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This was the second time he was injured at the hands of Lin Feng. However, compared to the other time at Xiling City, this encounter affected him even more as his opponents’ tactics were far beyond his expectations and calculations.

Even till now, the Zheng Yi Holy Man was still unable to understand the sudden change in Lin Feng’s Thunder Dragon Avatar and how it came about.

"It seems to be connected to the stars in the universe in some way. However, it can’t be as simple as channeling the vast energy of the stars. It’s the method of doing it that’s the key to everything."

A million thoughts flashed by in his mind. "He used this spell to temporarily gain control over the stars to create other transformations..."

Even though he was still unsure about the whole thing, at his current level he could see things on the superficial level very clearly. "This spell is very strange. It seems to be similar in origin to his Inverse the Universe spell..."

At this point, the Zheng Yi Holy Man squinted a little. "First came the spell that was targeted at the Great Void Holy Pavilion, and next came a spell that countered the Cheng Heaven Great Void Celestial Light. Is that a coincidence? There are so many mantras in the world, but as their levels get higher it’s possible that they’d become closer and closer together. If everything is but a coincidence, then forget it, but if it’s not..."

The Xuan Lin Holy Man’s eyes landed upon the injury on the right shoulder of the Zheng Yi Holy Man. His heart was heavy as he said, "It’s not even Lin Feng’s original body that’s present."

Even though the Crucible of the Divine Lands leaned toward Lin Feng and joined forces with him against the Zheng Yi Holy Man, the power displayed by Lin Feng in this battle shook the Xuan Lin Holy Man at his very roots.

He turned towards the right claw of the Thunder Dragon Avatar and noticed that the dragon claw had returned to its original silver-white color. "That was undoubtedly the dragon claw of a pure-blood immemorial celestial dragon, and the power of a Vipralopa Stage demon dragon. The claw of the Earth Celestial King that he had broken off those years ago had been incorporated into his avatar."

"When he was battling the Nine Luminaries Heaven-Crushing Formation and the Heavenly Grandmaster Grand Sage, this factor wasn’t revealed at all. This person has truly deep thoughts and considerations, and how do we know if has displayed his full power this time? How much more is he hiding?"

Before the Zheng Yi Holy Man and the Xuan Lin Holy Man, Lin Feng was still calm as the Thunder Dragon Avatar withdrew its original form and became human once more, and returned to the side of the Crucible of the Divine Lands.

The Zheng Yi Holy Man was still composed and wasn’t dejected at all as he watched the Crucible of the Divine Lands quietly. Not before long, he started to speak at the Crucible of the Divine Lands. "The Emperor of the Dead, the person who betrayed and murdered Emperor Xia, was eventually defeated and overthrown by an alliance between Emperor Gu and the Star River Grandmaster from my sect, along with the cultivators from the entire Divine Lands after unifying them together. You have a connection with the Great Void Sect after all, and I hope you can reconsider this."

"I am deeply regretful about the death of Emperor Xia, and everything was beyond our expectations."

The Crucible of the Divine Lands chewed on his words but said nothing in response.

Lin Feng’s Avatar of Ares stood by the side and gripped on the Crucible of the Divine Lands with one hand while his right hand began to cast a spell.

The giant body of the Crucible continued to surge with purple energy.

Lin Feng said quietly, "Crucible of the Divine Lands, you are a destiny-level magic treasure and even though your original soul is vast and isn’t revealed to the world, you have full autonomy and you can decide your path from now onwards."

Wang Lin’s Great Satanic Avatar returned to Lin Feng’s side and grinned.

Whatever just transpired made it obvious that under similar circumstances, the Crucible of the Divine Lands would never choose the Great Void Sect.

Even if the Great Void Sect was superior, the Crucible of the Divine Lands might not have chosen them either.

The Xuan Lin Holy Man said softly, "The Emperor of the Dead that killed Emperor Xia all those years ago has been reborn. Both the Great Void Sect or the leader of the Celestial Sect of Wonders intend to eliminate him."

The Crucible of the Divine Lands quivered as the Xuan Lin Holy Man continued, "This bastard’s movements are hard to track, but we have a lead on his location."

Lin Feng glanced at the Xuan Lin Holy Man and thought to himself, "They continue to believe that the hiding place of the Emperor of the Dead has something to do with the Netherworld Sea. Just how much do they know about the Netherworld Sea?"

The Zheng Yi Holy Man and the Xuan Lin Holy Man refused to reveal any more emotions. They knew that the Celestial Sect of Wonders had connections with the Ancient Longevity World, and when the Ancient Longevity World’s Netherworld Sea suddenly cracked all those years ago, they were positive that Lin Feng was able to obtain any information regarding the reappearance of the Emperor of the Dead; hence the reason why they were not particular about leaking information.

In the end, the fact that there was someone in the Great Void Sect that could channel the power of the Netherworld Sea wasn’t a secret.

Five thousand years ago, Wu Mengqi of the Supreme Elder Council of the Great Void Sect was forced to channel the power of the Netherworld Sea to defend against an invasion from the demon races inside Mount Taihua at the Barren Expanses. The result was that he was temporarily able to save Mount Taihua, and sustained until the Tai Yi Holy Man returned from the Spirit Sea, but Mount Taihua ended up in decay and became a death zone.

Over the years, the Great Void Sect drew the One Heavenly Primordial Water to rinse and cleanse Mount Taihua day and night. Even though there was considerable progress, the project was still incomplete and Mount Taihua had yet to regain its original splendor.

What drew others’ attentions was the fact that before Wu Mengqi, legend had it that there was some someone else that could direct the power of the Netherworld Sea. The only thing was that too long had passed and people outside the Great Void Sect no longer knew the details.

