Chapter 390: Blood-Transforming Divine Blade 46 |
When the True King sealed into immortality, logically he could not have only executed a semi-immortal like Daoist Tianzhen; the ancestral masters of the Thirteen Great Clans naturally could not have escaped either.
Yet the ancestral masters of the Thirteen Great Clans were plainly alive inside the Upper Realm, which inevitably aroused suspicion.
Chen Shi's gaze flickered. How did the True King's Era end?
What caused the True King's death?
Why were the records of the True King's Era erased, and even the Thirteen Great Clans knew so little about it?
Who erased that history? Who decided that history must be kept secret?
It remained a mystery.
And the ancestral masters of the Thirteen Great Clans were clearly people who knew the answer.
Undeniably, every founding ancestor of the Thirteen Great Clans carried an otherworldly bearing, giving the impression of being both ethereal and learned.
Some carried a compassion for the suffering of the people, deeply aware of the woes of ordinary life.
Some were filled with mercy, bearing the mien of saints or Buddhas.
Some were erudite, with the sound of books recited nearby, full of the writings of sages.
Some wore long sleeves and treated people with amiable grace.
Some held high rank and authority, their presence oppressive.
Thirteen ancestral masters, thirteen different personalities, yet all wreathed in immortal qi and awe-inspiring.
"They should already have reached Dao Unification," Chen Shi said as he looked toward the thirteen ancestral masters, whispering to Yang Bi, "The ancestral masters of your great clans cultivated the old methods too; it makes sense that an aberration occurred. But they hid it well. That’s why you were so certain my Body Unification would undergo an aberration. Right?"
Yang Bi's eye twitched, but he did not speak.
He had indeed seen the ancestral masters' corrupted bodies.
The Thirteen Great Clans' ancestral masters stood before a gateway to another world, observing the stirrings beyond.
More and more deities arrived and began to work, forcing Chen Shi and the others to retreat step by step.
They gathered more Realm of Emptiness domains, turning them into arcs of light that formed a strange halo behind their heads, amplifying their own divine power.
Many powerful magic treasures were carried forward and placed before this gigantic portal. Most of these were pillar-like artifacts engraved with various talisman designs; when activated, the talisman patterns on the pillars lit up and connected pillar to pillar with brilliant light, forming an extraordinarily complex light cage that could seal the gateway.
They built layer upon layer of defenses to prevent things from the other world from spilling into the Upper Realm.
Gao Xuan presented a treasured blade and placed it on the altar facing the portal.
Suddenly Chen Shi's vision turned blood-red; his qi and blood surged like a tidal wave, leaving his mind restless.
He secretly stimulated the Blood Lake Sutra, and only then did the tumultuous qi-blood inside him calm. He felt his blood become unusually lively, and the Blood Lake Sutra smoothed and quickened its circulation in a way he had never experienced; its operation accelerated as if about to reach the blood pond realm.
Chen Shi immediately halted the Blood Lake Sutra's operation and stared in surprise at the blade. Yin and yang energies flowed gently along the blade's body, and the blade reflected a sharp light in the surroundings; where the blade's glow touched, it even caused a few strands of hair to fall from a deity standing near the altar.
That deity realized he had approached too close to the blade and hurriedly stepped back.
Chen Shi's heart pounded. Could this blade have triggered his qi-blood's loss of control? But the blade seemed to pair with the Blood Lake Sutra! If he could cultivate the Blood Lake Sutra while wielding this blade, the effect might be twice as effective with half the effort!
Primordial Spirits that could enter the Upper Realm had been Great Ascension Realm cultivators in life, and with incense and worship they became fearfully powerful. This blade, without being activated by anyone, merely by reflecting its blade light, severed a few hairs from a deity—its might was extraordinary!
Chen Shi felt that if this blade fused with the Blood Lake Sutra, in a short time it might be enough for his skeletal body to break through the final level of the Blood Lake Sutra, forging the Blood Lake Hell!
"Shaohu, what is the origin of that blade?" he asked.
Yang Bi, seeing that Chen Shi was not affected by the blade, admired his composure and said, "That blade is the Tianluo Blood-Transforming Divine Blade. It is an immortal family's treasure brought from the Divine Continent of China to the Western Ox New Continent during the True King Era. The blade's sinister aura is extremely heavy; though called a divine blade, it would not be wrong to call it a demonic blade."
"The Tianluo Blood-Transforming Divine Blade!"
Chen Shi's eyes landed on the blade, and his expression turned eager.
However, because the blade belonged to the Thirteen Great Clans, he feared that borrowing it for cultivation would be forbidden.
At that moment, Gao Xuan gave an order: "Open this realm."
No sooner had he spoken than a thousand-zhang-tall deity stepped forward, swung a giant axe, and chopped downward. Axe-light shimmered like sunlight on waves, tearing open layer after layer of the void!
The portal seemed close, but in truth was some distance away.
The towering deity swung the axe with the force of a gale, cleaving forward and opening a straight path to that ruined gateway.
