Chapter 896: The Sacred Beast Jiuying
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“Brother Ye,” said Liu Yu. She looked at him with her beautiful eyes, looking a bit puzzled. Liu Han also looked at him, seeing only his back. However, at that moment several huge demon guards appeared at the entrance: a dragon, a beast covered in golden spikes, and a huge tortoise. They guarded the exit, and their auras were terrible.
Ye Futian frowned. It seemed that they couldn’t get out. Moreover, the demons seemed to be staring at him. He could only walk forward quietly into the crowd. Liu Han said, “What happened, Senior Ye?”
“Liu Han, have you ever heard of the demons that guard the palace?” Ye Futian asked.
“No, but my sister should know. I’ll ask her,” Liu Han responded, and then passed it on to Liu Zixuan.
After a while, Liu Zixuan looked back at Ye Futian and said, “There is a legendary guardian sacred beast in the lost ruins, a Jiuying [1]. It once ravaged the Endless Sea, and sought to dominate all the monsters therein. Later, it was subjugated by the Ocean King and became his mount. It was said that before the Ocean King fell, he sealed the Jiuying in the ruins in order to prevent it from rampaging across the Endless Sea, and thus, it guards the Halberd of Time and Space.”
Ye Futian’s face suddenly hardened. It was a sacred beast, and moreover, it was the legendary, diabolical Jiuying. The people of the three holy lands all knew this. They continued onwards. More and more demonic beasts were appearing in the hall. The cultivators of the holy lands frowned. This was different than before.
Suddenly, a wild demonic aura swept out. A group of golden bat demons rushed out like bolts of lightning, and an invisible sound wave shot out from it. An ear-piercing shriek sounded in everyone’s ears, and they felt like their Spiritual Wills were about to be destroyed.
“The Golden Bat Demon is good at sonic attacks, and it is also a very capable melee fighter, be careful,” the cultivator in front reminded everyone. The bat demons had bloodshot eyes. They seemed to want to fill the hall, and at the same time attack the people in it.
Liu Yu’s face went pale, and her Spiritual Will seemed to be about to collapse under the harsh sonic attack. She closed her eyes in pain but felt a strong hand pull her. Ye Futian’s eyes became stormy again. When the Golden Bat Demons met his gaze, they turned around and fled, as if they felt his threat.
Ye Futian’s eyes were stronger than before. A terrible spiritual storm pierced through the bats’ spiritual wills, and some of them struggled fiercely. Soon their bloodshot eyes became calm and they retreated. He had taken control of the retreating demonic beasts and had confirmed his conjecture.
The other cultivators launched their own attacks, and the Sage Plane cultivators’ power was astonishing. Violent rule power raged through the hall, and many Golden Bat Demons were killed on the spot, but some of the cultivators from the holy lands were wounded as well. The bats had different levels of power; some were strong and some were weak.
In front of them, a huge Golden Bat Demon with wings as sharp as sickles and bloodshot eyes rose into the air and stared at those who had come. Golden Bat Demons were a type of demonic beast with strong reproductive abilities. They liked dark places and were addicted to blood and death, but their growth was limited and they rarely reached the Sage level. However, in these lost ruins, this one had grown surprisingly big. The Golden Bat Demon King’s demon aura was that of a top-level Sage. Beside him were several other Sage level Golden Bat Demons, all of them with killing intent in their eyes.
The sound of flapping wings came over, as well as a sharp shrieking sound, and everyone in the densely packed hall got goosebumps. The cultivators of the holy lands’ faces also changed. There had never been so many Golden Bat Demons in the past. What had happened?
“Kill that Golden Bat Demon King first. There’s something strange about the ruins right now. Everyone, go all out, don’t hold anything back,” said Pang Kun to the people from the other two holy lands. They nodded. They could both feel that this was going to be a tricky battle, which made them feel that there was a real threat. The ones from the North Deep and the ones from the Celestial Cliffs nodded, and they looked imposing.
“Let’s go.” Pang Kun’s figure flashed, and a long silver halberd appeared in his hands. He thrust it forward, and in a flash, a silver vortex swept out. The Golden Bat Demon King’s body flashed, and his mouth opened. A formless soundwave split the air, breaking the vortex. At the same time, ear-piercing sounds rang out In the vast, ancient hall and the Golden Bat Demons all rushed forward.
“Evil creatures.” The cultivators from the North Deep stood together, their faces cold and imposing. A deep chill emanated from their bodies, and as the Golden Bat Demons rushed towards, them their golden bodies were slowly covered in ice. A strong cultivator from the North Deep reached out and produced a powerful whirlwind. It slowly swallowed up the bodies of the Golden Bat Demons.
“Protect the mistress.” The Liu clan cultivators rushed towards Liu Zixuan and Liu Shi, and a chaotic battle broke out.
“Brother Ye.” Liu Yu bowed slightly. Before she had come, she had wanted to see the outside world. But now she realized she had been wrong. Coming to the ruins would be nothing but a nuisance. If it hadn’t been for Ye Futian, she would not even be able to think of escaping with her life.
