Chapter 616: Soul Talisman Contract

"Senior, our six major powers have already surrendered and are willing to submit to you. Do you truly intend to wipe us out?"

The Sword Sect’s Ancestor suppressed his rage, stood up, and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

He was a Martial Royal who cultivated the Sword Dao. His thunderous strike against Qi Tuo had been shattered with a flick of a finger. In turn, Qi Tuo had suppressed him instantly with a mere flip of his hand. The feeling of utter powerlessness was agonizing.

He was resolute and did not fear death, but Qi Tuo had made it very clear: if they died, their sects would be rendered useless and would be instantly destroyed.

This was something the Sword Sect’s Ancestor could not bear to see.

He could die himself, but he couldn’t stand to see the sect, with its thousand-year legacy, vanish into thin air.

If that happened, how could he face the past ancestors of the Sword Sect in the afterlife?

The other experts from the six major powers were furious but dared not speak. Their hearts were filled with trepidation, and they didn’t have the slightest thought of resisting.

The Nine Heavens Martial Emperor was a being far too remote for them, like something out of a legend. Now that one had appeared, they lost all courage to resist.

The Profound Sound Valley’s Ancestor sighed to himself, ’A Nine Heavens Martial Emperor... It’s impossible for one to emerge from our Dream Realm Plain. I have no idea where this person came from. I fear the Profound Mystery Sect and the Bright Moon Empire have long since fallen under his control. His ambitions for orchestrating all this in the Dream Realm Plain must be immense.’

The Dream Realm Plain had limited resources. The birth of a Martial Royal was already exceedingly rare, let alone a Martial Emperor.

Historically, many experts from the Dream Realm Plain would leave to travel the continent in search of a breakthrough.

Therefore, the ancestors of the major powers were certain that this Martial Emperor who had appeared so suddenly was from another region, using the Profound Mystery Sect as a pawn to control the Dream Realm Plain.

Qi Tuo stood silently in the sky, his gaze cold and indifferent.

This operation in the Dream Realm Plain was a major affair for his sect, but his grandson had died because of it, and the culprit had escaped. How could he possibly be excited?

Beside him, Liang Yu, who had only one arm left, waved his hand. A series of floating Soul Talismans appeared in midair, shimmering with light.

At the same time, a black sphere appeared in his hand. Inside it, streams of black energy swirled.

"This is a Soul Talisman contract. All you Martial King Level experts from the six major powers present must sign this Soul Talisman contract and submit to our control."

Liang Yu said indifferently.

Wiping out all six major powers would bring no benefit to Infinite Mountain. Moreover, if news of this reached the Profound Domain, upsetting the regional balance would draw considerable criticism to Infinite Mountain.

What’s more, with the True Dragon Seal currently impossible to open, Infinite Mountain had to continue its operations at Gale Light Academy. Rather than exterminating the major powers, it was better to absorb them for their own use.

Besides, Infinite Mountain was an external power, after all. Truly and completely annihilating the six major powers was almost impossible. The Dream Realm Plain would descend into chaos, which was something Infinite Mountain did not wish to see.

So they adopted this method: subjugate all the powers, make them serve their interests, and maximize their gains.

"Impossible."

The Sword Sect’s Ancestor and the others all cried out in anger.

Once they signed the Soul Talisman contract, they would be completely under the other party’s control. The major powers would have no autonomy whatsoever. How was that any different from being killed? It was even harder to accept than death.

"Are you trying to resist?"

Qi Tuo’s face darkened. An invisible pressure bore down, causing all the Martial Artists from the six major powers to vomit blood. The few Martial Royals’ faces also turned pale.

"It’s not that we want to resist, but your demands are too harsh! At worst, we’ll fight you to the death. No matter where you’re from, if you dare to carry out such a massacre in the Dream Realm Plain, we don’t believe the Profound Domain will just stand by and watch."

The Sword Sect’s Ancestor said furiously.

"Rest assured," Liang Yu sneered and said coldly, "Do you think we care about your so-called major powers? How ridiculous. You are nothing but ants. Forget you—Infinite Mountain doesn’t even give a damn about this entire Dream Realm Plain. The contract’s duration is ten years. After ten years, we will return your freedom."

Just as Liang Yu said, Infinite Mountain truly didn’t care about the Dream Realm Plain’s resources. The reason they were making the major powers sign a Soul Talisman contract was to prevent news of this from reaching the Profound Domain, allowing Infinite Mountain’s plans to proceed in secret, without interruption.

In Liang Yu and the others’ view, ten years was more than enough time for them to find a way to open the True Dragon Seal.

"Of course," a murderous glint appeared in Liang Yu’s eyes, "if you are still unwilling, I don’t mind slaughtering every single one of you here."

A powerful pressure emanated from him, and his gaze was savage.

Having had an arm crippled by Ye Xuan, he had no desire to remain in the Dream Realm Plain any longer.

If these people still didn’t know what was good for them, he wouldn’t mind going on a killing spree.

Ten years?

The experts from the six major powers finally relaxed slightly. They exchanged glances, their expressions filled with helplessness.

Although they were extremely reluctant to sign the Soul Talisman contract, they knew there was no escape.

The Soul Talisman contract was a pact that bound one’s soul, possessing immense restraining power. For ten years, they would be at Infinite Mountain’s beck and call and could not disobey any of its commands.

