Chapter 144: Renowned Across the Azure Sea

"Old dog, enjoy your trip!" Leng Tian shouted the final words as the demon vanished into the starry expanse, and then he curiously gazed out at the so-called extraterrestrial space.

"My goodness, to think that these stars are actually spheres of such gigantic volume!" Tri-colored light circulated within Leng Tian's eyes, condensing into a single line as he stared toward the nearest star. He discovered that these celestial bodies emitting brilliant radiances were all massive spheres of various colors.

"There is nothing strange about this. As long as your cultivation reaches this level in the future, you will be able to pierce through the barrier of this realm and travel through the stars in the outer realms. It is a vast world beyond your imagination, and once you go there, you will be reluctant to leave! Hahaha..."

The voice of the mysterious man inside his body was filled with temptation.

"Achieving this kind of strength by now!" Leng Tian felt a profound sense of powerlessness. To cultivate to the state where he had just thrashed the demon would take goodness knows how many years; returning steadily to his original peak condition was the proper path to take.

The nine-colored radiance in the sky descended once more, sweeping across the void aperture, and the enormous opening miraculously closed shut in an instant! At the exact moment the aperture closed, Leng Tian was shocked to catch sight of a five-colored streak of escaping light soaring at an unfathomable speed from the depths of the starry expanse toward the location of the aperture. In that fleeting glimpse, the void aperture completely sealed itself shut.

Shock gripped Leng Tian's heart. That five-colored escaping light from just a moment ago had made him feel an incomparably powerful aura, one that was far more formidable than even the demon!

"A divine-tier powerhouse?" Leng Tian's expression shifted in astonishment as he spoke.

"Kid, this world is far more complex than you imagine. With your current cultivation, this Primordial Origin World is enough for you to roam and conquer! I will take you away from this Azure Sea Vast Firmament; this matter is concluded, and you no longer need to stay here."

As soon as the mysterious man finished speaking, the azure saber emitted a heaven-shaking ring, releasing a blue halo that enveloped Leng Tian. Carrying the momentum of splitting the heavens, it flashed, tore through space, and vanished without a trace!

The nine-colored Boundary-Suppressing Monument in the sky also blazed with brilliant light. For a moment, the entire pitch-black void was filled with nine-colored radiance, and an aged voice drifted leisurely from within the monument.

"That kid Duan Changfeng is still as arrogant and unruly as ever. Let us hope his handpicked successor is not quite like him!" Judging by the voice, it undoubtedly belonged to the old shepherd standing outside the God-Burying Domain.

The nine-colored light swept across the entire region like a gust of spring breeze and then completely retracted back into the stone tablet. After the nine-colored radiance vanished, the space within the barrier had already returned to its original blue sky.

Having accomplished all this, the nine-colored divine light flashed, tearing through the void and遁ing away just like the azure saber, and even the barrier dissolved along with it.

A group of powerhouses who had been hiding in the distance finally let out long breaths. The earth-shattering battle that had just transpired would undoubtedly be a scene they could never forget for the rest of their lives.

"Liu Feng, who was that Shadow Demon you mentioned earlier?" The red-faced elder turned his head and asked an elder dressed in gray.

This gray-robed elder was none other than the wrinkly-faced elder surnamed Liu who had been pursuing Leng Tian not long ago. It was also he who had recognized and cried out in surprise when Leng Tian was battling the demon.

In truth, many people here had been able to recognize that Leng Tian was the Shadow Demon who had recently turned the Azure Sea Vast Firmament upside down. However, at the time, everyone had been captivated by the fierce battle; who would have any spare thought for the Shadow Demon? The demon before them was a million times more terrifying than the Shadow Demon. Since someone was able to eliminate it, who cared whether he was the Shadow Demon or anyone else?

Now, prompted by the red-faced elder's inquiry, these powerhouses spoke up one after another, confirming that the young man who had fought the demon was indeed the Shadow Demon hunted by the entire Azure Sea Vast Firmament.

