'It was a choice. The forced loyalty the two immortals left in the Eternal Dragons' bloodline compelled the other dragons to live and die for the legacy, but the Eldest was different. In his case, it was a choice. I can feel it in his blood and soul. But why?' As he hovered in the air, Xinzi felt confused. His Bloodshifter Heart gave him a perfect picture of his opponents' psyche. Because of that perfect picture, Xinzi knew that the Eldest needed no coercion to live and die in vain.
'Why are so many people willing to sacrifice for those that only aim to exploit them? Just because they gave you life? Is life in bondage that precious of a gift that you can willingly toss your safety, self-fulfillment and future to the trash just so you can live up to your creator's expectations?
What else could it be? Does their appearance in your life and your devotion to them fulfill a need that till then you thought out of reach?
How toxic and unreasonable. In any relationship, there must be some form of reciprocity. It's this type of blind devotion that got Divine Father reduced to an empty husk. Millions of years spent at the summit of all lives, able to see through all facets of reality, yet he couldn't foresee that in Divine Mother's world, he would always be a pawn. What a pity.
Master, you are no different as well. Why do you refuse to see? Why do you all blind your eyes and set yourselves on the course of inevitable ruin?' Xinzi arched his head back, his eyes peered into the distance, seeing in the sky the reflection of both his father, Shenzhuo, and his master, Abbot Qingxin.
'I can't understand.
I don't want to understand.
And if you don't want to be saved then...perhaps it is not my place to save you.' As our monk's thoughts reached this point, golden holy force poured out of his chest, rising at an alarming speed. At times it grew faint, then in the next moment, it dwarfed Xinzi's Evil Qi and Divine Power.
The inconsistency didn't stop, but three golden lotus seeds blossomed. One in his heart, one in his Spiritual Root, and the last one in his soul. The seeds formed an invisible golden line, unlocking an impossibly long road that led to a door that Xinzi couldn't see at the moment.
"Your mercy is boundless." Xinzi's eyes shut close, and he joined his hand in a prayer sign.
Simultaneously, the Spring of Eternal Youth swayed, quiet ripples spreading across its far-extending surface. Xinzi didn't have the time to examine the cause and effects, barely had our monk stopped his prayers that one long halberd flew out of the spring, expanding into a 60-meters-long meteor halberd that aimed for Xinzi's life.
The Bloodshifter Heart reacted faster than our monk, its red silk threads pouring out, and meshing into an adamantine silk wall that blocked the halberd's path. Bloody rays illuminated the pointed edge, cyan force lit up the blade, with these two forces coiling down the long handle.
'A sage-grade Artifact? No, it's a Sacrificial Artifact, its current grade is just the result of the sacrifices it builds on: the Eternal Dragon clan. Why does it look familiar? Oh... never mind.' Recognizing the artifact's origins, Xinzi shook his head.
Though the Golden-Haired Lord contributed massively, the Green-Hat Immortal was the chief architect of this village. The former unlocked the lust that Qiu Meng's eunuch body didn't have the means to produce. The latter not only had the lust but also all the negative emotions and desires that Qiu Meng felt only hampered his cultivation road.
For this reason, the Green-Hat Immortal was pretty much insane, insane and willing to commit no end of evil deeds to achieve his goals. This artifact was yet another proof of its cruelty. Instead of expanding resources to build strong defenses for the Spring of Eternal Youth, the Green-Hat Immortal equipped it with the Heavenly Slayer, a heretical artifact that consumed the deaths of those it was linked to so it'd not only grow stronger but also develop a brand-new Artifact Soul.
This type of artifact didn't have an established rank, and once its new soul got destroyed, it reverted to the lowest rank.
The original Qiu Meng defeated the previous artifact owner, and according to hearsay, sealed it in the Celestial Hall. Little did the world know that the Green-Hat Immortal brought it to this village, aiming to sacrifice the somewhat defective Eternal Dragon Clan to build a fearsome Artifact Soul.
As soon as the Heavenly Slayer left the spring, loud tremors shook the lands, with steam rising from the Spring of Eternal Youth as, under the awe-struck eyes of Xinzi's troops, it triggered its self-destruction mechanism.
Our monk didn't panic. A cluster of Divine Runes formed around him, not only sinking into the halberd but also pouring into the spring. One Diabolic Shard flew out of Xinzi's storage ring, its foul nature altered by his Pulse, the shard flew into the Spring, cooperating with the Heaven-Trampling Runes to interrupt the self-destruction mechanism.
'Interesting, with each Inverse Dao Seal that I refine, my Dao Bones' Divine Power rises immensely, adding to my Heaven-Trampling Runes' suppression skills.' Following his Pulse Condensation breakthrough and Inverse Dao Seal absorption, Xinzi noted another leap in the potency of his Divine Power, making him yearn for the day he reached the Integration realm and refined the last seal.
"White-Winged Soldiers, use your Dao Chants to cooperate with my setup and suppress the spring's destruction. I will go collect the Golden Immortal Relic to take control of this place," Xinzi said, and immediately, the White-Winged Demons got to work.
With Xin Zhong to lead their efforts, they split into eight groups, occupying all cardinal and ordinal directions.
Mystical Dao Chants poured out, lighting up the spring with pseudo-divine light. Meanwhile, Xinzi's Heaven-Trampling Runes pacified the Heavenly Slayer, reducing it into a tool that Xinzi could do with as he pleased.
With a flick of his wrist, Xinzi tossed the artifact to Yan Le, making the girls snap out of the torpor induced by this startling confrontation.
"A'Le, this halberd is yours. A'Sha, from now on, Yan Le is your disciple. Teach her all she needs to know about Blood Energy cultivation and help her master the Heavenly Slayer. Don't worry girls, you will all get yours. Once I make sure that the hall is safe, you can come in," Xinzi said, and without waiting for answers, vanished, landing at the foot of the Golden Immortal Hall.
