Chapter 1274: I Live in the Silt, but I Am Not Stained
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
They kept moving forward. Most places in this ancient battlefield that had been buried underground for so many years were ruined and cracked. After being eroded by the soil and dust, these places had become dead ends, which made this area a weird labyrinth. Basically, anyone who wandered in this place could be trapped in this labyrinth, which was full of dangerous restrictive spells. They would only find a dead end and have to go back helplessly.
So, the Jade Lake and the rest of the big sects had failed to find the right path into this site. b.u.t.tface and Duan Jiude, who might have had a map, managed to find the right path and take away the inheritances. Therefore, people started to cast greedy eyes on them.
Now, they had showed up again and were spotted by others immediately. The Divine Farmer Clan even forced them to lead the way by threatening them with harming Liu Jingning. In this way, the Divine Farmer Clan could go deep into this site by following b.u.t.tface and Duan Jiude.
However, b.u.t.tface and Duan Jiude were experts in entrapping others. On their way, they set up all kinds of traps. At last, when they entered the inheritance place, they managed to start a fight among the Divine Farmer Clan and the other big sects!
Now, Xu Que, Bai Cailing, and the apprentices of the Jade Lake also arrived at the intersection mentioned by the cultivators. It was a junction of seven paths. The sovereigns had been lured into the path at the top left side where shoe prints could be seen. No traces or auras could be found on the rest of the six paths.
Xu Que frowned as he looked at the rest of the six paths. His intuition told him that all these six paths were more dangerous than the one on the top left side. It seemed he would be destroyed immediately after stepping his foot on those paths. The path on the top left side, which was the one chosen by the sovereigns, was safer than the rest of the six paths, although it also looked quite dangerous. Moreover, the point was that the aura of b.u.t.tface and Duan Jiude could be sensed in this path.
“This path is quite weird!” Xu Que squinted his eyes slightly. He was sure that b.u.t.tface and Duan Jiude had entered through this path. However, they had managed to use some magic arts to go to the place which faced the altar instead of being teleported directly onto the altar. Then, they started to watch the show as they enjoyed the hotpot.
“Elder Xu, do you want to enter through this path?” Bai Cailing walked up and asked as she looked at Xu Que. She had also figured out this was the only path they could use. Great uncertainties could be sensed in the rest of the six paths, which might destroy them rapidly. So, she would choose the path which had been chosen by others before.
However, this was not an easy path. If they didn’t know the method, they would be teleported to the altar like Yi Zhong and the rest of the sovereigns who were driven mad and started to kill each other. Of course, people from the Jade Lake also had an advantage! Once they came into that place, b.u.t.tface would recognize them and help them to leave the altar.
“Let’s go through this path. As those cultivators said, we won’t appear in the battlefield directly if we are teleported to the altar. We will appear at the edge of the altar. However, we will still be influenced by the morbid Qi on it. If you can’t resist the morbid Qi, I suggest you should stay here!” Xu Que said calmly like an expert. His words, which contradicted his frail appearance, were too harsh for the people of the Jade Lake.
We respect you, but you can’t underestimate our strength! A frail cultivator at the Half-Celestial Stage like you dares to enter this place! But you said this place is too dangerous for us who are at the Earth Celestial Stage, Heaven Celestial Stage, or even the Golden Celestial Stage! Are you kidding? Moreover, it is not difficult to resist the morbid Qi. If we know about it in advance, we could ensure our safety by taking precautionary measures!
Those female apprentices of the Jade Lake smiled as they shook their heads. Because they respected Xu Que, they said nothing and pretended they didn’t hear what Xu Que had said. Bai Cailing made a gesture of invitation with a wry smile, “Elder Xu, let’s go!”
“Okay!” Xu Que nodded his head as he stepped forward. Bai Cailing walked side by side with Xu Que. Behind them, there were several guardians at the summit of the Golden Celestial Stage and more than ten apprentices at the Earth Celestial Stage or Heaven Celestial Stage who were walking forward vigilantly.
When they stepped onto the path, a gust of chilly wind blew in which was full of the fresh and the old smells of blood.
Boom!
Suddenly, all of them were dragged into the void by a horrible traction force. Then they disappeared in the pa.s.sage!
Sh*t! Before the teleportation, Xu Que couldn’t help but curse secretly. Now, he knew the entire path was a part of the Teleportation Device where no intersections could be found. b.u.t.tface and Duan Jiude must have something like a key to change the direction of the teleportation. In this way, they could reach the other side by jumping across the altar.
However, this belated discovery was useless. When the darkness in front of them disappeared, they found they were standing at the edge of an enormous altar. Dozens of people were fighting fiercely at the center of the altar. The entire altar was trembling because of their thickly dotted dazzling magic arts. The ground was covered with blood. Dozens of dead bodies were lying in blood, which revealed the brutalities of this fight.
