Chapter 1388: Looking at the Sky
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Lu Zhou’s surprise could not be seen on his face. He paced back and forth with his hands on his back as he said, “The dead can’t be resurrected. This has been the case since time immemorial. What ability do you have to bring the dead back to life?”
Si Wuya said, “I’ve once discussed this matter with the people from the Sky Martial Court. Indeed, there’s no true way to resurrect the dead. However, there’s a way to prolong one’s life. Heaven gave all living things different abilities. For example, the Wuqi clan can be resurrected from the dead, and the Fire Phoenixes can rise from the ashes again.” He paused for a moment before he said, “I’m a descendant of the Fire Deity. Perhaps, I can save him.”
“Fire Deity?”
The scene of the Fire Deity shooting out of the underground palace s.h.i.+ning with a dazzlingly bright light appeared in Lu Zhou’s mind.
During his journey here, he had been observing the situation here. However, his perspective was not comprehensive enough. Moreover, there were times when he had to cut off the power of sight, and there were times when Si Wuya lost consciousness. Hence, he missed a lot of crucial information.
“What?!” Venerable Master Yang frowned. “He’s the descendant of the Fire Deity?”
Lu Zhou turned around and looked at the six people. “Who are you?”
Venerable Master Yang suppressed his anger and replied, “I’m Yang Jinhong. The deceased is my younger brother. The Halcyon Bird was raised by my younger brother. In the past, the Fire Deity, Ling Guang, ma.s.sacred the Halcyon clan.”
One of the cultivators next to Yang Jinhong chimed in, “We’re from the Great Void. The Halcyon Bird went missing so we were ordered to capture it and bring it back to the Great Void.”
Although Lu Zhou had been looking for clues regarding the Great Void, he was angry. He said, “So you secretly released the Halcyon Bird and came here to make things difficult for me people?”
Yang Jinhong was slightly startled. “Secretly released? Make things difficult?”
Lu Zhou said in a deep voice, “You came from the Great Void so you think you can bully the weak. Don’t tell me that’s not true.”
“…”
It was indeed the truth.
When Yang Jinhong recalled Lu Zhou’s strength, he did not dare to rashly reply. After thinking for a moment, he said, “In any case, Yang Liansheng and the Halcyon Bird are dead.”
What Yang Jinhong meant was since the duo was dead, what was there to pursue? Moreover, it was good enough that he did not pursue this matter.
Yang Jinhong considered using the Great Void to take advantage of the situation, but if the other party was ruthless and killed him to silence him, it would be bad. In such a situation, it was better to wait and see.
Lu Zhou pointed at Jiang Aijian, who was leaning against the wall, and asked, “Who will pay for his life then?”
Yang Jinhong was slightly wary. Based on Lu Zhou and Si Wuya, he knew they were master and disciple. Nonetheless, he still said, “Didn’t your disciple say he’ll pay for it?”
Lu Zhou shook his head and bluntly said, “I think you people from the Great Void should pay for it.”
“You!”
Yang Jinhong and the five cultivators retreated. Then, he tried to persuade the person in front of him by saying, “Let’s discuss this properly. If I’m not mistaken, you’re a Great Venerable Master. If it weren’t for the imbalance, the Scales of Justice would’ve sensed your existence. Once the imbalance ends, the Sacred Hall will definitely send people to welcome you to the Great Void where you’ll be among the best. What do you think?”
“Be among the best?” Lu Zhou raised an eyebrow.
Yang Jinhong said, “Since ancient times in the cultivation world, the strong have always preyed on the weak. There has never been fairness in regard to this. You, a Great Venerable Master, should understand this.”
“Are you teaching me?” Lu Zhou asked.
“…”
Yang Jinhong retreated again. He felt like the person in front of him was very hard to deal with; it was as though his brain was not working very well. After retreating to the side, he pointed at Jiang Aijian and said, “There is indeed a way to bring the dead back to life.”
Seeing that it was useless to talk about principles, Yang Jinhong switched tactics.
Lu Zhou said, “Speak.”
“He’s the descendant of the Fire Deity. His blood can extend life. Ling Guang, the Fire Deity, was sealed here for 100,000 years. There are three ways to bring him back to life. First, connect their lives,” Yang Jinhong said as he pointed at Si Wuya and Jiang Aijian, “Second, seal his consciousness, and let him be reborn into a new vessel. There’s someone who lived using this method at one of the Pillars of Destruction. He’s called Lord Zhennan. Third, you can refine a new body for him.”
Si Wuya said, “None of them are desirable.”
