Chapter 481: Rune!
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
On that day, after an unknown number of years has passed since Su Ming stepped into the place, he brought his small snake and left the Candle Dragon's burial ground. When he walked out of that region, he stood on the mountain and turned his head back to cast a glance behind him.
The fog in the Candle Dragon's burial ground at the foot of the mountain was no longer around. When he looked over, he could not find the Candle Dragon's gigantic body either.
The memories of all the things that he went through since he stepped into the place surfaced in his mind. The murderous fog, the fight in the Candle Dragon's body, the incarnations in the Undying and Imperishable World, and the change that happened to him during the blessing and the test.
All of this was now like a faraway dream to him and did not seem real. After all, his soul had been in the Undying and Imperishable World for far too long.
Even if he had woken up from the dream, it would still be difficult for him to recover from it for some time.
In a while, Su Ming averted his gaze. The small snake was sitting on his shoulders and also looking at the Candle Dragon's burial ground. A reluctance to part gradually appeared in its eyes. To it, this was the place where his kin stayed. This was the place that gave it new life. This was also the sacred place that had turned it into a Candle Dragon.
Su Ming went off. He took a step forward and walked towards the sky, moving towards the direction where Shaman City lay in his memories.
He might have spread his divine sense outwards earlier, but the area had not been wide; he had only manage to the area around him. If he wanted to know just how long it had been, then he had a feeling that Shaman City was the place where he could find his answer.
His clouded memories gradually became clear as he regained his senses. Those memories felt incredibly distant to Su Ming, but he still flew in the sky slowly according to them.
During his journey, he did not run into any Shamans, but the land he saw was greatly different from what he remembered.
He remained silent during the trip. Several days later, when he arrived in Shaman City, he saw the ruins on the ground - Shaman City's ruins. The wreckage of the city scattered all over the ground made him even more quiet.
Su Ming stood above the ruins and looked at the ground. After a long while, he slowly descended and landed on the ground before walking into the ruins.
As he walked in, an absent-minded look gradually appeared on his face. An illusion seemed to rise before his eyes. Wherever he went to, he would see the glory of the city in the past. However, right at the moment those days of glory took form in his eyes, all of it would turn into the desolate wreckage before him.
"Just what happened?" Su Ming mumbled. He stopped moving in the ruins, and his gaze fell on a collapsed house. This was the inn he had stayed in long ago.
He stopped here for a moment, then continued onward. Gradually, he walked through the streets of the past, walked through the palace where he'd obtained the protection from the Spirits of Nine Yin. However, when he arrived there, he did not see that palace. It was as if the palace had been taken away by someone and vanished into thin air. That spot was now empty.
Su Ming lifted his head. He did not see the gigantic stone pillar that shot into the clouds, and could naturally not see that gigantic head that was hoisted up by the stone pillar. He could only see a gigantic hole in the sky, and there were numerous dried branches around that hole, serving as a seal for it.
When Su Ming arrived at the center of the ruins, which was the square that hosted the treasure gambling event, his pupils shrank.
He saw a gigantic pit on the ground there, and that pit was in the shape of a pentagon. It took up a spot of about several tens of thousands of feet.
When he stood at the edge of the pit, a grim look appeared on Su Ming's face. He crouched down and grabbed some soil by the edge of the pit. The remnants of the power from some Spells could be felt from within.
"This is a Rune!" Su Ming lifted his head. Right above the pit was the hole in the sky!
Su Ming frowned. As he immersed himself in his thoughts, he suddenly lifted his right hand and pointed behind him. That action seemed incredibly offhanded, but it would give people the feeling as if it had gone through a countless amount of evolutions. That one point also seemed to contain time itself. It seemed simple, but in truth, the moment he pointed outwards, a deep crack appeared in the air in the direction he pointed.
It was as if even space itself could not withstand the power of that point. A thunderous rumble reverberated in the air. Su Ming did not turn his head back, simply continuing to look at the pit before him, still immersed in his thoughts.
However, as the rumbling sound echoed in the air, a semi-transparent figure took form in the empty space behind him. That figure exploded and turned into a wave of air that tumbled backwards and only disappeared once it was sent back several thousands of feet.
Almost the instant that semi-transparent figure died, nearly a hundred of those figures appeared in the air around Su Ming. These figures instantly stopped moving forward and waited near him. They floated without moving, and their gazes as they looked at Su Ming were filled with wariness.
After a long while, Su Ming chose not to continue thinking of the use of that Rune. Most of his knowledge regarding Runes came from his third senior brother, Hu Zi, as well as the Immortals' Runes which Hong Luo had left for him.
He could vaguely tell that one of the uses of this Rune was for Relocation, but he couldn't figure out any other uses it might have.
He stood up and swept his gaze across all the semi-transparent figures around him. The instant his gaze landed on those figures, they shivered and instinctively moved back. To them, Su Ming's gaze felt like it had physical substance and could pierce through their bodies.
Just as Su Ming was about to avert his gaze, something suddenly caught his attention, and he fixed his stare on a figure standing to the side.
That figure seemed like a young male teenager. He was not tall, and was in a semi-transparent and indistinct state. Su Ming looked at him and was momentarily taken aback. He lifted his right hand and seized at the air in the boy's direction. Immediately, that figure was dragged towards Su Ming against his will.
The figure floated before Su Ming, panic evident on the boy's face. He looked as if he wanted to struggle and screamed soundlessly.
Su Ming looked at him. He might be indistinct, but when Su Ming observed him from a close proximity, he could still somewhat make out his facial features. As he observed that figure, a complicated look gradually appeared on Su Ming's face.
"Ahu…" After a long moment of thought, Su Ming finally remembered who this person was. He was one of the two children who had come with him into the World of Nine Yin.
'Just what happened here?' Su Ming let go of his hand, and Ahu hastily retreated in panic. Su Ming looked at him fleeing and slowly closed his eyes.
He slowly spread his divine sense around the area. At that moment, he no longer thought about the necessity for his Nascent Divinity to nurse itself back to health. He wanted to know what other changes had occurred in the World of Nine Yin.
Once he spread his divine sense out, he saw that there were several tens of thousands of semi-transparent figures like Ahu all over Shaman City. These figures hid themselves within the ruins and lingered about in a daze. They could not be seen with the naked eye, and could only be detected with divine sense.
When Su Ming expanded his divine sense further ahead, he saw that practically every single place in the vast land outside the ruins of Shaman City had become different. After a long while, he opened his eyes.
He turned around and looked in a direction in the distance. Over there, he discovered a valley, and within that valley, he found some Shamans. Su Ming also detected a group of living creatures with huge wings on their backs flying swiftly towards the valley. There were hundreds of them, and all of them had murderous auras that burned the skies as they roared!
'It's a pity my Nascent Divinity still needs several months of nursing before I can completely spread my divine sense. Even if I send it out now, it's difficult for me to search in detail. Once my Nascent Divinity has nursed itself back to health, then I'll activate my divine sense again to search for my Poison Corpse, my puppet, and my crimson dragon with the connection I have with them. I won't let that old man in black go either. As long as he is still in the World of Nine Yin, then I'll definitely have a way to find him!
'But I didn't expect that there would still be Shamans in that valley. Perhaps I'll be able to find my answers over there.'
Su Ming turned into a long arc and charged towards the sky, rushing straight towards that valley.
Due to the disappearance of the tenth moon in the sky, the Shamans who had been staying in the valley within the one million lis around the ruins of Shaman City had been living in a constant state of anxiety. Most of them were nervous because they did not know whether there would be new changes in the World of Nine Yin.
In a remote corner in the valley, the old man in black who has letting off a rotten stench shuddered. He slowly lowered his mangled right hand down from the center of his brows.
With a bitter look, he let out a long sigh.
During that instant, no one besides him had discovered a wave of divine sense sweeping past the area. If he had not been on constant alert and cast a Secret Art despite his injuries during the instant that divine sense filled the area to completely wipe off his presence and existence and avoid being discovered, he would definitely have been noticed.
'Destiny should be heading here…' The old man in black brought out a small black bottle from his bosom, and after a moment of hesitation, put it away again. He did not open that bottle.
'I still lack three medicinal herbs to make this medicinal core. If I eat it now, then I'll only have a tenth of chance to break the Curse. If I fail, then I'll lose my intelligence, and it'll be no different from dying…
'But with my Secret Art and based on what I could tell from the ripples in his divine sense just now, he shouldn't be able to find me. If that's the case, as long as I hide myself well, I should be able to avoid this encounter.'
The old man in black hesitated for a moment before he got up and retreated into his cave to sit down and circulate all his power to continue the activation of that Secret Art.
'If it wasn't because of this Curse, then I would have gone to him without even there being a need for him to come find me… As long as I have three more years, then I'll be able to raise the possibility of breaking the Curse with this medicinal pill to a fifth!' The old man in black shook his head and forced down the anxiety in his heart before immersing himself in meditation.
Almost the moment the old man began meditating, black clouds rushed towards the valley where the Shamans were. Within those black clouds were hundreds of murderous looking strange creatures with black wings!
