Chapter 646: Mountain
Hui Yue controlled the two daos expertly, but if one looked closely, they would see sweat starting to bead on his forehead as his eyes were focused solely on the demon captain in front of him.
Hui Yue unleashed the tempest that contained the thousands of windblades that had been further enhanced by the dao of the sword and they chopped towards the demon who had no choice but to retreat.
Although his retreat was swift, he was not faster than the windblades that soared after him. Cuts appeared on his body as his tough skin was cleanly sliced through leaving long gashes, but even so, he was not willing to give up his mission to kill Hui Yue.
The dao of darkness revolved around the demon, and many daos seemed to merge as they created a large black hole behind the demon. This black hole absorbed everything in its surroundings no matter if it was corpses, windblades, or even the energy in the surrounding space.
“The dao of devouring, huh?” Hui Yue’s eyes glistened as he saw how this attack was a mixture of almost all the daos of darkness. Only a few daos were left out, and from this, Hui Yue understood that this demon did not have control over a major dao, but he was close, very close.
“Well… So am I!” Hui Yue reassured himself. When it came to the dao, he knew that he held the advantage because he had merged with all his previous lives and he was close to becoming an Immortal of Creation through a major dao.
Although Hui Yue was close to being an Immortal of Creation, he was not one just yet. It was clear that the two of them were even when comparing strength. They were also even when comparing daos, so the only thing they were not even with was the amount of Ancestral Worldpower they had at their disposal.
At this point, Hui Yue was still only a Primordial Immortal, and his Ancestral Worldpower pool was many times weaker than the demon captain in front of him.
Hui Yue grit his teeth as he continued to fight using the blue cloud to its limits. He absorbed as much energy as he possibly could from his surroundings, but even so, he was starting to feel the toll on his body.
No one was able to assist Hui Yue as all of them were busy with their own fights, so all he could do was continue to fight to the best of his ability and hope that he would emerge victorious.
The many battles raged back and forth all over the ship. Huli was doing the best, and she was able to handle the demon in front of her fairly easily, but finishing him off was in no way simple.
The captain of Yanluo’s Guards was also doing okay. He and the commander of the demons were evenly matched, but neither of them had been able to inflict any serious injuries on their foe.
They were both ready to rush to Hui Yue’s side the moment the other let down their guard for a short while. One would go to save him, the other to slay him.
The rest of Yanluo’s Guards were in disarray. Some were doing well in their fight, while others were struggling. Hui Yue’s friends were the same, but so far, no one had succumbed to the others just as none of the elite demons had yet to perish.
Hui Yue was feeling more and more pressure as the battle continued, he was using up his Ancestral Worldpower rapidly, and although he could absorb some of it from the surrounding void, it was not enough to replenish the amount he was using.
To stretch his Ancestral Worldpower, he made various attacks using his soulforce, which was rapidly restored by the souls he continued to absorb.
More and more wounds appeared on Hui Yue’s body, some of them becoming more and more severe as time passed. Blood flowed and dyed his white robes red; blood splattered on the ground from both him and the demon.
“Thank god for the red gem!” Hui Yue mumbled to himself as he grit his teeth and completely ignored the pain in his body. Had it not been for the red gem, then he would have long since lost his little life. The red gem had boosted his defense to be equally hard as stone, but even so, his skin was being constantly cut open, and his body was riddled with wounds.
“I can channel more energy from the red gem!” Hui Yue exclaimed as he reached out for the red gem within his core and forcefully merged even more with the power that was hidden within.
He could feel various daos springing to life around him. He could feel how if he had just a moment to sit down, he would be able to comprehend a wide variety of daos, but now was not the time to do so. No, now his only option was to keep fighting for his life.
His skin was constantly becoming even tougher, and his blood had stopped flowing out of his wounds after merging further with the red gem. But even so, Hui Yue was still disadvantaged because of his lack of Ancestral Worldpower.
The black hole which had so far not moved and just sucked in energy suddenly started expanding. It reached out like a spiderweb towards Hui Yue, and the young man who was already at his limits from the many wounds was not fast enough to avoid the black hole which wrapped itself around him.
His world descended into darkness, a darkness in which nothing could be seen nor heard. He could feel how this black hole turned into a sticky black sea which was attempting to corrode his body.
It was a battle between Hui Yue’s red gem and this black sea, and it was impossible to tell which was winning.
At some point, the black sea seemed to be winning out, but the red gem never completely gave up. It had layered itself around Hui Yue’s body like a protective layer of energy, keeping the black sea at bay.
The more Hui Yue used the red gem, the more familiar he became with it and the more he felt that he was merging with it.
