English version 2701-2702
“Pffft—!”
Blood sprayed across the air like a crimson arc.
Logan
was struck as if by an ancient mountain. The impact shattered the
remnants of his barrier and hurled him across the hall. He slammed into
the white jade floor with bone-cracking force, rolling over a dozen
times before finally stopping—barely propping himself up on one knee,
his sword trembling under his grip.
The
blade wailed, its spiritual light flickering weakly, nearly
extinguished. The energy he had just regained splintered apart again,
his aura unraveling into chaos. His chest burned like molten iron, his
abdomen felt frozen in eternal ice, and his very soul screamed—torn
apart by invisible blades. The pain was so fierce it nearly drowned his
consciousness.
Aukon’s
dual-elemental powers—metal and fire—weren’t simply added together.
They fused into something far worse: a qualitative transformation that
shattered every rule of balance.
“To
withstand seventy percent of my Sky-Splitting Slash and God-Burning
Fist…” Aukon’s tone was icy, almost bored, as he advanced step by step.
“That’s enough for you to brag about in the Yellow Springs.”
Every step he took erased the ground beneath his feet—matter disintegrating into nothingness.
He raised both hands.
In
his left palm, countless hair-thin golden needles—Gengjin Poyuan
Needles—swirled like a deadly nebula, emitting a shrill hum that made
the air itself tremble. They locked onto every vital acupoint in Logan’s
battered body.
In
his right palm, a dark golden fireball bloomed—its core flickering with
countless collapsing black holes. The Great Incineration Technique. It
pulsed with a terrible suction force that promised to refine everything
it touched into pure void.
Golden needles to shatter the essence.
Divine fire to erase the soul.
A perfect, inescapable death.
Grace’s
face went pale. Despair hollowed her chest, and her trembling fingers
clawed at the floor as she tried to reach him, helpless against the
weight of divine power.
The air itself began to hum—the calm before annihilation.
Then—
A
low, ancient voice rippled through the chaos, peaceful yet carrying
immeasurable weight. The syllables rolled like thunder and mercy woven
together.
“Infinite Heavenly Venerable.”
The sound echoed across the palace like a chant from beyond time, instantly stilling the rampaging energy.
A
hazy, luminous light appeared before Logan—soft and gentle, yet
radiating infinite power. Within moments, it unfolded into a vast,
spinning Tai Chi diagram, glowing with divine clarity. Yin and Yang
flowed in endless motion, the pattern breathing the purest law of
balance—“Invulnerable to all laws, repelling all evil.”
Buzz—!
The
golden needles shot forward like a storm. Yet the moment they struck
the Tai Chi diagram, they melted away—each one swallowed, neutralized,
and dissolved into the endless rotation of Yin and Yang, vanishing
without a trace.
The dark golden fireball, pulsing with the power to unmake reality, collided next.
But it froze mid-air.
The
instant it touched the flowing Tai Chi pattern, an invisible force
locked it in place—gentle, immovable, absolute. The devouring suction
inside the fireball faltered and died. It couldn’t move even an inch
closer to Logan.
For
the first time, Aukon’s eternally cold face cracked—his eyes widening
with shock. His head snapped toward the hall’s entrance, his expression
turning murderous.
There, standing calmly under the towering archway, was Cassius.
The
old Daoist’s robes fluttered in the faint wind. His face was thin and
weary, but his eyes—those deep, weathered eyes—were alive with both
sorrow and determination. He held a feathered whisk loosely in one hand,
its soft strands swaying with quiet grace.
Beside
him stood a small child—hair tied in a topknot, wearing a bright red
bib, fists planted on his hips. His eyes blazed like twin stars as he
glared at Aukon.
“Aukon!”
the boy shouted, his voice shrill but fierce. “You shameless old
fossil! You think being ancient gives you the right to bully the weak?
Dual cultivator of metal and fire? Ha! You’re just a walking pile of
rust and ashes! Beating up a half-dead man—ptooey! You’re a disgrace to
every ancestor you’ve got!”
The words struck like a slap.
The atmosphere in the palace—already taut with killing intent—grew even heavier, twisting with tension.
Aukon’s
face twitched, his icy composure breaking for a single heartbeat. Then
his gaze sharpened, a cold wave of killing intent sweeping across the
hall, locking onto Cassius and the child.
“Cassius.”
His voice dropped, low and venomous. “And you… little pest. I thought
you were rotting away in that broken bamboo forest. Yet here you are,
daring to stand in my way.”
Cassius
flicked his whisk lightly, the soft movement somehow filled with
authority. His tone was calm, but beneath it lay sorrow—and final
resolve.
“Aukon,”
he said quietly, “stop this. Sacrificing the essence, energy, and souls
of your fellow cultivators to feed the Void Dragon is a path of
madness. You’ve already forsaken the purpose we swore to uphold—the duty
to protect the seal.”
The child stomped forward, waving his tiny fist.
“Yeah!
You overgrown mudfish! You wrecked Fairyharbor Island, and now you’re
trying to kill people for fun! I’ll pound you flat, you evil old
lizard!”
Aukon laughed—a harsh, broken sound that echoed through the palace like cracking ice.
“Original
intention?” he mocked, his tone dripping with scorn. “To guard? To wait
endlessly for this broken cage to rot away? You call that purpose?”
He stepped forward, divine power radiating like a storm.
“Cassius,
you’ve clung to ideals long dead. Power is the only truth that endures!
If you want to die clinging to your delusions, fine—”
He raised his arms, the golden and crimson energies swirling violently in his palms.
“—I’ll use your bodies and your souls to perfect my control of the Dragon Essence!”
2702
Before Aukon could finish his sentence, Cassius had already moved. He didn’t argue — he simply acted.
With
a faint sway, the old Daoist appeared beside Logan. His thin hand
pressed gently against Logan’s back, and a stream of pure, serene azure
energy flowed into Logan’s nearly lifeless body like a spring after
drought.
This
spiritual energy, though of the same Taoist lineage as Logan’s mystical
True Energy, felt older — deeper, more refined. It repaired his wounds
with astonishing precision and nourished his fading essence like
sunlight melting frost.
“Focus your mind,” Cassius said quietly. “I’ll help you recover.”
A
wave of warmth surged through Logan’s limbs and bones. The tearing pain
in his soul and the searing frost in his chest began to fade, replaced
by a deep, steady calm. The exhaustion from endless battle vanished in
moments, and his depleted true energy rapidly returned — seventy percent
restored within a few breaths.
Logan’s eyes widened. The depth of Cassius’s cultivation was beyond comprehension.
“Thank you, senior,” he said sincerely, his voice rough but resolute.
Aukon’s expression twisted. In his eyes, Cassius’s intervention wasn’t mercy — it was betrayal. It was rebellion.
“Very well,” he hissed, his tone breaking into a growl. “Very well! Since you’re all so eager to die— I’ll send you together!”
His
fury erupted like a storm. Blinding white-gold and dark-gold light
burst around him, intertwining into a single column of destruction that
pierced the ceiling of the celestial palace. Aukon’s hands came
together.
“Golden Fire Purgatory — where all laws return to nothingness!”
Rumble—!
The entire Fairyharbor Immortal Palace shook violently.
Dark golden fire and cutting platinum energy exploded outward like a cosmic tsunami, sweeping across the hall.
Everything in its path disintegrated.
White jade melted. Steel turned to liquid. The air itself screamed as space warped under the onslaught.
The
once-splendid wine pool vanished in an instant. The grotesque forest of
flesh shriveled to cinders. The men and women who had once reveled in
sin had no time to scream before they were reduced to ash.
The palace groaned and cracked, ready to collapse.
“Join forces!” Cassius shouted.
His
whisk snapped forward. A thousand silver threads flared into light,
weaving together into a massive, luminous Tai Chi diagram that unfurled
in front of them. Yin and Yang flowed in endless balance, holding back
the storm of golden fire.
