by Translator: BornToBe; Author: Ordinary Magician (平凡魔术师); Licensed From: 17k
Yue Xiaoqian felt empty inside. She felt a bit cold after having left Long Chen’s embrace.
Seeing Long Chen’s courageous figure, she was extremely moved. In her heart, perhaps Long Chen wasn’t the strongest person, but he was definitely the bravest.
In front of an enemy he couldn’t possibly defeat, he still didn’t show the slightest discouragement. Even in this kind of situation, he still didn’t have any intention of giving up.
In his heart, there was an undefeatable belief in himself. Even Yue Xiaoqian was infected by it.
Charging at the skeleton, he dodged its saber and chopped his sword at its knee.
He knew this skeleton’s power had already surpassed his imagination. Facing it head-on was certain death.
Long Chen also didn’t hope to be able to defeat it. As long as he could cut off a leg, that would cause it to lose its speed and then he and Yue Xiaoqian would have some hope of fleeing.
Unfortunately, things didn’t go as Long Chen planned. This skeleton had retained its battle awareness. It seemed to know what Long Chen was trying to do, and it twisted its leg, causing Long Chen’s sword to strike its lower leg bone. Sparks flew along with a metallic ringing.
Not only had he not severed its leg, but the webbing of his hand was also greatly shaken and he almost lost his grip on the sword.
Long Chen was horrified. Just this skeleton without any flesh or blood, one that only retained some fighting instincts, was already this terrifying. Then if it were alive, just how terrifying would it be?
Long Chen continuously dodged its attacks. However, no matter what he tried, he found this three-meter-tall skeleton was just too powerful. He was unable to find its weak point.
BOOM!
After dodging multiple times, he finally wasn’t able to dodge an attack. All he could do was to receive it directly with his sword.
That blood-colored saber sent Long Chen flying with a terrifying force. The skin on his hands split open, and he was finally unable to maintain a grip on his sword. It was sent flying out of his grip.
Long Chen tumbled back hundreds of meters. Suddenly, he felt a softness as he was caught by Yue Xiaoqian. Only then did he stop.
Before Long Chen could even say anything, the skeleton had already charged over. Long Chen extended both hands. Flames soared from his left hand, while a ball of lightning appeared in his right hand. He sent both these attacks crashing into the skeleton.
The instant his flame and lightning struck the skeleton, two explosions rang out. However, the skeleton didn’t have any flesh to injure. It merely slowed down for a moment before its saber came flashing down on them.
He had already lost Yue Xiaoqian’s sword. Furthermore, this blood-colored saber had locked them down tightly now, making it impossible to dodge. Long Chen could only shout and clapped both his hands together on the saber.
He clenched the saber tightly. However, that saber was far too terrifying. Both Long Chen’s arms almost broke from the effort, but he bitterly endured.
Unfortunately, no matter how he tried, that saber still continued to slowly slash down. It landed on his shoulder, and that sharp blade instantly pierced his flesh, bringing with it a spurt of blood.
Chapter 401 A Bit of Good Fortune
Long Chen was resisting with his full strength, but that saber was still slowly descending down on him, causing blood to spurt from his shoulder.
Buzz.
When Long Chen’s blood dyed that saber, the saber suddenly let out a loud cry.
Just as Long Chen thought that today was the day he died, the terrifying force coming from the saber disappeared.
“A familiar bloodline power, a familiar aura…”
That skeleton, which had only been crazily and mercilessly attacking from the start, now suddenly spoke.
Both Long Chen and Yue Xiaoqian were startled. This skeleton was actually capable of thought and speech? Then was it not dead?
The saber slowly lifted from Long Chen’s shoulder. The skeleton looked at the two of them. Although there were no eyes, they could both tell it was examining them.
To be examined by a skeleton, especially a skeleton this powerful, caused even Long Chen to feel a chill. As for Yue Xiaoqian, her body was shivering as she was obviously much more afraid.
“Did you want my saber?” Finally, after staring for a long time, that skeleton opened its mouth again. However, as for where that voice was coming from, Long Chen couldn’t tell. Its mouth never moved.