They rapidly closed in on the valley and piercing shrieks filled the air. The expressions of all the Shamans who heard those shrieks instantly changed, and fear along with hatred filled their faces.
The appearance of those black clouds too immediately caused the Shamans in the valley to be on high alert. Most of the Shamans shrank back into their cave abodes, and all of them stared at those black clouds in the sky with anxiety.
Nan Gong Hen stood on a stone platform in the valley. Behind him were a dozen something people in ragged clothing. All of them were glaring at the sky.
"Sir, we've already made arrangements for our people to go into hiding. The protection Rune has also been activated to its full potential!"
"The Fiend Bow is completely drawn and ready to show its might at any moment!"
"The tunnel for the aura of death in the Spirit Medium's altar is activated. With what we have accumulated, we can release the power of the aura of death twice!"
"The tribesmen who are sacrificing their lives have also made preparations. They're willing to use their lives to continue keeping the protection Rune in operation!"
"It's been fifteen years…" Nan Gong Hen listened to the people behind him and looked at the strange creatures in the black clouds in the sky charging towards the valley swiftly and mumbled under his breath.
"It's been fifteen years since Shaman City was destroyed. We still have no news about reinforcements from the world outside. Fifteen years ago, we had nearly ten thousand people in the valley, and now, after all these continuous battles, we have less than a thousand of our people left…" he said bitterly.
"How many times does it make that the Sacred Bats have launched a hunt on us? We'll fight, even if we die!"
Chapter 482: Fated Kin (First Part)
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
In the valley where nearly one thousand Shamans stayed, there were now black clouds charging towards them. Hundreds of Sacred Bats with wings on their backs could be seen densely packed in the clouds. All of them looked vile and sharp teeth protruded from their mouths. A murderous red glare shone through their eyes and was so bright that it covered the sky and earth.
The Sacred Bats look incredibly terrifying. They were entirely black and were at least three times the size of a normal Shaman, looking to be nearly twenty feet tall. Their arms were thick and seemed as if they could rip apart a person.
They wore no clothes but were covered by fine feathers that looked like long robes. Almost every single one of them held a round-shaped blade in their hands. The blades were red, as if they had been dyed in fresh blood.
Roars reverberated in the air. Under the illumination of the moons in the sky, the Sacred Bats looked like murderous fiends that were getting closer to the valley of the Shamans.
Nan Gong Hen, whose hair on his temples had turned white, stood on the platform in the valley. He looked at the Sacred Bats closing in on them from the sky and asked in a low voice, "How is senior Tie Mu?"
After a period of silence, one of the dozen people standing beside Nan Gong Hen answered softly, "Senior Tie Mu is still in deep sleep… He's not showing any signs of waking up. He was injured too badly last time. We don't have enough medicine with us either, and even if he wakes up, his level of cultivation will fall greatly.".
"What about senior Hei Ya?" Nan Gong Hen sighed and asked another question.
"We sent someone to ask for senior Hei Ya earlier, but for some reason, he suddenly went into isolation and refuses to see anyone. He even sealed his cave abode…"
As they spoke, the black clouds in the sky tumbled about furiously and descended upon them swiftly. At the same time, piercing shrieks tainted with excitement resounded in the air. Eight of the Sacred Bats charged down and straight towards the valley.
Those Sacred Bats were incredibly fast and looked as if they were about to close in on them. Nan Gong Hen stood on the platform and glared at them, killing intent shining in his eyes.
The dozen people behind him all reacted in the same manner. Some of them had even clenched their fists, their expressions dripping with venom. They were not the only ones acting that way. The Shamans hiding in the valley had all seen that sight, and it was a nightmare plaguing their dreams, but also a brutal reality that was happening right before their eyes.
The Sacred Bats were already less than two hundred feet away from the top of the valley after a moment. With excited shrieks, they charged forward, but right when they arrived a hundred feet away from the valley, a loud bang reverberated through the air, and an illusory screen of light emerged around the valley. At that moment, violent waves of ripples appeared on the screen of light, and the eight Sacred Bats crashed into it.
However, they were completely uninjured by it and were only forced a hundred something feet back.
"The Sacred Bats' battle strategy still hasn't changed at all. They're still trying to lure us to fight against them to turn us into their prey.
"Their physical bodies are now comparable to Berserkers who have reached the peak in the middle stage of the Bone Sacrifice Realm... they're even stronger than the last time they came here. The next time they come, their physical bodies might already be comparable to a Berserker in the later stage of the Bone Sacrifice Realm," a thin, old, and wizened woman standing among the dozen something people behind Nan Gong Hen whispered with eyes that were filled with red.
"This time, even the normal members of their race who have joined the invasion have improved greatly. Then the physical strength of their Violet Thread ranked Sacred Bats should have already reached the Berserkers in the later stage of the Bone Sacrifice Realm.
As the old woman spoke, the screen of light in the valley that had bounced off the eight Sacred Bats started shining with a brilliant light. The light from started crisscrossing against each other in midair, turning into a gigantic web that charged towards the eight Sacred Bats, to trap all of them within.
Yet the moment that web closed in on them, one of the eight Sacred Bats placed his right hand before his chest and a string of complex and practically incomprehensible incantations spilled out of his mouth. As those incantations echoed around, the air behind the Sacred Air seemed to have been torn apart and a gigantic blood-red bat charged out.
That blood-red bat was several dozens of feet big, and when it shot out, it rushed straight towards the web with a roar. The instant they touched, the blood-red bat exploded and turned into several hundreds of red sparks that crashed straight into the web. The world rumbled, and the web instantaneously fell apart. The hundreds of red sparks seemed to contain life and started swimming in all directions, looking like several hundreds of crimson-red wandering souls.
"The strength of their divine abilities has also increased by quite a large margin. It's incredibly obvious compared to last time. Even the normal Sacred Bats now have power equivalent to mid Medial Shamans…
"If… no accidents happen and we don't offer up sacrifices, then the chances of us winning are one sixth, if we can maintain the screen of light… But the price for it is that three to five hundred of our people's lives will be sucked dry by the screen of light and they will die," the old woman said gravelly, and there was a hint of sorrow in her voice.
Nan Gong Hen fell silent. All the people behind him also did not say a single word.
A dozen more figures charged out from the black clouds in the sky and rushed straight towards the screen of light with the other eight people from their race.
Booming sounds reverberated in the air.
In the valley there was an emptied spot in which was a gigantic Rune that was about several thousands of feet large. There were several Shamans that were sitting cross-legged within the Rune at that moment.
These Shamans were all thin and pale. As they sat within the Rune, their power was continuously sucked inside to become the source that would keep the Rune operating.
This Rune was not a static Rune. It continuously sparkled, and the frequency of those sparkles was directly proportionate to the rate of hits dealt to the screen of light. As the screen of light sparkled even more brightly, the thirty something Shamans shuddered, and some of them coughed out fresh blood. They looked on the verge of collapse, but before they could fall, someone around them would immediately come forth to carry them off, and someone else would take their place to continue keeping the Rune running.
The people who were carried off would immediately sit by the side and exercise their breathing without a single moment of delay to try and recover more strength.
However, there were some of the people who did not manage to be carried off in time. As the Rune continued shining and sucking away their life, these people started laughing brokenly and their bodies rapidly dried up. When they eventually turned into skeletons, they fell apart into dust and scattered into the air. All their life and aura had turned into power to maintain the Rune.
As time continued trickling by, the number of Sacred Bats who were ramming themselves against the screen of light in the sky beyond of valley had already increased to nearly a hundred. These Sacred Bats continuously crashed into the screen with strange screeches, causing the screen of light to let out creaking sounds as if it was already incredibly difficult for it to maintain its form and it would disintegrate at any moment.
"Sir, let's attack! Sixteen of our people have already died to the Rune!" someone from among the dozen people behind Nan Gong Hen said in agitation.
In silence, Nan Gong Hen shook his head with a pale face.
Rumbling sounds continuously echoed in all directions. After a moment, the number of Sacred Bats who were attacking the screen of light had increased to about a hundred fifty. When the Sacred Bats' screeches fell into the Shamans' ears, their hearts trembled.
"Wait a little longer. We only have one chance, we can't waste it…" Nan Gong Hen gritted his teeth and whispered under his breath.
"Sir, forty-three of our people have already died maintaining the Rune. If this continues, then even more will fall."
Nan Gong Hen looked at the nearly two hundred Sacred Bats outside the screen of light, then at the black clouds above them, and clenched his jaw.
"Prepare the Fiend Bows!"
The instant he said those words, someone immediately moved out from the group standing behind him. A dozen something breaths, and nine men immediately walked out of some of the cave abodes in the valley.
These nine men were all Battle Shamans. They stood on the balconies connected to their cave abodes with their heads lifted towards the sky. Each of them held a large black bow in their hands.
Those bows were taller than an average human, and these nine men began drawing these bows slowly. The instant they drew those Fiend Bows fully, three Spirit Mediums, three Soul Catchers, and three Thought Soothsayers walked out from behind all of them.
The Spirit Mediums started chanting softly, and a dense wave of aura of death gathered from under the valley, charging straight towards the Fiend Bows that were being drawn by the nine Battle Shamans, turning into a faint arrow on each of the bows!
