Chapter 2245A – Explosion
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The battle reached an unprecedented state of brutality. When the martial artists of the 33 Heavens desperately tried to kill off the abyssals and repair the Heaven and Man Array, eight True Divinity abyssals recklessly rushed through the giant gap!
These eight abyssals seemed unaffected by the divine dream space. Their eyes were blood red and their gazes like those of wild beasts; it seemed they had lost all wisdom and reasoning.
“Be careful!”
Xiao Moxian cried out in alarm. She could feel dark and evil fluctuations of energy within the eight abyssals. She had felt these fluctuations of energy before – this was the Demon God’s Tomb Master’s world strength.
Thinking of the manic, beast-like eyes of these eight True Divinities, Xiao Moxian realized that they were likely puppets controlled by the Demon God’s Tomb Master!
They were just like Deep Child, filled with an absolutely unwavering faith and loyalty towards the Demon God’s Tomb Master and completely unafraid of death!
Just as Xiao Moxian was about to warn everyone about these eight abyssals that wouldn’t fear death, something occurred that left everyone shuddering.
Without a word, the eight True Divinity abyssals plunged towards the 28 True Divinities of the 33 Heavens and exploded without hesitation!
Four abyssals split apart, one each going towards the True Divinities of the primal god race, saint race, human race, as well as the Asura Road.
But the four other abyssals hurtled towards Divine Dream. It was clear they could see that Divine Dream was the true leader of the 33 Heavens and wanted to break down the pillar that held up the hearts of the 33 Heavens martial artists!
“Senior Divine Dream!”
In that instant Xiao Moxian, Mo Eversnow, and Lin Huang all rushed towards Divine Dream. However, the four True Divinities exploding themselves happened too quickly. And with the speed of the explosive force and impact waves, it was simply impossible for Xiao Moxian and the others to stop it.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The strength from a True Divinity blowing themselves up was incredible. In particular, these True Divinities were controlled by the Soul Emperor so they committed suicide without a second thought, immediately burning away the entirety of their blood vitality and divine soul.
Divine lights shot out. The True Divinities of the 33 Heavens were all drawn into the chaos of the explosion.
“Brother To Bagui!”
On the side of the primal god race, Diwuhen’s body cracked as the impact from the True Divinity explosion struck him! And this was only because the primal god race martial artists had gathered together to block the True Divinity explosion; otherwise, Diwuhen would have likely suffered a grisly death by now. In terms of strength, Diwuhen was still weaker than the abyssal True Divinity who had blown himself up.
The saints were in an even worse state. Even with Soaring Feather’s protection, the saint True Divinities suffered tremendous losses. Astral Vault’s chest was pierced through and another newly promoted saint True Divinity was directly torn apart because his foundation was too shallow.
But the most miserable were Sovereign Heaven Union and Divine Void. They came from the Asura Road and stood in a different camp from the True Divinities of the 33 Heavens. Here, the different True Divinities all stood together on their own sides. When the eight True Divinity abyssals blew themselves up, the True Divinities of each camp had joined together to resist the explosion. But, Sovereign Heaven Union and Divine Void had only the two of them and their strengths were also amongst the weakest.
Moreover, they were both weaker than the abyssal True Divinity who had blown up. Now, as the two of them were sucked into the explosion they both released miserable cries as their mortal bodies were ripped apart and their divine souls were sundered!
But at this moment, no one had time to pay attention to the dead Sovereign Heaven Union and Divine Void; they were all worried about Divine Dream.
Divine Dream bore the brunt of the attack, forced to face off against the strength from four abyssal True Divinities blowing themselves up!
Mo Eversnow and the others were only able to block a little bit of the energy for Divine Dream; the rest had to be withstood by her.
The divine dream space shattered and Divine Dream’s body was stained wet with blood. She was sent flying away like a butterfly with broken wings…
“Senior Divine Dream!”
Xiao Moxian rushed forwards to catch Divine Dream, her eyes filled with worry and anxiousness. In this war, Divine Dream was their central pillar. If something happened to her then morale would plummet.