"Even though the Netherworld Sea is perilous and full of calamities, there are some exotic items inside. The Nefarious Spectral Primordial Fire and the Nine Netherworld Draught exist in considerable volumes – however, never have I seen a Great Void Sect cultivator manipulate these things."

Lin Feng reached deep into his mind. "Have they really never tried to control them, or have they been hiding all along? If they have never tried to control them, what’s the reason for that? The elders of the Great Void Sect that can manipulate the power of the Netherworld Sea – how are they able to do that?"

The Crucible of the Divine Lands shuddered as it heard the Zheng Yi Holy Man’s words and let out a dull hum that resonated between the stars.

He was a destiny-level magic treasure forged by Emperor Xia, and his level of autonomy and volition were far greater than that of gestation, metaplasia or Mahayana-level magic treasures.

Ever since Emperor Xia perished, as long as he wasn’t willing, it was hard for someone to tame him.

The death of Emperor Xia could be important to Crucible of the Divine Lands but it could also mean nothing at all.

As a destiny-level magic treasure, the willpower of the Crucible of the Divine Lands was more similar to the life of an independent world. He had emotions, but emotions didn’t bother him too much and his decisions typically followed natural law and what was right in the world.

Following the great principles of the Greater World also meant that he followed the principles of the world of destiny.

Therefore, even though there was a certain level of hostility toward the Zheng Yi Holy Man, it wasn’t very strong.

However, when other factors weren’t so far apart, the Crucible of the Divine Lands would tend to display hostility toward the Emperor of the Dead and the Great Void Sect.

Lin Feng watched the quivering Crucible and chuckled as he used his consciousness to communicate with it. "Both the Great Void Sect and the Celestial Sect of Wonders have leads on the location of the Emperor of the Dead – the Netherworld Sea."

"I believe my chances are equivalent to that of the Great Void Sect, and whatever you wish to do is entirely up to you."

The trembling of the Crucible of the Divine Lands stopped abruptly as its vast willpower connected directly with Lin Feng’s consciousness. However, no questions were asked as it just quietly interacted with Lin Feng.

Lin Feng faced it with integrity. He didn’t lie to the Crucible of the Divine Lands. Even though he didn’t know the extent of the Great Void Sect’s knowledge about the Netherworld Sea, judging from the information he had in his own possession, it was unlikely that the Great Void Sect had more intelligence.

...The only thing was that his lead was highly superficial and was purely put on paper.

Lin Feng had no intention to hide this fact as he reported everything to the Crucible of the Divine Lands. With Lin Feng’s permission, the Crucible of the Divine Lands was able to judge whether Lin Feng was being honest or not through their temporary connection, and the eventual decision made by the Crucible was still entirely up to it.

The Crucible of the Divine Lands didn’t let Lin Feng down as the boiling purple energy inside suddenly quietened down. The Crucible appeared smooth and calm as the surface of an undisturbed pool of water.

Very quickly, several bubbles appeared from the surface and several human figures flew out from within.

Chen Xingyu, Guo Chaoyang, Mu Xuan, the Six Appearances Sword, Zhao Mingxiu, Shan Xiang, Yang Zhao, Ding Runfeng, Fan Xufeng... the group of cultivators from the Great Void Sect were thrown out by the Crucible.

Within the thick purple energy, Cai Fengzhou withdrew the Auspicious Cloud Pillar and looked extremely embittered as he felt the world’s repulsion toward him. In the end, he shook his head and allowed the Crucible to send him out as well.

If he continued to resist, he would be directly pulverized by the power of this destiny-level magic treasure.

Outside the Crucible, the Zheng Yi Holy Man and the Xuan Lin Holy Man watched Cai Fengzhou’s departure from the Crucible and they both sighed a little inside instead of being angry.

The Crucible of the Divine Lands’ alliance with Lin Feng against the Zheng Yi Holy Man and the Great Void Holy Pavilion and his repulsion of Cai Fengzhou and the other cultivators from the Great Void Sect was connected to the karma from all those years ago.

"Cycles of retribution, and nobody knows who’s right and who’s wrong... The words of Emperor Xia makes a lot of sense, except it’s really a pity." The Zheng Yi Holy Man watched the light projections from the Crucible of the Divine Lands as well, and he thought of Emperor Xia’s exclamation as he developed a similar feeling in his heart.

However, this feeling was extremely fleeting. For the Zheng Yi Holy Man, the issue that was at the top of his list was the events that would unfold after the Crucible of the Divine Lands ended up in the hands of Lin Feng and the Celestial Sect of Wonders, and the aftereffects.

If nothing else happened, the Great Void Sect’s chances of snatching the Crucible of the Divine Lands from Lin Feng’s hands were minimal and near impossible.

On one hand, Lin Feng’s powers were far beyond their expectations, and the Crucible of the Divine Lands had made its own decision on the other.

Changing the decision of a destiny-level magic treasure, or forcing it to change its mind, was a terribly challenging task.

At least this was the case for the remaining power of the Great Void Sect inside the Starry Sea. With Lin Feng at the side, changing the decision of the Crucible of the Divine Lands was too difficult and very near impossible.

For the Zheng Yi Holy Man and the Xuan Lin Holy Man, the Crucible of the Divine Lands ending up in Lin Feng’s grasp was a disastrous outcome.

The Celestial Sect of Wonders were still in expansion, and the possession of the Crucible of the Divine Lands was bound to aid in their exponential rise to power and boost their strength greatly.

There was a consensus amongst the Divine Lands, that the only thing holding back the Celestial Sect of Wonders was time.

With the help of the Crucible of the Divine Lands, the hindrance of time that the Celestial Sect of Wonders faced would be reduced.