Section 61: Star Saint’s Will
Date: 2014-06-18 Author: Gu Zhenren
To confront the two Emperors, Chu Yun alone is absolutely not enough. The Sleeping Old Man proposed the strategy of forming alliances, which Chu Yun deeply agreed with.
He calculated that so far, his side’s King-level combat strength consists only of himself and the Wine King.
In fact, among the Seven Kings of the Teng List from the older generation, only the Wine King and the Immortal Pouch King remain. Among the other Kings, the Greedy Wolf King and the Land Whale King both died by his hand. The Mermaid King, Ten Thousand Poisons Queen, and Falling Cherry King all fell victim to the Night Emperor, resulting in their demise.
According to the Sleeping Old Man’s intelligence, there is a Wanhe King in the Jianghan Kingdom and an old prince in the Kutu Temple. Besides these, there should be some hidden Kings elsewhere in Xingzhou.
Of course, the number of these Kings will not be too large, definitely not exceeding five. After all, a King is a King; it’s not something that can be achieved through sheer effort. Both talent and opportunity are necessary.
After discussing the counter-strategy with the Sleeping Old Man, Chu Yun first sought out the Wine King.
This peak King-level expert was the one with the best relationship with Chu Yun among the older generation. He was severely injured in the battle with the Falling Cherry King and has been recuperating in a quiet courtyard in Huode City.
Upon entering the courtyard, Chu Yun’s first sight was Erlang Tian Jun. Dressed in a white robe, he was sitting on a stone stool in the courtyard, examining demonic plant seeds one by one.
Sensing his presence, Erlang Tian Jun turned his head, saw Chu Yun, and greeted him softly, “You’re here.”
Then, he turned his gaze back, focusing on the seeds in his hand.
These seeds were varied, most of them were like jade, verdant and lush. A small portion were either as red as fire, or as tender yellow and lovely, or as crystal blue and clear.
Chu Yun nodded and walked closer to the stone table, “How is the collection of the Grass Head God Generals coming along?”
Erlang Tian Jun inherited the legacy of King Bimmu in his early years. King Bimmu was skilled in demonic plants and possessed a special cultivation method for demonic plants that required the collection of 108 different demonic plants for mixed cultivation. Once successfully cultivated, it could form the 108 Grass Head God Generals Battle Formation. This formation could be self-sustaining and repair breaches autonomously, making it famous throughout Xingzhou at the time.
However, Erlang Tian Jun was not very lucky. He put in a great deal of effort into cultivating it, but each time, before it could be fully formed, he was caught in continuous major battles. During the Academy Convention, he would go out early and return late, spending almost all his time in the trading street, collecting almost all 108 types of demonic plant seeds and diligently cultivating them day and night. But in the battle with the Land Whale King, due to his use of the Divine Path Technique, Sen Hai, not a single Grass Head God General survived.
In retrospect, his losses were far more tragic than Chu Yun’s.
After the battle, Chu Yun sincerely invited him to recuperate in Huode City and proactively utilized state resources to help him collect the seeds.
“The power of a nation is immense. If I were to collect these seeds again, it would take at least two to three months. These seeds, plus the remaining ones I managed to trade for during the Academy Convention, are almost enough,” Erlang Tian Jun said with some emotion.
“Almost? That means something is still missing. Tell me, perhaps I can help you with something,” Chu Yun said.
“This is not something that can be done just by saying so,” Erlang Tian Jun chuckled lightly, but eventually revealed, “The 108th type of Grass Head God General seed, I have no clue about it. It’s the Terrified Scythe Grass, a close-combat demonic plant, a species that has long been extinct. King Bimmu was fortunate to obtain one when he was young, and with it as the core, he gradually developed the Grass Head God Generals Battle Formation.”
Terrified Scythe Grass?
Chu Yun was stunned, then his expression became strange.
Seeing his reaction, Erlang Tian Jun also paused, a glimmer of hope flashing in his eyes, “Could it be that you actually have a clue about this demonic plant?”
“More than just a clue, I know where to find this demonic plant, and a whole hill full of them, tens of thousands of them,” Chu Yun burst into laughter. Without toying with Erlang Tian Jun’s curiosity, he directly revealed the location: the Endless Forest in the Yao Shan Kingdom. In the past, Chu Yun had relied on the geographical advantage of this grassy hill to fight against a powerful enemy.
“I see. Then I will set off immediately for the Endless Forest,” Erlang Tian Jun quickly stood up, appearing impatient.
“Are you in such a hurry?” This was the first time Chu Yun had seen him look like this.
“The Great Wilderness Country will eventually be unified by the Dragon Emperor. When that happens, he will definitely attack the Yao Shan Kingdom first. Because the geographical advantage of the Yao Shan Kingdom will be a major stepping stone for him to attack other island countries. I must go and collect it sooner, otherwise it will be too late.” Although Erlang Tian Jun lived a secluded life, he was clear about the situation in Xingzhou and saw it very thoroughly.
Chu Yun smiled, “I anticipated this as well. A long time ago, our Shu Family had already set up a large Gem Secret Passage in the Endless Forest. We have been continuously mining resources from this secret realm. You can use the Gem Secret Passage to enter the Endless Forest directly and reach your destination in an instant, so don’t rush. Tell me about the Wine King instead, has his injury improved?”