“Cough, senior has misunderstood. I just saw there was a lot of dust on the saber, and as a clean-freak, I just wanted to help you clean it a bit,” laughed Long Chen.
He had been afraid it wouldn’t speak again, but now that it had, Long Chen’s fear diminished and he felt hope for surviving today. As he spouted nonsense from his mouth, his head was frantically thinking of how he could escape.
“If you dare talk nonsense again, I will kill you,” replied the skeleton icily.
“Ai! I wanted your saber.” Long Chen could only thicken his skin.
“Why?”
“Because we’re from the same profession.”
The skeleton once more descended into silence. Who knew whether its head had become rusted or not, but it seemed to need some time to get it started.
As for Long Chen and Yue Xiaoqian, they didn’t dare move. They just obediently waited. Time seemed to have slowed down, torturing them.
“Senior, have you fallen asleep?” asked Long Chen carefully.
But even after waiting for a while, there was still no response. Long Chen was delighted and glanced at Yue Xiaoqian. Yue Xiaoqian had finally become a bit smarter, and she knew Long Chen was saying to quietly leave.
The two of them slowly, without making any noise, began to turn. But before they could even take a step, that skeleton once more spoke.
“If you want my saber, that’s no problem. You just have to answer a few of my questions.”
Long Chen and Yue Xiaoqian stiffened. Yue Xiaoqian almost let out a startled cry. This feeling was far too frightening.
“Yes?” Long Chen knew that they wouldn’t be able to escape from this skeleton if it didn’t want to let them go. So what was the point of being cowardly? If being cowardly could save his life, Long Chen wouldn’t mind acting the coward for a while. But that was useless against this powerful skeleton.
“Has the dark era passed?” asked the skeleton.
Long Chen was dumbfounded. How could he possibly answer that? But suddenly, Yue Xiaoqian opened her mouth. “It passed eight epochs ago.”
“Eight epochs? It’s been a long time. Then what was the final result of that battle?” The skeleton sighed before continuing to ask questions.
“The Motherstar collapsed, turning into millions of motes of dust. The place we are currently in is one of those motes of dust,” answered Yue Xiaoqian.
Hearing this, Long Chen felt as if he was lost in the fog. He knew what an epoch represented. That was a unit of time from the ancient era. One epoch was ten million years!
In that era, there had been a kind of tree called the Epoch Pine Tree. Every thousand years, it would grow a pine cone, and when there were ten thousand pine cones, the Epoch Pine Tree would immediately wither to death.
But ten million years later, the Epoch Pine Tree would be reborn. Its life and death was precisely twenty million years. That was how the Epoch Pine Tree’s lifespan had become a simple and clear measurement of time in the ancient era.
However, as a unit of measurement, the epoch was no longer used in the current world. It was simply too long a time.
It was said that back in the ancient era, a cultivator’s lifespan was practically limitless.
But in the current era, an ordinary mortal’s lifespan was less than a hundred years. Only by reaching the Xiantian realm would your lifespan extend to a thousand years. But even so, that kind of longevity, in the face of an epoch, was far too short.
As for the Motherstar and the dar
k era, those were unfathomable terms that Long Chen had never heard before.
The skeleton’s body quivered slightly, seeming extremely vexed with that result.
“The Godsealing major world, with its thousands of races and countless experts, collapsed…? And even the Motherstar was destroyed…” The skeleton’s voice was full of unwillingness and endless bitterness. “Girl, tell me… what is the situation of the barbarian race?”
“Um…” Yue Xiaoqian didn’t know what to say. She was a bit afraid.
“Tell me the truth!” shouted the skeleton.
“Senior, when the Motherstar was destroyed, the thousands of races went through a devastating calamity. Some of them had already sided with the other side, and as for the barbarian race…” Yue Xiaoqian’s voice grew quiet.
“What happened?” the skeleton asked frantically.
“The barbarian race fought to the death, refusing to submit to the end. They fought to their last warrior. Even the Barbarian God of that time fell.”
