Chapter 323: He Was the Real Victim

A golden lion hundreds of feet tall rushed out from the Saint Talisman. Its fur seemed cast from gold, its entire body emanating a divine radiance that made it hard to gaze upon directly.

“That’s… A Saint Realm powerhouse of the Demon Race?” Upon seeing the Golden Lion, the Spirit Race members were even more shocked. It was one thing if Qin Hao had a Saint Realm powerhouse’s assistance, but the issue was…there was actually a Saint Realm powerhouse from the Demon Race behind him! The meaning was vastly different.

Considering the Suan Ni Divine Technique and the Black Tortoise Divine Technique Qin Hao had displayed, it was difficult not to suspect that aside from Su Chen, Qin Hao had the backing of another faction of the Demon Race.

“Roar!” The Golden Lion roared again, its entire body’s power erupting. It shattered the void, transforming into a golden divine beam that shot towards the Spirit Race’s Golden Jade Bottle in the sky. The originally mighty semi-sacred weapon now seemed fragile before a true saint.

Clang!

Sword lights rained down onto the Golden Lion’s body. However, they had no effect. On the contrary, the Golden Lion became more courageous as it fought. It opened its bloody maw wide, intending to swallow the Golden Jade Bottle whole. If this bite landed…the Spirit Race did not doubt the Golden Jade Treasure Bottle would be crunched to pieces.

After all, there was still a gap between a semi-sacred weapon and a true sacred weapon. It always carried that “semi” aspect. Even with just an extra word, it was like an insurmountable gap for Saint King Realm masters, leaving them with no chance of retaliation.

Just at this critical juncture, deep within the Spirit Race’s territory… Boom!

Suddenly, a terrifying aura shook forth, seemingly able to penetrate through the past, present, and future, spreading across the myriad worlds. A supreme existence had finally made its move!

Bang!

The sky shattered. From the other end, a withered hand clutching a staff suddenly smashed towards the Golden Lion. The power contained in that single staff was too fearsome and mighty. The instant it appeared, it absorbed all the light in heaven and earth. Only it remained in existence between the heavens and earth.

The heavenly pillar seemed able to suppress everything. Accompanied by the sound of the Great Dao, countless strands of the Power of Laws emerged from thin air. Each strand was like a divine golden chain, seemingly able to slay a Nirvana Realm expert. It was imaginable just how terrifying this strike’s power was.

Boom!

A deafening sound rang out. The Golden Lion, which had seemed able to devour mountains and rivers and suppress everything, now had no power to retaliate under the staff. With a final wail, it completely faded away between heaven and earth. A Saint Realm phantom was still somewhat lacking when facing a true Saint Realm powerhouse.

After the Golden Lion vanished, the Spirit Race members breathed a collective sigh of relief. In the next moment, every single one began to cheer ecstatically. Many immediately knelt on the ground, shouting towards that withered hand, “Greetings, Ancestor!”

Deafening sounds converged together with a rumbling roar. The sky shook as it spread in all directions. Thud! Thud! Thud! Heavy footsteps sounded. Amidst the thunderous cheers, an old man with snowy-white hair hobbled over.

Although he did not reveal any aura, Cao Yun and Qin Hao understood that this was the Saint Realm powerhouse of the Spirit Race. To be precise, he was one of them! They would not be so naive as to believe the massive Spirit Race only had a single Saint Realm powerhouse. The old man staggered as he walked, very slowly. Yet with every step that fell, the void within a thousand-mile radius shook. He was like an immortal deity walking toward his throne. At this moment, all of the Spirit Race’s gazes were fixed intensely upon the elder.

Now that the Grand Elder had appeared, even if Qin Hao had heaven-defying methods, they would be useless this time. He would surely die without a doubt! The only thing that made them somewhat worried was how the Grand Elder would deal with them, these Quasi-Saint Realm powerhouses, after killing Qin Hao and the other two.

After all, of Qin Hao and Cao Yun, the strongest was only at the Quasi-Saint Realm. Moreover, Cao Yun rarely made a move from start to finish, it had always been Qin Hao acting alone. Yet these two had barged into their Spirit Race’s territory and caused them to suffer tremendous losses. If not for the Grand Elder appearing, that Saint Talisman alone could have destroyed half the Spirit Race’s lands!

“Qin Hao! We met again!” The Grand Elder stood in the void, looking down at Qin Hao condescendingly. His aged eyes held no emotion as he spoke slowly, “Child, you’ve grown since we last parted!”

There was an inexplicable gentleness in his words as if the person before him was not the Spirit Race’s enemy but his own child.

“Haha… Old fart! Thanks to your Spirit Race, I managed to survive until now!” Qin Hao gave a cold laugh, glaring up at the Grand Elder. His eyes brimmed with killing intent.

“I’m very pleased to see you’ve achieved what you have today. You didn’t fall and have come this far instead. Why not let go of your past grudges?” At this point, the Spirit Race Grand Elder smiled gently and continued disapprovingly, “I can make the decision. The Spirit Race will not pursue anything that happened today or in the past.”

“Grand Elder…” As soon as he finished speaking, a Spirit Race elder spoke up in a deep voice. The Grand Elder’s words were truly too inconceivable. One had to know that their Spirit Race had lost quite a number of experts just to deal with Qin Hao!

There were several Quasi-Saint Realm powerhouses, not to mention Nirvana Realm ones. Moreover…the Saint Realm powerhouse who had perished a few days ago was also closely related to Qin Hao. After all, if not for Qin Hao’s existence, their Spirit Race would never have opposed Su Chen.

Yet today, the Grand Elder’s words wanted to erase everything that had occurred. As members of the Spirit Race, no matter what, they could not swallow this insult! Even knowing Qin Hao’s talent was horrifying did not change this fact.

“Haha…” Qin Hao burst into laughter as if having heard the funniest joke. His eyes were icy cold as he spoke, “Do I still need to thank you for sparing me?”

First, his Longevity Immortal Body had been extracted. Then he was chased for several years, each time narrowly escaping death. If not for his extraordinary fortune, the grass on his grave would have grown to thirty feet already. But now, the Spirit Race Grand Elder did not seem to suggest they had done anything wrong at all. Rather, it was more akin to an act of charity.

It seemed he should be grateful he wasn’t held accountable for the past.. But one had to know that he was the real victim here!action