Shocking the Nine Heavens With My Sword
Chapter 473 - 457: The Great Migration (2/3)

Chapter 473: Chapter 457: The Great Migration (2/3)

Zhou Heng didn’t give face to anyone, at his level, he no longer needed to give face to anyone.

He wasn’t a Saint; he had his preferences and not just anyone could hitch a ride on this easy journey.

Zhao Duotian, as the head of the Zhao Family, had his inescapable responsibilities. Therefore, he followed the Zhao Family to the Dragon River Continent. The Zhao Family only had him, a Half-Step Immortal, and going to an entirely foreign land, they desperately needed his care.

Accompanying him, besides all the Zhao Family members, were Zhou Heng’s parents.

According to Zhou Heng’s original intention, he wanted his parents to stay with him until he obtained the Star Core and broke through to become an Immortal, after which he could take his parents directly into the Immortal Realm! However, Zhou Dinghai and his wife insisted on going with the Zhao Family, and no amount of persuasion from Zhou Heng could change their minds.

Zhou Heng couldn’t force them, so he reluctantly let them go. After all, who knew what the Immortal Realm was like; it might be even more perilous and cruel than the Mortal Realm.

He decided to wait until he was firmly established in the Immortal Realm before returning to the Mortal Realm to bring his elderly parents over. The Dragon River Continent should have a Realm Gate, not as thoroughly ravaged as the Xuanqian Star.

An Luochen and Lin Jianchen made the same choice, not crowding around Zhou Heng to join in the excitement. Wang Ke actually wanted to follow Zhou Heng but was dragged away by Helian Dong—why bother disturbing the young couple?

Helian Dong had also arrived not long before and was increasingly satisfied with Zhou Heng, his "son-in-law." Seeing Wang Ke, he was very excited and promptly offered to teach on behalf of Zhou Heng.

After asking around, Zhou Heng learned that the Helian Family’s bloodline was indeed very similar to Little Foodie’s, although Little Foodie’s bloodline was evidently much purer, making Helian Dong very tempted to properly mentor someone with a close bloodline.

Sang Qingshan also arrived shortly after with the Sang Family. Their meeting was inevitably lively; Sang Qingshan finally entered the Nascent Soul Realm, but having heard of Zhou Heng’s proud achievements of slaying two Heavenly Venerates, how could his accomplishment stand out?

One major family after another, one major force after another. In the face of the threat of the continent’s destruction, no one could escape, and everyone sought to leave this cursed place.

Zhou Heng was relieved to see that Hong Tianfeng also arrived, bringing his family with him.

He had specifically instructed the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion to arrange this, and he also had them bring everyone from the Black Water Hall, as he wasn’t one to forget his past. Of course, there was also the Shangtian Martial Pavilion, but this holy land of the Martial Path was powerful enough that the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion didn’t need to intervene.

Wave after wave of people left Xuanqian Star, but relative to the whole population of Xuanqian Star, the number was negligible.

The noble families of the Heavenly Demon Dynasty and the Night Demon Dynasty arrived. The Heavenly Demon Clan’s Venerate praised Zhou Heng’s actions, believing Zhou had a lingering air of the Great Eternal Emperor, showing benevolence and aiding the world, nearly flattering Zhou to death!

Then, the Sea Clan arrived, also bringing loads of Upper Grade Spirit Stones. Ao Kongshan only had time to meet with Zhou Heng before tearing up and being sent to the Dragon River Continent.

The Sea Clan Emperor, Ao Guanglong, didn’t stay either, and became the first Heavenly Venerate to leave Xuanqian Star.

The Star Gate had been constantly in operation since its first activation, sending waves of people to the Dragon River Continent. Before anyone realized, half a year had passed, and the environment on Xuanqian Star was growing more violent, with complete destruction imminent.

Most of the Martial Path Forces had left Xuanqian Continent, and the Star Gate finally wasn’t constantly active. It wasn’t because there were no people left; on the contrary, there were plenty of people under the Seven Lush Mountains, but what was lacking was Upper Grade Spirit Stones!

Upper Grade Spirit Stones were limited, and without them, how could the Star Gate be activated? Zhou Heng had even contributed all the Upper Grade Spirit Stones from the Nine Mystic Trial Tower, but it was a drop in the ocean relative to the overall situation, making no significant impact.

Zhou Heng was powerless in this situation; he wasn’t a Saint and couldn’t bear such a heavy responsibility.

"Zhou, the Star Core is about to emerge. When the time comes, you’ll face the masters of the Four Great Death Places. Do you have any confidence?" Black Donkey asked seriously for once.

"Are you suggesting that I should leave through the Star Gate too?" Zhou Heng retorted.

"There’s no harm in enduring a moment of frustration!" Black Donkey nodded his big donkey head, "You’re exceptionally talented, even without the Star Core, you still have hope of Becoming a True Immortal. There’s no need to clash head-on with the masters of the Four Great Death Places now!"

Zhou Heng fell silent, but his eyes burned with fierce combativeness.

"Not even the Great Eternal Emperor could suppress them back in the day!" Black Donkey continued to persuade, "I admit that your talent is indeed above the Great Eternal Emperor’s, but you haven’t entered the Divinity Transformation Realm yet, and you stand no chance against those four old Monsters!"

But Zhou Heng shook his head and said, "Donkey, you still don’t know my true strength—"

Black Donkey knew he was very strong, especially in defensive power, but didn’t know that his physique had reached the level of a Divinity Transformation Realm Magic Artifact, making it impossible for even a Two Tribulations Quasi-Immortal to injure him with pure strength!

More crucially, strictly speaking, the masters of the Four Great Death Places couldn’t be considered at the Divinity Transformation Realm, and definitely wouldn’t be able to maintain their strongest state for long!