The child’s laughter vanished. His small face hardened with focus.
He
clasped his hands together, muttering ancient incantations. The jade
floor beneath him surged upward, turning into a massive earthen-yellow
wall that rose like a mountain, merging with the Tai Chi barrier and
absorbing the shockwaves.
Logan didn’t hesitate. His restored energy roared through his veins. The longsword in his hand pulsed with a dragon’s cry.
He
stepped forward — man and sword becoming one. His body turned into a
streak of blue light that sliced through the inferno. Instead of
resisting the firestorm head-on, he followed the seam opened by
Cassius’s Tai Chi diagram, slipping through it like a blade through
flesh, and thrust straight toward Aukon.
All his understanding of the Way of the Sword — his belief, his will, his clarity — were condensed into this one strike.
“One sword — to slay evil.”
Aukon’s
eyes flashed in shock. The seamless coordination between the three —
defense, support, and attack — was terrifyingly precise.
“Enough!” he snarled.
His
left hand condensed pure Geng metal into a gleaming shield, while his
right hand unleashed divine flames that twisted into enormous fire
dragons, roaring toward Logan.
Clang—! BOOM!
Sword met shield, the impact splitting the air with a deafening crack.
The fire dragons collided with Logan’s protective sword aura, detonating in waves of molten light.
The four forces clashed in chaos.
Cassius’s Tai Chi diagram anchored the battlefield, absorbing and deflecting the bulk of Aukon’s rampaging energy.
The
child’s earth-element magic flowed seamlessly into Cassius’s defense —
forming stone shields, erupting into spires, or breaking into waves of
soil that tripped Aukon’s movements.
And
Logan — swift as lightning, ruthless as steel — struck again and again,
his sword a streak of azure death that hunted for every opening.
Golden
light split the sky. Fire blazed against heaven. Azure arcs danced like
lightning. The ground itself roared beneath their feet.
Fairyharbor
Immortal Palace was collapsing — visibly crumbling under the might of
their battle. The dome cracked open, revealing a turbulent sky swirling
with divine and demonic light. Jade pillars shattered, falling like
meteorites. The ground split apart, webbed with deep fissures.
Grace
stood at the farthest edge of the wreckage, clutching what remained of a
defensive formation. Her heart pounded violently as she stared at the
apocalyptic battle before her — awe and terror mixing until she could
barely breathe.
Is this… the true power of immortals and demons?
With just one strike, mountains crumble… palaces fall…
Aukon, though still overwhelmingly powerful, found himself trapped.
Cassius’s defense nullified his most devastating attacks.
The child’s unpredictable earth magic disrupted his control.
And Logan’s blade — sharp, tireless, unyielding — pressed him to the edge.
His
dark battle robe was shredded, and dark-golden blood seeped from the
corner of his mouth. The arrogance in his aura wavered; his strength,
once infinite, now faltered.
“Damn you— damn you all!” Aukon’s roar shook the collapsing palace. “Ants! You dare to wound me?!”
He
exploded with power, forcing the three back with a violent surge of
golden fire. His body staggered as he retreated, his face twisted with
fury and disbelief.
Logan,
Cassius, and the child regrouped immediately, their energies linking in
a triangular formation, surrounding Aukon from three sides. Their
breaths were heavy, their robes torn — but their eyes burned with
determination.
The balance of power had shifted.
Aukon was wounded. His divine energy flickered like a dying star.
And for the first time…
The scales of victory began to tip in their favor.
English version
2703
“Aukon, submit to your fate.” Logan leveled his longsword at him, his tone ice-cold.
Cassius flicked his whisk, and the Tai Chi diagram hovering above slowly descended with steady pressure.
The child shifted restlessly, brimming with fighting intent.
But
just when everyone thought victory was already in their hands, Aukon
suddenly curled his lips into a twisted smile—wild, cruel, and filled
with a desperate resolve.
“Execute me? With just the likes of you?”
His
hoarse laughter echoed through the ruined hall. His eyes slid toward
Houtu, Dark Murky, and Aoki—each either sealed or gravely injured—greed
and madness gleaming openly in his gaze. “To force me into using that
technique… you should feel honored.”
Before
anyone could react, Aukon threw his arms wide and began chanting. The
eerie incantation didn’t sound like human speech—it felt ancient,
sinister, and dragged straight from the depths of the underworld.
As
the chant spread, the dark-gold and platinum light around him abruptly
turned pitch-black. An evil aura far more corrupt and nauseating than
even tainted dragon blood erupted like an awakened demon that had slept
for thousands of years.
“In my name, I offer sacrifice to my kin. Devour their spirits—let the Demonic Dragon descend!”
Boom—!!
Three
jet-black beams burst from Aukon, each tipped with a twisted dragon
head. They shot across the space like chains from hell, instantly
latching onto Houtu, Dark Murky, and Aoki.
From within Houtu’s sealed cocoon came a soundless, bone-deep scream that tore at the soul.
Dark Murky’s rigid body jerked violently, his frozen expression warped with agony.
Aoki’s eyes snapped open, and he let out a raw, ragged howl that didn’t sound fully human.
Then came the nightmare.
Before
everyone’s eyes, the three bodies shriveled at terrifying
speed—collapsing like punctured skins. Their life essence, their
spirits, and even the dragon power they had cultivated over lifetimes
were ripped out, dragged through the beams, and absorbed into Aukon.
Houtu’s breathtaking beauty vanished in an instant, leaving only a skeletal frame.
Dark Murky collapsed into a mummy-like corpse.
Aoki’s muscular body deflated to a dried skeleton.
In a heartbeat, the three mighty guardians became three ghastly husks—completely drained.
The final spark of life faded from their eyes, leaving only hollow stillness.
Having devoured everything from them, Aukon began to transform.
His
massive frame grew even larger, tearing what remained of his battle
robe. Black dragon scales covered his skin, gleaming with an icy,
demonic sheen. His fingers lengthened into sharp talons.
Two large bulges swelled on his forehead—dragon horns pushing to break free.
Then,
with a sickening rip, a pair of huge, half-formed dragon wings burst
from his back, their membranes ink-black and reeking of evil.
His
features twisted into something no longer human. Fangs jutted from his
mouth, and his eyes transformed into vertical pupils burning with
dark-red flames—eyes filled with pure savagery and the urge to destroy
everything.
A
storm of demonic energy—tainted by the unstable fusion of multiple
stolen dragon powers—exploded from him, sweeping outward like a black
hurricane.
The already ruined palace groaned under the weight of that power, as if it were being crushed by a collapsing sky.
Aukon—now half dragon, half demon—let out a roar straight from the abyss.
“ROARRRR—!!”
The supernatural shockwave leveled the last remnants of the palace, flattening stone and jade alike.
Logan,
Cassius, and the child felt their expressions tighten at once. This
wasn’t just stronger than before—it was overwhelmingly evil, a power
that made even their souls tremble. Their hearts sank in unison.
Aukon,
now fully demonized, radiated a monstrous aura. The black storm
swirling around him reduced stone pillars to powder and twisted the very
air.
His dark-red pupils locked onto the three standing against him, burning with nothing but the instinct to destroy.
“Insects… become the rations for my rise to the supreme demonic path.”
Demon Aukon moved.
He didn’t even bother with techniques.
A single swipe was enough.
His
massive, scale-covered dragon form tore through the void, leaving
behind five black claw marks that distorted space itself. They swept
forward like death’s own scythe.
Where the claws passed, life withered—and even spiritual energy vanished.
2704
“Careful!”
Cassius’s
expression changed instantly. He whipped his whisk through the air, and
the hazy Tai Chi diagram expanded to its maximum size, desperately
trying to block the incoming claw.
The
child screamed and slammed his palms to the ground. A massive rock
wall—several meters thick and gleaming with earthy, crystalline
light—rose up to reinforce the Tai Chi barrier.
