Chapter 1262
Chapter 1262: Gathering at Mercenary City
“It’s not like we have anything better to do. Let’s check out Mercenary City and see just what’s happened that’s caused these elders to leave in such a hurry. Plus, this is a personal invitation from great elder Tian Jian. Everyone needs to respect him. Don’t you think so?” A Saint King from the Potian sect of the ten protector clans said aloud as he glanced at the independent Saint Kings around him. Even before they had a Saint Emperor, Mercenary City vaguely stood supreme in regard to the protector clans. Now that they had a Saint Emperor, they were incomparable to the past, so even the protector clans needed to treat Mercenary City politely.
“Haha, sure. Great elder Tian Jian used to be a well-respected person on the Tian Yuan Continent, let alone now. I don’t think any of us present will turn down great elder Tian Jian’s invitation, and since he said he has something important to discuss before he left, it must be something significant. After all, I do trust that he’s not someone who likes to tell lies. You never know, the important matter that great elder Tian Jian might be wanting to speak to us about might just be his experience and knowledge of becoming a Saint Emperor,” a red-faced old man laughed aloud. He was one of the great elders from the Heaven’s Incense School. He also glanced at all the independent cultivators when he said that, clearly directing what he had said at them.
On the Tian Yuan Continent, regardless of the protector clans, ancient clans, or the three great empires, they all would never turn down an invitation from Mercenary City. After all, they were people with large organizations behind them and none of them wanted to offend Mercenary City, which basically reigned supreme. However, this was different for independent cultivators who belonged to no organization and were not bound or restricted by anything. They would hide all year round in desolate regions to cultivate. Among them, there were quite a few prideful and odd-mannered people who did not fear Mercenary City.
Many people present understood that the two Saint Kings had stepped forward to express their stance on Mercenary City through the words they had just spoken.
Afterward, all the Saint Kings from the ten protector clans, the ancient clans, the three empires, and so on ripped opened Space Gates and hurried away. All of them headed to Mercenary City.
Soon afterward, only the several dozen independent Saint Kings were present. They were indeed rather unwilling to follow through with Tian Jian’s invitation. They were used to living freely and acting as they wished without participating in the battles between any large organizations. Even if Tian Jian had said he had something important to discuss, many of them still believed that it had nothing to do with them.
However, after what the two Saint Kings from the Potian sect and Heaven’s Incense School had said, many of them immediately changed their minds. They were not afraid of offending Mercenary City since it was a famed superpower and would not hold a grudge against them over these small matters. What really changed their minds was what the Saint King from the Heaven’s Incense School had said.
Even though many of them understood that Tian Jian would never pass on his experience and knowledge of becoming a Saint Emperor to them, just the temptation of becoming a Saint Emperor was far too difficult to resist. Even though they knew it was impossible, they still grasped at that tiny amount of hope.
As a result, the independent Saint Kings hesitated slightly before all ripping open Space Gates as well, heading to Mercenary City.
Tian Jian and the Saint Kings of Mercenary City had all returned to the city. All of them sternly stared at the trembling ground with extremely ugly expressions.
The protective barrier of the city had vanished, and even the terrifying energy hidden within the ground had disappeared, making the ground become extremely fragile. Now, because of the violent trembling, it had already cracked. From a higher altitude, the ground of the entire city seemed like a huge spider web. The structures built on it were ruined or had collapsed, and the beautiful city had ceased to exist. It was in a disastrous state.
At this moment, the Saint Kings from the protector clans, the three empires, and the ancient clans all arrived in Mercenary City. As soon as they had emerged from their Space Gates, they became stunned by the drastic changes to the city. Disbelief filled all their faces, and they struggled to return to their senses even after quite a while.
Finally, a Saint King from a protector clan managed to snap back to his senses before everyone else. He secretly gasped and arrived beside Tian Jian. With his hands clasped, he asked, “Great elder Tian Jian, w- w- what has happened? Why has Mercenary City suddenly become like this?”
The Saint King had asked the question weighing on everyone’s mind. Immediately, all the people looked at Tian Jian.
Tian Jian said nothing. He stared sternly at the ground beneath him as the light in his eyes flickered.
Boom! At this moment, another heavy sound reverberated from deep beneath Mercenary City. The ground began to shake even more as strands of terrifying energy, enough to make all the Saint Kings shiver, began to leak from the ground. Even though it was just strands of weak energy ripples, they had completely surpassed the level of Saint Emperors.
