Archfiend

Chapter 150: Core Formation Sets to Task (4)

Ancestor Floatingcloud! Xu Yangyi’s gaze beared a wisp of chilliness as he looked towards the pavilion. He didn’t believe at all that Floatingcloud truly wanted to buy this medicinal pill.

Ding… Following a chime, a small golden bell appeared in midair. Simple and elegant, its surface was carved with countless mysterious runes. In the wake of each chime, a golden ripple visible to the naked eye proliferated in the sky.

“A simulacrum of the East Imperial Bell.” Ancestor Floatingcloud said indifferently: “A B-rank magik treasure.” [1]

Not many people gasped in surprise. Over the course of the ten prior treasures’ bombardment, they had almost gone numb. Even if a magik treasure appeared, they were merely dumbfounded, eyes wide and mouth foolish.

“In addition…” Floatingcloud’s voice suddenly laughed: “Presently, this magik treasure is evidently not great in value, but I still have another proposition…”

“This Dao Master concurrently holds the position of chairman of the board at the Floating Cloud Corporation… Hehe, regarding these humdrum duties, I am not too versed. Right now, I am willing to use… Mhm, shares? To jointly construct the great venture that is the Dao of Pills with the pill master.”

This was a great expenditure of capital! If solely computed in spirit stones, it was actually Daomaster Floatingcloud’s current offered price which was the highest!

“Fellow Daoist…” Daomaster Earthcleaver’s voice paused: “You truly are willing to part with this.”

“Without sacrifice how can there be gain?” Daomaster Floatingcloud laughed faintly. He understood very well that no matter the price he offered, there was absolutely zero chance that Xu Yangyi would respond to him.

Everyone could have a share of today’s medicinal pill, but he was the sole person that couldn’t possibly take part.

“Just fortune and destiny.” In a pavilion, an aged pair of eyes opened little by little: “Junior… you truly are heaven-defying in luck… So long as I can see that this is indeed Pill Dao, then it is enough…”

“The Animus Armament… What secret does it conceal? I really am looking forward more and more…”

The venue was silent. No one spoke. Not only was it the Foundation Establishment cultivators, the Core Formation cultivators were likewise taciturn. They were all waiting, waiting on Hundredtongues’s final valuations!

In his pavilion, Daomaster Yue sucked in deeply. He had anticipated early on that the contest pertaining to the Dao of Pills was bound to be an intense struggle. Nonetheless… it was surprisingly intense to such a degree!

Besides Daomaster Ancientpine, the other Dao Masters had moved into action. Unexpectedly, not a single bid was below A-rank. At this point, his immature leaf was honestly a bit unremarkable! He could only blame himself… He had always been a solitary knight, truly without even a flourishing clan like that of the other Dao Masters!

“I can’t give up…” His lips gently parted at the corners: “My advantages lie within the wealth and power of my overseas allies. The Dao of Pills… Now THIS is a true greeting gift! And also the cornerstone of our cooperation!”

Yue Congrao gritted his teeth, and the tremendous golden hand in midair slightly trembled. Enduring his feelings of heartache, he forced himself to laugh: “Since that’s how it is… I didn’t say that I wouldn’t kick it up a notch.”

A finger softly flicked, and a green leaf the size of three fingers shook. At this moment, Daomaster Titanspirit’s cold laughter suddenly reverberated through the whole venue: “I am determined to win this pill! I shall increase the price! One Heaven Swallowing Insect egg!”

The present floor burst into an uproar!

Daomaster Yue suddenly raised his head and looked towards Daomaster Titanspirit’s pavilion. In his eyes, a wisp of killing intent had already floated into view. He shut his eyes and breathed in deeply a few times, calming the icy cold and fiery hot murderous will in his heart. Indifferent, he bent his finger and flicked. A green leaf flew down.

Although he too was a human Dao Master, by no means was he was on the same path as the others. Now that he began to vie with Titanspirit, it was quite easy to be ostracized. 

He didn’t even speak, only using practical maneuvers to step aside and to tell the other stop before it was too late. However, he obviously wasn’t in the circle of regular human Dao Masters. He positively did not clearly understand Daomaster Titanspirit’s nature.

“Hehe… Daomaster Yue has raised the price.” Daomaster Titanspirit’s laughter caused him to slightly knit his brows: “But… a single piece; this still isn’t enough!”

“Among the present Dao Masters, which one’s treasure isn’t S-rank? This piece just happens to attain the S-rank. How could Daomaster Yue possibly be this stingy? Faced with the Dao of Pills, are you only intending on paying this pittance of a price?”