Logan
gathered every ounce of strength he had left, unleashing a sharpened,
condensed cyan sword aura that seemed to slice yin and yang itself,
stabbing straight into the heart of the claw shadow.
Boom—!!
Their combined strike met the demonic claw head-on.
But there was no contest.
Only destruction.
The child’s crystalline rock wall tore like wet paper.
Cassius’s
Tai Chi diagram twisted violently, the Yin-Yang fish spinning out of
control as they desperately tried to disperse the demonic force. It
lasted no more than half a breath before shattering.
Cassius spat blood and staggered backward, his energy plunging sharply.
Logan’s
blade—meant to split Heaven and Earth—collided with the claw, but it
felt like slicing divine iron with a brittle ice knife. His sword aura
shattered with a shrill crack, and the recoil tore open the skin of his
palm. The shock hit him like a thunderbolt, flinging him through the
air. Blood sprayed from his lips as he slammed into the ground.
One strike.
One casual strike.
And the combined power of the three was crushed utterly.
Demonized
Aukon grinned, his fanged mouth curled with savage delight. With a
sudden beat of his torn wings, his massive body shot forward like a
phantom, appearing in front of the child.
His speed far surpassed anything from earlier.
“You little brat… you’ll be my appetizer.”
His jet-black dragon claw descended, carrying annihilation itself.
The
child turned deathly pale and attempted to escape with his earth-escape
technique—but the surrounding space was locked down by demonic energy.
There was no escaping.
“Don’t you dare harm my disciple!”
Cassius’s
eyes turned blood-red. Ignoring his wounds, he forcefully ignited his
source energy. He flashed between the child and the claw, his whisk
exploding into countless silver strands like a reversed river of stars,
wrapping around the demonic strike.
“Young friend Logan! Take him away!” Cassius shouted.
“Master!” the child cried.
“Leave?” Demon Aukon sneered. His claw tightened.
The galaxy of silver threads collapsed instantly.
Cassius
reeled as if struck by a giant hammer. Blood poured out uncontrollably,
and his aura plummeted—his very life essence clearly wounded.
At the same moment, Aukon’s other claw had silently appeared behind Logan, its cold fingertips aimed at his heart.
A brutal pincer attack.
Despite the agony tearing through his arm, Logan spun and thrust his sword to block.
Clang—!!
The metallic roar echoed across the ruins.
A
monstrous force blasted through Logan’s arm. His bones groaned under
the impact, and he was hurled backward again, slamming into a mound of
shattered stone. Dust swallowed him whole, his condition unknown.
The difference in strength was overwhelming.
Aukon’s
demonic transformation had pushed him far beyond the level of a
terrestrial immortal—into a realm they could not contend with. Even
combined, their efforts were like a mantis trying to stop a war chariot.
Proud
and merciless, Demon Aukon strode toward the fallen Cassius and the
terrified child. His vertical pupils gleamed with cruel amusement, like a
predator savoring its prey.
“Cassius, you decrepit old fool… I’ll make you watch as I crush your little brat’s soul bit by bit.”
His dragon claw reached toward the child’s head—slowly, deliberately—its oppressive intent suffocating.
The
child looked at his master’s pale face, at Logan buried under rubble,
unsure if he still lived, and at the lethal claws closing in.
For the first time, his bright, lively eyes showed a deep, heartbreaking resolve far beyond his age.
“Master…” he whispered, voice trembling but resolved. “I don’t want to hide anymore. Let’s fight him.”
Cassius
saw the determination shining in his disciple’s eyes—the same
determination he had once possessed. Then he looked at Aukon, whose
demonic power seemed boundless.
The final trace of hesitation in Cassius’s gaze burned away.
What replaced it was a tragic, unshakable resolve—a willingness to sacrifice everything for justice.
Cassius lifted his trembling hand and gently brushed the child’s hair. His voice was hoarse, yet strangely calm.
“You
foolish child… you’re right. Protecting this island and cleansing it of
demonic corruption is our destiny. Today, we’ll use our broken bodies
to carve out one last sliver of hope for all living beings.”
With those words, Cassius straightened his aging spine.
His dimming aura surged upward—one final, blazing eruption of life.
But this time, the flare wasn’t just power.
It was his life essence burning.
Blue light flared around him—brilliant and fierce—not spiritual energy, but the fire of his very soul.
“Cassius! Are you insane?!” Demon Aukon shouted, suddenly realizing what was happening. His dragon claws lunged faster.
“Young friend Logan! Carry on my lineage! Slay demons—eliminate evil!”
Cassius roared, a sound that shook the entire island.
He thrust both hands forward.
But the blazing, cyan pillar of light fueled by his burning life didn’t strike Aukon.
Instead, like countless rivers converging into the sea, it cut through space—
—and surged directly into the distant ruins.
At that moment, the child beside him smiled—bright and fearless.
2705
The
child’s small body suddenly erupted with a brilliant earthy-gold
light—his purest, core essence as the mountain god of this land.
Without
the slightest hesitation, he poured the accumulated power of the
earth—built up over countless years—into a massive, surging yellow
torrent. It followed directly behind Cassius’s cyan pillar of light,
merging into it and driving it forward.
Two
streams of power—Cassius’s lifelong cultivation, his burning life
force, and his very soul, combined with the child’s pure earth essence
as a mountain god—raced together, wild and unreserved, into Logan’s body
beneath the rubble.
“No—!!” Demonized Aukon roared, furious and panicked.
His
dragon claw slashed down, but it only tore through the fading
afterimages of Cassius and the child. Their bodies had already dissolved
after giving everything, transforming into the purest particles of
energy that drifted into the world. Only faint bluish-yellow motes of
light remained, like fireflies—proof that they had once lived.
They sacrificed themselves for righteousness, and their souls returned to heaven and earth.
At that moment, the rubble burying Logan exploded outward!
A
vast aura—indescribable and ancient—descended over the palace ruins, as
if a primordial being that had slumbered since the dawn of time
suddenly opened its eyes.
A
blinding, multicolored celestial light shot into the sky, scattering
the demonic corruption and illuminating the shattered Fairyharbor
Immortal Palace as though it were midday.
From within that radiant glow, Logan slowly rose.
He
wore the same white robes—unstained, immaculate. Every injury had
vanished without a trace. His aura was deep as the ocean and boundless
as the stars.
The
razor-sharp intensity of a swordsman no longer defined him. Instead,
his gaze held a lofty, detached majesty—one that saw through all beings
and understood the source of all things.
A subtle hint of primordial chaos swirled around him, as though every move he made could reshape the laws of heaven and earth.
Inside
him surged a vast, roaring power—far beyond anything he had ever
conceived. It was Cassius’s gift. It was the child’s gift. A power born
from their lives and souls, two forces from the same origin seamlessly
united.
Driven by this power, his long-standing bottleneck shattered. He stepped into an elusive state spoken of only in legends.
He had truly stepped into the realm of immortals.
Calmly, Logan looked at the demonized Aukon—who for the first time appeared stunned, even fearful. Logan lifted his hand slowly.
He held no sword. Only two fingers pressed together like a blade, aimed toward Aukon.
Then he gently lowered his hand.
“Town.”
The word became law.
A
colossal, celestial talisman—woven directly from the laws of heaven and
earth—materialized above Aukon’s head. Majestic heavenly power radiated
from it as it ignored space entirely and pressed downward.
“Roar!
I am the Lord of All Demons! How dare you—” Aukon roared, unleashing a
torrent of demonic energy. His black claws ripped open space itself; his
dark-red breath incinerated everything; his demonic aura surged like a
tidal wave to resist the descending talisman.
But
before the talisman infused with immortal law and the sacrificial will
of Cassius and the child… his resistance was pathetic.
Demonic energy melted like frost under the sun.
Dragon claws shattered the moment they touched it.
The burning breath was absorbed and purified instantly.
