Chapter 195: Bottomless Abyss
In truth, things weren't as bad as Lu Jin imagined. A genius himself, the deputy greatly admired Lu Jin, who had reportedly saved his life in his youth. Not only did he hold Lu Jin in the highest esteem, but he also treated him with the utmost reverence and courtesy.
However, the other man surpassed him in terms of talent, lifearc, appearance, and temperament. Lu Jin was highly resentful of this disparity, and was convinced that the man was merely putting on an act to toy with him. The idea of being replaced by someone like that sent an uncontrollable wave of fury through Lu Jin.
This was especially true when headquarters had Lu Jin prepare for retirement. They wanted him to hand over his duties and team to the deputy so he could focus entirely on advancing his cultivation. In response, the deputy happily dragged him out for drinks, eagerly discussing the future with the very person he was replacing, and even said this to him...
"Sir, taking over your legacy is a childhood dream of mine... I want to be just like you someday!"
Just like me... In the mortal world, even if an aging individual envied their successor's youth and bright future, they would ultimately feel a sense of relief and genuinely accept someone so respectful and capable. But in a world of vast power and long lifespans, immortals and heavenly fiends, Lu Jin had the choice of a darker path—a choice leading straight into the abyss of depravity.
When Lu Jin finally ambushed and poisoned the junior who admired him, sacrificing that fresh heart to their esteemed lord, he realized he was actually laughing. Bathed in the man's blood, a remarkably younger Lu Jin threw his head back and laughed as he surrendered a part of his soul to the esteemed lord. "Screw you! You think you can be me?! You don't even know what kind of person I am, and you're trying to become me?! Now you are me! You've become fuel for my life and longevity!"
When desire tipped out of balance, the human heart would plunge into infinite wickedness. And this fall into darkness was the exact source of the heavenly fiend's descent into the world. It was a bottomless abyss.
The True Talisman erupted in fierce flames. As An Jing fully absorbed the heaven purification radiance and transformed it directly into his aura, the arcane dao script on the talisman became clearer. It was an insignificant change, but a restorative one nonetheless. After he exhaled deeply, the surging qi around him gradually faded as the divine light receded from his eyes.
The heaven purification radiance from slaying the deathtame fiend propelled An Jing's cultivation straight into the upper Tide Aura Stage. Furthermore, it strengthened his physique and laid the foundation for the fourth seal. This effectively saved An Jing a year of grueling cultivation, and that was by his standards. For an ordinary lifearc bearer, making the same progress would easily require four to five years, if not longer.
This time, An Jing concentrated on the part of the Imperial Earth Art aimed at nourishing the meridians. Following his fight with Lu Jin and the deathtame fiend, An Jing realized that despite his mastery over numerous cultivation techniques, he had limited killing techniques.
Basic martial techniques served only as the groundwork for executing killing techniques. Currently, An Jing could only channel Armorpierce Impetus for explosive force. Given An Jing's proficiency, he could multiply his baseline strength several times, though this was simply the maximum he could exert without harming his own body. Much like the seal for his meridians, this technique was capable of raising this limit. At that point, he could charge up and unleash an explosive output of more than quadruple his original power; it would actually pack ten times the force! Then it wouldn't matter if he had only one killing technique.
The deathtame fiend had also left behind substantial "materials," specifically its scaly hide. The crystalline surface of the black-scale hide gleamed like a cluster of precious gems, reflecting the surrounding firelight. Its dark gold interior stirred a strange sense of familiarity within An Jing.
"Wait... Is the underlayer the goldfur bear pelt?" An Jing was stunned at first, but it made perfect sense upon reflection. Lu Jin had likely purchased the goldfur bear pelt as an offering to summon the heavenly fiend. After all, a heavenly fiend couldn't manifest a physical form out of nothing. Even the embryo required spirit items as raw material. It was no surprise that the scale hide had been shaped from the goldfur bear pelt.
In Skysource, a fiend material like this would fulfill the requirements of service duty for registration with Deepnight City. It could be forged into an artifact for protection against fiend qi. An Jing still had the bulletproof spirit vest from Huo Qing. Although he hadn't used it in this battle, he planned to return it once he went back to Skysource, where he could then use Huo Qing or Boss Metalhand's connections to craft a new set of defensive gear from the hide.
Now that the heavenly fiend's arcane domain had collapsed and Honor Pavilion was reduced to ashes, An Jing stepped back into the real world. He was instantly met with a torrential snowfall, the sound of distant battle cries, and columns of smoke rising from the active battle zone. Things were likely proceeding smoothly on Grand Chen's end. After all, the reinforcements meant to support the fiend followers had all been intercepted and slaughtered by An Jing.
It's almost over. Reflecting on his actions, An Jing knew he had done all he could and should do. Lu Jin and the deathtame fiend were both dead by his hand, so it would be truly inexcusable if Grand Chen failed to wipe out the remaining weak and wounded.
With the threat of the heavenly fiends resolved, An Jing recalled the turbulence of the terrestrial veins before. It must have been You Ruhui who stabilized them... I assumed she was only providing support, but her control over Grand Chen's terrestrial veins is far greater than I anticipated. There's nothing ordinary about this; she has to be a direct imperial descendant. Somehow, he always wound up right in the thick of things, but he was used to it by this point. Shaking his head, An Jing set off in search of You Ruhui to thank her.
While he wouldn't have perished even without her intervention, both the Grandvoid Pathway and Yvelbane would have been exposed to the heavenly fiends, and who could say if they had some way of recovering the subfiend's memories? Then things would get messy, and there would be a lot to deal with. In An Jing's view, as long as the heavenly fiends didn't interfere, You Ruhui could remain safely hidden around the terrestrial-vein nodes, and Madam Huai would be out of harm's way.
Meanwhile, in a small shed down the street from the teahouse, You Ruhui curled up in Madam Huai's arms, the dragonjade on her chest radiating a flickering, crystal-clear glow. Next to them was a makeshift altar built from common jade, quicksilver, and granite.
This child... How could Madam Huai fail to realize that the girl she had taken in from the streets might very well bear the imperial blood of the Grand Chen Empire? Unknowingly, or perhaps guided by her lifearc, she had been led straight to her side, arriving just in time to rescue her from her plight.
Worse still, she was entangled in immense trouble, and considering the weight of her true identity, it was trouble that threatened to consume everything. But having come this far, she had nothing left to be afraid of.
"I've lived long enough, but my only regret is never having children." As she ran her fingers through the girl's soft hair, the old woman's eyes filled with warmth. "I have only myself to blame, but I still hope you kids will have a better future than mine. I don't know what kind of mess you've entangled yourself in, whether it's a trivial dispute of your own making or some earth-shattering conspiracy snapping at your heels. It's all the same. My time is short anyway, so what do consequences matter? I might as well accompany you on your journey."
Just outside the window, martialists clad in black armor patrolled the terrestrial-vein nodes, each searching the area with the gilded compass in their hands. Checking his surroundings meticulously with each step, one of the martialists slowly approached the shed You Ruhui and Madam Huai hid within.
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