Chapter 7: Relic of Youtuer (Part 3)
[West of Aslan Empire – Abyss Corridor]
“If everything you’re saying is the truth, including the catastrophe that happened four years ago……then, you should return to the Heart in the imperial capital alongside me, if everything is proven to be true, I will stand on your side.”
“I can no longer return.” The pallid youth’s voice sounds even more frail than it had been before, “Unlike all of you who can recover anywhere as long as there is the Golden Soul Mist, us three Silver Priests can only stay in the large crystal located in the Heart, we only have soul powers that way, once we leave the crystal, our soul powers will deplete every time we use it, not only our soul powers, but our life will disappear as well. Before meeting you, in order to exit the Abyss Corridor with Guishan Fenghun, and because I had to go against Nether, I have spent much of my soul powers, and to save Guishan Fenghun just now, I barely have any left……Lucifer Yin Chen, to be able to find you before my death, I am already very happy.”
“How can I believe that everything you’re saying is true?” Yin Chen gazes at the pale youth that is almost becoming one with the air, his words become more gentle.
“You are not required to believe me now, all you have to do is return to the imperial capital and take note of the changes around you, it will appear. At that time, you will understand everything……”
“If it’s just like what you’re saying, that the current Top Lord has been gifted a horrifying soul’s return circuit that has never been seen in the history of Aslan before, then even if it’s me, I do not have the power to change everything. You must know that, to us, the current Top Lord Xiuchuan Dizang, his existence is that of a G.o.d. Xiuchuan Dizang aside, the disciples of Heaven, Earth and Sea beside him are much more mighty than all of us Lords……”
“Yin Chen, nothing can’t be changed, and you and I both know that, the previous Top Lord, your lord, Gilgamesh, he’s still alive. You are more clear on this than I am, hence, everything in the future is unknown……”
“Alright, I promise you that I will clarify everything when I return to the imperial capital. I also promise you that I will protect you to the best of my ability.”
“I have one last question for you, I do not have much time left,” A trickle of blood escapes the corner of the pale youth’s mouth, “You already have your own disciple, this I know. My question is, when you were bestowing him a soul’s return circuit, what you gifted him, is it the return circuit on the first layer, that of the Seventh Lord, or did you gift him the return circuit of the previous Top Lord that is hidden deep within your body?”
Yin Chen stares at the ghastly-looking youth before him, his expression hardens gradually, he does not reply. He stands in dust particles floating in the ray of light silently.
The chilly thick fog dampens the towering old trees surrounding them.
[West of Aslan Empire – Relic of Youtuer]
The mammoth ancient city resembles a large tomb.
No one knows when this relic was pa.s.sed down, no one has ever heard of the existence of such a large ancient city in the history of Aslan.
Beneath their feet is a path paved with marble, the pa.s.sing of tens of thousands of years leaving behind countless marks on its surface. Looking ahead, in the neverending darkness, countless tall building blocks stand, although all in ruins, it’s easy to imagine the bustling of this place in its prime.
No sound can be heard in the large ancient city, the deafening silence presses down on one’s eardrums, hurting the temples.
Faintly, it constantly feels like there are things moving around in the darkness surrounding them, or something is standing beside them, breathing unhurriedly.
Qi Ling finds it bone chilling.
“Where exactly is this place?” Tianshu Youhua looks at Qi Ling and Lianquan before staring at the tomb-like ancient city, her voice sounding like falling leaves whipped in the air by the bitter cold wind.
“This is the ‘death’ you pushed me into.” Lianquan replies coldly.
“But I touched the other chess piece……” Youhua stops and dares not go on.
Lianquan ignores her, instead turning to survey the surroundings, “Maybe the ‘death’ that Yin Chen and Fenghun were talking about isn’t that once you touch the chess piece, you’ll die, but that this chess piece leads to a plce of evil, which equates to leading towards death. Chess pieces can only bring people to another s.p.a.ce and not take a person’s life directly.”
“Maybe not, what if the exit of the chess piece is in a furnace, then if you touched it doesn’t it mean it’s direct death?” Qi Ling c.o.c.ks his head and looks as if he’s thinking intently.
