Chapter 679: My Name Is Vicious
Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97
Rewinding time back to when Zhang Xuan parted with Xing Yuan.
In the underground chamber, a bizarre Otherworldly Demon puppet holding its head in its hand ran frenziedly as more than twenty Otherworldly Demon puppets pursued it relentlessly. They were howling furiously, threatening to rip the other party to shreds should they lay their hands on it.
Seeing how the idea he"d thought of on a whim had sent all of these puppets into such a frenzy, Zhang Xuan"s curiosity intensified.
In truth, this puppet body was disposable to him. As souls were intangible, it would be difficult for these puppets to stop him if he were to make a serious attempt at escaping. Not to mention, he had a golden page in the Library of Heaven"s Path as well. Even if he were to be cornered, he still had a trump card up his sleeves, so there was nothing for him to fear.
This was also the reason why he had the others flee first while he drew the puppets away.
He thought that it would be great if he could draw some of the puppets away through his taunting. Who knew that he would actually successfully draw the aggression from all of the puppets, making them chase him rabidly as if he had murdered their parents?
To actually make these unintelligent puppets get so agitated, what in the world was that heart?
"No matter what, as long as I touch it, I should know the answer…"
The only way to let everyone escape successfully was for him to continue drawing the attention of the puppets. Thus, without any hesitation, Zhang Xuan continued das.h.i.+ng forward with his head in his hand. Seven breaths later, he was standing before the stream.
The small stone pedestal and the heart were still there.
"Let"s see what it is!"
With the puppets right behind his tail, there was no room for other thoughts in Zhang Xuan"s mind. He immediately leaped forward and stepped into the stream.
Roar! Roar! Roar!
Upon seeing Zhang Xuan leap into the stream, all of the puppets were worried, but none of them dared rush forward. They glared at him angrily, seemingly wanting to grind him to dust.
"This…"
Seeing that the puppets didn"t even rush over as he had expected, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief.
In truth, back when he saw the puppets stepping into the stream one by one to accept a transfusion of energy from the heart, he was a little perplexed by the sight. And now, it seemed like his conjecture was right.
There was some kind of rule binding the puppets that only allowed one of them to step into the stream at any given time.
"Let"s see what this heart is…"
Zhang Xuan began walking to the stone pedestal that the heart was placed on.
Huala!
As soon his gaze fell upon the heart, he immediately felt an overwhelming killing intent piercing his mind just like a dagger.
Knowing that this would happen, Zhang Xuan immediately activated his Heaven"s Path Soul Art and drove his soul energy.
In an instant, that sharp pain weakened significantly, but even so, Zhang Xuan still felt as if his head was splitting apart.
Zhang Xuan stopped in his tracks.
"It"s hard for me to stand against the killing intent without Heaven"s Path zhenqi…"
The killing intent emanated from the heart was far stronger than the Otherworldly Demon which Hong s.h.i.+ took out back at the Master Teacher Tournament. Even though his soul had been tempered by the Heaven"s Path Soul Art, it was still difficult for him to withstand that overwhelming killing intent without the protection of his Heaven"s Path zhenqi. Even standing at this point was sufficiently difficult for him. If he were to proceed forward any further, it was highly possible that his mind would be corroded by the killing intent, thus suffering immense damage.
Zhang Xuan turned around to take a look at the other puppets behind him. While they were infuriated by his actions, they dared not get too close. In fact, they didn"t dare to launch any attack at all. For the time being, there was no need for him to worry about his safety.
Huala!
He took out the body which he had placed inside his storage ring previously.
Then, he withdrew his soul from the puppet and returned back into his main body.
After entering his main body, he finally felt more comfortable, and he heaved a long sigh of relief.
Even though the Otherworldly Demon puppet"s body was much stronger than his current body, he wasn"t able to control it adeptly, and there was a strong feeling of incongruity when he was moving it.
"Heaven"s Path zhenqi!"
As his soul fused perfectly with his physical body, he immediately drove his zhenqi. In an instant, the killing intent which had still been a.s.saulting him a moment ago was immediately warded off entirely, as if it didn"t exist at all.
Heaven"s Path zhenqi seemed to possess the ability to curb the mysterious aura that Otherworldly Demons emanated; he had verified this back then during the Master Teacher Tournament.
