Chapter 778: Destroy the Clone
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
"Treasured gourd, please kill him!"
At the instant Su Ming said these simple words, the eye on the gourd that was staring at the red-haired man blinked, and a wisp of green fog immediately drifted out of the gourd. A presence that made Su Ming's heart tremble instantly erupted.
He saw an incredibly adorable doll appear in the fog as it erupted. That doll was the size of a palm, and there was an even smaller sword in its hand. The doll rose into the air as it rode on the green fog, then with a shocking speed that not even Su Ming could see clearly, it arrived beside the red-haired man in the distance in the blink of an eye. Once it circled around him once, the green fog became much duller and swiftly returned to the gourd.
All of this happened at an incredibly fast pace. Only about two or three breaths passed in the time the doll appeared to the moment it disappeared.
By then, the red-haired man's body in the distance had already shattered. His head was completely detached from his body, before he could even have the chance to retaliate. The poison in him reduced his body to a puddle of water, and his soul as well as his Nascent Divinity were destroyed by the gourd.
Su Ming sucked in a sharp breath. He might have had a high approximation of the gourd's power, but at that moment, he realized that he had still underestimated it. He did not expect that it would possess such a terrifying might.
'Perhaps it wouldn't be so shocking if I had used the gourd on its own. This might have happened because the red-haired True Guard was also poisoned by my wasp.' Su Ming calmed his heart and analyzed the situation rationally.
At this moment, a furious roar came from the sealed region. As it reverberated in the air, Long Li, Tian Lin, and Sun Kun's bitter, weakened harrumphs could be heard mixed within it.
"Su Ming, you're Su Ming! How dare you kill my clone! No matter where you are, I, Jing Nan Zi, will kill you!"
Su Ming remained as calm as ever. He turned around and ignored Jing Nan Zi's roars. At that moment, the clone was no longer blocking his path. It would not be difficult for him to leave this place.
"Not only will I kill you, I will also slaughter all your people and all your kin!"
Jing Nan Zi's voice was still echoing madly in the air. The rumbling was growing more intense, and it sounded as if the fight was getting closer to this place.
Su Ming stopped moving. However, the reason for his pause was not the endless red threads that had gathered for an unknown reason at the exit before him. Judging by the looks, these red threads were the objects that had went after Su Ming and the others' lives previously.
They had gathered in this place for some unknown reason. At the instant Su Ming was about to exit the place, he immediately sensed a boundless sea of red with his Atman.
Yet this was not the reason behind Su Ming not taking that step forward but freezing up instead. What made Su Ming's feet stop was Jing Nan Zi mentioning that he would slaughter his people.
"Slaughter my people… What familiar words. Someone had once said the same thing to me, but he died in the end. I do have a huge aversion towards people saying those words," Su Ming muttered softly.
"Not only will I kill your people, I will find your sect and destroy it! Only then will your crime of killing my clone be pardoned!" Jing Nan Zi's voice was getting closer, and a mighty, frightening power spread over along with his voice.
Su Ming no longer moved forward. Instead, killing intent shone in his eyes, and he turned around to cast a glance at the sealed region.
"Slaughter my people and destroy my clan… Since I cannot leave this place soon, then I might as well try… and kill you!"
Su Ming let out a cold harrumph and moved back swiftly, appearing right at the entrance. Once he let his presence outwards, the red threads that had been moving in and out of the entrance, not noticing Su Ming, instantly let out shrill whistles and charged straight at him.
All of the red threads then swiftly started to move. In the blink of an eye, a boundless sea of them packed closely together came crashing towards Su Ming, as if a tidal wave had surged up and was charging over.
Su Ming turned around and dashed back into the sealed region like a bolt of lightning. The vast sea of red threads surged behind him, giving a close chase.
As Su Ming moved forward, he made his voice reverberate in all directions. "Tian Lin, Long Li, Sun Kun, if the three of you are still alive, then hold back the True Guard with all your strength! Let out your presence and let me know where you are, I have a red thread wave behind me!"
Jing Nan Zi, who was in an empty space in the sealed region where there were many tunnels and who was dressed in red armor and a red helmet, threw the long red spear in his hand outwards. Immediately, all the diamond-shaped scales at the center of Long Li's brows crumbled. He coughed up blood, and as his body fell backwards, he crashed into the stone wall behind him.
Sun Kun was lying by the side at that moment with blood trickling out of the corners of his mouth. He had a dull look on his face, and his chest was a bloody mess. It was as if his heart had been dug out by someone.
There was also a big tree on the empty ground. As its branches spread out, they completely sealed off all the tunnels that served as exits. There were also huge branches that were swiftly cracking towards Jing Nan Zi like a whip.
"The three of you can be considered as outstanding people in the initial stage of World Plane Realm, especially you, descendant of the Tian Family who I did not kill all those years ago. I didn't expect that you would be able to reach World Plane Realm as well.
"Looks like it was the correct choice to spare your life all those years ago. After all, your family has the rare constitution that can fuse together with plants. You've kept this sal tree in good shape," Jing Nan Zi said flatly while looking coldly at the big tree that was Tian Lin.
"Jing Nan Zi, even if I die today, I will make you pay!"
Tian Lin's face appeared on the tree. His heart was filled with frustration. This was not part of his plan. Everything should not have happened this way. Beside them, the alien race's Duke of Crimson Flame should also be fighting against Jing Nan Zi.
Only then could they kill Jing Nan Zi, and only then would Tian Lin be able to exact his revenge. However, this current state of affairs was completely different from his plans. This frustrated Tian Lin, and also brought out a sense of regret, since this whole thing had went into an absurd direction.
'I've made preparations for so many years while looking for a chance. After great difficulty, it finally came, but because I fell unconscious, Ye Shen Tong woke up, and he summoned Jing Nan Zi based on the thought I planted in him…
'The timing wasn't right. Could it be that even the heavens are in favor of Jing Nan Zi so that he could avoid this disaster?!' Tian Lin descended into a state of madness and had the whip before him crack in the air.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Jing Nan Zi swung the long spear in his hands before he thrust it forward. With a bang, the air around him distorted and fell apart. Numerous cracks appeared on the big tree that was Tian Lin, and many parts of his tree body crumbled to pieces.
It was when Tian Lin had already returned to his human form and was staggering backwards that Su Ming's voice reached this area. When Tian Lin heard the words, his eyes immediately turned bloodshot. As he let out his presence, he charged towards Jing Nan Zi.
Long Li struggled to his feet. As blood trickled out of the corners of his mouth, powerful hate appeared in his dull eyes. He was only one step away from obtaining the World Stone, but his actions had been cut off by the sudden appearance of this True Guard, causing him to be one step short of success.
He was also in a life-and-death crisis at the moment. The opponent's strength, the difference of an entire level between them, and the advantage of being able to use the power of World Planes without having to worry about expenditure made it so that he was only able to fend death with much difficulty.
And that was only because Long Li had already reached the pinnacle of the initial stage in World Plane Realm, was only half a step away from reaching the middle stage. Besides that, Tian Lin had his Nascent Divinity change places with his physical body, so he could bring out power that was slightly greater than what Long Li could, though it still had yet to reach the middle stage. Sun Kun's various Enchanted Treasures had also extended this fight to his point in time.
"I'll fight to the bitter end! If I don't, I'll die!" Long Li howled. He lifted his right hand and tapped a few spots on his chest, and the power of a World Plane erupted swiftly from his body. At the same time, a black horn crawled out of the top of his skull. A large amount of scales also appeared on the skin of his face. In the blink of an eye, Long Li turned into a human-shaped beast, and as he roared, he charged towards Jing Nan Zi.
In the distance, Sun Kun bit the tip of his tongue. A large amount of red appeared in his eyes, and he let out a shrill cry as his dwarfish body trembled. His voice contained a shocking penetrative power. When he cried out, his body trembled violently and swiftly withered away, as if all his life force and essence had turned into nourishment for that piercing cry.
The moment the piercing cry reached Jing Nan Zi, he froze for a moment in midair. The roar echoed in his head, and it felt as if a sharp needle had stabbed his mind before it turning into a loud buzz in his ears.
It was at this moment that Long Li swiped Jing Nan Zi's chest with the claw of his half-human, half-beast body. Tian Lin closed in with a hideous expression. Branches gew out of his fingertips and crawled into Jing Nan Zi's body like drills.
At that instant, a buzzing sound sliced through the air from one of the tunnels in the beehive. In the blink of an eye, Su Ming rushed out of the tunnel by the side. He had come to this place by rushing towards the familiar presences.
This was the first time since they had parted ways that they had gathered together once more. However, they did not have time for a nice chitchat. Right after Su Ming flew out, the tunnel behind him let out a bang, and the red thread wave burst out from the tunnel like the eruption from a volcano.
"I know the way to the place sealing the Duke of Crimson Flame! Take me with you, I'll guide you there!"
Sun Kun was the first to speak up in a shrill voice. Almost at the instant he said these words, Su Ming closed in on him and grabbed his body before he charged towards the tunnel right before him. Tian Lin and Long Li followed right after him without any hesitation or regard for their own injuries.
