Chapter 1247: Chapter 1245 A total of 10
With Shi Xuanzhong’s cultivation, he could have easily found Shi Xiaole by following the wrinkles of space, but he did not. After a moment of silence on the spot, he unexpectedly flew in another direction.
"Holy Monarch?"
One person puzzled.
"I have three old friends who are encountering misfortune."
As his voice fell, Shi Xuanzhong had already disappeared. Including the Chaotic Age Knife Lord, the other four hurriedly followed upon hearing this.
The old friends of the Holy Monarch were also their old friends, and one of the guardians of the East Victory world, each one of them invaluable and irreplaceable.
Shi Xiaole gave a bitter smile.
He faintly felt that Shi Xuanzhong’s last words were also an explanation to him, it was just a pity that his current condition was not good, and he was unable to move.
Moreover, even if he were at his peak, he wouldn’t be able to catch up. All he could do now was to sit cross-legged on the ground, using the life-and-death martial pathway to recover himself.
...
"Old thing, you can’t run away!"
In an endless bloody wilderness, an elderly man lay on the ground with weakened breath.
This was no human, but rather a blurry mass of flesh and blood, with white hair also dyed red, only the tips still faintly silvery. Beside him lay an erhu, shattered into pieces, proving how fierce the previous battle had been.
"What is your relationship with the Three Demons under the Demon Ruler, I heard from the records that Yue Xie’s weapon is the erhu, but in terms of power, you are eighty thousand miles inferior to him."
The Nine Heavens Wanderer coldly watched the mass of flesh and blood on the ground. He had two people beside him, whose presence was no less imposing than his.
Even the three great experts from beyond the heavens had to marvel at their opponent’s toughness.
Despite having comparable strength, but facing their combined assault, he had managed to survive for nearly half a year, dragging his mutilated body in a frantic escape until today, when he had finally run out of fuel and the lamp had died.
If it had been them, they definitely could not have held on. Therefore, from the first moment of pursuit, the three experts from beyond had intended to kill.
The bloodied flesh on the ground didn’t speak, an indistinguishable face surfaced with a mocking expression.
"You’re seeking death!"
The expert on the left of the Nine Heavens Wanderer shouted angrily, he too was a Fake Sky Origin Realm expert.
This time entering East Victory, the Nine Heavens Ancestor and others were the first group, and they were the second group; after all, East Victory was vast, and it wouldn’t do to have too few people. Of course, they wouldn’t foolishly broadcast this information, adding competitors for themselves.
"Just perfect, I’ll use you to test my soul-searching technique. Once I get the information I want, I’ll turn you into my puppet and have you East Victory folks kill each other!"
The expert’s eyes turned pitch black, his pupils began to whirl.
The blind old man couldn’t help but groan, feeling as though his mental power was being hooked by two sharp hooks, uncontrollably dragged out, facing an unprecedented agony in his mind.
He had lost even the strength to self-destruct, his indistinguishable face full of pain and heroism.
A flash of light streaked across the sky.
The expert using the "soul-searching technique" was unable to dodge in time and was turned into a mist of blood.
"Not good, run!"
The Nine Heavens Wanderer and the other expert from beyond turned deathly pale, the strength of the newcomer far surpassed their expectations, so much so that they hadn’t sensed it beforehand.
Just as the two tried to move, a blade light and a shadow of a leg struck at them, from afar getting closer as if crossing the constraints of space with no delay.
With a pair of pound-pound sounds.
Two more clouds of blood mist appeared at the scene.
Five figures landed on the ground.
An ordinary-looking middle-aged man, not minding the blood and squalor, gently picked him up, sighing softly, "Yue Xie, why go through such troubles?"
The mass of flesh trembled, never having been so agitated before, even under threat and mind control. From his empty, dried-up eye sockets, two hot tears fell, cutting through the bloodstains.
"Holy Monarch..."
The voice was fragile.
"Back then, perhaps I was wrong."
The Holy Monarch’s face was full of guilt and self-reproach.
