60

Chapter 60 – [Fall]

In ancient times, when human beings were still slowly fumbling about for cultivation methods and combating the harsh natural environment and dangerous beasts, the mainland was dominated by those strange beasts of various races.

Their lives are long, with inherent racial powers, and flesh and bones of steel.

But in contrast, their minds are still undeveloped, and even those strange beasts whose abilities have reached the Greater Vessel stage have the minds of human children.

But when weak but intelligent humans learn to cultivate, they also learn how to defeat monsters and make use of them. The domineering status of the beasts on the continent was gradually replaced by cultivators, and gradually diminished further. During the period of Heavenly Tribulation, because they did not know to fend off calamities and avoid disasters, many whole clans were completely destroyed.

At the end of the age of abundant spiritual energy, and with the changing environment, only a few strange beasts survived under the nourishment of cultivators.

Such is the case with the four blue-winged luan in the Northern Palace.

They entered a contract with the founding emperor of the Northern Dynasty to protect every monarch.

Duan Chongxuan is not yet a sovereign, and Luan Er has no contract binding it.

But Luan Er is his friend.

Within the confines of the deep palace, the huge yet docile blue-winged luan accompanies the fragile children through their days, good and bad.

So at this moment, Duan Chongxuan didn’t care to answer Wang Xi’s question. Instead, he looked at the more than a dozen chains rising into the darkened sky and shouted, “Don’t worry about me, run!—”

The chains were coated with a silver shimmer, like debris scattered from shattered stars. This is because it is engraved with runes and is soaked in poison, which is specially used to deal with these steel-skinned beasts.

Even with the bondage of contracts, humans still don’t believe in these strange beasts, and have all kinds of back up plans to guard against them.

Luan Er heard what he said, its body swelled rapidly, wings flapping with ferocity, and the wind roared. The group of soldiers that surged forth to confront Luan Er directly fell to the ground spitting blood, or were thrown into the water by struggling claws.

But it was too late. Over a hundred people were sent to their deaths; such a huge price, the purpose was only to act as a distraction. In the blink of an eye the array was complete, ten chains were tightly wound around the cyan feathers, searing into them blackened marks.

The blue-winged luan was in pain, raised its neck and let out a mournful and unwilling cry, and was pulled from the air onto the ship. The entire hull shook violently as if in a storm, but quickly stabilized.

It breathed a breath of clouds¹, and the flames burned the night sky, but the chains around its neck was like a giant hand that strangled its throat, forcibly cutting off its flame.

Duan Chongxuan was confused for an instant, and roared, “Don’t move!—”

The more it struggled the tighter the Flowing Light Chain became, and the greater the damage suffered.

Luan Er really stopped struggling, lying on the board of the ship full of blood and corpses, its eyes were red, like billows of fire.

More than a dozen of the elite palace guards did not dare to be careless, tightly holding one end of the Flowing Light Chain, and vigilantly surrounding it.

Wang Xi looked at the flames dissipating in the night sky, and the result of the confrontation basically was determined. He did not ask Duan Chongxuan how he saw the holes in the setup, but said,

“Your Royal Highness, I know that you have a lot of good things on your body, even the unparalleled weapon that can instantly break through space, ‘Yun Suo’. To trap you highness somewhere that you cannot escape from is a task as difficult as ascending into the sky.”

‘Yunsuo’ can only be used by one person, and can only be used once, but it is a heaven-defying artifact that can save your life and escape a difficult situation.

More than that, Duan Chongxuan also has a space piercing sword, a sun-shielding umbrella, a dragon cloud pill, countless burning talismans, and perhaps a more secret and terrifying ace up his sleeve.

But now, all this no longer matters.

Wang Xi slowly began to smile, “So your Highness must think clearly, you may be able to go, but it can’t go.”

No one knows how much painstaking effort it took to plan out such a plot, how much had to be sacrificed. At the very least, he had to take the imperial guards and carefully hid on the Southern Continent for a full month.

Seeing that the plot was about to be completed, how could he not be excited?

Thinking of this, his tone trembled slightly, “Since you can’t leave, why not follow us to meet Xian Wang?”

Duan Chongxuan didn’t speak. He thought about many things this night.

He had wondered before, how could there be someone who provokes people as stupidly as Li Lin did. But if there was someone directing him, then all of this can be explained.

Without anything to prove his identity, the easiest way is to call for Luan Er. This is where he entered the trap.

Certain high-level members of Bao Pu Zong must have come to some kind of agreement of mutual benefits with Xian Wang’s faction.

However, this is not the most terrifying. Though getting the Imperial Guards and the Dragon Travelling Treasure Ship are not easy feats that can be achieved in one day, the most important part is still getting the Flowing Light Chain and array that is able to subdue the blue-winged luan.

His biggest support on this trip became his biggest weakness.