As for Jing Nan Zi, he was first stabbed in the mind by Sun Kun's strange voice, then struck by Long Li's desperate attack and Tian Lin's crazed assault, but his level of cultivation was high, and he quickly recovered. Before the red threads could pounce on him, he charged after Su Ming and the others.
However, the instant he was about to move, Su Ming turned around and stepped into the cave before throwing out an item from his right hand.
Eight colors roamed about in the air. They naturally came from Su Ming's eight-colored crystal. The moment it appeared, it shattered with a bang and formed a power that could freeze souls, freezing Jing Nan Zi's body for a moment!
The price for that momentary pause was being submerged by the boundless wave of the red threads.
Chapter 779: The Fifth Abyss Pact
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
However, it did not matter whether it was Su Ming or the others, all of them knew clearly that if even they had a way to dodge those red threads or escape from them, then the True Guard who was stronger than they were and who had already reached the middle stage of World Plane Realm would definitely be able to escape.
They would only be able to trap him for a moment. The True Guard would definitely be able to rush out and chase after them soon enough.
Time was precious for them at that moment. They could not afford to waste even a single instant. To protect his life, Sun Kun quickly told Su Ming everything about the path he had found as the other charged forward while holding him.
With Sun Kun guiding the way because he had gone to the core of the seal before, Su Ming moved through the tunnels in the beehive at full speed. Long Li and Tian Lin were heavily wounded, but they gritted their teeth and followed closely behind. After all, if they could not catch up and were left behind, they would end up dead once Jing Nan Zi caught up to them.
The span of time it takes for an incense stick to burn quickly passed. As Su Ming was quickly moving through the tunnels with Sun Kun in hand, a muffled boom reached. Jing Nan Zi's domineering pressure spread out with a bang from a spot far away.
Su Ming's expression changed slightly. He became even faster. Long Li and Tian Lin's expressions turned even darker and paler. They knew that Jing Nan Zi had already gotten out of being trapped by the red threads, and it was most likely that he was already closing in on them.
"The core is right before us! It's less than five thousand feet to that place if we move along this tunnel!" Sun Kun's face was void of blood. As he quickly spoke with a sharp voice, Su Ming traveled forward as if he had turned into a gust of wind.
Whoosh!
Su Ming looked as if he had closed that distance of five thousand feet by warping, but in truth, he had simply used that extreme speed of his and shot through the air. Once he rushed over, he appeared in an incredibly large and spacious karst cave.
This place was about several hundreds of thousands of feet in size. There was a pool of purplish black magma at the center, and submerged in that magma was a skeleton with three swords pierced through its skeletal frame.
The moment Su Ming arrived, a wave of suffocating heat crashed into his face. Once he breathed it in, he felt as if his entire body was about to burst into flames.
Su Ming stood in midair and swept his gaze through the area. When his eyes fell on the skeleton in the purplish black lava, Long Li and Tian Lin also rushed out of the tunnel behind him in the form of long arcs. They stood beside Su Ming, and once they saw everything around them, they sucked in a sharp breath.
"Duke of Crimson Flame!"
"That skeleton is definitely the Duke of Crimson Flame, the mighty cultivator from the alien race who has been sealed here for years!"
While Long Li and Tian Lin were looking at the skeleton in the purplish black magma, Su Ming's pupils constricted and his heart trembled. Ever since he had come to this sealed region, he had sensed a pair of eyes watching him. At the instant he looked towards the skeleton and met its gaze, that feeling as if he was being watched appeared once again.
That feeling was incredibly strong, so strong in fact that Su Ming could tell that the pair of eyes that had been watching him outside belonged to this skeleton. This pair of eyes that met Su Ming's gaze seemed to possess a vast amount of life force, which caused his heart to shiver, and at the same time, it also made him feel as if he was seeing multiple illusions.
Tian Lin seized his chest. Blood trickled out of his mouth, then said urgently, "We have to break open all the seals in the mighty cultivator's body. This is the only way we can fight against Jing Nan Zi!"
Su Ming released Sun Kun from his grasp. At that moment, the power of the World Plane here had restored some of his cultivation base, and he said anxiously, "But how do we open all the seals in the mighty cultivator's body?"
"I… know! We just need to take away the World Stone, and the seal here will lose its balance. Then, it'll completely shatter. It's a pity that before I could retrieve the World Stone, I was heavily wounded by the True Guard, or else the seal would have shattered a long time ago.
"I remember where the World Stone is, but I'll need time. If you can hold back Jing Nan Zi for some time, then I'm seven-tenths certain that I'll be able to shatter the seal." Long Li panted harshly as he spoke in a hoarse voice.
"Do you mean it when you say that you are seven-tenths certain?" Tian Lin gritted his teeth and whipped his head around to look at Long Li. Even Sun Kun and Su Ming looked towards him in silence.
Long Li sucked in a deep breath and declared in a low voice, "Things have already progressed to this point. Why would I speak carelessly now? If we don't kill the True Guard Jing Nan Zi, then we will all die here. I meant what I said before!"
"All right. Brother Su, Brother Sun, we are all people Jing Nan Zi wants to kill. Not a single one of us will be able to escape alone, but I swear that if we do manage to kill Jing Nan Zi, then everything on his person will belong to all of you. I will want none of it."
While Tian Lin spoke, Jing Nan Zi's low roar came from a tunnel on the side. Judging by the location from where the voice came, he should not be too far away from them.
Su Ming's expression was solemn. There was no longer any other method at that moment. This was the only way. He nodded.
As Sun Kun laughed bitterly, he quickly brought out some medicinal cores and placed them in his mouth, seizing every moment that he had to exercise his breathing.
"Brother Long, when Jing Nan Zi appears later, we will risk our lives to stop him, but you must hurry. We… we can only buy you the time it takes for two incense sticks to burn. This is our limit. If you don't succeed by then…" Tian Lin stopped speaking.
Long Li sucked in a deep breath and said in a somber voice, "This amount of time is enough. If I still don't manage to succeed, then it can only be that the heavens want us to die."
Su Ming's heart trembled. He immediately took a few steps backwards, and a loud bang came from the tunnel in the distance. Countless shattered rocks shot out as that bang reverberated in the air. As they charged towards Su Ming and the others, a frightful presence surged forth to devour them like an ancient ferocious beast that had its mouth wide open to eat its prey.
Tian Lin's expression changed. He gritted his teeth and turned into a big tree. As its branches danced in the air wildly, an endless amount of shadows manifested to charge forward, filling the air and earth.
By the side, Sun Kun bit the tip of his tongue and spat out a blood arrow. At the same time, a part of his blood turned into a blood-colored runic symbol in midair. A thick, bloody stench spread out, and there was a layer of blood fog circling around the symbol. As it rushed forward, Sun Kun let out a sharp whistle. His dwarfish body shuddered, and a large number of small objects were shaken out from all over his body.
Among these small objects were jade pendants, crystal pearls, and several emerald-colored plates. There were even some wooden objects with carvings on them. There were hundreds of these items that fell off Sun Kun's body, and once he flung them out, they turned into hundreds of long arcs that charged forward.
Su Ming's eyes sparkled. As he moved backwards, he lifted his right hand, and the killing sword appeared on his palm. His eyes burned brightly as he circulated his cultivation base. A tremendous amount of physical power erupted forth. He turned into a sword light and rushed forward.
Once the three of them attacked simultaneously to resist the murderous presence in the red light, Long Li moved back, then dove into one of the tunnels in the beehive to rush towards the spot where the secondary core was located.
"You managed to make me release the first of my self-imposed seals, you should be proud of yourselves, ants." A cold voice filled with a chilling tone reached the group as they attacked at the same time.
Soon after, three bloody shadows charged towards Su Ming and the other two from the red light.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Tian Lin was the at the front of the group. When he was touched by the red shadow, he coughed up blood. Half of his body, which had taken the form of a big tree, shattered before he turned into his Nascent Divinity and fell backwards.
The sword in Su Ming's hand swept against the red shadow, from which a vast power spread out. It contained a destructive presence, and just as it was about to rush into Su Ming's body, the light from the Five Direction Seal instantly spread out. As it resisted the destructive power, the ordinary robe on Su Ming's body shuddered and turned into the Sacred Constellation Robe to fight against that destructive power.
These two supreme treasures as well as Su Ming's own physical power allowed him to maintain his balance even as he coughed up blood and retreated. He swung his arm, and his statue of the God of Berserkers appeared for the first time in the Barren Lands of Divine Essence. It lifted its fist and hurled a punch towards that red shadow.
At the instant Sun Kun came into contact with the red shadow, he spared no pains to have all the Enchanted Treasures on his person explode to fight against the ripples spreading out from the red runic symbol. Signs of destruction appeared in the air around him. He swiftly made a move to retreat, but at the moment he began moving backwards, a long red spear shot through the air with a hum and appeared right before him. Right when Sun Kun's pupils shrank, that long spear pierced the center of his brows, going right through.
Sun Kun trembled, and his body instantly began withering away, as if all his flesh and blood were being absorbed by the long spear. In the span of two breaths, he turned into a mummy.
The red shadows before Su Ming and Tian Lin disappeared. Jing Nan Zi, who was dressed in red armor, walked out of the air before Sun Kun and grabbed the long spear. He pulled it out slowly from other's head, then looked at Su Ming and Tian Lin.
