by <unknown>
His sharp talons that stuck out of his battle boots scratched the ground as he charged at Li Yao!
Li Yao had used up the last bit of strength in his muscles. There was nothing he could do when Li Jialing lunged at him.
Right before Li Jialing's claw cut his neck, a streak of brightness knocked him from one side to a hundred meters away.
The streak of brightness then gathered hundreds of broken pieces and darted them at Li Jialing.
It was exactly Long Yangjun, who had saved Li Yao again!
The broken pieces carried Long Yangjun's immense soul power. She quickly made a gesture and mumbled spells, with blood flowing out of her facial organs, while she directed the pieces within Li Jialing so that they could lock down the vehement power in him.
Zi! Zi! Zi! Zi!
Transparent electric arcs surged out and wandered all over Li Jialing, almost shocking his bones out.
"Hooooooo!"
Li Jialing roared in devastation and hopped up and down in the cage of electric arcs.
"What… What are you doing?" Li Yao shouted.
"I'm saving you, and killing him by the way!"
Long Yangjun said coldly, "Has it not occurred to you that he is too possessed to be saved? I have to take precautions like how I attacked you just now. If you hadn't woken up in time, I would have killed you mercilessly!"
"No, you can't do that!"
Li Yao pulled his hair; his heart in a mess.
"I know that you regard him as a blood brother. I like him very much too."
Long Yangjun gnashed her teeth. "But it's not the time for petty kindness. You know Wuying Qi's dreadfulness better than I do. There will be a greater tragedy if he's not killed! Also, didn't Li Jialing insist that we kill him if Wuying Qi controlled him before we set off?
"He would rather die than to let Wuying Qi bring disasters to this world in his appearance!"
"I know, I know, but—"
Li Yao breathed heavily and looked at Li Jialing who was struggling in the cage of electric arcs. He said in pain, "You can't kill him. You have no idea what he's going through. You can't kill Li Jialing! That will only activate Wuying Qi's power in him, making him trapped in darkness forever!"
"What?"
Long Yangjun's pupils constricted abruptly.
The cage of electric arcs that tied Li Jialing up was also shattered in deafening roars as Li Jialing's body expanded yet again. The black fog was both like a pair of wings and a suit of armor for him. He charged at Long Yangjun while waving his iron arms.
Boom!
Li Jialing and Long Yangjun had a head-on clash in midair. Both of them were consumed by the blast.
Li Jialing was only in the Nascent Soul Stage, whereas Long Yangjun boasted the power beyond the Divinity Transformation Stage and the mysterious legacies from the primeval age. Supposedly, Li Jialing would be no match for her.
Yet it was Long Yangjun who was pushed back by the blast.
Her right arm was twisted to a weird angle and dangled down. Like Li Yao, she vomited blood crazily and crashed on the ground!
"This is impossible!"
Long Yangjun was completely shocked as she held her broken arm, unable to believe her eyes. "How can Li Jialing's power be so dark and terrifying? He's no longer Li Jialing, but—"
"Hehehehe…"
The blast that just consumed Li Jialing and Long Yangjun was consumed by the intense black fog which turned into Wuying Qi's image. Like an armor, it enshrouded Li Jialing who was walking close.
Li Jialing stared at Li Yao and Long Yangjun in a cold and strange way, like a lion that was examining its prey.
"Jialing, stop and figure out what you want exactly!"
Holding back his pain, Li Yao stood up and roared desperately, "This is your war. We can't help you. You must rely on yourself to defeat Wuying Qi's soul! I trust that you can defeat him!"
"Humph!"
With a brutal smile on his face, Li Jialing waved his black claw, and a strong wind slashed Li Yao's chest like a sharp edge, blowing Li Yao backward again.
However, Li Yao did not fall this time. He gritted his teeth and persevered with a bloodstained smile.
"I already know Wuying Qi's plan. Is this the best you can do, Blackstar the Great?"
Li Yao burst into laughter. He grimaced in pain as his wounds were affected by his laughter, but he shouted again despite the pain, "Maybe, this is what Wuying Qi wished to see. He purposefully split himself into a 2.0 and a 3.0 so that we would fight each other!
