novelraw Chapter 331: I Seem to Have Forgotten Something?
Chapter 331: I Seem to Have Forgotten Something?
Heaven-Slaying and World-Destroying!
Just four simple words, but their implication was bone-chilling. Instantly, the Minghua Celestial Immortal in the Demon-Vanquishing Perfected’s hand began to tremble violently.
"Impossible... the Supreme Venerable..."
The Minghua Celestial Immortal still wanted to convince himself. After all, the Profound Spirit Realm still had a Supreme Venerable. He had personally witnessed the Supreme Venerable’s might; it was simply unstoppable.
"No—!"
The next second, a roar of utter grief and fury echoed from the dome of the sky.
The roar came from the illusion of the Celestial Court—from the center of its many pavilions and terraces, at the head of Lingxiao Hall, where a towering figure with an obscured face stood.
The Supreme Venerable of the Profound Spirit Realm.
Strictly speaking, within the Profound Spirit Realm, this Supreme Venerable was incredibly strong. It was his home turf, after all. In a one-on-one fight, he wouldn’t lose to any Perfected Lord.
The problem was, no one was fighting him one-on-one. Perfected Lords were striking from the East, West, South, and North, while several others watched from the shadows. It was a classic case of the many ganging up on the few, an overwhelming force crushing a weaker one. The Supreme Venerable of the Profound Spirit Realm couldn’t see even a glimmer of hope for a comeback.
He couldn’t even understand it.
Why hadn’t he fled immediately when he first discovered that this world had a full thirty Fruits, its power far exceeding that of the Profound Spirit Realm?
Had he lost his mind?
What was even more absurd was that not only had he not fled, but he had actually tried to fight back, sending out Minghua Celestial Immortal and the others, which directly exposed the location of his own Outer Realm.
The result was that no sooner had Minghua Celestial Immortal and his group arrived to attack than the various Perfected Lords, long prepared, followed their path right back. The Profound Spirit Realm, originally a vast distance from this world, was practically dragged over by the combined might of the Perfected Lords!
"A tribulation indeed..."
Witnessing this, the Demon-Vanquishing Perfected sighed again. "...So that’s how it is. No wonder they ignored my actions, turning a blind eye."
He had gone to the Mass Grave with the intention of stopping all of this.
With his Sword Intent, he could have severed the connection between the Profound Spirit Realm and this world. But he hadn’t known that the Profound Spirit Realm was a dish All True Monarchs had already ordered.
How could a mere Foundation Establishment Perfection cultivator defy the will of All True Monarchs?
In the end, he accomplished nothing. He even became a tool used by All True Monarchs to maintain stability and prevent Minghua Celestial Immortal’s group from wreaking havoc.
"...So be it."
The Demon-Vanquishing Perfected took a deep breath, quickly dispelling the stray thoughts from his mind. ’At least I saved a few people. It wasn’t a total loss.’
With that, he took out his Storage Bag.
He untied the mouth of the bag.
Lü Yang, who was standing right next to the Demon-Vanquishing Perfected, snuck a glance and his pupils instantly contracted. Inside the bag’s opening, he saw an astonishing sight.
—Heads.
Countless, densely packed heads. Though severed from their bodies, they weren’t dead. Instead, they were speaking animatedly, even conversing with each other!
Such a bizarre scene completely captured Lü Yang’s attention.
It was only when the heads of Minghua Celestial Immortal and the three Earth Immortals also fell inside, and were finally placed on a shelf, that he snapped back to his senses.
Lifting his head again, he came face-to-face with the Demon-Vanquishing Perfected’s eyes.
They were filled with peace, without a trace of malice.
"I’ve frightened you."
The Demon-Vanquishing Perfected gave a wry smile. "Those are all people I have cut down. I didn’t kill them, but it wouldn’t be right to release a tiger back to the mountain, so I can only keep them with me."
"After all... a miserable life is better than a good death."
’Hiss...!’
’Something’s wrong! This Demon-Vanquishing Perfected... something is ninety-percent wrong with him! He looks like a good person inside and out, but something is just not right!’
’But I just can’t put my finger on what it is!’
Despite his thoughts, Lü Yang’s expression remained impassive. He even adopted a look of reverence. "Senior, you are truly benevolent. The Sword Pavilion is indeed worthy of being the Leader of the Righteous Path."
"You flatter me."