The massive seal descended without slowing, like the Heaven’s own guillotine, stamping itself onto Aukon’s forehead.
“Ahh—!!”
Aukon
screamed, the sound piercing and filled with agony. His gigantic body
convulsed violently beneath the talisman’s crushing force.
The black dragon scales peeled away in chunks, revealing decaying flesh.
The bulging horns on his forehead burst, spraying foul black blood.
His torn wings ripped apart further, shredded inch by inch.
The demonic and dragon energies within him leaked out like gas from a ruptured vessel, purified almost instantly.
With
one final, bitter, unwilling howl, Aukon’s colossal demonic form
collapsed entirely. His body shrank back to its original human
shape—charred pitch-black—and crashed to the ground. The colorful
talisman suppressed him firmly, immobilizing him completely.
The chaotic dragon energies inside his body quieted, then evaporated under the talisman’s purifying force.
Immortals descend to suppress demons. Victory was absolute.
On
the ruins of the broken Immortal Palace, only Logan remained
standing—bathed in immortal radiance—while Aukon lay beneath the
talisman like a mangled corpse.
The talisman slowly rotated, emanating a steady, majestic heavenly pressure, pinning Aukon into the shattered stone below.
The
once arrogant figure—who devoured comrades, who transformed himself
into a demonic dragon—was now reduced to a charred, trembling prisoner
nailed to the pillar of shame.
Only
the slight twitching of his limbs and faint hoarse sounds escaping his
throat proved he was still alive, suffering under relentless
purification and suppression.
The suffocating demonic aura and the violent dragon energy that had smothered the palace dissipated gradually.
The oppressive evil vanished.
Only
the devastated ruins remained—dust, broken pillars, drifting smoke—and
the lingering sorrow of a tragedy carved into the very air.
“Aukon, submit to your fate.” Logan leveled his longsword at him, his tone ice-cold.
Cassius flicked his whisk, and the Tai Chi diagram hovering above slowly descended with steady pressure.
The child shifted restlessly, brimming with fighting intent.
But
just when everyone thought victory was already in their hands, Aukon
suddenly curled his lips into a twisted smile—wild, cruel, and filled
with a desperate resolve.
“Execute me? With just the likes of you?”
His
hoarse laughter echoed through the ruined hall. His eyes slid toward
Houtu, Dark Murky, and Aoki—each either sealed or gravely injured—greed
and madness gleaming openly in his gaze. “To force me into using that
technique… you should feel honored.”
Before
anyone could react, Aukon threw his arms wide and began chanting. The
eerie incantation didn’t sound like human speech—it felt ancient,
sinister, and dragged straight from the depths of the underworld.
As
the chant spread, the dark-gold and platinum light around him abruptly
turned pitch-black. An evil aura far more corrupt and nauseating than
even tainted dragon blood erupted like an awakened demon that had slept
for thousands of years.
“In my name, I offer sacrifice to my kin. Devour their spirits—let the Demonic Dragon descend!”
Boom—!!
Three
jet-black beams burst from Aukon, each tipped with a twisted dragon
head. They shot across the space like chains from hell, instantly
latching onto Houtu, Dark Murky, and Aoki.
From within Houtu’s sealed cocoon came a soundless, bone-deep scream that tore at the soul.
Dark Murky’s rigid body jerked violently, his frozen expression warped with agony.
Aoki’s eyes snapped open, and he let out a raw, ragged howl that didn’t sound fully human.
Then came the nightmare.
Before
everyone’s eyes, the three bodies shriveled at terrifying
speed—collapsing like punctured skins. Their life essence, their
spirits, and even the dragon power they had cultivated over lifetimes
were ripped out, dragged through the beams, and absorbed into Aukon.
Houtu’s breathtaking beauty vanished in an instant, leaving only a skeletal frame.
Dark Murky collapsed into a mummy-like corpse.
Aoki’s muscular body deflated to a dried skeleton.
In a heartbeat, the three mighty guardians became three ghastly husks—completely drained.
The final spark of life faded from their eyes, leaving only hollow stillness.
Having devoured everything from them, Aukon began to transform.
His
massive frame grew even larger, tearing what remained of his battle
robe. Black dragon scales covered his skin, gleaming with an icy,
demonic sheen. His fingers lengthened into sharp talons.
Two large bulges swelled on his forehead—dragon horns pushing to break free.
Then,
with a sickening rip, a pair of huge, half-formed dragon wings burst
from his back, their membranes ink-black and reeking of evil.
His
features twisted into something no longer human. Fangs jutted from his
mouth, and his eyes transformed into vertical pupils burning with
dark-red flames—eyes filled with pure savagery and the urge to destroy
everything.
A
storm of demonic energy—tainted by the unstable fusion of multiple
stolen dragon powers—exploded from him, sweeping outward like a black
hurricane.
The already ruined palace groaned under the weight of that power, as if it were being crushed by a collapsing sky.
Aukon—now half dragon, half demon—let out a roar straight from the abyss.
“ROARRRR—!!”
The supernatural shockwave leveled the last remnants of the palace, flattening stone and jade alike.
Logan,
Cassius, and the child felt their expressions tighten at once. This
wasn’t just stronger than before—it was overwhelmingly evil, a power
that made even their souls tremble. Their hearts sank in unison.
Aukon,
now fully demonized, radiated a monstrous aura. The black storm
swirling around him reduced stone pillars to powder and twisted the very
air.
His dark-red pupils locked onto the three standing against him, burning with nothing but the instinct to destroy.
“Insects… become the rations for my rise to the supreme demonic path.”
Demon Aukon moved.
He didn’t even bother with techniques.
A single swipe was enough.
His
massive, scale-covered dragon form tore through the void, leaving
behind five black claw marks that distorted space itself. They swept
forward like death’s own scythe.
Where the claws passed, life withered—and even spiritual energy vanished.
2704
“Careful!”
Cassius’s
expression changed instantly. He whipped his whisk through the air, and
the hazy Tai Chi diagram expanded to its maximum size, desperately
trying to block the incoming claw.
The
child screamed and slammed his palms to the ground. A massive rock
wall—several meters thick and gleaming with earthy, crystalline
light—rose up to reinforce the Tai Chi barrier.
Logan
gathered every ounce of strength he had left, unleashing a sharpened,
condensed cyan sword aura that seemed to slice yin and yang itself,
stabbing straight into the heart of the claw shadow.
Boom—!!
Their combined strike met the demonic claw head-on.
But there was no contest.
Only destruction.
The child’s crystalline rock wall tore like wet paper.
Cassius’s
Tai Chi diagram twisted violently, the Yin-Yang fish spinning out of
control as they desperately tried to disperse the demonic force. It
lasted no more than half a breath before shattering.
Cassius spat blood and staggered backward, his energy plunging sharply.
Logan’s
blade—meant to split Heaven and Earth—collided with the claw, but it
felt like slicing divine iron with a brittle ice knife. His sword aura
shattered with a shrill crack, and the recoil tore open the skin of his
palm. The shock hit him like a thunderbolt, flinging him through the
air. Blood sprayed from his lips as he slammed into the ground.
One strike.
One casual strike.
And the combined power of the three was crushed utterly.
Demonized
Aukon grinned, his fanged mouth curled with savage delight. With a
sudden beat of his torn wings, his massive body shot forward like a
phantom, appearing in front of the child.
His speed far surpassed anything from earlier.
“You little brat… you’ll be my appetizer.”
His jet-black dragon claw descended, carrying annihilation itself.
The
child turned deathly pale and attempted to escape with his earth-escape
technique—but the surrounding space was locked down by demonic energy.
There was no escaping.
“Don’t you dare harm my disciple!”
Cassius’s
eyes turned blood-red. Ignoring his wounds, he forcefully ignited his
source energy. He flashed between the child and the claw, his whisk
exploding into countless silver strands like a reversed river of stars,
wrapping around the demonic strike.
“Young friend Logan! Take him away!” Cassius shouted.
