The Sovereign's Ascension

Flames blazed on the ground as the surrounding temperature surged terrifyingly high.

There were many broken tree branches on the ground burning in flames. Looking at the surroundings, one could imagine how prosperous this place once was.

However, everything changed after the Flaming Golden Lotus sank into the ground.

Outside the flames, the Liu Clan’s party was nervously making their preparations.

For this Drought Golden Lotus, Liu Teng had practically mobilized the entire clan.

He wanted to obtain the Drought Golden Lotus. After all, he could produce a few more Xiantian Realms in the clan with the petals.

Then, the entire clan could thrive for decades.

They might even have a chance at occupying the surrounding cities.

“This Drought Golden Lotus is a gift from the heavens. Only success is allowed!” Liu Teng spoke with certainty.

“Don’t worry about it, elder brother. Only our Liu Clan has found this Drought Golden Lotus and we even sealed off all the news about it. No one else knows about it and nothing will go wrong!” said the middle-aged man standing beside Liu Teng.

That middle-aged man was the number two of the Liu Clan, Liu Tian. He was the younger brother of the Patriarch and his cultivation was also in the first orifice of the Xiantian Realm.

“We can’t afford to be careless. There’s no impermeable seal in the world, but thankfully I already have a perfect plan. If anyone dares to covet the Drought Golden Lotus, then they’re just courting death!” Liu Teng’s eyes flashed with a vicious glow as his words sent shudders down everyone’s spine.

He turned his gaze to Liu Yun and said coldly, “It’s a pity that this fool lost the Clouded Ice Spear that was passed down by the clan!”

Facing his father, Liu Yun could only lower his head and keep his silence.

“Elder brother, you don’t have to be too worried about it. That kid can’t be far and we’ll take care of him after dealing with the Drought Golden Lotus. After taking the Clouded Ice Spear from us, he won’t be able to escape so easily…”

Boom!

Before Liu Tian finished his words, the ground started trembling.

Together with the old man in black, the three of their faces changed as they looked with glimmering expectation in their eyes.

It’s coming…

Fwoosh!

The blazing flames suddenly shrunk and gathered in one spot.

As the strands of flame gathered, it seemed like a sun had appeared out of thin air on the ground. The brilliant rays that it gave out was dazzling to the eyes.

However, that dazzling brilliance had only lasted for an instant before it disappeared.

What replaced it was a Flaming Golden Lotus that appeared in everyone’s sight. It exuded a golden glow.

“The Drought Golden Lotus!” Liu Teng exclaimed out as his eyes became heated.

At the same time, the density of the fire elemental spiritual energy made everyone’s lips dry.

There weren't any flames on the ground, but the surrounding temperature kept rising. Soon enough, the ground had started to glow red like magma.

“The bow…”

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Nearly a thousand cultivators pulled their bows as they nocked the strings with cold arrows.

“Release!” Liu Teng barked.

Swish!

The sound of arrows tore through the air as they rained down from the sky. 

Sizzle! Sizzle!

The falling arrows struck the ground and sizzled as their cold aura leaked out, like melting ice. 

At the same time, the temperature on the ground began to fall.

“That’s a lot of preparation!” thought Lin Yun, shocked at the distant scene.

The arrows were made of icy wood and were immersed in the icy spring. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for them to display such might.

It showed how prepared the Liu Clan was.

In that split second, Lin Yun hesitated if he should take the risk.

The strength displayed by the Liu Clan was much stronger than the entire Azure Sky Sect. Not to mention that they were more united as a family.

“I’ll just stay and see how things develop.” Lin Yun squinted his eyes as he did not want to give up. The Flaming Golden Lotus was still quite tempting to him.

Boom!

When the Flaming Golden Lotus felt the threat, it suddenly transformed into the ancient ominous beast — the Drought Demon.

At the same time, the scorching ground began to crack.

“Escaping? Dream on!” Liu Teng sneered as he soared into the sky along with Liu Tian and the old man in black.

The three of them had surrounded the Drought Demon from three directions as they approached with their Xiantian Realm aura unleashed.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

The cultivators of the Liu Clan followed behind as they fired arrows.

Anyone could tell that they were trained as they released their bows. 

At the same time, explosions rang throughout the air.

Under the suppression of three Xiantian Realm cultivators, the Drought Demon fought to stand. It howled while being covered in flames.

As for the three Xiantian Realm cultivators of the Liu Clan, they were having a hard time suppressing the Drought Demon.

But in the end, the Drought Golden Lotus was still less than a hundred years old. It naturally couldn’t withstand the suppression coming from three Xiantian Realms and was slowly forced back.

At the same time, poisonous arrows were shot at the body of the Drought Demon.

The three Xiantian Realms were smart as they did not choose to fight with the Drought Demon head on. They planned to gradually weaken it with arrows instead.

The three of them were cautious as they waited for the poison to kick in.

“Their plan is too perfect!” Lin Yun shook his head softly.

Evidently, the Liu Clan had done their fair share of investigation in advance about the Drought Golden Lotus.

They had planned out any possible situations, so they were having an easy time facing the Drought Demon.

If everything went well, the Drought Demon would be slowly weakened to death. Then, the Liu Clan would finally capture the Flaming Golden Lotus.

“Kill!” Liu Teng grinned as he issued the order. The Drought Demon had been weakened enough after half a stick of incense time. 

The three Xiantian Realm immediately launched their assault at the poisoned Drought Demon.