“What? Impossible! AHHH!!!”
The skeleton suddenly let out a heart-rending roar, and a terrifying energy exploded out. Both Long Chen and Yue Xiaoqian were blown back miserably into the distance, both vomiting blood.
Now the skeleton seemed to become a violent and furious lion, its body roaring with killing intent.
“I don’t believe you! You’re lying! The grand Barbarian God couldn’t possibly die!” The skeleton charged at the two of them, pointing its saber at Yue Xiaoqian.
Yue Xiaoqian was struck by its aura, once more vomiting blood. Her face was pale as paper, and her eyes filled with terror.
“Have you had enough?!” Long Chen suddenly appeared in front of Yue Xiaoqian and pointed at the skeleton as he cursed, “Are you trying to show off your power to a weak little girl? If you really had any true power, you wouldn’t be in your current not-alive not-dead state!”
“Little brat, are you looking to die?” raged the skeleton, pointing its saber at Long Chen.
“So what if I’m looking to die? At least it’s better than a coward who randomly has temper tantrums. Are you even a man? I spit on you.” Long Chen knew they would definitely die today, so he would rather throw caution to the wind, and he viciously spit at the skeleton.
Even in the face of this terrifying expert from the ancient era, the arrogance in Long Chen’s bones would not permit him to lower his head. That particular arrogance in the depths of his soul was unable to endure being looked down by someone like he was just an ant, and it finally erupted out.
“Hmph? Your body has the aura of my barbarian race! You should have encountered someone from my barbarian race. You dare try to trick me?!”
A skeletal claw grabbed Long Chen before he had a chance to dodge. It clenched his throat and raised Long Chen off the ground.
“Speak, what is the truth?!”
“Bastard, let go of Long Chen!” Yue Xiaoqian seemed to go crazy, and she actually charged at the skeleton.
“Fuck off!” With a wave of its hand, Yue Xiaoqian was sent flying.
“You’re the one who should fuck off!” Long Chen’s fury soared. Despite his exhaustion, his divine ring once more appeared, and a star flickered in his eyes. He struggled as hard as he could against that arm.
But that arm was harder than steel. Long Chen was unable to budge it. Instead, it was his arms that were shaken so hard that they felt like they might break.
Suddenly, Long Chen was surprised to find that the skeleton had let go of him. It then took a step back and actually used its own saber to cut off one of its arms.
After cutting off its own arm, that skeleton apologized, “I’m sorry Heir of the Nine Stars. I hope this arm can make up for my blasphemy against you.”
Both Long Chen and Yue Xiaoqian were now truly stunned. They didn’t understand just what kind of crazy disease the skeleton had suddenly contracted.
The skeleton said to Long Chen, “Please forgive me for my earlier offense against you. I very much want to know about my barbarian race.”
Long Chen’s heart was pounding. To say he was unafraid would be nonsense. However, he refused to just lie still in wait of death.
“I really don’t know anyone from your barbarian race,” he said helplessly.
“Think carefully. There must be someone close to you who corresponds with the characteristics of my barbarian race. My perception cannot be wrong. Although that aura is very faint, it’s definitely there.”
“Could it be Wilde?” Long Chen suddenly thought of Wilde. But it seemed that the only similarity was that they were both tall. It was too far-fetched.
Long Chen hastily told the skeleton about Wilde. Whether it was true or not, as long as it didn’t anger this erratic fellow, it was fine.
“HAHAHAHA! I knew it! My barbarian race has the god’s blessing! It definitely wouldn’t be extinguished! He is a seed of my barbarian race, hahaha…!” The skeleton couldn’t help but raise his head to the sky and laugh, his voice full of joy.
“About before, I’m sorry.” The skeleton apologized to Yue Xiaoqian.
“Uhhh… no problem…” Yue Xiaoqian was still a bit afraid and hid behind Long Chen. She really did fear this skeleton.
“As a warrior of the barbarian race, I’ve already been dead for many years. Although my injuries were extremely heavy back then, I hid my soul within Blooddrinker.
