Chapter 908: A new great era is approaching
Translator: G.o.dBrandy Editor: Kurisu
Late at night, that huge full moon in the airs.p.a.ce of the forbidden city finally disappeared.
This matter about two moons suddenly appearing in the airs.p.a.ce of the forbidden city would surely end up on the first page of tomorrow’s newspaper.
Many experts were going to gather that very night and join their forces to research the strange phenomenon related to two moons appearing in the sky.
“Weird, as of late, that big superstar—Brother Woof—didn’t really do anything to steal the first page of the newspapers. As such, why did this strange phenomenon appear in the airs.p.a.ce of the forbidden city, occupying the first page of the newspaper by force?” A lot of people living close to the forbidden city wondered.
That night, aside from the various experts, a lot of so-called ‘experts’ were also awakened from their sleep.
Their only duty was to let their imagination run wild and think of a reasonable explanation for this event. Tomorrow morning, they would explain to the people watching the TV why these two moons suddenly appeared in the sky of the forbidden city.
Regardless of these ‘experts’ using optics, energy, gravity, or other types of science to explain the phenomenon, tomorrow morning, they would give a reasonable explanation to the people watching the TV and make them feel at ease. This was the only duty of those so-called ‘experts’.
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In the meantime, Song Shuhang returned once more to his Inner World.
Venerable White also went with him so that they could be ready for all eventualities.
Little ‘Virtuous Buddhist Sabersman’ Cai also entered Shuhang’s Inner World.
For the time being, Song Shuhang was unable to teach her soul ferrying techniques. To complete this task, it was better to borrow the original copy of the ❮Diary of the Ascetic Senior Monk❯ from the western monk, and then give it to Little Cai alongside ❮Ksitigarbha’s Soul Ferrying Scripture❯, allowing her to comprehend the art of soul ferrying from those two texts.
The reason Song Shuhang had brought Little Cai to his Inner World was to let her personally see the soul ferrying process.
In the Inner World, under Song Shuhang’s order, countless roots extended from the small island and absorbed another 10% of that ball of liquid metal floating in the chaotic region.
Afterward, that 10% of the ball of liquid metal was ejected and moved from the chaotic region to the small island.
After that, Song Shuhang used his soul ferrying technique, and slowly approached the fragment of the ball of liquid metal.
In the next moment, just as that portion of the ball of liquid metal tried to dodge the soul ferrying technique, the virtuous lamia behind Song Shuhang took action and stretched out her hand, grabbing the fragment of the ball of liquid metal.
Then, just like before, she pressed the ball of liquid metal against her chest. After pasting the metallic ball against her chest, she could absorb the power of virtue inside at the fastest pace.
Although these various steps were rather complicated, they were all indispensable.
If Song Shuhang approached the ball of liquid metal without using his soul ferrying technique first, the ball of liquid metal wouldn’t try to run from him, and the virtuous lamia behind him wouldn’t try to grab it, either.
Song Shuhang had also tried to order the virtuous lamia to directly grab the ball of liquid metal and absorb the power of virtue within. But, the result was that the virtuous lamia would grab the metallic ball and then just stand there, without moving in the slightest.
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After losing its power of virtue, the ball of liquid metal floating in the airs.p.a.ce of the small island would start emitting evil energy from all over its body.
[Do you yearn for power?] That cla.s.sic line to lure people would also play in the background.
But this time, Song Shuhang didn’t bother replying to this stupid question.
The last time, when he subconsciously replied “I yearn for b.o.o.bs”, that ball of liquid metal really turned into a metallic b.o.o.b, absolutely eye-blinding.
Just as Song Shuhang was about to tell his Inner World to s.h.i.+ft that fragment of the ball of liquid metal to the outside world along with everyone else…
Little Cai subconsciously muttered, “No, I yearn for b.o.o.bs!”
“…” Song Shuhang.
“…” Venerable White.
“…” Ye Si.
Why did Little Cai even know about this meme? Couldn’t she just keep acting like a naive monster bird?
In the next moment, that fragment of the ball of liquid metal transformed once again into a very realistic b.o.o.b of liquid metal.
Then, it tried to entice them again with that emotionless voice. “Your wish came true. This is the b.o.o.b you were yearning for. Let go of your thoughts and stretch out your hand, grab me. If you do so, you’ll obtain the b.o.o.b you yearn for. Become one with me, and you’ll obtain infinite b.o.o.bs!”
“…” Little Cai.
The lines were the same as before, and they hadn’t changed in the slightest. This level of AI was at least ten years old!
“Nucleus, teleport us outside,” Song Shuhang said.
This scene was too spicy to the eye, and it was better to quickly get rid of this b.o.o.b of liquid metal.
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In the next moment, Song Shuhang’s group was teleported to the main world.
Then, just as expected, that heavenly tribulation-like energy appeared again, reducing the ball of liquid metal to ashes and leaving behind only a small piece of metal.
