Chapter 293 - 292: Do you think these calamity clouds of mine are very beautiful?

A few minutes later, Li Jing arrived at a woodland area in the direction of the ruins where the sealed space was located.

Hovering to judge the general direction of the human defense line that was blocking the ruins, Li Jing raised his hand to initiate the Sky Eye Technique, transforming his body into thunder light as he advanced to explore.

The area near the entrance to the Secret Realm is a plain.

Due to the exploratory teams of various powers needing a clear line of sight, the terrestrial woodland surrounding the area had been completely flattened.

Apart from the tents erected by the various forces, there was no place to hide from the sunlight.

Things have been exposed.

The Invisible Alien Species raised by the God-Human Race have collectively discarded their corpses and fled. It’s basically impossible for them to hide in any power’s camp.

The number of Invisible Alien Species is not small.

If they don’t hide in the camps of various powers, there is simply nowhere to hide near the entrance to the Secret Realm.

To avoid sunlight, they could only hide in the peripheral wooded areas that might not yet have been flattened.

Exposure to sunlight for more than ten minutes would cause the Invisible Alien Species to die suddenly.

During this period, they would continually weaken.

To preserve their strength, they wouldn’t run too far.

The survival instincts of the Invisible Alien Species are very strong, they are quite cowardly, to say the least.

Going to the God-Human race, they certainly would not want to see the "yin soldiers" that they have painstakingly raised be easily wiped out.

The Yin soldiers they have raised are essentially the trump card concealed by the God-Human race.

With bloodline connections, the Invisible Alien Species pose little threat to the Ancient God’s Descendants.

However, at any time on the battlefield, being able to occupy the dead strong one’s body and turn it into combat power, this "card" is extraordinarily powerful.

The God-Humans wouldn’t blame the Invisible Alien Species for fleeing in battle. The first thing they would do after fleeing is probably to find an opportunity to rendezvous with the winged people hiding somewhere in the Big Secret Realm.

They cannot return to the sealed space for now.

The area around the entrance to the Big Secret Realm had been thoroughly tampered with by various exploration teams. It was not just the extremely rare giant beasts in the Big Secret Realm, but even the local Spiritual Beasts were basically not active nearby.

Without suitable integration targets and having given up their concealment among the humans’ camp, they have no other options except to seek shelter.

Li Jing did not know where the winged people who had come out of the sealed space were currently hiding.

But they certainly have a prepared retreat.

Compared to those Invisible Alien Species, the winged people, who rank second in the Alien Species hierarchy, are truly precious, and their status is second only to the God-Humans.

If it were just an individual winged person outside the sealed space, its individual strength would definitely be extremely strong. The God-Humans wouldn’t just sacrifice it.

If there were multiple winged people, they certainly couldn’t die in the Big Secret Realm for nothing.

Pure-blooded, they are very precious.

The already closed sealed space is their only way out.

The hiding place of the winged people is most likely in the direction of the ruins where the sealed space is located, and it would be behind the human defense line.

With the human defense line blocking the sealed space, even if the passage to the sealed space is reopened, they won’t be able to return unless they first break through the defense line.

They would certainly fail if they tried to launch a sneak attack on the human line from behind.

The high-precision anti-air radar can detect in all directions, not just a single one.

But with the sealed space at the front and the winged people at the back, it would leave the human defense line flanked on both sides.

...

Li Jing only needed a few minutes to walk in a straight line to the human defense line that was blocking the ruins containing the sealed space.

However, just searching in a straight line covering the shortest distance obviously doesn’t make sense.

The winged people wouldn’t be that stupid to truly hide right behind the human defense line.

To avoid any mistakes, Li Jing decided to go straight to a location in the rear of the human defense line where the anti-air radar roughly reaches its limit, then change direction and return towards the entrance of the Secret Realm, and so on, conducting a repetitive carpet-style search.

This was an inefficient and simple approach.

But it can’t be helped.

At this moment, that was all he could do.