"One of you is a rat I didn't kill in the past because I was merciful, and one of you is an unforgivable person who dared to kill my clone. How do you want to die? I'll let the two of you choose yourselves," Jing Nan Zi said in a ghastly voice while holding onto the long red spear.
There were red threads spinning around his weapon, and they were crawling into his arm. Those red threads were blood lines that had originally been Sun Kun's flesh, blood, and essence. Once they entered Jing Nan Zi's body, his presence increased at a shocking pace. The few injuries he had suffered just now recovered completely.
When his gaze swept past Su Ming's statue of the God of Berserkers, his pupils shrank, though it was barely noticeable. Clearly, this was something he had never seen before. However, there were far too many criminals in the Barren Lands of Divine Essence, and there were endless divine abilities, which was why he only looked at it for a short moment.
Su Ming's expression was grim. He leaped up to stand on his statue's shoulder, staring down at Jing Nan Zi. His grip on the killing sword tightened.
Suddenly, a weak voice spoke up, its words reaching Su Ming's ears.
"Fellow ally from the sacred Abyss Builders, do you remember the fifth Abyss Pact..? I am the Duke of Crimson Flame of the Surging Indulgers. I am willing to comply to the fifth Abyss Pact… I just hope that you will resurrect the millions of my people who died in battle, leaving behind their Abyss Soul Flags."
That voice reverberated in the air, but Tian Lin and Jing Nan Zi did not notice it, a telling sign that the words were spoken solely for Su Ming.
Chapter 780: The Illusion Shattered
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Su Ming was momentarily stunned. That voice was faint, but it had managed to enter his mind. The voice claiming himself to be the Duke of Crimson Flame shocked Su Ming.
"Fellow ally from the sacred Abyss Builders, don't panic. You are the only one who can hear my voice. We can talk about the fifth Abyss Pact later. Now, I will help you through this difficulty… The power of the seal still remains, and I don't have an ounce of power in my body, neither can I move. Come… to me. Come to my side. Only then will I be able to ensure your safety."
The faint voice continued to echo in Su Ming's ears. A barely noticeable glint appeared in his eyes. He did not turn his head back to look at the skeleton in the purplish black magma.
Tian Lin wiped away the blood at the corners of his lips and began to laugh loudly. As he laughed, a hint of madness and grief revealed themselves in his voice. It sounded as if he had suppressed the grief in his heart for thousands of years, and right then, it exploded from his heart.
"You're asking me to choose how I want to die? Then I choose to die with you!!"
Tian Lin lifted his right hand pushed against his chest. Su Ming saw Tian Lin's physical body, which was inside his Nascent Divinity, instantly turn to pieces. This meant that he had completely abandoned his physical body. At that moment, he only had his Nascent Divinity left.
However, he could not last in this state. This body made purely from his Nascent Divinity was not what he had obtained by refining his body. Tian Lin had instead obtained it by executing the Art to have his Nascent Divinity change places with his physical body. He might have become much stronger because of it, but it was the same as burning his own potential to stimulate his soul so that he could make himself invigorated before his death. It would not last long, and due to his lack of a physical body as a support, Tian Lin's Nascent Divinity would surely scatter away in no time.
He had chosen to die. This was his choice. If he had to die, he would do it by setting himself on fire. If he had to die, he would die… while battling against his mortal enemy, Jing Nan Zi.
"Ancestors of the Tian Family, your descendant, Tian Lin, is a unfilial son. Today, I will use my death to take revenge. Please protect me, o ancestors in heaven, so that I… can kill this person!"
An indomitable presence erupted forth from Tian Lin's body. His Nascent Divinity's appearance swiftly turned brown, the shade of tree bark. In the blink of an eye, his body also looked as if it had turned into a human-shaped tree.
A large number of branches crawled out of his index finger, and his body filled with the power of plants.
'He fused his Nascent Divinity together with his tree…'
A glint appeared in Su Ming's eyes. He could tell what had happened to Tian Lin and the madness he had descended into. This was the strongest power he could muster in his life after he no longer cared about death and after he had placed one of his feet into his own coffin.
Jing Nan Zi was in midair. As he held onto the long red spear, his pupils shrank slightly. A bloodthirsty fighting spirit appeared in his eyes, and a smile touched his lips under the helmet.
"I spared you in the past because I noticed that your blood was the thickest among the Tian Family. You had practically reverted to your roots…" Jing Nan Zi swept the long spear in his right hand forward.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The air before Jing Nan Zi shattered. As the destruction spread, whatever was destroyed turned into an invisible storm. It caused the space to distort before it crashed straight into Tian Lin.
He let out a loud roar. His cultivation base started boiling as if it had been set on fire. His speed increased by several fold, and the pressure he exuded could even rival Jing Nan Zi's.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
These two people exchanged blows several times in midair. Every single time they attacked each other, Tian Lin's body would shake so much that rumbling sounds would resonate in the air, and a number of places on his body would be torn to pieces. However, those spots quickly recovered. After all, his Nascent Divinity had already fused with the tree. A tree was usually incredibly tenacious, and its life force was also extremely great.
Because of it, even if Tian Lin was injured, he was able to instantly return to his peak condition. With his strength of someone who had attained great completion in the initial stage of World Plane Realm, he could bring forth a terrifying might that was equivalent to those in the middle stage of that realm once he fused with the tree, and he actually managed to fight on equal grounds against Jing Nan Zi.
At the instant another round of violent tremors spread through the area, Jing Nan Zi held the long spear in his hand and laughed loudly with his head thrown back.
"Very good, Tian Family's child. Indeed, you didn't disappoint me. The Tian Family has a great reputation in True Sacred Yin World… If your ancestors had not rebelled and failed, this branch of the Tian Family which you belong to wouldn't have been imprisoned in the Barren Lands of Divine Essence, either."
Brilliant light shone in Jing Nan Zi's eyes. As he spoke in a ghastly voice, he turned into a long arc and appeared right in front of Tian Lin.
Boom!
The space between them shattered. A powerful wave of impact swept through the area and stirred up a loud rumble that spread through all directions.
Tian Lin's face was dark. He did not say a single word. Clearly, what Jing Nan Zi had said was not a secret to him. He rushed forward and fought against the True Guard again.
Su Ming stood on the statue of the God of Berserkers, the wave of impact that swept backwards having blown his hair upwards. He had tightened his grip around the killing sword before, but now he loosened it as his eyes shone brightly. He did not rush into the battlefield, but he did not retreat to the Duke of Crimson Flame's side, like the skeleton had asked him to do.
Unless he absolutely had to, Su Ming would not choose to use the method the Duke of Crimson Flame had offered to him. After all, people were vicious and malicious. If he was careless, he would be doomed eternally.
Su Ming stood on the statue calmly, holding the killing sword in his hand. The image of the sun gradually appeared in his left eye, and in his right was a bright crescent moon, making his eyes appear cloudy. At the same time, a star appeared in Su Ming's heart.
Illusion of Star, Sun, and Moon!
Right then, Su Ming cast this illusory Art against Jing Nan Zi as he was fighting fiercely against Tian Lin. This illusion was something that others could not fend against, and the slightest carelessness would cause them to immediately sink into the illusion.
Jing Nan Zi's heart suddenly shuddered as he was fighting against Tian Lin, as if his heart was giving him a warning that an incredible danger was about to descend upon his head. His eyes began to shine, but before he could check the source of this danger...
"Jing Nan Zi!!" Su Ming let out a loud shout and jumped off his statue of the God of Berserkers. His voice was like thunder, and it had even fused with his God of Berserkers' roar, causing an unceasing amount of echoes to stir up in this karst cave, where the space was limited.
"Jing Nan Zi."
"Jing Nan Zi…"
"Jing Nan Zi…"
These echoes filled the air, and in the blink of an eye, they fused together, turning into a roar that sounded like the might of heavens.
"Jing! Nan! Zi!"
That roar caused Tian Lin's ears to ring and shook Jing Nan Zi's heart so violently that his mind became empty for a split second due to his carelessness. It was as if his soul had been called, forcing him to instinctively look towards Su Ming, who had been the one to produce that sound. What he saw was not Su Ming's face, but the light from the sun and the moon. At the instant he saw them, he felt as if he had turned into a star. A bang immediately resounded in his head.
When his vision cleared, he saw a brilliant smile, a gentle gaze, and a hand that was stretched towards him. The palm lines on that hand were coarse, but they gave the hand a feeling of warmth and solidness on which others could rely.
"Big brother…"
Jing Nan Zi was stunned. He looked at the young man who seemed to be in his twenties and was strongly built. There was a great sword strapped to his back. At that moment, he had his right hand extended towards Jing Nan Zi.
"Brother, why are you crying when your big brother is around..? Train properly, and in the future, let's explore the galaxy together."
Jing Nan Zi saw himself as well. He was a boy of about twelve or thirteen years of age. He had short hair and was thin. At that moment, he was crying. He remembered it. This was something from many years ago, and it was the most precious memory in his mind - the memory related to his older brother.
However, it was also the memory he did not want to recall the most. Yet now, it had surfaced before his eyes, looking incredibly real.
"A man has to be straightforward and upstanding. Brother, you're very gloomy, and this is something I don't like. But I'm with you. One of these days, I'll have your personality fixed."
