by Translator: BornToBe; Author: Ordinary Magician (平凡魔术师); Licensed From: 17k
That corrupt corpse had been soaked in a medicinal bath to become incredibly hard to the point where blades could not harm it. With the assistance of Spiritual Strength, its defense was incredibly sturdy.
That was especially true since Gui Sha’s soul had been training for over a thousand years. His Spiritual Strength was a boundless ocean which made the corrupt corpse’s body even harder.
But now he was already greatly exhausted. With Long Chen’s increase in strength and his Spiritual Strength sharply dropping, his defense was no longer able to block Long Chen’s attacks.
Tang Wan-er and Ye Zhiqiu celebrated. That meant victory was near. Now that this opponent’s Spiritual Strength had begun to run out, he was already unable to continue for much longer.
They had all killed a corrupt corpse before and knew that this was a sign that victory was near. Although there had been many twists and turns, they had still succeeded in the end.
Tu Fang nodded. He really was worthy of being a legendary Divergent. Once he had a core disciple’s grooming in the Xuantian Monastery, he wouldn’t just rise one or two levels, but perhaps all the way to the top.
Not only was he excited, but he also rejoiced in the fact that he had chosen to bring Long Chen to the Xuantian Monastery. Having given him that chance, he had also given a chance to the monastery. Was that perfect coincidence the will of the heavens?
Wielding his saber, his Saber Qi shook the heavens. With the support of his divine ring, he practically couldn’t use up his spiritual qi even if he tried.
This place was the Xuantian Monastery, and the spiritual qi was more than plentiful here. As long as he didn’t use his FengFu Battle Armor, he was more than capable of replenishing his energy. He wouldn’t have to worry about running out of spiritual qi for a while.
So the longer it went, the more advantageous it would become for him. That was because Gui Sha was exhausting his Spiritual Strength. Each bit he used would make him a bit weaker. He was unable to replenish his energy.
BANG! Gui Sha was forced back several steps by Long Chen’s saber. At this point, his fist was only bone, all the flesh having already been torn away.
He had no method to replenish that much spiritual energy. Gui Sha was truly in a desperate situation now.
“Netherworld Devouring Life!”
A black image appeared behind Gui Sha. That image was one of a fiend’s eye. When it appeared, Gui Sha’s aura immediately exploded out in greater strength once more, and it actually locked Long Chen in place.
Long Chen shook, as he could sense Gui Sha’s strength had at least multiplied several times. But on the other hand, his Spiritual Strength was now draining away even faster.
That was definitely one of his final moves. By sacrificing a great deal of his Spiritual Strength, he could crazily increase his strength. That old fellow truly was too terrifying. Even as just a soul, he still possessed so many tricks. If he had been alive, he would definitely have been far too powerful.
But when he arrived there in his thoughts, Long Chen became a bit regretful that he hadn’t managed to steal more techniques from him. Only obtaining the Netherworld Ghost Steps truly was regretful.
“Yellow Springs Fist!”
A claw that was only made of bone charged at Long Chen.
Long Chen took a deep breath. At this point, he had two choices. He could use the FengFu Battle Armor or he could use it.
Raising his saber, he no longer reserved any energy from his FengFu Star. His spiritual energy charged through nine acupuncture points and then finally inserted into his saber.
The saber immediately began to emit a sharp sound, and strange light appeared over it. The entire saber seemed to come to life; a ray of Saber Qi soared into the sky, lighting up the battlefield.
“Split the Heavens!” Long Chen silently shouted inside, his saber slashing down!
Chapter 174 Split the Heavens Destroys Mountains Dissipates Clouds
That Saber Qi cut apart the sky, shaking everyone’s hearts. At that moment, Long Chen looked like an absolute sovereign above the ten thousand Daos.
Even those Elders all stood up in shock.
Long Chen’s roar was like a god’s as his saber slashed down on Gui Sha.
Gui Sha was horrified; he had never expected Long Chen to possess such a terrifying Battle Skill. He could only use his full strength to block.
