Tantai Ling leaned against a stone wall and sat down gingerly. In her battle against the dark spirit, she had sustained serious internal injuries. Wisps of dark energy were wreaking havoc in her body, damaging and disrupting her meridian channels. If her cultivation base was not sufficiently advanced, she would have been unable to hold on any longer.
The gold-armored soldier swung its saber and slashed toward the stone door. There was a loud rumble.
The door took the blow but did not budge in the slightest. Charms floated up and crashed into the gold-armored soldier, exploding constantly. The gold-armored soldier was blasted into smithereens instantly and Ye Chen was blown backward by an overwhelming force.
“This is futile. You’re completely incapable of shattering the stone door. This ancient tomb was built tens of thousands of years ago. In that era, powerhouses were a dime a dozen. The master of this tomb was an existence who had surpassed Peerless Power. The charms on this stone door haven’t been passed down. They’re immensely powerful. Not even I can break open this stone door.” Tantai Ling’s crystal, cool voice drifted to Ye Chen’s ears.
“I don’t believe that I can’t break it down!” With his Astral Body shattered twice in a row, Ye Chen’s eyes were bloodshot by now. His spirit had reached its limit. If he did not sit down, he might cause extreme harm to his spirit.
Still, Ye Chen was unwilling to stop. If he was one second too slow, he might never see Little Tanuki and Little Wingsy again!
‘No, that mustn’t happen! Little Tanuki, Little Wingsy, you must hold on!’
A Celestial Chi Flying Dagger appeared in Ye Chen’s right hand. Swoosh – it flew toward the stone door in a swift arc.
With a band, the Celestial Chi Flying Dagger smashed a few charms and pierced through the stone door, leaving a small nick in it.
One Celestial Chi Flying Dagger was not enough. Well, Ye Chen would throw two or three. If two or three were not enough, he would keep attacking! He would only stop when the stone door was broken down!
Little Tanuki and Little Wingsy must still be alive. They must not die!
Streak after streak of Celestial Chi Flying Daggers shot out.
Faster!
Even faster!
The Celestial Chi within Ye Chen’s body was frantically drained. His face was as white as a sheet. His body was nearing its limits.
Swish swish swish. Without realizing it, Ye Chen was able to materialize two Celestial Chi Flying Daggers at once. Bang bang bang, these Flying Daggers smashed against the stone door, creating a sizable hole within it.
Break! Ye Chen was incomparably anxious. His chi and blood boiled over as an unpleasant thought gnawed at his heart.
Tantai Ling saw that Ye Chen could condense Celestial Chi into Flying Daggers. Furthermore, these Flying Daggers made from Celestial Chi were so sharp, able to cut into the stone door. She glanced at Ye Chen, stupefied. How many secrets did this guy have? She looked toward the outside. Nonetheless, whether that tanuki and that Winged Serpent lived or died had nothing to do with her.
“That tanuki and that Winged Serpent can’t possibly survive until now. Give up. Even if you break open the stone door, all you’ll see will be their corpses,” Tantai Ling said calmly.
“No, impossible, they must still be alive. You shut your mouth!” Ye Chen seemed to have gone mad as he unleashed a few dozen Flying Daggers in a row. A small crater had been blasted in the stone door before him, but this crater was also covered in charms. He still could not see the outside at all.
When Tantai Ling heard Ye Chen’s response, she snorted icily. If this was before and someone dared to speak in this manner to her, the North Sea Ruler, she would have killed them. However, looking at Ye Chen now, he was no different from a lunatic. She could not be bothered to punish him.
Even though the Flying Dagger in Ye Chen’s mind constantly supplied him with Celestial Chi, the Celestial Chi within Ye Chen’s body was swiftly being depleted.
A voice rang out in Ye Chen’s mind. It was the Purple-fire Astral Lion within the Heavenly Astra Vice Seal. “If you destroy the Heavenly Astra Vice Seal, I’ll help you break down the stone door!”
“Very well!” Ye Chen agreed immediately. Without hesitation, his left hand shifted and the Heavenly Astra Seal was already summoned in his palm.
The Purple-fire Astral Lion had not expected Ye Chen to agree without thinking and was taken aback. “Aren’t you worried that after you let me out, I’ll go back on my words and kill you?”
“Even if you do, I’ll die happily. But I ask one thing of you, help me kill that dark spirit outside and save Little Tanuki and Little Wingsy!” Ye Chen was practically begging.
“You mean that tanuki and that Winged Serpent?” The Purple-fire Astra Lion fell silent. It had been in the Heavenly Astra Seal for so long and knew a little about Little Tanuki and Little Wingsy. “Alright, I’ll promise you. When you let me out, I’ll take down the dark spirit seriously.”
Although Ye Chen knew that the Purple-fire Astra Lion’s words were not necessarily trustworthy, he had no other choice. If he could save Little Wingsy’s and Little Tanuki’s lives for his own, he would not hesitate in the slightest!
Ye Chen spread out his left palm and the Heavenly Astra Seal, burning with purple flames, hovered above his palm. A ferocious force instantly filled the stone room. Ye Chen formed a Celestial Chi Flying Dagger in his right hand and aimed it at the Heavenly Astra Seal. Only a Celestial Chi Flying Dagger could shatter the Heavenly Astra Seal!
