Aspiring to the Immortal Path
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chapter-479
Xu Hanling placed a finger on his leg and let out a bolt of energy. The light sensation of pain cleared up his mind.
This was his habit to quickly compose himself in tense moments.
He walked to the Hall of Mystery.
He swiftly walked up to the disciple guarding the hall and said, "Rally Peak is under attack by fiends, and Hall Master Xiang has ordered for all disciples to assemble and prepare to fend off the enemy. You should go as well."
The disciple was clearly taken aback. "Chamberlain Xu, the Hall of Mystery has to be protected.""This is an emergency, and everyone needs to work together to defend against the enemy until reinforcements arrive. If Rally Peak falls, do you think that the Hall of Mystery can stand alone?"
The disciple felt that this was true, and he could hear the fiends attacking the mountain. And considering that Xu Hanling was a Celestial Heart True Person, he didn't dare to defy him. "I will go and call Junior Brother Lu."
A few moments later, he left the hall with another disciple.
Xu Hanling watched them leave, and then he entered the hall with a cold chuckle.
Upon entering the hall, he looked around, walked straight, and took a turn at a corner. He went up to a floor tile and turned it over.
A vast nebula appeared on the ceiling of the hall.
The nebula was a grandiose sight, and if one reached out one's hand, one would discover that it was impossible to touch any star no matter how hard one tried. This seemingly simulated world contained an infinite space.In the center of the nebula was a hexagonal crystal that was missing a corner. Its form was identical to that of the little tiger's Divine Time Crystal.
"The Divine Space Crystal!" Xu Hanling's eyes blazed with fervor as he looked at the crystal.
This was a divine treasure that not even Violet Palace Titans could master. For this item, the Beast Refining Gate was even willing to activate their most well-hidden and most powerful spy.
A hundred years of patience for the sake of a single day.
If he could get this item, he would have made a huge contribution to the Beast Refining Gate. From then on, he would soar to the heavens and no longer have to stay here and be a True Person.
Gazing at the Space Crystal, Xu Hanling took out a small bottle and slightly tilted it forward.
A jewel-like drop of blood rolled out.
It slightly glowed in Xu Hanling's hand. The hexagonal crystal sensed this red light, and the stars suddenly began to shine brighter.
This blood was the White Tiger's blood.
The White Tiger's corpse had been with the Beast Refining Gate for more than a thousand years, so the Beast Refining Gate had naturally done their best to get some of its blood. Other than being used to raise beasts, some of it had also been passed down through the Beast Refining Gate, one drop of which was the one in Xu Hanling's possession.
With it, even if he couldn't control the Space Crystal, he could at least take it away from here.
Xu Hanling suddenly fired several bolts of energy from his finger at the drop of blood. He then waved his hand, sending the drop of blood up into the nebula. It flew past the stars and toward the Space Crystal.
As it got closer to the Space Crystal, it got much faster, guided by the Space Crystal.
But what seemed like only a few feet away ended up feeling like tens of thousands of kilometers.
"Faster, a little faster…" Xu Hanling muttered.
Beneath Rally Peak, the fiends were still crazily charging up the mountain.
Every inch of the mountain slope was painted with the blood of fiends.
Swords flew through the sky like rain, spell arts blazed, and lights intersected, creating a majestic battle. Like this, the fiends pushed closer and closer to the summit. Despite their preparations, the defenders of Rally Peak still found it difficult to hold off so many fiends. In order to avoid meaningless casualties, they had no choice but to execute a fighting retreat. And to prevent the enemy from reaching the summit, they also had no choice but to seal space again.
"These guys are quite crazy," Peng Yaolong muttered. "I say, brothers, what are we still waiting for?"
This brief break had been enough for Peng Yaolong to recover some of his strength, and he was already itching to start fighting again.
Bei Canghan chuckled. "We've rested enough, so it's time to make our move."
He waved his hand, sending a wave of sword energy at the rear of the fiend horde.
The twenty-some of them had ended up at the rear of the fiend horde in order to avoid them, which now allowed them to assail the rear without fear of attacks from the fiends.
They had a rather fun time blasting away at the pack of heedless fiends. Only Tang Jie looked pensively up at the summit.
He already understood that the Beast Refining Gate had come for the Space Crystal.
The Beast Refining Gate wasn't so stupid as to try to succeed with a frontal attack. This frontal attack also had to be a smokescreen to draw away the attention of the Selection Hall. There had to be some spy of very high status in the Selection Hall whose main goal was to steal the crystal.
