Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
Big Luo’s tone was calm as he maintained his emotional stability without any ups and downs. He gazed at Lin Feng with those same calm eyes.
It seemed as if everything he discussed with Lin Feng was nothing more than an ordinary leisurely chat or a consultation on mantras and abhijina, completely unrelated to the grave matter concerning his life and death.
Lin Feng let out a lax sigh as he gazed at Big Luo.
No one could force his disciple to trod down such a path. Not a single enemy could do so. Ignoring his current mastery level and status, if this happened back when Lin Feng was still weak, he would have nonetheless endured it till the end, not backing down, regardless whether it was the Hades Tribe or the other human sects of the Divine Lands.
The only exception was Big Luo’s own will. He could not go against it.
Furthermore, be it a cruel twist of fate, or a fortuitous encounter, or a plan to go with the flow, Lin Feng was in no position to persuade Big Luo otherwise, being someone who benefited from the incidents in the Spirit Sea.
Could he become the bridge connecting the human world and the demon tribes? Could he be the one protecting the losing side after a decisive and brutal battle between the Hades Tribe and the Celestial Sect?
These may be Big Luo’s ambitions and become the new cornerstones of his values. But both Lin Feng and Big Luo knew that these could only be fulfilled after a continuous string of conflict and bloodshed.
The Hades Tribe that once ruled everything below the heavens shrank into their reclusive enclave in the Middle Worlds for thousands of years. With their grand return to the Greater Worlds now, their goal would undoubtedly be to reclaim their former throne.
There was only one option for every opponent that attempts to stop their advance – to battle to the death.
As for the Celestial Sect of Wonders, they definitely could not just sit at a side and watch the Hades Tribe reclaim its reign over the Grand Celestial World and trample on the human cultivation world of the Divine Lands.
Even a partial concession would mean a complete failure on their part, being unable to declare a new challenge to the victor.
In this process, the Kong Yuan Hades and the Ning Feng Hades were the first two casualties, but they probably would not be the only two.
Besides the Great Void Sect and the Heavenly Charms Grand Sage, the Hades Tribe and the Celestial Sect would definitely participate in the reclaiming of the Spirit Sea, so a massive battle would be unavoidable.
Master and disciple stood opposite each other. For a moment, the entire Heavenly Cosmic Ray World descended into an eerie silence.
Big Luo stroked the jade plaque with the ‘Yao’ character gently with his fingers and felt its warm yet cool texture. A faint smile curled up at the corners of his mouth.
This was the first time he cracked such an indifferent and tranquil smile ever since he reincarnated as a Hades Beast.
He raised the jade plaque with both hands and bowed to Lin Feng. “I’ll take my leave, Master.”
Big Luo performed a ceremonious bow as spots of purple light began appearing on his body, floating amidst the void space like sparkling purple stars. The purple light grew brighter and brighter, gradually morphing into a sea of light, engulfing the Heavenly Cosmic Ray World. It morphed into rays of flowing light, radiating continuously.
Lin Feng gazed calmly at Big Luo. Big Luo’s eyes surged with waves of emotion before settling into a dead stillness.
Big Luo’s body slowly transformed into a virtual shadow. The shadow became more and more faded. A galaxy seemed to have appeared amidst the swirling purple light. Countless stars lit up amidst the purple light, growing and expanding before finally extinguishing and imploding.
The great lakes, the majestic mountains, the birds and the beasts, the uncountable variations of humans – these lighted images flashed in succession amidst the purple sea of light, seemingly depicting the changing process of creation over the course of time.
Big Luo raised his body up and smiled at Lin Feng. His body grew fainter and more obscure. He was melting into the purple sea of light.
Lin Feng strode forward, wandering through the purple sea of light. Very quickly, Big Luo’s figure had disappeared completely, reducing to uncountable dust-like specks of light, joining the clouds of glowing fog encircling Lin Feng.
A silent, seemingly ordinary-looking skeleton lay on Big Luo’s original spot along with the jade plaque with the ‘Yao’ character written on it.
His soul had dissolved, and his spirit was utterly destroyed.
After he was reincarnated as a Hades Beast, he purged the legacy of the Hades Emperor’s secret spells. Big Luo’s current self-destruction was unlike his previous attempts where he retained the memories of his past life, allowing him to await a new rebirth.
Lin Feng possessed the ability to safeguard Big Luo’s soul from destruction like how the Great Qin monarchy dealt with the Celestial Dragon Jin’s soul carcass, and reincarnate Big Luo as a human, or even possibly retain the memories of his past life.
However, Lin Feng would not do it. Big Luo’s self-destruction was his personal choice stemming from his own determination, not an inevitable fate tied to his biological heritage.
This was the path Big Luo chose for himself, a path where the start and finish line coincided.
Big Luo did not want to continue harming the Hades Tribe or to compensate the Hades Tribe by harming the Celestial Sect and other humans. Neither did he want to watch both parties battle to the death on the sidelines, not aiding either side as he ran away from his fate.
Before he completely regained his memories, he unknowingly damaged the Hades Tribe. And even after he had regained his memories, he continued letting the Hades Emperor down. He made up his mind to return everything that he owed the Hades Tribe, even if the experiences in his current life impacted him the most despite regaining the memories of his past life.
