LABMY CH118

The Grand Advisor stood in the blood-soaked pit, white hair flowing, resembling a malevolent ghost. The sea of corpses and blood beneath him was indeed his handiwork, even containing the blood of his own kin.

Yet, in such a scene, he felt as though he was being ignored by the people above.

The delicate-looking young man widened his eyes, glancing at the tall man beside him with a mix of suspicion and disbelief. The man looked back at him, as if waiting for him to say something.

But no matter what they were discussing, they could not conceal the fact that neither of them paid any attention to the Grand Advisor.

The Grand Advisor frowned, “Are you coming down yourselves, or do I need to invite you?”

Mu Jingzhuo took a deep look at Jian Yuanbai, understanding that this was not the time for questions. He replayed the man’s words in his mind and turned to face the Grand Advisor.

Only when he opened his mouth to speak did Mu Jingzhuo suddenly realize what Jian Yuanbai had asked him to say.

A mere Foundation Establishment cultivator like him, claiming to be a Nascent Soul cultivator?

Mu Jingzhuo pressed his lips together, as if he had lost his voice and couldn’t speak.

At this moment, the doubts in his heart snowballed. Forcing him to say something so absurd—this was exactly the kind of thing his master would do.

Even if there were two people who behaved like this, the coincidence was far too eerie.

Jian Yuanbai saw his hesitation and patted him on the shoulder in encouragement, “You can do it. Believe in yourself.”

Mu Jingzhuo let out a sigh of helplessness and turned to the Grand Advisor, raising his chin slightly, “Even though I am merely a Nascent Soul cultivator, weaker than you, today, you will die beneath my blade.”

“When I say you will die, you will die. Even the heavens can’t save you.”

His posture was arrogant, his chin lifted, and his gaze condescending. His sheer audacity made the Grand Advisor hesitate, beginning to doubt.

The Grand Advisor narrowed his eyes and asked tentatively, “Nascent Soul? Are you hiding your true cultivation with some artifact?”

Having learned the art of bluffing, Mu Jingzhuo let out a cold laugh but said nothing.

An artifact to hide his true cultivation?

With his mere Foundation Establishment level, what was there to hide?

The Grand Advisor received no answer but was not angered. “Fine. Even if you are a Nascent Soul cultivator, you will still die by my hand.”

“This place is only missing one final trace of blood and qi. I will use your blood and your cultivation to complete this grand undertaking.”

As he spoke, he suddenly appeared before Mu Jingzhuo, a sword glinting with cold light piercing toward Mu Jingzhuo’s heart. Jian Yuanbai instinctively pulled Mu Jingzhuo back and countered with a fierce palm strike.

Jian Yuanbai quickly turned to Elder Yan and Elder Xiong, “Take care of him.”

Then, he charged toward the Grand Advisor. The two clashed mid-air, blow for blow, as Elder Yan and Elder Xiong’s expressions shifted.

A cold light swept across the ground, sending a rain of blood into the air. However, Jian Yuanbai’s speed was so swift that he left afterimages behind. His movements resembled a ghostly blue shadow, leaving countless phantom images across the battlefield.

When one looked up, there were over a hundred Jian Yuanbais, each radiating surging spiritual energy. The Grand Advisor swung his sword repeatedly, but each strike only shattered an illusion.

Mu Jingzhuo watched this scene, eyes wide with awe.

So this was the ultimate mastery of the Ghostly Phantom Step technique.

A hundred phantoms, each carrying genuine spiritual energy, making it impossible to distinguish the real from the fake, even with spiritual sense.

The Grand Advisor sneered coldly. His sword flew from his hand and hovered before him. With both hands, he rapidly formed a series of strange hand seals, shouting, “Sword Split!”

The sharp sword split into two, then four, then a hundred. Hundreds of swords radiated killing intent, aiming at the countless phantoms around him.

The sound of swords cutting through the air filled the battlefield as the unmanned swords shot out, shattering the illusions in an instant.