「An incense stick’s time later.」

The experts of the six major powers all used their essence blood to merge with the Soul Talismans. The talismans, filling the sky like snowflakes, floated into the black sphere one by one.

Everyone vaguely felt an invisible force descend into their minds, linking them all together.

And the core of that connection was the black sphere.

SWOOSH!

After finishing all this, Qi Tuo and the others departed, expressionless, turning into streaks of light that shot into the sky and vanished in an instant.

From Qi Tuo’s arrival to the submission of the six major powers, the entire process took less than an hour. Almost no action was taken; the battle was single-handedly overturned by sheer, silent power.

The news that the six major powers had surrendered to the Profound Mystery Sect quickly spread throughout the Dream Realm Plain.

The uninformed populace buzzed with discussion, not understanding what had actually happened in the Imperial Capital of the Bright Moon Empire.

All they knew was that the entire Dream Realm Plain, which had been in chaos, seemed to have returned to peace overnight.

Before long, experts from the Profound Mystery Sect and the Bright Moon Empire were installed in the six major powers, becoming part of their upper echelons.

Among them, Elder Tianyi of the Profound Mystery Sect became the grand alliance leader of the eight major powers, ruling over the Dream Realm Plain.

On the surface, the six major powers remained independent, but behind the scenes, they were controlled by the Profound Mystery Sect.

The Profound Mystery Sect seemed to have become the biggest winner of this conflict.

Only Elder Tianyi himself felt a deep bitterness in his heart.

In this great battle, his Profound Mystery Sect had been almost completely wiped out, with only a handful of Martial Kings remaining. He, on the other hand, appeared majestic and imposing.

But in reality, his Profound Mystery Sect was merely a puppet of Infinite Mountain. The true power in the Dream Realm Plain was completely in Infinite Mountain’s hands.

After the overall situation was settled, the Profound Mystery Sect quickly issued an order: hunt down the remnants of Gale Light Academy.

"The people of Gale Light Academy have broken the rules and disturbed the peace of the Dream Realm Plain. Their crimes are heinous and unforgivable. Anyone who sees them may capture them and bring them back to the Profound Mystery Sect for a great reward."

Elder Tianyi’s order was quickly passed down to the major powers of the Dream Realm Plain.

Some sect experts, though scornful of Elder Tianyi, were tempted by the enormous bounty.

The reward for capturing just one expert from Gale Light Academy was enough to entice any Martial King.

The highest bounties were for four individuals: Ge Puzi, Jiuchen, and Su Xiuyi were three of them. To everyone’s shock, Xuan Ye, the Gale Light Academy disciple who had caused such a stir, was also on the list. His bounty was several times higher than that of a Tier Seven Third Layer Martial King like Dong Boson—a truly staggering amount.

This level of reward prompted the major powers of the Dream Realm Plain to hunt for Ye Xuan and his group.

But no one knew that, at this moment, Ye Xuan and his group had already left the Dream Realm Plain and were on their way to the vast Celestial Capital Prefecture.

Celestial Capital Prefecture was located in the continent’s Eastern Domain. If they flew there without stopping, the journey would take a full one to two years.

However, some large cities had short-distance teleportation arrays, which could save a great deal of time.

For example, when Su Xiuyi had rushed over from Celestial Capital Prefecture before, he had used these teleportation arrays. The journey from Celestial Capital Prefecture to Ancient Yang City had only taken him a little over half a month, which was very convenient.

However, to avoid being tracked by Infinite Mountain, Ye Xuan and his group chose not to use the teleportation arrays in the large cities near the Dream Realm Plain. Instead, they relied on their Alchemy Flying Ship and flew for three full months. Only after putting a great distance between themselves and the Dream Realm Plain did they finally land in a large city.

This was a massive city called Celestial Yang City, located in the Luoshan Empire.

The Luoshan Empire, despite also being called an empire, was far more powerful than the likes of the Sky Empire or Qingfeng Empire from the Dream Realm Plain. It was a third-tier power on the Celestial Profound Continent, vast in territory and home to many experts.

Celestial Yang City was one of the three largest cities in the Luoshan Empire, alongside the Imperial Capital, and one of the rare cities in the empire to possess a teleportation array.

It was the first time Ge Puzi and the others had left the Dream Realm Plain. They looked left and right in Celestial Yang City, filled with curiosity.

This major city was truly extraordinary. Most of the Martial Artists on the streets were Tier Five and Tier Six experts, and even Tier Seven Martial Kings could be seen occasionally. Such a sight was unimaginable back in the Dream Realm Plain.

Ye Xuan’s strange-looking group also drew a lot of curious glances from the people of Celestial Yang City.

Led by Su Xiuyi, the group soon arrived at the teleportation array controlled by the City Lord’s Mansion.

"This is the Celestial Yang City teleportation array. Halt."

A guard captain, emanating a terrifying aura, shouted coldly, his gaze sharp.

Ge Puzi and the others’ eyes narrowed. The guard was actually a Tier Seven Martial King.

"We need to use the teleportation array," Su Xiuyi said calmly.

The guard captain frowned. "Do you know the requirements for using the teleportation array?"

Su Xiuyi didn’t say a word, merely releasing a sliver of his Martial Royal aura.