Jing Nan Zi's ears echoed with his older brother's voice. The scene before his eyes changed. He saw himself grown up, but the gloomy look on his face was even more prominent, and it was difficult for it to disappear. Only when he was before his brother would that gloomy expression turn into a bright smile.
"I'm his older brother. I will pay with my life for the mistake he made!!"
When Jing Nan Zi saw what event from his memory was, the smile on his face froze, then turned into grief and rage. This was the turning point in his life. It was the memory that had changed his life and was something he would never forget even if he died.
Because at that time, he had lost his older brother.
He saw himself kneeling on the ground while trembling. He saw his older brother standing before him with the great sword in hand. He saw an old man in front of them. That old man was looking at his older brother with an aloof expression on his face. Behind that old man was a girl with an even more aloof face. She was looking at Jing Nan Zi in disgust.
"I, Chen Jing, am his older brother. He's still young, I'll die for him."
Jing Nan Zi saw his older brother turn his head back and flashing a gentle smile at him. As he smiled, Jing Nan Zi saw his older brother lift the sword in his head and stab his neck. As blood poured out, Jing Nan Zi roared madly.
"Since your older brother has died for your crimes, I'll overlook this."
Jing Nan Zi shuddered. He let out a shrill roar, unable to control himself. This was the most painful memory in his head. He did not want to remember it. He wanted to bury this in the deep recesses of his mind, but now, it had surfaced, forcing him to watch it again.
He saw himself kneeling beside his older brother's corpse long after the old man and the girl had left. After remaining silent for a few days, his hair turned red, and a heinous aura of murderousness filled his body. His eyes became void of emotions, the only thing remaining in them being bloodlust with a touch of madness to it.
He saw himself holding his older brother's corpse… and eating him. He had even crushed his older brother's bones in his mouth. As his mouth filled with blood, he devoured his older brother.
"Big brother, I'll be with you. I am you. From now on, I am no longer Chen Nan. My name will be Jing Nan!"
As Jing Nan Zi laughed brokenly, endless pain traversed through his body. That pain came from both his physical body and his soul. The intenseness of it all shattered the memory before him. When everything cleared up, he found himself still in the karst cave, and right before him was Tian Lin attacking him continuously with all his strength.
By the looks of it, the bloody taste in his mouth earlier had been due to Tian Lin's attacks.
Chapter 781: Thought Contained in the Seal of Divine Essence
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Su Ming's pupils shrank. He had only cast the Illusion of Star, Sun, and Moon on two people in total. One of them was Tian Lin, and the other was Jing Nan Zi, who was before him now.
When these two people were under the illusion, they had the same reaction. Their most precious… no, perhaps it would be more accurate to say that it was the memory they did not want to recall the most that would be dug out and appear before them, forcing them to go through the pain it reminded them of once more.
While they were in that illusion, they would lose the defense over their hearts, because the one who attacked their minds would not be anyone else but themselves.
As the caster, Su Ming could see everything in the memory the one who had fallen under the illusion did not want others to know. He would even feel as if he was experiencing it himself, like that scene just now. Su Ming's heart had shuddered as he saw Jing Nan Zi devour his own brother's corpse.
'The injuries in the physical body can be healed using medicinal cores or by circulating one's cultivation bases, but the injuries of our hearts are wounds of the soul. Unless we forget about them, the only other way for them to be cured is to let time take its toll.
'This Illusion of Star, Sun, and Moon of mine does not injure a person's physical body. It cannot even be considered as an offensive ability. It only draws out the most tender memory in a person's heart and turns it into a traumatizing brand, making the person's soul ache as if a scar that had been sealed off for a long time had been torn apart again!'
As understanding appeared in Su Ming's eyes, he saw Jing Nan Zi letting out a shrill roar with his head thrown back. He yanked off his helmet, revealing his long blood-red hair, and that strangely enchanting face of his.
However, his face was pale right then. Red filled his eyes, and he even coughed up a huge mouthful of blood. He staggered backwards. Tian Lin's crazed attacks were part of why he had coughed up blood, but the greater reason behind it was the memory he had just recalled. It seemed like it had only happened yesterday, and sharp pain stabbed his heart again and again
"Big brother…"
Jing Nan Zi continued moving backwards. Pain appeared in his eyes. His body trembled. Tian Lin's face was filled with crazed killing intent at that moment, and he was recklessly executing all his divine abilities, throwing all the most lethal Arts and Enchanted Treasures he possessed against Jing Nan Zi at the fastest speed he could muster.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Jing Nan Zi continued moving backwards. Blood trickled out of the corners of his mouth, and there was bemusement, pain, and confusion in his eyes. Tian Lin brought forth all his power with a crazed look on his face, and as the booming sounds echoed in the air, he threw fist after fist against Jing Nan Zi's body.
"Did you think I didn't know why you didn't kill me in the past?! It's only because the Tian Family's inborn divine ability is incredibly rare among cultivators! We can fuse perfectly with the plants, and there's even a chance a rare Growth Armor can be conglomerated!
"You didn't kill me because you lusted after the Tian Family's Growth Armor. You sought after its might, but you could not obtain it from the Tian Family residing in True Sacred Yin World, that's why you placed your attention on my family who was banished to the Barren Lands of Divine Essence.
"You didn't kill me because the thickness of my blood surpassed that of my ancestor's, because I was the person who had the highest possibility of gathering together the Growth Armor in the Tian Family here!
"This sal tree was the one you gifted to one of my ancestors of the first generation, and it has been passed down to the descendants of the Tian Family since then. What you need is the Growth Armor from the sal tree. Even though I know of your plans, I still fused with it to kill you. Only by doing so would I be able to bring forth my strongest power!"
Tian Lin roared. The branches before him danced madly, and booming sounds echoed in the air. They shot towards Jing Nan Zi as he retreated, and in the blink of an eye, they crashed into the stone wall by the side.
Boom!
Shattered stones flew into the air. Su Ming sucked in a deep breath from the distance. The sun and moon disappeared from his eyes, and he tightened his grip around the killing sword in his hand. His eyes burned brilliantly. Just as he was about to attack, his pupils suddenly shrank.
"Are you done fighting?"
Jing Nan Zi, who was half sunk into the stone wall, lifted his head at that moment. There was still blood at the corners of his mouth, but the bemusement and confusion in his eyes had already disappeared, replaced by a ghastly chill.
Almost at the instant Jing Nan Zi said those words, he lifted his right hand and seized Tian Lin's arm, who had thrown his fist forward. He yanked it closer before flinging Tian Ling into the air, and with it, his body started shuddering, and a large amount of crystalline light erupted.
That crystalline light was the essence of his Nascent Divinity. At that moment, half of it had scattered away. When Jing Nan Zi had flung Tian Lin, the other crashed to the ground with a bang. He struggled to his feet with a bitter, despairing look on his face. He had already activated all his power, but he was still not an opponent to Jing Nan Zi.
"I've underestimated you again."
Jing Nan Zi cracked his neck as he walked out of the sunken wall. He did not look at Tian Lin, but cast a gloomy gaze at Su Ming, looking like a poisonous snake fixating its stare on him.
"You have a poisonous wasp with a shocking poison, a mysterious gourd, and a divine ability that could make me sink into an illusion… You're very good. If you had become a Lord of a World Plane, then even if you were just at the initial stage of World Plane Realm, I wouldn't have been your opponent. But now, you must die."
Strong killing intent appeared in Jing Nan Zi's eyes. It had been many years since he had wanted to kill a person as much as he did right then. Su Ming destroying his clone had angered him, but what he did just now surpassed him being just angered. The other had caused his rage to reach boiling point!
Jing Nan Zi moved and disappeared without a trace. When he vanished, Su Ming's expression changed. He warped as well, and when he reappeared, he was right before Tian Lin.
Almost at the same moment Su Ming appeared, Jing Nan Zi also walked out from the air before Tian Lin. With a simple divine ability that contained no complex machinations, he hurled his fist at Su Ming.
"You're young, but you're a cunning one. You actually managed to see that I wanted to kill this young member of the Tian Family first."
Su Ming could not allow Jing Nan Zi to just kill Tian Lin so easily. Between the two of them, Tian Lin possessed the greater combat prowess. If Tian Lin lived… then they still might not be able to win this battle, but if Tian Lin died, then there would truly be no hope to gain victory.
Su Ming stood between Tian Lin and Jing Nan Zi, blocking the other's way. He swung the killing sword in his hand upwards to crash into Jing Nan Zi's fist. Su Ming might seem as if he was resisting his opponent's power, but in truth, he did not harbor any thoughts to fight back. All his strikes were for the purpose of blocking.
Boom!
Su Ming's right hand, which held onto the killing sword, was torn into a bloody mess. The screen of light from the Five Direction Seal manifested, and Han Mountain Bell appeared inside it. Once the bell chimed, the small snake's roars as well as its gaze of a Candle Dragon, which was filled with the power to capture souls, and the Nine-Headed Dragon that was Han Mountain Bell manifested. All of them focused on resisting Jing Nan Zi's blows, and a deafening resounded in the cave.
