Chapter 28: Leaving the Open Sea

Qu Yi suddenly ordered Qing Wu Gui and Wu Yuan to attack in conjunction with his own Star Sword, instantly breaking through the spatial blockade. Then, Qu Yi rushed in front of Yan Tiankuo and struck with his sword.

At this critical moment, Yan Que, the Divine King of the Yan clan, could no longer hold back and stepped in to intervene. Yan Tiankuo’s death was not like that of other disciples at the Divine General level in the Yan clan—he was the actual ruler of the clan’s secular affairs. If he died, the clan’s reputation would plummet, becoming a laughingstock in the divine realm forever.

As Yan Que appeared, Qian Mao, who also possessed the rank of Divine King, arrived as well, naturally to assist Qu Yi.

At that moment, the two Divine Kings stared at each other from the air. Meanwhile, Qu Yi, who was on the seabed, flew up into the air and landed behind Qian Mao, smiling at Yan Que without any fear.

The disciples at the Divine General level from the eight royal clans also flew up from the seabed and gathered behind Yan Que, glaring angrily at Qu Yi. In the earlier battle, Qu Yi had single-handedly withstood the combined attacks of these eight clan disciples—a blatant humiliation. After all, if even the best disciples of the eight royal clans couldn’t defeat him, their prestige would be completely lost if word got out.

“Qian Mao, does South Yin Island really have to support this Qu Yi?” Yan Que asked indifferently, flames flashing in his eyes, clearly filled with anger.

Out of the ten Divine General-level disciples sent by the Yan clan, six had already been killed by Qu Yi. If not for Yan Que’s intervention earlier, Yan Tiankuo would have died as well. This had undoubtedly dealt a severe blow to the Yan clan’s reputation. Seeing Qian Mao so openly supporting Qu Yi, Yan Que’s anger flared up.

Even those at the Divine King level couldn’t ignore their emotions—joy, anger, sorrow, and humiliation all existed. With the Yan clan’s prestige damaged, Yan Que couldn’t avoid feeling angry.

Qian Mao smiled faintly and nodded. “As the most promising candidate among us Ascendants to reach the rank of Divine King, Qu Yi deserves our full support from South Yin Island. Yan Que, isn’t it excessive for you, a Divine King, to intervene in the struggles of younger generations?”

Yan Que sensed the sarcasm in Qian Mao’s words, and his anger grew even stronger, his eyes seemingly filled with flames.

“Qian Mao, you must understand—Qu Yi is now a common enemy of all eight royal clans. If South Yin Island continues to defend him so fiercely, be careful it ends up like Qi Shen,” Yan Que said coldly.

The Instrument God was attacked jointly by the divine kings of the Tianqian Divine Realm and the Zedui Divine Realm, and was thus killed—this is one of the best-known events in the divine world. Of course, the Instrument God only lost its physical body; its soul remained trapped inside the Cunjie Ball, a fact that none of the cultivators in the divine world knew about.

Undoubtedly, what Yan Que is saying now is to tell Qian Mao not to force the divine kings of the eight great royal families to take action together, otherwise what happened to the Instrument God might very well happen again to Nan Yin Island.

Qian Mao’s eyes turned cold, then he burst into loud laughter. The primordial energy of the five elements in the entire world surged like waves.

“Yan Que, how dare you bring up the matter of the Instrument God? The Instrument God was the divine king of your Huoli Divine Realm, yet he was bullied to the extreme. You and Yan Yi didn’t even dare to step forward to fight back, hiding at home without saying a word. You aren’t ashamed at all; instead, you feel justified. How shameless!” Qian Mao shouted harshly, without any mercy.

You…

Yan Que was speechless. The matter of the Instrument God was indeed a lasting pain for the Huoli Divine Realm. It was not his fault or Yan Yi’s that they couldn’t step in to stop it—it was because the divine emperors behind the Zedui Divine Realm and the Tianqian Divine Realm had given orders, forcing them to stand by.

At this moment, the disciples at the Divine General stage of the eight great royal families standing behind Yan Que all had mocking expressions on their faces, while the four disciples of the Yan clan looked ashamed and indignant.

The Yan clan certainly knew the expressions of those behind them and was filled with uncontrollable anger, staring intently at Qian Mao.

“Qian Mao, as you know, the Heavenly Cycle Battle among our divine kings is about to begin. Your Nan Yin Island, our Huoli Divine Realm, and the Shuikan Divine Realm all lack the support of divine emperors, putting us at a disadvantage. If you’re willing to give up Qu Yi, our Huoli Divine Realm is willing to ally with your Nan Yin Island, and even join forces with the Shuikan Divine Realm. Together, the three of us can have a better chance of surviving the Heavenly Cycle Battle.” Secretly, Yan Que began communicating with Qian Mao through their spiritual connections.

Only those with the cultivation level of divine kings could participate in the Heavenly Cycle Battle, and this was a secret known only to them.

Behind the Six Realms—Shanggen Divine Realm, Dikun Divine Realm, Leizhen Divine Realm, Fengxun Divine Realm, Zedui Divine Realm, and Tianqian Divine Realm—were divine emperors who would provide support, ensuring their advantage in the Heavenly Cycle Battle.

Qian Mao certainly knew these secrets too, but after hearing Yan Que’s words, he merely smiled faintly and replied through their spiritual connection, “Yan Que, we will protect Qu Yi’s life. Moreover, we cannot trust the reputation of your Yan clan.”

Yan Que’s expression turned even colder, as if the entire space had frozen over. The disciples of the eight royal families standing behind him were filled with terror, fearing that at any moment Yan Que might lose control and cause this frozen space to shatter, turning their bodies into fragments of space and ending their lives.

