CH 203

Chapter 203 – Sink Into Oblivion

Xu Disheng lifted his head, catching sight of the girl’s black hair rippling in the wind. She was levitating in the air, her back facing him, only the tip of her feet in light contact with the ground.

The hem of her moon white dress lining her two feet transformed into a white serpent tail, unleashing a powerful aura.

In Xu Disheng’s sea of consciousness, the cyan jade flute began to noticeably tremble. The voice of the Black Sky Yellow Earth Pagoda’s artifact spirit rang out in his mind once more. “Master, this girl is just an avatar of her, but her true spirit has already died. Let her help you resist for a little while you quickly release your mind. I will help you awaken a part of your memories. If you awaken your true spirit, these Primordial Spirit stage cultivators will be nothing more than mediocre pushovers.”

“And then what?”

“And then… naturally, leave the Shangqing Sacred Sect and find an isolated place to cultivate in hiding.”

Xu Disheng shot back, “You just said that after I awaken my true spirit, these Primordial Spirit stage cultivators would be nothing more than mediocre pushovers, didn’t you? Then why would I have to run?”

“Master’s true spirit is too ancient and powerful. At this moment, it simply isn’t possible to fully awaken it. There are still a few Clone Avatar stage cultivators of the younger generation within the Shangqing Sacred Sect. Even if you manage to awaken a trace of your true spirit, these people would still be a bit of a threat,” the artifact spirit said, its voice starting to take on a more anxious edge. “Quickly, release your mind! I will help you awaken your memories!”

“Then would I still be myself afterwards?”

The voice of the artifact spirit grew even more impatient, even taking on a slightly sinister tone. “Xu Disheng! I wanted to leave Master a fully intact soul fraction, but you can’t even tell what’s good for yourself! Take my word, I will erase you completely right this instant!”

“So now you finally reveal your true self, huh?” Xu Disheng said, still seated cross-legged on the ground. He was calm and composed in spite of the desperate situation he was in. “I always had my guesses. With how all-encompassingly powerful that Bodhisattva was, even if he did reincarnate and cultivate from scratch, how could there be something overstepping even his own control?”

Xu Disheng extended his hand, looking down at his smooth palm. “So my existence must have been outside of your calculations. Even the Soul Song cultivation method was something that you intentionally revealed and had me cultivate so that when that Bodhisattva’s true spirit reawakened, you would have a powerful, complete soul to use.”

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“And so what if you guessed correctly?” the artifact spirit of the Black Sky Yellow Earth Pagoda said, finally doing away with the mask. Any false pretense and extraneous emotions disappeared from its tone, leaving behind only a lofty, frigid indifference. “You truly were just an unforeseen circumstance. At the time when Master reincarnated… that existence in deep slumber within the Sahā Heaven awakened just a sliver. With the help of the Bodhisattva of Prajñā’s lotus seat avatar, Master managed to break away from Sahā Heaven and enter the Human Path of Reincarnation.”

Once the artifact spirit spoke to this point, it suddenly paused, returning the cyan jade flute to its original form as the Black Sky Yellow Earth Pagoda. Its bone-piercingly cold voice rang out in Xu Disheng’s mind once more. “Since you refuse to listen, then I can only give up on this soul fraction and destroy you completely, then escort Master’s true spirit to travel back through the Nine Serenities Realm.”

The moment it stopped speaking, the Black Sky Yellow Earth Pagoda began to release thousands of rays of light in his sea of consciousness, shining towards the depths of Xu Disheng’s mind!

The Soul Force that he had always been able to control like his own arm suddenly stopped listening to him. Wherever the radiance illuminated in his sea of consciousness, the Soul Force remained deathly still.

He had also completely lost control over the black Soul Force flute. Xu Disheng was physically unable to move a single inch, and could only watch the Black Sky Yellow Earth Pagoda slowly erase his mind bit by bit, transforming it into pure Soul Force that amassed in the black Soul Force Flute.

