Archfiend

Chapter 51: Asura Grounds (3)

 “All cultivators, hear and obey!” Shadowslay’s, Firecloud’s, and Wang Buzhi’s voices all rang out at nearly the same time. “Excluding initial-stage Qi Condensation cultivators, all cultivators above the middle stage lend us a hand in this battle!” 

“Yes!” 

“By your lead!” 

“Decapitating demons and eliminating devils, this is the intrinsic nature of us cultivators!”

Countless people, regardless of whether they were willing or not, drummed up their courage at this moment. This was because there wasn’t the faintest path of retreat. They had been sealed within this underground chamber by an old half-step Core Formation demon. To withdraw would only lead to a road of death!

Even though boundless terror arose in their hearts regarding this half-step Core Formation demon, and even if they only had the courage for a single blow, this blow had to be dealt!

“Slay demons to defend the Dao.” Wang Buzhi separated both of his hands by a fraction and a scarlet blade appeared in his hand. Soon after, he roared, “Kill!” 

“KILL!!!”

The sound of the word “kill” flooded the heavens! At this instant, every one of the present several thousand cultivators were all of one heart! The roars of thousands caused the sand on the ground to tremble!

Endless talismans and countless artifacts brought with them a steady, long cry that filled the atmosphere, teeming with a sublime majesty and unfaltering heroism! In the Unrivaled Beneath the Heavens Arena, thousands of kaleidoscopic mist-like rays launched towards Vermilion Snow as if they were fireworks stretching across the whole sky!

This performance of scintillating light released the iron lock of the star bridge! [1]

The qi fluctuations roused by several thousand cultivators shined upon Vermilion Snow’s tender face.

Under the legions of qi beams, she didn’t retreat the slightest bit, but rather softly parted her vermilion lips. “Young beauties turn gray and fireworks are left fleeting… I am not unreasonable. I will certainly bestow upon you all a flawless death.” [2]

Motion and inaction formed a perfect painting of mourning and captivating beauty.

Boom! In the next second, a thousand rays of black majestic light spilled out from each one of her pores! It seemed to pour out from within her!

From her seven apertures, blackness surged out! An oppressive qi that far surpassed what she had revealed before exploded with a rumble!

Like several hundred thousand discarnate souls, rays of black light in the sky surprisingly released chilling screams! These rays formed a black mist that overturned the sky!

“She’s going to demonize!” Wang Buzhi reared his head back and howled, “KILL!”

Inside the qi walls, Xu Yangyi’s heart was wholly preoccupied with the outside world. He used his spiritual sense to gain a rough awareness of everything occurring beyond the qi walls. Several thousand cultivators attacked in unison, and mystic rays of qi cut across the vast sky! With a scattered display of rainbow brilliance, their battle intent drowned the sky! 

Each sword and each fist carried a determination of certain victory, like a breaching tide. They rushed the colossal monster and surged forth! 

This was a battle of cultivators! This was a war of humanity! There were no firearms nor heavy weaponry! This assault was even more resplendent than fireworks, but carried with it the grimness of death!

“Huff…” Xu Yangyi sucked in deeply. So this was the world of cultivators… If he could get out of this alive, then this world was bound to become even more wondrous because of his entry.

In the outside world, there was the whiteness of remnant willow catkins fluttering about, covering the earth, and peach blossoms falling, brimming full with red! [3]

On Vermilion Snow’s body, the abyssal blackness was all shed away. Following a fox’s cackle, the black mist completely dissipated as if it was blown away by a gale! A snow-white body appeared, a silver nine-tailed fox over 200 meters in size. Already, the beast stood proudly in the audience stands!

Its gigantic form made humans seem to be ants in comparison. With its feet on the earth, and its head to the heavens, the fox’s berserk aura was like a demon god’s descent! If the nine snowy-white tails were swung, they would draw an explosive tsunami of qi!

On the fox’s forehead, there was an odd, incredibly striking black seal. 

Snap… Vermilion Snow’s nine tails waved casually like nine dragons dancing in upheaval. Each place her tails hit was left with an enormous scar on the ground! This was a true demon… An unbelievably massive demon! She far surpassed the tremendous serpent that Xu Yangyi had slain in the past! 

Amidst the countless qi attacks, the fox’s snowy-white tails each sent out a torrent of matching waves. 

“Three Realms Demon Phantasms!” Vermilion Snow raised her head and howled provocatively towards the characters of Unrivaled Beneath the Heavens. In a flash, vast hordes of black qi sprung into view! With Vermilion Snow as the core, the black qi engulfed everyone like a hurricane! 

