Chapter 209 - 175: Yan Jiu

Chapter 209: Chapter 175: Yan Jiu

[The Flaying Great Venerable] Yan Jiulin.

He was a very complex man.

He was someone who had truly died once before.

But in his second life, he didn’t live for revenge. He lived to liberate everyone, to create a better tomorrow, to end the past filled with slaughter and conflict over resources.

He had many skins, and each one represented a different persona.

By using these skins, he gained their corresponding abilities. He would interpret and embody each person in his own way, living on in their stead through this unconventional method.

This principle of role-playing was also the best way to preserve the full power of the human skins granted by the Skin Painting Skill.

Because of this, his perception of himself had become distorted.

He wasn’t even sure who he truly was anymore. He only remembered the goal, the grand ideal that Master Yu Yi, the man who had saved him, once told him about.

To achieve that goal, he would sacrifice anything.

BOOM!

Two fists collided.

Using the skin of Luo Xiu, the Ancient Body Cultivator, Yan Jiulin unleashed its full power for the first time.

His Divinity Transformation Stage cultivation gave him more than enough Spiritual Power and a strong enough foundation to use the skills contained within this skin.

The shockwaves of Spiritual Power spread out, destroying countless buildings in the wake of their clash.

The sheer scale of this confrontation even drew the attention of the distant Celestial Dao Alliance’s four elders and Xiang Zhe.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!

Earth elements swirled around Zhang Ji, forming a layer of brown, profound light outside his Qi Body.

He looked at Yan Jiulin, whose body was now covered in cracks, and said, "Divinity Transformation Stage? Is that all you’ve got?"

Without even needing to consider his strongest, most idealized techniques, he already had the strength to face a Divinity Transformation cultivator head-on in his normal state, matching him blow for blow.

In fact, he was even a cut above!

Yan Jiulin didn’t reply. The human skin on his body dissipated, and his appearance began to change.

He transformed from a burly, muscular man into a slender, white-haired old man.

Master Yu Yi.

A pure, ancient cultivator.

Sealed within a Spiritual Source for three hundred thousand years, he founded the Ascetic Order upon his release. In the end, he died from a cultivation deviation while unluckily attempting to break through his tribulation.

His life was almost entirely devoid of highlights.

At least among his peers, he was truly unremarkable.

He never truly fought the Celestial Dao Alliance, nor did he bring about any great change to this decadent era.

And in the end, he died from a cultivation deviation.

If one had to find a single defining trait to describe him, it would be "unlucky."

He reached the Divinity Transformation Stage only to face a great calamity. He entered a Spiritual Source to escape it, only to emerge into the End of the Dharma Era—an era that was not his own. He struggled at every turn, unable to accomplish anything significant, and ultimately died a laughable death.

BUZZ~!

Thousands of Spiritual Artifacts and Spirit Skills were manipulated, flying toward Zhang Ji. The Divinity Transformation Stage’s ability to divide one’s focus a myriad of times was on full display.

Zhang Ji didn’t dodge or evade. He simply raised a hand, condensed his astral Qi, and fired off waves of primordial Qi to meet the numerous Spiritual Artifacts.

A series of explosions erupted in the void. Spiritual Power clashed with primordial Qi, shattering the Spiritual Artifacts and causing the primordial Qi to detonate.

Not only was his physical body strong, but Zhang Ji’s energy was nothing to scoff at either.

Moreover, his control was precise; not a single one of the primordial Qi waves missed its mark.

His spirit particles provided precision guidance. The weakness of his attacks being easily deciphered, which he had when he first arrived in this world, had been resolved.

A cyan Spirit Sword appeared above Yan Jiulin’s head.

[Jade Ruler Sword].

Master Yu Yi’s only praiseworthy weapon.

He was, at his core, a Loose Cultivator, far too poor and lacking in resources.

The Yu Yi Grotto-Heaven was his most valuable asset.

He had saved for who knows how many years to afford this sword.

Although it was a Tier Five, Top-Grade Spiritual Artifact, it couldn’t be considered outstanding.

Zhang Ji brought two fingers together. Between them, crimson-gold True Solar Flame and deep blue Cyan True Water swirled and merged.

[Super Spirit Indication: Breaking Army - Spiraling Water-Fire Detonation Force!]

SWOOSH~!

WHOOSH~!

The Jade Ruler Sword was unleashed. Dense Spirit Patterns formed a series of acceleration rings, pushing the blade to its absolute limit as it shot out as a streak of cyan spiritual light.

Meanwhile, the spiraling water-fire force shot out, rotating as it slammed into the Jade Ruler Sword. At the very last moment, the forces fused together and detonated.

