by Feng Yue
Countless strands of abyss music theory had invaded him, turning his body into a demon’s lair. Bugs scurried through his organs, gnawing away at him to replace him with wax so he would turn into a humanoid beehive.
This was a very creative way to die.
Light flashed and the dead Ye Qingxuan disappeared like a hallucination. An unharmed one appeared in its place. This time, he raised the Sword in the Stone. Blazing light glowed on the blade, creating golden ripples on the ground. This time, a heavy bell rang out. Wind blew from the sea, filling the temple with water vapor and smell of fish.
Waves crashed and the shadow of a pure white city rose behind Ye Qingxuan. It was Avalon from tens of thousands of miles away, hanging in the sky like the sun. In the reflection on the sea surface, the city’s shadow was dark. Countless demons rested there. In the blur, an eerie and bloody moon appeared.
“As commanded by the king.” Ye Qingxuan held the Sword upside down and dug it into the soil. “This is the sacred soil of the Kingdom of Anglo. Heaven will descend here!” Thus, Lola brought her broken scepter down. Heaven on Earth returned!
A cold voice rang out, dissipating the darkness. “Impossible! I already shattered Heaven on Earth! Impossible! Impossible!” Screams of disbelief came from the Garment but quickly turned into a scoff.
“You thought I would say that? Let me see… You got a broken scepter from somewhere to pair with the dead guy’s weapon? From a certain aspect, it’s a great match! But you think using the same trick twice will have an effect?”
In that moment, Ye Qingxuan’s expression froze. He forgot about the Channeling Change. Paganini was the best at music theory changes. He could combine Modifications, Abstinence, and Illusion to create power in the abyss! He was the creator of the ‘faceless actors,’ the strongest man who could be disguised as a saint for decades.
Once he understood the structure and music theory and grasped the pattern of change, he could change himself flawlessly and enter into it. It was just like the countless musicians who had been invaded by the jumping music theories and fell into the abyss with him.
Avalon’s image started shaking and falling apart as soon as it began solidifying. Paganini’s music theory had somehow fused into Heaven on Earth until the differences were undetectable. Like a leech, it sucked on the Sword’s power, turning it into its own power.
Avalon’s enchantment inside Heaven on Earth and countless music theories instantly became infected. They weakened and became dull. Ye Qingxuan was powerless. He could only watch as they were corroded.
“This situation is so familiar.”
He suddenly sighed and looked up at Paganini. “Thinking closely, I realized that I had experienced this before. Avalon’s enchantment had a bunch of demons inside and was attacked by enemies on the outside. This situation is so familiar…” It was like déjà vu of the war in Avalon’s Shadow.
“How was it solved back then?” Ye Qingxuan pretended to think for a bit. He suddenly smiled, giving Paganini a bad feeling. “Oh right…”
He paused and declared, “Let there be light!”
Boom! The Heaven on Earth shook. All music theories at the core were swept into a wild vortex. Deep inside, countless theories changed, creating an empty turbidity. An ancient scroll emerged out of thin air. It moved on the water like majestic strength even though the surface was dark.
Thus, the empty murkiness was opened. Light appeared. All was singing for the arrival of the miracle. It was the creation of the world!
“It is here,” a hoarse voice said from the scroll. “It shall be here eternally!”
The countless abyss music theories froze. An uncontrolled roar burst out. “Genesis!” Paganini shook. He glared at Ye Qingxuan, yelling, “Haydn! It’s you! I see. It’s a trap, as expected…”
He seemed to finally understand. This was a trap the Sacred City created to capture him. They suffered extreme losses to lure him out while the saints hidden in the darkness bided the time. He instantly grew cautious. Aether waves rolled off of him crazily. All strength was put into defense. He reactivated the ritual of ‘Infinite Movement,’ instantly putting hundreds of shields around him, constructing an aether citadel.
But nothing happened.
Within Heaven on Earth, the power of Genesis continued running to the climax and then…it disappeared.
