Chapter 236: The One in the Shadows!
Jiang Yun's consciousness traveled with practiced ease into the plane space. He looked at the Primal Chaos Light ahead, a look of absolute determination flashing in his eyes.
The Plane Spirit remained quietly in the Primal Chaos Sea, sinking and floating. Within that Primal Chaos Light, it seemed as if endless life force was contained. That vast, mighty life force was intoxicating and mesmerizing.
With every pulse of the Plane Spirit, the entire plane trembled in response.
When it inhaled, winds and clouds gathered, tides surged and receded, the sun rose and the moon set...
However, compared to the last time Jiang Yun had seen It, this time, It wasn't doing so well!
On this Primal Chaos Light Sphere, some blood-red threads had climbed and coiled. Those blood-red threads wrapped around it like bone-burrowing parasites, making the Primal Chaos Light Sphere appear extremely discordant and disharmonious.
Although all of this had been orchestrated and manipulated by Jiang Yun himself, his heart felt not the slightest trace of shame or guilt.
With Jiang Yun's arrival, an anxious, urgent consciousness rang out in his mind: "Demonic... demonic qi... needs to be... ground away and extinguished..."
Jiang Yun watched this scene coldly from the sidelines. The hazy, indistinct consciousness rang out once more: "Protect heaven and earth... resolve and eliminate all invaders of this world... you may attempt to refine..."
Hearing the Plane Spirit's intent echo in his mind, Jiang Yun's face revealed a cold sneer. This fellow truly wouldn't release the hawk until it saw the rabbit!
The Plane Seed was also a unique, peculiar kind of living being. As a living being, it would naturally yearn for freedom. It would not acknowledge a master until it was at the very end of its rope, with no other options left. Even less would it acknowledge an outsider as its master.
Thus, one must not easily trust the messages sent out by the Plane Seed/Spirit. This could very well be Its bait.
On the neighboring Tianxuan Continent, the Symbol Ancestor had believed the honeyed lies of the Tianxuan Plane Spirit. He had believed that as long as he collected enough Origin Spirit Light, he could gain the Plane Spirit's recognition.
But the outcome... had not been as he wished.
With the Symbol Ancestor's past failure as a lesson right before his eyes, Jiang Yun would absolutely not do something so thankless and demanding yet unrewarding—wasting more than half his life resolving the Dou Qi Continent's crisis, only to ultimately receive no recognition whatsoever.
From the very beginning, he had formulated the most domineering and tyrannical plan, leaving the Plane Spirit with no choice.
Having made up his mind, from deep within the plane space, Yun Yi's figure also slowly walked over. With his arrival, rolling demonic qi swept forth. Within the plane space, Primal Chaos Light blazed brilliantly, resisting the encroachment and erosion of the demonic qi.
"I will help you drive out the Extraterritorial Evil Clan and let this world overcome its crisis. However... I need your power," Jiang Yun had no intention of dragging this out any longer. He looked at the Plane Spirit and directly stated his purpose.
As Jiang Yun's words fell, the Plane Spirit seemed to tremble slightly. Yet, It still showed no reaction or movement.
Seeing this, Jiang Yun understood. Because he was not a person of the Dou Qi Continent, this Plane Spirit was also somewhat resistant and opposed. If it were Xiao Yan standing here instead, he would probably have long since obtained Its help.
Even Medusa, Zi Yan, the Little Medical Fairy, or Qing Lin would have had more of an advantage than Jiang Yun.
Faced with this situation, Yun Yi understood perfectly as well. He appropriately intensified the force of the demonic qi's encroachment. The Plane Spirit seemed to sense this. The Primal Chaos Light around It couldn't help but intensify and grow stronger.
"Refusing a toast only to drink a forfeit!"
Seeing this, Jiang Yun also lost his patience for this back-and-forth tug-of-war. He snorted coldly, sat down cross-legged, and the Saint Demon Flame within his body erupted with a thunderous boom. Rolling, surging white flames transformed into a flame dragon that swept towards the Plane Spirit.