The Demon-Vanquishing Perfected shook his head and looked toward the horizon again.
At the same time, the vast and boundless light-and-shadow illusion of the Celestial Court situated in the dome of the sky was growing clearer, even beginning to feel somewhat solid and real.
Below the Celestial Court, one could vaguely see smaller Outer Realms, like bubbles. One by one, they were severing their connection to the Celestial Court and vanishing without a trace. Only when the last one was gone did the Celestial Court fully solidify, appearing tangible within this world!
BOOM!
In that instant, a tremendous roar echoed from within the vast Celestial Court. Then, it began to crumble piece by piece, finally shattering into four massive chunks!
Each chunk had a Celestial Gate standing upon it.
Four Celestial Gates, each dragging a quarter of the Celestial Court Fragment, plummeted down into the four regions: the South, the North, the West, and the East!
"The Profound Spirit Realm... is finished!"
Seeing this, the Demon-Vanquishing Perfected couldn’t help but close his eyes. "With the great lords making their move, there must be no living thing left in that Outer Realm now."
"Another Outer Realm destroyed."
"As for its current state... the great lords must have finished their meal. The leftovers are for us minor cultivators, a way to feed the servants."
Before his voice had even faded, the Demon-Vanquishing Perfected’s brow suddenly furrowed. Beside him, the hairs on Lü Yang’s arms stood on end. He felt an inexplicable obstruction in the circulation of his spirit, an invisible weight pressing down on him out of thin air. There was no visible phenomenon, but his vast experience allowed him to make a quick judgment:
’A Perfected Lord... is looking this way!’
Not only that, but Progenitor Tingyou inside the Myriad-Soul Banner also seemed to sense something. He didn’t dare show himself, but a deep-seated hatred surfaced in his eyes:
"It’s him... It’s Zhengde!"
True Monarch Chengtian Zhengde!
Lü Yang focused his gaze on his nose, his nose on his heart, not daring to say a word. Fortunately, the gaze from the Perfected Lord held no interest in him, not even lingering on him for a moment.
The next second, the Demon-Vanquishing Perfected opened his eyes and looked at him.
"Bring me the Shen Metal."
"This junior obeys."
Lü Yang immediately took out the Shen Metal. The Demon-Vanquishing Perfected lightly tapped the hilt of the Non-Killing sword at his waist, shaking loose a sliver of Sword Light.
Instantly, the Sword Light fell into the Shen Metal, illuminating it inside and out. Only then did Lü Yang see that hidden within the supposedly pure and flawless Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches was a red dot, crimson as blood. The Sword Light swept over it, erasing it and allowing the originally dead Shen Metal to become vibrant once more.
"...There."
After doing all this, the Demon-Vanquishing Perfected returned the Shen Metal to Lü Yang. "I’ve removed the imprint. You don’t have to worry about the hidden danger within it anymore."
"Thank you, Senior!"
Lü Yang respectfully accepted the Shen Metal. He glanced at it, but couldn’t help a thought from bubbling up: ’There isn’t a new imprint inside now, is there?’
...Hard to say!
’This thing really is a hot potato!’
Lü Yang had a headache. This wisp of Shen Metal energy was what he sought, but he really couldn’t figure out if someone had left a hidden trap inside.
’The Shen Metal is one thing, but what’s more important is me.’
’Could a Perfected Lord have left a hidden trap on me, too? If so, even if the Shen Metal is clean, I can’t hand it over to my main body.’
’It seems... reincarnation is urgently needed!’
Lü Yang thought it over and over, concluding that only the Netherworld could completely cleanse this Split Soul of his. After all, reincarnation is equal for everyone.
Just then, the Demon-Vanquishing Perfected suddenly spoke.
"A portion of the Celestial Court Fragment from the Profound Spirit Realm has fallen into the South this time. It will soon transform into a new Marvel. A Perfected Lord has ordered me to lead a team to explore it."
"Fellow Daoist Lü, are you willing to accompany me?"
’A Celestial Court Fragment from the Profound Spirit Realm?’
Lü Yang’s eyes darted. Without the slightest hesitation, he cupped his hands and said, "I am willing to share Senior’s burden."
’The opportunity has come!’
’Die in battle in the Secret Realm, have my Split Soul reincarnate, wipe my identity clean, join the Sword Pavilion...’ In an instant, Lü Yang had organized his thoughts and planned his next steps!
However...
’Have I forgotten something?’