Editor: Sahloknir
“In this case, please be careful, Alliance Master. I am about to begin.” Changsun Chengfeng took the lead and stood before the ice bed and said, “Please circle around the Lotus Immortal. Do not stay too far from me…Sword Sect Master? Haven’t you finished picking them up?”
Yuchi Rui was lying on the ground, “…”
Gong Wei was covered in a cold sweat once again, but his mind was completely blank, his mouth couldn’t make a sound. Subconsciously, he pointed to his right eye to make a desperate expression. However, it looked as if he had cramped up.
Yuchi Rui, “?”
“It’s me!” Gong Wei kept mouthing at him, “It’s me! Gong Zhiyu!”
“Changsheng?” Ying Kai followed Changsun Chengfeng’s guidance and placed his hand an inch above the eyebrows of the Lotus Immortal’s corpse, and asked, “Do you need help?”
—It’s over.
Gong Wei’s eyes dimmed as he could only watch as Mu Duozhu took half a step back. It seemed that he was about to bend down at any moment, “Are you okay Sword Sect Master? Are your peanuts…”
At that moment, Yuchi Rui reached and pulled out a few peanuts, and then got out of Gong Wei’s horrified line of sight.
He stood up to meet everyone’s gaze, and spread his hands blankly, “Done. You may count.”
Mu Duozhu, “…”
Changsun Chengfeng’s exasperated voice came from above Gong Wei, “Well then, please gather in a circle as I said, and make a formation with me as the centre. Lord Ying, when I perform the technique, please send your primordial spirit into the body of the Lotus Immortal. Be sure to follow my instructions…”
Did Yuchi Rui discover the truth? Did he recognize me?
Gong Wei was lying under the body, feeling both excited and nervous, but he dared not say a word. Even within his cramped environment, he tried his best to look around and saw that everyone was concentrating. Xu Shuangtze seemed to be standing closer to the body than everyone else. Perhaps it was just Gong Wei’s illusion.
—Did the soldier silk really have something to do with Du Kaixun, who was exiled seventeen years ago?
Xu Shuangtze even pursued the man to the glaciers of the far north to kill him? And he even slipped up?
Countless thoughts flooded Gong Wei’s mind. Before he had time to figure it out, he heard Changsun Chengfeng slam out a talisman, “The shape of consciousness take my lead, allow the primordial spirit to pass—Begin!”
Everyone present felt that they were being tugged forward at the same time. This was because the primordial spirit had entered the Spirit Transference Formation. Under the bed and at the centre of the formation, Gong Wei knew that he could not escape. As such, he could only close his eyes and grit his teeth. The next moment his consciousness was completely dark!
* * *
It might have been countless years, or perhaps just a single moment which had passed before he slowly opened his eyes. Violent shocks and roars rushed towards him from all directions.
This was a piece of consciousness that Du Kaixun forcibly embedded into the puppet through soldier silk. But unexpectedly, this segment of consciousness did not reveal his own hiding place as everyone expected and it was not even any familiar territory of the Central Plains.
This was a plain burning due to war.
The earth was cracked and torn apart, and the sky was covered by gunpowder and smoke. The unfamiliar capital in the distance was shrouded in raging flames. The city walls had collapsed, there were bodies and horse carcasses lying on the ground, and the burning bricks fell like torrential rain, crushing the people who were fleeing in fear.
Several great masters stood high in the clouds. Strong gusts of wind sent their robe sleeves fluttering violently. Ying Kai saw this hellish horror as soon as he opened his eyes, and subconsciously drew his sword, “What’s going on?!”
Changsun Chengfeng stopped him, “Brother Ying, do not be anxious. This is a fragment of consciousness belonging to Du Kaixun. You and I are just bystanders. Look there if you don’t believe me.”
With a wave of his hand, a piece of debris which was in flames flew from afar and passed through his palm like a phantom, and flew away in a flash.
“We are only spirit entities here and cannot change what has happened in this world, nor can we save the people who have died here.” At this, Changsun Chengfeng frowned and uttered the doubts in everyone’s hearts, “But…what is this place? I can’t recognize it at all. What exactly did Du Kaixun want to control the Lotus Immortal to do?”
At the same time, Gong Wei who was cautiously hiding behind a hill in the distance, saw Yuchi Rui in mid-air repeatedly turning his head, searching around, as if to find him. However, smoke and flames enveloped the land and he could not see Gong Wei waving frantically to him.
“Sword Sect Master?” Mu Duozhu asked strangely, “What are you looking for?”
Yuchi Rui quickly turned his head and answered with an indifferent expression, “It’s nothing.”
Mu Duozhu, “…”
The Medical Sect Master looked back curiously, and saw nothing except for the burning villages and cracked hills on the plain. Just when he was still puzzled, a loud sound came from the capital before them.
Boom! Boom!
The ground shook violently, and footsteps were getting closer. Immediately afterward, a huge, black, humanoid figure stood above and towered over the city. It stretched out its hand and swung heavily. A hurricane was generated out of thin air at once and swept away the gunpowder and smoke.
Ying Kai was surprised, “What is that?”
—After the smoke cleared, the shadow finally revealed its face. It turned out to be a mechanical soldier!
No one in the world had seen such a massive and terrifying mechanical soldier before.
It stood at more than a hundred feet tall, and it was the epitome of standing with a head in the sky and feet on the ground. The soldier had stainless steel armour and held two long swords, blazing with golden fire, in both hands. From afar, it looked like a moving hill. The soldier’s facial features were complete, but its eyebrows were rigid. It had huge eyes, like two suns looking down at the crowd fleeing under its feet like ants. It was cold and majestic, like a god.