… …

Lu Ling was standing in the air, looking up at Spirit Controlling Primordial Lord. Her cherry lips parted as she spoke. “Cold Demonic Lightning.”

Heaven-sundering lightning erupted forth in the Luminous Cloud Abyss!

The vortex of the power of heaven and earth above the girl’s head fully condensed into reality. Countless bolts of green demonic lightning crackled and rumbled threateningly in the vortex. With a blast, several forks of lightning burst out, striking towards Spirit Controlling Primordial Lord!

“This girl’s condition… seems a little bit off,” Red Lotus Primordial Lord said as he examined Lu Ling, who was floating in the middle of the air. He seemed to have some guesses.

“A peak transformation-stage demon race, essentially a peak Dao Foundation stage cultivator, suddenly erupting forth with Primordial Spirit stage demonic force… There is even a trace of divine power present. A scene like this… it seems similar to when an almighty powerhouse from the Heavenly Court reincarnates and awakens a portion of their memories,” Primordial Lord Yanghua, the other Mountain Master of the Shangqing Mountain Range, said while nodding, staring at Lu Ling with great interest.

A matter like this wasn’t exceedingly rare in the Human Realm. There were some ancient texts that recorded events like these, so the Primordial Lords weren’t overly surprised and simply looked on with heightened interest and curiosity.

Jade Essence Primordial Lord’s expression was complex as he watched Lu Ling trading blows with Spirit Controlling Primordial Lord. “Red Lotus Mountain Master, our Ancient Nuwa Sect has caused trouble for you this time.”

Red Lotus Primordial Lord understood his implied meaning and smiled. “Not at all. A reincarnated deity of the Heavenly Court appearing in the Ancient Nuwa Sect and awakening their memories should be a joyous occasion. What trouble do you speak of?”

“Thank you for your kindness, Red Lotus Mountain Master,” Jade Essence Primordial Lord said, giving a serious bow. His body transformed into a stream of scarlet red divine light and disappeared. A moment later, he appeared right next to Lu Ling.

While casually blocking the demonic lightning that was striking towards him, Spirit Controlling Primordial Lord signaled a nod to Jade Essence Primordial Lord.

Jade Essence Primordial Lord flipped his palm and a scarlet vortex of demonic force spun and warped into existence. The saturated demonic qi whirled in his hand, and he clapped his hand on Lu Ling’s shoulder.

The divine light in the girl’s eyes faded away, and her long eyelashes trembled slightly as her eyelids closed. Her white serpent tail coiled up as she fell limp onto her demonic cloud.

Jade Essence Primordial Lord picked up the unconscious Lu Ling, then addressed Red Lotus Primordial Lord off in the distance. “Red Lotus Mountain Master, this matter is rather important, so we will be returning to the Ancient Nuwa Sect right away. Again, I appreciate your understanding.”

“No problem,” Red Lotus Primordial Lord said, nodding his head. Practically all the people from the Ancient Nuwa Sect had already left their cloud seats. He watched as they left the Luminous Cloud Abyss, inadvertently narrowing his eyes.

It crossed his mind at that moment whether he should take advantage of the opportunity to eliminate the party from the Ancient Nuwa Sect right here and now.

A reincarnated being from the Heavenly Court was extremely rare.

While rare, a number of instances had occurred across the ages like Lu Ling’s recent experience, where there had been a sudden surge of demonic force tinged with divine power, clearly marking a reincarnated deity’s memory awakening phenomenon.

Although she had awakened a portion of her memories, she was still very weak. She had managed to erupt forth with power on par with an early Primordial Spirit stage cultivator, but what was more important was her great potential to improve. She would become a Clone Avatar stage Greater Lord eventually, and she wouldn’t have any bottlenecks in her cultivation whatsoever.

The appearance of a future Clone Avatar stage Greater Lord in the Ancient Nuwa Sect wasn’t something that the Shangqing Sacred Sect would be happy to see.

