Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Time kept passing. Jiang Yi was determined to realize the Divine Sound Heaven Skill and Heavenly Spring. It was only when the red light shone once again and the Lunar Beasts emerged from the soil that he opened his eyes. Once the Lunar Beasts backed away again, he went right back into seclusion. He had lost track of time and space, and he forgot all about the danger he was surrounded by. He kept focused, hoping to make some progress before the Sword Emanations Race beings were fully consumed.
“How many waves have passed?”
Another wave of Lunar Beasts retreated. Jiang Yi lay down on his guqin for ten full minutes before he was woken up again by the groan from underground. Confused, he blinked several times at the wilderness, covered in corpses by now. A look of bitter agony surfaced on his face.
He pondered for a while. He was not sure how much time had passed either. All he could do was retrieve his Wintry Pearl and send his divine senses in. It did not matter how much time had passed. The more important question was how many Sword Emanations Race beings did he have left? How much longer would he be able to survive?
So much time had passed, and yet he had not made any progress on realizing the Heaven and Earth Quintessence, the Heavenly Spring Rhythm. It could be because his cultivation level was still extremely low or that his realization speed was too slow. This divine rhythm and mysterious laws were etched in his mind, but that did not mean that he would be able to realize it. This thing was like a wordless book. He knew that it was a mystical book, and he knew that he would be able to gain something if he read it. However, the problem was he could not find the words within.
“There are still two million!”
He took one glance into the Wintry Pearl, and the corner of his lips twisted upwards into a bitter smile. Eight million Sword Emanations Race beings had been destroyed. He had two million more, which would last him for five or six more rounds of attacks at the very most. In other words, he had a hundred to a hundred and twenty hours left to live. Then, he would be at his wit’s end.
“Sigh!”
He sighed gently, a feeling of exhaustion spreading throughout his body. It was not that he had not worked hard enough; neither was it that he did not give it his all. His enemy was just way too strong. The Wintry Sovereign said that there was a sixty percent chance that he would survive, but he had indeed been overestimating Jiang Yi.
Bang!
He tossed the guqin on his thighs to the side, and then he fell down to the ground, head first. He was too tired to think, and he just wanted to take a break. It was not his body that was tired, but his mind.
As he lay on the floor, he closed his eyes and took a nap. If it were possible, he wanted to fall into a deep sleep and never wake up. To fight with people is endless fun; to duel with heaven is endless fun… this was all nonsense. Who had nothing better to do but to battle with different people every single day? If he could lead a peaceful life, why wouldn’t he? If he could settle down in bliss, why would he wander around the world?
Gong!
The heavens just did not approve of it. The groan sounded from underground again, and Jiang Yi immediately felt like he had been stabbed in the chest. Although he was numb to it by now, he still opened his eyes, red-faced and grimacing in pain.
Since he had been lying down, he could see the branches and few glowing trees above his head. The branches looked thick, strong, and long. They twisted here and there, looking at Jiang Yi like snakes. These branches had divine glow seeping through them as well. They emitted a warm light, just like the few leaves that were attached to them. Together, they looked like a string of luminous pearls.
Jiang Yi had inspected this divine tree once before, but he did not find anything special about it. There was no way he could go any closer to investigate either. Later, he had been so focused on realizing the Heaven and Earth Quintessence that he forgot about trying again. Now, he stared at the branches and leaves of the trees for a long time and felt strangely moved.
It was almost as if…
These branches and leaves contained something mystical inside them. Jiang Yi could not put his finger on it, and he was not very sure of it himself. However, he felt like there was something worth looking into there. Something incredibly lay within; it felt like one of the absolute laws of heaven and earth lay inside those branches and leaves.
This huge tree could grow in such a horrible place and survive for goodness-knows-how-long. It had a strange glow and exuded such huge gravitational force as well. It could even fend off the Demonic Repellent. All of these things proved that this tree was supernatural. It probably contained some sort of Quintessence. If it contained absolute laws of heaven and earth, Jiang Yi would not be surprised.
