Heavenly Dao Engine
Chapter 325 - 325 0253 A Number That Makes Your Scalp Numb_2

Chapter 325: Chapter 0253: A Number That Makes Your Scalp Numb_2 Chapter 325: Chapter 0253: A Number That Makes Your Scalp Numb_2 Suddenly, the ordinary people who were just waiting in line for the check were divided into two groups. The majority were driven away, leaving only five or six, who were escorted to the finest silver-topped tent by two Qi Cultivation Period cultivators.

The Ape King, Sun Xiaotian, reached out and the silver-topped tent flew up, heading towards his palm. As it flew, it rapidly shrank, becoming the size of a matchbox by the time it landed in Sun Xiaotian’s palm. Sun Xiaotian then casually tossed it into his mouth and swallowed it.

The relatives of the ordinary people who had been chosen looked on, some were screaming in horror, some simply fainted.

Sun Xiaotian did not even consider Qi Tian and his Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators worth mentioning, let alone these ordinary humans, who were like ants to him. He opened his mouth again and spewed out a ball of white fog, which surrounded him. Quickly, Sun Xiaotian released a spirit rune, and the white fog astonishingly lifted him off into the air.

The bearded man was the only one Sun Xiaotian took into the air with him. He yelled at Qi Tian and others on the ground, “What are you waiting for? Hurry up and follow. If you delay the Ape King’s important matters, you will only have yourselves to blame for the consequences.”

Before the bearded man’s voice had even finished, the white fog lifted him and Sun Xiaotian up, flying towards the west.

Qi Tian could only take out a flying sword, cast a spirit rune, and the sword hovered next to his foot. He stepped onto the sword and with that, it began to lift Qi Tian into the sky, chasing after Sun Xiaotian. The rest of the Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators were somewhat unwilling, but they had to follow suit, releasing their own flying swords to chase behind.

So it was, they journeyed westward, Sun Xiaotian didn’t even stop for a rest. Qi Tian and the others had to keep up, none of them daring to complain or show any sign of exhaustion.

Sun Xiaotian was in the lead, manipulating the white fog for flight, while Qi Tian and the others were chasing after him pitifully, like smaller brothers struggling to keep up with their older brother.

The group flew for more than twenty hours, covering more than three thousand miles until they saw a continuous mountain range ahead. Only then, did Sun Xiaotian command the white fog to fly towards the mountains.

Qi Tian and the others all breathed sighs of relief. Although Sword-flying seemed glamorous, it actually consumed a tremendous amount of True Essence. They were all cultivators in the Foundation Establishment Stage; otherwise, they wouldn’t have been able to sustain such a long flight. Although they appeared fine, their True Essence was almost depleted. Despite the competitive spirit among the group, none of them replenished their True Essence. Of the five, two had already gone pale, a symptom of insufficient True Essence. If the journey was extended any longer, they would have had no choice but to replenish it.

Although Qi Tian was faring better than the others, he too had lost a significant amount of True Essence. He had seized several flying swords from the battlefield at Tongmen West Pass. The one he was using now was not the best among them, but the worst. This sword had a low efficiency in converting True Essence, resulting not only in slow flight speed but also a serious waste of True Essence. Qi Tian chose this to avoid attracting the attention of others, especially Sun Xiaotian, the Ape King.

About an hour later, Qi Tian and his group finally entered the mountain range. It was sparsely vegetated. In many places, the bare mountainside was exposed, looking unsightly. However, there were areas where the vegetation was lush, blocking out the sun, making it impossible to see what lay beneath.

Sun Xiaotian, the Ape King, shamelessly released his Half-step Golden Core power, causing the beasts and monsters hiding in the vegetation to scatter frantically in fear. Normally, Sun Xiaotian didn’t pay much attention to these beasts. However, if he stumbled upon a stronger monster, he would extend his large hand towards it, make a capturing motion in the air, and snatch the fleeing creature in his grasp. He would then throw his head back, toss the monster into his mouth, grind it twice between his teeth, and swallow the monster whole.

This scene sent an icy chill down the spines of Qi Tian and his companions who were closely following behind. Qi Tian, in particular, furrowed his brow as he realized that Ape King Sun Xiaotian’s method was similar to his Heavenly Dao Engine. The Heavenly Dao Engine used the carcasses of monsters as fuel, while Ape King Sun Xiaotian devoured these monsters to replenish his strength. This meant that a conflict was bound to arise between the two. Qi Tian knew it would be challenging to derive any benefits from Sun Xiaotian when competition like this existed. Any advantage that might arise was likely to be snapped up and swallowed by Sun Xiaotian quickly, leaving nothing for him.

Deep in thought, Qi Tian resolved that he would consider distancing himself from Sun Xiaotian the moment an opportunity presented itself. Following Sun Xiaotian was not only risky, but it also held no benefits, making it nothing but a waste of time.

As Qi Tian made up his mind, the group had already journeyed deep into the mountains, tens of miles towards their destination. As they gazed into the distance, suddenly, a basin encircled by mountains appeared before them. The basin spanned thousands of acres with a flat terrain, but was surrounded by steep mountains each towering above five hundred meters.

At that moment, the basin was already filled with an abundance of people. From a bird’s eye view, the crowd numbered well over three thousand. Ninety-nine percent of them were cultivators, most at the Foundation Establishment Stage. This was a horrifying number. The entire Imperial Master Mansion only had three to four hundred Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators. Here, the number was seven to eight times more, equivalent to seven to eight Imperial Master Mansions.

There was no exaggeration in saying that if these Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators united and attacked the Tongmen West Pass, they could trample over it countless times. If used to attack Great Zhao, they could easily decimate it, and with no interference from a Gold Core Stage cultivator, they could easily overthrow Great Zhao.

Qi Tian frowned. He knew that although the territory of Chi Di was larger than that of Great Zhao, its population was much smaller. Generally speaking, the ratio between the number of Foundation Establishment cultivators and the population is relatively fixed. No matter how he calculated it, Chi Di should not have this many Foundation Establishment cultivators.

A sudden thought struck Qi Tian. Could it be that not only Chi Di’s cultivators were gathered here, but also those from other countries?

Soon, Qi Tian and his group flew to the edge of the basin. From the sky, they could clearly see the outfits of many Foundation Establishment cultivators. As Qi Tian suspected, less than one-tenth of those wearing Chi Di uniforms were present. The rest boasted a plethora of styles, representing various countries: Great Zhao, Zhongshan Kingdom, several neighboring countries of Chi Di, and even Xiu Luo Country, which was far away and separated by multiple countries.

Ape King Sun Xiaotian flew with Qi Tian and the others towards the center of the basin. This place was densely packed with people; it was hard to see any open space. He flew directly to the center, which had been circled and occupied by people. They had built a large courtyard with earth element spells that covered more than twenty acres. There were hundreds of Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators inside and outside the courtyard, and two were standing at the gate.

Suspended in mid-air by a white mist, Sun Xiaotian and his group were gazed at with vigilant eyes by the cultivators in the courtyard.

Sun Xiaotian didn’t say anything. Instead, the bearded man beside him shouted, “Listen up, folks down there. The Ape King has taken a liking to this place. I’m giving you a ten-breath countdown to start clearing it out. If you’re wise, you’ll not make any fuss. But if you dare to go against the Ape King’s command, you’ll have to brace yourselves for the consequences.”