Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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The Xuanming Plaque seemed to sense Bai Ju’s arrival, immediately emitting a soft buzzing sound. A deep, dark light emanated from the plaque, rippling outwards. After a few circles of ripples, the struggling, ferocious black lines around it were unwillingly suppressed and bound, their attacking momentum forcibly halted, reduced to threads, and pulled back by the Xuanming Plaque.
Bai Ju’s gaze softened, sweeping over the threads, and he reached out to touch the cool edge of the plaque.
Back then, if such a divine beast had been guarding the four directions, how could he, Old Dog Bai, have had to deal with those messy affairs?
Slightly moved, Bai Ju sighed, collected his thoughts, and said to the Xuanming Plaque, “No need to trouble yourself… I’ll lend you a hand.”
Through Bai Ju’s fingertips, the Xuanming Plaque conveyed a hint of doubt and confusion; it only knew that what it was extracting from the mountain was not good, and that it was clearly poised to attack Bai Ju, which, in the Xuanming Plaque’s view, was quite dangerous.
Bai Ju chuckled and touched the mottled characters on the Xuanming Plaque: “Don’t worry, I’m fine. This thing can’t harm me.”
Having finished speaking, Bai Ju rubbed his fingertips reassuringly twice before withdrawing his hand.
The next instant, a deep crimson slowly emerged from the depths of Bai Ju’s pitch-black right eye, soon coloring the entire pupil a deep red.
The scar extending from the corner of his eye also lit up, a bright gold interwoven with the ominous crimson, making the lines appear as if magma was surging beneath cracked ground.
In an instant, the silk threads that had been baring their fangs and trying to pounce seemed to have seen something terrifying, trembling and struggling again, trying to escape from the Xuanming Plaque— but Bai Ju would never give it such an opportunity. This was the first time he had actively used what was in his right eye, and he wouldn’t do it without a purpose.
A terrifying suction force erupted from Bai Ju, like a greedy demon finally finding its food; the black silk threads pulled out by the Xuanming Plaque instantly lost their shape, twisting and turning before being roughly scattered into smoke. The mist then rolled towards Bai Ju’s outstretched palm.
This eerie power was sealed within the mountain, containing the vampire’s own heritage, but even more so, a jumble of resentment, fear, and evil accumulated over the years, seemingly originating not only from the island. These elements were difficult to extract without breaking the seal, but the Xuanming Plaque itself had an extremely close connection to the island. This allowed it to be extracted piece by piece while maintaining the seal, then the Xuanwu power stored within the plaque was used to replace these elements and infuse them into the mountain, completing the replacement. What would normally be difficult for Bai Ju to manipulate, now with the Xuanming Plaque as a medium, allowed him to swiftly gather what had been extracted from the plaque into his palm.
His ivory-white skin appeared exceptionally pale in this hazy space. His palm slightly clenched, a thin layer of golden light covering Bai Ju’s hand, prevented the invasion of the eerie black energy; subtle and imperceptible. Golden threads occasionally darted about, compressing and gathering the black smoke into a ball the size of a pigeon egg, slowly rotating in Bai Ju’s palm to absorb more.
The thing in his eyes began to struggle and resist. It needed this black energy… it wanted to devour this readily available feast to strengthen itself and rebel against the mountain god who had suppressed it for thousands of years.
A familiar, dull ache lingered in his mind, accompanied by a hallucination of excruciating pain…
Bai Ju closed his eyes.
Something he thought he would never touch again.
Thousands of years of torment were etched into his bones; even if he didn’t hate it, this body had long remembered the pain it had inflicted; so much so that even slight symptoms awakened his memories.
Sharp nails uncontrollably protruded from his fingertips.
Bai Ju held the black energy ball in one hand, his other clenched into a fist, the meridians lurking beneath his skin bulging, then quickly subsiding.
Calm down… it’s all over now, this thing… had been suppressed by him and worn down over countless years, now reduced to mere dregs, devoid of complete consciousness and the ability to rise again.
This thing had become his defeated foe, a part of him sealed within his body, and he was entitled to utilize it, to… assimilate it into his own body.