"What excellent axe technique!"
Chen Shi's gaze was involuntarily drawn to the giant axe. The axe-light danced with an effortless feel; though the moves were simple, each stroke contained the mysteries of the Five Elements, giving a sense that there was nowhere to dodge—only to surrender one's head.
This was walking the Dao.
The power did not come merely from the axe or from the towering deity, but from the axe-light moving in accordance with the Five Elements. As long as one remained within the Five Elements, one could not escape.
Only by leaping beyond the Five Elements could this axe technique be evaded.
Finally, that towering deity pressed his axe all the way to the ruined immortal hall's gateway. With a final swing, he tore open the other world.
The channel stood in the void, unstable and liable to collapse at any moment.
The towering deity retracted his axe and turned to leave, when suddenly his body jolted, his face filled with terror, and with a whoosh he was dragged backward by a tremendous force into the broken world!
His form passed through the portal; unflustered, he immediately raised the giant axe and swung at whatever pursued him!
In that instant, he unleashed the utmost of his divine power, and the axe-light grew stronger than before—the blade of light stretching thousands of zhang, forming an axe-shaped form far larger than his own body!
When that swing landed, it could split even a mountain!
Clang—
The axe-light struck a hugely massive skull; the light shattered, and the towering deity's hands trembled from the shock, his face showing utter disbelief.
The enormous skull, at some unknown moment, had opened its mouth, and he, unable to stop himself, flew toward it!
At the same time, a strange force surged from that shattered world. Deities standing around the portal suddenly noticed that blood and flesh began to grow within their bodies and their bones began to sprout!
Their Realm of Emptiness domains were invaded by that odd force, and in an instant the sun and moon were corrupted!
Yet their bodies were being reborn, making them reluctant to resist the corruption.
They were already dead, with only Primordial Spirits remaining. Over long ages, a Primordial Spirit ate without taste and slept without rest; though long-lived, it lacked the many pleasures a flesh body enjoyed.
At this moment, they felt something akin to resurrection.
If this was corruption, they were willing to accept it.
Chen Shi also perceived the invader and immediately triggered Yin-Yang Purgation, attempting to refine away the infiltrating demonic energy. But that demonic energy was endless and surged on, making his purification never-ending.
His flesh, Primordial Spirit, and Dao Field were united; the demonic energy invaded his Dao Field, and Chen Shi felt another self growing within him!
He could sense that this growth was not only of the flesh but of the soul.
He felt his flesh splitting and his soul dividing, gradually sprouting another self that would replace him!
The sensation chilled him to the bone.
The corruption swept with terrifying speed, sweeping across ten thousand li in an instant and engulfing almost every nearby deity, including Yang Bi.
Furthermore, the contamination gushed outward at astonishing speed, crawling along the Upper Realm's sky and earth, covering ever more distant places!
"What powerful corruption!"
Xu Zisheng, ancestral master of the Xu Family, turned pale and hurriedly said, "That immortal head is attacking my weak point! I'm about to be broken through!"
Other ancestral masters' faces also changed dramatically; a flawless egg draws flies, and they had already been affected by evil qi, their bodies on the verge of aberration. Normally they stuck together; if one turned aberrant, the others would intervene to suppress it and restore normalcy.
Over the years there had been times when three or five would aberrate together, but the rest combined could handle it.
Now, however, they felt the demonic head unleash a peerless evil force that had invaded their bodies, arousing the latent demonic natures within them!
Moreover, this wicked force even attacked their Dao Hearts, tempting them to give up resistance!
The ferocity of that immortal head exceeded their expectations!
If they could not come up with a counter, they themselves would fall!
Gao Xuan, the Gao Family's ancestral master, was about to invoke the Tianluo Blood-Transforming Divine Blade when his back suddenly hissed. Thick ropes of flesh burst forth from his body, wildly growing, slicing through the void and hoisting him up!
He was the egg the flies had bitten.
His realm was too high—on the brink of Dao Unification—and he had already begun to taint. The demonic head's aura invaded and instantly stirred the demonic nature within him.
Gao Xuan's eyes turned crimson and he cried aloud, "You should flee! I cannot resist the corruption!"
Whoosh—
Behind another Xu Family ancestor, Xu Zisheng, countless bloody tendrils erupted and hoisted him into the air; his voice trembled, "No good! I'm about to reach Unification!"
Two more whooshes, and Zhang Longhu and Yan Weizhong also lost control and hung in the air, corrupted.
"Hurry! Raise the Blood-Transforming Divine Blade and strike that head!" Zhang Longhu shouted.
But the other ancestral masters were either desperately fighting their own aberration or already corrupted, unable to spare the strength to wield the divine blade.
Whoosh—
Strange gales blew through the channel, and demonic qi thickened. From afar the demonic atmosphere polluted the Upper Realm faster still. One after another, the Thirteen Great Clans' ancestral master Primordial Spirits were caught before they could react, and flesh sprouted rapidly from their spirits.
