Chapter 110 - 96: World-Destroying Demon Lord

Chapter 110: Chapter 96: World-Destroying Demon Lord

Late at night.

In the inner hall, deep within the Jixia Martial Arts Hall.

The lamplight was dim.

Xia Wuyuan, dressed in a simple Daoist robe, was meditating on a cushion. His silver hair was tied back, and his snow-white beard fell to his chest.

At that moment.

A soft knock sounded from outside.

"KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!"

"Old Ancestor, are you asleep?"

"I have something important to discuss with you."

It was Xia Shuran’s voice, her tone reserved and cautious, as if afraid of disturbing her Old Ancestor.

Xia Wuyuan remained motionless, his voice ancient:

"Come in."

At the Old Ancestor’s words,

Xia Shuran walked briskly into the inner hall, came before Xia Wuyuan, and respectfully called out,

"Old Ancestor."

"Your Martial Seed has awakened, hasn’t it?"

Xia Wuyuan slowly raised his eyes to look at Xia Shuran, his voice aged yet steady and powerful.

Xia Shuran said, "You have sharp eyes, Old Ancestor. I just awakened it tonight and came specifically to tell you."

A satisfied expression appeared on Xia Wuyuan’s face. "It has only been a few days since the Martial Seed was implanted, and you have already successfully awakened a Martial Soul. You truly have an Innate Martial Saint Body. You have a very promising future."

"Thank you for your praise, Old Ancestor."

"Come, Little Shuran, reveal the Martial Soul you just awakened. Let me have a good look."

"Yes, Old Ancestor."

With a thought, Xia Shuran instinctively summoned her Martial Soul.

It was a massive, illusory figure surrounded by all sorts of weapons, floating behind her with an extremely oppressive aura.

Xia Wuyuan carefully sized up the illusory figure, the look on his face becoming even more satisfied.

"Not bad. Truly not bad at all."

"Little Shuran, the quality of your Martial Soul is superb. Once you master it, you’ll be able to unleash a hundred times your combat power with ease." 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"Starting tomorrow, come to the inner hall here at eight o’clock sharp every morning. I will personally teach you how to control this Martial Soul."

He had barely finished speaking when he added,

"Oh, right, Little Shuran. Tell me all about the process of awakening your Martial Seed tonight."

"Yes, Old Ancestor."

Xia Shuran answered softly.

She then recounted the Extraordinary event she had experienced, as well as what Gu Qing had told her about the other side of the world, leaving no detail out.

Of course, she didn’t mention that Gu Qing owned a Magic Mirror.

Her lips were truly sealed.

When she promised to keep a secret, she kept it. No one could pry it from her.

After listening, Xia Wuyuan fell into deep thought, habitually stroking his white beard and muttering to himself,

"Extraordinary events..."

"Extraordinary Organizations..."

"Man-eating monsters..."

"It seems we’ve finally made it through the Dharma-Ending Age, which lasted for hundreds of years."

"My choice back then was the right one."

A clear light gleamed in Xia Wuyuan’s eyes, mixed with a hint of relief—the kind one feels after surviving a catastrophe.

’Dharma-Ending Age?’

Xia Shuran’s heart skipped a beat, as if she had just heard some incredible, great secret.

Immediately, a strong sense of curiosity surged from deep within her.

It instantly swept through her entire body.

She couldn’t help but ask,

"Old Ancestor, what do you mean by the Dharma-Ending Age?"

"I’m curious and would love to learn about this unknown secret history."

"Please tell me, Old Ancestor."

"..."

Xia Wuyuan looked out the window, his thoughts drifting back several hundred years, and he began to speak slowly,

"It’s a long story, and it’s hard to explain it clearly in a short time. I can only give you a rough outline."

"I’m all ears."

Xia Shuran knelt respectfully on a cushion, waiting for Xia Wuyuan to recount the secret history, her face full of anticipation.

Xia Wuyuan briefly organized his thoughts and began to speak of the past from several hundred years ago.

He said that in the era he was born in, the world was normal for the first eighteen years of his life.

The year he turned eighteen, Spiritual Qi suddenly appeared in the world, and along with it, all kinds of Demon Fiends.

The Demon Fiends were far stronger than humans, treating the weak humans as food and hunting them wantonly.

For a time, the world was thrown into chaos, and everyone feared for their own safety.

Fortunately, some Martial Dao masters later discovered that they could cultivate using Spiritual Qi, obtain Extraordinary Power, and become powerful Extraordinary Beings.