“Lfiq! “Leggs, gec!” “Zbatfg, wbatfg!” “…”
Ktf wfmtjclmji rbivlfg gjlrfv lar offa tlut jcv rabwqfv bc atfw gfifcaifrris. Qlat pera bcf wbnf, tecvgfvr bo qfbqif kfgf mgertfv lcab qevvifr bo oifrt jcv yibbv.
“…Jtfcuofcu?” Tlcu Bjl agfwyifv.
Snfc Jtjcurec Jtfcuofcu’r abcf tjv mtjcufv, “Ktlr lr ectfjgv bo! P rkfjg P tjnf cfnfg rffc atlr fnfg!”
Mu Duozhu blurted out, “Is it going to kill all these people?!”
As if to answer his question, the mechanical soldier raised both hands and swung out his swords. The golden flames on the blades immediately engulfed most of the city in a sea of fire. Houses exploded and debris were flung into the sky!
The impact caused even high-altitude clouds to scatter, and the strong gust of wind made several great masters take several steps back. Changsun Chengfeng managed to stabilise himself, and said in shock, “What year is this? I have never seen or read about it in my family history! Brother Ying, how about you?”
Not only within the Changsun family history but there were also no such records of this terrifying disaster within the entire Immortal Alliance. Ying Kai held the hilt of the sword until his muscles and bones were protruding, and frowned, “I have never encountered this incident in any records. What the hell…”
At this time, Xu Shuangtze spoke, “Someone is coming.”
Everyone looked in the direction of the noise, but only saw the mechanical soldier swinging his terrifying long swords again in full force. Two fire dragons roared and charged toward the crowd, about to combust these countless people into charred bones——
At this very moment, a platinum sword glare rose from the crowd with a vicious force and sliced the fire dragon into half in mid-air!
The impact of this blow was enough to shake the entire plain. Even the Sword Sect Master, Yuchi Rui’s expression changed slightly as he asked, “Who’s that?”
The sword glare rushed into the sky, and the golden fire dispersed at once. At the top of the last tower in the distance, a long silhouette appeared amidst the billowing smoke. It was facing the giant mechanical soldier without fear, as his sleeves fluttered in the wind.
The person was still very young, and his side profile was very beautiful and elegant, but at this moment, because he was stained in blood from forehead to his cheeks, it added a hint of brutality and majesty to his appearance. The ribbon which held up his hair, and his belt were all embroidered with golden threads, and his white robe was stained with blood. His injuries were very serious, but the man stood with his back straight.
The long sword held in his right palm glowed in bright flames, the shape of the blade was very familiar. It had two ancient seal characters engraved near the hilt—
Changsun Chengfeng cried in surprise, “Bu Qi!”
Everyone couldn’t help but look at the exact same sword in Changsun Chengfeng’s hand. Mu Duozhu pointed to the figure, “Could it be…a certain generation’s Artefact Sect Master?”
s soon as he spoke, everyone realised one thing—the Artefact Sect Master title had been passed down in the Changsun family for the previous three generations, but this young grandmaster was clearly not an ancestor of the Changsun family.
This fragment of consciousness that Du Kaixun planted into the Lotus Immortal, how many years ago did it occur, and where did it come from?
Facing an old opponent, who could never be killed, the mechanical soldier was completely enraged. Its two round eyes suddenly blazed more vigorously, and it rushed straight up. The soldier’s massive body moved so fast that it was a chilling sight. Then, it swung its blade at the head of that grandmaster!
However, the young Artefact Sect Master was faster. As if the serious injuries did not affect his speed at all, the man flew back to the plains outside of the city in the blink of an eye. The young man probably wanted to use himself as bait to buy time for the people to flee.
As expected, the mechanical soldier deserted the city and pursued him instantly. Two long knives slashed frantically, and the rolling golden flames erupted like thousands of volcanoes.
This hellish, doomsday-like scene was enough to make anyone frightened, but the young grandmaster was unrelenting. He drew up thousands of moves in an instant, piercing the skies with pure energy, and even tearing through high-altitude clouds!
Changsun Chengfeng was so frightened, he murmured, “I think I’ve humiliated my sword, Bu Qi. To think that it went through such glorious days…”
Ying Kai was also fixated on the battlefield, and not able to look away, “Chengfeng, you don’t have to be ashamed, this predecessor is already in the very late Mahayana stage.”
“Extremely late stage?”
“I’m afraid he might not lose to—no… ” Ying Kai said after a pause, “He might be Shuangtze’s equal.”
Several people couldn’t help but look at Xu Shuangtze, but the Cang Yang Sect Master only frowned slightly, and uttered two words softly, “A pity.”
Changsun Chengfeng, “What pity?”
“…”
Neither Ying Kai nor Xu Shuangtze said another word. At this time, the two swords split the sky and cut downwards. The young master gritted his teeth and blocked the blow with his blade. The earth-shattering blows rushed in all directions, and the ground under his feet cracked at once!
“Do you know why he didn’t summon Bu Qi’s sword spirit?” Ying Kai sighed and said, “That’s because his injury was too grave, and his golden core had been destroyed long ago.”
The destruction of one’s golden core was the most horrifying nightmare to any cultivator. The same goes for a grandmaster. A Mahayana Stage Golden core was strong and unparalleled in the world. As long as the bearer was alive, the golden core would be intact. Even if the bearer were to die, the golden core may not necessarily be destroyed. What terrible blow did this grandmaster endure to have his golden core shattered?
What kind of amazing perseverance did he possess to continue fighting despite having his golden core destroyed. This man was holding his last breath as he stood up against the gigantic mechanical soldier.
Everyone was stunned for a while, and Ying Kai frowned suddenly, “It’s bad.”
