Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 485: The Corpse Demon and the Blood Ao

Just from its sheer size, it felt like something no human could ever match.

Many of the Spirit Tribe’s members that were on the sacred mountain kneeled toward the Blood Ao, trembling with fear.

Even though they saw that it was a creature that devoured people and knew that it was definitely not their guardian ancestral god, they still kowtowed purely out of terror.

Sisi was incredibly anxious.

She instinctively wanted to go and help, but when the Blood Ao appeared, her own people kneeled down in droves, neglecting the prisoners they were supposed to be watching. As a result, the old forces began resisting again, making Sisi so furious she nearly coughed up blood.

Luckily, her main force consisted of the Xia forces she brought in from outside. These people did not even know which side the Blood Ao belonged to. All they knew was that the people they had been fighting before had started acting up again, so they quickly suppressed them, keeping the situation under control.

Sisi had no choice but to stay on the sacred mountain to oversee matters, forcibly suppressing her urge to go and help. She was extremely worried.

Can Zhao Changhe and Yue Hongling really win against such a formidable foe?

The next moment, she saw Zhao Changhe leap forward, gripping his saber with both hands and striking fiercely. “You couldn’t possibly be this big. Who are you trying to intimidate with such deception?!”

Sisi: “?”

At the same time, Yue Hongling became one with her sword, streaking toward the Blood Ao’s eye like a bolt of lightning.

No one noticed that a dark, shadowy gu slipped out of Zhao Changhe’s ring and darted straight toward the Blood Ao’s forehead.

Clang!

A terrifying wall of blood and qi erupted around the Blood Ao. The saber and sword struck the wall of energy, both being shaken back, forcing them to flip back.

The wall of energy was slightly weakened by impact, allowing the gu to seize the opportunity to slip inside.

Subsequently, both the gu and the Blood Ao let out sounds of surprise.

The corpse demon had intended to use its ancient Beast-Controlling Technique to take control of the Blood Ao, but quickly realized it was futile... because this Blood Ao was not a Blood Ao at all. Its soul had already been taken over by another entity.

Possession...

A human has taken over the body of the Blood Ao?

The situation of the Blood Ao was unlike his current state of residing in a gu. It was a true possession, a fusion of body and soul, making the entity now essentially the Blood Ao.

In the end, the corpse demon’s Beast-Controlling Technique could only partially affect it, causing the Blood Ao’s body to stiffen and become less responsive to the other being’s commands. But as for communication with the beast’s spirit, it was met with an impenetrable wall. The corpse demon was utterly unable to communicate with the Blood Ao’s spirit.

The other entity was equally astonished and said, “A Profound Control Realm elder of the Ancient Spirit Tribe? I didn’t expect a soul to remain here...”

Due to the corpse demon’s attempt to seize control, the Gigantification Technique of the Blood Ao was dispelled, and its massive body began to shrink, quickly transforming into a blood-red Ao, about one zhang in size.

Although it was still much larger than the giant turtles and tortoises people usually saw and could be called a giant, it was ultimately of a much more acceptable size now.

Zhao Changhe seized the moment when it was stunned, raising his saber to strike the Blood Ao’s head. “I knew it! Even the turtle shell that Lie used for the array plate was only a few zhang wide, yet here you are, a newborn pretending to be able to cover the sun and the sky... Let’s see if you’re really impenetrable!”

The Blood Ao, stiff and immobile, could only watch helplessly as Dragon Bird chopped down on its head

At the same time, Yue Hongling’s sword thrust forward again, aiming for Blood Ao’s right eye.

The Blood Ao shut its eyes tightly.

The sword and saber struck, but they could not pierce through.

A powerful layer of blood and qi protected the Blood Ao beyond its shell, rendering Zhao Changhe’s slash, much like earlier against the blood figure, futile. It was as if his blade had landed in a dense sea of blood, failing to achieve anything substantial.