“In the same vein, an unregistered Fellow Daoist, Fellow Daoist Liang, took out the S+ Buddha’s Forty-Two-Chapter Sutra. Daomaster Yue’s single leaf…” He laughed and paused, still wishing to continue.

If even a clay figurine of Buddha would be somewhat angry, what was there to say about a Core Formation Dao Master set high and lofty above?

“Is that so?” Daomaster Yue glanced deeply at the pavilion. His eyes flashed with cold light, and he bent a finger and flicked. Without delay, three palm-sized tree leaves shortly flew down! Fully matured tree leaves! “I add on three more leaves!”

“That’s what I’m talking about!” The grievance of over a century within Daomaster Titanspirit’s heart finally found a place to give vent. He faced upwards and roared viciously in laughter. Immediately, the temperature within the entire venue suddenly soared!

BOOM! Endless flame erupted in the sky. Ultimately, it surprisingly formed a blazing vortex with a radius of several tens of meters! Before long, a stone-like fiery beast egg abruptly emerged in the suspended ocean of fire.

“Spirit familiar, rank twenty, the Scarletsun Golden-Eyes Ape!”

Below, the crowd was silent for several seconds. After these words were said, the venue flared up with a rumble!

“It’s actually the Scarletsun Golden-Eyes Ape!”

“Number twenty! Twentieth place! My heavens!”

“It’s unimaginable… Incredible! It’s actually the twentieth-place spirit familiar!”

“When this creature is born, it has a Foundation Establishment cultivation! The highest it can achieve… is the late stage of Core Formation! Fellow Daoist?” Titanspirit simply didn’t care for the commotion on the floor and asked, coldly smiling.

The three leaves and the beast egg flew before the light screen as if they possessed their own spirituality. In a twinkling, the characters on the light screen were almost pulsing in madness!

Ding! After a couple seconds, the characters froze. Everyone clearly saw the surface color!

Red! Red flushed with gold! S-plus! Even now, it infinitely approached the SS-rank! Both sides were equally split with august splendor!

The gazes of the two ancestors were separated by an unknown distance and isolated by an untold number of seals, but they had already collided together!

“Fellow Daoist Titanspirit.” In the air, Daomaster Skybearer’s voice faintly echoed: “Don’t over do it.”

“Hehe… If others want this pill, I have no qualms allowing it… but as for him. NO CHANCE!” Titanspirit’s voice even began to laugh wryly, yet afterwards, it suddenly grew loud:  One of my true disciples died to the hand of that old bat! Why should I swallow this?!”

“Life and death are governed by destiny. Riches and honor rests with the heavens.” Daomaster Yue’s voice became even frostier: “To not be Core Formation and then dare go to Chichen Itza is to seek one’s own death. Others cannot be blamed.” [2]

“HAHAHA…” Daomaster Titanspirit laughed heartily: “Too bad! I like blaming others! Don’t discuss reason with me. This Dao Master IS reason!” His voice was akin to rolling thunder, reverberating through the entire venue!

Suddenly, an unknown amount of Foundation Establishment cultivators covered their ears one by one. Resisting the sensation of wanting to vomit with great difficulty, they half-bowed in their seats.

Xu Yangyi moreover found it unpleasant to bear. There was even a trace of blood flowing at the corner of his mouth. At this moment, Daomaster Titanspirit’s amassed resentment for over a century completely erupted with a Core Formation master’s matter-of-factly temperament! 

His hand softly wiped at the crook of his mouth, and he licked the blood on his thumb. He laughed coldly.

Fight for it… He had only taken out two Minister pills. What he wanted was for these ancestors to contend against each other! How could a cultivator not struggle?! Only through struggle was he then able to maximize his benefits!

“Very good…” Daomaster Yue laughed coldly: “Then I want to take a look… how much legacy Fellow Daoist has.”

Swoosh! The tremendous golden hand slightly flicked, and a fairly dried yellow tree leaf suddenly floated down.

“Hehe…” Daomaster Titanspirit was cool and unruffled. This time, the sky transformed into an ocean surface!

An irregular egg bobbed up and down within. However, even if it hadn’t come into the world, it was carrying a bloody killing aura within. It also caused the complexions of all the Foundation Establishment cultivators to change!

“This is… a Seven-Eyed Insect! This is a Seven-Eyed Insect Egg!” An unknown clan elder couldn’t help but cry out in alarm: “It ranks nineteen… One of the deep sea’s overlords… Its defensive power is incredibly unusual and it has a self-established space within it!”