With a crisp clang, Jian Yuanbai pinched one of the flying swords between two fingers. The blade trembled violently in his grasp, and with a sharp crack, it shattered from the tip, fragment by fragment.

The Grand Advisor shouted angrily, “Let’s see how you dodge this now!”

As his words fell, he charged toward Jian Yuanbai. The hundreds of swords converged toward the one in his hand, growing brighter and more powerful with each moment.

Jian Yuanbai raised his hand and pressed down fiercely. A massive surge of spiritual energy crashed down like an avalanche, causing the Grand Advisor’s hand to tremble slightly. When he struck, his speed had already slowed significantly, making it easy for Jian Yuanbai to dodge.

The Grand Advisor’s expression twisted in shock and rage, “Who the hell are you?!”

Jian Yuanbai’s pupils flickered. “Just an ordinary mercenary.”

“Good, good, good.” With three consecutive “good” words, the Grand Advisor let out a furious shout, and a pale white lotus suddenly appeared behind him.

The lotus was enormous, almost covering half of the sky pit. Unlike other lotuses, which appeared beautiful and pure, this one was white—so white that it lacked any color, resembling the pallor of a corpse and exuding an extremely ominous aura.

Countless pale white petals shot out from the lotus, distorting the air wherever they passed. The petals came with overwhelming force, covering such a wide area that even Elder Yan and Elder Xiong, who were up in the air, had to desperately pull Mu Jingzhuo along to dodge.

Shi Yun, who was bound by the Immortal Binding Lock, widened her pupils in shock. Seeing the unconscious Shen Zilan nearby, she gritted her teeth and threw herself in front of Shen Zilan to shield her.

Her spiritual energy was sealed by the Immortal Binding Lock, but as a cultivator in the Great Ascension Stage, her physical body was far stronger than Shen Zilan’s. If the petals landed on her, she would be injured, but if even a single petal struck Shen Zilan, she would die instantly.

Fortunately, the two of them were not the primary targets of this Death Lotus. They were only caught in the aftermath. Therefore, with her physical body, Shi Yun was able to shield Shen Zilan, suffering only superficial wounds.

The true target of the Death Lotus was another person.

The petals descended with terrifying speed, almost impossible to dodge. When Mu Jingzhuo, who was being dragged to safety by Elder Yan, saw the countless petals raining down on the man at the center, he couldn’t help but shout, “Shizun!!!”

“If you dare to keep pretending you’re only at the Nascent Soul Stage and let yourself get seriously injured, I will never forgive you for the rest of my life!”

The man, who seemed to have no way to escape from the dense petals, stiffened. He raised his hand, and in the next moment, several giant dragons surged into the sky, devouring the petals that blocked out the heavens. The dragons roared in fury and charged forward, tearing apart the massive Death Lotus.

The Grand Advisor suffered backlash, spitting out a mouthful of blood. He stared in disbelief at the man surrounded by the dragons. “Sect… Sect Master Jian?”

However, the man turned around with an awkward smile and opened his arms toward Mu Jingzhuo. “Little Spoon, look, not a single scratch.”

Jian Yuanbai’s actions were stiff and awkward, with a hint of nervousness and caution.

Everyone was stunned, including Mu Jingzhuo.

But Mu Jingzhuo’s reaction was slightly different. His shock was mixed with a sense of “I knew it,” as if the truth had finally been revealed.

The situation earlier seemed extremely dangerous. Mu Jingzhuo had been anxious and worried, but he had only been testing the waters. And the result… was truly shocking.

After their initial shock, Elder Yan and Elder Xiong both turned to look at Mu Jingzhuo. The two of them had excellent memories. How could they forget that not long ago, Mu Jingzhuo had kissed their Sect Master right in front of them?

Even the detail of kissing the corner of Jian Yuanbai’s lips was etched clearly in their minds. Yet, they couldn’t seem to remember how their Sect Master reacted.

