Chapter Sixty-Six: Night Fire
writer:
无罪 update:2022-07-21 15:26
Her expression was very cold, but her hands trembled uncontrollably. She felt that she had become a person just like Yuanwu, and what chilled her heart the most was…… She had not expected so many people to be on the other side.
There were only three masters of the Spirit Void Sword Sect, and only Huang Daochen was on her side while Master Yi and Master Qi had betrayed her. Ji Qingqing turned traitor, Ye Celeng and Min Mountain Sword Sect too, and even Shen Xuan and Pan Ruoye had become traitors.
In Changling, after she saw clearly, she found there were not many people who were not on the other side. But such a powerless and furious feeling only lasted for a short moment. After several breaths, her heart turned even colder and harder. Even if Shen Xuan had betrayed her, even if Baili Suxue had made his way into the palace and almost killed her, forcing her to use all her hidden pawns, he had had to abandon the Nether dragon and flee. She was certain that as long as people could prevent Baili Suxue from meeting up with Geng Ren, he would not just be seriously injured and would not recover in the short term, but his cultivation would be crippled.
Baili Suxue was one of the people she was most wary of, even above the Donghu monk. But now, Baili Suxue was crippled, and that Donghu monk was likely crippled.
And Ye Xiao. Such a person was even in her plans, willing to die as a prison for the Nine Death Silkworm. What could she not do?
**
“Official Shen Xuan, what are you doing! You……”
“You really do not seem like Zheng Xiu and Yuanwu’s son. Even Fu Su is more like them than you.” Shen Xuan coldly interrupted the words of the youth who had woken up in the darkness.
This youth was the imperial son of the Qin Dynasty who he usually had to kneel down to greet. But at this time, he was worse off than most prisoners that he had met before. He had even lost control of his faculties in his terror and the room was filled with an unpleasant smell.
He slowly opened a box, and placed the small torture equipment on the table in front of the metal chair that Hu Hai was sitting in. The latter’s body seemed to convulse, and the moment his body moved, he gave a heart wrenching scream.
This metal chair had been made specially in the Great Floating Water Prison, and there were shocking spikes on many parts.
“Zheng Xiu once used these things on me. Now, I will let you experience each one. Of course, I will be more skilled than those torture officials in the palace as I was the one to teach them.”
Shen Xuan looked at this imperial son who was extremely terrified, and smiled scornfully in the darkness, revealing his white teeth. He knew very well how to torment someone, and knew that subtle terror and constant physical pain could change a person’s personality. He did not want to kill Hu Hai, but he was interested in changing him.
“You need to endure. For an emperor, such pain is nothing. If Fu Su does not return, you will become the crown prince, and in the future, the entire Qin Dynasty will be yours.” His smile was terrifying, but his voice was unspeakably gentle.
“You……this is still Changling, you will be found, my mother will make you want to die rather than live!” Hu Hai cried madly, tears crawling down his twisted face like earthworms.
“An empty threat is useless. There is a lot of time. Do not do this in the future.” Shen Xuan said calmly and softly, like he was an elder teaching his most valued student.
This strangeness, Hu Hai stopped crying, but his body kept on twitching.
Shen Xuan slowly picked up the first piece of equipment, giving a small smile and said slowly, “Before, in the Great Floating Water Prison, many people in Changling laughed at me for being a rat in the sewers, only daring to hide under the ground. But a rat has a rat’s abilities. Even if a rat hides under the ground, it will have sufficient patience. Also, you have to remember a thing. If you want to hide, you do not just have to dig a deep hole in the ground, you cannot have contact with any other person. When you are an independent being, completely blocked off from the outside world in water source, food…… When everything has nothing to do with the outside world, when you bury yours in the ground, even the strongest person cannot find you.”
Hu Hai screamed madly because as he calmly spoke, Shen Xuan had constantly been pulling his fingernails, and then quickly applying blood clotting medicine. The great pain caused Hu Hai’s body to swing on the chair, and he could not avoid hitting the spikes on the chair.
“This is what you deserve. Your personality is cruel to start with. The year you were thirteen, because an attendant accidentally broke one of your jade plates, you tied her up, and stoned her to death. After that matter, all of the officials disliked you. Many thought, even if you were killed, a slow stoning was too cruel and violent.”
“But that matter only let you lose the possibility of competing against Fu Su to become the crown prince.” Shen Xuan kept on using his tools, and whispered by Hu Hai’s ear, “But this is because you were born well. If you were born in an ordinary official’s family or in an ordinary rich family, you would have been imprisoned or sentenced to death for killing an attendant like this.”
“But you did not change. After losing the seat of crown prince, your temper grew worse, and you did several other things you should not have done. Each time I saw you at court, and looked at your arrogant face, I would imagine torturing you in my mind, and now I am finally satisfied.”