For a moment, all kinds of Xiantian Art were being thrown at the Drought Demon endlessly.

As the commotion from the battle stirred in the air, everyone watching this scene was terrified.

Without the cultivation in the Xiantian Realm, anyone who joined in the fight would only be injured.

The cultivators of the Liu Clan were smart with their formation as they separated into small groups. There were ten of them in a single group and they constantly changed their position to shoot arrows at the Drought Demon. 

Looking at how well they moved, they were clearly trained in these formations.

Under Liu Yun’s command, the Houtian Realm cultivators moved efficiently.

The Drought Demon wasn’t just facing three Xiantian Realms, but the entire clan itself. The Liu Clan had the Drought Demon under their control and watched as it struggled.

“The odds aren't high,” Lin Yun estimated, as the Drought Demon’s strength was roughly at the third orifice of the Xiantian Realm.

Logically speaking, it should be easy to flee even if it couldn’t fight.

But the entire Liu Clan had cooperated well together, so the Drought Demon couldn’t escape. It could only watch how things slowly became worse for it.

Then again, the poisonous arrows had played a key role in this matter. The arrows had restricted the strength of the Drought Demon.

Looking at the Clouded Ice Spear in his hand, Lin Yun wondered how the situation would turn out if the Liu Clan had used it.

It was common sense that ice and fire restrained each other. If they had the Clouded Ice Spear, they would’ve already bagged the Drought Golden Lotus by now.

But just when Lin Yun felt that the risk was too high and he had no odds, the situation suddenly changed.

Ten-odd figures clothed in black suddenly charged forth from the side. The leader of that mysterious group emitted the aura of the Xiantian Realm.

They caught the Liu Clan by complete surprise as they killed over ten cultivators from the Liu Clan in the blink of an eye.

Mournful shireks echoed out.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

This bunch of people were decisive as they immediately switched their location after killing.

They continued pouncing at other cultivators from the Liu Clan. In just a brief moment, the Xiantian Realm leader had already slaughtered nearly a hundred cultivators from the Liu Clan.

Boom!

With the number of cultivators from the Liu Clan decreasing, the density of the arrows had also dropped.

“How clever. They know that the Drought Demon will definitely die if they allow the Liu Clan to continue. By killing the cultivators of the Liu Clan, they relieved the pressure of the Drought Demon, making an opportunity for it to deal with the three Xiantian Realm individuals.” Lin Yun’s eyes lit up at the sight of this scene.

“Steady! Steady!” Liu Yun yelled out among the crowd as he immediately commanded the cultivators from the Liu Clan to surround those mysterious people.

But after the mysterious group wreaked havoc, they immediately headed for the Drought Demon.

The battle was still going on with the Drought Demon and it was impossible for ordinary cultivators to approach.

The mysterious group of men were all masked. Only their eyes were exposed through their masks.

The leader of the black-clothed group looked determined as if he was taking on everyone. His eyes were glowing with murderous intent.

The three Xiantian Realm of the Liu Clan were in a critical moment of fighting the Drought Demon. When they saw the mysterious men coming in their direction, they were calm without the slightest trace of panic on their faces.

All three of them simultaneously retreated with a sneer, giving up on the Drought Demon.

When the mysterious group of men saw this scene, they were all shocked.

“It’s a trap! Retreat!” The leader of the mysterious group yelled anxiously.

However, it was already too late…

Ten archers clad in blue jumped out of the forest at that very moment. They weren’t present before and all of them were in the Ninth Stage of the Martial Path.

Even more shocking was the fact that the bows in their hands were actually low-grade profound artifacts!

The ten of them indifferently looked on as they pulled their bows. When the bowstrings stretched to a full moon, they released their hold on the bowstrings simultaneously.

Swish!

Ten arrows shot forth, empowered by low-grade profound artifacts. When the arrows flew across the air, they produced a tearing sound from the wind resistance.

In the blink of an eye, everyone from the black-clothed party was hit by the arrows. Only their Xiantian Realm leader was safe from the arrows.

Everyone who was struck by the arrows groaned as they fell onto the ground, taking their last breath!

“Trash from the Wan Family. Do you think that I can’t recognize you guys just because all of you are masked?”

“Liu Teng! You’re taking it too far!” Looking at the corpses of his companions, the Xiantian Realm leader removed the scarf that was covering his face. His aged face was plastered with regret.

“How will I be able to rule the Clear Serene City if I’m not ruthless enough? How will I be able to chase trash like you out? You want to make a comeback? Dream on! I can tell you that today is the day you die!” Liu Teng snorted as he stepped forth. He launched an attack on the old man of the Wan Clan.

Meanwhile, the other two Xiantian Realms from the Liu Clan returned to suppressing the Drought Demon.

Lin Yun’s eyes glinted ten miles away on a mountain at the sight of this scene.

He was already planning to retreat, but he changed his mind when he saw the current situation.

Retrieving the ancient sword box from his back, he muttered, “It’s up to you now, buddy.”

Whoosh!

The floral patterns on the ancient sword box glowed, taking on the shape of the Violet Ice Sparrow, which flapped its wings on the surface of the sword box.

As the sword box hovered in the sky, Lin Yun jumped onto it.

Swish!

The sword box started swaying in the air when he stood on it. All Lin Yun could do was calm himself as he poured his internal energy into the box.

As the sword box was energized by Lin Yun’s internal energy, it slowly stabilized in the air. Lin Yun then manipulated the sword box as he slowly flew over to the battlefield.