Chapter 771: Jing Nan Zi
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Each person in the group harbored their own thoughts, and since Su Ming was no green horn in this regard, he could naturally see all of this clearly. He had lived in danger his whole life and had ran into many incidents where he tried to deceive and outwit others while they did the same, which was why his wit and cunning were on equal terms as that of these people, even though he did not speak much and maintained a lower profile.
When he saw Sun Kun and Long Li phase through the screen of light and disappear, while Tian Lin was submerged by the dense red threads, Su Ming could not see clearly, and he did not know the details of what happened to Tian Lin.
However, he did notice Ye Shen Tong, who had lost his physical body, using some unknown method to make his Nascent Divinity scatter as the red threads closed in. Even when Su Ming used his Atman to check the area, he could not find his Nascent Divinity.
'I can't underestimate any of these people. Even if Ye Shen Tong lost his physical body, I still can't treat him lightly. After all, each one of them… is a World Paragons' Su Ming's body blended further into the stone wall. The bald crane was in front of him, and with its illusory Art, it instantly hid Su Ming's body, making him look like part of the stone that was exactly the same the others in the wall.
As Su Ming hid, his heart gradually calmed down. He no longer thought about the situation outside, for he was in a rather safe state in his current condition. The red threads could not see through the bald crane's transformation. At that moment, they were outside, continuously crashing against the screen of light.
Time passed. After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, a violent bang echoed through the tunnel, and the screen of light was torn to pieces by the red threads ramming themselves against it.
As the screen of light shattered, the numerous red threads surged past, in a manner as if they had found a chute. Then, they gradually left into the distance.
Once they left, a green shoot suddenly crawled out of the ground in the tunnel. Right at the moment this shoot appeared, it immediately grew up, and in the blink of an eye, it turned into a big tree that could support the entire tunnel. There was a face on that tree trunk, and the face was the exact same as Tian Lin's.
As that tree appeared, a crack tore through the center of its trunk. Tian Lin walked out from there. His face was slightly pale as he stood there, looking around himself for a while with an incredibly dark expression.
Right at that moment, a ray of light from a Nascent Divinity appeared from the crack at the center of the tree trunk. This was naturally Ye Shen Tong's pale Nascent Divinity. He came out of the tree after Tian Lin.
A look of lingering fear appeared on Ye Shen Tong's face. He looked in the direction the red threads had left, then said in a low voice, "Thank you for your help, brother Tian. Once I get out of this place safely, I will definitely offer you great gifts as thanks for saving my life."
"Brother Ye, you don't have to be so polite. After all, I was the one who invited you here. It is only natural that I would ensure your safety. What are your plans now?" Tian Lin shook his head. When he asked his question in a soft voice, he looked at Ye Shen Tong with a profound gaze.
"Fellow Daoist Long and fellow Daoist Sun each have their own methods to obtain their serendipity. Brother Tian, you had your Nascent Divinity change places with your physical body and had even fused together with this tree. I can feel that your life force is so great that you have practically reached an undying and imperishable state. Even that boy Su Ming won't die so easily. He might have gone off long ago to search for his serendipity." Ye Shen Tong's face was pale. As he spoke with a bitter smile, he swept his gaze past the area before he fixed his eyes on Tian Lin.
"I only have my Nascent Divinity left now. I feel disheartened, and I only want to leave this place as quickly as possible now. Brother Tian, please allow me to do so." Ye Shen Tong's words were completely logical. After all, if anyone else were in his position, they would first think about protecting their lives, not obtaining a serendipity.
A glint appeared in Tian Lin's eyes. He gave Ye Shen Tong a scrutinizing glance before smiling suddenly
When Ye Shen Tong saw the smile that abruptly appeared on Tian Lin's lips, his heart let out a thump, and he instinctively moved a few steps back. He forced a smile on his face and wrapped his fist in his palm towards Tian Lin.
"Brother Tian Lin, please let me leave. I will definitely reward your kindness greatly."
"Ye Shen Tong." Tian Lin's smile grew even more brilliant, but his gaze was cold.
"We've known each other for years. Rumors have it that you once had a True Guard after your life, and you did not die from that encounter. Many people do not believe this… but I do!"
Ye Shen Tong's pupils shrank. His expression immediately turned grave. At that moment, neither of them noticed that Su Ming was in the tunnel's wall not too far away from them. He might have his eyes closed, but he could hear their voices clearly.
The stone wall that was the bald crane looked incredibly real, so real that even Tian Lin and Ye Shen Tong did not notice it.
"You provoked Su Ming right away because you wanted to determine our relationship, did you not? You also wanted to use the chance to tell the others that we aren't close friends. This would have created a chance for you to work together with others.
"Then, as you continued with your observations, you decided to attack, but you did not expect that you would suffer such grave injuries in fellow Daoist Su's hands.
"In my opinion, you wanted to devour fellow Daoist Su's flesh and blood, then break the screen of light, but even after you did that, you would still have pretended to collapse in exhaustion to achieve your other aim. And that is to leave this place!"
Tian Lin spoke slowly. With every single phrase he voiced, Ye Shen Tong's face would turn more sour.
"Brother Tian, your analysis is completely groundless. I had promised to come to this place in order to obtain a serendipity. How could I choose to leave before I even obtained my serendipity? If it was not because I had no other choice, how would I have chosen to leave in resignation?" Ye Shen Tong immediately said, clearly afraid that Tian Lin would misunderstand him.
Tian Lin ignored Ye Shen Tong's words and suddenly asked arily, "How does it feel like to have a True Guard go after your life?
"Perhaps I should reword that. How does it feel to be one of the True Guard's spies after he left his Brand on you?"
"Brother Tian, what do you mean? I don't understand what you're saying." A glint appeared in Ye Shen Tong's eyes. At that moment, his face was no longer pale. Instead, there was a strange, sinister look on his face, and a ghostly dark light appeared in his eyes.
"You want to leave because you want to tell what happened here to your master… and there is only one way to report this matter to him - to burn one of your clones.
"What a coincidence. After I fused together with this precious tree, I obtained some of its innate abilities, and I can tell whether a person is his real self or his clone. With you, I saw a clone that is very similar to his real self.
"You have a physical body and a Nascent Divinity. There is practically no difference between the two of you, but a clone is still a clone.
"You want to leave this place and use three days to set up a Rune to burn your clone to activate it. Then, you would let a certain True Guard sense the memories before your clone's death and see everything in here.
"As for you, you will obtain a reward. Let me think, did you master promise you that if you discovered something important, he would communicate with the other True Guards and let you be free from then on?" Tian Lin spoke calmly, but at the moment he mentioned the word 'free', his heart twisted and a shock of pain went through it.
Ye Shen Tong's facial color had completely changed at that point. He instinctively took a few steps back, while the dark light in his eyes continued to shine intensely.
"That's right. Fellow Daoist Tian, since you can tell, then there's no need for me to continue hiding this. But fellow Daoist Tian, how is it that you know about this in such detail? Are you also one of True Guard's spies?"
Ye Shen Tong fixed his stare on Tian Lin. At that moment, his heart was in incredible shock. This was his greatest secret, and he had thought that no one knew about this, hence he did not expect that Tian Lin would speak of it so easily.
His heart trembled from it. A memory that was buried in the depths of his heart emerged against his will. It was something that happened hundreds of years ago. As he was chased by a True Guard, he experienced several life and death situations, and if that man had truly wanted to kill him, Ye Shen Tong might have died a long time ago.
In the end, that man had left a section of a chain in his chest. That chain grew in his flesh, like a Brand. From then on, he became that True Guard's spy.
"My hometown is far, far away from Crimson Flame Planet… Do you know why I came to this place?" Tian Lin looked at Ye Shen Tong and suddenly smiled. "It's because of you! You have Jing Nan Zi's presence on your body!"
At the moment Jing Nan Zi's name was brought up, Ye Shen Tong's expression changed drastically. Jing Nan Zi… that was the name of the True Guard who left the Brand on his body!
"For the purpose of getting closer to you, I came to this place. I was worried that I would cause you to be suspicious of me if I got closer in a too straightforward manner, so I decided to stay in Crimson Flame Planet! Then, we'd be not too close, but not too far away, either.
"I fused with this precious tree because of you as well… Do you know why I'm telling you all of these things?" When Tian Lin curled his lips into a grin, an absent-minded look appeared in the eyes of Ye Shen Tong's Nascent Divinity before he slowly closed his eyes, then fell to the side as if he had fallen asleep. One after another, tree branches swiftly closed in on him and wrapped him up into a cocoon.
"Besides being able to discern whether a person is his real self or just a clone, my precious tree has a second inborn divine ability. It can make a clone fall into deep slumber, and his real self would not notice it, either. Instead, this precious tree will fuse into the clone's Nascent Divinity and cast a Dream Art.
