Chapter 784: The Great Zhou Empire In Distress
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
Initially, Liang Pan was not too concerned about Lin Feng’s bizarre attempt at using the Penglai Celestial Mountain to crash against the Fangzhang Celestial Mountain as they were both aware that the Fangzhang Celestial Mountain had the best defensive abilities amongst the three mountains.
However, Liang Pan noticed that Lin Feng chose a very specific target – he came straight for the group of dragon illusions on the top of the mountain and Liang Pan’s face changed.
Two gargantuan mountains that were so huge they could pass as a tiny island, collided together!
The first consequence was the complete scattering and dissipation of the dragon illusions at the top of the Fangzhang Celestial Mountain, while the dull-golden radiance mixed together with the nine-colored divine light. The sky above the mountains became murky as it was tainted with a strange combination of colors.
The entire southern region of the Ying Sea felt like a giant painting that was being stretched and twisted by somebody.
An immeasurable number of illusions were eradicated as a comparable number of space monsters residing in the Ying Sea were pulverized into dust. Herbs and spiritual plants perished as several cultivators moving around inside the Ying Sea lost their lives as well.
On top of the Fangzhang Celestial Mountain, Liang Pan and the other Great Zhou Empire cultivators and the other beings that did not belong to the mountain were shaken off like fleas from a layer of fur.
Liang Pan himself was severely injured. However, what made him even more grievous was the fact that he had lost his connection with the Fangzhang Celestial Mountain!
Zhu Hongwu was a step too slow as he failed to stop the star-like advance of the Penglai Celestial Mountain. However, he managed to channel the Great Heavenly Wheels and bore down upon the nine-colored divine light before he shattered the divine light rays into pieces.
Lin Feng’s Original Ancient Skyrider was more powerful than Liang Pan’s avatar, but he had to clash with the Fangzhang Celestial Mountain and take a direct hit from the Great Heavenly Wheels and ended up falling off the mountain as well; like Liang Pan, Lin Feng lost his connection to the Penglai Celestial Mountain.
Before he was jolted out of the great hall, he turned back and glanced at the Heavenly Oyster’s Golden Pearl one last time before he laughed heartily and inserted the Barrier-Breaking Stone amongst other magic treasures into the pearl – then the tremendous force of the collision threw him off the mountain.
Lin Feng’s never intended to emerge victorious from this head-on collision. With Zhu Hongwu and the Great Heavenly Wheels by his side, the Penglai Celestial Mountain was outgunned and he still had to account for the Golden Roc Grand Sage and the Qiong Qi Grand Sage who were waiting for the prime opportunity at the side.
The plan he had in mind all along was to pay the price of the Penglai Celestial Mountain to take away the Fangzhang Celestial Mountain from Liang Pan!
"I don’t want the Penglai Celestial Mountain anymore – don’t think you can keep the Fangzhang Celestial Mountain either."
The Golden Roc Grand Sage and the Qiong Qi Grand Sage were slightly taken aback by what just transpired. However, they had considered the possibility of Lin Feng doing something suicidal under the immense pressure of their besiegement. In the next moment, they found their opportunity and lunged towards the Penglai Celestial Mountain.
On the other side, Liang Pan and his men attempted to return onto the Fangzhang Celestial Mountain.
Zhu Hongwu’s eyes never left Lin Feng’s Original Ancient Skyrider. His eyes radiated with ice and fire as he raised the Great Heavenly Wheels for yet another strike!
Lin Feng chuckled as he watched Zhu Hongwu. "Nobody has ever see a collision of the mountains of the Ying Sea. However, from the memories of the Hades Emperor’s light shadow, I discovered that the great demon had attempted to tame the Fangzhang Celestial Mountain using the very same method when he was still alive."
"As for the outcome… Heh!"
The ripples and aftershocks of the collision were subsiding as the heaven and earth gradually returned to tranquility and their original calmness.
However, in the next instant, the tides started to churn as the white clouds above the Ying Sea began to scatter and dissipate. Towers of ocean water spiraled up into the sky as the layers of spatial illusions became intertwined with each other.
A tsunami that was charged with vast amounts of spiritual energy covered half the sky as the entire southern region of the Ying Sea trembled – it was the Illusory Sea Tide!
The violent collision between the Penglai and the Fangzhang Celestial Mountain directly incurred the Illusory Sea Tide, which was not due for another generation inside the Southern region of the Ying Sea!
