454 Surviving the Aftermath (1/2)
Mr. Nian and partner had vanished as if they were never there.
They had no problem parting with the odd lake that they had created single-handedly,
Mr. Nian did not know that by leaving now, they had lost the chance to annihilate Supreme Cloud!
When Yun Yang had dove down, the spiritual restraint had already been successfully activated. Yun Yang's manifestation power was entirely gone in that moment and he had returned to his human form; the retaliation of the arcane magic had even rendered him into a state of unconsciousness; it was all he could barely do to drift forward, following the underground river…
Mr. Nian only had to go into the river and conduct a search. He would find Yun Yang after looking for a few miles and he could even kill him without any effort!
However, he had not thought about this.
After all, Supreme Water's escape as water and his ability to manifest into liquid left too deep an impression; Mr. Nian would never believe that Supreme Cloud's power was sealed by the spiritual restraint, despite successfully escaping under such circumstances.
Furthermore, it would have been even more unbelievable if were he told that Supreme Cloud, who was capable of simulating the end of the world, would fall unconscious due to his inability to take the intensity of the retaliation.
Therefore, such a rare opportunity that might only have appeared once in this lifetime to take down Supreme Cloud brushed right past Mr. Nian!
Yun Yang, who had recovered his human form, followed the underground river, allowing himself to be swept away, far, far away. He, who had lost consciousness, could only follow the stream passively. When he woke up again, he was shocked to realize that he was somewhere on a shallow shore.
Looking around, there was a massive mountain behind him that looked majestic and proud; it was a lush green, calming one's senses when looked at.
There was a jet of water that gushed like a dragon from a deep cave, endlessly flowing.
Yun Yang regained consciously slowly. As he observed his surroundings, he almost fainted once more before he could even feel grateful for his survival.
He shut his eyes almost instinctively, breathing in the fresh air. Yun Yang was finally sure that he was still alive!
The next moment that came was not the gratitude of surviving, but an endless wave of agony.
His brain felt like it was about to explode.
The sudden pain put Yun Yang through a fit of seizures; he wanted to growl and vent the pain but was shocked to find out that he could not even make a sound. His throat felt as if it was being sliced by hundreds of thousands of knives.
However, the pain his body was going through was relatively insignificant.
It was his brain that hurt the most, due to the big bang that had happened in his mind.
In extreme agony, Yun Yang's eyes almost bulged out of their sockets. He wanted to direct his mystical Qi to suppress the pain and discomfort his body was experiencing, but realized that his dantian was empty; there was no mystical Qi to tap on, let alone suppress the pain.
Yun Yang cultivated the Endless Divine Art in a painful haze but found out that the divine skill that had been with him once he was revived back in the day, was absolutely lost to him as well.
He tried to head into his deific consciousness to ask Emmie for help, but it was only disappointment that greeted him – he could not connect to his divine sense!
His cultivation base, mystical skill, deific consciousness, dantian, Qi – everything was ominously silent, even more still than that of an ordinary person's!
Feeling the never-ending tidal waves of agony crashing in, one after another, Yun Yang felt like committing suicide numerous times within just a short quarter of an hour's time.
Yun Yang clung onto a rock beside him with his right hand's fingers that were the only part of his body that he could move, gripping it tightly until he broke his fingers and blood ran down in rivulets. He could not feel the pain from his fingers; there was only the gut-wrenching agony in his head.
Wave after wave, time and again; it was like there was no end to it.
”I want revenge!”
Unable to scream, Yun Yang shouted in his heart, using his will to tackle the borderless pain.
”My brothers are still waiting for me to seek revenge for them!”
”I have to persevere. I have escaped this battle; it means that heaven doesn't want me to die yet.”
”I can't give up, I can't give up on the bloodied ocean of grudge!”
”I… I must take down the Four Seasons Tower and kill Mr. Nian, as well as all the men who ambushed us, brothers!”
”I shall never give up without getting our revenge!”
Yun Yang glared as his temples throbbed, his veins popping out like angry dragons. He clenched his teeth, not heeding the blood that was streaming from his mouth.
He dared not cry out now, afraid that his determination would be crushed once he opened his mouth.
He shut his mouth tight, gritted his teeth, his fingers gripping the rock. There was no mystical Qi supporting his strength yet the broken fingers were actually slowly embedding themselves into the rock.
