Chapter 823: Golden Cicada Master’s Sudden Attack
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
Although he was suppressed by the River Styx Primordial Water and was inflicted with critical injuries, Zhang Lie’s battered soul could not be so easily engulfed by the souls of the Liefang Covenant cultivators. Just that as he was restricted within the Pearl of Styx, Zhang Lie did not dare to resist the attack by the other souls.
It was not a good feeling to be attacked by the other souls. It was one of the cruelest torture one could ever be inflicted with.
But Zhang Lie felt like he was in a trance, as he saw all the familiar faces in front of him.
Countless images flashed across his mind.
His parents perished as they resisted the Great Zhou Empire, and his relatives instructed him before they died, "Avenge the state! Rebuild the state!"
As he brought the bunch of Arctic State migrants to different places, in a bid to escape capture and death, people continued to die along the way. But infants were also born along the way. Zhao Huan and his parents were abducted by the Great Zhou Empire, and it was Zhang Lie himself who brought a rescue team in to extract them.
Zhang Lie struggled to turn his neck and he looked at the numb face of Yang Qing. His mind flashed with the image of the Cloud Water Cave and how Fang Ting struggled in the sea of fire. Her flesh was corroded and her soul was almost destroyed, but she kept on repeating someone’s name.
The smile on the face of the youth in black disappeared and he became indifferent, "Senior Yang? He is your greatest love and you don’t want to be separated from him no matter what?"
The damaged soul of the young lady caused her to lose all her awareness. She could only reply confusedly, "As long as I can…remain…with Senior Yang, even if I can’t reincarnate, I don’t mind…"
The image in Zhang Lie’s mind changed again. A youth with red hair appeared in front of him. It was illusory, but it was clear in his mind.
This youth seemed to be extremely fearless.
Zhang Lie’s gaze became dimmer. That was his sworn friend, close brother and the person who formed the Liefeng Covenant along with him. To protect his own comrades, he sacrificed his life. He was Yue Hongfeng.
Yue Hongfeng’s look became blur and it turned to the face of a young kid with red hair.
As time passed, this kid slowly became a 6 or 7 years old little girl. She had a look of worry, and complained about her thick brows.
Slowly, this little girl grew older and faced the same problem as him, as the Arctic State was devastated by the Great Zhou. She followed closely behind him. From such a young age, she had been through dangers that threatened her life.
This little girl slowly grew into a young lady. Her talent was not ordinary. With a little guidance, she was imparted with the Mantra of the Apocalyptic True Flame and the Apocalyptic Spear Technique.
As he spent more time with her, and faced the trials and tribulations of life along with her, Zhang Lie did not know when his heart had wavered for this young lady who was both his disciple and comrade.
Whereas this young lady also developed a romantic interest in him.
But as they faced the capture of the Great Zhou Empire, both parties buried their romantic feelings in their hearts. The only way they expressed their feelings was through the Empty Spirit Jade Bracelet.
And now, the bracelet was finally crushed by Yue Hongyan.
"In fact, it should have been crushed earlier…" The image of how Yue Hongyan was in shock, fury, sorrow and disbelief when he killed everyone from the Liefeng Covenant surfaced in his mind.
Everything flashed across Zhang Lie’s mind. After that, he slowly regained his awareness. As he looked at the countless souls coming towards him, he was reminded of his fate after everything that had happened and a strong sense of indignance filled him.
He was willing to die rather than return to the life of restraint he had before.
"I do love Hongyan, but I love myself more. Otherwise, how would I have hurt her so much? Although I didn’t kill her, I left scars in her heart…" Zhang Lie shut his eyes, "Cowardly but brutal, selfish yet oppressive, this is who I am!"
In the next moment, the souls had disappeared, but Zhang Lie’s battered soul was also swallowed by the River Styx Primordial Water.
The dim yellow River Styx Primordial Water turned black gradually, as it seeped into the battered soul of Zhang Lie. This turned his entire soul black, repressing him at the bottom of the River Styx inside the Pearl of Styx.
"When we return to the mountain and settle everything, I will pass him to you. If you want to travel out of the mountain, at least wait until Master has returned from his retreat." Wang Lin kept the Pearl of Styx and the projection of the Yama Imperial Palace appeared above his head. He kept all the souls of the Liefeng Covenant cultivators inside.
Yang Qing clasped his palm and fist at Wang Lin, "Thank you Third Senior."
His expression remained the same, but he looked milder now. However, he was not filled with joy and elation having taken his revenge successfully.
Yang Qing opened his right palm and lowered his head. He saw a grain of gravel in the center of his palm.
After Yue Hongyan finished the battle, she sat on her knees in void space. She mediated quietly. Among the three who fought Zhang Lie, she was the only one who was injured. As the main offensive player, she was the one who resisted most of Zhang Lie’s attack.
Even though Zhang Lie was gravely injured and she had the Seven Merciless Stars Armor to protect herself, the Royal Extermination Pole-Ax was very dominant in Zhang Lie’s hands. It was still able to injure her.
