Chapter 856: Battle to the Death at the Peak

Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

Zhan Xuming and the others exchanged glances and smiles.

“I wonder what method it is. Could you share it with us?” Su Wenyu laughed loudly.

This spatial channel should have formed for some time, and there must be other races from different realms who arrived earlier.

Understanding the language of She Zijing and even knowing about the Black Divine, none of these things surprised them.

As long as they captured a martial artist in the Combined Aperture Tempering realm and probed their soul, they could easily learn the language and understand most of the situations in the Boundless Sea.

Several days later, fierce battles erupted outside the Southeastern Domain’s spatial channel, with several Fifth-Tier powers from the Boundless Sea involved.

Soon after, the true form of the Black Divine was forced out by the monsters. Although it was brief, it was still captured by the Sun Moon Realm experts and the Monster Emperor, severely wounded this time.

In the end, the survival method of cutting off the tail was used to evade the pursuit of the Sun Moon Realm experts and the Monster Emperor.

The Southeastern Domain remained calm for a few days before battles broke out again.

The energies of heaven and earth reversed, and the sea poured upside down, as if the world was about to shatter.

She Zijing retreated near the spatial channel, surprisingly gaining much strength, barely withstanding the attacks from the Sun Moon Realms and the Monster Emperor. Of course, their hesitation to strike was also a factor.

They wanted the monsters to continue forcing out traces of the Black Divine, but ultimately failed.

The Sacred Lands Sun Moon Realm experts and the Monster Emperor were caught in a dilemma. They could forcibly break the spatial channel, but how to resolve the issue of the Black Divine?

Moreover, breaking this spatial channel couldn’t guarantee that the other side wouldn’t secretly open a second one. And besides this monster race, would other planes also set their sights on the Boundless Sea?

Could they repel not just one monster race, but all the greedy forces eyeing the Boundless Sea?

Thousand Geese City, Tingfeng Pavilion.

It had been about ten days since the last news of the monster invasion.

At this time, it was wisest to stay in the sacred city to gather information.

After all, Chen Fei couldn’t personally go to the spatial channel to see what had happened.

Against Fifth-Tier powers, mere Mountain Sea Realm warriors were truly inadequate.

Chen Fei continued his daily cultivation, planning for possible contingencies in extreme situations.

Nowadays, it seemed that Fallen Leaves Palace was the best choice.

When the time comes, using treasures like the Concealment Bell to evacuate the disciples of Primordial Sword Sect. As for crossing the void, the treasures might be eroded by the void’s power, potentially leading to casualties.

At that time, there would be no room for such considerations.

Apart from planning an escape route, Chen Fei occasionally checked on Demonic Body’s situation in the Amber Jade Continent.

A few days ago, Demonic Body had already broken through to the Combined Aperture Tempering realm.

Despite enjoying leisure and pleasure, Demonic Body had not neglected his cultivation progress.

After plundering all the resources in Hundred Horn City, Demonic Body departed from there to the largest nearby city, Effect Cliff City.

When he went there, Demonic Body brought along his three most favored concubines.

As for the other maidservants, Demonic Body distributed a substantial severance payment and allowed them to leave as they pleased.

The strongest in Effect Cliff City had long reached the Mountain Sea Realm.

Demonic Body seized an opportunity to observe this strongest individual, ultimately confirming their cultivation was at the early stages of the Mountain Sea Realm.

Demonic Body’s early Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivation was already considered formidable in Effect Cliff City, quickly establishing his influence there.

Relying on the resources from Hundred Horn City, Demonic Body spent several days cultivating and advanced to the third stage of Combined Aperture Tempering realm, just a step away from the mid-stage.

For Demonic Body, breaking through to the mid-stage of Combined Aperture Tempering realm was a breeze.

However, without heavenly treasures and relying solely on absorbing the energies of heaven and earth, his cultivation progress was too slow.

Yesterday, Demonic Body entered the City Lord’s Mansion of Effect Cliff City as a guest.

“With Demonic Body’s capabilities, if he can obtain the resources within Effect Cliff City, entering the Mountain Sea Realm will be effortless. It seems the showdown with Demonic Body may not be far off,” Chen Fei lightly tapped the table.

