Chapter 590: Jingyun Cave Master’s Decision

A massive saber light, formed by coalesced black and white energies, descended silently from the sky. It sliced cleanly through Cave Lord Jingyun's body, cutting him in two.

However, the wound on Cave Lord Jingyun's enormous body seemed to flow like water, rapidly rejoining and healing.

"That strike truly injured him," Meng Chuan clearly perceived as he bisected his opponent. "But it only depleted a portion of his strength. It would likely take hundreds of such strikes to kill him, and if he has treasures to restore his energy or physical body, it could take far longer."

Cave Lord Jingyun's physical body was incredibly formidable, arguably the most terrifying Meng Chuan had encountered among Five-Tribulation Realm experts.

His physical body, cultivated using three different "Space lineage" Five-Tribulation Realm rules, would likely require more than ten moves even from a true Six-Tribulation Realm grandmaster to subdue. The saber light Meng Chuan condensed with the "Yin-Yang Grand World Array" was still considerably weaker compared to the power of a genuine Six-Tribulation Realm grandmaster.

"Whoosh." New saber lights began to condense in the sky.

While the array's condensed saber strikes weren't as swift as Meng Chuan's personal close-combat attacks, it could still unleash three or four blows in a single breath.

Strike after strike, the saber lights ravaged Cave Lord Jingyun's enormous body.

"Even with my numerous protective treasures, which can instantly restore me to peak condition, a few hours would be enough to deplete them all," Cave Lord Jingyun realized. His vast body was bound by black and white chains, preventing him from struggling or dodging. He was repeatedly cleaved by the descending saber lights, as if enduring torture, and his heart was filled with both bitter indignation and powerlessness.

Venturing into the outer realms often brought unforeseen circumstances.

For instance, one might attempt to deal with a minor figure only to have a terrifying grandmaster suddenly appear, or try to plunder cultivators and instead stumble upon a forbidden entity.

This time, for example, with his strength, confronting a Five-Tribulation Realm "City Lord Dongning" should have been effortless. Yet, on a seemingly safe planet like Serpent Fiend Star, his opponent had secretly deployed a powerful array without anyone knowing.

"I'm trapped."

"I, Jingyun, stand to lose half of the treasures I've accumulated over fifty millennia." Cave Lord Jingyun felt a deep pang of regret.

His two true bodies were situated in vastly different and distant river regions, each possessing comparable amounts of treasure.

At his level of power, as long as he avoided provoking Six-Tribulation Realm entities, it was typically very difficult to die.

"Completely eliminating this true body of his could take several hours," Meng Chuan realized, having only had the array unleash a few saber lights. Instantly, a stream of light shot out from his body, solidifying into a black-robed, white-haired Meng Chuan – a primordial spirit avatar.

"Primordial spirit avatar, first head to the Quyun River System and scout out Cave Lord Jingyun's lair," Meng Chuan decided. The avatar immediately shot towards the spacetime rift.

From the outside, the spacetime rift was difficult to discern, its interior obscured by extreme spatial distortion.

"Whoosh."

Meng Chuan's primordial spirit avatar flew into it.

"This is my first time entering a spacetime rift," Meng Chuan observed. Inside, the scenery seemed to be an absurd and grotesque compression, distortion, and overlay of incredibly vast spatial landscapes.

In less than a breath, he had already traversed the spacetime rift and emerged into the normal void of the outer realms.

As he emerged, Meng Chuan saw a colossal star, tens of millions of li across.

"Jingyun Star." Meng Chuan gazed at the star; this was the home base of the Eight-Headed Star-Swallowing Serpent lineage within the Quyun River System, and also Cave Lord Jingyun's cultivation ground.

"Go."

"Hurry!"

"Everyone, evacuate Jingyun Star!"

"Quickly, quickly, quickly!"

At that moment, Jingyun Star was in utter chaos. Eight-Headed Star-Swallowing Serpents were flying outward, while others crushed minor teleportation talismans to instantly rupture space and depart. Some bewildered, young Eight-Headed Star-Swallowing Serpents, still confused, slowly drifted about, their flight speed far too slow to escape Jingyun Star quickly.

Cave Lord Jingyun's primordial spirit avatar stood atop a tall mountain, observing everything with a cold gaze.