Lianquan stays flabbergasted for a long moment before squeezing three words from between her teeth: “Thanks a lot.”
Qi Ling doesn’t hear the underlying meaning in her words at all, instead he waves his hands liberally, “Hey, you’re welcome.”
Lianquan takes in a very deep breath in order to resist the urge to whip him with a whip.
“Let’s move forward, we can’t do anything if we stay here.” Lianquan tells Qi Ling before turning to look at Tianshu Youhua’s pale face, “If you don’t want to die then I suggest you follow us.”
The path extends forward, Tianshu Youhua released a dozen or so large snow eagles to lead the way, the white glow from the eagles illuminating the path beneath their feet.
The soft, white glow added some n.o.bility to the colossal relic and the horrifying atmosphere diminishes. Countless large pillars lie by the sides of the path; in what seem like foundations on the b.u.mpy ground, skeletons can be seen faintly. Broken staircases and archways that are built from luxurious white rocks can be seen all around them, these all point to the high and almighty state the city was once in.
“Pfft.”
“Pffffffffft.”
Along with what sounds like someone blowing out a candle, the dozen snow eagles that have been leading the way disappear, as if a white lantern has been pierced through by the wind.
The darkness seems to fall from the sky, enveloping the three of them. In the pitch-black darkness, only their nervous breaths can be heard. All they can see is the unsettling darkness, as if unknown creatures will rise from the depths.
“Youhua stop running around.” Qi Ling turns to tell Youhua.
“I didn’t move, I’ve always been on your right.” Youhua replies softly.
“Then just now……” Qi Ling pauses, his throat suddenly tightens in fear and he cannot go on. If Youhua has always been on his right, then what just ran past him on his left?
“Sigh.”
A faint sigh is heard in the darkness.
The three hold their breath, not daring to speak.
“Really, what a pity.” In the darkness, a young girl’s voice pierces through the air and reaches them, her voice is unfeeling, as if reading stoicly from a piece of paper.
A white ball of light suddenly appears in Qi Ling’s vision, when the light becomes clearer, Qi Ling makes out a large coc.o.o.n suspended in the air, the voice is coming from the inside of the coc.o.o.n.
“What’s a pity?” Lianquan moves two steps ahead gently, shielding Qi Ling and Youhua behind her, “Who are you?”
Tianshu Youhua looks at the figure standing before her and Qi Ling and a pinch of regret hits her.
Like cloth being torn, a hole appears on the smooth coc.o.o.n before a bloodless hand reaches out, and then the tearing sound continues before the figure struggles out completely, her waterfall-like black hair covers her entire face. The young girl struggles slowly out from the coc.o.o.n in an extremely grotesque mannr, the cracking of her bones echoing in the empty darkness, making one’s hair rise. She folds her legs slowly and sits on the coc.o.o.n, a few moments later, she lifts her hazy eyes and tells the three of them faintly: “A pity, that all of you are going to die soon.”
Qi Ling’s pupils tighten, “Li……Lijier?!”
“Aiya, you recognise me!” The young girl lifts her murky purple eyes, instead of looking at Qi Ling, she is staring at an unknown point in the air, with a ghastly thin voice, she says, “Then of course you’d recognise it?”
In the wreckage of the building behind her, a ma.s.sive ball of light suddenly appears, a large b.u.t.terfly struggles to curl between the stone walls, on its large meaty wings are tentacles dripping with blood, green slime splashing onto the stone pavement, the same sound as blood drops. .h.i.tting the ground, a murky stench spreading from its undulating wings. Its size is many times bigger then when it had appeared in the town of Fauser.
“Gu Die Lijier……why are you here? Aren’t you……” Qi Ling is so astonished that his words die in his throat.
“I’m here, of course because there’s a ‘secret’ here……” Lijier’s smile is unsettleing, she says, “But you people walked into the radius of the secret, so, you have to die.” After saying that, she stares into an unknown direction and lifts her hand to cover her laugh.