However… Red Lotus Primordial Lord looked off at the skies outside the Luminous Cloud Abyss and shook his head.

The Sect Master of the Shangqing Sacred Sect, Greater Lord Qingyuan, as well as the other Clone Avatar stage Greater Lords, were all in the their domains in the Pure Spirit Ocean’s Shangqing Spiritual World. Right now, the only Clone Avatar stage Greater Lord in the Shangqing Eight Mountains was Greater Lord Zhuri. Everything that had happened here just now wouldn’t have escaped his immeasurably vast senses. Since Greater Lord Zhuri didn’t have any intentions towards Lu Ling, that meant the thought that just crossed his own mind would only do more harm than good, and wasn’t a good idea.

Naturally, even an almighty reincarnated being from the Heavenly Court would have to break through to the Divine Sea stage, and the difficulties they would have to confront in doing so were no different from that of any other living being. They would receive no benefits for being a reincarnated being aside from having a bit of foresight and memories.

Ghosts, demons, devils, humans, spirits, monsters… any race that could reach the Divine Sea stage could be called a peerless genius under heaven, fully deserving the title of Heavenly Lord.

In the boundlessly vast Human Realm, countless sects and organizations had risen and fallen across the ages. In spite of the transformations of the world, every Divine Sea stage existence deserved to be revered and remembered.

It wasn’t about right and wrong, it was about rules and the reverence of the great Dao.

Even a sect like the Shangqing Sacred Sect, which had a long legacy of over 100,000 years, had only produced a little over 20 Divine Sea stage beings since their founding.

… …

Xu Disheng was curled up on the ground on his hands and knees, his long black hair covering his face. His eyes were tightly closed, brows furrowed deeply.

His consciousness was gradually turning fuzzy as he sank into the depths of his own mind.

The ancient, timeworn aura flooded his mind. A massive golden profound light appeared before his eyes. It produced a halo of dazzling golden light that seemed to contain the countless epochs of time within, spreading an ancient, venerable aura. In the face of this vast, golden true spirit, Xu Disheng felt just how weak his consciousness was in comparison, no more than a drop in the ocean.

However… there was a colossal seal on the golden true spirit, covered in patterns resembling a sauwastika.

(TL: Sauwastika – 卍 The sauwastika is actually the left-facing version of the swastika symbol (counterclockwise). It is different from the right-facing symbol, the swastika, which was given a bad reputation in the western world by the Nazi Party of Germany, who adopted it as their symbol during their regime. But in the Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain countries like Nepal, India, Thailand, Mongolia, etc. the symbol still remains a symbol of well-being, representing the auspicious footprints of Buddha. So in this context, it most likely represents Buddha, please don’t misunderstand or misconstrue it according to familiar modern connotations of the symbol haha.)

The seal was emitting an even more brilliant golden Buddhist light, firmly trapping the true spirit.

“This is the seal that that Buddha cast on Master when he awoke slightly from his hibernation and found him leaving Sahā Heaven to reincarnate,” the artifact spirit said, a ripple of emotion tinging his cold, indifferent tone. “Thankfully he only awoke slightly. Due to certain circumstances, and in order to revive that woman, Master could only choose to recultivate the Immortal Dao, giving up on the path of a Bodhisattva. He finally managed to completely break free from Sahā Heaven, and won’t be discovered until that Buddha fully awakens.”

“If you fully release your mind, I can pass through the weak parts of the seal to help Master awaken a hint of his true spirit so he can occupy this body.”

“What’s so bad about returning your memories to Master? You are Master, and Master is you. Since you refuse to listen, I can only erase you completely and escort Master to reincarnate once more.”

The artifact spirit’s voice was cutting in and out, and it sounded as if it was getting farther and farther away. In the last few sentences, the voice was gradually fading away.

Xu Disheng’s remaining consciousness was on the verge of shattering. His senses were growing more and more fuzzy. In the next moment, he would fall into everlasting darkness, never to awaken again.