Chapter 454: Surviving the Aftermath
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Mr. Nian and partner had vanished as if they were never there.
They had no problem parting with the odd lake that they had created single-handedly,
Mr. Nian did not know that by leaving now, they had lost the chance to annihilate Supreme Cloud!
When Yun Yang had dove down, the spiritual restraint had already been successfully activated. Yun Yang's manifestation power was entirely gone in that moment and he had returned to his human form; the retaliation of the arcane magic had even rendered him into a state of unconsciousness; it was all he could barely do to drift forward, following the underground river…
Mr. Nian only had to go into the river and conduct a search. He would find Yun Yang after looking for a few miles and he could even kill him without any effort!
However, he had not thought about this.
After all, Supreme Water's escape as water and his ability to manifest into liquid left too deep an impression; Mr. Nian would never believe that Supreme Cloud's power was sealed by the spiritual restraint, despite successfully escaping under such circumstances.
Furthermore, it would have been even more unbelievable if were he told that Supreme Cloud, who was capable of simulating the end of the world, would fall unconscious due to his inability to take the intensity of the retaliation.
Therefore, such a rare opportunity that might only have appeared once in this lifetime to take down Supreme Cloud brushed right past Mr. Nian!
Yun Yang, who had recovered his human form, followed the underground river, allowing himself to be swept away, far, far away. He, who had lost consciousness, could only follow the stream passively. When he woke up again, he was shocked to realize that he was somewhere on a shallow shore.
Looking around, there was a massive mountain behind him that looked majestic and proud; it was a lush green, calming one's senses when looked at.
There was a jet of water that gushed like a dragon from a deep cave, endlessly flowing.
Yun Yang regained consciously slowly. As he observed his surroundings, he almost fainted once more before he could even feel grateful for his survival.
He shut his eyes almost instinctively, breathing in the fresh air. Yun Yang was finally sure that he was still alive!
The next moment that came was not the gratitude of surviving, but an endless wave of agony.
His brain felt like it was about to explode.
The sudden pain put Yun Yang through a fit of seizures; he wanted to growl and vent the pain but was shocked to find out that he could not even make a sound. His throat felt as if it was being sliced by hundreds of thousands of knives.
However, the pain his body was going through was relatively insignificant.
It was his brain that hurt the most, due to the big bang that had happened in his mind.
In extreme agony, Yun Yang's eyes almost bulged out of their sockets. He wanted to direct his mystical Qi to suppress the pain and discomfort his body was experiencing, but realized that his dantian was empty; there was no mystical Qi to tap on, let alone suppress the pain.
Yun Yang cultivated the Endless Divine Art in a painful haze but found out that the divine skill that had been with him once he was revived back in the day, was absolutely lost to him as well.
He tried to head into his deific consciousness to ask Emmie for help, but it was only disappointment that greeted him – he could not connect to his divine sense!
His cultivation base, mystical skill, deific consciousness, dantian, Qi – everything was ominously silent, even more still than that of an ordinary person's!
Feeling the never-ending tidal waves of agony crashing in, one after another, Yun Yang felt like committing suicide numerous times within just a short quarter of an hour's time.
Yun Yang clung onto a rock beside him with his right hand's fingers that were the only part of his body that he could move, gripping it tightly until he broke his fingers and blood ran down in rivulets. He could not feel the pain from his fingers; there was only the gut-wrenching agony in his head.
Wave after wave, time and again; it was like there was no end to it.
"I want revenge!"
Unable to scream, Yun Yang shouted in his heart, using his will to tackle the borderless pain.
"My brothers are still waiting for me to seek revenge for them!"
"I have to persevere. I have escaped this battle; it means that heaven doesn't want me to die yet."
"I can't give up, I can't give up on the bloodied ocean of grudge!"
"I… I must take down the Four Seasons Tower and kill Mr. Nian, as well as all the men who ambushed us, brothers!"
"I shall never give up without getting our revenge!"
Yun Yang glared as his temples throbbed, his veins popping out like angry dragons. He clenched his teeth, not heeding the blood that was streaming from his mouth.
He dared not cry out now, afraid that his determination would be crushed once he opened his mouth.
He shut his mouth tight, gritted his teeth, his fingers gripping the rock. There was no mystical Qi supporting his strength yet the broken fingers were actually slowly embedding themselves into the rock.
A mark of a hand's grip eventually formed on the hard rock that had been washed timelessly by the water.
Yun Yang stared ahead without blinking as if there was an immense temptation luring him to look ahead, which held nothing but normal scenery.
It was because Yun Yang's mind was filled with a vision of his brothers coming in, one after another, their eyes gentle and comforting.
"Brother!"
"Young nine!"
"Persevere!"
