Xing Siukong turned to look in the direction his master was looking. At first, he couldn't see anything. However, soon a pinprick-sized shadow started appearing in the distance. As they moved closer, the shadow was revealed to be a figure standing in front of their way.
The figure was that of a man. He was wearing black all over. A cowl covered his face as well. The aura he emanated also made the hair on Xing Siukong's body stand up all over. There was something evil about it.
The man stood in their way nonchalantly. His arms were folded and placed on his front and he looked as if he was out for a stroll. He made no motion to step out of the way as they approached, making it clear that he was there to block their way further.
Looking at the figure, Xing Siukong felt fear in his heart. He immediately knew that this wasn't an opponent he could face. When Xing Siukong looked at the figure, he felt as if he was being sucked into a dark hole full of malevolence. No matter how he tried, he couldn't extricate himself from the dark hole at all.
Fear and panic engulfed his heart as his consciousness was drawn towards the dark hole at an alarming speed. He instinctively knew that if his consciousness entered that dark hole then it would be very bad for him. Xing Siukong struggled to extricate himself from the suction, but it was in vain.
The force of the suction was really somewhat beyond his ability to extract his consciousness. In all his years as a cultivator, he had never experienced such a thing. A single look was enough to be drawn into that dark hole. Sweat began appearing on his face as Xing Siukong thrashed mentally trying to extricate his consciousness.
"Hmmph!"
Xing Siukong's master snorted loudly allowing him to break out of the dark hole. In response to his master's snort, the figure that was blocking their way chuckled heartily.
"Fellow Daoist! I am afraid I can't allow you to head any further!" the figure spoke calmly, but his words thundered into Xing Siukong's ears.
Xing Siukong's ears bled from the impact of the words. The cowled figure hadn't attacked them at all. He had just spoken while inducing his cultivation into his words. That alone was enough to make him bleed from his orifices.
"How shameless are you to attack your juniors so blatantly!!!" Xing Siukong's master raged.
"He isn't my junior, is he? Then Fellow Daoist's accusation is not proper. I must express my disagreement on that," the cowled figure still spoke the same way causing Xing Siukong to vomit blood.
"You!!!" Xing Siukong's master became angry and unleashed his cultivation to shield him. "Shameless!"
"Heh," the cowled figure chuckled and didn't speak.
"Why are you blocking our way?"
"The mission given to me was to prevent any Earth Immortals from stepping foot in the Dragon Scale Continent. I hope Fellow Daoist is understanding and will retreat from here. I understand that for the Grand Ancestor of the Starry Heavens Sect to travel here is a rare event. Unfortunately, your timing is not good."
"If I don't?"
"Then I can only be more forceful. I hope we don't get into a scuffle. But, I am not afraid of you either," the cowled figure answered calmly.
"Heh, I can see that. And I don't doubt it either," Xing Siukong's master snorted. "But your mere presence here proves my conjecture. I guess the Heavenly Demon Sect is ready to make their move, eh?"
"We all have our duties Fellow Daoist. Don't make this harder than it has to be," the cowled figure didn't even deny his association with the Heavenly Demon Sect. "It would be better if you can turn around now. If not, I will be forced to turn you away."
"The Third Grand Elder of the Heavenly Demon Sect is indeed as domineering as the rumors say. But, Daoist Zu should know that turning me away will not be an easy job to accomplish," Xing Siukong's master spoke causing Xing Siukong to look at the cowled figure in alarm.
He never expected that the Third Grand Elder of the Heavenly Demon Sect had already stepped into the final realm. Thinking about his ambitions to eradicate the Heavenly Demon Sect, Xing Siukong felt like laughing.
"Daoist Wen's prowess is well-known. But, I don't think you are a match for me yet," Daoist Zu spoke calmly causing Xing Siukong's master to narrow his eyes.
"That remains to be seen," Daoist Wen spoke and stepped out of the flying boat into the air.
"If Fellow Daoist insists," Daoist Zu spread his hands and shot into the upper sky immediately.
Daoist Wen looked at Daoist Zu's vanishing figure and turned toward Xing Siukong.
"Stay here. Do not move around!"
With that, Daoist Wen also shot into the upper sky.
