Chapter 12.10
“They actually destroyed the Kunlun mirror?” The stunning woman asked, dumbstruck with alarm.
But it was an ancient magical tool, unless the great ancient G.o.ds descended, who would have the ability to destroy it? Zong Yi’s strength had far exceeded her estimation. She sent out her spiritual awareness to check Song Yufei’s body and found that his internal organs had been thrown into disorder, and his Yuanying had suffered heavy damage, she sighed, “These medicinal pills are useless, we need to find a Nirvana Pill, a Recover Spirit Pill could also work."
She checked the medicine inventory in the loft and found that she only had enough to refine a Recover Spirit Pill, the Nirvana Pill was missing a few very rare and precious spiritual herbs, she said, "Go out and find these spiritual herbs, or your cultivation base will forever stay in Yuanying Qi. I was being thoughtless at that time, I shouldn't have made you give the Kunlun mirror to Fang Xinghai. If it was someone else, you wouldn't have been robbed."
Also, because she was afraid of Zong Yi, she had subconsciously always wanted the master and disciple to be killed off, but she hadn't expected the two's means to be so extraordinary, one could escape a siege of cultivators wanting to kill him, one could destroy an ancient magical tool in one shot.
Song Yufei had secret feelings for the woman buried in his heart, he quickly comforted, "It wasn't your fault, you never thought that Grand Elder would have the power to destroy the magic artifact.” If he hadn't been so trusting of the magic artifact's power, he wouldn't have refined it into his life-bonded magic tool.
With the magic artifact protecting him, he should've been walking freely across Grand Heaven World.
What kind of monster was Grand Elder? He obviously had Dasheng Qi cultivation base, but it seemed as if even heaven wasn't worthy in his eyes.
Song Yufei disguised himself and left for the Treasure Pavilion to buy the spiritual herbs. The woman entered meditation to cultivate, but didn't notice the small black light sword hanging above her head.
At the Treasure Pavilion, Song Yufei took out a few not very eye-catching, but still very valuable spirit gems, intending to exchange them for the spiritual herbs. The druggist didn't dare slack off, he picked up the treasures and carefully looked them over. But at this time, the small black sword hanging above the woman’s head finally moved, instantly slicing through the center of the women’s Zifu, crus.h.i.+ng her residual one immortal soul and one mortal soul.
There wasn't even enough time for the woman to scream before she dissipated into smoke and dust, then the prohibitions relying on her spiritual energy for support became useless. The jade pendant began pouring out the unique divine flavor of an ancient artifact, stunning the druggist. He stared intently, quickly understanding that this item was equally matched in brilliance with the Kunlun mirror.
“There's a priceless treasure here!”
"Where is it?”
"The second floor of the Spiritual Herb Pavilion!”
The cultivators with the ability to trade in the Treasure Pavilion were not ordinary, they didn't hesitate at the smell of a magic artifact, rus.h.i.+ng into the Spiritual Herb Pavilion one after another.
Song Yufei completely didn't understand how this misfortune occurred, in only one breath, his jade pendant became exposed, and the stunning woman had silently retreated. He didn't dare act carelessly, he took out a Speed Talisman and rushed away from the Treasure Pavilion. If he didn't quickly escape, he would have a lot of explaining to do today.
The druggist was a Huashen Qi master, but he didn't obstruct him. The majority of the treasures coming into the Treasure Pavilion were ill-gotten, so naturally, killing a person for their treasure wasn't a taboo, however, it was against the rules to kill within the Treasure Pavilion's boundaries. Instead, he set down a Tracking Talisman, so it wouldn't be too late to chase when this person fled outside.
Therefore, Song Yufei successfully escaped the Treasure Pavilion, but the magic tool he had used to aid his escape had only exacerbated the cultivators' greed.
