Volume 1 Volume 7 Chapter 102

Volume 7 Chapter 102: Sacrifice and Escape

"Taoist friend, you came out quite early, didn’t you?"

"Yes, I was the first one to come out from the ‘Shura Training Realm.’"

"I never thought that with your skills and mindset, you would be the first to suffer such a defeat at the hands of your own."

"I did not lose, I won."

…

As soon as the words were spoken, everyone was shocked!

As Xu Qingfan went with Liu Ziqing and Wang Zegang to meet Mr. Liu and Immortal Zizhen, who had just returned defeated from the "Shura Training Realm," he happened to overhear the conversation between Mr. Liu and Zhang Xusheng.

Hearing Zhang Xusheng’s last sentence, Xu Qingfan was more surprised than anyone else in the arena. The opponents in the "Shura Training Realm" are mostly designed based on a person’s ambition and potential, so it was almost certain that Zhang Xusheng’s opponent – another "Zhang Xusheng" – must be the strongest.

And this "Zhang Xusheng" was surprisingly defeated by Zhang Xusheng himself?

After a long moment of shock, Xu Qingfan could only find one explanation – he is Zhang Xusheng; whatever he did should not be surprising.

"Since you broke free from your ‘Shura Training Realm,’ why did you not leave?"

Immortal Zizhen suddenly asked.

Zhang Xusheng suddenly smiled and said slowly, "I am thinking of you. If I leave here and go back to the Human Alliance alone, you might feel uneasy, right? Maybe you would rather the Shura Clan destroy the Human Alliance than let me take control of it, wouldn’t you?"

Hearing Zhang Xusheng speak so plainly, Immortal Zizhen’s face flashed with a hint of anger, but it quickly faded as he said softly, "I didn’t expect you to actually think of me."

Mr. Liu seemed to think of something and suddenly said, "You would rather be trapped in the ‘Azure Crystal Treasure House’ for six hundred years than return to ‘Azure Crystal Treasure House.’ I guess you must have set something up in the ‘Shenzhou Continent,’ right?"

As he spoke, a sharp light flashed in Mr. Liu’s eyes as he stared intently at Zhang Xusheng.

As Mr. Liu finished speaking, all the masters turned to look at Zhang Xusheng. Among them, the righteous cultivators had wary looks in their eyes, while Zhang Xusheng’s followers, like Mingluo, Anluo, and Three Anchorets, showed expressions of anticipation and confusion. Clearly, even they did not know Zhang Xusheng’s specific plans.

The current situation was already bad enough. If Zhang Xusheng had anticipated everything and set something in motion, it would not be what everyone hoped for.

Xu Qingfan glanced at Zhang Xusheng and then turned to watch the other masters, paying attention to their changing expressions. Suddenly, he noticed that Feng Qingtian and his nine-tailed demon fox were not among the masters. It seemed they had already left before the appearance of the "Shura Training Realm."

Xu Qingfan frowned slightly but quickly pushed Feng Qingtian out of his mind. No matter what Feng Qingtian thought, Xu Qingfan no longer saw him as his opponent.

He continued to look at Zhang Xusheng, thinking about what plans Zhang Xusheng might have. Every move this man made undoubtedly affected all the forces in the world.

Facing the gaze of over twenty masters, Zhang Xusheng remained calm and simply smiled as he said, "If I were you, I would find a way to break through this ‘Shura Training Realm’ and go to the ‘Shenzhou Continent’ to investigate the truth, instead of wasting time asking for an answer that I wouldn’t believe anyway. There’s less than five days until the ‘Azure Crystal Treasure House’ closes. Time is running out, isn’t it?"

…

Soon, five days passed.

During these five days, the masters either tried every possible way to break through the ‘Shura Training Realm’ from outside or re-entered the ‘Shura Training Realm’ to see if they could break their limits again, but without exception, they all failed.

As time went by, everyone’s expressions became increasingly anxious, yet the ‘Shura Training Realm’ remained floating at the exit, standing firm and motionless.

Perhaps influenced by Zhang Xusheng’s words, Liu Ziqing and Wang Zegang did not participate in the efforts to break the ‘Shura Training Realm’ at all; they merely stayed close to Xu Qingfan, conserving every bit of Spirit Qi and watching each master around them with caution.

Like Liu Ziqing and Wang Zegang, the six masters under Zhang Xusheng also did not waste any effort.

Meanwhile, Xu Qingfan seemed lost in thought, as he also did not use any means to assist at all. In the face of everyone’s busy activities, he surprisingly found time to close his eyes and rest.