Even Elder Yan, who was usually expressionless and preferred to complain inwardly, felt a twinge of regret at this moment—for not paying attention to the unfamiliar man back then, for not remembering the expression on his face.

Under the piercing gazes of the two elders, Mu Jingzhuo felt inexplicably guilty. Though they hadn’t said a word, he somehow understood exactly what they were thinking.

At this moment, he didn’t even know whether he should be angry or embarrassed.

Should he be angry at Jian Yuanbai for constantly switching identities and keeping him in the dark? What he thought was a farewell was, in fact, just Jian Yuanbai showing up again under a different identity.

Or should he be embarrassed for kissing his own master right in front of the two elders, boldly declaring him as his Dao companion, and hoping the elders would spread the word to his master?

Well, now it turns out… the person he kissed was his master all along.

Under the watchful eyes of Elder Yan and Elder Xiong, Mu Jingzhuo’s face turned red, then pale, then red again. It was truly a sight to behold.

But this was clearly not the right time to discuss such things.

The Grand Advisor clutched his chest and muttered, “Impossible… Why are you here?”

“Ridiculous, ridiculous, ridiculous!”

Shi Yun, still in shock, struggled to cup her hands respectfully and asked, “Sect Master Jian, may I ask if you could remove the Immortal Binding Lock on me?”

With a wave of Jian Yuanbai’s hand, the Immortal Binding Lock that Shi Yun couldn’t break free from shattered instantly. She twisted her wrist and looked at the broken lock on the ground with a complicated expression.

At this moment, she fully understood the vast gap between her and Jian Yuanbai.

Just as Jian Yuanbai once said, though they were both in the Great Ascension Stage, she had reached this stage because that was her limit. Jian Yuanbai, however, remained in the Great Ascension Stage because beneath the heavens, that was the highest realm one could reach before ascending.

Shi Yun respectfully thanked him and turned to the Grand Advisor, asking just one question: “Why?”

Why did he kill so many people? At least a thousand cultivators from the Asriga Empire had fallen here, with most of the higher-level cultivators perishing.

For a long time to come, the Asriga Empire would be left without successors.

As the Grand Advisor of the Asriga Grand Court, who was supposed to protect the empire, why did he commit such unforgivable sins?

The Grand Advisor was injured, but he could have fled. Yet he didn’t. He knew that in front of Jian Yuanbai, escape was impossible.

More importantly, he didn’t want to run.

He sat in the sea of blood beneath him and sneered in response to Shi Yun’s question. “Why?”

“You, a mere Sect Master of the Wenxian Sect, have no right to judge my deeds.”

The Grand Advisor coldly glared at Shi Yun and asked, “Do you know what the Asriga Empire’s other name is?”

“This place is no damn empire. It was we, the Asriga Grand Court, who built this so-called empire from scratch.”

Shi Yun couldn’t suppress her anger and questioned, “Then why did you set up all this and slaughter thousands of cultivators?”

Compared to her fury, the Grand Advisor remained calm and spoke as if he were merely stating facts. “This place… is called the Abandoned Land.”

“It is the land discarded by the immortals beyond the sea. How can mortals and immortals coexist?”

“With just a wave of an immortal’s hand, a spiritual blade could sever the peak of a mountain. What would the helpless mortals living on that peak do? Just wait for death in despair?”

“So, this place came into existence. Though abandoned, some mortals here were born with spiritual roots and could cultivate. The spiritual energy here may not be inferior to that of the Ninefold Continent beyond the sea.”

The Grand Advisor looked at Shi Yun, whose face twisted in shock upon hearing this for the first time.

“Beyond the sea lies the true Ninefold Continent. The Asriga Empire is merely a tiny, isolated land cast aside.”

“When the immortals of the Ninefold Continent discovered that people from the Abandoned Land could reach the Earth Immortal stage, they were enraged. In their eyes, we are mere ants. How could ants sit at the same table as their masters?”

“So, beneath the sea, they placed a supreme immortal artifact—the Soul-Suppressing Tortoise Stone.”

