This chapter is sponsored by: John Fullmer
Chapter 76 – Comprehending the Heart of Nature
Translated by: Sephilia
Edited by: The poor guy, Brian and Rango
TLCed by: Sephilia
Initially, Fatty Hai had thought that Yue Yang would advance with everyone together. But instead, he split the team into two groups.
Ye Kong estimated that the difficulty of this training had just become at least three times higher just by bringing this fatty along.
If not for him now owning a beast again, Ye Kong would not dare to say that he could guarantee the safety of this stupid pig.
In another group, Yue Yang took Yue Bing and Yi Nan along and headed towards the southern road that he had walked through previously. Without stopping to rest, he began to recount to Yue Bing what he had experienced when he had passed the trial by himself. Yi Nan felt that it was a little weird, and said, “We’ll talk about it when we get to those checkpoints. It’s still far too early right now.”
The moment they came out of the auction house, she could feel that Yue Yang had planned to take big risks.
She was not able to guess what Yue Yang’s plan was, but she felt that it must be extremely tough and dangerous.
Initially, Yue Bing had thought of convincing Yue Yang not to do whatever it was he was planning, but he was her big brother after all. No matter what, she felt that she should give 100% of her support to whatever Yue Yang did. Besides, she knew he was not a hot-headed person and would probably not act rashly. Most importantly, she saw faint trace of Yue Yang’s determination, and it had strangely increased her confidence in his complete success..
Thus, Yue Bing decided not to bog her brother down.
Suddenly, Yue Yang grasped Yi Nan’s shoulders and warned her softly, “Brother Yi Nan, although I’m leaving Yue Bing in your protection, I feel a little uneasy. She still hasn’t grown up and is still a huge loli. You can’t swing that way, do you understand? Also, you’re now considered her brother (TL note: “oniisan”), so you have to take care of her well. At most, I’ll introduce you to some pretty girls next time!”
After waiting a moment for Yue Yang to bring Hui Tai Lang far away, Yi Nan lightly sighed, saying, “Yue Bing, your brother really is a huge idiot.”
Yue Bing nodded her head and agreed, “Sister Yi Nan, there was no other way it could be. My brother was shut inside the house for far too long.”
What they could not understand was that Yue Yang had actually intentionally done this. Regardless of whatever he did, he would just pretend that he could not recognise Yi Nan as a girl. Otherwise, how would she have let him hold her shoulders like that? Men and women were different. Once the differences were realized, it would probably be difficult for Yue Yang to grope and take some advantage of her. The situation right now was not bad at all. He could embrace her, hug her and touch her as he pleased…
The first time he had passed through the Blackstone Labyrinth, Yue Yang, who had the Quintet Seeking Golden Mice, only used six hours to complete the route which would take others at least three days.
Since he was coming back here for the second time, he could easily breeze through even without the Quintet Seeking Golden Mice.
He dashed onwards, and rushed to the base of the Ten-thousand Year Ancient Oak Tree within the next three hours.
When he arrived, he did not instantly move on to the Demon’s Blood Pond to kill the Nine-headed Monster, but rather rested on the treetops for a while. He was borrowing the Ten-thousand Year Ancient Oak Tree’s spiritual energy to improve his abilities, allowing him to attain his peak form before moving on to Demon’s Blood Pond. His objective was not to kill a Nine-headed Monster, but to capture a juvenile Nine-headed Monster, and use it to trade for the Fruit of Wisdom and the Lustrous Branch of the Tree of Life alive. This level of difficulty was a headache even for Yue Yang who had already reached the Innate realm. The Nine-headed Monster was not an ordinary monster. As long as it had matured, it was minimally a Bronze-ranked Level 7 or above beast. Adding its huge size, deadly poison, and the consecutive attacks from the nine heads, it caused people to be unable to defend against attacks coming from it.
If this Blackstone Labyrinth did not have a rule that prohibited the use of magic, then Yue Yang, who possessed the Innate Sword Qi, would not have to feel nervous at all.
But within the Star’s Domain, Yue Yang could only defend himself and was unable to attack.
Using Xiao Wen Li, the Barbaric Cow Shadow and Hui Tai Lang to overwhelm and kill the family of Nine-headed Monsters, then capturing a juvenile Nine-headed Monster was a completely unrealistic move, nor was it smart to do so. Therefore, a good plan had to be thought up that could allow him to capture a juvenile Nine-headed Monster alive and safely escape.
Therefore, long before they had come to the Blackstone Labyrinth, Yue Yang had already thought up of a good plan.
But, it was extremely dangerous.
A single misstep could cause his untimely demise.
This plan was to use the teleportation scroll. He would lure a juvenile Nine-headed Monster out of the Blood Pond, then activate the teleportation scroll.
If the teleportation succeeded, the Nine-headed Monster would be teleported with him in front of the Warrior’s Guild, or at the teleportation area set up secretly during the campaign to the abyss.
