by Translator: BornToBe; Author: Ordinary Magician (平凡魔术师); Licensed From: 17k
“Senior, you saw the Immemorial Path in its golden age?” asked Long Chen. But after asking that, he felt his own question to be a bit stupid. The Eastern Wasteland Bell had been first sealed here, and only then had the Immortal Path crumbled.
“Yes. When I was locked here, the Immemorial Path was completely fine. But if the Immemorial Path hadn’t been ruined, perhaps I would have long since ceased to exist,” said the Eastern Wasteland Bell.
“Senior, I want to ask you a few questions. If it touches on any sensitive topics, you don’t need to answer,” probed Long Chen. He had many suspicions.
“Ask. I’ll naturally answer if I can. But there are some things that someone on your level shouldn’t know. It would bring you too much karma,” said the Eastern Wasteland Bell.
Long Chen nodded. Perhaps all of this involved extremely terrifying secrets. He was just at the Xiantian realm. That wasn’t enough to come into contact with those secrets.
“Senior, how did you end up like this?” asked Long Chen.
“Betrayal.” The Eastern Wasteland Bell’s reply was extremely curt.
Betrayal? Could it be? Long Chen’s heart shook. He thought of something, but the Eastern Wasteland Bell clearly didn’t want him to know too much, so he swallowed his words.
“I want to know, with my aptitude, what level would I rank in the ancient times?” asked Long Chen.
“Why would you want to know this?”
“Because in the current era, within the same realm, I stand at the peak amongst my peers. But in the Immemorial Path’s trials, I’ve found that it seems I’m still extremely lacking compared to those ancient heavenly geniuses,” said Long Chen.
“With your current power, you’re actually at the peak? It seems the world really has changed,” sighed the Eastern Wasteland Bell.
Long Chen was speechless. Although he knew the Eastern Wasteland Bell was just sighing emotionally, this tone really was hurtful. Although he had been prepared for it, he still felt awkward.
“With your talent, even in my era, you would have counted as a peak genius. But regretfully, your Spirit Root, Spirit Blood, and Spirit Bone have all been removed. Your talent was ruined. With your current aptitude, in that era, you could just barely count as ordinary. You couldn’t even reach the middle level. However, because of your cultivation technique, your combat power can count as having reached the middle level,” said the Eastern Wasteland Bell.
“Senior, you know the origin of my cultivation technique?”
“No. It’s just a guess. Furthermore, your Dantian has an extremely terrifying existence that doesn’t let me probe it. So I don’t dare to talk wildly about you,” said the Eastern Wasteland Bell with a bit of fear.
Long Chen was profoundly shaken. Even a legendary divine item was unable to probe the primal chaos bead. Then just what was the primal chaos bead? For even the Eastern Wasteland Bell to describe it as extremely terrifying…
Long Chen had an urge to ask about the Nine Star Hegemon Body Art, but the Eastern Wasteland Bell was clearly avoiding that topic.
“In truth, in all my countless years, you’re the strongest person I’ve ever seen. Perhaps you can create a miracle,” said the Eastern Wasteland Bell suddenly.
“Senior, didn’t you say my aptitude only counts as ordinary?”
“Aptitude doesn’t represent everything. All experts become experts because they are forced. That’s what it means when people say that time makes the man. Heroes are forced to appear by the era. The first thing experts need to know is why they have to get stronger. If they get weak, they won’t just lose their lives, they’ll also lose everything they hold dear.
“I have noticed you since you entered the trial. On the eighth level, despite being forced to the brink, you didn’t cower or feel terror. I saw that confidence inside you that said that you would definitely win. That confidence existed because you knew you couldn’t lose, because if you lost, you would lose everything. Furthermore, on the last level, you still chose to abandon your advantage against a stronger version of yourself. You chose to fight with your life on the line.
