Chapter 235: Jiang Yun Emerges from Seclusion!
The fire lotus was devoured. Tuo She Ancient Emperor's ears echoed with Jiang Yun's contemptuous, disdainful words. His face went blank and stunned. He opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing. A bitter, wry smile appeared on his face.
A long while later, he looked at Jiang Yun before him and sighed heavily, "So be it. My mission... is finally coming to an end..." His tone carried a faint sense of release and liberation.
No matter the outcome, he had ultimately completed the final affairs entrusted to him by Tuo She Ancient Emperor upon his departure. A miraculous sense of relief and freedom also arose in his heart.
Thinking back now to when Jiang Yun had first entered and their exchange, Tuo She Ancient Emperor's heart was still filled with a sense of amazement and regret.
Jiang Yun had entered this inheritance space as early as the battle at the Ancient Emperor's Mansion. He could have relied on his formidable, overwhelming strength to forcibly seize and plunder everything. But later, upon learning that Tuo She Ancient Emperor still held information regarding the Myriad Flame Great Emperor, he suppressed the thought of forcible seizure in his heart and made a wager with him.
The wager was on the outcome between Yun Yi and Xiao Yan. Judging from the result... it seemed he was still a level above.
"I truly wanted to see whether you could break through to that level... But now, it seems there's no chance!" Tuo She Ancient Emperor looked at his own body, which was beginning to turn illusory and ethereal, and sighed regretfully.
When he had broken through to Dou Di back then, he had also stopped merely at the Heavenly Sovereign level. Ultimately, he hadn't broken through that layer of heavenly barrier. As for whether Tuo She Ancient Emperor had succeeded after going to the higher realm, he had no way of knowing.
At least, within the memories left in this place, Tuo She Ancient Emperor had not crossed that layer of barrier. So, not seeing Jiang Yun's final result, a trace of regret lingered in his heart.
What emotions of sighing and regret Tuo She Ancient Emperor felt, Jiang Yun did not know. At this moment, he was completely immersed within the vast, enormous energy inside his body.
The instant that flame lotus seed had entered his body just now, Jiang Yun's body had immediately turned flushed and red. The boundless, majestic energy spread through his body at a terrifying speed.
In practically just the blink of an eye, the meridians within Jiang Yun's body were already bulging, stuffed full by this energy. A greedy, craving sensation transmitted from his meridians.
Jiang Yun dared not be negligent. Controlling the Saint Demon Flame within his body, his cultivation method circulated madly, absorbing the boundless, majestic energy inside him.
As he entered a state of cultivation, his body gradually sank, submerging beneath the five-colored magma.
Boom!
The five-colored magma immediately surged with great waves. Terrifying energy fluctuations spread to every corner of this space. Even slightly weaker Dou Shengs coming here would be devoured by the extremely pure origin energy.
With Jiang Yun at the center, the magma began to spin. A whirlpool rapidly condensed and took shape. Vast amounts of origin energy poured towards Jiang Yun.
In no time at all, Jiang Yun's body was completely obscured by the energy mist dispersing from within him. As time passed, the concentration of the energy mist grew higher and higher. Finally, it formed a resonance with the energy inside Jiang Yun's body, coalescing into an energy cocoon that shimmered and glowed faintly.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye. Jiang Yun sensed that the power within his body was gradually approaching a certain limit. Then, at a certain moment, it transcended this limit.
Within the heart of the stone statue, the previously dense and rich Emperor's Origin had now completely vanished. Simultaneously, "Tuo She Ancient Emperor" had similarly disappeared.
As the origin energy was exhausted, he completely lost his support and dissipated between heaven and earth.
"Little Medical Fairy jie-jie! Tuo She Ancient Emperor's stone statue has vanished!"
"Jiang Yun ge-ge..."
The Little Medical Fairy and Qing Lin, who had been keeping watch over Jiang Yun the entire time, saw the stone statue disappear. Qing Lin immediately let out a cry of alarm. Deep worry appeared in her beautiful eyes.
"Qing Lin, trust in Jiang Yun. He will succeed..." The Little Medical Fairy forced herself to calm down, refusing to think of the worst possible outcome. She looked at Qing Lin and spoke softly.