“Qian Mao, since you insist on sparing Qu Yi’s life, I won’t force you. If your Nan Yin Island dares to be enemies of our eight divine realms, then there will surely be a price to pay. Now, I’ll take the people from the eight royal families away. During the individual battles among the Divine Marshal-level cultivators, someone will deal with Qu Yi,” Yan Que said coldly once his mind stabilized.

The Yan clan currently had only two Divine Kings, and neither Yan Yi nor Yan Que was strong enough to match Nan Yin Island’s top island master, Zong Jing, a Divine King. Naturally, Yan Que didn’t have the ability to kill Qu Yi right now either, so he could only hold back.

Moreover, Yan Que had an intuition that even if he attacked Qu Yi, Qu Yi would still be able to escape unless Qian Mao stepped in to help.

After careful consideration, Yan Que had no choice but to retreat on his own.

Hearing Yan Que’s words, Qian Mao merely smiled faintly without saying a word.

At this moment, Qu Yi burst into laughter, looking straight at Yan Que and saying, “Yan Que, because of your presence, I haven’t killed a single person today. Good, you’ve done well. During the individual battles among the Divine Marshal-level cultivators, I’ll make your eight royal families regret it deeply. And as for you, Yan Que, by challenging me, a Divine Marshal-level cultivator, you’re lowering your own status. So you’d better be prepared to bear my revenge.”

“You’ve had enough of living!” Yan Que flew into a rage upon hearing Qu Yi threaten him and immediately swung a palm strike.

The primordial energy of the five elements in the entire space condensed into a towering flaming axe, which shot forward in an instant toward Qu Yi.

The destructive power of the axe, along with countless spatial cracks that appeared wherever it passed and the chaotic energy pouring out of those cracks, surrounded Qu Yi completely, leaving no escape.

“Yan Que, you’re truly shameless,” Qian Mao snapped in anger.

In an instant, Qian Mao also swung a palm, drawing the primordial energy of the five elements in the space as well. A golden axe appeared, heading straight toward Yan Que’s flaming axe.

The two axes collided and were instantly annihilated.

Qu Yi simply took out the Star Luo Ding. Standing inside it, he swayed violently under the aftereffects of the collision, yet his body remained unharmed.

Qian Mao approached the Star Luo Ding and stabilized it.

Yan Que looked displeased. Seeing Qu Yi use the Star Luo Ding, which had once been used by the Divine Weapon God for protection, he even felt a hint of shame, quickly replaced by fury.
“Qu Yi, just because you have a little strength, you dare to be arrogant and even challenge a Divine King. Good. You think having 100 million spirit bodies in your body gives you the right to be arrogant and live carefree? That’s because you haven’t seen the most powerful cultivators at the Divine Marshal stage among our eight royal clans. A one-on-one fight with a Divine Marshal cultivator means your death,” Yan Que shouted loudly.
Since Qian Mao was stepping in to protect Qu Yi, Yan Que knew it was useless to act further and could only vent his anger.
Qu Yi shook his head lightly and said, “Yan Que, you’re pitiful.”
A Divine King actually threatening a Divine Marshal cultivator showed how panicked, uneasy, doubtful, and worried Yan Que was. It was indeed pitiful that a Divine King had fallen to such a state.
Hearing this, Qian Mao couldn’t help but smile.
“Qu Yi, since Yan Que is here, it’s impossible for you to continue exploring the outer seas. Come with me back to Nan Yin Island,” Qian Mao said with a smile as he looked at Qu Yi.
Under these circumstances, Qu Yi had no choice but to nod.
In an instant, Qian Mao grabbed the Star Luo Ding, shattered space, and moved through the spatial turbulence. The next moment, he appeared on the Three Divine Peaks of Nan Yin Island.
Seeing Qian Mao and Qu Yi disappear, Yan Que’s lips twitched. After calming himself down, he grabbed four Divine Marshal cultivators from the Yan clan and used a spatial jump to return directly to the imperial city of the Fire Departure Divine Realm, Li Yuan City.
As for the Divine Marshal cultivators from the other seven clans, they had to fly across the outer seas on their own to return to their respective divine realms.
On the Three Divine Peaks of Nan Yin Island, the other two Divine Kings, Zong Jing and Xu Miao, were already sitting in a stone pavilion. Seeing Qu Yi emerge from the spatial turbulence, they immediately smiled.
“Qu Yi, you must have gained a lot from this trip to the outer seas,” Xu Miao said calmly, waving his hand to signal Qu Yi to sit down.
Divine spirit essences, spirit body crystals, and six sets of Divine King-level divine weapons—these were indeed substantial gains. Qu Yi chuckled as he entered the stone pavilion and sat down, glancing at the three Divine Kings.
“I have indeed gained a lot. My strength has improved greatly from this trip to the outer seas. But… I’d like to ask the three Divine Kings—have you been monitoring my travels in the outer seas all along?” Qu Yi asked with a smile.
The divine senses of Divine Kings could not cover the entire divine realm; they were roughly limited to the size of one divine realm. Naturally, Qian Mao appearing immediately when Yan Que showed up made Qu Yi highly suspicious.

Qian Mao immediately laughed and then said, “Qu Yi, we divine kings don’t have time to follow you around. But we’ve all used the laws of space to implant spatial coordinates within certain people’s bodies. As long as those people are in danger, we can detect it right away. Well, since you’re looking at me like this, I’ll not hide it from you—inside the Earth-Shaking Crab, there’s a spatial coordinate that I implanted.”
Qu Yi nodded and smiled faintly. “This time, I owe you another favor.”