Divine Dream had wounds upon wounds. Her face was pale like funeral paper and blood flowed out from her mouth and ears.
“Her spiritual sea has been torn and she overdrew her life. It will be impossible for her to restore her combat strength in a short period of time…”
Ink could make out Divine Dream’s current state from a glance. As he did, his heart sank even deeper.
Divine Dream was the pillar of the 33 Heavens. If Divine Dream fell, how could they continue fighting this war?
Now, there was still 10 days left. A powerful ally had appeared on the side of the abyssals, and as for themselves, they had suffered severe losses. Things had become completely disproportionate now, and it was likely they couldn’t even last another day.
“Lin Ming… please hurry…”
Xiao Moxian bit her lips as she glanced at where Lin Ming was in seclusion.
She knew that Lin Ming must have entered the most critical period of his seclusion. If he were to be interrupted at this time then all his previous efforts would end in vain…
Lin Huang and Jiu’er flew forwards and grabbed hold of Xiao Moxian’s hand.
Lin Ming was their final hope. The reason they persisted until now was all in order to allow him to complete his seclusion. But the longer this continued, the more difficult it became…
There was still 10 days remaining. In the lifespan of a True Divinity, 10 days was not even a flicker of time. But now these 10 days had become an impassable moat, a distant goal that seemed unattainable…
Perhaps they would really die here. But if she could die with Lin Ming, then that didn’t seem like something difficult to accept…
Xiao Moxian humorlessly smiled. And at this time, the martial artists of the 33 Heavens were processing the corpses of Divine Void, Sovereign Heaven Union, and the newly promoted saint True Divinity.
Three True Divinities had perished and Divine Dream had been grievously wounded. Without a doubt, this was a calamitous turn of events for the 33 Heavens martial artists.
“Divine Void… hah…”
Seeing Divine Void die here, Empyrean Divine Mist was filled with a deep and strange emotion.
Divine Void was Divine Mist’s sworn enemy. Divine Mist had wanted to burn Divine Void’s bones to ashes and refine his soul, but today Divine Void had died and Divine Mist could only feel a sense of grief, completely unable to summon any joyful thoughts.
Divine Void was not a good person. In fact, he was a thankless person who forgot graces and held no virtues. He was extremely selfish and cruel, but today he had died in battle for the 33 Heavens.
This wasn’t what he wanted. Divine Void wasn’t someone with such noble thoughts, but instead was forced to because he had no choice.
In the current 33 Heavens, whether someone walked the righteous path, whether they walked the demonic path, whether or not they had committed countless sins or had taken countless innocent lives, everyone was forced to lay down their pasts and fight for their continued survival. This was because there was no path to escape left for anyone anymore.
The Heaven and Man Array fell into a deathly silence. The atmosphere was filled with an unprecedented level of tenseness!
“Is there nothing else we can do?”
Divine Dream weakly said as she swallowed a pill. She wryly shook her head.
In front of her, the armies of the Dark Abyss were gathering once more!
Just now, they had lost eight True Divinity abyssals in a single breath. But to them, this loss wasn’t anything at all because they still had over 50 True Divinities in their ranks.
Moreover, the four upper True Divinities and ‘Evil’ remained uninjured!
They just needed around a single day to fully restore themselves. That moment would be the end of times for the 33 Heavens!
“Perhaps… perhaps… there might be a way…”
At this time, Clear suddenly spoke up, his voice grim and sad.
But his words actually caused everyone’s hearts to shake.
“What can we do?”
Everyone’s eyes began to shine. Common logic indicated that they had all fallen into a hopelessly dire situation without any chance of survival. But, the one who spoke was Clear, a Guardian of the Asura Road. When people were in desperate straits it was always easy for them to accept a slim chance of hope, no matter how uncertain that hope was. If there was a chance to live, just who would willingly accept death?
“Yin Yang Despair Valley, Forsaken Mortal Tomb…”
Chapter 2245B– Silent Protection
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“Yin Yang Despair Valley, Forsaken Mortal Tomb…”
Clear and Ink slowly glanced at each other.
