Chapter 977: Saint Jiang’s Game
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Ao Feng saw the fall of the cultivator from the North Deep, then looked at Xu Chehan.
The Nine States had been peaceful for many years. He had thought that would change during the Battle of Proving Holiness, but happened even earlier. People who were younger than him were already on the road to greatness.
Xu Chehan had a special status at Nine States College. His reputation was not as good as that of Tong He or Lin Shubai. Now that he had entered the upper levels of the Sage plane, he would use this battle to amaze the world.
Besides him, many others were displaying their incredible combat ability.
But the cultivator from the North Deep whom Xu Chehan had killed was not ordinary. The North Deep would not just let him get away with it.
The wind howled as a line of cultivators from the North Deep rose into the sky and looked down at the skeleton below them. Saint North Deep’s face fell, and a terrible killing intent burst out from him. The one whom Xu Chehan had killed was his son, the one whom he hoped would inherit his mantle and alms bowl in the future. But he had been poisoned to death by Xu Chehan. The divine implement armor that he wore had not helped at all.
More and more cultivators gathered together until they covered the sky, trapping Xu Chehan and Little Butterfly. The cultivators from the North Deep all had wings, and an evil airflow came from them. It looked like the apocalypse.
Little Butterfly’s face changed a little bit. How could this be? They were not important figures. Why had this army surrounded them? Was it because of the one that had been killed?
She and her sworn brother Xu Chehan had been cultivating in the Medicine Garden with Saint Jiang all along, so they did not really understand what was going on in the outside world. They did not recognize the cultivator from the North Deep.
People from the palace rushed over to help, but Ao Feng waved his hand and suddenly a bunch of cultivators from Ocean King Palace intercepted them, not letting them get closer. He would not act against Saint Jiang’s disciples, but if the people from the North Deep wanted to, that had nothing to do with him.
The three great holy lands of the Endless Sea had formed an alliance, but all of them had their own intentions.
What Ao Feng was doing could be said to be very sinister.
“He is skilled with poisons. Don’t engage in close combat, use spells to attack him,” said a cultivator from the North Deep. Terrible black lightning shot out from him. The space around him was covered in dark clouds, as if it was about to be destroyed. He was not the only one among them who was extremely powerful. Many of the other cultivators from the North Deep released spells into the sky with destructive power that would completely envelop Xu Chehan and Little Butterfly.
Little Butterfly went pale, but she saw Xu Chehan standing before her, his black robe fluttering wildly, and with a cold, killing look in his dark eyes.
He did not know why his master had asked him and Little Butterfly to help Ye Futian, but he had given an order, and so he would obey.
Xu Chehan had been born into a noble family, and had been quite talented from a young age. His father was the head of the family, and had a very high reputation. His mother was a proud daughter of heaven, beautiful and graceful. When he was born he was destined to have a glorious future, until one day his father was poisoned by his brother, and his mother had killed herself out of shame. His father had used his dying breaths to carry him out to a deserted mountain. He still remembered his father kowtowing in front of a thatched hut on the mountain until the poison killed him.
Afterwards, he had seen his master for the first time. Later he found out that his master was a famous Saint of medicine, and a master of poisons.
His master had asked him if he wanted to study the way of medicine or the way of poison. He had chosen poison without hesitation. His master had told him that if he chose poison he would have to suffer unimaginable pain, but he still persisted.
Thus, Xu Chehan was sent on the path of studying poison. He had studied it with his own body, and then killed all his enemies with it.
He was so cold as to have almost no human feelings. Many people called him Great Teacher Xu, to which he made no reply.
Everyone knew the great disciple of Saint Jiang, but only he knew how strict his master had been towards him, and how cruel. Perhaps in his master’s eyes, Little Butterfly was his only disciple.
Everyone called him Great Teacher Xu, and were in even more in awe of him due to him being a disciple of the Medicine Garden. But in the depths of his soul, Xu Chehan felt inferior, especially when facing his master and Little Butterfly.
He knew that although his master was known as a master of poisons, he had later learned to love medicine. He heard that it was the masteress who had changed him. So when he had chosen poisons from the start, the master was probably unhappy with him. Who could love someone who was filled with poison?
The thing that had left the deepest impression on Xu Chehan was that his master had once warned him that he could die at any time, and that no harm was to ever come to Little Butterfly. He understood that in the master’s heart he could not compare to Little Butterfly. The master looked at her as his own daughter, and she probably reminded him of the masteress. He also knew that the master never let anyone go to the garden behind the house where the statue of the masteress was kept.
But he did not hate his master, because he felt the same way. He could die, but no harm should come to Little Butterfly.
There were only two people in the world worth protecting with all his might: the master, and Little Butterfly.
“Little Butterfly, protect yourself. Don’t worry about the battle,” whispered Xu Chehan. A burst of butterflies with wings as sharp as steel appeared around her, shining faintly with the light of a divine implement. Xu Chehan stepped forward into the air, blocking her off from the attacks coming from the sky.