“Master!” the child cried.
“Leave?” Demon Aukon sneered. His claw tightened.
The galaxy of silver threads collapsed instantly.
Cassius
reeled as if struck by a giant hammer. Blood poured out uncontrollably,
and his aura plummeted—his very life essence clearly wounded.
At the same moment, Aukon’s other claw had silently appeared behind Logan, its cold fingertips aimed at his heart.
A brutal pincer attack.
Despite the agony tearing through his arm, Logan spun and thrust his sword to block.
Clang—!!
The metallic roar echoed across the ruins.
A
monstrous force blasted through Logan’s arm. His bones groaned under
the impact, and he was hurled backward again, slamming into a mound of
shattered stone. Dust swallowed him whole, his condition unknown.
The difference in strength was overwhelming.
Aukon’s
demonic transformation had pushed him far beyond the level of a
terrestrial immortal—into a realm they could not contend with. Even
combined, their efforts were like a mantis trying to stop a war chariot.
Proud
and merciless, Demon Aukon strode toward the fallen Cassius and the
terrified child. His vertical pupils gleamed with cruel amusement, like a
predator savoring its prey.
“Cassius, you decrepit old fool… I’ll make you watch as I crush your little brat’s soul bit by bit.”
His dragon claw reached toward the child’s head—slowly, deliberately—its oppressive intent suffocating.
The
child looked at his master’s pale face, at Logan buried under rubble,
unsure if he still lived, and at the lethal claws closing in.
For the first time, his bright, lively eyes showed a deep, heartbreaking resolve far beyond his age.
“Master…” he whispered, voice trembling but resolved. “I don’t want to hide anymore. Let’s fight him.”
Cassius
saw the determination shining in his disciple’s eyes—the same
determination he had once possessed. Then he looked at Aukon, whose
demonic power seemed boundless.
The final trace of hesitation in Cassius’s gaze burned away.
What replaced it was a tragic, unshakable resolve—a willingness to sacrifice everything for justice.
Cassius lifted his trembling hand and gently brushed the child’s hair. His voice was hoarse, yet strangely calm.
“You
foolish child… you’re right. Protecting this island and cleansing it of
demonic corruption is our destiny. Today, we’ll use our broken bodies
to carve out one last sliver of hope for all living beings.”
With those words, Cassius straightened his aging spine.
His dimming aura surged upward—one final, blazing eruption of life.
But this time, the flare wasn’t just power.
It was his life essence burning.
Blue light flared around him—brilliant and fierce—not spiritual energy, but the fire of his very soul.
“Cassius! Are you insane?!” Demon Aukon shouted, suddenly realizing what was happening. His dragon claws lunged faster.
“Young friend Logan! Carry on my lineage! Slay demons—eliminate evil!”
Cassius roared, a sound that shook the entire island.
He thrust both hands forward.
But the blazing, cyan pillar of light fueled by his burning life didn’t strike Aukon.
Instead, like countless rivers converging into the sea, it cut through space—
—and surged directly into the distant ruins.
At that moment, the child beside him smiled—bright and fearless.
2705
The
child’s small body suddenly erupted with a brilliant earthy-gold
light—his purest, core essence as the mountain god of this land.
Without
the slightest hesitation, he poured the accumulated power of the
earth—built up over countless years—into a massive, surging yellow
torrent. It followed directly behind Cassius’s cyan pillar of light,
merging into it and driving it forward.
Two
streams of power—Cassius’s lifelong cultivation, his burning life
force, and his very soul, combined with the child’s pure earth essence
as a mountain god—raced together, wild and unreserved, into Logan’s body
beneath the rubble.
“No—!!” Demonized Aukon roared, furious and panicked.
His
dragon claw slashed down, but it only tore through the fading
afterimages of Cassius and the child. Their bodies had already dissolved
after giving everything, transforming into the purest particles of
energy that drifted into the world. Only faint bluish-yellow motes of
light remained, like fireflies—proof that they had once lived.
They sacrificed themselves for righteousness, and their souls returned to heaven and earth.
At that moment, the rubble burying Logan exploded outward!
A
vast aura—indescribable and ancient—descended over the palace ruins, as
if a primordial being that had slumbered since the dawn of time
suddenly opened its eyes.
A
blinding, multicolored celestial light shot into the sky, scattering
the demonic corruption and illuminating the shattered Fairyharbor
Immortal Palace as though it were midday.
From within that radiant glow, Logan slowly rose.
He
wore the same white robes—unstained, immaculate. Every injury had
vanished without a trace. His aura was deep as the ocean and boundless
as the stars.
The
razor-sharp intensity of a swordsman no longer defined him. Instead,
his gaze held a lofty, detached majesty—one that saw through all beings
and understood the source of all things.
A subtle hint of primordial chaos swirled around him, as though every move he made could reshape the laws of heaven and earth.
Inside
him surged a vast, roaring power—far beyond anything he had ever
conceived. It was Cassius’s gift. It was the child’s gift. A power born
from their lives and souls, two forces from the same origin seamlessly
united.
Driven by this power, his long-standing bottleneck shattered. He stepped into an elusive state spoken of only in legends.
He had truly stepped into the realm of immortals.
Calmly, Logan looked at the demonized Aukon—who for the first time appeared stunned, even fearful. Logan lifted his hand slowly.
He held no sword. Only two fingers pressed together like a blade, aimed toward Aukon.
Then he gently lowered his hand.
“Town.”
The word became law.
A
colossal, celestial talisman—woven directly from the laws of heaven and
earth—materialized above Aukon’s head. Majestic heavenly power radiated
from it as it ignored space entirely and pressed downward.
“Roar!
I am the Lord of All Demons! How dare you—” Aukon roared, unleashing a
torrent of demonic energy. His black claws ripped open space itself; his
dark-red breath incinerated everything; his demonic aura surged like a
tidal wave to resist the descending talisman.
But
before the talisman infused with immortal law and the sacrificial will
of Cassius and the child… his resistance was pathetic.
Demonic energy melted like frost under the sun.
Dragon claws shattered the moment they touched it.
The burning breath was absorbed and purified instantly.
The massive seal descended without slowing, like the Heaven’s own guillotine, stamping itself onto Aukon’s forehead.
“Ahh—!!”
Aukon
screamed, the sound piercing and filled with agony. His gigantic body
convulsed violently beneath the talisman’s crushing force.
The black dragon scales peeled away in chunks, revealing decaying flesh.
The bulging horns on his forehead burst, spraying foul black blood.
His torn wings ripped apart further, shredded inch by inch.
The demonic and dragon energies within him leaked out like gas from a ruptured vessel, purified almost instantly.
With
one final, bitter, unwilling howl, Aukon’s colossal demonic form
collapsed entirely. His body shrank back to its original human
shape—charred pitch-black—and crashed to the ground. The colorful
talisman suppressed him firmly, immobilizing him completely.
The chaotic dragon energies inside his body quieted, then evaporated under the talisman’s purifying force.
Immortals descend to suppress demons. Victory was absolute.
On
the ruins of the broken Immortal Palace, only Logan remained
standing—bathed in immortal radiance—while Aukon lay beneath the
talisman like a mangled corpse.
The talisman slowly rotated, emanating a steady, majestic heavenly pressure, pinning Aukon into the shattered stone below.
The
once arrogant figure—who devoured comrades, who transformed himself
into a demonic dragon—was now reduced to a charred, trembling prisoner
nailed to the pillar of shame.
Only
the slight twitching of his limbs and faint hoarse sounds escaping his
throat proved he was still alive, suffering under relentless
purification and suppression.
The suffocating demonic aura and the violent dragon energy that had smothered the palace dissipated gradually.
The oppressive evil vanished.
Only
the devastated ruins remained—dust, broken pillars, drifting smoke—and
the lingering sorrow of a tragedy carved into the very air.