“What terrifying energy! Just what is beneath the ground?” A Saint King from an ancient clan asked with a sheet-white face. He could feel that he was as insignificant as an ant before a strand of one ripple of this energy, which made him shiver inside.
At this moment, an extremely powerful ripple of energy erupted from beneath the city. A three-meter-wide hole suddenly appeared on the cracked ground, and soon afterward, four figures quickly floated out surrounded by an extremely powerful energy. In the end, they were sent to Tian Jian’s side, and the energy around them silently vanished.
The four of them were Ming Dong, Yang Ling, Changyang Zu Yunkong, and Huang Tianba, who had all been cultivating beneath the city.
All the Saint Kings stared at the four of them in surprise, as if they had just seen a ghost. None of them apart from Tian Jian had thought that three Saint Rulers and a Heaven Saint Master would be hiding in the depths of the city.
“W- who are you? Why have you been hiding beneath the city? Speak, what were you doing down there?” A Saint King of Mercenary City returned to his senses and immediately roared at them with a glare.
Tian Jian raised his hand to stop the expert who wanted to capture the four of them. He stared at them and asked, “Do you know what’s happened down there?”
Ming Dong, Yang Ling, Changyang Zu Yunkong, and Huang Tianba were all confused as well. They had been cultivating all good and well underground, yet they were suddenly roused by Xiao Ling. Before they could understand what was going on, they were suddenly sent above ground, without any clue as to what had happened.
“Great elder, the four of them have managed to get beneath the city through some unknown method, and who knows what they’ve done. I’m thinking that the sudden changes of the city are directly connected to them. Please look into this, great elder,” said a Saint King of Mercenary City in a heavy voice as he glared at the four of them with hostility evident in his eyes.
Tian Jian shook his head, “This has nothing to do with them. I may know a little as to why these changes have happened.”
“What? The great elder knows the reason?” Another Saint King stared at Tian Jian in surprise.
At this moment, another several dozen Saint Kings appeared. The independent Saint Kings had all arrived and all became stunned by the ruined city. All of them stared at it blankly with shock plastered across their faces.
Tian Jian gazed at the people of the protector clans and asked in a heavy voice, “Everyone, do you still remember the matter that I had discussed with you when I invited you to Mercenary City several years ago?”
“Of course we remember. Great elder, was that actually true? Is there really a passage to another world sealed beneath the city? And that the other world is so powerful that just the number of people who have surpassed Saint Emperor exceeds ten?” A Saint King from a protector clan asked in a heavy voice. His complexion was horrible. All the people of the protector clans had heard that there was a seal beneath the city. However, the matter just seemed far too unrealistic. They all chose not to believe it before personally witnessing it, treating it as a baseless rumor.
However, they could not help but believe the story a little more now that the most powerful city on the continent had suffered such great changes.
“What? There’s a passage seal beneath Mercenary City…”
“Just the number of people that has surpassed Saint Emperor exceeds ten? How is that possible…”
A few Saint Kings who had not heard of the matter before immediately revealed a different expression. They were all frightened by the power of the World of Forsaken Saints. There was only three Saint Emperors on the Tian Yuan Continent right now. How were they supposed to repel the World of Forsaken Saints if they really were that powerful? Even if the four great races gathered together, all they would be in for was a slaughter.
At this moment, the energy within the black tunnel leading to the foreign world abnormally churned deep beneath the city. It caused the surrounding space to tremble in an extremely unstable manner. The sealing formation had already become visible and every single thread of the formation shone with a dazzling light, radiating with terrifying energy that filled the entire space. It was like a huge net, stretched across the entrance.
Xiao Ling hovered in the center of the formation as her bright eyes flickered. She nervously stared at the formation before her while her young face was filled with fear. She seemed extremely pitiful.
“Oh no, oh no! Master’s seal is about to be broken. What do I do? Just what do I do? I can’t last much longer. Brother, brother where are you? I’m so scared,” Xiao Ling hovered all by herself underground as she sobbed.
“Brother’s too weak, so even if he’s here, he can’t help me. Master, master, where are you? Master, come out quick, I can’t guard this seal much longer. This person is too powerful. Boohoo, master, where are you? Don’t abandon me…” Xiao Ling could not help but burst into tears as soon as her master was mentioned. Her relationship with Mo Tianyun was like a daughter and her father. Mo Tianyun’s disappearance to her was like a three-year-old child losing both her parents.