Paganini blanched. The light, the murkiness, the miraculous scroll, and the terrifying aura of life all disappeared like a hallucination. It was as if an actor attended a ceremony as an emperor. No matter how many gold accessories and glamorous robes he wore, he was still nothing inside. There was no need for anyone to test him. He would be found out as soon as he opened his mouth.
It was fake.
Everything was just a trick. There was no sincerity.
Under the fading light, Ye Qingxuan grinned creepily. “I don’t even believe that I can create the Genesis. How come you believed me?”
392 Moon Fall
Everything Paganini saw after Ye Qingxuan said “let there be light” was an illusion. If he did not feel guilty and always thought that the Sacred City was out to get him, he would not have become so nervous and be influenced by Lola’s School of Mind movement.
Ye Qingxuan had just been imitating the Genesis that he had experienced. He created a paper tiger and Paganini believed him. This was the magic of illusions. Because of Ye Qingxuan’s lies, Paganini missed the opportunity to kill this guy once and for all, giving Ye another chance.
Ye Qingxuan smiled. The pure white city behind him toppled. The dark city of Avalon’s City rose from the surface of the sea. Above him, the blood-red moon hung in the air. That was the core he used to control Heaven on Earth.
It was Lola’s scepter.
Under the scepter’s rule, Heaven on Earth’s territory expanded.
The red waning moon radiated with a strange aura. It had an indescribable beauty and loneliness. Like a beauty drenched in blood putting on makeup before a mirror, she was heartbreakingly gentle and terrifying chilling.
However, this waning moon was damaged. It was covered in fine cracks, revealing the slight water-like ripples. The scepter’s true body was the reflection of the moon in the sea.
Yes, it was the Moon in the Water! At this moment, illusion and reality had switched positions. The broken moon in the water hung in the air. It shone, seemingly replacing the true object’s position. In comparison, the entire world felt unreal.
“Within the frozen time, the flowing languages, and black fog, there is dim light…” A cold yet peaceful voice traveled vaguely like a ghost singing under the moon. “The flower withers in an instant. The flower blooms in yesterday.” Under the Sword’s strength, Lola’s damaged scepter managed to recover and unleash the strange power of alternating between illusion and reality. It was this moon that had imitated Genesis just then. The realness of it scared even Paganini.
“You were beating me for so long. It was hard for me to get the chance to fight back.” Under the moon, Ye Qingxuan looked at him with an eerie smile. “Let me show you something good!”
The temple shook. Immense pressure came from the sky, dropping onto the ground and cracking the land. Every music theory began trembling under this vast theory, almost breaking down under this solid pressure. The air was red as if it was burning. A deafening thunder came from the sky. The moon was falling!
The illusory waning moon suddenly fell toward Paganini. The moon in the reflection now radiated with tangible pressure. It crushed every obstacle, pushing down with raw yet impossible strength. It was as if a comet was falling.
It was the Moon Fall! The world was burning.
When Paganini saw its nature, he scoffed. “It’s too weak. Those tricks of putting oneself in an illusion do nothing.” He smirked. “You cannot find anything in the void. These cocooning music theories are even more laughable than lying to oneself!” With that, he reached up to shatter the illusion of the moon in the water. But then his expression changed. His
power ricocheted.
It was real! It actually was real! It was actually f*cking real!
The moon in the reflection was tangible! It was just a damaged scepter. Even if it could realize illusions, how could it solidify such a large moon?
It dawned on him. It was the dragon breath. It was one hundred percent true dragon breath! Formless but solid, one could use only one’s will to give aether shape and weight. The Moon Fall was just an illusion. The real deal was the dragon breath released by the Sword that the scepter controlled.
During the crazed falling, the air burned the waning moon until the disguise fell apart, revealing the resplendent Sword!
The temple shattered. Countless delicate statues and opulent decorations were crushed to dust. Paganini took the brunt. His Garment was shredded completely and the darkness cracked apart. It could barely mend itself.
Under the earth-shattering attack, half of Paganini’s body evaporated and was pierced by the sword. The twelve Chapters of Golden Victory on the blade dazzled alternatively, restricting his body.
