Capítulo 124: Spoiler Title
"Hey"
"Sleepy Pig"
"Lazy Bones" a soft finger poked on his chest.
"Shh. Five more minutes missy." Sheng Tian groaned softly and turned to his left, hugging the soft body into his bosom.
He loved to hold her close. This way, they can never be apart.
"If you don't wake up now, I will kill you with tickles. Haha." She snickered like an evil villainess and shot at his stomach.
"Haha, haha, stooop~!" His eyes snapped open as he struggled to control himself.
Suddenly, it stopped.
A pair of bright red eyes stared at him. Xiao Lian. Only she has such curious, yet playful eyes.
But hm, what is the rotten smell? Where are they? He groggily woke up, bringing her up with him.
Grey Trees. Ashen ground. Rotten Stench fouled the air.
How did he end up here? Right, he was meeting the Sect Master and the Grand Elder when those five old fogeys…..no…..Devils attacked.
He was thrown into the space crack and was assaulted by their profound energy.
Even if he survived that, the space storm itself should have torn him apart. If so, then why…..?
"Sheng" her soft voice rung, jolting him out of his stupor.
He looked down to meet her eyes. He knew.
He was saved once again. Once again she had to use the forbidden power. Once again, she had to endure that hellish soul pain he couldn't even begin to fathom.
All because she loved a weakling. He couldn't protect her. Every time, she had to protect him.
How laughable his actions were?! What right did he have to be arrogant?
He is the one causing her pain. He loved her. Yet, he harmed her.
His chest felt a burning pain. His blood churned. Under her stupefied gaze, he raised his hand and slammed it on his heart.
"BANG!!!" The sound wasn't loud, yet it was solid enough to shake her heart.
"Shen" she yelled.
His handsome face turned pale. A trace of blood was flowing down his lips. It was exceptionally bright.
The blood from the heart. Only deep rooted emotions could do that.
Her body moved on its own and hastily covered his chest wound to stop it from bleeding and placed her other hand on his lips.
She knew, that his body would recover even if she did nothing. Yet, she couldn't help it.
"What are you doing?" She glared.
Yet, he could swear that the corner of her eyes turned wet. Sheng Tian looked deeply into her beautiful red eyes. The concern in those eyes made his chest feel heavier.
Pure. Love.
He lowered his head. His shoulders dropped.
"I don't know…." His voice was hoarse and quavered, "how to say sorry,...I never apologised."
She raised her arm to touch his cheeks.
"You always save me. I always hurt you."
Her arm froze in mid-air. She bit her lip. She never wanted this to happen. She never wanted him to feel guilty about anything.
"Xiao, I have a better idea. You can get Dragon Bloodline Essence. There is something in my sea of consciousness that can help you. Though I don't know what it is, and how to use it, it can certainly help your soul, so take out my Soul—"
"Never say that again." Her body trembled and she blocked his mouth.
Gently, yet firmly she raised his head to look into his eyes. But his eyes were closed.
"Sheng Tian!" She spoke sharply.
"You are not a coward. You never were. Open your eyes and face the reality." She yelled, her voice at full force.
His eyes slowly opened. But there was no blazing spark in them.
She met his gaze. With a deep breath, her voice softened "It's not about how much I do for you and how much you do for me. It's that you care for me and I care for you.
Remember what you said when we went I asked why you continue to suffer for me when it only brings pain?" She looked at him, her eyes glowed.
He didn't answer, but she wasn't upset.
She slowly said, word by word "For some people in life, any pain is—" "Worth Suffering." A drop of tear slowly poured down his lowered face, his hands clenched into fists.
Xiao leaned onto him and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"When I was at my weakest, you are the one who gave me hope. You made me smile. You asked how I was feeling. You took me out despite my protests and you spoiled me like I was princess.
You didn't just save me. You saved my heart too. I didn't know that life can be so beautiful even with the struggles. Thank you." She hugged him tightly. Her tone was sincere and her face had a smile carved from the depth of her heart.
"If you are ever tired, and feel weak, always remember—'we share the burdens'. At your weakest, let me be your strength." She gently held him and kissed his forehead. Tears were already falling from the corner of her eyes.
Sheng Tian's body shook.
Sharing the burden. Together. I will be your strength.
These heart felt words were truly foreign to him.
He didn't have anyone to rely on in his childhood. He never knew who his true parents were. The one who raised him for a few years died off, revealing the bitter truth.
He truly didn't understand family. Probably that's why he wandered alone. Beneath his indifferent, and seemingly perfect exterior was a hurt childhood.
At this moment, he realised that his heart has found its salve.
His eyes shone with rekindled vigor. It was much brighter and purer than before.
He hugged her into himself, as if they were one. "I will protect you." He whispered.
"Hmm." Xiao Lian nodded with a smile and buried herself in his warm embrace.
A few minutes passed or a few hours, they didn't know.
"Shen"
"Hm?" Sheng Tian ruffled her smooth hair.
"Well, I think we should check out the terrain. I sense some disturbing auras." Xiao Lian whispered.
"And also I will die out of sweetness…" she winked.