Liang Pan and the others never expected this to happen and a haze of terror came over them all as they had lost the protection of the Fangzhang Celestial Mountain. Every single one of them ended up stranded in the raging maelstrom like tiny dinghies that could flip over and sink at any time. Even the third-level immortal soul stage Luofu Holy Man felt mired in a precarious situation.
The Golden Roc and the Qiong Qi Grand Sage found themselves in a slightly better situation. However, faced with turbulent and unforgiving tides of the Ying Sea, they had no way of breaking through and ascending the celestial mountains. All they could do was watch as the Celestial Mountain that came so close into their grasp start to slip further and further away.
Multiple powerful and mysterious spatial illusions were mixed into the Illusory Sea Tides as they appeared and popped like air bubbles on the ocean surface.
What were originally forces that were only meant to confuse and deceive people were now completely converted into explosive spiritual energies that made the stormy tides all the more ferocious. The seething waters of the Ying Sea swept over anything that stood in their paths.
Due to the fact that it was only an Illusory Sea Tide that was triggered by the Fangzhang and the Penglai Celestial Mountain, it did not extend to the entire Ying Sea and was restricted to this particular region. However, the destructiveness was a lot more fearsome and terrifying than usual.
The Penglai and the Fangzhang Celestial Mountain were quickly swallowed by the raging tides and disappeared underneath. The two celestial mountains returned into hiding from the sudden occurrence of the Illusory Sea Tide – if they were to be found, the adventurers had to wait for the next reappearance of the three mountains.
The Golden Roc and the Qiong Qi Grand Sage were filled with regret and exasperation. If they had not been fishing for profit and waited at the side, and instead aligned themselves with the Great Zhou Empire against Lin Feng and the Penglai Celestial Mountain, they would have never given Lin Feng the opportunity to throw the Penglai Mountain against the Fangzhang Celestial Mountain.
Over at the Yingzhou Celestial Mountain, the Immortal Dragon City, the Imperial City and Mount Yujing were still holding down the fort and their chances were miniscule. All they could do now was watch as the Penglai and Fangzhang Celestial Mountains descended beneath the waves of the Illusory Sea Tide. This meant that the two of them were destined to return empty-handed from their venture into the Ying Sea this time around.
Compared to the exasperation of the Golden Roc and the Qiong Qi Grand Sage, the Great Zhou Empire’s distress was a lot more acute.
The Golden Roc and the Qiong Qi Grand Sage had never possessed the Penglai Celestial Mountain and had simply perceived it in front of their eyes. However, the Great Zhou Empire had the Fangzhang Celestial Mountain firmly in their hands but lost it an instant from right under their nose – this was more frustrating and generated resentment more than anything.
During the previous appearance of the Three Mountains of the Ying Sea, the Great Zhou Empire had secretly taken control of the Fangzhang Celestial Mountain. This was also one of the reasons why they were able to expand their sovereignty with such influence and efficiency. This also gave them an innate advantage in the current episode of the Three Mountains, and they could be said to have half the initiative of the entire battlefield.
With Lin Feng’s head-on collision, not only did the Great Zhou Empire fail to obtain the Penglai Mountain, they even threw away the Fangzhang Celestial Mountain that was already in their backyard!
Despite Liang Pan’s stability of mind, he glared at Lin Feng’s Original Ancient Skyrider spell body with fire bursting out of his eyes and was speechless for a long moment.
Zhu Hongwu wasted no words and time as he wielded the Great Heavenly Wheels for yet another round at Lin Feng. He completely disregarded the Illusory Sea Tides in front of him in his desperate attempt at vengeance.
The Original Ancient Skyrider flashed a smile as he stopped all resistance of the Illusory Sea Tide and allowed himself to descend into the depths of the maelstrom and he was pulverized into dust instantaneously.
He laughed again at Zhu Hongwu before he vanished under the waters as he pointed in the direction behind Zhu Hongwu.
Liang Pan’s first-level immortal soul stage avatar, the second-level immortal soul stage Vast Sea Swordmaster and the other Great Zhou Empire’s cultivators which even included some princes, were struggling for their lives inside the Illusory Sea Tides.
The third-level immortal soul stage Luofu Holy Man was only able to protect himself and there was no way he could extend aid to the rest of the company. All he could do was watch as a few relatively weaker cultivators were swallowed by the monstrous ocean.
Zhu Hongwu fumed as he watched the final moments of the Original Ancient Skyrider before it was crushed by the waves. "Lin… Feng!"