“We don’t want to fight you, you weren’t able to defeat Cang Xue Zhi Ya before, now it is my soul beast. I do not wish to harm you either, tell us how to get out of this place and we will not touch your secret.”
“I couldn’t defeat it before, but now I can.” Lijier changes her position on the coc.o.o.n and lifts her hand to stroke a sticky tentacle from Gu Die that hangs above her head.
“Before? Before what?” Qi Ling is confused.
“’Before’, of course I mean before I died.” Lijier frowns slightly before replying in annoyance. After saying that, she gestures lightly and Gu Die rises from the wreckage, teetering as it flies up, the flow of soul powers around it as vast as a grand ocean.
“This……this is not the soul powers of an average soul master……this is…..almost rivaling that of a lord’s……” Lianquan mutters in shock. She cannot believe the power that the young girl facing her has.
Her hands tremble as she directs her sharp chains towards the colossal Gu Die, yet it is as if they are attacking nothing, the chains pierce straight through the beast’s body, just like going through light and fog, not doing any damage at all……
At the same time, Lijier reaches towards Youhua who is standing behind Qi Ling despite being separated by a great distance, as if her arms suddenly extending in another dimension, an unseen hand reaches straight into Youhua’s body. Qi Ling turns in time to see a gaping hole appear on Youhua’s chest suddenly, and then he hears something that sounds like a hand tightening its grip in the bloodied hole, Youhua’s expression twists in pain. Qi Ling brings out his half-blade large sword and brings it down in the air before Youhua, as if cutting onto a transparent hand, a wave of light emits from that location.
Lijier withdraws her hand, her pupils turning golden instantly.
And in the next moment, as if seeing a ghoul, Lijier’s expression changes. She gestures lightly and the large Gu Die flies behind her. She sits herself upright on the white coc.o.o.n and her eyes tremble in fear.
The immense relic falls into a terrifying silence.
Youhua supports herself against a wall and as she gasps in pain.
Qi Ling and Lianquan turn their head back and see a figure clade din a black cloak standing behind them.
“You cannot defeat me, so leave.” The figure cladded in black says faintly, voice penetrating.
“You……” Lijier clenches her teeth, looking like she wants to continue arguing, “What are you doing here?”
“I’m here to take them away.”
Lijier stares at the people for a very long moment with a hollow gaze in her large eyes. With a roar of anger, she disappears in the darkness.
The person takes off his hood gently to reveal a face so delicately handsome that words can do no justice in describing his appearance. Qi Ling is awestruck.
Although both Yin Chen and him have faces that can be said to be extremely handsome, but the man before him has features even more refined than women, his moist eyes are like jewels, his lashes are long and thin and his skin as white as snow, but when he opens his mouth, his voice is throaty and masculine.
“I am here to take all of you away.”
“You are……” Lianquan asks cautiously.
“’Lord to the Third Degree’, Qi La.” The black cloak-cladded figure replies calmly whilst standing in the darkenss.
The three stand in a daze after hearing the reply.
All four of them walk back to the place they entered from.
Youhua, Qi Ling and Lianquan all dare not speak. To them, the opportunity to come into contact with one of the higher ranked lords is few and far between, and the person standing before them is the Third Lord, this really is something unbelievable. To them, the top three lords are all unsolved mysteries dating back to ancient times, they rarely appear, they do not interact with people, they even hide away their gift.
“This place is not for you. Leave while you can.” Qi La gazes towards Qi Ling and says calmly.
“Oh, yes, actually this place is okay, all we met was Lijier,” Qi Ling sees that Qi La seems to be an easy-going person and his friendly natures comes to play, “That blood worm-like thing we met outside just that, that is something to be afraid of.”
“That thing is one of the four most evil soul beasts in Aslan that has been sealed in the bottom of the Grave of the Souls, its name is ‘Blessing’.”
“Bless……ing?’ Well I thank its mama for naming him that! Why not call it ‘Adorable’? Oh no, better yet, call it ‘Delicate’, suits it so much!”
“We collectively call it that for convenience.” Qi La glances at Qi Ling and replies coldly.
“Oh……” Qi Ling scratches his head awkwardly, “What about the rest?”
