Chapter 293: A Hand on the Back of the Head
Chapter 293: A Hand on the Back of the Head
Chu Liang was mainly focused on the diary\'s mention of the attempt to break the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda...
Until now, no one knew the exact reason why the Mount Shu Sect unfortunately lost a legendary artifact five hundred years ago. Could this hidden cabin hold the answer to why it disappeared?
On the other hand, Jiang Yuebai was completely fixated on the three words "Divine Ruins Monastery."
She never expected to suddenly see this name here, and it immediately brought back a flood of memories and emotions.
Chu Liang quickly turned to another page, only to find it blank with jagged edges.
"The last page was torn out," he said slowly, "but the previous pages provided us substantial information."
Based on the previous pages, they could roughly piece together the life of this Mount Shu disciple.
He had few friends on Mount Shu since childhood; everyone avoided him. His flamboyant and unruly personality often led to punishments from his esteemed teacher.
He was of the same generation as Venerable Wuqi, and the fact that he could still rank second among them showed that his cultivation talent was top-notch.
Later, this guy discovered some things.
He discovered that his mother was trapped within the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda, which meant that she wasn\'t human.
Could this esteemed senior be a half-demon?
Legend had it that children born from the union of humans and demons were half-demons. They might resemble either a human or a demon initially, but regardless of their appearance at first, they would ultimately take on the form of a demon.
This was due to the demon bloodline being far stronger than human bloodline. The widespread belief was that even a single drop of demon blood in one\'s body could result in one becoming like a demon. Even if they once appeared human, they would likely become demons in the end.
And for some reason, the Mount Shu Sect adopted this half-demon child and this hybrid was told the way to break the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda...
"But the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda is the legendary artifact ranked first in the catalog. How could it possibly be broken..." Chu Liang muttered, "Did someone lie to him?"
"If it were anywhere else, it might be a trick, but if it\'s the Divine Ruins Monastery..." Jiang Yuebai\'s eyes filled with bewilderment as she spoke, "it might actually be true."
"Does that mean he became stronger than a ninth-realm existence?" Chu Liang gasped.
Even the demon god at the ninth realm could not break the highest-ranked legendary artifact in the world!
Chu Liang knew little about the Divine Ruins Monastery, having only heard surface-level information through rumors circulating in the martial community.
However, Jiang Yuebai clearly knew more. In fact, she had a connection with the Divine Ruins Monastery.
Previously, Jiang Yuebai had shared some of her background with Chu Liang and briefly mentioned the Divine Ruins, but she never delved into the details.
She had always felt a sense of apprehension about that place.
"Back then, there was more than one eighth-realm cultivator in the Jiang Family. My family held the level of combat power on par with the immortal sect in the Divine Nine," Jiang Yuebai explained. "But everything changed after that battle. We lost the strongest member and my entire family was annihilated..."
Chu Liang fell silent for a moment.
That made sense. In the Jiang family, there were cultivators at the Heavenly Origin Realm, whose peak combat power was on par with the Mount Shu Sect today. Yet, all of a sudden, they were wiped out without any warning.
They were such terrifying existences that it wouldn\'t be surprising if they had a way to break the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda...
"Yet, this sort of existence remained hidden within the Divine Ruins for reasons unknown," Chu Liang mused.
"I\'ve been investigating the Divine Ruins Monastery for years, and I found..." Jiang Yuebai said slowly, "that every ninth-realm cultivator would step into the Divine Ruins at the very end of their lifespan. The very few who didn\'t enter the Divine Ruins died in great battles of a scale mentioned in mythologies. Traces of the Divine Ruins Monastery can be seen in these battles. However, records of those mythical battles have been erased, existing now only as legends spread throughout local communities, such as the evil deity of the Southern Regions in ancient times."
What?
The legend of the evil deity of the Southern Regions tells of how the Southern Bastion Mountain was formed. According to this tale, the evil deity and the countless demons it led were crushed by a mountain sent down from the immortal realm.[2].
Chu Liang had heard of it but never took such exaggerated ancient legends seriously.
Could it be true?