Erlang Tian Jun nodded, then shook his head, “The Falling Cherry King was peerless in talent. Senior Wine King was struck by his move, ‘Fragrant Grasses of Yingzhou’. Although his physical injuries have healed, his mind has been affected by the Heart-Bound Dao technique, making it difficult to muster his fighting spirit. He is engulfed in a constant state of dejection and sadness, which cannot be resolved in a short period of time.”
The Falling Cherry King’s ultimate move was truly extraordinary and meticulously crafted. By temporarily combining several Tribulation Demons of millions of years, they formed the combat power of a Tribulation Demon of tens of millions of years.
Although the Wine King possessed Divine Path Techniques, he lacked Chu Yun’s Ally Contract and the Supreme Artifact Dao. Therefore, the demonic creatures under his command only had a combat power of a million-year level. Although he eventually defeated the Falling Cherry King with his Divine Path Techniques and drove him away, he himself suffered severe injuries.
This injury directly affected the depths of his mind, severely damaging his state of mind. It made it difficult for him to concentrate his fighting spirit and even gave him feelings of despair and world-weariness, leading to suicidal impulses.
This was also why, after rescuing Erlang Tian Jun, the Wine King did not immediately provide support to Chu Yun.
Such an injury was very troublesome, and Chu Yun’s pills were difficult to resolve. He even dared not use “fighting poison with poison” by relying on the Six Desires Heart Demon Scorpion.
For safety reasons, they had to rely on the Wine King himself to resist this mental trauma.
Led by Erlang Tian Jun, Chu Yun once again met the Wine King.
This elder, who was once full of heroic spirit, always laughed heartily, and possessed an extraordinary demeanor, was now gaunt. He lay on the bed, looking out the window with a somber expression.
“Senior Wine King,” Chu Yun cupped his fists towards him.
Upon seeing Chu Yun, a flicker of brightness appeared in the Wine King’s eyes, “You have now been promoted to King. Don’t call me Senior anymore, just call me Wine King. Hahaha, you’ve seen me in such a state. But that move by the Falling Cherry King is truly admirable.”
This move was originally developed by the Falling Cherry King with great effort, intended to counter Chu Bawang.
Chu Bawang was not only a peak King but also a King among Kings. With the Wine King’s current achievements, he was still no match for Chu Bawang’s world-dominating combat power.
“Don’t worry too much. I have a premonition that if I can persevere and overcome this endless sorrow, grief, and desolation in my heart, it will greatly temper my state of mind, directly doubling the concentration of my soul. In other words, I should thank the Falling Cherry King. I heard you say last time that the real Falling Cherry King was killed by the Night Emperor. What a pity,” the Wine King said with emotion.
Hearing his words, Chu Yun’s worry greatly diminished.
The Wine King’s heroic spirit was gradually returning, his magnanimity apparent in his generous praise of his opponent. As he said, this was a trial, but also a great opportunity.
Next, Chu Yun outlined his plan to him. The Wine King had extensive connections, and with his help, it would be twice the result with half the effort.
“You want to rally the Kings to resist the two Emperors?” the Wine King frowned slightly. “To be frank, I’m not very optimistic about this plan. I also know two or three hidden Kings, but they neither seek fame nor fortune. Each has unique pursuits, and some are eccentric. It’s really difficult to persuade them.”
“I know this is difficult, but it is the only way to resist the two Emperors. Please enlighten me, Wine King,” Chu Yun hastily asked for advice.
The Wine King pondered for a moment before saying, “To move them with external things is extremely difficult. The only way is to subdue them by force. Strong individuals command respect everywhere. I cannot help you with this. My injuries are severe, and I need time to recuperate. I have no fighting spirit and cannot act. You can only rely on your own strength to convince them.”
Chu Yun became even more troubled, spreading his hands, “I have only recently ascended to King, and it was due to opportunity. My accumulated resources are all depleted, and I need a lot of time to slowly accumulate them again. With my current combat power, defeating them will be difficult. And convincing these Kings will be even harder.”
“Not so, not so,” the Wine King shook his head and held up three fingers, “I have three methods here that can make your combat power leap. The first is your bloodline. I know your parents were both King-level powerhouses. If you can awaken your bloodline, your strength will increase by leaps and bounds. The second is Innate Demonic Creatures. You have the Ally Contract and can fully control Innate Demonic Creatures. Obtaining one can exponentially boost your combat power. The third is the Star Saint’s Will.”
Chu Yun had already considered the first two methods. However, he heard about the third method for the first time.
Seeing his confused expression, the Wine King continued to explain, “Chu Yun, I know you have always lacked a mature tactical system. Without this system, you cannot effectively utilize the demonic creatures you possess. The Star Saint’s Will can help you solve this problem immediately.”
“The Ten Thousand Beasts King studied the Star Saint’s Will and comprehended the Eight Trigrams Battle Formation, thus merging the Riot Ape and seven other Tribulation Demons into a single combat force. Jiang Yue King studied the Star Saint’s Will and comprehended the Seven Star Battle Formation, which is now widely spread in the Jianghan Kingdom. The one-element formation, two-element formation, three-powers formation, four-symbol formation, five-element formation, [***] formation, Seven Star Battle Formation, Eight Trigrams Battle Formation, Nine-Palace formation, Ten-Directions formation… These battle formations were all inspired by the Star Saint’s Will, leading to epiphanies for King-level experts.”
“I’ve heard of what you’ve mentioned before. So, where can I obtain the Star Saint’s Will?” Chu Yun hurriedly asked.
(To be continued)
