Chapter 1198: Reaching a Mutual Understanding

With a complicated expression, Nie Tian looked down and muttered to himself in the thunderstorm, “That person...”

He suspected that the person Yuan Jiuchuan referred to was none other than his father, who he had never met.

The man had been Mo Heng’s mentor. He had guided Mo Heng into the Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace, allowing him to reach his current heights.

Mo Heng had been very grateful and respectful towards the man. However, the man was clearly on a path where he stood against the four great sects now.

Would he be able to persuade Mo Heng?

If he failed, where would Mo Heng be confined?

Was he behind the mysterious disappearance of Ji Cang, the Lord of the Stars of the Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace, as well?

As a hybrid whose life bloodline was given by him, what should Nie Tian do in the future?

Questions filled Nie Tian’s mind. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t find answers to them, and didn’t know how he should make his future choices, especially when his mother was probably with that man as well...

On one side was family. On the other side were his sect and friends. Once direct confrontation broke out between the two, he would be forced to make his choice.

Which side should he take?

“This is all I know,” Yuan Jiuchuan said with determination.

Nie Tian awoke from his daze and realized that the might of the lightning bolts was indeed increasing.

Now, as the lightning bolts bombarded him and infiltrated his flesh and meridians, he would feel numb for a brief moment.

Only after he circulated his flesh aura through his body would the numbness fade.

Nie Tian took a deep breath to calm himself. “So you want us to work together so you can kill Zheng Yi? 

“He’s at the late Saint domain. His domain contains explosive lightning power. His death will allow you to take over his domain and absorb his lightning power.

“Then, you’ll be able to make another breakthrough in your cultivation and reach the late Saint domain.”

He hadn’t had a chance to examine Yuan Jiuchuan’s cultivation base before. Now as he sensed him with rapt attention, he was surprised to discover that he had made new advances in his cultivation after their encounter in the space disruption zone.

He was currently at the middle Saint domain!

If Zheng Yi’s death could actually help him break through into the late Saint domain, or even the God domain, he would become a much more dangerous existence than Zheng Yi from the lightning element sect.

With a strange expression, Yuan Jiuchuan asked, “Don’t tell me you’re afraid that I’ll become stronger? As you know, I’m a reborn cultivator. I’m already at the highest cultivation base I achieved in my previous life. The fact that I was able to make rapid advances in my cultivation has a lot to do with my special incantations, but more importantly, it’s because my experience from my previous life allowed me to make breakthroughs without meeting cultivation barriers.

“Even so, I spent a lot of time and effort to return to my peak cultivation base.

“Others might feel intimidated by me, but you clearly don’t have to.”

Nie Tian pondered for a brief moment before asking, “What do you mean?”

With a bitter expression, Yuan Jiuchuan answered, “Instead of you being afraid of me, I should be afraid of you! Don’t you know how incredibly fast you progress in your cultivation as a hybrid who practices three different types of incantations simultaneously? Just your cultivation base alone has been advancing by leaps and bounds!

“The way I see it, it won’t be long before you surpass me in every aspect, and all I can do is look up to you!

“So you have nothing to be afraid of. I’m the one who should be afraid!”

This was actually from the bottom of Yuan Jiuchuan’s heart.

He had first met Nie Tian at the Fortune Wells in the Shatter Battlefield. His cultivation base had been unimpressive back then.

Their second meeting had taken place in the Domain of Heaven Python.

After that, he had been tricked by Pei Qiqi and banished to the space disruption zone, where he had later met Nie Tian again.

Then, it was this meeting.

In all these years, he had had many incredible adventures, allowing his cultivation base and battle prowess to improve rapidly.

However, every time he had met Nie Tian, he would discover that Nie Tian’s cultivation base and battle prowess had improved even faster than his, so fast that it seemed unbelievable!

Therefore, he gradually developed an apprehension towards him.

Later, he had heard that Nie Tian had defeated Ophelia, the Demons’ pride, in the Dead Star Sea, and ended a calamity caused by a Star Behemoth in the Shatter Battlefield through special means.

Meeting Nie Tian this time, he had been astonished to find that Nie Tian had somehow entered the late Soul realm.

Even Nie Tian didn’t know that he had shocked and frightened Yuan Jiuchuan so much.

