Chapter 505: They Can't All Be, Right?
"Back then, you were just a village boy, nearly made into a puppet by Xuan Yinzi. I saw your immense potential and, out of compassion, persuaded him to take you on as a disciple.
"After that, you quickly rose within the sect while the opposite happened to Xuan Yinzi. He was losing the hearts of the people. At that point, I noticed your intentions to revolt and offered to help you approach the True Form of Ksitigarbha.
"I truly didn't expect you to be so ruthless. To gain the recognition of the True Form of Ksitigarbha, you severed a part of yourself, discarding all your goodness and becoming a vessel of pure evil. From that moment on, you earned the acknowledgment of the True Form of Ksitigarbha, severely wounding Xuan Yinzi in the fight for the Great Dao of the Profound Darkness, ultimately achieving Heavenly Origin.
"You promised me that once you comprehended the Great Dao of the Profound Darkness, you would help me resurrect my son. But when you had the opportunity to do so, you broke your promise."
Granny Meng confronted the sect leader of the Dark King Sect with a stern and chilling look.
"Lin Poyun, since I helped you ascend to this position, I also have the power to take you down. You probably didn't expect that the remnant of goodness you severed back then would survive and evolve into a mortal of pure goodness, later becoming a disciple of Noble Dharma at the Holy Mountain in the Northern Regions."
The bald monk alongside her watched with eyes full of empathy and compassion.
No one could have guessed that the kind-hearted and benevolent Master Wu'e of Holy Mountain was actually the infamous sect leader of the Dark King Sect.
After becoming a disciple of Noble Dharma, Monk Wu'e devoted himself to cultivation and attained the power of a seventh-realm Eminent One.
If it were an ordinary seventh-realm cultivator, the sect leader of the Dark King Sect wouldn't have any reason to fear this monk. However, he felt that this monk was more challenging to deal with than any cultivator who had attained the Heavenly Origin.From the first moment he saw the monk, he felt a surge of thoughts infiltrating his mind, as if another consciousness with its own reasoning was attempting to take control of his mind.
"No... Impossible." The sect leader of the Dark King Sect shook his head vigorously. "Even if good and evil repel each other, I should be the one to devour you. How can your consciousness dominate mine? It must be Noble Dharma; that old fool must have done something somehow."
"I promised Noble Dharma that I would give half of the Breath of the Yellow Springs to the Whale-Riding Immortal and use the other half to resurrect my son. After that, I will become a nun and cultivate on the Holy Mountain, no longer concerning myself with any affairs of the diabolical sect," Granny Meng said, her voice as cold as the biting wind. "Lin Poyun, if you do not leave now, you will die."
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
Within the time it took to say those few words, multiple beams of light descended upon the scene. The hall masters of the Four Halls of Darkness arrived, all looking on in disbelief at what was happening.
"Heheh..." The sect leader of the Dark King Sect chuckled softly twice.
Today marked yet another severe blow to the diabolical sect.
Since the battle at Mount Shu, the Dark King Sect had yet to regain its strength, and now this setback had once again plunged it back into a dire situation.
He didn't care about any of his subordinates; as long as he obtained the Breath of the Yellow Springs, it wouldn't matter if all these small fry died.
However, in light of the current situation, with the righteous sects already present and Monk Wu'e influencing from the sidelines, even with the True Form of Ksitigarbha, he couldn't accomplish much. No matter how unwilling he was, he could only accept this defeat.
"Noble Dharma? Whale-Riding Immortal?" He directed his piercing gaze at Granny Meng, Monk Wu'e, and the Whale-Riding Immortal. "I will remember you."
With that, the sect leader of the Dark King Sect waved his sleeve sharply, "We're leaving!"
Boom!
In an instant, the sky behind him split open, revealing a massive black hole that swallowed him whole. When he disappeared, the masters of the four halls were still confused. They remained uncertain about what was happening, but with the sect leader gone, they had no choice but to follow.
As the disciples of the Dark King Sect prepared to confront the righteous sects, they gazed up at the enormous black hole in the sky and realized that their leader had escaped once again.
Immediately, they quickly scrambled to enter the black hole in the air.
In an instant, their forces fell into chaos, and the righteous cultivators pursued them closely, striking down the diabolical cultivators like a relentless rainstorm.
The Dark King Sect had endured two significant battles, both resulting in devastating defeats. It seemed unlikely they would regroup any time soon. However, with the legendary artifact and an eighth-realm cultivator, they would certainly rise again.
"It's a pity that we can't keep him here this time," the Whale-Riding Immortal said. "He will probably cause more trouble in the future."
"It's my fault. My cultivation level is not high enough," Monk Wu'e replied. "If I were an eighth-realm cultivator like you, we could have subdued him together."