Boom! Shadowslay raised his hand to obstruct the gale, yet he felt as if he was being battered by a massive 10,000-catty hammer! The instant he touched the seemingly powerless squall, he had been sent flying back and spitting up blood!

“Get down!” Following a roar, his figure was swiftly rolled into the wind and his voice faded away, no longer heard. 

Bang! Xu Yangyi suddenly opened his eyes and he wordlessly looked over at the qi walls. In that brief moment ago, a terrible spiritual force wave wave had passed inwards, even if it was separated by the qi walls. 

All the qi walls were met with a heavy strike, the milky-white qi shaking incessantly! It seemed as if they were going to collapse in the next second!

A bead of cold sweat seeped out from his forehead. Without his notice, his fists were already clenched.

If everyone welcomed this enemy together… perhaps there would a path to survive...

But! Since his failure to advance was caused by someone’s ruthless severing, Xu Yangyi didn’t think that the people outside would wage a battle to the death for total strangers.

Human nature was intrinsically hard to fathom. Life or death hung by a thread. 

At such a time, words had already become moot. This was a business of mortality. All he could do was watch if everyone outside were capable of linking arms to contend against this foe.

Xu Yangyi’s gaze twinkled, and he unwaveringly locked his eyes on the impenetrable qi walls. In the world beyond, qi filled the sky and golden spears covered the earth. 

However, the qi and mystic rays were swept away by the black storm-like qi, completely scattering into the air like dead leaves in the autumn wind. 

Jingle jingle jingle…

Boom boom…

Ten seconds later, like pearls of all shapes and sizes falling on a jade platter, the magik artifacts that all the cultivators had just struck out with were all blown away in discord as if there was a shower of magik artifacts raining down from the sky. 

The disparity of realms was too great.

“Kneel and wait for death in peace. I promise everyone that I’ll grant you all a painless death!” Vermilion Snow proudly stood in her original position and said with a voice devoid of emotion. 

“Puh! Puh! Puh!” The sound of blood being spat out could be heard from the mouths of each Foundation Establishment cultivator. The seven of them had been swept by the black wind, like ruined catkins in the wind, all of them vomiting blood and sent flying back into the ground.

“Is this half-step Core Formation?” At some point, Firecloud had taken out a long saber, propping it on the ground and clutching his chest as he stood up. He used his reddened eyes to look at the enormous nine-tailed demon fox before him that’s head couldn’t be seen. “We seven Foundation Establishment cultivators… were actually defeated on first contact?”

The thousands of cultivators in the arena were dumbstruck.

Moments ago, they had practically struck with their valiant blows. However… their attacks had been casually dispersed by their opponent?

Even the Foundation Establishment cultivators who they believed would lead them to safety were of hardly any effect?

“This… This…” An old man trembled from head to toe. He couldn’t escape because Vermilion Snow was standing in front of the entrance!

“Are all of us are going to die here?!” 

“Why is it like this?! Why is it like this?!” 

“The Foundation Establishment cultivators can’t block her off?!” 

“How can this monster be THIS strong?!” 

The masses continued to fall back, ceaselessly shrinking back. 

A burst of energy would wane the second time and be exhausted by the third. Against this old monster who far transcended their own realms, their all-out strike seemed to overflow the heavens with battle intent, but how many among them had no choice but to fight?

They had placed their greatest hopes in this move. Already, their determined spirits had been consumed.

Their courage as well.

Especially since this assault had been effortlessly subdued. Fear had already sprouted in the hearts of many cultivators. 

It was quiet, a silence like death. All that remained was the frenzied dance of black wind that covered the sky and the legions of people rocking side-to-side unsteadily beneath the tremendous demon. 

Shadowslay silently closed his eyes. When he opened them again, they were radiating a cold light. Circulating the qi in his dantian, he shouted, “I am one with the Dao! Come, my sword!” 

In midair, wind and thunder rang out awesomely. Countless white motes of qi suddenly converged together in one spot, and after a few seconds, a three-foot jade sword appeared in the sky. 

“There’s no need for you to do this.” Vermilion Snow’s mocking voice echoed out. “You’re perfectly aware that you will die. Is is not preferable to enjoy the peace?”

Shadowslay’s closed eyes faintly trembled, and he suddenly laughed. “I was raised in Dongling Province. When I was 10, I stepped into the immortal path. When I was 70, I arrived at the pinnacle of Qi Condensation. At 150, I stepped into the middle stage of Foundation Establishment, step by step, in contact with humanity.” 