"Boom!"

The phantom of Meng Chuan's primordial spirit world descended, directly eroding Jingyun Star's protective array.

"So, he's here?" Cave Lord Jingyun's primordial spirit avatar looked up, offering no resistance.

This avatar, merely at the Primordial Spirit Seventh-Layer, was weak and could only exist within the same river system as his true body. Its primordial spirit power was insufficient to activate Jingyun Star's array, and the other Eight-Headed Star-Swallowing Serpents were too low-ranked to cast the array either. They could only stand by as Meng Chuan's primordial spirit world phantom encroached.

In an instant, Jingyun Star's array was breached!

The three-million-li world phantom spread, with spatial fluctuations engulfing tens of millions of li, seizing Eight-Headed Star-Swallowing Serpents one after another.

"No!" Many Eight-Headed Star-Swallowing Serpents cried out in despair.

"What's going on?"

"What's wrong?" Many young Eight-Headed Star-Swallowing Serpent hatchlings were panicked and confused. Some had never ventured far from Jingyun Star, at most flying only around its vicinity.

The black-robed, white-haired Meng Chuan stood mid-air above Jingyun Star, sensing, "I was still too slow. Only five Tribulation Realm Eight-Headed Star-Swallowing Serpents remain; the rest are Emperor-level or Venerable-level."

Most Eight-Headed Star-Swallowing Serpents were inherently selfish.

Upon receiving Cave Lord Jingyun's command, they immediately employed every available method to escape as quickly as possible.

Jingyun Star was vast, spanning tens of millions of li! Taking along young, weaker Eight-Headed Star-Swallowing Serpents would consume precious time. Even one or two breaths could mean losing their chance to escape.

For example, these five Tribulation Realm Eight-Headed Star-Swallowing Serpents, in an effort to bring more of their kin, ultimately failed to escape before Meng Chuan's world phantom descended.

"Dongning, aren't you going too far?" Cave Lord Jingyun's primordial spirit avatar flew over, glaring at Meng Chuan. "Must our dispute implicate these weak kin? Some of them were only recently born."

"Five Tribulation Realm, thirty-two Emperor, two hundred sixty-three Venerables," Meng Chuan stated, nodding slightly. "Some of them were indeed just born."

Eight-Headed Star-Swallowing Serpents are born as beings of the outer void, inherently at the Venerable level.

As a lair presided over by Cave Lord Jingyun, it had attracted many Eight-Headed Star-Swallowing Serpents. Drawn by his reputation, they found significant safety under his protection.

Jingyun Star was considered the largest Eight-Headed Star-Swallowing Serpent lair in the entire Goddess River Region.

For example, Crimson Serpent Star, with the Crimson Serpent Star Lord residing there, boasted dozens of Five-Tribulation Realm grandmasters, making it the largest lair of the Crimson Serpent clan in the entire River of Time.

The more powerful a clan gathered in a place, the more kin would reside there.

This time...

While many Tribulation Realm and Emperor-level Eight-Headed Star-Swallowing Serpents had escaped, a significant number, predominantly weaker Venerable-level ones, were still intercepted and captured by Meng Chuan.

"Let them go," Cave Lord Jingyun's primordial spirit avatar pleaded, looking at Meng Chuan. "I'll surrender all the treasures of my true body to you, and I promise never to be your enemy again."

"Never be my enemy again?" Meng Chuan queried, looking at him.

"If you harm my kin, I, Jingyun, swear that I will fight you to the death for the rest of my life, and the entire Three Bay River System will never know peace." Cave Lord Jingyun fixed his gaze on Meng Chuan.

Meng Chuan looked at him and smiled faintly. "Threatening me? Cave Lord Jingyun, consider this carefully: your Eight-Headed Star-Swallowing Serpents were the ones who extended their reach into the Three Bay River System, plundering it for tens of thousands of years. I am simply seeking some blood debt for the Three Bay River System. Do you truly believe you are allowed to slaughter and plunder, but cultivators are forbidden from seeking revenge?"

Cave Lord Jingyun solemnly replied, "Only a minority engaged in plunder. There are many weak Eight-Headed Star-Swallowing Serpents here, especially the Venerable-level ones, who have never plundered. Surely these weaker serpents are innocent?"