The Soul Catchers opened their eyes, and the strange power that belonged to Soul Catchers stirred in the air, as if their minds and souls were gathered on the arrows in the Fiend Bows, and would not disappear.
The Thought Soothsayers closed their eyes as if they fell into a trance. The instant they closed their eyes, a white glare instantly appeared in the nine Battle Shamans' furious eyes. It was as if they all had lost their souls at that instant, and their white eyes looked empty.
"Draw the Fiend Bows!" Nan Gong Hen roared, and the instant his voice reverberated through the valley, the nine Battle Shamans growled and drew their Fiend Bows a little more. Their shoulders and arms were torn, and as fresh blood poured down their arms, they continued pulling the strings until the Fiend Bows were fully drawn and then abruptly let go.
Humming sounds instantly echoed in the valley and reverberated between the sky and earth. At the same time, nine black dragons charged out from the valley at an extreme speed, piercing through the protective screen of light and closing in straight on the two hundred Sacred Bats just outside the screen of light.
Shrill screeches of pain instantly filled the area. The nine arrows were filled with a wave of madness and a force that would press on without stopping. The instant they pierced through nine of the Sacred Bats, they shot past their bodies without any decrease in power!
Booming sounds spread through the air, and all the Sacred Bats whose bodies were pierced through by those arrows exploded and turned into pieces of flesh and blood that splattered everywhere.
Each of the nine Fiend Arrows took at least three lives. When all the remaining power in the nine arrows was spent, they did not disappear but instead exploded. That explosion turned into a wave of aura of death that covered the entire screen of light in the sky.
"With the aura of death as a lure, we will release the power of the aura of death once!" Nan Gong Hen let out a huge shout, and the valley instantly trembled. Wisps of aura of death charged forth from the ground and gathered at the center of the valley, causing the valley to become obscured from view.
Several breaths later, there was an explosion. With a loud bang, all the aura of death within the valley surged out, crashing into the Sacred Bats in the sky like a gigantic pillar of air.
Chapter 483: Fated Kin (Second Part)
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Booming sounds reverberated in the air, and as they gradually disappeared, the black clouds in the sky disappeared, turning into scattered wisps of fog that spread in all directions. There were only less than a hundred of the Sacred Bats remaining from their previous force that numbered to two hundreds, and they were all retreating from the sky.
A large amount of flesh and blood filled the sky and fell from midair. The Shamans' Fiend Bows and the explosion from the aura of death could be said to be their final strength. It was also because of this power that they had been able to last for fifteen years in this place!
However, the price for this power was also incredibly great. Those Fiend Bows could only be used once, and it was not because the Enchanted treasure would become useless after that, but it was because there was no Battle Shaman who could draw that bow twice within a short period of time!
In truth, every single time they drew the bows, their tendons would be torn apart as a price. They needed to be treated right after that and they were people who would be given topmost priority in terms of protection, because they would have to serve the same important role in the next battle.
The powerful impact from the aura of death gathered through the beast bone altar could not be done by human means either, this sort of power could only be accumulated in time. Over the past fifteen years, Nan Gong Hen had only managed to gather enough power for five explosions.
They could only gather enough power for one explosion about every three years. Even though they only had enough for one more explosion, there was still far too much time for them to wait until the next three years passed.
"Send… the sacrifices…" Nan Gong Hen lowered his head, not wanting to see what would happen next. He knelt down on one knee and clenched his fists. The other people behind, too, knelt down with grief on their faces.
Almost at the same moment they knelt down, all the Shamans in the valley knelt down in sorrow and silence. They were going down on their knees for twenty of their Shaman brethren.
These twenty Shamans were all old men. Their bodies slowly flew into the sky and moved towards the screen of light. There was sentiment on their faces, but also faint smiles. They were lamenting over their fates, but smiling towards their kinsmen.
They had offered themselves willingly to become sacrifices, because they knew that they no longer had much time left. If their death could bring a period of peace for their people, then at least their deaths would be worthwhile.
When all the Shamans knelt down on the ground, filled with grief in their hearts, the twenty old men went through the screen of light and appeared outside the valley. They rushed towards the hundred something Sacred Bats that were still lingering around in the sky and had yet to leave.
The Sacred Bats screeched and flew towards them. A massacre unfolded right before everyone's eyes, and it was one that was met with no resistance from one side. There was only bloody death.
When all the Shamans saw this, their grief only became stronger in the midst of their silence.
When those twenty old men were slaughtered cruelly by the hundred or so Sacred Bats. The Sacred Bats spread their wings and flew into the distance.
Nan Gong Hen lifted his head and red filled his eyes. During these fifteen years, they, who had fought against these Sacred Bats multiple times, knew that this particular race in the World of Nine Yin loved hunting. They would usually come in a large crowd, and if their hunt did not end in success, they would definitely not give up, and would only come in a larger crowd the next time.
That was why the Shamans would first kill off some of their numbers before they sent out these so called 'sacrifices' to satisfy the Sacred Bats' hunting lust. Only by doing so could they earn a period of peace.
If they offered these sacrifices without fighting, it would still be useless. Some casualties must appear on the Sacred Bats' side in accordance to the Sacred Bats' hunting ritual.
This was something Nan Gong Hen and the others knew clearly after being trapped here for fifteen years.
"In the end, we still gave up our tribesmen as sacrifices… We had a sixth chance to win, but the price was just too great…" the old woman behind Nan Gong Hen said in a whisper.
"Sixty-seven died keeping the Rune functioning, and when we add in the twenty who were willing to become sacrifices, eighty-seven of ours were lost this time."
"The Battle Shamans' Fiend Bows can only be drawn half a year later, and we already don't have enough medicinal herbs for healing. We need to arrange some men to risk themselves and go to Shaman City to search for medicine…"
"We can still use the altar's aura of death one more time."
When Nan Gong Hen heard the people giving him the reports of this battle, a lost look gradually appeared on his face. Fifteen years ago, he did not manage to escape during the change and was forced to stay here with his other tribesmen. They waited for others to come save them, and at that time, they numbered nearly ten thousand.
They had many Latter Shamans at that time, but through the numerous fights and battles, their numbers began decreasing, and in the end, they even had a dispute, and a part of their people left. Nan Gong Hen had no idea where these people went.
Gradually, due to his status, he became the leader of this place and was forced to watch his people die. Their future was clouded, and he did not know where he should lead them…
'Perhaps the people outside have already forgotten about us… Perhaps the Catastrophe of the Eastern Wastelands has already happened, and the world outside has been turned upside down. No one remembers any longer that we are still in the World of Nine Yin.
'Perhaps we will never be able to leave this place and can only die in battle… Just where… is our future?' Nan Gong Hen's face was worn out. He sighed in his heart. However, when he looked towards the sky in his daze, his expression suddenly changed drastically.
The dozen something people behind him also experienced a change in their expressions. In fact, panic and shock appeared on quite a number of Shamans in the valley the instant they looked into the sky.
With his own eyes, Nan Gong Hen saw black fog that was much bigger than those black clouds from a few moments ago, and it was rolling towards them like waves. The Sacred Bats that would occasionally reveal themselves from the fog were a startling sight!
By the looks of it, they numbered to nearly a thousand!
And they were heading straight for this valley!
"I see Violet Thread Sacred Bats. There're… a lot of them. This has never happened before. When we defeated a batch in the past, they would spend at least half a year before they came to hunt us once again!
"There're definitely Golden Thread Sacred Bats around if there are so many Violet Thread Sacred Bats here. The chances of us winning this battle are practically zero. Even if we have all our tribesmen go and keep the Rune running, we won't be able to last for long!
"Have all our people activate the protection Rune. Get the power of the aura of death ready. Have the backup Battle Shamans for the Fiend Bows on standby. Even if they die, they have to draw the Fiend Bows!
"It'll be great if they're just passing by. If they aren't… Tell all the tribe members… that it's time for the final battle. We've waited for fifteen years, and the moment deciding whether we live or die is finally here!" Nan Gong Hen growled with a grim look on his face.
When Nan Gong Hen said those words, someone immediately went off to deliver his message. Resolute looks appeared on the Shamans on the Rune in the valley. They sat down cross-legged and began offering up all their strength.
All the Shamans stood at the edge of their cave abodes in silence. They looked at the sky, wiped their weapons, circulated their power, and determination shone on their faces!
The children who were born during these fifteen years sat within their mothers' embraces while looking outside at their fathers. Their innocent eyes were filled with fear, but the willingness to die together could be seen shining through that fear even more so.
There were also quite a number of old men who stood outside their cave abodes. Their ancient faces were filled with marks of time, and as they looked at the sky, they became ready to use their deaths in exchange for honor.
All the Shamans looked towards the sky, watching the black fog rolling violently in the sky as they tried to determine whether they were just passing by or whether they were indeed really heading towards the valley.
The instant that black fog stopped above the valley, all the Shamans who saw this scene knew the answer immediately. The time for the final battle was nigh!