"What are you talking about? You are the one hugging me all this time!" Sheng Tian looked at her like a man who was accused for an uncommitted crime.
"What?!" She realized that she was the one holding him, not the other way around.
"Cough. Cough. As I was saying, the auras…" she immediately stood up and hurried.
"Tsundere." He muttered.
"Excuse me?" She turned to him with an extremely beautiful smile. A Yandere smile.
"Haha, the air is so good, I mean, so stinky." Feeling the sweat pouring down his back, he immediately ran ahead.
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The land was covered by a thin layer of white powder. Sheng Tian gazed into the distance, trying to figure out where the heck he actually landed.
"Intense Blood Aura. Heavy Death Energy. Just where is this death energy coming from?" He rubbed his chin.
"Probably one of the four Forbidden Lands. This can only be Valhalla."
"Indeed." Xiao Lian stood next to him, and somehow he felt that her expression was…..weird.
"Are you okay?"
"I don't know…..I hope this isn't what I think it is." she shook her head, but her voice already trialed off .
He shot her a deep look and continued forward.
"Oh my god!!!"
He was standing on a cliff and a vast river cut through the deep plains and mountains.
It was the source of the Death Energy.
"River Styx." He hissed and waved at her.
"So it is true. We ended up in Valhalla. But there's something ….really strange about this place." Xiao Lian squinted her eyes and declared.
"What do you mean?" He spread his spirit sense and could see no abnormal signs.
Why did she say that? Intuition?
"I'm sensitive to Life and Death Auras. A strange, bloodthirsty aura. It's very faint, but it's largely spread."
"We will check the surroundings." He held her and spread his black wings.
With a flap of his evil wings, they dashed off into the sky.
Soon, they were crossing the mountains and flew above the Styx River.
There was something odd he observed. Xiao Lian seemed a lot more healthy in the presence of
the Death Energy. She was constantly looking down at the river. It was if something was….
Soon, they were about to cross a belt of mountains before Sheng Tian abruptly dived down.
"RIPPP" a black spear pierced open the position they were present a moment ago.
Holding the black spear was a man 7 feet tall. His body emitted a black fog and shrouded him killing intent.
Sheng Tian's eyes narrowed. Devil—third level of Sky Realm.
"Heaven's Wrath." His blood red sword already struck down at the devil with a horrendous momentum.
The sword sliced off his right arm and the spear.
"Splash." The severed arm fell into the river.
Sheng Tian's spirit sense which was covering the surrounding naturally sensed the arm's moments. And something incredulous happened.
The arm which appeared to be of a young man in his twenties soon started withering away. The devil blood was squeezed away. Next was the muscle and tissue. Then, even the bone itself melted away in the flowing river.
It was Stynx. The River of Hell.
Red Star continent had some nasty lore of Stynx being the entrance to Hell—realm of eternal suffering.
Now he knew those tales were childish compared to the real deal.
"Aaagh" Injured, the devil growled and a huge amount of his blood essence was burned into pure energy. Then, he disappeared.
Sheng Tian felt a sense of danger looming over his heart. Yet his spirit sense couldn't sense anything. But his guts screamed that the enemy is nearby.
"I can tell when he gets close. Follow my words." Xiao Lian spoke up.
He nodded and closed his eyes.
Channeling all the profound energy into his sword, he prepared to deal the killing blow.
His strength was not much greater than the opponent. He needed to be cautious.
A few minutes passed. Sheng had thoughts of leaving, but he knew that leaving behind such a dangerous foe is the worst thing you can do in an enemy land.
So he waited. And he waited, until, "Dodge and a full area strike" Xiao said hastily.
Sheng Tian, eyes closed, hurriedly shifted them to the side and slashed with all his strength.
A long circular area attack of profound energy filled with sword auras explode into existence.
Right at that moment, the devil who mysteriously appeared above dived down at them with his spear.
However, he never expected to be discovered.The only reason he was willing to fight was because of the mysterious profound art that concealed his position.
Yet, it was all for naught.
He desperately channeled all the profound energy to stop his body from diving straight to his doom.
The extreme use came with a price. The profound veins on the left half of his body exploded.
"Aaagh" without proper balance and profound energy, he could no longer support his flight and dropped down with an incredible speed.
"We need to leave." Xiao Lian urged and he nodded.
He held her hand and spread his wings.
"Not so fast." A shrill voice sounded from the distance and in the next second, three devil women appeared in the sky.
Sheng Tian gritted his teeth. Somehow, these devils found a way to mask from spirit sense.
He observed the women. They were all at the peak of Sky Realm.
Little hope to defeat them in a fair combat. The only hope would True Dragon Roar. Yet, it would end up alerting way more enemies he could avoid and more importantly, hurt him severely.
"Splash." The devil fell into the river.
"Save me….seniors…" he yelled with all his might.
"No one can be saved from the Stynx river." The leading woman shook her head.
"If we pull you out, your vitality will still be drained out." The green clothed woman
"Even the legendary Heaven Realm cultivators were killed in seconds. You are but a mere fry." The red haired woman shrugged indifferently.
"Aagh…." As Sheng Tian watched, the living devil lost his skin, blood, muscles and only a skeleton remained.