The two swords of the mechanical soldier were blocked in mid-air, the fury in its giant eyes had raged to the point of no return. Suddenly, it opened its mouth and took a deep breath, facing the sky. The dark clouds within a hundred miles were sucked into its belly at once.
Then, it lowered its head and spewed out a burst of golden fire that engulfed the sky and the sun!
At that moment, it was as if the hell-gates were opened and Yellow Springs itself poured out. The fire dragons descended upon the earth from the skies. The magnificence was indescribable.
There was nowhere for the grandmaster to hide, and he was instantly lifted off his feet by the explosive impact and slammed into a hill dozens of miles away. Next, the cliff collapsed with a crash!
Ten thousand tonnes of boulders poured down and completely buried the man in an instant.
The shock shook all four directions, and mountains and forests fell one after another, like building blocks. The mechanical soldier fiercely raised its sword, faced the sky, and gave out an overwhelming roar,
“Living beings are insignificant like dogs, mechanical soldiers will kill them all! ”
“Living beings are insignificant like dogs, mechanical soldiers will kill them all!—”
No one could stop it at this time. The mechanical soldier slowly turned around, facing the capital city at the end of the plain, and drew another breath. Hundreds of staggered sharp teeth could be seen as it opened its wide mouth.
The millions of people in the city realised at the same time that the end was near and fell to their knees in despair as they watched the horrific golden flames flicker once more from the giant’s throat.
Mu Duozhu lost his voice, “This is bad, it’s over for this city!”
“…No.” Ying Kai’s tone was slightly hoarse. One could not tell if it was due to shock or admiration, “It’s not over yet.”
Following his line of sight, behind the mechanical soldier, there was a sudden movement of the collapsed mountain cliff in the distance. The boulders broke apart one after another.
The young grandmaster was lying on the bottom of the pit and covered in blood. His hands and feet were broken, and the bones all over his body were already shattered. However, those beautiful eyes were still open, looking at the flowing clouds and the sky. His pale face was serene.
Immediately afterward, he lifted his left hand that hadn’t been broken, and a blood-red thread flicked up, stretched and elongated into mid-air, before it instantly submerged back into his body.
Then, it was as if an invisible force was levitating his body flat on its back. Click! Click! There were several sounds which came from the crunching of bones as his broken spine was snapped back together. His twisted arms and legs straightened, his torso and limbs were restored to their original state. The young man stood up limply like a smashed mannequin that had been forcibly repaired, followed by a resounding, ‘crack!’ With a sound, his broken neck was also snapped back to its original position.
Bu Qi transformed into a meteor and flew over from a distance. With a snap, it was held firmly in his right palm. The man raised his head and his spiritual power surged from the soles of his feet, engulfing his entire body for the last time. His pupils started straight at the gigantic mechanical soldier.
“Soldier…soldier silk…” Changsun Chengfeng trembled.
“He-he made himself the last mechanical soldier puppet…”
In the late stage of the Mahayana realm was the highest peak that cultivators in the world could reach. Once a cultivator reached this state, the tribulation of heaven may descend at any time. As long as one overcame the tribulation of lightning, he could immediately ascend and become immortal.
There had been no one in the world for a decade, none in tens of thousands of people. Only a man chosen by the heavens could reach this state. At this level, one was a single step away from becoming a god.
However, the young master burned through his golden core, shattered all his bones, and wiped his centuries of cultivation into the ashes. With that, he severed his destiny of becoming any immortal or god. In the end, the man did not even bother to leave behind an intact body. He had transformed and reduced himself to become a combative puppet.
—Living beings are insignificant like dogs, mechanical soldiers will kill them all!
The end has come, what else could he have done?
A strong light shrouded the entire world, and the destructive and blazing golden dragon was finally spewed out from the giant’s mouth, roaring toward the earth!
It was impossible to describe this apocalyptical grandeur. The golden flame left behind mountains and forests devastated in its trail. All collapsed and turned into dust; the plains stretching thousands of miles have been reduced to nothing, the water in long rivers of thousands of miles drew back, and the eyes of countless people simultaneously reflected the approaching fire dragon.
Time froze at this moment.
Then, an even more dazzling and eye-catching figure turned into a light arrow from a distance. He swung a sword heavily, and a light curtain descended and enveloped everything.
The fire dragon slammed into the sword glare, and turned into a torrent of energy rushing into the sky!
“Ar-artefact Sect Master…”
It was not known who started this trembling sound. However, it rapidly spread all over. Countless people knelt to the ground, tears streaming down their face, and they kowtowed in unison “Great Master!” “Great Master!”
“Artefact Sect Master!!” The roar of the giant shook the wilderness, “Artefact Sect Master—”
The grandmaster stood in mid-air with swords in both hands. He blocked the devastating impact in all entirety in front of him. Blood gurgled down his body like a spring. Even when his bones, held together by the soldier silk, were about to be shattered into dust, the man did not back down in the slightest. He held the blow with a straightened back and his blood stained eyes were a horrifying sight.
“…Living beings are insignificant like dogs,” the man uttered each word.
The man was viciously tough, but his voice was strangely soft, and every word carried an overwhelming power,
“Living beings are insignificant like dogs, the Great Dao will come to an end.”
“But the way of the mortals will endure. ”
Mortals will endure.
The giant mechanical soldier had never been so completely agitated before. Suddenly, it let out a piercing roar with a sound wave that shook the city and the villages. It launched its golden flames for the third time and cut down with its a pair of long swords at the same time!
—This unprecedented majestic power was like the fury of nine gods, enough to completely shred any existence in the world.
The heavens and the earth were bathed in a harsh white light, and everyone lost their vision at once. Therefore, no one could see clearly right before his final moment, the grandmaster turned his head and glanced at the vast lands and the thousands of people behind him.
