Chapter 338: Pale Revenant!
"If I could reach the Establishment stage of the Fate Ocean Realm, I'd pretty much be invincible in the Nine Hells," Yun Xiao mused, a slight grin tugging at his lips as he wracked his brain over another way to get rich.
He recalled how he took 100 million Immortal Jades from the Sword Ruins, nearly wiping out half their treasury.
Now, with the hostility of the other seven hells, the Sword Ruins needed those Immortal Jades more than ever. So, naturally, he wouldn't try taking more from them.
Fortunately, 100 million Immortal Jades was still enough. Even after the battle with the Ku Family back at the Eternal Sword Prison, his reserves were still ample.
"Bluey was right. After entering the Second Dao Tribulation, the growth of my Dao Heart is crucial. Cultivating now isn't as straightforward and simple now compared to when I was still in the Eight Moral Realms," Yun Xiao mused.
He could sense that his Worldly Dao Heart was a tender sapling with foundations deeper than the Mortal Dust Blood Calamity or Will of Divine Desolation. The drawback was that it was much more difficult to grow too.
After all, the Mortal Dust Blood Calamity and Will of Divine Desolation was simply following an already trodden path.
Meanwhile, the Worldly Dao Heart was unique to the Creator Immortal's reascension back to immortality!
It was no wonder that Moon Fairy and the War Princess were always a step ahead.
Fortunately, Yun Xiao possessed a heaven-defying comprehension ability!
"Once my Worldly Dao Heart reaches the Establishment stage, I'll have a solid foundation to raise my cultivation in the Second Dao Tribulation!
"Then, when my Dao Heart settles into my Dantian and merges with my Sacred Power, I'll have succeeded in breaking through to the Fate Ocean Realm!
"Every sliver of sacred power, infused with the essence of my Dao Heart, will be able to harness the forces of heaven and earth to the highest degree! I'll have a huge power boost!" Yun Xiao reflected.
The War Princess' Devil Heart still lingered in her chest, but it had entered the Mortal Dust Devil Seed in her heart.
Moon Fairy's Divine Desolation Demon Heart, on the other hand, merged with his very flesh and bloodhighlighting the distinctions between their three paths!
After ingesting a hefty amount of upgraded Heavenly Dao Sariras, Yun Xiao's sacred power grew exponentially. His Worldly Dao Heart, ripe for transformation, finally broke free from the confines of his heart, drifting like a pristine pearl down his meridians and into the Nine Suns Dantian.
With a hum, the Worldly Dao Heart settled into his Dantian, surrounded by the nine primordial void suns. Its white mist enveloped these celestial bodies, while their formidable power seeped into it.
And so, a dazzling system of stars was born within Yun Xiao, stretching from his Nine Suns Dantian to the Nine Heavens Star Meridians.
A surge of white-gold power welled up, setting the world around in motion with a deep, resonant hum.
As his sacred power and Worldly Dao Heart exerted their pull, the forces of heaven and earth spiraled towards Yun Xiao like a mighty whirlpool. At that moment, he seemed like the sovereign of all creation, his nascent power already exuding an air of commanding presence.
The simplest of hearts and the most all-encompassing life force have found a perfect union in my Dantian, Yun Xiao mused, a realization dawning upon him.
This union was a direct reflection of his destiny as the Creator Immortal, marking a fundamental transformation. His Worldly Dao Heart was now truly foundational.
"With the primordial void suns orbiting it, my Worldly Dao Heart bears the dual responsibility of stability and change. It serves as the catalyst for my power! A robust Dao Heart leads to higher realms of cultivation! So, any cracks in this foundation would lead to the collapse of the entire structure"
The First Dao Tribulation of the Eight Mortal Realms was a cakewalk compared to this.
As a person ascended the path of cultivation, control over thoughts, willpower, cosmic laws, and so on became vital. Tangible strength, such as magic power or sacred power, was just the building blocks of a grand edifice.
"Those I dispatched earlier had some decent Seeds of Creation. Fu Ying's Shadowfold Dantian, for instance, has already been absorbed by my Nine Suns Dantian."