“It’s nothing. Follow me,” Ye Futian whispered. Liu Yu looked at his back and had a strong feeling of confidence. She looked all around. A terrible battle had broken out that shook the heavens and the earth, but Ye Futian was walking forward step by step. No demonic beasts attacked him. Even when they were next to him, they would go around him to attack someone else.
The great hall was filled with the torn bodies of bats, and people were rushing towards the palace.
With a great cry, the Golden Bat Demon King was jointly killed by the cultivators from the holy lands. The Golden Bat Demons suddenly retreated like a tide and disappeared in the blink of an eye, leaving behind a ground full of corpses.
The people from the three holy lands looked around. Some of their people had also fallen. At that moment, someone turned around and their gaze fell upon Ye Futian. He stared at him and asked, “Who are you?”
Suddenly everyone looked at Ye Futian. Lin Yu said, “He looks like he’s from the Liu clan. How did you do it?”
Ye Futian was the only one who had not been attacked.
“I’ve cultivated my spirit elemental power to be able to affect demonic beasts,” Ye Futian answered indifferently.
“Why don’t you show us your true face?” asked Lin Yu.
“Force of habit,” Ye Futian answered.
“Remove your mask.” Next to Lin Yu, Liu Shi looked at Ye Futian.
Ye Futian frowned and glanced at Liu Shi. This was the second time.
“I’m talking to you.” Liu Shi also frowned when he saw that Ye Futian did not answer him. At the same time, he glanced at Liu Yu beside him.
“Let’s not worry about this trifling matter,” Liu Zixuan said from beside Liu Shi.
Lin Yu smiled and said, “Fine, let’s forget it.”
“Let’s keep going,” said Fang Tu. “The ruins are a bit strange this time.”
Everyone felt it. One by one they stepped out and continued forward. The huge palace had collapsed into many ruins, and each of the ruins had demonic beasts standing on them, glaring at them coldly. But they did not move.
They walked through the long palace hall and came to a stairway. Suddenly, more demonic beasts appeared up ahead on both sides, growling quietly.
“Let them pass.” The voice from before came out of the depths of the palace, and the demonic beasts moved aside.
Their feeling of being watched grew stronger. Invisible pressure covered everyone. They walked along the gold-colored floor as many more demonic beasts appeared around them. Finally, they came to the end of the hall. A huge design appeared on the floor. It looked like a terrifying matrix. The matrix connected every part of the palace and even extended deeper into it. It extended away into an endless chain that suppressed the design.
And at that moment, there was a white-robed figure standing calmly in the middle of the pattern. He seemed to be a middle-aged scholar. There was a hint of a smile in his eyes, but also a bit of evil.
Beside him, many demonic beasts appeared on the edges of the design. There was another flight of stairs behind the design, and from there you could faintly see a huge statue of a god holding a divine halberd.
“The Halberd of Time and Space.” When everyone saw the divine halberd in the Ocean King’s carved hands, their hearts trembled fiercely. It was the third-ranked divine implement on the Divine Implement Ranking.
“Welcome, everyone.” The middle-aged scholar stood in the center of the design and seemed to be wrapped in the endless chain. He smiled at the group of them.
“Thank you for letting us pass, senior.” The people of the three holy lands bowed slightly to the middle-aged scholar.
“Think nothing of it. This is my thanks to you.” He smiled. “Next, as long as you can get past me, you can go to the final stage and get the Halberd of Time and Space. Who will try first?”
Everyone’s eyes flashed. A top-level Sage stepped out from the back and said, “I will try, senior.”
“Excellent. Go ahead,” the middle-aged scholar said politely.
A pair of wings appeared behind the cultivator, along with a great wind. He shot forward, turning into countless afterimages. In a flash, he had rushed past the middle-aged scholar and went deeper into the hall.
He made it, everyone thought.
However, at that moment, an astonishing aura descended. There was a bang, and the middle-aged scholar disappeared, and in his place was a huge, ferocious nine-headed demon.
Everyone’s hearts were beating fiercely. One of the nine-headed demon’s heads struck out, and though the Sage wanted to go that way he was stopped.
There was a miserable cry. The beast had bitten into the Sage. A Sage level cultivator had been bitten around the waist. The bloody scene made everyone’s hearts tremble fiercely. The fierce beast’s heads moved through the air. Its nine pairs of eyes were filled with malice. The endless chain in the design seemed to have disappeared. In the silent hall, there was only a plaintive cry. The cultivator had not died yet.
“Jiuying.” Everyone’s faces went pale. The Ocean King’s mount—the Sacred Beast Jiuying.
What was more frightening was that its seal was broken.
“I haven’t tasted human blood in so long,” came the voice. The huge Jiuying disappeared. He had transformed back into the middle-aged scholar, but the eyes of those who saw him were filled with fear.
“Don’t be afraid.” The middle-aged scholar looked at everyone. “The rules are still the same as before. If you can pass by me, I’ll let you go. This was the rule set by my great master. I will certainly follow it.” When he spoke of his great master, his voice seemed to come from the depths of hell.
[1]: A Jiuying is a nine-headed snake monster from Chinese mythology, similar in some ways to a hydra. “Jiu-ying” means “nine infants,” and it was called that due to the fact that its cry sounded like that of a baby.