Chapter 978: Like a God Descending into Mortal Dust
Xu Qing had led a life in which he was no stranger to slaughter. In fact, it had been an instinct from childhood on. He lived in a world in which the weak were the prey of the strong, and he had encountered many, many instances of evil and brutality. If he wanted to keep on living....
Then he had to resort to slaughter. Wipe out the evildoer, and the result was safety for oneself.
The slums. The scavenger basecamp. Seven Blood Eyes. Emperor-Receiving Prefecture. Sea-Sealing County. Moonrite Region. The imperial capital of humankind. Firemoon territory.... That was the path he had walked. He wasn’t even sure of how many people he had killed. And he had long since stopped using that bamboo slip.
Perhaps it was only the cold wind formed by the bodies of the dead that remembered how many had fallen to him. And that wind was now blowing across the sea where Xu Qing was.
The wind was a dark current moving along the seafloor. It contained no sound, only death. For example, as the violet moon rose, its moonlight became a host of sharp blades that, by the time anyone noticed them, would have their weaknesses exposed to them. And then that person would die.
The six surviving dao protectors clustered around the son of Floating Fiend were yet again shaken to the core. Moonlight shimmered around them, shattering the sea water, slicing the void, and bringing raging coldness.
At the same time, taboo poison swelled, filling the water with mutagen and turning into an ambassador of death that could wipe out all life. All living beings were cursed as 500 kilometers of seafloor turned into hell itself.
And thus....
The moon sought. The poison invaded.
All of the dao protectors could sense the moonlight rumbling within them, like sharp blades. It was a tempest to assail the soul, something that could strip away their memories and raze their life away.
One of the dao protectors, a tall, burly man, suddenly screamed in agony as secrets he would never tell to anyone were illuminated by the moonlight and became his greatest weakness. His world became violet. And then the poison answered the call of the moon and exploded within him. In the blink of an eye, the screaming burly man’s body melted into a bloody sludge.
The other Vivifiend cultivators’ faces fell as intense sensations of deadly crisis filled them. What was especially noteworthy was that the entire region had been sealed, cutting them off from the outside and making any calls for help useless. Add in the fact that four of them were already dead, and it was no surprise the survivors were in a daze.
When they first spotted Xu Qing earlier, they had believed that they could definitely kill him. But now... things had changed. However, they were all chosen cultivators, so despite the danger, their shock was only temporary, and was not very severe.
That was especially true of Floating Fiend’s son. He was a silkpants, but he always behaved in a way that was befitting of his status. Despite facing death and having already lost four dao protectors, the killing intent still boiled within him, and he was still thinking perfectly clearly.
“This part of the sea is obviously home turf for him,” he said, speaking out loud and not via projection. “Let’s get out of here. Once we’re free, we can report the matter to the holy land. At that point it wouldn’t matter if he had an even higher status than he does. He made the first move, so killing him won’t count as our holy land violating the agreement.”
He knew that Xu Qing could hear him speak, and in fact, wanted him to hear. Along with his dao protectors, he began falling back at top speed. As he fled, he sent his Grand Emperor’s needle out, not off into the distance, but rather, to stitch the local karma together in a way to shatter the moonlight and destroy the taboo poison. What was more, if Xu Qing showed up, he would know immediately.
The five dao protectors also unleashed various trump cards, activating precious organs and body parts, which they sent to converge around the needle. They were preparing a very comprehensive attack.
In that manner, time passed. After the time it takes an incense stick to burn, they had fled a few hundred kilometers. That was when the needle suddenly vibrated, then rotated to the right and shot off through the sea water.
“Attack!” shouted Floating Fiend’s son. He performed an incantation gesture and pointed out, whereupon the third eye in his forehead opened. A red beam of light shot out, piercing through the water to follow the needle.
Meanwhile, the five dao protectors all unhesitatingly unleashed attacks.
Taking in the scene as a whole, the five dao protectors’ energy surged, creating a destructive tempest around them. Within that tempest, it was possible to see a huge salamander as well as a gigantic hand shaped like a body. Another was even more gruish, as it was a bloody spear made of flesh. They all looked different, but all were terrifyingly deadly.[1]
The combined attack made the target area explode, destroying the water and leaving behind nothing but a void. Penetrating fluctuations rolled out in all directions. The shock waves created by the divine abilities obscured the area, making it impossible to see what happened. But the Grand Emperor’s needle was returning. On its tip was a drop of blood.
When Floating Fiend’s son saw the blood, his eyes glittered. After scanning it to make sure it was safe, he tossed it to one of his dao protectors.
“Use that blood for the curse!”
The dao protector didn’t hesitate to take the blood and perform a one-handed incantation gesture. Several major worlds then appeared behind him, within which, all of the living beings responded to the will of the world’s lord. Dropping to their knees, they kowtowed, sending out their wills to form a curse!
“I curse your body, severing life force!”
“I curse your soul, shattering your spirit!”
“I curse your essence, destroying you in body and soul!”
