Archfiend

Chapter 344: The Godseal Spark (54)

“How is this possible…” In kind, Titanspirit didn’t dare to accept the truth. “At the End of the Han… all high-level cultivators disappeared. Over 1,400 years have already passed. Since that time, the cultivation world’s qi has grown thinner by the day, finally to the present End of Days. Yet still… some things that even horrified ancient cultivators were passed on.”

“Godseal Spark… It is unknown which illustrious forebear created it. To this day, it has been at least 2,000 years. Hidden inside… is a great world-shaking fiend! Like a red-footed falcon seizing a magpie’s nest, it uses the host’s body as materials. Within the ten years it is planted, it awakens the first time, the second time… is now its ultimate awakening. But if a Godseal Spark is broken, the first action it takes is forced possession.”

“It possesses a thousand different transformations, simply unknown to its true form… On the day of true awakening, if the host devours the Godseal Spark in a battle of spiritual sense, a true Pureblood Demon will emerge, a cultivator of the present age. If the Godseal Spark devours the host… what appears is an Archdemon of the Ancient Cultivation age! Thus the host is a sacred article to rear Gu.”

Titanspirit sorted his thoughts. The more he thought to himself, the cleared things became, and he said lowly, “Could it be… your disciple actually isn’t a demon? Rather, his body was possessed by a Godseal Spark? This… is the Archdemon within the Godseal Spark!”

“It’s not so simple… There is no question that all Godseal Sparks contain a Pureblood Demon. If it was merely a Godseal Spark, this might explain why a Blood Moon appeared, but… my Shadowsearch Great Art reminded me again that the Godseal Spark… is not alone here!” Ancientpine gritted his teeth and fixed his eyes on Titanspirit. He said in a low voice, “The strategic value and research worth of any Godseal Spark is invaluable. All together, China only has three. All of them were used in the three ultimate Slaughter Weapons. How could there be another? If my disciple was planted with a Godseal Spark by someone…”

The duo’s gazes crossed, and the corner of Ancientpine’s eyelid stirred. Although he said nothing, he read and understood the look in his counterpart’s eyes.

KILL!

Wipe out Xu Yangyi’s spiritual sense… and turn him into the Chinese cultivation world’s fourth supreme treasure!

“This Dao Master…” Ancientpine collected his gaze and took a long look at the massive plant. “Has failed you…”

“But… since ancient times, who has escaped death’s grip? A burning heart of loyalty, left and taken to illuminate the bamboo scrolls of old… Although today your character is no longer, to possibly have China’s cultivators eulogize you for eternity… is something you should do.”

Titanspirit was silent. Likewise, he stared intently at the massive plant and said after ages, “You remember that the killer of your disciple’s parents still hasn’t been found now?! I even remember that you went and looked yourself.”

“Indeed.” Ancientpine was silent for half a second and snapped his head up. “You’re saying!”

“That’s right…” Titanspirit’s eyes radiated vigor. “Not us or anyone else thought of this possibility before… There’s no way I would ever expect that someone else besides the Chinese government was holding onto a Godseal Spark in their hands! It’s not that his parents’ killer can’t be found… It’s him! He himself!”

“He… has always been chasing after his own shadow.”

“He was eight years old, right? Do you remember that all those sealed with a Godseal Spark definitely awaken once before ten? And in this time, he was chosen to enter Heavens Law… In this awakening, his parents died because of him! The killer has always been inside him! No…” Titanspirit took a deep breath. “He’s not the killer… the person who planted the Godseal Speak is the true killer! Even if I’m a Dao Master, I wouldn’t be able to plant a Godseal Spark in a baby. Even if he is a demon!”

“And the characteristic he’s been looking for since the beginning was actually the Godseal mark. Each Godseal Spark has its own unique imprint. Now this is something that I never would’ve expected.”

Ancientpine took a deep breath. “If it is indeed like this… only this explanation can explain why his parents’ enemy was never found… So ruthless… the person who planted the spark in him… Such a malevolent heart practically makes one’s hair stand up in anger.”

“The truth… If he knew, he would likely be wracked with pain. Fellow Daoist Ancientpine, I know you’re not willing deep down, but we can’t keep to our emotions in this present situation. As Core Formation, we enjoy the highest standard of treatment. Naturally, we must shoulder the highest standard of infamy. If we can’t do something no one can.”

Ancientpine shut his eyes. As he opened them, there were already clear and bright.

The moment Xu Yangyi’s spiritual sense recovered and his demon form pulled back was when they would attack. 

Rustle… Rustle… At this time, flowers of white spirit light were like the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers entering the ocean. A soft rustling noise came from the top of the Wolfbane. 

“This…” The Crimson Rakshasa looked forward in doubt and shock. She saw that in the wake of Daomaster Hiddenscent’s qi, roaming to the top of the massive plant like a great river, the leaves above… Something seemed to be making them arch more as they rose higher up?

Rustle rustle rustle… As the sound became louder and louder, the fluctuations gradually intensified! Hiddenscent’s wretched scream also became progressively violent! The entire plant was surrounded by endless white light as if fireflies were encircling it! As if the object atop the plant was madly absorbing this sustenance! 

Something… was about to come… 

Swoosh… Ancientpine quietly hefted a sword. Likewise, Titanspirit was ready for combat. In less than a minute, below the moonlit night and under the blood moon… a silkworm, yet not a silkworm, a plant, yet something unlike a plant, slowly grew out from the top of the plant.

It was not large, at least not as large as the entire plant. However, it was still a hundred meters thick and a thousand meters tall!

It appeared to be a caterpillar or perhaps a silkworm-like thing. In reality, though, the skin of its entire body was formed from vegetation. There were even some places with green leaves already growing out!