"He has the True Form of Ksitigarbha, making it incredibly difficult for us to hold him here," the Whale-Riding Immortal remarked. "Unless another cultivator who has attained the Heavenly Origin and has a legendary artifact comes to our aid, it simply can't be done. You shouldn't push yourself too hard. If you forcibly use the connection between you and him to subdue him, you would also be affected. If he vanishes in that moment, you might no longer be the Wu'e you are now."
Monk Wu'e pondered for a moment before he let out another sigh and murmured, "Amitabha."
"There's no need to discuss further," Granny Meng replied, her eyes filled with excitement as she fixed her gaze on the figure trapped in the Mysterious Ice[1]. "Shall we get started?"
She retrieved a small porcelain bottle from her bosom and gently opened the lid. A surge of pure and fierce yin qi rushed out, causing countless ghosts in the mountains to wail as the heavens and earth began to tremble!
…
"Ah... I will have my revenge, I want you all dead!"
On a glacier a hundred li away, Violet Gold Marquess lay in an ice cave with half of his body... gone.
With just the left half of his body remaining, he had lost significantly more than before. In addition to his shoulder and chest, he had lost a leg and half of his face.
With a seemingly casual flick of his finger, the Whale-Riding Immortalhad unleashed an unparalleled immortal art. Its destructive force was somewhat less than Immortal Jiuyi's Divine Mirror of the Eight Trigrams.
However, the Violet Gold Marquess had managed to survive the attack of Immortal Jiuyi because he had suffered only a fraction of the damage thanks to the White Silver King, who had been in front of him and had absorbed the bulk of the impact.
But today, he bore the full brunt of the strike.
Countless dark purple fleshy sprouts attempted to twist and grow, but the intense golden light dissolved them away. The excruciating pain forced the Violet Gold Marquess to howl once more!
After Immortal Jiuyi had destroyed his left half, it took him a whole year to regain full health. Yet, on this very day of his emergence, he lost the right half.
What kind of earthly suffering was this?
Violet Gold Marquess spat out a mouthful of blood.
His injuries were so severe that he could barely move, making the restoration of his body seem like a distant fantasy. He urgently needed a precious herb to replenish his true essence and qi. Without immediate help, he might die right here.
With no other choice, he could only seek help from others.
As the creator of the Soul Subjugator Token, he possessed the highest authority over it. He could sense any token nearby and send messages to specific holders.
At this moment, only three living individuals on the icefield still had the Soul Subjugator Token.
They were Fifty-Eighth, Fifty-Ninth, and Sixtieth.
Among them, Fifty-Ninth and Sixtieth stood alongside the eighth-realm cultivator who had injured him, clearly having betrayed him.
Only Fifty-Eighth was his sole hope...
He had personally collected every soul flame on the Soul Subjugator Token to guarantee the loyalty of each of his subordinates.
It baffled him why those two would dare to betray him. The only explanation he could think of was that they had been threatened by that eighth-realm cultivator.
As this thought crossed his mind, he ruthlessly extinguished the soul flames of Fifty-Ninth and Sixtieth. With few Soul Subjugators remaining, he had now snuffed out two more. In doing so, the souls of those two traitors were utterly obliterated.
Two traitors are already a lot; it's unlikely that all three of them could be traitors, right? the Violet Gold Marquess thought.
He had reviewed the past messages in the interdimensional domain of the Soul Subjugator Token and it was obvious to him that there was something wrong with Fifty-Ninth and Sixtieth.
They were weird, displaying obvious signs of betrayal.
However, Fifty-Eighth appeared to be a calm, stable, and completely normal Soul Subjugator.
In reality, it was difficult for Violet Gold Marquess to fully trust a subordinate he had never met. But who else could he contact now?
If he remained here until nightfall and encountered an icefield demonic beast or a ghost, he would surely die.
The Violet Gold Marquess had a backup plan: he would inform Fifty-Eighth of a location not far from his current position. If Fifty-Eighth arrived alone, he would disclose his actual location. However, if there were others following, he would conceal his presence.
After a thoughtful pause, the Violet Gold Marquess sent a private message to Fifty-Eighth.
[Violet Gold Marquess]: "I have suffered some minor injuries. Bring some pills and spirit plants to me; I will be waiting at the top of the glacier, eighty li east of Fengya Mountain."
[Violet Gold Marquess]: "The Eastern-Route Guider has died. If you succeed this time, I will appoint you as the new Guider."
[Violet Gold Marquess]: "Proceed with caution."
1. It's the same type of ice used to make Ancient Mysterious-Ice Coffin. Previously Ancient Profound Ice Coffin. We changed it to Mysterious-Ice Coffin because profound ice sounds weirder… ☜
GLTD Alternate Universe's Thoughts
Translator: GT