"Ye Shen Tong, I've waited for this day for a long time. When I saw that chain growing in your flesh all those years ago, I investigated your past. Then, I was able to discern that you were one of the spies chosen by Jing Nan Zi, the man who massacred the Tian Family.
"Jing Nan Zi, my ancestor was your spy, and for generations, he investigated and gathered all forms of news that you wanted. You promised freedom for the Tian Family, but this freedom… was a bloodbath aimed to destroy my family. This… was the freedom you spoke of...
"It was your greatest mistake that you did not kill me in the past! I will make you pay the price with your death!"
Tian Lin's expression twisted. Low laughter echoed in the tunnel, and he charged into the depths right away.
"Jing Nan Zi, you would only need ten days to reach this place from the four Great True World's Region of Suppression. I won't let you come right now, however, because your grave isn't ready yet. Once I finish arranging everything, I will let Ye Shen Tong's clone wake up and finish what he is required to do… He will tell you everything about this place!" Tian Lin's laughter gradually left into the distance, and the tunnel returned once more into silence.
After about an hour, a few shoots crawled out from the ground of the now silent tunnel before turning into Tian Lin's blurry figure, which was gathered together by a wisp of his divine sense.
"Looks like Su Ming has indeed left and is no longer here." Tian Lin shook his head. The figure that was formed by his divine sense disappeared.
Four more hours passed. Tian Lin's shadow appeared once again in this area. This time, he did not speak to himself, but chose to charge towards his real self.
Su Ming, who was hidden in the stone wall, opened his eyes. He looked at Tian Lin's shadow leaving into the distance, and he started laughing coldly in his heart.
Chapter 772: Picked up a Gourd
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Su Ming was not in a hurry to leave and move forward. He was not really attracted to the power of the World Plane in the deeper parts of the seal. Instead, he had mainly taken the risk to come to this place for the stones that possessed physical power.
For example, the deep blue stone walls around him. These stones alone possessed power that caused Su Ming to feel his heart pound in excitement.
To Su Ming, this place was where his best serendipity lay. That was why he had never even thought about going outside the stone wall and leaving the place. Instead, once he sent a divine thought to the bald crane, he closed his eyes in the stone wall. His flesh and blood in instantly withered away, and in the blink of an eye, he was reduced to only skin and bones.
However, almost at the same time Su Ming's entire body withered, a vast suction force that came from his body sucked away all the physical power contained in the stone wall around him. It surged into Su Ming's body, so he swiftly and visibly recovered from his emaciated state. In fact, he even looked slightly stronger.
Yet soon, Su Ming's body withered once again. Just like that, he continued withering, then recovering, then withering again, and recovering once more. As this process repeated, Su Ming's physical strength, which wasn't weak to begin with, continued increasing.
It could be said that the training of physical bodies would never end based on the Surging Indulgers' divine ability. As long as they had enough physical power which they could absorb at their disposal, they could continue training with this Art endlessly.
Su Ming could sense that his physical body was slowly getting stronger. In fact, if he brought out all his physical strength, he could fight against a cultivator in the initial stage of Man Cultivation Realm.
However, this was too weak in Su Ming's eyes. His aim was to push his physical body to reach Heaven Cultivation Realm or even higher. In fact, it would be even better if he could reach the status of World Paragon just by his physical strength alone.
As Su Ming was devouring the physical power from the stone wall, Sun Kun was within one of the holes in the seal that looked like a beehive, which was located in the depths of the ground. As his body distorted, he turned into a semi-transparent state, as if his body did not exist in the same dimension. Wherever he went, ripples would spread in the air. His expression was grave as he moved step by step farther into the tunnel in the hole.
Even though he did not run into much danger in this condition, the seal that looked like a beehive still made him feel as if he was in a maze. It was not easy to search for the path that truly led to the depths.
Sun Kun had already been moving through this place for a long time, but he still had not managed to find the correct path.
At the same time, the slightly hunchbacked old Long Li charged through the seal that took the form of the beehive once he turned into an endless amount of black shadows that swept up his body. He could no longer be seen clearly, and only black fog could be found filling the air in the tunnel as it enveloped him and charged forward.
His speed was much faster than Sun Kun's, and by the looks of it, he did not seem to be running about wildly at a loss. Instead, he seemed to have a goal in mind, but he was not heading to the depths of the center. He was running in another direction.
After a moment, the black fog came to an abrupt halt and stopped moving forward. Long Li's sparkling eyes could be seen faintly within the fog.
'It should be around here. If the records on the ancient scroll I obtained all those years ago are true, then this is where the secondary core of the six Dao Seals lies.
'The main core of the six Dao Seals is where the person who is sealed lies, that's why there are several secondary cores of unequal power lying around. The ancient scroll mentioned that each of the secondary cores of the six Dao Seals is at least a World Stone that has gathered together all the power of one World.
'As long as I obtain that World Stone, I can begin improving my cultivation base after it had stayed stagnant for so long.'
A hint of excitement appeared in Long Li's eyes as he remained in the fog. His breathing had even become rapid. After all, it could be considered a blessing from heaven to simply be able to run into this sort of thing once in a lifetime. To most people, this sort of change in a cultivation planet and such an opportunity to reach the seal was just a dream.
While Long Li searched everywhere, Tian Lin's body floated in the tunnel. He had his divine sense completely spread out, but he could not cover the entire seal. He had lost his sense of direction in this beehive seal, as if his mind had become disoriented. He frowned. This beehive was simply too big, and from a hundred to a thousand branches would appear in the beehive every set amount of distance. Entering a single wrong path would make it extremely difficult to reach where the Duke of Crimson Flame was truly sealed.
Which was why Tian Lin touched the ground in one of the forks with a dark expression on his face. He closed his eyes, and tree bark immediately manifested on his body. In the blink of an eye, his body turned into a gigantic tree. As that tree swayed, it grew hundreds of branches that numbered nearly a thousand. Then, they started squirming and worming their way into all the holes in the beehive in an incredibly bizarre fashion.
Clearly, Tian Lin wanted to use this method to search for the correct direction to the place he wanted to go. This method might be extremely taxing on his mind and he would also definitely spend a lot of time for searching, but once he located the right place, the direction he got would be very accurate.
As these people executed their divine abilities, Su Ming remained in the stone wall, exercising his breathing to absorb the power from the stone. Time passed. In the blink of an eye, three months went by. Su Ming was no longer in his original spot, but had instead slowly moved into the deeper parts of the stone wall.
The bald crane had also decided to no longer take the form of a stone wall. Su Ming's body was already located deep inside the inner part of the stone wall, so there was no longer any need for the crane to hide him.
After the three months, most of the stone wall around Su Ming's body was no longer deep blue. A large portion of the physical power contained within the wall around him had already been completely absorbed. Every single time this happened, Su Ming's body would slowly move deeper into the stone wall and head towards a spot where there were even more physical power contained.
His physical strength had also increased by leaps and bounds due to obtaining a sufficient amount of physical power during these three months. By then, there was only a sliver left till he reached the peak of Human Cultivation Realm.
It was no longer far away from reaching the same level as Su Ming's level of cultivation!
Su Ming was confident that as long as the physical power in this place was enough, then he could even hone his physical body to reach a terrifying state by using the Surging Indulgers' divine ability.
However, he could also sense that once his physical body had been strengthened to a certain point, it would be extremely difficult to make it any stronger. He would need to devour physical power that was as numerous as the water in the sea to continue making himself stronger.
But Su Ming was not in a hurry. He did not make a conscious effort to search for a direction, but headed slowly towards the few regions where he could sense the most physical power. Once he got close to those places, he would begin to meditate and absorb the power there, while his body continued getting stronger through the cycle of withering and being restored.
In fact, not even Su Ming himself noticed that he was moving in practically a straight line through stone walls in the beehive seal with the way he progressed forward. And… in a spot less than three thousand feet away from he stopped was an empty region. That region was about a thousand feet in size. There were nine big flags erected on the ground and a Rune shining in a strange light on the ground. There was also a stone the size of a fist floating at the center of the Rune.
That stone was transparent, just like a crystal. There seemed to be nothing strange about it, but if someone looked at it for a prolonged period of time, their minds and souls would be immediately sucked inside, and they would feel as if they had been placed in an unfamiliar world. They would even be able to see other people go through their course of life and everything that could possibly happen in a world.
This item was a World Stone that possessed the power of one World!
In another direction that was about three thousand something feet away from the World Stone was Long Li, whose eyes were shining with a dark light. There were about hundreds, close to a thousand, holes resembling a beehive around him. He knew that one of them led to the place where the secondary core of the seal, the World Stone he desired, lay, but he did not know which hole it was that would lead him to it.