Then, endless golden light exploded from his body.
That was a power beyond the realm of mortals and what was known to be ‘god-like’. Space, time, and the entire world seemed to have been reversed. The torrent of water rushing to the city wall hung in mid-air and returning back to the rivers, falling boulders right above people’s heads flew back to the mountains. The raging fire dragon rebounded into the mechanical soldier’s mouth and its two terrifying long swords melted into nothing.
The mechanical soldier roared in frustration, but no one could hear it at this moment.
In the same splendour as when the gods first created the world, the soldier was finally pierced with a sword. The millions of mechanical parts on its limbs burst into the sky. Only its mountain-like torso collapsed from a high altitude, smashing through the plains, splitting a rift that was hundreds of metres long and causing a violent earthquake.
—It had a blade stuck between its brows made of steel plate.
The grandmaster did not release the hilt in the end. Like a stunning meteor, he self-detonated his primordial spirit, along with his three souls and seven spirits. At the cost of the disintegration of his being, never to enter the reincarnation cycle in all eternity, the man chose to die with this world-annihilating giant. Both were buried together into the depths of the earth!
“…”
No one knew how much time passed, but the thick smoke gradually dissipated, and the high-altitude clouds finally flowed again.
No one spoke, no one moved. After a moment of complete silence, Changsun Chengfeng finally exhaled a long breath and said hoarsely, “I’m speechless…”
Ying Kai slightly turned his head to Xu Shuangtze and asked, “Can you do this?”
Xu Shuangtze shook his head. “I can’t. ”
Ying Kai sighed, “I don’t know if I have the abilities or even the fortitude to do this. ”
He looked at the huge crater that had completely changed at his feet, cast his gaze towards the steep rift in the distance, and said, “I do not know which dynasty and generation of Artefact Sect Master had such an unattainable cultivation level. If even he can’t ascend, I am afraid that no one is qualified to ascend throughout the ages. It’s a pity that such a high-level predecessor didn’t survive in the end…”
Ying Kai’s voice stopped abruptly.
He and Xu Shuangtze looked up at the sky at the same time, and their expressions suddenly changed. Changsun Chengfeng was surprised, “What’s wrong?”
He got his answer shortly after.
—Black clouds cascaded and rushed in from all directions. In the distance, lightning flashed faintly. The clouds gradually twisted without wind. A heavenly tribulation was about to be triggered.
That grandmaster was indeed qualified to ascend.
So after his death, the Nine Heavens Tribulation descended!
Changsun Chengfeng said in shock, “Perhaps he isn’t completely dead? How can this be? This…”
Ying Kai widened his eyes abruptly, “That’s not good. The last of his spirit hasn’t dispersed.”
Before he finished his words, Ying Kai darted out like a bolt of lightning. But no matter how fast he moved, he couldn’t catch up with the Heavenly Tribulation. Even before they arrived at the rift valley, they saw a huge thunderstorm brewing in the sky. Then, the first tribulation plunged into the abyss like a poisonous dragon. It was so fierce and violent that the whole basin exploded like oil in a frying pan!
“How can this be?” Even Ying Kai was forced to cover his face with a hand, and almost lost his voice, “How can such a great master usher in this-this—”
Xu Shuangtze looked up at the sky, his pupils constricting slightly, “Evil Tribulation.”
The grandmaster only had one last trace of a spirit in existence. Yet, what descended from heaven was an unprecedented vile and evil tribulation.
Even if this grandmaster were alive, it was impossible for him to ascend smoothly. Clearly, this tribulation was out to destroy his spirit, such that he may never return for all eternity and have his corpse whipped into dust!
Ying Kai drew his sword in anger, but to no avail. In this world of consciousness, they were just spirit bodies. The lot of them could neither be hurt by the thunder tribulation nor have the power to change a thing. They could only watch as a second thunder tribulation fell from the air as if it was wrapped in an infinite hatred and rage. This bolt was thrown like a whip at the shattered body lying in the bottom of the abyss—
This time, not only would the last fragment of the spirit be completely shredded, the head and the limbs of the corpse would be in tatters.
But just before the tragedy happened, a ray of scarlet light flashed in the centre of the whirl of clouds. Then, it drew closer and became clearer to everyone.
Ying Kai was stunned, “That’s…”
It turned out to be a dazzling and crystal-clear double-sided mirror.
It hovered over the abyss in an instant, and when the second thunder tribulation arrived, it encountered this indestructible patron object. In an instant, gorgeous waterfalls burst out in all directions and cascaded into the abyss below.
“What happened?” Mu Duozhu shielded his eyes from the blinding light and asked in a loud voice, “Did something descend for heaven to protect him? What is it?”
Legend has it that if the person who was crossing the tribulation had excessive merits, celestial beings would cast protection upon him. However, it was only a legend, and there had never been any historical records of this encounter since ancient times. Moreover, if the heavens believed that this grandmaster was worthy of ascension, why did they send down such a terrible calamity?
What was it that tore through the clouds to safeguard that grandmaster?
Xu Shuangtze’s expression suddenly changed.
It was only for a moment, so brief that it almost felt like an illusion. Xu Shuangtze saw a figure flash past in the mirror but he couldn’t catch any glimpse of his appearance at all. Just from senses alone, it felt like it was a youth in a crimson robe. He drew a sword from the ground and faced the evil Nine Thunder tribulation without an ounce of fear.
The majestic sword glare rushed into the sky from the mirror, and the second thunder tribulation was smashed to pieces. The same magnificent sword glare continued to rise and tore through thousands of calamities that were to follow!
—At this point on the battlefield, it was finally beyond the scope of human beings, and was a true duel between ‘Heaven’ and ‘Heaven’.