“This artifact drew away most of the spiritual energy from the Asriga Empire and returned it to the Ninefold Continent. That’s why, a thousand years ago, there were countless ascensions, but now, there are barely any.”

The Grand Advisor suddenly stood up, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and cast a cleansing spell to remove the filth from his clothes. Then, he said:

“After a thousand years, the Asriga Grand Court has finally figured out how to strip the Tortoise Stone of its outer shell and lift it from the sea.”

“However, to completely destroy this supreme immortal artifact… there’s only one thing left to do.”

“The celestial artifact possessed a spirit, and the soaring resentment and blood energy were like deadly poison to the Spirit-Suppressing Turtle Stone, which had lost a layer of its shell. This blood energy and resentment would inevitably pollute and destroy it.

Once the Spirit-Suppressing Turtle Stone lost its function, the Asriga Empire would truly be reborn.

He smiled and said, “I just don’t know whether the resentment I’ve carried since birth as the Grand Advisor of the Asriga Grand Court will be enough to eliminate the last trace of blood energy here.”

He said this not to justify himself, nor to explain to others, but simply because he wanted to speak.

Perhaps, deep down, he had hesitated countless times, unsure whether such a tragic price was worth exchanging for an uncertain future of fairness and rebirth.

He spoke to himself, to his own heart that could no longer turn back. Since there was no way to retreat, he would walk forward with unwavering steps, even if the path led to darkness.

After speaking, the Grand Advisor closed his eyes. His entire body seemed to lose support and collapsed into the sea of blood with a thunderous crash.

He died suddenly and quietly, far less tragically than those who had perished before him. Yet, the shock he brought to Shi Yun and the others was incomparable to the rest.

For a moment, Shi Yun didn’t know what expression to show. She instinctively looked at Jian Yuanbai and asked, as if seeking confirmation, “Sect Master Jian, is what he said true?”

Jian Yuanbai nodded, while the other two elders said, “It’s true.”

The Asriga Empire was not only a land of abandonment but also a place of exile for the Ninefold Continents. Elder Yan and Elder Xiong were both exiled here, believing they would never return.

But now…

Before Shi Yun could ask further, the ground suddenly shook violently. The surroundings cracked at an alarming speed, with spiderweb-like fractures spreading rapidly across the entire pit.

Shi Yun exclaimed anxiously, “No! This place is about to collapse!”

As soon as her voice fell, the ceiling of the cave came crashing down. The deafening sound of the tremor drowned out everything. Dust filled the air, only to be dispersed by the turbulent seawater.

The massive pit vanished after the collapse. In its place, something completely unexpected appeared before them.

Jian Yuanbai frowned, “Perhaps this is the true form of the Spirit-Suppressing Turtle Stone.”

It was a massive, eerie black stone gate, towering several zhang high, that devoured blood.

At that moment, the giant black stone gate in the distance also began to crack. Before their eyes, it shattered inch by inch. The blood that once flowed through the cracks of the stone gate, unaffected by seawater, disappeared without a trace. The stone gate turned pitch-black, radiating an ominous aura.

Everything vanished—the flowing blood like veins, the long passage, and the giant pit.

If not for the shattered remains of the stone gate, all of this would have felt like a fleeting dream, leaving no trace behind.

Perhaps there was no longer a need for Shi Yun to seek confirmation. The moment the black stone gate shattered, she felt an immense surge of spiritual energy—not from within her, but from the surroundings.

The density of spiritual energy here was rising rapidly, as if something was pouring it in.

Like seawater rushing back, the spiritual energy flooded in after the stone gate’s destruction. Even the Sea of Falling Waters, where spiritual energy would stagnate, was now overflowing. One could only imagine the flourishing state of the Asriga Empire once they left the sea.

The Grand Advisor had spoken the truth.

At this point, no one could judge his deeds as right or wrong. Perhaps he was right, or perhaps he wasn’t.

