Silent Crown

Ye Qingxuan felt that he could fight very well at the moment.

But regardless of how well he could fight, he would still most definitely be utterly defeated if a catastrophe was to come along at the moment, not to mention a fight against Paganini. Such was how dangerous it was to play in a road game.

Previously, he somewhat managed to be on equal footing with Paganini only by relying on the stone sword and the card up Hermes’ sleeve. In the end, he even had to rely on the Gate of Heaven to win by luck.

Meanwhile, presently, Paganini had received a gift from the abyss, and his own strength had advanced to a state that Ye Qingxuan couldn’t understand. God knew what method did he employ to enter the Ultimate in advance.

How much of the rich legacy left by Hyakume that he inherited was also unknown. Although he couldn’t completely occupy the Ultimate, it was enough for him to wedge the changing music theory into it.

He had long changed the rules left by the various kings beyond recognition, and changing music theory was hidden in all the power gifted by the Ultimate…

With the technique of borrowing chickens to lay eggs, he wedged the changing music theory between the internal and the external. Not only did his own power infiltrate the Ultimate through the deaths of many musicians, he also implanted his music theory in every musician in the Ultimate through the gifts of the Ultimate.

No wonder the dark musicians almost didn’t stir up any trouble at all this time round.

They didn’t intend to interfere at all, and they couldn’t wish hard enough for things to be as chaotic as possible. Had Ye Qingxuan not attained his Symphony of Predestination and possessed a deep understanding of the clothes of original sin, no one would have discovered the changing music theory hidden in everyone’s Symphony of Predestination at all.

They were infiltrated by Paganini without knowing it, still immersed in the illusory power, and didn’t have their guard up against the abyss at all.

As soon as Paganini activated it, all of them would immediately fall and become dark musicians. Both their own music theory and consciousness would be transformed by the abyss.

Throughout the Physical World, almost all the masters of the well-known schools would be controlled by Paganini and become his most loyal subordinates. Through them, the next thing that would happen would probably be a major split-up of the schools in the Physical World.

God knew how many schools would be drawn into the abyss.

That alone would suffice for Paganini to open up a new situation in the Physical World and stir up further waves of trouble… Not to mention what Paganini would become then.

If Ye Qingxuan did not guess wrongly… It was a rebirth ceremony.

Like Arthur, he wanted to transfer his consciousness into the catastrophe brewing up in the Ultimate. It was just that he had a chance hundreds and thousands of times better than Arthur’s, as he began transforming the catastrophe directly in its embryonic stage.

Once born, his status as a catastrophe would be exactly as if he had been one from birth, and he would possess unlimited possibilities of growth. In due time, he would probably occupy even Hyakume’s position as god…

“The matter is beyond my ability to interfere, way beyond it! Just register first, then ask Sylvaine to call in reinforcements…” Ye Qingxuan tapped continuously with his fingers, electricity burst forth from his fingers, falling on the infected musicians. Electricity flashed, permeating their Symphonies of Predestination. In order to survive and keep their own personality and self-consciousness, the masters also couldn’t be bothered with the fact that their lives were in Ye Qingxuan’s hands.

Strands of music theory were entangled in the electricity, vaguely forming a lock which froze most of their music theory completely, and no further changes took place.

Next, the nature interference of the school of abstinence forcefully separated everything, sealing the infected parts with multiple layers.

It was like a temporary operation.

Of course, rather unscrupulously, Ye Qingxuan wrapped purifying music theory around the parts as well.

The expression of the masters immediately became fairly interesting to watch, as if they were being tied to the stake. Once the changing music theory was triggered, they would probably be burned to ashes by Ye Qingxuan’s Fire of Judgment before they had enough time to be converted to dark musicians.

“It’s a temporary measure in times of urgency, just temporary.” Ye Qingxuan appeased them. “Don’t use movements before leaving the Ultimate. After we leave, I will slowly help you all to take out the changing music theory… Surely you all don’t want to become dark musicians and bring shame to your school, right?”

A few old masters glanced at each other and couldn’t help but sigh in unison.

Hadn’t they brought themselves enough shame in the past two days?

The world was changing too rapidly, the old men had twisted their waist and could not keep up with the rhythm.

Some of them were prepared to smash their pot to pieces just because it was cracked and planned to be resigned to their fate if they could get out of here alive this time round. Staying at the Religious Court of Inquiry had its merits as well, at least they could have an easy life.

When one got old, one must exercise caution to stay safe. Staying in one’s little cabin seemed pretty good, as for going out… just forget it.

But some still had doubts about it. “You have a way to leave the Ultimate?”

“Of course.” Ye Qingxuan lifted his head to look at the edge of the Ultimate in the distance — the torrent of aether that resembled a frenzied tide of ten thousand meters high, separating the inside and the outside of the Ultimate — and he tapped the staff of fate in his hand.

Part the sea?

Maybe it’s a bit difficult.

…

“My projection in the Ultimate has been discovered.” Paganini opened his eyes.