RUUUUUMBLE~!

Void Heaven was illuminated. The battle between the Celestial Dao Alliance’s four elders and Xiang Zhe paused, and the Sword Array formed from five hundred million swords slowed by a fraction.

Ling Xuzi also looked over. His Divine Thought couldn’t penetrate the area; the aftershocks of the battle there were too intense for him to investigate clearly and understand what was happening.

But he had a vague suspicion.

’Things seem to be getting out of control.’

Both Xiang Zhe, who was fighting one against four without being at a disadvantage, and Yan Jiulin’s group on the other side.

.....

Zhang Ji felt his Spirit being affected. It seemed to be some kind of Illusion Skill, trying to stir up his inner desires—his Heart Demon. But it was useless. His Divine Attribute was not low, and such a mediocre Illusion Skill couldn’t even make him hesitate for a moment.

Instead, it made him realize something.

"A Heart Demon? You were the one who killed Master Yu Yi?" Zhang Ji said with sudden understanding.

’How could a dignified Divinity Transformation Stage cultivator possibly die from something like a cultivation deviation?’

The Ascetic Order mostly didn’t believe it, so they blamed the Celestial Dao Alliance.

That was the most likely scenario, after all.

But no one ever imagined that the culprit was Master Yu Yi’s most capable subordinate, Yan Jiulin, whom he had raised like a son and treated as his successor.

Only he could have killed Master Yu Yi so silently by triggering his Heart Demon.

"He grew old. He strayed from the ideal. He thought the Ascetic Order was on the wrong path and wanted to disband it..." Yan Jiulin, wearing Master Yu Yi’s face, said harshly. "But that was the mistake! Without the Ascetic Order, they would take us even less seriously! We wouldn’t even be treated as ants!"

"But he saved you."

Zhang Ji gained a new understanding of the term "Demon Possessed People."

He himself could never bring himself to do something like killing his own savior.

Even if their ideals clashed, the most he would do is put the person under house arrest to avoid any trouble for himself.

Unless they were truly mad and insisted on a life-and-death struggle, Zhang Ji would show them respect by letting them die on the path of pursuing their ideals.

But what was Yan Jiulin’s excuse?

Master Yu Yi had pulled him out of the abyss of death, stopped him from drowning in it, and given him a new life.

Afterward, he raised him like his own son, his ideological heir.

Yet, simply because he wanted to disband the Ascetic Order he had founded, Yan Jiulin took his life.

Yan Jiulin could have disagreed with Master Yu Yi. If he truly had ambition, he could have just left, forged his own path, and established a new organization.

But killing him was just too low.

Yan Jiulin changed skins again.

He had three strongest skins.

All of them allowed him to wield Divinity Transformation Level power.

The first was Luo Xiu, the Ancient Body Cultivator.

The second was Master Yu Yi.

And the third... was himself.

Not [The Flaying Great Venerable], Yan Jiulin.

But Yan Jiu, the chief Spiritual Artifact designer of Profound Secret Spiritual Artifact Technology from the twenty-fifth heaven of the Floating City, Profound Secret Mechanism Heaven.

He appeared as a young man with a somewhat dull and impassive expression.

His face was a reflection of his heart; one look and you could tell he was completely clueless about social etiquette and worldly matters.

A person like him in the workplace would only have his credit stolen, be treated like a workhorse by his superiors, and be disliked by his colleagues for his rigid ways—a perfect candidate to be a scapegoat.

And in fact, that’s exactly what happened.

It was as if he had traded all his emotional intelligence and social skills for his excellence in research.

He was framed for a major crime, flayed, his bones stripped, his Golden Core’s Spiritual Power drained, and finally thrown into the Abyss of Eternity.

He wasn’t killed on the spot only because of his past contributions.

He spent five days in that rotten, stinking ditch.

Maggots gnawed at his body, and rats tore at his flesh bit by bit.

The life force of a Golden Core Stage cultivator was truly strong. It was estimated that it would take half a month for him to die.

But in just five days, he had already experienced the terror and agony of falling into an endless abyss.

He hated the world. He hated *this* kind of world.

Back then, all he yearned for was a quick end.

Master Yu Yi saved him and instilled in him an ideal.

He then revered it as his Bible, placing it above his own life, above everything.

It was the sole purpose of his new life.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH! SWISH~!

Streaks of spiritual light appeared, numbering over three hundred thousand.

Not a single one of them was a Spiritual Artifact below Tier Four.