Editor: Sahloknir
“In this case, please be careful, Alliance Master. I am about to begin.” Changsun Chengfeng took the lead and stood before the ice bed and said, “Please circle around the Lotus Immortal. Do not stay too far from me…Sword Sect Master? Haven’t you finished picking them up?”
Yuchi Rui was lying on the ground, “…”
Gong Wei was covered in a cold sweat once again, but his mind was completely blank, his mouth couldn’t make a sound. Subconsciously, he pointed to his right eye to make a desperate expression. However, it looked as if he had cramped up.
Yuchi Rui, “?”
“It’s me!” Gong Wei kept mouthing at him, “It’s me! Gong Zhiyu!”
“Changsheng?” Ying Kai followed Changsun Chengfeng’s guidance and placed his hand an inch above the eyebrows of the Lotus Immortal’s corpse, and asked, “Do you need help?”
—It’s over.
Gong Wei’s eyes dimmed as he could only watch as Mu Duozhu took half a step back. It seemed that he was about to bend down at any moment, “Are you okay Sword Sect Master? Are your peanuts…”
At that moment, Yuchi Rui reached and pulled out a few peanuts, and then got out of Gong Wei’s horrified line of sight.
He stood up to meet everyone’s gaze, and spread his hands blankly, “Done. You may count.”
Mu Duozhu, “…”
Changsun Chengfeng’s exasperated voice came from above Gong Wei, “Well then, please gather in a circle as I said, and make a formation with me as the centre. Lord Ying, when I perform the technique, please send your primordial spirit into the body of the Lotus Immortal. Be sure to follow my instructions…”
Did Yuchi Rui discover the truth? Did he recognize me?
Gong Wei was lying under the body, feeling both excited and nervous, but he dared not say a word. Even within his cramped environment, he tried his best to look around and saw that everyone was concentrating. Xu Shuangtze seemed to be standing closer to the body than everyone else. Perhaps it was just Gong Wei’s illusion.
—Did the soldier silk really have something to do with Du Kaixun, who was exiled seventeen years ago?
Xu Shuangtze even pursued the man to the glaciers of the far north to kill him? And he even slipped up?
Countless thoughts flooded Gong Wei’s mind. Before he had time to figure it out, he heard Changsun Chengfeng slam out a talisman, “The shape of consciousness take my lead, allow the primordial spirit to pass—Begin!”
Everyone present felt that they were being tugged forward at the same time. This was because the primordial spirit had entered the Spirit Transference Formation. Under the bed and at the centre of the formation, Gong Wei knew that he could not escape. As such, he could only close his eyes and grit his teeth. The next moment his consciousness was completely dark!
* * *
It might have been countless years, or perhaps just a single moment which had passed before he slowly opened his eyes. Violent shocks and roars rushed towards him from all directions.
This was a piece of consciousness that Du Kaixun forcibly embedded into the puppet through soldier silk. But unexpectedly, this segment of consciousness did not reveal his own hiding place as everyone expected and it was not even any familiar territory of the Central Plains.
This was a plain burning due to war.
The earth was cracked and torn apart, and the sky was covered by gunpowder and smoke. The unfamiliar capital in the distance was shrouded in raging flames. The city walls had collapsed, there were bodies and horse carcasses lying on the ground, and the burning bricks fell like torrential rain, crushing the people who were fleeing in fear.
Several great masters stood high in the clouds. Strong gusts of wind sent their robe sleeves fluttering violently. Ying Kai saw this hellish horror as soon as he opened his eyes, and subconsciously drew his sword, “What’s going on?!”
Changsun Chengfeng stopped him, “Brother Ying, do not be anxious. This is a fragment of consciousness belonging to Du Kaixun. You and I are just bystanders. Look there if you don’t believe me.”
With a wave of his hand, a piece of debris which was in flames flew from afar and passed through his palm like a phantom, and flew away in a flash.
“We are only spirit entities here and cannot change what has happened in this world, nor can we save the people who have died here.” At this, Changsun Chengfeng frowned and uttered the doubts in everyone’s hearts, “But…what is this place? I can’t recognize it at all. What exactly did Du Kaixun want to control the Lotus Immortal to do?”
At the same time, Gong Wei who was cautiously hiding behind a hill in the distance, saw Yuchi Rui in mid-air repeatedly turning his head, searching around, as if to find him. However, smoke and flames enveloped the land and he could not see Gong Wei waving frantically to him.
“Sword Sect Master?” Mu Duozhu asked strangely, “What are you looking for?”
Yuchi Rui quickly turned his head and answered with an indifferent expression, “It’s nothing.”
Mu Duozhu, “…”
The Medical Sect Master looked back curiously, and saw nothing except for the burning villages and cracked hills on the plain. Just when he was still puzzled, a loud sound came from the capital before them.
Boom! Boom!
The ground shook violently, and footsteps were getting closer. Immediately afterward, a huge, black, humanoid figure stood above and towered over the city. It stretched out its hand and swung heavily. A hurricane was generated out of thin air at once and swept away the gunpowder and smoke.
Ying Kai was surprised, “What is that?”
—After the smoke cleared, the shadow finally revealed its face. It turned out to be a mechanical soldier!
No one in the world had seen such a massive and terrifying mechanical soldier before.
It stood at more than a hundred feet tall, and it was the epitome of standing with a head in the sky and feet on the ground. The soldier had stainless steel armour and held two long swords, blazing with golden fire, in both hands. From afar, it looked like a moving hill. The soldier’s facial features were complete, but its eyebrows were rigid. It had huge eyes, like two suns looking down at the crowd fleeing under its feet like ants. It was cold and majestic, like a god.