Su Ming was still wearing the Sacred Constellation Robe. He might find it difficult to bring out the robe's full power, but its defensive properties still remained. But even with the Sacred Constellation Robe on him, Su Ming still coughed up several mouthfuls of blood. With a loud whooshing sound, his body flew backwards, and he grabbed Tian Lin on his retreat
As Su Ming withdrew, he activated Destiny's power with his left hand and pointed at Jing Nan Zi through the air. The poisonous wasp flew out from his sleeve in a flash and charged towards the enemy.
Jing Nan Zi let out a cold harrumph, but his heart was in shock. After all, he was already in the middle stage of World Plane Realm, and the power Su Ming showed only belonged to those in Earth Cultivation Realm. Yet this cultivator in Earth Cultivation Realm was incredibly difficult to deal with. Jing Nan Zi was about to chase after him when he noticed a change in a law around him. Time seemed to be taking hold of his body, wishing to drag him back.
A sense of danger filled his heart. Jing Nan Zi turned around and pointed at the air beside him. Layers of ripples appeared in the spot in the air. The poisonous wasp was forced to reveal its body, but just as Jing Nan Zi was about to tap its body with his finger, the poisonous wasp disappeared with a whoosh.
"Hmm?" A glint appeared in Jing Nan Zi's eyes. When he turned his head around to look at Su Ming, who was retreating, a strange light showed up in his eyes.
Jing Nan Zi lifted his right hand and seized the air with his fingers. A dark light shone in his eyes and he said in a low voice, "The laws in this place are those of fire. The rules in this place are those of blood. With my seal of Divine Essence, I will now verify my path to my World Plane. Within a hundred thousand feet, I will now seal speed, regeneration, physical power, the might of Enchanted Treasures, and the circulation of cultivation bases!"
As he spoke, it was as if each of his words contained a supreme will. It was as if his words were law, and it could decide the alterations and operations of the world in a certain area.
It was especially so for his words that declared to seal speed, regeneration, physical power, the might of Enchanted Treasures, and the circulation of cultivation bases. Right at the instant he declared the sealing of these five things, Su Ming's speed as he retreated vanished. He had lost all of his speed.
At the same time, Tian Lin's wounds also stopped healing. His injuries started tearing up and deteriorating, and he could no longer heal them.
Soon after, Su Ming felt himself losing all his physical strength. He also lost all his connections to his Enchanted Treasures, as if he could no longer control them. In fact, he also lost his touch with his cultivation base at that instant. He could no longer circulate it.
"The complete power of the World Plane would allow Divine Essence [1] to conglomerate. With the seal of Divine Essence, one can forcefully interfere with the operations in a certain part of the world, then replace the will in that part of the world with their own, thereby reaching a state where their words become law at the moment they leave their mouth, making all the laws in that place become their will, and the rules to become their thought.
"There aren't many Lords of World Planes who can do this. To think that he has such thought contained in his seal of Divine Essence that he is able to form laws by speaking… He was just toying with us with everything he did before," Tian Lin said bitterly.
Jing Nan Zi pulled back his right hand and looked at Su Ming coldly. As he moved forward, he closed in on them in an instant, and a life-threatening sense of danger swiftly filled every fiber of Su Ming's being.
His pupils shrank. A sharp glare flashed in his eyes. This person had sealed everything about him, but he did not manage to seal his soul. If he had to, he could just abandon his physical body and have his soul flee from this place.
Yet at that moment.
"Brother Su, I'm grateful for your help… If the Growth Armor is formed after I die, you can take it. That is my gift to you," Tian Lin suddenly said. He changed spots with Su Ming, and with a bang, his Nascent Divinity was set on fire. The shadow of the big tree was also set on fire.
"Jing Nan Zi, even if I die, I will self-destruct and make you pay the price!"
Madness appeared in Tian Lin's eyes, and he chose to self-destruct. Once he pushed Su Ming away, his entire body turned into a blinding sun. That light illuminated every part in the karst cave and submerged Jing Nan Zi, whose gloomy expression had changed slightly, in its light.
Boom!
Deafening booms stirred up an endless amount of echoes in the air. They swept up the presence of death within Tian Lin along with his torn body, sending Su Ming backwards, beside the Duke of Crimson Flame's skeleton. Half of whose body was inside the purplish black magma.
"You're finally here… fellow ally from the sacred Abyss Builders… I bear no ill-will… We come from the same homeland, after all…"
Translator's Notes:
1. Divine Essence: This is only for those who didn't quite understand what Tian Lin was saying. Now let's see if I can make more sense. If you remember what the Candle Dragon mentioned, the power of World Planes needs to be taken from the world, right? So what Tian Lin is saying is that if you absorb the power of a single world fully, you produce a Divine Essence (in this context think of it as a seriously powerful will), and you replace the will of any world, thereby changing the rules in a certain place.
Take the Candle Dragon's Undying and Imperishable World as an example. The Candle Dragon absorbed a lot of Worlds, right? So after she absorbed so many Worlds, she must have surely formed the Divine Essence. Then she formed the Undying and Imperishable World, and she fused this Divine Essence into her world, allowing her to make all the souls in there go through cycles of life and death repeatedly (the law there).
Now look at Jing Nan Zi. He has the complete power of a World Plane. Because of that he formed a Divine Essence. His will is now strong. He can replace the will in a certain area in a world.
By the way, this thing once appeared in ISSTH as well as Essence of Divine, but here it's shortened to Divine Essence because there'd be one too many 'of's if I went for Barren Lands of Essence of Divine.
Chapter 782: Stall for Time
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Booming sounds echoed in the karst cave. Tian Lin's body shattered into pieces, and the destructive power that was formed fused with the vast life force he had gained after he fused with the sal tree. It sent a loud bang in all directions.
Tian Lin passed away!
The karst cave trembled. Numerous stones fell off the walls. The entire area visibly shook. Half of Su Ming's body was within the purplish black magma. His face was pale as he watched the entire thing unfold.
Sun Kun died!
Tian Lin died!
And since Jing Nan Zi could come here, then it would only mean that Ye Shen Tong's clone had also died.
'Jing Nan Zi's level of cultivation is high. Sun Kun and Tian Lin both died in succession. Do I really have to give up on this physical body and flee with my soul?' When a sparkle appeared in Su Ming's eyes because of that thought, the weak and feeble voice spoke to him once again.
"I bear no ill-will… We don't have time to talk much, fellow ally from the sacred Abyss Builders. Please help me stall for time. As long as I can force out the first sealing sword, then I will be able to help you!
"Once I force out the first sword, it'll be easy for me to kill this person, and I'll also be able to grant you a serendipitous event. After all, we come from the same homeland…
"Time… Help me stall for some time… And so that you will be able to stall for a sufficient amount of time, I will first give you a shred of my physical power!"
At the instant that feeble voice echoed in Su Ming's mind, he felt two waves of heat seeping into his feet from the purplish black magma and surging into his body.
That wave of heat was filled with a mighty feeling. Once it surged into his body, it fused with his flesh, blood, and bones. This did not affect his cultivation base, but was swiftly changing the structure of his physical body.
This was the same as what happened when Su Ming had been absorbing the physical power contained in the stones during the past few years. However, this time, he was not taking the initiative to absorb the power. The dense physical power was surging into his body on its own.
As Su Ming's physical body was continuously becoming stronger, the echoes of the loud bangs lingered in the karst cave. A large amount of dust tumbled about in the form of fog, and Jing Nan Zi's gloomy voice spread in all directions once he spoke up.
"The final member of the Tian Family in the Barren Lands of Divine Essence died, freeing himself from his never-ending pain. This can also be considered an act of mercy from me."
Jing Nan Zi slowly walked out of the dust. When he was only a thousand feet away from where Su Ming was, he looked over.
"Now, it's your turn."
Jing Nan Zi's red hair fluttered in the air. There might be many parts on his armor that had been damaged and there was even fresh blood trickling out of the corners of his mouth, but there was still a brilliant light shining in his eyes. If anyone would find that gaze fixed upon them, they would immediately feel as if that gaze had corporeal form, stabbing their bodies with needle-like pain.
While speaking, Jing Nan Zi lifted his right hand and seized the air. The long red spear immediately came to him. Once he held it, he lifted his foot without any hurry and walked at a moderate pace towards Su Ming.
"You seem to hate the Tian Family very much," Su Ming suddenly said.
His physical body was becoming increasingly stronger, and he was absorbing the physical power from the magma even faster than that. Yet strangely, the other didn't manage to discover even a hint of this. When Su Ming thought about it, he figured that it was related to the Duke of Crimson Flame. He had no idea what method the skeleton had used, but it had managed to make it difficult for Jing Nan Zi to notice Su Ming's current condition.
"Hate? You have incredible curiosity." An aloof look appeared in Jing Nan Zi's eyes. He charged towards Su Ming like a bolt of lightning with the long spear in hand.
Yet just as he leaped into the air and was about to close in, a glint appeared in Su Ming's eyes and he said coldly, "Your older brother died for you because you offended the Tian Family in True Sacred Yin World, am I right? What's the name of the girl beside the old man?"
At the instant Su Ming asked these questions, Jing Nan Zi's body froze in midair. An incredibly powerful killing intent appeared in his eyes as he stared over coldly.
