Chapter 457: Let the Sacrifice Begin
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
The Golden Roc Grand Sage looked silently at the six pillars of light and the six fires burning within each pillar. Then, he looked at Long Ye and the Sirius Grand Sage in the squares below and finally, the Parasol Fairy who was trapped on a tree branch.
The Parasol Fairy still took the shape of an old granny as she stared at Long Ye and the Sirius Grand Sage with a worried look.
The Golden Roc Grand Sage raised his head to look at the world that had been engulfed by the sea of white light. His gaze appeared to permeate through the void.
Beyond the Cloud Forest World, a group of powerful cultivators stared intently at the sealed Middle World.
Through the void, the Golden Roc Grand Sage could see an imperial delegation dazzling with purple and gold light. Heavy, majestic, ferocious and severe, they seemed to hold the fate of a country in their hands.
On the other hand, there was another shadow dazzling with golden light. From it, one could hear the growl of dragons. In the golden light, the colors white, azure black, red and yellow turned and spun about.
Faced with these two powerful forces, the ancient sword floating in the blackness of void appeared ordinary. It was no longer than three inches and exceedingly plain. A sword aura, faint and not quite present, was pointed at the Cloud Forest World. It did not burst forth, but it made the Golden Roc Grand Sage feel as if it was dangling over his head.
In the direction opposite of the ancient sword, a white mist floated about in the spatial turbulence. There appeared to be an eye watching the Cloud Forest World from the cloud.
The eye brimmed with vibrant emotions. It was filled with the love of life itself and full of warmth, affection and joy.
While the Tao is emotionless, the Tao still has emotions. The owner of the pair of eyes had already reached the highest level of oblivion.
The Golden Roc Grand Sage knew that these powers were soul projections of the strongest cultivators from the Great Zhou Empire, the Great Qin Empire, the Mount Shu Sword Sect and the Great Void Sect respectively.
Their powers were all concentrated on the Cloud Forest World, desperately preventing it from being swept away by spatial turbulences. The Golden Roc Grand Sage may have stopped their entry but after Yan Mingyue and the rest established contact with them they were all able to find their way.
The Cloud Forest World, unlike Mount Yujing, was unable to move freely. It belonged in the void and followed the flow of the void. Its movement could be predicted, and the Golden Roc Grand Sage could not shake them off his tail. He may have to face them sooner or later.
If this persisted, it would not be long before the major powers break into the Cloud Forest World.
Other than the human cultivators, there was another person who was at the border of the Middle World and prepared to enter at any time.
The shadow, almost phantom-like, was clouded by a layer of deep fog. One could not see her face but the Golden Roc Grand Sage knew that it was the Heavenly Charms Grand Sage.
The Golden Roc Grand Sage and the Heavenly Charms Grand Sage gazed at each other through the borders. Quickly, the Golden Roc Grand Sage looked away.
He looked at the round plate before him and cried out loudly and brightly. Arcane runes began forming in mid-air.
"Without the three of them, we can still go on." After the long cry, three bright, dazzling runes appeared on his forehead. Each was stronger than the other and they all carried some arcane secret with them.
Light dazzled on the runes and each rune was akin to a mystical comet falling onto the world. Their powers were boundless and as heavy as the heaven and earth themselves.
The entire Cloud Forest World trembled and the runes rubbed against each other ceaselessly in space. Then, they started disappearing one-by-one.
The Parasol Fairy, who was enveloped by white light, sighed as she looked at the scene, "So that's it. If he lacks a powerful sacrifice, the Golden Roc Lei Yuan would use his own navagrahas as replacements."
"However, this means that he can be fully assured that the Hades' Dark Mantra that he summons would come under his full control. He can control it like his fingers. With the Hades' Dark Mantra, he will gain so much more despite losing some of his navagrahas."
A demon who had formed his First Level Undying Demon Soul would be able to enjoy eternal life and possess a powerful demon soul.
After successfully forming his original true spirit, a Demonic Saint would be able to move the navagrahas and completely merge with his Undying Demon Soul. If he succeeded and the navagrahas merged with his Undying Demon Soul, then he would have reached the Third Level Undying Demon Soul.
Only after successfully cultivating one navagraha and merging it with his demon soul could he have the power to cultivate more navagrahas.
Between the navagrahas, there were differences in power and hence, it did not mean that the more navagrahas you had the more powerful you would become. It still depended on the type of navagraha too.
However, these three navagrahas were evidently not the limits of the Golden Roc Grand Sage's powers.
The Sirius Grand Sage fell silent and Long Ye looked at him and thought, "While he cannot compare against Master, the Golden Roc Grand Sage is more than a match for uncle."
After the Golden Roc Grand Sage released his navagrahas, they descended into the plates and immediately occupied the last three squares.