BOOM!
Like a heavenly saber cutting apart a starry river, rocks exploded out as the ground violently shook. Qi waves surged into the sky, then exploded out.
“Crap!” Tu Fang’s expression changed slightly. With a wave of his hand, a large incorporeal hand protected Tang Wan-er and Ye Zhiqiu who were the closest.
“Careful everyone! Get down and raise your defenses!” After protecting those two, Tu Fang shouted out a warning to everyone.
Everyone began to circulate their qi in order to protect their bodies, lying down on the ground. But there were some people who were a bit unconvinced. At this distance, wouldn’t it just be a light aftermath? Did they need to be so careful?
BOOM!
But when that storm finally unfurled, the people still remaining standing were dumbfounded as a terrifying hurricane that included countless crushed stones completely swallowed them.
The sound of miserable cries and bones breaking immediately rang out.
Those people splendidly demonstrated the principle that high trees that stand out will always be destroyed by the wind.
When the storm finally passed, people crawled out of the dirt, their jaws dropping when they saw the scene in front of them.
More and more people crawled out of the dirt, but all of their expressions were the same.
As for Tang Wan-er and Ye Zhiqiu, when they climbed off the ground, they were completely unharmed, not even the slightest bit of dust on their bodies.
A pair of transparent hands slowly dissipated. The two of them hadn’t even had time to thank Tu Fang when their jaws dropped as well.
A huge endless ditch had been dug into the ground, extending in one broken line past the horizon. The entire land had changed shape.
The broken ground and random grit had almost drowned everyone. In front of that endless ditch was Long Chen leaning on his saber. He was gasping for breath.
And not far from him was what remained of Gui Sha. At this time, one of his arms and everything below his waist had disappeared. He was just ‘standing’ there like a wooden stake.
“He won?!” Tang Wan-er was both delighted and shocked. “Long Chen, cut off of his head! Then you’ll be a core disciple!”
Now that half of Gui Sha’s body had already been destroyed, he was powerless to resist. If she and Ye Zhiqiu weren’t already exhausted, they themselves would have rushed over there to cut off his head.
Tu Fang smiled. Although in the beginning, people might have thought he was giving Long Chen preferential treatment, the difficulty of this trial had already completely shut their mouths.
Long Chen’s strength was something no one could doubt. If even such a figure didn’t obtain a core disciple position, that would be too regrettable.
But it had truly been difficult for Tu Fang to give him that position. There were several times even he had thought they would fail.
Long Chen took a deep breath. Dragging his saber, he walked over to Gui Sha. It was time to reap his harvest.
“Hehe, you want my, Gui Sha’s, head to exchange for a reward? Keep dreaming!”
Suddenly, Gui Sha raised his head to the sky and let out a long shriek. A berserk Spiritual Strength madly circulated in his body.
Everyone was given a fright. Even in this state, he was still able to resist. Just what kind of monster was that fellow?!
Long Chen was also greatly startled, hastily shouted, “Hey, wait, we still have some things to talk about!”
“You damn bastard, I curse you! You won’t have a good death!”
BOOM!!!!!
After shouting out one last cu
rse, Gui Sha’s entire body exploded. Pieces of his flesh flew out.
For a moment, everyone was just dumbfounded. That soul had been too powerful, even containing the strength to self-detonate at the end.
“Wait, does this count?” Long Chen was also dumbstruck. He had no head to exchange for a badge.
He hastily ran over to where Gui Sha had exploded to see if he could find anything exchangeable.
Perhaps it was because Gui Sha hated Long Chen too much and he would rather kill himself than let Long Chen obtain even the slightest bit of benefit from his body.
But unfortunately for Long Chen, with the price of his soul, Gui Sha’s body had exploded completely. Even the largest piece of flesh he could find was only the size of a finger.
Even if Long Chen had cut off his head just now, Gui Sha wouldn’t have died. His soul would be once more inserted into another corpse. There had been no need for him to die. A Corrupt Devil had actually decided to make such a decision; it was obvious how much he had hated Long Chen.