“There have been those who I have served master to, those who I have cherished, and those who have humiliated me…”

“But no matter who it was, never was I taught to draw back a single step against a demon!”

“The ways of humans and demons are separate. To not be of my race is to inevitably have a different heart! Thou hast committed crimes against my peoples, and even though I am far from adequate, you shall be put to death!” [4]

Shadowslay stifled the billowing qi within his body that he would soon be unable to endure, spat a mouthful of blood onto his sword, and used it to point falteringly at Vermilion Snow. “Fiend… receive your death!”

As if it heard his words, the sword immediately erupted with a layer of scarlet brilliance, droning with a hum. 

“Well said…” At this time, a frail voice rang out in the outside world. An old man leaning on a cane and clutching his chest stood up together with seven people.

“Deputy Minister Chu…” Vermilion Snow sneered and glanced at the man. “You still haven’t died? Sit down quietly; I respect your position and can leave you with a complete corpse.”

“You jest.” Deputy Minister Chu faced upwards and laughed heartily, “Humanity has flourished for millenia. Your insignificant demon race, you ilk of insect spirits, dare to let loose such absurd poppycock to me?!”

“You know, I would have a nuclear warhead prepared just for you if I was at the Capital right now!” At this moment, not a shred of an elderly man’s aura could be seen on Chu Tianyi’s body. He seemed to be a fierce tiger that had left the mountain and even took a step forward. “Are you aware that if I survive today, I can retrieve your dog head in less than a month?!”

“It’s a fox’s head.” Vermilion Snow said indifferently, “And so, I bestow death upon you.” 

The nine tails raised up high and nine tremendous qi orbs shockingly appeared at the tips. Immediately, nine shiver-inducing white rays of mercury-like light covered everyone present, swathing full the earth!

“Grandpa!” 

“Dad! Save me!” 

“Fiend! I will not rest until you die!” 

“I swear it! There will be a day where I behead you under my three-foot bronze sword!” [5]

Miserable wails suddenly converged in the entire arena!

The nine pillars of light transformed into eighteen. From eighteen they turned into thirty-six, and from thirty-six they turned into seventy-two… In a flash, light pillars cloaked the whole arena!

The dense smell of human blood assailed the nose and saturated the entire Unrivaled Beneath the Heavens Arena! One… Ten… A hundred… A thousand, like the mowing of grass, countless people continued to perish beneath the pillars of light without hardly any resistance! If one was struck by a light pillar, a portion of their body seemed to evaporate, smoothly cut off!

With the death of each person, the seal on Vermilion Snow’s forehead became a bit redder.

Within the qi walls, Xu Yangyi’s gaze suddenly flashed, and he stared firmly at the qi walls where nothing could be seen! In a twinkling, something seemed to open within his spirit. It was a soundless language, the realization of a holy scripture. It was a thing that even words failed. Only great courage and great sorrow could be its context.

He seemed to suddenly realize why humanity possessed the bulk of power to this day. Why the demons, who had much stronger individual battle capabilities, had to give way in the face of superior forces.

It was something that circulated within the veins of every man, women, and child of Chinese descent. At this instant, his heart began to throb without the least bit justification. He suddenly thought of the two-character word cultivator which he had frequently heard. In this transient moment, it brought one’s blood to a boil!

Some were scared, some were brave, some ran off, and some persevered. In this second, these continuously struggling figures deeply stirred his heart. At the same time above the masses… there was an even more burdensome responsibility to protect everyone!

To take oneself as a cultivator. 

His qi seemed to be shedding something off like a caterpillar breaking out of its chrysalis, finally spreading its wings and transforming into a butterfly.

The sudden dawn of an epiphany.

1. This is a line by a Tang Poet Su Wendao. Background behind it is tied to a curfew during that time period. But, when people are having fun, things get loose.

2. Not a line with clear ties to ancient poems even though it sounds like one. Its origins are unknown and is thought to come from someone in the modern era. Idea behind it is that happiness and joy leaves us all too quickly.

3. Another line from a poem. Originates from the work of a Yuan Dynasty poet named Zhao Mengfu. Poem is about people lighting fireworks in the street. In this context, it is supposed to be a flowery phrase to explain how striking and beautiful the fireworks are.

4. “To not be of my race is to inevitably have a different heart.” This is a play on a phrase said by a famous blind Chinese poet Zuo Qiuming.

5. Three-foot bronze sword. 三尺剑. Copy paste these characters to get a better idea of what this looks like. Shadowslay has the same sword, but it is jade. Because it is jade I could not call it a bronze sword.