Chapter 3093: Doomed
It was common knowledge that Formations set up in open spaces would gradually weaken with time. After all, they relied on the Celestial Origin Energy of the person who had set up the Formations. Being in an open space and with the passage of time, there would inevitably be humans or beasts that accidentally triggered the Formations. Each time the Formations were triggered, it would exhaust a little of their powers. This was also the same for Formations that drew their powers from Celestial Crystals.
It was for this reason that the group of Celestial Kings were shocked when they discovered the Formation shrouding the peak of the mountain that took their collective strength to destroy was set up by Jiang Lan more than 100 years ago in his past life. How terrifying was the Formation to still be so strong after so much time had passed?
“A Formation that was created more than 100 years ago still contained so much power… If it were powered by Celestial Crystals, how many Celestial Crystals would be required to maintain it until now?”
“Although I’m not an expert in Formations, I do know a thing or two about them… The Formation we destroyed earlier didn’t draw its strength from Celestial Crystals. Its strength came from the Celestial Origin Energy contained in the materials used to set up the Formation.” “A Formation that was created more than 100 years ago and relied on Celestial Origin Energy was so powerful without any maintenance? What kind of cultivation base did the person who created the Formation had?”
“Even a Formation created by a Ten Directions Celestial King with all his strength wouldn’t be so powerful after more than 100 years without any maintenance. It’s likely that Jiang Lan was a Celestial Emperor in his past life!” After failing to find any signs of Jiang Lan and the younger generation with their Divine Consciousness, the group of Celestial Kings began to analyze the situation and concluded that Jiang Lan had to be a Celestial Emperor in his past life.
Celestial Emperor!
To these Celestial Kings, a Celestial Emperor was a legendary figure. After all, the strongest powerhouses they encountered so far were only Celestial Lords. Even then, the Celestial Lords they had met were only ordinary Celestial Lords.
“If Jiang Lan was a Celestial Emperor in his past life, then all of this makes sense. A Formation like this can only be created by a Celestial Emperor.” “Earlier, Jiang Lan mentioned something about Heaven Sacrificial Divine Fruits, right? Do you know what Heaven Sacrificial Divine Fruits are?” “I’ve never heard of it.”
“What are they?”
Soon after confirming that Jiang Lan was most likely a reincarnated Celestial Emperor, the Celestial Kings recalled he had mentioned the Heaven Sacrificial Divine Fruits. He had even hinted that he went to so much trouble to gather the outstanding younger generation just so he could sacrifice them to the tree of the Heaven Sacrificial Divine Fruit! Most of them had never even heard of the Heaven Sacrificial Divine Fruit.
Only a select few had heard of the Heaven Sacrificial Divine Fruit. When they were reminded of Jiang Lan mentioning the Heaven Sacrificial Divine Fruits, their expressions turned grim. With that, they extended their Divine Consciousness again and frantically searched for any traces of the younger generation. This was because they knew the younger generation would not be able to survive if Jiang Lan intended to sacrifice them to the tree of the Heaven Sacrificial Divine Fruit! Alas, after searching for a long time, they found nothing. Their expression turned even grimmer as realization dawned on them that the younger generation was doomed.
When one of the Celestial Kings who knew of the Heaven Sacrificial Divine Fruit regained his senses, he saw the expression of confusion on some of his peers’ faces. Then, he began to explain with a somber expression on his face, “The Heaven Sacrificial Divine Fruit is a heaven-defying Celestial Fruit in the Devata Realms… Only individuals below Celestial Dukes are able to consume the Heaven Sacrificial Divine Fruit. The fruit is able to help one to progress an entire stage in one’s cultivation base. Generally speaking, it’s best for peak Overarching Heavenly Supreme Celestials to consume the fruit since the fruit would directly help them break through and become Ten Directions Celestial Dukes. Most importantly, they would become peak Ten Directions Celestial Dukes who are close to breaking through and becoming One Basic Celestial Kings!”
Upon hearing his explanation, those who were unaware were thoroughly stunned.
The Heaven Sacrificial Divine Fruit could directly help one’s cultivation base to progress to the next stage? A peak Overarching Heavenly Supreme Celestial who consumed it would directly become a Ten Directions Celestial Duke?
“Heavens! How can there be such a heaven-defying fruit?”
“No wonder it’s called a divine fruit. With such heaven-defying effect, it’s strange if it isn’t called a divine fruit.”
“Although it can only be consumed by individuals below Celestial Dukes, it doesn’t make the fruit any less amazing. I’ve never heard of anything capable of boosting one’s cultivation base by one whole stage!”
“Usually, the more amazing the effects of a fruit, the harder it would be for the tree to bear fruits. With such heaven-defying effects, it must be almost impossible for the tree of the Heaven Sacrificial Divine Fruit to bear fruits!” Most of the clueless Celestial Kings instinctively turned to look at the Celestial King who had spoken earlier. It was clear they were curious and wanted to know more about the Heaven Sacrificial Divine Fruit.
