by Feng Yue
“I am everything…” In his trance, Ye Qingxuan’s consciousness was immersed into the music theory, following the spirituality of the movement’s changes. He was like a formless spirit, soaring between heaven and earth.
Rumble! A low noise emitted from Ye Qingxuan’s body, and he began to blur. His skin and muscles looked transparent, and one could see the rushing silver streams of his blood vessels.
And then, even these streams disappeared.
He was restored to his original form but seemed not to sense anything, as if he were actually far away from his body.
Nearby, Auden looked on dumbfounded. He frowned, and then his eyes bulged out and his mouth opened so wide that his jaw nearly dislocated. The other Masters followed suit, as they one by one felt Ye Qingxuan’s circumstances from their connection with the Jiu Xiao Huan Pei, and fell into a panic.
656 I Do It Often
“It is… Vacuum?”
“Vacuum!”
“What a surprise…”
Plenty of outstanding musicians of the school of abstinence were present among the masters at the scene. One could even say that for musicians of their level, the Vacuum that symbolized semi-aetherization was not unachievable.
Each school had different techniques that could allow one to enter the same state. But Ye Qingxuan had clearly fallen to the Level of Distortion!
However, without relying on any control or even consuming any energy, Ye Qingxuan’s body actually replaced its blood circulation with an aether circulation automatically, entering the domain of semi-aetherization.
And the semi-aetherization displayed by Ye Qingxuan at the moment was of a degree of completion that had already surpassed that of everyone else present, even reaching the level of that of oddities.
One must keep in mind that what the Vacuum of the school of abstinence imitated was the Cereus, one of the four living creatures. It was purely achieved via nature interference of oneself to blend in with all things on earth, and the level of difficulty and harshness of the conditions required far surpassed that of other schools.
At the moment, based on the state that Ye Qingxuan had exhibited, the aether circulation had undoubtedly become a part of him already.
In other words, as long as Ye Qingxuan became a master, after removing the last of his shackles, he could even cross the sea of aether and enter the depths of the realm of aether to explore on his own.
Meanwhile, just as everyone stood stunned, Ye Qingxuan’s eyes suddenly lit up. “Gotcha!”
At that moment, he finally found a blurry speck of light amid the elements of the scepter and countless strands of music theory.
Right at the center of the core of Schubert’s scepter, in its very hinterland, a dim speck of fire burned difficultly, like a flickering candle in the middle of a storm.
It was a spark of consciousness, the last bit of consciousness left of the owner of the body.
Using the Proverbs in the Holy Bible as a bridge, the two sides were connected as one, but a distinction was present after all. The consciousness was the firewood, which made the scepter burn vigorously.
Despite being weak and small, it was of utmost importance!
And Ye Qingxuan finally found a way to solve the problem of Schubert intending to commit suicide.
In the silence, his expression changed, and eventually, it turned decisive.
Then, he took out a branch of pitch black.
Everyone drew a deep, cold breath upon seeing it.
— Poisonous Black Branch!
Who would have thought that the Grand Inquisitor was actually carrying such a lethal item on him!
In the musicians’ sensing, how was that even a branch? It was a crack leading to the abyss! Even though the abyss no longer existed, the vicious music theory preserved within the branch had never weakened in the slightest bit.
If the abyss was like a quagmire for the ordinary musician, then the plant nurtured by the Abyss Black Branches, which were rooted in the abyss and absorbed the darkest power, was the most poisonous of poisons.
In the span of a millennium, the tree of the Abyss was divided into three plants in total. One was offered to Hyakume as tribute, then bestowed upon Gaius, and was once used to kill the Pope. The other one was thrown at Ye Qingxuan when Menti was flustered and exasperated, but it ended up being sealed by the young man and was preserved till the present.
And at the moment, in Ye Qingxuan’s hand, a white flower quietly bloomed on one of the forks of the Poisonous Black Branch.
It was full of life and vitality.
But it gave everyone goosebumps.
Auden’s face was ghastly pale. “Your Honor, surely you are not thinking of…”
“That’s right.” Ye Qingxuan grinned and stabbed downward with the branch in his hand.
Silently, the Poisonous Black Branch plunged into the old nun’s heart.
Bang!
A loud noise abruptly burst forth.
The saint’s music theory which represented the Holy Cauldron clashed with the Poisonous Black Branch representing the very nature of the abyss.
At the moment, it was silent and devoid of all noise except for the sound of everyone drawing a deep breath.
Having witnessed firsthand the scene that would qualify Ye Qingxuan as the best seeker of self-destruction in history with their own eyes, the masters almost turned green with shock, and their eyes almost popped out of their sockets. If it hadn’t been for their lives and valued possessions all being in Ye Qingxuan’s hands at the moment, thus putting them in the same boat with him, almost all of them would have cut their stick and run away.
“Worry not.” Ye Qingxuan turned back with ease and smiled at them. “I do it often.”
Before he finished his words, a loud bang burst forth.
Boom!
A terrifying light flowed from her seven orifices, as if an infinite amount of light was brewing up in her aged body, shining through all darkness and purifying all evil and filth.