Suddenly, a strong disturbance appeared within the ‘Azure Crystal Treasure House,’ with countless stars flickering in brightness and darkness, while ‘Pure Spirit Energy’ and ‘Chaos Qi’ swirled unpredictably.

No one knew how long it lasted, but the "Azure Crystal Treasure House" finally became stable.

At the same time, the "Shura Training Realm" that stood in front of everyone slowly faded away during this tremor.

However, everyone’s faces were filled with despair because they knew this tremor meant the "Azure Crystal Treasure House" was completely sealed off.

And indeed, the familiar exit was gone; what everyone saw was just an endless void.

With these top experts trapped here, it also meant that the fate of all humanity had fallen into a dead end.

Only Zhang Xusheng, at this moment, still had a big smile on his face, enjoying the expressions of the masters around him, as if he was waiting for something.

Xu Qingfan knew that what Zhang Xusheng was looking forward to was the crazy actions of those righteous masters who usually prided themselves on being just, after falling into despair; or for Zhang Xusheng, it could be some kind of exciting drama.

And Zhang Xusheng’s followers, seeing his calm expression, felt their own anxious hearts slowly begin to settle.

Just then, Mr. Liu suddenly flew towards Xu Qingfan with a complicated expression.

Xu Qingfan seemed to sense something and suddenly opened his eyes, looking at Mr. Liu with a complicated expression.

Xu Qingfan had already expected Mr. Liu’s arrival.

Once the "Azure Crystal Treasure House" was closed, Mr. Liu, who cared more about humanity’s future than anything else, would surely ask Xu Qingfan to hand over the "World Crafting Cauldron."

Even if it would bring some loss to Xu Qingfan, Mr. Liu wouldn’t care.

"The ‘Shura Training Realm’ has finally disappeared, but the ‘Azure Crystal Treasure House’ has also completely vanished."

Mr. Liu slowly said as he approached Xu Qingfan.

Xu Qingfan silently nodded.

"Please hand over the ‘World Crafting Cauldron.’ This is the only way now."

In the silence, the atmosphere felt a bit heavy, but in the end, Mr. Liu still made his request, even though it was very unfair to Xu Qingfan.

Xu Qingfan suddenly smiled and said, "Once you give it up, you can’t take it back. Immortal Zizhen has a thousand excuses to claim this precious treasure. Moreover, its appearance will cause great disturbance and chaos. Many cultivators will have thoughts that shouldn’t arise because of it. You should know this. It’s not an exaggeration to say that its appearance might even lead to a split in the Human Alliance. I have thought about these things clearly over the past few days."

Mr. Liu said in a deep voice, "I will find a way to compensate you for your loss. As for what the ‘World Crafting Cauldron’ will bring, I understand it better than you do. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have entrusted it to you in the first place. But now, we must find a way out, that is the priority. We can think of fixing the other things later."

Xu Qingfan shook his head and said, "I have never met Lord Xing Tian, but I have promised him that I will not let the ‘World Crafting Cauldron’ appear in the world. The ‘World Crafting Cauldron’ is a significant part of my future plans, and I will not give it up."

Hearing Xu Qingfan’s words, Mr. Liu stared at him in disbelief and said, "Your plans? If we can’t get out, what good are your plans? Without us, all of humanity is finished."

Xu Qingfan smiled but did not speak. It was unclear what he was thinking.

Then, there was a long moment of eye contact between Mr. Liu and Xu Qingfan.

"You won’t give up the ‘World Crafting Cauldron’?"

"No."

"What are you really thinking about? You should know that even if you refuse to give up the ‘World Crafting Cauldron,’ for the sake of humanity, I will reveal the situation about the ‘World Crafting Cauldron.’ At that time, you will not only get no compensation, but you will also be killed."

Mr. Liu finally couldn’t hold back his anger.

"I know."

Xu Qingfan remained calm.

"Then why did you still decide this?"

"I am looking for death."

…

Just when all the masters were in despair, they suddenly saw Xu Qingfan, Mr. Liu, Wang Zegang, and Liu Ziqing slowly flying towards the place where the "Azure Crystal Treasure House" entrance had disappeared.

Then, Mr. Liu, Wang Zegang, and Liu Ziqing bowed to Xu Qingfan and slowly stepped aside.

Next, under the surprised gazes of everyone, Xu Qingfan bowed to them and then took a deep breath.

A powerful wave of energy suddenly burst forth from Xu Qingfan.

At the same time, the space around Xu Qingfan began to twist dramatically.

All the masters present, including the top-tier expert Immortal Zizhen, changed their expressions at the intensity of this energy wave.