He had been stuck here for half a year, trying again and again, but even after nearly a hundred tries, he had yet to succeed. In fact, if he had not noticed that he had taken the wrong path early on and immediately retreated, he might have continued onwards, and who could know where he would have ended up?
'Damn it, according to the ancient scroll, the secondary core of the six Dao Seals should be around here, but why can't I find it..?
'And this beehive seal is seriously annoying. Even if I end up in the right path, I will still usually end up walking in circles. It makes people think that they're walking further and further away when they enter the hole, making it difficult for them to persevere.'
Long Li lifted his right hand and continued calculating with his fingers. He would occasionally bring out an ancient scroll that was made from some unknown skin. Upon taking it out, he would examine it carefully for a long time before cautiously selecting a tunnel to enter. Not long after he entered, however, he would exit it with a dark expression on his face.
Fortunately for him, he never tried going through the tunnel himself. There was a gourd placed right before him, and black smoke was rising from within it before turning into ten black shadows that were entering and exiting the tunnels slowly.
'In another few months' time, I'll be able to check through all of the tunnels. At that time, I'll be able to pinpoint the tunnels that have the highest possibility of being the right path!' Strong desire appeared in Long Li's eyes as he continued prodding the gourd to continuously let out black shadows. He would also frequently enter some hole to investigate it.
Su Ming's absorption and devouring of the blue stones was also slowly going on. As the color of the stone walls by his side became duller and fainter and the physical power within them disappeared, he continued onwards without stop.
The bald crane was by Su Ming's side, having return to its bald-headed self. There was a lazy, lackadaisical look on its face. Occasionally, it would look around and mumble nonstop.
"Darn, I must have come here before, or else why would I find this place so familiar..? Could it be that the brilliant, heroic, an intelligent me had truly walked out of the Barren Lands of Divine Essence?"
As the bald crane mumbled, it looked at Su Ming. It felt bored and decided to seep into the stone wall to head further into the distance to examine the area.
The bald crane was not far away from where Long Li was...
Almost at the instant it popped its head out of the stone wall behind Long Li, its head immediately turned into a stone wall, and not a single hint of it could be seen. When Long Li personally flew out once again and rushed into the tunnel, he left behind a gourd on the ground.
Wisps of black smoke would occasionally spread out from the gourd before turning into black shadows that rushed into the other tunnels in the beehive.
It was also at this moment that the bald crane quickly crawled out from the stone wall. As it let out bouts of dry coughs, it looked around with shifty eyes while mumbling to itself.
"Hmm? Why is there a gourd here? Someone must have forgotten about it here…"
The bald crane put on an incredibly shocked face, then pounced on it without any hesitation. Once it grabbed the gourd with its claws, excitement appeared in its eyes, and it swiftly crawled into the stone wall by its side.
Chapter 773: Treasured Gourd
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Two to three breaths after the bald crane took away the gourd and disappeared into the stone wall by its side, the hunchbacked Long Li flew out of one of the hundreds of holes in the beehive in the form of a long arc. Once he flew out, he instinctively cast his gaze at the spot where he had placed the gourd.
Long Li was stunned for a moment.
'Damn it, I didn't run into a fork just now, so how is it possible for an empty spot where I'm supposed to choose a tunnel in the beehive appear again? Could it be that the tunnels here change on their own?'
The first thing Long Li thought of at that moment was that he had taken the wrong path. He immediately turned around and was just about to walk back into the tunnel he had just left when he sensed the spot where the gourd was once again. He froze on the spot.
His expression instantly turned incredibly sour. He turned around and stared hard at the spot where he had placed the gourd. At that moment, several shadows flew out from the other tunnels in the beehive and lingered around the spot where the gourd had been, as if searching for something that should be there.
When Long Li saw this, he became certain of one thing—someone had sneaked into this place while he was gone and stolen his treasured gourd, which he had placed below to know his own position.
However, even though Long Li's expression was dark, there was not a hint of panic within him. Instead, with a spark in his eyes, murderous aura spread out from him. He let out a cold harrumph, then lifted his right hand to draw a horizontal line across the center of his brows.
'I'd like to see just who has the guts to touch my gourd!'
The treasured gourd was the most important Enchanted Treasure in Long Li's possession. Its origins were shrouded in mystery, and even Long Li was not aware of all of its uses. The gourd had been wrapped in the ancient scroll recording the One Aeonic Barricade, Three Snare Sealants, Six Dao Bolts, which he had obtained in the past.
Long Li had investigated this in secret for many years, but he had never discovered any clues leading to the gourd's origins. However, after many years of research, he had grown to understand the gourd somewhat and ecstasy filled him. But at the same time, he was also afraid, because he found that he could only bring out two-tenths of the treasure gourd's power. However, even if he was only able to bring out two-tenths of its power, it made him practically invincible when faced with his peers in the initial stage of World Plane Realm. In fact, he could even put up a fight against those in the middle stage of World Plane Realm. He might not be able to win against them, but if he was to flee, his enemy would not want to chase him due to wariness.
It might be difficult for Long Li to bring out the treasured gourd's full power, but it had been by his side for many years, and he had used various methods to refine it. Because of it, he had formed a form of connection with the gourd, and he could somewhat sense where it was.
At that moment, as he wiped his right index finger across the center of his brows, a green light began to shine in his eyes. He looked swiftly around him, but once he looked through the entire area once, his expression turned even darker, and a barely noticeable hint of panic flashed in his eyes. Without any hesitation, he chose to open his mouth and break the skin on his right index finger. He then drew a horizontal line of blood across the center of his brows.
Once Long Li drew that line, his perception of the treasured gourd instantly expanded to its limit… but that resulted in his face becoming even paler. Panic and disbelief replaced the calmness in his eyes.
He could not sense the gourd's location at all!
It was as if his connection with the gourd had been concealed by someone. The connection might still be there, but there was not much difference compared to if that connection had been cut.
What made anger shine through the paleness of Long Li's face was that the ten shadows that had been released from the gourd had returned, but they were all lingering in the area, continuously letting out shrill roars. There was an irritable tone to their roars, and there were wisps of black smoke spreading out from their bodies. The shadows were gradually growing fainter.
Long Li felt as if his heart was bleeding at this loss. Those ten shadows were not things that were originally part of the treasured gourd, but something Long Li had obtained after he had worked out a method. Over the years, he had used all sorts of methods to kill ten World Paragons to extract their Nascent Divinities and refine them into shadow puppets. He then used the gourd's power to suppress and control them. These shadow puppets could even train on their own in the gourd.
When he saw that the ten shadows were showing signs of dispersing because they could not return to the treasured gourd, Long Li instantly swung his arm, and the ten shadows immediately charged into his sleeve so that he could temporarily use his own body to provide nourishment for them.
'There are only a few people who entered the sealed region, and the person who took away my gourd is definitely one of them! Sun Kun has always sought my gourd, so the possibility of him taking the gourd is the greatest. Tian Lin has that strange tree of his, but it's not as if there's no possibility that it cannot fuse together with the gourd. He too has a motive!
'On the other hand, Ye Shen Tong has the lowest possibility of wanting my gourd, as for Su Ming… this person's Arts are mysterious, but the possibility of him taking my gourd is below Sun Kun and Tian Lin.'
Killing intent appeared in Long Li's eyes, but he was somewhat uncertain in his heart. After all, he was in a spot that placed him the closest to the World Stone, so if he chose to search for his gourd, then it might be difficult for him to return in a short amount of time, and there was also a possibility that he would lose his opportunity to obtain the World Stone.
However, if he did not immediately search for the treasured gourd, then his ten shadow puppets would become weaker with time, and they would continue becoming weaker until they died.
He gritted his teeth, and the killing intent in his eyes grew stronger. He leaped forward, then turned around to charge through the tunnel he had used to come to this place. He also spread his divine sense in an attempt to search for other people's tracks.
As Long Li was searching for the others' tracks with anger and killing intent burning in him, the bald crane was swiftly moving through the stone walls with a smug look on its face. It had Long Li's treasured gourd in its right claw. There was a layer of black ripples spreading out from its body, surrounding the treasure gourd. The feeling of this particular action was the exact same as when the bald crane usually broke seals and Runes.
It was clear that the bald crane was worried that the owner of the gourd would come searching for it and used the Art that it was born with to hide all traces of the treasure. Because of that, it would be… completely impossible for Long Li to find the gourd.
'Wow, I'm really lucky. I just went out on a stroll, and I managed to get myself a treasure, but what is this thing? Why does it look somewhat familiar..?' While the bald crane moved swiftly through the stone wall, it brought the gourd before itself and regarded it carefully.