Paganini roared. The abyss wind tunnel opened behind him. A large object charged through the narrow tunnel crazily, dropping from the material world. He was completely furious now.
He wanted his true body to descend without caring about anything else and destroy both this strange city and Ye Qingxuan.
In a moment, the black mud bubbled and swelled. Ignoring that he was stabbed by the Sword, he reached out a giant odd hand and grabbed at Ye Qingxuan. There was a face chained to the palm. It was both happy and sad, singing a cacophonous hymn. The melody was grating and shattered all music theory.
Even the score of Holy on Ye Qingxuan’s body, the top defensive territory, was destroyed under the furious attack. Next to go was the moonlight on his body. He could no longer turn the deaths into illusions.
Finally, he tightened his grip cruelly.
Crack. Ye Qingxuan’s body shattered.
Paganini’s expression twisted more and he roared in fury. It was fake! Everything since the beginning was fake; everything was a trick. This d*mn b*stard never fought honestly.
In that moment, Ye Qingxuan poured all of the scepter’s power into the Sword, urging the dragon breath and simulating the fall of the moon. He hit Paganini’s double, nailing and immobilizing him. But then he abandoned the Sword and this rare advantage. He even abandoned the hereditary weapon of the School of Stone Heart, just leaving behind an illusion and escaping.
Where did he go?
It suddenly dawned on Paganini. He looked back at the burning fire. Beside the Sacred Fire that would burn the entire world, he saw Ye Qingxuan’s back.
He reached out to touch the girl in the fire without regard to his own safety. In the Sacred Fire, Elsa’s eyes were empty and still. They reflected his sad smile.
“Hey, long time no see.” Ye Qingxuan reached out, caressing her cheeks. “I was looking for you. Do you…still remember me?”
393 Philosopher’s Stone
His hand was in the fire but he could not feel the heat. The flames were not real—they were the brilliance of countless interwoven music theories. They seeped into his body at the touch, fusing with him and lighting the aether within him. They wanted to ignite everything and turn them into flames.
“Ye Qingxuan, what are you doing?!” Lola raged after sensing the strange situation in his body.
“Probably…flirting with death?” Ye Qingxuan chuckled wryly. “Sorry, Lola. Thanks for taking care of me all this time. If anything happens, please help me take care of Bai Xi.”
“You think I’m your—”
Before Lola could finish, Ye Qingxuan cut off the Heaven Ladder connection. Her angry voice disappeared along with the strength. Without anymore obstacles, the flames swept into his body. Covering every vessel, they burned at the moonlight and aether in his blood, dismantling his life from the inside out. At that moment, he finally broke through the flames’ outer shell and grasped the Double Snake Time Meter floating within.
Even under the intense pain of burning, Ye Qingxuan was still shocked by the beauty. It was definitely a masterpiece countless alchemists would go crazy over. The core was created by complex music theories, even more complex than a symphony of predestination. It was compressed into a tiny square inch of space. Flowing like water, there was nothing forced. It was a true piece of artwork and inhumanly perfect.
It not only contained Faust’s power. After the music score was unfolded, it embedded perfectly into the Sacred Fire, adjusting the vast structure and manipulating the powerful operations. It also constructed another alchemy array on top of it to hide its true appearance…
The three overlapped in almost bizarre way but did not disturb each other. It was a perfect three-part whole.
“Life or death, it depends on this.” In immense pain, Ye Qingxuan clenched his teeth and prayed, Boss, if you have any heart, don’t mess with me this time!
Taking a deep breath, he recited, “All is faded. Only the tree of life is forever green!”
After all this time, he recited the activation code for the Double Snake Time Meter. Everything stopped. The dark emblem on the time meter lit up.
[Ultimate authority · Verification complete]
There was a sound in the daze. It sounded like Elsa’s voice but it was supernatural and cold.