Upon hearing the confirmation from the crowd, the three red-faced elders looked at one another and could not help laughing self-deprecatingly. The surrounding powerhouses watched in utter bafflement, failing to understand why these three saints wore such expressions.

The red-faced elder then straightened his expression and said, "From this day onward, if this person ever comes to our Azure Sea Vast Firmament, he shall be our honored guest. No matter which sphere of influence he reaches, he must be treated with the utmost hospitality and never neglected! Furthermore, this person is no Shadow Demon; rather, he is the great benefactor of our entire Azure Sea Vast Firmament. From now on, no one is permitted to bring this matter up again. Anyone who violates this decree shall be executed without mercy!"

After listening to the red-faced saint's words, the crowd nodded in assent, not daring to show the slightest bit of dissatisfaction. In the eyes of all factions within this Azure Sea Vast Firmament, the three red-faced individuals were the overt rulers of this realm.

Although they were only the surface-level controllers, for the powerhouses of the Seventy-Two Islands, this was more than enough. These three saints were existences capable of controlling their lives and deaths, so none of them dared to harbor the slightest defiance.

At this moment, above the city of Blazing Flame Island, Hu Batian looked out with an ashen expression at the city that had now become a dead zone, his heart pushed to the brink of collapse. Years of painstaking management had vanished into thin air in the blink of an eye, and all his grand ambitions and hegemony had turned into fleeting clouds.

The red-faced elder glanced sideways at Hu Batian in the distance below, a flash of murderous intent crossing his face. However, it vanished just as quickly, and with a flick of his wide sleeves, he teleported away.

The two Extreme Fire elders also cast a glance at Hu Batian, and then the Extreme Ice elder spoke up: "Blazing Flame Island no longer exists. Today, an order is hereby issued: Blazing Flame Island Master Hu Batian and everyone associated with him are forbidden from appearing within the Azure Sea Vast Firmament region starting today. They are permanently banished. If any of them dare to return in the future, all factions are authorized to hunt them down and annihilate them!"

Having said that, the Extreme Ice elder, alongside his senior brother, teleported away with gloomy expressions.

The remaining group of powerhouses were all utterly bewildered, failing to understand why the saints had suddenly issued a banishment order against Hu Batian, and a lifelong one at that. Everyone understood that this was essentially a death warrant in disguise, merely granting Hu Batian a shred of dignity.

Looking at Hu Batian's desolate figure, some of the powerhouses sighed deeply while others secretly rejoiced. Harboring different thoughts, they dispersed and departed one after another; remarkably, not a single person came forward to offer a word of comfort. This went to show how fickle human nature could be—if it were the past, these people would all have been on sworn-brother terms with Hu Batian, yet now that he had fallen into ruin, they treated him like a total stranger and ignored him.

Faced with the shifting attitudes of the masses, Hu Batian no longer had the heart to care. All he possessed now was endless remorse, hating himself for not stopping his father from trading with the demon in the first place; otherwise, Blazing Flame Island would never have met such an end.

Wiping the tears from his face, Hu Batian took one final look at Blazing Flame Island—the homeland where he had once poured all his hopes and dreams of hegemony—and walked away with a face full of melancholy to embark on a new journey. Hu Batian would not be crushed, nor would he stay down in despair. He would start anew and forge a grand enterprise far more glorious than Blazing Flame Island, and the prerequisite was that he must head to the Crimson Peak Continent!

Hu Batian departed. Despite the remorse in his heart, it did not mean he would seek redemption for it. He had already lost everything, and in his mind, this was already his punishment. It was unknown what kind of storms he would stir up once again upon the Crimson Peak Continent.

After undergoing a moderate-sized cataclysm, the Azure Sea Vast Firmament returned to its customary peace, but a legendary name was spread far and wide within an extremely short span of time. "Leng Tian," the savior of the Azure Sea realm, had fought valiantly against the demon to prevent it from devouring all life, using his supreme cultivation to plunge the demon into an unknown space in one fell swoop. For a period of time, Leng Tian's name was chanted and praised far and wide.