Just as Ye Chen had summoned the Heavenly Astra Seal, Tantai Ling suddenly felt a shudder deep within her Spirit. That terrifying aura must come from some ancient, vicious beast. When she noticed Ye Chen’s actions with the Celestial Chi Flying Dagger in his right hand and a seal hovering above his left, she promptly guessed what Ye Chen was doing. Ye Chen was going to break that seal open, releasing the ancient wild beast sealed within!
The current Ye Chen had lost his mind. He was capable of anything. Tantai Ling did not know what ancient beast was locked within that seal but she had sensed that she would be no match for it. If Ye Chen went through with this, the consequences were unimaginable!
Tantai Ling did not hesitate at all. The white gauze dress around her body flew forward with a “swish”. Thud – it hit Ye Chen in the back of his head.
Ye Chen’s Celestial Chi Flying Dagger was about to leave his hand. In this defenseless state, he was hit on the back of his head. The Celestial Chi Flying Dagger in his right hand dissipated and he could only see black. His consciousness slowly sank into this darkness. “Little Tanuki, Little Wingsy, I couldn’t save you both, I’m sorry…” Ye Chen mumbled to himself as tears ran down his cheeks. He passed out.
Tantai Ling watched the tears sliding down Ye Chen’s cheeks. There was an unexpected shift within her cold-as-frost heart. She could not understand this. Human emotions were too complicated for her. She was incapable of comprehending them.
“For that tanuki and that Winged Serpent, you wouldn’t even hesitate to give up your life and release that ancient beast, annihilating everything. Is that worth it?” Tantai Ling’s voice was as cool as ever as she muttered. This behavior filled her up with puzzlement.
The Heavenly Astra Seal still floated in the air, shuddering violently without stopping as if something was struggling to break free. Suddenly, it shone with a bright gleam and was encircled by charms. At last, the thing within the Heavenly Astra Seal stopped struggling and the seal slowly dropped down, vanishing into Ye Chen’s palm.
Ye Chen’s body contained such an item. Tantai Ling stared at Ye Chen, curiosity prickling her heart. Who was this Ye Chen really?
Tantai Ling withdrew the swathe of white gauze, and it wrapped around her body, still fluttering. Her hair was heaped magnificently upon her dainty, beautiful head, and she looked like a fairy goddess. She had an indescribable air of noble elegance, as well as a curvaceous figure. That proud, perky pair of alabaster breasts was so sensual and tempting. However, her apathetic expression revealed a hint of iciness that caused people to respect her from afar, not daring to demean her.
Tantai Ling sat there quietly. Streams of Celestial Chi revolved and rippled like a blossoming lotus flower spreading out around her in silence. The divine trident mounted beside her also emitted Seven-colored Divine Rays ceaselessly.
The stone tomb was now full of Water-type Celestial Chi. It was as if she was within the wide ocean.
That tanuki and Winged Serpent must be dead already. Although Tantai Ling felt a slight pity, she did not harbor too many emotions and closed her eyes. To her, what had happened outside was not important. She had to recover her strength first. She was almost unable to suppress the dark energy within her body.
Time passed by silently. Two days had passed.
Ye Chen woke up groggily and opened his eyes. He stared at the stone ceiling above him with eyes as dull as ash. He understood that even if he broke down the door and dashed out, it was already too late. He was afraid that the first thing he would see upon racing out was Little Tanuki’s and Little Wingsy’s corpses.
Ye Chen heart felt as if it had been hollowed out. He felt nothing.
How Ye Chen wished that the ones who were saved were Little Wingsy and Little Tanuki, and not him.
As Ye Chen thought about his various adventures with Little Tanuki and Little Wingsy, a splitting anguish sprouted in his heart and he found it difficult to breathe.
Tantai Ling had observed Ye Chen staring vacantly at the stone ceiling and said neutrally, “As a martial artist, one must be single-minded, devoting one’s heart to martial arts. Only then will one reach one’s pinnacle. Someone like you will never be able to reach the pinnacle of the Martial Truth.” Tantai Ling’s words had a trace of worldliness.
When Ye Chen heard this, however, he laughed disdainfully and retorted mockingly, “So what if you’ve reached your pinnacle? What’s the point of your living?” At the moment, Ye Chen’s life did not matter to him. He did not care if Tantai Ling would kill him.
“Point of my living?” Tantai Ling’s pupils shrank slightly.
“Even if your achievements are at the peak, if you have no one to share it with, it’s meaningless. Even if you become immortal, without family and loved ones by your side, at the end of immortality is nothing more than loneliness.” As Ye Chen spoke, he felt as if a sharp blade was cutting fresh wounds in his heart. Spasms of brutal agony rocked his body. Little Tanuki was dead and Little Wingsy was dead as well…
“The end of immortality is nothing more than loneliness?” Tantai Ling muttered, repeating this line. She recalled that when she was young, she started cultivating martial arts under her king father’s encouragement. At that time, she was only cultivating martial arts to gain her father’s approval. After he died, she slaughtered many with her trident until blood flowed like a river. She had used the blood of hundreds of thousands of enemies to honor her father’s memory. Later, she cultivated for cultivation’s sake. To her, she no longer knew what the point of living was.
When Ye Chen thought of Little Tanuki’s and Little Wingsy’s deaths, he gritted his teeth and clambered up. Activating the Flying Dagger in his mind, a bitter rage blazed in his eyes. He would kill that dark spirit and avenge Little Wingsy and Little Tanuki!
Moreover, whoever it was who had fed and nurtured the dark spirit, he would kill, kill, kill!