Volume 1 Volume 6 Chapter 152

Volume 6 Chapter 152: The End of an Era (Part 2)

"It seems that the other eight stone statues are waiting for us in this tunnel."

At first, it was thought that after defeating those eight stone statues, the other eight would appear right away, but after waiting for a long time, they still did not show up, Immortal Zizhen said coldly.

"What should we do? This cave, although wide, cannot hold too many people. The ‘All Immortals Formation’ cannot be set up inside, and if those eight stone statues are truly lying in wait inside, this narrow space is not good for us either."

Mr. Liu frowned and said.

"So what do you think we should do? Should we not go in? Isn’t this exactly what the Shura Clan wants? They want to hold us back. If we stay here waiting, it will only allow them to regain their strength. Compared to the eight stone statues, the Shura Clan, fully restored, will be much stronger."

Immortal Zizhen’s brows were furrowed even tighter than Mr. Liu’s.

While the two were discussing, the other masters also hurried over. Looking at the deep cave before them, they all frowned. Although there were many ideas, none of them seemed possible after discussing.

"So, does this mean we must break in?" Master Bo Guangyan said helplessly.

Scholar Buxing sighed and said, "If only we could force those eight stone statues out."

…

While everyone was discussing, Mr. Liu seemed to think of something. He turned to look at Zhang Xusheng, who was smiling and standing nearby, showing no signs of worry, as if he had a plan.

Mr. Liu asked, "Taoist Friend Zhang, do you have any suggestions?"

Zhang Xusheng said, "In fact, even if we get rid of the remaining stone statues, we still face a difficult problem. The Shura Clan has at least a hundred members, all of whom were the strongest from tens of thousands of years ago. More than half of them are stronger than masters. Back then, how did we deal with the Shura Clan? Just by going deep into the cave? But without the ‘All Immortals Formation’ to help, we cannot compete with the Shura Clan. What Taoist Friend Buxing just said was actually the right answer. Since staying here is too dangerous, let’s force out all those stone statues and the Shura Clan together."

Scholar Buxing, however, did not appreciate it and instead sneered, "You speak nicely, but how do we force out those stone sculptures and the remnants of the Shura Clan? Do you have a solution?"

Zhang Xusheng shook his head and said, "I only have half of a solution, and this solution is not complete. Although it is effective, you will certainly not agree to it."

"What do you mean by only having half of a solution?"

Hearing Zhang Xusheng’s words, all the masters asked curiously, but Zhang Xusheng just smiled silently, looking at Immortal Zizhen and Mr. Liu. The Righteous Alliance had many skilled fighters, but they still needed these two to make a decision.

Immortal Zizhen and Mr. Liu exchanged glances and could both see the caution in each other’s eyes. Zhang Xusheng’s statement clearly hinted that there would be some conditions they might find hard to accept.

Immortal Zizhen said, "Taoist Friend Zhang, what are your conditions? Please tell us, whether it’s possible or not, we will discuss it naturally."

Upon hearing Immortal Zizhen’s words, Zhang Xusheng sighed, and his usually calm face showed a painful expression, just like every time he asked Mr. Liu to give up a precious magic treasure.

Then, Zhang Xusheng took out a small demon beast egg from his sleeve, about the size of a little finger. The demon beast egg was dark gray and covered in dark blue spots, with no signs of life, as if its vitality had long since faded.

Everyone was curious why Zhang Xusheng would bring out an obviously lifeless demon beast egg, but when their gazes turned to the egg, they couldn’t help but let out surprised gasps.

According to reason, the masters of the Righteous Alliance are all knowledgeable. When fourteen of them gather together, it can be said without exaggeration that there is nothing in the world that they do not recognize. Yet, no one could identify the demon beast egg in Zhang Xusheng’s hand.

Mr. Liu frowned and asked, "Taoist Friend Zhang, do you know what kind of demon beast this egg belongs to? What is the purpose of showing this already dead demon beast egg?"

Zhang Xusheng sighed, seeming very reluctant to part with the demon beast egg, and asked, "Do you all know which is the strongest demon beast in the world?"

Immortal Zizhen didn’t understand why Zhang Xusheng asked this, but still answered, "If we include those Mythical Beasts, then the kylin is the strongest, and the Xuanwu is the most noble. But if we only talk about demon beasts, then it would be the Taotie, Six-eared Macaque, and the fully grown nine-tailed demon fox."

This answer was already the consensus in the cultivation world; however, upon hearing Immortal Zizhen’s response, Zhang Xusheng gently shook his head.