Although he didn't know what the Beast Refining Gate was using to steal the Space Crystal, since they had come, they had to have a plan. The greatest possibility was that they had some of the White Tiger's blood.
Tang Jie had managed to get very close to the truth.
If he intervened now or sent a warning, he might able to stop the theft. But at that moment, Bao'er voice rang out in his mind: 'One day, if you can no longer stay here, then come to the Primordial Fog Domain to find me. With the Space Crystal and that rabbit, you will be able to find me, even if I'm in the endless void…'
'With the Space Crystal!'
'With the Space Crystal!'
'With the Space Crystal!'
This voice rumbled like thunder in his ears.
He suddenly understood the little tiger's expectation and the intent behind his words.
He wanted Tang Jie to take the Space Crystal.
As the White Tiger's descendant, he was greatly pained over the fact that he couldn't retrieve the Divine Space Crystal.
Thus, he could only place his hopes on Tang Jie.
So he had given Tang Jie a drop of the White Tiger's true blood and said those words.
He wanted Tang Jie to be the master of the Space Crystal.
Tang Jie naturally wasn't strong enough to do this yet, but if the Beast Refining Gate was stealing it, things became entirely different.
Perhaps the little tiger had already predicted that the Beast Refining Gate would try to steal the Space Crystal. Or perhaps he hadn't predicted it, but he had laid a trap. After all, nobody knew what he had left behind for the Beast Refining Gate.
It could have been a drop of blood, or it could have been a way to control the crystal.
So long as there was hope, the Beast Refining Gate wouldn't give up.
"Bao'er…" Tang Jie muttered.
Smoke was rising from the summit, but Tang Jie's vision was starting to blur.
At that moment, he was truly hesitating, not able to make up his mind.
As a disciple, he needed to inform the sect of the danger, but to live up to Bao'er expectations, he should wait and see. The usually decisive Tang Jie was at a loss.
One figure after another flashed before his eyes: Ming Yekong, Feng Hongluan, Xie Fengtang…
The Basking Moon Sect had never treated him poorly. In terms of contribution, though he had done many missions for the Basking Moon Sect, what he had gained was still far greater than what he had paid.
And at this moment, when all the disciples needed to be united and fight for the sect, he was moving again and again for his own personal gain.
He felt ashamed.
The moment he felt shame, a shadow flitted over his heart. And then he heard a rumble in his ears, followed by chanting.
The thunder of the Wisdom Sword!
This was the Wisdom Sword Heart Mantra that he had chanted for 72 days on the 750-meter terrace in the Water Moon Paradise.
As the Wisdom Sword Heart Mantra resounded, Tang Jie felt something in his heart shatter.
Tang Jie knew that this was a Heart Demon seed.
Just now, when he had felt shame over his actions toward the sect, a Heart Demon seed had taken root in his heart. It would have grown along with him until the Heart Demon Period, at which point it would erupt.
But because of the Wisdom Sword Heart Mantra, the Heart Demon seed was shattered moments after it had been planted.
Heart Demons were unkillable, so it was wrong to say that the Heart Demon would cease to exist now that the seed had been destroyed. It could still be reborn, but its effects would be much weaker than if it had taken root now, when his mind was in turmoil.
This was the special attribute of the Basking Moon Sect's mantras. Although it couldn't completely neutralize Heart Demons, it could prevent them from getting stronger, allowing one to easily get through the Heart Demon Period. And Tang Jie, who had grasped the Wisdom Sword Mantra, could even remove them beforehand, weakening the Heart Demons even further.
As the thunder rumbled, Tang Jie was shaken, and he muttered, "No matter what, I'm a member of the Basking Moon Sect. I should do my duty when it's time to do my duty!"
He had finally made up his mind.
Even if he was letting down the little tiger, he needed to do what a disciple should.
He raised his head and looked at the charging fiends. "Yiyi, what's the state of Black Sin?"
"It's eaten a lot more!"
"Then stop holding back and start killing!"
"Okay!" Yiyi had been waiting for exactly these words.
She cheered, and a giant fissure opened up in the ground.
Countless black tentacles emerged from the fissure, grabbing at the fiends and dragging them into the abyss as they screamed.
Meanwhile, Tang Jie flew to the summit.
He shouted, "Protect the Hall of Mystery! The Beast Refining Gate is after the Space Crystal!"
As he spoke, thunder boomed in the sky, completely drowning out his voice.
Tang Jie raised his head in shock and saw a tall and slender figure in black glancing back at him. Those eyes were grim and stern, and the man even pointed a finger at Tang Jie.