Song Shuhang used the secret appraisal technique to determine if the piece of metal was safe to pick, and got his hands on another piece of mutated black metal born from the heavenly punishment.
Venerable White said, “From the looks of it, this process isn’t dangerous, and that ball of liquid metal in your Inner World doesn’t seem to have any intelligence. Are you planning to continue?”
“Yes. I want to continue until that ball of liquid metal disappears from Inner World. I won’t feel at ease if it’s not gone from there,” Song Shuhang replied.
“Alright. In that case, let’s continue with this process,” Venerable White said with a smile.
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After repeating the process ten times, the last portion of the ball of liquid metal was finally dealt with, and then s.h.i.+fted to the main world with the help of the nucleus.
While witnessing the destruction of this last portion of the ball of liquid metal, Song Shuhang, Senior Sister Ye Si, and Venerable White were particularly alert.
If that ball of liquid metal was hiding something, it would be in this last fragment of its body.
“Boom~”
In the sky, that heavenly tribulation-like energy appeared once more, instantly destroying that fragment of the ball of liquid metal.
Just like the previous nine times, the ball of liquid metal was reduced to ashes, and only a small piece of metal was left behind.
“It’s over,” Ye Si said.
Song Shuhang nodded his head, and cautiously used the secret appraisal technique on that piece of metal.
[Mutated black metal born from the heavenly punishment, a valuable forging material rarely found in the world. A fragment of the will of the ruler of the Netherworld Realm that arrived in the main world as a sacrificial offering. But now, the will within has been completely wiped out, and the black metal underwent a wondrous mutation after experiencing the heavenly punishment.]
The result of the technique was the same as before.
Song Shuhang heaved a sigh of relief, and picked up the ten pieces of that mutated black metal, preparing to store them in his size-reducing purse.
“Shuhang, wait a moment.” But right at this time, Venerable White suddenly thought of something. “Give me those pieces of mutated black metal so that I can have a look at them.”
“Is it possible that there is something wrong with them?” Song Shuhang asked out of curiosity. Then, he gave the ten pieces of that mutated black metal to Venerable White.
Venerable White took the pieces of metal, and started to arrange them according to a certain order.
After a short moment, Venerable White put the ten fragments of that mutated black metal together, forming the picture of a square.
“As expected… after all, they were originally one ent.i.ty. There is a very advanced formation engraved on these pieces, which transformed them into the sacrificial offering that would allow the will of the ruler of the Netherworld to come to the main world,” Venerable White said.
“Senior White, since you pieced them together… won’t you attract the attention of the ruler of the Netherworld?” Song Shuhang asked, somewhat worried.
“Hmm, your guess is correct. You guys retreat a little. I’m about to gamble and seek death this time around,” Venerable White said.
Senior White wanted to seek death? What was he planning to do?
Song Shuhang and the others retreated a little.
Soon after, Song Shuhang saw that Venerable White altered his appearance, turning into a scholar with ordinary appearance.
“Eh? Isn’t that the Scholarly Sage?” Song Shuhang said.
It was precisely that ultra-amazing Scholarly Sage that had given rise to incredible phenomena when he was born, and had then fought against the heaven, the earth, and people alike during his lifetime.
But why had Venerable White a.s.sumed the appearance of the Sage?
Just as Song Shuhang was in deep thought, a blurry picture was projected from that square made from the pieces of black metal. The image of a strange and ancient big tree appeared in the picture.
One extremity of this strange tree was aimed at Venerable White, while the other extremity aimed toward the void.
Around two breaths later…
The picture changed again, and a pair of metallic eyes appeared in the blurry picture.
However, due to the square projecting the picture being split into ten sections, the metallic eyes were also divided into ten sections, just as though it was all a mosaic.
Anyway, that was the ruler of the Netherworld, the ball of liquid metal.
At the same time, an awe-inspiring aura spread from those metallic eyes. Luckily, the fact that the picture looked like a mosaic greatly reduced the power of this awe-inspiring aura that the metallic eyes were releasing.
But even so, Little Cai, who was on Song Shuhang’s palm, felt her legs becoming soft, and fainted after getting oppressed by this aura. Her strength was too low, and her will wasn’t that strong, either.
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Since it was the ruler of the Netherworld, the ball of liquid metal was bound to suffer some limitations, and couldn’t enter the main world. Even after using some methods to illegally get into the main world, it was immediately ‘obliterated’.
But even if the ruler of the Netherworld was unable to enter the main world, ordinary demons of the Netherworld weren’t subject to this limitation.
Such being the case, the ruler of the Netherworld was able to directly make contact with the main world through ordinary demons of the Netherworld—just like this strange tree, who was a demon of the Seventh Stage.
The tree was capable of ‘broadcasting’, and used its connection with that square made from the fragments of black metal to broadcast the picture to the ball of liquid metal in the Netherworld Realm.
In other words, the picture that Song Shuhang and the others were seeing at the moment was some sort of live stream.