Nan Gong Hen gritted his teeth. Madness burned in his eyes. When he saw the layer of black fog stopping outside the valley, suddenly, hundreds of screeching Sacred Bats shot down as if that fog had just exploded and they were thrown out by that explosion. The moment these Sacred Bats charged out, Nan Gong Hen let out a low roar.
He charged out swiftly, and right behind him were his dozen something followers.
"If we fight, we die. If we don't fight, we will still die. But if we fight, at least we'll die without regrets!
"We've waited for fifteen years, and we still have yet to receive any news about reinforcements from the world outside. They might have forgotten about us already, or they might have given up on us. If that is the case, then where is our future? It's in our hands!
"We can't wait anymore! We'll put up a spectacular fight, and if we're lucky enough to pull through and win, then we will no longer be Shamans. We will be our own race! We will control our own fate and pursue our own future. If the outsiders won't save us, then we will save ourselves. From now on, we are Fated Kin!" Nan Gong Hen lifted his right hand and seized at the air. Immediately, a long spear materialized in his hand and he wrapped his hand around it.
"Fated Kin!"
"From now on, we are no longer Shamans! We're Fated Kin!" Low roars, filled with madness, shot out of the mouths of each and every single one of the Shamans' mouths in the valley.
"Prepare the aura of death!"
As Nan Gong Hen roared, the aura of death from the entire valley gathered up once again and turned into a great power to charge upwards. It shot through the protective screen of light and crashed into the incoming Sacred Bats. At the instant the booming surged into the sky and reverberated through the air, Nan Gong Hen shouted, "Fated Kin, kill them!"
Shadows of people abruptly rose from the valley, followed by a roaring. This uprisal was like a revolt from a whole race. It was a struggle filled with madness, shouts filled with the unwillingness to admit defeat, and a release of those that had thrown all caution into the wind after fifteen years of waiting, of living in oppression, and of having death constantly loom over their heads!
Besides the Shamans who were still keeping the Rune running by sending out their power as they sat to protect the children in the valley, more than five hundred Shamans rushed out of the valley and clashed against the Sacred Bats who were attacked by the aura of death!
"You people think too highly of yourselves!"
A cold harrumph echoed from the sky, and as the black fog spread out, ten Sacred Bats with a distinct violet line at the center of their brows flew out. Right behind them was a gigantic Sacred Bat of fifty feet with a golden thread at the center of his brows!
With a cold harrumph, he lifted his right hand and pressed downward. The aura of death that was attacking his kind immediately froze and exploded, spreading in all directions, its power to instantly disappear.
"Our sacred ancestor is on the verge of waking up. We will kill all the outsiders in this land and offer them as sacrifices. The Nine Sacred Altar here is ours now!"
Many Sacred Bats screeched excitedly and charged towards the Shamans!
Right at that moment, in the sky not too far away from the valley was Su Ming strolling casually over with a calm expression on his face. The small snake on his shoulders lifted its head, stared in the direction ahead, and let out a hiss.
Su Ming frowned. He took another step, and his speed instantly increased explosively, stirring up a piercing sound as he sliced through the air in his wake.
Chapter 484: I am also an Outsider!
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
This was a crazed battle. Compared to the Shamans who had always been low on medicinal herbs during the past fifteen years, who had been at a loss for what they should do, and who did not know where their future lay, the Sacred Bats were all incredibly powerful.
During these fifteen years, too many of the Shamans' own had died as they fought against these Sacred Bats. Most of their powerful warriors had already fallen, and the only ones who were left were the old and the young. They did not have much power to form their core battle strength.
The wearing down of willpower had also caused fear to root itself deeply within the Shamans' hearts towards the races residing in the World of Nine Yin, especially a Golden Thread Sacred Bats that had appeared this time. This was the second time during these past fifteen years that a Golden Thread Sacred Bat had appeared, but it was clear that the current one was much stronger than the one around ten years ago.
Nan Gong Hen's words and actions only managed to stir up the Shamans' ardor for a moment. Once the slaughter started, this energy did not manage to last long.
Shrill screams of pain filled the air. In the face of the tall Sacred Bats, the Shamans could only resist in vain. Even if they struggled and fought back, the Sacred Bats had bodies that were as sturdy as a Berserker's and had divine abilities that surpassed the might of the Shamans. Their numbers were great as well, and to the Shamans, this battle could only end in devastation and nothing else.
It was especially so since the dozen something Violet Thread Sacred Bats possessed a power equivalent to a Latter Shaman and the body that was as sturdy and powerful as a Berserker in the Berserker Soul Realm. Wherever they went to, cruel laughter would reverberate in the air, and all the Shamans who tried to block their paths would be torn apart alive.
These bats did not even cast any divine abilities. Their strong arms were enough to replace everything. The Shamans' heads were separated from their bodies, their limbs torn off, and their flesh and blood gushed everywhere, turning into a picture that would last for eternity in the sky.
Nan Gong Hen coughed out a mouthful of blood, and with a low growl, the long spear in his hand pierced through the center of one of the Sacred Bats' brows. He lifted his left hand, and with a swing, a large amount of aura of death immediately gathered together, turning into a vortex around him. A large amount of dead souls appeared from within the vortex and charged into the area.
He was a Spirit Medium, but even if he was one, and even if most Spirit Mediums pitied the dead and were cold towards the living, this was different for Nan Gong Hen. Even becoming a Spirit Medium could not suppress his boisterous nature, and this was the key reason why he could not become a Latter Shaman.
As his tribesmen died continuously behind him and their numbers decreased rapidly, as the booming sounds that came from self-destruction reverberated in the air, the intensity of this massacre reached its peak.
Those who self-destructed were the old tribesmen. The destruction they caused before their deaths served as a driving force for all the Shamans.
"Fight, even if we die!" Nan Gong Hen roared.
"Fight for ourselves! Fight for our people! Change our own fate in this battle! In the midst of our madness, seize our future!"
All the Shamans' eyes were already filled with red. If a single one of them could not handle these Sacred Bats, then two of them would fight together, and if two were not enough, three would fight together!
Yet even so, in this situation where the Sacred Bats' numbers were no less than the Shamans', and the number of deaths among the Shamans continued rising, blood filled the air and earth. Shrill cries of pain echoed around.
Nan Gong Hen, to his right, saw another one of his tribesmen's heads ripped off its neck. Blood gushed out from the wound, and even a few drops fell on Nan Gong Hen's face.
It was just a brief clash, and there were already fewer than three of the Shamans left from the five hundred they had in the beginning. They could no longer rush forward and were continuously forced backwards as the Sacred Bats descended on them oppressively from the sky. They continued moving back until they stood next to the protective screen of light.
Nan Gong Hen was filled with despair. He watched his tribesmen die, watched the faces that had grown familiar to him during the fifteen years shattering right before his eyes, watched all of this, and could do nothing to change it.
However, when they were forced back to the side of the screen, suddenly, a gigantic hand appeared in the sky, and with an astonishing speed, charged towards Nan Gong Hen and the other Shamans.
From the distance, that palm looked monstrously huge. It was several thousands of feet big, and as it descended on them, rumbling sounds spread through the air. Right on top of the palm was the Sacred Bat with the golden thread in the center of his brows. He had his right hand lifted and was pressing downwards slowly. Disdain and contempt appeared at the corners of his lips in the form of a sneer. To him, these outsiders were all so weak they could not even put up a fight!
With a roar, veins popped up on Nan Gong Hen's face. All his tribesmen behind him started circulating all their power in a frenzy to fight against that huge palm!
Their deaths were of secondary concern, because if they could not resist this, then it was going to be difficult for the protective light screen to endure it. And once that protective light screen shattered, the children in the valley and all their injured tribesmen would have to go through a brutal genocide where they could absolutely not fight back!
The hand was already less than five hundred feet away, when a roar shot forth from the valley. Right before everyone's eyes, an old man with a pale face and a head full of white hair shot out from the valley. He traveled so quickly that he pierced through the screen of light in the blink of an eye, passed by Nan Gong Hen and the rest, and stopped right above them, alone against that hand. He lifted his right hand, clenched his fist, and rammed it against the gigantic hand pressing downwards.
"Senior Tie Mu!"
"It's senior Tie Mu!"
Cries filled with cheer spread out from the crowd. That old man was the person who had been injured during the previous battle and had been in a coma since then because he could not heal properly - Tie Mu!
When such a crisis fell upon the entire valley, he woke up, and without care for himself, he attacked. The instant his fist came into contact with that gigantic palm, Tie Mu coughed out a large mouthful of blood. Blood mist burst forth from his entire body, and like a kite with a broken thread, he was sent tumbling back.
"Is this the most powerful force from the outsiders in this place? So weak, you cannot even put up a fight… All of you outsiders, die!"
An indifferent voice traveled forth from the sky, and the Sacred Bats started floating in the air all around the valley, their faces filled with only scorn. The dozen something Violet Thread Sacred Bats mostly laughed coldly as they looked at the scene beneath them.
The person who said those words was the Golden Thread Sacred Bat that had brought forth that gigantic palm from the highest point in the sky.