It was a pity that Serlina could not leave the White Hawk’s base. Otherwise, bringing her would have made things much more convenient.

Those Invisible Alien Species might not be detected in Serlina’s Spiritual World.

But the winged people, with their physical bodies, would definitely have nowhere to hide in her Spiritual World.

Li Jing searched for more than two hours.

With his cultivation level in the late Six Realm, his Sky Eye Technique could easily discern the nature of all the entitles within tens of thousands of meters. This made his search range incredibly vast.

During these two hours of searching, Li Jing had made dozens of back-and-forths between the human defense line and the entrance to the Secret Realm.

However, there was still no sign of the winged people and Invisible Alien Species he had been hoping to find.

Li Jing had patience and continued to search.

He didn’t think there was anything wrong with his search method.

The human defense line extended a long way ahead, and correspondingly took up a vast amount of terrestrial space behind it.

In the two hours he had searched and checked, the land area he inspected was even less than a tenth of the total area. He needed to continue searching!

Another hour passed, and the daylight gradually began to fade.

Li Jing had searched for half a day with nothing to show for it.

As the time approached four o’clock in the afternoon and dusk approached, the sunlight gradually weakened, and Li Jing’s face did not look so good.

He would continue searching. He had the patience for it.

However, when night fell, the Invisible Alien Species would no longer be restricted.

Massaging his forehead which had started to ache slightly after maintaining the Sky Eye Technique for a full three hours, Li Jing was about to push himself to continue searching when Linglong’s voice suddenly sounded in his ear.

"Master, Miss Jiang asked me to tell you that all the forces in the real world will completely withdraw from the Big Secret Realm in four hours."

Upon hearing Linglong’s childish voice, Li Jing paused momentarily, frowning slightly.

The full withdrawal was expected.

However, it was happening a bit faster than he had imagined.

During these three hours of searching, Li Jing had not only been trying to find the winged people and the Invisible Alien Species but was also monitoring the human defense line.

The defense line hadn’t moved, which certainly meant there wasn’t a retreat.

The moment the human defense line started to withdraw would be the start of the large-scale retreat.

At this moment, Li Jing was close to the rear of the defense line, where he saw no signs of a retreat. Yet, Jiang Yini had communicated this news through his connection with Linglong.

Had there been a change in plans?

Glancing at the direction of the entrance to the Secret Realm, Li Jing communicated his thoughts to Linglong.

"Understood, tell Jiang Yini I’ll be back shortly."

...

After walking dozens of round trips between the entrance to the Secret Realm and the human defense line, Li Jing saw swarms of sword lights rising from the defense line, converging into a single streak as they blasted towards the rear.

Upon seeing this, Li Jing came to a stop, taking a deep breath.

The defense line in front had begun its retreat.

At this point, dusk had settled.

Although it hadn’t completely darkened yet, the sunlight was no longer as intense.

Not only that.

Perhaps due to the upcoming rain, the clouds in the sky turned into grey overcast by late afternoon.

It appeared that he had to return like this.

Sighing quietly, Li Jing turned to head back.

Just as he was about to move, a gust of strong wind blew over.

Not that Li Jing paid it any mind.

But when he saw the distant overcast clouds covering the sky, moving towards the ruins where the seal was located, he stopped his returning movements.

The wind had picked up.

Clouds moving, it was normal.

But wasn’t this coincidence too great?

The frontline had just retreated, it had not even reached parallel to him, and suddenly the wind started blowing and clouds moved?

Frowning and looking up at the high sky, Li Jing found the movement of the clouds above his head were much slower comparing to the large distant clouds moving towards the ruins.

Noticing this anomaly, Li Jing froze for a moment, then turned his head and looked directly at the unusually moving grey clouds in the distance with his Heavenly Eye.

Next, countless grey energy aggregates appeared in his view.

In the perspective of the Heavenly Eye, it could only see the manifestation of energy.

For example, the existence of water vapor in the overcast clouds should be the creamy white water attribute Spiritual Qi, which wouldn’t be high in power.