“Lfiq! “Leggs, gec!” “Zbatfg, wbatfg!” “…”
Ktf wfmtjclmji rbivlfg gjlrfv lar offa tlut jcv rabwqfv bc atfw gfifcaifrris. Qlat pera bcf wbnf, tecvgfvr bo qfbqif kfgf mgertfv lcab qevvifr bo oifrt jcv yibbv.
“…Jtfcuofcu?” Tlcu Bjl agfwyifv.
Snfc Jtjcurec Jtfcuofcu’r abcf tjv mtjcufv, “Ktlr lr ectfjgv bo! P rkfjg P tjnf cfnfg rffc atlr fnfg!”
Mu Duozhu blurted out, “Is it going to kill all these people?!”
As if to answer his question, the mechanical soldier raised both hands and swung out his swords. The golden flames on the blades immediately engulfed most of the city in a sea of fire. Houses exploded and debris were flung into the sky!
The impact caused even high-altitude clouds to scatter, and the strong gust of wind made several great masters take several steps back. Changsun Chengfeng managed to stabilise himself, and said in shock, “What year is this? I have never seen or read about it in my family history! Brother Ying, how about you?”
Not only within the Changsun family history but there were also no such records of this terrifying disaster within the entire Immortal Alliance. Ying Kai held the hilt of the sword until his muscles and bones were protruding, and frowned, “I have never encountered this incident in any records. What the hell…”
At this time, Xu Shuangtze spoke, “Someone is coming.”
Everyone looked in the direction of the noise, but only saw the mechanical soldier swinging his terrifying long swords again in full force. Two fire dragons roared and charged toward the crowd, about to combust these countless people into charred bones——
At this very moment, a platinum sword glare rose from the crowd with a vicious force and sliced the fire dragon into half in mid-air!
The impact of this blow was enough to shake the entire plain. Even the Sword Sect Master, Yuchi Rui’s expression changed slightly as he asked, “Who’s that?”
The sword glare rushed into the sky, and the golden fire dispersed at once. At the top of the last tower in the distance, a long silhouette appeared amidst the billowing smoke. It was facing the giant mechanical soldier without fear, as his sleeves fluttered in the wind.
The person was still very young, and his side profile was very beautiful and elegant, but at this moment, because he was stained in blood from forehead to his cheeks, it added a hint of brutality and majesty to his appearance. The ribbon which held up his hair, and his belt were all embroidered with golden threads, and his white robe was stained with blood. His injuries were very serious, but the man stood with his back straight.
The long sword held in his right palm glowed in bright flames, the shape of the blade was very familiar. It had two ancient seal characters engraved near the hilt—
Changsun Chengfeng cried in surprise, “Bu Qi!”
Everyone couldn’t help but look at the exact same sword in Changsun Chengfeng’s hand. Mu Duozhu pointed to the figure, “Could it be…a certain generation’s Artefact Sect Master?”
s soon as he spoke, everyone realised one thing—the Artefact Sect Master title had been passed down in the Changsun family for the previous three generations, but this young grandmaster was clearly not an ancestor of the Changsun family.
This fragment of consciousness that Du Kaixun planted into the Lotus Immortal, how many years ago did it occur, and where did it come from?
Facing an old opponent, who could never be killed, the mechanical soldier was completely enraged. Its two round eyes suddenly blazed more vigorously, and it rushed straight up. The soldier’s massive body moved so fast that it was a chilling sight. Then, it swung its blade at the head of that grandmaster!
However, the young Artefact Sect Master was faster. As if the serious injuries did not affect his speed at all, the man flew back to the plains outside of the city in the blink of an eye. The young man probably wanted to use himself as bait to buy time for the people to flee.
As expected, the mechanical soldier deserted the city and pursued him instantly. Two long knives slashed frantically, and the rolling golden flames erupted like thousands of volcanoes.
This hellish, doomsday-like scene was enough to make anyone frightened, but the young grandmaster was unrelenting. He drew up thousands of moves in an instant, piercing the skies with pure energy, and even tearing through high-altitude clouds!
Changsun Chengfeng was so frightened, he murmured, “I think I’ve humiliated my sword, Bu Qi. To think that it went through such glorious days…”
Ying Kai was also fixated on the battlefield, and not able to look away, “Chengfeng, you don’t have to be ashamed, this predecessor is already in the very late Mahayana stage.”
“Extremely late stage?”
“I’m afraid he might not lose to—no… ” Ying Kai said after a pause, “He might be Shuangtze’s equal.”
Several people couldn’t help but look at Xu Shuangtze, but the Cang Yang Sect Master only frowned slightly, and uttered two words softly, “A pity.”
Changsun Chengfeng, “What pity?”
“…”
Neither Ying Kai nor Xu Shuangtze said another word. At this time, the two swords split the sky and cut downwards. The young master gritted his teeth and blocked the blow with his blade. The earth-shattering blows rushed in all directions, and the ground under his feet cracked at once!
“Do you know why he didn’t summon Bu Qi’s sword spirit?” Ying Kai sighed and said, “That’s because his injury was too grave, and his golden core had been destroyed long ago.”
The destruction of one’s golden core was the most horrifying nightmare to any cultivator. The same goes for a grandmaster. A Mahayana Stage Golden core was strong and unparalleled in the world. As long as the bearer was alive, the golden core would be intact. Even if the bearer were to die, the golden core may not necessarily be destroyed. What terrible blow did this grandmaster endure to have his golden core shattered?
What kind of amazing perseverance did he possess to continue fighting despite having his golden core destroyed. This man was holding his last breath as he stood up against the gigantic mechanical soldier.
Everyone was stunned for a while, and Ying Kai frowned suddenly, “It’s bad.”
