by Feng Yue
In a flash, the earth quaked, poisonous fire spewed out, and the sky fell.
Like how a decisive man might cut his hand off to prevent the poison from a lethal snake bite from spreading, in order to avoid weakening overall, Gungnir’s power was instantly guided to the projection of the county that was supported by the stream of light.
As the projection was destroyed, tangible disasters descended onto the physical world.
Several big cities and countless villages were caught in a terrifying earthquake in an instant. Fireballs fell from the sky, blood-like rain poured down, and meteors bombarded the country from the sky.
Destruction spread like a tide.
For a moment, Ye Qingxuan had gone all out and almost brought irreversible damage to a county, fully proving his destructive power.
But he couldn’t feel the slightest bit of joy…
“Tung Wang Kung!!!!” Ye Qingxuan roared. “Is this what a heavy responsibility to society means to you?!”
“A man of great ambition does not bother about trifles. Isn’t it what humans like to say the most?” Tung Wang Kung asked back, looking down at him with cold eyes. “The gains and losses of a city or a county bother you, yet you fail to see the big picture of the world. People like you are doomed to lack the strength to propel the world forward! No, Ye Qingxuan…
“You have failed the power you have!”
The next moment, the force from the weight of Aurora descended again. A gap instantly cracked open on Ye Qingxuan’s manifestation as a holy spirit, and red blood oozed out from his nose and mouth. It was the aether that had been dyed red with fury…
The lightning from Gungnir flashed furiously.
It could still support three more times of attack.
Three full-force attacks.
Even if Tung Wang Kung channeled the power to other places, it would be enough to cause him irreversible damage. But at the moment, lightning flashed in anger, unable to withstand the weight of the entire Aurora, and was almost extinguished…
The horrible impact was instantly exerted on Ye Qingxuan.
The Land of Dreams shook violently.
He was losing consciousness.
In his trance-like state, he heard a roar from afar.
It was as if someone was pulling his ear and roaring in his ear with anger, transmitting the fury through his empty body to the deepest part of the realm of aether, and the words resounded in his ear. “From the very beginning, Ye Qingxuan, did you even figure out what you were actually going to do!”
It was Bai Heng’s voice.
“Think properly!” He roared with all his might, “This country and Bai Xi, which do you want to save!”
At the very moment, in the empty consciousness, a murderous intent rose.
Violent, frenzied waves of heat erupted from the dying lightning.
Destruction gathered once more.
It pierced into the sky!
Despite knowing that his actions would bring disasters and horrific consequences, this time around, the terrifying force he invoked was even more powerful than ever before.
Even though living beings will suffer.
Even though it will destroy the country.
It doesn’t matter.
It’s not Ye Lanzhou who is standing here, and I no longer have the so-called love for the world.
Even though I may fail to live up to the power I have and be unworthy of my current status and identity.
I will abandon most people and save only one.
The answer is so simple!
So, the sky collapsed.
The sky above the kingdom was torn apart. Layers of thunder roared, and thousands of flashes of lightning rushed down from the darkness, bombarding the earth!
At the moment, in the steel temple under the palace, Bai Heng gave a gratified smile.
“Yes, that’s right, that’s it.” He let go and staggered backward. “You just need to go and save Bai Xi.” In the harsh alarm, he staggered and stumbled forward. Then, in the radiation of the Iron of Decay, he vomited blood, as well as pieces of his broken internal organs.
The schedule of his death had been pushed forward, and his vitality was destroyed at tens of thousands of times faster than the rate it could regenerate. Even breathing was difficult.
But as he gazed at the throne in front of him, at the slumbering empress, his eyes shone, as if his soul was burning. “Leave the job of saving the world to me.
“The world… and my emperor. “
At the moment, he lifted the blade and struck down violently. As the blood spurted out, the blade sank into the chest of the empress. In the projection of the Originator, the brilliant and mighty Aurora suddenly shook. Tung Wang Kung screamed and roared, “Bai Heng!!!”
“Don’t always call my name, at least say something else.” Bai Heng cackled, but his hands opened up the chest cavity of the empress in an extremely deft manner, separating the bones, and finally, clenched the heart, which was beating weakly. Half of the heart seemed to be made of steel. Under the flesh and blood, the delicate and fine electronic components still shone with a fluorescent glow after so many years.
The core that was once Tung Wang Kung, was growing together with the heart of the Empress.
Then, they were removed together.
They were destroyed in Bai Heng’s hands.
And they fell apart.
But at the moment, Tung Wang Kung had already freed himself from the restraints of the core and returned to the central core. Even though the core was destroyed, it would not damage him at all.
It was just in vain.
“Ridiculous.” The hoarse voice sounded from the central core. “You can’t kill me!”
“That’s correct.” Bai Heng nodded and said indifferently, “But I can kill the Empress, no?”
At the moment, in the piercing alarm, an extraordinarily sorrowful bell chime rang.
As Bai Heng removed the heart from the chest, the bell chimed nine times.
In a flash, the chimes spread throughout the Aurora.
They announced to the entire East.
The Empress was dead!
As countless people looked up in shock, feeling lost and crying in the violent earthquakes and bloody rain, the bells instantly spread the news of the empress’s death throughout the entire empire.