This was the dark underground. Above this secret room where Hu Hai was screaming, there was a well. Above the well was an ordinary street.
At this time, near the well, there was a cultivator from the palace standing dazedly and anxiously. He looked around, and found Changling’s sunlight dazzling.
Right now in Changling, there was killing everywhere, and many enemies and important people who were fleeing. But with the Astrology Bureau, it was like Changling had gone blind. The enemies seemed to have become invisible.
Baili Suxue was one of the invisible enemies. But he finally started to tire.
Even Pan Ruoye who he was supporting started to sense that many of the important meridians in his body were snapping and breaking apart.
“Qing Yaoyin should reach Yin Mountain soon.”
At this time, Baili Suxue stopped. He stopped on an ordinary street, and the common people could even see him through the cracks in their doors.
“If Qing Yaoyin is not coming, is Geng Ren coming?” Pan Ruoye could not help but ask.
Baili Suxue shook his head.
“Then who is it?” Pan Ruoye felt a slight disbelief. In her mind, only these two could take them out of Changling.
But at this time, a gentle ball of mist floated over and silently wrapped around them.
Pan Ruoye immediately reacted and turned to Baili Suxue. “You knew long ago that Ye Celeng would come to rescue you?”
“She stayed in Changling and did not leave. If she was not waiting to rescue me, who else?” Baili Suxue had used up his vital energy, but he still spoke with confidence.
Translator Ramblings: We have about a quarter of the story left! Where did the time go?
Volume 4 66 - An Empty Street
“Who is Gu Huai?” Hu Jingjing felt this name was unfamiliar so she naturally asked.
“The master of Spirit Void Sword Sect?” Li Xixing had heard of a person called Gu Huai but he was not sure.
“What? The master of Spirit Void Sword Sect!” Hu Jingjing shouted.
Hers and Li Xixing’s reactions right now appeared amusing but no one found it funny.
Ding Ning nodded seriously. “The master of Spirit Void Sword Sect.”
Li Xixing glanced at Shen Xuan who was standing by and his lack of facial change. He understood something and said, “We can try.”
“Are you all mad?” Hu Jingjing could not help but say as she looked at Ding Ning and Li Xixing.
Shen Xuan looked at this round faced young woman and thought that there finally was a normal person among the madmen.
Ding Ning looked at her and said, “Gu Huai is the same as Mo Shoucheng, they work for Zheng Xiu.”
Hu Jingjing stilled and said, “Then let’s try.”
Shen Xuan’s face immediately froze. He paused for a breath and urged Ding Ning: “Why waste time here?”
“We are not in a hurry.” Ding Ning turned to him and said, “That Tianliang person wants us to open the way for him. Gu Huai is also behind us. They may meet first.”
Shen Xuan looked up at the slaughter in the sky and said with some scorn, “Even if we meet, like these experts of the sky, they will not pick the strongest to fight unless it is the end.”
“So if we have not solved the final mystery of the ancestral land, they will not act.” Ding Ning said calmly, “This is our chance. But first we must be absolutely united to have a chance to succeed.”
Shen Xuan said coldly, “I think we are in agreement now.”
Ding Ning smiled and said, “We can go now.”
“Go where?”
He reached to point up the mountain. That place was not the tallest point of the Mountain of Ancestors but as he pointed, even Hu Jingjing saw the abnormality.
The powerful birds in the sky seemed to be avoiding that place. Other than some of the stupidest birds, almost no other birds landed there. A natural space formed like a thin ray of light fell down from the sky.
Shen Xuan moved. The primal energies of the universe he exuded easily covered Li Xixing and Hu Jingjing, forming a transparent ball that slowly floated up.
The place Ding Ning pointed out did not directly face the mountain path. They passed through the flat valley, moving upwards tens of feet until they appeared in the diagonal valley. Rather than a valley, it was just a crack in the mountain just two people wide. The inside rippled with a strange light blue mist that emanated cold energy. Thousands of beasts were roaring outside with blood and flesh raining now. The scene surpassed their imagination so this strange icy miss did not feel special to them.
They advanced along the valley. There were no surprises, but Shen Xuan was unusually careful as he moved forward. So they took some time to pass through the relatively short valley. What appeared in the sights of the quartet was a round valley. The ground was slightly sunken like this was a valley created from the impact of a meteorite.
The valley also contained light blue mist, and looked like a lake full of water. But inexplicably, the moment everyone saw this valley, they felt like there were two concentric circles here.
Including Ding Ning, everyone had a feeling that this seemed to be the center of the ancestral lands.
A strange scene even appeared in Ding Ning’s mind.