Nan Gong Hen sank into despair. He immediately went up to support Tie Mu. Tie Mu's face was already bloodless and his eyes were shut tight. He was injured heavily to begin with, and after forcing himself to attack, he was injured badly once again. At that moment, his life was in peril.
The gigantic hand rushed towards them with loud, booming sounds. Right when it was about to touch Nan Gong Hen and the others, Nan Gong Hen let out a roar, and all the Shamans retreated into the screen of light. Then, right before their eyes, they watched that palm crash into the screen of light. A huge rumble that shook the sky and earth reverberated in the air, and the screen of light exploded, turning into numerous shards that scattered in all directions.
At that moment, the entire valley no longer had any form of protection!
After the gigantic hand shattered the screen of light, it did not disappear. Instead, it pressed down against all the Shamans in the valley in a manner that screamed with the intention of destroying everything!
The mountain crumbled. A large amount of shattered stones fell down and turned into dust. Because the ground could not withstand the power of that strike, cracks formed, as if the land was about to shatter.
There were no corpses within the Rune in the valley, only layers upon layers of ashes. During that moment just now, all the people crumbled into ashes as the Rune disintegrated.
As the stones shattered and fell from the mountains, the children hugged their mothers in fear within the trembling cave abodes. They closed their eyes and waited for death to take them.
Nan Gong Hen laughed brokenly, then lifted his head to look at the hand, and despair appeared on his face.
"There, that is our future… So be it, let us all die…"
Right at that moment, the Golden Thread Sacred Bat's indifferent voice was still echoing all around the area, and the disdain in his words was as plain as day.
"... All outsiders, die!"
Yet right at the instant the gigantic palm was less than three hundred feet away from Nan Gong Hen and the others, at the point where all of them fell into despair—
A similarly aloof voice traveled forth like a thunderclap between the sky and earth, with a force that overwhelmed that of the Golden Thread Sacred Bat!
"I…" That was the first word from that voice. As that word traveled forth, all the Sacred Bats in the sky felt a violent gust of wind charging towards them from the distance. The strength of that wind was like a furious roar of heaven itself, and it actually managed to push them back against their will.
"Am…" This was the second word. When that first word traveled forth, it gave the others the impression that it was still far away, but when the second word reached them, they had a feeling as if the word was said right beside their ears. It was like a huge clap of thunder roaring in the sky, causing all the Sacred Bats who heard it to feel booming sounds going off in their heads and souls.
With an indescribable speed, a flash of golden light appeared within the valley, and right under that gigantic palm, that golden light turned into a person. His face could not be seen clearly, the only thing in sight being him lifting his right hand and stretching out a finger. Then, seemingly casually, he tapped at the center of that gigantic palm.
"Also…" This was the third word. It was calm, but it gave others the impression that it held some sort of universal law within that replaced all the sounds in the area!
That person was incredibly tiny compared to the palm, but the instant his finger touched that gigantic hand, an astonishing boom reverberated violently in the air and spread in several hundreds of lis. A huge wave of impact also spread out in all directions as the boom echoed in the air, and it traveled forth like a violent gust of wind, like raging waves sweeping through the sea.
As the booming sound echoed in the air, the gigantic hand trembled and started cracking up inch by inch, exploding eventually, turning into a wave of impact that was sent charging backwards into the sky.
"... An outsider!" The two final words in the sentence were uttered slowly as that hand crumbled apart and was sent reeling backwards.
At that moment, as violent gusts of wind blew around the area with furious howls, the figure stood in midair. His long hair danced in the wind and his robes were as white as snow. He was a handsome man, and there was a diamond-shaped brand at the center of his brows. On his shoulders was a small snake who had its head lifted and was hissing with its forked tongue out of its mouth at that moment. The man stood there, and he seized everyone's attention onto himself!
His gaze was profound, as if it contained all of heaven. Waves of golden light spread from all over his body, causing him to look as if he was wearing a layer of golden armor!
Apart from that profound gaze, there was also a look within his eyes that would strike fear in other people's hearts, and all the Sacred Bats who came into contact with that gaze felt booming sounds going off in their minds. It was as if with just one glance into his eyes, their bodies would disintegrate.
This was a form strength, a strength that surpassed all forms of power in this place!
Chapter 485: Mo Su!
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
This was a form of might. A might that could cause the palm from before to fall apart with just one finger, could make this entire massacre freeze right in its place with just one sentence, could strike all these Sacred Bats dumb with shock!
"I am also an outsider." Su Ming lifted his head and looked at the Sacred Bats in the sky, as well as the Golden Thread Sacred Bat whose expression had changed drastically as he stood at the highest point in the sky.
The blood and massacres in this place made Su Ming's expression turn dark. If he came a little later, then perhaps there would be no survivors in this place. If that truly happened, then he would need to think of some other way to obtain the answers he wanted.
Besides… Even though the people who died were Shamans, these Shamans looked too much like Berserkers. Their cultivation methods and skills might be different, but they were still people. These things in the sky, however, had wings of a bat growing off their backs and were obviously some other race that belonged to this place.
They looked incredibly strange, but to Su Ming, they felt somewhat similar to Wings of the Moon.
As the Sacred Bats' expressions changed swiftly, Su Ming let loose a cold harrumph and took a step towards the sky. The Golden Thread Sacred Bat in the sky cried out shrilly right at that moment.
As he roared, expressions of madness and ferociousness appeared on the faces of the other Sacred Bats around it. They rushed straight towards Su Ming, and those dozen something Violet Thread Sacred Bats were the ones leading the charge.
Su Ming's expression remained as dark as ever. Golden light shone on his entire body, and he did not even bother executing any sort of divine ability. Instead, he lifted his right hand, clenched it, and hurled his fist straight ahead!
As of then, a sixth of his bones had turned into Berserker Bones, and Su Ming only had a rough estimation of his power. He had yet to have any sort of comparison for him to arrive at a specific idea of how strong he was at the moment. That was why these Sacred Bats had turned into a great way for him to gauge his strength in his eyes.
The punch landed on thin air, and a loud rumble instantly rang through the entire world. The golden light on Su Ming's body abruptly grew brighter, up to a blinding degree. It was as if he had turned into the sun. At the instant he hurled his fist forward, a crack appeared in the air before turning into a huge black vortex. That vortex rushed forward, and all the Sacred Bats who came into contact with that vortex would cry out shrilly as their bodies were sucked in, and as they screamed, they were grounded to powder and disintegrated into nothing.
Su Ming took a step forward. The instant his foot landed, the world shook, and a crack appeared in the air, as if it could not withstand the might of that one step. As that crack spread outwards with a huge rumble, the dozen something Violet Thread Sacred Bats closed in on him.
Su Ming did not dodge. With his right index finger, he sliced through the air before him. One of the Violet Thread Sacred Bats roared and pushed down on his finger with his right hand, thinking of using its powerful, raw physical strength to resist that attack. Then, with his left hand shaped in the form of a claw, he swiped against Su Ming's chest.
He was already prepared to have half his body fall apart. In his mind, even if half of his body was destroyed, it would not matter as long as he got to injure this person. However, he did not expect to feel an indescribable power erupting from his right hand at the instant it came into contact with Su Ming's finger. In the span of a breath, he lost his consciousness and fell into eternal slumber.
In other people's eyes, that Violet Thread Sacred Bat's body exploded when Su Ming pointed at him, turning into a large amount of bits and pieces that tumbled backwards, as if the power contained within Su Ming's finger could destroy the sky and earth.
He killed a Violet Thread Sacred Bat with just one finger. This did not happen over a long span of time and was over in an instant, and it was so quick that it made the Golden Thread Sacred Bat's pupils shrink. This brought out a loud cheer from the Shamans underneath when they saw it.
However, right at the moment that cheer shot into the air, it immediately died down, because the Shamans underneath saw the other Violet Thread Sacred Bats closing in on that golden figure. All of them struck at the same time, and all their attacks landed squarely on that golden figure.
Su Ming did not dodge and simply allowed the Violet Thread Sacred Bats' attacks to land on him. Those Violet Thread Sacred Bats all looked incredibly ferocious, and crazed murderous intent could be seen on their faces, but all of them froze in an instant.
"Too weak."
Su Ming shook his head. As of then, his body had already become so powerful that he could barely feel these attacks. The only effect was that his Qi churned, slightly. He took a deep breath, and all the power from his Berserker Bones burst outwards. This was his power in the Bone Sacrifice Realm, and it was also the strongest power he held within his physical body at the moment!
At the instant that power erupted forth, the golden light from within Su Ming covered an area of one thousand feet. Booming sounds and cries of pain filled the air, and the Violet Thread Sacred Bats who attacked Su Ming just now coughed out fresh blood before they fell backwards. Their bodies started crumbling.
As calm as ever, Su Ming lifted his right hand and seized at the air. Immediately, one of those Violet Thread Sacred Bats who was falling backwards rushed towards Su Ming against his will. Su Ming grabbed his throat, squeezed it lightly, and with a bang coming forth from the bat's entire body, that Sacred Bat immediately fell to the side and died.
"So weak. You cannot even put up a fight."