The two swords of the mechanical soldier were blocked in mid-air, the fury in its giant eyes had raged to the point of no return. Suddenly, it opened its mouth and took a deep breath, facing the sky. The dark clouds within a hundred miles were sucked into its belly at once.
Then, it lowered its head and spewed out a burst of golden fire that engulfed the sky and the sun!
At that moment, it was as if the hell-gates were opened and Yellow Springs itself poured out. The fire dragons descended upon the earth from the skies. The magnificence was indescribable.
There was nowhere for the grandmaster to hide, and he was instantly lifted off his feet by the explosive impact and slammed into a hill dozens of miles away. Next, the cliff collapsed with a crash!
Ten thousand tonnes of boulders poured down and completely buried the man in an instant.
The shock shook all four directions, and mountains and forests fell one after another, like building blocks. The mechanical soldier fiercely raised its sword, faced the sky, and gave out an overwhelming roar,
“Living beings are insignificant like dogs, mechanical soldiers will kill them all! ”
“Living beings are insignificant like dogs, mechanical soldiers will kill them all!—”
No one could stop it at this time. The mechanical soldier slowly turned around, facing the capital city at the end of the plain, and drew another breath. Hundreds of staggered sharp teeth could be seen as it opened its wide mouth.
The millions of people in the city realised at the same time that the end was near and fell to their knees in despair as they watched the horrific golden flames flicker once more from the giant’s throat.
Mu Duozhu lost his voice, “This is bad, it’s over for this city!”
“…No.” Ying Kai’s tone was slightly hoarse. One could not tell if it was due to shock or admiration, “It’s not over yet.”
Following his line of sight, behind the mechanical soldier, there was a sudden movement of the collapsed mountain cliff in the distance. The boulders broke apart one after another.
The young grandmaster was lying on the bottom of the pit and covered in blood. His hands and feet were broken, and the bones all over his body were already shattered. However, those beautiful eyes were still open, looking at the flowing clouds and the sky. His pale face was serene.
Immediately afterward, he lifted his left hand that hadn’t been broken, and a blood-red thread flicked up, stretched and elongated into mid-air, before it instantly submerged back into his body.
Then, it was as if an invisible force was levitating his body flat on its back. Click! Click! There were several sounds which came from the crunching of bones as his broken spine was snapped back together. His twisted arms and legs straightened, his torso and limbs were restored to their original state. The young man stood up limply like a smashed mannequin that had been forcibly repaired, followed by a resounding, ‘crack!’ With a sound, his broken neck was also snapped back to its original position.
Bu Qi transformed into a meteor and flew over from a distance. With a snap, it was held firmly in his right palm. The man raised his head and his spiritual power surged from the soles of his feet, engulfing his entire body for the last time. His pupils started straight at the gigantic mechanical soldier.
“Soldier…soldier silk…” Changsun Chengfeng trembled.
“He-he made himself the last mechanical soldier puppet…”
In the late stage of the Mahayana realm was the highest peak that cultivators in the world could reach. Once a cultivator reached this state, the tribulation of heaven may descend at any time. As long as one overcame the tribulation of lightning, he could immediately ascend and become immortal.
There had been no one in the world for a decade, none in tens of thousands of people. Only a man chosen by the heavens could reach this state. At this level, one was a single step away from becoming a god.
However, the young master burned through his golden core, shattered all his bones, and wiped his centuries of cultivation into the ashes. With that, he severed his destiny of becoming any immortal or god. In the end, the man did not even bother to leave behind an intact body. He had transformed and reduced himself to become a combative puppet.
—Living beings are insignificant like dogs, mechanical soldiers will kill them all!
The end has come, what else could he have done?
A strong light shrouded the entire world, and the destructive and blazing golden dragon was finally spewed out from the giant’s mouth, roaring toward the earth!
It was impossible to describe this apocalyptical grandeur. The golden flame left behind mountains and forests devastated in its trail. All collapsed and turned into dust; the plains stretching thousands of miles have been reduced to nothing, the water in long rivers of thousands of miles drew back, and the eyes of countless people simultaneously reflected the approaching fire dragon.
Time froze at this moment.
Then, an even more dazzling and eye-catching figure turned into a light arrow from a distance. He swung a sword heavily, and a light curtain descended and enveloped everything.
The fire dragon slammed into the sword glare, and turned into a torrent of energy rushing into the sky!
“Ar-artefact Sect Master…”
It was not known who started this trembling sound. However, it rapidly spread all over. Countless people knelt to the ground, tears streaming down their face, and they kowtowed in unison “Great Master!” “Great Master!”
“Artefact Sect Master!!” The roar of the giant shook the wilderness, “Artefact Sect Master—”
The grandmaster stood in mid-air with swords in both hands. He blocked the devastating impact in all entirety in front of him. Blood gurgled down his body like a spring. Even when his bones, held together by the soldier silk, were about to be shattered into dust, the man did not back down in the slightest. He held the blow with a straightened back and his blood stained eyes were a horrifying sight.
“…Living beings are insignificant like dogs,” the man uttered each word.
The man was viciously tough, but his voice was strangely soft, and every word carried an overwhelming power,
“Living beings are insignificant like dogs, the Great Dao will come to an end.”
“But the way of the mortals will endure. ”
Mortals will endure.
The giant mechanical soldier had never been so completely agitated before. Suddenly, it let out a piercing roar with a sound wave that shook the city and the villages. It launched its golden flames for the third time and cut down with its a pair of long swords at the same time!
—This unprecedented majestic power was like the fury of nine gods, enough to completely shred any existence in the world.
The heavens and the earth were bathed in a harsh white light, and everyone lost their vision at once. Therefore, no one could see clearly right before his final moment, the grandmaster turned his head and glanced at the vast lands and the thousands of people behind him.
