As Stella was caught up in the situation from the start by everyone present, her excitement after hearing Elaine’s big news regarding her expecting twins soon twisted into rage.
“We just don’t know what to do,” Elaine said, her head hung low. “One of us will inevitably be sacrificed. Of course, I’d rather it were me over the child.”
“No… Elaine…” Douglas said, barely holding back his tears. “I can’t lose you. Not to that monster.”
With barely contained bloodlust, she turned to glare at the reason: Morrigan. She stood at the side, seemingly detached as if her daughter’s misery had nothing to do with her. Almost as if it were an inevitable cycle that couldn’t be stopped.
If there was one thing Stella despised, it was feeling powerless against cycles set in place to benefit those who were stronger. Perhaps this is what it means to be a Crestfallen, but she wanted to tear it all down. One day, the Origin of Rebirth, but for now, she would start with the Origin of the Void.
“Do you have anything to say in your defense, Morrigan? You have made contributions to the sect that are hard to overlook, but this isn’t fair to Elaine.” Stella said with barely restrained anger. She had been hoping for a joyful return to Red Vine Peak, and this is what she got. “Can we really not reach a solution here?”
Morrigan shrugged. “There’s nothing to be said or done. I already devised a solution to my problem eons ago, and it will continue on.”
Stella cooled her rage and presented an option. “Fine. What if we bound your soul to the All-Seeing Eye’s afterlife? Wouldn’t that be better than the eternally cold and lifeless void?”
Something stirred in Morrigan’s expression. For the first time ever, the woman showed a new emotion. Fear.
“What’s wrong?” Stella asked. “Not an idea you’re too keen on? We can try to come up with solutions—”
Morrigan’s eyes widened, and she vanished as she escaped into the void.
Stella closed her eyes and sighed. Morrigan had been both helpful and a constant headache due to her carefree attitude and refusal to sign any loyalty contracts. The problem was, now that Morrigan knew they had a way to effectively imprison her away from reality in an alternate afterlife, there was no telling what lengths she would go to for survival.
Her eyes opened, and she said with an ice-cold tone. “Khaos, restrain her.”
“As you wish, princess,” Khaos said and moved so fast the Ent was nothing but a blur. Once she reached the spot where Morrigan had been, Khaos tore through reality with her claw and yanked Morrigan out of the void as if she had been hiding behind a curtain.
“What?! How?” Morrigan yelled as she was thrown to the ground. Khaos pressed her foot on Morrigan’s back and secured her neck to the floor by imprisoning it between her claws, which she struck into the rock.
Stella walked over as she munched on a void fruit. Her Nascent Souls barely felt the strain as the void shield materialized around her. While Khaos could easily restrain Morrigan as their gap in cultivation was too vast, there was no stopping Morrigan from launching an attack at Stella.
“Can you call Kaida here?” Stella asked Ash.
“Sure, but what do you need him for?” Ash’s hundred overlapping voices echoed in her mind.
Stella looked down at the woman struggling under Khaos’s foot. “I’m going to put an end to the void’s tyranny,” she said simply.
“Like hell you will,” Morrigan roared with laughter. “I’ll kill myself before I let you bind me to that place.”
“The reason you’re not willing to consider other options is because you’ve already bound your soul to Elaine, right?” Stella said, crouching before the woman, if she could even be called that. “Don’t look so surprised, I figured it out. Elaine has rose gold hair, yet the rest of the Voidmind family has black hair. When you switch to your true form, your hair is rose gold, isn’t it? The reason you and Elaine share the same hair color is that you have marked Elaine as your next vessel, right? Should she die, it would move on to one of her unborn twins.”
“Stella,” Elaine asked hesitantly, “She is still my mother, is this level of force necessary?”
Stella sighed. “Elaine, while this thing might technically be your mother, you should see Morrigan for what she really is—past the human facade. She is an affinity given consciousness that wears human skin. She doesn’t care for you because you’re her dear daughter; she cares because you are her carefully nurtured vessel. Do I need to remind you that because she’s stuck at the Star Core Realm, it’s not a matter of if she dies, but rather when? If you go on to reach the Nascent Soul Realm and escape the shackles of time, it will be Morrigan who becomes your grim reaper.”
Elaine winced. “So you’re going to kill her?” she asked in a mouse-like voice.
“Don’t sound so worried. Death is hardly something Morrigan hasn’t experienced before. I’m just going to be trapping her in The Grove of Eternal Rebirth so that she can never reach you until we can figure out a better solution—ah, he’s here.” Stella stood up and gestured for Kaida to come over. The Celestial Ink Dragon floated through the air and raised a brow at the scene.
“Kaida, can you bind Morrigan’s soul to the All-Seeing Eye’s afterlife?” She looked down at Morrigan and saw the terror in the woman’s eyes. Stella smiled. The woman who thought herself invincible had finally met her match.
However, Kaida shook his head. “I can’t.”
“Why not?” Stella frowned. This was the one and only plan she could come up with that saved everyone involved.
The dragon glanced at the pinned woman. “Her void Qi makes interacting with her soul difficult.”