Su Ming let go of his hand, and as that Violet Thread Sacred Bat's body fell to the ground, he lifted his head, with a face as dark as night, to look at the Golden Thread Sacred Bat standing at the highest point in the sky. His words right at that moment were the exact same ones as the words delivered by the Golden Thread Sacred Bat to Fated Kin earlier. He was simply returning them right back to that creature.
The hundreds of Sacred Bats who originally wanted to charge forth all moved back with shock and intense horror on their faces. Not a single one of them dared move even half a step forward.
"Who are you?!" the Golden Thread Sacred Bat demanded darkly.
Su Ming might be looking at him with his head lifted as he stood underneath, but it made the Golden Thread Sacred Bat feel as if Su Ming was looking down on him. It made him feel shocked to the core, because the other's appearance and that astonishing presence he exuded, as well as the swift kills he delivered made the Golden Thread Shaman Bat feel as if he was about to suffocate.
One of the reasons why he brought so many of his kind to the valley where the Shamans' stayed this time was because they wanted to occupy the altar.
However, they could have occupied that altar anytime they wanted. It could have been earlier, or later, but since this spot was the intersecting point between the three races and they made a promise with the Spirits of Nine Yin in the past, they had to let a handful of the Shamans survive.
That was why the Shamans could remain till this day. If no accidents had happened, the Shamans would have continued weakening. They would not be eradicated within a short period of time, but they would slowly be enslaved and turned into prey.
There was a very great reason as to why he chose to come at this point of time.
This reason was due to the disappearance of the tenth moon.
At the same moment the tenth moon disappeared, the only four Golden Thread Sacred Bats among their entire race felt their sacred ancestor's call simultaneously.
His will was clearly delivered within that call, and it was a desire for an offering made of the blood and soul of outsiders!
Perhaps that desire was aimed towards one person, perhaps it was aimed towards an entire race. The instructions were rather unclear, but it was the reason behind the massacre just now.
All the souls of those who died just now had been secretly taken away by the Sacred Bats, and it was the same for the blood and flesh they spilled as well.
However, with Su Ming's appearance and the sudden change in this entire massacre, the Golden Thread Sacred Bat could not help but experience a drastic change in his expression. He had a vague feeling that perhaps his sacred ancestor did not want all the outsiders as an offering, just an incredibly powerful warrior from among them!
With a composed expression, Su Ming no longer bothered himself with that Golden Thread Sacred Bat, but instead turned around and looked at the hundreds of Shamans who were staring at him blankly. His gaze swept past all these people and eventually landed on Nan Gong Hen.
All the eyes of the Shamans who met his gaze were filled with feverish zeal. They lowered their heads in respect. They might not know why Su Ming came to them, but his appearance had saved them from danger. They were filled with gratitude towards him for attacking those Sacred Bats.
Nan Gong Hen was the same. The moment Su Ming looked towards him, he immediately wrapped his fist in his palm and bowed respectfully towards him.
"I am Nan Gong, member of Fated Kin. Greetings, senior. Thank you for saving my people from danger."
"Fated Kin? Brother Nan Gong, it's been a long while. Who would have thought it would feel as if so much had happened when we meet again after so many years?" Su Ming said languidly, feeling rather sentimental.
"Senior, you are…" When Nan Gong Hen heard Su Ming's words, he was completely stunned. With wide eyes, he looked at Su Ming closely. Gradually, the confusion on his face was replaced by doubt, then that doubt turned into uncertainty, and eventually, his expression changed completely into one of disbelief.
"Mo Su… You… You're Mo Su!" Nan Gong Hen was completely baffled. A huge storm raged in his heart, and he cried out in disbelief.
When he saw Su Ming in the past, he had been wearing a mask. Now, there was no mask on Su Ming's face and he was showing how he really looked like to the world, but Su Ming's voice, his words, and everything else was like a bolt of lightning flashing in Nan Gong Hen's head.
"I should have guessed. When you left the treasure gambling event with the two children in the past, you should have gone to the Candle Dragon's burial ground. You disappeared after that, and the tenth moon appeared in the sky…" Nan Gong Hen's head buzzed noisily as he mumbled under his breath.
"Mo Su? He's Mo Su?! I remember that name. I was there during the treasure gambling event as well, and I still can't forget those miraculous scenes that happened during that time!
"But he… How did he become so strong?!"
"I remember now. This person actually managed to keep up with senior Tie Mu's attacks in the past, and he was just a Medial Shaman at that time. Now… Now, he became so strong..."
A commotion rose among the hundreds of Shamans. Su Ming' s appearance and his identity caused them to sink into disbelief. It was difficult to associate the figure in the past with the person before them right then.
Su Ming smiled faintly. When he saw Nan Gong Hen, he was moved deeply, but at the same time, he also learned that time did indeed pass differently in the Undying and Imperishable World compared to the world outside. Not much time should have gone by since then.
Or else, those thousands of years that had seemed like a dream would have caused the outside world to change greatly, and Nan Gong Hen would have also been reduced to a skeleton a long time ago.
"Mo Su! Very well. We won't let what happened today end so easily. We'll meet again in the future!" The Golden Thread Sacred Bat gritted his teeth, and flapping his wings, he charged into the distance.
"Let's go!" As he spoke, all the Sacred Bats around breathed a sigh of relief in their hearts. Coming face-to-face with the terror of Su Ming's might had left them trembling with fear. They flapped their wings rapidly, but just as they were about to leave the place…
"Are you leaving just like that?" Su Ming turned around and glared coldly at the Sacred Bats who were just about to leave.
Translator's Notes:
Wings of the Moon: The creatures serving Su Ming after he started practicing Fire Berserker Arts. They later on fused with He Feng, who turned traitor and ran away.
Chapter 486: Fiend Bow!
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
"What now?! Are you actually not letting us go?!" The Golden Thread Sacred Bat turned around swiftly and glared at Su Ming from midair. His voice was ghastly and held a slightly sharp edge.
"This is the World of Nine Sanctities, and we Sacred Bats are one of the sacred races. You Shamans only number to hundreds, do you really want to be destroyed! And you, even if you have extraordinary power, you've already offended us, so you will definitely die!" The Golden Thread Sacred Bat's voice was dark, but Su Ming could tell with just one glance that he was just putting up a tough act.
As that Golden Thread Sacred Bat spoke with that piercing voice, the other Sacred Bats around him put on ferocious looks once again. Red filled their eyes as they glared at Su Ming. They might be afraid, but at that moment, they had to put up such an appearance.
"Senior… Senior Mo, just let them go…" Nan Gong Hen hesitated for a moment before he whispered to Su Ming.
Su Ming cast a look at Nan Gong Hen. Since the people here did not want to engage in more fights, then as an outsider, it was only natural that he did not meddle too much. Once he asked about the things he wanted to know, then Su Ming would set off to do what he wanted to do. He would not stay here for long.
"At least you Shamans know your place!" The Golden Thread Sacred Bat let out a sigh of relief within, but he still let out a cold harrumph while appearing as fierce as ever. He was certain that these Shamans would not dare provoke them too much, but he was incredibly worried about this Mo Su who was extremely terrifying in his eyes. He was just about to leave swiftly...
But right at that moment, the originally unconscious Tie Mu struggled to open his eyes. Supported by his tribesmen, he spoke to Su Ming hoarsely.
"Don't let them go! How can we let them go when they've killed so many of our people! If it wasn't because of your presence here, we would have been wiped off! Our entire race would have died… They have brought too much grief and resentment to us! We have to take revenge!"
"But…" Nan Gong Hen hesitated for a moment.
"But what?! If we let them go, will they be grateful to us? Are they going to stop coming after our lives?! Are they going to stop hunting us as if we're prey?! Nan Gong Hen, you imbecile!
"Brother Mo, I beg of you, please attack them. Don't let a single one of these Sacred Bats leave! Kill every single one of them!"
Tie Mu struggled to move his mouth. In his agitation and rage, he coughed out a large mouthful of blood, only managing to not fall unconscious again after clenching his jaw tightly. His ragged breathing turned his originally old face even older, and he now looked like an oil lamp that might extinguish at any moment.
"As long as you help us, then we will listen and fulfill all your requests. We will even acknowledge you as our master!"
A faint, red flush had appeared on Tie Mu's face, and it was clearly the sign that this was the last ounce of his strength, just like the last burst of light from an oil lamp that was about to go off.
The Golden Thread Sacred Bat's expression changed drastically in the sky, and without even a hint of hesitation, he quickly ran off, not even bothering with the kinsmen around him.
"As you wish, but you don't have to acknowledge me as your master."
Su Ming cast a glance at Tie Mu. The things that happened between him and this old man appeared in his head. These memories were originally rather clouded, but as of then, they were gradually getting clearer.
This old man was already at the last vestiges of his life and would not be able to last long. Even if they had a miracle cure with them right at that moment, it would still be difficult for them to preserve his life, unless he could be like Su Ming and obtained a serendipity given by the Candle Dragon.
Su Ming sighed, then averted his gaze to look at the valley around him. He lifted his right hand and seized at the air, and immediately, one of the Fiend Bows flew out from the hands of the Battle Shaman standing outside his cave abode. Su Ming caught it in his hands.
