章節 273: Heaven Incinerating, Heaven Embracing.
There was quite a distance between Moonset city and Liang Chen's target, Wasteland's Heart, meaning that the trip wasn't instantaneous even with him using a spatial array. He took advantage of this time to adjust his Heaven Altering Mask, his appearance altering into that of a teenage girl. He wanted to add on as many layers of security as he could, it would be for the best if he could just enter Purgatory's Cradle without any interruptions.
Yumao snuck back into Liang Chen's dantian to hide, his appearance was so distinct that Liang Chen couldn't really allow him to stick around. It didn't take too long for Liang Chen to reach the spatial tunnel after Yumao hid, the faint scent of death tickling his nose as the pure white surroundings were washed over by the city he arrived in.
Wasteland's Heart was located only a few tens of kilometres away from the entrance of Purgatory's Cradle and thus had a steady influx of unruly and vicious characters. As a result, the city wasn't too decadent in its decorations, favouring a hardy and simple approach that left the city filled with square stone buildings that could easily be replaced when broken.
As for the faint scent of death, it wasn't because of any large-scale massacres or the like, it was simply due to the location. The entire Heaven and Hell Dominion was a pocket dimension formed from two pillar universes that had fallen to the Bloodwind Emperor's law of death. And this was the centre of the entire dominion, it was where the remnants of that ancient battle were at their strongest, the law of death from all those years in the past still lingered faintly in the land and the air.
It was mostly harmless, assuming that you were at least a somewhat accomplished cultivator. If you weren't, then you wouldn't be able to stay here for prolonged periods of time without risking your own life. All of this was public information that had been released long ago so it had already become common knowledge that only those that were slightly mad or suicidal would make the journey over here.
Liang Chen felt a fair amount of gazes land on him when he arrived in the somewhat small rectangular plaza, more than a few eyebrows rising in surprise when the onlookers saw a seemingly inquisitive young girl rather than a battle-hardened cultivator. Of course, appearances was one of the most deceptive things in the cultivation world so the onlookers only allowed themselves to experience a short moment of surprise. No one came here just for the fun of it, and no one naive and innocent came here, no one that set foot into this city could be underestimated.
Liang Chen didn't care much about the eyes that landed on him as he stepped down from the spatial array, he swept his gaze across the surroundings in a curious manner. He acted like a curious child as he walked through the city, seemingly taking in his surroundings with great interest so that he would remember them as he left the city.
He couldn't guarantee that the Sky-Piercing Sparrow didn't have any men here so he had decided to at least put on a small act that was quite contrasting to his usual actions, it would make it seem at least a little less likely that this newcomer was just him in disguise. As for whether or not his little act worked, only time would be able to tell, but his scouting of the surrounding few kilometres had at least not picked up anything.
The area around the city was exactly what gave it its name, it was a dead wasteland where even the earth was devoid of the smallest trace of lifeforce. But strangely enough, even without a single trace of lifeforce to serve as nourishment, the surface of the earth was covered in a thick layer of porous yet stone-hard mold. There were even strange brown mushrooms sprouting up here and there, some growing so large that they resembled trees. Once this place had probably been a sprawling plain, but the battle between two Universal Hearts had irreparably scarred it, just like it had scarred the multiverse itself.
It wasn't hard for Liang Chen to spot the entrance to Purgatory's Cradle before he even reached it, the large group of people gathered in one place made it exceptionally easy for him. The group consisted of a few hundred people with various cultivation realms, more than a few of them covered in scars they hadn't managed to heal over the years.
Most of the people present radiated a slightly bloody aura that showed that they had engaged in their fair share of battles before, but there wasn't a single one among them that dared to make a sound right now. Standing a few steps ahead of them was a man-sized black crack that just hung in the air, a lightly crimson light occasionally swimming across the crack.
And Liang Chen saw the reason behind their silence the moment he reached the area, it was the man standing in front of that crack, preventing anyone from entering it. The man had a surprisingly soft appearance when you considered the surroundings, a somewhat rounded face with a few strands of brown hair running down from his temples to his cheeks. His black hair was kept so short and stiff it almost resembled needles, his blue eyes calmly sweeping over the people gathered in front of the crack.
The man only radiated the aura of someone at the middle-stage of the Primordial Immortal realm, but Liang Chen could sense an almost instinctual feeling of danger. He didn't need anyone to introduce this man to him, the King of Heaven Embracing Justice, Kuan De Niu. Liang Chen felt like sighing when he saw the scene, it was a shame that Shen Fei had been correct, Kuan Niu was here to block his path.
But he was currently in his disguise so he swallowed his sigh and walked forward innocently, acting as if he was going to step past Kuan Niu to enter the crack. But if it was really that easy to enter Purgatory's Cradle with Kuan Niu guarding the entrance, why would there be so many people gathering in front of it? Liang Chen's steps were halted by a push of Kuan Niu's wave, the air in front of him seemingly hardening.
"Please forgive me for blocking you, but I am waiting for two people to arrive so that they can engage in a small duel. One of them seems to be a little tricky so I'm forced to act like this to ensure that he'll actually engage in the duel. Please understand my plight and wait patiently, I would prefer it if I didn't have to act too much."
He spoke in the same calm and soft voice he used when he first contacted Liang Chen, but he didn't try too hard to hide the underlying threat in his words. He was after all a powerful cultivator who could receive a King rank on the Multiverse Bloodwind List, such people weren't just infinitely kind and merciful.