“Mhm…” Stella rubbed her chin. That’s when she felt some movement on her head. Maple perked up and, with a swift motion, leapt into the air. In a flash of white fog, Maple turned into his human form: a small androgynous child with a giant white tail that curled around his body. It had been a while since Stella saw Maple in this form, and he looked more mythical than before. Had he gotten even stronger?
“I can help expose her soul,” Maple said, his eyes of golden honey staring up at Stella. “But I want to eat it after you have finished binding it.”
“Um,” Stella blinked, taken aback by that last request. She then remembered who she was talking to—a Worldwalker, a being barred from entering reality for a very good reason. Because there was nothing they wouldn’t eat, including reality itself. With the usually sleeping Maple getting involved, Stella’s little rage-induced plan seemed all the more real.
“Before we go ahead with this plan, is anyone opposed?” Stella asked the group. “Personally, I deem Morrigan’s current attitude unnerving and a constant threat to the Ashfallen Sect. Now that we possess our own afterlife, we don’t have to fear killing Origin’s anymore. However, I’ve come to learn that I can overreact, so I’ll let you all decide.”
“Well said, Stella. I share a lot of your concerns, and they have been reinforced now that Morrigan has shown her true colors,” Ash said through the looming shadow lich. “In an effort to protect Elaine and her child’s future, I’m in favor of this plan. However, I believe the decision should ultimately be up to Elaine, as she is the most affected.” Anubis turned to look at Elaine.“What do you wish for? Should Morrigan be bound to the Grove of Eternal Rebirth? The choice is yours to make, Elaine.”
Elaine gulped. Her face was ghostly white, and her hands were trembling. Even with Douglas trying to comfort her, she seemed unable to say anything. Everyone’s attention was locked on her, including Morrigan, who was still struggling.
“I…” Elaine began, but trailed off. After trying and failing to give an answer, she looked toward Stella with pleading eyes.
Stella nodded, understanding what she wanted.
Elaine understands from a logical point of view that killing Morrigan is needed to save herself and her child, but she also doesn’t want to be the one to give the word to execute her own mother and imprison her in a new afterlife. Looks like the role of a villain falls to me again—not that I mind it.
“Do it, Maple,” Stella said, “and once bound by Kaida, her soul is yours to eat.”
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
“You bitch,” Morrigan hissed, glaring at Stella. “You’re going to regret this.”
Stella crossed her arms. “I don’t think I will.”
“You shouldn’t see this,” Douglas said, raising his hand to cover Elaine’s eyes.
Yet despite her trembling, Elaine pulled Douglas’s arm down and shook her head. “I need to.”
Maple approached and, like dunking one’s hand into a pond, his fingers, followed by his hand and arm, effortlessly glided through Morrigan’s clothes and skin. Morrigan screamed like a banshee and thrashed around under Khaos’s foot. Unfazed, Maple reached around for a moment before pulling out a ball of void—Morrigan’s soul.
Morrigan’s eyes went wide, and she suddenly went silent, like a puppet with its strings cut. She wasn’t dead, as her vessel kept on breathing and pumping blood. But it was now a soulless husk acting on instinct.
Kaida got to work. His scales detached from his body and floated into position around Morrigan’s soul, which Maple was holding up. Once in position, the array was powered by a golden glow as it drew in the surrounding divine energy. What nobody could have expected was for Morrigan’s soul to begin fighting back. Despite being at the Star Core Realm, it pulsed, and everyone stumbled back except Maple.
Stella clutched her chest and felt a cold sweat break out as her vision blurred slightly. She had experienced bloodlust and soul pressure plenty of times, but this was different. It was as if Morrigan had shed a portion of her memories and life experience, overwhelming the array and literally shocking everyone else’s souls in the process. It was like the roar of an ancient monster awakening from a bygone era.
“Everyone should get back,” Kaida said as his golden eyes narrowed. “This is going to get ugly. A soul that has likely experienced the cycle of reincarnation a thousand times won’t accept such a forceful change quietly.”
Stella didn’t need to be told twice, as she never expected a Star Core Realm soul to make her break out in a cold sweat. Kaida increased the power of the formation, and spinning golden runes began to encapsulate Morrigan’s soul. Like a self-peeling onion, Morrigan continued to shed parts of herself in an attempt to overpower the formation. Just as things seemed to be going well, the air suddenly shifted. A chill like no other seeped into Stella’s bones despite the distance.
“Is she… preparing to go supernova?” Stella asked. It was the one way Morrigan, or any Origin, could always win. It’s the reason they couldn’t be imprisoned or trapped and were so feared. Should the need arise, they could always resort to self-destruction to force themselves to enter the cycle of reincarnation. Only to be reborn in the body of a random cultivator somewhere in the nine layers of creation that shared their affinity—except Morrigan, whose only options were Elaine and her child…
The soul cradled in Maple’s hand began to slowly condense like a forming black hole.
“Elaine! Get closer to Morrigan,” Stella said.
“What?!” Douglas shouted angrily.
“I know it sounds crazy, but I want to call Morrigan’s bluff!” Stella shouted back, masking her voice with Qi. “If she truly does kill Elaine and her twins, she will be sent to the void, never to return. Don’t worry, I will pull Elaine away from here at the last second if Morrigan really does go through with it. The rest of you get out of here!”
