Chapter 560, Part I: Unstoppable
Translator: Pika
Voice of the Devil!
It immediately caused those of lower cultivation or intelligence to lose their awareness and go mad.
Daji was only at the peak of the fourth rank, and many of these skeletal warriors and the Guman Tong possessed stronger cultivations than her. However, they all had one trait in common—they had low intelligence.
Even though the Guman Tong had the ability to manipulate minds, they did not possess a high level of natural intelligence.
The skeletal warriors and the Guman Tong all fell into a frenzy. Even though the Guman Tong did not show any facial expressions, it was easy enough to sense their suffering.
Almost immediately, the undead creatures began to attack their companions around them, frantically causing chaos to erupt.
The strange snakes were even worse off. They had tangled around each other, and were biting down on each other with their poisonous fangs, or trying to crush other snakes with their own bodies. It was like something out of hell itself.
Pei Mianman was stupefied. She subconsciously leaned against Zu An to find safety and comfort.
The young lady Jiangjiang was also shocked. The Voice of the Devil was naturally ineffective against her, given her intelligence and level of cultivation.
Having lost control of her subordinates, Jiangjiang quickly pressed her hand—the one adorned with the jade badge pattern—against the head of the Guman Tong next to her. Sparkling light flickered around the Guman Tong’s body, which started to grow.
In the blink of an eye, it had grown from the size of an infant into a giant, ten zhang tall, with Jiangjiang standing on its head.
Both Zu An and Pei Mianman could hardly comprehend what they were seeing.
Jiangjiang pointed at the two of them, and the giant Guman Tong began plodding towards them.
Even though it was not moving quickly, a single giant step was enough to cover a dozen meters. It moved even faster than a normal person sprinting.
*Boom, boom, boom!*
Its heavy steps sent shudders throughout the entire mausoleum. Any unfortunate skeletal warrior caught beneath its feet were instantly crushed to dust.
There was no way Zu An and Pei Mianman could face that massive thing head on. Nodding at each other, they split up, dodging in different directions.
This giant Guman Tong was surprisingly agile. Just as they moved, two fleshy palms crashed down on where the two of them had been standing.
The two of them continued to dodge, as fountains of debris shot into the air all around them.
The young lady atop the giant Guman Tong steered it towards Daji. She knew that, once she got rid of this woman, her subordinates would recover their senses.
With a light tap of her feet, Daji gracefully evaded the onrushing giant. Her dress fluttered about, making her seem like an immortal fairy.
Even though she lacked a soul, she still retained her instincts for battle, and she was able to easily dodge the attacks aimed at her.
Despite this Zu An knew that continuing on like this wouldn’t get them anywhere. It didn’t matter how many times the Guman Tong missed—they would be finished if they were hit even once.
He summoned Grandgale, blinking forward towards the Guman Tong’s head.
Jiangjiang seemed to have sensed something. She instructed the Guman Tong to dodge to the side.
This sudden move meant that Zu An had nowhere to plant his feet. As he fell, he plunged the Tai’e Sword into the shoulder of the Guman Tong instead.
The Guman Tong’s body was extremely tough and hard to cut into, but Zu An’s sword was shrouded in primordial ki, and stabbed straight into its flesh.
The Guman Tong squealed in pain, and tried to dislodge him by swinging a massive palm towards its shoulder.
Zu An was stuck in an awkward spot, and he was briefly unable to exert any sort of strength. He was planning to jump back down to the ground to look for another opportunity.
However, he knew that Jiangjiang was already on guard against a second attempt, and that it might not be that easy to get close again.
Pei Mianman took out her owl statue, which quickly enlarged in size. It let out a screech as it whirled towards him, perfectly blocking the Guman Tong’s incoming palm.
Zu An used this chance to sort out his inner ki and find his feet. He pushed off against the Guman Tong’s body and leapt straight onto its head.
Shocked by this sudden move, Jiangjiang raised her hand sending countless evil spirits flying towards him.
Zu An snorted. He summoned his primordial ki, and his longsword flashed about him, leaving trails of white light. Upon making contact with the sword, the spirits melted like snow against a flame.
Jiangjiang raised her hand, and the jade badge erupted with radiance. Countless blue arrows of light appeared all around her.
With a twitch of her finger, the arrows streaked out towards Zu An.