He withdrew the Great Heavenly Wheels and rushed to the aid of the Liang Pan, the Vast Sea Swordmaster and the others. Using the Great Heavenly Wheels, he assisted his comrades in their resistance against the Illusory Sea Tide and brought everyone out of the dire situation.
The colossal tides extended throughout the entire Southern Region of the Ying Sea. However, the waters were the most violent at the spot of the collision. Places more distant from the epicenter experienced relatively weaker tides, and at the end, the tides could no longer compare to the normal ones that permeated the Ying Sea from day to day.
Liang Pan and Zhu Hongwu could only heave a sigh of relief as they narrowly escaped with their lives. The Golden Roc and the Qiong Qi Grand Sage went their separate ways as well and had disappeared since a long time ago.
"We failed to obtain the Penglai Celestial Mountain and lost the Fangzhang Mountain in the process. Only the Yingzhou Celestial Mountain is lost – we can’t let this opportunity slip between our fingers again."
Liang Pan was slowly settling down from the emotional outburst.
His original ambition was to take control of all three Celestial Mountains. He had even mobilized his entire Empire in this endeavor and bargained and gambled with the sovereignty of his nation.
In the end, the fate of the Yingzhou Celestial Mountain was still uncertain as the Celestial Sect of Wonders and the Great Qin Empire were still there and they were still in a deadlock. They had greater confidence with the Penglai Mountain, but that target failed to come true in the end. What gave them a bigger headache was the fact that the Fangzhang Celestial Mountain, which they had controlled for so many years, was lost in the process!
The other human parties and adventurers that were in the Ying Sea would probably just go home empty-handed, and with limited losses as well. However, if the Great Zhou Empire was unable to take the Yingzhou Mountain, not only did they not get anything at all, they would return home with a substantial loss.
The Great Zhou Empire had fallen from a superior position to the very bottom of the valley. They had all the advantages they could possibly have, and they were as close as it could get to the dictator of the battlefield.
Such a psychological trauma shook even the minds of immortal soul stage cultivators.
Liang Pan was a superior being after all as he forced himself to calm down before he made a decisive judgment. "Hongwu, go towards the North-Eastern region of the Ying Sea right now – we cannot lose the Yingzhou Celestial Mountain!"
"Yes, your majesty." Zhu Hongwu’s voice was like a muffled thunderclap as he rode on the Great Heavenly Wheels, channeled it to the maximum possible speed and pierced the layers of void in his journey towards the North-Eastern region of the Ying Sea.
With both the Imperial Palace and the Great Heavenly Wheels, the Great Zhou Empire was confident of taking both the Immortal Dragon City and Mount Yujing on at the same time in their desperate attempt to control the Yingzhou Mountain. If not, the Great Zhou Empire would return home with irreparable losses.
If either the Celestial Sect of Wonders or the Great Qin Empire took control of the Yingzhou Celestial Mountain and the Great Zhou Empire ended up losing the Fangzhang Mountain without obtaining the Penglai Mountain, the influence of the Great Zhou Empire would be greatly damaged after this expedition into the Ying Sea.
The Ying Sea was connected to the East Sea, and the East Sea had always been treated by the Great Zhou Empire somewhere in their own backyard. Their failure in the Ying Sea was equivalent to a fire in their own backyard and the collapse of the residence with people still sleeping inside.
The loss of the Fangzhang and the Penglai Celestial Mountains had a far-reaching impact on the future of the Great Zhou Empire. It was likely that this would cause a chain reaction that would further erode the situation for the Great Zhou Empire, and this was completely unacceptable for them and their ambitions.
Over in the North-Eastern sector of the Ying Sea, above the Yingzhou Celestial Mountain, Liang Pan’s original body was seated on the throne inside the Imperial Palace as he stared at Lin Feng with a piercing gaze.
Lin Feng’s original body was seated upon Mount Yujing as well. It was needless to say that he was completely aware about the situation of the Penglai and the Fangzhang Celestial Mountains.
The Great Zhou Empire no longer had any say with the Penglai and the Fangzhang Celestial Mountains. Therefore, it was highly likely that Zhu Hongwu would be on his way to the Yingzhou Celestial Mountain along with the Great Heavenly Wheels. The speed at which they would be travelling meant it would not be long before their arrival.
Lin Feng chuckled on top of the Black Heavenly Treasure Tree as he stood up. "It’s about time. The battle can start now."