Chapter 1295 - The Mantis Stalks the Cicada
Chapter 1295 - The Mantis Stalks the Cicada
The sound of the Dao reverberated through the air, like the wondrous music of the heavens.
That tall, stalwart figure sat atop the ninety-foot platform built on the corpse of a fallen star. His entire body blazed with divine flames and shone with the light of the Dao, as if he were a god or immortal.
The cultivators gathered around him were mostly beneath the World King level, but there were a few World Kings mixed in too.
All of them were like devotees listening to their master’s teachings, seemingly intoxicated and obsessed.
It was as if an immortal were hosting a Dharma assembly, sharing the wondrous truths of the scriptures with the crowd.
“No wonder so many cultivators have gathered here of late. So, immortal fortune really has appeared on the Impermeable Demon Ocean,” said Zhuang Bifan.
“Immortal fortune? Don’t tell me the one who built that altar to spread the Dao is really... an immortal?” Wei Shan was stunned.
Earlier, they learned of some of the Impermeable Demon Ocean’s recent changes from Zhuang Bifan.
The most obvious change was the emergence of numerous suspected immortal ruins!
That aside, in the past, these waters were a forbidden zone so dangerous that not even World Kings dared venture in lightly.
But now, even ordinary cultivators could explore them!
This caused widespread astonishment, and the news drew countless cultivators. Even some top factions sent their forces here in search of good fortune.
“An immortal...” The Netherworld King looked a bit dazed.
The chanting reverberated throughout heaven and earth, seemingly full of endless mysteries. Zhuang Bifan and the others felt all kinds of revelations rising within their hearts.
But just as they were about to take it a step further, Su Yi called out to stop them. “Be careful!”
They were just two short words, but they were of supreme, wondrous truths of Buddhism, and they touched his companions’ hearts directly.
Boom!
Their souls quivered, and their hearts and gazes broke free of an invisible power as they regained mental clarity.
“Young Master, don’t tell me...” Wei Shan asked in bewilderment.
But before he could finish his question, Su Yi raised his fingertip, which surged with profound and inscrutable Dao Light that condensed into a perfectly smooth and clear treasure mirror.
When viewed through the treasure mirror, the scenery changed completely.
Earlier, the stalwart figure seated cross-legged atop the ninety-foot altar looked as transcendent and extraordinary as a god or immortal.
But now, he was instead a bloodied soul!
Although he was “just” a soul, he seemed material. He was dressed in tattered black robes. His hair and beard were coarse and disheveled, and his skin was deathly pale. His eyes were bright red, and his entire body was full of baleful, cursed power.
He sat cross-legged, muttering to himself.
A rusted bronze fragment hovered before him.
Strangely, wisps of vitality were rising out of the gathered cultivators and surging into the piece of metal.
But the pious devotees didn’t even seem to notice. All of them looked obsessed and intoxicated.
Su Yi’s companions couldn’t help but gasp in astonishment.
“So, he’s just a revenant up to no good!” Zhuang Bifan said coldly.
He too was one of the stars’ top experts, but just now, he’d almost fallen for the revenant’s schemes. He couldn’t help but feel a bit embarrassed.
A revenant.
An extremely terrifying variety of soul body full of resentment and cursed power. They were formed of the immortal cultivators who’d perished during the End of the Dharma.
Su Yi had witnessed the strength of revenants for himself back in Crow Ridge.
But this revenant was far more terrifying than the Blood Crows.
Shockingly, he seemed intelligent. He’d placed these ritual grounds and used a secret art to confound even World Kings, creating a scene like an immortal bestowing the Dao.
In truth, he was a revenant using a mysterious bronze fragment to gather living cultivators’ cultivations and vitality! His methods were ruthless and insidious.
“There are indeed revenants wandering the Impermeable Demon Ocean. That must mean that many experts from the End of the Dharma perished here,” Su Yi said softly. “It’s also entirely possible that during that era, these waters were home to factions of immortal cultivators.”
Times had indeed changed.
When the Temple Master explored the Impermeable Demon Ocean, he never encountered any revenants!
“Young Master, is that revenant gathering these cultivators’ cultivations and vitality to reforge his body and re-enter the world?” Wei Shan couldn’t help but ask.
Were that the case, it would be far too terrifying.
After all, revenants were all once immortal cultivators. If they re-entered the world, who knew what kind of waves would result?
“It’s hard to say.” Su Yi shook his head. “But I can say with certainty that most revenants aren’t intelligent, and it’s been so long since the End of the Dharma that most have perished.”
He gazed at the distant altar. “This revenant is intelligent enough to set a trap to gather others’ cultivation bases and vitality. In life, he was surely an extraordinary cultivator!
“As for whether or not he can come back to life... Well, we’ll know if we capture him alive, won’t we?”
But just as Su Yi was about to attack, Zhuang Bifan flashed him a dashing grin. “A wicked creature, that’s all. Allow me.”
His clothing swayed around him as he shifted positions, arriving in the ritual grounds in a flash.
“Take this!” Zhuang Bifan swung his green bamboo flute and attacked the figure seated on the altar.
The revenant full of cursed power only laughed, his red eyes shining with mockery.