"We're waiting for you!"
"Supreme Cloud must not fall! The Nine Supremes can't die!"
"Remember to seek revenge for us!"
These words of comfort pacified Yun Yang's, drained heart.
The scene changed abruptly; dead bodies and blood lay everywhere the eyes glanced at. Fresh crimson blood and severed limbs were scattered all over the ground while crows croaked in the sky. Several pairs of eyes that refused to rest in peace looked into the sky, wearing looks of frozen anguish.
Those were his brothers!
His eight brothers!
His eight hundred brothers!
Mr. Nian's words rang in his ears again like the devil's own voice, "Is that Supreme Earth? Wasn't he beaten to pulp?"
"Which other Supreme is that? He actually went crazy, seeing how Supreme Earth died, charging over to his own death; he got slashed into half, how gratifying…"
Yun Yang was making low raspy growls, his gaze turning crazed as hints of menace flashed in his reddened eyes.
Then, his old father appeared.
The wrinkled face was still smiling warmly. "My child, do you know how to make the Chinese cabbage and tofu that I taught you? Does it taste good?"
A flutter of a white gown – Yun Zuiyue gazed at him sadly. "Young brother, don't give up. Do not ever give up…"
The scene changed again. It was Dongxuan's troop that was preparing to charge while Han Sanhe, who was seated in the center, roared his commands, "This is the ultimate war today. Wipe out Yutang, there is no return until we win!"
The combined army of the four countries threatened to cover the sky as countless militants charged into Yutang's homes. Droves of innocent citizens struggled under the steeled hooves; they were crying in agony, yelling in hopeless despair.
"Nine Supremes Lords…"
"Save us, Nine Supremes Lords…"
"Nine Supreme Lords, where are you?"
…
Spiritual Restraining Formation – the Spiritual Restraining Formation had reappeared!
Four Seasons Tower!
A dominant voice rang out, "Wipe out the Nine Supremes, for there is no divinity in this universe. Only the Four Seasons Tower shall triumph over the world!"
Yun Yang's eyes remained unblinking, watching the scenes that flashed across his eyes, training his gaze on them and enduring the endless pain.
The pain Yun Yang was going through right now could turn a steel-hearted man who was fearless of death into a soft worm, even if it was only a quarter of an hour. Even if a hundred people picked at one person's meridians and broke his bones simultaneously, the pain was not even an iota of this agony!
If it had been anyone else, they might have already given up on life, unable to endure the torment. After all, to live like this was too arduous compared to dying!
However, Yun Yang persevered.
He bit his tongue through the entire journey, which lasted a whole day.
When Yun Yang had been contained by the spiritual restraint previously, not only had it caused his water manifestation to be ineffective but had also caused the Big Bang Embodiment to go amok and inflict pain upon him. His body suffered from unprecedented damage and his cultivation base, mystical skill, and deific consciousness were all lost. He could not even move now and the only part of him that had the slightest bit of mobility was his right hand. Ironically, Yun Yang himself had clenched his fist so hard that he had rendered himself a handicap.
Yun Yang, who was incapable of moving, was only left with his sight and touch. He watched the brightness dim slowly to darkness; stars blinked at him while the cold breeze and night fog swept across slowly, grey clouds gathering in the sky… A sense of chilliness landed on his face.
It was snowing!
Again?
The land around him turned silvery white with the falling snow. The pair of glaring eyes was eventually covered by the white snow and they could no longer see what was in front… but the flames burning in Yun Yang's heart flickered even brighter. The pain in his mind heightened as well, not reducing in the slightest despite the time that had passed.
Blood still trickled from the frozen face covered by snow, staining the pools of melted ice red. It was frozen before it trickled down again, the process repeating itself in endless loops.
Yun Yang remained stationary, but the extreme agony his head was going through put his heart through somersaults.
"I have to persevere!"
"I must go through this! Only by going through this can I take revenge!"
The night crept away while the snow accumulated in great heaps. In time, Yun Yang was thoroughly engulfed by the blinding snow.
With Yun Yang having lost his cultivation method and cursed with a severely wounded body, the snow alone could have threatened his life!
During the dawn of the next day, a raspy and almost inaudible roar that took almost all of Yun Yang's strength tore through him.
"Ahhhh!"
At the same time, a white puff of air spurted alongside his roar. He could finally move!
The pain in his mind was still unbearable, but it was much better than yesterday. An occasional throb would come and the two veins on Yun Yang's temples would pop before his head sunk into a splitting agony. However, once he pushed through the throbbing sensation, he found that he could actually catch his breath.
Compared to the pain that lasted the entire night, the slight room for panting filled Yun Yang with relief.