Looking at those tiny pieces of flesh, Long Chen had an urge to cry. He asked Tu Fang, “Elder Tu Fang, can we count all these pieces together as a head?”
He knew it was impossible to even think about finding a full head. But once all those tiny pieces were cleaned up and added together, wouldn’t they also be enough?
Tu Fang was silent for a long time as he looked at Long Chen. Was this the fate of a Divergent? He had clearly given him an opportunity, but how did that opportunity end up like this?
He remembered the sect leader’s warning. He was not to change Long Chen’s fate. Now he finally was convinced that if he forced it and gave Long Chen a core disciple position, perhaps the entire monastery would be brought down by that karma.
“Sorry, but I cannot do that.” Tu Fang could only sigh. He greatly sympathized with Long Chen, but he didn’t dare give him that kind of special treatment.
The other Elders also sighed. They thought about speaking up for him, but thinking of Tu Fang’s incredibly strict nature, they still shook their heads in the end.
Tu Fang’s strict nature was something no one in the monastery did not know. Sometimes even sect leaders would show consideration for him.
Hearing that, Long Chen’s expression changed. He was just about to say something when Tu Fang cut him off. “Don’t be in a hurry. Although you didn’t succeed, you also didn’t fail. Tang Wan-er and Ye Zhiqiu will retain their core disciple positions. But as for you…”
“What about me?” Hastily asked Long Chen.
“I can only follow the monastery’s rules and give you an outer disciple spot.” Even Tu Fang felt his face was scorching red. Doing this was such a waste of talent.
Long Chen immediately relaxed. Although he was a bit regretful he hadn’t obtained a core disciple spot, being an outer disciple was also fine. As long as he could stay in the monastery, there were still many opportunities for him.
And it wasn’t as if he had lost much. He had at least tricked Gui Sha into giving him the Netherworld Ghost Steps. From how hatefully Gui Sha had glared at him at that time, Long Chen knew it was incredibly precious.
At this time, he still hadn’t had the time to train in it. But in any case, obtaining such a powerful technique in exchange for a bit of danger had definitely been worth it.
Tang Wan-er and Ye Zhiqiu were both a bit disappointed. Long Chen had essentially already won, only to end up with such a conclusion. It really was regretful.
But as for Lei Qianshang and Qi Xin, they let out a breath of air. Their confidence that had been completely beaten by Long Chen gradually recovered.
No matter how great a talent was, without any resources, it was like having no rice to cook and no water to drink. They would quickly shake him off.
“Long Chen, don’t feel bad.” Tang Wan-er walked up to him and consoled him.
Long Chen laughed and shook his head, “Do I look sad? If I got sad about something as small as this, I’d have long since died from depression.”
Hearing that, Tang Wan-er’s heart shook. As she had suspected, Long Chen had already experienced many unusual things. Perhaps his great strength was also related to those experiences.
Of the people present, only Tu Fang smiled slightly. He was the only one who knew how much oppression and humiliation Long Chen had experienced. Under great pressure, you would either have to explode out, or be completely extinguished. Long Chen had not been extinguished.
He had already experienced so many difficulties and sadness. This little bit really was nothing to him.
“Brother, thank you. I’m sorry about your precious family’s sword.” Long Chen handed the saber back to that big fellow apologetically.
Only then did that person realize his huge saber was covered in thumb-sized chips. In fact, it even looked like a saw now.
“Don’t worry about it. For this saber to be able to release brother Long’s strength is its greatest honor.” That big fellow respectfully received back his saber.
He had already decided to hide this saber away and treasure it, using it as evidence of his friendship with Long Chen.
Later when Long Chen became a top expert, he could proudly take out that saber and boast to everyone: I am a true friend of Long Chen’s. Look, he once asked to borrow my saber.
Long Chen’s trial had finally come to an end. He had failed to obtain a core disciple badge, receiving only an outer disciple consolation prize.