The first method of linking their lives together and binding them was not worth it. As for the second and third methods, could Jiang Aijian still be considered human after using those methods?
Si Wuya remained expressionless as he continued to say, “There’s another way. The blood exchange and rebirth technique!”
Huang s.h.i.+jie said in surprise, “Blood exchange?”
“Give him my blood, seal it in, and nourish it with the essence of the sun and moon. With that, he’ll be reborn. The Fire Deity… is similar to the Fire Phoenix in regard to this ability,” Si Wuya said.
Si Wuya turned to look at Jiang Aijian, whose eyes were closed, before he kowtowed to Lu Zhou and said, “I beg for master’s permission.”
Lu Zhou turned around. He tried to use his healing ability on Jiang Aijian. He had used the Concealment Card before coming to Mount Halcyon.
When the healing ability was cast, Jiang Aijian still remained motionless.
Lu Zhou had always thought that if his healing ability was a few times stronger, he might be able to bring the dead back to life. Unfortunately, it was impossible at this moment. What was more unfortunate was that Jiang Aijian was not Yu Zhenghai and did not possess the ability of the Wuqi clan. Once Jiang Aijian died, he was really dead.
After a moment, Lu Zhou asked, “What are the chances like?”
Si Wuya raised his head before he lowered it again. He did not answer immediately. After thinking for a moment, he finally said, “About 90% chance of success.”
Before Lu Zhou could speak, Si Wuya continued saying, “Since I was young, I’ve always acted on my own. I’ve had successes, and I’ve had failures. When I was young, you took care of me. When I was older, Eldest Senior Brother and Second Senior Brother took care of me. I’ve always thought that I was incapable of making mistakes. In fact, I’ve made a lot of mistakes, fatal mistakes. However, you, Eldest Senior Brother, and Second Senior Brother made up for a lot of my mistakes.”
Si Wuya’s voice grew lower and lower as he said, “Now, I’ve made another mistake. However, this time, I want to make up for my mistakes. No, I want to correct my mistakes.”
Lu Zhou frowned. He understood those words, but at the same time, he did not want to understand. He felt like launching a few more palm seals at Si Wuya so Si Wuya would return to his senses, but Si Wuya’s words had also dispelled much of his anger.
Although Lu Zhou’s merit points increased by quite a bit, he was not in the mood to be happy at this moment. He sighed. In the end, Si Wuya was his disciple. How could he bear to be ruthless to Si Wuya? There were some things that he could not help his disciple with and that his disciple would have to bear on his own.
Lu Zhou sighed, waved his hand, and turned away from Si Wuya.
Si Wuya understood his master’s meaning. He respectfully kowtowed to Lu Zhou three times.
Huang s.h.i.+jie wanted to say something but stopped in the end. He wanted to stop Si Wuya, but in the end, he did not.
Si Wuya raised his head and said, “Master, please keep a lookout for me. Jiang Aijian is a cultivator. His body temperature is still okay, and his Eight Extraordinary Meridians are still circulating. The further this drags on, the more dangerous it would be.”
Lu Zhou glanced at Si Wuya but did not say anything. Instead, he clasped his hands on his back and stared at Yang Jinhong and the others.
Si Wuya turned around and moved Jiang Aijian with a weak energy seal. Then, he moved to Jiang Aijian’s back. A faint red light shone in his eyes again as he raised his hand and sliced his palm with a golden energy seal. When blood seeped out of the cut, he clenched his hand.
The blood turned into blood energy and shrouded Jiang Aijian before sweeping out in all directions.
“What a strong blood energy!” Huang s.h.i.+jie exclaimed.
The blood energy spread like a mist in the underground palace. The light streaming down from above made it look even more mysterious.
The blood energy that fell on the ground formed red calligraphic letters. With Jiang Aijian in the center, they formed a circle around him.
Si Wuya frowned. At this moment, his back was glowing faintly. A pair of wings was vaguely discernible, flas.h.i.+ng with golden light.
As the blood energy churned, a ball of blue light emerged from his Dantian’s sea of Qi.
Yan Jinhong exclaimed, “Great Void Seed?! It’s really the Great Void Seed!”
Yang Jinhong clenched his hand, shattering the jade thumb ring on his thumb. It dissolved in spots of light.
Lu Zhou’s figure flashed before he launched a huge palm seal.
Bang!
Yang Jinhong flew backward and spat out blood.
The other five people quickly flew back and formed a human wall in front of Yan Jinhong.
Yang Jinhong clutched his chest as killing intent flashed in his eyes. “Bullying the weak?”
Lu Zhou put his hands on his back and asked, “Do you covet the Great Void Seed?”
