249: Chapter 30 Skull (6K)_2 249: Chapter 30 Skull (6K)_2 “Swoosh!”
A figure streaked across the sky above Jiageng.
The sea of fire had extinguished.
This large ship had been burned to charcoal, its core array patterns destroyed, its hull burnt beyond repair, leaving only the main body intact.
“Is it over already?”
Qing Sun furrowed his brows, watching the scene before him with disbelief.
The moment Jiageng lost control, he reacted immediately, leaping from the main ship, following it down.
But unexpectedly.
The Cloud Ship was simply too fast—
Now nursing serious injuries and constantly battling the devouring flames, he couldn’t possibly keep up at full speed.
He had risked his life to get here, only to see the remains of a Cloud Ship.
Everything was over.
Plonk.
Qing Sun landed on the Cloud Ship, silently surveying the scene before him, countless bodies reduced to ashes.
If he remembered correctly, there were just over twenty people on this Cloud Ship…
yet now, the blackened ash scattered about the hull was dense and shockingly conspicuous.
Had all those South Border evil cultivators been killed by Xie Zhen?
What truly baffled Qing Sun…
were the three Earth Puppets that lay at the front of the ship.
Due to their sufficiently sturdy physical bodies, they hadn’t turned to ash even after being scorched.
He recognized them at a glance, precious treasures of the Heavenly Puppet Sect.
Clearly.
These were the trump cards that Wu Qiong, the Heavenly Puppet Sect’s prodigy, had carefully prepared for this battle!
Qing Sun silently walked to the end of the Cloud Ship, where he squatted down to examine a headless corpse before him…
Although it had been burned beyond recognition, the clear surroundings suggested it was none other than Wu Qiong himself.
The large ship had been burned so thoroughly that many details were impossible to infer.
But one thing was still deducible.
The final battle of Jiageng was Xie Zhen’s showdown with Wu Qiong.
The process of determining the victor likely only lasted an instant.
“This is too bizarre…”
Qing Sun stared at the “headless corpse” before him, feeling somewhat confused.
He didn’t understand.
Why hadn’t Wu Qiong been able to activate even a teleportation talisman in time?
Was Xie Zhen’s sword really that fast?
Another thing that eluded him was where Wu Qiong’s head had gone.
The headless corpse had been burned into a complete residue.
Based on his understanding of Xie Zhen, the young man didn’t seem the type to deliberately take heads with him.
…
…
In South Border, within an unnamed Grotto Heaven of the Heavenly Puppet Sect.
“Mo Taoist, it’s been a long time.
I’ve missed you dearly.”
This Grotto Heaven was shrouded in mist, within which two shadows sat facing each other.
…
The figure sitting at the far end of the Grotto Heaven was like a black candle flame, silently burning and casting deep and somber, flickering shadows.
By contrast, the other was strikingly different.
This visiting figure sat within the Grotto Heaven, surrounded by swirling snow and wind.
While the place was submerged in darkness by the candle’s shadow, the area around where he sat remained a clear and pale three feet in diameter.
“White Ghost.”
Mo Taoist’s voice was hoarse: “Speak bluntly if there’s a matter.”
White Ghost smiled, surveyed the Grotto Heaven for a moment, then retracted his gaze and said softly, “Recently, one of my disciples was killed…
the Yin Mountain subsidiary sect was almost completely wiped out.”
The incidents of Daoist Chi Hun and Jin Yuan being killed—
Stirred up quite a storm throughout South Border.
“This grudge, Yin Mountain could just grit its teeth and swallow it,” said White Ghost softly.
“But if today’s tragedy happens again tomorrow elsewhere, what then?”
“Are you suggesting we go to war with ‘Paperman Sect’ now?”
Mo Taoist raised an eyebrow and said coldly, “Da Chu’s Imperial Family has already accepted the ‘gift’ from South Border… why not wait a while longer?”
“Wait longer, and who knows what will happen?
Will Da Chu eliminate Paperman Sect for us, or will the Daoist Master clean up South Border first?”
White Ghost said with a smile, “The Holy Empress received the head of a Paperman Sect’s illustrious figure.
Does it mean we can now parade under the laws?
Mo Taoist, you’re surely not naive enough to think that Da Chu’s Imperial Family will truly accept us, are you?”
Those who lived to such an age in South Border.
Were naturally all cunning demons and great villains.
They understood better than anyone the relationship between Da Chu and South Border, which could only be master and servant.
Even if Da Chu accepted South Border’s act of deference, it didn’t signify much.
“I know what the Holy Empress is planning.
She wants to use the Three Great Sects as Da Chu’s blades, aimed at the Paperman Sect.”
Mo Taoist closed his eyes again, calmly stating, “…
South Border falls into chaos, and in the end, she’ll step in effortlessly to suppress the Daoist Master and take over the Three Sects.”
Indeed.
This was the true “intention” of Da Chu’s Imperial Family.
Even those like White Ghost and Mo Taoist, who advocated seeking help from the Imperial City, could see that clearly.
They never saw Da Chu’s Imperial Family as the good guys.
But one must bow their head under another’s roof.
The Holy Empress was at least decent.
The previous Chu Emperor hadn’t even given them the chance to “submit”…
After ascending the throne, he’d summoned forces multiple times to purge the demons from South Border!
“Perhaps…”
White Ghost began.
He hesitated for a long time before finally speaking, “Perhaps there’s more to what the Holy Empress is planning.”
Mo Taoist paused.
He frowned and asked, “You mean, she wants more than just to subdue South Border?”
“No.
Quite the opposite.”
White Ghost laughed softly, “If it were the former Chu Emperor, he would definitely plan to use the Three Great Sects to restrain the Paperman Sect, taking South Border into his domain without breaking a sweat, and fulfilling even grander ambitions in the process.”
“But the Holy Empress is different.”
“This woman, I met many years ago…”
“She never used to care about such worldly power.”
White Ghost murmured, “Until the war of drinking poison from years ago.
After that battle, she began to try to grasp control of the Great Chu Imperial City.”