It was neither animal nor plant, maintaining a kind of strange state. Tens of thousands of meters on top of the Wolfbane, it unhurriedly grew out.

It was motionless, pointing straight at the sky. Subsequently… a horrifyingly strong demonic qi erupted with a boom! In their eyes, however, the demonic qi of the massive plant was completely different!

As expected, there was a second signature!

“That’s it!” The two Dao Masters eyed each other. Ancientpine took a deep breath and formed seals. In moments, a foot-long peachwood sword appeared in front of him.

Dozens of talismans circled the sword’s body, almost covering the sword itself, and Ancientpine deeply bowed towards it. When his aged hand gripped the sword, a golden-red expanse of clouds suddenly roared and broke out in the air! Even the blood moon’s radiance darkened somewhat!

“That is…” The Crimson Rakshasa gnashed her teeth, boundless dread in her heart. “Ancestor Ancientpine’s prime magik treasure… the Daoseeking Sword…”

“120 years ago, he slayed the Greater Demon of Dongshan… 70 years ago, he slayed Lake Tianchi’s Water Demon… The number of demons and cultivators that have died under this sword… are too many to count…”

Titanspirit exhaled coldly. He didn’t take out any magik artifact, but instead whistled. Three seconds later, endless fire actually rose up from underneath him!

The blaze was like a whirlpool, causing him to now appear like a god of fire. His divinity could not be encroached upon. Yet in the heart of this fire maelstrom was a grotesque-looking insect that resembled a longhorn beetle. It was calmly lying down within.

“Gasp…” The Five Honored Stars and the Lou Clan all kowtowed. The head of the Five Honored Stars said shakily, “SSS-rank demonbeast… Skysoar Beetle… Unless it completely consumes the enemy, it will not rest whatsoever… and to behead one brings two. To behead two brings four…”

No one saw the solemness on the two Dao Masters’ faces.

Titanspirit said cautiously, “As expected… there was a second demonic qi. But how is this possible? A Pureblood Demon’s bloodline is so pure. One aura represents one demon. How could there be another aura mixed within a Pureblood?”

This aura they faintly sensed before was the demonic qi hiding within the massive plant!

But even more mysteriously… and even deeper, it was like a vengeful spirit in hell, its true appearance forever shrouded in haze from the eyes!

Ancientpine was silent. Instead, he tightly gripped the longsword in his hand. The present situation facing them, even as noble as they were as Core Formation masters, was still completely baffling!

“What kind of damn monster is this?! Is it a Pureblood or not?!”

At the same time below Danxia Temple, Fahai and Xiaoqing stood up without warning!

“Caterpillar fungus?! A body of twins?! In the cultivation world, only one has cultivated the proper Dao, and they were also the only with a twin-demon form! It’s her! It must be her!” Even Xiaoqing, who had seen countless marvelous treasures, lost some of her self-restraint right now.

“No… it is only her remnant soul. This remnant soul was only to force the Wolfbane to manifest its true form… How ruthless, a heart of cruelty and malice, an act without emotion… To act in such a manner towards your own kin, I truly do it find it fairly curious.”

Fahai said nothing. Eventually, he murmured, “That’s not the only thing.”

“How could your knowledge surpass my own?” Xiaoqing sneered.

“Of course I cannot compare to Senior, however, Buddhism is of the three super sects that have inheritances that are millennia old. Junior is a Sagelord. There is some information that I am perhaps truly unaware of.” Fahai’s face exposed a strange smile. “But I know… why this cultivation world has never witnessed a demon cultivator come from plants.”

Xiaoqing laughed coldly, “I am still knowledgeable of this level of secret tale. Plants that have become fae are the greatest heavenly treasures in themselves. Any heavenly treasure that can assume Form Transformation; he in himself is a misfortune.” 

Fahai sucked in deeply, and his smile became even stranger. “Back then, this poor monk made a trip to Baoguo Temple and meditated for seven days with the abbot of that time. I occasionally heard a secret tale of the Buddhist Monastery. A flower of the utmost poison, and an insect of the utmost mending. Made by heaven and arranged by earth, a perfect pair… one of the main ingredients of the Flying Immortal Pill.”

“Flying Immortal Pill!” Xiaoqing suddenly drew herself to full height and finally became solemn. “But in that year… Hou Yi…” [1]

The duo’s gaze intertwined. Fahai silently nodded.

“It was actually the immortal medicine bestowed by the Queen Mother of the West—the Flying Immortal Pill… this medicine… truly does exist…” Xiaoqing’s gaze roiled hotly, and she murmured quietly to herself. [2]

Fahai’s gaze was fiery, and he said lowly, “For the purpose of it… this person did not hesitate to plant a Godseal Spark in his junior. Regardless of whoever survives, it’s not important… because any cultivator that is enlightened as a plant is the greatest medicinal ingredient in themselves!”

“The millennia-old Wolfbane… added with ‘her’ remnant soul… Truly, what monsters and demons will come in another 1,400 years?” Xiaoqing’s gaze twinkled.

Fahai faintly laughed, “So… what does Senior plan to do now?”

This time, Xiaoqing did not speak.

“Interesting,” she chuckled after a long spell of time. “I still have over a thousand years of longevity left. The Flying Immortal Pill… Fahai, although your words are not completely trustworthy, you have succeeded. I am willing to make this gamble.”

Finished speaking, she spoke no further. Unexpectedly, she began to meditate. Yet in her closed eyes, worlds seemed to wander within.

“And what of ‘Inside’?” she suddenly asked, her head tilting down to her chest.

“Very clever,” Fahai said and smiled.

  Spoiler Meme 

1. Reminder: Hou Yi is the archer guy who shot down nine suns!

2. Queen Mother of the West/Xiwangmu is a deity that actually predates Daoism. She is said to bestow peaches of immortality. She likes to hang out in western mountains.