Portals tore open, and Ashlock began forcefully floating Douglas, the Redclaw Grand Elder, and the others through them. The fact that none of them could put up any resistance showed just how far Ash’s cultivation had risen.
“I’m sorry, Douglas,” Stella whispered under her breath as she gently pushed Elaine forward. She could feel Elaine shaking through her hand, which was planted on her back. “Elaine, relax. You trust me, right?”
“For most things, no,” Elaine admitted, her voice strained. “But for crazy shit like this? I’d trust your judgment over mine.”
“That’s the spirit,” Stella grinned as both of them got within the formation, and she could feel the power of the formation spiking to match the deterioration of Morrigan’s soul.
Kaida’s long body began to shrink as he shed more and more scales. The formation soon doubled and then tripled in size. At this point, Stella couldn’t even see Morrigan’s soul through all the golden spinning circles, but she could certainly still feel the impending supernova.
Her hands twitched as the soul continued to close in on detonation. The formation had now consumed half of Kaida’s scales and was immense. Golden rings spun in the air at differing speeds as runes flashed in and out of existence.
“How’s it looking?!” Stella hesitantly shouted. “If even a bit of Morrigan escapes, she might be able to reincarnate into Elaine.”
Kaida grimaced from beyond the formation. “There are still so many layers to peel before getting to the core. No wonder Origins take time to reassimilate with their memories; this is too much. No being should be tortured to experience this many lives.”
“Mother… I’m sorry, but I want to live my own life,” Elaine muttered to herself, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes.
“We aren’t killing her forever,” Stella reassured Elaine. “She’s an Origin, that’s not even possible. All we are trying to do is prevent her from entering the heaven’s reincarnation cycle.”
Kaida glanced at them. His captivating eyes hinted that he had uncovered a profound insight. “Morrigan might not accept it yet, but we are saving her from herself. While true death will never be possible for an Origin, she should find some relief in Ashlock’s Eternal Grove of Rebirth. This really is the only option to put a tentative end to the Origin of the Void—as brutal a solution as it is.”
Stella nodded and watched in silence as the glowing formation continued to expand all around her and Elaine. Yet even she could tell the supernova was about to reach the tipping point, and the process was far from complete.
Is Morrigan really going to send herself to the void just to get back at us? No, I believe I know what type of person Morrigan is, and she would never do that, Stella thought as she continued to stand her ground beside Elaine. However, both her Nascent Souls were humming with power, ready to pull Elaine to safety at any moment.
“I don’t think this is a good idea,” Ash said to her. “But I also don’t have a better solution to offer.”
“It’s going to be fine, Dad. Just trust me, okay?”
There was a long pause. “Fine. I trust you. Just don’t die on me, okay?”
“Nobody is going to die,” Stella insisted. “Only a monster—”
Elaine suddenly collapsed to her knees.
“Hey! Elaine? Are you all right?” Stella said, shaking the woman when she felt her breath suddenly stolen from her as the world vanished around her. Blinking, she surveyed the darkness around her. It was the void. However, she wasn’t alone in here.
Morrigan’s body was sprawled out before her, with millions of hair-like ethereal threads connecting it to the soul that Maple was holding.
Stella positioned herself before Elaine to shield her from anything that might happen while taking in the situation. Before she could ask Maple or Khaos, who were also there, for an answer, golden lightning flashed through the void, striking the threads, turning them to ash, and searing the surface with a runic mark. As the ash floated past, she breathed in, and her eyes widened as hundreds of memories flashed through her mind, causing her to collapse to her knees, much like Elaine. In an instant, she had experienced a hundred years. While a few random memories lingered, her brain rejected most of them, perhaps in an attempt to maintain her sanity.
“What was that?” Stella said through gritted teeth as her head pounded.
“Oh?” Maple glanced at her, “You let Morrigan drag you in here?”
Stella snorted. “I hardly had a choice in the matter. What are those threads?”
Maple gazed at the strands of hair that connected the body and soul and began to explain, “Most cultivators have to forget and discard a part of themselves when they switch bodies, especially when they die as the heavens cleanse the soul, but Origins don’t. Once reincarnated, their soul reconnects to their pasts through their affinity. Each one of these perfectly preserved strands represents a life Morrigan lived. You know, when you humans cultivate the heaven’s whispers? It’s echoes from these past lives you’re hearing.”
Stella couldn’t even begin to count how many strands there were, and just a single one had encapsulated a hundred years. It was truly breathtaking to witness Morrigan’s existence in such a quantified way.
Maple ran a hand through the strands, but was unable to touch any of them as if they were an illusion. “Morrigan is expending her past lives to fight against the array while she prepares to go supernova.”
“That’s crazy,” Stella muttered. “Throwing away hundreds, if not thousands, of years’ worth of memories and life experiences…” It was an inconceivable sacrifice to her, a person who hadn’t even lived for two decades yet. “But I suppose when time is an unlimited currency, it’s understandable to expend it to try and protect her future.”
The sheer power emanating from the soul showed it was at its zenith and would go supernova at any second.
“It’s hopeless,” Maple said, pulling the soul closer to his mouth. “I should eat her before you die in the explosion.”