Amongst these countless fiends, the man in black had swiftly found Tang Jie and intercepted his alert.
Tang Jie was momentarily shocked, but then his face turned savage. "Who are you pointing at!?"
He roared and charged up the mountain.
Since he couldn't notify the forces on Rally Peak to protect the Hall of Mystery, he would go to the summit himself.
Thus, Peng Yaolong and the others saw something incredible.
Tang Jie rushed up the mountain even faster than the fiends, swinging around the Heartbreak Saber and chopping down any fiend that stood in his way. For a moment, it looked like he was just another fiend charging up to the summit.
They were all dumbfounded.
Qi Shaoming shouted, "Tang Jie, what are you doing?"
Tang Jie shouted back, "Help me get up the mountain!" and then continued running.
A large boar was charging forward when it felt someone suddenly hack at its butt. Grunting in anger, it was about to turn around and gore this contemptible person, but to its surprise, Tang Jie decided to just sit on its back.
The boar was furious, and its tusks began to lengthen, stabbing at Tang Jie like snakes.
Tang Jie reached out and grabbed one of the tusks with his hand, and he decided to simply chop off the other. The boar howled in pain, but Tang Jie twisted the boar's head so that it pointed forward and stabbed the Heartbreak Saber into its butt.
The boar was spurred forward by pain, battering its way through all obstacles.
The man in black who had stopped Tang Jie from issuing a warning saw this and pointed at him. "Kill him!"
Countless fiends turned around and began to fire spell arts at him.
Tang Jie used the Chaoswind Step and instantly disappeared. But the boar remained in the center of that storm of spell arts and was obliterated. Rather than hurting Tang Jie, the fiends had ended up losing one of their own.
"Bastard!" the tall and slim man barked. "This person knows our objective. No matter what, he can't be allowed to get up the mountain. Hurry and kill him!"
He waved his hand, and two Transformation fiends took flight, lunging at Tang Jie.
Tang Jie constantly jumped around the fiend horde, not daring to stay in any one place for long. If he did, he would be instantly engulfed by spell arts.
As he was working upward, the two Transformation fiends came down the mountain. One of them was a golden eagle, flapping its wings to create a vicious gale. Tang Jie immediately felt it becoming difficult to advance. In fact, rather than advancing, he was forced back a few steps.
A leopard used this chance to strike him on the back. Tang Jie staggered and swung his saber at the leopard. A moment later, the other Transformation fiend charged over, but rather than a fiend, it had taken human form to punch at Tang Jie.
"Haa!" Tang Jie roared as he punched back. The clash of fists sent Tang Jie flying, and that Transformation great fiend was also pushed back several steps, gasping in disbelief.
Although Tang Jie wasn't strong enough to trade blows with a Transformation fiend, he was not so weak that he would be crushed by the disparity in power.
After being knocked back, Tang Jie kicked off a fiend and shot upward even faster than before.
The two Transformation fiends immediately moved to block him. It had to be said that these two working together were truly a difficult obstacle to overcome.
But at this moment, a bellow came from below: "Hundred-Man Attack Formation!"
The two Transformation fiends raised their heads in surprise and saw a mountain-sized hand approaching them. It was none other than Peng Yaolong and the others using the hundred-man attack formation.
The two fiends were aghast and immediately attacked it. Other fiends also joined in, blasting away at the giant hand. After all, if that hand made impact, all of them would die.
Tang Jie ignored them and charged up the mountain, not even caring for his own life.
He instantly reached maximum speed. Even if he couldn't fly, with a cultivator's speed, he sprinted up the mountain like a bolt of lightning.
He jumped and sprinted as if the mountain was flat ground, pushing the Violet Lightning Lunge to the absolute limit.
A great rumble came from behind him as that mountainous hand was blasted apart, but Tang Jie didn't care, continuing to charge forward. He was soon midway up the mountain and approaching the front line.
Just as he was about to break through, a sinister blast of wind shot toward his armpit.
Tang Jie instantly felt like he was in grave danger.
He was certain that if this bolt of wind struck true, he would be severely injured.
He came to a hasty stop.
The bolt of wind brushed past him.
He raised his head and saw that tall and slender man in black looking at him.
"Tang Jie?"
This voice was uncertain, half-asking a question.
Tang Jie smiled. "That's me. And you? Who are you?"
The man in black froze, and then he tore off the black cloth covering his face, revealing the face of a handsome young man.
He chuckled and said, "My name is Qian Yingchen, the Wolf Lord's adopted son, and also Xu Miaoran's future husband."
Tang Jie instantly scowled.