This large area filled with grey energy aggregates was extremely abrupt.

Found them!

Li Jing was brimming with excitement.

The cloud layer blocked his view, he couldn’t see their health bars.

But these grey energy bodies couldn’t have naturally existed!

If they didn’t naturally exist and were moving towards the ruins, they could only be the invisible Alien Species that were hiding!

With this deduction, Li Jing couldn’t help but admire the shrewdness of the Alien Species.

The location of the unusually moving clouds was a place he had searched for earlier.

But he had always observed from a bird’s eye view of the ground, especially focusing on the dark areas in the woods, never looking up at the sky.

His way of thinking was correct.

But it hadn’t occurred to him!

With clouds in the sky, natural cover was formed.

Those invisible Alien Species could hide amongst the clouds to avoid sunlight!

Without further ado, Li Jing turned into a lightning bolt and shot straight into the sky into the clouds.

He didn’t go to the unusual grey clouds in the distance.

One, it was not feasible and two, unnecessary.

Overestimate his ability in one go would have been unscientific, as some strong ones would inevitably escape.

After all, the invisible Alien Species in the Seventh Realm could easily detect Li Jing if he got too close, the Silent Shadow wouldn’t be able to interfere with them.

At this moment, the invisible Alien Species were hiding in the clouds, which greatly facilitated him.

Li Jing could only instantly cast the Palm Thunder, while the Nine Heavens God Thunder and Five Thunder Righteous Method both required proper construction of the magic spell formula.

With his current Cultivation level, he didn’t need to spend much time completing the construction of the spell formula.

If the Alien Species wanted to run, he would have no choice but to look on helplessly.

Furthermore, neither the Nine Heavens God Thunder nor the Five Thunder Righteous Method weren’t well known for their range; the former was designed for pinpoint attacks while the latter was for slightly larger areas.

Thunder Roar, on the other hand, was different, as it could affect the Heavenly Phenomenon on a large scale once he made contact with the clouds.

Essentially, Thunder Roar was not an offensive method, and creating changes in the Heavenly Phenomenon was merely for confusion. At most, if intending to use it as an attack method, Li Jing could turn himself into a Thunder Roar and collide directly.

But dealing with these Alien Species hiding in the clouds, it would be just right!

Assuming they weren’t in the clouds, Li Jing would probably only be able to turn into Yang Thunder and smash into them, coordinating with Palm Thunder in an attempt to kill more.

But now, it was different...

Suddenly, Li Jing charged into the sky clouds with Thunder Roar.

Next moment.

The whole world was shrouded in darkness.

Originally, the cloudy layer above Li Jing’s head was only a little dim, but in an instant it turned into pitch-black thunderclouds, spreading rapidly to the surroundings like a contagion, affecting all the clouds in a blink.

"Boom... Boom... Boom..."

The sound of rolling thunder echoed throughout.

In the endless dark clouds, ghastly white thunderbolts appeared.

Then, in the next moment.

The flashing white thunderbolts transformed into dazzling gold.

The influence of Thunder Roar is not genuinely a natural phenomenon.

In reality, it was a change in quality of the thunder and clouds produced by the Thunder Roar itself, Li Jing could easily change its properties with the backup of the Thunder Skill.

Dazzling golden Yang Thunder flared up and countless grey energy bodies in the distance evaporated under the observation of the Sky Eye Technique.

The "Yin Soldiers" of the God-Human Race passed away peacefully.

Without any pain, they didn’t even have time to realize how they were killed.

Normal thunder was no threat to them.

Some of them were just electrical energy, barely related to the Yang attribute, but far from reaching the extreme Yang quality.

This is the fundamental difference between naturally occurring thunder and Thunder Skill.

Thunder condensed by all kinds of Thunder Skills would at least be one of the Innate Five Thunders, of which, the most common and basic was Yang Thunder.

Those invisible Alien Species could never have imagined that the seemingly harmless thunder had suddenly turned into Yang Thunder that could easily take their lives.