'I can't quite recall. I should be missing a large portion of my memories… but this gourd is familiar. Isn't this gourd capable of killing others?'
It blinked, then brought the gourd closer. The bald crane's eyes went wide as it observed the treasure it had obtained. However, even after looking at it blankly for some time, the bald crane still had the same bemused expression on its face. When it unwittingly returned to the spot where Su Ming was absorbing the physical power from the stone wall, it squatted down by his side and continued trying to find a hint of its memories from the gourd with a frown on its face.
"Why is Long Li's gourd in your hands?" An unknown amount of time passed before Su Ming's slightly surprised voice fell into the bald crane's ears, making it snap out of its ruminations.
"I don't know. I was just out on a stroll when I saw the gourd on the ground, so I picked it up and brought it back here," the bald crane replied instinctively with a slightly aching head and a dazed mind.
Su Ming knew the bald crane's character, hence he did not provide any further comment regarding it. Instead, he lifted his right hand and seized the air in the direction of the gourd. It immediately flew out from the bald crane's claws and charged towards him.
When the bald crane saw the gourd flying out, it was immediately jolted out of its daze by the ache in its heart. Just as it was about to argue with Su Ming and let out a small outburst, it saw Su Ming calmly bringing out a large amount of crystals from his bosom and gifting them over.
The bald crane's face immediately lighted up, and the bird quickly pounced on the crystals to receive them. It would even occasionally take out a few and bite them in its mouth to determine whether they were real. As for the treasured gourd, it had long since been forgotten about.
Su Ming held Long Li's treasured gourd. The black ripples left behind by the bald crane were still there.
This was not the first time Su Ming had seen this gourd; Long Li had brought it out a couple times while he was still in possession of it. The black shadows that came from the gourd had especially raised Su Ming cautiousness.
Su Ming did not look down on the gourd due to its average appearance as he sized it up carefully. He sent in a wisp of his Atman with a slightly solemn expression on his face. Once he did so, he immediately sensed a force of resistance so great that it could not be described with words spreading out from within, instantly crushing the Atman he had sent into the gourd.
However, at the instant Su Ming's Atman was crushed, his eyes shone fiercely. His breathing quickened at that instant, and his eyes went wide. He scrutinized the gourd, and after a moment, he sent another wisp of his Atman into it. At the instant the Atman was crushed by that force again, Su Ming's calm face changed drastically.
'The aura of death in this thing is so thick, but it's quite strange. It-it can actually resonate with my soul!' When the two wisps of Atman were crushed, a powerful tremor had rung through Su Ming's soul. It made him feel as if he had come from the same place as this thing.
During the two times Su Ming's soul trembled, clear, cracking sounds came from the treasured gourd. Su Ming immediately saw the bald crane's black ripples around the gourd shattering. All the mixed, haphazard seals that Long Li had used to control the gourd during all the years also shattered at that instant.
Once they shattered, a glossy green light spread out from the gourd, floating before Su Ming. A wide opened eye appeared on the smooth surface.
That eye was wide open and looking at Su Ming with a judgmental gaze.
Su Ming stared at the gourd and the eye before him. At that moment, his train of thought became smooth, and he struck his forehead with his right hand without any hesitation.
With it, his soul spread out from his body. Almost at the same instant, the eye on the gourd shone with a powerful light, and when it looked at Su Ming, the judgmental look gradually turned gentle.
It was at that time that eyes of the skeleton with three swords pierced through his body in the depths of Crimson Flame Planet begun to shine even more brilliantly. There was even an intense wave of excitement there.
'An Abyss Builder's presence… there's no mistaking this. This is indeed an Abyss Builder's soul! There… there's actually Abyss Builders in this world..? This is a blessing for us of the fifth True World. This is a blessing that will lead our races into power!'
Chapter 774: Treasured Gourd, Please Kill It
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Su Ming's soul spread out of his physical body, and during that instant, his soul resonated with the treasured gourd before him.
This resonance caused the treasured gourd's eye to become even brighter as it looked at Su Ming. In the end, even a hint of respect appeared there. It was as if the soul within the treasured gourd had acknowledged Su Ming at that time.
Soon after, eight eyes appeared in succession on the gourd, and along with the previous one, there were now nine sparkling eyes, and they were all looking at Su Ming.
During the instant Su Ming's soul trembled, Long Li, who had his divine sense spread through the tunnel in the beehive as he was searching for the others froze. His expression changed drastically, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood. His face instantly turned pale, and he staggered a few steps backwards before placing a hand on the stone wall by the side to support himself. Only then did he manage to stop himself.
He originally had white hair, but the face of a youthful man. During that instant, he aged several dozens of years, and wrinkles appeared on his face. There was even an instant where a lifeless look showed up in his eyes.
"Haha, I've spent an innumerable amount of years to figure out the way to use the gourd and even prepared ten World Paragon souls to control it… but now, the person who stole my gourd has used less than an hour to completely sever my ties with the gourd!"
Long Li laughed loudly. As he laughed, he began to cough violently, and blood trickled out of the corners of his mouth once again. Clearly, once his connection with the gourd was cut off, he had suffered a backlash.
This backlash's strength would depend on how much he cared about the gourd. Judging by Long Li's condition, it was evident that the gourd had been his most valued possession.
"You despicable bastard, how dare you steal my treasure… Even if I, Long Li, have to pay an even greater price, I will definitely not allow you to take away my treasure so easily!" Madness showed up in Long Li's eyes. He lifted his head and let out a crazed howl. His shouts echoed in all directions, traveling through the tunnels in the beehive.
Sun Kun, who was the closest to the depths of the seal, heard a faint echo of the shouts. His footsteps came to a halt as he was moving forward, and a glint appeared in his eyes.
"It's that old monster's Long's voice. Could it be that he lost his gourd? Heh heh, if he really lost the gourd, it'll be a good thing. I wonder who stole it…" Sun Kun mumbled under his breath, and an expression of regret and pity appeared on his face, because he himself had wanted Long Li's gourd for a long time.
Further into the distance was Tian Lin. After spending half a year searching, he had now covered most of this beehive seal, which was covered in densely packed holes. He believed that before long, he would be able to cover more than a ninth of this place. At that time, he could search for the shortest path that would lead him to the core of this maze-like seal.
Long Li's voice had become faint and indistinct when it reached his ears, but the branches from the tree that was Tian Lin had already filled up most of the seal. Each of the branches was his clone, and because of that, Long Li's voice sounded as if he'd spoken right beside Tian Lin's ears.
'The person who stole Long Li's treasure is probably Sun Kun. The two of them won't have the same goal as me right now, so it'll be good that they'll fight each other first. With Sun Kun's cunning, he won't die, and he'll be able to hide until Jing Nan Zi is lured to this place. At that time, they will have no other choice but to have the same goal as I do.' Tian Lin laughed coldly and closed his eyes. He had the branches from the tree spread out once again to continue covering the sealed region.
Su Ming also heard Long Li's voice, but he could spare no attention at that moment. The nine eyes were currently staring at him, and as he spread out his soul, the second of the nine eyes gradually grew brighter. Time passed. When the eighth eye also brightened up, the bald crane suddenly sucked in a sharp breath by the side, its eyes going wide.
It could sense that it was about to remember something, but when it tried to recall what it was, it was indistinct. After all, this was the first time it had actively tried to recollect its memories, and it was vastly different from the usual passive recollection, where it would only remember when it came into contact with something familiar.
Just as it was doing its best to remember, it saw the nine eyes on Su Ming's gourd. All of them were shining brilliantly, but as they sparkled, they would disappear one by one. Eventually, there was only one eye left on the gourd. When it saw the bald crane, the eye suddenly grew sharp, and as if it had turned into a sharp sword, it shot into the bald crane's eyes.
The bald crane let out a sudden screech, great wave of terror and shock filling its eyes.
A picture emerged in its head at that moment. In that picture, it was not bald, but had a body full of beautiful feathers that made the crane now envied.
It saw itself peeking at something sneakily, but an old man in a wide Dao robe suddenly appeared before it. That old man swung his arm, and the crane was immediately sent several worlds backwards.
Immediately after, the old man brought out a gourd from his bosom with an enraged face. Once that gourd was brought out, nine eyes appeared on it. Within an instant, five of those nine eyes locked onto the crane, and a life-threatening sense of danger rose swiftly in its body. The bald crane saw itself quickly retreating with a screech.
However, a sullen voice containing endless fury reached its ears.
"Treasured gourd, please kill it!"
"Old Daoist Lu Ya, I just stole and ate some of your Dao Cores and watched you create your cores personally, y-y-you… how could you ask the youngster gourd to come out here?"