"If we do fight each other like he wished, no matter who kills whom in the end, the survivor will become his puppet, his slave, and the successor of his pathetic destiny, never to escape!
"But I believe that you won't be tricked, Jialing. Everything is up to you now. My life, Long Yangjun's life, your mother's life, and the fate of the sea of stars is in your hands. You won't disappoint us or yourself. I trust you! I believe in you!"
"Hooooooo!"
Li Jialing's face became hideous and hesitating. He roared desperately and attacked Li Yao nonstop. Li Yao was knocked back and vomited blood. He barely looked like a human anymore.
But no matter how he was brutalized, Li Yao stood on the ground without falling like a nail.
"I… I won't fight back!"
Smiling miserably, Li Yao continued, "Because I believe that Wuying Qi 2.0 has always been a superficial weakling and the biggest loser. How can a loser like you defeat my most beloved brother? My brother won't kill me. He will only blow up your head with me!"
Li Jialing's eyes were bloodshot, and he breathed heavily. Black and gold flames of spiritual energy were burning from the cracks on his face. He staggered toward Li Yao, leaving burning footprints behind him.
"I… I…"
Murmuring in blurs, he slowly extended his claw to Li Yao. There was no telling whether he was going to tear Li Yao's heart apart, or if he was asking for his brother's help when he was sinking in the black swamp.
"Jialing, I'm always ready to help you, but not this time. You have to help me and everybody else."
Li Yao's head was as swollen as a ball, but his eyes were clearer than ever. He tried to put on a smile. "It seems that you made the right decision to sneak into the capital. Maybe you are the real hero of this war. Now, it's time to end it by blowing up Wuying Qi 2.0 and save us all!"
"I… I… I can't…"
Li Jialing's voice was shivering, and his face was in pain. The bones all over his body were cracking as he said, "Help… Help me… Brother… Brother Yao…"
He was still walking to Li Yao uncontrollably, and the claws where black venom was dripping were only one inch away from Li Yao's throat.
Li Yao, on the other hand, had backed off to a wall. He could not retreat any further.
"Fine. If brotherhood cannot wake you up, I guess we have to invite the holiest feeling in the world now—mother's love!"
Li Yao sighed and said, "There's nothing I can do now except to sing a few classic songs that praise mother's love for my good brother…"
Li Jialing quivered so hard as if a piton of ice had pierced into his skull through his whole body.
He was also woken up, like when Li Yao was beaten up by Long Yangjun!
Chi! Chi! Chi! Chi! Chi! Chi!
Infinite black gas was leaking from his face and his wounds, but before it escaped, it had been burnt up by the bright gold fire behind and purified into basic information and power.
Li Jialing's body was transformed and reborn again!
The tusks, claws, and abnormal muscles retreated, and his gold fur dropped one hair after another. He regained the appearance of a human, save his bulging canine teeth and the bright gold colors in his eyes and his hair.
He became the handsome young man that Li Yao saw at the very beginning again.
However, an ocean of ambitions and determination were hidden under his seemingly young appearance. Blackstar the Great's shadow and he had been perfectly melted and could not b
e separated anymore.
He gazed at his palm that was as smooth as jade.
He waved his hands, and a cluster of black fire was raised. He waved his hands again, and a gold fire consumed the black fire and turned into a raging dragon. On a closer look, the dragon even had a pair of purple eyes as if it were a living creature!
Boom!
Li Jialing rolled his hands and crumbled the purple-fire dragon. The broken fire spread out and gathered into a burning sword that ruled the universe in his hand. In the meantime, Li Yao and Long Yangjun both heard an earsplitting explosion that shouted, "True dragon is here!"
Chapter 2668: Life Is a Continuous Battle! |
Only one technique could've demonstrated such a domineering fire: Dragon Over The Sky, which belonged to the Supreme Emperor ten thousand years ago!
The Blood God naturally knew the Supreme Emperor's technique. He taught it to Blackstar the Great ten thousand years later, and Blackstar the Great revealed it under Li Linghai's appearance when Li Yao met her in the Sand Primitive Sector.