On the opposite side, black mist surged. A black dragon similarly rolled and tumbled forth. Judging by outward appearance alone, the forms of the two dragons were practically identical. Yet, their internal properties were diametrically opposite.
These two diametrically opposite properties, however, wondrously and ingeniously combined together, producing some peculiar, mystical connection that elevated their power to an even higher level.
"Buzz—"
Sensing the actions of the two, the Plane Spirit trembled even more violently. At this moment, how could It not know that Jiang Yun and Yun Yi were in cahoots—that the current state of the Dou Qi Continent had been caused by Jiang Yun?!
It naturally wanted to erupt with the most intense, fierce resistance!
The Plane Spirit erupted with ten-thousand-zhang Primal Chaos Light. Within the primal chaos, it seemed as if immortal, celestial sounds arose. Faintly, within the entire primal chaos, the shadows of billions upon billions of living beings appeared.
"Hmph—" Seeing this, Jiang Yun and Yun Yi snorted coldly together, simultaneously rebuking, "Only realizing now? It's already too late!"
As their voices fell, with a mere thought from Jiang Yun, the Saint Demon Flame instantly merged perfectly into one. An exceptionally profound and abstruse Yin-Yang Taiji Diagram appeared within this plane space, pressing down with crushing, suppressing force towards the Plane Spirit below.
Within some unknown space, a pair of deep, profound eyes slowly opened. Their owner watched the scene of Jiang Yun and Yun Yi locked in struggle. The corner of his mouth immediately curled into a smug, self-satisfied smile.
Fight on... fight on... This plane's Plane Seed... he would accept it without standing on ceremony!
Imagining the scene after he obtained the Plane Seed and advanced to the Demon Emperor level, the newcomer's mood immediately became exceptionally elated and joyful.
"Hahaha..." Towards the end, the other could no longer contain the excitement in his heart. Unrestrained, hearty laughter echoed throughout this mysterious space.
Immediately after, the other wiped a hand across. He then silently and stealthily headed towards the interior of the Dou Qi Continent. The entire process was utterly without hindrance or obstruction.
It must be known that for an outsider to enter this plane, they would naturally face rejection and repulsion. Yet now, this other party actually showed not the slightest abnormality or reaction. It seemed the Plane Spirit was indeed too preoccupied to attend to other matters, with no more energy left to oversee and monitor the Dou Qi Continent.
As the young man entered the Dou Qi Continent, within the plane space, Jiang Yun and Yun Yi, who sat cross-legged, felt their tightly shut eyes twitch slightly. In the next second, the two of them once again fell completely silent and calm, continuing their 'friendly exchange' with the Plane Seed.
Meanwhile, within the plane space, Jiang Yun and Yun Yi were jointly dealing with the Plane Spirit. In the outside world, under the watchful eyes of the crowd, what they saw was Jiang Yun advancing step by step towards the grand array where Yun Yi was.
"Boom—"
Terrifying fluctuations erupted from within Yun Yi's body. A pitch-black great halberd spanned the sky. Upon the halberd's shaft flowed and overflowed with terrifying power.
A pressure, as if transcending and reigning above this stretch of heaven and earth, spread forth, causing the bodies of countless experts of the Dou Qi Continent below to tremble with a mixture of emotion and excitement.
Jiang Yun pressed his palms together. Pure, white flames swept forth from within him, transforming into a longsword. Wielding the longsword, Jiang Yun abruptly slashed towards Yun Yi.
Instantly, that ten-thousand-zhang stretch of space completely collapsed. Terrifying force, sufficient to crush even a peak expert at the nine-star Dou Sheng level into fragments, swarmed forth.
Bang! Bang!
Where the two terrifying attacks passed, space utterly shattered and burst apart. Black fissures rapidly spread across the sky.
Thud! Thud!
Heaven and earth trembled at this moment. That kind of clash could no longer be described merely as terrifying. Just the overflowing, spilling terrifying energy alone was enough to make those Dou Sheng experts turn ashen pale. They understood that with their strength, if they were even slightly grazed by it, they would likely face the utter destruction of both body and soul.
