Chapter 192: This World is Doomed
Zhu Yao had thought that the mission this time would be very easy. It was just moving houses, right? However, after arriving at the Nether Abyss, she realized she was too naive.
Black Tortoise’s sudden awakening had intensified the abnormal movements in the world. Various places were affected, and the place which was affected the most, was the Devil Sealing Grounds. After the seal was broken before, the Devils once again broke out of the seal, and the Gods, who already had severe losses, were being pushed back. They had no choice but to retreat to the Nether Abyss, preventing the Devils from fusing with the devillic aura within.
The tragic degree of the scene they saw when Yue Gu and Zhu Yao arrived could no longer be described with mere words. The place was filled with Devils shrouded in black mist, and Gods battling while bathed in blood. The Gods had already been forced into a position where they could no longer retreat, while the number of Devils continued to increase, looking as though they could never be completely exterminated.
Yue Gu summoned countless of heavenly lightning bolts, and began to open up a bloody path for them to charge forward.
“There’s no time left. Hurry and head into where the Black Tortoise’s Dantian resides.”
Zhu Yao nodded. Releasing her divine sense, she faintly sensed something was calling out to her on her right, and then, she flew straight in that direction. Only after arriving did she find out that it was a pool of water. It only had a size of a regular swimming pool, the water was not very deep, and the waterbed could be seen due to how clear it was.
The moment she walked into the place, the entire pool radiated a white glow, and faintly, flashes of lightning sparks could be seen. The godly energy was so concentrated, it looked as though it could solidify at any moment. This was the Black Tortoise’s godly energy! Zhu Yao was a little shocked. This was hundreds and thousands times more powerful that the amount she received when she was fixing the seal.
Time was running out. Zhu Yao hurriedly walked. Just as she was about to enter the center of the pool and receive the godly energy to open the World Crossing Heavenly Door, a terrified voice suddenly reverberated from behind her.
“Little sister!” Shao Bai suddenly appeared at the side of the pool, and he was tensely watching her movements. “What are you doing?”
Zhu Yao’s heart skipped a beat. She knew that she would definitely encounter Shao Bai here. If she were to tell him that she’s here to swim, would he believe her?
“I’m going to open the World Crossing Heavenly Door.”
“World Crossing Heavenly Door!” Shao Bai blanked for a moment, and as though he thought of something, the color on his face faded away. A moment later, pulling the corners of his lips, he revealed the same warm smile he always had, and reached out his hand. “How can opening the World Crossing Heavenly Door be such a simple task? Little sister, be obedient! Why don’t you first come out of there?”
Zhu Yao gritted her teeth, she decided to ignore his words. Turning around, she walked towards the center of the pool. Black Tortoise had already begun transferring his godly energy, how could she possibly leave now?
“Little sister!” Shao Bai shouted loudly, his voice was no longer as calm as before, rather, it was filled with panic and fear. Wanting to enter the pool to chase her, he took a few steps forward, only to be forced back by the countless lightning sparks in the water. “Do you know what you’re doing right now?”
“I do.” Zhu Yao sat in a meditative posture at the very center of the pool, and smiled towards him. “I’m saving all of you.”
“Why would we need you to save us?” Shao Bai was even more anxious now. After casting an art, he took a step into the pool with a great difficulty, and once again reached out his hand towards her. “Little sister, be obedient. Your second elder brother promised that no matter what happens, I will always protect you. Come out of there for now, alright?” His voice sank even more. When he was speaking the last few words, it even sounded as though he was begging her to stop.
Having such an elder brother who doted her own so much, Zhu Yao was a little moved. However, if the Heavenly Door was not opened, they would not be able to live on. So in the very end, she would be the one earning from doing so.
“Little sister, just take it as though second elder brother is begging you.”
“…” Zhu Yao let out a sigh. She suddenly recalled the time when she was still an egg, the look Shao Bai had when he was willing to even use his blood to attack in order to protect her. She was fortunate to have such an elder brother, however…
“Shao Bai, actually, I’m not a phoenix.” Zhu Yao gathered her godly energy, and created a faint image of her original form – a green-skinned tortoise with the shadow of a snake faintly encircling its body. “I’m a Black Tortoise, not your little sister.”
“You being my little sister is unrelated to what your race you are.” Shao Bai refuted, and still continued to persuade her. “Second elder brother doesn’t care what you are, as long as you don’t leave my side. So, be obedient… and come out, alright?”