“Although that was very stupid, experts must possess the ability to do such stupid things. While I was sealed, I saw far too many people die beneath their own blades. This trial is just a deathtrap. The person who made this trial was incredibly vicious. The path she walked on was one of countless bones. That’s why she called this trial the Undefeatable Trial. It’s not because the trial is undefeatable, but because the only way a person can pass is if they maintain an undefeatable heart even facing a stronger version of themselves.
“Long Chen, that heart of yours is the staunchest I’ve ever seen. I trust that you’ve experienced countless trials that tempered that will. You don’t need to care about aptitude. The cycle of the Heavenly Daos comes and goes. A loss might be a gain, a gain might be a loss. Don’t get so attached to such things,” said the Eastern Wasteland Bell.
A loss might be a gain, a gain might be a loss? Was it referring to how he had lost his Spirit Root, Spirit Blood, and Spirit Bone, which allowed him to gain the Nine Star Hegemon Body Art?
If he hadn’t lost his Spirit Root, thus destroying his Dantian, he wouldn’t have been able to cultivate the Nine Star Hegemon Body Art. Was this predestined?
The Eastern Wasteland Bell definitely knew about some things, but it refused to say it directly. Was that self-protection, or to protect him?
“Many thanks for the reminder, senior,” said Long Chen.
“Haha, not bad. To have such comprehension skills is truly praiseworthy. It’s no wonder…” The Eastern Wasteland Bell swallowed the rest of its words.
“I’d like to ask senior to help me with something.” Long Chen looked at Little Snow in his spiritual space. Little Snow was sleeping and didn’t know about his conversation with the Eastern Wasteland Bell.
“It’s useless. It has already obtained an opportunity to mutate and break through its proper shackles. But opportunities come to an end eventually, and its opportunities have run out. There’s no way it can continue to advance.” The Eastern Wasteland Bell didn’t even need Long Chen to explain.
Hearing this, Long Chen’s heart shook. Little Snow had always been a worry to Long Chen’s heart. After reaching the Xiantian realm, Little Snow had reached his limit and couldn’t advance any further.
Whether it was the Heavenly Dao Fruits, the Divine Mortal Molting Elixir, or the countless other methods he had tried, they had all been useless to Little Snow.
Now even the Eastern Wasteland Bell said Little Snow couldn’t advance anymore. That was conclusive. Long Chen was growing stronger and stronger, so Little Snow was being left further and further behind.
Their days of fighting side by side were gone. Long Chen didn’t particularly care about the power Little Snow could offer him, but he could sense that ever since Little Snow had stopped advancing, he had become depressed. He was no longer excited about most things. Each day, he would just stay in his spiritual space, refusing to come out. Long Chen felt extremely helpless.
“If I was at my peak, perhaps I would have been able to change a portion of heaven and earth’s laws, breaking their shackles for it. But at most, it would only be able to advance to the ninth rank. To allow it to continue advancing past that would require truly heaven-defying abilities,” continued the Eastern Wasteland Bell.
“What? As long as you can fully recover, you can help Little Snow?!” Long Chen was delighted to hear this.
“For me to fully recover is incredibly difficult. Furthermore, by that time, even if it can advance to the ninth rank, you’ll have reached higher realms. It wouldn’t have any meaning,” said the Eastern Wasteland Bell.
“That’s fine. If you need any help, just ask. As long as I can accomplish it, I definitely won’t say a word of objection,” said Long Chen.
“It’s just an ordinary housepet. Is it worth it for you to act like this?” The Eastern Wasteland Bell was a bit puzzled.
&
nbsp; “Little Snow isn’t my housepet. He grew up with me from infancy. Moreover, he suffered countless hardships and almost lost his life several times for me. He is my companion. Although I’m strong enough on my own, I hope he can also grow stronger and continue fighting alongside me,” said Long Chen.
“You really are an emotional fool. You actually feel such sentiments toward a Magical Beast? Fine, I promise, once my power fully recovers, I will help you with this,” said the Eastern Wasteland Bell helplessly.
“Many thanks, senior.”
“Don’t thank me yet. My body has been smashed and scattered, it is no longer complete. To recover is not easy. We can just take things step by step. Let’s look around the Immemorial Path to see if we can find the things we need.”