Maybe even if he didn’t call Luan Er, if they can set up such a thorough arrangement, they must also have other contingency plans.

Just how much power does Xian Wang wield? He had no way to estimate.

He looked at Wang Xi and knew that he had the whole situation in his pocket. He knew clearly that if Wang Xi, this person can appear here at a time like this, can at least prove that one thing is true——

His father is truly ill.

With this premise, many things no longer matter.

For him, meeting that imperial uncle now is not the only choice, but the best choice.

But is it really so?

Xingshan Temple.

The golden light filled the sky, the mountains shone like breaking waves upon the sea, the setting sun dark as blood splattered on gold.

Two people stood on the edge of the golden light, carrying swords, soaked through in blood.

Although Yin Biyue understood array construction, when encountering such a large array, never mind breaking it, it’s extremely difficult to even face it directly.

But he knew that Luo Mingchuan might have a way, because by practicing Jialan pupil arts, he might be able to see some gaps in the array.

Luo Mingchuan closed his eyes, his breath rose steadily, his robes swelled, and his face turned pale.

Yin Biyue became more shocked the more he watched; it was as if the flesh on his cheeks sunk inwards, and his vitality was fading fast.

The moment Luo Mingchuan opened his eyes, pressure suddenly burst, Yin Biyue had to take three steps back before standing still, and could not help but shout, “Shixiong…”

Luo Mingchuan appeared to not have heard, and Yin Biyue didn’t know how to lend any strength. Luo Mingchuan’s figure lept into the sky, like an arrow from a string, straight to the sky.

Just as it seemed like he was about to touch the edge of the golden light the encompassed the sky, he suddenly pivoted and fell like a comet. With neither sword howl nor light, the tip of the sword seemed to gather wind and thunder. The wilderness around him was torn viciously asunder, and the fallen leaves and desiccated branches burst into dust, and desolately drifted to the ground.

That terrible force rushed towards the earth!

“Boom—”

Soil and stone spattered, and smoke filled the sky.

The ground split without end, and the cracks widened in every direction faster than the wind.

Yin Biyue tried to stabilize himself under the sword’s pressure, he knew that if there was a weakness in this array, it was here.

Therefore, without the slightest hesitation, mustering all the core energy remaining within his body without sparing a drop into Yi Hu, he thrust the sword into the crack!

The two struck with all their strength; the land fractured and the mountains crumbled!

The cracks spread impossibly outwards, becoming an abyss in the blink of an eye.

Luo Mingchuan drew his sword and sheltered Yin Biyue behind him.

Yin Biyue knew clearly, relying only on his own sword, his strength is far inferior than this spectacle would imply.

That means there is indeed something wrong with the ley lines here.

At the same moment, Jinghai in the hall frowned, the corners of his mouth overflowed with blood. He rose and took flight, and in an instant he swept in and landed before the abyss.

He could not suppress his fright, and struck down with his staff!

Luo Mingchuan took Yin Biyue’s hand, and this time it was not his wrist, but his fingers that he clasped tightly.

He leapt down.

Behind them, roaring waves of lighting fell, and the entirety of the great Golden Light Array shook violently, on the verge of shattering.

Losing the infusion of external power, the abyss shrank to merely a small crack, but it stretched from the back mountain to the front temple, passing through the numerous Buddhist halls. In its path the mountains shook, the soil and earth billowed in the air. It was only when it reached the four inscribed words, ‘Endless Sea of Suffering’ outside the gate, did it stop.

The whole Xingshan Temple was in chaos.

The major Buddhist temples are still protected by formations, but the monks’ living quarters and dining hall are not so reinforced, and have long collapsed.

In the smoke and dust, the gray-robed monks fled, and those with a lower cultivation base would be injured by the broken beams and fallen rubble.

Jing Hai looked at all this with a dazed expression.

Jingyun spoke the Buddha’s name, “Amitabha, ten thousand have sinned; the origin is the demon.”

Even at this point, they didn’t think they were wrong, only that it Luo Mingchuan and Yin Biyue who have sinned.

Yin Biyue was encircled by Luo Mingchuan’s body, and the shaking and clamor of the earth seemed to be something of a different world.

In the darkness, there is only whistling wind. The familiar warmth relaxes him, even if he knows that this is absolutely not the time to relax.

But his stamina was severely overdrawn, and his mental sea incessantly trembled; he had already reached his limit. No matter how hard he tried to resist, the violent dizziness and exhaustion washed through Yin Biyue like a tide.

Before losing consciousness, he thought: if the rules still apply, when following the protagonist, there’s a ninety percent chance of not dying.

Unless this **** author was writing a reincarnation vengeance seeking novel.

If that’s so, then we can only have a nice chat at swordpoint.