He might seem to be behaving normally, but Su Ming noticed that Jing Nan Zi's breathing had clearly become harsh.
"The main branch of Tian Lin's family is the Tian Family of True Sacred Yin World, which is also the family of the girl you offended. Since you offended her, your older brother died for you, allowing you to be pardoned from death.
"From then on, Tian Family became your target for revenge. When some of its members failed in a rebellion and a branch was banished to the Barren Lands of Divine Essence, they became your prey. You enslaved them and continuously slaughtered them brutally. In the end, you even spared Tian Lin so that he would be tormented by a desire for revenge and pain.
"If my guess is correct, then the girl you offended has some connection with Tian Lin's family. In fact, Tian Lin's family might even be the direct descendants of her lineage, that's why this so called failed rebellion was really just the other branches of the family succeeding in snatching over the position of head of the family."
Su Ming would normally not say so much, but with each breath he managed to stall, his body would become slightly stronger, and the Duke of Crimson Flame's skeleton would also have a greater chance of breaking the seal.
As Su Ming's physical body became stronger, the bald crane also woke up in his storage bag. It flew out and crashed head first into the purplish black magma. It was first stunned, then stuck its head carefully out of the magma not too far in the distance. It looked at Su Ming, who was mostly submerged in magma, then at Jing Nan Zi, who was standing in the air with a dark expression on his face and a cold sneer on his lips. The bald crane then quickly retracted its head.
But when it did so, it suddenly saw the Duke of Crimson Flame by its side. When it saw him, its eyes immediately went wide. In fact, the Duke of Crimson Flame's empty eye sockets seemed to flash at that instant, as if it was looking at the bald crane.
"You're speaking so slowly and voicing all these words that cause pain to my heart because you're waiting for that Long person to take the World Stone and break open the seal, right?" Jing Nan Zi stated flatly while looking at Su Ming.
"Did you actually think the seal would be so easily broken? And even if it breaks, so what? Even if that companion of yours, Long Li, was it? Even if he manages to retrieve the World Stone, what could he possibly do?"
Jing Nan Zi smiled coldly. He took a step forward while speaking languidly, but his words crashed into Su Ming's heart like a thunderbolt.
"These seals are just a diversion to confuse other people's eyes. If the true seal is not broken, then this mighty cultivator from the alien race will not be able to bring out even a shred of its power. Did you think that you could use his power to kill me?" Derision appeared in Jing Nan Zi's eyes. With one move, he appeared in the air two hundred feet away from Su Ming, then swung his spear in the direction in his direction.
Hum!
The tip of the spear appeared before Su Ming in an instant. An incredibly fierce, chilling air froze his entire body, and the purplish black magma around him also seemed to have turned into frozen mud during that instant.
Su Ming's pupils shrank. He did not try stopping the long spear from approaching him. His body abruptly sank into the purplish black magma, and he disappeared within an instant.
The moment he did so, the long spear touched the purplish black magma.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Three booms rang out in succession. The purplish black magma erupted three times. The destructive power from the long spear crawled into the magma in a frenzy, causing the thick liquid to be blown backwards before splattering all over the place.
As the magma flew into the air, the Duke of Crimson Flame's skeleton was drowned by it and could no longer be seen. Once the bald crane transformed, it was also difficult to be found. Su Ming, however, turned into a long arc and rushed out as the magma filled the air.
Jing Nan Zi let out a cold harrumph. With the long spear in hand, he turned around, but the instant he looked at Su Ming, the karst cave in the sealed region started trembling violently. Muffled booms rang through the tunnels in the beehive. It was as if everything in the depths of the ground were about to collapse.
Cracking sounds came from the walls. It was as if the entire Rune had lost its support and was shattering.
When Su Ming saw this, his pupils constricted. There was only one explanation to this - Long Li had succeeded. He succeeded in retrieving the World Stone, making the Rune lose its balance.
However, Long Li would definitely not return to help. At this moment, he was probably fleeing into the world outside, intending to leave the seal, which was about to collapse and be buried under debris.
"Very good. You've finally managed to break open all the outer seals. Only now will I be considered to have performed a real meritorious deed once I kill all of you and prevent the mighty cultivator from the alien race from awakening!"
A smile appeared on Jing Nan Zi's face, and a red shadow walked out of his body. Once it turned into his clone, it grinned and charged into the tunnel in the distance, clearly to chase down Long Li and kill him.
"In truth, I was also stalling for time, waiting for you to succeed. Now… the game has ended." As Jing Nan Zi continued grinning, he took a step towards Su Ming.
When he took that one step forward, a loud bang went off in Su Ming's head. The first reaction his mind sent to his body was not to retreat, but to lift his left hand and have Destiny's power fuse with it. At the same time he changed the law, he pushed forward.
With it, his hand immediately looked as if it had touched the surface of water. A palm manifested out of nowhere before his body. That palm drew out an arc that seemed to contain some sort of trajectory before it pressed against Su Ming's chest.
Right then, Su Ming's power of Destiny was activated, causing the palm to freeze for a moment when it touched it. It was also at this instant that allowed Su Ming to fully activate the Sacred Constellation Robe.
At the same time, Su Ming's arms, legs, and even a large portion of his body withered away. Only the spot where the palm touched his chest remained normal in appearance, but in truth, it contained all the defensive powers in Su Ming's body!
Boom!
The Sacred Constellation Robe fluttered violently. Once it neutralized part of the power from the palm, Su Ming's body fell backwards, and he coughed up blood nonstop. His body recovered swiftly and returned to normal from its previously withered state, but his face was ashen pale.
'If those in the middle stage of World Plane Realm attack at full force, it' difficult for me to stand up against them…'
Su Ming retreated swiftly. His breathing was quick. The organs in his body were damaged to the point where they were close to breaking down. He was incredibly badly wounded. If he had not received a boost to his physical power just then, it would have been difficult for him to withstand this attack.
Jing Nan Zi's body manifested at the spot where the palm had pushed down just then. He pulled back his palm and said arrogantly, "It'll be a pity to kill you. Become my slave and I will spare you."
Chapter 783: The Domineering Bald Crane
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
"Your level of cultivation is Earth Cultivation Realm, and you have a physical body that is near Heaven Cultivation Realm. You also have many skills and divine abilities. Your illusions are terrifying, and you have an outstanding mind. A normal powerful warrior in the initial stage of World Plane Realm couldn't hope to be your opponent unless they did not hesitate to use the power of World Plane. Only by using brute strength to suppress you would they be able to win against you," Jing Nan Zi stated flatly while looking at Su Ming.
"Become my slave for ten thousand years, and I will fight for you to have freedom. If you refuse, then you'll die." A cold glare flashed in Jing Nan Zi's eyes. As he spoke, he took one step towards Su Ming.
A great, mighty pressure spread out from Jing Nan Zi's body. As it charged over to envelop Su Ming, he staggered a few steps back once again. Su Ming's expression was incredibly dark. He still had the poisonous wasp in his sleeve, but Jing Nan Zi must surely be on guard against it.
"Fellow ally from the sacred Abyss Builders, come to my side. I haven't managed to completely force out the sealing sword, but with half of it out, I can already ensure your safety if you're within thirty feet of me."
When that feeble voice reached Su Ming's ears, he swiftly moved backwards. Jing Nan Zi let out a cold harrumph, but he did not chase after. Instead, he lifted his right hand and threw the long spear in his hand forward. With a loud hum, the long spear turned into a blood long red arc that charged towards Su Ming.
On his retreat, Su Ming brought out the gourd.
"Treasured gourd, please kill him!"
Su Ming's voice was hoarse, for he was caught in a life-threatening crisis. At the moment he said those words, green fog instantly rose from within the gourd. The palm-sized human doll manifested, then as he swept up the fog, he charged towards the long spear with the small sword in hand.
Boom!
A wave of impact swept through the air, and Su Ming used that force to increase his speed of retreat, but before he could move far away, the air before him distorted. Once Jing Nan Zi walked out with that bizarre method of his, he tried to grab the top of Su Ming's head with his right hand.
Red filled Su Ming's eyes. During that instant, he could clearly feel that the space around him had been sealed. The hand that looked to be coming towards him from the front felt as if it was rushing towards him from all directions, giving him a feeling that there was no hope for him to dodge it. Even more shocked was the fact that the dimension around him… had completely frozen up.
Su Ming threw his head back and let out shrill howl. During that moment of crisis, he lifted his left hand and pushed upwards with his palm facing up while the palm of his right hand was turned downwards to press against the ground through the air.
"That which exists between the past and the future is Destiny!"
The shadows of a purple-haired man and a white-haired infant appeared before Su Ming. As they overlapped, they covered Su Ming's body. All of this might seem to have happened over a long period of time, but it only lasted for how long it takes for a person to blink. When Jing Nan Zi's right hand was less than five feet away from the top of Su Ming's skull, Su Ming's body transformed, and what appeared before Jing Nan Zi was a boy that seemed to be around fourteen-fifteen years old.
The boy had a head full of gray hair, and it was so long that it reached his waist. This kid was naturally Su Ming after he had transformed into Destiny. Once he changed, the space around him distorted. He moved. At the instant Jing Nan Zi's palm almost seized Su Ming, he broke free of the seal in the dimension around him and moved a hundred feet backwards.