This was a desperate time which called for desperate measures. The red gem was acting on its own, and Hui Yue was unaware of the fact that it was able to layer itself around his body, but now that it had done so, he felt much more secure. Although he was imprisoned in the middle of this blackness and was unable to tell how everyone was doing, he felt strangely calm.
‘Look!’ Lan Feng suddenly called out, and Hui Yue, who could see nothing but blackness around him, looked inside of himself. There, in the middle of his core, was a figure seated with closed eyes.
His entire body was made of stone, but when he opened his eyes, Hui Yue sensed a profound strength and many thoughts and memories he had never seen before raced through his mind. But, oddly, at the same time, he felt incredibly calm.
These were the memories of the red gem.
Reaching out his hand, Hui Yue slowly touched the memory which smiled at him benevolently and then nodded his head.
His entire being was enveloped by light as he merged with Hui Yue.
First, he felt comfortable, so incredibly comfortable. He felt as if he was being cradled by the earth itself. He was the earth; he was one with the vast plane of soil that spread all the way throughout the planet and down to its core.
He was the earth! He was not always conscious and sleeping all the time. Slowly the earth changed as mountains rose, and the previous unconscious soul turned conscious.
He had become a mountain in the mountain range known as the Mountain Range of the Brilliant Moon. Many beasts lived in the forests on these mountains, many humans hunted in the forests, villages were placed in its valleys, and life was flourishing under its shadow vibrantly.
At first, the mountain range was unaware of what it meant to be conscious, but as time went on the mountains gained sentience, and started to feel how the essence of the heavens and the earth flowed through them.
The biggest mountain in this mountain range felt how it had a crystal core deep within itself, and this crystal core stored all the energy that it had absorbed. Slowly, so very slowly, year after year passed by. Thousands of years went by, and the mountain slowly started longing to move from the position where it was rooted.
It saw humans arrive and leave; it saw the stars in the sky shining brightly. It saw the life of all living beings traveling as they saw fit, but the mountain alone was stuck.
The mountain dreamed that one day it would be able to walk amongst the stars it constantly gazed at. That one day, it could travel across the planets and see the many wonders of the universe.
It would be able to see what it was like to live a normal life. The mountain envied those creatures who had freedom, and in its eagerness to become like them, it kept diligently absorbing the essence of the heavens and the earth that surrounded and flowed through itself.
As a mountain, it was incredibly hard to absorb the essence of the heavens and the earth, and it was a tedious task, a task which took thousands of years, but even so, the mountain never gave up.
After having been a mountain for three thousand years, it finally reached the rank of a God. It gained the ability to transform, and one day, the mountain slowly shook as it turned and transformed into a human.
Shaking and naked, the mountain stood there for a moment unsure of what he should do, but with great anticipation, he took his first step towards freedom.
Energy enveloped the mountain as he created clothes. Slowly, as if to celebrate his newfound freedom and honor his homeland, the mountain gazed at the rest of the mountain range and bowed deeply.
“I am a mountain from the Brilliant Moon Mountain Range! From this day forward I will be known as Hui Yue!!”
After a bit of time, the mountain started wandering the world. He experienced the freedom of a living being and enjoyed what it was like to live life and not be tied down.
Slowly the mountain became stronger and stronger. He had an amazing affinity with the dao of the earth and managed to comprehend many daos under its major dao.
Quickly, he became a shining star. Everywhere he traveled, he would be friendly and gentle, yet deep within his calm and friendly exterior everyone could sense a strength that no one dared to take lightly.
Hui Yue felt excitement as he walked out through the galaxy and started his long journeys, but every now and then he would return to his homeland and pay his respects to the rest of the mountains. He would tell them about what he had seen and what he was planning to do, and every time he would ask them to cultivate diligently so that one day they too could reach Godhood.
These mountains were his brothers and sisters, yet even so they were not interested in leaving the mountain range. They were content, and because of this, Hui Yue felt lonely.
He was a lone wanderer.
“Life as a wanderer is in the end not so different from being a mountain. I see more things, and I have freedom, yet I have lost something dear for such a price. I used to have my family by my side yet now I am alone. Was it worth it… Was my dream worth the price?”
The mountain sighed deeply as he pondered whether or not it had been worth it, but even so, he kept traversing the galaxy comprehending the dao and exploring the many worlds.
One day, he entered a broken realm that he felt a calling from within, and his eyes widened as he felt the dao of earth surround him.
This place felt like home. It felt like once more being surrounded and unconscious part of the soil, and he felt happy. In this world, the mountain breathed his last breath as he refused to leave, even as the world collapsed.