A surge of clarity flooded his mind from the crown of his head, dispelling all the painful illusions; the lines spreading from the corners of his eyes to his cheeks now seemed threatened, their dark red glow flickering more intensely, even showing a hint of panic.
Countless golden threads leaped out, binding the deep red markings, crushing and destroying them bit by bit.
The blood-red in Bai Ju’s pupils was gradually sifted through by the golden rays, and in no time, the two merged, becoming indistinguishable, a golden-red like the blazing sun. Bai Ju breathed a sigh of relief, composed himself, and then looked up to communicate with the Xuanming Plaque: “Please, replace this black energy as soon as possible.”
The Xuanming Plaque, acting on Bai Ju’s orders, resided within the mountain, displacing the power here. However, its own abilities alone couldn’t guarantee control over all the black energy if the displacing was too rapid, hence the gradual, piecemeal approach.
Now, Bai Ju, using it as a medium, could directly suppress the black energy within the island, eliminating any future threat for the Xuanming Plaque. Although its remaining intelligence didn’t allow it to comprehend the changes that had just occurred with Bai Ju, it didn’t prevent it from judging that Bai Ju possessed sufficient power to deal with this black energy.
(The mountain’s illusory realm…”)
The plaque and the demon king reached a consensus. In an instant, the Xuanming Plaque ceased its suppression, and countless streams of black energy surged from the surrounding space, surging relentlessly, gathering at a speed more than a hundred times faster than before.
The profound black aura, dignified and chilling, billowed forth from the Xuanming Plaque, spreading outwards from this small illusory realm, permeating the entire island of Turtle Valley Island, and also seeping into the seal. The portion of the vampire’s inheritance that had been stripped away was limited; after being purified by the Xuanming Plaque and deepened by the Xuanwu aura, it seemed to have fused and mutated into another kind of power, somewhere between yin and yang. However, this state was actually more suitable for the merfolk to absorb than before.
If the seal were to open later, and the merfolk transferred the power within, the risk of them absorbing it would be considerably lower.
Bai Ju stabilized the black sphere in his palm, raised his other hand to touch his lower eyelid, and then conjured a water mirror to look at himself.
Hmm… the scar was still there, it hadn’t faded.
It seemed to be as he had guessed before; as long as that thing was inside him, whether he suppressed it or absorbed it, this scar couldn’t be removed.
It was a pity that if he were to transfer this power from… If it were removed from his own body, he might not be able to ignite the Emperor’s Fate for Xiao Yao. After all, it wasn’t a good thing, but it was undeniably powerful.
Otherwise, how could it have tormented him for so many years?
Putting aside how much this thing had enhanced Bai Ju’s strength, from Old Dog Bai’s own perspective, he was actually somewhat disappointed.
He didn’t like the scar on his face, even though Xiao Yao had complimented it on its appearance. He still wanted to remove it so that his Yao Yao could see him clean and untainted— his original, purest self.
Whether it was appearance or soul.
Xiao Yao’s mind was uneasy.
As he drifted off for the third time, Qu Lang finally couldn’t resist flicking his forehead.
“Brother Xiao, Master Xiao, what are you doing, so absent-minded?” Qu Lang, a semi-transparent string dangling from his mouth, gestured for Xiao Yao to help, “Where to tie it next?”
Xiao Yao rubbed his forehead, his thoughts returning to normal. Unlike usual, he didn’t immediately dwell on Qu Lang’s flick, but instead focused his gaze on the array plate in Qu Lang’s hand, pointing to a certain constellation among the silver nails, saying, “Here.”
Qu Lang hurriedly wrapped the string around it.
The silver nails on this array plate were arranged according to constellations. The array was connected and arranged using refined silk ropes. The constellations changed daily, and the arrangement varied accordingly. Only after the array was complete would it automatically adjust according to the constellations.
Qu Lang had some understanding of formations, but when he and Xiao Yao studied under the same master, Xiao Yao specialized in astrology, while he specialized in military strategy. As a result, although his skill in formations was considerable, it was still less than a tenth of Xiao Yao’s. Therefore, when working on this formation, he could set up a portion himself, but for the rest, he had to consult Xiao Yao to determine the key nodes.