Just as the Little Medical Fairy's words fell, suddenly, a dense, rich Emperor's might spread to every corner. The spatial force was bowing its head to him. Even the dust motes in the space were bowing their heads to him. An aura akin to the supreme sovereign of heaven and earth rippled forth.
"This is..." Sensing this pressure, the Little Medical Fairy and Qing Lin paid no heed to their physical discomfort. They looked with surprise and delight towards the place from which that pressure was emanating.
"Jiang Yun! He succeeded!"
The Emperor's might came quickly and left just as fast. In the next instant, the two women's eyes blurred. Jiang Yun's figure slowly appeared before them.
"Jiang Yun ge-ge! Congratulations on becoming a Dou Di!"
Seeing Jiang Yun, Qing Lin and the Little Medical Fairy immediately stepped forward with joy and delight, wrapping their arms around his. Smiling beautifully and charmingly, they spoke.
"Alright. It's time to bring matters to a close!" Jiang Yun felt the softness between his arms and smiled gently.
Having spoken, his two arms each wrapped around a slender waist, embracing them left and right. The figures of the three gradually began to blur within this space.
The Central Plains. Upon the devastation-riddled earth, an evil qi so dense and rich it was nearly tangible continuously spread outwards in all directions.
In the sky, there was still an enormous grand array. Ceaselessly, blood-red crimson light converged towards the center of the array.
Every time the crowd saw that blood-red radiance flash, they could only feel their hearts pound with terror. Behind each and every one of those rays of light... lay the fall of countless living beings.
Peak experts such as Dou Shengs could faintly sense that the aura of that annihilating, destructive figure within the grand array was rapidly swelling and expanding, reaching a realm beyond their ability to perceive or predict.
Countless people secretly exchanged glances. In their eyes was unconcealable terror and fear.
No one knew when that sudden catastrophe would fall upon their heads.
"The Dou Qi Continent... nearly half of it has already been polluted. When that happens..." Xiao Yan raised his head and gazed at the sky above with an extremely grave, solemn expression, slowly speaking.
At his side, Gu Xun'er supported Xiao Yan, her face full of heartache and concern. Currently, Xiao Yan's soul and body were severely damaged, nearly crippled. Were it not for the endless emergence of high-level alchemists within the alliance, with no shortage of ninth-tier pills, Xiao Yan wouldn't even be able to stand right now.
"What will happen then?" Gu Yuan looked at Xiao Yan and couldn't help but ask aloud.
By now, everyone already knew the reason why Xiao Yan's strength had suddenly skyrocketed.
It turned out he had been chosen by the Plane Spirit and was about to become the Plane Lord. With the help of the Plane Spirit, it was no wonder Xiao Yan's strength had increased so rapidly and fiercely.
Envy—there was certainly envy. That was the Plane Lord, after all! Didn't they see how desperately those Extraterritorial Evil Demons coveted the Plane Spirit?
But that was all in the past now. Now that Xiao Yan had been forcibly kicked out of the plane space by Yun Yi, he no longer had the chance to become the Plane Lord. Now it was their turn to worry about the Plane Spirit falling into the hands of Yun Yi, that Extraterritorial Evil Demon.
Thus, hearing Xiao Yan speak at this moment, everyone couldn't help but look towards him. After all, things like the Plane Spirit and Plane Lord—they were all hearing about them for the first time. It was an unknown realm. The secrets and esoteric knowledge within it still depended on Xiao Yan, the person who had deeply interacted with the other party, to explain.
"The Plane Spirit naturally rejects and repels outsiders. For them to gain the Plane Spirit's recognition is practically harder than ascending to heaven," Xiao Yan drew a deep breath, looked at the crowd, and slowly spoke.
"Then is there no way at all?" Zi Yan furrowed her delicate brows slightly and couldn't help but ask aloud. She knew Jiang Yun's origins—he was also an outsider. Didn't that mean he had no chance either?
"Not necessarily..." Looking at Zi Yan, Xiao Yan withdrew his gaze. He also knew Jiang Yun's origins. He recalled the scene he had witnessed when he first made contact with the Plane Spirit. Back then, compared to Jiang Yun, he had indeed been far too lacking.
If it were about becoming the Plane Lord, Jiang Yun was indeed more suitable than him. Yet the Plane Spirit had still chosen him.