The bald crane saw all of its feathers growing in size as it screamed. However, once the old Daoist said those words, the five eyes on the gourd that had locked onto it immediately blinked together, and a wisp of green smoke flew out of the gourd. There was a small boy the size of a palm in that smoke, and it held an even smaller sword in his hand, but it was rushing towards the crane at an indefinable speed.
Pain. Pain that could not be described with words. That was what the bald crane felt when that memory ended.
"I remember now. This-this is old Daoist Lu Ya's Immortal Slaying Gourd! But I remember that this gourd should have been destroyed. When Lu Ya was fighting against Tai Xing Su, who was one of the four Great True Progenitors, Tai Xing Su destroyed it!" As the bald crane screamed, it immediately retreated.
A glint appeared in Su Ming's eyes. At that moment, he had only formed a connection with the gourd, but he did not obtain the method to control it. When he saw the bald crane's intense reaction, he, who had noticed many instances of something being off about the bald crane since they arrived in the Barren Lands of Divine Essence, suddenly asked, "How do you use this thing?"
"I don't know how to use it either, but I do remember seeing Lu Ya saying these words to that damnable gourd - Treasured gourd, please kill it."
he bald crane had no feathers on its body at that moment, else they would have definitely been standing on end. When it heard Su Ming's question, it instinctively answered, but once it finished answering, it immediately regretted its actions.
Because once Su Ming heard the sentence, he echoed the bald crane's words.
"Treasured gourd, please…"
When Su Ming begun speaking, a presence that made even his heart tremble in trepidation suddenly spread out from the gourd. As that happened, the eye on the gourd suddenly showed signs that it wanted to blink. By the looks of it, that gourd would kill as soon as Su Ming finished speaking the last word!
At the same time, an apathetic and indifferent voice began speaking in Su Ming's mind.
"There is not enough energy stored. Eight-tenths of the real body have been destroyed. It needs to be replenished as soon as possible. Locking down on enemy…"
Su Ming sucked in a deep breath. Since the bald crane was scared so terribly that its soul had almost left its body, he did not say the last word. Instead, he had his soul return to his physical body. He stood up then, lifted his right hand, and seized the gourd to put it away into his storage bag.
Su Ming's eyes shone. Confidence filled him at that moment. This sort of confidence was what he possessed when he became the God of Berserkers in the land of Berserkers in the past. Now, in the Barren Lands of Divine Essence, that confidence rose once again within him.
'With this gourd and the poisonous wasp with me, as well as the large number of blue stones containing physical power in this place, along with the God Ascension Nectar contained in the wasp's body, which I can extract at any time I want… it won't be impossible for me to be the strongest in this region of the Barren Lands of Divine Essence! It's a pity that the spirit body in the gourd has been damaged heavily. But this thing is rather peculiar. It actually reminded me to replenish its energy. Right now, an eight-tenths of its body have been damaged, but it can still bring out such a shocking power. If I could replenish all of its power and make it whole, it would definitely be something that could overturn the world!'
Su Ming sucked in a deep breath. He did not have a suitable vessel to store the God Ascension Nectar, and he did not know how long he would need to absorb that God Ascension Nectar either, which was why he did not choose to absorb it even now.
He wanted to search for a suitable place to quietly refine that nectar once he left this place. So that no accidents happened, he had left a divine thought for the wasp, forbidding it from absorbing the nectar in its body, only allowing it to store it.
Su Ming put away the gourd. The bald crane had by then began to calm its heart, which had nearly gone still from fear. The bird watched Su Ming with anxious eyes. Su Ming cast it a glance, then brought out another handful of crystals from his storage bag and gave them over.
When the bald crane received its consolation, it became satisfied.
Su Ming closed his eyes and forced down the restlessness in his mind to continue immersing himself in absorbing the physical power in this place. Time passed. Two months went by in the blink of an eye.
During that time, Su Ming's speed as he absorbed the stones became faster. He also continued slowly moving forward and got closer to the spot where the World Stone lay. On the day two months later, the stone wall between him and the World Stone was less than ten feet thick.
Long Li, who had been searching for the person who had snatched his gourd for two months, was weaving in and out of the beehive seal at random with messy hair. Perhaps fate truly existed, for when he was previously searching for the World Stone, he had not been able to find the entrance to the place. Yet when he lost his gourd and was searching for the thief in a craze, he had walked out of a random tunnel to see nine flag, along with… the stone containing the power of the one World floating in the air in the middle of the Rune!
At the same time, Sun Kun walked out of another tunnel with an excited look on his face, a vast mass of empty land before him. At the center of that empty land was a layer of purplish black magma, and he also saw the Duke of Crimson Flame's white bones within that magma!
The density of aura of a World Plane in this place filled Sun Kun with excitement that was close to ecstasy. His breathing quickened, but he did not immediately move forward. Instead, he chose to swiftly sit down cross-legged in a corner and exercise his breathing to absorb the aura.
He had never thought about saving the member of the alien race and letting him out. His main goal was the thick power of the World Plane in this place. If it was possible, he wanted to use a Secret Art to devour that alien race creature's bones and soul to make himself even more complete.
Chapter 775: World Stone
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Long Li's breathing stilled for a moment when he saw the World Stone in the middle of the nine flags. A brilliant light flickered in his eyes, and after regaining his wits, he began to laugh loudly.
'This is the meaning of everything is predestined so we should live in a carefree manner. I've lost the treasured gourd, but I found the World Stone.'
Long Li sighed deeply with emotion, but no matter what, he was a World Paragon. Soon, he quelled his emotions and excitement. With a single move, he approached the Rune. A faint glint appeared in his eyes. He stared at the World Stone, and as he fell into a pensive silence, he brought out an ancient scroll from his bosom.
Once he examined it closely, he formed a seal with his right hand and immediately struck the air in the direction of the entrance to the place, which was located behind him. A dark ray of light instantly shone at the spot where the entrance was. It was then covered by a gigantic diamond-shaped light. After it flashed several times, a screen of light sealed the entrance.
'Based on the ancient scroll's description, it won't be easy extracting this World Stone, which is the secondary core of the seal. Not only will I need a lot of skill, I'll also need to spend some time doing so… During this process, I cannot be interrupted by others.'
Long Li fell into pensive silence, for he found himself still unable to set his mind at ease. He lifted his left hand, formed a seal, and swiftly tapped the center of his brows.
Nine diamond-shaped scales immediately appeared at the center of his brows. Once all of them separated themselves from his flesh and the center of his brows, they circled around the area. As a flickering light shone on them in succession, the light turned into a cocoon that enveloped Long Li within it to turn into the tightest defense possible.
Only then did Long Li relax. His breathing was slightly quick as he stared at the World Stone. When he lifted his right hand, he hesitated for a moment.
'When I extract this secondary core, it'll loosen large portion of this seal… The stone itself also contains the power of one World. It will exude a power of a World that could put people in a daze, but with my level of cultivation, I should be able to withstand it.'
Long Li no longer hesitated. He lifted his right hand and formed a strange seal. Once he did so, he pointed towards the floating World Stone.
With it, the nine flags on the ground immediately started fluttering in a bizarre manner. A nine-headed, green-faced kirin manifested instantly in the air. As it swam in the area, it let out low roars in Long Li's direction.
At the same time, a powerful ray of light suddenly erupted from the World Stone. It was as if it had been stirred up by that strange act Long Li had done just now. Long rivers, huge streams, tall mountains, and flatlands immediately manifested on the surface of the World Stone. Then the faces of all manner of life—joy, anger, sadness, happiness, being born, getting old, falling sick, and dying—instantly also did the same. Immediately after, a ripple filled with the power of a World Plane swiftly spread out from within the World Stone.
When the ripple touched the nine-headed, green-faced kirin, it stopped roaring. Instead, it let its eyelids fall until they covered half of its eyes, making it seem as if it had fallen asleep. Long Li was not too far away, and his body was instantly enveloped by the ripple. However, he seemed to have been prepared for it since long time ago. He did not avoid the ripple, but at the instant they closed in on him, he bit the tip of his tongue and coughed up a mouthful of blood. He lifted his right arm and swung it in the area before him, and ten dull black shadows flew out from his sleeve to crawl into his body through his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.
The ripple spreading out from the World Stone phased through the defense Long Li had placed, but they did not cause any damage to it. Instead, once they phased through, they started sweeping through the area and reverberating in the air.
The closest to those ripple was naturally Su Ming, who was in the stone wall only ten feet away. The ripple phased through the stone wall and crashed fiercely into his body.
Su Ming was absorbing the physical power contained in the land at the time. Before he could react to the sudden appearance of the ripple filled with the power of one World, they had already swept past his body. The bald crane was also enveloped by the ripple after it was momentarily stunned by their appearance.