Boom!
The revenant didn’t even move. The fragment of bronze hovering before him scattered a rain of light, neutralizing the attack.
Zhuang Bifan staggered back, almost falling out of the sky.
The revenant cleaned out his ears and let out a high-pitched, effeminate chuckle. “That all you got?”
Zhuang Bifan instantly felt awkward and ashamed.
He’d wanted to show off in front of Su Yi and his companions. Who’d have thought he’d be forced back in the blink of an eye? His cheeks heated up with embarrassment.
“Go!” Zhuang Bifan snorted coldly, then swung his sleeves.
A glittering golden Daoist seal appeared out of thin air and attacked, only for the bronze fragment’s light to force it back too.
The impact affected Zhuang Bifan as well, and he almost coughed up blood. Even his expression shifted uncontrollably. What kind of treasure is that bronze fragment from? How could it be so powerful?
“In the modern era, Cosmic Enlightenment cultivation might well represent supreme power, but in ancient times, you could find cultivators of your level just about anywhere. You’d have been completely unworthy of my attention,” said the revenant, stroking his jaw. He seemed entirely unperturbed, and his gaze was contemptuous.
Strangely, ever after the fighting began, the cultivators gathered around the altar didn’t seem to notice. They just sat there in a daze, like clay statues.
Zhuang Bifan was furious, and he wanted to attack again, only for Su Yi to drift over. “Do you really need to show off in front of me? Look at yourself! Even that wicked creature is looking down on you.”
Zhuang Bifan was instantly sheepish, but he couldn’t argue.
“Oh? A Oneness World King in his early twenties? Impressive!” The revenant’s red eyes looked Su Yi up and down, his gaze heating up as if he’d found a treasure.
“Fate brought us together. So long as you’re willing, I can break precedent, accept you as my apprentice, and teach you true immortal magic!” said the revenant. “As I’m sure you’ve realized, times have changed. The calamitous power of the End of the Dharma has dissipated, and the Path of Transcendence will soon re-enter this world!
“In the new age, World Kings will be nothing special whatsoever. It shall be the Transcendents who determine the fate of the world!”
Here, he pointed at himself. “And I was a Transcendent during the End of the Dharma, the leader of my sect!”
His words shook Zhuang Bifan’s heart. This revenant was once the leader of a faction of immortal cultivators?
“Oh?” said Su Yi. “Why take on an apprentice?”
The revenant laughed. “I’ll return to the outside world sooner or later, and I lack capable subordinates. Ordinary people are completely unworthy of my attention. Only people like you, those capable of stepping into the World King Realm at a tender young age, are worthy of my notice.”
Zhuang Bifan found this incredibly grating. The damned ghost sure knows how to brag!
Su Yi laughed. “I’m quite interested in you too. How about this? Answer a few of my questions, and I can leave you a path to life.”
The revenant was stunned. He picked his ears and exclaimed, “Are you threatening me?”
Su Yi nodded. “You can interpret it like that.”
“....” The revenant fell briefly silent, then burst into sputtering laughter. “What courage! I admire nothing more than courageous youngsters such as yourself. Neither gods nor ghosts scare you, and you live without fear of death or danger! But...”
His smile faded, and his bright red eyes flashed with imposing light. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll cut you down in a moment’s fury?”
“No,” said Su Yi.
“....”
Zhuang Bifan couldn’t help but find this amusing. “I can tell this revenant senses the danger, and is too scared to attack recklessly. Otherwise, why would he waste all this time talking?”
“That’s indeed the case,” said Su Yi in complete agreement.
“....” The revenant rose, his bloodied soul body bursting with cursed energy and terrifying momentum.
Zhuang Bifan’s pupils abruptly constricted.
But against all expectations, the revenant suddenly fled into the distance.
“Fuck! We fell for it! Just now, that damn monster was just trying to scare us!” cursed Zhuang Bifan.
Su Yi was surprised too.
But it was then that something unexpected happened.
Boom!
A glittering golden arrow cut through the dome of heaven in an attempt to intercept the revenant.
At the same time, a black fisherman’s net appeared out of nowhere, instantly expanding countless times over, like a dark curtain blotting out the sun. It enveloped the fleeing revenant completely.
Bang!!!
The golden arrow exploded, as radiant as the sun. Although it didn’t destroy the revenant, the impact made him stagger. The massive black net seized the opportunity to trap him.
Boom!
The black net churned, surging with stingingly bright divine flames as it repeatedly shrank, constricting the revenant’s movements.
Three figures appeared beneath the distant dome of heaven, seemingly out of nowhere.
Two men and one woman.
The leader was a middle-aged man in a crane cloak. His entire body was bathed in seemingly endless light. He was the one manipulating the black net.
“We finally found an opportunity to capture that intelligent revenant alive. We can surely get our hands on a legacy of the Path of Transcendence now!” laughed the man in the crane cloak.
When Zhuang Bifan saw this, he furrowed his brow. “The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. Your Xu Family really knows how to treat people!”
He could discern these three new arrivals’ origins at a glance.
They were from one of the Six Ancient Guardian Clans of the Dao, the Xu Family of the Skyfire Spirit Race!