“I know of the Two-Winged Devilmen’s ability to revive. This way, when they revived, they would attack me, and I would have another fight with them. Hmph, I was only able to kill them once when I was alive. But even in death, I can also kill them another time.
“Unfortunately, due to this, my soul entered a confused state. I could only massacre according to instinct. If the scent of your blood hadn’t awakened me, I would have continued sinking into depravity, so thank you, lord,” said the skeleton.
“Those are all small matters. Without fighting, how can you make friends? And since we’re friends, does senior feel this place is too gloomy? How about you come out for a stroll with junior brother?” Now feeling that there was no more danger, Long Chen immediately returned to his bad self.
If he could bring this terrifying skeleton out, then wouldn’t he be able to sweep through the entire secret realm? Wouldn’t those fifth rank Magical Beasts be slaughtered just like chickens?
But the skeleton shook its head and sighed, “My Spiritual Strength will quickly dissipate. However, before I leave, I will give you a bit of good fortune. It can count as compensation for my previous rudeness to you.”
After saying that, the skeleton brought Long Chen deeper into the abyss.
Chapter 402 A Dragon’s Reverse Scale
“Back then, I fought a bloody battle the entire time. I don’t even know how many Devilmen I killed. But when the fight finally ended, when I was just about to die, I noticed a certain thing.”
The barbarian race expert brought the two of them forward. Not far from them was a mountain of bones that was even larger than the previous mountain.
Looking at the size, there would not be less than a thousand skeletons in that pile. Just looking at that would make a person’s scalp numb. But with the barbarian race expert leading the way, Long Chen and Yue Xiaoqian could only summon their courage.
“These Two-Winged Devilmen weren’t killed by me.”
Long Chen and Yue Xiaoqian were shocked to hear that. If he hadn’t killed them, then who had?
When they got close enough, that mountain of bones suddenly rocked and countless Two-Winged Devilman skeletons awoke, all about to attack them.
The barbarian race expert snorted and with a wave of his saber, a blood-colored saber-image flew out like a heavenly blade, cutting apart the void.
That huge wave of Devilmen were all cut to bone fragments by this single attack. The power contained within that saber had already surpassed the boundary of Long Chen’s understanding.
Long Chen and Yue Xiaoqian glanced at each other, each seeing
the other’s shock. Yue Xiaoqian was also filled with lingering fear.
At the same time, the two of them were also filled with elation. If he had released such an attack back then, the two of them would have been instantly obliterated.
Countless devil cores fell to the ground. Long Chen and Yue Xiaoqian went to gather them quickly.
The barbarian expert watched. “Hurry up. I don’t have much time left.”
Long Chen hastily pulled on Yue Xiaoqian, his meaning that the devil cores wouldn’t be able to run away, so there was no need to gather them so anxiously.
The two of them continued to follow the barbarian race expert. Now that he had recovered his consciousness, he was no longer fighting instinctively but using some kind of energy that Long Chen was unfamiliar with to release powerful attacks that were practically unblockable.
Long Chen couldn’t help but lament. If only he could bring out such an expert, then he could easily raze the first monastery.
With another wave of his saber, more Devilmen were crushed to bits.
“It should be here. However, I’m already dead, so I can’t sense it. You two should try to see if you can sense an odd fluctuation here. Quickly!” The barbarian race expert was running out of time.
“Fluctuation? It’s here.” Long Chen could sense an odd fluctuation three hundred meters underground. There was a mighty aura released from there that could make a person’s soul shiver.
The barbarian race expert slashed at the ground where Long Chen had pointed at, causing stone and dirt to fly. At the same time, a palm-sized item flew out.
That item sparkled brightly, releasing a green light. It was a scale that floated into the air in front of them. The barbarian race expert was gratified it was still here.
“Senior, this is…?” Looking at that floating scale, Long Chen sensed a heaven-overflowing will.
Floating in the air, the scale seemed like an arrogant emperor of the world. It was as if all living things could only serve at its feet.
