509 Black Branches of the Abyss (1/2)
That was a tree.
A tree that was unprecedentedly huge!
In the outflowing layer, Ye Qingxuan couldn't even see the entire tree, but only inferred how big the terrible monster was by the way its shadow covered the entire Sacred City.
The terrible giant tree sprouted from the abyss, extended out of the Aether World, and crossed the nine layers of the Aether Sea. It came to the Physical World in the form of pure music theory, and rooted deeply in the enchantment of the Sacred City.
Just like being planted in soil.
All the abyssal music theories that Ye Qingxuan had seen were just its tentacles. The alchemical matrix in the outflowing layer was filled with complicated and chaotic abyssal music theories which seemed to be disordered and scattered, but actually contained certain rhythms and rules.
Although it extended thousands of miles, the trace of it couldn't be caught.
In this way, it continued to draw on the power of the Sacred City and bred new seeds. Once the most crucial one was affected, a terrible chain reaction would occur, the chaos would disappear, and the giant tree would emerge.
Thousands of demons grew in the vesicles, and the enormous dark forest withered and were sucked into the giant tree until no ashes remained.
It was born in advance, like an angry premature infant, opening its vicious eyes.
Even so, it was beyond Ye Qingxuan's power.
Even though the demons were also from the abyss, they didn't dare to get close to it. They deftly avoided the branches which would drain them up in anger.
Its appearance represented Ye Qingxuan's total failure.
Absolute strength gap settled everything down.
Everything became a foregone conclusion with no possibility of change.
Only at the sight of its shadow, all the living things on the ground felt the fear in their hearts.
”Master… what's… that?”
On the ground, the young musician who had hoped that Ye Qingxuan could reverse the critical situation had already fallen to the ground. There was a huge shadow reflected his eyes with complete despair.
He even felt his organs twisting into a mess.
He didn't even dare to look.
”That's a dark minster, child.”
The old musician looked up to it and whispered, ”In legend, the first masterpiece dedicated to the Hyakume by the Mother of Earth was the Abyssal Branches, Menti.
It is the gatekeeper of the abyss, rooted in the turbid flow of the Aether World, guarding the territory for the Hyakume. Among all the dark ministers, it is the oldest. The golden age of mankind, just five hundred years, is nothing compared to it...”
The Sacred City trembled and roared.
The old musician lowered his head with a miserable smile, crawled up from the ground, then looked down at the huge crack in his chest, took out an organ with a metal texture and put it into the hand of the youth.
The young man was stunned.
”This is the inheritor's aether furnace with all my music theories inside.” The old man touched the black hair of the young man, his palms covered with dried blood, and smiled. ”Victor, from today on, I entrust you with the School of Mist.”
Victor looked at him blankly. ”Master...”
”Run, child.”
The old musician laughed and looked up at the huge shadow that enveloped the entire city.
He whispered, ”Run. The farther you run, the better...”
According to legend, there was a tree in the Cloud Tower that could bloom with a variety of colors.
Two times a year, when the flowering season arrived, the numerous pink petals fluttered in the air and rained down.
Poets said that it was a thrilling beauty.
But its beauty was cruel and terrible, built on the corpses of the dead. It was said that the more corpses were buried under the tree, the more beautiful the flowers would blossom.
Because that was the color left by the souls of the dead.
That was just what novelists said.
But at that moment, Ye Qingxuan thought that perhaps the legend was true.
Isn't the monster in front of me looking for more corpses?
However, I already interrupted its birth, so it can no longer bloom.
”Is this premature delivery?” Ye Qingxuan smiled lightly. ”I never thought that I would cause so much trouble. I'm really sorry.”
The white moon barely operated, and its light was bleak.
”I didn't expect you to use such an unfriendly way of saying hello when we first met. Aren't the people in the abyss polite, Mr. Menti?” Ye Qingxuan asked.
The answer was numerous tightening branches. Under the oppression of these branches, the moon cracked and almost completely collapsed.
The roots roughly penetrated the Symphony of Predestination, one after another. A giant, twisted face emerged slowly among the intertwining roots.
It looked like a human, but something else.
”Is it you? No wonder.”
The eyes of the abyss on that face looked at Ye Qingxuan's music theory, and seemed to figure something out.
”'Ye Qingxuan, I know you.' Is that what you are going to say?” Ye Qingxuan blinked curiously. ”Are you considering recruiting me? Since I'm so intelligent and handsome.”
”Recruit you? Haha, interesting proposal!”
The laughter shook Ye Qingxuan's Symphony of Predestination, almost broke it down as the intransigent intention to kill him spread out.
Menti's root-like music theories brutally pulled Ye Qingxuan's Symphony of Predestination and tore the protection of the bell towers into pieces as if it was a wrapper on a cheap gift box.
With no hesitation.
”How do I dare to recruit you? Ye Qingxuan, you have already driven Paganini crazy,” tt said with a strange smile. ”At least four of the dark ministers hate you deeply. Two of them have already suffered losses because of you... Do you still think that anyone would show mercy to you?”
Ye Qingxuan was shocked and quickly said, ”Oh, no! Think about it again! You see that I am so young, so talented. If I go to the abyss, I'll be a diamond in the rough!”
”Perhaps other people would show some mercy to you. However, I'm not human, and I'm not eager for any talents. Your little trick doesn't work on me. So...”
It paused and then said indifferently, ”A scourge like you should be killed as early as possible.”
Boom!
The last layer of the protection from the bell towers crashed.
Although the giant tree stopped attacking, Ye Qingxuan's Symphony of Predestination still collapsed and reduced the movement of heart sound. Even the ”vacuum” couldn't continue to support the existence of consciousness.
Menti was unmoved, and used its roots to tear his music theories one by one, cautiously and indifferently, as if it was cutting a person's fingers off.
Then, the arms and legs. It was also going to open his chest, dig out his heart, cut his skull open, and burn his brain in order to bring inescapable death to Ye Qingxuan.
It left him with no room to fight back!
”Hey, it's not necessary to be so vicious!”
Ye Qingxuan sighed hard. His illusionary figure trembled and was about to disappear.
The inner structure of the heart sound movement has begun to collapse under the pulling of thousands of roots which entangled it viciously, pulled out the notes one by one, and cruelly cut off the music theories.
It was like smashing a person from head to foot and burning him into ashes.
Leaving no residue.
It was in that instant that a faint mist emerged from the outflowing layer and intertwined into the faint outline of a door.
The weird and ethereal music theory penetrated the barrier of the outflowing layer, from the outside to the inside. It seemed that the enchantment was nothing for it, and making a way out was not difficult at all.
Just behind the core of the black branches of the abyss.
Something was coming!
The face of Menti was shocked, and suddenly turned back and saw only a burning light.
It was the splendid radiance of a burning Symphony of Predestination.