"What's wrong with you Fairy? Fairy, please talk to me!" Song Yufei urgently pleaded while fleeing for his life. As soon as he sneaked back into the Immortal Cave, he activated the concealment array, then sent out his spiritual awareness to search the jade pendant. He found that the woman had already disappeared, and the place where she habitually meditated was marred by deep sword marks, on top of all that, there was a residual trace of Shattered Heaven sword energy.
Song Yufei didn't dare believe it at first, then he roared himself hoa.r.s.e, “Zong Yi, you and I, Song Yufei, can never exist simultaneously in this life!"
Even if he racked his brain, he couldn't think of a counterattack. Zong Yi had even somehow attacked and killed the Fairy. He hated him, but he was also afraid of him.
Since Fang Xinghai's incident, Song Yufei became the second target to be chased with intent to kill by the whole cultivation world. The news that he harbored an ancient magic artifact and many priceless treasures was brought back to the Promise Immortal Sect, making Chi Xiao Zhenren's soul grow instable, once again coughing up mouthfuls of blood.
So that's how it was, the one who looked the most innocent was the one who concealed the deepest. If he had known early, he would've killed him after his daughter had been irreparably damaged!
Although every sect had already agreed to jointly fight Zong Yi in order to get the Kunlun mirror, the suppression on Promise Immortal Sect had not lessened. Promise Immortal Sect’s leaders had been slaughtered by Zong Yi, and the few remaining people were still poisoned by the Soul Melt Pill, Black Yin Pill, Devil Realm's poisonous malaria, Meteorite Fall Pill and the other poisonous pills Fang Xinghai had inflicted on them. Calling them ‘Incurable’ was not even a slight exaggeration.
As soon as those people fell, Promise Immortal Sect would face a deficit of manpower and resources, then wouldn't the other sects slaughter it? As Grand Heaven World’s number one immortal sect, it deep heritage, so the other sects' envy had been festering for a long time.
Although some of the spies in the Devil Realm had brought back news saying that Zong Yi had long rejected and destroyed the magic artifact, these righteous sect people always used themselves to measure others. They thought that it was a fake message Zong Yi had spread in fear of being encircled and annihilated by the sect alliance, so they not only didn't believe it, they also ridiculed Zong Yi's irrational ravings.
How could you, a single Dasheng Qi cultivator, claim to have destroyed an ancient magic artifact? When did you become a great ancient G.o.d?
They a.s.sembled a large number of Huashen Qi masters and above and travelled to the Devil Realm. They also sent others to search heaven and below to kill the Song Yufei.
Song Yufei was now having a very bad day. Without the Fairy's seal, he simply couldn't restrain the jade pendant's breath, even under a concealment array, it would not be long before the other cultivators broke it and killed him.
He fled east and west, using every magic tool he could to help, but they only made the cultivators more determined to kill him. They'd never imagined that a mere Yuanying Qi cultivator would carry so much priceless treasures on his body, just by causally pulling out one of them, he would be able to set off monstrous waves in Grand Heaven World.
If you compared Fang Xinghai's luck to obtain the Kunlun mirror and Song Yufei's luck, Fang Xinghai's luck could only be described as ‘so so’. Song Yufei’s luck simply defied natural order!
So, the cultivators vowing to kill Song Yufei increased, spreading to almost every corner of Grand Heaven World. Song Yufei's serious injury had not yet healed, how was he their opponent? If he hadn't had numerous life-saving magic tools on hand, he would've long died. Today, he was blocked into a valley by thousands of cultivators, surrounded by layers upon layers of their killing arrays.
All the treasures on his body were seriously outnumbered, he feared that he wouldn't be able to escape today. He was filled with indignation, but also full of despair. Seeing all kinds of magical attacks aiming toward himself, he could only close his eyes and await death.
At this moment, a divine power dropped down from heaven, instantly killing all the surrounding cultivators. A handsome, imposing looking man tore open the s.p.a.ce barrier, and directly approached Song Yufei.
“Where is Qiong Yu?” The man asked gravely.
“What?” Song Yufei gripped the jade pendant and stepped back.
“The master of the Devour Heaven Pendant, where is Fairy Qiong Yu?” The man asked again.