Many other ancestral masters sensed the danger and rushed over, but having encountered the demonic qi they were immediately assimilated!
Their cultivation was high, their realms lofty, but possessing only Primordial Spirits without bodies, they were easily tempted by the lure of flesh and fell one after another!
Farther off, Xia Tianjie, Li Qianyun, Xu She, and others were healing and had not noticed the Upper Realm's catastrophe; they too were invaded by demonic qi.
If the Thirteen Great Clans' ancestral masters could not hold them off, then the rest surely could not; one by one they began to aberrate!
The Upper Realm that the Thirteen Great Clans had painstakingly built over millennia was at risk of being assimilated into a demonic domain by this immortal head!
In a normal world this head might not have been able to assimilate them so quickly, but the Upper Realm was not a real world—it was the void domains of the Thirteen Great Clans' ancestors, part of their cultivations.
Converting a world into a demonic domain takes time, but assimilating these deceased powerful cultivators' powers is swift. Once those cultivations were absorbed, the immortal head's strength increased, making further assimilation easier!
Chen Shi forced Yin-Yang Purgation with all his might to resist the invading demonic qi.
But Yin-Yang Purgation was approaching its limit!
Beside Chen Shi, the white-robed fairy revealed a look of terror and quickly transformed into a white stream of light, diving into the small temple behind Chen Shi's head and sitting on the miniature shrine, her expression anxious.
She too was affected by demonic qi, though not yet severely.
Whenever she sat on the shrine she felt comforted, able to resist aberration and reduce her demonic nature.
But this time it was different: an external evil invasion. Even if she entered the small temple, she could not block the onslaught, and her demonic nature gradually rose!
Despair filled the ancestral masters of the Thirteen Great Clans.
Zhai Zhongming gritted his teeth and hoarsely said, "It's over. A moment's carelessness, and everything is ruined!"
He too could not resist the invasion and was about to aberrate.
If the Thirteen Great Clans' ancestral masters, along with nearly two thousand ancestral cultivations, aberrated together, the Upper Realm would be utterly destroyed!
At this critical moment Chen Shi's eyes fell on the Blood-Transforming Divine Blade on the altar. Without hesitation he sprang up, landed on the altar, and reached out to seize the hilt of the Tianluo Blood-Transforming Divine Blade.
The instant he gripped the long blade, the cacophony in his ears ceased; the buzzing stopped.
A demonic divine voice thundered in his ears, resonant and intoxicating.
"Heavenly doom glows, earthly doom centers!
Evil spirits and a hundred ghosts, who dares to hide!
Absorb the flying hex, ten thousand ghosts vanish!
Left leader, right hex, divine seal and lock!
Slash immortals and annihilate saints, who dares oppose!"
Chen Shi found himself involuntarily chanting along, and the Blood Lake Sutra began to operate without restraint. He felt a sweep of ease through his body; a blood pool formed behind his head and whirled. The surging demonic qi within him was obliterated under the onslaught of the blade's demonic killing aura!
He let out a long, continuous roar and invoked the Tianluo Blood-Transforming Divine Blade, swinging it down!
The first technique of the Blood-Transforming Divine Blade: Starfire!
The blade descended and bloodlight rose like countless stars, slashing into that shattered world with a whoosh!
Crimson blade light flashed through the immortal gate and struck the giant immortal skull.
The immortal skull had been with eyes closed; after the blade hit, it suddenly opened its eyes and showed terror.
"Blood-Transforming Divine Blade?!" it spoke human words—the language strangely the same as the human race's!
Fear deepened on the great skull's face; it let out a shriek, its flesh turning into blood that poured from its eye sockets, nostrils, ears, mouth, and neck in torrents, converging and flowing into the Tianluo Blood-Transforming Divine Blade!
Chen Shi's aura surged. The blood pool behind his head instantly became a blood pond, then a Blood Lake Hell, swelling again and again until the blood lake expanded to a hundred li, two hundred li, three hundred, four hundred!
The Blood Lake Hell continued to rampantly expand!
In a short while the immortal head dissolved into blood; only a skull floated behind the immortal gate.
The gods previously polluted by demonic qi suddenly spouted blood that streamed rapidly, coalescing in midair into torrents that flew toward the Blood-Transforming Divine Blade!
The blood-and-flesh tendrils on the Thirteen Great Clans' ancestral masters withered rapidly and turned to blood that flowed into the divine blade!
The Blood Lake Hell roaring behind Chen Shi buzzed and swelled, swelling further and further. With a thunderous roar like the opening of heaven and earth, the Blood Lake Sutra advanced beyond its previous step, and in an instant Chen Shi crossed from Blood Lake Hell into the thousand-li Blood Sea Hell!
The Blood Sea churned, and a massive immortal head rose slowly from the sea, long hair streaming and floating above the blood ocean.
—I might not get a second chapter written tonight; I'll push it to tomorrow or the weekend to make it up