As he pondered, he suddenly remembered the mural he saw in the Blue Dragon\'s Hidden Realm. In the mural that depicted the Dragon God\'s last battle, there were a few tiny and blurry human figures...[3]
Rumble!
...
Chu Liang didn\'t have much time to think before a violent explosion echoed from the other side of the mountain wall. Two more blasts followed, and then the entire mountain wall collapsed with a deafening crash.
A half-destroyed, horribly disfigured man in a black robe charged through the mountain wall, his eyes blazing red. "So you were hiding in this hidden valley. You almost got away!"
As he stormed into the small valley, Chu Liang shouted, "Old Fei! Come out and do your job!"
Wisps of green smoke appeared as the disheveled Old Fei materialized with a gloomy expression. "My dear master, this isn\'t someone I can handle!"
"Both of you are halves of a sixth-realm cultivator. He\'s missing half his body, and you\'re halfway dead inside and out. What can\'t you handle?" Chu Liang retorted. "Just hold him off for a while."
After summoning Old Fei, Chu Liang didn\'t hesitate. He raised his hand to the sky, activating another summon.
Swish, swish—
Two streaks of sword light, one violet and one azure, flew towards him!
As of now, as long as he was in the territory of the Mount Shu Sect, he could summon the Violet and Azure Twin Swords with just a single thought!
Old Fei forced himself to stay alert as he flew out of the wooden house, shouting loudly, "If you want to hurt Chu Liang, you\'ll have to get through me first!"
With that, he raised his hand and pointed at the man in the black robe. "You shall not come within a radius of ten zhang!"
The Immortal Art: The Spoken Divine Law!
The power of this immortal art from the Confucian school was well-known. With those words, the man in the black robe was stuck ten zhang away, unable to move any closer.
But the man in the black robe only grinned maliciously, then raised his hand in a grasping motion and hurled it forward!
A spectral pike appeared out of thin air, instantly piercing through Old Fei\'s soul body!
"Ah—" Old Fei screamed as his soul was pinned to the mountain wall dozens of zhang away, his form flickering and on the verge of dissipating!
Despite being a formidable fighter, Old Fei was still not powerful enough to fight a cultivator at the peak of the sixth realm. Even though the man in the black robe was severely wounded, Old Fei couldn\'t compete with him at all.
Although Old Fei had fallen, the power of the immortal art, the Spoken Divine Law, remained effective, preventing the man in the black robe from advancing.
When the black-robed man couldn\'t step forward, he raised his hand.
Boom!
The entire wooden cabin instantly shattered and fell apart, revealing Chu Liang and Jiang Yuebai inside. At this moment, Chu Liang was surrounded by the violet and azure sword lights.
"Heh, I doubt you can still wield the Azure Ophidian Sword," the man in the black robe said coldly.
Earlier, he had witnessed Chu Liang being completely drained of his Sea of Qi the moment he swung the sword. Recovering from such a depletion was extremely challenging.
Chu Liang looked at the man in the black robe with a perplexed expression, as if he couldn\'t understand his confidence.
This time, Chu Liang formed a sword seal with both hands.
Not only can I wield the Azure Ophidian Sword, but I can also wield the Violet Draconic Sword... Chu Liang muttered in a low voice, "Dual sword combination—"
Swoosh, swoosh—
The two legendary swords sliced through the sky, intertwining as they emitted a mystical light and the sound of the heavens opening echoed around them.
The black-clad man and Jiang Yuebai were both stunned, their pupils widening in disbelief.
In such a short time, he had mastered the sword seal of the Violet Draconic Sword? Not only had he achieved this, but he had also learned to perform the dual sword combination—a feat several times more difficult than wielding a single legendary sword.
He was able to achieve even this?
Chu Liang\'s rapid mastery of new skills constantly redefined Jiang Yuebai\'s understanding of how quickly someone could learn a technique.
Chu Liang\'s eyes turned cold as he controlled the twin swords.
During this period, he had indeed mastered the Violet Draconic Sword Seal. The two sword seals shared many similarities, making the mastery of the second one somewhat quicker after he had mastered the first.