"No, Holy Monarch did nothing wrong. Everything was volunteered by the three of us brothers. To be able to serve the Holy Monarch and run errands for East Victory was our honor."
In the first great battle between heaven and earth, the East Victory world almost exhausted all its elite and fate, and the once prosperous martial culture was destroyed overnight.
The heavens could no longer accommodate those of the Sky Origin Realm Supreme Lord, and even the Void Origin Realm Martial Emperors were rare to emerge.
The surviving Supreme Lords had to hide in dangerous places to avoid being killed by the will of heaven and earth, while also accumulating strength, waiting for the next great battle.
But there were some who made a different choice.
They believed that hiding and waiting could not advance further and would only be more easily defeated by the Outer Heaven Demons, so they decided to destroy their millennia of cultivation, just to seek new opportunities in the East Victory world, to break and then to establish anew.
Sixteen thousand years had passed, new heroes emerged, generations of stars were born, but those once-unparalleled heroes never appeared again.
Perhaps they had found their opportunity and were preparing for the great battle. Perhaps they had failed along the way, dying in some obscure corner, unknown to anyone.
The Three Divine Generals, at the time, obeyed the Holy Monarch’s order to destroy their foundations and walk among the humans. Seeing the terrible state of the blind old man, Holy Monarch felt profound sadness.
"Holy Monarch, do not be sad. Back then, the three of us were gravely injured, and to save us, you did not hesitate to exhaust fifty thousand years of cultivation. Without you, we would have perished long ago.""Besides, how could we not know that the Holy Monarch issued this order to save us? We were poisoned by a mysterious toxin in our early years, and if we don’t destroy our foundation, death is the only path left."
The voice grew weaker, but the blind old man’s tone carried excitement, "Many friends, subordinates of the Holy Monarch who died in battle, their remains are buried here. How could we allow their remains to be desecrated? Fortunately, fortunately, we managed to lead those people away."
This was why the Dusty Trio braved death to enter East Victory. The noble sacrifice of those who died for the world of East Victory must not be desecrated!
"You, have done well!"
Shi Xuanzhong felt melancholic.
"For 160,000 years, the three of us have not forgotten the Holy Monarch’s assignment. In each era, we have appeared secretly, quietly nurturing many heroes. Alas, as the world’s fortune declined, most of them perished, unable to break through their limits. But there were some, those with heaven-sent talents—when the day of their success arrives, they shall follow the Young Master into battle and shatter the enemy forces!"
"Hahaha, what a pity, what a pity. I fear I may not live to see that day."
Tears flowed more plentifully. Who could know the bitterness in his heart after 160,000 years of dedication and toil? The blind old man finally found the one he most wanted to confide in and prove himself to.
In the last moments of his life, he was finally without regrets.
"Yue Xie!"
The Chaotic Age Knife Lord and his companions let out a long sigh to the sky.
They were once comrades-in-arms, guarding their homeland together. Back then, they were unavoidably resentful over the Holy Monarch’s order for the Three Divine Generals, but now they understood the reason.
At the same time, they envied the Holy Monarch greatly. The Supreme Lords of the Sky Origin Realm, who were not exalted and unreachable? Only a scarce few like the Holy Monarch could attract other Supremes to their cause.
"It is my incompetence, Shi Xuanzhong, that has led you into this peril. Yue Xie, remember what I once said? When we crush the Outer Heaven Demons, I will drink three hundred cups with the three of you, even though I have sworn off alcohol for a lifetime."
Upon hearing this, the blurry flesh gave a slight twitch, as if smiling. The blind old man sadly said, "Holy Monarch, I fear, I am about to break that promise!"
"I do not welcome those who break their promises; you cannot die, and I will not let you die."
Shi Xuanzhong, unwilling to give up, poured his life essence into the blood and flesh. The blind old man weakly cried out, "Holy Monarch, if you do this, even if I survive, I shall be eternally sinful! I swear to heaven, if I live, I will take my own life!"