Li Yao did not expect to sense the same power again in Li Jialing today.
It seemed that Li Jialing had completely absorbed Wuying Qi 2.0's power, or he couldn't have controlled his spiritual energy so deftly.
Li Yao looked at Li Jialing's hands and his own hands that were like chicken claws, before he suddenly grabbed his wrist and shook it hard.
Long Yangjun had finally suppressed the surging blood in herself. Noticing that Li Yao was shivering as if he suffered an electric shock, she asked curiously, "What are you doing?"
"I'm checking if I can create such a splendid fire too."
Li Yao shook his wrist for a long time, but nothing except for a mist that seemed to be sick was rising from his hand, and it dispersed the moment he got distracted. Li Yao was rather bummed. "Seriously? Wuying Qi left 99% of his power and battle experience to Li Jialing and an opportunity to become a vicious dragon to me? That's so unfair!"
"Ugh!"
Li Jialing watched the sword for a long time in fascination. Then, the blade suddenly fell apart into purple flames that died out soon. As if exhausted, Li Jialing became pale and fell on his knees, gagging. He vomited deep-purple blood that was mixed with black threads, as if countless parasites that had been luring in his body were being discharged.
As he vomited out the blood, Li Jialing was finally back to himself. But he seemed weak and exhausted.
He was a 20-year-old young man after all. He had fought Wuying Qi brutally earlier and inherited Wuying Qi's enormous power later. It was too much for him to absorb all at once.
Li Yao hurried to give him a hand and input feeble spiritual energy into his body.
Both of them had absorbed energy from the Imperial Fire Pearl and Wuying Qi's legacy. To some extent, their power was of the same origin, so it was easy for Li Jialing to digest Li Yao's spiritual energy.
Li Jialing moaned and murmured, "What—What happened to me? I feel that I just had a long dream. My head hurts so much."
"That's right. We both had a long nightmare. But it's over now."
Li Yao said solemnly, "Do you remember who you are and who I am?"
"I am… Li Jialing."
Looking at Li Linghai who was lying not far away, Li Jialing became firm again. "You're Brother Yao. We're fighting Wuying Qi. We've already defeated Wuying Qi!"
He jumped in delight, only to exclaim in pain as his wounds were affected. He couldn't help but touch his wounds, but what he felt was his new skin which was as smooth as that of a newborn baby.
"Has… Has my gold fur dropped?"
The young man was rather excited. "Not only have we defeated Wuying Qi, but I'm also back to normal! Wait, my hair is much longer, mixed with strands of gold hair. Is this the last trace of the Gold Lion? Huh. Brother Yao, your hair has turned partly gray!"
"That's right."
Li Yao scratched his hair and said, "Hair dyeing is popular this year."
"I'm still dizzy. There's a lot of new stuff in my head, stuff that is in a disorder and is unbelievable."
Li Jialing held his head and murmured, "I remember that I, Brother Yao, and Sister Long were tricking Wuying Qi when he knocked me out. Then, lots of things happened. I saw a violent black sun and a rising red star. After that…
"After that, the black sun fell apart, and its pieces gathered into a black river of magma which flooded into my brain and burnt up my soul!
"I sank into a place that felt like hell. In an abyss where a black fire raged, I saw how Wuying Qi changed from a Cultivator into an Immortal Cultivator. In the meantime, a persuading voice had been talking to me, trying to convince me that the true path of immortality was correct.
"I was almost convinced. I was about to be convinced. But at the most dangerous moment, I suddenly heard the most unpleasant singing of a man. His singing was so tormenting that I felt my life back in the City in the Sky was not as miserable as that."
Li Yao: "…Fine. Let's skip over the details. How do you feel right now?"
Li Jialing took a deep breath and extended his hand again.
Both Li Yao and Long Yangjun focused their eyes on his palm.
This time, no matter how Li Jialing concentrated, he could not unleash the purple fire anymore.
Yet, a stream of vague purple spiritual energy in the shape of a dragon was slowly flowing under the skin of his palm, like a fish that was swimming under the ice.
Suddenly, the purple spiritual energy glittered.
"Ah!"