Everyone was slightly taken aback. Could it be that this answer was also wrong?

Zhang Xusheng explained, "You are certainly not mistaken, but your answers only account for events before ancient times. What about further back?"

Based on different periods of time, humans classify events from ten thousand years ago into three eras: the Ancient Era, the Distant Era, and the Ancient Age. The Ancient Age refers to the time when humans first gained intelligence and the Shura Clan unified the world. The Distant Era refers to the unstable time when the world was barren and lifeless. The Ancient Era, on the other hand, refers to the long stretch of time at the beginning of creation.

Upon hearing Zhang Xusheng’s reminder, everyone in the room was greatly shocked, their eyes showing incredible expressions.

Mr. Liu had a strong obsession with rare things throughout his life, and at this moment, he had lost some of his usual calmness. He first asked, "Is what you have in your hand the egg of the ‘Spirit Eater’?"

As Mr. Liu asked his question, everyone’s eyes turned toward Zhang Xusheng.

Zhang Xusheng nodded slightly, and everyone was shaken again.

"The ‘Spirit Eater’ naturally likes to absorb the Spirit Qi of the world; the more Spirit Qi there is in a place, the more it wants to move there. As it absorbs more Spirit Qi, its body will grow bigger. In this area, the place with the richest Spirit Qi is undoubtedly the blood pool where the Shura Clan gathers to recover their strength. If we can hatch this ‘Spirit Eater’, it will find its way to the blood pool. As its body keeps growing, the space inside the cave will keep shrinking. The Shura Clan will not be able to stay and will have to rush out of the cave, which is just what we want, right? I estimate that with the ‘Spirit Eater’s speed of evolution, it will fill the entire cave in just an hour."

Zhang Xusheng explained.

Zhang Xusheng was explaining to himself, not realizing that the masters around him, who usually remained calm even in dangerous situations, were now pale.

The "Spirit Eater", rather than being called a demon beast, is more like an ancient god. Humanity has never seen such a terrifying creature; the only reason they know of its existence is from the Shura Clan thousands of years ago.

According to legend, in ancient times, the Spirit Qi in the world was over a dozen times richer than it is now, and the first batch of creatures appeared, including the five great Mythical Beasts and the original Shura Clan. Among them, the most legendary was the "Spirit Eater." Although it appeared only once and there was only one, it was famous.

All beings in the world strive for their own evolution. Humanity’s practice of cultivation is a method of evolution as well. The "Spirit Eater," lacking wisdom, does not cultivate powers nor understand the Heavenly Way, yet it has developed its ability to evolve to the extreme. From the moment of its birth, it continuously absorbs the Spirit Qi of the world to grow and strengthen its body. After tens of thousands of years, this "Spirit Eater" grew to the size of half the Shenzhou Continent. Its movements shook the earth, causing great destruction to living beings. It not only drastically reduced the living space of other creatures but also absorbed more than half of the Spirit Qi from the Shenzhou Continent for its own evolution. This is why the Spirit Qi on the Shenzhou Continent is now so thin.

No one knows how the "Spirit Eater" ultimately disappeared. Some say it was killed by the Shura Clan and the five great Mythical Beasts, the first beings of the world. Others say its evolution reached its peak but strayed off course, ultimately leading to its self-destruction. However, one thing is certain: its power is undisputed.

People have always seen the "Spirit Eater" as a legendary myth, but they never expected it to truly exist, and its egg was in Zhang Xusheng’s hands.

"No way!"

After learning that the demon beast egg in Zhang Xusheng’s hand was actually the "Spirit Eater," Immortal Zizhen directly rejected the idea. Once the "Spirit Eater" hatches, it would sacrifice the world for its own evolution, posing a far greater threat than the Shura Clan. Immortal Zizhen would never agree to sacrifice innocent lives for temporary gain.

Just thinking about releasing the "Spirit Eater," which would soon grow as tall as a mountain, and in a few thousand years take up almost half of the Shenzhou Continent, filled Immortal Zizhen with fear.

Mr. Liu pondered, "Actually, this method might not be without merit."

"What?" Immortal Zizhen looked at Mr. Liu in disbelief, unable to comprehend his words. In his eyes, Mr. Liu should not be so shortsighted.

Mr. Liu explained, "The legend of the ‘Spirit Eater’ is certainly frightening, but let’s not forget that when the world’s Spirit Qi was many times stronger than it is now, the ‘Spirit Eater’ evolved so quickly. It cannot grow like that anymore. To reach that level again, it would take at least hundreds of thousands of years. Moreover, when the ‘Spirit Eater’ first developed, there were few beings in the world, and no one noticed its danger, allowing it to grow unchecked, which led to past events. But we are different; we already know the danger of the ‘Spirit Eater.’ If we force the Shura Clan to come out using it, we can then eliminate it. That is a feasible plan."