And with the death of the emperor, the projection of the Kingdom in Heaven suddenly collapsed and dissipated. The power of the Dragon Bloodline and the music theory that were forcibly channeled away were returned to the counties once more, forcibly suppressing all the earthquakes, dispersing the bloody rain, and extinguishing the fireballs in the sky. It suppressed all the uncontrollable disasters and the chaos forcibly.
In a flash, all the disasters were gone.
The power of the Kingdom in Heaven had left Tung Wang Kung!
Then, it automatically gathered on another person, a person whose bloodline was the purest in the whole palace, whole capital, or even Aurora, with no one able to compete against her.
At the moment, a small imperial jade seal appeared in Bai Xi’s hands.
Then, the layers of music theory intertwined, forming a robe that was as bright as the fierce sun, covering her thin body. Finally, a crown emerged from thin air and appeared on top of her head.
Bead curtains drooped down.
The countless musicians, who were integrated into the Great Wall centuries ago, and the hundreds of scepter musicians, who supported the Kingdom in Heaven, emerged from the glaring light, together with the majestic palaces and the mighty scene of the 12 buildings and cities. Each of the musicians held a jade Hu [1] in their hands and bowed down to the new ruler of the world.
They presented themselves before the empress!
“According to the rules established by the nine families of the Dragon Bloodline, if the emperor has no heir and has not specified a successor before his death, then the power of the Dragon Bloodline will automatically select another person in the n
ation, making the Deva with the purest blood and the most powerful talent the new emperor,” Bai Heng murmured softly. “As you wish, Bai Xi, the throne is now yours.” As he said so, he reached out and stroked the cheek of the woman in front of him, smiling softly.
From now on, all the matters of the Aurora and the prosperity of the nation no longer have anything to do with her.
After losing her heart, before her death, the woman who had been imprisoned by the throne for 15 years was finally free.
Even though the freedom was so short-lived. As if she had been briefly awakened from a long nightmare, she opened her eyes with difficulty, but she could not see anything clearly. “Am I… going to die?”
“Rest assured, you still have a very long time ahead of you in the future.” Bai Heng bent down and picked her up from the throne. “As compared to this short slumber, you still have a long time to experience the suffering in the world.”
As if he was holding a treasure of unparalleled value in the world, he carefully staggered towards the corner of the palace, towards the life-maintaining cabin that exuded a faint chill.
He simply reached out and violently tugged open the lock of the life-maintaining cabin, dragging out the specimens kept inside, as well as Xiao Huan’s body, kicked them aside, then put the woman in his arms inside.
“Where am I?” She panted softly and trembled. “I feel very cold.”
“Yes, the world is very cold,” Bai Heng replied softly. “That’s why hugs are so precious.” He reached out and fixed the woman’s hands and feet, lowered his head, and entered various parameters into the panel in front of him, trying to maintain her life. However, the alarm in the life-maintaining cabin remained and it was not activated.
The most important thing was missing.
Bai Heng was momentarily stunned and knocked himself on the head.
“I almost forgot.” Then he pulled open his collar, pointed the knife at his chest, directly above the scar on it, and stabbed it down hard.
The dry muscles were pulled apart, the flesh at the edge of the wound curled, but no blood spurted out. He wasn’t left with much precious stuff, such as blood.
In the opened chest cavity, the only complete organ—the heart. It was beating with difficulty, even though it was attached to blood vessels, it had been carefully packaged in a tailored lead box to avoid excessive damage.
Bai Heng reached out and pulled it out of his chest, just like picking an apple.
In the empty chest, the broken blood vessels repaired themselves, and the machinery implanted elsewhere loyally followed the preset commands, sharing the workload of the heart, working in vain, just like trying to put out the flames on a burning wagon full of firewood with a cup of water.
“See, I am really good at planning.” Bai Heng happily disassembled the lead box and put the heart into her chest, his brows moving up and down with joy as he spoke. “At least one out of a thousand things a fool thought about would be useful, it really describes me accurately!”
So, the reassuring pale fluorescent light lit up, and as the heart was filled in, rows of slender iron arms moved. After being sealed for centuries, they were still flexible. They crafted blood vessels delicately and carefully, putting the new heart into the chest of the subject.
Under the stimulation from electric shocks, the new heart beat once, with some difficulty.
Then twice…
Thrice…
It adapted to an unfamiliar environment just like that, stubbornly trying to survive, just like its new owner. It tried to wake her from her coma, letting her take another look at the culprit of all these, the man in front of her who had saved her, amid her tiredness and pain.
She opened her eyes.
It was as if she had awakened from the 15-year-long nightmare and manipulation, yet she found it hard to recall anything from the dream and couldn’t really remember the old face in front of her.
“Who are you?”
“Probably a pathetic soul that can’t even keep a cat properly?” Bai Heng smiled. “15 years ago, you met an immature man. You taught him what courage is, so he used all the courage in his life to repay you.”
“You need not worry about it, it’s just a side episode in your life.” He smiled, shedding no tears, and told her calmly. “It’s not worth mentioning.”