Furthermore, none of them were duplicates. These Spiritual Artifacts could even link together, combine, and create an energy resonance.

In the void, numerous Arrays were constructed on the fly, surging with Spiritual Power. At the same time, Spiritual Artifacts sealed the space around Zhang Ji from all directions, preventing him from leaving with a Space Escape Skill.

BOOM~!

A beam of light blasted toward him. Zhang Ji tried to use a void-piercing technique but failed, leaving him no choice but to take it head-on.

But it didn’t matter.

Astral Qi enveloped his body as he struck out with a palm: [Flower-Blooming Buddha: Annihilation].

The palm force and the light beam annihilated each other. Zhang Ji pulled back to dodge the attack, then took the opportunity to punch and shatter several Spiritual Artifacts that were trying to sneak up on him.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG~!

A few more Spiritual Artifacts struck Zhang Ji directly.

They failed to break through his defense.

Astral Qi, the Qi Body, earth elements, crackling lightning, magnetic guidance, True Solar Flame, Cyan True Water...

It would take more than ordinary means to even touch his physical body.

Even in this world, he was among the absolute top tier of existences.

If he were to fight Ling Xuzi right now, he couldn’t guarantee a win, but he could guarantee he wouldn’t lose.

"Is this your trump card?" Zhang Ji asked calmly.

Yan Jiulin stared at Zhang Ji without a word, silently forming a hand seal and manipulating the Spiritual Artifacts to rapidly combine and change form.

Yan Jiu was never a man of many words. He was incredibly sullen, focused only on his research, and seen as a boring person.

This was his true nature.

He was never meant to be in the spotlight.

The person who promoted him may have had good intentions, but they had made a mistake.

Countless Spiritual Artifacts combined, forming a circular cannon barrel several kilometers long.

Spiritual Power gathered within it, brewing an attack no weaker than the main cannon of the Tribulation Ship.

But Zhang Ji did not move to dodge.

His intuition told him this blast was not life-threatening.

On the other hand, Yan Jiulin’s Spiritual Power was being controlled in a way that after this one attack, he would be spent and left for dead.

’Rather than drag this out until the Celestial Dao Alliance’s four elders and Ling Xuzi arrive, I should just kill Yan Jiulin with a single, head-on blow. Afterward, I can just say he died in the line of duty and take his place.’

The primordial Qi furnace in his Danzhong point ignited. The Qi Veins in his body gathered an endless amount of primordial Qi. He activated [Earth-Suppressing Divine Astral Qi], further compressing the primordial Qi in his Qi Veins into tangible astral Qi. Water and fire were also mobilized, and a lightning-charged magnetic field accelerated the energy, granting it even greater mass.

The two major fighting styles, the [True Self Stream] and the Profound Heart Stream, had been fused into one by Zhang Ji, allowing him to use them at will.

VMMMMMM~!

Energy rings lit up, and a golden glint of Spiritual Power flashed within the cannon barrel.

On Zhang Ji’s side, he had already transformed into a bolt of lightning, wreathed in astral Qi, water, and fire, and shot forward.

BOOM~!

The cannon fired first. A golden beam of Spiritual Power converged into a single point. In some ways, this attack was even more terrifying than the blast from the Tribulation Ship.

Meanwhile, Zhang Ji, having accelerated to his limit and shrunk his form, struck out with his palm.

[Sole Honored Self]!

Annihilation. Everything was annihilated by this one palm strike. Energy Particles were disintegrated and reformed. Zhang Ji’s figure passed straight through the beam of light, advancing with almost no resistance, and emerged from the other side of the massive energy column.

In an instant, Zhang Ji appeared behind Yan Jiulin.

Only then did the beam of light fully erupt, its golden brilliance piercing through Void Heaven.

Yan Jiulin’s final performance was complete.

His body began to disintegrate, transforming into a blood-red lotus.

Dimly, Yan Jiulin saw the figure of the one who had pulled him from the endless abyss.

There was no scolding, no resentment. If a Divinity Transformation Cultivator truly wanted to, he would not die so silently.

He simply knew who had done it and accepted the outcome.

He had sown the cause and reaped a twisted fruit. Master Yu Yi’s final legacy was a single sigh.

"Godfather, you... you never blamed me..."

Yan Jiulin smiled.

He was at peace.

The greatest knot in his heart had been untied.

Master Yu Yi had let go of his obsession by disbanding the Ascetic Order.

Now, at the brink of death, Yan Jiulin had also forgiven himself. He died as Yan Jiu.

He was not [The Flaying Great Venerable]. He was still just that honest, hardworking researcher who kept his head down and did his work.