English version
2706-2709
The chaotic aura and seven-colored immortal light surrounding Logan gradually faded, settling into stillness.
Logan
could feel the vast, star-like immortal energy coursing through his
body—responsive, boundless, and unbelievably pure. Yet instead of joy, a
heavy, complicated sorrow pressed on his heart.
This power existed because Cassius and the child—the mountain spirit—had sacrificed everything. Two vibrant lives, gone forever.
His
eyes drifted to the place where the two had vanished, where only faint
bluish-yellow motes of light hovered stubbornly in the air.
Like the last fireflies of summer, they flickered softly, reluctant to fade—carrying a final message of unwillingness and hope.
Logan stepped forward and bowed deeply toward the empty space.
The
bow was a tribute—an acknowledgment of sacrifice and protection, a
salute to a spirit that would remain eternal even after death.
“Senior… young friend… rest in peace. The demonic energy here has been cleansed,” Logan said quietly.
His voice was calm, but the oath within it echoed like a vow etched into the world itself.
Just then, frantic footsteps and a shaky cry came from the edge of the ruins.
“Logan!”
With Stevie’s support, Grace stumbled over.
Her
hair was disheveled, her clothes stained with dust and blood, and her
beautiful face was full of fear and worry. Seeing Logan—bathed in faint
immortal light, his presence ethereal and otherworldly—she froze for an
instant, unable to recognize him.
“Are you… are you alright?” Grace asked, her voice trembling.
Her
gaze shifted toward Aukon, who lay suppressed beneath the talisman,
then further to the ominous, still-open crack of the Yaochi seal in the
distance.
Logan turned to her.
The
detached majesty in his eyes softened slightly, allowing a hint of his
former gentleness to return—though his aura remained profoundly changed.
“I’m fine,” he said quietly. “But Senior Cassius and that young mountain spirit gave their lives to help me seal this fiend.”
Grace’s body trembled. She had already guessed it, but hearing the truth still filled her with a mixture of grief and respect.
She bowed deeply toward the fading light.
“Those demons have all been destroyed… Is the Dragon Blood Bodhi still here?” Grace asked, unable to hide the hope in her eyes.
She
had seen the truth of the Bodhi and witnessed the world-shattering
battle between immortals and demons—yet her strongest desire remained
unchanged: she wanted to save her father.
Logan let out a soft sigh and turned toward the heart of Yaochi.
The
seal rift looked like a bleeding wound, still leaking thin wisps of
pure yet dangerous malevolent energy from the Void Dragon’s origin. It
seeped into the seven-colored spring below, tainting everything it
touched.
The
Dragon Blood Bodhi beside the spring had dimmed after losing Aukon’s
support, but its alluring, corrupting power remained just as dangerous.
“The
official’s illness is a deep, chronic condition that has damaged his
very foundation,” Logan explained. “Ordinary medicine cannot cure it.
The Dragon Blood Bodhi—and the Jade Pool water tainted by the Void
Dragon’s malevolent energy—contain a destructive will. They are
extremely evil.”
His gaze sharpened.
“Not
only would they fail to heal him, they would accelerate his death—or
worse, turn him into a dragon puppet driven only by destruction.”
Then Logan’s tone shifted.
“However…
the original Yaochi spiritual liquid was once the purest source of life
in the world. Though corrupted, its essence hasn’t been lost. With
Aukon suppressed, the malevolent energy has weakened and begun to
settle.”
He looked toward Aukon, pinned beneath the seven-colored talisman.
“The unrefined dragon essences inside this fiend—though violent—are still fundamentally vast life force.”
Logan raised a hand. Immortal light swirled across his palm, guided by the laws of heaven and earth.
A
thread of light separated from the talisman, slipping into Aukon’s
body. It carefully extracted a colorful but restless mass of purified
dragon essence.
With
his other hand, Logan drew an invisible force into the Yaochi Spring.
Like a precise filter, it stripped away and destroyed the malevolent red
energy lingering within.
Finally,
a small cluster of crystal-clear, seven-colored spiritual liquid
formed—pure vitality radiating from it like soft sunlight.
Using
his immortal essence as a furnace and his divine sense as flame, Logan
placed both the purified dragon essence and the spiritual liquid in his
palm.
Celestial light swirled.
The
two completely different powers—each overflowing with life—slowly
merged and refined under his control. The dragon essence’s fierceness
was soothed by the spiritual liquid’s peace, while the spiritual liquid
grew richer and steadier under the dragon essence’s nourishment.
Before
long, a pill the size of a pigeon egg formed—perfectly round, glowing
with a warm milky-white light. Natural cloud-like patterns swirled
gently across its surface.
A
refreshing fragrance drifted out, cleansing the very soul. Its life
force wasn’t as overwhelming as the Dragon Blood Bodhi, but it was
gentler, purer, and filled with righteous energy.
“This
pill was created from purified dragon essence and the original Yaochi
spiritual liquid, tempered with immortal essence,” Logan said.
He held it out to Grace.
“It
may not bring someone back from the brink of death, but it can
strengthen the body’s foundation and extend life by ten years. That
should be enough for the Emperor to safely pass through this calamity
and live out the rest of his life in peace.”
With
trembling hands, Grace accepted the warm pill. Its gentle vitality
pulsed steadily through her palms, and tears welled in her eyes.
She
understood this was the very limit of what Logan could achieve while
staying true to the righteous path—and without violating the Void
Dragon’s taboos.
Ten years… Ten peaceful years…
More than enough.
2707
Just then, a series of unsteady footsteps echoed from the edge of the ruins, breaking the heavy silence.
“Someone’s there!”
Alongi snapped to attention, his voice low and alert.
The remaining guards immediately tightened their formation around Grace.
Logan
lifted his eyes slightly. His divine sense swept outward like liquid
mercury spreading across the ground, then returned quietly—he had
already sensed the newcomers.
Through the drifting smoke, shattered pillars, and falling debris, a group of people carefully approached.
At
the front were three familiar figures—Princes Tristan, Matthias, and
Nathaniel—finally reunited after being scattered across the island.
The
soldiers trailing behind them were few in number, heavily wounded,
dirty, and visibly exhausted. It was clear they had survived many close
calls on their way here.
The
three princes looked just as battered—robes torn, hair disheveled,
faces smeared with dust and dried blood. They had followed the
overwhelming spiritual fluctuations and the eruption of seven-colored
light, imagining they would witness the birth of a divine treasure or
the downfall of a mighty foe.
But they never expected to arrive at a scene like this.
Everywhere they looked: collapsed palaces, melted jade tiles, scorched earth, bottomless cracks.
This place no longer resembled an overseas paradise—it was a wasteland that had just endured a world-ending catastrophe.
And
at the center of it all stood a solitary figure in white—tall, calm,
and unshakable—while beneath him lay a charred corpse-like figure pinned
down by a massive seven-colored talisman radiating terrifying residual
pressure.
“What… what happened here?” Matthias whispered, eyes wide with disbelief.
Even now, the aura lingering around Aukon made his skin crawl.
Nathaniel, sharp and observant, scanned the surroundings before fixing his gaze on Logan. Shock flickered in his eyes.
He
recognized the black battle robe on the suppressed figure—similar in
style to the terrifying White Cicada they had encountered earlier. But
the power it radiated far surpassed that man’s.
And Logan… he had actually suppressed someone of this caliber?
Even Tristan, usually composed, couldn’t hide the tremor in his fingertips. The sight before him was simply too overwhelming.
The grand palace had been reduced to dust.
“Mr. Rhys… is the danger here resolved?” Tristan asked cautiously.
Logan nodded lightly. “The demons have been suppressed. The turmoil is temporarily over.”
His calm response struck the three princes like thunder.
It really was him.
He alone had quelled the celestial palace and suppressed a demon-level monster.
Recalling
how Logan intercepted the white-robed man’s golden strike in the
canyon, the princes finally understood—what Logan revealed back then was
only a fraction of his true power.