"Hmm?" A glint appeared in Jing Nan Zi's eyes as he looked at Su Ming after he had transformed.
Su Ming's gray hair fluttered in the air. When he lifted his head, his eyes held a callous and emotionless look. Even now, Su Ming still had many cards that he had not yet revealed, such as the Seven Abyssal Yin Death Seal and the almost shattered Welcoming of Deities.
But he did not choose to attack again. He knew of the difference of power between the two of them. Even if he had turned into Destiny, he could still not close the distance between them.
Once Su Ming broke free of the seal around him, he started retreating without any hesitation. With his current state of Destiny, he had control over the flow of time, and if he wanted to flee, then even if a powerful warrior in the middle stage of World Plane Realm wanted to chase after him, he would be hard-pressed to do so.
At the instant Jing Nan Zi's pupils shrank slightly, Su Ming had already traveled several thousands of feet to stand on a purplish black molten rock. At the instant he landed there, the Duke of Crimson Flame's skeleton floated to the surface of the purplish black magma beside him.
The act of the skeleton floating up to the surface on his own accord made Jing Nan Zi freeze in his tracks for a moment, just as he was about to give chase. When he focused his attention on the skeleton, he saw right away that half of the red short sword on the Duke of Crimson Flame's skull had been forced out.
At the instant Jing Nan Zi saw this scene, his eyes went wide. Shock appeared in his eyes, and all thoughts of toying around with Su Ming were placed aside. A grave look that had never appeared on his face before showed up, and he charged over like a bolt of lightning.
One the way, he seized the air with his right hand. The red spear appeared in his palm, and once he closed in with an indescribable speed, he thrust the spear forward, stirring up loud booming sounds.
Boom! Boom!
The tip of the spear stopped thirty feet in the air away from the skeleton. In the end, it pierced another five feet before it could no longer move any farther. Jing Nan Zi's expression turned even darker, and there was even a hint of panic in his eyes. He saw Su Ming still standing thirty feet away from him as the short red sword on the skeleton's skull was coming more loose at a slow pace. By the looks of it, the sword would be completely forced out of the skeleton's body before long.
'Damn it, how could this happen? The cultivator from the alien race should be in deep sleep, and it should be impossible for him to wake up. But even if he's about to wake up, it's fine. He has been sealed up for years, and there's not a single bit of power left in his body. Even if he wants to recover, he'll need to spend a lot of time to do so in the Barren Lands of Divine Essence.'
Jing Nan Zi let out a cold harrumph, then pulled back the long spear. He took a few steps back before lifting his left hand and breaking the skin on the tips of his fingers. Then, he flung the blood in the air before him.
'When they laid the Runes to seal the mighty cultivators from the alien races in the past, they left behind a subsidiary seal. This subsidiary seal is something all True Guards must learn when they come to the Barren Lands of Divine Essence. I thought I would not have the chance to use it while on duty, but it seems that I'll get to execute the seal today!'
As Jing Nan Zi's lips curled up into a cold sneer, he quickly waved his left hand before him. In the blink of an eye, a circular, blood-red Rune appeared.
He bit the tip of his tongue and coughed up a huge mouthful of blood. That blood spilled on the blood-red Rune, causing a piercing, blood red light to spread out. Once the Rune appeared, a Rune that was the size of Crimson Flame Planet beyond the sealed region, located in the galaxy away, manifested in the mid of endless distorted ripples.
The Rune was crimson in color, and it was exactly the same as the Rune Jing Nan Zi had laid down!
This was a divine ability that all the people sent from the four Great True Worlds had to learn when they came to keep a lookout over the Barren Lands of Divine Essence. There was only one function for this Art, and it was to activate the Great Divine Essence Rune that was laid out by the four Great True Worlds.
That Rune covered every corner within the Barren Lands of Divine Essence and reached even to the depths of the galaxy. There were only a few spots that were not covered by this Rune. All the other places were within its area of effect.
This Rune had plenty of wondrous effects, and according to the status of each True Guard, they could obtain different types of access to control this Divine Essence Rune. Jing Nan Zi did not have a lot of access. He could only use the most basic function in the Rune - to strengthen the seal.
At that moment, as the red Rune appeared beyond Crimson Flame Planet, Jing Nan Zi laughed ferociously within the sealed region and pushed his left hand against the smaller red Rune before him. It immediately charged towards Su Ming, and at the instant it touched the air thirty feet away from Su Ming, a loud bang resounded.
As it echoed in the air, the Duke of Crimson Flame's skeleton started trembling viciously. The short red sword that looked as if it was about to be forced out of his skull started letting out a piercing red light, as if its strength had been replenished. It no longer went outwards, but started seeping into the skull once again.
At the same time, the thirty feet wide area of protection around Su Ming became weaker and smaller as the short red sword plunged deeper into the skull. The area was now only twenty feet wide.
Jing Nan Zi smiled in a frightful manner. To him, this trip outside posed no danger. At most, he had lost a clone, but even then, it was nothing compared to the meritorious deed he was about to be credited.
Besides, it was not as if he would not gain any rewards from this, either. When he saw all the treasures on Su Ming's body, he was incredibly tempted, and he already treated them as his own items.
Su Ming looked at the defense around him shrinking rapidly, certain it would disappear completely before long. He was prepared to flee the danger looming over his head when he suddenly spoke up.
"Can you help him break the seal? If you can, then hurry up and do so. If you can't, then come back and run away with me!"
His words were spoken very abruptly. Jing Nan Zi was caught off guard by them, then the layer of purplish black magma turned into a bald crane beside Su Ming.
The bald crane was drenched in sweat, a telling sign that it was just about to suffocate in the magma due to the heat. Once it returned to its original self, it immediately flapped its wings, spotting an incredibly pathetic look.
"Darn, too hot. I was almost smothered."
The bald crane's appearance made Jing Nan Zi frown. He lifted his left hand and pointed at the red Rune. It shone once again, and as it strengthened the seal, it caused the area of defense around Su Ming to shrink till there was only ten feet left.
The bald crane let out a shrill cry and swiftly moved back while glaring at the red Rune. When a hate filled expression appeared on its face, it whipped its head around. Then, as Jing Nan Zi stared with his mouth hanging open and his expression changing drastically to reveal shock, the bald crane grabbed the short red sword on the Duke of Crimson Flame's skeleton. The bird was mumbling something that no one could hear clearly while its wings turned into hands around the handle of the sword. The bald crane then transformed its feet into human-like ones and fiercely stomped on the Duke of Crimson Flame's head.
A loud bang shot into the air, and the Duke of Crimson Flame's eye sockets were lit with a black light. The short sword in his skull… had been yanked out.
Not only was Jing Nan Zi taken aback by this scene, even Su Ming sucked in a sharp breath. He had not expected the bald crane to be able to do this, either. Even the Duke of Crimson Flame was momentarily stunned, then the dark light in his eye sockets flashed, and a terrifying presence erupted from his body with a bang.
As his presence burst forth, the Duke of Crimson Flame slowly lifted his skeletal right hand, stretched out his index finger, and pointed at Jing Nan Zi!
At the instant he did so, Jing Nan Zi's expression changed. Fear and disbelief appeared on his face, and without any hesitation, he swiftly retreated.
'H-how can this be?! That's a sealing sword! It's the sword that would cause the souls of all the people besides the person who inserted it to disperse! It's the sealing sword that the mighty cultivators in Hollow Kalpa Realm from the four Great True Realms had laid personally in the bodies of the mighty cultivators of the alien races!'
Chapter 784: Jing Nan Zi Died
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
"This is impossible!!" Jing Nan Zi's expression changed in a manner so drastic it had never happened to him before. As he retreated, his pupils shrank violently to reveal shock and disbelief.
What he just saw surpassed all his understanding towards the many seals in the Barren Lands of Divine Essence, which he had obtained as a True Guard. Based on it, the seals in the Barren Lands of Divine Essence could not be easily broken. If any outsider touched them, their bodies and spirits would be destroyed.
Even if the person who laid the seal wanted to break open the seal forcefully, they would need to pay an incredibly devastating price for it. Even if they managed to break through, they would be reduced to an incredibly weakened state, and even a cultivator in Human Cultivation Realm would be able to injure them gravely.
This was how brutal the Barren Lands of Divine Essence were to the mighty cultivators from the alien races. It was also the reason why Jing Nan Zi had dared to come alone. The anomaly in Black Ink Planet was an accident that had occurred in an ancient age before Jing Nan Zi's time, and it was only an accident.
However, the scene before him overturned everything he knew, especially when the two arms and legs the bald crane had manifested made it look like a human bird. There was also an incredibly smug look on its face at that moment. As it held onto the short sword in its hand, Jing Nan Zi could only subconsciously look as if he had just seen the most terrifying ghost in the world.
'It's an illusion! This is definitely an illusion type divine ability! It's the illusion that Su Ming cast just now!'
As Jing Nan Zi retreated, dark light glinted in his eyes. He did not believe that the bald crane would be able to break open the seal so easily. If that was the case... Jing Nan Zi knew clearly just how terrifying and disastrous the catastrophe that would land on the entire Barren Lands of Divine Essence would be.
He would rather believe that this was an illusion!
