Chapter 314

Chapter 314: The People on the Ship Begin to Die

Hoo—!

Zhang Yang jolted upright.

He was awake.

Outside, the River of Death surged fiercely, churning like a living beast.

His expression was filled with awe and confusion.

Everything he had seen… it seemed to come from his bloodline.

Why was this happening?

Past lives…

Bloodline…

The shattered heavenly realm…

Countless immortal corpses…

The immortals from the vast world struck with fearless resolve, treating death as nothing more than a return home.

The celestial hand came from beyond the vast world!

And why were there so many figures from his past life? It was as if everyone was his past self, all fighting on the same battlefield, as though he embodied thousands, as if they were all him.

What was going on?

Zhang Yang was confused.

It all seemed unreal, illusory. How could his past life be like this? It was clearly chaotic and nonsensical.

But in the next instant, he sensed something was amiss.

Because within his mind, insights about the Realm of Thunder had truly emerged deep, profound revelations drawn from the immortal thunder. Upon reflection, he was shocked to realize that the Great Perfection of the Saint Path, something thought impossible after Eternal Night had surfaced during this extraordinary experience of past and present lives.

The Slaughter Thunder Saint Power had reached seventy percent of Great Perfection!

Not only had the structure been laid out, but it had been fleshed out almost entirely—only a small portion remained before reaching completion.

Most importantly, he distinctly sensed the presence of immortal thunder lingering in his mind. This stirred deep suspicion in him. If his Saint Path truly matured and he began contemplating the immortal path, then the first holy martial technique to break through would undoubtedly be the Slaughter Thunder Saint Power. At that point, transforming it into Slaughter Thunder Immortal Power would be fully possible.

It was a marvelous sensation.

"Real!"

"Illusory!"

He was torn, unable to discern the truth.

He couldn’t explain any of it. Lifting his gaze, he stared at the mysterious light that still lingered above them—what was it? Why did it lead people through dreams of past and present lives?

He reached out to touch it, but felt nothing. Even under his gaze, the light gradually dimmed, as if it were about to vanish completely.

Just as Zhang Yang was about to investigate further, a faint whisper drifted into his ear.

Yaoruoxian had awakened.

As she opened her eyes, an overwhelming wave of Holy Might radiated from her far stronger than the light she had released before.

"Holy Body!"

Zhang Yang looked at Yaoruoxian with new respect.

This woman had truly achieved the Holy Body!

A dream of a past life had transformed her into a Holy Body in this life.

It was known that, under normal circumstances, Yaoruoxian could easily attain the Holy Body within a hundred days after receiving the inheritance of the Star Flame Saint, so this wasn’t unexpected.

What astonished Zhang Yang, however, was the sheer power of her Holy Body, it was far beyond that of Qiu Yinong, and even surpassed the early-stage Holy Body of Bing Yuyan.

Her Holy Body was not simply a byproduct of the Star Flame Saint’s legacy. It resonated more deeply with her own essence.

To become an immortal was to transform into a Celestial Body.

Her Holy Body felt ethereal lacking the typical grandeur of holiness, yet faintly infused with the essence of immortality.

It was as if she had already laid the foundation for her path to becoming an immortal.

"Did I lose again?"

This time, Yaoruoxian saw Zhang Yang sitting there, staring at her calmly, without the slightest hint of emotional disturbance.

This made Zhang Yang frown.

From what he understood, Yaoruoxian had long struggled with inner turmoil. Even if she were mentally resilient and driven by great ambition, she shouldn’t have remained so composed after experiencing a past life.

It didn’t add up.

Yaoruoxian met his gaze and said, "For the ninth battle, I am ready. When the time comes, it will begin."

"I’m quite curious about your preparations for this ninth battle," Zhang Yang replied, "and even more curious about what you experienced in your past life."

Yaoruoxian responded, "After the Nine Battles Tribulation, you can change your reward to knowing my past life."

Zhang Yang paused for a moment, then smiled. "No, I’d rather keep the reward as making you my slave."

Yaoruoxian’s gaze turned sharp, like a drawn sword.

Zhang Yang laughed. This was the real Yaoruoxian fallen to the mortal realm, yet never lacking pride.

At that moment, the others began to awaken one by one.

Moon-Returning Dragon and Jin Zhihong opened their eyes almost simultaneously, sitting upright.

Both appeared slightly dazed, puzzled as to why they had been lying down—after all, they had clearly been sitting cross-legged before.

Yet something had changed in them.

In Moon-Returning Dragon’s eyes, the cold remnants of a moon appeared, spinning like blades and revealing boundless mysteries. A faint hint of holy intent radiated from his body, indicating he had touched the threshold of forming the Holy Body.