“Oh, no! b.u.t.tface and Duan Jiude have left!” Bai Cailing’s expression changed, and she said in a low voice at this time. Hearing that, Xu Que looked up toward the other side of the altar. He only found some leftovers and a big pot but didn’t find b.u.t.tface, Duan Jiude, and the rest of the people. Apparently, they had left.
For Xu Que and the people from the Jade Lake, this was bad news! Their plan had been to ask b.u.t.tface to take them to the other side after being teleported to this altar. They didn’t expect that b.u.t.tface and Duan Jiude would have left. Now, they were in the same situation as the sovereigns who were engaged in a b.l.o.o.d.y fight. Even if they could withstand the morbid Qi and prevent themselves from starting a fight with others, they could still be attacked by those who had been influenced by the morbid Qi.
“What? No! I didn’t expect the morbid Qi in this area would be so powerful! I have a feeling I can’t resist it anymore!” A female apprentice shouted in surprise suddenly. After being reminded by the cultivators, they had made preparations before coming into this place. Some apprentices even used magic artifacts to protect themselves. However, the morbid Qi still infiltrated their bodies when they appeared on the altar.
“Something is wrong with this place!” A guardian at the Golden Celestial Stage said seriously. Apparently, the powerful cultivators at the Golden Celestial Stage were not able to stop the morbid Qi from going into their bodies either! Even if they could stay sane now, they would lose their minds sooner or later because of the gradual influence of the morbid Qi. At the last, they would be driven mad because of the acc.u.mulation of morbid Qi in their bodies.
“No wonder this is the ancient battlefield! Those morbid Qi comes from the remnant souls of the deceased divine. When the remnant soul was torn apart, the morbid Qi acc.u.mulated before his death came out, which is totally unstoppable!” Xu Que squinted his eyes and said calmly at this time.
The reason that the name of this place was the Ancient Battlefield of Divinities was that deities used to fight in this place. All deities that died here were killed in combat. Their morbid Qi was extremely violent, which was unstoppable for cultivators at the Golden Celestial Stage!
“Elder Xu, please step back and don’t stand at the front!” Bai Cailing said seriously. She knew the situation was serious. So, she asked Xu Que to go back to the edge of the altar where he could still stay sane. In this way, she tried to prevent him from being involved in the fight, although she knew what she did was useless.
This old man was the weakest one among them. So, he would be the first one to be driven mad. Therefore, Bai Cailing tried to ask him to stay away from her and the other apprentices of the Jade Lake. Otherwise, once he lost his mind and started to attack them, they would have to defend themselves by fighting back, which would drop them into a perplexing situation.
“Don’t worry! These morbid Qi are nothing for me!” Xu Que said calmly with a smile at this time. Hearing that, people from the Jade Lake were surprised. After checking Xu Que’s status, they widened their eyes and didn’t believe what they saw.
“How…could this be?”
“I didn’t expect Elder Xu could resist all morbid Qi!”
“Elder Xu, how…can you do that? Why do the morbid Qi circ.u.mvent you?”
Several apprentices of the Jade Lake shouted in surprise. Bai Cailing and those guardians at the Golden Celestial Stage also looked at Xu Que in surprise. A frail old man at the Half-Celestial Stage could keep the morbid Qi away from him, which was too confusing!
“Heh, heh!” Xu Que smiled at this time. By placing his hands behind his back, he looked up and said with a kind smile, “You are influenced by the morbid Qi because of the Inner Demon in your heart! Your mind is not pure enough! If you could act as peaceful as I do, the Inner Demon in your heart will disappear. Also, the morbid Qi won’t affect you anymore!”
No Inner Demons in our hearts? This is totally impossible! Deities couldn’t ensure their hearts were free of any Inner Demon! Even eminent monks who pursued a purity of six senses couldn’t realize that. As long as there was a strand of Inner Demon in the heart, that one strand could still be influenced by the morbid Qi. This Elder Xu was so peaceful and calm! Does it mean he is a sage?
“When Xu Que was a kid, I asked him to act like me by getting rid of the Inner Demon in his heart and being at peace with this world. It is a pity, for you can’t find other people like me in this world who live in the silt but are not stained! So, don’t be frustrated and just keep working harder!” Xu Que consoled them with a mysterious expression.
Hearing that, the people from the Jade Lake were stunned for they knew what he said was incorrect! This is impossible! When Yi Zhong was possessed by Xu Que’s soul, Elder Xu was so angry he even beat Yi Zhong up! How could he say he has no Inner Demon in his heart? How could he say he lives in silt but is not stained?
“What?”
At this time, Bai Cailing was attracted by the things on Xu Que’s chest. So, she said with a smile, “Elder Xu, could I have a look at those Buddha Beads and Buddha necklaces on your chest?”