Archfiend

“Master, it’s not that simple. Wei Zhongxian said seriously: “Cultivation is to cultivate a solitary lonesomeness. To cultivate a pride and arrogance akin to plum flowers defying snowfall. To cultivate an eternity to stand as long as heaven and earth, a true made whole, not void. Amidst this, a great cultivator looks on as azure oceans become mulberry fields. To gaze at the rise and fall of dynasties. A delivery of far too many stirrings to the people.” 

“In China, there is an old saying. Walk a journey of a thousand miles to experience the world and read ten thousand books to learn of it. In fact, it really isn’t speaking of walking a thousand miles and reading ten thousand books… but instead the flowers and grasses, the people and creatures during this journey that change a man oh-so secretly. The emotions of a man’s heart. So as a cultivator’s realm becomes higher, it’s easier for a kind thing to appear…” 

“A heart devil?” Xu Yangyi chuckled. Presently, he still didn’t know why he felt like this. He had obviously lost an arm, yet his mood was quite relaxed. Perhaps it was the gain of this new objective, to have something worthy of him to work towards to that caused him to shine with a second wind…  

Just like when he had originally entered Heavens Law… 

“Indeed.” Wei Zhongxian bowed and said: “As high-level cultivators become fewer and fewer in number, the heart devil thereupon becomes an entity even harder to break through than the bodily limiter for cultivators who have cultivated for over two centuries. Thus, there are none among high-level cultivators who lack an indomitable will and steadfast wisdom.”

Xu Yangyi nodded: “Did Fellow Daoist Wei… come up with these words?”

“No…” Wei Zhongxian coughed: “This was said by His Majesty Guangzong…”

Ming Guangzong again… Xu Yangyi’s gaze faintly rippled. Ming Guangzong was undoubtedly a mere mortal, yet his understanding towards cultivators was so clear. Danxia Temple seemed to uncover all of the Animus Armament’s secrets, but in fact… after this veil was removed, an even greater riddle was hidden below!

In the end… what had Guangzong discovered? Was there a chance that it was just like he had imagined… a spider’s thread of that unspeakable entity? Else not… why would the Xuan-Yuan Sword desire to slay Guangzong? And why would the Xuan-Yuan Sword want to prevent Guangzong from searching?

“What are you guys talking about?” Quan Ningyue was confused, curiosity evident in her eyes. She remembered… that everyone had been killed by an azure carp. Only they had escaped. So why was she totally unable make sense of each word that the other was saying?

“Nothing.” Putting a stop to the diverging thoughts, Xu Yangyi gazed at the flipped-over livyatan in the water and laughed: “I’m still too inexperienced right now… Fellow Daoist Wei, may I ask if you have a method to collect this corpse?”

“Of course.” Wei Zhongxian laughed respectfully: “After I was transformed into a corpse puppet by Celestial Master Zhang, an independent space was crafted into my mouth. The good sir said that I relied on this mouth to reach the peak throughout my life, so I would do the same in death. He increased my memory…”

Both of his hands formed a seal, and his mouth suddenly grew to be a meter a size! A muffled droning quietly spread forth in the wake of his mouth opening. Following this sound, the lake water in front of him began to mysteriously sweep about with ripples. However, on the ground, a cracking tremor unexpectedly caused stones to hover in the air. Yet in the water… the tremendous livyatan’s body… started to oddly float up little by little!

Swoosh swoosh swoosh… Countless streams fell down from the spinning livyatan’s body like creek water. As Wei Zhongxian’s seal-forming speed became faster and faster, the livyatan’s incomparably colossal body began to actually shift in the air. The corpse slowly moved towards their side.

At this time, Xu Yangyi’s gaze sparked: “Hold on.”

“What is it, master?” Wei Zhongxian immediately stopped his actions and asked.

“There’s someone here.” Xu Yangyi narrowed his eyes: “You don’t sense it?”

Wei Zhongxian shook his head: “Master, I’m not truly a cultivator. This body’s cultivation is all thanks to Celestial Master Zhang’s blessing. My use of qi is indeed unskilled.”