Everyone’s eyelids twitched wildly, and they subconsciously lay down on the ground, waiting for the sweeping impact of the music theory that would follow.
Undesignedly, in their hearts, they all felt unparalleled despondence and regret.
Self-destruction!
It is really an act of self-destruction!
If they had known that Ye Qingxuan was so prone to self destruction, they would have cut their own throats in the Ultimate as early as possible, saving themselves from the trouble of withstanding the torture that would follow.
When the gift of the Holy Cauldron and the plant of the abyss were put together in one place, and the duo that were as incompatible as water and fire clashed with each other, the positive and negative aspects definitely wouldn’t cancel each other out, but would only bring destruction and disasters instead.
Then, the turbulent music theory would directly tear the entire hall into pieces. The Symphonies of Predestination of all the musicians within three blocks from it would fall apart, blood would flow out of their seven orifices, and they would fall dead on the streets.
As for what would happen next, it wouldn’t be a matter of their concern.
They would have already died by that time anyway.
But after lying on the ground and staring at the saint for a long time, the expected destruction did not come. They looked up and only saw Ye Qingxuan’s pleasant smile, his face faintly illuminated by the cold moonlight.
Moonlight burst forth from his fingertips.
At the moment, in the masters’ sensing, Schubert’s scepter had collapsed and condensed into a point, opposing the Poisonous Black Branch. Upon sensing the other party, the two sides immediately erupted in a series of chain reactions at the very first instant. Without even requiring any operation, each side gathered all its power on its own and rushed towards each other.
It was the conflict engraved in the very core of the music theories of the Holy Cauldron and the abyss. One could expect that in the ne
xt moment, all the power of Schubert and the Poisonous Black Branch would erupt and stir up a tragic and fierce fight, sparing no effort.
Then, bearing the brunt of it, the old nun would evaporate in an instant. Ye Qingxuan would be in a slightly better position, and he would be turned into ashes after one-hundredth of the blink of an eye had elapsed. Next, the masters would turn into ground meat in the brutal ravage of the aftermath. A horrifying column of light would rise into the sky, tearing the ceiling of the ruined hall apart. Finally, the torrential rain of destruction would fall from the sky…
But time seemed to have stopped here.
It stopped in Ye Qingxuan’s hands.
For others, the situation was like a dead knot that had no solutions, but for a bold creature like Ye Qingxuan… He had plenty of experience! With the experience of using the music theory of the Holy Cauldron and that of Hyakume to control the quiet moon, it was simply a breeze for him to regulate such opposing forces.
The eruption and impact from both sides provided Ye Qingxuan with the best way to intervene instead.
And at the very moment, a slender stream of moonlight emerged from his fingertips.
The moonlight of pure light was like condensed frost. It was so dim and thin that it seemed negligibly small, just like a speck of dust, as compared to the terrifying magnitude of both sides. But it was precisely the speck of dust that had fallen into the space between the two that brought an incredible miracle.
In an instant, the conflict was smoothed over.
The great disturbance that had almost arrived was eliminated prior to it being born, before the ray of moonlight.
657 Pray
Even if the actual Holy Caldron and Hyakume were to clash with each other, Quiet Moon would have been able to balance the powers of both sides and turn them into nothingness, so what more the battle between Schubert and Poisonous Black Branch?
After being so used to gambling with high stakes, this was the first time Ye Qingxuan felt that the Distortion level could be so powerless. The moonlight only lasted for a moment before going out but it was exactly the right moment.
It was as if everything froze at the exact moment before two speeding wagons were about to crash into each other. The resultant hurricane was insignificant but the moment it arrived, it also meant that it was time for the drivers of the wagons to pay the price for speeding. Besides, Ye Qingxuan was also trying to influence the whole situation…
If both parties were living things, Ye Qingxuan would not have dared to play this way. But the situation was different now. No matter how repetitive a music theory might be, it would still lose its flexibility if no one was controlling it. Besides, Ye Qingxuan still possessed a major killing weapon in the Balance music theory of the Quiet Moon…
In the split second that he withdrew, the sudden and forced stop triggered a chain reaction that brought about a terrifying counter reaction. Violent trembles spread out from the elements of both sides. Within a moment, forceful countering forces were produced from every branch of the music theory.
The Staff of Fate was pressed downwards and was striking with force. Every music theory was roaring and trembling, as if they were on the brink of being dismantled. In a split second, Poisonous Black Tree was forced out of its shell and landed on the ground. On the black branches that looked as if they were a concentration of the former dark universe, flowers were wilting and falling. When they dried branches fell, it was the sound of iron. Amidst the echo, it could no longer keep up its form, crumbling into a heap of dust.
Ye Qingxuan did not have time to feel anguished. Soon after, he heard a deep echo coming from the shell of the old nun. It was the sound of reins breaking and the cry of the driver being crushed under the wheels. In an instant, the black patterns on the old nun’s shell, that were formed by countless alchemy formations, collapsed and blood gushed out from every pore.