Then, endless golden light exploded from his body.
That was a power beyond the realm of mortals and what was known to be ‘god-like’. Space, time, and the entire world seemed to have been reversed. The torrent of water rushing to the city wall hung in mid-air and returning back to the rivers, falling boulders right above people’s heads flew back to the mountains. The raging fire dragon rebounded into the mechanical soldier’s mouth and its two terrifying long swords melted into nothing.
The mechanical soldier roared in frustration, but no one could hear it at this moment.
In the same splendour as when the gods first created the world, the soldier was finally pierced with a sword. The millions of mechanical parts on its limbs burst into the sky. Only its mountain-like torso collapsed from a high altitude, smashing through the plains, splitting a rift that was hundreds of metres long and causing a violent earthquake.
—It had a blade stuck between its brows made of steel plate.
The grandmaster did not release the hilt in the end. Like a stunning meteor, he self-detonated his primordial spirit, along with his three souls and seven spirits. At the cost of the disintegration of his being, never to enter the reincarnation cycle in all eternity, the man chose to die with this world-annihilating giant. Both were buried together into the depths of the earth!
“…”
No one knew how much time passed, but the thick smoke gradually dissipated, and the high-altitude clouds finally flowed again.
No one spoke, no one moved. After a moment of complete silence, Changsun Chengfeng finally exhaled a long breath and said hoarsely, “I’m speechless…”
Ying Kai slightly turned his head to Xu Shuangtze and asked, “Can you do this?”
Xu Shuangtze shook his head. “I can’t. ”
Ying Kai sighed, “I don’t know if I have the abilities or even the fortitude to do this. ”
He looked at the huge crater that had completely changed at his feet, cast his gaze towards the steep rift in the distance, and said, “I do not know which dynasty and generation of Artefact Sect Master had such an unattainable cultivation level. If even he can’t ascend, I am afraid that no one is qualified to ascend throughout the ages. It’s a pity that such a high-level predecessor didn’t survive in the end…”
Ying Kai’s voice stopped abruptly.
He and Xu Shuangtze looked up at the sky at the same time, and their expressions suddenly changed. Changsun Chengfeng was surprised, “What’s wrong?”
He got his answer shortly after.
—Black clouds cascaded and rushed in from all directions. In the distance, lightning flashed faintly. The clouds gradually twisted without wind. A heavenly tribulation was about to be triggered.
That grandmaster was indeed qualified to ascend.
So after his death, the Nine Heavens Tribulation descended!
Changsun Chengfeng said in shock, “Perhaps he isn’t completely dead? How can this be? This…”
Ying Kai widened his eyes abruptly, “That’s not good. The last of his spirit hasn’t dispersed.”
Before he finished his words, Ying Kai darted out like a bolt of lightning. But no matter how fast he moved, he couldn’t catch up with the Heavenly Tribulation. Even before they arrived at the rift valley, they saw a huge thunderstorm brewing in the sky. Then, the first tribulation plunged into the abyss like a poisonous dragon. It was so fierce and violent that the whole basin exploded like oil in a frying pan!
“How can this be?” Even Ying Kai was forced to cover his face with a hand, and almost lost his voice, “How can such a great master usher in this-this—”
Xu Shuangtze looked up at the sky, his pupils constricting slightly, “Evil Tribulation.”
The grandmaster only had one last trace of a spirit in existence. Yet, what descended from heaven was an unprecedented vile and evil tribulation.
Even if this grandmaster were alive, it was impossible for him to ascend smoothly. Clearly, this tribulation was out to destroy his spirit, such that he may never return for all eternity and have his corpse whipped into dust!
Ying Kai drew his sword in anger, but to no avail. In this world of consciousness, they were just spirit bodies. The lot of them could neither be hurt by the thunder tribulation nor have the power to change a thing. They could only watch as a second thunder tribulation fell from the air as if it was wrapped in an infinite hatred and rage. This bolt was thrown like a whip at the shattered body lying in the bottom of the abyss—
This time, not only would the last fragment of the spirit be completely shredded, the head and the limbs of the corpse would be in tatters.
But just before the tragedy happened, a ray of scarlet light flashed in the centre of the whirl of clouds. Then, it drew closer and became clearer to everyone.
Ying Kai was stunned, “That’s…”
It turned out to be a dazzling and crystal-clear double-sided mirror.
It hovered over the abyss in an instant, and when the second thunder tribulation arrived, it encountered this indestructible patron object. In an instant, gorgeous waterfalls burst out in all directions and cascaded into the abyss below.
“What happened?” Mu Duozhu shielded his eyes from the blinding light and asked in a loud voice, “Did something descend for heaven to protect him? What is it?”
Legend has it that if the person who was crossing the tribulation had excessive merits, celestial beings would cast protection upon him. However, it was only a legend, and there had never been any historical records of this encounter since ancient times. Moreover, if the heavens believed that this grandmaster was worthy of ascension, why did they send down such a terrible calamity?
What was it that tore through the clouds to safeguard that grandmaster?
Xu Shuangtze’s expression suddenly changed.
It was only for a moment, so brief that it almost felt like an illusion. Xu Shuangtze saw a figure flash past in the mirror but he couldn’t catch any glimpse of his appearance at all. Just from senses alone, it felt like it was a youth in a crimson robe. He drew a sword from the ground and faced the evil Nine Thunder tribulation without an ounce of fear.
The majestic sword glare rushed into the sky from the mirror, and the second thunder tribulation was smashed to pieces. The same magnificent sword glare continued to rise and tore through thousands of calamities that were to follow!
—At this point on the battlefield, it was finally beyond the scope of human beings, and was a true duel between ‘Heaven’ and ‘Heaven’.
