Stranger Danger

Chapter 1116: Ten Thousand Years of Practice, And It Was All For Naught

“Ah! No! No!”

As the Kunlun Divine Palace began falling apart, Bai Yun screamed again and again as if he was suffering huge damage.

It was because Bai Yun was really the artifact spirit of the Kunlun Divine Palace. Of course the collapse of the building would hurt him as well.

In fact, the cracks on his person had been inflicted by the battle between Xuanyuan Kun, Eastern Radiance Lord and Kunlun Celestial Sovereign over a thousand years ago.

He had already sustained massive injuries that he couldn’t recover from due to insufficient celestial qi, and today, the trio was fighting again. The problem was, he no longer had the strength to withstand another battle!

As the roof began to collapse, what looked like stars fell from the sky. They possessed enough power to destroy heaven and earth, but when they got close to Xuanyuan Kun, an even greater power annihilated it into atoms.

At the beginning, the two sides were evenly-matched. As time passed, the pure part of Xuanyuan Kun slowly but surely began to encroach upon the rotten areas. It was clear that Xuanyuan Kun was slowly but surely gaining the upper hand.

“Hahaha! Give it up, Eastern Radiance Lord, Kunlun Celestial Sovereign! You are no match for me!”

Xuanyuan Kun laughed like a madman, and his terrifying laughter damaged the world even more. “You were no match for me before, you are no match for me now, and you will never be a match for me in the future. Why? Because you won’t exist after today! Hahahahaha!”

“We are indeed no match for you, Xuanyuan Kun, but we don’t need to.”

To Xuanyuan Kun’s surprise, Eastern Radiance Lord responded with an equally crazed laugh. “After all, keeping you occupied is enough.”

“What do you mean?” Xuanyuan Kun suddenly had a bad feeling about this.

It was at this moment Ye Qing opened his eyes. The young man had been sitting quietly in the middle of the palace since he began studying the “Records of Laojun Studying The Dao On A Bull”, eyes shut as if he had no idea about the chaos happening around him. But no longer. While Xuanyuan Kun was distracted, he suddenly jumped to his feet and unleashed a “Break Hammer” at... Bai Yun!

The artifact spirit was caught completely off guard, and he was grievously injured to begin with. As a result, the full-powered punch was able to shatter him to smithereens.

After shattering Bai Yun in one punch, Ye Qing immediately spun around and ran for the exit with all his might. His action was so fast and smooth that he was a ways away before Xuanyuan Kun could even react.

In the air, Ye Qing swore mentally: You think you can take over my body? Dream on, old fuck!

He had heard Xuanyuan Kun’s conversation with Bai Yun, Eastern Radiance Lord, and Kunlun Celestial Sovereign in full of course, but not because he had seen through their facades beforehand. It was because he had split off a wisp of intent and paid attention to his surroundings after receiving Taishang Laojun’s warning.

And boy was he thankful he did it. The ensuing conversation was such a revelation that he could not help but break out in cold sweat.

To be honest, he did not think he could have seen through the celestial’s facade if not for Taishang Laojun’s warning. There were several reasons. One, he suspected that Xuanyuan Kun used some sort of Magia to make him lower his guard. Otherwise, he would not have taken his words at face value nor accepted his “gift” so readily.

Two, he was admittedly greedy. It was easy to detect and repel the evil outside, but not one that came from the heart.

And three, Xuanyuan Kun was just that good of an actor. To call it a masterclass performance would be an understatement. He thought himself a pretty good actor, but he felt schooled and humbled by Xuanyuan Kun.

The other two celestials who had been lying low for thousands of years just to surprise Xuanyuan Kun at his most opportune moment were no slouches either. Their acting skills were only outmatched by their ruthlessness and their deeds.

They all said that you should never trust the words of a ghost, but they really should add celestials into that idiom as well. Actually, scratch that. From now on, he was going to deal with any and all supreme beings with 120% of his caution and guard.

“Bai Yun, stop him!”