Haah… Zhu Yao sighed, and lectured him with a smile. “You sis-con. I’m actually older than you. I merely stayed in my egg for a long time.”
“Then I shall change my way of addressing you.” Shao Bai was unexpectedly very easy to talk with. “As long as you come out, I will promise you anything.”
“Do you still not understand, Shao Bai?” Zhu Yao released her divine sense, and began to receive the ancient godly energy within the pool. “Black Tortoises have always been existences used as cornerstones for the sky and earth, and since I’m a Black Tortoise, I will naturally integrate into this world one day, falling into deep slumber. Right now, I’m merely using another method.”
“I don’t care about all that!” Shao Bai’s expression instantly changed, and a boundless, furious aura began to spread, withstanding the lightning suppression as he approached her a step at a time. “The only fact I know, is that you’re my little sister. If there’s really a need to save this world, you will never be the one to do it.”
Shao Bai was persistent in pulling her out, and a faint madness could be seen from within his eyes. As though he was a wild beast whose bottom line had been crossed, the warmth and gentleness he had before had completely turned into violence and madness.
However, how could lightning sparks formed by godly energy be so simple? In just a few moments, his body was already filled with injuries, yet, he still did not stop.
Zhu Yao was struck with terror as she watched on.
“Don’t come over.” Zhu Yao was a little anxious. “This world isn’t going to last. As long as the Heavenly Door is opened, everyone can be saved.”
“Then, what about you?” He raised his head, and stared at her intensely.
“Uh…” She would naturally get disconnected. Could it be that he knew of the consequences of forcefully opening the Heavenly Door, and hence wanted to prevent her from doing so?
“If saving the world requires your life as the price, then what’s the point in saving it?” The aura surrounding Shao Bai instantly changed, as it grew even wilder than before. Yet, the eyes he were looking at her with were filled with inexplicable sadness. The look he had now, was completely the same as that skinny, frail child she saw when they first met. “Little sister, you clearly know that you’re the only remaining person your second elder brother has. If you disappear as well, even if everyone is saved, what’s the point?”
Zhu Yao’s heartstrings twitched. At this moment, she finally realized he had never walked out of that experience of being abandoned since the very beginning. No matter how warm of a smile he had on the surface, he was merely concealing it even deeper within himself. That was a scar that could break out at any moment, as long as his landmine was stepped on, then it could possibly explode. And she seemed to be that said landmine.
“I will be fine. I promise you.” She could resurrect, after all.
“You can’t promise that!” He had already arrived by her side, and pulled her into his tight embrace, as though he wanted to smother her. He buried his head next to her neck, and said with emphasis on every word. “You promised me. You promised that you wouldn’t abandon me.”
Zhu Yao felt as though she had returned to that dark, skyless place. A frail and skinny child was tightly hugging onto an egg, like he was hugging onto the only belief that was keeping him alive, refusing to let go.
Zhu Yao’s heartstrings pulled, and for a moment, she hated herself a little. Why had she not seen through Shao Bai’s abnormalities? She should have seen through it long ago. Although he looked like he was treating others warmly on the surface, other than her, he had always been keeping a distance from anyone else. He did not even have a intimate relationship with his mother Qian Yu either. Furthermore, because of the matter of her being born prematurely, he hated Little Sixth to the extreme.
He had always been the same child who treated her as the only person to depend on. The same child who maintained a sense of enmity towards the world. The same child who regarded her as his life.
But…
Zhu Yao gritted her teeth. A white light flashed in her palms, pushing Shao Bai away. The lightning sparks in the pool instantly disappeared as well, though this time, countless lightning sparks seemed to be surrounding her body. An immense amount of godly energy she had never felt before seemed to be emitting out from her body.
She did not delay any further. Quickly making a few hand seals with her hands, she formed a formation, and slammed her palm downwards, instantly releasing all of her godly energy.
“No!” Shao Bai, who was blasted hundreds of meters away, shouted with a face filled with panic and fear.
In an instant, a golden light shone brightly. Within an area of about ten meters around her, a heavenly pillar charged towards the skies, shattering directly across the skyline. For a moment, the entire skyline twisted. Countless of foreign illusory realms, like projections, appeared in the sky. There were dense forests, luxurious streets, and blessed lands filled with practitioners… Every single one of them represented a world out of the present three thousand worlds.
The Heavenly Door had opened…
The sounds of battle between the Gods and Devils paused in an instant, as everyone raised their heads to look at this mystical phenomenon.
