Chapter 309 - 308: Encounter with Assassination Again!
Initially, he presumed that Xiang Xinjian might not respond to his message. He thought he would need to communicate with the two deities remaining in the Ancient City before asking them for answers.
Unexpectedly, the moment he made contact, the other side connected immediately, as if they had been waiting specifically for him.
“Du Gang, have you finished on your end?!”
As expected!
This guy truly knows everything!
A thought stirred in Du Gang’s mind but he didn’t immediately reveal his anger. Instead, he calmly responded, “Explain to me, what’s the deal with the Lost Ancient Town and the Heavenly Court?”
Upon hearing him say this, Xiang Xinjian was taken aback.
Prior to this, he had envisaged many ways of conversing with Du Gang, imagining Du Gang most likely to respond in hysterics or anger.
Who knew, Du Gang would manage to remain so composed!
Despite losing control of the rhythm of their conversation, Xiang Xinjian didn’t hesitate to respond straightforwardly: “The Heavenly Court, we’ve known about this organization for a long time!”
Seeing that Du Gang had no intention of interrupting, Xiang Xinjian realized that this guy was far fiercer than he had imagined.
This was the so-called ‘dragon diving into the sea, tiger charging up the mountains.’
Before, Du Gang had always stayed in the Ancient City, having no family or friends, like a guest living in others’ homes, restrained in all matters. But now, having left the boundary of the Ancient City, he seemed to exude the freedom of a bird soaring through the sky or a fish leaping in the vast sea.
Xiang Xinjian shook his head slightly to clear his scattered thoughts and continued, “Speaking of the Heavenly Court, it’s impossible not to mention the mythical era…”
“The mythological era, strictly speaking, can be divided into two parts. The first part is when the Heavenly Court ruled—the Divine Rule era, and the latter part is when various god clans rose—the Noble Family era.”
“Of course, whether it be the Divine Rule era or the Noble Family era, our cosmic human race didn’t experience either.”
“However, based on some excavated cultural relics, we gather some information. It appears that in the Noble Family era, some god clans originated from the Heavenly Court.”
Originated from the Heavenly Court?
Upon hearing this, Du Gang was taken aback. Did this mean that within those god clans, some of them were originally from the Heavenly Court?
Xiang Xinjian shook his head, “Of course, we don’t know the specifics. We aren’t even aware of why the Heavenly Court fell.”
“All in all, the Heavenly Court was an incredibly strong and ancient organization.”
“Now, even though it no longer wields absolute power, it still possesses many resources and strengths that are absent in the outside world.”
He nodded and explained, “The Heavenly Court’s goal is to unify the world, but its unification does not entail destroying existing powers.”
As he spoke, he paused, as if hesitating whether to reveal some concealed secrets.
Soon, recalling his previous assessment of Du Gang, with a clench of his teeth, he decided to share the knowledge he held.
“Here in the Ancient City, we have people infiltrating the Heavenly Court. They’ve been there for quite some time and know a lot.”
“Among them, the Heavenly Court’s current main objective is to incorporate all realms, including all lost minor worlds.”
“Therefore, for now, the Heavenly Court and the Primordial Continent don’t have any major conflicts.”
Xiang Xinjian smiled and spoke, “In reality, the Heavenly Court has become an existence that differs from other forces on the continent. It’s more like a platform, a platform that allows all talented individuals to freely grow and develop.”
“On this platform, both parties benefit. The prodigies are responsible for completing missions and incorporating all realms, with the Heavenly Court providing various martial arts techniques and cultivation ranks in return.”
He coughed lightly and asked, “Du Gang, how would you rate the Heavenly Court after your first mission?”
What about the Heavenly Court? In Du Gang’s eyes, the Heavenly Court indeed appeared to be a decent place—a place simultaneously fraught with crises and opportunities, a place that could rapidly enhance his cultivation level.
He affirmed, “The Heavenly Court is rather good, very suitable for me.”
Hearing this, Xiang Xinjian finally heaved a sigh of relief. He had been worried that Du Gang would develop feelings of defiance. It seemed that everything was fine.
He continued smiling and explained, “You probably don’t know, but gaining admission to the Heavenly Court is extremely difficult.”
“There are only two ways to get into the Heavenly Court. One is to be invited by the Heavenly Court itself. Those who are invited are either people with immense luck or individuals with exceedingly rare talents. Such people are quite uncommon. Even among those from our Ancient City, there have only been a scarce few who have been invited over the generations.”
Is it that exaggerating?
Du Gang was stunned. He had always thought that gaining access to the Heavenly Court was pretty easy. He had never imagined that among the Ancient City, so few people had been invited over the vast span of billions of years.