Most of the 33 Heavens martial artists had never heard of ‘Yin Yang Despair Valley, Forsaken Mortal Tomb’, so they didn’t know what Clear and Ink were speaking about.
But, Xiao Moxian actually felt her heart shake.
“That place…”
The others didn’t know about Yin Yang Despair Valley and the Forsaken Mortal Tomb, but Xiao Moxian was someone who had personally gone there.
In the past during Lin Ming’s first venture into the Asura Road, he was still at the Divine Lord realm. He accidently encountered Xiao Moxian in the Great Desolate and the two of them experienced dangers and tribulations before finally uniting together in Tragic Death Valley.
After they killed Tian Mingzi they went to the inner Asura Road. At the Asura Road’s Divine Rune City, Lin Ming attended its great auction and with the massive amount of wealth he accumulated, he purchased the jade dragon’s horn, heaven devouring snake gallbladder, dragon saliva grass, and other such precious materials.
And, these materials were all needed to refine a pill, one called the Ravenous Wolf Heaven Pill. This was a pill recorded in the Celestial Tyrant Manual and used to open the Heavenly Retribution Dao Palace.
But at the time, the link between humanity and the Nine Stars of the Dao Palace had been blocked by Famine. If Lin Ming wanted to break into the next Dao Palace it wouldn’t be easy, and in order to refine the Ravenous Wolf Heaven Pill he needed an ominous land.
The place Lin Ming chose was Yin Yang Despair Valley, Forsaken Mortal Tomb!
This was a land that Lin Ming learned about by paying a great price to Heaven’s Secret Pavilion. Afterwards, the Ravenous Wolf Heaven Pill was smoothly refined and Lin Ming also spent a good deal of time cultivating within the Forsaken Mortal Tomb.
And all the strange sights that Xiao Moxian saw in the Forsaken Mortal Tomb left a deep impression on her.
First of all, the outside of Yin Yang Despair Valley was protected by the coiling ridge giants. She and Lin Ming spent a great deal of effort to enter that secret land.
And all there was within the Forsaken Mortal Tomb were incomparably giant black turtles, each as large as a mountain. These black turtles seemed to have died, leaving nothing behind but their massive carapaces, and on the back of each carapace was an ancient coffin that reached into the skies.
From these coffins, one could tell that the Forsaken Mortal Tomb was a true tomb. But as for who these ‘forsaken mortals’ were, Xiao Moxian had no idea.
There were many rumors concerning the Forsaken Mortal Tomb. One of these rumors was that the ‘forsaken mortals’ were actually giant servants who had once followed the Asura Road Master to war, but no one would could confirm the veracity of these claims.
Today, hearing Ink and Clear’s words, Xiao Moxian suddenly recalled what she had experienced with Lin Ming.
“Are those buried in the Forsaken Mortal Tomb warriors that once fought for the Asura Road Master?” Xiao Moxian suddenly asked. Everyone turned towards her in surprise.
Ink and Clear nodded. “Yes. To be more accurate, they were overlords of the ancient races from 10 billion years past. When their life neared its end or perhaps when they were severely wounded, the master would bind their bodies and souls using an arcane technique, turning them into puppets and sealing them away in the Forsaken Mortal Tomb using an array formation…”
“In truth, these people have already died, but they can be awakened to fight just like puppets. They do not know pain, they do not fear death, and they don’t even realize that their boundary has dropped a great deal from what it was when they were alive…”
As Ink and Clear spoke, everyone was shaken by their words. What kinds of arcane technique was this that a corpse puppet could be preserved for 10 billion years?
“10 billion years ago, innumerable overlords of the ancient races died in the great war, but they also knew that the abyssals would eventually stage a return… when they knew that death approached, many of these ancient race overlords were willingly turned into corpse puppets by the master so that they could span the boundless river of time and fight once more.”