“You!” In Daomaster Yue’s eyes, a radiant light flashed and died away. By being targeted against in quick succession, his anger and killing intent finally clambered up to a summit. “Fellow Daoist…” He laughed meaningfully, his words underlined by his tone. As the fury within his heart became more frenzied, his laughter became even gentler and soft: “There’s a line left for everything. In the future, we might meet each other.”

“I’m not planning at all to meet with Fellow Daoist one day.” Daomaster Titanspirit chuckled merrily: “Cut the crap. This is an auction stage. It’s the rules that whoever has more money is the king. Fellow Daoist Yue, do you dare to take on my Seven-Eyed Insect egg?!”

Do it!

No one even dared to say another word. None had foreseen that Daomaster Yue and Daomaster Titanspirit would actually be moved in will and spirit! Everyone held in their breathing, yet used incomparably fervent gazes to look at the two ancestors in the sky that continuously found each other at odds.

Daomaster Yue breathed in heavily and shut his eyes. When he opened them again, the tremendous golden hand in the air slowly turned. Following a rustling sound, countless tree leaves fluttered freely, absent of the wind.

Soon afterwards, several tens of ruby-like flowers surprisingly appeared at the bottom of the tree leaves!

“This…” A Foundation Establishment cultivator said in shock: “This is… Godwood Flower?”

A baby leaf approached S-rank. A full-grown leaf approached SS! In that case, what rank was a bloomed flower from this tree?!

A tremendous golden finger bent, and everyone held their breaths as they waited on the moment for the flower to fall. They were simply none the wiser that inside his pavilion, Daomaster Yue’s face was already heavy like water!

Twenty-seven flowers… Every day, he counted how many there were! Right now… This buffoon was unexpectedly so focused on him!

A trifling Foundation Establishment cultivator. Killed was killed, and it wasn’t within the country. What good was there in bothering about it? To say again, it wasn’t even his hand that did the deed! Why was he regarded as the mastermind?!

He didn’t want to pluck this flower. However, if this flower didn’t fall, his reputation as Daomaster Yue would! Daomaster Titanspirit was using spirit stones to thrash his honor!

For too long, the rage in his heart hadn’t burned so hot, but at this moment, Daomaster Titanspirit’s voice rang out again: “What? You dare not? Are you unwilling? Didn’t you want to compare legacy with me?! I’m telling you, Fellow Daoist Yue, with myself here today, this Pill Dao will not be surnamed Yue!”

In the air, the tremendous golden hand suddenly paused. It was silent. A silence abrupt in its arrival. It seemed that in this frame, time froze.

Rustle… The wind arose again, but this this time, it surged progressively greater! The tremendous golden hand was even collecting it ever so slowly! Traces wafted through the air!

“No!” At the same time, an angry shout broke out in the air. Nonetheless, it was too late! Endless floating qi petals, in colors of scarlet, orange, yellow, green, azure, blue, and purple, seemed to spread a rainbow in the sky, magnificent without peer. They were towering and abrupt in their emergence, absent of a shred of omen!

“No good!” Below, everyone was successively shocked in their hearts. These tree leaves were seemingly delicate, yet they were shrouded by heart-shaking killing aura and spiritual pressure on the surface! 

“Since Fellow Daoist Titanspirit just isn’t going to give an inch, I also have a humble gift to present to you.” Daomaster Yue’s voice was serene as before, but even now the murderous will within it caused a chill to delve into each person’s bone marrow: “Flower Hall Intoxicates Three Thousands Guests.” [3]

The killing aura was too abrupt. While none had even reacted, thousands of qi petals shot towards Daomaster Titanspirit’s pavilion with a rumble!

“Presumptuous!” Daomaster Titanspirit’s snarl echoed throughout the whole venue. He hadn’t expected that Daomaster Yue would be so indifferent to good and evil! He truly dared to take action here!

“Dance Of Shield And Axe!” Following his enraged bellow, an enormous human-like manifestation appeared outside his pavilion! [4]

[1] East Imperial Bell is considered an awesome item in other Chinese fantasy media.

[2] “Life and death governed by destiny. Riches and honor lie with the heavens.” This is a line from Confucious.

[3] This line originates from a poem by a Buddhist Monk, painter, calligrapher, and poet named Guanxiu (832-912)

[4] Dance Of Shield And Axe. I made another cameo, everyone! This is the battle dance of Xingtian. In case you didn’t know, the XT in XTB (me, the translator) stands for Xing Tian!