'Even if it's not an illusion, the mighty cultivator from the alien race has just been released from his seal, and it's just the first of the three seals. He must definitely be incredibly weak now. That powerful presence right now is just the sediment that accumulated over the years. With his current power, it'll be impossible for him to kill me with just a finger!'
Jing Nan Zi's intelligence was definitely nothing to scoff at, since he could become a True Guard and reach such a level of cultivation over the years in True Sacred Yin World while he was just a nobody. At that moment, a glint appeared in his eyes, and he resolutely stopped retreating.
"Whether it's real or fake, whether he's strong or weak, I'll know if I test it! If it's real, then I won't be able to escape. If he's strong, then I'll definitely die!
"If that's the case, since I can't escape, then I'll try to fight and see whether this is true and whether he's strong!" Jing Nan Zi roared. The armor on his body shone with a crimson light. Once he wrapped his fingers around the long spear in his hand, he stopped moving backwards and went forward instead, charging swiftly towards the finger the Duke of Crimson Flame's finger had pointed forward.
Even Su Ming felt his heart sink during that instant. This Jing Nan Zi might be arrogant, but the resolve within him was not common. If the same thing had happened to Tian Lin, Long Li, Sun Kun, or Ye Shen Tong, they would have reacted differently, but when it came to Jing Nan Zi, he had chosen to turn back after a short moment of hesitation.
Almost at the instant Jing Nan Zi turned around and came back, a hint of mockery appeared in the dark light within the Duke of Crimson Flame's eye sockets. The moment it happened, Su Ming immediately felt his pupils shrink. He could clearly see an invisible vortex forming in the air before the Duke of Crimson Flame's right index finger. That vortex could absorb all the light from around the area. It could also absorb people's gazes and all the materials in the world. It was as if there was no power contained within that one point itself, but the power of the law contained in it seemed to be able to turn all matter that was rotting away into something amazing, causing that simple point to become the will of the world.
At the moment this happened, the Duke of Crimson Flame's feeble but awe-inspiring voice suddenly reached Su Ming's ears.
"Fellow ally from the sacred Abyss Builders, judging by the age of your soul, you should be a toddler among your people… Look closely at my finger. This is the Ultimate Secret Art among the Surging Indulgers—Indulgence!
"This Art does not contain any law in it and only uses pure physical power to break open a black hole in space to devour all aura and material. Once it does that… break the black hole. At the instant it shatters, the power of the Ultimate Art will erupt forth.
"The sacred Abyss Builders have many clones lying about. Since you chose to use my people's Art to refine your clone, then I will let you know the true power of the Surging Indulgers.
"Look carefully!"
As the Duke of Crimson Flame spoke, Su Ming immediately felt a wave of impact from all directions around him rush into his body. At the same time, he felt his soul expanding out of his physical body, swiftly starting to move outwards. In the blink of an eye, Su Ming felt that his soul had filled every spot in the collapsing sealed region.
It was as if a clear projection had appeared before his eyes. He saw every corner in the sealed region, saw all the shattered stones falling down along with the shattered places, and he also saw a shadow rushing forward swiftly through one of the tunnels. A dense aura of a divine sense was spreading out from that shadow. It was Jing Nan Zi's clone.
At the same time, Su Ming also saw… Long Li, who was running before the clone, being chased by him.
The slightly hunchbacked Long Li was pale as he fled desperately. By the looks of it, he was already at the borders of the sealed region, not far from the exit.
Yet at that moment, just like an outsider, Su Ming saw the clone that was chasing after Long Li suddenly tremble violently at the instant the invisible black hole from the Duke of Crimson Flame's finger appeared. Then, his body started twisting about in an incredibly bizarre fashion, as if he was being sucked into something. In the blink of an eye, he disintegrated as he shivered.
What disappeared along with him were the collapsing walls around the area. Some sort of aura seemed to have been sucked out of them and once it was gone, the walls were reduced to dust.
In the distance, Long Li's eyes went wide. As he let out a shrill roar, Su Ming saw the flesh and blood on his body squirming about before being torn away. First, it was his flesh and blood, then it was his bones, and finally, his Nascent Divinity. This mighty warrior in the initial stage of World Plane Realm had his body and soul destroyed in the span of a breath.
His storage bag also crumbled, and a large number of personal items scattered on the ground.
Su Ming's breathing became rapid. This might have seemed to have happened over a long period of time, but in truth, this lasted only while the Duke of Crimson Flame lifted his right hand and pointed forward.
Su Ming could see clearly that the space at the tip of the finger shattered. A black hole formed there, and it was this black hole that devoured everything around itself. It caused Long Li to crumble, shattered Jing Nan Zi's clone, and turned all the people and items that it shattered into power that it could devour. They were all absorbed into the hole in an invisible manner.
"I don't have any power of my own. I had simply found a faint weakness that exists everywhere within space, and I opened it… That's how this absorbing and devouring act formed. Now, I will crush it, which is how the collapse and explosion will come into being."
When the Duke of Crimson Flame's voice reverberated in the air, Su Ming saw his finger piercing through the black hole before him. This action seemed to have been slowed down several fold before Su Ming's eyes, allowing him to see the entire process clearly.
It was as if a sharp needle had just stabbed a water sack filled with water. As the water sack burst open, everything in it… exploded forth.
Bang!
The instant it exploded was also the instant Jing Nan Zi turned around. However, what waited for him was not what he believed was false or what he guessed was real. It was not a scene that proved the duke to be truly strong, or how weak Jing Nan Zi thought of him to be.
It was death. A fate he could not run away from.
With a loud clang, the long spear in Jing Nan Zi's hand fell to the ground. He stood there, stunned. Then he lowered his head. At the same time he looked over, Su Ming also saw a bloody hole at the center of his brows. There was blood gushing out of that hole.
The armor on his chest shattered, revealing another bloody hole at the spot where his heart was. Blood flowed out from that place, which was also what remained of Jing Nan Zi's life force.
"Do you understand now?"
At the instant the Duke of Crimson Flame's voice spoke up once again, another bloody hole appeared on Jing Nan Zi's nose, right under the center of his brows. At the same time, the fourth bloody hole appeared in his throat, and when Su Ming continued looking downwards, he found nine bleeding holes from the line between the center of his brows to his heart.
They went right through his body, and from the front, Su Ming could see what was behind Jing Nan Zi.
"This is a way to use power. You might not understand it now, but when you know why nine holes had appeared on his body, you will understand."
As the Duke of Crimson Flame's voice echoed in the air, he pulled back his right hand. His body was still immersed in the purplish black magma. When he looked at Su Ming with that dark light shining in his eye sockets, he turned his gaze away to look at the bald crane.
When he looked at it, a myriad of emotions flashed through Duke of Crimson Flame's eyes. There was uncertainty, shock, and also bewilderment.
In the vast galaxy beyond Crimson Flame Planet was the region where the four Great True Realms suppress the Barren Lands of Divine Essence. In that region was a strange cultivation planet.
More accurately speaking, it was not a cultivation planet, but ninety-eight cultivation planets.
This place had a very bizarre appearance, as if three squares had been stacked right on top of each other. It looked like a twisted staircase, and in each spot in that strange structure was a cultivation planet. These cultivation planets were not still and unmoving, but were circling about as if there was some law contained between them. Because of that, when anyone looked towards the strange picture formed by the ninety-eight cultivation planets, they would feel as if their hearts were shaking, as if a form of supreme will of a world was contained in the picture.
The picture formed by the ninety-eight cultivation planets was known as 'Radix' in the galaxy where the four Great True Realms suppressed the Barren Lands of Divine Essence.
It was just one word, and it was said to have been derived from a name from one of the four Great True Progenitors. No one else knew the meaning behind it.
There were nineteen of these pictures that were named 'Radix' within the area in the Barren Lands of Divine Essence that belonged to the four Great True Worlds.
At that moment, a ray of brilliant light suddenly started shining on its own accord in one of the planets in this Radix, illuminating the entire galaxy in an instant. It also attracted the attention of all people from the four Great True Worlds who were stationed there to fend against the Barren Lands of Divine Essence.
At the same time, as light spread out from the Radix Planets, an endless amount of faces appeared above it like a projection. These faces flashed too quickly and could not be seen clearly. This lasted for only a dozen something breaths before the projection froze on a face and no longer moved.
That face naturally belonged to Jing Nan Zi!
"Jing Nan Zi. Fourth-tier True Guard. Cultivator from True Sacred Yin World. The Treasured Bronze Tomb [1] was bestowed upon him 1 700 years ago. He died twenty breaths ago in Crimson Flame Planet's sealed region… He died… due to Indulgence, the Art that belongs to the Surging Indulgers, who are one of the alien races," an aloof and emotionless voice explained languidly, its voice reaching all the Radix Planets. Once the message was over, an uproar immediately broke out in the four Great True World's Region of Suppression.
While it had been some time since a True Guard had died, that was not the reason why the shouts rung in the air. It was all due to where he died, from what divine ability, and that member of the alien race had killed him!
The Surging Indulgers! The alien race!
Indulgence! The race's inborn Art!
Translator's Note:
1. Treasured Bronze Tomb: The coffin used by Jing Nan Zi to travel to Crimson Flame Planet