Jin Zhihong, by contrast, didn’t show any dramatic transformation. At most, the power of his Holy Body had slightly strengthened, and his bloodline surged with greater vigor. But he had already awakened his ancestral bloodline, and so no drastic change occurred. One could only say that the Supreme Emperor had already granted him an incredible transformation long ago with just a single glance, so another profound breakthrough would not come easily.

More and more people began to awaken.

Before long, startled cries erupted from the Taixu Dynasty.

Most of the Butian Guards remained unconscious, deep in slumber. No matter how they were called, they wouldn’t wake, some even snored thunderously, completely unresponsive. And when someone tried to lift them, they found themselves unable to move them at all, as if a great weight pinned them down.

One hundred Butian Guards had boarded the Ghost Ship of the Buried Immortals, endured the eroding currents of the River of Death, and survived the assaults of death beasts without a single casualty. That alone had proven their exceptional quality.

But now eighty-five of them slept as if in a deathless coma, impossible to awaken.

And this was not the end.

What was truly shocking was that even some of the most talented experts remained trapped in a deep slumber.

One of them was Du Ziteng, one of the top three experts under Moon-Returning Dragon.

He had led the Prince’s Guards to the Falling Star Mountain Range, where they faced an ambush set by Jin Zhihong; yet, against all odds, he had successfully escorted the prince to safety.

“Ziteng! Ziteng!”

Moon-Returning Dragon pushed him vigorously, but Du Ziteng continued sleeping soundly, unresponsive. A sorrowful expression appeared on his face.

“You’ve been by my side since I became the prince at ten. For over ten years, we’ve endured assassinations, traps, and political persecution, yet you never wavered. I never imagined you’d fall during this journey through past and present lives.”

His grief was palpable.

Unlike others, Moon-Returning Dragon had been declared heir to the throne at birth. Only after turning twenty did he gain a younger brother, and the two of them were the only royal siblings. Burdened with the mission to revive the Cold Moon Dynasty, he devoted himself to tireless training, monotonous imperial lessons, and mastering various disciplines to strengthen himself. Few people had accompanied him through that lonely path. Du Ziteng was one of those few.

Zhang Yang sighed as well, not expecting Du Ziteng to fall here of all places.

“Yuan, brother!”

Elsewhere, Nie Bahuang and Qing Xie had awakened and were now trying to rouse Yuan Chimuyu, who remained asleep.

As elite talents of the Butian Pavilion, the three were considered peers—second-tier prodigies, each with unique attributes. Yuan Chimuyu’s defining trait was his divine eyes, which had often played crucial roles in their missions, offering insights that once turned the tide in their favor.

Seeing Yuan Chimuyu remain motionless, the two looked toward Jin Zhihong.

Jin Zhihong’s expression turned grim.

Eighty-five Butian Guards had already fallen. If they lost another top-tier talent, someone he had personally evaluated and nurtured—then this would be a severe blow. Yuan Chimuyu’s eyes were approaching the realm of holy eyes, and he was on the verge of stepping into the upper echelon of prodigies, destined to become a pillar of the Butian Pavilion. To lose him now was unthinkable.

Jin Zhihong crouched beside Yuan Chimuyu, who lay there, unaware of the world.

He muttered, “Yuan Chimuyu, since joining the Butian Pavilion, you’ve earned my respect. I invested heavily in nurturing your divine eyes. We were so close to them becoming holy eyes—and now you’re dead. How am I supposed to justify the effort I spent on you?”

Suddenly, without hesitation, he reached out, and gouged out Yuan Chimuyu’s eyes.

Blood dripped from his fingers as he murmured, “I can’t let these eyes go to waste.”

He then sat cross-legged and said coldly, “I will enter seclusion to refine these eyes. The rest of you stand guard.”

Nie Bahuang and Qing Xie exchanged glances, both visibly shaken.

Even with his eyes gouged out, Yuan Chimuyu remained asleep, completely unresponsive.

Watching it unfold, Zhang Yang felt a chill run through him. Beneath Jin Zhihong’s composed exterior lay a heart as ruthless as ice.

Yet Jin Zhihong refined the eyes with shocking speed. It was as though he were cheating his Holy Body and the awakened ancestral bloodline allowed him to assimilate them effortlessly. Not only did he complete the refinement, but he also formed true holy eyes, faintly tinged with red, reaping immense benefits from the strange experiences of past and present lives.

No one spoke.

Everyone silently watched, coldly tagging Jin Zhihong in their minds as dangerous.

But the calm didn’t last.

A dark whirlpool appeared in the river ahead, swirling like a vortex of doom, as if something sinister lurked within. Without warning, it dragged the Ghost Ship of the Buried Immortals into its depths.

The entire ship trembled violently, flinging more than ten people from the deck into the vortex.