High above in the nine heavens, two figures of light, permeated with terrifying, oppressive might, each wielded horrifying power, viciously colliding head-on. With each exchange between the two, the space rapidly shattered and burst apart.
Between heaven and earth, fierce gales raged. The heavens trembled, the earth quaked—a scene like the apocalypse.
Both Jiang Yun and Yun Yi had reached the peak realm of this world—the Dou Di realm. The heaven-and-earth power of the Dou Qi Continent was theirs to command at will. Thus, even though the two clashed madly, they still showed not the slightest sign of fatigue or exhaustion.
Clang!
The longsword, blazing with pure white flames, swept forth with sky-high, torrential brilliance, then collided with lightning speed against that demonic halberd. The eyes of both men turned icy cold and fiercely sharp in that instant. Dazzling, brilliant light and demonic qi surged madly behind them.
Roar!
Behind Jiang Yun, dazzling, brilliant light coalesced madly, actually transforming into a purple-gold Dragon-Phoenix several hundred thousand zhang in size. The Dragon-Phoenix soared and danced, roaring long towards the heavens. That dragon's cry almost resounded in every corner of heaven and earth.
Yun Yi, unwilling to be outdone, similarly had a sky-high demonic shadow materialize behind him. That demonic shadow was in no way smaller than the Dragon-Phoenix. Its entire body was covered with countless demonic arms. In the palm of each demonic hand was a chilling, terrifying mouth, flickering with cruel, savage luster.
Bang!
The two charged fiercely towards each other, clashing head-on in the sky. An indescribable, unimaginable fluctuation swept outwards. The earth of the Central Plains below was instantly blasted into ten-thousand-zhang waves of stone and rock, which then spread out with a thunderous, rumbling roar.
Energy ripples swept out from the collision between the two. Both figures shuddered and retreated explosively several hundred zhang. With each step they took as they landed, that patch of space was forcibly trampled into pieces.
"If we keep fighting like this, who do you think will be the first to determine victory or defeat—us, or the Dou Qi Continent, which will collapse first?" Yun Yi looked at Jiang Yun with a cold, indifferent expression.
Hearing his words, the crowd below was instantly jolted in terror. They looked at the devastated, scarred earth all around them, their hearts unable to stop trembling.
"Then I'll just have to resolve and eliminate you!" Jiang Yun, hearing the other's words, seemed to prepare to use some secret technique. His expression was unprecedentedly solemn and grave.
Hearing this, Yun Yi's palm, gripping the long halberd, slowly clenched tighter. Within his eyes, cold light surged. Terrifying demonic qi swept forth from within his body.
In the next instant, Jiang Yun's entire body was shrouded in a layer of pure white gauzy clothing. He stomped his foot. The void beneath his feet collapsed. His figure, however, transformed into a beam of flowing light. With a single flicker, he appeared before Yun Yi.
A purple-gold fist descended with annihilating, destructive force. Space collapsed inch by inch, like shattering glass.
Facing Jiang Yun's such domineering and tyrannical offensive, Yun Yi showed no weakness whatsoever. Devouring power enveloped his fist, clashing ferociously and fearlessly against Jiang Yun's purple-gold fist.
Thud!
A deep, low sound resounded. The surrounding space sank and depressed along with it, as if battered into collapse by the terrifying force of the two.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
In mid-air, the low, deep sounds of collision rang out. The two figures entangled together. Their speed was extremely fast. Bystanders simply couldn't clearly see the situation of the exchange. They could only know the intensity of the battle from the wave after wave of shockwaves that raged and spread madly outwards.
On the Dou Qi Continent, numerous gazes stared dumbfounded and stupefied at the two figures locked in entangled combat. No one had imagined that this battle would reach such a degree of white-hot intensity...
"This Yun Yi is indeed terrifying! Even that brat Jiang Yun can't take him down!" Zhu Kun watched the clash in the sky with shock and awe, speaking in a tone tinged with surprise.
