Chapter 124: Infinite Division

The Lich King gave a cold laugh. “Do you think I would give you the chance? I am an existence that descended from the Spirit Realm through a secret art. I have countless ways to refine an ant like you from the lower realm. I advise you to surrender to me completely and hand over the Nine Glazed Lamps. In return, I may spare your life and reunite you with your daughter. Otherwise, although I may be unable to do anything to you for the moment, your daughter will suffer inhuman torment.”

“My daughter is not in your hands at all. If she were, you would have already laid hands on her. I cannot sense her anywhere in the Ten Thousand Demons Mountain.” The Ten Thousand Demons King’s expression changed. After a moment’s thought, he continued.

The Lich King spoke with complete confidence. “She may not be in my hands yet, but before long, the two of you will be reunited. I have already sent her good sister, Little Moon, to find her. Just wait and see! Refine him for me!”

The enormous altar erupted with a tide of scarlet flames that swept toward the Nine Glazed Lamps.

The Ten Thousand Demons King’s form blurred and entered one of the lamps, vanishing without a trace. A surge of blood-water rose and buried all nine lamps.

The Lich King frantically continued casting spells, refining them without pause.

Qiao Qian carried Ge Qian and Ye Yu five thousand miles away before setting Ge Qian down.

“Boy, this is as far as I can take you. If we have the chance, we shall meet again someday. I hope that, by then, you will not disappoint me.”

Ye Yu’s eyes glistened with tears as she said solemnly, “Ge Qian, take care of yourself. Please believe me—I will return very soon.”

Ge Qian gave a faint smile. “Ye Yu, you must take care of yourself as well. When we meet again, I hope you will already have become a Spirit-Refining cultivator. I shall look forward to your guidance then.”

Ye Yu bit her lip and nodded.

Qiao Qian did not delay any longer. His escaping light rose into the sky, and the two of them vanished at the distant horizon.

Ge Qian’s eyes flickered. He suddenly noticed a drop of fiendish blood essence not far away, its aura exceedingly familiar. He immediately understood what had happened. Ye Yu had truly gone to such painstaking lengths for him.

At once, the energy of the Asura Sword flashed forth. Having sensed the aura of the fiendish blood, it shot through the air in pursuit. Violent winds sprang up all around, spinning at tremendous speed and wrapping around Ge Qian as they followed the Asura Sword’s energy.

Qiao Qian carried Ye Yu onward at astonishing speed. He released his divine sense to ensure that the Lich King was not pursuing them.

Ye Yu used her fingernail to cut open her wrist. A drop of blood fell into the air, leaving behind her aura and marking the path for Ge Qian. Secretly, she thought, With your intelligence, Ge Qian, you will certainly understand what I mean. Perhaps one day, you will be able to follow this transmission array to the White Tiger Continent.

After flying thirty thousand miles, Qiao Qian stopped above a desolate mountain range. There was not the slightest trace of spiritual energy here. Cultivators called this place the Wasteland Mountains, and few ever came to such a region.

Qiao Qian circled once before plunging into the heart of the mountain. Within lay an entirely different world: a hexagonal formation covered with countless smaller arrays, all interconnected.

Seeing that Ye Yu’s face was pale and bloodless, Qiao Qian could not help feeling alarmed. “What is wrong? Was my escaping technique too fast for you?”

Ye Yu managed to nod weakly in answer.

Qiao Qian took out a supreme-grade Bloodcloud Pill, a precious medicine for replenishing vital energy and blood, and handed it to her. “Take this. You will soon recover completely. Then we can begin the transmission.”

The Bloodcloud Pill was a legendary medicine for replenishing vital energy and blood. It could rapidly restore the energy and blood one had expended, and was refined from several hundred kinds of rare spiritual medicines. Its value was extraordinarily high. Even cultivators in the Infant Transformation Stage might not be able to afford it. Moreover, it was priceless precisely because it was unavailable on the market. Who would be willing to sell a pill capable of preserving a life at a critical moment?

For the sake of this disciple, Qiao Qian had spared no expense. Ye Yu’s eyes were filled with gratitude. Her master’s care touched her deeply.

“Thank you, Master.”

