The Human Emperor c1-2382

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)

  A moment later, it was joined by tens of thousands. Countless ripples appeared in the sea of fog as the swords rang out, repeating the scene from when Bagushidu stepped onto the chain.

  Wang Chong could see all kinds of swords in various states of disrepair taking aim at the third-generation successor.

  But unlike with Bagushidu, while these swords trembled and buzzed, they did not seem ready to attack, instead exuding an intense warning.

  It seems like Bagushidu was right. The first-generation successor’s mind has already fused with the sword mound in the air. He can even sense the third-generation successor’s energy and give him a warning.

  Wang Chong’s eyes flashed in understanding.

  Thoughts flew through his mind, and Wang Chong soon made a new move.

  Boom! Under Wang Chong’s control, the third-generation successor flew forward like a cannonball.

  As he hurtled forward, golden light exploded and Stellar Energy surged. Hundreds of golden compasses erupted out of the walking corpse’s body, transforming into a golden fortress that tightly enclosed him.

  With this defensive barrier, the successor pushed his Stellar Energy to its limits, shooting toward the other side like a blazing sun.

  Both Wang Chong and Bagushidu were incredibly focused. This chain was only eight hundred meters at most. With the strength of the third-generation successor, he would normally need only a few seconds to cross it.

  Success or failure would be decided here.

  Bang! The third-generation successor’s foot came down again, causing the chain to fiercely shudder.

  This action caused the countless flying swords within the sword mound to explode in fury.

  Innumerable flying swords emerged from the sea of fog, their numbers exploding. There was a great metal clattering and a savage gust of wind as the flying swords, now with ten times their original number, shot toward the third-generation successor in a burst of golden light.

  And even more flying swords were gathering from the surroundings.

  Every one of these tens of thousands of swords radiated a golden light. In the blink of an eye, they had merged into a storm of unprecedented power that spun toward the third-generation successor.

  This was the first time Wang Chong had seen someone who could control so many flying swords at the same time, and each sword had the weight of a mountain behind it.

  Boom! Boom! Boom! The successor’s body was soon engulfed by the storm of flying swords.

  Whoosh!

  The golden light and fog greatly hindered Wang Chong’s vision, and the powerful Psychic Seal permeating the air made it impossible for Wang Chong to see with his Psychic Energy as he normally did.

  But Wang Chong could see the two chains at his feet shaking like never before.

  The clinging and clanging of the chains were endless. The third-generation successor was clearly in a most perilous situation.

  The pull from this abyss was also immense. Not even the third-generation successor could escape into the air.

  And the two chains were shaking so fiercely that the successor could be thrown into the abyss at any time, which would result in certain death.

  “Impossible!” Bagushidu cried out. At some point, he had walked up to stand side by side with Wang Chong.

  But he cared little about the nearby Wang Chong. His attention was entirely focused on the third-generation successor and the golden light that had engulfed him.

  “Only fragments of souls remain in the bodies of these walking corpses, and they’ve been dead for so long that they shouldn’t be affected by the divine sword. In other words, the third-generation successor doesn’t need to worry about much else besides defeating the first-generation. More importantly, he’s part of the Origin Immortal Lord’s lineage, so he suffers far fewer attacks than we do.”

  Bagushidu’s eyes were bright with excitement.

  He had forced Wang Chong to try primarily because of his deal with Ozmish Khagan. After all, he didn’t really lose anything regardless of the result. But it now seemed like he had made the right decision.

  The third-generation successor had made much more progress than him or his predecessor Ishinishidu.

  Bagushidu had just felt a sliver of hope when a development within the fog dashed it to pieces.

  Bzzzz! As the third-generation successor advanced along the chains, using his golden compass fortress to neutralize the attacks around him and defend against the numerous swords, the flying swords around him began to respond.

  The immense amounts of Origin Energy the Origin Immortal Lord had gathered here began to coalesce around the flying swords.

  Suddenly, one of the flying swords shooting toward the third-generation successor exploded with dazzling radiance.

  This light extended for half a foot along the sword’s body, and it seemed so sharp that it could pierce straight through steel.

  Sword Qi!

  Wang Chong grimaced in shock. As a cultivator of the Art of God and Demon Obliteration, he could recognize at a glance this energy created by sword cultivators.

  The flying swords in the air were as numerous as the hairs on a bull. If each of them could shoot out Sword Qi, the entire sword formation would possess a simply terrifying power.

  And as if in response to Wang Chong’s ill foreboding, one sword after another began to light up…

  In just a second, the vast sea of damaged swords in the air began to fire bolts of Sword Qi at the third-generation successor, their offensive power rising to a whole new level.

  Boom! Boom! Boom! The salvo from the flying swords quickly brought a halt to the successor’s advance.

  The third-generation successor was now in incredibly dire straits. Not only was he no longer advancing, he was being forced back again and again. There were even a few times where he had almost been forced off the chains.

  It’s enough! It’s time to try out the third generation’s power!

  Wang Chong’s eyes flashed as he shifted tactics.