Shi Xuanzhong had no choice but to withdraw his life essence.
"Holy Monarch, I have but one request. Please bury my ashes in the Hundred Flowers Heaven. That way... I can guard over the Holy Monarch and the Holy Empress, life after life."
The blind old man refused the life essence, and Shi Xuanzhong could only protect his fading soul force with spiritual Vigorous Air, flickering like a candle in the wind, ready to extinguish at any moment.
Sensing this predicament, Shi Xuanzhong’s eyes reddened, trembling all over.
The empty eye sockets once again looked towards the blood-red sky. In the darkness, the figures of the Holy Monarch, the Qin Elder, and the Heavenly Destiny Divine Fortune Teller flash by, finally resting on a little girl who would never grow up.
She was waiting earnestly for his return, yet, alas, one call of "Grandfather," which he could no longer hear. Hong’er, I’m sorry, Grandfather has disappointed you!
"Yue Xie!"
Discovering the flesh was motionless, the Chaotic Age Knife Lord and his companions rushed forward, their expressions full of sorrow. The Chaotic Age Knife Lord urgently asked, "Holy Monarch, is there really no hope?"
"The foundation is destroyed, the heart vessels are gone, only a sliver of soul force remains."
The four of them fell silent.
The soul cannot be healed; even the Supreme Lords of Sky Origin Realm, with half of their soul force lost, would become imbecilic and disabled, in critical condition—let alone just a sliver remaining. Even a great immortal couldn’t save him.
But the Holy Monarch still spared no effort to preserve that remaining sliver of soul force. Even if there was just a glimmer of hope, he refused to give up, always holding on to that wish.
Picking up the bloody flesh, Shi Xuanzhong once again took flight. Then, the five of them found the Qin Elder and the Heavenly Destiny Divine Fortune Teller once again.
The Qin Elder was not much better off than the blind old man. When they arrived, he had already taken his last breath, leaving only a trace of spiritual force.
Clearly, someone had tried to extract his memories before his death, but they triggered a defensive mechanism, resulting in the explosion of his entire soul and spirit.
If the blind old man couldn’t be revived, then the Qin Elder was ten times less likely.
The Heavenly Destiny Divine Fortune Teller was somewhat better off; he still had two strands of soul force, though in anybody’s eyes, he was undoubtedly doomed.
"Outer Heaven Demons!"
The Chaotic Age Knife Lord roared in fury to the sky and cleaved a million-mile plain in two with his blade.
His body swayed, his face paled, not from injury but because his physical body could hardly bear the weight of his soul force, on the verge of exploding.
The rest were in a similar state.
"A great battle approaches, revenge is not too far off, let us go."
Looking in a certain direction, the Holy Monarch, carrying three corpses, resolutely departed, vanishing in the blink of an eye. The remaining four had no choice but to follow.
As the creators of East Victory, they certainly knew where the exit was.
...
"Three seniors!"
Shi Xiaole, mostly recovered, followed the trail Shi Xuanzhong left behind, pressing on.
Along the way, he saw scenes of the Dusty Trio being hunted by numerous Outer Heaven experts, subjected to cruel torture, flayed, and even their sea of spirit was wantonly destroyed.
Looking at the scenes, where the Outer Heaven experts laughed cruelly in triumph, Shi Xiaole’s eyes turned ice cold, his body bristling with a desire to kill. He had never wanted to kill so much. Sensing his master’s intent, the Cleansing Evil Sword rang out sharply, unsheathing itself by more than half.
"I have you memorized, all ten of you, you all must die."
Shi Xiaole spoke, word by word.
He also saw Shi Xuanzhong and others leaving and knowing that their souls couldn’t appear in the outside world for long, he followed in their direction. He reached the exit of East Victory and emerged from it.
With the various rewards claimed and sensing the absence of people, East Victory suddenly shone brightly, then vanished into the vast void. This legendary place, a supreme gift left for future generations, thus disappeared, never to be found again.