A mark of a hand's grip eventually formed on the hard rock that had been washed timelessly by the water.
Yun Yang stared ahead without blinking as if there was an immense temptation luring him to look ahead, which held nothing but normal scenery.
It was because Yun Yang's mind was filled with a vision of his brothers coming in, one after another, their eyes gentle and comforting.
”Brother!”
”Young nine!”
”Persevere!”
”We're waiting for you!”
”Supreme Cloud must not fall! The Nine Supremes can't die!”
”Remember to seek revenge for us!”
These words of comfort pacified Yun Yang's, drained heart.
The scene changed abruptly; dead bodies and blood lay everywhere the eyes glanced at. Fresh crimson blood and severed limbs were scattered all over the ground while crows croaked in the sky. Several pairs of eyes that refused to rest in peace looked into the sky, wearing looks of frozen anguish.
Those were his brothers!
His eight brothers!
His eight hundred brothers!
Mr. Nian's words rang in his ears again like the devil's own voice, ”Is that Supreme Earth? Wasn't he beaten to pulp?”
”Which other Supreme is that? He actually went crazy, seeing how Supreme Earth died, charging over to his own death; he got slashed into half, how gratifying…”
Yun Yang was making low raspy growls, his gaze turning crazed as hints of menace flashed in his reddened eyes.
Then, his old father appeared.
The wrinkled face was still smiling warmly. ”My child, do you know how to make the Chinese cabbage and tofu that I taught you? Does it taste good?”
A flutter of a white gown – Yun Zuiyue gazed at him sadly. ”Young brother, don't give up. Do not ever give up…”
The scene changed again. It was Dongxuan's troop that was preparing to charge while Han Sanhe, who was seated in the center, roared his commands, ”This is the ultimate war today. Wipe out Yutang, there is no return until we win!”
The combined army of the four countries threatened to cover the sky as countless militants charged into Yutang's homes. Droves of innocent citizens struggled under the steeled hooves; they were crying in agony, yelling in hopeless despair.
”Nine Supremes Lords…”
”Save us, Nine Supremes Lords…”
”Nine Supreme Lords, where are you?”
…
Spiritual Restraining Formation – the Spiritual Restraining Formation had reappeared!
Four Seasons Tower!
A dominant voice rang out, ”Wipe out the Nine Supremes, for there is no divinity in this universe. Only the Four Seasons Tower shall triumph over the world!”
Yun Yang's eyes remained unblinking, watching the scenes that flashed across his eyes, training his gaze on them and enduring the endless pain.
The pain Yun Yang was going through right now could turn a steel-hearted man who was fearless of death into a soft worm, even if it was only a quarter of an hour. Even if a hundred people picked at one person's meridians and broke his bones simultaneously, the pain was not even an iota of this agony!
If it had been anyone else, they might have already given up on life, unable to endure the torment. After all, to live like this was too arduous compared to dying!
However, Yun Yang persevered.
He bit his tongue through the entire journey, which lasted a whole day.
When Yun Yang had been contained by the spiritual restraint previously, not only had it caused his water manifestation to be ineffective but had also caused the Big Bang Embodiment to go amok and inflict pain upon him. His body suffered from unprecedented damage and his cultivation base, mystical skill, and deific consciousness were all lost. He could not even move now and the only part of him that had the slightest bit of mobility was his right hand. Ironically, Yun Yang himself had clenched his fist so hard that he had rendered himself a handicap.
Yun Yang, who was incapable of moving, was only left with his sight and touch. He watched the brightness dim slowly to darkness; stars blinked at him while the cold breeze and night fog swept across slowly, grey clouds gathering in the sky… A sense of chilliness landed on his face.
It was snowing!
Again?
The land around him turned silvery white with the falling snow. The pair of glaring eyes was eventually covered by the white snow and they could no longer see what was in front… but the flames burning in Yun Yang's heart flickered even brighter. The pain in his mind heightened as well, not reducing in the slightest despite the time that had passed.
Blood still trickled from the frozen face covered by snow, staining the pools of melted ice red. It was frozen before it trickled down again, the process repeating itself in endless loops.
Yun Yang remained stationary, but the extreme agony his head was going through put his heart through somersaults.