“No, wait,” Stella said. Balling her fist, she looked at the trembling Elaine and then back at Morrigan. “I don’t believe she will go through with it.”
Stella looked up at the seemingly infinite number of strands. That wasn’t the number of lives one could live through without a deep fear of something. And for Morrigan, it was the void.
“Morrigan,” Stella stepped toward the soul. “Stop fighting… You don’t have to be scared anymore. If you work with us, you will never have to fear the void again.”
***
Ashlock nervously watched the scene unfold. For some reason, Stella and Elaine had dropped to their knees, their expressions vacant as Morrigan’s soul continued to compress and threaten to go supernova.
“I promised to trust her,” Ash reassured himself. It was the only reason he hadn’t gone in there and stopped the whole thing. Of course, there was also the issue that if Morrigan was to go through with it, even if he devoured her soul before she entirely blew up, Elaine’s soul would be taken over.
Origins really were tricky to deal with—especially one as devious as Morrigan.
Ashlock had the system tracking the situation, but it was only giving him bad news.
[Morrigan’s soul has deteriorated 97%]
[Morrigan’s soul has deteriorated 98%]
[Morrigan’s soul has deteriorated 99%]
Ashlock was about to act when Stella and Elaine suddenly seemed to regain consciousness. Breathing in deeply, they scrambled to their feet and got away from the soul.
Did that mean Morrigan’s soul was going to blow, and they failed?
“Stella—” he called out.
She raised her arm, as if telling him to stop.
“It’s going to be fine!” Stella called out confidently. “She doesn’t want to live in fear anymore.”
That’s when Ashlock heard a resounding gulp. Standing there, licking his fingers, was Maple. Morrigan’s soul was nowhere to be seen.
[Origin of the Void has been successfully captured in the Eternal Grove of Rebirth]
[Your comprehension of the void has increased]
“She’s secure in my afterlife,” he informed Stella and Elaine.
Elaine helped Stella to her feet and hugged her. “Thank you, Stella. I can be a mother to my children without fear now,” she burrowed her head into her shoulder, and tears were streaming down her face. “I never knew you would be the one to save me from this nightmare.”
Stella raised a brow. “Are you implying I’m bad at solving problems?”
His aura-qi trembled; the next thing the audience knew, both palms of the Sacred Sun Saint puppet were already headed straight for the Mr Dong puppet’s vitals at its chest area!
“Ah…” Seeing this scene, a cold light flashed within Yan Zhaoge’s eyes.
That very same instant, the Mr Dong puppet’s entire body abruptly twisted, its wrists suddenly moving!
The wooden short sword’s sword-light retracted, returning to gather around the wooden puppet’s body.
Where its sharpness had previously been on full display, things had suddenly regressed to a totally ordinary state.
It was like a sword which had been returned to its scabbard, and also like a genuine dragon that had soared up to transcend the nine heavens, its figure submerging into the clouds.
Coiling Dragon Sleeve, Dragon Concealed Cloud sword technique!
Xiao Shen stopped smiling, as an uneasy feeling suddenly welled up within his heart.
Uncomfortable, unable to relax, as if there were a threat at his back!
Yan Zhaoge had controlled Mr Dong to perform a stealth-based sword technique. Currently, Xiao Shen could only feel that his adversary had suddenly vanished without a trace from right in front of him.
His opponent was obviously still there, but the palm strike that he had been sure would land, had actually missed!
“Petty little tricks, a clown’s tomfoolery!” Xiao Shen raged, his rough voice even feeling a little shriller than usual.
He controlled the Sacred Sun Saint puppet while forcefully keeping in the momentum of his palm, holding it back without releasing it, carefully feeling for his opponent’s presence.
Having just detected a faint sign of life, Mr Dong’s body had already appeared before him!
A mass of biting cold sword light erupted, resembling a clump of clouds that had been struck apart by lightning as it headed straight for the Sacred Sun Saint.
It was as if a dragon had submerged into the clouds, then suddenly stuck out its massive head!
It was like in worldly battles; performing a Parthian Shot, or retreating from a battle whilst dragging the blade to lure the enemy into complacency before turning back to counterattack, killing the enemies without giving them any time to react.
Xiao Shen laughed uglily, as the earlier unreleased momentum from his palm similarly erupted out with power, just in time to meet Yan Zhaoge’s attack.
“I have you this time!”
Just as he was thinking that, he looked at the Yan Zhaoge across of him. His original sword intent that had been rising to the clouds had been withdrawn again, vanishing without a trace!
Yet again that stealth-based sword technique!
The Cloud Concealed Dragon sword technique, where the false coexisted with reality, and action coexisted with inaction, resembling a concealed divine dragon, hidden within the clouds, hidden without a trace, striking without any warning whatsoever!
Xiao Shen’s Sunset Thousand Illusionary Palms missed completely!
And in the next instant, a fiery green sword-light appeared, sweeping through the great firmament, ripping apart the night sky, allowing light to once again illuminate the earth!
“After the sun sets, it will rise as usual. While floating clouds may obscure the eye for a time, there will surely be a day when they dissipate, and we once again see the light of day.”