[Controlled handover, coherence begins]
Ye Qingxuan sank into a daze. Countless wings of light seemed to sprout from his back, connecting the sky, the earth, and everything else. His consciousness expanded, covering the world.
He saw the dark aether river streaming in the underworld; the brilliant star ring in the sky; the earth, wind, fire, and wind hidden in objects…everything in the world showed him their true nature. In the end, he even sensed the Originator.
That was the source of all; everything flowed from it. It was magical and hidden yet omnipresent. For millennia, so many musicians had never reached this close distance. He could use all of the power in the Sacred Fire. Everything was under his control. He could seemingly do whatever he wanted. It felt as if he had transformed into a Holy Spirit.
“The world is created such that it can create miracles!” A seemingly familiar voice rang in his ears.
Ye Qingxuan snapped out of his daze and looked down at his hands. The time meter was slowly disassembling. Countless parts dissipated. Finally, all that remained in his hands was weak firelight, flickering in the wind. It was hard to imagine that this flame carried all of the Sacred Fire’s strength and brought him to the state of a god.
Now, this unimaginable power was in his hands. It was right in his hands and yet he sank into confusion.
Was it this easy? He only had to utter a sentence and could receive such a powerful gift. It felt unreal like a dream but he could feel that he was not dreaming.
It was reality. But it was unbelievable.
Ye Qingxuan, you have received the strongest power in this world, someone seemed to murmur in his ear. Make a wish to the flame in your hands. You can have any glory, strength, or power you wish. But what do you truly desire? Think about it. Think carefully. There is enough time for you to ponder.
In the stillness, Ye Qingxuan stared at the fire. He quickly chuckled. “What I desire…isn’t that simple? I just want her to live.” He looked down at Elsa. “Not as a puppet or shell but live as a real girl… That’s what I want.” Clenching his hands, he pushed the flame gently into Elsa’s chest. The power that could break the aether world’s equilibrium entered the girl’s body.
“Let her live,” he ordered the flame. “Now!”
A hoarse voice sounded. It was filled with pity and was meaningful. The voice was fleeting and he could not tell if it came from his heart or ears.
“As you wish.”
Then the firelight jumped, expanding explosively. Between the sky and earth, between the soil of the abyss and the gates of heaven, the vast power that covered everything suddenly caved in. It compressed, returning to
the inside. It overlapped, converging on Elsa’s body.
Inside her body, the Sacred Fire glowed, radiating in all directions. The majestic melody and beautiful notes scattered in the air. It was so gentle and yet so somber as if it carried all the mysteries of life. It represented the resting spirits and the mysteries of life and death.
First, it was the dreamy Compassion, then the awe-inspiring Furious Sun, Horn, Mercy of God, and Time of Judgement. At the peak, it transformed into Sacrifice, Holy…
“This is…” Ye Qingxuan listened to the melody coming from the Sacred Fire. He could not believe it.
This was the Requiem! The scepter inherited by all Kings of Yellow was hidden inside the fire! The King of Yellow who had poisoned the Romulusians had then left his power with them.
Within the holy melody, endless light poured into Elsa’s body like a spirit returning. Inside the empty body, the burnt flesh regrew from the ashes. Blood started flowing again. Thin veins and organs reappeared in her body.
The vast power went through the aether sea, faintly connecting with tributaries of the Originator, using up this immense and luxurious strength to find the remnants of the broken memory and past.
Life and death were reversing…
“No, stop! Stop!” Paganini screamed. He was filled with fury and heartbreak as if watching an idiot control the richness that should be his. Ye Qingxuan used something that could change the world in exchange for some specks of dust!
The darkness raged. The giant body squeezed in from the abyss, breaking past all restrictions even if it was fatally wounded by the Sword again.
“Do you know what you’re doing?!” He glared at Ye Qingxuan, wishing he could rip the youth to shreds. “Ye Qingxuan, stop! That isn’t yours! You don’t even know what it represents!”
Ye Qingxuan did not listen. He focused on the quickly dissipating flame. It had turned into countless music theories. They were woven by an invisible hand into the prototype of a soul.