The reason he controlled both swords simultaneously was out of necessity. With his current cultivation level, wielding just one legendary sword might not have been powerful enough to kill the man in the black robe.
If he had attacked with only one sword and failed, he would have completely lost his combat capability. In that case, Jiang Yuebai would be left alone to face this man, and her fate would be uncertain.
Thus, he forcefully initiated the dual sword combination!
Rumble!
The twin swords merged, radiating an infinite rainbow of light, resembling divine punishment descending from the heavens. A dazzling divine light fell from the sky, carrying an inevitable force of destruction!
The man in the black robe couldn\'t dodge. All he could feel was a profound fear emanating from the depths of his soul!
Such was the power of legendary swords!
No matter where one fled, being locked on by this force meant certain death!
And the force descended!
Boom—
A brilliant light with the colors of the rainbow blasted above the head of the black-robed man, resembling a grand display of fireworks. As he watched, his pupils quivered madly.
Then, amidst the fireworks, a cursing voice could be heard.
"That\'s it? Kiddo, you completed the first seventy-two steps already, but your hands just had to tremble and lose control right at the end??" the voice of the male sword spirit sounded.
"Don\'t blame the kid. This was his first time, and it is already remarkable that he was able to continue for such a long time," said the female sword spirit.
"What do we do now? He definitely can\'t do it again," the male sword spirit said.
Chu Liang sat on the ground, smiling weakly, clearly exhausted.
At the last moment of unleashing the dual sword combination, he lost control, and the attack burst into an explosion of fireworks in the sky.
It was likely because this was his first time controlling such a powerful force that was far beyond his cultivation level. The sensation of controlling this power was hard to describe, and any slight misstep would cause him to lose his grip.
If given another chance, he might have done much better, but there wasn\'t another chance.
The man in the black robe, having just experienced sheer terror, was now filled with rage. His eyes fixed on Chu Liang, this fourth-realm cultivator whose mere existence he had considered insignificant. Yet, this "bug" had filled him with fear and put him at risk multiple times.
He was determined to tear Chu Liang apart to vent his anger and settle this grudge!
Just as he was about to strike and kill the two in front of him, he suddenly felt a hand pressing on the back of his head.
A hand on the back of my head? Huh? Who could have suddenly appeared beside me?
As he scanned with his divine sense, he saw a tall woman in red with her hand pressing down on his head.
The woman heaved a sigh of relief as she muttered, "Phew...I made it just in time."
The moment Chu Liang saw this woman, he let out a sigh of relief.
The Azure Ophidian Sword hadn\'t been by his side earlier because he had sent it to Heaven-Reaching Peak to call for help.
Xu Ziyang and Ling Ao had made it back safely, but they couldn\'t locate Chu Liang and Jiang Yuebai. Fortunately, the Azure Ophidian Sword was connected to Chu Liang through his qi pathways and could always locate him if he was on Mount Shu. And so, its presence made it easier for the rescuer to locate Chu Liang.
And so, when the Azure Ophidian Sword returned, it likely indicated the direction to the rescuer.
As expected, his teacher arrived.
Di Nufeng was the woman who had descended from the sky and pressed down on the head of the man in the black robe.
The intense premonition of death surged within the man in black once more.
Anyone who could subdue him so effortlessly had to be a powerful Eminent One. This Eminent One was capable of taking his life in an instant.
The man in the black robe knew he couldn\'t fight back; any movement of his foundational qi could provoke a lethal response from her. He quickly raised his hands and shouted, "Don\'t kill me! Let\'s talk!"
"Tsk," Di Nufeng scoffed.
Purple-gold flames erupted, instantly incinerating the man in the black robe, leaving no trace of ash behind.
"Talk to your mama."
1. Previously on the Young Noble Be Monster Slaying... the Divine Ruins Monastery was mentioned in a diary. ☜
2. This was mentioned in chapter 136. I was mindblown ngl.
/novel/young-noble-be-monster-slaying/yns-chapter-136
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3. GUYS ????????????
/novel/young-noble-be-monster-slaying/yns-chapter-237
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