This was the use of spiritual sense… Xu Yangyi nodded. Wei Zhongxian had long since met his maker. Whether or not he possessed such a thing was difficult to say. After all, spiritual sense was equal to the soul. It could only exist within a living person.

It was because Xu Yangyi’s spiritual sense greatly transcended those in the same stage that he was able to feel… that inside the livyatan’s mouth, there was a ball… A seemingly very familiar qi, a silken qi, that was in a state of unconsciousness!

Who was it?

Without a spare thought, Xu Yangyi immediately jumped onto the livyatan’s back. He sensed familiarity from this qi. Was it possibly a teammate who was once alive?

“Commander.” Just as he jumped on the corpse’s back, Quan Ningyue also hopped on. In the same vein, she had sensed it. Her young, childish face carried blatant excitement.

This journey was one of blood and tears. At this moment, if they could still see their former comrade… Words could not describe such a feeling. The duo shared a glance and nodded. Without the slightest hesitation, they rushed towards the livyatan’s mouth.

Wei Zhongxian had already opened the livyatan’s bloody maw that was tens of meters wide. Inside, there were rows of sharp teeth like small hills.

“There!” Quan Ningyue’s eyes flashed, and she yelled and excitedly pointed towards a region inside the mouth.

At the edge of several teeth, there was someone… a man who had already lost half of his body. He was badly mangled, his flesh and blood indistinct, and both his eyes were tightly shut. One simply couldn’t make out whether he was dead or alive. Only a feeble spiritual sense was felt, reminding Xu Yangyi and Quan Ningyue that he still hasn’t died!

Xu Yangyi inhaled deeply and suppressed the stirring emotions in his heart. Wind Brandishes Traces revolved around his entire body, and he charged ahead with almost his fastest speed. Quickly and carefully, he supported the man with his hand.

The other’s body was moist and slick with the livyatan’s disgusting saliva, radiating a nauseating stench. Nonetheless, Xu Yangyi was absent of a hair’s hesitation. He held in his breath and wiped away the bloodstains on the other’s face with the utmost care.

“Gao Wuguo?” As Quan Ningyue hurried and trailed over, she saw the man’s face. She sucked in sharply, her voice somewhat trembling. However, this trembling was due to great excitement, not grave fright!

Back then, they hadn’t found his corpse. They had only seen was his gloves floating up on the water. In the battle against the livyatan, there had been too many casualties and the water was several hundred meters deep. There was no way that a group of Qi Condensation cultivators could find him. They had believed that Gao Wuguo had already died, but unexpectedly, he had been swallowed into the livyatan’s mouth! No wonder they couldn’t find him!

Happiness rose up in Xu Yangyi’s heart. If they were another hour late… perhaps Gao Wuguo would’ve truly been separated apart from the rest by the heavens. Xu Yangyi scooped up the other, but at the same time, he suddenly felt a stab of pain from his qi sea!

“COMMANDER!!!” Her excitement yet to recede, the faint smile on Quan Ningyue’s face abruptly froze. In this fleeting moment, she sensed the world turn somewhat white!

Qi sea destruction! It was impossible to restore any cultivator who had their qi sea destroyed! One could only become a true cripple! She expected that the unconscious Gao Wuguo would suddenly act against Xu Yangyi at all!

Xu Yangyi also looked towards his lower abdomen with a fair amount of incredulity. Gao Wuguo’s hand had already sunk entirely into his dantian!

Fast! Extremely fast! There hadn’t even been the ghost of a warning! A cultivator of the same stage was fundamentally incapable of evading his spiritual sense. However, against the unconscious Gao Wuguo, he just hadn’t sensed the circulation of qi on the other’s whole body! In the blink of an eye, his qi sea had been penetrated!