With the black Fiend Bow in his hands, he took a step in midair. When he was in the sky, he looked at the hundreds of Sacred Bats scattering and fleeing. His gaze gradually turned cold, and with his left hand holding the bow, he lifted his right hand to pull the bowstring. With a hum, the Fiend Bow that could only be used by Battle Shamans was fully drawn.
As the bow was drawn, wisps of golden light spread out from Su Ming's body and gathered into a golden arrow. The instant Su Ming's right hand released the bowstring, golden light shot out and stirred up a wave of ripples that shook the sky. The arrow charged into the distance as if slicing through the entire sky. With a loud bang, the arrow shot through several Sacred Bats, and they died, shattered.
Su Ming did not stop. He drew the Fiend Bow once again, and immediately the attention of all those around him, especially the Battle Shamans, filled with feverish zeal as they looked at him.
After all, Battle Shamans could only draw these Fiend Bows once, and if they wanted to draw that bow twice within a short span of time, they would have to pay a devastating price.
However, Su Ming was drawing that bow twice in a row, and there was not a single pause during the entire process. From this alone, it was clear that the strength of his physical body had already surpassed the Battle Shamans here by several fold.
The second arrow, the third, the fourth, the fifth…
Su Ming stood in the sky and continued drawing that bowstring, doing it so quickly that eventually, he was practically already drawing the bow right after letting go of the bowstring. Buzzing sounds sliced through the air, and booming sounds filled the sky and earth. A large amount of ripples charged through the sky.
Each arrow that was fired would stir up a loud bang, and several Sacred Bats would die as they screamed in pain. It did not matter how quickly they escaped and how far they were from Su Ming at that moment. The arrows would rush towards them to take their lives, to destroy them one by one with a presence that shook the skies.
In the span of thirty breaths, Su Ming fired around ninety arrows, causing the sky to distort and those booming sounds that lingered in the air to overlap with each and create a sound so loud it was deafening. It also made the Sacred Bats who had already escaped far in the distance feel their hearts quake in fear; they looked as if they were scared out of their wits. To them, the span of these thirty breaths was akin to hell, and one where they had turned into prey!
Every single time the sharp whistle came from behind them, one of their kind would die while screaming shrilly, and every single time the buzzing sounds echoed in the air, there would be a high chance that it would be the last sound they would ever hear in their lives.
This extreme terror was enough to make anyone's soul and mind completely shatter. In the span of thirty breaths, the bats' numbers were reduced to less than twenty from their initial hundreds, and they had all been fleeing!
This terror made the remaining Sacred Bats let out piercing shrieks of fear as they trembled. Then, in their desperation, they started fleeing madly with the fastest speed they could muster.
When Su Ming drew the Fiend Bow once again, it snapped in two with a bang. Su Ming's continual usage had actually become too much for it and it shattered!
The Shamans who were looking at Su Ming all had their mouths hanging open in shock. They knew very clearly just how powerful the Fiend Bows were, and the more they knew, the more shocked they were by what they saw.
It was especially so for the Battle Shamans. They were struck completely dumb, because they simply could not imagine just what sort of power a person would need to make a Fiend Bow shatter from inability to withstand continuously being drawn.
Su Ming tossed away the broken Fiend Bow and took a step forward. With that one step alone, he disappeared. This sort of disappearance was not because he was traveling so quickly that people could not see his movements clearly, he had truly disappeared. This was… warping!
The instant Su Ming disappeared, he reappeared in the distance, right before one of the Sacred Bats. That Sacred Bat had not even noticed the arrival. In fact, before Su Ming's reflection could enter his pupils, Su Ming had already left.
The moment he left, the Sacred Bat charged another several dozens of feet forward before he opened his mouth, and as confusion appeared in his eyes, a bloody hole emerged at the center of his brows, and he plummeted straight down to the ground.
The same scene happened in succession in the sky. Most of the Sacred Bats spread in the area met the same fate. Before they even noticed it, their lives had already been taken away.
One of the Violet Thread Sacred Bats had actually managed to detect Su Ming appearing before him, but he could not dodge his aloof tap of a finger at the center of his brows.
To that Violet Thread Sacred Bat, that finger felt as if it was the law of the universe. When it appeared, it gave the Sacred Bat a feeling as if he could not escape his fate. Then his vision darkened and his head exploded with a bang.
Su Ming pulled his finger back. This particular jab did not have a name. It was a killing move that he had polished after going through countless incarnations and an endless amount of years in the Undying and Imperishable World.
That jab contained the fusions contained within the Undying and Imperishable World. It might not be Su Ming's fusion between the past and future, but the concept of binary opposites was still contained within it!
At that moment, there were only two Sacred Bats who were fleeing madly in the world. One of them was the Golden Thread Sacred Bat. The other was a Violet Thread Sacred Bat that had cast some sort of mysterious Art, allowing his speed as he fled to be almost on par with the Golden Thread Sacred Bat's despite the fact that he was injured.
These two people people were fleeing in two different directions, and they were incredibly far from each other. When Su Ming looked over, only two small dots remained of them, and they were becoming increasingly indistinct.
With a calm expression, Su Ming lowered his head and looked at the small snake which had its head lifted on his shoulders. When a finger pointed at the Violet Thread Sacred Bat in the distance, the small snake immediately shout out like lightning from Su Ming's shoulders with a hiss, charging straight towards that unfortunate creature.
As for Su Ming, he stared at that Golden Thread Sacred Bat with a hint of curiosity in his eyes. In truth, even if Tie Mu had not woken up and even if Nan Gong Hen had suggested that he did not completely kill these Sacred Bats, Su Ming would have still followed them in secret.
'These Sacred Bats look incredibly similar to the Wings of the Moon… Could it be that there is some form of connection between them? I also saw that dead person mentioning the third God of Berserkers when I was in the Candle Dragon's body… The Wings of the Moon were transformed from Fire Berserkers, and in my memories, the Fire Berserkers were destroyed by the God of Berserkers.
'I wonder if there is some sort of connection here.' A glint appeared in Su Ming's eyes, and he disappeared from the spot.
The Golden Thread Sacred Bat's face remained as dark as thunderclouds in the sky, and there was fear as well as wariness in his eyes. He could sense that all his kinsmen had died. Once again, he was struck by a strong sensation of how terrifying this Mo Su was.
'Damn it, why did I run into such a terrifying existence? His physical strength alone can allow him to endure the brunt of a dozen something attacks from Violet Threads. This sort of power has already far surpassed what I can withstand!
'Even the Chief Elder would have difficulty doing this! Just what sort of skills did he practice? How did he actually manage to do this?!
'His name is Mo Su. Judging from the Shamans' reactions, they are incredibly familiar with this person, and most of them were shocked. If that is the case, then this person wasn't this powerful in their memories. Just what sort of serendipity did he receive in the World of Nine Sanctities that turned him into such a terrifying existence?!
'The tenth moon… Could it be?'
The Golden Thread Sacred Bat sucked in a sharp breath when he thought of a possibility. In his mind, the memory of a crack appearing in the tenth moon in the sky a month ago surfaced in his mind, and he remembered just how that crack looked - as if there was someone who was trying to rip it apart from within.
When the Golden Thread Sacred Bat's thought of that, his expression changed drastically.
Chapter 487: Worshiping the Moon?
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
'Could it be that he's the reason behind the Candle Dragon bringing out the Undying and Imperishable World and causing the tenth moon to appear?! That small snake on his shoulders is light red in color and there is a crack at the center of its brows. When it looked at me, I felt my skin crawl, could it be… Could it be that it's?'
The Golden Thread Sacred Bat's breathing quickened. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and he fled even faster.
'Could it be that the Candle Dragon has resurrected?!'
The Golden Thread Sacred Bat's teeth chattered. Right at the moment that thought that caused fear to crawl down his spine appeared in his head, a powerful roar came from the distance. It was a sound that made him feel such extreme fear that he felt as if his soul was about to leave his body.
That roar was one that could steal other people's souls. It made him instinctively turn his head back to look, and the instant he saw the direction from which that roar came from, his face immediately turned pale, and not a single hint of blood could be seen on his face.
He saw a gigantic shadow in the sky in the distance, and that shadow belonged to a Candle Dragon. It had its mouth opened wide, and as it roared, it looked as if it was devouring something.
That shadow might be barely perceptible, but there was no way he would be wrong about this. He knew that one of his kinsmen was fleeing in that direction, and when he saw the Candle Dragon's shadow, he knew that his kinsman was most likely dead.
With fear still lingering in his heart, the Golden Thread Sacred Bat gritted his teeth and was just about to turn around and charge forward in a mad dash without a care for anything else, but right when he turned his body, he froze. A feeling as if a chill had run through his entire body rose within him, because at some unknown point of time, a person had appeared right before him, and he was staring at him coldly!
That person appeared calm, and his gaze was aloof, as if he was looking at a dead thing. He stood there silently, causing the Golden Thread Sacred Bat's face to change drastically. Just as he was about to retreat, Su Ming took a step forward, lifted his right hand, and tapped the center of the Golden Thread Sacred Bat's brows.