Xing Siukong watched his master vanish into the upper sky to confront the Third Grand Elder of the Heavenly Demon Sect and felt heavy in his heart. He realized that the Heavenly Demon Sect must have some big event planned and didn't want his master to interfere with it.
Just then, the upper sky flashed causing Xing Siukong to look up. The sky above him was filled with flashes of various phenomena. Bright and dark clouds clashed causing the entire sky to be dyed in color.
A battle between Earth Immortals was happening right above him. It made Xing Siukong apprehensive. This trip was born out of a sudden whim from his master. No one apart from the two of them knew where they were going. He didn't even bring servants like he usually did.
But, somehow, the Heavenly Demon Sect was able to notice them and intercept them. It showed how important the upcoming event was to the Heavenly Demon Sect.
With a heavy heart, Xing Siukong looked at the flashing upper sky in worry.
*****
Duncan stood amidst the slaughter field he had created and took a deep breath.
He felt his cultivation beginning to break through without him doing anything. Duncan knew immediately that this slaughter field he had created with his own hands was the perfect place for him to break through to the Violet Palace realm and establish his legendary foundation.
For a moment, the thought of this being not isolated and remote flashed past his mind. But, Duncan shook his head and banished those thoughts away. It was true that in order to break through to the next level, a cultivator will always find a remote place to go into retreat.
Especially when breaking through to an important major realm like the Violet Palace realm. Establishing the foundational pillars was a time-consuming and very intricate job. No disturbance can be allowed to occur during this stage.
However, his cultivation technique was tailored towards slaughter. There can be no ideal ground other than this for him to establish his foundational pillars. Duncan felt that this place might aid him in establishing a legendary foundation far more than any other place in the entire world.
Taking a deep breath, Duncan waved his hands and collected the belongings of those he had slaughtered. Going through them, Duncan found a few defensive formations and obscuring formations.
Their grades were really low. They wouldn't even be able to take a single attack from his sword. However, they were ideal for the purpose he had in mind. While Duncan didn't have any problem with breaking through in this slaughter field he had created, the worry about being disturbed was indeed true.
He could only hope that his luck held true and allowed him to break through quickly. Still, to be on the safer side, he decided to put out some defensive formations and obscuring formations to prevent as much trouble as possible while breaking through.
If those two fish hadn't slipped his net, Duncan wouldn't have worried much. However, since those two escaped, the sects would have gained the needed information by now and would soon start to hunt him. The first place they would look would be here.
So, the time he had was really not that much.
Duncan didn't waste time deliberating on what-ifs. He immediately set up a few of the defensive formations and obscuring formations to isolate the area. If he had some knowledge about formations, he could have increased the defense and obscuring effect of the formations by linking them properly.
Unfortunately, Duncan didn't have any such knowledge. So, he randomly set up the most powerful of the available formations and finished the work in a hurry.
Following that, Duncan came to the center of the slaughter field and sat down cross-legged. It was time to establish the foundational pillars and lay the foundation for his Violet Palace.
Meanwhile, some distance to the west of Dark Star City, two groups of cultivators rushed towards the city with all haste. They had just obtained the information regarding Duncan's appearance in the Dark Star City and were hurrying to enquire about news regarding it.
Envoy Ming sported a serious look on his face as he rushed towards the Dark Star City in a hurry. He was alone without anyone to assist him. He lamented his luck of not being present in the Dark Star City at the time when news spread. One of the subordinates of the Iron Mountain Sect had forwarded that information with all haste, but it had still taken time for him to get hold of it.
By now, the confrontation between Duncan and other Young Talents would have occurred. Envoy Ming had no delusions regarding the end result of that clash. But, he didn't count out the Young Talents either.
The ideal result would be for Duncan to kill a few of them before escaping their encirclement. Some of the Young Talents had trump cards that even gave him pause. So, it was highly likely that Duncan was injured as well.
This was the perfect time in his opinion to hunt him down and do a meritorious deed. He couldn't let others take away the credit. So, he rushed towards the Dark Star City in a hurry.
A few miles behind him, another group was rushing in the same direction. Han Shindong, whom Duncan ran into in the Grotto Heaven, was also rushing towards the Dark Star City with his entourage intent on teaching Duncan a lesson he wouldn't forget.
Duncan was completely unaware of these two approaching dangers as he concentrated on building a legendary foundation…
*****
A/N: Check out my other stories and let me know your thoughts...
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