adbindia Chapter 303 - 265: Breakthrough! Venerable Great Power! Stage 4 Deceit: The Fisherman
Chapter 303 - 265: Breakthrough! Venerable Great Power! Stage 4 Deceit: The Fisherman
Cangba Dao took a deep breath. "To think that the once-glorious Great Zhou has now fallen to such a state."
"It’s even been forced to deploy the National Protection Array."
Meanwhile,
the experts from the major powers in Cangzhou Prefecture had also noticed these changes.
Flame Cloud Sect.
"Oh."
Xu Qing looked up, circulating the Power of Law and channeling it into his eyes, which transformed into the Eye of Law. He observed the changes in Cangzhou Prefecture. ’Is this an Array?’
After all,
the National Protection Array was indeed incredibly terrifying, capable of enveloping the entire Nine Provinces Land and granting protection to all its major cities and people.
’It seems the Court of the Great Zhou Martial Country has finally made its move,’
Xu Qing mused.
’This is for the best.’
Xu Qing nodded. ’It’s best if nothing happens. That way, I can focus on improving my strength in peace. Nothing is more important than that.’
’Once I’m powerful enough, you can all wreak whatever havoc you please.’
Of course,
it wasn’t just Cangzhou Prefecture. The other eight great prefectures also sensed the appearance of the National Protection Array, all sighing endlessly as they lamented the gradual fall of the mighty Great Zhou.
Moreover,
deep down,
the experts from the major powers across the Nine Provinces Land had a faint premonition that the Great Zhou Court would not last much longer.
Everything
seemed to be waiting for a catalyst.
The moment that catalyst appeared, everything would erupt.
At that time,
heroes would vie for supremacy, plunging the world into chaos. Unparalleled champions would emerge to fight for the throne of the Venerable Emperor, ready to establish a new Court upon the ruins of the Great Zhou Martial Country.
「In the blink of an eye.」
「One month later.」
BOOM! BOOM!
Xu Qing successfully refined another Pattern Technique, mastering seven Patterns. Five of them overlapped with ones he already knew, but he also mastered two entirely new Patterns.
As a result,
Xu Qing had now mastered seventy-three Patterns.
His Cultivation and Realm broke through once more, and he stepped into the tier of a Venerable Great Power. His Power of Law grew even more terrifying and potent.
"Good."
Xu Qing nodded in satisfaction, a smile gracing his lips. "I’ve now mastered seventy-three Patterns. I only need thirty-five more to reach one hundred and eight."
"At that point,"
"I’ll reach the level of a Venerable Ultimate, giving me the qualifications to glimpse the Fourth Realm. Once my Cultivation Realm enters the Fourth Realm, I’ll finally have sufficient power to stand on my own."
In the month since the National Protection Array had appeared, Cangzhou Prefecture had indeed stabilized considerably. The major powers dispatched numerous experts to cleanse the prefecture of Demons, Fiends, and Evil Spirits.
Within a month,
the Demons, Fiends, and Evil Spirits in Cangzhou Prefecture had been all but eliminated.
CRACK! CRACK!
Suddenly,
disaster struck in an instant.
’That’s...’
Xu Qing was startled. He looked up at the sky and saw crack after crack spreading across it, as if the heavens themselves were shattering.
Immediately after,
gruesome, twisted, maggot-like tentacles began to slither out from the cracks, extending down from the sky.
In truth,
it wasn’t the sky that was cracking. It was the shield of the National Protection Array over Cangzhou Prefecture that was being shattered, creating these fissures.
Clearly,
an extremely terrifying anomaly had appeared.
"Amitabha Buddha!"
"Infinite Celestial Venerable!"
"How audacious!"
"Kill!"
"..."
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!!
Without a moment’s hesitation,
the most powerful experts of the six top-tier influences revealed themselves. They joined forces, charging unhesitatingly toward the sky as countless other figures soared up to join them.
RUUUUUMBLE!!!
In that instant,
the sky above
erupted into a terrifying battle.
SWISH!
Just then,
Xu Qing’s pupils constricted. He saw a fine, crystalline thread descend from the sky. Tied to its end was an eerie hook, just like a fishhook.
SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!!!
There were a great many of these lines and hooks.
The next moment,
the fishhooks, attached to their lines, snagged many people, including quite a few experts of the Third Realm. Once hooked, they found that even with all their strength, they couldn’t break free. They were like great fish caught on a line, their struggles utterly useless.
In the end,
all those caught by the hooks were pulled up into the sky and vanished. High above the clouds, an impossibly terrifying presence seemed to lurk.
Seeing this, Xu Qing couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath. ’What... what in the world is this? Is it fishing for mortals?’
It was terrifying.
Truly terrifying.
WHOOSH!
Suddenly,
a fishhook shot through the air, targeting Xu Qing.
’This is bad!’
Xu Qing’s pupils constricted.
SWISH!
He took a single step
and vanished from his spot.
He even
tried to flee Cangzhou Prefecture, only to discover that an invisible barrier had sealed it off at some unknown point, making escape impossible.
BANG!
At the critical moment,
Xu Qing attacked with all his might. His immense power erupted as the vast Power of Law surged and he unleashed various Minor Divine Techniques, blasting them all toward the descending hook.
HUMMM!
However,
it was useless.
Because
the hook and line simply ignored his attacks. As if they were illusions, they passed right through his Divine Techniques and Power of Law.
’What?!’
Xu Qing was horrified.
In the nick of time,
Xu Qing waved his right hand, producing several single-use Level 30 items. They were similar to the Level 30 Evil-breaking Talisman and the Level 30 Purple Sky Talisman, each containing a trace of the Power of Laws.
"Go!!!"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
This time,
it finally worked.
The trace of the Power of Laws within the items managed to affect the hook and line, blasting them away.
And just like that,
Xu Qing evaded the attack.
However,
Xu Qing saw countless others being fished away by the hooks and lines. He could only watch helplessly, unable to save them even if he wanted to.
’Law! The Power of Laws!’
Xu Qing clenched his fists. He could feel that the power contained within those hooks and lines surpassed Patterns; it was the Mighty Power of a Law.
That was why
his attacks had been completely ignored. Only the Level 30 items containing a trace of the Power of Laws could affect the lines and hooks.
He took a deep breath. ’I must reach the Fourth Realm as soon as possible. In this increasingly turbulent Great Zhou Martial Country, that’s the only way I’ll have the power to truly protect myself.’
「Time passed.」
「Seven days later.」
BANG! BANG! BANG!!!
In the sky above,
the battle involving Cangba Dao and the others came to an end. By joining forces, they had managed to repel the terrifying anomaly, but not without sustaining injuries themselves.
However,
while Cangba Dao and the others had been fighting the terrifying anomaly, many other experts and living beings in Cangzhou Prefecture were fished away by it.
「Three days later.」
The casualty count was finalized.
The death toll was staggering.
"Master Ouyazi, thank goodness you’re alright."
Cangba Dao found Xu Qing and sighed in relief to see him unharmed. "If something had happened to you, it would have been a real disaster."
"Prince."
Xu Qing mulled it over for a moment before asking, "What exactly was that anomaly?"
"The Fisherman."
Cangba Dao thought for a moment before answering. "It’s an anomaly that lacks reason. It simply acts according to the workings of Law and its own instincts, fishing for mortals. The beings and objects it catches become a part of the Fisherman itself."
"In the past, when the Great Zhou Martial Country was strong and protected by the Emperor Dragon Qi, this kind of anomaly could never have appeared. The Emperor Dragon Qi would have suppressed it."
"But now..."
Cangba Dao sighed and didn’t continue.