"Don't you dare!"
The Golden Thread Sacred Bat let out a sharp screech and his wings came forward diagonally to form a shield before him. Right at that instant, he began forming a seal quickly with his hands and pushed forward swiftly. Waves of ripples instantly appeared. As the ripples spread out, they looked like a ferocious face of an evil spirit that was moving forward to devour whatever was in its path.
At the same time, he bit the tip of his tongue and coughed out a mouthful of golden blood. That blood turned into a golden bat, and with a piercing screech, it charged forward.
But it had not ended. Once he finished doing these things, the Golden Thread Sacred Bat seized the air with his right hand. Immediately, a spherical-shaped, golden scimitar appeared in his hand. With a swing of the scimitar, a ray of golden light shot up and charged towards Su Ming.
In his haste, the Golden Thread Sacred Bat could only execute these moves. However, to be able to cast these divine abilities in such a short amount of time was proof of just how powerful he was.
Su Ming's tap had stirred a sound that sliced through the air and sounded as if the earth and heaven were about to shatter. His finger touched the Golden Thread Sacred Bat's wings, which were acting as his shield, and a loud banging sound spread out. Blood instantly covered the entirety of his wings and the sound of bones being broken traveled forth. If the Golden Thread Sacred Bat had not immediately spread his wings outwards, they would have fallen apart straight away, reduced to pieces of flesh and blood.
Su Ming's finger did not stop moving even after the Sacred Bat spread his wings outwards. He tapped on the Golden Thread Sacred Bat's second layer of defense, and rumbling sounds emerged from the malicious ghost face formed from the ripples. When these ripples completely disappeared, the golden bat that was formed from the Golden Thread Sacred Bat's blood let out a piercing screech and rushed towards Su Ming's finger.
Before the lingering rumbling sounds in the air disappeared, new booming sounds rang out. Under the might of that one jab, the golden bat exploded with a screech. However, the speed on that one jab had been greatly reduced.
As the golden bat disappeared, the Golden Thread Sacred Bat's golden scimitar in the shape of a full moon appeared right before Su Ming's finger. Both of them clashed at that instant. A loud crash that shook the skies rang out, and blood flowed out of the corners of the Sacred Bat's mouth as he was sent rapidly tumbling backwards.
A glint appeared in Su Ming's eyes. He stood in midair and did not move back even an inch. However, he did not pull back his finger. That one jab had no name. After millions of evolutions, it was completed in the Undying and Imperishable World. Ever since Su Ming walked out, no one had actually managed to survive that one jab of his.
As of then, this Golden Thread Sacred Bat was the first!
The Golden Thread Sacred Bat's face was pale and filled with terror. As he fell back, he could not help but cough out blood. He might not have died, but he was absolutely terrified of that one jab. He might have reduced a large portion of its power with his multiple layers of protection, but its remaining power still caused his Qi to churn in his body, and he lost a large portion of his life force.
'What is that divine ability?!'
As the Golden Thread Sacred Bat retreated, he knew that his life was on the line and that it was impossible for him to escape, which was why he decided to just plunge himself into madness.
"How dare you injure me?! I am a Golden Thread Sacred Bat. I am the messenger of our sacred ancestor's will. If you kill me, then it means that you are declaring war on all Sacred Bats. This is a consequence you cannot bear!"
The Golden Thread Sacred Bat roared, and as he roared, red filled his eyes. He was afraid, extremely afraid. Su Ming's power gave him a feeling that he could not even hope to stand up to him.
As composed as ever, Su Ming took a step forward and lifted his right hand. After testing the strength of his physical body, he wanted to see the power of his divine abilities.
He clenched his right hand into a fist, and when he moved forward, he hurled it straight towards the sky.
This punch was for the Wind Propelling stage. A large, violent gust of wind stirred up and charged straight towards the sky. The sky rumbled, and the clouds dispersed right away, turning into a gigantic vortex that continuously spun in the sky.
"Wind Fusion!" Su Ming said calmly.
With his right fist still lifted in the air, he unfurled his hand, then seized the air in the direction of the sky. Immediately, the vortex in the sky grew several times its original size. Once it filled up half of the sky, it charged towards Su Ming's right hand like a whirlwind. At that moment, wind and thunder billowed in the sky. Su Ming stood in midair, and his right hand seemed to be holding the reigns for the sky, seemed to be controlling all the wind within that vortex!
"Sun Genesis!"
The instant Su Ming uttered these two words, he flung his right hand before himself. Immediately, the wind in the vortex that had been in his control charged towards the Golden Thread Sacred Bat with a mighty momentum.
From the distance, this was a picture that could strike fear and shock in people's hearts. In that picture, Su Ming's hair danced in the air while he looked incredibly calm, and that scar under his eyes gave him a strange charm.
On the other hand, the Golden Thread Sacred Bat's face was laden with terror. His eyes were crimson red, and his actions became even more crazed!
Between the both of them was a whirlwind that connected heaven and earth. That whirlwind was sweeping in all directions at that moment, and as it howled, it charged straight towards the Golden Thread Sacred Bat as if it wanted to drown it within.
In his madness, the Golden Thread Sacred Bat found that the shadow of death looming over him was becoming greater. He could not accept just dying here like this. As he struggled, he lifted his head and roared, then lifted both his hands, and after forming a strange seal before himself, he slammed his hands on his body. Immediately, he began trembling, and all his feathers began falling off. Once the golden feathers fell off, they turned into rays of golden light that stirred up a sharp whistle as they charged towards that whirlwind.
Once he was done, that Golden Thread Sacred Bat bit the tip of his tongue once again and coughed up a huge mouthful of blood. Right after that, his upper body bent downwards so that his back was pointed towards the sky. He lifted his forehead and veins popped up on his face. He looked quite ferocious as he let out a hoarse cry.
"Sacred Bats mountain bearing Art, Eternal Autumn Rain. Come forth, our origin stone monument!" As he roared, a gigantic stone monument manifested out of thin air!
That stone monument was incredibly big and was one thousand feet in size. There were multiple complicated words carved on its surface. Once it appeared, it pressed down swiftly on the Golden Thread Sacred Bat's back, making it seem as if he was carrying the stone monument!
A vast and mighty power started spreading out of the stone monument, and to resist that incoming whirlwind formed by Sun Genesis, it started slanting downwards in the direction of where the whirlwind was charging forth!
Both sides crashed into each other instantaneously. Su Ming's wind formed through Sun Genesis came first into contact with the light formed by the endless golden feathers. Loud booming sounds shot into the sky, and those feathers completely shattered. The whirlwind swept them aside, and without stopping even for a moment, it crashed into the stone monument that was formed by the Golden Thread Sacred Bat's divine ability.
Booming sounds swept through the entire world. Those sounds entered the Shamans' valley, causing all the Shamans to look at the sky with trembling hearts. Those sounds then traveled further away.
The stone monument started cracking inch by inch and eventually completely shattered, but similarly, a large portion of Su Ming's wind dissipated as that stone monument crumbled. However, that gust of wind still had power lingering within it, and it swept through the land to charge straight towards the Golden Thread Sacred Bat.
The Sacred Bat coughed out blood once again, and his body instantly shriveled up. Despair appeared in his eyes, along with a madness that screamed of ending his own life. He no longer dodged, but instead knelt down on one knee and let out the strongest howl he could muster towards the sky.
"Moon progenitor! The sacred ancestor we Sacred Bats have worshiped since ancient times! With my body of a Golden Thread Sacred Bat, I ask to borrow your power to worship the moon, and allow me to bow to you three times to perform the burning of my blood!"
As the Golden Thread Sacred Bat roared, he kowtowed once towards the nine moons in the sky.
When he kowtowed towards the moons, Su Ming's heart shuddered, because he could clearly feel that the ninth moon among the nine moons in the sky had grown slightly larger!
"With this one bow, please borrow me the power to call forth a sea of fire that would surge into the skies and burn everything!"
The Golden Thread Sacred Bat looked as if his body could no longer endure it after kowtowing once towards the moons. From within his body, a blast of violet flames could be seen erupting forth; from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. In an instant, that fire filled the entire area, turning into a sea that surged into the skies. If anyone looked up towards the sky from the ground, they would be able to clearly see that the sea of fire looked like a person's hand!
The hand formed by the sea of fire lifted itself, and as if it contained some sort of will on its own, it pressed down on Su Ming!
'I knew it. They are indeed related to the Wings of the Moon and to the Fire Berserkers! The Fire Berserkers' burning of blood and the Art of worshiping the blood moon nine times has truly appeared here, but… something is slightly different!'
A sharp look appeared in Su Ming's eyes. He already had his suspicions when he saw the Sacred Bats, but now, when he saw this scene right before his eyes, he became certain of his own guesses.
'Art of worshiping the moon, the Fire Berserkers' Art… Moon progenitor?'
A cold sneer appeared on Su Ming's lips. He retained his composure even in the face of that incoming hand made from the sea of fire. Fire Berserker? He, Su Ming, was the Fire Berserker!
He lifted his right hand, bit his finger, and pressed it against his left pupil!