Before they were evaporated, they were fully immersed in the clouds.

Thunder’s nature had suddenly changed, they didn’t even have a moment to react.

Wiping out all the invisible Alien Species in one stroke, Li Jing felt extremely refreshed and extremely satisfied.

This was the easiest time he had ever killed monsters since he stepped into the path of cultivation.

The change in the clouds in the sky halted the large army of the human defense line, which was in the process of collective withdrawal.

The weather was unpredictable.

A sudden change in weather was normal.

But the Yang Thunder writhing in the clouds were extremely abnormal!

Either someone was deliberately doing this, or a heavenly treasure with extreme thunder property had emerged, and the strong thunder Spiritual Qi was affecting the Heavenly Phenomenon.

The latter possibility was not high.

Although the land from the entrance of the secret realm to the ruins was very vast, but it had been thoroughly explored by various exploration teams during the preliminary exploration.

If there were any heavenly treasures, they should have been discovered long ago.

The fact that the clouds suddenly turned into Yang Thunder-filled clouds right after they were retreating was extremely suspicious...

Li Jing saw the large army of the human defense line, who were in the process of retreating, stopped entirely, and with hundreds of thousands of people hovering in the distant sky, he quietly lifted the influence of Thunder Roar.

Then, the Heavenly Phenomenon returned to normal.

The skies, which were rumbling with the threat of a storm just a moment ago, regained tranquility.

The main force of the human line of defense did not move recklessly but remained highly vigilant of their surroundings.

Li Jing was not bothered by them and, protected by Silent Shadow, he went to the relic, where the sealed space was located, as fast as a bolt of lightning.

The "Shadow Soldiers" of the God-Human Race were wiped out by him.

However, the Winged People were still nowhere to be seen.

Apparently, these invisible Alien Species hadn’t had the chance to join the Winged People and seek their protection.

Considering that the human defense line had just withdrawn, and the skies were not yet completely dark, they moved in the direction of the relics. Perhaps the Winged People were lurking in other positions, watching the human defense line.

Or, contrary to his speculation, the Winged People could be lurking far away on the other side of the relic.

Regardless of the possibility, the Winged People are probably heading toward the relic by now.

He still had time, so he could check it out.

He had completely wiped out the "Shadow Soldiers" of the God-Human Race, securing his place in the Seventh Realm.

Now, he was waiting for the amount of experience gained to be calculated.

He was in no rush to leave.

On one hand, he wanted to seize every benefit he could before leaving the Secret Realm, for once he was outside, he would have no more chances.

On the other hand, reaching the Seventh Realm would mean facing tribulation.

Li Jing was not a traditional cultivator; he didn’t know how to suppress his cultivation level to delay the Heaven’s Tribulation.

If he returned now, he may bring a tribulation cloud with him...

It was a joke he couldn’t afford.

The tribulation cloud would react to all those within its range who had cultivation or were Alien Species. Striking innocent bystanders could be fatal.

Moreover, there was a crucial point...

The fact that he was in the Seventh Realm could not be revealed to anyone.

In this world, the activities of those in the Seventh Realm were greatly limited.

Even though Li Jing never liked to show off, being restrained from freely moving about was intolerable.

When the time comes, he might not even be able to keep his patrol job...

Even if he could continue to patrol, he would likely only be able to sit in the office.

...

He continued to move forward.

Li Jing quickly crossed the original location where the human defense line was, entering the relic area, which was bombed flat and only left with burnt land, before he reached the center of the relics based on his memory.

Suspended mid-air, Li Jing looked around.

The entire relic had been flatlined, leaving him a very open field of view.

There wasn’t a single shadow in the surrounding areas.

Neither was there any sign of the Spatial Passage reopening where it was previously.

Could the Winged People not be here?

Li Jing furrowed his brows.

Just as he was thinking, a strong sense of danger suddenly overwhelmed him.

At the same time.

The Flying Sword Blue Edge unsheathed itself on its accord behind him with a "clang" sound.