This was precisely the Plane Spirit's malice towards outsiders.
"For an outsider to gain the Plane Spirit's recognition, the only way is to make a great contribution within the plane and earn Its recognition. There is also another method: forcibly pollute this continent to compel the other party to submit. Yun Yi is currently using this method."
Hearing Xiao Yan's words, the crowd couldn't help but shudder and shiver.
"Doesn't that mean, once this demonic qi pollutes more than half of the territory, the Plane Spirit will lose the ability to resist?!" Yao Chen glanced at the demonic qi, which was slowly and steadily advancing, and turned pale with horror.
"Mm!" Xiao Yan looked at his own esteemed teacher and nodded with difficulty.
Hearing this, everyone's expressions immediately became heavy and grim. Could it be that they could only wait for death?!
"Right! Where has Jiang Yun gone?!" Just as everyone was falling into despair, Gu Xun'er suddenly looked at Zi Yan, Medusa, and the others with a burning, intense gaze and asked.
Swish!
Hearing Gu Xun'er's words, a light of hope suddenly erupted in everyone's eyes. They couldn't help but look in unison towards the Ancient Dragon Clan's camp.
Yes! Jiang Yun was a person from the higher realm! He definitely had a way! At the very least, he should have a method to leave the Dou Qi Continent!
No matter the outcome, it was still a way out. It was better than sitting and waiting for death.
Facing the inquiring gazes of the crowd, Medusa and Zi Yan exchanged a glance. After pondering for a moment, Zi Yan spoke in a deep voice, "Xiao Yun received the Ancient Emperor's Inheritance. There's still no news of him emerging from seclusion!"
"The Ancient Emperor's Inheritance—"
One exclamation of shock after another rang out among the allied forces. The crowd listened to this news with astonishment. They had originally wondered why Jiang Yun was absent from this great battle. So it turned out he had received the Ancient Emperor's inheritance!
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck Gu Yuan. He recalled the Ancient Dragon Clan's behavior back at the Ancient Emperor's Mansion and couldn't help but cry out in shock, "It was that stone statue of Tuo She Ancient Emperor back then! There was an Ancient Emperor's Inheritance within it!"
Hearing the regret in Gu Yuan's voice, everyone's hearts couldn't help but fill with a wave of bitter regret. No one had imagined that within the Ancient Emperor's space, besides the Emperor-grade Prototype Pill, there was actually something even more precious!
Many people realized in hindsight—no wonder the Ancient Dragon Clan had acted so domineeringly and forcefully back then.
Quite a few gazes swept past Zi Yan and Medusa, looking towards Zhu Kun, who stood silently to the side. Their hearts couldn't help but feel envy towards Jiang Yun.
This news of the Ancient Emperor's Inheritance, so critically important—Hun Tiandi, who had obtained Tuo She Ancient Emperor's Jade, didn't know of it. Their ancient imperial clans didn't know of it. In their view, the only one in the current world who knew was Zhu Kun—the Old Dragon Emperor of the Taixu Ancient Dragons, who was more ancient than any of them.
"Hmph!" Seeing everyone's gazes, Zhu Kun couldn't help but snort coldly, saying, "Did you think the Ancient Emperor's Inheritance would be so easy to obtain?! Back at the Ancient Emperor's Mansion, the stone statue was right before your eyes, yet none of you sensed it. That only proves you are not fated with the Ancient Emperor's Inheritance."
Hearing this, Xiao Yan's heart couldn't help but stir. Back then, he hadn't been completely without sensation! It seemed that had been a reaction to the Ancient Emperor's Inheritance, only he hadn't understood the profound mystery within it at the time.
Taking a deep breath and dispelling the feeling of regret in his heart, Xiao Yan looked at the crowd and said, "It seems we can only hope that Big Brother Jiang Yun is quick... otherwise..."
Xiao Yan didn't finish the rest of his words. But everyone knew what he meant. For a time, the atmosphere was one of silence.
Boom—
Just at that moment, from within that void space, layer upon layer of dazzling, brilliant flames suddenly surged forth violently. The flames came from no one knew where. Everywhere they passed along the way, that endless demonic qi was utterly incinerated into nothingness amidst the churning, roiling flames.