Apocalyptic dark lightning streaked down towards him. Xu Chehan stood in front of Little Butterfly, and his dark eyes were full of desire to kill. Everyone in the sky felt a burst of corrosion rule power.
Boom! A dark lightning bolt slammed into Xu Chehan, causing him to shake. But he still stood firmly in the air as if he had felt nothing.
Crack!
A terrible cold light slashed down, turning into a dark storm that tore through the air. Xu Chehan did not dodge it, and even greeted its power, letting it all fall upon him.
Another storm went around him and went towards Little Butterfly, tearing through her curtain of colored butterflies and causing her to tremble.
Everyone looked at Xu Chehan with amazement. How strong was his body?
An attack of this level would have killed even a top level Sage.
Some of the people in the air’s bodies were eroded by poison fog, and their skin and muscles were eaten away. This poison sorcery could not be removed. It infiltrated into your internal organs, corroding everything inside. Those who had not cultivated up to the top of the Sage level would soon be killed.
“Be careful.” Everyone put up a light curtain around themselves, and even more violent attacks descended. Xu Chehan spat up a mouthful of blood. He looked down and saw that Little Butterfly had been sent flying. Even with a divine implement to protect her, she was still bleeding from the mouth and had gone pale.
Xu Chehan flashed down to protect her. Powerful attacks descended once again, and his body continued to shake as blood poured from his mouth.
“Don’t worry about me, brother. Attack them!” said Little Butterfly. She knew that he had the power to kill them all.
She knew that there was one other person in the world besides Ye Futian he had withstood her master’s medicine trial: her sworn brother. But the medicine that he had taken was different than Ye Futian’s. Ye Futian’s was the medicine necessary to forge a perfect body.
But her sworn brother’s was the medicine that would forge a poisonous body.
“They all must die,” whispered Xu Chehan. A cold light shone from his handsome face, but it became exceptionally warm when he looked at Little Butterfly. “Use what our master taught you to defend yourself. Don’t let my poison hurt you.”
“Brother, no.” She shook her head. She seemed to sense what he was about to do. Tears filled her pure eyes. “The master said you would die.”
“My life isn’t worth your tears.” Xu Chehan reached out as if to touch Little Butterfly’s face, but he hesitated and then took it back. He stood up and turned to look into the sky.
He thought, Am I going to die? Will that disturb the master even a little bit?
Probably not.
As long as Little Butterfly lived, what did it matter if he died?
Xu Chehan continued upward, as if he were purposely trying to go far away from Little Butterfly. He was worried that he might poison her. Rule power continued to rumble, and blood continued to flow, but Xu Chehan seemed not to care. He had endured thousands of poison baths, and life and death no longer mattered to him. What did this little bit of pain matter?
He gazed indifferently at those in the sky. It was like he was looking at dead men.
“Break the seal.” He closed his eyes, and the blood roiled in his veins. A terrible black mist spread out from him and reached up into the sky like dark tentacles. His blood seemed to be integrated into it. Poison Qi exploded from his body as if a seal had been broken. At this moment he seemed to be a container from which years of accumulated poison was being released.
Behind him appeared a dark figure like a god of poison that ignored everything.
The world went dark as the poison mist filled the sky. Even rule spell defenses were gradually eroded.
Their spiritual willpower went numb, and their thoughts stopped. Once a little bit of the poison gas got into their body, they began to turn black as their internal organs were eaten away little by little. Their bodies began to fall from the sky. There were no more violent attacks, just bodies falling.
Xu Chehan’s face had also gone dark. There was no emotion in his eyes, but as he stood there no one could get close to Little Butterfly.
“Brother,” tears streamed from Little Butterfly’s eyes. Xu Chehan smiled when he heard her voice, and a tear rolled down from the corner of his eye.
His whole body was poisonous. He could not be by her side.
From the distance, Ye Futian shot over towards them. He had obviously seen the situation here. Saint Jiang had asked them to come and help him. He could not just watch them die.
This part of the battlefield had attracted much attention, including that of Saint Xia and Saint Li.
“Saint Jiang is quite severe.” Saint Li shook his head.
“What is going on? How could he let both of his disciples fall into this situation?” asked Saint Xia.
Saint Jiang had always cultivated at Nine States College. Saint Li was the one who knew him best.
“I’m afraid that Xu Chehan has always thought that Saint Jiang looked at Little Butterfly as his own daughter because she reminded him of his wife. But he does not realize who he himself reminds him of, nor what position he occupies in his heart,” said Saint Li.
A strange look came over Saint Xia’s face as he guessed the answer.
“Saint Jiang?” he said.
Saint Li nodded. “Yes. Is Xu Chehan not just a younger version of Saint Jiang? His severity towards Xu Chehan is really him being severe towards himself.”
“What is Saint Jiang trying to do?” asked Saint Xia.
Saint Li smiled bitterly and shook his head. “If the palace manages to get through this catastrophe due to this battle, then all the time I spent trying to get Saint Jiang to come to Nine State College will all be for that kid’s benefit!”
What a clever trick! Xu Chehan did not see Saint Jiang’s game. How could he?