Yan Zhaoge dragged out a long laugh. Substituting sword with short sword, the sword-light of Mr Dong, stabbed straight at the chest of the Sacred Sun Saint!
Xiao Shen’s eyeballs contracted, but it was already too late for him to control the Sacred Sun Saint puppet to avoid the strike.
Countless invisible streams of a metallic radiance flickered, as they circulated around the body of the wooden puppet.
Aura-qi defences were raised all the way to the maximum possible level, as he tried with all his might to resist Mr Dong’s blow.
But on Mr Dong’s sword-light, a sharp green glow could be seen, that also had a metallic radiance flickering.
As this instant, the wooden short sword resembled a real, metallic long sword as it forcefully broke through its opponent’s aura-qi defences, stabbing straight into the chest of the Sacred Sun Saint puppet!
“Heng!”
With a cold snort, Xiao Shen clapped his hands. The aura-qi on the body of the Sacred Sun Saint puppet, abruptly skyrocketed!
The Sacred Sun Saint puppet first disintegrated, before the the wooden short sword that was stabbed into its body also shattered.
This power flowed along the wooden short sword and extended into the body of the Mr Dong puppet, which instantly broke apart as well!
Seeing this, Yan Zhaoge was unmoved. He retracted his palms, putting his hands behind his back as he looked leisurely at Xiao Shen.
Xiao Shen stared straight at Yan Zhaoge in hatred, his eyes already closed to slits, a cold, vengeful gaze flickering within.
The large beard on his face, accompanied by his rough breathing, shook unceasingly.
Although it had not been like with Chao Yuanlong, who had been defeated without any face left to him at all, having lost all the way down to his underwear, at this moment, Xiao Shen’s embarrassment had turned into fury, as a hot feeling lit up his face.
The method of competition had been chosen by him, but at the end, it was he himself who had broken its rules. It was equivalent to slapping himself in the face.
The draw which looked like it had ended with both sides dying together, had actually already ended with his defeat prior to that.
Yan Zhaoge looked at Xiao Shen through the corners of his eyes, shrugging his shoulders, “Actually, I agree with your words; people indeed shouldn’t be living in the past.”
“Securing a position in the present, and looking towards the future; that is the true path.”
How could Xiao Shen not understand the hidden meaning behind his words?
Xiao Shen stared at Yan Zhaoge, nodding his head slowly, “Yan Zhaoge, you’re good.”
“I admit that I belittled you in the past, but that doesn’t matter. Because, there are Many! More! Days! Ahead!”
Having said this, Xiao Shen did not speak any further, as he turned and left.
Yan Zhaoge laughed lightly, “The more time that passes, the less you’ll think that way.”
HSSB34: Ye Jing Reappears
Xiao Shen having been defeated and sent packing by Yan Zhaoge, the crowd of Broad Creed Mountain disciples by the side were all looking at him with a yearning expression on their faces.
Within a short period of time, Yan Zhaoge had first defeated Chao Yuanlong, then frustrated Xiao Shen; amongst the young generation of martial practitioners, he was destined to stand unopposed in the limelight for the following period of time.
If it was said that his earlier victory over Chao Yuanlong had been a fight between martial practitioners of the same cultivation realm, the opponent that he had faced this time was Xiao Shen, whose cultivation had not only been a single stage above him.
Even though for the purposes of the competition, Xiao Shen had suppressed his cultivation base down to a similar level as Yan Zhaoge, a late outer aura Martial Scholar was a late outer aura Martial Scholar; their experience and understanding towards the martial arts they cultivated in were destined to be much deeper and more abundant than that of early outer aura Martial Scholars.
Some early outer aura Martial Scholars had barely started getting into touch with the variations and mysteries their martial arts had contained within, while others had yet to even begin doing so; late outer aura Martial Scholars, though, had long since clearly understood these within their hearts.
In actual combat, this large gap was all the more obvious.
The same amount of power that could exert a single unit of force when placed into the hands of an early outer aura Martial Scholar, when being released by a late outer aura Martial Scholar, could exert perhaps
five to six units of force, or maybe even eight, nine, ten units of it, in the case of supreme geniuses.
However, in the competition earlier, the result had been that Yan Zhaoge had been the superior party, such that Xiao Shen had even been forced to renege on his own promise, only then managing to salvage an inglorious draw.
If it had been Yan Zhaoge from the Sacred Ground Broad Creed Mountain clashing against a rather average late outer aura Martial Scholar from outside, the result might still be somewhat easier for the world to accept.
However, with the opponent in question being the Sacred Sun Clan’s Xiao Shen, the significance of the matter had completely changed.
After all, Xiao Shen himself was a well-known genius who had crossed levels to beat someone in the mid outer aura stage when he had only been in the early outer aura stage.
A wooden puppet that had been carved out, which was fragile beyond compare in comparison to a martial practitioner’s aura-qi, had, under his control, actually resembled a real, living person, and even one who was a strong martial practitioner proficient in the martial arts.
Even the controlled Sacred Sun God puppet’s strike was something that Sikong Qing aside, none of the other Broad Creed Mountain disciples, who were all still in the Body Refinement Realm, could claim to be able to receive.