If anyone could see through the stone walls from the highest point of the sealed region, they would be able to see a ring-shaped ripple. It was currently spreading outwards from the World Stone through the entire beehive seal.
The spread of those ripple came too suddenly. Forget Su Ming, not even Tian Lin and Sun Kun, who were both cunning and sly old foxes, had predicted this.
After all, the ancient scroll Long Li had obtained were kept as much of a secret as the gourd in his heart.
The ripple closed in on Tian Lin within an instant. At that moment, he was still in the form of a big tree. However, all his branches were shrinking back rapidly, because he already knew the correct path that would lead him straight to the depths of the seal.
However, at the instant he had his branches shrink back, his body, which was in the form of the big tree, shook fiercely. One of his branches had touched the ripple, and a few others also did the same.
Since the branches had spread through an area that was incredible large, even though Tian Lin's heart had shuddered and he wanted to swiftly return to his human for, most of his branches had by then come in contact with the ripple. The branches sank into a state of deep sleep, causing Tian Lin's consciousness to almost fade away as well. A sense of great danger erupted in his heart, but it still… was not able to wake him up.
After a moment, Tian Lin, who was in a half-human, half-tree state, closed his eyes as if he had fallen into deep sleep and lost himself in the ripple from the World Stone.
The last to be affected was Sun Kun, who was in the depths of the sealed region, at the place where the Duke of Crimson Flame was in the purplish black magma. Sun Kun had been sitting there cross-legged while excitedly absorbing the dense power of the World Plane in the area.
His fall into unconsciousness happened without him realizing anything. In fact, it could even be said that he did not even realize that he had fainted. When the ripple swept past his body, he was still immersed in the excitement of absorbing the power of the World Plane.
It took less than ten breaths for the ripple to spread from the World Stone to the entire sealed region. Ten breaths later, it disappeared, and the sealed region fell into silence.
However, this silence did not last for long, for cracking sounds begun to echo all around. Each time the noise came, it would sound as if there was something shattering.
As those sounds echoed in the air, the dark light in the eyes of the skeleton in the purplish black magma within the depths of the seal shone even brighter. The sword at the top of his skull started loosening once again, and it looked as if it was about to be forced out.
Flesh and blood grew once again on the skeleton's body. This was followed by the appearance of numerous white threads. Clearly, a new round of slicing was about to start… but this time, nearly eight-tenths of those white threads had been damaged.
Even after they swept past the skeleton's body several times, a few pieces of flesh still remained on the skeleton's face. This was impossible under normal circumstances, but now, it had happened.
The skeleton opened his mouth, as if he was letting out a voiceless, hearty laughter. His face was recovering swiftly, and it was the same for his entire body. The white threads around him continued to sweep past his body nonstop, forming a certain kind of battle between the two.
However… the widespread damage to the white threads had caused them to be unable to slice away all the skeleton's flesh and blood like they'd done in the past. Every single time they swept past his body, a few pieces of flesh would remain. Even if there was only a little left, if a large amount of these pieces of flesh accumulated together, it would be a shocking sight that could fill one with hope
If this continued, it would take a very long time before the skeleton could truly restore all his flesh and blood on his body, but it would happen. Su Ming and the others would remain asleep in the meantime, with no one bothering them.
Their act of breaking into the sealed region would also stop because of this matter. No one could tell whether this would have been a good or a bad thing, but things did not proceed this way. On the second day after the ripple's passing, in the empty space where Tian Lin remained in his half-human, half-tree state, one of the branches started cracking, which might be happening due to Tian Lin losing control over his body once he lost consciousness.
Slowly, a drop of green liquid fell from the crack in that branch.
That drop of liquid fell with a plop to the ground, but it did not scatter. Instead, it stood erect on the ground. The inside of that drop of liquid gained a muddy hue before slowly turning into a layer of green fog.
The fog rose into the air, and once it occupied an area of five feet, it started shrinking inwards swiftly. As it shrank, a human the size of a palm manifested in the fog. As that fog began to shrink faster, the small human's figure became more distinct.
In the blink of an eye, all the fog was absorbed into the small human, and his complete form was revealed. He was Ye Shen Tong!
There was confusion on his face. As he floated in midair, he looked around himself, but that only made him feel even more bewildered.
After some time, the small human that was Ye Shen Tong seemed to have remembered something. "Offer up the clone and tell master everything about this place…"As he mumbled this under his breath, he moved and charged towards the world outside.
This was something Tian Lin had not expected. He had previously incarcerated Ye Shen Tong, planning to let him go when the time was ripe so that he would summon Jing Nan Zi to this place. That was why he had left behind some illusions in Ye Shen Tong's consciousness so that he could complete this particular act of sacrificing himself once he woke up without his real self noticing anything off.
Tian Lin had made preparations for this for many years. However, due the ripple from the World Stone and his loss of consciousness, the plan… had been hastened.
As the small Ye Shen Tong quickly left for the world outside, he appeared on the surface of Crimson Flame Planet several hours later with his entire body burning. With a unique method, he arranged a Rune for three days before sending out the last shreds of his will outwards. During that instant, this clone died.
In a distance not too far away from Crimson Flame Planet was the region where the four True Great Worlds had a large number of cultivation planets filled with life force and spiritual energy. In this place, there were many powerful warriors from the four True Great Realms.
When they weren't carrying out their tasks, most of them would choose to isolate themselves and train. At that moment, there a blood-red mountain stood on a brownish yellow cultivation planet within the vast galaxy.
That mountain was dyed by a brilliant red color because of the blood-red rain pouring down from the sky. Sitting at the top of the mountain was a man whose upper body was naked. He had very long hair that fluttered in the wind, and there was a red helmet along with an equally red armor by his side.
He just sat there, half-naked, and allowed the rain that contained a bloody stench to pour on his body. Drops of fresh blood fell on his chest, but he did not mind. With eyes closed, he breathed slowly, and each time he breathed, he would cause the bloody world to roar. This man… was Jing Nan Zi!
Chapter 776: Jing Nan Zi Descends
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
A bolt of red lightning crackled in the sky with a roar. Jing Nan Zi opened his eyes, though just a crack. A sharp, freezing glare shone through that crack, along with a faint hint of surprise.
'One of the spies I left in the world outside is summoning me.'
Jing Nan Zi slowly lifted his right hand and formed several seals before himself, as if he was calculating something. As he continued calculating with his fingers, the thunder in the sky that was raining blood instantly grew louder.
The numerous booms practically fused into one as lightning crackled in the sky, causing the shades of red on the ground to shift violently between light and dark, as if the apocalypse had arrived.
The speed at which Jing Nan Zi formed the seals with his right hand increased. Wisps of green smoke appeared faintly on the tip of his right hand's fingers. Barely discernible illusions could be seen in that smoke, and if anyone took a closer look, they would be able to see that Tian Lin, Long Li, Sun Kun, and Su Ming's forms had appeared in the green smoke.
Once that happened, the green wisps of smoke showed the sealed region in Crimson Flame Planet. At that moment, when the thunderous booms in the sky reached their most intense volume, Jing Nan Zi's expression changed drastically.
Disbelief first appeared on his face, then he swiftly stood up. As he gradually extracted and read through all of the memories contained in Ye Shen Tong's clone before it had died, Jing Nan Zi stood on the mountain, and a variety of emotions constantly flickered on his face.
He seemed to be hesitating about something. After a long while, a resolute expression appeared on his face. A hint of ferociousness and ecstasy even flashed past his eyes.
'If I manage to do this great meritorious deed on my own, then I will be able to end my period of keeping a lookout over this place early. I will even be able obtain a hundred, a thousand, or maybe even a ten thousand fold increase in resources that would have originally been given to me. This is definitely an anomaly in the planet. If I can suppress it on my own, then I'll be able to obtain the greatest reward among the Union of the Four Great True Realms. I will obtain the right to enter Heavenly Sun Planet and train!' There was excitement that Jing Nan Zi could not suppress shining in his eyes.
'Heavenly Sun Planet is only opened once every hundred thousand years, and less than thirty people can enter the place every single time it is opened. It is the sacred cultivation land who can be entered by those whose names appeared on the list the leaders of the four Great True Realms decide upon. The time when the planet will be opened again is no longer far away. If I can obtain the right to enter this time, then I'm seven-tenths confident that once I come out, I'll be half a step away from Solar Kalpa!'
Jing Nan Zi no longer had any hesitation. With his right hand, he seized the air in the direction of the red armor, which was lying on the ground, drenched by the bloody rain.