“No!”
“You should be honest.”
“You…”
Lu Zhou lowered his head and looked at the powder from the jade ring on the ground. If it was the Collective Teleportation Jade Talisman, they would have escaped. Now that they knew about Si Wuya’s Great Void Seed, he could not allow them to leave.
After a while, Lu Zhou asked, “Where’s the Great Void?”
Yang Jinhong inhaled deeply before he leaped to his feet. His expression seemed strange as he chuckled and said, “Everyone in the world fears the Great Void, and everyone yearns for the Great Void. The people from the Great Void want to leave while the people outside want to go in…”
“Hmm?” This one word from Lu Zhou sounded very threatening.
“… In the sky,” Yang Jinhong said.
“In the sky?” Lu Zhou, the transmigrator, looked at the empty sky in confusion. Where was the Great Void? He could not even see the shadow of the Great Void in the sky.
Yang Jinhong said again, “Ordinary people can’t see the Great Void. Only the Great Void can find others, but others can never find the Great Void. Even if I told you it’s in the sky, you won’t be able to find it. The universe is vast and boundless.”
Lu Zhou asked, “Why did the Great Void leave the Unknown Land?”
Yang Jinhong was slightly stunned. He did not expect the person in front of him to know that the Great Void originated from the Unknown Land. After a moment, he said, “I don’t know either. It’s been 100,000 years since the land split. Even Ling Guang couldn’t escape from birth, aging, sickness, and death.”
Lu Zhou did not believe Yang Jinhong. “There are so many experts in the Great Void. Don’t tell there’s not even one person who has lived for more than 100,000 years?”
Yang Jinhong seemed more willing to speak about this topic. He said, “Of course, there are! There are at least 12 Saints in the Great Void. They’re all extraordinary. However, they live in the extreme north and south so it’s not easy to see them. As you know, the Great Void originates from the Unknown Land. It’s even more vast than the Unknown Land.”
Lu Zhou fell into deep thought. If it was bigger than the Unknown Land, then it should be very obvious. However, up until now, no one from the nine domains could find the Great Void. Since the Great Void originated from the Unknown Land, it should not be too far away. Was it hidden by some powerful formation? After thinking about it, it was the only reasonable explanation.
Lu Zhou said, “Ten Great Void Seeds mature every 30,000 years. Who knows how many 30,000-year cycles have pa.s.sed? Those who obtained the Great Void Seeds will definitely end up at the Great Void. Isn’t there even one supreme being in the vast Great Void?”
Yang Jinhong frowned and said indignantly, “Of course, there is!”
After Yang Jinhong said these words, he observed the changes in Lu Zhou’s expression. After hearing about the existence of 12 Saints and a supreme being, he believed no cultivator would be able to remain unafraid.
While Lu Zhou was lost in his thoughts, Mount Halcyon began to tremble.
Just as Lu Zhou was thinking, Mount Chongming started to tremble.
Yang Jinhong looked around and frowned. “It still happened.”
Lu Zhou was puzzled. “What happened?”
“You should have seen Mount Halcyon when you came. It can be considered a corner of the Great Void and was known as the Lost Land. Since the Halcyon clan discovered this place, they changed its name. Even Mount Halcyon couldn’t escape the imbalance.”
Lu Zhou felt there was an invisible force connecting everything between heaven and earth together. The nine domains, Mount Halcyon, the Great Void; they were all one. Then, what kind of force was controlling everything?
Splas.h.!.+
The sound of waves cras.h.i.+ng against the land rang from afar followed by the cries of sea beasts.
The sea beasts were here.
Lu Zhou said in a deep voice, “If anyone dares to move without permission, I’ll take their lives.”
Lu Zhou flashed and looked at Si Wuya and Jiang Aijian. Then, he manifested a ten-meter-wide golden lotus and pushed it toward Huang s.h.i.+jie and Li Jinyi.
In just an instant, the surging vitality energy from the golden lotus healed their injuries.
Although Huang s.h.i.+jie was severely injured, with the golden lotus’s vitality energy, he quickly recovered.
Li Jinyi’s shriveled Dantian’s sea of Qi that she had burned up was restored. Not only was her Dantian’s sea of Qi restored, but the vitality energy coursed through her Eight Extraordinary Meridians before filling her sea of Qi. With that, she vaguely felt like she was on the verge of a breakthrough. She immediately sat cross-legged and began to cultivate.
Upon seeing this, Huang s.h.i.+jie nodded and said, “Thank you, Brother Ji.”