Demonic Body’s situation was manageable, but the key issues remained the Black Divine and the invading monster races.

Several more days passed, and Demonic Body in the Amber Jade Continent unexpectedly became the son-in-law of the City Lord’s Mansion.

This turn of events genuinely surprised Chen Fei.

Chen Fei had always believed that given Demonic Body’s nature, it was highly likely that he would eventually find a pretext to plunder the City Lord’s Mansion completely.

Unexpectedly, the Mountain Sea Realm expert from Effect Cliff City was immediately impressed by Demonic Body’s talent.

Initially, the Mountain Sea Realm expert wanted Demonic Body as his disciple, but Demonic Body refused.

The expert then attempted to arrange a marriage with his daughter, to which Demonic Body quickly agreed.

From the memory fragments returned, Chen Fei saw the appearance of the Mountain Sea Realm expert’s daughter, indeed possessing exceptional beauty.

By establishing this relationship and gaining support from the Mountain Sea Realm, Demonic Body directly broke through to the mid-stage of the Combined Aperture Tempering realm and made rapid progress thereafter.

However, to avoid alarming his new father-in-law, Demonic Body used the Profound Slaughter Sword to conceal his true cultivation level, not letting the Mountain Sea Realm expert suspect anything.

“Impressive!” Chen Fei exclaimed in admiration.

“Ding ding ding!”

Suddenly, three bell tolls resonated across the Sacred City.

Chen Fei’s expression shifted slightly as he appeared atop Thousand Geese City.

These bell tolls didn’t signal danger in the Sacred City but rather summoned all factions within the Sacred Lands to send representatives to the central hall of the Sacred City for an urgent matter.

In the past, any news would typically be directly transmitted.

This formal summoning to the central hall was indeed a first.

Tang Shouchang and several others also appeared above Thousand Geese City. After a brief discussion, they decided that Chen Fei and Zhao Ruizheng would represent Thousand Geese City and attend the central hall.

Half an hour later, Chen Fei and Zhao Ruizheng could already see the central hall from afar.

There was a profound treasure suppressing nearby, causing a tremendous pressure as they approached.

Hundreds of streaks of light converged from all directions, everyone silent as they landed on the square, waiting for the appearance of the Sacred Master.

Chen Fei glanced around—there were numerous early-stage Mountain Sea Realm experts and even several peak experts, each steering top factions.

Moments later, a figure abruptly appeared in mid-air above the central hall.

Chen Fei sensed something but kept his head bowed, while the peak experts of the Mountain Sea Realm had already looked up.

The later-stage Mountain Sea Realm experts sensed it a beat slower, then followed suit, raising their heads.

“Today’s summoning, everyone, is to inform you of a matter.”

The figure gradually revealed his true appearance, the Sacred Master Zhan Xuming.

Zhan Xuming’s gaze lingered on the several peak experts of the Mountain Sea Realm for a moment before he continued:

“Everyone is already aware of the invasion by the monster races. To ensure the peace of our Boundless Sea and to completely expel the monsters and the Black Divine, we have decided to engage in a decisive battle—a battle that will determine the life and death of the Boundless Sea’s future!”

As Zhan Xuming’s words fell, the expressions of the Mountain Sea Realm experts present immediately changed.

However, there was no uproar or any unusual movements; they all waited for Zhan Xuming to finish speaking.

“If we win this three-way battle, not only will the Black Divine and the monsters leave this place, but the Boundless Sea may also gain several hundred years of peace!”

As Zhan Xuming spoke, he lightly waved his right hand, and a copper bead pattern appeared in mid-air.

At first glance, the copper bead seemed ordinary, but it was adorned with numerous intricate patterns on its surface.

As Chen Fei examined these patterns, his brow furrowed slightly. Among them, he noticed many thunder patterns.

With his innate talent for Thunderstorm and his practice of the Purple Sky Stellar Technique, Chen Fei possessed a unique sensitivity to thunder patterns.

However, based solely on these thunder patterns, Chen Fei couldn’t determine the exact function or purpose of this copper bead.