He studied it for a while and finally looked away. The huge tree may contain some deep truth, but the problem was that he would not be able to realize it; neither did he have time to realize it. When he was in the Primitive Mystic Realm and Dao Heaven Mystic Realm, everything around him harbored deep truths and laws. Yet, Jiang Yi could not realize them either. It was the same for the Heavenly spring rhythmic movement as well. Even though it was etched in his brain, he still could not realize it, even up till this point.
He did not have much time left, and he did not want to waste any of it as well. After resting for a while, he sat up cross-legged and continued studying the heavenly spring rhythmic movement. He was not someone to give up easily. He was not prepared to admit defeat until the very last second.
After some time, the sky was colored red once again. Lunar Beasts all around him woke up, charging towards him like a rain of blood. Strong gusts of wind interrupted Jiang Yi as the Lunar Beasts began their attack. There seemed to be an unending supply of Lunar Beasts in this Purgatory Mystic Realm, which Jiang Yi could not finish killing as hard as he tried. The Purgatory Mystic Realm deserved its name as well; it felt no different from true purgatory.
Jiang Yi opened his eyes and placed the guqin back on his legs. Both his hands began moving breezily. Like strong waves landing on a shore, his hands hit the strings of the guqin, slowing down the maniacal Lunar Beasts charging towards him from afar.
“Sword Emanations King, attack!”
Once the Lunar Beasts got near, Jiang Yi hollered at the top of his voice. The Sword Emanations King could clone itself into many Sword Emanations Race beings, but it cloned itself too slowly. It remained in the Sword Emanations Mystic Realm for ten thousand years before it produced one billion Sword Emanations Race beings. In such a short time here, the Sword Emanations King could only clone several hundred Sword Emanations Race beings.
Maybe all the time he spent trying to realize the Divine Sound Heaven Skill and Heavenly Springs Rhythm made Jiang Yi feel thoroughly exhausted now. Maybe being attacked by countless rounds of Lunar Beasts made him feel numb. This time, he did not think about how to strengthen his Divine Sound Heaven Skill; neither did he think about the Heaven and Earth Quintessence. Jiang Yi’s mind remained blank. Like a machine, he kept playing the guqin, not caring at all about the progress of the battle taking place in front of him.
His carelessness caused him finally to notice the strange movements of the branches and leaves above his head. As he played, the branches and leaves began dancing to the rhythm of his guqin. Naturally, they released gentle swishing noises.
“En?”
Jiang Yi heard something out of the ordinary. Confused, he opened his eyes and looked around. At last, he looked up. When he noticed the branches and leaves, his confused gaze intensified. Why were these branches and trees swaying? Could they be making a joke out of him?
“Something isn’t right…”
Confusion in his eyes turned immediately to light as his expression became solemn. He had found the problem. These branches and trees were moving to the exact same rhythm as the heavenly spring rhythmic movement!
Why was this divine tree swaying? Why was its rhythm exactly the same as the heavenly spring rhythmic movement? What kind of earth-shaking secret were the branches and leaves hiding? Had this tree really become a demon, or did his guqin-playing awaken the divine tree?
Jiang Yi did not know the answers to these questions, but he could not afford to think about them at that moment as well. Still, a glimmer of hope lit up his heart. Perhaps the strange behavior of this tree would help him to open a window. Perhaps because of this, he would be able to survive this ordeal.
This thought seemed to come out of nowhere. Perhaps it was because Jiang Yi felt like a drowning person; seeing anything out of the ordinary made him feel like he had a straw to clutch on. At that moment, he kept playing the guqin maniacally without thinking too much. He could only wait for the Lunar Beasts to retreat before deciding what to do next.
Five minutes passed by quickly. The Lunar Beasts retreated, and the Sword Emanations Race beings returned. Jiang Yi once again slumped over his guqin.
This time, he only rested for five minutes before he sat back up and gently touched his guqin. Then, he looked up at the divine tree’s branches.
True enough—
As he played the guqin, the branches of the tree began swaying. Even the few leaves on the branches swayed along to the rhythm of Jiang Yi’s guqin. It was almost as if the tree could hear the song and dance to it.
Without a doubt, something was amiss!
Jiang Yi’s eyes lit up like stars in the night sky. At that moment, he was sure in his heart that the oddity of this divine tree was the straw for him to clutch at!