In his impression, Jiang Yun was still the synonym for an eternal, monstrous genius—an invincible existence among the younger generation.
No matter how much Jiang Yun and the others had emphasized Yun Yi earlier, Zhu Kun had been solemn on the surface, but in his heart, he had dismissed it. The most monstrous genius he had already seen. No matter how formidable this Yun Yi was, could he possibly surpass Jiang Yun?
Impossible!
He never expected that the moment Yun Yi appeared on the scene, he would bring him such enormous shock. Compared to Jiang Yun, Yun Yi was even more indifferent and detached, viewing all living beings as ants. Life and death were entirely at the other's whim and a single thought.
And now, he was even fighting Jiang Yun to such a degree. This was an extremely dangerous individual.
What kind of person is the most terrifying? One with no taboos or scruples whatsoever. Even more so when this person with no taboos or scruples was also a peak, unparalleled genius.
"Who says Xiao Yun isn't his match?! Don't you see that Yun Yi has already fallen into a disadvantage?!" Zi Yan, hearing Zhu Kun praise Yun Yi and even compare him alongside Jiang Yun, immediately became displeased. Pointing at the sky, she earnestly and seriously corrected Zhu Kun.
"Although Yun Yi is terrifying... Big Brother Jiang Yun absolutely holds the 'home-field advantage'!" Xiao Yan's eyesight now was incomparably terrifying. Coupled with the fact that he knew the inside story concerning the Plane Spirit, he was exceptionally clear about the difference between the two.
Hearing Xiao Yan's words, the crowd subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief in their hearts. Although Jiang Yun and Yun Yi had the same goal—both were eyeing their divine artifact—compared to Yun Yi, Jiang Yun naturally gave them a much better feeling.
In the void, Jiang Yun repelled Yun Yi with a single punch. His hands slowly closed together. The energy tide around his entire body immediately surged and churned over. No, it could no longer be called an energy tide, but a vast, boundless ocean.
As the hand seals in his hands changed, the energy ocean beneath his feet began to churn and roil madly at this moment. It seemed as if endless sacred light spread from beneath his feet, covering the energy ocean for a radius of several thousand li.
"Great Hand Seal of Life and Death!"
Jiang Yun's low, deep voice slowly rang out.
Hua-la!
The sea's surface was abruptly torn apart at this moment. Then, everyone watched in shock as a giant hand, covered with ancient runes and symbols, slowly extended from within that great sea, carrying a boundless, infinite life force.
When this ancient giant hand appeared, beneath its palm, it seemed as if even space and time were frozen solid.
Bystanders couldn't perceive the terror of this palm strike of Jiang Yun's. But Zhu Kun, Gu Yuan, and Xiao Yan—as peak nine-star Dou Shengs extremely close to the Dou Di level—could see the seemingly infinite, boundless, majestic death qi hidden beneath its terrifying life force.
"How did he do it..."
Witnessing this move of Jiang Yun's firsthand, a deep, profound question appeared in the minds of Xiao Yan, Zhu Kun, and Gu Yuan. To so perfectly combine the two diametrically opposite and mutually opposing laws of life force and death qi—in the eyes of the three, this was simply a fantastical tale, a pipedream.
Rumble!
The energy sea surged violently. A sacred and ancient giant hand burst forth from beneath the sea's surface, shattering water. With a single grab, it pulverized space and directly seized towards Yun Yi.
Under the coverage of its shadow, it seemed as if even the void itself was frozen solid, completely blockading all of Yun Yi's escape routes.
"Devouring Gate!"
Yun Yi similarly sensed the terror of this giant energy hand. He immediately let out a great, furious roar. His palm heavily slapped the void before him. Pitch-black demonic flames surged forth violently, directly transforming into a dark portal a thousand zhang in size. Upon that portal, it seemed as if there were extremely ferocious, malevolent demonic idols.
"Boom!"
Under countless watchful gazes, the two collided fearlessly and ferociously. A terrifying energy storm madly rippled and spread out from high in the sky, wantonly sweeping and raging towards all directions.
Bang—
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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