Archfiend

Chapter 231: Danxia Temple (50)

At this moment, all the puzzles pieces finally floated up to the water’s surface. Following the emergence of Danxia Temple’s greatest secret, these fragments had ultimately formed a splendid drawing.

The ocean surface calmed again. That leap of casting away its prison was this Kun Peng’s thousand-year longing. As this fervor was stripped away from the Kun Peng’s heart, the region eventually returned to deathly silence.

Like a storm had yet to come, the sea appeared tranquil, but it caused and brewed a heart-shaking aura. After ten seconds, Xu Yangyi’s gaze moved. He looked at the ocean surface in astonishment. This was because… a thread of multicolored sunlight fired straight up from underwater!

If said it was merely this strand, there was nothing of it. However… this strand turned from a thousand into a hundred thousand! A million! An endless amount of multicolored sunlight! It seemed that ocean surface had become a sheet of perforated paper. Countless prismatic rays shot out from the seabed and transformed the ocean surface into pure and sparkling multicolored jade! Below, even the areas that were ten meters deep were clearly visible!

“Look fast! W-What’s that?!” Zhao Wuye dragged his wound-riddled body, and his pupils abruptly shrunk. He falteringly pointed down below and cried out involuntarily.

Xu Yangyi quickly looked over. Below… the titanic silhouette was madly surging in the water. However… at its side, there was a shadow around three to four times smaller! In the wake of the azure carp’s rolling, this figure twisted and circled together with the Kun Peng.

The multicolored sunlight wasn’t radiating from the azure carp’s body but rather gushing forth from the slightly smaller shadow! And yet… as this multicolored sunlight grew stronger and stronger… they actually formed incredibly profound sanskrit characters on the ocean surface! Xu Yangyi probed and examined, yet felt his mind and vision turn faint with a glance. This unease was to the extent that his spiritual sense felt waves of stabbing pain.

In the water… two spinning shadows gradually became bigger! A loud boom ultimately followed! Legions of rainbow talismans were forcibly broken through! The giant figure leaped out again!

Crash. Countless water droplets sprinkled down like raindrops. A massive shadow caused everything to lose color. But in the instant that the carp leaped out, an armored black claw quickly rushed out from the endless waters in the wake of a furious roar. The claw clamped down on the azure carp’s tail!

“OLD THIEF!!!” The azure carp leaped into the air, its voice excited. This excitement carried a thread of unspeakable fury. The fish actually knew human speech. “For the last thousand years… if This Palace doesn’t grind your bones and scatter them into ash today, my name as the Myriad Waters Demon King will be in vain!!!”

BOOM!!! The claw unexpectedly yanked the azure carp back into the water again! Following a loud roar, the water’s surface rolled like an endless tide! A giant wave kicked up!

There was a second entity! Everyone looked to the seabed in astonishment. In this place… there wasn’t just a Kun Peng! That was surprisingly a second entity!

“W-What the heck is this thing?” Underwater, two giant shadows tangled together, fighting against each other and winding about. It was difficult to tell them apart. Quan Ningyue gazed incredulously into the sea. None would’ve been able to guess that there was such a scene in Danxia Temple’s depths!

Nobody said a word. At this moment in the sea, only seven people were still clear-headed. Xu Yangyi, Fang Cheng, Xuan Chengzi, Fahui, Quan Ningyue, Zhao Wuye, and Mao Ba’er. Everyone’s gazes assembled on the seemingly transparent seabed, and they restrained their madly beating hearts. They locked their eyes on everything happening in the water.

BOOM!!! A streak of resplendent treasure light flashed at the sea floor. All of a sudden, two rocketing water pillars rushed up at the same time. One of them was swathed with an inexhaustible amount of fish, a full 5,000 meters in size! The other was merely less than a thousand meters. Nonetheless, the two water pillars carried a spiritual pressure that pervaded the sky. Both of them were equally matched!