Twisting her palms, Zhu Yao once again cast another mystic art. Within the pillar of light, several rays of golden light were formed, and they flew to the various Gods and living creatures. After the rays of golden light had caught them, turning into what looked like soap bubbles, they flew straight towards the opened Heavenly Door.
Zhu Yao’s godly energy was currently depleting at an extremely fast rate, and she could only barely sustain the Heavenly Door, as she tried her best to allow even more living creatures pass through the Heavenly Door. As to which world they would go after entering the Heavenly Door, it was no longer something she could predict.
“Little sister!” Shao Bai was also enclosed in those soap bubbles, smacking them as he wanted to get out. Presently, Zhu Yao had after all inherited the Black Tortoise’s ancient godly energy, so how could she possibly let him out? Instead, she circulated her mystic art, and had him float towards the Heavenly Door.
Watching as the Heavenly Door was closing in on him, Shao Bai’s eyes instantly turned bloodshot. He desperately struggled, and even disregarded his own injuries, as he struck the small bubbles, only to have half of the energy reflected back at himself. Zhu Yao grew anxious as she watched, and her actions slowed down quite a bit. This madman.
Zhu Yao sunk her thoughts, and planned to forcefully push him through.
Suddenly, within the bubbles, a red light shone. With a crackling sound, the bubbles shattered, and following after a cry that resounded through the clouds, a phoenix whose body was dyed completely in black rose into the skies, several streams of black water gently flowed around its body.
Zhu Yao was completely dumbstruck.
This was Shao Bai!?
Why did he suddenly change?
That black phoenix had only appeared for an instant. After Shao Bai broke through the bubbles, he regained his human form and flew over, most likely wanting to prevent her from sustaining the Heavenly Door. However, he was stopped by a white figure.
“Yue Gu!” Shao Bai’s expression was filled with cold intent. “You dare stop me?”
“This is my disciple’s own choice.”
Shao Bai’s fury felt as though it was about to take up a solid form, as he sent an attack straight towards him. “You can stand by and watch as she send herself to death, but I can’t!” He threw an icicle towards him. “I’m going to save her. Whoever blocks my path, shall die!”
Zhu Yao was only focusing on sustaining the Heavenly Door. Finally, all of the bubbles had passed through the Heavenly Door, and only two people remained in the sky, along with a sky filled with Devils.
For an instant, she even had the feeling to cuss at her own mom. Momma’s egg, is this really the time to fight among themselves? The two of them were dealing with the Devils while fighting among themselves like it was nobody’s business.
“Teacher, let him come over.” Zhu Yao retracted a strand of godly energy, and sent a voice transmission to Yue Gu in the sky. Shao Bai had already flew straight towards her.
“Little sister, hurry…”
Zhu Yao flung a wind mystic art towards him, taking the opportunity when he had yet to react, she pulled the spoilt child into the pillar of light. In times like this, she shouldn’t talk reason with him.
Shock, fear, pain, disappointment, unwillingness, and various other emotions flashed past Shao Bai’s face, yet his figure had slowly disappeared into the pillar of light.
Only then did Zhu Yao cough out a mouthful of blood. As she had constantly released her godly energy, she felt that her entire body was about to crumble.
“Teacher, hurry and get in!” She couldn’t sustain it any longer.
Yue Gu did not respond. Instead, from afar, he reached out his hand towards her, and did a head-patting action. Turning his head, he looked towards the Devils which had already occupied the entire sky and earth. “I can’t leave.”
“Teacher!” Zhu Yao was anxious.
“I’m the final ancient God in this world. The Heavenly Dao will not allow me to leave.” Her teacher still had that same emotionless look, as though the matter he was discussing did not concern his life and death. Raising the corners of his lips, he suddenly sent her a very stunning smile. “Disciple, I will accompany you.”
She suddenly sensed a familiar ripple of godly energy coming from Yue Gu’s direction. An immense amount of godly energy spread in all directions like fireworks. Wherever it went, the Devils that made contact with it would turn into ash.
Zhu Yao’s godly energy had already been depleted, and the Heavenly Door closed right after. The familiar darkness began its assault, and she suddenly recalled the mystic art that Yue Gu just invoked.
Devil Smiting Inscription. It was the only mystic art in the world that could exterminate Devils. Her teacher had said that he could only use it twice in his lifetime, and this was his second time.
In the last second before she closed her eyes, she could faintly hear his sigh.
“Haah, what a pity. Your teacher here has yet to ask for your real name…”