“Ten Cardinals Red Lotus!” Xu Yangyi threw the other off. Gao Wuguo’s cold and gloomy eyes had already opened, the crook of his mouth bearing a mocking smile. Against the coming fire dragon, he sneered. Yet on the brink of crisis, he seemed to be carefree and idle, extending a finger. Because of Xu Yangyi’s grave, sudden injury, the fire dragon’s bulk was already several times smaller. Gao Wuguo welcomed it with his relaxed finger.

“Break.” Gao Wuguo uttered. Following a rumbling explosion, the entire fire dragon immediately detonated inside the livyatan’s mouth. Akin to a black hole, the beast’s mouth seemed to be illuminated by the blast at each nook and cranny!

Boom! The hare leaped up and the falcon descended. Xu Yangyi took advantage of the Ten Cardinals Red Lotus’s explosion to leap back in an instant. As he fell on the ground, he immediately took a knee. Blood gushed out from his mouth and the bloody hole on his stomach like a waterfall!

“Gao Wuguo!” Quan Ningyue cried out in disbelief, her left hand swiftly turning into a lance and taking aim straight at the other’s back: “What the hell are you doing?!?!?!”

“Stop…” Xu Yangyi opened his somewhat reddened eyes. He wanted to shout, but discovered his entire bodily spiritual force was unable to rise!

Gao Wuguo gazed icily at the tiger-mad Quan Ningyue. All of a sudden, a faint curve emerged at the crook of his mouth: “Freeze…”

Like so, Quan Ningyue oddly stopped in the air, not daring to believe as she looked at Gao Wuguo!

“He’s not Gao Wuguo…” Xu Yangyi sprayed out a mouthful of blood. This person… was truly vicious and merciless. “Gao Wuguo” had acted with the intent to cripple him. The other clearly demonstrated that he wanted to wipe them out here!

Moreover… was the other’s realm… He was actually unable to sense the fluctuations of the other’s spiritual force mobilization. A single finger to destroy the Ten Cardinals Red Lotus… This absolutely wasn’t the Qi Condensation realm!

If Quan Ningyue rashly made a move, there was no question that she would die!

“Who are you?!” The sound of Quan Ningyue’s gnashing teeth echoed. As if she had been frozen in the air, she locked her eyes on Gao Wuguo who was in front of her.

Gao Wuguo’s gaze dimly swept over her face. He beared a cold smile as he gently shook his head: “A pity.”

Unexpectedly… both of his legs appeared, and he began to slightly float above the ground! Three seconds later, he was free of the void, resistant to the wind! Without the aid of any magik artifact, he stood at the highest point of the livyatan’s mouth!

“This…” Quan Ningyue exhaled sharply. Her heart grew cold.

Freedom in emptiness and cast apart from the winds… Approaching waves with subtle steps… This was… 

A Foundation Establishment cultivator! A true Foundation Establishment cultivator!

“Had you not entered, you would’ve been the sole person able to leave here alive for the sake of Grandmaster Gao Muya’s esteem.” Gao Wuguo’s eyes were without a sliver of emotion: “How unfortunate… You cannot walk heaven’s path, yet from the start, there was never a door to hell to be cast into… This Throne takes no joy in ruining flowers.” 

This Throne!

Quan Ningyue shut her eyes in despair. A Foundation Establishment cultivator… This was a bonafide Foundation Establishment cultivator! And as for a Foundation Establishment cultivator’s might?

Wei Zhongxian’s corpse… had killed all the geniuses until only nine remained! It had to be known that there had still been several tens of people who were present during that occasion! Which one wasn’t a genius from a great power?! Yet in the end, only nine had survived!

With great difficulty, Xu Yangyi endured the sharp pain of his abdomen. His clenched teeth were dyed blood-red: “Who… are you?”

“Humans… are still better than muddled ghosts. It’s no good being too smart…” Like he was looking at a dead man, Gao Wuguo eyed Xu Yangyi: “You arrived in Longsu, and I followed. As you killed these monsters, I quietly watched you from behind… I have no choice but to applaud you… You were actually able to come out alive…”

Realization dawned on Xu Yangyi: “Thousandedge?!”

  Spoiler