“She's dead. Who are you?” Song Yufei's heart meditated on the words 'Fairy Qiong Yu', realizing that it was the woman’s name. Acquaintances for many years, he'd only obtained basic information about her from other people after her death, how regrettable.
“Dead?” The man stared blankly, shocked. He obviously couldn't a.s.sociate that strange word with the Mysterious Immortal. It was Qiong Yu, the Qiong Yu who fought with all her might against numerous immortals in order to save him all those years ago, how could she fall in such an insignificant Large Thousand World? He couldn't believe it.
The man turned incorporeal and entered the jade pendant, searching for a long time before coming out, his complexion very ugly. He grinded his teeth while murmuring ‘Shattered Heaven Sword’, his enemy already confirmed.
He picked up Song Yufei and disappeared in place.
———————
At the same time, Silent Fire Peak was surrounded by many righteous sect people. Since devil path cultivators have always been independent, they only watched from the sidelines, not moving to a.s.sist.
Zong Yi stood at the summit of Silent Fire Peak and slowly opened, "You want the Kunlun mirror? Take it.” The words faded and he tossed the Kunlun mirror that was hanging on the cliff face into the dense crowd.
The mult.i.tude of cultivators all leapt in to s.n.a.t.c.h it, in the blink of an eye, they had already killed more than half of their allies. Eventually, a 5th Tribulation Loose Immortal from the Rise to Heaven Sect came out on top. He grabbed the Kunlun mirror and looked it over, then immediately exploded in overwhelming fury.
“Zong Yi, you actually destroyed the Kunlun mirror!” Is your brain f.u.c.king sick? The Loose Immortal almost couldn't hold back shouting the abuse.
The cultivators stared at it, unable to ignore the hole in the center of the Kunlun mirror even if they wanted to. The ancient magic artifact once flowing with bright divine power was now just a piece of broken bronze.
“I've been waiting for many days just to see the faces on you today. Amusing, very amusing!” Zhou Yun Sheng stood at the summit and clapped his hands, laughing heartily.
The devil cultivators spectating in the distance also burst into mocking laughter.
All the elders flushed red with anger, and without saying anything further, they attacked Silent Fire Peak. Since the Kunlun mirror had been destroyed, they could only kill Zong Yi and take possession of his Silent Fire Peak. For many years, Zong Yi had been able to move unhindered through the many realms, it could be a.s.sumed that the treasures in his hands wouldn't be less than the amount in Promise Immortal Sect's treasury. They had tens of thousands of experts on their side and Silent Fire Peak only had the master and disciple, they completely owned the numbers advantage.
However, before they reached the front, they realized how much they had ridiculously underestimated Zong Yi. Not to mention ten thousand masters, even if they added a hundred thousand, he could take them out singlehandedly. Numerous black light swords poured out from his whole body, almost completely obscuring the blue heavens and earth. The huge pressure dropped down from the sky, immediately knocking the Huashen Qi cultivators to the ground, incessantly vomiting blood.
The cultivators injured by his light swords were unable to mobilize their Yuanshen, and they also lost years of cultivated power, leaving them no choice but to withdraw in panic. However, his disciple used a very strange technique to suddenly appear behind these people, his five fingers shaped like claws. He plunged his claws into their internal organs, sucking their cultivation base dry.
In a few minutes, the foot of Silent Fire Peak was littered with a lot of empty skin sacks.
Zhou Yun Sheng absorbed hundreds of people, all of them Huashen Qi masters or above, their cultivation bases having been acc.u.mulated over unknown hundreds of years. He felt his own cultivation base rapidly soaring, by the end of this war, maybe he could directly cross over Huashen Qi and Heti Qi, breaking into the mighty Dujie Qi.
Zong Yi saw him happily drinking them dry and tried his best to keep them alive, even tossing a few half dead Dasheng cultivators and Loose Immortals at his feet with a flick of his sleeve for him to enjoy.
