Chapter 995: The Ji Clan Makes a Move!
Everyone was watching as Ji Yin emerged. Ripples of the Dao Realm suddenly began to spread out from her body. That was Essence aura, meaning that the ripples emanating out from her were the most powerful possible in the starry sky!
The instant the ripples surged out, Fan Dong’er and the other Chosen felt their faces fill with shock. Regardless of who it was, none of them could ever have imagined that Ji Yin… was not actually the real Ji Yin!
This was something that neither the Fang Clan Earth Patriarch nor Meng Hao had been able to pick up clues about.
It was with complete stealth and silence that a Dao Realm expert suddenly appeared outside of Planet East Victory. It was something that caused all members of all the sects and clans of the Ninth Mountain and Sea to be filled with shock.
The Dao Realm Patriarchs were all murmuring to themselves.
“The only person who could pull this off without us noticing is… one of the Ji Clan’s five almighty Dao Realm experts… Ji Xiufang!” 1
“The Ji Clan is incredible….”
The Earth Patriarch’s face went cold as he stared at Ji Yin and, one word at a time, said, “Ji Xiufang!”
Ji Yin began to laugh softly as the boundless Karma which surrounded her began to dissipate to reveal the face of a middle-aged woman.
“Fang Shoudao! Long time no see! With me here, you won’t be going anywhere.” This woman was exactly who the Fang Clan’s Earth Patriarch had just mentioned, Ji Xiufang!!
The Earth Patriarch looked at her silently, his eyes flickering with killing intent. Without any further ado, he shot forward, and the two of them began to fight.
Booms filled the air, and the starry sky shattered as the Dao Realm battle shook mountains and seas.
In almost the same moment as the two of them attacked each other, three people suddenly appeared outside the layered sealing shield that covered Planet East Victory. Each one of these people emanated ripples of the Dao Realm, and as they sat down cross-legged, rumbling sounds emanated out from them. Their cultivation bases exploded out as they reinforced the shield, causing it to become even stronger.
Now, Planet East Victory was completely and thoroughly sealed inside.
The cultivators of the other sects and clans saw what was happening, and great waves of shock battered their hearts.
This made it absolutely clear that… the upheavals in the Fang Clan had something to do with the Ji Clan!! Furthermore, the Ji Clan had already made it obvious… that they were determined to come out victorious!
The Ninth Mountain and Sea was in shock. The Dao Realm Patriarchs of the various sects and clans felt coldness rising up within their hearts. That coldness was caused by the mass chaos in the Fang Clan, from the sudden appearance of Ji Xiufang, and from the three almighty Dao Realm experts outside of the shield.
Up until moments ago, nobody had noticed anything unusual about Ji Yin, and had overlooked the fact that she was the only one among the various Chosen who hadn’t fought Meng Hao.
Now that they thought about what had happened, they realized that the plan had been carried out without a hitch. If Ji Xiufang weren’t there, Fang Shoudao would have quickly resolved the chaos in the Fang Clan.
When the Dao Realm Patriarchs realized this, the chill in their hearts grew even stronger.
“The Ji Clan… is on the attack! They’ve sent four Dao Realm experts to deal with the Fang Clan. If you ignore Lord Ji, who is as old as the Heavens, and doesn’t even count as a cultivator any more, the Ji Clan has a total of five Dao Realm experts!”
“The Ji Clan’s Dao focuses on Karma. They haven’t made a move for a long time. According to the legends, when they do, they always make sure they’re one step ahead of everyone else!”
“One step ahead…. For example, the six Ancient Realm experts of the Fang Clan. The Ji Clan already made arrangements for infighting among them, making it impossible for them to participate in the larger chaos. Then there’s Fang Shoudao, who they arranged Ji Xiufang to take care of!”
“In that case, what are those three almighty Dao Realm experts doing with that shield?” As the Dao Realm Patriarchs considered the matter quickly, their faces flickered, and they looked in the direction of the Three Great Daoist Societies.
All of a sudden, powerful ripples spread out from that direction, and rumbling sounds could be heard as figures emerged, as if the sects were mobilizing!