She accepted the pill, swallowed it, and began circulating her cultivation method to refine it.

Qiao Qian did not want to wait any longer, lest unforeseen complications arise. He formed a spell seal and pointed. A gentle force entered Ye Yu’s dantian and instantly refined the Bloodcloud Pill completely.

Ye Yu’s complexion improved considerably, and strength returned to her body. “This Bloodcloud Pill is truly miraculous. Otherwise, it would have taken at least three or four years for me to recover. Thank you, Master.”

“There is no need to thank me. It is only natural for a master to heal his disciple. When we reach the White Tiger Continent, cultivate diligently. That will be the best repayment you can give me. You are the future hope of the Mighty Tiger Sect. Let us go.”

As he spoke, Qiao Qian took out a token covered in interwoven runes.

He infused it with spiritual power, and an invisible force field enveloped the two of them. Then, with a wave of his hand, he scattered tens of thousands of top-grade spirit stones.

The cost of intercontinental transmission was plainly immense. The combined wealth of some smaller sects would not amount to even a fraction of this.

The spirit stones sank into the various pivots of the formation like flowers scattered by a celestial maiden. The spatial power of the array surged forth, enveloped Qiao Qian and Ye Yu, and caused them to vanish from the spot.

Three days later, a whirlwind descended from the sky and struck the ground. When it faded, a staggering young man fell from within. His aura was strange, and he looked utterly drained, as though his life force had been exhausted.

After finally steadying himself, he looked in every direction, then sat cross-legged and began restoring his spiritual power.

The newcomer was Ge Qian, who had followed them all the way. The energy of his Seven Emotions Sword had once remained within Ye Yu’s body, and the Asura Sword energy was exceptionally sensitive to fiendish energy. Relying on the faint aura left in the air, he had exhausted all his spiritual power. Even the King of the Six Paths had been forced to expend every last bit of his strength. At last, they had reached this desolate place devoid of spiritual energy.

After half a day of recovery, Ge Qian had regained some color and began examining his surroundings.

Dead branches and withered leaves lay everywhere, painting the land with desolation and decay. An ominous air permeated the sky. No cultivator would come to such a place; even ordinary mortals of the mundane world would avoid it.

The air was stale, and there was no spiritual energy at all. It seemed like a forgotten corner of the world.

Ge Qian nodded inwardly. Building an intercontinental transmission array here had indeed ensured that no one would discover it. If he had not followed Ye Yu’s aura without pause, he would never have found this place.

Although his understanding of formations was not yet thorough, the insights he had gained from Liu Qian already placed him far beyond ordinary formation masters.

Even so, he could not locate the transmission array. If he failed to find Ye Yu’s blood, all her sacrifice would have been in vain.

A sharp light flashed through Ge Qian’s eyes. He formed a spell seal with one hand and executed the technique known as Drawing the Fire from Beneath the Cauldron. Reaching into the air, he seized something. The mountains trembled violently, and a surge of pure spiritual energy was caught in his grasp.

He opened his mouth and drew it into his dantian. The small tree immediately absorbed it, then returned pure spiritual power to him.

Ge Qian’s spirit jolted. The formation was certainly beneath his feet, merely concealed by an extraordinarily powerful array. From the pressure emanating from within, even an Infant Transformation cultivator might not be able to break it open.

Needless to say, Ge Qian was even less capable of doing so at present.

His eyes turned, and he realized that the formation had probably been established only recently. It did not yet possess a formation spirit. If it had one, it would have developed thoughts of its own, and drawing out its spiritual energy would surely provoke a reaction.

Ge Qian smiled faintly at the mountains. “Qiao Qian, although I cannot break this formation, I can give it a formation spirit. Its power will increase greatly then, and I will be able to enter and leave at will.”

With that, the primordial spirit in Ge Qian’s sea of consciousness employed the Infinite Division technique from the Art of Divine Tribulation. He formed a spell seal and cast the technique, splitting off an individual primordial spirit identical to himself.

Ge Qian’s primary primordial spirit smiled faintly. “I hope you can master this formation within a hundred years. Go.”

The individual primordial spirit left his body directly. With a single flash, it vanished into the mountains.