“After they are awakened, their ‘life’ can be maintained for around three days. But too long a time has passed. In order to awaken them, one needs not just the Asura Heavenly Dao, but also a tremendous amount of life energy. If the master was still here then it would be fine, but currently the master’s situation isn’t too good, and it could even be said that his life or death is unknown. If it were us two old men trying to awaken them, then that would be too difficult…”
These were corpses that had been sleeping for 10 billion years. If one wished to suddenly awaken them, it was normal if it required a massive amount of life energy.
But the martial artists of the 33 Heavens could make out a different meaning behind Ink and Clear’s words.
“Difficult? Are you saying that it is possible?” Someone asked, excitement rising in his voice. If those slumbering ancient race overlords could be awoken then it would be a powerful boost for their side.
“Yes, it is indeed possible. But to awaken those ancient race overlords, it will require at least one middle True Divinity, two lower True Divinities, and 50 some Empyreans to work together with us. And, all these people will need to sacrifice their source of life. In other words, by using the secret Asura arts, the life force of these people can be transferred to the corpses of these ancient race overlords, exchanging their lives for three days of ‘life’ for these corpses… meaning that those who work with us will die…”
As Ink and Clear spoke, everyone’s hearts shivered.
Die!
Three True Divinities and fifty some Empyreans needed to sacrifice their lives to exchange for three days of awakening for these ancient race overlords!
In fact, everyone faintly realized that if those who helped awaken these corpses would die, then perhaps Clear and Ink would pay an unimaginably high price…
Ink and Clear sighed. The 33 Heavens martial artists were all masters of their own worlds. If they managed to survive this war then they would all become heroes of the 33 Heavens and would be able to comfortably live out the remaining years of their lives in peace and prosperity.
Martial artists at the Empyrean realm and above were revered and worshipped by countless people. Whatever they wanted, they would have. They possessed great authority and an extremely high status. Such a life was naturally incredibly wonderful.
But once one volunteered, that would mean certain death, without any chance of survival.
No one wanted to die. Ink and Clear also wouldn’t force anyone.
The crowd was silent for ten breaths of time. Then, a voice called out. “I… am willing to volunteer!”
Everyone turned and saw that the one speaking was a middle-aged man in white robes. His hands were casually held behind his back and his expression was calm. He was… Empyrean Vast Universe!
Empyrean Vast universe was an ordinary human Empyrean. Relative to all the blindingly amazing geniuses around him, he didn’t show much talent.
He cultivated for a long time and only managed to reach the middle Empyrean realm. Even after he entered the Asura Road and was able to draw upon all of its accumulated resources, his cultivation only neared the peak Empyrean realm. Compared to a True Divinity there was still a giant moat separating them, and this moat was a gap he would never be able to overcome in his life.
Amongst the many masters of the 33 Heavens, Vast Universe seemed common, so common that most people subconsciously forgot about him.
But today, he was the first one to stand up.
As everyone was lost in their thoughts, Vast Universe carefully straightened out his bloodstained white robes. His eyes moved through the crowd before eventually falling on Divine Dream.
Looking at the blood-drenched and pale Divine Dream, Vast Universe had a complex look in his eyes.
Finally he smiled, and his smile was incomparably pure.
A middle-aged man had the simple and pure smile of a youth.
For all this time, Vast Universe had always been watching this woman, and had always been watching as she drifted further and further away from him. Although he could only see her back, he had never looked away.
“Vast Universe…”
At this moment, Divine Dream felt as if her heart had been stabbed with a knife.
So many years had passed, and yet all those years became vague. Vast Universe had never revealed anything to her, but Divine Dream had always faintly sensed his feelings towards her. But, her feelings towards Vast Universe were never more than those of purely a good friend…
“I originally thought that I would be able to silently look at you, until the end of my life… for so many years I haven’t been able to help you in any way, but now I can finally show some use…
“From now on… take care of yourself… the burden on your shoulders is too heavy and your life has been too lonely. If possible, find someone to accompany you and walk together with you…”
Vast Universe spoke these words to Divine Dream with a sound transmission.
Two clear streaks of tears began to silently flow down Divine Dream’s cheeks…
The desire to protect, that wasn’t something which needed words…
Divine Dream opened her mouth to speak, but eventually she couldn’t utter a single syllable.