Among them, Zhang Xusheng saw this scene and seemed to realize something, his face changing more than ever before!

"Void Break! It is the ultimate skill from ‘Substitute for Heaven’—Void Break!"

A master suddenly thought of something, and his face changed suddenly as he shouted in disbelief.

"It’s impossible! Void Break only exists in theory. For over three thousand years, countless experts in Jiuhua have never been able to perform it. Even at the peak of the Soul Splitting Stage, one would struggle to use such a skill. Xu Qingfan is just in the early stage of splitting the mind."

While everyone was discussing, Mr. Liu, Wang Zegang, and Liu Ziqing returned to the crowd. Hearing the discussion among the masters, Mr. Liu explained with a bitter expression, "Taoist Friend Xu is using the ‘Disintegration Method,’ over-exerting his body and soul to forcibly increase his cultivation in order to unleash ‘Void Break,’ creating a passage between the ‘Azure Crystal Treasure House’ and the ‘Shenzhou Continent’ to rescue us."

Upon hearing Mr. Liu’s explanation, all the masters looked shocked.

Sacrificing oneself for the greater good is just a saying. Even though Immortal Zizhen represents righteousness and justice, he probably wouldn’t truly think this way.

For a moment, everyone looked at Xu Qingfan with complicated expressions, unsure whether to feel moved by his sacrifice or to mock his foolishness.

As the "World Crafting Cauldron" was used, space twisted to its limits, then shattered, connecting with the outer space, similar to the "Broken Void" theoretically existing in "Substitute for Heaven." People were astonished that such a magical treasure as the "World Crafting Cauldron" existed, mistaking its effects for Xu Qingfan’s use of "Broken Void."

When the "World Crafting Cauldron" was activated, a bright light flashed, wrapping Xu Qingfan and the cauldron within. Under the strong light, no one could look directly at it, and so they failed to notice the existence of the "World Crafting Cauldron."

What Xu Qingfan was using was not the soul-destroying "Disintegration Method," but simply the "Blood Escape Technique." The difference is that after using the "Disintegration Method," the soul dissipates and the Original Life Essence Blood is drained, while the "Blood Escape Technique" only self-explodes the body, leaving the Original Life Essence Blood and the soul still intact, allowing for escape and the possibility to reshape the body.

However, the Spirit Qi waves of both abilities are almost identical when used. Unless the user reveals themselves, no one can tell which one it is. In the past, when Zhang Xusheng faced the fourteen masters of the righteous path alone, he used this trick to deceive them all.

This time, Xu Qingfan planned to use the same trick to deceive Zhang Xusheng!

Beneath all these schemes, what appeared to everyone was the selfless Xu Qingfan, who willingly sacrificed himself for others and humanity, truly moving many people.

At least, Mr. Liu, Wang Zegang, and Liu Ziqing all had tears in their eyes.

Finally, after the space had been in chaos, a loud rumbling sound echoed, shaking the heavens and the earth, and all the masters were left dazed for a long time.

When the masters came back to their senses, they saw a large space portal, about ten feet wide, appear where Xu Qingfan had been.

But Xu Qingfan was nowhere to be found.

Around the space portal were countless spirit stones and treasures, clearly the treasures stored in Xu Qingfan’s "Sleeve Space." When Xu Qingfan vanished, the Sleeve Space broke apart, scattering his belongings everywhere.

There were so many treasures that the masters did not notice an ancient cauldron hidden among them, marked with a few drops of blood.

The passage to the "Shenzhou Continent" reopened, and everyone was overjoyed, momentarily forgetting about Xu Qingfan’s fate as they hurriedly rushed through the portal towards the Shenzhou Continent. Who knew how long this exit would last?

Only Zhang Xusheng’s expression was somewhat unpredictable at that moment.

After leaving the "Azure Crystal Treasure House," the masters finally remembered Xu Qingfan, who had sacrificed himself for everyone. Whether out of sarcasm or true emotion, there was a look of sadness on their faces when they spoke his name.

Among them, Immortal Zizhen suggested they hold a memorial for Xu Qingfan there.

But Mr. Liu, holding back his sorrow, insisted that the Shura Clan would launch a full attack on the Human Alliance’s main base at any moment. To honor the sacrifice of Taoist Friend Xu and make it meaningful, everyone should return to the Human Alliance as soon as possible to prepare for defense.

Thus, Immortal Zizhen reluctantly left with a group of masters.

Liu Ziqing and Wang Zegang decided to collect Xu Qingfan’s belongings to bury him properly and honor his memory.

The story of the "Azure Crystal Treasure House" has now come to an end.