As the Ultimate shook, deep underground, low echoes also sounded in the dark tombs, and the bricks and stones cracked. But the people in them did not panic in the slightest bit, and it was apparently within their expectation.

“It’s a lot later than expected, your arrangement has bought us three days.” It was a dwarf who spoke.

The dwarf whose skin had a metallic tint floated in the air, wearing a long robe that did not suit his body size. The hem of his robe was tattered, as if it had been burned by flames, and the blackened edge fluttered in the air as he moved.

Various other creatures were also floating in midair.

Some were moon spirits, some were half-dragons, some looked like humans, and some others were simply some sort of odd creature. But they had a common characteristic, a huge head.

The head on them took up at least one-third of their size. In the innermost layer, some were even missing their entire body. Only the head was left, put on a copper plate.

The abyss sages.

They were the demons who had inherited the blessing of the abyss and the legacy of Hyakume, and they had gathered here secretly.

The skull whose skin had withered so much that it resembled tree bark lay on the velvet pad, but it had a strong, fiery glow of tenacity in its eye sockets, and it gazed at Paganini. “You have done a good job, Paganini, one worthy of praise.”

Paganini’s eyebrow raised slightly. In so many years, he had rarely seen the skull that Hyakume relied heavily upon spoke, and rarely did anyone receive the skull’s praise.

“As you all can see, I have fulfilled the first step of my promise, so, where’s the stuff that I have asked for?” Paganini reached out.

On the withered skull, the fire in the eye sockets flickered. After a brief silence, he spoke again. Even though he had no lungs, he could control aether with his willpower, vibrate the air, and produce sound. “We have brought it here, I hope that you can make good use of it.”

As soon as he said so, three abyss sages slowly floated out of the darkness. Next, heavy footsteps sounded — Flanked and guarded by the three demons, the thing slowly walked under the light.

It was a… person.

To be precise, it was a woman so obese and bloated that one almost couldn’t bear to look directly at her. When she walked, it was as if a round mass of meat was sliding slowly on the ground. Every step she took set off waves of meat on her body. Moreover, her breasts that were of such exaggerated proportions that they were the size of a few heads was like a scene that would only appear in nightmares.

Paganini was stunned and looked at the woman who looked like she was only slightly more than forty years old. He turned back and asked the skull, “Are you sure?”

The skull was indifferent. “Don’t be deluded by the appearance, Paganini. We searched for sixteen cycles in the realm of aether to find it, and spent a great price transferring it into this body.

“If you ask me whether it is what you want, I will tell you, it is.

“It is the loving mother who has nurtured countless lives, the venomous woman who has destroyed countless lives, the female saint who has saved countless lives, and the godly prostitute who is bearing countless lives in her.

“She is the catastrophe that has far surpassed countless catastrophes, an existence that is one of the four living creatures.

— The Dark Gaia! ”

The swollen woman didn’t have the slightest bit of reaction to being sized up. Her eyes had an empty look and she merely breathed sluggishly. It was a container, a modified container.

The actual Dark Gaia did not even have a body, and no one could even summarize its state. Only by storing it in a physical container could it be transported from the distant realm of aether to the Physical World.

So, one need not pay attention to the appearance.

What really mattered was the internal.

Paganini looked at her, and she looked at Paganini.

Suddenly, Paganini’s face felt itchy. He reached out and touched it, but he found that spot-like calluses had grown on the perfect body he had crafted. Meanwhile, a crack had appeared behind his ear where it itched, and something that resembled parotid glands was slowly forming.

He was shocked and took a few steps back. Then only did the abnormality on his face slowly subsided.

In the short span of just a few seconds, even the body created by Paganini had mutated under her gaze. Other than the Dark Gaia, no one in the world could do so much.

The skull had no expression, as if it was not deliberately watching him make a fool of himself.

“Paganini, do use it carefully.” It said, “It is the most valuable asset of the abyss.”

“I understand.” Paganini took a white cloth from his lap and carefully unfolded it. He lifted his hand and draped the white gauze on the face of the swollen woman, obscuring her gaze. His movement was gentl, as if he was putting on the veil for a bride.

“Follow me.”

He held the hand of the obese woman flanked by the abyss sages, carefully guiding her, and walked toward the depths of the tomb. After passing through a long corridor, walking past innumerable cold, creepy reliefs, and entering dozens of doors, they walked onto a high, suspended platform.

Under the high platform was countless flashes of aether burning.

The silver streams of light converged into a vortex, and blazing flares rose into the sky. It was so glaring that it was impossible for one to look straight at it.

It was where Gaius cast Hecatoncheir in back then. It was also where the Anglos fished out the Lance of the Dragon Slayer once more. At the moment, after experiencing hundreds of years of whale fall, from the deepest part of the deep well of death, a horrifying existence was slowly brewing up once more, and it would soon wake up.

Paganini pulled her to the edge of the high platform, reached out, and took a stone knife from his hand.

The stone knife crafted from obsidian reflected Paganini’s face.

The calm face that resembled both man and woman was so sere in the reflection of the blade.

A light flashed across.