Chapter 8.1 (1/2)

Chapter 8: The Distant Carnage (Part 1)

În the far distance above his head,

are the rippling of tree tops in the breeze,

light beams down through the s.p.a.ces in between the leaves,

after being stirred by the fog,

they morph into the blurred, damp and cold white light.

His entire body is freezing,

fear surges through his body

like the black ocean underneath the moonlight.

[West of Aslan Empire – Abyss Corridor]

The heavy fog is like a cold, white anaconda, creeping slowly against the ground. Milky white rays of light hover between the heavens and earth, yet it does not seem as bright as a vast field of wilderness should be under the rays.

Yin Chen looks up, in the far distance above his head are the rippling of tree tops in the breeze, light beams down through the s.p.a.ces in between the leaves, after being stirred by the fog, they morph into the blurred, damp and cold white light. His entire body is freezing, fear surges through his body like the black ocean underneath the moonlight; a sharp sting p.r.i.c.ks his heart like a dagger of ice. He turns his head stiffly and looks at Guishan Fenghun who had fallen onto the ground beside him, paleness like that of death covers his face, his grey lips tremble as if he has seen the most horrifying scene on the face of earth.

Before them is the Silver Priest that has pa.s.sed on, at this moment, only a translucent sh.e.l.l remains of what had been the young child’s body, like a cicada shedding its covering and leaving behind a lifeless alien body. The eyes of the young child that had been as moist and intricate as amber is now two dark eye holes, what should be the resting place of eyeb.a.l.l.s are now two depths of black that are currently releasing cold white smoke.

“What……are they?” Guishan Fenghun asks in fear, “Are the two Silver Priests resting in the Heart of the imperial capital……also……also beings like this……”

Yin Chen is unable to answer him.

What had just happened before them is as if a horrifying scene from h.e.l.l. Although his posture remains upright and pa.s.sive, all he wants to do is bend down and vomit. Disgust twists through his guts. He is unable to believe that the Silver Priests are beings like this……Where do they originate from? What are they?

No one can answer his questions.

All of a sudden, Yin Chen feels like the entire Aslan is enveloped in countless storm clouds of secrets, one by one they condense into black cloud cover, engulfing all light at an insane speed.

The thundering above their heads seems to be a foreshadowing of the approaching catastrophe.

[West of Aslan Empire – Abyss Corridor]

Qi La leads the way, his back view looks magnificent but at the same time, it gives off a ghastly quality. Qi Ling compares Yin Chen to him and feels like Qi La who is walking before him seems more like a mysterious conjurer from the darkness while Yin Chen seems more like one of the Knights Templar of the n.o.ble bloodline.

Qi Ling turns to Lianquan, wanting to tell her what he thinks, but seeing her tense expression as if pondering hard over something, he forces the words back. In the dense and vast forest, only the sound of leaves crunching under their feet can be heard as they advance forth.

A gush of numbness appears at the tips of Lianquan’s fingers and she reaches her hand out hurriedly to prevent Qi Ling from moving forward any further, just as she opens her mouth to speak, she hears Tianshu Youhua yell “Stop!” at the same moment.

“There is someone in front, do not move.” Lianquan turns to look at Tianshu Youhua and says, “Withdraw all of your soul powers first, we don’t know who is the opposition, we will not provoke them.”

Qi La who has been walking in front turns back, his unearthly handsome and delicate features look as if they’re from the heavens under the soft white light. Using his throaty voice that does not sound compatible with his beautiful looks, he says: “You need not be guarded, those waiting in front are your lords, Yin Chen and Guishan Fenghun.”

[West of Aslan Empire – Imperial Capital Gelanerte]

Qi Ling sits on the large ebony bed covered with intricate carvings and stares Yin Chen who is sitting at the table drinking water, the dense fog and countless terrifying high-leveled soul beasts in the Abyss Corridor is still vivid in his mind, and in the blink of an eye, he is already situated in the most n.o.ble and bustling city in the empire – the imperial capital Gelanerte.

“How……did he do this?” Qi Ling is still confused, when he had met up with Yin Chen again just now, before he had time to speak, a violent twist in the atmosphere brought him through a mystical s.p.a.ce and in the next instant, he is already standing at the entrance of a towering building like that of a palace.

When Yin Chen told Qi Ling that they have already arrived at Gelanerte, Qi Ling’s face was pale.

“This is Qi La’s gift,” Yin Chen looks towards Qi Ling. A few days without seeing him and Qi Ling have lost quite some weight. However, it only serves to subtract the air of naivety he has from before, making him more masculine instead of making him look sickly, “Do you know what a gift is? A gift is……”

“I know, I know!” Qi Ling jumps up from the bed and moves before Yin Chen, pulling out a chair to sit facing him, his large eyes stare straight at Yin Chen, expression proud, “A gift is a unique talent each of us has, this talent is brought about by our soul’s return circuit, different circuits determine our gifts.” Qi Ling sees Yin Chen’s intrigued expression and scratches his head in embarra.s.sment, adding, “I heard it from Lianquan.”

“Yes……the gift of Third Lord Qi La, it means he has always been the creator of the chess pieces in Aslan. Qi La has turned the ground we were standing on just now into a chess piece that leads to Aslan before any of you could react, which is why we could reach this place instantly.”

“My goodness……his gift is creating chess pieces!” Qi Ling slams his chin down onto the table.

“No, not like that. Creating chess pieces is only a way of showcasing his gift. To be more precise, his gift is an extended control of s.p.a.ce and time.” Yin Chen stares at the desperate Qi Ling. Despite not wanting to place a heavy blow on him, he still continues, “To a certain extend, his gift is limitless. He can cross any s.p.a.ce, and in theory, he can also cross a short time period, of course this requires a ma.s.sive amount of soul powers. This gift he has makes him the only lord in the territory of Aslan that can create an ‘array’ freely at any location.”

“What’s an array?” Qi Ling’s brows knit together. When he’s with Yin Chen, it seems like he will hear thinks he doesn’t understand daily. It saddens Qi Ling. He thought that once he became a disciple, he’d be as powerful as Yin Chen quickly, yet his understanding of this world is not even a hundredth of his way in. This world of soul bending is something that did not exist at all in his life from before, and now, he plays a very important part in it.”

“An array is an external presentation of our soul’s return circuit. When in battle mode, or when we require a large amount of soul powers to be depleted, we will release an array around us, in theory; this is to replicate a soul’s return circuit outside out body. When we are within the array, the flow of our soul powers will echo the return circuit of the array, and this will allow our soul powers and gifts to optimize. However, the usage of an array is extremely difficult, it requires many soul power attributes that can match your qualities in order to be successful.”

“Hold on, hold on, I’m getting confused……too complicated.” Qi Ling stares pitifully at Yin Chen.