Simultaneously, a dense, heavy pressure spread from the horizon across the entire Dou Qi Continent.
Instantly, everyone in the allied forces couldn't help but raise their heads towards the sky with surprise and joy. Every heart throbbed and pounded with emotion!
As those who had personally experienced the auras of Hun Tiandi and Tuo She Ancient Emperor, they knew: this kind of aura... only a Dou Di expert could possess it!
Coupled with what Zi Yan had just said, they couldn't suppress the delighted surprise in their hearts.
"It's Xiao Yun! He succeeded!" Zi Yan instantly cried out in pleasant surprise, raising her beautiful eyes to look towards that sea of fire, searching for the familiar figure within it.
Seeing this, the corner of Medusa's lips also curled into a breathtakingly beautiful, stirring smile. Her eyes gentle and tender, she looked in the same direction as Zi Yan.
"That stinking brat! At least he's not too late!" Zhu Kun, seeing this, wore a smile on his face, yet his mouth showed no mercy as he cursed with a laugh.
Swish! Blurred figures flashed before everyone's eyes. Qing Lin and the Little Medical Fairy appeared right beside Medusa and Zi Yan. Seeing the two women, the certainty in Zhu Kun and the others' hearts grew even firmer. It was Jiang Yun! He had broken through to Dou Di!
"You fellows are still as detestable as ever. Today, with me here, you will not succeed..." The sky-covering flames churned and roiled. Finally, they transformed into a figure whose entire body was shrouded in dazzling, brilliant flames. Jiang Yun gazed at the blood-red array and spoke with a righteous, solemn expression.
In the sky, the originally howling, roaring demonic qi was suppressed by those flames and became somewhat calmer. As Jiang Yun's words fell, a ray of demonic light drooped down. Within that demonic light, Yun Yi's figure slowly materialized.
He looked at Jiang Yun and finally sighed, saying, "I didn't expect you to actually obtain the Ancient Emperor's Inheritance. At the final moment... it is you once again standing in my way."
"As expected, compared to these ants of the Lower Planes... only you, who hails from the Great Thousand World, are qualified to be my opponent!"
"Speaking of which, you should be thanking me, shouldn't you?"
Looking at Yun Yi ahead, who wore a smile on his face, Jiang Yun's heart stirred. He sneered, "Thank you?"
"This world does not belong to you lot. Wherever you came from... go back there," Jiang Yun's eyes drooped slightly as he spoke coldly and indifferently.
"Don't jump to conclusions so easily. If I hadn't pushed the Dou Qi Continent to such a desperate, dire state... would you have had even the slightest chance of gaining the Plane Seed's recognition?" Yun Yi paid absolutely no mind to Jiang Yun's attitude and spoke to himself.
"Don't tell me you haven't set your sights on the Plane Seed. This is the shortcut to Heavenly Sovereign. No one would refuse such a destined opportunity!"
Having finished, Yun Yi looked at Jiang Yun with smiling eyes, an expression as if to say 'we are the same kind of person.'
And during Yun Yi's speech, Jiang Yun couldn't help but divert a portion of his mind and spirit, beginning to once again communicate with the Plane Seed.
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Thanks for reading the chapter!
I started a new translation and I would be very happy if you decided to check out my new translation story. It's a crossover of Toaru and One Piece... Well, the only Toaru element here is one cute Misaka. This is all that came of my desire to translate a Toaru fanfic, but I'm not complaining—even though I've only just started reading and translating it, I'm really enjoying the story. It has plenty of slice-of-life elements, and the pacing is quite slow and detailed. It's written in a sweet, positive way—at least for now. There likely won't be any romance, as there were no tags indicating such, but I won't say for sure until I've finished reading it myself. I'd recommend it to those who aren't craving violence, carnage, or excessive cruelty. In my opinion, it's a worthwhile story, though it's definitely a matter of personal taste—especially since the protagonist is a girl, which isn't everyone's cup of tea (though it doesn't really matter for now—at least as of 30+ chapters in, Misaka is still 6 years old). Anyway, I hope you enjoy this story as much as I do.
One Piece: Railgun Misaka Misaka https://www.webnovel.com/book/one-piece-railgun-misaka-misaka_37195209600636405