The armor instantly flew up and separated into several parts that covered Jing Nan Zi's entire body, pieces connecting with each other to once again turn into a red battle armor. Jing Nan Zi looked filled with murderous aura when he equipped that battle armor. As his long crimson hair danced in the bloody rain, he picked up the helmet. Once he put it on, he turned around and took a step off the blood-red mountain.
Boom!
The mountain shattered into pieces, and a ray of red light flew out from the collapsed ruins. That light contained a rectangular object that looked like a coffin and was crimson in color. There were streams of light shining on it, as well as countless bumps formed by runic symbols. Anyone who saw this items would feel their hearts and souls trembling.
Jing Nan Zi took a step towards the crimson coffin. When he touched it, he fused into it. Immediately, a large amount of the runic symbols began sparkling, and the coffin turned into a ray of piercing light that charged into the sky with a bang, at a speed that was difficult to describe with words.
With the bloody rain falling on it, the coffin flew out of the cultivation planet in the blink of an eye. Then, in the form of a long arc, it charged towards the direction where Crimson Flame Planet lay in the vast galaxy.
Days passed. The people in the seal within Crimson Flame Planet remained still and unmoving, immersed in the condition that fell upon them due to the power of the World Stone. There was a dazed expression on Su Ming's face. No one knew what he had seen in the ripple from the World Stone.
The bald crane was drooling as it mumbled in its spot, muttering words that perhaps even the crane itself would not be able to hear clearly.
At that moment, Crimson Flame Planet was dark. Most of the people would not venture out and do anything. After all, the ferocious beasts in Crimson Flame Planet had walked out of their sealed regions, and everything had become different from how it was in the past. For the cultivators in the place, the caution they had exercised during the past few years became the barrier that would ensure their safety.
The night was not quiet, though. The ferocious beasts would roar out occasionally, their voices slicing through the night sky and traveling in all directions.
The old woman in the house at the top of the mountain in the eastern region of Crimson Flame Planet was sitting inside with her legs crossed. She had seldom ventured out during the past few years, because her heart had been slightly uneasy all this while, but in the end, she could only turn her unease into sighs.
On this night, as the old woman was sitting in her house and meditating, her eyes suddenly flew open, and a hint of shock appeared within them.
The entire night sky of Crimson Flame Planet turned red at that instant. All the cultivators on the ground woke up and lifted their heads at the same time to look at the sky in shock.
In fact, even the roaring ferocious beasts abruptly stopped letting out any sort of sound.
The thing that had caused the sky of Crimson Flame Planet to turn red was a piercing ray of red light. Its manifestation in the sky was a telling sign that something was approaching this place at an extreme speed. At that moment, it was moving through the layer of air at the highest point in the sky.
The red light was too fast for anyone to see what was inside. In the blink of an eye, it was as if the sky had been put on fire. Moments later, the light crashed onto the ground, and with the collision spot as its center, a wave of impact that was like a violent gust swept through the entire area.
Wherever this wave of impact went, the ground would be instantly eroded. There were even several volcanoes that turned instantaneously into dirt. All manner of living except for those who had reached the peak of Heaven Cultivation Realm within a circular area of ten thousand lis died in an instant, without even being able to let out a single scream of pain.
However, even those who had reached the peak of Heaven Cultivation Realm coughed up a huge mouthful of blood due to the wave of impact and were all gravely wounded by it.
Once the booming sound that came from the wave of impact faded away, a gigantic red coffin could be seen on the spot where the wave of impact had originated, which was also where the red light had crashed onto the ground. Nearly a third of it had penetrated into the ground in a diagonal manner.
A human face popped up on the surface of the coffin's lid as the countless bumps that were runic symbols shone and streams of light flowed out from the coffin. More accurately speaking, the thing that showed up was not a face but a head wearing a helmet. Gradually, Jing Nan Zi's head and body showed up on the coffin's lid before he eventually walked out, as if he had just phased through it.
As he looked at the ground around him, he let out a cold harrumph. The murderous aura about him surged into the sky, and he lifted his right hand to strike the coffin. The runic symbols immediately shone intensely, and the coffin turned into a long red spear, which Jing Nan Zi picked up.
At the instant he held the blood-red spear, a power that belonged to those in the peak of the middle stage of World Plane Realm was released from his body without him bothering to put even a single bit of disguise on it. At the instant it erupted from his body and swept through Crimson Flame Planet, it told all the people in the area that he had arrived.
Jing Nan Zi lifted his left hand, and a jade slip appeared on his palm. When he squeezed it, green light immediately spread out and covered the land beneath his feet. It traveled so quickly that in the span of ten breaths, that green light had already covered all the land, all the cultivators, and all the ferocious beasts in Crimson Flame Planet.
It even seeped into the depths of the ground and covered the sealed region. Once it did so, an illusory projection of several dozens of feet lit up on the jade slip. That projection showed a complete Crimson Flame Planet.
This scene was almost identical to what the ancient bronze sword had manifested in the air when the True Guard were investigating the region.
As the green light covered all the living beings in Crimson Flame Planet, it made all the cultivators in the land know clearly that… a True Guard had descended!
The old woman in the house on the mountain in the eastern region was shivering at that moment. Her face was stark pale as panic revealed itself in her features. The ripple of power she sent out also showed a submissive gesture.
Jing Nan Zi cast a look at the illusory projection before he disappeared without a trace. When he reappeared, he was already at the gigantic crack where Su Ming and the others had lingered for some time in the past. Jing Nan Zi charged in along it.
At this instant, the ripples of power and the mighty pressure of Jing Nan Zi caused the bodies of the people in the seal to experience tremors of different degrees, as they were immersed in the strange state caused by the World Stone.
A violent shudder wrecked Su Ming's body as he remained seated. A hint of struggle appeared in his dazed and lifeless eyes. A brilliant glare shone within them, and he seemed to have snapped awake at that instant. Rarely seen shock appeared on his face.
'What is this power? It's comparable to the Undying and Imperishable World! It actually immersed me within itself that I almost couldn't free myself from it!'
Su Ming sucked in a deep breath. Sweat broke out on his forehead, and the stones around him loosened by a large margin. At the instant Su Ming stood up, the stones in the area turned into ashes. The barrier of ten feet between him and the area of the World Stone also disappeared before Su Ming's eyes.
It allowed him to see the area that was ten feet away from him. He saw Long Li shuddering in the diamond-shaped screen of light, along with the nine flags and the nine-headed, green-faced kirin… as well as a stone shining with a brilliant light as it remained inside a floating screen of light.
At the instant Su Ming saw the stone, a bang rang out in his head, and the dazed state he was previously in threatened to overtake him again. If Su Ming had not immediately bit his tongue, he might have lost himself again. He sucked in a sharp breath and no longer looked at the stone. However, he knew clearly that the stone had been the reason for his unconsciousness.
Judging by how Long Li had set up a Rune to fend it off, it was clear that he had been prepared for it since the start. If Su Ming was to make a guess based on this, then there was a high chance that everything had happened by Long Li's deliberate actions.
'What is this thing? How could it possess such shocking power?' A glint appeared in Su Ming's eyes. He did not look at the stone, but at an ancient scroll placed before Long Li.
At that instant, a muffled boom suddenly came from the distance. Once it rang out, a terrifying presence that caused Su Ming's heart to tremble violently spread out to cover the whole area.
This presence was incredibly domineering, and even though Su Ming was unfamiliar with it, the feeling it gave off made him think of the time when the True Guards had come to patrol and sent their divine sense to sweep through the planet all those years ago.
Su Ming's pupils shrank. He saw a layer of green light phasing through the stone walls around him, and it was rapidly spreading and filling the area.
He was not unfamiliar with this sight. This was something he'd seen when the True Guards had come in the past!
'A True Guard has arrived!'
Su Ming immediately remembered the conversation shared between Tian Lin and Ye Shen Tong. He then longer hesitated and moved. But just as he was about to leave so that he would not be covered by the green light, he cast a glance at the ancient scroll before Long Li, and his footsteps came to a halt.
Chapter 777: Plot for Murder
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
'This ancient scroll is clearly very important to Long Li, since he placed it in front of him. I wonder if it's an Enchanted Treasure or it contains some other secrets inside it.' A thought bloomed in Su Ming's heart, but he soon forced down the decision to wake up the bald crane and have it retrieve the ancient scroll.
This was not a very intelligent move, and it was also incredibly risky. Besides, there were many strange changes in the sealed region at that moment, and time was short. The True Guard's powerful presence was swiftly closing in from the distance, and the green light was about to reach him.
A glint appeared in Su Ming's eyes, and he turned around resolutely. With a single move, he arrived beside the unconscious bald crane. Once he grabbed it, he placed it in his storage bag and started charging through the stone wall.