Grace
stepped forward and briefly explained what had happened. She left out
all core secrets, saying only that Aukon and his group were evil
cultivators occupying Fairyharbor and plotting against her, thwarted by
Logan and two hidden masters—both of whom tragically perished in battle.
She
mentioned nothing about the Void Dragon, the seal, or the true origin
of the pill—only that Logan had refined it to save their father.
But the word “elixir” instantly caught all three princes’ attention.
Their eyes shifted toward the milky-white pill in Grace’s hand, glowing softly and releasing a soothing aroma.
A pill refined by Logan after a battle between immortals and demons could never be ordinary.
Considering Logan’s unfathomable strength…
Tristan
drew a deep breath, trying to steady his voice. “Mr. Rhys, not only are
you powerful, but you’re proficient in alchemy as well? Might you tell
us what miraculous effects this elixir possesses?”
Logan
glanced at him calmly. “This is an Immortal Essence Pill. I refined it
using the remaining spiritual energy of this place combined with
purified demon essence. It strengthens the foundation, nourishes
vitality, and prolongs life.”
Prolongs life.
The princes’ breathing quickened.
Emperors
chased immortality. Princes, too, wished for more years—more time to
wield power, expand influence, and secure their futures.
Matthias, unable to restrain himself, blurted, “Extend lifespan? By how much?”
He
had faced death countless times on the battlefield without fear—but if
he could live ten more years, he could conquer far more.
Logan looked at the three men, easily reading the greed burning beneath their composed faces.
“Ten years,” he said calmly.
Ten years.
To ordinary people—especially to princes trapped in the brutal vortex of power—ten years meant countless new possibilities.
Ten years of scheming.
Ten years of maneuvering.
Ten years of survival.
Ten more years to fight for the throne.
A thick, eerie silence settled over the ruins.
The only sounds were the low hiss of the distant seal rift… and the heavy, uneven breaths of the three princes.
2708
Nathaniel
quickly forced down his emotions, smoothed his expression, and stepped
forward with a gentle smile and an overly humble posture.
“Mr.
Rhys is truly a divine figure. You can suppress evil spirits and refine
such extraordinary elixirs. To be honest, my brothers and I have been
extremely worried about our father’s condition—we’d gladly take his
place if we could. If possible, would you consider opening your furnace
again to refine a few more Immortal Essence Pills for us? Whatever
medicinal ingredients or cost you require, we’ll do everything in our
power to meet your demands.”
Tristan
and Matthias instantly understood his intention. They chimed in
eagerly, their voices sincere and their eyes locked on Logan.
The chance to gain immeasurable merit against extending their own lives by ten years—anyone would hesitate.
But Logan simply shook his head, his tone cool and unquestionable.
“This
pill formed through a rare convergence of remnant essence and the
purifying power here. It’s unique. Its refinement method isn’t ordinary
alchemy—it requires special immortal essence to guide yin and yang and
dispel malevolent energy. Now that the spiritual energy here has been
damaged and the malevolent energy has dissipated, it can no longer be
refined. This was a stroke of luck, not something that can be
replicated.”
His words hit the three princes like a bucket of cold water, instantly smothering the spark of hope they had just ignited.
Was he truly powerless? Or was it simply fate?
Their smiles froze. Deep disappointment—and a flicker of resentment—flashed in their eyes.
Almost
unconsciously, their gazes drifted again to the Immortal Essence Pill
in Grace’s hand, their looks layered with envy, jealousy, and a faint,
dark edge they probably hadn’t even realized had surfaced.
Such a monumental achievement—ten more years of life—now belonged solely to their imperial sister.
Tristan was already wondering how to report this to their father and whether he could still claim a share of the credit.
Matthias
debated whether, if he somehow got the pill, he should give it to his
father to secure the position of heir—or keep it for himself to prepare
for the future.
Nathaniel quietly calculated whether he could trade something with Grace, or perhaps find another opportunity.
The air in the room grew heavy and awkward.
Despite their greed, none of them dared show it before Logan, an unfathomable immortal.
“Heh…
I see. We were being presumptuous,” Nathaniel said, forcing a laugh to
break the tension. “Since the elixir is so rare, it’s a blessing that
Princess Grace obtained it. Being able to save Father Emperor is a great
fortune.”
Tristan and Matthias also squeezed out stiff smiles and echoed his words.
Logan observed all three without comment.
To him, worldly struggles and petty schemes were as meaningless as drifting clouds.
He
lifted his gaze skyward, then sensed the flow of energy beneath his
feet. “Now that everything here is resolved, Fairyharbor Island is no
longer safe. The seal is stable for the moment, but its foundation is
damaged. Unexpected changes could occur. We should prepare to leave.”
Everyone tensed immediately.
If even Logan was warning them of danger, then the island was far from truly calm.
But before Logan could use his techniques to guide them away from Fairyharbor Island’s core, something unexpected happened.
It didn’t come from the restrained Aukon—or from the fractured seal.
Instead,
from beneath the former location of the seven-colored spring at the
heart of the celestial palace—an abyss shattered open by their earlier
battle, now a gaping, bottomless darkness—a massive pitch-black vortex
suddenly began to stir.
It appeared without warning.
At
first it was only the size of a millstone, but its rotation was
violent—its growth explosive, expanding at a speed visible to the naked
eye.
There was no spiritual energy or malevolent aura within it—only a cold, devouring nothingness.
Even more alarming were the faint, warped roars and whispers rising from its depths—chaotic, hungry, violent.
It sounded like something sealed in a hopeless cage filled with countless horrors.
A
wave of evil energy surged from the vortex—older, deeper, and far more
despair-inducing than dragon blood malevolence. It felt like some
ancient horror had been disturbed from its slumber.
“What… what is that?!”
Matthias trembled, pointing at the growing vortex. His voice cracked with terror.
Tristan and Nathaniel had gone completely pale, instinctively backing away. That aura sent a chill straight into their souls.
Even Logan’s expression darkened, his brows knitting together.
He could clearly sense it—the vortex wasn’t from Aukon or the Void Dragon, but from a tear in the world barrier.
No—more precisely, it was a world seal connected to some unknown wasteland or prison.
Because of the energy clashes within Fairyharbor Island’s core, the seal had loosened.
And
the malicious screams leaking out foretold one thing: whatever was
sealed behind it was no benevolent lifeform. Its threat may surpass even
the Void Dragon.
“Run!”
Logan didn’t hesitate. He swept his sleeves, and a vast yet gentle surge of immortal energy wrapped around everyone.
Celestial light flared—and their figures blurred into streaks of radiance shooting toward the outskirts of Fairyharbor Island.
Just
moments after they escaped, the black vortex had grown large enough to
engulf the entire celestial palace ruins—its consuming darkness
threatening to swallow everything.
At its very center, twisted, inhuman limbs slammed wildly against the unseen barrier.
The screeching grew clearer.
Closer.
As if something inside was moments away from breaking free.
2709
Immortal energy could cross a thousand miles in the blink of an eye.
In less than half a day, Logan had carried everyone across the endless sea and back to the Central Plains.
He didn’t stop in the coastal prefectures or counties. Instead, he headed straight for the heart of Dragonmarsh—Oakvale.
Beneath
the drifting clouds, mountains and rivers swept past like fading ink.
Towns and villages appeared below them like pieces on a giant
chessboard. The familiar breath of everyday life rushed toward them,
feeling like an entirely different world compared to the eerie,
intertwined paradise-and-hell that was Fairyharbor Island.
Grace
clutched the jade box containing the Immortal Essence Pill so tightly
her fingertips had turned pale. Her heart was a tangled mix of
excitement to return and crushing worry for her father’s failing health.
Logan
had said the pill would extend life by ten years, but she wouldn’t rest
until she saw her father recover with her own eyes.
The three princes remained silent, each steeped in their own thoughts.