  Chapter 1512 - The Third Generation Takes Action! (II)

  Chapter 1512: The Third Generation Takes Action! (II)

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  Though Wang Chong had initially been forced into getting past the barrier by Bagushidu, his attention was now entirely focused on this task.

  If he wanted to obtain the Origin Immortal Art, he had to conquer this barrier.

  Buzz!

  The third-generation successor, standing in the middle section of the chain, several hundred meters from the end of the stone bridge, reached back behind him. The vast pavilion of the Trayastrimsa Heaven quickly gathered together into a massive golden halberd.

  The successor casually struck out, and a roiling wave of golden energy joined together with the power of the golden halberd to instantly destroy several dozen swords.

  The successor turned his head and made another attack. Another several dozen flying swords were obliterated by the domineering Origin Immortal Stellar Energy before they could even get close.

  But this was merely the beginning. With the Trayastrimsa Heaven halberd in hand, the third-generation successor soared in power and immediately launched an attack on the thousands of swords around him.

  Boom!

  One wave of Origin Immortal Stellar Energy after another hurtled forward, taking the form of dragons and tigers as they crushed the flying swords through sheer strength.

  The Origin Immortal Lord’s disciple once more displayed his formidable might.

  Even though there were so many flying swords attacking and the environment was extremely unfavorable, the third-generation successor continued to keep up the attack. The numerous tattered swords were destroyed in great swaths, their shards passing the chains as they tumbled into the abyss.

  “Incredible! Is this really enough to get through? Was I approaching it from the wrong angle?” Bagushidu muttered to himself. Matters were proceeding so smoothly that he found it ha
rd to believe.

  Wang Chong also creased his brow. The situation was favorable to him, but he instinctively felt that things could not be this simple.

  The first disciple was even stronger than the second, and he had been the one to build all the mechanisms underground, even the palace itself. There was no way this last trial could be so simple.

  This thought had just occurred to Wang Chong when, suddenly—

  The third-generation successor’s constant advance and his attacks on the flying swords had seemingly provoked the first-generation.

  Boom! There was an explosion that seemed to tear through the world, and a moment later, a vast rip appeared in the fabric of space, a dreadful energy surging out from it.

  Countless golden specks of energy mixed into the fog, attaching to the tens of thousands of flying swords. Those flying swords seemed to blaze anew, growing even stronger and more dangerous.

  The Subtle realm!

  Standing on the stone bridge, Wang Chong was able to keenly sense this power, the familiar energy of the Subtle realm.

  But this power was even more frightening than that of the second generation. If the second-generation successor could be compared to a tough man of steely resolve, then the first-generation was a giant.

  Even more frightening was that while ordinary martial artists merely received a boost in strength upon reaching the Subtle realm, the first-generation successor had managed to change the definition of the Subtle. The innumerable swords the third-generation was facing were all of the Subtle realm, and this was enough to make any martial artist tremble in fear.

  “Finally here!”

  Bagushidu had also sensed what was going on, and given that he was much stronger than Wang Chong, he could sense much more.

  Wang Chong could only sense the Subtle realm energy flowing through the air, but Bagushidu could sense that a massive gate had opened in the depths of spacetime. Vast waves of transcendent energy were constantly howling out of this gate and being absorbed by the Origin Immortal Sword Formation.

  “This is the energy! This was the energy that had Ishinishidu chasing for ten days and ten nights, chasing that man all the way to this place where he eventually lost his life! As long as I can comprehend this energy and fuse it with our Earth Sect’s Dark Radiant Heaven energy, the Yin and Yang will be one, and I will definitely be able to comprehend an even higher realm of power!”

  Bagushidu’s face was brimming with excitement and bereft of its former composure, and his robes trembled in agitation.

  But Wang Chong hardly noticed. The battle in front of him had reached maximum intensity, as the first generation was now intent on killing the third.

  Buzz!

  One trouble came hot on the heels of another. As the first-generation successor opened the spatial tunnel and boosted all the flying swords to the Subtle realm, the thick fog suddenly erupted with light as countless golden points of light appeared beneath the chains.

  Upon looking down, Wang Chong and Bagushidu both grimaced.

  These countless golden points of light were the shards of shattered swords.

  These shards were all the flying swords that the third-generation successor had just shattered in his battle with the first-generation.

  Not only had the third-generation not destroyed these swords, he had only made this sword mound even more dangerous.

  Clang!

  With a resounding clang and explosion of golden light, the countless flying swords gathered together.

  A moment later, a giant sword more than three hundred feet long thundered out of the void, hurtling toward the third-generation successor on the chain.

  This energy was so immense that even the third-generation successor seemed insignificant before it.

  “Not good!”

  Wang Chong immediately felt an ill foreboding.

  But all Wang Chong had enough time to do was have the successor leap forward with all his strength. Less than half a second later, the walking corpse’s imposing figure plunged down into the endless fog as if it had been struck by a lightning bolt.