The Eastern Barbarians were praised for their skill at archery. As expected, their reputation was well deserved.
Jiangjiang’s efforts were not rewarded. Even though the arrows struck home, her target instantly shattered, melting into thin air. It was just an illusion.
She was just about to use another skill when her entire body went rigid. The blade of a longsword was pressed against her neck.
Zu An had used his Sunflower Phantasm to maneuver himself behind her.
“Why are you showing me mercy?” Jiangjiang said with difficulty.
Even though it was only close to her neck, she could feel a scorching pain from the terrifying white light that imbued the blade, which had already caused her irreversible damage. If this blade were to pierce her, she would instantly lose her life.
Zu An looked at her and sighed. “You’ve already lived a pitiful life. Why would I make your fate even more tragic? My companion and I aren’t people of the Shang Dynasty. We just participated in their trial, which is why we have their aura.”
It would have been easier just to kill her, but this young lady had been captured by the Shang Dynasty as a prisoner and cruelly used as a human sacrifice. Her head had even been thrown into a bronze vessel to be cooked. Yet after that, she had to wander this dungeon alone as a spirit for such a long time. She had already suffered a fate that was beyond tragic.
Jiangjiang was moved by what he said. Her bloodshot eyes gradually returned to normal, losing their frenzied look. “I’m sorry,” she said softly. “I couldn’t control my emotions.”
“This hatred has been etched into your bones. It’s to be expected.” Zu An retracted his sword. The hatred that the Eastern Barbarians felt towards the Shang Dynasty wasn’t something that could be set aside so easily.
Jiangjiang looked at him strangely. She was surprised at how easily he had withdrawn his blade. “Aren’t you scared that I’ll continue to attack you?”
Zu An shook his head. “I know that you aren’t one of those murderous evil spirits.”
He wasn’t dumb enough to believe that—he was just confident that he could easily kill her with his primordial ki, which was why he wasn’t afraid if she suddenly retaliated. Of course, there was no way he would say that out loud.
Jiangjiang remained silent for a while, then said, “Thank you!”
She gently patted the Guman Tong beneath her. Its massive body quickly shrunk, returning to its normal size. With a wave of her hand, the strange snakes slithered away as well, and the skeletal warriors also returned to their burial pits. The Guman Tong giggled as they crawled and tottered away.
Zu An was amazed. He hadn’t the slightest idea how she controlled them.
Jiangjiang turned to Zu An and said, “Big brother, I want to help my clansmen find peace. Can you escort me to them?”
Zu An nodded. This was something he had promised her before.
Pei Mianman opened her mouth, but closed it again without saying anything. She had many things she wanted to ask Zu An, for example, who that ridiculously beautiful white clothed woman was…
But her heart was full of pity for Jiangjiang, and decided to see her matter through first.
The three of them soon found themselves at the elevated pavilion at the top of the stairs. Jiangjiang sighed as she looked at those stairs. The endless resentful spirits rushed over immediately, having apparently sensed something. They wailed as they gathered around her, as if trying to say something. Their previously-vicious expressions were now full of sadness and grief.
Jiangjiang consoled them gently, then spread her hand upwards. The jade badge slowly rose into the air, and she began the ritual to free her clansmen.
A gentle light radiated from the jade badge. Bathed within this light the expressions of the resentful spirits soon became peaceful. One after another they closed their eyes, before turning into specks of light.
They had been trapped here for over ten thousand years. This was the day when they were finally freed.
After sending them off, Jiangjiang turned around and bowed towards Zu An. “Thank you big brother and big sister. If I didn’t receive your help, I would have never been able to do this.”
Zu An was about to say something, but his expression changed suddenly. “Your body…”
Her body had begun to flicker, as if she was about to vanish at any moment.
Jiangjiang smiled. “The only purpose for my long existence within this underground palace was to free my people. Now that my wish has been fulfilled, I need to find peace as well. I’ve existed for so long, and I feel tired.”
Zu An did not know what to say or do. Her story was just too tragic! She had carried on alone in this underground palace for such a long time. It seemed that any words of consolation he could utter would be meaningless.
Jiangjiang stretched out her hand towards him, and a jade badge flew to Zu An. “This is the sacred artifact of the Eastern Barbarians. Big brother, since you have helped us so much, I pass this on to you. There is no need to let it remain buried here. You can use it to control them…”
With that, she became one with the endless specks of light.