Thus, humanity finally gained the power to resist and could contend with the powerful Demon Fiends.

And he, Xia Wuyuan, was one of them.

After the Spiritual Energy Recovery had been going on for some time, an extremely special Extraordinary Being suddenly appeared in the world.

This person possessed a bizarre Extraordinary ability that allowed them to forcibly plunder the Extraordinary Power from others.

This Extraordinary Raider was immensely ambitious, even attempting to plunder all the Extraordinary Power in the world for themselves alone.

With their power alone, they single-handedly forced the Era of Spiritual Qi Revival back into a Dharma-Ending Age.

Countless Extraordinary Beings had their Extraordinary Power plundered and were reduced to ordinary people.

Fortunately, the most powerful Extraordinary Powerhouses formed an alliance to encircle and annihilate the Extraordinary Raider, ultimately succeeding in slaying them.

But the cost was extremely heavy. Of these allied top-tier Extraordinary Powerhouses, those who weren’t dead were gravely injured. They were basically all crippled.

The reason they were all said to be crippled was that before dying, the Extraordinary Raider used some unknown Evil Technique to bring the world’s Spiritual Energy Recovery to a complete halt.

Without Spiritual Qi, those gravely injured top-tier Extraordinary Powerhouses couldn’t absorb Spiritual Qi to heal themselves.

Remaining in a state of severe injury was no different from being crippled.

Worst of all, as the last vestiges of Spiritual Qi in the world were gradually consumed, all the Extraordinary Beings lost their supply and slowly reverted to being mortals.

To avoid regressing into mortal bodies, many Extraordinary Powerhouses, including Demon Fiends, chose to enter a deep slumber and await the next Spiritual Energy Recovery.

And he, Xia Wuyuan, had also entered seclusion for this very reason.

The reason he came out of seclusion a while ago was because he sensed the Spiritual Qi reviving once again.

After taking some time to recount this history, Xia Wuyuan sighed and said to Xia Shuran,

"The man-eating monsters your generation speaks of are, if I’m not mistaken, the same group of Demon Fiends that went into slumber back then."

"Now that the Spiritual Qi is reviving again, the Demon Fiends are also waking up one after another and have begun to plague the mortal world."

"And because of the Spiritual Energy Recovery, your generation is also beginning to produce Extraordinary Beings."

Speaking of this, Xia Wuyuan couldn’t help but exclaim with emotion, "I must say, human history is truly just a series of cycles. I wonder if similar histories occurred thousands of years ago, tens of thousands of years ago, or even in more ancient times?"

"..."

’So human history actually contains such a fantastical past?’

’And the history books don’t mention a single word of it?’

’This is simply unbelievable!’

At this moment, Xia Shuran felt her understanding of history being constantly shattered.

"Little Shuran, you just mentioned the Extraordinary Organization called Night Court and said a senior invited you to join. I advise you not to even think about it—just agree to join."

Xia Wuyuan explained, "I have been in seclusion for several hundred years and have no understanding of the current state of the Extraordinary world. If you join an active contemporary Extraordinary Organization, you’ll be able to receive the latest Extraordinary news. The benefits will far outweigh any drawbacks, for both you and for me."

Hearing her Old Ancestor say this, Xia Shuran breathed a sigh of relief.

She had been truly afraid that her Old Ancestor would not approve of her joining the Night Court.

If she couldn’t join the Night Court, she wouldn’t be able to see Gu Qing often anymore.

She couldn’t imagine a life without Gu Qing by her side. Days like that would surely be torturous.

"Old Ancestor, I have a question."

"Ask."

"Besides me, can you implant a Martial Seed in others and help them awaken a Martial Soul?"

Xia Shuran hesitated for a moment, then summoned her courage to ask her Old Ancestor.

Xia Wuyuan saw right through her and chuckled, stroking his white beard. "You want to know if I can implant a Martial Seed in that senior of yours, don’t you?"

"Yes."

Xia Shuran replied softly.

Xia Wuyuan smiled and shook his head. "I’m not as all-powerful as you imagine. Regarding your request, I’m afraid I’m willing, but unable."

"Only someone who possesses the Xia Family bloodline and has extremely high Martial Dao talent can possibly receive my Martial Dao inheritance and awaken a Martial Soul."

"An outsider without our bloodline cannot do it."

"If I could help any random person awaken a Martial Soul, wouldn’t that make me a god?"

"If I had that ability, you wouldn’t be the only one among the many descendants of our Xia Family to awaken a Martial Soul. They would have been blossoming everywhere long ago."