Yun Yang could not help thinking that most of the suffering in this world would lose its effect on him after this agonizing experience. Even if they were applied to him simultaneously, Yun Yang was confident that he would not make a sound till death claimed him. The so-called torture in comparison to the experience and pain he was in now was not even worthy to be mentioned.
Yun Yang huffed, trying hard to control and move his body; his right arm went to the ground, intending to prop his body up. A wave of pain crashed through him then; it was not from his head but from his right hand, where his fingers had been broken. Subsequently, the ache throughout his body seemed to be reawakened as well as pain surged through him like a tidal wave.
Yun Yang grunted in agony.
The physical pain was exceptionally intense; it was not something an ordinary person could withstand. However, after the extreme throbbing his head had experienced for one whole day, Yun Yang could still take it, despite being unable to totally ignore it.
He moved again, barely. Flipping over, he dragged himself away from his original spot; turning over once more, he fell on his back again. The snow that had covered his face for the night continued to drift down lazily.
Yun Yang saw only a gloomy sky. Snow was still fluttering down, but the cold flakes that landed on his face seemed to soothe his pain slightly.
Wincing, Yun Yang finally attempted to inspect himself and figure out how devastating his injuries were.
He could vaguely recall that his right leg was broken from the collision in the underground river; his tibia stung with the slightest movement and what was worse was that he could not feel the lower half of his right leg at all. Yun Yang wanted to check upon his leg, but could not pick himself up. He could only grope with his hand, heaving a sigh of relief when he felt the broken leg still attached.
Other than his right leg that had been broken, his left arm had been shattered into several parts as well. It hung beside his body like a snake. A few of his ribs were broken too, but it was better than what Yun Yang had expected. He had thought that at least eight or nine of them would be broken, but now that it was only three to four bones, he was actually delightfully surprised.
His right arm had been the only intact limb but he had foolishly destroyed five of his own fingers.
Lastly, his left leg had no sensation whatsoever, but, thankfully, there was no throbbing as well. It should be a matter of a poor position that it had gotten numb.
When he was turning, he felt a fairly big wound on the back of his head, but the absence of blood probably meant that it had scabbed over.
That was for his external wounds; there seemed to be no inch of him that hadn't been injured. Yun Yang wanted to use his internal vision to check on his internal injuries, only to find out that he still could not find any spiritual energy in reserve, even after a night of inactivity. However, the injury of his internal organs seemed to be equally severe.
However, it was Emmie that still perplexed Yun Yang. He could not reach it at all; it meant that his trump card, his supernatural life force, was no longer usable!
Two Whiteys and Jiji were residing in Emmie's space, so he could not find any help, even if he wanted to.
Yun Yang lay on the ground, panting softly and tried to control his breathing. "The injuries this time feels more serious than the one in Tianxuan Cliff's battle!"
"At least Emmie could have saved me then. This time, even Emmie is gone."
Yun Yang sighed.
"Why doesn't my current situation seem to be anything like what Emmie had said earlier?"
"I didn't die with my soul utterly obliterated. I didn't become mentally disabled, nor did I become an invincible expert… I guess that I didn't even turn ordinary, after all."
Yun Yang clearly felt that his dantian was still there. He could not direct any mystical Qi, but it was only because he was utterly expended and tired from the state of his injuries. When he recovered slightly, he could still steer his mystical Qi.
"Which means I'm not utterly ruined."
Yun Yang managed to find a sliver of comfort under such hopeless despair.
However, there was something that Emmie was right about.
The energy within him that belonged to the Nine Supremes was gone! It did not even leave a trace that it once existed. However, Yun Yang realized that there seemed to be a strange strength sitting in him but it was not within his control…
Yun Yang did not know how lucky he was.
The reason Emmie was unwilling to use this approach all along was that Yun Yang had no hope at all to push past it! Once it had been executed, he would only have death as the final option.
To use a mortal's strength to steer the gem of heaven, the power of the stars, into a human! What sort of physique could take in such colossal energy?
How strong was a star? It could be compared to the entire Tianxuan Continent or even larger than that!
Even if it were a smaller star, how small could it be when it had existed in the night sky since the beginning of time?
To trigger the power of stars in a single go – what kind of person could consume hundreds of thousands of the Tianxuan Continent with one gulp? Disregarding everything else, if Yun Yang were to be fed all the treasured resources in Tianxuan Continent, he would have disintegrated a thousand times over.
Although the energy given by each star was insignificant in the cosmos, there were one too many stars! There was no way Yun Yang could escape unscathed.
It was merely pure luck that Mr. Nian had activated the spiritual restraint at the moment the stars fell.
The Spiritual Restraining Formation had weakened a portion of the stars while Yun Yang had fallen into the underground river and blocked out most of the stars' power, due to the formation. When the power of the stars charged through the formation, Yun Yang had drifted far away, following the river's currents.