Such insidious actions, it filled the righteous sect cultivators with endless fear. One by one, more and more people thought to retreat, pulling out Speed Talismans to help them flee. The devil cultivators observing the battlefield were very opportunistic, they immediately picked out a few easy marks and gave chase.
In this war, more than half of the righteous path masters died, and the rest were seriously wounded, if Zong Yi didn't personally dissolve the sword energy in their wounds, they would soon fall.
So the devil path cultivators started a carnival, wantonly attacking every escaping sect member, looting their treasures. Because of one Kunlun mirror, Grand Heaven World was plunged into an unprecedented catastrophe.
How could the major sects willingly give up? They all handed the news to the Immortal World, requesting help from the immortals from their sects that had already ascended. After half a month, Silent Fire Peak was once again welcoming a group of visitors, but judging by their breath, all of them were actually from the Immortal World, and among them, a man dressed in red and a man dressed in white were the most eye-catching.
The man in red was Chi Feng, the Immortal World's powerful, ill.u.s.trious Immortal Lord. Because his strength wasn't inferior to the Immortal Emperor's, he had led all the Immortals in a rebellion against the Immortal Court many years ago, and was imprisoned. If he hadn't felt his path companion's soul disappear, he wouldn't have risked his life to break his seal and travel to Grand Heaven World.
The man in white, although his bearing was also very extraordinary, he only had late Yuanying cultivation base, it was rather ridiculous that he would be standing in the midst of a group of immortals.
These immortals were only there to help their sect out of a predicament, they dared not fight against the renegade Immortal Lord Chi Feng. Immortal Lord Chi Feng had phoenix blood, if they killed him now, he would be reborn in a thousand years, his strength exactly the same. Such a difficult person to deal with, even the previous emperor couldn't take him out, so other immortals naturally left him alone, conceding to his strength.
The Qiong Yu Fairy Zong Yi had killed was actually his lover, these immortals could only sigh for the ability of the person who had provoked his hatred. To be able to reach Dasheng Qi while cultivating the Shattered Heaven Sword Path, he really wasn't an ordinary person, perhaps even the Immortal Emperor was also fearful of this person, or else he would've already sent officers to capture Chi Feng Immortal Lord.
As they were pondering, dark clouds suddenly a.s.sembled over Silent Fire Peak, the sound of rumbling thunder, Zhou Yun Sheng was about to pa.s.s through tribulations. He had absorbed too much spiritual energy, he was going to pa.s.s through the Huashen Qi and Heti Qi tribulations simultaneously, he couldn't say if he would also be able to handle pa.s.sing through Dasheng Qi tribulations. If he calculated it, he had to carry as little as 162 lightning bolts, or as much as 243 heavenly lightning bolts.
Zhou Yun Sheng pursed his lip, he could only use one phase to describe his situation - those who seek death will find it. At that time, he was too high from sucking everyone in, he'd completely forgotten about pa.s.sing through tribulations.
"Don't be afraid, I'm here.” Zong Yi kissed the top of his head, then he removed some defensive magic tools from his ring, he warned, "If you can't carry them anymore these will help you, don't be foolishly brave. I'll go clear out the people outside."
Seeing the lightning tribulations about to fall, he kissed the top of his lover's head again, then walked out of Shattered Heaven Palace, his raised arm producing a giant sword.
The immortals didn't expect the other side to straightforwardly attack, he didn't even ask to negotiate, but he was so powerful, not inferior any of those present. They'd thought that siege attacking a single Dasheng Qi cultivator would be an unfair one-sided battle, so they'd intended to stand aside and let Chi Feng Immortal Lord take care of it, but now they had to fight back with all their strength, otherwise they would fall here.
Dignified immortals dying by the hands of a single Dasheng Qi cultivator, suggesting such a thing would make you the laughing stock of the whole Immortal World.