Yue Hongling’s sword, however, managed to make some impact. Its sharp sword qi pierced through the sea of blood and barely pricked the Blood Ao’s eyelid, creating a tiny puncture. But it ultimately failed to break through. The Blood Ao’s skin was simply as tough as iron.

The Blood Ao roared in pain, and a terrifying blood sea erupted, sending Zhao Changhe, Yue Hongling, and the gu hosting the corpse demon’s soul flying several zhang away.

The corpse demon, being merely a weakened remnant soul, could not withstand the force of this complete exotic beast.

Yet the corpse demon seemed somewhat excited. “What a great body, what a great body! Why didn’t I think of this before? There’s nothing more suited to the Blood Ao’s body than me... Your fusion isn’t perfect, is it? There’s a sense of disunity, right? Hahaha...”

The Blood Ao, struggling under the corpse demon’s influence, was unable to chase after the two who had been flung away. “I see. You must be the Ancient Spirit Tribe’s Beast Spirit Saint, Xue Wu! You escaped from Huasheng Temple[1]!”

The corpse demon was deeply shocked. “How do you kno—OH! I understand, I understand now! Damn, you’re that Venerable Duoluo of Huasheng Temple!”

The Blood Ao did not respond.

“Ha... Hahaha...” The corpse demon laughed wildly. “You bastard... Aren’t you supposed to be spreading Buddha’s light, enlightening me? And yet here you are, fighting for a beast’s body? Not only that, you enslave and devour people! You have the gall to call yourself an arhat[2]?”

Zhao Changhe and Yue Hongling exchanged bewildered glances.

After all this, it turned out that this being was the master of the Maitreya Secret Realm, the venerable of the temple that had imprisoned the corpse demon?

The corpse demon had caused trouble in the temple and gotten caught. It was possible that Duoluo went to the Spirit Tribe to discuss how to handle the aftermath. Then, it was during that time that the world underwent an upheaval, leaving him gravely weakened. It was at that time that a page of the Heavenly Tome fell into the lands of the Spirit Tribe, protecting the space around itself. Taking advantage of the situation, Duoluo’s remnant soul fled into this space and hid in the Ao Pool to rest and recover.

No, that can’t be it. Before he entered the space, he had still set up an array and resonated with the Heavenly Tome... He didn’t just happen to escape here. He must have seen the page fall here and followed it, preparing contingencies that included obtaining the Heavenly Tome upon his revival!

He must have woken up some time ago and began planning his revival, first finding an egg of the Blood Ao and using his skills to hasten its transformation, during which he took over its body. Then, it must have been due to the influence of the Blood Ao’s body that he came to develop vicious qi similar to the one that Lie comprehended, just not on the same caliber. It seems he can no longer use his original Buddhist powers...

So, it turns out that while the Spirit Tribe Saint, Xue Wu, used his half-baked Buddhist techniques from Huasheng Temple to fool Maitreya, tormenting Jiangnan, the venerable from Huasheng Temple possessed the body of the Spirit Tribe’s sacred beast, tormenting the Spirit Tribe.

These two might as well join hands.

In times of catastrophe, when life and death are at stake, it seems there’s not much difference between saints and demons. In the end, they both do the same things, don’t they?

The Blood Ao finally spoke slowly, “Now I understand why, over all these years, despite taking countless of the Spirit Tribe’s secret manuals and using countless of its flesh and blood sacrifice rituals, I could never fully control this body... It’s because with your disappearance, and the many people that died during the calamity, key elements of the Spirit Tribe’s Beast-Controlling Technique were lost...”

The corpse demon laughed heartily. “Exactly, exactly. I do indeed have that knowledge. Are you regretting not soul-searching me back then?”

The Blood Ao’s eyes turned fierce. “If I devour you, I will gain this knowledge. You lack a physical body, so you’re no match for me.”

The Blood Ao’s mouth suddenly opened wide, unleashing a terrifying blood light that shot toward the gu that harbored the corpse demon.