However, such a genius of the same generation had actually, like Chao Yuanlong, been reduced to nothing in front of Yan Zhaoge.
How could this not cause peoples’ minds to race till the point of dizziness?
Sikong Qing looked at the shattered pieces of wooden puppet lying on the ground, her gaze flickering slightly as she seemed to be trying to grasp something.
“This girl does really have a martial-focused heart,” As he glanced at her, Yan Zhaoge couldn’t help but laugh while shaking his head, as he instructed her, “You have already been at the peak Body Refinement stage for quite some time; at your current level, you can already be considered a half-step Martial Scholar.”
“Transforming your inner qi into aura-qi; the method is to reverse the flow of your inner qi’s usual circulatory cycle, tempering it till the aura is formed. The senior members of our clan should have advised you on that already.”
“Still, while attempting to reverse the flow of your inner qi, you could try using ‘false, real, false, real, false, false, false, real’, such a tempo.”
Hearing his words, Sikong Qing’s eyes instantly brightened, as the other disciples behind her also pricked up their ears hurriedly.
At this moment, Yan Zhaoge’s position and prestige within their hearts even surpassed that of some of the Elders back at the clan.
Whether it was to hear Yan Zhaoge’s pointers on cultivation or the important things to take note of when breaking through from the Body Refinement to the Martial Scholar realm, everyone especially treasured this chance.
Between the Body Refinement and Martial Scholar realms, to the majority of martial practitioners within the vast Eight Extremities World, was a natural, incomparably wide gulf.
The difficulty of making this breakthrough was far higher than rising from the mid to late qi-conducting stage, and also rising from the late qi-conducting stage to reach the peak of the Body Refinement realm.
It was, perhaps, also even more difficult than going from the mid to late inner aura stage for Martial Scholars, or rising from the late inner aura Martial Scholar realm to the early outer aura Martial Scholar realm.
And correspondingly, becoming a Martial Scholar, there would be a heaven-defying, earth-shaking increase in one’s power.
All this was premised on the fact that the Martial Artist could temper their qi into aura and transform their inner qi into aura-qi, thus successfully reaching the Martial Scholar realm.
Aura-qi was far more condensed and refined than inner qi. If one said that inner qi was a gaseous body, aura-qi would then be a liquid substance. In a clash between the two, only the use of a miniscule amount of aura-qi would be required to cause the other side to be instantly dissipated.
While fighting with a Martial Scholar, a Martial Artist would find it very hard to make a countermove. Against absolute power, even the strongest techniques were hard to be of use. Most of the time, the Martial Scholar would be able to deal with all possible moves based on pure strength alone.
In most situations, this was a gap that could never be remedied, even through numbers.
As Yan Zhaoge just said whatever came to mind, Sikong Qing looked as though she had suddenly seen the light.
The gaze with which she looked at Yan Zhaoge was now filled with a little bit of respect; it was respect that had not surfaced even when Yan Zhaoge had made a move to cause Ma Yue to be punished.
Yan Zhaoge said to the others, “Everyone’s situation is different; the method that is suited to junior
apprentice-sister Sikong may not be suitable for you. As you are now all still far from the Martial Scholar realm, you do not need to be impatient; just focus of walking stably step by step down your own path of cultivation.”
Truly convinced by Yan Zhaoge’s words, the group of Broad Creed Mountain disciples bowed towards Yan Zhaoge in unison, “Thank you senior apprentice-brother Yan for the pointers, we will definitely cultivate with the utmost diligence.”
Looking at Yan Zhaoge, Sikong Qing also bowed, different from her previous conciliatory gestures, a real, rather serious bow this time, “Thank you senior apprentice-brother Yan for the pointers.”
She stopped for a moment, then, looking at the other disciples, said, “I have gained a lot from senior apprentice-brother Yan’s pointers, and am preparing to go into secluded cultivation immediately. Thus, I cannot be going with you to the Luliao Mountains.”
While they could all empathise with her words, the disciples were all struck by a little bit of worry, thus unconsciously turning to look at Yan Zhaoge.
Yan Zhaoge said mildly, “I don’t mind if I take you along this time, but does everyone want to count on me leading you for the rest of your lives?”
“Moreover, the place I’m going; it would actually be even more dangerous for you.”
The Broad Creed Mountain disciples looked slightly guilty at his words. As talents whom the clan usually spent a lot of resources on training, they did not lack independent people who liked to acted on their own.
It was only that these past few days, Yan Zhaoge’s halo had really been too dazzling, radiating brilliant light to the point where everyone had been unconsciously brainwashed, coming to look at him as soldiers would their general.
The lot of them all exclaimed, “It is us who have grown reliant and lazy; thank you senior apprentice-brother Yan for the reminder. We are ashamed indeed.”
Yan Zhaoge smiled, waving his hands dismissively, “It’s fine. Since it’s like this; let us part ways here.”
Having said this, he turned and strode out of the city, heading outside of it.
The group of Broad Creed Mountain disciples also took their leave from Sikong Qing, leaving the city for the Luliao Mountains.
On the path, there was no longer any sign of Yan Zhaoge and Ah Hu; the two were long gone.