As if his hand was burnt, Li Jialing cried and subconsciously retreated his hand.
When he opened his hand again, the purple dragon had been melted with his palm print, transforming it into a new pattern that was emitting a purple glow.
"That's weird…"
Li Jialing blinked his eyes and said in confusion, "I don't think my palm print was like this before. This is so majestic that I really want to grab something with my hand. Or rather, I have the urge to grab all the stars."
Recalling the unusual phenomenon that Li Jialing just caused and what Wuying Qi 3.0 told him before death, Li Yao did not know what to say.
What would come would come. It was impossible to avoid one's destiny. They had to embrace the challenge with courage!
"Brother Yao, what happened to me exactly?"
Li Jialing clenched his fists in confusion.
"I have the same question. What happened to you and Li Jialing when you passed out and struggled. Is Wuying Qi really dead?"
Long Yangjun was also puzzled.
"It's very hard to explain. Since our time is limited, let's just cut the long story short!"
Li Yao pondered for a moment and said, "Just now, when I, Jialing, and Wuying Qi were fighting, Wuying Qi detonated his soul and split into two different personalities. His righteous personality invaded my brain, and the dark and evil one invaded Jialing's, trying to corrupt us and turn us into his successors."
"Hold on a second—"
Long Yangjun raised her hand. "What did you just say? His righteous personality chose you as his successor and invaded your brain, and his dark and evil personality chose the young lion to inherit the sordid, shameless, and degenerate stuff? Are you sure you're not mistaken? Shouldn't it be the other way around?"
"…"
Li Yao glared at Long Yangjun and said angrily, "I'm certainly not mistaken, because his righteous personality was actually even eviler than his evil personality!
"In conclusion, Jialing and I have both swallowed part of Wuying Qi's personality and soul power. The good thing is that we've killed him and divided his legacy without paying any price. The world is back to peace again!"
Li Jialing thought for a moment and said, "What about the bad thing?"
"The bad thing is that, although we destroyed his soul, we might still be influenced by his personality without us realizing it until we sink into darkness and become another Wuying Qi, or even another Blood God."
Li Yao
opened his hands and said, "Of course, there's another possibility that is even worse. Actually, we may have been swallowed by Wuying Qi or the Blood God, and they are just mimicking the way we talk to deceive other people. I might not be the real Li Yao, and you might not be the real Li Jialing. Or rather, maybe Li Yao and Li Jialing were just distractions, and the real Wuying Qi or Blood God had already escaped into Long Yangjun's body."
"Huh?"
Li Jialing was rather scared. "That's hard to believe. How are we going to confirm it?"
"Don't be scared. It's indeed hard to believe. I'm just putting it in perspective."
Li Yao smiled and said, "It's impossible to find the answer to the ultimate question, 'who am I?'"
"Besides, we don't need Wuying Qi or the Blood God to do bad things. Would we not be lost or corrupted if we are not affected by Wuying Qi or the Blood God's power? On many occasions, Wuying Qi and the Blood God are just excuses for our own evil thoughts."
"Wow…"
Li Jialing was rather stunned. "I feel that Brother Yao is much more philosophical after the battle against Wuying Qi!"
"Of course."
Li Yao opened his fingers and combed the gray hair on his temples. He grinned and said, "So, stop fretting. Life is a continuous battle, and we've at least won this one. As for the future, we'll just see what comes and deal with it correspondingly."
As they talked, enormous earthquakes came from the depths of the Gold Crystal Pyramid again.
"Not good! The Gold Crystal Pyramid is still running!"
Long Yangjun exclaimed, "But our Colossi have both been damaged. It's impossible for us to destroy the core of the Gold Crystal Pyramid for now. What do we do?"
"It's alright. I can get it under control."
Li Yao patted Li Jialing's shoulder and rose quickly. With glittering eyes, he strode to the depths of the Gold Crystal Pyramid and said resolutely in a voice that only he could hear, "I must get it under control, and I will!"
Chapter 2669: All Settled! |
Li Yao rushed in the dark and long pathway.
The Gold Crystal Pyramid that was as complicated as a labyrinth became crystal clear in his eyes, as if his retina had been covered with a map.