Ripples of pure soul energy emanated from the gu, forming a tangible barrier to resist the blood light’s assault. But as the Blood Ao had noted, a physical body, or lack thereof, indeed made a difference.

The enormous power contained within the Blood Ao’s body was far beyond what the corpse demon could withstand in its current state.

Yet by a twist of fate, the corpse demon’s abilities counteracted the Blood Ao’s. Its body became stiff, showing signs of disunity between body and soul, as if both sides were vying for control.

For Zhao Changhe and Yue Hongling, this made Blood Ao an easy target. It appeared seemingly easier to hit than when everyone had ganged up on the corpse demon back then.

The corpse demon shouted fiercely, “One of you, attack its forehead and disrupt its spiritual platform! The other, pierce through his crown to sever his connection with heaven and earth. If you can disrupt the connection between body and soul, I can seize full control of this body! If I fall first, everyone here will die! Hurry, I can’t hold him for long!”

Yue Hongling did not need further instruction. Her sword, like a rainbow piercing the sun, was already striking toward the Blood Ao’s forehead.

At the same time, Dragon Bird unleashed a crescent blade light, viciously striking the Blood Ao’s crown with a thunderous explosion.

The blood sea scattered across a hundred li, and within the Ao Pool, all the forbidden land envoys touched by the blood light had their bodies wither and were entirely drained, becoming nourishment for the Blood Ao. The energy around the Blood Ao grew even more vibrant.

Yue Hongling found that her blood and qi had fallen into extreme disarray. Her blood and qi had become so chaotic that it felt as though her body would explode. In this state, she could not exert the attack power she desired. The difference between her and the Blood Ao was overwhelming, and she could barely withstand the effects of just its aura alone.

Maybe Zhao Changhe could bear it—after all, he specifically trained for it.

But what about herself?

Would she end up being a burden in this battle?

Yue Hongling’s gaze grew more resolute, and as the setting sun cast its light through the gap in the sacred mountain, a faint golden glow surrounded her.

The Blood Ao muttered in shock, “Sword Emperor...”

The ancient sword Dragon Emperor began to hum and resonate. Even though it was the sword of the ancient Azure Dragon and had no relation to the Sword Emperor, it still recognized the aura of an emperor.

The emperor of swords was still an emperor.

Zhao Changhe had been unaware that Yue Hongling had a relationship with the Sword Emperor, yet the Blood Ao had mentioned him twice. One bearing the intent from his early years and the other from his later years...

The flashy techniques he had learned were likely from the Sword Emperor’s youth, as he had yet to reach the core of the sword tomb.

However, when Yue Hongling roamed the jianghu in her early years, she had ventured into an unknown secret realm and obtained a fragmented legacy. Perhaps that was the incomplete intent of the Sword Emperor in his later years.

Finally, the ancient sword Dragon Emperor began to radiate a golden imperial qi, merging completely with Yue Hongling’s sword intent. A radiant light shot into the blood sea, shredding the once-impenetrable barrier to pieces.

The tip of the sword pierced the Blood Ao’s forehead, and a pained howl echoed across the entire secret realm.

From the time she parted ways with Zhao Changhe, to her battles in Bashan, her journey into Miaojiang, her assassination of the pacification commissioner, her confrontation with Shi Wuding, her insights into the sword, and her understanding of the Heavenly Blood Jade... She had silently accumulated until now and had reached a critical juncture.

There was a faint sense of the second layer of the Profound Mysteries coming from her, and it seemed like she was about to break through, with just a sliver left to go.

1. Note that the Huasheng (化生) here is the same term used for the Transformative Lotus. ☜

2. In Buddhism, an arhat is a kind of saint. According to some schools of thought, an arhat is one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence, has achieved Nirvana and has been liberated from the endless cycle of rebirth. Other Buddhist schools, including the larger current of Mahayana, consider the arhat path as imperfect (as it cannot reach the height of a buddha) and urge the believers to distance themselves from it and embrace the path of a bodhisattva, which does eventually result in buddhahood. ☜