The Luliao Mountains, located just at the side of the Sealing Dragon Abyss, covered a vast area. While quite a large amount of precious resources was available there, the surrounding area was also rather dangerous. With their current cultivation base, travelling there was not easy in the least.
“We should really reflect on ourselves. Senior apprentice-brother Yan leading us is actually really like him carrying a load of burdens around; and we were all still so delighted at the prospect.” Said the young female disciple who carried a small Light Spirit Cat, a rather dejected expression on her face.
The Lan Wenyan beside her said, “The way we are now, we are indeed a great distance away from senior apprentice-brother Yan. Still, we should not be despondent over this; cultivating even more diligently as a result is the right path.”
Someone else muttered, “Could it be that you are also like that Ye Jing, eagerly looking forward to the day where you can fight senior apprentice-brother Yan head-on?”
Lan Wenyan said honestly, “At the very least, we have to strive for that; otherwise, while travelling alongside senior apprentice-brother Yan, wouldn’t we become a burden to him?”
Hearing his words, the group of Broad Creed Mountain disciples nodded their heads as they agreed, “It is as senior apprentice-brother Yan said. Securing a position in the present, and looking towards the future; that, is the true path.”
Amidst the multiple mountains, having reached their destination, the disciples separated to act on their own.
Lan Wenyan walked alone for a short time, before his eyes suddenly stared ahead dazedly, his gaze slack, “The junior apprentice-brother Ye Jing whom we had just mentioned earlier, this……”
Not far in front of him, a lone figure stood.
HSSB35: Flames of Fury
A shirtless figure stood at the foot of the mountain.
On his body were countless streaks of flame; they were shifting about, as if they were alive.
He had a head of black hair, streaming behind his back. While his hair was jet-black in colour, when viewed from far away, it gave off a feeling that resembled flames.
This person’s face also held the same streaks of flame, and within his eyes it seemed even more so that there was a fiery light flickering.
However, the Lan Wenyan who was nearby could still recognise that the youth with a rather unique appearance before him was exactly that Ye Jing who had gone missing that day in the Sealing Dragon Abyss.
While his face had been completely covered by the flamelike patterns, his facial features were still recognisable.
Still somewhat uncertain, Lan Wenyan asked probingly, “Is it junior apprentice-brother Ye Jing?”
The other party swiveled his head over, his gaze resembling fire, that might cause one’s soul to tremble.
However, he still nodded, “That’s right, its me.”
Lan Wenyan asked curiously, “In the Sealing Dragon Abyss previously, you…”
Hearing the name of the Sealing Dragon Abyss, an obvious anger surfaced within Ye Jing’s eyes, as his expression also turned cold, “My life is such; I couldn’t have died that easily.”
“Whatever you say; it’s just good that you’re alright,” Lan Wenyan gave a relaxed sigh, “Everyone is worried about you. Still, senior apprentice-brother Yan said that you look have the look of someone favoured by the gods, and should be able to turn danger into fortune. Looking at it now, he was right after all, as expected.”
Before he had finished speaking, his words were broken off by a forceful yell.
“Yan Zhaoge!” Ye Jing’s eyes looked as though they were about to shoot out fire, “If not for him, how could I have met with such a huge calamity!”
“From the start, he already had ill intentions towards me, wanting to see me dead!”
“Still, I managed to survive, my cultivation even improving in the process. I’m afraid he’ll have to be disappointed.”
Ye Jing ground his teeth in anger, “Not exacting vengeance is not the way of a man; this debt, I’ll collect from him sooner or later!”
Hearing his words, Lan Wenyan frowned, “Junior apprentice-brother Ye, please calm down. I heard about the events of that day afterwards; Senior apprentice-brother Yan’s Internal Crystal Furnace dropped into the deep abyss, thus exploding and injuring you. It was a purely accidental thing.”
Ye Jing gave a cold snort, “Are you the roundworm within his belly, therefore knowing how he thinks? What he says, you just believe?”
“That Martial Grandmaster, the Crimson Spirit Flag Master, had originally come to find trouble for him, yet got manipulated by him instead. Using the fire seed, I was conveniently made that man’s target in his place. All of these were well within his calculations!”
“A mere low-grade artifact covered your conscience, causing you to lean towards him so heavily?”
Hearing his words, Lan Wenyan got a little angry, “In the first place it was you who were greedy, going on your own accord to snatch senior apprentice-brother Yan’s seed of True Fire. Otherwise, why would that Martial Grandmaster even target you? Do you really think of yourself as a prominent figure?”
“Having managed to get through such a huge ordeal alive, I can understand that your feelings would naturally be a bit riled and antagonistic. I don’t blame you for that, but that doesn’t mean that you can shoot off your mouth with this kind of nonsense.”
He appraised Ye Jing, shaking his head, “What senior apprentice-brother Yan said, I believe! Why? At that time, having already plummeted? into the deep abyss, it was already highly likely that you were dead. Why would senior apprentice-brother Yan have to throw down his Internal Crystal Furnace then?”
“Moreover, how precious is an Internal Crystal Furnace? Just to kill you, senior apprentice-brother Yan destroyed his own Internal Crystal Furnace? Between the Internal Crystal Furnace from the legends, and you, a martial practitioner who’s not even a Martial Scholar yet, which is more precious?”