“Gulp…” Xuan Chengzi’s Adam’s apple trembled, and he kneeled, unable to continue restraining himself. Fahui’s complexion was pale. In the same vein, he went soft at the knees and buckled over. The roar of tireless crashes falling on the ear followed. Amidst this cascade of water… these people who had experienced the Heavenly Opening Six Erosions were swept again by a devil-god-like spiritual pressure. Apart from Xu Yangyi, not a single person was still able to stand! 

Even though Xu Yangyi hadn’t kneeled, he had no choice but to sit down on a lotus leaf. These two spiritual pressures… transcended all spiritual pressures he’d encountered in the past! This included the twelve Core Formation ancestors on the day of the auction! In any case, making a comparison to these two spiritual pressures was difficult!

They… were simply organisms belonging to no hierarchy!

Swoosh! Along with the spiritual pressures rising to the sky, all lotuses were flung back! These two spiritual pressures… actually formed a dreadful wind pressure! Everyone’s clothes whistled in the blowing wind!

Nonetheless, amidst the spiritual pressure and soaring water pillars, two eye-piercing radiances, one of them azure and the other golden, suddenly erupted. In the air, they blossomed into two halos of equal resplendence! A second later, two figures emerged in midair.

Confiding in the void to resist the wind, they trod upon emptiness and ventured!

Over twenty meters up in the sky at Xu Yangyi’s left flank, the water pillars surprisingly tumbled downwards like a fountain. As if the liquid was solid, one of the pillars formed a water chair. On this chair was an icy-faced woman. Her body was shrouded in a murderous aura, and she sat on the chair with her hand propping up her delicate cheek.

She couldn’t be considered very pretty, but she wasn’t at all unsightly. She belonged to a kind of second-class beauty. Her eyebrows were like distant black, her lips were like cherries, and her face was like a peach blossom. Her hair was worn in a bun like that of a noble family’s young lady, and she wore azure clothing in the style of ancient times. The age that this clothing originated from was likely somewhat long ago. By no means could it be said to be ornate. At most, it could be regarded as a scholar’s simplicity.

However, there was an unknown magik treasure inserted into her chest! The unseen treasure in itself was only a pitch-black, thumb-thick chain that extended out. The golden light of sanskrit characters spread forth from the woman’s chest. However, the other end of the chain shockingly entered the sleeve of the person who was across.

At the other side… was a monk! 

All of his clothing was already tattered to an unimaginable degree, just barely covering his body. His hair and beard were white, and he was old and decrepit. Nonetheless, a magik treasure was also stuck into his chest!

It was a sword curling with azure qi, ending straight in his chest. A ribbon of silk-like qi extended out from the azure-clothed woman’s fingertips.

The sea was deathly still. Before entering Danxia Temple, no one had seen this view that the Core Formation ancestors had witnessed. They were ignorant that there were two monsters below the water!

However, the speculations of the Dao Masters or perhaps the government were completely different. She… was not pregnant. The azure carp was in mortal combat with another demon! Thus, both sides appeared difficult to tell from each other!

Silence. After ages, the old monk’s voice suddenly rang out, “Benefactors, what dynasty is it now?”

Fahui’s gaze burned as he looked at the old monk. He was so excited that his voice was trembling. “Amitabha… there are no more dynasties now… It is now 2022. Dare I ask Senior which high monk you are of my Buddhist Monastery?”

Fahui couldn’t not be excited. It was no exaggeration to say that these figures’ spiritual pressures were virtually identical to devils or gods! Even a sliver or strand caused him to feel his heart quiver! If such a senior returned to the Buddhist Monastery… then the Three Apex Sects… would quite possibly transform into one supremacy and two vassals! 

The old monk glanced at him and faintly nodded. “Amitabha… Benefactors, this poor monk has already suppressed this demon here for almost a thousand years. Slay demons to defend the Dao, this is the true nature of us cultivators.”

“Senior’s words ring true,” Fahui immediately said and joined his hands in prayer. His fingers faintly shook.

“Have benefactors thought that if this demon king is released now… how will the world change? If I’m not here to suppress her, the cultivation world would be confronted with a great calamity!”