Evergreen Island also became a sacred site. Following the fierce battle between Leng Tian and Purple Lightning, this place transformed into a gathering spot for young martial artists. Most of them were diligent youths without any influential family backgrounds, arriving solely to pay homage to the lingering aura left behind by the powerhouses, hoping to use it to break through their bottlenecks and advance further in the martial path.

As for the second person who received immense attention, it was Purple Lightning, who had once fought against Leng Tian. As a saint's disciple, he was naturally draped in a halo of glory, and coupled with his battle against the savior Leng Tian, he naturally became another focal point in everyone's conversations.

At this moment, Purple Lightning was conversing with the red-faced saint inside a grotto mansion.

"What? Master, you are not deceiving your disciple, are you? It was truly that person named Leng Tian who defeated the demon? How is this possible? Back when I fought him, although he defeated your disciple, he wasn't that powerful! What kind of strength did the demon possess? Even Master and the three senior uncles were unable to restrain it, so how could a warrior with merely Heavenly Tier cultivation grow powerful enough to defeat the demon, and even banish it into a different space? This is absolutely impossible..."

At this moment, upon hearing his mentor's account, Purple Lightning's heart was shaken beyond measure and filled with disbelief, coupled with the suspicion that he must have misheard!

Watching Purple Lightning's expression of utter disbelief, the red-faced elder also said with a helpless expression, "This is the truth; there is no need for your master to deceive you. However, the reason Leng Tian was able to defeat a demon as formidable as a deity is primarily because he has a supreme master assisting him from behind. Otherwise, based solely on his own cultivation, let alone defeating the demon, he wouldn't even have been able to preserve his own life!"

"He has a supreme master assisting him!" Shock appeared on Purple Lightning's face, and he immediately asked, "Could the supreme master Master speaks of mean that Leng Tian is the successor of some deity?"

"There is such a possibility, but do not let this slacken your cultivation! I have already left a battle challenge for Leng Tian, telling him that when your cultivation greatly advances, I will go to the Great World to seek him out and have another fair fight. Tell your master, do you have the confidence?"

The red-faced elder looked at Purple Lightning with a stern expression, waiting for his resolve.

Seeing his mentor watching him with such a serious expression, Purple Lightning instantly felt a stabbing pain in his heart. His master had raised him from childhood, diligently guiding him for over a dozen years and imparting his peerless arts, allowing him to achieve his current accomplishments. He had always been his master's pride; he could not let his master down just because of a single setback. He had to prove to everyone that as a saint's disciple, he was still the most dazzling star in this Azure Sea Vast Firmament!

Thinking of this, Purple Lightning rose to his knees before the red-faced saint, and with a resolute and deep voice, he said, "Master, rest assured. Your disciple will certainly not fail your high expectations. I will wholeheartedly cultivate the martial path, and once my cultivation greatly advances, I will go and cross swords with that Leng Tian to determine the ultimate victor!"

The red-faced elder helped Purple Lightning up with a gratified expression, and with a kind smile, he said, "Your master is not making it your goal to necessarily defeat Leng Tian, but rather letting you use such a heaven-defying talent as your benchmark, so that you can walk further on the martial path, surpass your master, and step into that mysterious divine realm. Do you understand?"

"Your disciple understands. Please rest assured, Master; Purple Lightning will definitely be your pride!" Purple Lightning said in a deep voice.

"Good! Your master awaits the day you shine brilliantly!" The red-faced elder offered a few more gratified words of exhortation and then turned and left, leaving behind a Purple Lightning burning with a desire for battle.

In the period of time that followed, Purple Lightning would face challenges from young experts across the entire Azure Sea Vast Firmament, making him the prime target that young martial artists vied to defeat—someone who believed that by merely defeating Purple Lightning, they would come infinitely close to the legendary figure Leng Tian!

Peak of the Martial Path Chapter 144 - Chapter 144: Renowned in the Azure Sea has been updated!