Xuanyuan Kun flinched when he saw this. “If he escapes, I will kill you!”

It was too late though. Bai Yun had taken a full-powered “Break Hammer” from Ye Qing just now. Even though he was the artifact spirit of the Kunlun Divine Palace, he found himself unable to reform his body immediately, much less stop Ye Qing.

This was within Ye Qing’s calculations, of course. Xuanyuan Kun was being pinned down by Eastern Radiance Lord and Kunlun Celestial Sovereign and so could not really spare the hand to trap him. Therefore, Bai Yun was the only obstacle standing in the way of his exit. This was why he chose to attack the artifact spirit at first notice.

Xuanyuan Kun screamed in rage again and again, but he could do nothing. He could only watch as Ye Qing ran out of the Kunlun Divine Palace and jumped off the peak.

“You cannot escape! You are mine! You cannot escape!”

Xuanyuan Kun’s enraged voice boomed behind him as soon as he jumped off a cliff. At the same time, the entire palace collapsed utterly, and a terrifying presence enveloped heaven and earth.

Ye Qing’s heart raced like crazy when he sensed the terrible pressure behind him. He immediately spread his demonic thought in an attempt to locate Yi Pin.

“He’s as slippery as usual!” Ye Qing murmured to himself. Yi Pin was no longer where he was a while ago. From what he knew of the old man, he had run as far away as possible the instant he detected danger.

Thank goodness he was prepared and attached a wisp of demonic thought on Yi Pin’s person beforehand. That was why he could still detect his latest location.

Ye Qing ran toward Yi Pin’s hiding spot at top speed. It wasn’t long before he caught up to the old man.

Yi Pin asked urgently as soon as he saw Ye Qing. “What happened, brother?”

“A celestial wants to kill me!” Ye Qing replied succinctly.

“The fuck?”

Yi Pin’s eyes widened like saucers. You were only gone for a moment, and you pissed off the celestials already?!

Are you a god of troublemaking in the past, brother?

“I know a way to leave this place. Guard me, and do not allow anyone to disturb me!”

Ye Qing paid Yi Pin no attention. He immediately threw himself into some sort of ritual, chanting incantations and performing hand seals.

The incantations and hand seals were the key to unlocking the Xumi Celestial Mirror. But how did he know them? Because Eastern Radiance Lord told him, of course.

The celestial hadn’t just told him about the method to unlock the Xumi Celestial Mirror either. He had told him the way to exit the Kunlun Ruins as well.

While Xuanyuan Kun was talking to Eastern Radiance Lord and Kunlun Celestial Sovereign, the celestial had let out a cacophony of mad laughter inside his head. Then, he told him how to unlock the Xumi Celestial Mirror and exit the Kunlun Ruins.

It wasn’t because Eastern Radiance Lord had suddenly found his conscience though. In fact, the bastard was planning to kill him at the beginning. The mad laughter that deafened his headspace was really a powerful and vicious curse that could kill his mind and wipe away his consciousness. He would have died if the Earthly Sovereign Bell hadn’t protected him.

The reason he did this was simple. Xuanyuan Kun was planning to come back to life through Ye Qing. So, killing Ye Qing would ruin his plan once and for all.

Unfortunately, Eastern Radiance Lord had underestimated Ye Qing’s strength. He did not think Ye Qing was capable of withstanding his curse, nor did he have any other method that could kill Ye Qing immediately. Realizing that Plan A had failed, Eastern Radiance Lord immediately opted to tell Ye Qing how to unlock the Xumi Celestial Mirror and escape the Kunlun Ruins instead.

If Ye Qing escaped, then Xuanyuan Kun’s plan would be ruined as well.

Even now, he could still remember Eastern Radiance Lord’s crazed, hateful, yet sorrowful final message.

“Run, boy. Run! Run as far away as you can!”

“Ten thousand years of practice, and it was all for naught.”

“Whether you become a celestial or a demon in the future, never forget who you truly are, boy. Never, ever forget your heart.”

“Otherwise, you will regret it.”

“You will...”