Nie Tian found this amusing. “You’re afraid of me...?” 

“I am, seriously,” Yuan Jiuchuan said honestly. “Of course there’s another reason besides the fact that you’re becoming more and more powerful.”

“Another reason? What is it?” Nie Tian asked.

Yuan Jiuchuan’s expression flickered, as if he had suddenly thought of something.

“Well?” Nie Tian pursued the matter.

However, Yuan Jiuchuan decided to guard his mouth like a closed bottle. (Idiom: keep one’s mouth shut, not breathing a word.)

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

At this moment, Zhao Shanling, Dong Li, and Yin Yanan threaded through the striking lightning bolts and flew to Nie Tian, looking somewhat bedraggled.

Upon arriving, they spotted Yuan Jiuchuan, and their expressions flickered, as if they were facing a formidable foe.

Nie Tian lifted his hand, signaling them to relax. Then, he said, “Like us, he’s also been sucked in and trapped here by Zheng Yi.”

Only after hearing his explanation did Zhao Shanling and the others calm down.

“Nie Tian, the lightning power at the heart of this thunder vortex is becoming stronger and stronger.” With these words, Dong Li looked heartached as she shot a glance at her black tortoise. “Even it’s starting to have a hard time. We all tried to break free from this area, but failed.”

Face grim, Zhao Shanling said, “Yeah, the might of the lightning power is increasing every few minutes. If this goes on, even I won’t be able to hold on for much longer.”

Yin Yanan’s well-built body was covered in faint, white frost.

It was the ninth grade Frost Blood Python’s frost power that was protecting her.

If the Frost Blood Python hadn’t continued to protect and support her with its flesh aura and frost power, given her cultivation base, she might have been bombarded to death by the mighty lightning bolts already.

“According to Yuan Jiuchuan, this spell formation will continue to grow stronger, and eventually wear us out and kill us,” Nie Tian said. “So he seeks cooperation.”

Dong Li turned to Yuan Jiuchuan and asked, her eyes narrowed. “Cooperation? How? What do you want? What will we get?”

“I want Zheng Yi to die!” Yuan Jiuchuan said with determination

“Good, it's settled!” Dong Li couldn’t be more straightforward. “Let’s kill Zheng Yi together first! As for what we do afterwards, let’s discuss it after we kill him. What do you think?”

Yuan Jiuchuan’s eyes lit up. “Not mincing words, Miss Dong! I like it! No wonder even though you’re from a place like the Domain of the Falling Stars, you could win Nie Tian’s acknowledgment and handle the various sects from the Domain of Heaven’s Boundaries and the Domain of Heaven Python so skillfully.”

Dong Li smiled coldly. “I’m flattered. Back when we were in the space disruption zone, I suggested that Pei Qiqi forget about her moral principles, kill you, and get it over with. However, that woman decided to cling to her pretended righteousness. If I were her, I would have killed you as soon as you gave us the information we needed.”

Yuan Jiuchuan’s grew even more bitter as he remembered Dong Li yelling and urging the others to get rid of him back then.

However, as he examined Dong Li with rapt attention, various expressions flashed across his face. “The dark stone’s aura seems to have merged with hers. And that tortoise... I’ve never seen anything like it. This girl’s strength is also growing at an incredible speed. She’s becoming more dangerous by the day. Perhaps it won’t be long before her name spreads across the human domains and is mentioned in the same breath with the Sons of the Stars of the Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace, and the Divine Children of the Five Elements Sect.”

With these thoughts, Yuan Jiuchuan rapidly made up his mind and said, “Since I also practice lightning incantations, and my cultivation base is lower than his, I’ll be limited if I try to break his spell formation myself. But you’re different. As long as you know the vulnerable parts of this spell formation, you can attack them easily, and Zheng Yi won’t be able to confine you anymore.”

With these words, he went on to explain to them how Zheng Yi’s thunder vortex worked, along with the secret tunnel through which lightning power from the outside world could continue to pour into the spell formation.

Both he and Zheng Yi were well-versed in lightning power. Even though his cultivation base was inferior to Zheng Yi’s, their understanding of lightning power seemed to be equally profound.

After all, Yuan Jiuchuan wasn’t called the Thunder Devil and every lightning power cultivator’s bane for nothing.