After Vast Universe spoke, Skyrend Godlord stood up too. “This old man is also willing to join in!”
Skyrend Godlord had already lived for over 80 million years. He hadn’t been able to break through to True Divinity in the Asura Road and didn’t have much of his lifespan remaining.
“I have lived well for a good number of years. To die on the battlefield is always far better than passing away!” Skyrend Godlord valiantly said.
“Then let me be the third…” A spiritas Empyrean stood up. Most people didn’t even know his name.
“As well as I! I was saved from the Dark Abyss by Lord Lin Ming, and my life belongs to our leader as well as Lord Lin Ming!” A female ancient race Empyrean spoke up. She was from the Dark Abyss and had been saved when Lin Ming rescued the slaves from the Demon Association’s slave market at Black Sand City. Ever since then, she had joined Mo Eversnow’s ancient rebel army.
Lin Ming had long since forgotten her, but she would never forget the scene where Lin Ming bought her from Black Sand City. To her, Lin Ming was her great benefactor. Just like Vast Universe who watched Divine Dream’s back, she was also willing to silently watch Lin Ming from behind.
“I also volunteer!”
“Count me in!”
“Me too!”
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Empyrean after Empyrean stood up, their voices calm and peaceful. There was no need to speak words of bravery and sacrifice, and yet their voices left a great impact on all who heard them.
Ink and Clear took a deep breath, their hearts and minds tumbling up and down. “This is enough, 50 Empyreans is sufficient! Then… we still need three True Divinities!”
“One middle True Divinity and two lower True Divinities.”
Even if the ancient race overlords within the Forsaken Mortal Tomb were awoken it would be impossible to annihilate the abyssal army. The martial artists of the 33 Heavens would still have to fight. Thus, it was impossible to sacrifice upper True Divinities; one middle True Divinity was already the limit.
Just as Ink and Clear’s voices fell, Lin Huang stood up. But before he could take several steps forwards, a hand reached out to drag him back.
“What are you doing?”
An old voice spoke up – it was Empyrean Divine Mist.
“Your father has already done so much for the 33 Heavens. Do you want us to let his son die too?”
Without a second thought, Divine Mist stood up. He walked in front of Ink and Clear and said, “Then let me go. There is no one here more appropriate than I!”
Divine Mist had seized the Good Fortune Saint Sovereign’s body and his cultivation had fallen to the middle True Divinity realm. Moreover, because his soul was weaker than the mortal body he possessed, it was impossible for Divine Mist to perfectly display the strength of the Good Fortune Saint Sovereign’s body. His cultivation would never rise in the future.
Just now, Divine Void had died. Divine Mist had watched Divine Void’s death with his own eyes, but no sense of joy or relief filled him. Rather, his heart felt hollow instead.
Perhaps… he had already laid down his vengeance and hatred. Divine Mist’s sect and family no longer existed, and for his wisp of remnant soul to survival until this time, Divine Mist had a faint feeling that the heavens had allowed his life to continue all so that he could meet Lin Ming.
Those lonely years within Tragic Death Valley had caused all mortal desires and wants to pale in Divine Mist’s eyes. And especially now, he no longer had any more worries. The destiny of samsara, the glories of life and death, everything was but fleeting mist before the eyes.
If that was the case then to die on the battlefield might be a way to return…
“Senior Divine Mist…” Lin Huang wanted to say something but Ink and Clear seemed to have already tacitly approved of Divine Mist. “We still need two more people, two lower True Divinities…”
Diwuhen stood up. He had already carefully considered this issue. Because of the explosions from those True Divinity abyssals, he had been severely wounded and hadn’t yet recovered.
“Allow me to volunteer. My body is wounded but my source of life is not.”
Diwuhen was a part of the 33 Heavens’ primal god race bloodline. If it weren’t for Lin Ming then the primal god race’s bloodline would have long since been destroyed. Diwuhen had always felt grateful to Lin Ming for this, and now was the time to repay this gratitude.
Although he was paying this gratitude back to Lin Ming, the truth was that he was also fighting for himself…