"Moreover, I need to battle such existences to feel enough pressure and seize the opportunity to break through the Divinity Transformation Realm!" Zhou Heng added.

"Zhou, I think you’re playing with fire!" Black Donkey paused, "Even if you do advance into the Divinity Transformation Realm, how can you compare with those four old Monsters right after breaking through? When the Xuanqian Continent collapses, what will you do?"

What good was a Heavenly Venerate of the Divinity Transformation Realm in the vast, dark universe where one could only await death?

Zhou Heng understood this; hence if he chose to stay and compete for the Star Core, he had to succeed! Otherwise, he would have to exhaust his life span in the cold expanse of space.

The vast universe was barren and desolate, devoid of any Spiritual Power, thus leaving no possibility for further progression, floating in its expanse with only death awaited.

But he was determined to take the risk, not just for himself, but also to prevent those four old monsters!

——Hmm, taking down the Star Gate before the destruction of the continent might still allow it to function normally, providing myself with an escape route!

"You and Huo Tian are leaving tomorrow!" Zhou Heng’s decision was firm, but he could not let Ying Mengfan and Feng Lianqing risk such great danger with him. There was no choice before, but now that he had the Star Gate, he naturally had to make other arrangements.

"Pah, but that’s an Immortal Fate, how could I possibly give it up!" Black Donkey spat immediately.

"Are you really that tired of living?"

"Don’t I have you, Zhou, to take the lead? I’m risking it all this time. If I truly meet my end, I’ve still lived many more years than you, so no loss! And if, by some miracle, you manage to snag the Immortal Fate, wouldn’t I benefit from your good fortune too?"

Ultimately, this damn donkey was still driven by greed!

Zhou Heng couldn’t help but be speechless. He then went to see Ying Mengfan and An Yumei, hoping to persuade them to leave through the Star Gate, but not one of them agreed, saying that without Zhou Heng, their lives would be meaningless.

Of course, not everyone truly meant what they said, like Orchid Concubine and Nangong Yuerong. But they had already boarded the thief’s ship, so how could they say something that would dampen spirits at such a time without being cursed to death by others?

Besides, Zhou Heng had performed miracles time and again. Who’s to say he couldn’t capture the Immortal Fate this time?

If Zhou Heng became an Immortal, they could ascend to heaven with him!

This was a gamble, but at the same time, it was also an opportunity.

Now, everything that could be done had been done. What remained was waiting for the Star Core to fully form, marking the end of the Xuanqian Star.

This was, in fact, a tragedy. The Star Core could allow a Divinity Transformation Realm Heavenly Venerate to ascend into the final step, becoming an Immortal, yet the price was the extinction of all living creatures on a planet.

And it was unavoidable!

Half a month later, Zhou Heng was soaking up the sun atop a hill, contemplating life’s philosophies, seeking to take that final step sooner. If he could attain the Cultivation Level of Divinity Transformation Realm, he would have nothing to fear from the owners of the Four Great Death Places.

"My lord, a visitor requests an audience!"

Since Zhou Heng was stationed here, naturally forces would curry favor with him, arranging many servants for him, even many promising young members of their families, both male and female. The men hoped to form ties with Zhou Heng like Sang Qingshan did, while the women hoped to catch Zhou Heng’s eye and transform from sparrow to phoenix overnight.

"Oh, who is it?" Zhou Heng asked without turning back.

"He claims to be an old acquaintance of the lord, surnamed Fang, Fang Heqing!" said the servant with resolve.

Fang Heqing?

Indeed, an old acquaintance.

Zhou Heng first met Fang Heqing when he was ordered by the Cold Blue Country Emperor to rescue the Liu Family’s playboy, Liu Yue. If not for Zhou Heng’s strength, the rescue forces they sent would have been wiped out.

The second meeting occurred because they discovered a Spirit Stone Mine, causing four small countries to vie for it. Fang Heqing had attended alongside his sister.

This man was a strategist, but in a world where martial force far outweighed cunning, the most meticulous plans could still easily crumble before absolute power.

Zhou Heng was somewhat intrigued and said, "Please, show him in!"

"Yes, my lord!" The servant turned and left. Soon after, the sound of two sets of footsteps approached, and the visitor had arrived.

"Brother Zhou!" Fang Heqing bowed his fists behind him, his tone neither servile nor overbearing.

Zhou Heng’s expression remained neutral as he said, "Fang Heqing, you’ve got some nerve!"

Martial Artists value strength above all. Fang Heqing’s progress wasn’t slow, but how big was the gap between his Cultivation Level at Land Cleaving Realm and Zhou Heng’s? He wasn’t unaware of how exalted Zhou Heng’s current status was, hence one couldn’t just casually call out ’Brother Zhou’.

"I believe, Brother Zhou is not a man bound by convention. If I were to address Brother Zhou as senior or sir, that would likely truly displease you, wouldn’t it?" Fang Heqing said with a slight smile, a confident expression on his face.

Indeed, the man had some cleverness in him, but unfortunately, it wasn’t the era for the wise.

Zhou Heng stood up and turned to laugh at Fang Heqing. There was no deep enmity between him and Fang Heqing; in fact, they had once admired each other. Sadly, after their second parting, their paths diverged further and further apart until they were as different as heaven and earth.

"Brother Fang, please take a seat!" Zhou Heng gestured to a stone by his side. After Fang Heqing sat down, he asked, "Brother Fang, what brings you here?"

"I need two spots, spots to go to the Dragon River Continent!" Fang Heqing held up two fingers.

"Oh, and why do you think I would grant you that?"

"I can trade you the whereabouts of Ying Cheng’en!" Fang Heqing said with a slight smile, as if everything was under his control. (The story continues. If you like this work, please visit qidian.com to cast your recommendation votes and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)