The Three Great Daoist Societies were going to jump into the fray!
Obviously, they would not be helping the Ji Clan. They… would prevent the Ji Clan from exterminating the Fang Clan!
At this point, everyone realized the purpose of the sealing shield around Planet East Victory. It was obviously there to prevent the Three Great Daoist Societies, or anyone else, from easily interfering. That meant that the presence of Ji Xiufang was even more important than ever!
Even as the energy of the Three Great Daoist Societies built up and the figures shot out, that energy suddenly began to fade. At the same time, the figures who had emerged suddenly returned to their respective sects.
The only people who were aware of this development were the Dao Realm Patriarchs, whose faces flickered as they observed.
Very quickly, their eyes went wide, and their minds began to spin.
In the Ninth Sea God World, just as various figures had been preparing to go to Planet East Victory to aid the Fang Clan, roughly ten percent of the disciples in their sect suddenly… turned traitor!
There were even clan Elders who participated, ensuring that the Ninth Sea God World was thrown into instant chaos.
A similar scene played out in the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto, as well as the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite. This change was incredibly sudden, and was apparently the result of years of planning that been kept secret, all for the purpose of exploding out in this moment.
Booms echoed out from the Three Great Daoist Societies. They were only small waves of internal disorder that wouldn’t last for very long. No major changes would occur, but their primary goal was… to buy time!
The whole point was to delay the Three Great Daoist Societies so that they couldn’t provide help for Planet East Victory!
When you added in the sealing shield, that delay could prove to be fatal.
In addition, there was an unspoken warning contained within this sudden turn of events.
The coldness in the hearts of the Dao Realm Patriarchs grew even stronger than before.
“The Fang Clan… is going to be eradicated! I just still find it hard to believe that a clan like that could be overthrown just like this.”
“The Ji Clan doesn’t attack lightly. And when they do attack… they strike like lightning! This is a catastrophe for the Fang Clan…. Unfortunately, I’m worried that the Ji Clan’s machinations still haven’t been fully revealed.”
“The fact that the Ji Clan was even willing to activate their sleeper cells in the Three Great Daoist Societies shows how much they want to overthrow the Fang Clan…. But in the end, what is the real purpose?” The Dao Realm Patriarchs remained silent, but their eyes flickered with growing rage, fury that the Ji Clan had even included the Chosen of all the other clans in their machinations.
After all, the entire group of Chosen was now trapped just outside of Planet East Victory!
However, it didn’t matter how angry the Dao Realm Patriarchs got; they had existed for many years, and weren’t stupid. They knew that no matter how strong the Ji Clan was, they didn’t want to make enemies of all of the sects and clans of the Ninth Mountain and Sea. Unless the Chosen did something on their own to seek death, they would be safe. As long as they didn’t interfere, then once the battle was over, they would be free to leave.
Miserable screams rang out in the Fang Clan ancestral mansion. The bitter fighting between clan members caused the entire area to be soaked with blood. As every moment passed, more members of the Fang Clan died.
The internal chaos caused the areas on Planet East Victory outside of the Fang Clan to become deathly silent.
Buildings collapsed. Structures toppled. The ground quaked. Meng Hao hovered in midair, looking out at what was happening, and his eyes were shot with blood. Although he didn’t feel very much loyalty to the Fang Clan, to see all the clan members being slaughtered, to see Fang Xi in such danger, caused a murderous aura to explode out from within him.
He slapped his bag of holding to produce the Lightning Cauldron. Lightning danced as Meng Hao suddenly vanished, switching places with a clan member near Fang Xi.
That moment of transposition was the exact moment in which Fang Xi was facing imminent danger from one of the other direct bloodline clan members. Even as the man reached his finger out toward Fang Xi’s forehead, Meng Hao advanced without hesitation and waved his sleeve.
A boom could be heard as the power of 123 Immortal meridians exploded out. A terrifying force smashed into the clan member who was attacking Fang Xi. Blood sprayed from his mouth for a moment before he exploded into chunks of gore.
Fang Xi laughed bitterly as he looked around, a sense of profound powerlessness filling him.