“Regardless of whether it were me, you, or any single one of the others who entered the Sealing Dragon Abyss along with him, if senior apprentice-brother Yan really wanted to kill someone of our level, let’s not talk about him striking us dead with a single palm strike, even a single breath of his would be something that we might not be able to withstand. And you say that he would have to intentionally destroy his own Internal Crystal Furnace?”
The other party’s words caused Ye Jing to instantly recall the previous indifference and disregard Yan Zhaoge had shown towards him.
The desolation, anger and hatred he had felt in the Sealing Dragon Abyss skyrocketed even more, almost consuming Ye Jing’s sanity.
Ye Jing’s twin pupils were as red as fire, “A low-grade artifact, could already turn you into Yan Zhaoge’s dog?”
“In that case, I’ll beat first the dog , then the master!” With an enraged roar, he soared into the air, lunging toward Lan Wenyan!
Caught off guard, Lan Wenyan could only feel a burning wave of heat headed in his direction, almost causing him to suffocate.
Having survived a huge ordeal, Ye Jing’s cultivation had really improved so greatly?
Without daring to hesitate, Lan Wenyan immediately put up a shield, precisely that low-grade artifact that Yan Zhaoge had gifted him with earlier on.
It was only that looking at this shield, Ye Jing was as if a hated enemy was right before his eyes, becoming even more enraged as his fists descended upon Lan Wenyan like a roaring tempest, a raging hurricane.
As if he did not know fatigue, his steel-like fists beat down unceasingly, like tireless waves causing the slow erosion and eventual collapse of a mountain ridge.
Finding it hard to properly utilise the first power of the low-grade artifact, Lan Wenyan actually couldn’t hold the bare-handed Ye Jing back.
Finally, the artifact was sent flying out of Lan Wenyan’s hand. Still, Ye Jing’s punching motion did not cease, as he directly sent Lan Wenyan flying as well.
Looking at his opponent who had landed on the ground, blood flowing unceasingly from the corners of his mouth, Ye Jing’s gaze was cold, killing intent constantly emanating from his eyes. Only after some time had passed did he finally shift away his gaze.
As his vision turned to fall on the shield which had fallen to the side, his eyes once again began burning strongly with the flames of fury and hatred. He rushed towards it, kicking out, directly sending that shield flying far off into the distance.
The shield turned into a little black dot, disappearing amongst the distant mountains far away.
Ye Jing glanced at the half-dead Lan Wenyan with hatred, then turned and left, headed for the depths of the mountain range.
“With the help of my ring, I reforged my fleshly body, but, because of the martial art that I train in, have become much more temperamental and quick to anger than before.”
After walking for some time, Ye Jing eventually calmed, as a faint regret also began surfacing within his heart, “While Lan Wenyan is indeed biased towards Yan Zhaoge, he never actually did help Yan Zhaoge to harm me, in truth. In nearly killing him, I was a little rash.”
But just as he thought about what he had experienced getting to this point, the rage within his heart surged once more, “Yan Zhaoge!”
“Hmph, having seen the behaviour of Lan Wenyan today, I can imagine that most others from the clan must be wearing the same pair of pants as that Yan Zhaoge.”
“His father is an Elder of the clan, and will definitely protect him. If I want justice to be served, it will be even more difficult to do so.”
“But so what? If I don’t expose Yan Zhaoge’s ugly side, and obtain the justice that I seek, doesn’t that mean that all the pain I’ve suffered has been for naught?”
“Power; if I want justice to be served, I must first possess sufficient power. If I were stronger than Yan Zhaoge, and stronger than his father, how would they dare to harm me, and distort the facts to be seen as faultless?”
Ye Jing raised his head, looking at the peaks of the mountains, his gaze cold and hard as steel, while hot like a burning fire, “I must definitely grasp the strongest power to be able to uphold justice for myself, and mine must definitely be a strength superior to that Yan Zhaoge father-and-son duo.”
“Yan Zhaoge, just wait; what you owe me, I’ll have you pay me back in full!”
…………
“Ye Jing heavily injured a fellow member of the clan?” Yan Zhaoge looked at Ah Hu standing in front of him, somewhat surprised.
That Ye Jing was still alive had come as no surprise to him.
The news of his reappearance had been passed down to the clan. To Yan Zhaoge, this could only be a good thing, as it had completely validated what he had told his inquisitors during his questioning.
Yan Zhaoge was not at all worried about facing the accusations of Ye Jing in person; when he used the Blood Soul Recollection ceremony to reproduce the scene of that time, all would naturally come to light.
But having just reappeared, Ye Jing nearly beat Lan Wenyan to death. This was something that Yan Zhaoge just couldn’t understand, however much he scratched his head.
“That fella; when falling into the abyss, did he by any chance suffer a serious concussion?” Yan Zhaoge was totally baffled, “Why did he turn into a violent maniac ah?”
Ah Hu chuckled, “That fella surnamed Ye seems to be extremely prejudiced against you, Young Master. When that disciple tried to defend you, and argued with him a little as a result, he seemed to have been angered.”