“Hahahaha!” Before the monk’s voice even fell, the woman across from him had already reared her head back and started to laugh. “You old bald donkey, you and I have faced each other for a thousand years. I didn’t even know that you had such an outstanding silver tongue.” [1]

“Amitabha.” The old monk’s expression was peaceful, merely his gaze was like fire. He glanced coldly at the woman. “Benefactors, she and I are both unable to move presently. All you have to do is pull out the magik treasure in my chest, and I will suppress this demon for all eternity!”

“Ridiculous.” The woman’s smile vanished, and her gaze swept over each person like a blade. “Who dares?”

“Buddha said ‘If I do not enter hell, who can?’ I am surely convinced. In Buddha’s carefulness, there will surely be some junior who understand what is at stake.” The old monk glanced at her indifferently. “I knew long ago that there would be a day when you would escape the prison. On this day, so long as there is a true cultivator who cherishes the common people of the world… you won’t be leaving today.”

The woman looked at him calmly and suddenly raised a brow. “Could it be that that you believe… that all these people were summoned by you?”

“If I wasn’t being suppressed, I’d be able to grind you into flying ash with the stretch of my finger at any time. With your pitiful realm, how could you know of my methods? The woman sneered, and her expression turned grave. Her gaze brushed over each person, and she enunciated each of her words, “Inheritor of the Animus Armament… what are you still waiting for?”

Everyone’s gazes flickered over to Xu Yangyi. Although they didn’t know what an Animus Armament was, the worldly anomaly from moments ago was still fresh in their minds! 

The light of Fahui’s eyes quickly sparked. His hand extended into his kasaya as if he wanted to take something out. However, he cast a glance and saw Xuan Chengzi glaring daggers at him. Likewise, the sword-cultivator’s hand extended into his Daoist robe. [2]

In the blink of an eye, Fahui’s gaze turned serene again. His hand silently pulled out from his robe. Xuan Chengzi did the same.

Along with everyone’s gazes, the old monk slowly looked towards Xu Yangyi and nodded. “I don’t know what relationship you have with this demon, but this fate is an ominous one. Throughout the endless ages, there has only been one Animus Armament. If not for the extreme unwillingness harbored by a monarch, there is simply no way for it to form. In destiny, blessed lands, and worldly harmony, not a single one can be lacking.”

“If benefactor releases this demon, I can only sacrifice my fleshly body. However the myriad masses, the cultivation world, and the entire world will fall to chaos because of this tyrant. Benefactor, by all means, please hold firm in you heart, Amitabha.”

After a deep chant, the monk said no more. At this moment, the man and woman were unable to lift a finger. Like statues, they hovered in midair.

“Spud…” Without almost any consideration, Mao Ba’er said softly, “This demon can’t be freed… It’s obvious that she still hasn’t broken away from the seal. This old monk is clearly the person sealing her. They don’t know what the situation is like outside… I don’t even want to think what things will be like if she undoes the seal! It's the End of Days now. If a Greater Demon like this appears, it absolutely won’t be to humanity’s fortune!”

“That’s right…” Fang Cheng clutched at his chest and gritted his teeth. He was dripping with cold sweat. “Junior Brother… I don’t know what’s her realm… but… It’s horrible… It’s very horrible! I’m standing right in front of her… Even if her realm is almost completely sealed off, I still feel… like I’m a chicken facing a dragon…”

Xu Yangyi was devoid of any expression. In the same vein, nobody urged him. After ten minutes, he finally moved.

Swish… The old monk wordlessly raised an eye and glanced at Xu Yangyi indifferently. The azure-clothed woman pursed her lips, her gaze fiery. She studied Xu Yangyi with naked intent.

“I can agree to your request,” Xu Yangyi said softly.

Just as his voice fell, the azure-clothed woman’s gaze was like a sharp sword. “You… want to try?”

“Amitabha…” the monk sighed in relief as if he’d been freed of a heavy burden. “On behalf of this world… I thank you, young friend.”

1. Actual Chinese: “Silver Tongue” = “Your tongue bursting with lotus flowers”. Too awkward to phrase in English. An idea of flowery/flamboyant speech. He is tricky.

2. 道袍 - “Dao robe/Daoist robe”. Something to look up if you want some more imagery.