“Those on the same level as Blessing are ‘Freedom’, ‘Forgiveness’ and Second Lord Nether’s soul beast Ragnorak.”
“Oh, then what is this place? It looks like a grave.” Qi Ling turns to look at the outlines of the tall buildings in the chilling darkness.
“This place is known as the ‘Relic of Youtuer’.”
“You said you’re a lord, but lords can’t enter. How did you enter the Grave of the Souls?” Qi Ling asks in confusion.
“Since I have a way to bring all of you out, naturally I have to way to enter.”
“Then just now Lijier said we entered the radius of the ‘secret’, what is this ‘secret’?”
“I am not here to answer your questions. If you want to exit, then stand and not move. I am going to bring all of you away.”
Lianquan and Youhua nods before turning to glare at Qi Ling.
Qi La turns to look at Qi Ling, his eyes are as great as that of a heavenly G.o.d, in the darkness, his gaze moves and thrills.
[West of Aslan Empire – Relic of Youtuer]
In the immense darkness, rustling can be heard.
As if ghouls from h.e.l.l are advancing forth.
A white glow appears faintly in the air. On the large coc.o.o.n, Lijier is still in her grotesque position, her hair flowing around her.
“Another one.” Her hazy eyes turn, “Who is it this time?”
A ray of green light suddenly illuminates a large area in the darkness. Standing in the centre of this is a young boy cladded in an ink green cloak, on his head is a silver crown inlaid with black diamonds. He looks around the age of eight or nine, his gaze is sharp.
“You can’t even tell who I am even with them behind me?”
Lijier lifts her head, in the darkness behind the young boy, three men dressed in the same attire appears gradually. They are all wearing long cloaks with the hems touching the ground in different colours. All three men have identical built, tall and strong, although their clocks are tightly worn on their bodies, the soul powers radiating from them are as vast as oceans.
The young boy squats down and closes his eyes, touching the surface of the ground carefully as if in search of something.
“What do you want?” Lijier opens her hazy eyes and stares dimly at him.
The young boy ignores her completely.
Lijier laughs coldly before leaning forth, reaching out her thin and pale hand to grasp at the air like before. However, she was not able to grab the young boy’s neck as expected. Instead, before she even realizes what had happened, her arm has been removed from her shoulder. She c.o.c.ks her head to the side and stares at her arm in confusion, when she turns back, she sees one of the men standin behind the young boy moving a few steps forward before reaching a hand out from his cloak and making a strange gesture. In the next instant, Lijier’s view is upside down and spinning, she thinks hard about it before realizing that her head has already fallen from her shoulders……She wants to say something, yet there is only the sound of wind howling in her throat. Her hazy and empty eyes will never close again.
The young boy ignores the scene before him entirely. He stops touching the ground and presses on a spot that juts out, in the next moment, countless emerald rays swirl out from between his fingers, forming a ma.s.sive magical array on the ground. Countless complex patterns cover the ground of the Relic of Youtuer instantly.
“Then, let’s start.” He says softly. His fingers dig into the ground and the rocks shatter.
Qi La turns to look back; the ma.s.sive earthquake-like roar from faraway causes him to furrow his brows.
“What happened?” Qi Ling also feels the immensity of the explosion of soul powers in the distance.
“It’s none of your business, leave quickly.” Qi La says before walking towards the distance without looking back.
Following the turbulent green rays from the large magical array, countless poisonous snakes emiting emerald gleams slither from beneath the ground on every inch of the soil in the Relic of Youtuer. In the air, tens of thousands of dead souls like that of Lijier all go up in smokes. Countless souls are torn apart. Innumerable soul beasts explode into nothing……
Wails like ghosts and howls like wolves echo throughout the sky above the relic, as if wanting entire s.p.a.ce to tremble and collapse.
A moment later, the entire relic becomes wreckage that is spotless and deadly silent.
The young boy stands and dusts his hands gently; he looks as if he has just played a game despite killing of tens of thousands of dead souls. He shrugs. Turning, he stares at the three disciples behind him with his emerald pupils, saying: “What happens next, I will leave all of you to it. Find it.”