Although he could use his own power back at the Warrior’s Guild, it was extremely easy to expose his identity as an Innate Ranker. He could not say for certain that there would not be greedy mercenaries trying to steal it as well. What if someone was hurt or died in the commotion, the Ancient Code might cause him to hold responsibility for it. If, through an interpretation of the Ancient Code, it was decided that the death was caused by him, he could be punished like Shi Ming was by these Ancient Code and be sentenced to death via explosion.
He did not understand the Ancient Code a single bit. If it was brain-dead and made whoever started everything responsible for murder, then he would be in deep trouble.
The second possibility was to teleport to the Ancient Battlefield in the abyss.
In that place, there was a high chance that there could be a hundred thousand demons that were preparing to storm into the Soaring Dragon Continent or Tong Tian Tower at any time. If he teleported there, he would most likely be brutally surrounded by a hundred thousand demons.
Since he was a man, he should be fearless and brave.
Compared to the incomprehensible and uncontrollable Ancient Code, Yue Yang would rather choose the abyss. It would be far better to fight against a hundred thousand demons than to helplessly explode and die. At least, in the abyss, he could cut a path out of the battlefield. With the Innate Sword Qi, two summoning grimoires, Xiao Wen Li, the Barbaric Cow Shadow, the mysterious Gold Beast and the Golden Thorny Flower, even the Quintet Seeking Golden Mice and Hui Tai Lang…
Would it really be impossible to come back after taking a trip to the abyss?
No.
Yue Yang had complete confidence in himself. As long as he did not meet a strong foe who was of Demon Lord class strength, even if it was a Demon General who initiated an all-out battle on him, he would not need to fear anything.
Leaving from under the shade of the Ten-thousand Year Ancient Oak Tree, he saw a sky filled with stars.
Yue Yang felt that he was so close to the stars at this moment, it was as if he could pluck them out one by one, just by stretching his hands out. Then, looking again, he felt that they were so far away, only small dots of starlight, not knowing how many millions of light-years away it came from…
The universe that contained the sky and the earth and the myriad of living beings was far too mysterious.
After a brilliant sigh naturally formed in his heart, Yue Yang suddenly felt his mind begin to enter a strange yet wonderful state. It was as if his heart had opened up and expanded limitlessly, stretching to the furthest ends of heaven and earth. His body slowly disappeared, leaving his soul to fly freely around in the sky. Yet it felt like his soul was still continuously expanding, as if he was a giant looking at the myriad of rivers and valleys on the earth. He was like a powerful creator, looking down at all the living beings on the earth, looking at the swaying of the plants, the birds flying around, and the vast variety of living beings which formed a circle of life that was wonderful without compare. It was a perfect, endless cycle.
Yue Yang felt that after seeing such an amazing natural scenery, it seemed like he had understood a kind of secret that was hard to express in words.
But the more secret he understood, the more he was bewildered.
He found out that the more he knew and the more he was able to achieve, what he had originally known was just a grain of sand in a vast ocean of knowledge.
And, compared to the power of the millions of beings roaming the heaven and the earth, he, who had seemed to be extremely strong, was obviously still an insignificant existence… Compared to the entire universe, he was just a small part of one of the millions and billions of planets, just like a drop of water in the big ocean.
A light of wisdom rose from his soul.
In that instant, something formed inside of his body, as if a kind of energy had condensed into a sphere; yet it was clearly different from his Innate Sword Qi.
When the Ten-thousand Year Ancient Oak Tree started emitting a faint green radiance and resonated faintly with the condensed sphere of energy within Yue Yang’s body, Yue Yang finally realised that he had understood the ‘Heart of Nature’ that he had never been able to clearly grasp before. The world’s Innate Rankers were definitely the closest to nature. After all, only by controlling heaven and earth could one control everything.
After understanding the Heart of Nature, this was equivalent to opening a huge door within the Innate realm.
This… was also a sign of a new realm.
When Yue Yang’s Heart of Nature resonated with the Ten-thousand Year Ancient Oak Tree, he had found out astonishingly that the effects of the Ancient Code that restricted his body’s power had lightened considerably.
Under the Ten-thousand Year Ancient Oak Tree, he quietly cultivated for another day, before moving to the Demon’s Blood Pond.
After understanding the Heart of Nature, Yue Yang felt more certain that he would succeed.
This time, Yue Yang would not send Hui Tai Lang out, but rather, he would let a Phantom Shadow float into the Blood Pond and prepare to assault a juvenile Nine-headed Monster.
The female Nine-headed Monster who had lost an egg had become extremely vigilant. It appeared almost instantly when the Phantom Shadow appeared. The female Nine-headed Monster broke out of the surface of the pond and roared angrily. Instantly, the entire family of Nine-headed Monsters became restless.
When they appeared on the coast, Yue Yang immediately began his fiendish attack.
A second later, Yue Yang, along with a mature female Nine-headed Monster, two semi-mature Nine-headed Monsters and two juvenile Nine-headed Monsters, were teleported at the same time to the ancient battlefield in the abyss.
When Yue Yang raised his head, he abruptly saw tens of thousands of demons, led by dozens of Demon Generals looking at him with their jaws dropped…