Liang Chen clicked his tongue but still stepped back, blending in with the crowd so that he could observe the situation. If he could avoid fighting Kuan Niu then it would be for the best, but that didn't mean that he would hesitate to do so if he felt the need to. After all, there was no telling if the Sky-Piercing Sparrow would send people here at some point, and whoever he sent was unlikely to be anyone easy to handle.
Liang Chen had left Moonset city at night, so it was still night when he arrived in front of Purgatory's Cradle. It didn't take too many hours before the light of the sun crested the horizon, Kuan Niu glancing at the rising sun for a moment before he placed his hand on his chest. A faint light flashed out from his chest, a small red bead that Liang Chen recognized as a Bloodwind Code appearing in his palm.
Liang Chen felt a creeping sense of foreboding as Kuan Niu held out the bead, and that sensation was immediately proven correct. Kuan Niu poured some of his Qi into the bead and caused the inscriptions covering it to light up with a crimson sheen. As if they were responding to the glowing inscriptions, seven people among the several hundred present suddenly released a small ray of light.
Six of the rays of light were faint white and only rose a metre into the sky, but the ray of light released by the seventh person was crimson and stretched an entire ten metres into the sky. And the person at the bottom of this ray of light was exactly Liang Chen, whose expression had darkened somewhat. Kuan Niu's own gaze was thrown over, the crimson ray of light reflecting in his eyes as a small smile formed on his lips.
"Ten metres high and crimson in colour, a lord title belonging to the wrath category. I know for a fact that the only other wrath title holder located in this universe is in the pocket dimension behind me, so you should be Junior Cultivator Liang Chen, no? I almost feel embarrassed for calling you tricky to your face like that."
Liang Chen maintained his darkened expression, but he already saw people fishing out communication jades and transmitting the news. It didn't matter if Kuan Niu didn't have any hard proof yet, his word alone was worth enough. Some of the people who sent out the news looked at Liang Chen with particularly vicious gazes so it wasn't hard for him to guess where they came from. He removed his Heaven Altering Mask, stepping forward while pointing at the crack.
"I take it you won't just let me enter the crack?"
Kuan Niu placed his Bloodwind Code against his chest again and re-absorbed it, his Bloodwind Code had recognized him as a king so he had access to several more features than Liang Chen. He maintained a calm smile and fished out a palm-sized plate of polished jade, sweeping his eyes over it for a second before he shook his head.
"I'm afraid not. But don't worry, Junior Sister Qisui should arrive here within a week, I will not stop you from entering the cradle after you've finished the duel with her."
Liang Chen hadn't heard the name before, but he could rather easily guess that this Qisui should be the previous Lord of the Wrathful Abyss. She was apparently rather angry at him for taking her title, but he couldn't really be bothered with her thoughts, his eyes narrowing slightly as he swept the surrounding people with a glance.
"Do you really think that I can stick around here for a week?"
Liang Chen's battles with the Tranquil Lake weren't exactly hidden information, it was easy to learn about them if you wanted to. As such, this Kuan Niu should definitely know about the feud, he should know that the Sky-Piercing Sparrow would send people over as quickly as he could. Kuan Niu did indeed know about this feud, but he still remained confident.
"Worry not, I will protect you from those that the Tranquil Lake send after you, they'll at least show me some face."
He had met the Tranquil Lake a few times in the past, and while they were indeed quite rampant, they would still show a proper King-ranked cultivator some face. Protecting Liang Chen up until the duel wouldn't be a problem at all. But his assurance was something that Liang Chen didn't really care about, his gaze once again sweeping over the already retreating crowd.
"And after the duel?"
Kuan Niu was only interacting with Liang Chen because of Qisui and the duel she wanted to have with him. Once that duel was done and they went their separate ways, why would either of them bother with the other again? And sure enough, Kuan Niu took the stance that Liang Chen had expected him to.
"The strong feast on the weak and keep the circle of life going, such is the justice of nature and life. I'm already interfering by protecting you for a week, going any further would be going directly against my own ideals."
Liang Chen's lips twisted slightly as he listened to Kuan Niu, his spear appearing in his grasp while Yumao slithered out from Liang Chen's shadow.
"Yeah, as I thought, you people really do make me sick."
The previous justice title-holder that Liang Chen had met was exactly the same, their sense of justice had also been so strange that Liang Chen found it rather revolting. But just finding his sense of justice revolting wasn't enough for Liang Chen to start a battle.
No, the reason he had to fight was that he really couldn't afford to wait a week, he really couldn't give the Sky-Piercing Sparrow that much time to gather people here. If he did, he would likely just die the moment the duel ended.
Kuan Niu's expression changed slightly, almost turning into one of cold indifference as the air around him started to distort faintly due to his energy. Yumao expanded his size somewhat, flapping his wings and soaring into the sky while laughing mockingly.
"Hehe, Father, didn't you previously get the title of Lord of Heaven Incinerating Wrath? I'd say that's a pretty stark contrast to the Heaven Embracing trashcan here, you think it's always been your destiny to trash him and send him crying home to mommy?"
They were words that didn't have any home in a serious battle like this, both Liang Chen and Kuan Niu's eyebrows twitching for a short second after Yumao spoke out. Liang Chen slowly let out a long breath as he tightened the grasp on his weapon, muttering in a low voice as he focused his mind on the battle.
"...I'll spank her... I swear that I'm going to spank her, first thing I'll do when I see her again."
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