Countless voices echoed back and forth, whereupon the drop of blood started vibrating. It turned black, as if it was being cursed, and at the same time, was affecting the flesh and blood that was its origin.
But then, the dao protector casting the curse suddenly twitched. His face distorted, and his eyes went wide with unprecedented terror and astonishment. His eyes exploded. A shrill scream echoed out, and then he shouted out in a trembling voice full of abject terror.
“This blood’s origin.... it’s—”
Before he could finish speaking, his shivering body turned pitch black as if he was being invaded by mutagen, or perhaps had observed something he shouldn’t have seen, or perhaps had cursed the origin of his own curse. His body went limp, and he exploded.
His life force had been severed. His soul had shattered. He had been destroyed in body and soul! It was clearly a backlash, and it struck fear into the hearts of the others. Even the most unshakable will was now trembling. The things that had happened one after another left the survivors with the gruish sensation that they were facing a god. All of that raged out of control after the cultivator who had been cursing Xu Qing suddenly died.
Simultaneously, seven lamps lit up in the dark water. It was the Seven Lamps Underworld Fire Curse! They were like the eyes of underworld deities, glaring at the Vivifiends.
The seven lamps flickered, then... went out one by one.
The four dao protectors had it better off. Their minds reeled, nothing more. But Floating Fiend’s son reacted with visible surprise. A sensation of impending death swept through him like a furious wave. In that critical moment, he didn’t hesitate at all to spit up a huge mouthful of blood and then unleash the Grand Emperor’s needle. In doing so, he linked his karma and fate with the dao protector next to him.
Instantly, the sensation of impending death vanished from within him. As for the dao protector, he lunged to the side as the curse of the seven lamps exploded within him. His major world was forced open, and moonlight entered his heart, searching for the weaknesses in his soul. Then taboo poison went wild. He died in agony.
His death caused the bell of terror to toll. As a result, Floating Fiend’s son and the remaining three dao protectors lost their will to fight. They were afraid. They had faced many powerful enemies throughout their lives, whether it was in other holy lands, or among the species to be found in the starry sky. They were no strangers to slaughter.
But this was their first time encountering the gruish type of slaughter they were seeing play out in front of them. Killing with sound was inherently terrifying. Then came killing with moonlight, killing with taboo poison, killing with a curse backlash, and then killing with underworld fire.
From beginning to end, they had only seen Xu Qing in their initial encounter. After that, they hadn’t laid eyes on him even once....
Just like that, six of their number perished.
In the blink of an eye, they all unleashed every scrap of speed they could muster to flee.
But then, the water behind them flickered as the seven underworld lamps appeared again. The lamps immediately started going out.
Floating Fiend’s son gritted his teeth, lifted his right hand, and threw out a hand sign. The hand sign had no power. Instead, it was some sort of command. Vivifiend dao protectors had to swear a will oath that they wouldn’t hesitate to substitute their own life to perish instead of the one they protected.
The order Floating Fiend’s son had just given activated that oath.
The three dao protectors grimly halted in place. Eyes flashing with determination, they spun in place and raced backward toward the seven lamps.
Floating Fiend’s son felt pain in his heart. Those nine dao protectors were from his own bloodline, and had accompanied him for many years. But now... six had been cut down by Xu Qing. And the other three seemed to be about to suffer the same fate.
“Xu Qing! I’m going to make you pay for this 10,000 times over!’
Floating Fiend’s son felt regret rage, which ultimately caused him to scream inside. Behind him, seven lamps were extinguished and a dao protector perished. Next came draconic roaring as Ninedawns appeared. The antemage body formed, combining with taboo poison and moonlight. Xu Qing burst into motion, and another cultivator fell.
Half an incense stick of time passed.
Floating Fiend’s son was approaching the border of the 500-kilometer hell. His eyes were crimson, and he was completely bedraggled. As he sent his needle out to combat the moonlight and the taboo poison, he frantically fled.
The border got closer and closer. His hope grew stronger and stronger. He was confident that once he got past that border, he would be able to use his needle to break through the seal and escape.
Once in the outside world, he would send a message to the holy land, whereupon his father or the other patriarch would arrive in an instant. He pushed himself to go even faster. However, when he was only about 3,000 meters from the border, a voice echoed into his ears.
“You’re all that’s left now.”
Along with the voice appeared a figure in a violet robe, with long violet hair. He was as beautiful as an immortal, but cold and grim. He carried a severed head in his hand as he strode into the field of view of Floating Fiend’s son. The currents swept up around him, carrying with them the power over death. It made this newcomer seem like an actual god of death.
Floating Fiend’s son was struck deeply in his heart and mind. He stopped in place.
1. Specifically, this seems to be describing aChinese giant salamander , although the ‘giant’ part is not a perfect reflection of the Chinese characters in the name of the species. More properly, they are “big salamanders” when translated directly. But the author adds the actual Chinese character for “giant,” and thus this would actually be a “gigantic Chinese giant salamander.” Or something like that. ☜