Although Yue Hongyan was trying to heal her injuries, she still seemed a little distracted. As she managed to take her revenge, she could not exactly get to grips with reality yet.
Kang Nanhua remained calm. Although his Nascent Soul was hurt earlier and he fought Zhang Lie with an injury, his eyes still shone with a radiance never seen before.
In the sky, there seemed to be a light that covered Kang Nanhua, allowing him to resonate with the way of the Heavens and Earth subtly.
Today was the day that he managed to release himself from the chains that had been on him all these years. Although he was still weak in energy, his mind was more at ease. He was now much closer to the way of the Heavens and Earth, as if he could touch it.
If he could heal the injury of his Nascent Soul, Kang Nanhua would be able to break through the barriers to the Immortal Soul Stage.
Wang Lin looked at Kang Nanhua, "Congratulations, Elder Kang."
Kang Nanhua looked at Yang Qing and sighed slightly.
He still had something on his mind, which was his guilt towards both Yang Qing and Fang Ting.
When he was faced with the weak Zhang Lie and the trapped Yang Qing & the rest in the Crimson God-Exterminating Formation, Kang Nanhua had a huge dilemma. But he eventually figured things out and decided to release Zhang Lie, rushing to the formation to save Yang Qing & the others.
"Zhang Lie, I am different from you!"
His sonorous voice caused Zhang Lie to be shocked too. Zhang Lie watched as Kang Nanhua rushed to the Crimson God-Exterminating Formation.
But it’s a pity that Fang Ting chose to give herself up in the end. Kang Nanhua was slow by one step. As he looked at the sorrowful Yang Qing, Kang Nanhua felt guilty, even though it’s not his fault.
Kang Nanhua shook his head slightly and calmed his nerves. He asked Wang Lin, "What’s the situation over at your side?"
Wang Lin said, "Sikong You, who is King Wuguan of the Ten Kings of Hell from the Hall of the Dead, was killed by King Chujiang and I. His magic treasure, the Ferocious Ghost Temple, was also taken away by King Chujiang. I suffered some minor injuries too."
He paused for a moment. His white hair behind his back swayed in the wind.
Wang Lin’s gaze turned cold suddenly, "However, I feel something is very weird about Sikong You. I believe that he managed to cheat death like Zhang Lie earlier. But I can’t be sure of that. If he really managed to scam all of us, he is much cleverer than Zhang Lie."
"And he must be willing to leave behind his greatest treasure." Kang Nanhua pondered for a moment. "From what you said, the Ferocious Ghost Temple is in the metaplasia realm. Sikong You did not invest all his effort on his spiritual ghosts and placed his entire resources into the magic treasure."
Kang Nanhua followed with, "If he did scam his death, his scheme must not be simple."
Wang Lin turned to look at Yue Hongyan and Yang Qing. As he saw that the both of them had already calmed themselves down, he said, "We have to return to Mount Yujing quickly. We have to focus on what’s to come next."
Yue Hongyan and Yang Qing nodded their heads, "Third Senior, you are right."
Everyone thought that Wang Lin was a cool and merciless person. But to Yue Hongyan, Yang Qing and the rest who interacted with him frequently, they knew that Wang Lin was someone who was very tactical and mindful. It’s just that he rarely opened his mouth, but he had always been this way.
This time, as the bunch of them from the Celestial Sect of Wonders were attacked by Sikong You and Zhang Lie, it was fair to say that the attack ended in a failure.
Besides a few Nascent Soul Stage cultivators, the Hall of the Dead lost King Wuguan and King Qinguang. Their losses were indeed huge.
Although this was partially due to an internal conflict between Sikong You, Zhang Lie and King Chujiang, the end result was that the Celestial Sect of Wonders emerged as the huge victors. They even took the Royal Extermination Pole-Ax of Zhang Lie and the Yin-Yang Soul-Dissipating Drum.
The only loss that they suffered was probably the loss of Fang Ting, as well as the ensuing trouble because of the case of the poisoned cities.
Overall, the Celestial Sect of Wonders did not suffer a huge disadvantage. Since Zhang Lie was curbed, most of their indignance had been vented out.
Under such a circumstance, the Celestial Sect of Wonders would not find trouble with the Hall of the Dead. This was understandable too. Even without Lin Feng showing his face to deal with the problem, the outside world was also unable to see how strong the Celestial Sect of Wonders was.
But there would be some who would continue to harbor ill-intentions. Thus, Wang Lin and the rest did not stay any longer. They returned to the mountain quickly. On one hand, they were minimizing the dangers they were exposed to. On another hand, as they returned to the mountain, they could strengthen the powers over at Mount Yujing.
As they flew in void space, a crack opened in void space suddenly. Boundless Buddhist light shone and loud chants started to resonate.
Five monks flew out of void space. Two of them blocked Wang Lin while another two blocked Yue Hongyan, Kang Nanhua and Yang Qing.
The remaining monk opened his hand and grabbed Zhou Yuncong!
Yang Qing immediately recognized this monk as he saw his cheeky laughter.
"Monk Bao Sheng! Golden Cicada Master!"