“This bead is called the Boundary Spirit, capable of nullifying special fluctuations in the Boundless Sea realm, preventing other planes from setting their sights on us,” Zhan Xuming said in a deep voice.

Upon hearing Zhan Xuming’s words, everyone’s gaze turned towards the copper bead, their expressions filled with astonishment.

As Zhan Xuming continued to explain, everyone learned the ins and outs of the situation.

The fluctuations in the void caused many planes to oscillate—some drawing closer, others moving away.

As for the Boundless Sea realm, it was unclear what had caused its current state where the natural energies of heaven and earth was dissipating. Such a phenomenon was quite conspicuous in the void.

This kind of situation was more common in realms that were in decline.

However, even in decline, a realm remained a realm, and such decline would persist over an extended period. It wouldn’t lose its natural qi all at once.

In such declining realms, there were several special methods to obtain extremely precious resources.

If the Black Divine came here, it was for worship and offerings.

As for the monsters, they came for the possibility of encountering those precious resources in the Boundless Sea.

These matters were all relayed by that person named She Zijing.

Among them, there was surely some truth and some falsehood, but the effectiveness of this copper bead called Boundary Spirit, as sensed, was indeed real.

The situation among the three factions was delicate.

Delaying tactics favored both the Black Divine and the monsters.

The Black Divine could regain strength, and the monsters could continue to fortify the spatial channels, allowing more of their kind to come through.

The only disadvantage lay with the humans of the Boundless Sea; whichever side, whether the Black Divine or the monsters, grew stronger would spell disaster for them.

Ironically, the current moment saw the Boundless Sea at its peak strength, but this window of opportunity was brief.

The monsters wanted to unite with the Boundless Sea by first driving out the Black Divine, with the condition of allowing more monsters to come through.

This was naturally unacceptable.

The Black Divine also wanted to unite with the Boundless Sea by destroying the spatial channel first.

Both the Black Divine and the monsters harbored hidden agendas, each calculating their moves. Any alliance the Boundless Sea formed would leave behind significant risks.

After days of deliberation and numerous debates, a decision was reached: a three-way battle would determine the future.

The monsters wanted to bring fifth-tier powers into the duel, but neither the Black Divine nor the Boundless Sea agreed.

Allowing more fifth-tier powers from the monsters would jeopardize both the Black Divine and the Boundless Sea. Crucially, the Black Divine currently lacked normal fifth-tier strength.

In the end, the power struggle was set at the fourth-tier level.

In the duel, each tier—early, middle, late, and peak—had five representatives from each faction. If a faction lost all its representatives in a tier, it determined the outcome of that tier’s battle, with no option for surrender.

There were four rounds in total, and whichever faction won two rounds first was declared the ultimate victor.

At that time, this had seemed to be the most advantageous solution for the Boundless Sea in facing the present crisis.

The Black Divine, however, hadn’t been keen on accepting this duel. It had only sought to restore itself to the fifth tier, confident that it could dominate all. The exception would have been if the strongest among the monsters had been willing to scatter its essence and challenge the Black Divine in the Boundless Sea.

But the monsters had ways to uncover its true form. If the Black Divine had refused, the Boundless Sea might indeed have allied with the monsters to strike it down.

As for the monsters, they had been quite confident in this duel and had even put forth the Boundary Spirit copper bead as a bargaining chip.

Moreover, the monsters had proposed a rule: winners of lower-tier duels could challenge winners of higher-tier duels.

This meant a victor in the early stage of the fourth tier could challenge those in the middle or even late stages of the fourth tier.

This rule adjustment had served as a patch the monsters had added to this duel.

This had been why the holy land of the Sun Moon Realm and the Monster Emperor had argued for days—to seize the opportunity the Boundless Sea had caught, lest they lost the chance once the Black Divine restored itself or the monsters solidified their spatial channels.

“Three days later, here, there will be a selection. Anyone willing can participate, and the monsters from the Monster Beasts side will also come,” said Zhan Xuming, before disappearing into the air.

The many experts of the Sea and Mountain Realm glanced at each other and then dispersed.

A duel that would decide the life and death of the Boundless Sea was about to begin.