“It’s nothing,” Lu Zhou replied. Then, he waited for Si Wuya’s blood exchange to be completed. He did not know how long it would take. All he could do was ensure the duo was not disturbed during the process.
Lu Zhou stood with his hands on his back at the entrance. He was like a huge mountain, blocking all dangers. His long robe fluttered slightly in the wind as his aura seemed like it was one with heaven and earth.
Yang Jinhong and the others continued standing, they did not dare to move. Great Venerable Masters had a higher comprehension of the law and the power of the Dao. They were not his match at all.
Yang Jinhong glanced at the jade powder on the ground near Lu Zhou’s feet before he looked at the sky. His eyes flashed briefly with killing intent.
…
After an hour.
Wu!
A sea beast with horns appeared before everyone’s eyes.
Following that, sea beasts and flying beasts appeared in the sky. They were like s.p.a.ces.h.i.+ps that covered half of the sky as they slowly approached.
Yang Jinhong said in a low voice, “They’re here.”
“You called for reinforcements?” Lu Zhou turned around, and his gaze turned cold.
Yang Jinhong crossed his fingers and spat out a mouthful of blood as he shouted, “Great teleportation technique!”
The six of them flashed and appeared 1,000 meters away.
Yang Jinhong did not dare to confront Lu Zhou head-on. He had been waiting for this moment. He said smugly, “What can you do? The jade ring I shattered earlier is a signal. Unfortunately, you found out too late.”
Lu Zhou raised his head and looked at the countless sea beasts in the sky. Above the sea beasts was a unique flying chariot.
The overall strength of this group of sea beasts was much stronger than that of the wave of sea beasts at Penglai Island.
“The Great Void controls the sea beasts?” Lu Zhou asked.
Yang Jinhong said, “That’s the responsibility of beast tamers. It’s not just now. The previous large-scale attacks by sea beasts in the nine domains were also the works of beast tamers. Difficult times give rise to heroes, after all. When humans become complacent, it’s not conducive to the growth of cultivators.”
“What?” Lu Zhou frowned. The anger that had already cooled down was ignited in an instant.
“Very well. Today, I will start a ma.s.sacre!” Lu Zhou stomped his feet, causing the earth to tremble. When he rushed forward, s.p.a.ce and time froze.
Although Yang Jinhong had expected this, he was still surprised by the power of the Dao of a Great Venerable Master. His subordinates and the sea beasts in the sky were frozen. Even his body was frozen, but his mind was not. He tried his best to mobilize the power of the Dao, trying to break free from the frozen state. Alas, it was in vain. The strength of a Great Venerable Master was not something he, an ordinary Venerable Master, could compare to.
In just three breaths, Lu Zhou appeared in front of Yang Jinhong. Then, he pressed his hand down on the top of Yang Jinhong’s head.
‘No!’ Yang Jinhong roared inwardly. His body was still frozen in place.
Boom!
Yang Jinhong was sent flying as blood gushed out from his head.
Time and s.p.a.ce unfroze at this moment.
The other five cultivators were also severely injured by the powerful shockwave. All of them spat out blood one after another.
“Ding! Destroyed on Birth Chart. Reward: 1,000 merit points.”
“Ding! Destroyed one Birth Chart. Reward: 500 merit points.”
“Ding! Destroyed one Birth Chart. Reward: 500 merit points.”
“Ding! Destroyed one Birth Chart. Reward: 500 merit points.”
“Ding! Destroyed one Birth Chart. Reward: 500 merit points.”
“Ding! Destroyed one Birth Chart. Reward: 500 merit points.”
At this time, Lu Zhou no longer cared about merit points. He flew toward Yang Jinhong again, leaving golden afterimages in his wake.
Yan Jinhong hurriedly manifested his astrolabe. The power of his Birth Charts exploded and shot toward Lu Zhou.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Although the attacks landed, Lu Zhou continued flying unimpeded toward Yang Jinhong. His body was translucent like the water due to the life heart ability he had used.
“This is the strength of a Great Venerable Master?” Yang Jinhong was in shock and disbelief.
Huang s.h.i.+jie and Li Jinyi were drawn by the commotion. They rushed to the entrance and were shocked by the scene before them.
They stayed on Penglai Island all year round and studied how to sprout the eighth leaf, ninth leaf, and tenth leaf before entering the Thousand Realms Whirling stage. However, when they saw the battle before their eyes, they were stunned.
“I feel like the sky is about to collapse…”
When Lu Zhou arrived in front of Yang Jinhong, a blazing white pillar of light that flashed with faint blue lightning bolts suddenly shot out of the flying chariot.