A wave of great power burst forth, the initial force creating this round valley immediately, and then the enormous power moved along the mountain, spreading outwards. The great impact swept away all loose sand and soil, leaving only the strongest stone behind to form this valley and the mountain level with the ground.
In the last battle of Tianliang where they destroyed themselves, all other mountains had disappeared. Only this last Mountain of Ancestors, the center of the ancestral lands, remained. In his senses, this valley had a hidden but powerful force so he was even more certain this place would be where the final secret of the ancestral lands would be.
The light blue mist did not obscure vision greatly. The stupid birds above would sweep away the light mist as they landed, and allow them to see many old stone beasts scattered ahead. All the stone beasts in sight were not taller than a normal person. Most were half as tall as an ordinary person and were carved in the shape of grassland beasts.
Most of these beasts were only pictograms. After many years of weathering, it was difficult to tell what animals the statues made from the stones of these mountains depicted but the seal-like patterns on the surface were unusually clear.
Ding Ning’s gaze narrowed slightly, his eyes flashing for a moment like a star before calming down. Before anyone spoke, he said softly, “These are all sword manuals.”
“Sword manuals?” Hu Jingjing looked in disbelief at the lines on the beasts, and thought something was wrong with her judgement. “You say that each of the stone beasts is a different sword manual?”
“Some are swords, some are blades, others are different weapons. But for true swordsmen of Changling, there is no difference between weapons. All these methods of using blades can be called sword manuals.” Ding Ning gazed at the lines on the statues. He sensed the different sword essences contained within and slowly said, “Each of these stone statues records a unique sword manual.”
Changling had many swordsmen who used blade or spear essence when wielding a sword, so Hu Jingjing did not find Ding Ning’s words hard to understand. She instinctively asked, “Perhaps, it is for these sword manuals?”
“Not everyone can comprehend these mysteries. In the recorded history of cultivators, the different methods have their own advantages and disadvantages. They cannot make someone realm seven or eight. Even the best sword manual is just a means to use one’s own power and weapon.” Ding Ning shook his head and indicated that Shen Xuan could advance.
“How are these compared to the Min Mountain Sword Sect sword manuals?”
Shen Xuan did not refuse and continued to walk forward slowly. But he was not as unaffected as before. His eyes burned as he walked.
“Not bad.” Ding Ning responded simply and crisply.
Not bad meant that they were at least equal. The many sword manuals of Min Mountain Sword Sect were desired by all cultivators in the world. Even that person had been unable to study them back then, much less Shen Xuan. So at the two words, Shen Xuan could not help but inhale deeply to try to keep calm.
This valley was very small. They only needed to walk a few hundred steps to reach the center of the valley. The stone beasts along the way gradually disappeared. The icy mist faded. When they finally appeared in the center of the valley, what appeared in front of them caused them all to inhale in shock.
This was an enormous palace. Enormous patches of stone created this palace. The reason that it was patches of stone but not pieces of stone was because these enormous stones were as sharp as giant blades stabbing towards the sky.
In the blink of an eye, everyone was certain that these sharp stones directed upwards had been created by an enormous force.
That enormous force had charged into the mountain, immediately melting or crushing the surrounding rock. Then the terrifying force compressed the magma or stone powder into unimaginably hard stone which solidified instantly. So the stone palace in their sight was not flat on the top. It was made from enormous stone pieces shaped irregularly like a crown on the ground.
They did not know if there were gaps above the stones like it was a patio, but there was only one entrance in the surroundings.
Shen Xuan led them around and only saw one square entrance. It was a crude and simple door without any ornamentation. There was only a set of descending stairs with a dignified and solemn presence surging out.
Volume 5 66 - Ascend Mountain of Ancestors
Black, red, deep yellow …… insects of all strange shapes and colors flowed past Shen Xuan’s feet like water, even hitting his shoes and the hem of his clothing. He had never seen such colorful insects before, and never so many.
These insects ignored him. Even the ones usually sensitive towards the scent of flesh and blood only moved around him as fast as possible when they hit his legs, and headed towards the place with the most spirit energy.
It was the same with the wild beasts of the grasslands. Other than the most commonly seen wolf packs, dholes and other beasts, Shen Xuan even saw some beasts in the sprinting black shadows that were thought to be extinct and could be called
beasts.
An enormous viper with fleshy wings and covered in stone-like scales. A black fire turtle burning with flame on its back. A rhinoceros seemingly made of green jade ……
These powerful beasts had faced being hunted by cultivators for generations because most of their body parts were useful to cultivators. So they had great enmity towards cultivators. Yet right now, these enormous beasts ignored him and Ding Ning. They just tried to head towards the Mountain of Ancestors where the rain was heaviest as fast as possible.