1) 它运气吐息 – I’ve translated it as a typo of cloud

Chapter 60 – [Fall]

In ancient times, when human beings were still slowly fumbling about for cultivation methods and combating the harsh natural environment and dangerous beasts, the mainland was dominated by those strange beasts of various races.

Their lives are long, with inherent racial powers, and flesh and bones of steel.

But in contrast, their minds are still undeveloped, and even those strange beasts whose abilities have reached the Greater Vessel stage have the minds of human children.

But when weak but intelligent humans learn to cultivate, they also learn how to defeat monsters and make use of them. The domineering status of the beasts on the continent was gradually replaced by cultivators, and gradually diminished further. During the period of Heavenly Tribulation, because they did not know to fend off calamities and avoid disasters, many whole clans were completely destroyed.

At the end of the age of abundant spiritual energy, and with the changing environment, only a few strange beasts survived under the nourishment of cultivators.

Such is the case with the four blue-winged luan in the Northern Palace.

They entered a contract with the founding emperor of the Northern Dynasty to protect every monarch.

Duan Chongxuan is not yet a sovereign, and Luan Er has no contract binding it.

But Luan Er is his friend.

Within the confines of the deep palace, the huge yet docile blue-winged luan accompanies the fragile children through their days, good and bad.

So at this moment, Duan Chongxuan didn’t care to answer Wang Xi’s question. Instead, he looked at the more than a dozen chains rising into the darkened sky and shouted, “Don’t worry about me, run!—”

The chains were coated with a silver shimmer, like debris scattered from shattered stars. This is because it is engraved with runes and is soaked in poison, which is specially used to deal with these steel-skinned beasts.

Even with the bondage of contracts, humans still don’t believe in these strange beasts, and have all kinds of back up plans to guard against them.

Luan Er heard what he said, its body swelled rapidly, wings flapping with ferocity, and the wind roared. The group of soldiers that surged forth to confront Luan Er directly fell to the ground spitting blood, or were thrown into the water by struggling claws.

But it was too late. Over a hundred people were sent to their deaths; such a huge price, the purpose was only to act as a distraction. In the blink of an eye the array was complete, ten chains were tightly wound around the cyan feathers, searing into them blackened marks.

The blue-winged luan was in pain, raised its neck and let out a mournful and unwilling cry, and was pulled from the air onto the ship. The entire hull shook violently as if in a storm, but quickly stabilized.

It breathed a breath of clouds¹, and the flames burned the night sky, but the chains around its neck was like a giant hand that strangled its throat, forcibly cutting off its flame.

Duan Chongxuan was confused for an instant, and roared, “Don’t move!—”

The more it struggled the tighter the Flowing Light Chain became, and the greater the damage suffered.

Luan Er really stopped struggling, lying on the board of the ship full of blood and corpses, its eyes were red, like billows of fire.

More than a dozen of the elite palace guards did not dare to be careless, tightly holding one end of the Flowing Light Chain, and vigilantly surrounding it.

Wang Xi looked at the flames dissipating in the night sky, and the result of the confrontation basically was determined. He did not ask Duan Chongxuan how he saw the holes in the setup, but said,

“Your Royal Highness, I know that you have a lot of good things on your body, even the unparalleled weapon that can instantly break through space, ‘Yun Suo’. To trap you highness somewhere that you cannot escape from is a task as difficult as ascending into the sky.”

‘Yunsuo’ can only be used by one person, and can only be used once, but it is a heaven-defying artifact that can save your life and escape a difficult situation.

More than that, Duan Chongxuan also has a space piercing sword, a sun-shielding umbrella, a dragon cloud pill, countless burning talismans, and perhaps a more secret and terrifying ace up his sleeve.

But now, all this no longer matters.

Wang Xi slowly began to smile, “So your Highness must think clearly, you may be able to go, but it can’t go.”

No one knows how much painstaking effort it took to plan out such a plot, how much had to be sacrificed. At the very least, he had to take the imperial guards and carefully hid on the Southern Continent for a full month.

Seeing that the plot was about to be completed, how could he not be excited?

Thinking of this, his tone trembled slightly, “Since you can’t leave, why not follow us to meet Xian Wang?”

Duan Chongxuan didn’t speak. He thought about many things this night.

He had wondered before, how could there be someone who provokes people as stupidly as Li Lin did. But if there was someone directing him, then all of this can be explained.

Without anything to prove his identity, the easiest way is to call for Luan Er. This is where he entered the trap.

Certain high-level members of Bao Pu Zong must have come to some kind of agreement of mutual benefits with Xian Wang’s faction.

However, this is not the most terrifying. Though getting the Imperial Guards and the Dragon Travelling Treasure Ship are not easy feats that can be achieved in one day, the most important part is still getting the Flowing Light Chain and array that is able to subdue the blue-winged luan.

His biggest support on this trip became his biggest weakness.