Roar!
Seeing a human appear in the stream all of the sudden, the puppets" anger crescendoed. They bellowed angrily at him, but in fear of something, they dared not step forward.
As long as the puppets didn"t dare to step into the stream, there was nothing for Zhang Xuan to worry about. Thus, he continued advancing to the heart slowly.
In order to trigger the Library of Heaven"s Path, he would have to come into contact with it.
With a few steps, he was already standing before the stone pedestal. His hand slowly reached forward to touch the heart.
"HAHAHAHAHA!"
Upon contact, Zhang Xuan barely had the time to mutter "flaws" when a deranged laughter suddenly echoed in the surroundings. Following which, a huge shadow suddenly appeared before his eyes.
"This body… Great! Great! Even the heavens are on my side!" That ma.s.sive shadow before Zhang Xuan roared in delight. The heart also began to beat faster and faster, as if it had encountered some precious, nouris.h.i.+ng medicinal herb.
"With this body, I can finally revive myself after many millenniums of hibernation!"
The ma.s.sive figure was shaking with agitation. With a loud bellow, its eyes suddenly opened, and a sharp glint flashed in its eyes. "Kong s.h.i.+, it"s too bad you failed to kill me entirely! When I return, I"ll crush your heritage and reduce your Master Teacher Pavilion to ruins…"
While roaring furiously, that ma.s.sive figure stretched its hand forward to grab Zhang Xuan up.
That heart on the pedestal also suddenly rose up and flew to the left side of his chest. With immense force, it rammed itself against him, seemingly trying to penetrate his body to replace his heart.
If it were to succeed, Zhang Xuan"s consciousness would be consumed, and he would lose his sense of ident.i.ty.
"What?!"
Zhang Xuan"s expression immediately froze.
Before that ma.s.sive figure, he felt like an ant standing before a mountain. Helplessness clutched his heart.
"It"s too powerful…"
The strongest person he had encountered in his journey was Pavilion Master Mo from Hongyuan Empire. But somehow, Zhang Xuan"s instincts told him that even a person as strong as Pavilion Master Mo would be no different from a worm before this fearsome heart.
The sensation he was feeling at this moment was similar to back when he first met Kong s.h.i.+. His mind and body were no longer under his own control, and his life and death were held in the hands of the other party.
Zhang Xuan panicked.
"Am I going to be possessed by this fellow?"
He was only interested in seeing what the heart was. Never had he dreamed that the heart would actually be alive, and he would even be possessed at that!
If the other party were to succeed in its possession, Zhang Xuan"s consciousness would be wiped clean. By then, he would be no different from a puppet.
"Heaven"s Path zhenqi!"
Zhang Xuan immediately willed for his body to drive his Heaven"s Path zhenqi, but he realized that the mental connection between his mind and body had been snapped, preventing him from making any movements.
He felt as if he was trapped in a dream. He could perceive what was going on around him, but no matter how much he struggled, his body just wouldn"t move at all.
"Don"t even bother struggling!"
The ma.s.sive figure before the heart seemed to have noticed what Zhang Xuan was trying to do, and it sneered coldly, "Even Kong s.h.i.+ had suffered a great deal before my prowess. You might be a Celestial Master Teacher, but you"re still too weak to stand against me! I suggest you obediently allow me to take over your body. In your body, I"ll dominate the world and make the entire world tremor beneath my might!"
Zhang Xuan couldn"t help but ask, "Even Kong s.h.i.+ has suffered before your prowess? Who are you?"
Kong s.h.i.+ was the most powerful figure in the world several dozen millenniums ago. He singlehandedly created the Master Teacher Pavilion to fend off the Otherworldly Demons and expel them from the Master Teacher Continent. His contribution to humanity was so great that none could compare to him, and his cultivation was so high that he had no peers.
And yet, this fellow actually said he was able to injure Kong s.h.i.+? Who in the world was he?
"It has been too long for me to remember my name."
The heartbeat and an ancient aura slowly exuded from the ma.s.sive figure. "But back then, everyone seemed to address me as "Vicious"!"
"Vicious?"
"That"s right! Are you afraid now?" Vicious asked.
"I never heard of you before," Zhang Xuan replied.
"…" The heart.