“The other way is through a summoning order.”
“That is, the ‘God’ character token you previously held, which was obtained by previous members of the Heavenly Court using their Merit. This token is used to allow outsiders to gain entry into the Heavenly Court.”
Looking at it this way, it seems that Lan Zhize and his associates must have entered in the same way.
Xiang Xinjian continued, “In fact, the summons from the Heavenly Court are quite rare in our Ancient City, coveted by all clan saints and family heads…”
He could understand this point. After all, according to Kou Yingwu, in the Heavenly Court, all one needed to do to break through from God Spirit Level to True God was complete tasks. This was an irresistible temptation for everyone.
The Ancient City was home to eighteen major families and dozens of minor ones, countless saints stuck at the Nine-Tribulation God Spirit Level, but the proportion of those who could break through to True God on their own was low.
From this perspective, he really stumbled upon a great fortune.
Du Gang asked, thinking of the skills Lan Zhize and others possessed, “Normally, what kind of people can use the Heavenly Court summons to enter?”
Xiang Xinjian laughed, “The level of cultivation is secondary. Generally, they’re divided by their combat power. Only those with a combat power over ten thousand are qualified to compete for the Heavenly Court summons…”
“Your earlier burst of more than ten thousand combat power was observed by someone on our side…”
The fact that they knew his combat power exceeded ten thousand did not surprise Du Gang. After all, he assassinated a Nine Tribulation God Spirit assassin within the jurisdiction of the Ancient City’s abyss. It was entirely normal for the military to have this information.
That being the case, why didn’t the ancient city discuss this with me?
Du Gang was utterly puzzled.
At first, he suspected some sort of conspiracy from the Ancient City.
However, from what Xiang Xinjian had said, these Heavenly Court summons seemed to be a rather good thing for him.
So why didn’t they discuss it with him, instead opting to deceive him?
Instead of asking directly, he began to ponder on his own.
Such questions, even if he asked, he may not necessarily get the real answer.
Firstly, they want me to enter the Heavenly Court!
Secondly, they didn’t tell me in advance or discuss with me, are they afraid I’d refuse?
So, the Ancient City hopes for me to enter the Heavenly Court?
Du Gang frowned deeply, unable to comprehend this at all.
The information and intelligence he had was too limited to analyze anything!
Forget it, what will be, will be. These questions should be answered eventually!
He didn’t bother himself. Once he failed to understand, he decided not to dwell on it anymore.
“I understand now!”
Du Gang nodded and asked, “Big Baldy, do you have any subsidies for me entering the Heavenly Court?”
“What did you call me?!”
The next second, a wildly roaring voice seemed to crawl out from the jade talisman, reverberating loudly.
Hearing this fierce roar, Du Gang instinctively moved the jade talisman away, scratching his ear unconcernedly as he hung up.
He had finished his duty with this communication.
Not only had he found out the Ancient City’s stance, but he had also communicated his own.
That last sentence was specifically for Xiang Xinjian.
The translation would be something along the lines of, “I, Du Gang, still belong to the Ancient City, but since you tricked me into entering the Heavenly Court, you should give something in return, right?”
As for those things and how they’d be given, there was no doubt they’d be sent to the two bodies he left in the Ancient City.
As for this body of his…
He bowed his head and looked at his reflection in the water, a bitter smile on his face. “‘I’ probably won’t be back in the Ancient City for a long time, huh?”
“But that’s okay, at least I’m relatively free now!”
A smile played around Du Gang’s lips as he walked under the moonlight.
“It’s my first time leaving the southern city, where should I go…”
Du Gang stopped in a deserted area, looking at the map in his hand, caught in a dilemma.
“East, south, west, north…”
He was currently positioned in the southern part of the Southern Wilderness. Looking at the map, he wasn’t too far from the South Sea. He could pay a visit to the South Sea.
“South Sea… Forget it, head north!”
After all, he wasn’t here for a stroll, but to enhance his power, while secretly investigating the demonic realm.
Although he had no clue where the lair of the demonic realm was, it must surely have a base in the central area.
Thus, heading towards the central region of the Southern Wilderness wasn’t a problem.
Just as he was about to make a firm choice, a strange scent suddenly reached his nose.
“What’s this smell?”
He was intrigued. It was a scent akin to that of sandalwood.
While being in the wilderness, it wouldn’t be surprising to detect smells of blood or other foul odours, but the smell of sandalwood…
Was someone approaching?
Du Gang concealed himself swiftly, lightly leapt, and jumped onto the trunk of a large tree. He hid his figure while simultaneously utilizing his divine awareness to scout around.
“Whoosh!!”