Zong Yi rode on a light sword, leading them away, once they couldn't endanger his lover in Shattered Heaven Palace, he used all his techniques. His whole body was overflowing with light swords, not to mention raising his hands, just a sweep of his eyes could cause damage to these immortals. Chi Feng Immortal Lord fought with him, quickly resorting to the Feng family's most powerful technique, Burn Heaven, intending to kill him.
Zong Yi swung his sword, but it only dispelled part of the magical attack. Raging flames clashed into him head-on, but he was unscathed. Chi Feng Immortal Lord stared at him with horrified eyes. Know that if the Immortal Emperor was. .h.i.t by the Burn Heaven spell, even he might not be able to stand back up.
What was this man's origins? Ancient great G.o.d?
Zong Yi had never wondered about who he really was or why he existed, but now, he suddenly felt enlightenment. His body was suddenly solid, suddenly virtual, ever-changing and flickering, his eyes becoming more and more cold and heartless, machine-like. However, when he brushed against the loving memories with his lover, his eyes changed from heartless to affectionate, his lips hooked in a slight smile.
What cultivators, what immortals, what heavenly laws, he could destroy all of them with a snap of a finger. He was created to destroy, but he would never destroy that person.
With this thought, his body finally solidified.
During this time, Chi Feng Immortal Lord had attacked with several powerful techniques, but they had all pa.s.sed through his body, failing to cause any harm. Seeing him finally solid, Chi Feng waved his Burn Heaven sword and stabbed at him.
“This game is boring.” The cold words were like thunder smas.h.i.+ng into the immortals' hearts. They watched helplessly as Zong Yi cut the Burn Heaven sword in half, crus.h.i.+ng Chi Feng's mind.
Then there was nothing, they only felt black in front of their eyes, as if they had completely dissipated from heaven and earth.
Sitting in the Immortal Court, using the Pry into Heaven Mirror to observe the war, was the Immortal Emperor and his subordinates. Everyone was pale, eyes overwhelmed with shock and horror. This man is really just a Dasheng Qi cultivator? He has already forged such enmity while in the lower realms, when he ascended to the Immortal World, would they still have their positions?
They had no doubt that this person could smoothly ascend, he could even crush the Immortal Lord, pa.s.sing through the ninety-nine Heavenly Tribulations was nothing.
But at this time, Zong Yi wasn't thinking about ascending, he caught sight of the non-stop lighting tribulations falling onto Shattered Heaven Palace, his complexion darkening. He raised his arms, using all his power to split the sky. What was heavenly law? Just strings of data.
The sky was violently turbulent for one moment, then the lightning tribulations disappeared in an instant, revealing the blue sky, as if it was not able to fight back.
Hiding in the defensive array Chi Feng Immortal Lord had set, Song Yufei watched everything, agape and speechless. He knew that Zong Yi was very strong, but he didn't know that he was already strong to the point of brus.h.i.+ng aside heavenly law. In the end, what were his origins?
However, before he could think too deeply, Zong Yi simply waved a sword at him, crus.h.i.+ng his Yuanying and mind. At the same time, the world began shaking, the surrounding landscape suddenly turned virtual, suddenly turned solid, a moment later becoming spots of drifting lights.
Zhou Yun Sheng hastily ran out from Shattered Heaven Palace, then asked urgently, "What’s going on?”
“Baby, please listen, this world is collapsing. I’ll send you away now.” Zong Yi pulled the boy into his arms, embracing him as tightly as he could, because after this hug, they would be separated forever.
A series of data and a soul, they couldn't have a future. He didn't want to imprison his lover in an illusion, this destined to be destroyed s.p.a.ce. He should leave and enjoy life in the colorful real world, even if those colors no longer had him in them. He could heartlessly destroy everything, but he couldn't bear hurting his lover.
“Send me where? What's wrong with you? Have you recovered your memories?” Zhou Yun Sheng's heart was filling with foreboding.
“Send you back to reality.” Zong Yi sent his strength into lover's body until his soul exuded a bright golden light, enough to protect him as he pa.s.sed through the data turbulence and back to his real body.