“Great Shaman, what did they do?” At the edge of the valley, Wu LIanzi too saw the surrounding scene.
The man next to him looked at the various birds coming down from the sky like rain and said emotionlessly, “They destroyed the Fountain of Eternal Life.”
Wu Lianzi immediately paled.
The man next to him slowly shook his head. “No matter. The more they destroy the Mountain of Ancestors, the more they will feel the ancestral curse.”
After a pause, the man glanced at the Mountain of Ancestors and then at where Ding Ning and Shen Xuan were coming from. He smiled faintly with a strong confidence. “The timing is perfect.”
Shen Xuan and Ding Ning started to move quickly towards the Mountain of Ancestors. It was not due to their own will, but because the military horses they were riding were no longer under their control and were wildly sprinting towards the Mountain of Ancestors.
These military horses ran faster and faster, going through the curtain of rain, and seemed to not be tired at all, running like they were going to fly. Ding Ning’s body went up and down as the horses galloped and seemed to move through the clouds.
When the tide of insects and beasts formed, especially the tide of insects that flowed constantly around him, he unconsciously frowned. Then he became grave …… then relieved, and then shocked and emotional …… In just a few moments, myriad emotions crossed his face.
But because Shen Xuan himself was too stunned, he did not detect Ding Ning’s abnormality.
The opportunities of cultivators were odd things. For example, Ding Ning had schemed for a long time in Changling, waiting to enter the sword school that Xie Changsheng was in. But in the end, he entered White Goat Cave that originally did not qualify to attend the Min Mountain Sword Trials. He had also never expected White Goat Cave to have preserved a spirit vein.
Today, something odd was also happening on the plains. He feared the strongest spirit vein in the world was being destroyed. The terrifying spirit energy burst through the vent. Just the presence would be enough to crush Li Xixing and Hu Jingjing’s organs and meridians, killing them, but this spirit vein also had astounding medicinal power which quickly repaired their bodies. An ocean of spirit energy cleansed and filled their bodies, and affected their perception. All the undetectable primal energies of the universe entered their bodies. Like finding an answer after countless tests, primal energies that could merge with their vital energy finally united and managed to spare the breakthrough and directly bring them up a level.
This had never occurred before in the world of cultivators, and it may never happen again. There was no second spirit vein so powerful and wonderful, and no one would just swing their sword to destroy a spirit vein that could regrow bone and flesh.
Other than Li Xixing and Hu Jingjing, no one else knew that there was another wonderful and also unprecedented event happening to Ding Ning.
It was not a cultivation breakthrough.
Sensing the spirit energy released instantly by the spirit vein in the Mountain of Ancestors, and seeing all these beings furiously run over, Ding Ning suddenly realized something like he had an epiphany.
Above realm eight was realm nine. Yet all cultivators in history had never reached the true realm nine. Emperor Yuanwu had displayed his realm eight cultivation during the Deer Mountain Conference. He had flattened a mountain with one blow and been invincible.
No one could confirm if realm nine really existed. They knew not if realm eight was the highest peak in the world. Yet Ding Ning now knew that realm nine truly existed.
Existence meant it was achievable.
Hu Jingjing looked up at the wildly flying giant birds in the sky, especially those vicious and ugly monsters that she could not have even imagined before. She thought, if the rain stopped, when the powerfully healing spirit energy disappeared, just the insects and giant beasts coming from all directions would be enough to consume her and Li Xixing until nothing was left.
But there was no time to think. Li Xixing was continuing to go up deeper into the Mountain of Ancestors. Hu Jingjing did not hesitate and sped up to walk side by side with him.
From afar, this mountain looked like an ordinary small stone mountain, but when one entered, they would find there were countless natural gullies that formed ascending paths, or rather, mountain paths within canyons.
The most suitable mountain path was the one facing the spirit spring. The natural mountain paths had clear marks left behind by experts. There were deep footprints, holes created by powerful steps, and even all kinds of giant sword marks …… there were also the marks of giant builds that the outside did not have.
Yet, when they entered the first mountain valley along this path, and saw the buildings, what attracted the pair’s attention was an enormous skeleton!
An enormous grey-white skeleton was pressed against the top of the building ruins. It was tens of feet tall. To their shock, the building seemed to have been crushed by this enormous skeleton.
This was just the skeleton.
Compared to the enormous skeleton, the giant birds in the sky were as minuscule as wild chickens outside of Changling.
“What kind of
beast is this?”
Seeing the enormous skeleton that seemed to have wing bones, Hu Jingjing could not help but ask Li Xixing. She could not connect this skeleton to any beast recorded.
Li Xixing shook his head. He also could not imagine what kind of beast the skeleton belonged to.
Since they did not know, they would keep going up. He moved his feet and continued to go up.
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