The dominance of the Immortal Item was displayed.

A faint figure met with the blue sword light before effortlessly retreating.

With the danger removed, Li Jing quickly turned around.

In view, was an exotically attractive woman floating not far off.

The woman was a little over 1.7 meters tall, even shorter than Quan Chang.

She had a pair of wings behind her, confirming her as one of the Winged People.

However, unlike ordinary Winged People, her wings were not black, but a pure shade of white.

Looking at her Health Bar again, it read 100499.

In the late Seventh Realm.

Just missing 1 point from reaching the Eighth Realm.

Against the woman of the Winged People, who was displaying an unconcerned face while hovering in the air, Li Jing’s expression gradually grew serious.

This woman, she seemed much stronger than the High Priest of the God-Human Race, even the color of her wings were different from typical Winged People, indicating that she was an extremely special individual.

A mutant!

This surprise, akin to unexpectedly encountering a shiny monster in treasure dream, wasn’t what Li Jing had wished for.

If it wasn’t for the Flying Sword Blue Edge actively protecting him just now, he might have ended up in a bad situation...

Despite his capability of viewing the Health Bar and maintaining the Sky Eye Technique, he didn’t notice how this woman managed to sneak up behind him.

Moreover.

This hovering Winged Woman, he could not perceive her existence at all with his Primordial Spirit perception.

They stared at each other.

While Li Jing was examining the Winged Woman, she too was sizing him up.

Suddenly, she parted her lips.

"King of Pagoda in Longyu, you’re quite interesting, no wonder Shenmin is so concerned about you."

"..."

Li Jing.

He obviously wouldn’t care about being called the "King of Pagoda in Longyu" or whatever.

In contrast.

The fact that this woman of the Winged People could talk, and even spoke a very fluent Common Language, intrigued him more.

Quan Chang of the Ghost Clan had recently been learning the Common Language as well and had been studying for several days.

The learning capability of the Seventh Realm was very strong.

But for a Seventh Realm individual to fully master a spoken language in just a few days was unachievable.

As a member of the Ghost Clan, Quan Chang could communicate with others through thought sound.

The Winged People didn’t have this ability.

Comparatively, Quan Chang would definitely learn faster!

However, the woman before him had already mastered it...

This Winged Woman being able to casually utter "Longyu’s King of Pagoda" suggested that she had already investigated him and learned about his information through some channels.

Disgusted by this, Li Jing felt like cursing.

He had long assumed that the God-Human Race was able to communicate with the Western World from the start, understand the outside of the sealed space, and even identify the characteristics of each force in the real world, choosing the Western World as a trading partner through some kind of cross-border communication ability.

But seeing this Winged Woman now, he understood.

The God-Human Race simply doesn’t have that capability!

All instigators here are this woman who stands before me!

She’s even learned the common language, suggesting she couldn’t have come out of the sealed space not long ago!

And to look at her appearance...

Replace the health bar above her head with a halo, her image perfectly matches the angels of the God Envoys worshipped in the Supreme Church!

In combination with the Supreme Church’s overly zealous passion for the God-Human Race and their designs on the "God" aspect, isn’t the connection clear?

Whatever the hell the Ancient God’s Descendants are, they don’t seem to be the real reason the Supreme Church is rallying such attention.

The real reason is right in front of him!

This winged woman is the genuine contact between the Western World alliance!

The Supreme Church received related information and thus sent a lot of personnel to attempt dealings with the God-Human Race!

A God Envoy that could easily be mistaken for the real one — what a significant impact this would have on the Supreme Church?

No halo above her head?

That’s not an issue.

Looking across the entire Supreme Church, who has actually seen a God Envoy?

Who decided that a God Envoy must possess a depicted halo above their head per the scripture?

This angelic appearance and pristine wings are sufficient!

Lie Jing can’t be sure whether the Supreme Church has genuinely contacted this winged woman.

But he is certain that the upper echelons of the Western Alliance must have been in touch with this alien woman from the start, teaching her the common language!