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Venerable White, who had a.s.sumed the appearance of the Sage, was sitting cross-legged, giving off the aura of a grandmaster. He looked the same as the Scholarly Sage in Song Shuhang’s memories.
The two metallic eyes opened, staring at Venerable White, who now looked like the Scholarly Sage. In the next moment, the eyes of the metallic ball almost popped out.
“The Scholarly Sage!” A metallic voice echoed.
Scholarly Sage-version Venerable White faintly smiled.
“No, you’ve already died. It’s impossible for you to be alive. Who are you in the end?” that metallic voice said coldly.
While it was speaking, the surrounding s.p.a.ce started fluctuating. It felt as if a burst of power was trying to pa.s.s through the boundaries of s.p.a.ce and attack the Scholarly Sage.
Scholarly Sage-version Venerable White stretched out his hand, and made the action of ‘picking up a flower’.
“Boom!”
The sound of a series of explosions was resounded in midair. After the explosions subsided, the fluctuating s.p.a.ce immediately returned to its original state.
“The ❮Explosive s.p.a.ce Compressing Technique❯,” the two metallic eyes said in a grave tone.
This secret technique was a technique that belonged solely to the Scholarly Sage. It was a secret technique that had given it a lot of trouble in the past… It was particularly good at suppressing the ability to control s.p.a.ce that Ninth Stage Tribulation Transcenders possessed.
Back in the days, if a Ninth Stage Tribulation Transcender was thinking of using the power of s.p.a.ce to approach the Scholarly Sage, the Sage would unleash the ❮Explosive s.p.a.ce Compressing Technique❯. If an ordinary Ninth Stage Tribulation Transcender got to enjoy this explosive technique once, even if they didn’t die on the spot, they would be severely injured.
“It’s really you… This is really unexpected. You’ve actually managed to deceive me and leave behind a secret technique to resurrect yourself.” The metallic eyes kept rotating.
In the next moment, the metallic eyes in the picture zoomed out, and transformed into a large ball of liquid metal. “But since you’ve dared to appear in front of me like this, you are a goner! Be ready to suffer the punishment of the heavens!”
Scholarly Sage-version Venerable White faintly shook his head, and pointed toward the sky. “The current ‘it’ is already unable to kill me.”
“…” The metallic ball said, “Its condition has already deteriorated up to this point? s.h.i.+et…”
“Hehe. After it dies, you’ll die as well,” Scholarly Sage-version Venerable White said calmly.
“You b.a.s.t.a.r.d!” the metallic ball said coldly.
But immediately after, it froze, and said, “No, there is something wrong. You aren’t the Scholarly Sage, just a b.a.s.t.a.r.d that is playing tricks on me!”
After discovering that his disguise was seen through, Venerable White quickly stretched out his hand, and separated those pieces of black metal.
The picture of the ball of liquid metal disappeared.
Afterward, Venerable White returned to his original appearance, and wiped the sweat off his forehead.
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Song Shuhang and Ye Si returned to Venerable White’s side.
“Senior White, what were you trying to achieve after a.s.suming the appearance of the Scholarly Sage?” Ye Si asked.
“I wanted to confirm a guess… however, this isn’t the place to discuss this matter. Shuhang, let’s go to your Inner World,” Venerable White said.
Song Shuhang moved Venerable White and the others to his Inner World.
The monster bird Little Cai was still unconscious, and Song Shuhang placed her to one side so that she could have a good rest.
Venerable White said, “Some time ago, I came to the conclusion that there might be some kind of connection between the Wielder of the Will and the Ruler of the Netherworld. There were similar records in the inheritance I’ve obtained as well. However, that part of the records was fragmentary and incomplete. As a consequence, my knowledge is rather superficial when it comes to this subject.”
Song Shuhang immediately recalled when he dreamt about the third Wielder of the Will—Wielder of the Will Striped Dragon—and that Striped Dragon Two in the Netherworld Realm.
“According to my guess, after a Ninth Stage Tribulation Transcender inherits the Will of the Heavens and gains control over it, this person splits into two. One side will control the Will of the Heavens, and the other side the Netherworld Realm. However, like I said, it’s just my guess,” Venerable White said. “In addition, the current Wielder of the Will is about to die… In the next several thousand years, or tens of thousands of years, we might have an era with a different Wielder of the Will.”
“Senior White, do you want to become the Wielder of the Will?” Song Shuhang asked.
“Hmm, how can I explain it… I think that becoming the Wielder of the Will might be something very interesting. If I really become the Wielder of the Will, will another me appear in the Netherworld Realm? And how will this other me look like? If you think about it, it sounds rather cool,” Venerable White said with a smile. “Of course, it’s just a casual thought. After all, I can’t become the Wielder of the Will just because I wish so. At this time, I’m only a Seventh Stage Venerable, and there is still a long way left before I become a Ninth Stage Tribulation Transcender.”
“…” Song Shuhang.
If another Venerable White appeared in the Netherworld Realm, would his name be… Senior White Three?