The shackles that have been put in place by the Church were completely shattered in this crash. Once the shackles were gone, Schubert’s scepter seemed to lose the strength to continue. Light was dimming rapidly and the final sliver of light swept through the remains of the nun’s shell, simultaneously healing the body that has been pierced with plenty of holes.
Soon after, it sank slowly into the flame of consciousness before vanishing. Despite being in a daze, Ye Qingxuan could sense the flame of consciousness burning once again, slowly but surely. Under the continuation of the Heaven Ladder, he could almost see countless illusions flashing past him.
Church, Holy Bible, children, nun, children, icon, prayers, children… Countless memories that have been mixed up together were flashing across his eyes before they returned back to that flame of consciousness in an instant. Within such a short moment, it was as if Ye Qingxuan had seen the old nun’s entire life. Even so, it passed him by so quickly that he was unable to see anything clearly. After a long period of silence, Ye Qingxuan opened his eyes and looked at the old nun, who remained unconscious. He could not help but sigh. This was a huge loss.
He carefully collected the dusts of the Poisonous Branch and kept them in a small paper bag, making sure that not a single particle was left behind. Even if they have been completely crushed, they were still the perfect medium for curses and a single particle was all it would take to turn a harmless curse into a torturous nightmare.
All the cursed, who have been lingering in the negative regions of the School of Choir and School of Revelation, would have loved its potential for inducing insanity. In fact, that was not all to its power. Even maximizing the use of its least important parts could still be very valuable. Even so, what was lost would still greatly overwhelm what was gained.
In the end, a Poisonous Branch that could kill the Pope with a single stab, and the price of risking his life were both used in exchange for an old nun, who has lost all her powers. Now that the protection of Schubert has been lost for the time-being, there was no longer a talisman to ensure survival in the Ultimate.
Due to his own scheming ploys, Schuber’s Scepter was severely injured. Even if it could be extracted from the old nun’s consciousness, it would require a lot of effort and risks and unexpected changes. Who knew what else would happen next…
It was as if he had thrown almost all of his possessions into a risky investment and the chances of high returns were just as likely as losing every single cent. At this thought, Ye Qingxuan could not help but laugh self-deprecatingly, “I must be crazy…”
Beside him, Auden sighed and patted him on his shoulder, “You are a good person.”
Ye Qingxuan stayed silent for a long time. He had no idea if he was indeed considered a good person or not. Perhaps he was only a wolf in sheep’s clothing… but even so, there was nothing wrong with that. At least he had a clear conscience.
“I’m going to sleep first. Let me know when she wakes up.” He shook his head as he could feel a terrible headache coming. It was exactly midnight now. The night was going to be long. He only wished that his dreams would not be as long.
In the darkness, Ye Qingxuan could hear the sounds of a thunderstorm and the crying of children. Amidst the sniveling, there also seemed to be the sounds of water trickling down the wall and landing in puddles. The cold wind blew in through the cracks in the wall and sounded like a soft teasing laughter.
–
“Granny, I’m cold.” The voice seemed to come from a child that was sniveling softly.
“Children, let us pray.” In the darkness, someone was holding them tight and caressing their wet hair, “All suffering will eventually pass. As long as we pray, there will be a day when the Gods will have mercy on us and save us from hopelessness.”
Faint sounds of prayer could be heard. But the sounds of breathing only grew weaker, as if they might stop anytime. After a long silence, someone asked quietly, “Granny, does God… really love us?”
No one replied. A water droplet landed on the ground and trickled into the puddle but its temperature was vastly different from
the rest of the water droplets.
–
Ye Qingxuan opened his eyes and saw the ceiling that has been cracked open. The fire at the corner was burning brightly but for some unknown reason, the chill in his dream seemed to have entered the real world and as a result, he could no longer go back to sleep.
After a long time, Mable knocked on the door, “Something is up.”
Ye Qingxuan got up from the ground, “I’ll go over now.”
In the corner of the hall, there was a simple bed made of rock with the old nun lying on it. She was breathing rapidly and sweat was dripping down from her forehead.
“What’s going on?” Ye Qingxuan put on an outer robe and squeezed his way in.
The Master of the School of Choir inspected her body and replied calmly, “This is normal. Her consciousness is regrouping… It is just like someone trying to climb out of a quagmire. It will take some time and energy.”
“What if she doesn’t manage to climb out?” Ye Qingxuan asked.
“In that case, she will continue to sleep like this.” The Master shook his head and looked at the scars on both her hands, “I think she may not necessarily be happy when she wakes up.”
“Staying alive is always better than dying.” Ye Qingxuan shook his head, “Whatever medications we have, just give it to her. Taking care of a paralyzed person in the Ultimate will be much more troublesome compared to taking care of a normal person.”
The Master from the School of Choir looked beside him and saw the one-legged man shaking his head, “When it comes to consciousness, no medications are going to be of any use. She can only do it herself.”
After the Master from the School of Heart made such a definitive statement, Ye Qingxuan could feel his head aching, “Can you help?”