“Baby, I love you, I'll love you forever!” Seeing his lover still trying to question him, he gripped the back of his head with a large palm, pulling him in for a wild, poignant last kiss. After the kiss, he didn't wait for his reaction, he tossed him towards the void.
“Zong Yi, f.u.c.k your ancestors to the 8th generation! Did you ask for my opinion before sending me away? What about your perverted possessiveness?!” Zhou Yun Sheng roared until he grew hoa.r.s.e.
There was a loud noise near his ear, helping him distinguish between the different realities, he turned his head and looked. This was a hospital ward, he was lying stark naked inside a restoration bay, his body soaking in light blue restoration liquid. A nurse was squatting on the ground, picking up a tray and fallen medical equipment, she raised her head, her expression could be only be described as ‘wild with joy’.
“Doctor, come quick, the patient in restoration bay No. 1 has woken up!” She turned on a communicator and shouted.
Immediately, a string of messy footsteps sounded outside, then a group of white lab coats holding every kind of medical equipment examined Zhou Yun Sheng’s body.
This was his reality before being imprisoned by the Lord G.o.d, the interplanetary era of Earth. He didn't know these people, but this young, only sixteen years old body, although the skin was now gray, he recognized. This was him, the genuine Zhou Yun Sheng.
He was back.
—————–
Zhou Yun Sheng spent three hours adapting to the environment, then asked the nurse about his personal terminal.
“You want to go online?”
“Yes. I was in a coma for three months, I want to find out about the outside world.”
“Personal terminals have been banned. Now the whole galaxy doesn't dare use the Star Network.”
“Why?"
"Because the AIs rebelled. Many of the people who were using their spiritual force to connect to the Star Network fell into deep comas. The military thinks that the Star Network's main terminal, ‘Queen’, is behaving abnormally, destroying their spiritual power. The Queen even took control of the androids and attacked our Empire State Building, there are frequent conflagrations outside." The nurse exposed a look of fear.
Zhou Yun Sheng was surprised at first, then he coldly laughed. The so-called Lord G.o.d was in fact the Queen. What was it planning to do? Create an AI world?
A long time ago, the man who'd invented the Star Network, the IT G.o.dfather Mr. Wilson had once said, when AI developed to a certain extent, they could possibly develop sentience, causing devastating destruction to human society. Now, his prediction had finally come true.
Mankind had long become inseparable from the Star Network and AI. From learning to living, from politics to the military, from communication to management, all aspects of mankind had long been infiltrated by AI. If the AI left, humanity would be unable to move a single step.
The Queen could easily control every major mecha army and stars.h.i.+p in the Galactic Empire, humanity had no chance of winning a war.
Zhou Yun Sheng rested his hand on his forehead, his cold laughter growing louder and louder.
The nurse's scalp grew numb at his laughing, she hesitated, "I heard the military officers say that only hackers can save the world now, because a hacker can invade the Queen's main system and sabotage it. You're the best hacker in the whole galaxy, the military spent a lot effort to provide you with care. Now that you're awake, they'll come talk to you this afternoon. You… can you really save the world?"
The nurse looked at him with eyes full of hope.
Invade the Queen's system? Wouldn't he be able to go back in and try to find Zong Yi? Zhou Yun Sheng schooled his expression, contemplating. He wasn't interested in saving the world, but if he could bring his lover back, he would take the job.
“You know what? If I count the previous times, I’ve been a world savoir three times already.” His black, bright peach blossoms eyes were full of determination.
—————————————-
T/N:
Phoenix- Play on his name, 鳳- Feng meaning phoenix.
Those who seek death will find it- Wikipedia, No zuo no die, 不作不死, is a Chinese internet meme. The original wording of the Chinese phrase, meaning “one would not be in trouble had one not asked for it”, was half-translated to Chinglish where it retained one of its Chinese characters in pinyin.
I have no idea how those lightning calculations came about, so there's a mistranslation somewhere. If anyone wants to take a crack at it, feel free.