The plate trembled slightly and three thick pillars of light shot into the sky, matching the six pillars of light from earlier on. Together, the nine pillars of lights were a majestic sight to behold. Rising in the middle of the white light tree canopy, every single pillar of light had a flame burning within.
The Golden Roc Grand Sage began to recite ancient incantations which contained sounds not found in the language of the Golden Feathered Great Roc Tribe. This was a mysterious, ancient language that no one had heard of.
A blast of desolate, ancient and immensely aggressive power began to envelop the Cloud Forest World.
As the power spread, it instantly forced everyone on-site to bow their heads. The Grand Sage of Qiong Qi, the Heavenly Wheels Golden Roc and the other demons were all slightly shocked. Their eyes began to give off a burning bright light.
They steadied themselves and readied their minds. However, they could feel a rising, uncontrollable palpitation in their hearts.
The other First Level Immortal Soul demonic saints all bowed their heads in submission.
This included the two Qiong Qis under the command of the Grand Sage of Qiong Qi who had already formed their Undying Demon Soul.
Shi Zongyue and company who had been suppressed by the light pillars all began to grimace in pain. The light pillars that caged them in burned intensely bright and every single one of them started to thicken in size and become bigger and bigger. They appeared to be squeezed tightly together and they all started coming together.
At the final moment, the nine pillars of light became on. It was a thick golden pillar of light whose diameter was more than a 100 li (50km) wide and occupied the entire plate. It penetrated through an entire corner of the world.
Near the edges of the canopy, Lin Feng and Yan Mingyue looked at the scene. Yan Mingyue said, "He did not need everyone to start the ceremony, but I believe he'll incur a massive price."
Lin Feng furrowed his eyebrows and said, "Why is he in such a rush to start the ceremony instead of spending more time to search for us? He controlled the Middle World and while the Middle World would be penetrated sooner or later, it's still rather stable right now. He still has much time."
Yan Mingyue thought for a while and said, "Perhaps Long Ye and the rest activated their plan already and caused an unforeseen change that forced him to start his ceremony?"
Lin Feng fell silent and said nothing. His gaze was fixated on the giant light pillar and he noticed the ball of fire within the pillar moving to the center of the sky. Then, it turned into an eye-dazzling bonfire that burned fiercely.
However, the fire did not warm him. Instead, it made his flesh crawl and a cold sweat broke out on his skin. He felt as if a massive calamity was about to befall.
The color of the bonfire was red at first, but it slowly turned purple like an ill omen.
Lin Feng looked at the fire burning in the sky. It then slowly descended and headed towards the source of the light pillar.
"Time is almost up," Lin Feng calculated in his heart and his body flashed. He flew towards the center of the canopy.
Yan Mingyue looked at Lin Feng without saying anything.
The Golden Roc Grand Sage had started the Holy Fire Sacrificial Rites which could not be interrupted. If not, it would cause massive damage to everyone. However, the Rites had not reached its most important part.
Looking at the Golden Roc Grand Sage maintaining his control over the Middle World, one knew that he still had additional powers left.
When the Rites reached its most important part, the Golden Roc Grand Sage would naturally devote all his energy to it. At that point, his control over the Cloud Forest World would diminish. That would be the best time for the other cultivators to come crusading in.
Both Lin Feng and Yan Mingyue knew this principle. However, not only did Lin Feng choose to head towards the center immediately, Yan Mingyue followed behind him closely.
In the center of the canopy, in the plate before the Golden Roc Grand Sage, the intense flames descended slowly into the indent in the center of the plate.
Around the fire, Long Ye, the Sirius Grand Sage, Shi Zongyue and company all wore expressions of pain.
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!" Loud sounds came from the purple bonfire. They then grew in volume as a wild and crazy energy burst forth, shaking the Cloud Forest World at its very foundation.
Numerous runes flew about in the bonfire as they lit up the void. Falling onto every inch of space, they caused space to distort into a messy swirl of colors.
The Golden Roc Grand Sage's body was covered with these runes. They began to emit golden light as they started to sizzle together with the purple bonfire.
"Sizzle sizzle" With that sound, the purple bonfire appeared to have burnt through the void and turned it into a black hole in the sky. The flames burned weaker and weaker as the hole grew bigger and bigger.
Suddenly, an eerie and dark purple light came out from the black hole. A mist circled about itself and rays of holy light spewed forth. Amidst these, there was only a single ray of purple light. It did not appear very intense but an unspeakably terrible aura instantly swept through the world.
The entire Cloud Forest World trembled in fear because of it. Not only were the First Level Undying Demon Soul demons terrified, even the Grand Sage of Qiong Qi and the other Second Level Undying Demon Souls demons were cloaked in horror and fear. In the depths of their souls, they quivered. A terrible power made them unable to even raise their heads.
It was only a ray of light but no one dared to look at it straight. It appeared as if the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse had come.