The power of the stars then landed on the wide stretch of land and into the funnel-shaped lake, turning the area into a blessed site. With time, it would produce an abundance of spiritual medicine.
Escaping the crisis of combustion, Yun Yang, who turned back into human form due to the spiritual restraint, had instead, sealed a portion of the stars' power within himself.
This was the energy Yun Yang had felt. It was not the mystical Qi energy Yun Yang had thought it was.
Half a day passed as the sun hung right in the middle of the sky.
Yun Yang inhaled deeply. Rolling over and supporting himself with his broken hand, he finally sat up.
He realized then that he was at a beach. Powdery sand cushioned him while a river gushed towards the sea less than half a feet in front of him. One of his legs was still soaked in the water.
He turned about, wanting to look around, but he stopped when he heard his neck creak. The sting forced his tears out; his neck was dislocated. Carefully checking himself, his shoulder rolled as he twisted his neck harshly, reconnecting the dislocated spot. He shivered from the pain, but his neck could move again.
He was covered in mud, his clothes in tatters. Yun Yang felt like he was a zombie freshly escaped from a grave.
The picturesque scenery around him was covered in snow. Casting his gaze farther, there were no footprints in the snow, only a few faint triangular prints of claws; they must be from the birds that had stopped here.
With his current state, he would never make it out of here, but this place was too isolated to stay for long.
Recalling the legends of some seniors who fell into an abyss or an underground river, they would always encounter their fated destinies or some reclusive expert or other. They would then embark on some miraculous journey where they would eventually obtain some form of unattainable skill or treasure.
Looking around, there did not seem to be any fated encounters. In all likelihood, he would starve to death instead.
When he was trapped, Emmie had provided him energy, so he did not feel any hunger. Now, he was made of flesh and blood; he would die from starvation if he did find something to eat.
His finger still wore the spatial ring that Lei Dongtian had given him, but he could not even open it without mystical Qi.
Yun Yang shifted himself with a lot of effort, he had only pulled his leg out of the water and turned himself a little on the shore, but the amount of pain had already threatened to take his consciousness. He then looked for somewhere he could lie against; with his back supported, only then did he dare lower himself and open his mouth to gulp the snow that was stained with sand from his movements.
Swallowing the snow, he felt his stomach churn, but his spirit was lifted with the cold. A dozen mouthfuls later and when the last gulp of snow had melted in his mouth, he spat the sand out and sighed, realizing that he could make a sound now.
Ignoring the discomfort of his throat, Yun Yang asked hoarsely, "Is there anyone here?"
The surroundings were quiet, there was no reply.
Yun Yang stopped his unwise action right away. His observation indicated that he was under a riverbank and there was a sunken pit opposite him. Even if someone had passed by, they would not have seen him. Besides, his voice was too weak to echo loudly. If he had cried out a few more times, he would only exhaust his remaining strength.
Right now, what was most important was still saving himself.
Yun Yang used all of his limbs, disregarding his tattered body, to climb forward in the snow.
There was a mild slope in front. Yun Yang also found a few rocks in the river under the slope that were covered in snow; there was where the river was relatively slower and shallower.
What would those rocks be for? It meant that if someone crossed the river, they had to use these rocks as stepping stones.
If so, the slope would be a path, despite covered in snow, a path one would have to take to cross the river.
Yun Yang could overlook the spot from where he was but to look over here from there, a cliff had obscured the entire view. What Yun Yang had to do now was to climb over.
There was only about a hundred feet of distance to traverse.
Normally, Yun Yang could bounce over with his eyes closed, but now, this distance was akin to crossing the country for him. It was an extremely difficult exercise now.
He climbed on the snow bit by bit, keeping his balance with all his might; he climbed with his chin, with his broken arm, his shoulder, and even his lower abdomen… He shuffled forward inch after inch.
He had to control himself well so he would not slide back because of the ice after so much effort had been taken to haul himself up.
It was noon when he began his journey from the shore but it was already night when he managed to get himself to the side of the slope.
Yun Yang could no longer hold on, quietly flopping onto the snow, and fainted. Before he fainted, he managed to stretch his bleeding right arm out, pushing it higher than his body in the snow. This way, even when he was swallowed by the snow, if someone had passed by, they could see his arm or the striking red of his blood…
After he finished this last movement, he passed out. The rest was up to the higher forces of heaven.
If someone had passed by and had a kind heart, then he would still have a sliver of hope. If no one passed by or if the passerby ignored him, then he would have to bid farewell to the world!
"Brothers, send someone to save me if you're all still here…" Yun Yang murmured in his semi-conscious state.