Although Mr. Liu’s reasoning made sense, the legend of the "Spirit Eater" was too terrifying, and Immortal Zizhen still hesitated.

"What you said is not wrong, but this ‘Spirit Eater’ is an ancient thing, and we do not understand its nature at all. If it has any strange qualities, we may not be able to defeat it. We should know that after the Shura Clan regains its strength, we still have some power to fight back, but if we cannot limit the growth of the ‘Spirit Eater,’ then we will be eternal sinners!"

Although Immortal Zizhen was not convinced by Mr. Liu, Scholar Buxing’s eyes sparkled as he said, "This could work. This creature evolves by absorbing the Spirit Qi of the world, and based on common sense, it fears the lack of Spirit Qi to absorb. After we finish, even if we cannot destroy it, we just need to seal off the space around it, creating an area without Spirit Qi. It will not only be unable to evolve but may also weaken and die."

As Scholar Buxing finished speaking, everyone nodded in agreement.

After thinking for a long time, Immortal Zizhen finally sighed and said, "Let’s do as you all said."

Zhang Xusheng then said, "Did you all not hear me earlier? I only have half a plan. This method, while effective, cannot be achieved just with the ‘Spirit Eater’ egg I have in my hands."

Hearing Zhang Xusheng’s words, everyone was taken aback.

Zhang Xusheng sighed and said, "For the ‘Spirit Eater egg’ to hatch, it must have the help of ‘Swelling Earth,’ but how precious is ‘Swelling Earth’? I do not have such a divine object!"

At the beginning of the world, the pure spirit energy rose and became the sky, while the Chaos Qi sank and formed the earth. Then, a trace of pure spirit energy mixed with Chaos Qi to form ‘Swelling Earth.’ It can be used to mend the sky above and fill the sea below, making it one of the most precious things in the world.

Zhang Xusheng sighed, but his gaze turned toward Mr. Liu.

Seeing Zhang Xusheng’s expression, all the masters suddenly understood and looked towards Mr. Liu.

"Swelling Earth" is so precious that it has only appeared two or three times in the cultivation world. If anyone here could possibly have "Swelling Earth," it would undoubtedly be Mr. Liu, the "Treasure Immortal."

As everyone focused their gaze on him, Mr. Liu couldn’t help but take a step back, his eyes flickering as if he were filled with struggle.

"Taoist Friend Liu…"

Immortal Zizhen called out.

"No, we should think of another way." At this moment, Mr. Liu’s expression was like that of the stingiest rich man guarding his wealth. "At worst, I’ll personally risk my life to lure out those stone sculptures and the Shura Clan. To be honest, I do have a small piece of ‘Swelling Earth,’ but it is a crucial item for my future breakthrough to the Soul Changing Stage, and I can’t just give it away!"

Mr. Liu spoke these words firmly, but Immortal Zizhen knew that Mr. Liu was not unreasonable. If he truly did not want to give up "Swelling Earth," he wouldn’t admit to having such a treasure. Moreover, he was simply trying to get the most benefit for himself; after all, "Swelling Earth" is so valuable that he couldn’t just let it go for free.

Immortal Zizhen sighed, "How about this? During the battle with the Southern Wasteland demon beasts, there were two heavenly-level demon beast carcasses that still need to be dealt with. Additionally, after the ‘Eight Wilderness Hall’ was eliminated, we obtained all their treasures, including the ‘Magic Suppression Tower’ and ‘Eight Wilderness Flag.’ My Qingxu lineage is willing to donate one of our treasures, the ‘Oceanaire Plate.’ This item, like ‘Swelling Earth,’ holds great truths of the universe. How about we gather all these together and trade them for ‘Swelling Earth’?"

The combined value of these items is actually greater than "Swelling Earth," but because "Swelling Earth" is a treasure vital to Mr. Liu’s path to immortality, Immortal Zizhen chose to offer a bit more.

Mr. Liu sneered, "Except for the ‘Oceanaire Plate’, everything else is the result of the Righteous Alliance’s hard work over the years. You really know how to take credit for others’ efforts."

Although he said that, Mr. Liu eventually took out the "Swelling Earth."

With a wave of his hand, a small piece of colorful soil floated in front of everyone. It seemed ordinary, yet it gave everyone an air of mystery.