The appearance of the mysterious child caused Qin Han Chu and the other three to wear extremely solemn expressions.
The fact that this entity could appear without a sound posed a significant threat to them.
Qin Han Chu directly unleashed the protective Five Elements Divine Banners, enveloping the four of them. With this, they would at least have a little more time to react.
"Can you sense it?" Qin Han Chu communicated with the Heaven-Splitting Divine Axe in secret.
Heaven-Splitting Divine Axe: "That is a great fortune! But for you, it is a great calamity."
"What do you mean?" Qin Han Chu asked, confused.
Heaven-Splitting Divine Axe: "That is a clone cultivated from Origin Divine Jade. This clone, like me, belongs to the Origin Supreme Treasure."
"Is it transformed from that deceased progenitor?" Qin Han Chu asked.
"Highly probable," the Heaven-Splitting Divine Axe continued. "Luo Tian Progenitor's purpose in collecting Origin Ancestral Crystals might have been to find this Origin Divine Jade."
"He will hunt us next to prevent us from taking the Origin Ancestral Crystals away," Qin Han Chu stated.
"Likely. However, his actions will be futile," the Heaven-Splitting Divine Axe said after a brief silence. "Once you all die here, Luo Tian Progenitor will undoubtedly realize that the Origin Divine Jade has already been refined into a clone. At that point, Luo Tian Progenitor will definitely destroy this progenitor's physical body and seize the Origin Divine Jade."
Qin Han Chu said gravely, "Can you contend with it?"
"I can. However, with these two present, it is inconvenient for me to act."
Qin Han Chu: "I will find an opportunity to separate from them."
"I can only preserve your lives; I cannot kill that Origin clone."
"If only the two of you survive, it will still arouse Luo Tian Progenitor's suspicion."
Upon hearing the Heaven-Splitting Divine Axe's words, Qin Han Chu fell silent. He had to find a way to resolve this matter.
Due to the presence of the mysterious child, Qin Han Chu and the other three appeared extremely tense. No one dared to guarantee when the child might emerge to launch a surprise attack. Fortunately, Qin Han Chu's Five Elements Divine Banners were exceptionally strong defensive artifacts, providing them with some protection. They had initially entered seeking resources, but now they had become the hunted.
Several days later, Qin Han Chu and his companions encountered four Divine Emperors from Mo Ling Temple.
"Hua Qiu Yu from Gu Dao Academy pays respects to the four Buddha Emperors of Mo Ling Temple."
The people of Mo Ling Temple adhered to a singular doctrine, which was why Hua Qiu Yu did not address them as fellow daoists.
"Amitabha," the Golden Condensing Buddha Emperor chanted, acknowledging Hua Qiu Yu's greeting.
"Have the four of you encountered a mysterious child?" Hua Qiu Yu inquired.
The Golden Condensing Buddha Emperor frowned, "Benefactress, what do you mean by 'child'?"
"That child appears and disappears without a trace. It should also be a manifestation of divine thought, and most importantly, it possesses extremely high intelligence."
"We will all become its targets for slaughter."
"I wonder if the four of you are interested in joining forces to resist it."
Hua Qiu Yu felt an inexplicable fear of the child, which prompted her to try and recruit the four from Mo Ling Temple into an alliance. However, the four from Mo Ling Temple did not trust Hua Qiu Yu. They even suspected that Hua Qiu Yu had ulterior motives and intended to harm them under the guise of an alliance. They had been in this place for many years and had never encountered any mysterious child.
"Benevolent," the Golden Condensing Buddha Emperor replied with a smile. "We have never encountered such a being. If we were to meet it, we would naturally guide it towards enlightenment."
Seeing that the four from Mo Ling Temple remained indifferent, Hua Qiu Yu continued, "I can only say so much. I hope the four of you will be careful."
After their previous experiences, Hua Qiu Yu and her companions no longer dared to engage in combat with other cultivators lightly. While being able to crush an opponent was ideal, a mutually destructive battle could easily make them vulnerable to a surprise attack from the mysterious child. The four from Mo Ling Temple also lacked the confidence to defeat Qin Han Chu and his group, so they had no intention of initiating conflict. Both parties departed in their respective directions with unspoken understanding.
"Could it be that no one else has encountered it?" Hua Qiu Yu mused after they had separated.
Qin Han Chu: "Let's not worry about others for now. Let's ensure our own safety first."
"You are right. The most we can do is protect ourselves and try to avoid putting ourselves in danger," the Celestial Curtain Divine Emperor agreed.
...
In the distant void, two groups were engaged in a fierce battle. Similar to the encounter Qin Han Chu and his companions had previously, one side, relying on their numerical advantage, was encircling and attacking the other three. At this moment, the three were desperately seeking an opportunity to escape. Qin Han Chu had the Five Elements Divine Banners to stably contain the opponent, but these four lacked such capabilities. Completely annihilating the enemy was proving to be quite difficult.
Just then, three beams of light suddenly appeared. The three who were preparing to break through had their protective divine shields shattered. This sudden attack startled them immensely, and even the four opponents were utterly astonished. Where had these three attacks come from? At that very moment, another three attacks suddenly emerged. Before the three could even react, their forms and spirits were annihilated.
"What's going on?"
"Who's attacking sneakily? Show yourself if you dare!"
"I can't sense anyone!"
"Be careful."
The four quickly formed a circle, anxiously scanning their surroundings. Just then, four attacks simultaneously appeared. These four attacks materialized abruptly beside the four without any warning. The four had no time to even counterattack.
Boom boom...
The protective divine shields of the four were successively struck. Although they did not shatter immediately, their defensive power was reduced by half. Another such assault would surely break their divine shields. Once stripped of their defenses, their ability to withstand these peculiar attacks would be even more compromised. They dared not linger to fight, nor did they have the inclination to collect spoils. As they fled, the spoils from the previous three were already swallowed by the void.
The next instant, the mysterious child suddenly appeared before the fleeing four.
"Haha... Don't run. Your lives belong to me."
The childlike laughter, which should have been heartwarming, instead felt incredibly sinister coming from this child. Following the child's voice, four more attacks appeared. Fortunately, the four had already enacted measures to strengthen their defenses, preventing their shields from being broken. However, their resistance against these peculiar attacks was utterly futile. Although this child only possessed the cultivation of a peak Divine Emperor, the strength it displayed was enough to crush everyone. Even when the four joined forces to form a defensive divine formation, they could only hold on for five minutes. Fifteen minutes later, the four were slaughtered by the mysterious child in terror.
"I need to find a way to leave this physical body. If I cannot, I will still be captured by that old scoundrel Luo Tian."
"The best method would be to cooperate with these young ones, but these young ones may not be reliable."
"I'll observe further and see who is more trustworthy."
Speaking to himself, the mysterious child vanished from its location. Currently, the Origin Ancestral Crystals had been divided amongst the various Divine Emperors. To increase one's own hoard of Origin Ancestral Crystals, one could only plunder them from other Divine Emperors. Because of this, battles were erupting everywhere.