This wasn’t to say that Qu Lang was weak.
In fact, like many talented individuals, Qu Lang was quite frustrated by the era he lived in. Qu Lang, skilled in military strategy, lacked “soldiers”; soldiers consisted of three things: soldiers, weapons, and military tactics.
Soldiers were those with capable subordinates and a perfectly compatible partner; weapons were those with versatile and endlessly varied weapons; and military tactics were those that cultivated morale, slew demons, established principles, and created a unique artistic realm that connected with heaven and earth.
All three were indispensable, and Qu Lang lacked all of them.
Regarding soldiers, he had teammates, but he lacked a truly compatible and tacit partner whose strength matched his own. Each of his men had their own path, and none could be his sole source of synergy. As for weapons, while modern cold and hot weapons were common, the weapons discussed in the sorcerer’s world referred to spiritually imbued implements. Unfortunately, Qu Lang only possessed a handful of spiritual weapons; from which any kind of transformation was impossible— simply put, he was poor. Regarding magic, that was based on the previous two.
The art of war was for military geniuses; but without soldiers and weapons, military strategy was nothing but a pipe dream.
Therefore, the strength Qu Lang could currently unleash was probably less than one-tenth of his true power.
After pointing out two or three key points, Xiao Yao’s gaze fell on Qu Lang, and he couldn’t help but drift off into thought.
He inexplicably recalled some of Bai Ju’s confident statements… as if he were quite certain that the current state of affairs would change. A pearl will not be obscured, and a new era will begin.
In this era, the more knowledgeable a cultivator is, the clearer they understand how low the ceiling of their potential truly is. Yet, Old Dog Bai had repeatedly expressed vaguely that this ceiling would soon rise.
Xiao Yao had a headache.
He believed Old Dog Bai wouldn’t speak without reason, but he wasn’t sure whether breaking this barrier would be a natural development of this world, a catalyst requiring Bai Ju to sacrifice something, or a price he himself would have to pay.
His unease grew heavier.
Xiao Yao abruptly stood up, took a couple of anxious steps, then sat back down: “…Next, go around here.”
Qu Lang stared blankly at Xiao Yao, rarely seeing him so agitated. So he stopped what he was doing, somewhat at a loss: “Brother Xiao, what’s wrong?”
Xiao Yao grabbed a handful of hair, then squatted down, head bowed.
After a long while, he squeezed out through clenched teeth: “I suspect that stupid dog, your Brother Bai…”
Perhaps, maybe, he had already… done something irreversible.
Perhaps not a bad thing, but perhaps something he hadn’t wanted to do.
His throat tightened.
Xiao Yao stared intently at the ground beneath his toes, wishing he could burn a hole in it.
The fleeting “do-or-die” feeling he’d just experienced definitely didn’t originate from himself. Xiao Yao couldn’t think of anyone other than Bai Ju who could directly stir his emotions.
He closed his eyes briefly.
Xiao Yao then changed the subject: “A Lang, I want… to regain my memories.”
The author has something to say:
Ahem, to avoid any wild guesses, the following author’s notes contain some spoilers. Skip if you don’t want to be spoiled.
First, the remnant in Old Dog Bai’s eyes is a fragment of a demon god’s divine essence, something Old Dog Bai strongly dislikes, which will be mentioned directly later. Partly due to his nature, Old Dog Bai has hated demon gods from the beginning. Although he has long since erased this fragment, he always feels uneasy, worried that he will be influenced by the demon god and do bad things, so he has been avoiding it, unwilling to use this dirty and dangerous power. In this chapter, he decides to fully accept and utilize this power.
Secondly, Xiao Yao’s memories are one of the keys to unlocking his destiny. His lost memories aren’t irretrievable, but the price to pay for them is uncontrollable. Therefore, Xiao Yao has been avoiding this issue, hoping to live a peaceful life while “amnesiac.” In this chapter, he guesses some of Bai Ju’s actions and intuitively feels that his own memories can be a breakthrough, unwilling to let Bai Ju bear the burden alone.
That’s why this chapter is titled “No Escape.”
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