"..."

Xia Shuran was disappointed, but she didn’t let it show on her face. "I understand, Old Ancestor."

Xia Wuyuan chuckled. "Little Shuran, you’re so concerned about this senior of yours. Could he be your sweetheart?"

"Ah? No, he’s not, Old Ancestor."

Xia Shuran quickly shook her head and waved her hands in denial, her face turning as red as an apple.

Xia Wuyuan stroked his white beard and smiled. "If not a sweetheart, then at least the one you’ve set your heart on."

This time, Xia Shuran didn’t deny it, her cheeks just grew redder and hotter.

"Right, I almost forgot."

As Xia Wuyuan spoke, a long spear made of bone materialized in his hand out of thin air. He said nonchalantly, "As a reward for awakening your Martial Soul, I will give you a Divine Weapon."

"This bone spear in my hand is called the Dragon Spear. It was forged from the spine of a Flood Dragon and is immensely powerful."

"From now on, use it as your main weapon. After all, you are quite skilled with the spear."

Xia Wuyuan passed the Bone Spear to Xia Shuran, gesturing for her to take it.

With a reverent expression, Xia Shuran raised her hands and took it steadily.

The moment the Bone Spear was in her hands, she felt its immense weight, and a scorching hot sensation spread through her palms.

HISS!

’So heavy, so thick, so hot!’

Xia Shuran’s brows knitted together instantly. Her hands felt extremely uncomfortable, but she didn’t let go of the Dragon Spear. She held on tightly, gritting her teeth and persevering.

Seeing this, a look of approval appeared in Xia Wuyuan’s eyes.

He then took out a leather bracelet and presented it to Xia Shuran, saying,

"This Storage Bracelet was refined from the hide of a space mouse I killed long ago. It’s specifically for storing that Dragon Spear."

"After storing the Dragon Spear, there will still be a little space left inside this Storage Bracelet."

"About the size of a bucket, enough for you to store personal items like folded clothes, food, and a water canteen."

"..."

Xia Shuran gently put down the Dragon Spear, freeing her hands to accept the proffered Storage Bracelet. Her face filled with gratitude as she said,

"Thank you, Old Ancestor."

"Come, stick out your finger, prick it and squeeze out a drop of blood onto the Storage Bracelet to bind it to you. This way, only you will be able to open this Storage Bracelet in the future, and you’ll be able to sense its location so you’ll never lose it."

"Okay, I’ll try."

Following his instructions, Xia Shuran pricked her finger, squeezed out a drop of blood, and precisely dripped it onto the Storage Bracelet.

A moment later.

The blood-binding was complete.

At the same time.

Xia Shuran was surprised and delighted to discover that she could open the Storage Bracelet with just a thought, freely storing and retrieving items from within. It was a magical feeling.

Seeing how late it was, Xia Wuyuan said to Xia Shuran, "Alright, it’s late now. Little Shuran, you should go back to your room and sleep."

"Okay. Good night, Old Ancestor."

After speaking, Xia Shuran obediently got up and left.

After she left,

Xia Wuyuan rose and walked to the window. He looked up at the star-filled sky and sighed with deep emotion.

’I wonder how far the Spiritual Energy Recovery has progressed after several hundred years.’

’That great battle of annihilation back then was simply too terrifying. Even I, who have slain a dragon, could only be a grunt killed by the shockwaves from the sidelines.’

’Good thing I was smart back then and hid myself away in seclusion until now. Otherwise, the grass on my grave would have been replaced countless times by now.’

As he mused, the Xia Family’s Old Ancestor sighed lamentfully.

’Back then, a whole bunch of people mocked me, Xia Wuyuan, calling me a coward. They said I was afraid of death and didn’t dare fight for opportunities, and that it was no wonder my cultivation was so mediocre despite my great talent.’

’But now, I, Xia Wuyuan, am still alive, and they are all dead.’

’I acted like a coward because I possessed world-shocking wisdom, not because I was as timid as a mouse.’

’On the other hand, you courageous folks with the might of dragons and tigers—how many of you are still alive now?’

’Heh. A bunch of reckless brutes with courage but no strategy. I bet they’ve all turned to ash.’

’So you see, the process doesn’t matter at all. As long as the result is good, that’s all that counts.’

The corners of Xia Wuyuan’s mouth lifted, a victor’s pride gleaming in his eyes as he slowly smiled. "The torrent of time flows ever forward, and all things in the world follow its grand current. Only those who live the longest are the world’s true winners."

...

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