With her advancement to the Essence Awakening Realm, all of those who could currently advance had successfully do it, boasting a 100% survival rate, an achievement unheard of within the Seven Boundless Worlds.
This moment also marked the true arrival of a new force in the Boundless Profound World, and the beginning of their history here.