As for the Seeds of Creations of the Scorching Marquis, Eight-Armed Evil Dragon, and Abyssal Shade, Yun Xiao held onto them for now. He would transfer them to Moon Fairy and the War Princess later.
"And what of that Nian? Does it also possess a Seed of Creation?" Yun Xiao wondered, sure that an answer would present itself.
"I'm already in the Early Fate Ocean Realm. I've got plenty of timeten days almost. Even if the growth of my Worldly Dao Heart slows down, my reserve of Heavenly Dao Sariras should see me through to the next realm," Yun Xiao calculated, deciding on a stable path forward.
"Ten days, and I'll command the stage. It doesn't matter if I don't win the Conquest Clash. As long as I'm strong enough, I'll be the overlord of the Nine Hells!"
With such clarity, why bother with trivial pursuits?
"So, Talisman Emperor, Wick Devil, and that woman called Pale Revenant I'll see you in ten days..."
Yun Xiao recalled the information Mu Dalong told him about Pale Revenant. It was said she possessed a beauty that rivaled that of the Phoenix Empress, and that was while being a deep-sea, corpse demon!
The appearance of another powerful corpse demon naturally reminded Yun Xiao of Forbidden Fate. However, Mu Dalong's description revealed a fundamental difference between this ruler of the Undead Depths and Forbidden Fate.
A resentment demon drew its power from a singular, potent grudge!
Take Forbidden Fate, for example, his essence was the grudges of the slain demons in the Demon Continent.
However, Pale Revenant was a bit more complicated, layering many resentments on top of the basic grudge of her corporeal form.
"She's like a combination of Forbidden Fate and that girl Xiao Qian" Yun Xiao mused.
Xiao Qian was the girl who became Ghost Marriage. Her essence was the tragedy that befell her as a human girl.
The corpse demon, Pale Revenant, was much the same. She grew up in a human fishing village near the Undead Depths, a remote place devoid of Sword Cultivators or Inscription Cultivators.
Generation after generation of these villagers were tormented by the sea demons. One such demon had a penchant for young maidens, demanding regular sacrifices in exchange for peace and safety.
At twelve years old, Pale Revenant, was just another girl, bound to a rock and sunk into the abyss. Her terror and despair, indescribable. She died, and her transformation into a demon was but a catalyst. The grudges of the countless spirits of those lost to sea converged on her, birthing a terrifying demon that would rule the Undead Depths.
She loathed the deep sea, yet it was the sea that granted her power. So, she became a corpse demon, but also a girl who detested the human world that threw her awaya facet missing in Forbidden Fate. This aspect made her even more formidable.
It was rumored she harbored the collective grudges of the entire deep seathe yearning of countless decaying bodies for the mortal world, the lament of the icy waters.
Crucially, she was still relatively young, and her future remained a mystery. Some believed the confines of the Nine Hells limited her growth, but the truth was, as long as she never became the Conqueror, she could never leave the Nine Hells.
Yun Xiao knew one thing for sureher hatred for humanity far surpassed that of Xiao Qian.
And just like that, the first day of the Nine Hells Conquest Clash concluded. Each battle, limited to a quarter of an hour, meant there would be a total of 96 held each day.
Of the scheduled 900 battles, 804 still remained.
Every bout in this competition was fiercely intense.
The Fate Ocean Battle Royale was crucial, accounting for sixty percent of the outcome. With the title of Nine Hells Conqueror at stake, who would dare to slack off? Intensity, of course, led to casualties.
In truth, just one day into the competition under these rules, and the seven hells were already steeped in life-and-death grudges!
The battlefield had plunged into a grim silence, punctuated only by the sounds of combat. In those rare moments of quiet, the over 10,000 participants from the seven hells ceased their chatter.
With seven fighters in each fray, alliances and betrayals were rampant, making each match a thrilling display of wits and prowess. The more enthralling the fight, the bloodier it got.
"At this rate, after the Nine Hells Conquest Clash, all forces, except for the Sword Ruins, will see their Fate Ocean Realm forces significantly weakened"
Yet, for the coveted position of Nine Hells Conqueror, the seven hells had no choice but to fight tooth and nail.