If not for his actions, the cultivators of the Asriga Empire would have remained like livestock trapped in a pen, abandoned and forgotten, never knowing the vastness of the world or the richness of spiritual energy.

Was it worth sacrificing everything to fight for freedom and fairness? Or was it better to live a carefree life at the bottom of a well, believing the sky they saw above was the entire world?

No one could tell which was right or wrong.

For the cultivators who died in this grand scheme, they would have undoubtedly chosen to live. But for those born later in this land, this was the greatest fortune.

As they gazed at the shattered remains of the stone gate, the few of them fell silent.

In the end, Shi Yun glanced at Shen Zhilan, who was struggling to wake up, her eyelashes trembling. Shi Yun reached out to pick her up and said to Jian Yuanbai, “Thank you, Sect Master Jian, for saving us today.”

“In the future, I will personally visit your sect to express my gratitude.”

Jian Yuanbai replied, “No need.”

He couldn’t wait for Shi Yun to leave with Shen Zhilan in her arms. He answered her with straightforward coldness, not bothering with any unnecessary pleasantries.

Shi Yun didn’t care about Jian Yuanbai’s indifferent attitude and continued, “However, this matter is of great importance. I hope Sect Master Jian can fulfill the responsibility of the leader of the Asriga Empire’s top sect.”

She paused, realizing the Asriga Empire could no longer be considered part of the Ninefold Continent, and corrected herself, “I mean, gather the sects to discuss the situation.”

‘The destruction of the Spirit-Suppressing Turtle Stone will eventually be discovered by the Ninefold Continent. Whether sooner or later, we need to come up with a strategy. If they find out too soon, the Asriga Empire will be in great danger.’

Jian Yuanbai glanced at the shattered remains of the stone gate. “They won’t find out immediately. The Spirit-Suppressing Turtle Stone was unowned. Its destruction won’t alert anyone. Besides, since this was a thousand-year plan by the Asriga Imperial Court, they must know what to do next.”

“It’s impossible that they went through so much effort to destroy the Spirit-Suppressing Turtle Stone just to provoke those people into seeking revenge, right?”

“We should wait until we meet the Asriga Grand Court and hear what they have to say.”

Shi Yun nodded. “Then I’ll take my leave for now. I will visit again in the future.”

Just as she was about to leave, Jian Yuanbai suddenly moved like lightning, grabbing a shadow hiding in the ruins.

“Zhao Ziji, where do you think you’re going?”

“No, no! You can’t kill me!” Zhao Ziji panicked. “You can’t kill me! You can’t”

Jian Yuanbai sneered, “You tried to kill my disciple underwater. Why can’t I kill you?”

‘I… I… I…’ Zhao Ziji stammered, then suddenly shouted, “Because I’m the protagonist of this world!”

Jian Yuanbai instinctively turned to look at Mu Jingzhuo. The true protagonist of this world was standing right behind him, the little ladle.

Where did this Zhao Ziji come from, claiming to be the protagonist?

Though it was an odd moment, Jian Yuanbai suddenly realized that ever since Mu Jingzhuo revealed his identity, he hadn’t spoken a word to him.

Jian Yuanbai felt a bit uneasy but quickly sealed Zhao Ziji’s mouth with spiritual power. “I’ll take you back to Wangyun Sect and question you properly.”

Shi Yun frowned, wanting to ask something but held back. At that moment, Shen Zhilan, who had been struggling to wake up, finally opened her eyes and murmured, “Master…”

“Where is this?” She looked up and saw Jian Yuanbai’s face. “Cousin?”

Everyone was confused except Jian Yuanbai, who froze in place.

The system couldn’t hold back its laughter, “Hahahaha! You’ve stumbled into everything on this trip!”

“Mu Jingzhuo didn’t come here to train in the Sea of Falling Waters. He came to clear the mines! Hahahaha!”

Jian Yuanbai’s head throbbed from the system’s laughter. He gritted his teeth, “Shut up if you can’t say anything useful!”