“Alright.”
Long Chen quickly agreed. No matter what, as long as the Eastern Wasteland Bell was present, the problem with Little Snow would be solved sooner or later. After all, it was a legendary existence. It wouldn’t dupe him regarding such a thing.
“Senior, where should we go?”
“My injuries are too heavy and I can’t use divine sense to search. It’s a good thing your Spiritual Strength is strong enough to provide me with a slight nourishing effect. At the very least, my injuries won’t worsen. You can walk around as you please. Some things are best left to fate.”
“Senior, if my Spiritual Strength has a nourishing effect on you, why don’t you absorb it? Then couldn’t you rapidly recover?”
“Foolish talk. How could it be so simple? Although your Spiritual Strength is strong, it’s like a cup of water on a burning house. Furthermore, if I absorbed your Spiritual Strength, your soul would forever be missing a portion. Even if you agreed, the existence within you wouldn’t. Don’t worry, when you kill your enemies, I’ll absorb their Spiritual Strength to recover,” said the Eastern Wasteland Bell. Although it was reprimanding him, its tone had clearly grown a bit more amiable.
In all its countless years, this was its first time seeing someone like Long Chen who had survived countless trials and hardships, and yet still maintained such a pure heart even once he had cultivated to the Xiantian realm. This trust and unstinting companionship was something the Eastern Wasteland Bell found very likable.
BOOM!
Suddenly, the ground shook slightly. Long Chen hastily looked in one direction. He saw a cloud of dust coming from a distant mountain range. That seemed to be the result of an intense battle.
He quickly flashed into motion. Thunderforce covered him as he used the Lightning Body Blink in that direction.
After going over a mountain, he saw over ten people fighting an enormous Magical Beast. When he saw one of them, he became incredibly excited.
“Fuck, this time I’ve caught you.”
Chapter 824 Enemies Truly Do Often Cross Paths
There were over ten experts fighting against an armored lizard. That armored lizard was a mile long and covered in powerful scales.
Its huge tail was like a whip that crumbled mountains when it struck. It was actually extremely amazing, and it was forcing those ten-plus experts to miserably retreat.
The intense battle had already changed the terrain in the mountain range. Those people were all experts amongst experts. All of them were at least rank two Celestials, and there were even three rank three Celestials.
Amongst them was Long Chen’s old friend, Xue You. Xue You was surrounded by three different runes that released a torrential aura.
On his own, Xue You was blocking the majority of the armored lizard’s attacks. The other two rank three Celestials were in charge of restricting it at the sides, while the rank two Celestials could only occasionally launch attacks when they had an opening. But their attacks were clearly unable to cause much damage to the armored lizard.
“What? Do you recognize them?” asked the Eastern Wasteland Bell.
“They’re my mortal enemies.” Long Chen nodded. He rapidly thought up a plan. “Senior, are you capable of concealing my aura?”
“Something as minor as that is simple. But are you planning on sneak attacking him once I conceal your aura? Let me warn you, that long-haired fellow is not so simple. He’s an innate rank three Celestial, and he’s already begun condensing his fourth Heavenly Dao rune. His odds of one day becoming a rank four Celestial are practically one hundred percent. Your chances of successfully sneak attacking him are very low. It’s too risky,” warned the Eastern Wasteland Bell.
Long Chen smiled. “That’s fine. It’s not my first time coming into contact with him. That last battle was truly sullen. But this time, I’ll have a proper battle with him. Last time, he acted like such a poser. Now it’s time for me to get my revenge.”
Thinking of how Xue You had acted as if he was a supreme overlord, as if he could crush him with a wave of his hand, Long Chen was extremely irritated.
He had his own pride. Such humiliation and contempt were something that infuriated Long Chen, but back then, he hadn’t had the qualifications to be infuriated. However, today would be different.
“So are you planning on sneak attacking him?” asked the Eastern Wasteland Bell.