Despite having lost his heart and being destined to death, as his body had weakened to such an extent, at the moment, he did not seem melancholic at all. He just smiled, feeling the life drain out from his body bit by bit.
“You have had a long dream. Now, you are awake.” He slowly lifted his hand, feeling the temperature on her cheek. “You will probably feel scared? But you have to open your eyes and face the world, experience pain like a human being, and be as brave as you used to be, laughing with your own free will.
“The remaining part of your life may be rough, perhaps full of hardships, but it is all part of the price you must pay to taste happiness and joy. You will seek, request, and find your own happiness.”
Bai Heng bid farewell softly in her ear, using up his last strength.
“Your Majesty, you are free.”
[1] A ritual tablet originally used at ancient Chinese court for the taking of notes.
794 Negotiation
In the instant that the power of all of Aurora was concentrated on Bai Xi, the majestic tolling of the bell could be heard within the projection of the Originator. The Emperor had arrived.
It was just like a metamorphosis. She was no longer the little girl that had to hide behind Ye Qingxuan for protection. She was finally in possession of power.
She stretched out her hand and stopped Ye Qingxuan from falling behind. She lowered her head and, through the curtain of beads hanging from her crown, there was an air of authority and a hint of delight. She was looking down at Ye Qingxuan.
“Cousin, beg me for help,” she pretended to talk like Ye Qingxuan, “so that the Emperor will come and save you!” She spoke as if she truly believed that the entire world was within her grasp.
Ye Qingxuan was taken aback for a moment. “Hmm, sure.” He nodded as he looked into the pair of eyes that were no longer childish like how he had remembered them to be. All of a sudden, a wave of gloom and helplessness washed over him, “You have really grown up, Bai Xi.”
This day was always going to come, Ye Qingxuan. You have been worrying about her day and night, about whether she is able to sleep well, so you have rushed all the way to Aurora, as fast as you could, to protect her. But the moment you saw her, you could not hide your disappointment. She no longer needs your protection. She has already grown up.
“In that case, please continue to look forward to it.” Bai Xi’s mouth cracked into a smile. Her demeanor was unlike that of a steady and wise ruler, but that of a cruel tyrant.
“Then…
“Cheer for the Emperor!” As she raised her fingers, waves of white snow appeared out of nowhere. They were crystals that had been formed from aether. They floated peacefully in the emptiness and formed the outlines of miracles.
It was as if Bai Xi had willed the season of Frost’s Descent to come forth. Shortly after, nine massive shadows appeared from the reflections of layers of efflorescence. The music theory of the Dragon Bloodline has arrived and it let out a deep roar. It was the artifact of the Yunlou family, “Dijun!”
In that instant, all beings stayed silent. Every single sound was forcefully moderated until only the soft sounds of breathing could be heard. Every aether submitted to the bitterness and terror of Dijun’s deep roar. Due to the suppression by “Taiyi,” all the power was gathered centrally as even the unprecedented terrifying aether torrent bowed down obediently to Bai Xi. As such, she was able to skillfully gain control of a power that was tens of thousands of times more powerful than her and break loose from the restraints that Tung Wang Kung had placed on her.
Soon after, she aimed at the front, where her enemies were. She raised her palm. A clear and crisp sound shot o
ut of her fingers in the silence. The resultant explosion was earth-shattering. After 19 long years, “Dijun” was finally being performed!
The essence of all beings was concentrated within the projection of the Originator. There was a cruel and loud explosion, and an earth-shattering scream of despair. The cruelties and tyranny of the world were concentrated in an area as the wrath of the rightful Emperor had descended on the image of catastrophe in the mortal world. It was Zhaodang!
In the blink of an eye, behind the terrifying roar was an ear-piercing scream. It sounded like machinery that was running at full speed, stuck at its most crucial pivot, causing the gears to go against each other, thus producing sparks and screeches. The center of the flow of all beings was held in the palm of an invisible hand as the cycle of the stars and land was stopped abruptly. Amidst the torrents of aether, there seemed to be the shimmering of endless alchemy formations as they appeared to reveal the tip of an iceberg of terrifying scale.
Then, Ye Qingxuan saw it… Heaven and earth had become crooked. It was as if heaven and earth had been turned upside side due to the scream of an invisible giant. In just a short moment, the entire world was like a circular plate in the air and it was spinning frantically. The land and the sky had both lost their meaning and everything had been overturned.
Everything was being destroyed in a violent and blunt manner. There were streaks of lightning in winter and snow in June. All the streams and seas had dried up and the world was on the brink of collapse. Finally, heaven and earth were merging as one!
Amidst the cruel tolling of the bell, heaven and earth were merging in the center, which was where Tung Wang Kung was. The burning earth rose while the pitch-black steel vault fell to crush everything in between into dust! Including Tung Wang Kung!
With the staff of the King of Yellow in hand, Ye Qingxuan could afford to stand by and watch. However, this was different from the movement that maintained the harmony of all beings. In other words, it was completely going against the movement. Every being and every phenomenon was being viewed purely as substances. To use oneself as a benchmark for all beings to be judged against before sending them into a formula without any mercy. After countless iterations, everything was reduced to zero! Every being was reduced to zero.