Meng Hao looked silently at Fang Xi for a moment. Then his eyes filled with determination as he began to summon the terracotta soldier. By now, even he had come to the conclusion that the clan rebellion must have been influenced by outside powers. Otherwise, the Patriarch-level experts in the clan would have appeared by now.
He had no idea about the fighting going on deep beneath the ancestral mansion, nor about the Dao Realm battle occurring out in the starry sky. But Meng Hao didn’t need to know about those things to understand that… something very bad was happening in the clan.
However, in the moment that he called to the terracotta soldier, he also felt a powerful obstructing force spreading out to cover all of Planet East Victory. It greatly slowed the opening of the ancestral land, making it impossible for the terracotta soldier to come to him immediately.
His eyes flickered with killing intent. Continuing to call to the terracotta soldier, he turned and began to slaughter his way into the crowd. He was not at the level of an Ancient Realm expert, so he only attacked opponents of the Immortal Realm, and he did so like lightning. 33 Heavens descended, and the explosive power of the Immortal Realm exploded out. Any and all traitorous clan members of the Immortal Realm who met him let out bloodcurdling screams as they were destroyed in body and soul.
He was like an Immortal of death. Rumbling sounds could be heard as he waved his right finger, causing the forehead of a stage seven Immortal clan member to explode. Then he spun, and his cold gaze flickered toward two clan members who were speeding toward him in attack, whose hearts suddenly seized in terror. Before they could even react, Meng Hao shot past them, and their heads flew into the air.
A complicated expression appeared on Fang Yunyi’s face as Meng Hao slaughtered the clan member who had been fighting him, then sped past. Meng Hao had just saved his life, and now all he could do was smile bitterly.
Explosions rang out as savage fighting was carried out.
Meng Hao was very adept at killing. On Planet South Heaven, he had killed many, many people.
Furthermore, he was extremely familiar with chaotic battlegrounds. The Lightning Cauldron flickered, and he vanished amidst rumbling sounds. In that moment, a nearby traitorous clan member appeared in the spot he had just occupied, which was then blasted by a combined attack of five Ancient Realm experts who had been trying to kill Meng Hao.
With the Lightning Cauldron, it was very difficult for anybody to pin him down in the melee. In a very short period of time, dozens of traitorous clan members died by his hand.
This was the first time he had shown such brutal savagery in the clan, and as a result, the surrounding clan members looked at Meng Hao with astonishment.
That was not even to mention the cultivators in the other sects and clans out in the Ninth Mountain and Sea. Despite the sealing shield, everyone could still use various methods to see what was happening in the Fang Clan. That was something the Ji Clan didn’t prevent from happening. They wanted the bitter tragedy playing out in the Fang Clan to be visible to all, as a threat.
However, it was at this point that massive rumbling sounds could be heard from the area in which Fang Wei had slammed into the mountain. Terrifying ripples began to spread out as Fang Wei’s pupils returned to normal.
The terrifying ripples then vanished. He slowly rose up from amidst the rubble, then threw his head back and laughed.
“This doppelgänger is excellent. Wonderful…. It feels great to be so young…. Although it’s weak and cannot wield the power of the Ancient Realm… this body has incredible potential. After completely fusing in the future, and turning this into my true self, the peak of the Ancient Realm will no longer be my limit!
“Fang Wei, as a descendant of mine in the clan, since you’re giving me your body, I’ll help you fulfil one of your aspirations.” As of this moment, strange ripples began to undulate out from Fang Wei. He flew into the air, spotted Meng Hao fighting in the crowds in the ancestral mansion, and began to fly toward him.
Killing intent flickered in his eyes as he closed in.
In that moment, Meng Hao sensed a prick of danger in his mind. He looked up, and his gaze locked with Fang Wei’s.
Or perhaps it would be more correct to say that his gaze locked with… the Sixth Patriarch!
1. Ji Xiufang’s name in Chinese is 季秀芳 jì xiù fāng. Xiu means “beautiful,” and Fang means “fragrant.” This is clearly a woman’s name