This was Big Luo’s own decision, not an unwilling forced act or a fleeting choice made on impulse.
Lin Feng flipped his palm out as the skeleton and jade plaque landed in the center of his palm. A dreary trace of melancholy appeared on Lin Feng’s expressionless face. “Big Luo, has our master-disciple relationship been severed just like this?”
A Tai Chi pattern rotated slowly in each of Lin Feng’s eyes. Countless images of creation and destruction flashed one after the other, intersecting continuously. He lifted his lead up and gazed into the boundless void space as the Heavenly Cosmic Ray World began quaking.
Outside the Heavenly Cosmic Ray World, the entire Black Heavenly Treasure Tree was swaying as the purple sea of clouds shrouding Mount Yujing grew wild and tumultuous.
Everyone on Mount Yujing looked at the Black Heavenly Treasure Tree in astonishment. They felt as if the entire Greater World was vibrating violently, like the heavens and the lands were overflowing with anger and grief.
Wang Lin was meditating with his eyes closed on the branch of the Black Heavenly Treasure Tree. He opened his eyes and looked up at the Heavenly Cosmic Ray World, seemingly sensing something. A tint of sadness appeared in his steely icy gaze.
Inside the Heavenly Cosmic Ray World, Lin Feng gently shut his eyes, stabilizing his emotions back to an expressionless state.
All this while, his cultivation journey looked smooth and uneventful, but there were numerous occasions of near-misses and times of happiness and grief that only he knew himself. But he has never actually met any major setbacks along his journey, which solidified the status and reputation that he owns today.
Yet now, he has finally experienced the greatest setback of all ever since he arrived in the Grand Celestial World. He personally witnessed his own disciple take his own life before his eyes. His disciple was not defeated by any opponent, nor did he fall victim to any treacherous plot. He was just toyed by destiny itself.
His achievements in Buddhist mantras were even greater than Zhu Yi and Wang Lin. He studied the Three Lifetimes Karmic Curse, and immediately developed a connection with the Ancient Satanic Heart Curse with a mere fleeting glance.
He had already predicted that things would turn out this way, but he could not stop Big Luo from seeking out the truth of his existence, neither could he sit by and watch as the Hades Tribe reclaimed its former reign over the world.
He could have prevented Big Luo from entering the Void Battleground with Ning Wan’ge to search for the clues left behind by the Hades Empress. That way, he could realize the truth while concealing it from Big Luo, and naturally, Big Luo would not have met such an end.
This may be a consideration made out of kindness, but it would not have been a kindness that Big Luo would have happily accepted. He might not have realized this when he did not know the truth.
Kindness could mean being considerate to others, taking their feelings and wishes into account, or possibly pulling lost souls back onto the right path, but these intentions could easily turn into egocentrism and self-satisfaction on the benefactor’s side.
In a cruel twist of fate, Lin Feng contributed indirectly to Big Luo’s destiny, be it coincidentally or unknowingly. He was in no position to dictate what Big Luo should or should not do.
Lin Feng stood inside the Heavenly Cosmic Ray World, quietly taking in the rising sentiments in his heart. To him, these sentiments have gradually become foreign to him.
After a good long while, Lin Feng opened his eyes. The Taiji patterns in his eyes had vanished. His pupils were pitch-black, juxtaposing against the whites of his eyes. His gaze reflected a quality of peace.
Lin Feng’s eyes exuded a quality that was starkly different from before.
They reflected the innocence and energy of an infant, the brightness and sharpness of youth, the vicissitudes and dreariness of life experienced by a middle-aged person, yet also resembling the peace and tranquility of an elderly man. But at the same time, his eyes were like deathly still without a trace of anger.
So many characteristics were reflected simultaneously in the same pair of eyes, blending together inseparably as one yet remaining clearly distinct.
A young man appeared beside Lin Feng. He donned black and white Taoist robes, and the gaze in his eyes exuded the exact same quality as Lin Feng himself – encapsulating the characteristics of people from different age groups.When others look into his eyes, they would feel as if they are facing an infant or a teenager in one instant, then a middle-aged man in the next instant, or even an elderly man after closer scrutiny.
This young man in black and white robes was the Original Soul of the Bell of Destiny, the Destiny Kid.
The Destiny Kid bowed to Lin Feng. “Master.”
With a light tap of Lin Feng’s finger, all the purple glowing mist drifting about in the Heavenly Cosmic Ray World instantly congregated towards the ‘Yao’ jade plaque and got absorbed into the plaque.
“Keep this well.” With a wave of his hand, the jade plaque and the skeleton landed in the Destiny Kid’s palm. The Destiny Kid accepted the two objects without a word then took a step back. His body vanished, transforming back into the Bell of Destiny .
“Ring the bell,” Lin Feng muttered quietly.
The Bell of Destiny behind him let out a soothing chime which reverberated throughout the Grand Celestial World. It could be heard by all living beings, seemingly ringing from the depths of their soul yet traversing boundless distances of space.
The chimes of the Bell of Destiny immediately startled the numerous worlds in existence. And after the bell chimed over nine times, everyone who could hear the bell shook, drawing their fullest attention.
Whether it was the human world or the demon tribes, everyone in the Grand Celestial World knew that this soothing chime came from Lin Feng’s magic treasure. And if the bell chimed over nine times, something extraordinary must have happened.