'What happened here? How could a True Guard descend to this place? Could it be that it has been several years since I fell unconscious and the True Guards from the galaxy beyond Crimson Flame Planet have once again began their patrol?
'If that isn't the case, then Tian Lin must have kicked his plan into motion!'
Su Ming was moving forward with his physical power through the stone wall, but before he could travel too far ahead, a violent bang came from behind him, the area where the World Stone was.
In the mid of that bang, Su Ming heard Long Li's low roars.
At that moment, a voice that could cause an endless chill to creep up a person' heart and have them find a bloody stench wafting into their nose reverberated in the air. "An unlawful ant!"
Su Ming's heart shuddered. As his pupils shrank, he increased his speed as he rushed forward. He could sense that Long Li was fleeing rapidly in the tunnel behind him, and there was a terrifying presence chasing after him at a relaxed pace.
Su Ming sucked in a deep breath. As he circulated his cultivation, he became even more cautious. However, before even an hour went past, another muffled but just as violent boom came from the sealed region.
The spot where the booming sound came from was not too far from Su Ming. Tian Lin's word rang through the area. "Sun Kun, Su Ming, if the two of you are still hiding here, then you will surely die! Come out and fight with us to kill the True Guard!"
There was a shrill, hoarse tone to Tian Lin's voice. Clearly, the booming sound just then had caused grave injuries to him.
"Fellow Daoist Sun, fellow Daoist Su, this True Guard is in the middle stage of World Plane Realm, so no matter how well the two of you hide, it'll still be difficult for you to escape death! Why don't you come out and work together with us to fight against him?!" There was a feebleness to Long Li's voice as it echoed through the tunnels.
"Oh? Sun Kun, Su Ming… So there are four people alive? But I only detected three people's lights… Interesting, could it be that there is someone who isn't recorded in the Barren Lands of Divine Essence's records besides those from the alien races?" Jing Nan Zi wondered, his cold voice echoing through the tunnels.
Booming sounds continued reverberating in the air for the next couple moments. The muffled roars, the clashing of Arts, and piercing sounds might be coming from a distance, but when those sounds fell into Su Ming's ears as he continued charging forward, he could imagine just how brutal the fight was.
Su Ming knew clearly that this fight was not something that he could easily join. At that moment, as he charged forward, he no longer headed to the depths of the sealed region, but instead moved swiftly towards the entrance.
When Su Ming was fleeing outwards, Sun Kun, who was at the core of the sealed region, had a variety of emotions flickering on his face. He could hear the booming sounds and roars in well enough. At that moment, he gritted his teeth and stood up, then charged into one of the tunnels by his side. His body instantly fell into a semi-transparent state.
'Damn it, they actually said my name. Even if I run away from this place, I'll still be chased down, so if I don't want to be a wanted criminal that won't know peace… I have to fight!'
It was not that Sun Kun had never thought about running before, but his kinsmen bearing his family name were on the cultivation planet where he stayed. If he truly became a wanted criminal, then his kinsmen would definitely become the first people to be brutally slaughtered.
Sun Kun disappeared into the tunnel and charged towards the spot where the booming sounds were coming from. At that moment, Su Ming was already very close to the entrance. He had even arrived at the spot where the endless dead red threads were located, which they had stepped through when they had entered the sealed region.
Yet right at the moment Su Ming arrived, his footsteps froze. Sitting and meditating before him was a man with long, red hair. That man was just sitting there calmly, having placed his helmet by the side to reveal a callous face. His long and narrow eyes might have been closed, but he gave Su Ming the impression that he was facing off against an ancient, ferocious beast.
"So you're the person whose bloodline isn't registered on the records?" When speaking with that cold voice of his, the red-haired man slowly opened his eyes. The instant he did so, a ray of red light that looked like blood filled the air.
Su Ming had not noticed him. His Atman had not detected this person's presence at all just now. However, the presence about him was the exact same as the one he sensed on the True Guard just now.
However, Tian Lin and the others were fighting against the True Guard right then, so the person before him had to be a clone or a Nascent Divinity.
Su Ming's eyes sparkled. He moved back without any hesitation, looking as if he was about to retreat and avoid the True Guard. His actions matched what the red-haired man judged he would do.
"You're just a mere cultivator in Earth Cultivation Realm. What a waste for me to leave my clone here." The red-haired man shook his head, then lifted his right hand to casually point towards Su Ming.
Bang!
Su Ming coughed up blood and his entire body immediately wilted. He looked as if he had suffered grave injuries. His right arm swept through the air before him, and he started falling backwards like a kite with a torn string.
However, the red-haired man did not notice that when Su Ming swung his arm before him, a shadow had flown out of his sleeve and stung the air fiercely.
The shadow was the poisonous wasp, but the spot it had stung was empty. There was only air there.
"Weaker than an ant."
The red-haired man stood up and picked up the helmet before he took a step towards Su Ming. When he was in midair, he lifted his left hand once again. This time, he had his fingers pressed together to form a straight line before striking the air in the direction of the retreating Su Ming.
At that instant however, a freezing glare begun to shine in the eyes of Su Ming, who had blood trickling out of the corners of his mouth and whose body was falling backwards. He stared at the spot where the red-haired man was, and the wilted look on his face instantly disappeared, replaced by killing intent. He lifted his right hand with his palm facing upwards and the back of his hand facing downwards. He repeated this action several times, and Destiny's power swiftly filled his body.
His divine ability to change the flow of time was activated at that moment. However, he did not use it on the red-haired man. Instead, he used it on himself.
Because of that, the red-haired man continued moving forward, but Su Ming's retreating body looked as if time had reversed for it. His act of moving backwards turned into him charging forward, and since the power of time was contained in that burst of speed, it momentarily stunned even the red-haired man.
In the blink of an eye, Su Ming appeared before the red-haired man. This was not Su Ming himself charging forward, but the action of moving backwards being turned into a forward charge because time had been reversed. Perhaps more accurately speaking, he had returned to a spot he'd been at a certain point of time.
At that time, Su Ming had forced himself to cough up blood. Using blood as a disguise, he had swung his arm, and the poisonous wasp had flown out from his sleeve to sting the empty space beside him.
At that moment, as time had reversed on Su Ming, the same thing occurred to his wasp. Now, the wasp had appeared beside Su Ming… and also right next to the red-haired man who had moved forward just now to chase after Su Ming.
A sharp needle appeared on the wasp's stinger. That needle shone with a strange light as it pierced forward. However, while the wasp had indeed stung air in the beginning, now, the red-haired man was in that spot.
It was as if both parties had calculated and planned for precisely this to happen. The poisonous wasp's needle swiftly stabbed into the red-haired man's right arm.
The act of using Destiny's Art to change his own time instead of another person's was a show that Su Ming's use of Destiny's power had become vastly different from before. He had become even more adept in using this Art. In fact, he even gave off the feeling that he was using it with ease.
"You're just a mere clone, how dare you even think about killing me!"
Su Ming laughed coldly. Everything he had done previously was for the poisonous wasp to sting the red-haired man. He knew clearly just how frightening the wasp's poison was, but no matter how strong the poison was, if it did not enter his enemy's body, it would be useless.
Su Ming did not have the confidence that the poisonous wasp would be able to outsmart this clone, whose real self was a True Guard whose divine sense and level of cultivation far surpassed Tian Lin and the others. That was why to ensure that everything would go according to plan, he spared no pains in faking his retreat and coughing up blood to arrange this set up within an incredibly short amount of time.
At that moment, as the red-haired man shook violently, he let out a shrill roar. His right arm instantly melted, and the decay was rapidly spreading upwards. In the blink of an eye, his legs also began corroding.
"What is this poison?!"
The red-haired man's expression changed drastically. He could not spare any attention to kill Su Ming. Instead, he tried to return to where his real self was at the fastest speed he could muster. Only then was there a possibility for him to keep his body of a clone around.
"Running away?" A ruthless glare shone in Su Ming's eyes. However, he knew that even though his opponent was a clone, he was still a True Guard with power that belonged to a Lord of a World Plane. Fear had only appeared in him because of the poison. If he used his power of the World Plane, it would be difficult for Su Ming to put up a fight.
It was especially so for that single attack he'd used just then. If Su Ming had not used his physical body and cultivation to simultaneously resist it while also having the Five Direction Seal in his body acting as a cushion, it would have been incredibly difficult for him to resist it.
Without any hesitation, Su Ming seized something in his bosom with his right hand. He brought out a gourd, and it instantly opened an eye to stare at the red-haired man that was charging into the distance.
Almost at the instant the eye on the gourd locked onto Jing Nan Zi's clone, the clone's heart shuddered, as if his soul had been marked. Su Ming's cold voice then reached his ears.
"Treasured gourd, please kill him!"