Maybe even if he didn’t call Luan Er, if they can set up such a thorough arrangement, they must also have other contingency plans.

Just how much power does Xian Wang wield? He had no way to estimate.

He looked at Wang Xi and knew that he had the whole situation in his pocket. He knew clearly that if Wang Xi, this person can appear here at a time like this, can at least prove that one thing is true——

His father is truly ill.

With this premise, many things no longer matter.

For him, meeting that imperial uncle now is not the only choice, but the best choice.

But is it really so?

Xingshan Temple.

The golden light filled the sky, the mountains shone like breaking waves upon the sea, the setting sun dark as blood splattered on gold.

Two people stood on the edge of the golden light, carrying swords, soaked through in blood.

Although Yin Biyue understood array construction, when encountering such a large array, never mind breaking it, it’s extremely difficult to even face it directly.

But he knew that Luo Mingchuan might have a way, because by practicing Jialan pupil arts, he might be able to see some gaps in the array.

Luo Mingchuan closed his eyes, his breath rose steadily, his robes swelled, and his face turned pale.

Yin Biyue became more shocked the more he watched; it was as if the flesh on his cheeks sunk inwards, and his vitality was fading fast.

The moment Luo Mingchuan opened his eyes, pressure suddenly burst, Yin Biyue had to take three steps back before standing still, and could not help but shout, “Shixiong…”

Luo Mingchuan appeared to not have heard, and Yin Biyue didn’t know how to lend any strength. Luo Mingchuan’s figure lept into the sky, like an arrow from a string, straight to the sky.

Just as it seemed like he was about to touch the edge of the golden light the encompassed the sky, he suddenly pivoted and fell like a comet. With neither sword howl nor light, the tip of the sword seemed to gather wind and thunder. The wilderness around him was torn viciously asunder, and the fallen leaves and desiccated branches burst into dust, and desolately drifted to the ground.

That terrible force rushed towards the earth!

“Boom—”

Soil and stone spattered, and smoke filled the sky.

The ground split without end, and the cracks widened in every direction faster than the wind.

Yin Biyue tried to stabilize himself under the sword’s pressure, he knew that if there was a weakness in this array, it was here.

Therefore, without the slightest hesitation, mustering all the core energy remaining within his body without sparing a drop into Yi Hu, he thrust the sword into the crack!

The two struck with all their strength; the land fractured and the mountains crumbled!

The cracks spread impossibly outwards, becoming an abyss in the blink of an eye.

Luo Mingchuan drew his sword and sheltered Yin Biyue behind him.

Yin Biyue knew clearly, relying only on his own sword, his strength is far inferior than this spectacle would imply.

That means there is indeed something wrong with the ley lines here.

At the same moment, Jinghai in the hall frowned, the corners of his mouth overflowed with blood. He rose and took flight, and in an instant he swept in and landed before the abyss.

He could not suppress his fright, and struck down with his staff!

Luo Mingchuan took Yin Biyue’s hand, and this time it was not his wrist, but his fingers that he clasped tightly.

He leapt down.

Behind them, roaring waves of lighting fell, and the entirety of the great Golden Light Array shook violently, on the verge of shattering.

Losing the infusion of external power, the abyss shrank to merely a small crack, but it stretched from the back mountain to the front temple, passing through the numerous Buddhist halls. In its path the mountains shook, the soil and earth billowed in the air. It was only when it reached the four inscribed words, ‘Endless Sea of Suffering’ outside the gate, did it stop.

The whole Xingshan Temple was in chaos.

The major Buddhist temples are still protected by formations, but the monks’ living quarters and dining hall are not so reinforced, and have long collapsed.

In the smoke and dust, the gray-robed monks fled, and those with a lower cultivation base would be injured by the broken beams and fallen rubble.

Jing Hai looked at all this with a dazed expression.

Jingyun spoke the Buddha’s name, “Amitabha, ten thousand have sinned; the origin is the demon.”

Even at this point, they didn’t think they were wrong, only that it Luo Mingchuan and Yin Biyue who have sinned.

Yin Biyue was encircled by Luo Mingchuan’s body, and the shaking and clamor of the earth seemed to be something of a different world.

In the darkness, there is only whistling wind. The familiar warmth relaxes him, even if he knows that this is absolutely not the time to relax.

But his stamina was severely overdrawn, and his mental sea incessantly trembled; he had already reached his limit. No matter how hard he tried to resist, the violent dizziness and exhaustion washed through Yin Biyue like a tide.

Before losing consciousness, he thought: if the rules still apply, when following the protagonist, there’s a ninety percent chance of not dying.

Unless this **** author was writing a reincarnation vengeance seeking novel.

If that’s so, then we can only have a nice chat at swordpoint.

1) 它运气吐息 – I’ve translated it as a typo of cloud