This significant event, and not a single public announcement from the Western Alliance!?

It’s understandable there wasn’t any earlier.

But now, isn’t the human camp united as one?

Not a single peep out of them?

Li Jing was dumbfounded.

Right after, he thought of Joseph, whose fate of life and death wholly depended on the whims of the winged woman due to the soul brand planted in him.

It can be assumed that few people have been in contact with this winged woman. Otherwise, the news could not have been kept a secret.

These people might already be dead or have been controlled.

The same probably applies to those in the Supreme Church who are aware of this...

If not so, the Church wouldn’t have bothered with Quan Chang, who is part of the Ghost Clan.

Their target should be the woman standing before them.

Quan Chang, the one with a horn on her head, only holds the title of an Ancient God’s Descendant but doesn’t fit the image of a God Envoy at all.

The devil in the Western World’s mythology more aptly resembles Quan Chang’s image.

The main reason they’re concerned about Quan Chang is because the limited number of insiders can no longer command and the remaining personnel only know a fragment of the plan.

The numerous failed attempts to contact with the God-Human Race, plus the loss of many personnel, have left the uninformed higher-ups of the Supreme Church in a state of panic.

Once starting this line of thought, everything becomes reasonable.

Then the question surfaces... how did this woman manage to leave the sealed space before the seal was broken?

Staring at the winged woman, Li Jing’s sight fell onto her white wings.

The Winged Woman appeared slightly disgruntled when Li Jing didn’t respond to her questions.

She looked somewhat proud when she saw Li Jing observing her wings before she abruptly spread them.

"Aren’t my wings beautiful?" She asked.

"They’ll do," Li Jing replied, picking up the hovering Blue Edge that was shielding him from before.

Just as he was about to speak, a prompt sounded by his ear.

"Experience +2596821."

Catching the sudden prompt Li Jing raised his eyebrows.

The winged woman in front of him gave him an unnerving feeling.

Even if he made a move, he wasn’t entirely sure he would come out unscathed, even with God’s Hidden Truth up his sleeve. So he thought of stalling for some time.

But now that the prompt has arrived, it spares him some trouble.

"Level increased, 105. Spiritual Power Intensity +210, Skill Points +2."

As the level up announcement arrived, the world in Li Jing’s senses underwent a drastic change, and everything became exceptionally clear.

Immediately after, his Primordial Spirit perceived the existence of the woman.

At the same time.

A strong amount of immortal spirit birthed inside his body, far surpassing original spirit strength. In the process of purifying the spiritual power in his body by several levels, his physical body also made instantaneous progress.

The winged woman was extremely keen.

Li Jing’s change was easily caught by her.

The winged woman, who initially appeared calm, underwent multiple changes in expressions.

Surely she fails to understand how Li Jing, who seemed powerless in her perception just a second ago, suddenly advanced into the Kun Yuan Realm, reaching the same level as her.

What is this...

Broke through just by having a conversation?

Not to mention the level of the breakthrough isn’t minor either...

This is not the power one should have when just entering the Kun Yuan Realm, right?

Even the naturally superior God-Human Race shouldn’t possess such power!

The winged woman was in utter shock, and immediately realized a major problem.

But her realization came a bit too late.

Instantly.

The sky changed color.

The clearing sky that had just brightened not long ago was plunged into complete darkness as an ominous awe of the heavens descended.

"Is my tribulation cloud beautiful?"

Li Jing’s faint voice echoed.

The Winged Woman’s lips twitched as she instantly turned into a light stream and shot deeper into the Secret Realm.

She’s

Half-step into the Eighth Realm!

She hasn’t made the breakthrough because she’s suppressing it.

The heavenly tribulation affects everything under its covers: people, events, and objects.

Ordinary people or alien species would just get caught in it.

But for someone like her, who suppresses her own cultivation from breaking into the Eighth Realm, a distraction would directly induce an Eighth Realm’s heavenly tribulation...