The profound energy barriers didn't work. In fact, the river entirely disregarded the existence of profound energy.
In the next second, even the Skelton was melted away. What was left of a full man? Not even ashes.
The devil women turned to him, their eyes shone with a strange glint.
What to do? Xiao Lian loosened her grip.
He knew what she had on mind. He caught her leaving hand and shook his head. "I have teleportation tokens, but if I accidentally end up teleporting straight into their territory, it would be a dead end. They are the last resort.
No matter, only I will fight." His resolution made her sigh and she sealed her profound energy.
"Oh my, there's something weird about that girl." The leading woman claimed, silently observing the couple.
"Beautiful. She needs to die." The green clothed woman next to her ground her teeth.
"That man will make an excellent cauldron." The red clothed woman on the other side laughed under her broken teeth.
"Why does everyone want me to be a cauldron? Am I just too sexy?" Sheng Tian spoke out loud, starling the devils who thought he was too scared.
"Not bad. When I become the Golden Devil, you will be my head servant." The red woman smirked, complacent.
"I have no idea how this works. But I'm not going down without a fight." Sheng Tian murmured and pointed his sword at the three women.
"Heh. Either Join us or die." The leading woman, said disregarding him.
Their strength was way beyond his.
They weren't even on guard against him, and that was all he needed.
"Dark Cloud Slash. Heaven's Wrath. Ultimate Dark Brilliance." At lighting quick speed, he used three moves of the Dark Sword Arts at the three of them.
Dark Cloud Slash—turned into a streak of sharp blackness and shot at the green woman.
Heaven's Wrath—converted profound energy into a lighting bolt and shot at the red woman.
Ultimate Dark Brilliance—overpowering everything else with its blinding brilliance, the attack struck the leading woman.
"BOOM"
"BOOM"
"BOOM"
The air was filled with explosions. Dust rose into air and the whole area got clouded with smog.
Sheng Tian flapped his wings and dashed back. He had to find a hide out first.
He had only one plan in mind, deceive and run away. Heaven's Wings are excellent for escape. The only constraint was his lack of control. If he lets them attack while he was escaping, it would be fatal.
His speed; backed by the wings, approached that of peak Sky Realm cultivator. He could get away from any normal cultivators with his method.
"RIPP" three spheres of profound energy exploded surrounding him. Except, he wasn't against ordinary cultivators. Devils are not Humans.
"Damn it." Sheng Tian signaled to Xiao Lian to get inside. She refused.
He turned back to see the three women unharmed. They were quickly approaching him, their speed was better than his.
He wouldn't be able to keep up.
Then, is it the only way? Or so he thought until she tugged his sleeve.
"Sheng, do you trust me?" Xiao looked into his eyes.
He looked back and his answer was in his gaze.
She sighed deeply. "There is one way, perhaps the only one to survive. I can sense an Emperor Life Aura approaching. You have to decide."
"Say it." he dodged the deadly attacks of the three devils.
"The River. Dive into it. I can save you." she spoke in a grave tone.
He was startled, but soon responded resolutely "We agreed you're not gonna use your powers anymore."
"Silly. My powers are still sealed. And you'll know something about me when we reach there." She closed her eyes and the death energy in the surroundings turned chaotic.
"Now." Before he could even ask what she meant by "reach there", he dived down at an incredible speed.
"Splash."
It was dark. The water of the Stynx River was ice-cold. Yet, there was something else flowing in it. Death. His vitality seemed to be pulled away. His blood churned.
Suddenly, a pure white light covered his body and Xiao Lian's light illuminated the entire lake bed.
There was nothing but the dark waters.
"Hold on tight." She signaled.
"Wha—?" A huge suction force pulled them as they reached a place devoid of water in the lake—A cave.
It was the weirdest thing he had ever seen. It was like an invisible barrier was preventing the water from flowing around the cave.
"Sigh." Xiao Lian took a deep breath. The glow on her body intensified, but it was now turning into black instead of white.
Holding his hand, she took him through the invisible barrier guarding the cave. Strangely, sensing Xiao Lian's aura on him, the barrier didn't attack him.
They once again stepped onto the land and entered the cave.
No. It was not a cave. It was too vast that once they entered, there was no sight of end.
"Are you alright?" He held her by shoulders, the white light on her body turned completely pitch black, contrasting her snow white skin.
Yet, he was more worried than anything else sensing her mood.
"You are not gonna ask me about this place?" She smiled ruefully.
"This is more important." He said seriously.
"This is the tomb of Death Goddess—I devoured her soul on my rebirth."
"???!!!"
Title: The Forbidden Land: Valhalla
PENSAMENTOS DOS CRIADORES 
_Transcendent
_Transcendent This marks the end of Volume 2 for the Current Sheng.
Maybe I will do Future Sheng chapter or maybe not, but things on this side are done. I'm plotting the edited version with passion.
See you soon.
To the Little Goblin Baby, words are not enough. It was too much for me. I'm convinced to write a story we can all experience and enjoy.
I'll do my best.
If best isn't enough, criticize the work. Set a high bar and I will reach it.
Everyone, this is undermining my true feelings, but Thank you very much.
-- Presente
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