On the side of the Calamity Seal Purgatory, the Talisman Emperor sat solemnly on his throne, his expression dark as thunderclouds.
"How many Trigrams have we gathered?" he asked Qingzan, who had just approached.
"A total of 23. We're temporarily in the lead. But the Undead Depths are close behind with 22," Qingzan reported.
Gathering 23 Trigrams from 96 battles was an impressive feat. The Reverie Abyss, for instance, hadn't even managed to gather three. Without allies, the task was daunting! And no one knew who they'd be up against next, unlike Yun Xiao, who boldly stepped forward first. Many a top-tier horse stumbled when facing a superior steed.
"For these 23 Trigrams, 17 of our people died and 33 were gravely injured," the Talisman Emperor's face grew even grimmer. He might be leading, but there was little joy in it.
In fact, the other hells fared worse, not even harboring hopes of leading, yet still suffering losses.
"Are you unhappy just because of the casualties?" Qingzan asked.
The Talisman Emperor pondered, then shook his head. "No, it's not that. I'm worried we're piling up heavy losses, only for them to flip the table and render the position of Nine Hells Conqueror meaningless."
"Who's going to flip the table? The Immortal Asylum, or Yun Xiao? If the Immortal Asylum did, it'd lose thousands of years of credibility. Without that, the other hells wouldn't respect its role as a judge, and that loss would be greater for them," Qingzan spoke with a cold edge.
"Of course, I'm talking about that Exiled Sword Immortal, Yun Xiao..." the Talisman Emperor said, gazing towards the Radiance Palace, his brow furrowed in deep thought. "His calmness so far suggests only one thing. He's confident that in these ten days, he can sway the whole situation."
"That's impossible. The Second Dao Tribulation isn't something you can overcome just by gulping down pills. His past rapid progress doesn't mean he can keep up that pace. Can he really catch up in ten days? What, then, were our decades of cultivation for?" Qingzan grumbled in frustration.
"Now's not the time for doubts. We need to prepare for the worst, especially with this Exiled Sword Immortal. He's known to defy expectations. If we play into his hands, we're done for," the Talisman Emperor said gravely.
"So?" Qingzan raised an eyebrow, adding slyly, "Are you suggesting that since he's in the Radiance Palace, and since the Immortal Asylum didn't specify it's out of bounds or that we can't just go there and finish him, we should?"
"Isn't that obvious? When Fu Ying died, Mo Jianzhi stated that the rules of the competition were already declared. There wasnt a rule saying we can't kill the Exiled Sword Immortal in the Radiance Palace, was there?" the Talisman Emperor replied, his voice tinged with a sinister cold.
"You're planning to use his own tactics against him, leaving Mu Tianjian with no grounds for complaint," Qingzan said with a cold laugh. "So, just the two of us to make the move?"
"Of course not... Inform Wick Devil, Pale Revenant, Sea Dragon Emperor, Phoenix Empress, and Netherworld Emperor to convene for a secret meeting." The Talisman Emperor stood up, then added, "Just them are enough."
"What about the ruler of the Reverie Abyss?" Qingzan asked.
"She's useless. These merfolk are drawn to strength and may waver in their loyalties," the Talisman Emperor said dismissively.
"In that case, don't call the Phoenix Empress and Netherworld Emperor either. Just the five of us, including me, should be more than enough to kill him," Qingzan said coldly. "Unlike last time in the Heavenly Land, that Exiled Sword Immortal should be deep in cultivation. He'll have no chance to react."
"Do you think the Phoenix Empress and Netherworld Emperor are unreliable?" the Talisman Emperor inquired.
Qingzan shook her head. "Not exactly, especially the Phoenix Empress. Her grudge with the Sword Cultivators runs deep; she won't easily bow to the Exiled Sword Immortal. But... regardless, once he's dead, the next targets will be the land demons and Yin Devils. No need to involve potential variables."
"You're right." The Talisman Emperor's eyes gleamed with a murderous intent. "This must be our most crucial strike, no room for error. Anyone who poses even the slightest risk must be excluded"
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