  The battle was over, and everything calmed back down. The fog gathered together and the countless swords in the air, their target lost, slowly lost their luster and began to scatter.

  They once more vanished into the fog.

  Cling! Swish! The swaying chains loudly rang out, but the stone bridge remained eerily silent.

  Wang Chong and Bagushidu stood side by side, unable to speak for a long time.

  The third-generation successor had been destroyed, and even though Wang Chong had tried to make the successor advance as much as possible, even having him leap forward at the final second, he had still failed.

  “What a pity! Such a powerful ally, such a powerful fighting force, was wasted in vain!”

  Bagushidu had returned to his senses and now smiled at Wang Chong.

  But Bagushidu suddenly stopped talking. Next to him, Wang Chong had squatted down and was attentively drawing on the ground. The strange symbols and figures he was producing were something that not even Bagushidu could understand.

  “This is…”

  His brow creasing, Bagushidu shut his mouth and stood to the side to silently watch.

  Wang Chong was so focused at this time that he had completely forgotten about Bagushidu’s presence.

  His eyes were half-closed as the battle between the third generation and first replayed itself in his mind.

  Every single detail, big and small, was reproduced.

  Although the third-generation successor had been killed by the sword formation, for Wang Chong, his sacrifice had not been meaningless. Wang Chong now knew much more information than he did before.

  More importantly, while controlling the third-generation successor, Wang Chong had obtained the experiences and sensations he had felt while directly battling with the first-generation, sensations that Bagushidu would never be able to obtain.

  …Forcing our way through isn’t plausible. The first-generation successor only used sixty percent of his strength at most when fighting the third-generation, and this was entirely because of his status as one of the Origin Immortal Art’s successors. Anyone else would probably have the first-generation using all of his strength. This is a power that no single one of us could withstand.

  Wang Chong closed his eyes entirely and raised his head, his mind whirring in calculation.

  The Origin Immortal Art could only be obtained through wisdom, not brute force. The most critical aspect was determining the rules by which the first generation attacked.

  No matter how powerful and smart the first-generation successor was, he was still someone who had died nearly one thousand years ago. His mind had to be immensely weakened, and this was where the key lay.

  There was some rule governing his attacks!

  This was what Wang Chong had learned by seeing through the third-generation successor’s eyes, his greatest harvest from the battle.

  “Just what is it?” Wang Chong muttered, his mind in turmoil.

  The third-generation successor was already half a step into the Subtle realm, and with his Origin Immortal Art, he had a fighting power equivalent to Qutaybah, who had just stepped into the Subtle realm, or perhaps even a little stronger.

  But not even the third-generation successor had been able to overcome the first-generation’s attacks at sixty percent power, so Wang Chong certainly could not.

  If he could not find the rule governing the first-generation’s attacks, stepping onto the chains would be certain death.

  A gust of air, tinged with chill, blew across the stone bridge. Bagushidu remained with his hands behind his back, his expression indifferent and unhurried.

  With the third-generation successor present, he had still been somewhat apprehensive, but now that he was gone, Wang Chong’s life was entirely under his control.

  “There’s no rush. Think slowly. At least until someone else comes in, you have plenty of time…”

  Bag
ushidu smiled, a grace and elegance in his voice. Yet while he seemed magnanimous, he was actually giving Wang Chong an ultimatum.

  But Wang Chong did not care at this time. His worries were elsewhere.

  “What is it? What could it be?”

  By this time, Wang Chong’s mind had already entered an entirely different world.

  Chapter 1513 - The Origin Immortal Sword Formation’s Flaw!

  Chapter 1513: The Origin Immortal Sword Formation’s Flaw!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  The scenes of the battle replayed and recombined in Wang Chong’s mind. All the swords and even the energy of the Subtle realm the first-generation successor had used appeared, and Wang Chong used a method that no martial artist of this world could understand to analyze it all.

  Bagushidu and any other spectator could only see the battle itself, but Wang Chong had managed to derive countless pieces of data from these scenes.

  This was somewhat similar to the way Wang Chong had harnessed his vast Psychic Energy reserves to solve the Origin Immortal Formation, but on an even higher level.

  Time was continuing to pass, and there wasn’t much of it left for Wang Chong.

  Wang Chong was just too weak!

  He recalled the scene of the third-generation successor fighting the first-generation.

  What a powerful sword formation. It’s simply endless, and the attacks only get stronger and stronger…

  Wang Chong internally sighed, but a moment later, as he stared at the sword mound concealed in the fog, his body trembled in shock.

  Wait! The Origin Immortal Sword Formation, the Origin Immortal Art…

  His eyes suddenly shone brightly, and he lowered his head, produced a sliver of Sword Qi from his finger, and began to draw on the stone bridge. Under the light of the lanterns, one could see that what Wang Chong was drawing out had become even more detailed.

  He swept his finger here and there in a random fashion, but slowly, it became more and more obvious what he was drawing.

  It was a rough Origin Immortal symbol, the same that could be seen on the chests of the six walking corpses, though there were slight differences.