His divine awareness moved swiftly like a rainbow, scanning his surroundings within the range of one hundred meters in an instant, but found nothing.
Could it be further away?
Just as Du Gang was pondering this, his face abruptly altered, reacting fiercely.
Jie-Character Secret, activate!
Suddenly, Du Gang triggered the Jie-Character Secret. His entire figure, like a bundle of refracted light, twisted and vanished on the spot, only to appear on the trunk of the next tree.
“Boom!”
Just then, a dark mark appeared on the tree trunk where he had just been!
This was an attack with enough power to tear the air apart, reminiscent of some beast’s lethal claws!
“Who goes there?!”
Du Gang gave an angry shout, his entire body tense as his divine power surged continually, his divine awareness thoroughly scouring the surroundings.
Soon, he discovered an unfamiliar man in a black brocade robe slowly walking towards him from two hundred meters away.
Each of his steps looked as though he didn’t exert any force, but the actual distance covered was more than ten meters, garnering him close to Du Gang’s position within a few steps.
“Who are you and why the ambush?!”
Du Gang stared at the unfamiliar man, his eyebrows raised in intrigue.
Upon hearing his words, one side of the man’s mouth curled up slightly, revealing a wicked smile.
“So, you are the Ancient God? You’re nothing special.”
Ancient God?!
He’s not a passerby, he’s here for me!
Du Gang’s pupils abruptly contracted. He never expected that, despite being well-disguised and hidden in the forest, someone had still located him.
Is this person from the demonic realm?!
He quickly spotted the insignia of the demonic realm on one corner of the man’s black robe.
“How did you find me!”
“Hahaha!”
The man in black laughed, “You really made it too easy for me to find you. But now that I’ve found you, it’s time for you to die.”
With a smile on his face and looking at Du Gang, he behaved as though he was looking at a dead man.
“Don’t you want to know how I…”
As Du Gang was listening to the man’s words, his entire figure suddenly turned into a burst of light and vanished from his original spot instantly, only to appear ten meters away in the next second.
“As expected of someone from the demonic realm, pretending to talk, but actually backstabbing!”
Du Gang sneered, just as he was about to continue his sentence, his expression abruptly changed again. He started moving rapidly in one direction.
“Trying to run?”
The man in black yelped, swiftly intercepting Du Gang.
“If I let you get away with this, then it’s my failing…”
Speaking, he launched several more attacks in succession.
Each attack was fuelled with nearly twenty thousand Naer of Divine Power!
Dammit!
Right now, Du gang could only keep dodging.
But what really made him panicked wasn’t the nearly twenty-thousand-power attacks launched by the man before him but, rather, the emergence of four more men in his divine senses.
What was most terrifying was that all four of them exerted an overwhelming presence, which sent chills down Du Gang’s spine even at a single glance.
These were four alarmingly powerful adversaries!
At this moment, he could understandably infer this.
These five were all from the demonic realm – the main task for the other four was to kill him, while the man at hand was responsible for tracking him down.
Escape!
At this point, he must escape!
The other four gave him a sense of crisis several times stronger than the man in black in front of him.
Not to mention the other four, he wasn’t even sure if he could defeat the man in front of him with his current power!
“BOOM!”
“BOOM!!”
Du Gang successively dodged two attacks and finally launched a counter-attack at the instant when the third attack landed.
With his eighteen-thousand-Naer attack power, he barely managed to stop the opponents’ assault.
“Ha-ha, your time is up, don’t struggle!”
The man in black was very pleased, he was clearly satisfied with the ability to capture Du Gang.
simultaneously, on the other side, all four men exhibited delight on seeing Du Gang. The leader leapt up immediately and sped towards him, launching a terrifying attack from afar.
An attack with the might of forty thousand Naer!
He must escape now, any delay would mean certain death!
At this moment, Du Gang’s mind was spinning rapidly, trying to find every possible means to escape.
Finally, his mind arrived at a talisman given to him by Xiang Xinjian for emergency escapes.
It was a valuable talisman, said to possess the power to purchase a True God’s artifact.
I have no other choice!
At this point, he could only bear the heartache and use it!
“Rip!”
The Thousand-Mile Transfer Talisman was torn apart, and a teleportation force enveloped him.
“Dammit, stop him!”
The leader, who was at a distance, noticed this and yelled.
As for the man in black standing in front of Du Gang, he could only stare helplessly for he couldn’t block this talisman’s effect.
On the other hand, Du Gang, who was inside the talisman, had a cold expression as his gaze swept across the five men.
“Gentlemen, the green hills won’t change, the clear water will flow long. We will meet again, and I swear to take your lives!”