Archfiend

Chapter 218: Danxia Temple (37)

Noah’s ark and the flood that drowned the world. At this moment, in this place, there was such a scene. As for the soil and dry land, everything transformed into one chunk at a speed visible to the naked eye. After transforming into a lonely island, this isle ultimately disappeared within the boundless flood.

“My god…” Yi Old Five and the rest of the Yi Clan sat on top of a flying canary-puppet. They looked at the landscape below, their eyes wide and mouths foolish. “This is… Gonggong smashing Buzhou Mountain, huh…” [1]

“Amitabha…” Fahui chanted. The rosary beads he was fiddling with suddenly all broke apart. He watched the scattered rosary beards falling over his body, closing his eyes and laughing wryly, “Buddha above… protect this disciple’s party today so that we can escape and live for another day…”

“I saw it… I saw it… Down below… there is an unspeakable creature hidden…”

The area below had long since transformed into a vast body of water. They were even unable to believe that several tens of minutes ago they were still standing on land!

Xu Yangyi rigidly gritted his teeth and flew towards the place that the Animus Armament was pointing at, with his full might! He knew much more than everyone else! Thus, he roughly guessed what this was.

This… was the lotus sea! Or perhaps it should be said that this was the true lotus sea! Lotus leaf after lotus leaf seemed to come alive as they were soaked in the water and gracefully grew out from underwater. Growing at a speed that couldn’t be clearly observed, they bloomed. In less than ten minutes, the water’s surface had truly been reconstructed to several years ago, the landscape of when Xu Yangyi had come here! 

It was exactly the same!

Xu Yangyi’s hand was clenched deathly tight. This was the place… This was the place! He’d returned here in his dreams countless times. In this place, he had lost three years. As he gazed upon the withered lotus sea, he only felt that there was a chance that this place was related with the true lotus sea. Nonetheless, he hadn’t expected that THIS was indeed the lotus sea!

This was because three years absolutely wasn’t enough time to cause the lotus sea to dry up. It… was truly endless like an ocean! However, the lotus sea remained but was hidden underground!

“If that’s the case, what’s the Heavenmend Stone’s chain?” Right now, he couldn’t look after anyone else. This place… was too big! Presently, he was sitting on top of the Chasing Skylark that Ancestor Ancientpine had bestowed to him. This magik artifact’s speed really was ridiculously fast! However, in less than an hour, this area had changed entirely! There was basically no way to search around!

From what he saw here in the night, lotus flowers were budding. Lotus leaves touched the sky and ripples reflected jade. There was no end that could be seen in sight. He could only pray that Fang Cheng and the rest had left safely. As for him… the distance from the white entity was already getting closer and closer! 

But at this time, he felt his body sink without warning. Immediately, the Chasing Skylark seemed to lose its supply of spiritual force and plunged into the water.

“Sky Forbiddance Seal?” Xu Yangyi was stunned for a second but quickly reacted. At the same time he fell into the water, he aroused the Ten Cardinals Red Lotus without the slightest hesitation!

Boom! A ring of platinum fire formed a giant vortex in the water. This was his instinctual reaction, regardless of whether or not there was danger! Besides… the lotus sea had already appeared… Where did the underground lead to? To be capable of containing so much water! It was also bound… to be capable of holding that giant fish!

Passing through the alligator gars and the livyatan, he had a feeling. That this place… had perhaps long since been reformed into a strange ecosphere by that demon!

Without any pause, he jumped into the water and quickly swam towards a lotus leaf. It was the same as in his “dream”; the lotus leaf as massive as ever, still so tough. As soon as he reached the water’s surface, he carefully looked around. On the surface, there were already countless fish flipped over on their stomachs.

“Fish?” His gaze chilled. He clearly remembered that there hadn’t been a single fish in the water last time! He waved his hand and a fish, one that had already turned over on its stomach, flew into his hand. Entering his hand, it was rather satiny, absent of the slightest scale! Just as he turned it over, though, his gaze immediately flashed.

This fish… had a woman’s face!

“That is a scarlet cod.” A woman’s voice was suddenly heard from behind him. Devoid of hesitation, Xu Yangyi’s hand chopped down behind with Severing Dragon Typhoon but was blocked. [2]

“What? Shouldn’t you be happy to see a friend in a situation like this?”

“How did you get here?” Xu Yangyi took the fish and flung it into the water. He turned around and studied the woman. “I remember I didn’t see one person along my path. Isn’t that so? Sister Nine?”

The reason why he stopped his attack was because he saw who it was. Everyone was here… This place seemed to be the lotus sea’s heart. Although each person was sopping-wet, they weren’t in any strange condition. On the contrary, some were shaking ceaselessly as they gazed all around.

“If I said…” Sister Nine paused, “we don’t know either, would you believe me?”

Xu Yangyi looked into her eyes for a few seconds and nodded. Not saying anything, he jumped over to the lotus leaf where the Xingtian Legion was located.

Sister Nine mumbled to herself for a brief moment and also followed. Xu Yangyi merely glanced at her and said nothing more.

The present scene was rather silent. Each person was sizing up the surroundings. The changes were too strange. In a twinkling, sweet rain had been born to a land in drought. In the blink of an eye, mulberry fields had transformed into azure seas. Absolutely everything rendered them incredulous.

“Are you guys alright?” Watching everyone gauge their surroundings with astonishment, he asked quietly.

There was no immediate answer. After a short moment passed, Zhan Twelve nodded. “Fine. We don’t know what happened. After we entered the water, we all sunk down for a while. As soon as we climbed out of the water, we were already here.”