But after that huge scene, everyone had raised him up to a monster-class expert, and they even viewed him as a monster amongst monsters.
Everyone returned to their factions. They were completely silent as Tu Fang walked to stand in front of them.
Looking at them, Tu Fang said, “First of all, congratulations to you all. You have become disciples of the monastery. All of you will have access to the monastery’s resources.
“However, as for how much you will get, that will be up to your strength and abilities.
“So remember, only after entering the monastery has your cultivation truly begun. That is because the monastery’s resources all require a matching strength to obtain.”
He then turned to look at those registrants who had failed to pass the trials. “Although you guys failed to join, you didn’t come for nothing. Many of you should have obtained some things within the trial region, so you won’t be returning empty-handed.
“Furthermore, the monastery will also give you a path. You can choose to stay here. But don’t get too excited.
“You can cultivate in the monastery, but you will not receive the treatment of disciples. Each month you will only have scant resources given to you, and for that you will need to complete a great deal of work. In essence, you will only be workers.”
Hearing the end of what he said, the excitement of those who had failed completely disappeared.
They were all powerful disciples of their families with many servants to wait on them. How was asking them to be a worker any different than the humiliation of killing them?
But there were also people who discarded their pride, deciding to become a true expert. That was because they had seen a vaster world after coming here, and they no longer wanted to be some spoiled prince. They wanted to become an expert, and if they had to be a worker first, they were fine with that.
But such people were very few. Over ten thousand people left, leaving only over fifty of them. The others were all led somewhere else to be sent away from the monastery.
Once that huge crowd left, all that remained were seven hundred people. Tu Fang waved his hand and the Elders all placed their hands on the stone pillars. Everyone felt their bodies lighten, and they disappeared from this place.
Chapter 175 Immortal Cave
When they opened their eyes again and saw their new surroundings, they let out gasps as they saw this was practically a fairyland.
This was a small mountain around forty miles high. Lush trees filled the surroundings with fragrant grass coveri
ng all the ground. Standing at the peak of the mountain, they could see far and wide.
The crashing of a waterfall and the trickling of water merged with the cries of unknown birds, bringing a thriving vitality to this picturesque scene.
At the peak of the mountain where they were standing was a cave. The stones of the cave had been polished extremely bright, appearing very beautiful.
Atop the cave were some huge lines. Long Chen could clearly sense those lines were slowly absorbing spiritual qi into the cave.
“Ok, this will be your home now. This particular cave is the immortal cave of the core disciple. This cave has spirit gathering talismans which make the spiritual qi inside extremely dense, reaching a level you can’t even imagine.
“The other disciples’ caves are down below. There are altogether one hundred immortal caves, and you can set them up as you wish.
“This mountain is your territory. Think of a good name for your faction so that you can properly register it.
“You guys can rest for now. A healing team will come to help you recover from your wounds in a bit,” explained an Elder.
These people who had been transported here were all Tang Wan-er’s faction. The others were nowhere to be seen.
Most likely they were like them, sent to different places. But seeing the Elder was about to leave, Long Chen hastily asked, “Respected Elder, please wait a moment.”
The Elder paused slightly. “What is it?”
“Elder, I want to ask you something. Where is the Skywood Palace?”
That was a question Long Chen had been holding back for an extremely long time. Tu Fang had said the Skywood Palace was separated by the Xuantian Monastery by just a mountain, extremely close, just a stone throw’s distance away.
Now that he had joined the Xuantian Monastery, it should be time for him to go find an opportunity to see Chu Yao. He was extremely concerned about how she was.
“The Skywood Palace is behind the Skywood Mountain. What about it?” responded the Elder curiously.
“Can Elder please point to which mountain that is? When I have some free time, I want to go take a trip to the Skywood Palace,” said Long Chen. Hearing what the Elder said, he was relieved. At least Tu Fang and Hua Yu had not lied to him. At that time, he had always felt the two of them were acting strange. Perhaps he had been overthinking it.