novelzi Chapter 407: The Tragic Hero
Chapter 407: The Tragic Hero
Chapter 407: The Tragic Hero
All the elders were gathered in the main hall of the Sword Pavilion in the Second World.
Great Elder Jiang Ran sat in the upper seat of the hall.
"Su Li is dead," he said, sorrow flashing in his eyes. "The golden cauldron I bestowed him was destroyed and his soul lamp extinguished."
For once, the elders, usually prone to arguments among themselves, maintained a rare silence.
After a long while, Jiang Ran asked solemnly, "Where is Chen Weihuang?"
"In seclusion, consolidating his Nirvana Realm cultivation," Wang Ce replied in a low voice.
Jiang Ran's face darkened. "When did he break through?"
"A few days ago." Wang Ce paused. Temporarily setting aside his past grievances with Jiang Ran, he added, "Zhou Yi of the Nine Tribes Sect and Hong Qiming of the Demon Sect invited Hu Yuanfei and Pang Jian to the Fourth World.
"This information came from Cheng Rutang of the Primeval Pillar Divine Kingdom.
"Su Li...was likely among the invitees.
"Those ranked at the top of the Soul Wandering Realm and Spirit Condensation Realm leaderboards have all quietly ventured into the Fourth World.
"Something had almost certainly happened in the Fourth World, and Su Li is not the only one involved.
"The conflict in the Third World has also escalated. Only the Cosmic Skies and the Dark Abyss Continents remain under our control.
"The situation with the foreign race warriors and Vicious Beasts on the fragmented lands has spiraled out of control.
"It may be time for the Nirvana Realm cultivators to join the battle," Wang Ce said.
Jiang Ran remained silent for a long moment before finally replying, "My first disciple, Zhou Wenhao, will go to the Cosmic Skies Continent."
***
Flying vessels from various sects and factions arrived at the Dark Abyss Continent from the fragmented lands in the Third World.
The human cultivators on board wore grim expressions, with the robes of some stained with blood.
It was a stark contrast to their carefree spirits from the early stages when the human race had dominated every battle.@@@@
The Armor-Breaking Marquis, Li Wei, stood at the peak of Saddle Ridge Mountain and gazed into the distance with a deep frown.
"The foreign races have launched a full counterattack. The fragmented lands have become treacherous and are no longer a domain where we, the human race, can roam freely."
The loyal Armor-Breaking Army soldiers at his side, all in the Nirvana Realm, remained silent and solemn.
Two weeks ago, Rank Eight foreign race warriors and Vicious Beasts started to appear in the fragmented lands, joining forces with Berserk Beasts to hunt down human cultivators.
Casualties among the human race had surged, forcing them to retreat to the two continents to regroup.
The grave situation weighed heavily on everyone's hearts.
Unfortunately, the higher-ups were still assessing the true strength of the foreign races and Vicious Beasts and were hesitant to commit more Nirvana Realm cultivators to the battle.
This made the Armor-Breaking Army wary of advancing. They could only hold their ground on the two continents, awaiting orders from above.
"The missing cultivators at the top of their leaderboards have yet to return, and none can be contacted." Li Wei sighed heavily.
Behind him was a redemption point with prisms displaying scenes from the Mystic Eyes.
Cultivators from the Boundless Sky Divine Kingdom kept a watchful eye on the prisms, monitoring the images within.
Unlike before, they had grown idle in recent days.
Their newfound idleness reflected the dire state of the human cultivators' hunting operations.
Whoosh!
An image appeared within one of the large prisms.
Dong Wenjian of the Ancient Law Sect sat atop a talisman that had transformed into a carpet and flew swiftly above the dense leaden clouds.
"Revitalize the Fey Race? Pure delusion." Ling Yimo scoffed.
The Outer Gods had long since written off the Fey Race after the war they had orchestrated against them using the other races.
The Fey Race had been demoted to mere beasts ever since.
It did not matter how powerful the Fey Race once was. As long as they never rose to the height of a fully developed race again, they would always remain nothing more than a primitive civilization left behind by the passing of time.
The Fey Race had failed to establish themselves in the Abyss even after the human race had defeated the Outer God's nurtured races.
While some Spirit Beasts managed to eke out an existence on the Sacred Soul Continent, most Vicious Beasts and Spirit Beasts had either scattered across the fragmented lands or lived in the dark Fifth World.
Though they shared the same ancestors, their cultivation and intelligence led to their classification as Vicious Beasts or Spirit Beasts.
Vicious Beasts cultivated with murky energy or impure spiritual qi, resulting in a lack of intelligence.
On the other hand, Spirit Beasts typically either cultivated with pure spiritual qi or knew how to purge the impurities from impure spiritual qi, allowing them to gain intelligence earlier than Vicious Beasts.
Even so, as Vicious Beasts advanced their bloodlines, their intelligence inevitably developed and they eventually transformed into Spirit Beasts.
Most Vicious Beasts were unaware of their glorious past and ancient history due to their lack of intelligence.
Those thriving on murky energy gradually aligned themselves with the foreign races of the Fifth World.
Leaders of the foreign races in the Fifth World were aware of the Vicious Beasts' origins and ultimately refrained from cultivating their intelligence, treating them as mere mounts.
The foreign races did not allow Vicious Beasts to advance to Rank Ten like the Celestial Phoenix, black turtle, the Primordial Serpent, or the Thunder Dragon.
The Celestial Phoenix and black turtle had once persuaded Rank Eight Vicious Beasts to defect in the heat of the battle against the human race.
This had only succeeded because Vicious Beasts awakened their intellect at Rank Eight.
Rank Tens were naturally far more dangerous and would have almost certainly transformed into Spirit Beasts by then.
As soon as they learned of their race's tragic history through their bloodline memories, they would inevitably rise in rebellion.
Naturally, the foreign races would never raise a tiger that could turn on them.
The foreign races had no intention of handing over the Fey Spirit Continent to the Fey Race, regardless of the black turtle's intentions.
"The Fey Race will always remain beneath us, forever reduced to our mounts."
Ling Yimo's divine consciousness surged like a rising tide as she infused her power into her divine soul.
She imprinted it with her secret soul techniques, aiming to eventually transform her divine soul into a living body with flesh and blood.
A sword light descended from the sky.
The sword light appeared to be composed of rivers of souls that floated with corpses of billions of foreign races.
It struck the Sanctum of Godly and Demonic Genesis.
The Sanctum of Godly and Demonic Genesis had only just taken shape. It had finally established a connection with the real Sanctum of Godly and Demonic Genesis, only to be sliced into pieces with a single sword strike.
Earth energy scattered in radiant showers across the Fey Spirit Continent.
Ling Yimo's recently solidified divine soul once again dissipated into wisps of smoke. She fled from the destroyed city, slipping through the cracks in the ground like a swarm of mosquitoes.
The sword light faded to reveal a rotund man in blue robes hovering in the sky with his sword.
His divine sense blanketed the entire Fey Spirit Continent.
"Pang Jian!" he shouted.
His resonant voice echoed through the vast Fey Spirit Continent, shaking Ling Yimo's consciousness and causing the foreign races and Vicious Beasts to spurt blood from their mouths.
His sword intent permeated every corner of the continent, from the sky to its core.
"The divine sword, Tempest Fiend!"
"Li Zhaotian!"
1. While not directly referencing it, the river of souls (魂河) appears to draw inspiration from the Yellow Springs (黄泉), symbolizing the journey of souls through the afterlife. ☜