Their gazes would occasionally flick toward the jade box in Grace’s hands, expressions shifting with complicated emotion.
Missing out on such a monumental feat—and a ten-year extension of life—was a bitter pill to swallow.
And
now Grace, returning with the “elixir of immortality” and bearing “fate
with the immortals,” would no doubt gain even greater favor in the
Emperor’s heart—becoming an unexpected challenger in the fight for the
throne.
…
The Hall of Mental Cultivation, Forbidden City.
Once solemn and majestic, the palace was now filled with the heavy stench of medicine and a suffocating gloom.
The palace servants moved quietly, barely daring to breathe, each one carrying visible worry on their faces.
The
ruler of Dragonmarsh, Emperor Valon, had been bedridden for a long
time. The Imperial Medical Academy was helpless—his life was held
together only by a few skilled physicians using acupuncture and secret
medicines.
On
the dragon bed, Valon’s face was ashen, his eyes sunken, his breath
shallow and quick—like a candle wavering in the breeze, ready to
extinguish at any moment.
Several elderly doctors stood around him, brows knit tight, whispering among themselves before shaking their heads with despair.
“Father!”
A voice cracked through the suffocating silence.
Grace
rushed in, ignoring all etiquette, nearly tripping over her skirt as
she stumbled to the dragon bed. The moment she saw her father’s frail,
barely-breathing form, her tears spilled uncontrollably.
Tristan,
Matthias, and Nathaniel followed behind. When they saw their father’s
condition, they too felt a surge of grief and knelt in respect.
Valon
struggled to open his clouded eyes. When he recognized his beloved
daughter returning, a faint flicker of light sparked in his dull gaze.
His lips trembled, but no sound came out.
“Father, I found the medicine to save you! It will save your life!” Grace sobbed, opening the jade box with trembling hands.
A
soft, refreshing fragrance instantly filled the hall, sweeping away the
thick medicinal odor and invigorating everyone present.
The
old physicians, who had been wearing grim expressions moments earlier,
froze in shock at the scent. Their eyes widened as they stared at the
milky-white, radiant pill resting inside the jade box.
“This… this is an Immortal Essence Pill? It carries such immense and pure vitality?” Elder Physician Wang exclaimed.
In
a lifetime of practicing medicine and refining countless rare elixirs,
he had never encountered such gentle, potent life force.
It felt almost otherworldly.
“This is the Immortal Essence Pill—Father Emperor’s illness can be cured,” Grace said quickly.
After receiving a faint nod from Valon, she gently placed the pill into his mouth.
It
melted instantly. Instead of erupting with overwhelming power, it
flowed like a warm spring, quietly nourishing Valon’s withered limbs and
bones.
Wherever
the pill’s energy passed, decades of accumulated ailments and depleted
vital force began to heal—like parched land finally touched by rain.
Everyone held their breath, eyes locked on the emperor.
Valon’s sallow complexion slowly regained a healthy glow.
The sunken eye sockets filled out. The cloudiness in his gaze cleared.
His faint, uneven breaths grew steady and strong.
Even
his temples—once streaked with gray—now showed a few strands of fresh,
black hair. His wrinkles softened, his appearance subtly turning back
the clock.
Before the time it took an incense stick to burn had passed, Valon was able to sit up with the support of the bed.
He felt a surge of vitality he hadn’t known in years. His eyes widened in disbelief and joy.
“I feel… restored. Better than I have in decades!”
His voice was still hoarse, but it carried strength—no longer frail, no longer fading.
“Your Majesty is blessed with divine fortune! This is truly a miracle!”
Overcome, Imperial Physician Wang and the others dropped to their knees, bowing repeatedly.
In
all their years of medicine, they had never witnessed anything like
this. It surpassed medicine—it was practically divine intervention.
“Father!” Grace cried, her voice choked with joy.
Every fear, every hardship, every sacrifice along the journey dissolved into pure, overwhelming relief.
English version
2710
Valon slowly rose to his feet, energy surging through him, every trace of his former frailty gone without a shadow.
“As expected of the Immortal Essence Pill… truly miraculous.”
He smiled, first looking at Grace, then turning to Logan, giving him a grateful nod.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
Valon understood perfectly—without Logan’s strength, he would never have obtained this life-saving pill.
“You
give me too much credit,” Logan said calmly. “Seeing Your Majesty
restored means my task is complete. The journey to Fairyharbor was full
of peril. Princess Grace risked everything to seek this medicine and
nearly lost her life. Now that you’ve recovered, I hope you’ll
acknowledge her filial devotion and merit.”
Valon, being a man of depth and power, naturally caught the meaning behind Logan’s words.
His gaze on Grace softened even further.
This
daughter of his was not only gifted in both martial and literary
pursuits—she possessed a heart full of courage and devotion, willing to
cross dangerous seas to find an elixir to prolong his life.
In comparison, his three sons were utterly disappointing.
He had once held certain reservations… but now, seeing Logan openly stand behind his daughter, all hesitation vanished.
It was time to make a choice—one that would break the traditions of their ancestors.
…
Outside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, at the foot of the white jade steps—
Tristan, Matthias, and Nathaniel stood waiting in the corridor, shadows flickering across their expressions.
The
emperor’s strong voice from within, combined with the vibrant vitality
surging through the hall, told them everything they needed to know.
Father… had truly recovered.
And not just recovered—he sounded healthier than ever.
The three princes exchanged glances, their emotions tangled beyond words.
The Emperor’s recovery was undeniably a blessing for both the empire and their family.
Yet the achievement… belonged entirely to Grace.
“Ten
years… Father Emperor will live at least ten more years…” Tristan
murmured, staring at the tightly shut doors, bitterness leaking into his
voice.
It meant that the previously imminent succession battle would be dragged out—long, uncertain, and much more dangerous.
And more importantly, Grace, with this unprecedented merit, had instantly become their strongest rival.
Matthias scoffed, fists clenching until the knuckles whitened.
“Hmph. She just got lucky—had someone powerful backing her. Without Logan, what could she possibly have done?”
Nathaniel’s eyes darkened, emotion unreadable on his refined, gentle features. Lowering his voice, he spoke slowly:
“Second
Brother, you’re mistaken. Luck is part of strength. Now that Imperial
Sister has returned with this enormous achievement, and with Logan—a
Land Immortal—behind her, her momentum is unstoppable. If we keep
competing separately, we might lose everything.”
He didn’t finish the sentence, but the meaning was loud and clear.
Silence settled over the corridor, thick and suffocating.
All three were intelligent. They understood the reality before them.
One-on-one, none of them had the confidence to suppress Grace—not now, not with Logan standing behind her.
After a long pause, Tristan finally spoke, his voice steady with reluctant resolve:
“Nathaniel’s right. Grace isn’t who she used to be. If we want any chance left, we must join forces—for now.”
“Join forces?” Matthias frowned. “What does that even look like? And what happens after?”
A faint gleam flickered in Nathaniel’s eyes.
“First,
we join to push Princess Grace out of the game. If we work together, it
won’t be hard to slowly chip away at her influence—politically and
publicly. Find her weaknesses. Undermine her. Marginalize her.”
He paused, then flashed them a charming but chilling smile.
“And
after that… once the dust settles, we three compete fairly on our own
strengths. Better than watching the throne slip farther and farther
away, isn’t it?”
Tristan thought for a moment, then finally nodded.
“Agreed. Stabilizing the situation comes first. We can’t let Grace expand her power any further with this achievement.”
Though it was obvious Matthias hated the idea, he also knew there was no alternative.
“Fine. We’ll do it your way. Deal with Grace first.”
In the dim corridor outside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, three hands briefly clasped—forming a quiet, sinister alliance.
Then they separated just as quickly.
A conspiracy against their own sister had taken root at the heart of power.
Inside the hall, a father and daughter shared warmth and renewed life.
Outside, the storm was already brewing.
No comments:
Post a Comment