"I will take them all," Meng Chuan stated. "Who lives and who dies will be my decision. As for you wanting to fight me to the death for the rest of your life? Bring it on!"

Fight to the death?

As he was now, he held no fear of his opponent.

He had gained immensely from comprehending Volume Three of the "Void Record." Once his "Cloud Mist Dragon Serpent Movement Technique" reached the Five-Tribulation Realm, he was confident he could grasp Six-Tribulation Realm level rules.

At that point, killing Cave Lord Jingyun would be effortless.

On Serpent Fiend Star.

Bound by black and white chains, Cave Lord Jingyun endured the relentless descent of saber lights. His eight heads fixated on Meng Chuan as he spoke, "City Lord Dongning, I propose a trade with you." His voice boomed across Serpent Fiend Star.

"A trade?" Meng Chuan paused the saber lights.

"I will follow you for ten thousand years and serve you loyally for that duration," Cave Lord Jingyun stated. "In exchange, release my kin and this true body of mine."

"If I were to kill you, the gains would likely be enormous," Meng Chuan responded. "Given your strength, this true body must carry at least tens of thousands of units of treasure. As for a follower, I don't have an urgent need."

"I will offer an additional thirty thousand units of treasure," Cave Lord Jingyun said, staring at Meng Chuan.

As a special life form, Cave Lord Jingyun possessed a relatively long lifespan. Having reached the Five-Tribulation Realm, his current cultivation meant he still had over seventy thousand years of life.

He had cultivated for a significant period, with approximately twenty thousand years of his lifespan still remaining.

Offering "ten thousand years" to follow Meng Chuan was already an immense sacrifice.

And the treasures? His strength was exceptional among Five-Tribulation Realm experts, and his longevity meant he had accumulated several times more treasures than Pang Ming. This true body alone carried nearly fifty thousand units of treasure.

"Offer thirty thousand units?" Meng Chuan looked at the immense Eight-Headed Star-Swallowing Serpent. A sufficiently powerful follower could prove highly useful, handling various mundane tasks and allowing him to concentrate more on his cultivation. He immediately stated, "I don't care about anything else, but all Eight-Headed Star-Swallowing Serpents who plundered the Three Bay River System must be handed over to me."

"They fled back to the Quyun River System, and you've already captured some of them this time," Cave Lord Jingyun said coolly. "Others managed to escape, but I will go and apprehend them. However... the two strongest Four-Tribulation Realm members of my kin have their true bodies scattered across different, distant river regions, so I cannot capture them."

"So, you'll hand over everyone else to me, except for the two strongest Four-Tribulation Realm individuals?" Meng Chuan asked, looking at him.

Cave Lord Jingyun nodded.

He could tolerate handing over a dozen or so Eight-Headed Star-Swallowing Serpents.

However, the three hundred Eight-Headed Star-Swallowing Serpents Meng Chuan had captured represented the vast majority from his current lair. The Eight-Headed Star-Swallowing Serpent race struggled with reproduction, and Cave Lord Jingyun could not bear to see so many of them handed over to Meng Chuan.

Furthermore, he wished to keep a particular special treasure carried by his true body. While other treasures, valued at thirty thousand units, could be given to Meng Chuan, that specific item was crucial for his cultivation path, and he was unwilling to relinquish it.

For these reasons, he made this difficult choice, accepting what was the absolute maximum he could afford to lose.

Meng Chuan considered this. He had never intended to slaughter all Eight-Headed Star-Swallowing Serpents. Just as ordinary cultivators varied greatly, the entire Eight-Headed Star-Swallowing Serpent race was diverse. Only a fraction enjoyed plundering; others preferred to cultivate in seclusion on stars, ignoring external affairs, while some were fond of various adventures. Had this not been the case, it wouldn't have been merely a dozen or so Eight-Headed Star-Swallowing Serpents plundering the Three Bay River System for so long.

"I accept your terms," Meng Chuan said, looking at Cave Lord Jingyun.

All eight of Cave Lord Jingyun's heads paused for a moment, their expressions complex, before he simultaneously bowed them. "Jingyun greets the City Lord."