Most of the details regarding the ancient history with the Otherworldly Demons were stored in the higher tier Master Teacher Pavilions. As a 4-star master teacher, Zhang Xuan wasn"t qualified to browse through those doc.u.ments.
And thus, he had truly never heard of what "Vicious" or "Victim", whatever the other party was called.
"Humph, it matters not. Today, you shall witness my greatness!" Not expecting for a Celestial Master Teacher to not recognize him, the heart began beating intensely in anger, and with a loud roar, the huge hands of the shadowy figure grabbed Zhang Xuan"s neck.
Ji ya!
The crus.h.i.+ng pressure on Zhang Xuan"s neck made him gasp desperately for air, and his sight began to darken.
In the other party"s hands, he was no different from an infant. He was unable to retaliate at all.
Under this desperate situation, Zhang Xuan forcefully uttered, "You intend to… possess… me?"
"Indeed. A Celestial Master Teacher is a person whose body has been recognized by even the heavens themselves. Even though I am a member of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe, I am still able to possess their body without incurring any side effects. In fact, I am even able to disguise as you humans without anyone noticing anything…"
The heart harrumphed.
"You are able to… tell that I am… a Celestial… Master Teacher?" Zhang Xuan stuttered with difficulty.
So far, there had been not a single master teacher who had been able to discern that he was a Celestial Master Teacher. Thus, he didn"t expect this heart would be able to recognize this ident.i.ty of his.
Could this heart really be an incredible expert on par with Kong s.h.i.+?
To be able to stand against Kong s.h.i.+… how powerful must one be?
And not to mention, if the other party had lived in the same era as Kong s.h.i.+, how could he still be alive now?
The heart harrumphed coldly.
"That fellow Kong s.h.i.+ is one as well. Having fought with him my entire life, how could I possibly not recognize a Celestial Master Teacher?"
Back in that ancient era, he was Kong s.h.i.+"s greatest nemesis, and he had fought with the latter his entire life. Naturally, this had allowed him to grow accustomed to the various abilities and distinctive traits of a Celestial Master Teacher.
"Since you are from… the same generation… as Kong s.h.i.+… I must be… nothing more than an ant… before you. Why don"t you… let me down first… I won"t be able to… retaliate against you… anyway…" Zhang Xuan said anxiously.
"Do you think that your tricks will work on me?" the heart sneered.
"Given how powerful… you are… I won"t be… able to do… anything, even… if I wanted to!"
Due to the immense pressure crus.h.i.+ng down on his throat, Zhang Xuan was finding it harder and harder to speak. "I am about to be… possessed by you soon. Before my death… I wish to know some things… so that I can… rest in peace!"
"Humph, there"s no use playing such tricks before me!" the heart replied.
"Why? You don"t… believe me? You spoke as if… you were a… formidable figure… and yet you are worried… about someone… as weak as me?" Zhang Xuan replied.
"Audacious! When I was roaming the world, even Kong s.h.i.+ was fearful of me. Even 9-star master teachers would be crushed easily under my hands. Why would I fear someone as weak as you?"
Hearing Zhang Xuan doubt his strength, the heart flew into a rage.
"If that"s the case… why don"t you… let me go? Anyway… someone like me… can"t possibly hurt you…" Zhang Xuan continued.
The heart pondered for a moment, and seemingly agreeing with Zhang Xuan"s words, he finally let go of his grasp.
Even though Vicious had been one of the strongest existences in the world in the past, his fight with Kong s.h.i.+ had left him severely injured. Even the many millennia of hibernation were insufficient for him to recover fully. With his current strength, possessing a Celestial Master Teacher would be no easy feat. If he could convince the other party to willingly give up his body, he could be spared a lot of unnecessary trouble.
Feeling the strength restraining him disappearing, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief.
"Ask whatever you want to, I"ll grant your dying wish at the very least!" the heart said.
"Alright…"
Zhang Xuan nodded. Feeling the connection between his mind and his body returning, he suddenly smiled. "I would like to ask if you recognize this object."
After which, a golden book suddenly appeared before him.
"This? What is this?"
The heart was taken aback. While he was still pondering over this bizarre question, that book suddenly crushed down on him.
Following which, a frenzied howling reverberated across the entire underground chamber.
"s.h.i.+t! What the h.e.l.l! Who in the world are you?!"