Spatial divine ability… Xu Yangyi inwardly clenched his fist. He was certain, very certain, that in this place… there was undoubtedly a living cultivator! No matter whether it was a human or demon cultivator!

All secrets… were hidden in this lotus sea. The “I” in “save me, I am at the bottom of Danxia Temple”. The Animus Armament’s secret. The tremendous fish’s secret. Without noticing, they… seemed to have found the key to opening Danxia Temple’s final secret. Among a thousand, only twenty-plus people remained. They reticently sat on top of lotus leaves.

Each person was sitting on top of a lotus leaf and meditating. The consumption of spiritual force from the previous chaotic battle and the spatial alterations afterwards were both neither minor affairs. At this moment, everyone had to make absolute preparations before Danxia Temple revealed its final secret.

After an unknown passage of time, Xu Yangyi opened his eyes. He was still in his original position, but at his side, there wasn’t a person of the Xingtian Legion but instead a woman who was seated.

Sister Nine!

“It can be said that not even the transformation of blue seas into mulberry fields can surpass this,” Sister Nine murmured and watched him open his eyes. She faintly smiled and her hand arranged her elegant hair in passing.

Xu Yangyi looked at the sky. It was still night, still a formation. “I’ve been meditating for about eight hours,” he said in a soft voice. “Has something happened?”

“Of course something’s happened…” Sister Nine stowed her gaze. “But I think we better chat first.”

Xu Yangyi didn’t speak. Sister Nine was also silent, seemingly considering something. Eventually, she gritted her teeth and said gently, “I think… we seem to have opened a seal.”

“Oh?” Xu Yangyi didn’t express an opinion. He faced down, his eyes watching his nose, and his nose watching his heart.

“There’s quite the possibility…” Sister Nine clenched her teeth. Her back facing everyone else, she took out the hard shell. “That this is the shell of some unknown creature… There are ten dots on its surface. It should be the locations of the ten seals. However, if one of these ten regions are opened, it might undo this seal. And in this secret realm, there is a living creature…”

Not waiting for Xu Yangyi speak, she continued to follow up, “There certainly is… Otherwise, Bloodblade’s death doesn’t make sense. I’ve heard about the Exorcism Godstone in the past. It locks down a demon’s qi sea. In other words, this chain HAS to be shackled on a demon…” Arriving at this point, she shivered coldly. “I have a theory…”

Xu Yangyi nodded. “I’d like to hear the details.”

Sister Nine took a heavy breath. “This place… might be sealing some disastrous thing, but it’s been too long. So long that the seal weakened, and it still hasn’t died. As a result, it was able to make its demonic qi leak out to some places… like the chain passing to the surface from where it locks onto the body?”

“Consequently, the demon started the long operation of escaping from this prison. It took some heavenly treasures, locked them together with the Exorcism Godstone chain, and then tried to get the shell in our hands. That’s to say that the ‘hidden treasure map’ for this place was revealed, intentionally or otherwise…”

“And in case a cultivator obtained this hidden treasure map, they would surely come searching for treasures. As we looked for treasure, we would immediately discover these extremely rare treasures. It’s no understatement to even say that they’re peerless items. Like the Heavenmend Stone. I believe that the treasures sealed in the other locations aren’t below the Heavenmend Stone at all!” 

“Now that I mention it…” she said faintly, “the Heavenmend Stone ended up falling in your hands, right?”

Xu Yangyi laughed indifferently. “Come and snatch it with all you got.”

Sister Nine narrowed her eyes and looked at him for a while. She sneered, “Now’s still not the time… Alright, I’ll continue talking. As for these seals, as long as a single one is undone, this sealed creature might be making a run for it already. In other words…”

“We’re on top of that terrible thing’s back,” Xu Yangyi serenely answered.

Sister Nine studied his face for several seconds and then nodded. “Exactly.”

“In that case…” Xu Yangyi surveyed the lotus sea all around. “What is it waiting for?”

“As soon as it escaped from the trap, it should’ve surfaced and roared. Why is it so quiet?”

“This is what I want to speak about… Fellow Daoist Xu, only you know and I know about what was just said. As for these next words, Fahui will find out in a few hours.” Sister Nine took a deep breath, her gaze on the enormous white object. “Do you know… what that is?”

Xu Yangyi narrowed his eyes and looked for a couple seconds. He shook his head. “It’s too big. It’s hard to get a full picture.”

“It’s a fish molt.” As Sister Nine spoke these words, her body somewhat trembled. “It’s 4,833 meters long… 673 meters wide. I’ve never even heard of a fish that could molt! Once a fish molts, that only represents that it is in a kind of state!”

Xu Yangyi’s face also grew serious, and he said deeply, “Evolution.”

“That’s right… The carp that leaps over the Dragon’s Gate HAS to molt! That’s not to mention that I virtually can’t even imagine a demon form over 4,800 meters! If it’s being sealed underground… what realm is it?! It is no exaggeration to call it a demon god!”

1. Gonggong is a Chinese water god. Said to have red hair and a dragon or serpent’s tail. He plays a pivotal role of wrecking the pillars that support heaven after losing in a fight with another god. This causes Nuwa to repair the heavens, but she is only able to fix it a little bit. In this situation, this line is a play on the world falling apart, but also a throwback to the fact that Xu Yangyi severed the Heavenmend Stone—the stone that Nuwa allegedly uses to repair the heavens.

2. The scarlet cod is a fish in Chinese legend. It has the face of a person, but the body of a fish. Like a mermaid, but worst. If you want to see an image, look up: 赤鱬.