“No, he doesn’t have the qualifications to make me sneak attack him. I want to kill him with my true strength. Furthermore, I’m not very good at assassinations. As soon as I attack, I won’t be able to conceal my killing intent, and I’ll be sensed. Failing an assassination attempt is too embarrassing, so I’d prefer to fight him head-on. I’ll have more confidence that way.”
“Then why have me conceal your aura?”
“I have something more important that I want to do. At that time, you just have to work together with me.” Long Chen laughed mischievously, a crafty light shining in his eyes.
BOOM!
Xue You’s black sword slashed onto the armored lizard’s head. That immense force sent its head slamming into the ground, causing the ground to sink once more.
“Careful!” Xue You suddenly shouted. With its head smashed into the ground, the armored lizard’s huge tail wildly swung without any pattern. As a result, one rank two Celestial didn’t dodge in time and was struck by the tail. A terrifying force directly blew him into a bloody mist.
Long Chen couldn’t help being startled. Just what level was this armored lizard? It seemed it wasn’t lacking compared to Meng Qi’s Redeye Sacred Blood Phoenix.
What he didn’t know was that this armored lizard was actually a mutated Magical Beast. Its original bloodline was substandard, but after mutating, its combat power had become terrifying. It could be ranked as an overlord amongst rank seven Magical Beasts.
With its mutated runes on its scales, even Xue You’s sword was unable to break through its defenses, and Xue You’s sword was a Treasure item.
It was precisely because it was so powerful that Xue You had been delighted to find it. He had been willing to spend a great deal of time baiting it out of its lair so he could capture it as his housepet.
In truth, while the armored lizard was powerful, it had one fatal weak point. There was a white scale between its eyes. That scale was similar to a dragon’s reverse scale.
That scale was its only weak point. If they concentrated their attacks on it, then killing it wouldn’t be very difficult.
After all, it was a Magical Beast with an impure bloodline. Even if it had mutated, it hadn’t been able to completely erase its innate weak point. But that wasn’t something bad to Xue You. When he fought against others, he would stand at that scale to protect it. Then there would be no weak points.
With the two of them combined, they would be like tigers with wings. Their power would reach a whole new level.
So Xue You intentionally avoided that fatal spot. He wanted to use power to subdue it and then place a slave mark.
If he used a curse to weaken it, then even once he forcibly placed the slave mark, it wouldn’t be convinced of his power. Then it would continuously try to fight back. If he had to stop it from fighting him during a battle,
capturing it would have no meaning.
However, if he used power to subdue it before making it his housepet, such a housepet would be afraid, and the chances of it fighting back were lower. After that, by acting good to the Magical Beast for a while, lowering its guard, they could properly fight together.
Xue You’s runes surged as he fought. The others had surrounded it, not letting it escape. If it fled to its lair, all their previous efforts would be wasted.
Seeing Xue You’s power, Long Chen was startled. It seemed he was even stronger than when he had fought the Hidden Ground Gold Spider King.
Currently, he hadn’t even released his full power, but each of his attacks was incredible. Long Chen suddenly thought of the Eastern Wasteland Bell’s words, as well as how Xue You had tried to become a rank four Celestial in the trial caves.
The Eastern Wasteland Bell had said that Xue You was already in the process of becoming a rank four Celestial. Although he was still just in that process, his power was already so high. Once he succeeded, wouldn’t he be unrivaled?
They fought for over two hours. The armored lizard was clearly unable to defeat Xue You. That was because its strongest aspect was its defense, and it didn’t have any long-range attacks. Its huge body had become its weakness now, as it was unable to reach Xue You.
To it, Xue You was too small and fast of a target. It tried to flee several times, but the others had tightly surrounded it and refused to allow it to pass.
As a result, after all this time, it had exhausted all of its energy. Without any energy to struggle, it lay on the ground. Although it possessed a fierce and savage temperament, it knew it was done for today.
“Hahaha, there’s no need to be afraid. I won’t kill you. In the future, you’ll be this lord’s housepet!” laughed Xue You excitedly.