As the huge lightning bolt was about to strike, someone cried out, “Retreat!”
Bang!
Lu Zhou instinctively used the astrolabe to block. A familiar and paralyzing power swept across his body. He flew back and landed in front of the underground palace.
Then, a voice rang from above.
“Freeze!”
Another light pillar landed on the ground before it turned into electric arcs that spread in all directions.
Huang s.h.i.+jie, Li Jinyi, Yang Jinhong, his men, the sea beasts, and even Whitzard froze. They looked like statues at this moment.
‘Is it a Saint?’ Lu Zhou wondered. He instantly mobilized his divine power.
Buzz!
Lu Zhou’s consciousness grew clearer, and his Eight Extraordinary Meridians began to circulate again, but he still could not move.
‘Again.’ Lu Zhou increased the output of his divine power. It coursed through his Eight Extraordinary meridians. When his fingers moved, the electric arcs zapped him, freezing him again.
At this time, a lazy voice rang from the flying chariot. “Venerable Master Yang, what happened? Did the Great Void Seed appear or something?”
Thud!
Yang Jinhong regained mobility. He was overjoyed as he said to the flying chariot in the sky, “Greetings, Saint Yue.”
“Don’t speak carelessly. I’m not a Saint yet. I just have a useful demonic relic from the Unholy One,” the person in the flying chariot replied.
“Who doesn’t know it’s only a matter of time before you become a Saint?” Yang Jinhong said with an ingratiating smile.
“I like the way you talk. Your words are very pleasant to the ears,” the person said, “However, with the demonic relic in my hands, I’m really unafraid of ordinary lesser Saints.”
The person in the flying chariot was Yue Qi. He was one of the lead beast tamers in the Great Void.
Yang Jinhong nodded and said, “Of course. Look at this person. He’s a Great Venerable Master as well, and yet, with just one move of yours, he can’t move at all.”
“Great Venerable Master?”
“That’s right. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have crushed the jade ring,” Yang Jinhong said as he kneeled on the ground, “I beg Great Venerable Master Yue to seek justice for the Halcyon clan. This person killed the Halcyon Bird, and the beast tamer, Yang Liansheng. Yang Liansheng had followed you for a long time so you know him best.”
The flying chariot was silent.
Yang Jinhong continued to say, “We really did find the Great Void Seed…”
“What?” The originally lazy voice sounded a little excited.
Yang Jinhong pointed in the direction of the underground palace and said, “It’s inside.”
Yue Qi said, “Very good.”
Yang Jinhong was well-versed in the laws of survival. He said, “The Great Void Seed will now belong to you.”
The flying chariot descended.
After a moment, Yue Qi said, “You can kill him. I’ll bear all the consequences.”
“Thank you!”
Yang Jinhong’s shadow flashed, and he rushed toward Lu Zhou! His expression was ferocious. The hatred and anger in his heart were revealed on his face. He said through gritted teeth, “So what if you’re a Great Venerable Master? Faced with the Great Void, you’re just like an ant trying to shake a tree. I’ll return your attacks tenfold!”
Yang Jinhong launched a palm seal toward Lu Zhou. It looked as though it could tear the void.
Bang!
Lu Zhou remained unmoving and unharmed.
Yang Jinhong frowned, puzzled. He raised his hand and struck fiercely.
Bang!
Lu Zhou was still as steady as Mount Tai, unmoving.
Yang Jinhong refused to accept this. Just as he was about to strike again, Lu Zhou said, “Are you done?”
“Ah?”
“If you’re done, it’s time for you to die.” Lu Zhou’s hand struck out like a snake as he grabbed Yang Jinhong’s wrist, pulling Yang Jinhong back.
Crack!
With the divine power, Lu Zhou managed to sever Yang Jinhong’s arm with just a tug.
As Yang Jinhong was sent flying, Lu Zhou waved his hand, launching palm seals after palm seals at Yang Jinhong.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Yang Jinhong did not have the strength to fight back at all. He kept retreating as the ground and sky shook.
Lu Zhou launched 100 palm seals consecutively, all of them hitting Yang Jinhong’s abdomen, or to be more precise, his Dantian’s sea of Qi. Finally, he came to a stop.
Yan Jinhong was drenched in blood as he flew 1,000 meters away.
“Ding! Destroyed a Birth Chart. Reward: 1,000 merit points.”
Ten similar notifications rang consecutively in Lu Zhou’s mind.
With ten palm seals, Lu Zhou destroyed one Birth Chart. Just like that, he demoted a Venerable Master.
Lu Zhou placed his hands on his back and looked at the sky before he stomped his feet on the ground.