Under the curious eyes of the others, the Celestial King continued to say, “Well, all of you heard Jiang Lan’s words earlier. He plans to sacrifice the younger generation to the tree of the Heaven Sacrificial Divine Fruit!” He paused for a moment; his expression grim. His disciple had been taken away, and it was likely that his disciple would not survive. Then, he continued to say, “To help the tree of the Heaven Sacrificial Divine Fruit bear fruit, one has to sacrifice at least 10,000 peak Overarching Heavenly Supreme Celestials to the tree. The 10,000 peak Overarching Heavenly Supreme Celestial would have to fight each other in front of the tree of the Heaven Sacrificial Divine Fruit. Each time an Overarching Heavenly Supreme Celestial dies, his or her body and soul would be absorbed by the tree of the Heaven Sacrificial Divine Fruit…”
Upon hearing these words, the Celestial Kings gasped. Their expressions turned similarly grim as they began to realize the younger generation might not survive.
“What?!”
“The sacrifice requires the lives of at least 10,000 peak Overarching Heavenly Supreme Celestials?”
“T-this is outrageous… The price is too high!”
“Jiang Lan is a lunatic! He actually planned to sacrifice more than 10,000 lives!”
At this moment, another Celestial King who was privy to the Heaven Sacrificial Divine Fruit said in a low voice, “Even with so many lives used as a sacrifice, there’s only a 10% chance that the tree would bear fruits… In other words, Jiang Lan wants to sacrifice more than 10,000 peak Overarching Heavenly Supreme Celestials just for a 10% chance to obtain the Heaven Sacrificial Divine Fruit.” He had imbued his voice with Celestial Origin Energy so everyone heard his words even though he was speaking in a low voice.
Upon hearing this, the other Celestial Kings gasped again.
A 10% chance? Even the deaths of 10,000 peak Overarching Heavenly Supreme Celestials could not guarantee that the tree would bear the Heaven Sacrificial Divine Fruit?
With this knowledge, the Celestial Kings broke out in a commotion.
“He’s crazy! He’s a lunatic! Isn’t Jiang Lan afraid of heaven’s wrath and retribution?”
“How could someone like that be a Celestial Emperor in his past life! He’s insane! I curse him to die before he can even become a Celestial King!”
“With this, there’s hardly any doubt that Jiang Lan is a reincarnated Celestial Emperor. Only Celestial Emperors would set their eyes on the Heaven Sacrificial Divine Fruit to ensure a smooth cultivation journey after their rebirths!”
“In this case, does this mean my disciple is doomed?” Most of the Celestial Kings’ expressions were grim and dejected.
The only person who did not look as grim was a finely dressed middle-aged man, an Eight Trigrams Celestial King. He was none other than the master of Yuan Zheng whom Jiang Lan had killed earlier. He had been furious when his disciple was killed. However, after learning that all of the younger generations were doomed to die, he could not help but feel slightly better.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
At this moment, Communication Celestial Talismans were sent out one after another by the Celestial Kings. Without exception, these Celestial Kings were all from the Jade Emperor Heaven. The gist of their message was all the same: they warned their respective forces about the plot of Jiang Lan, a reincarnated Celestial Emperor, and the Heaven Sacrificial Divine Fruit.
With this, more and more people in the Jade Emperor Heaven learned about this matter.
Meanwhile, since Communication Celestial Talismans could not be used to send messages to another realm, the Celestial Kings from other Devata Realms could only wait to spread the word after they returned to their respective Devata Realms.
In the end, the Celestial Kings present on the scene no longer looked for Jiang Lan and the younger generation. They knew it was a futile task. The location had been planned by a Celestial Emperor in his past life; it would surely be difficult to locate the place. Even Celestial Lords would not be able to locate the place, let alone them.
….
As word of the incident spread, there were commotions in some places in the Jade Emperor Heaven, the Spirit Overarching Heaven, the Blue Water Heaven, the Green Profound Heaven, and the Aurora Heaven.
“10% chance to bear fruits? Will Jiang Lan even succeed?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Usually, those who dare to scheme for a Heaven Sacrificial Divine Fruit are men with great courage and determination. If Jiang Lan manages to make the tree bear fruit and successfully consume the fruit, he’d definitely be a force to be reckoned with once he grows into his full potential!”
“Don’t you think his behavior is despicable?”
“Well, it’s the law of the jungle. Only the strong survive. The world is cruel….”
Jiang Lan and his scheme became the topic of conversation for many people from the five Devata Realms even if they would never know if the tree would successfully bear fruits or if Jiang Lan managed to consume the Heaven Sacrificial Divine Fruit. However, these people were certain of one thing: those who were deceived by Jiang Lan to be used as a sacrifice were doomed! After all, how difficult would it be for a reincarnated Celestial Emperor, even if his cultivation base was only ordinary now, to manipulate a group of peak Overarching Heavenly Supreme Celestials to his will?