World's First Traitor System (386)

Chapter 386 - Demonic Arts Resurface

The celestial spectacle above stopped Fan Li in his tracks. “Another Celestial Empire descending?”

The enormous Heavenly Gate spanned the sky. He couldn’t mistake it, nor could anyone else. The gate had opened again. So soon?

He couldn't comprehend it. He frowned, his gaze fixed on the gate. But nothing emerged. No soldiers, no chariots, nothing. What was going on?

Then, he saw a figure flying backwards towards the gate, its posture… unnatural. A Great Zhou soldier. Then another. And another. Ten thousand? All one hundred thousand Great Zhou soldiers were being drawn towards the Heavenly Gate!

Among the countless figures, Fan Li even saw Shangguan Wan’er.

“Is the Heavenly Gate… no… is Heaven recalling them?” As the thought formed, he saw a beautiful woman, clad in imperial dragon robes, struggling against an unseen force, pulled relentlessly towards the gate. Chang Le! She was ascending too?

“Chang Le… she’s resisting,” Qing Qiu whispered.

Fan Li remained silent. He could do nothing. And even if he could, should he intervene? Chang Le’s dream had been to become an Emperor. Now, that dream was realized. But what was an Emperor without her subjects? She belonged with her soldiers. Even if he could save her, he shouldn't.

As Chang Le vanished into the Heavenly Gate, it closed, its purpose fulfilled. The gate, it seemed, had opened specifically for Great Zhou, for Chang Le.

“Qing Qiu, has your cultivation recovered?” Fan Li asked, feeling the strange heaviness in his lower abdomen. The Soul Cleansing Wine had an unpleasant, acrid taste, like a lump of mud clogging his dantian.

Qing Qiu shook her head. “Not yet. Perhaps in half a day.”

Truly a celestial concoction, Fan Li thought, to suppress not only his Nascent Soul cultivation but also Qing Qiu’s Great Vehicle strength.

“Where is your original body?” he asked.

“Jin City,” she replied. “I just escorted your brother into the city. I’m returning to retrieve us.”

Fan Li nodded. This journey had been perilous. He had even been prepared to sacrifice this clone. That both he and Qing Qiu had survived was a welcome surprise. His only regret was Chang Le's ascension. Would they ever meet again?

“Fan Li,” Qing Qiu suddenly said, “the immortal realm… it seems cruel.”

“Cruel?” Fan Li was taken aback. “Why do you say that?”

“I don’t know,” she replied, a thoughtful expression on her face. “The Great Zhou soldiers… they seemed… weary.”

Weary? Fan Li recalled their appearance.

The generals in heavy armor, as if bracing for constant assault. The soldiers, their clothes ragged and worn, like beggars. It was… unsettling. Was the Great Zhou Celestial Empire so impoverished in the immortal realm that they couldn’t even properly equip their army?

They truly seemed… burdened. The Fan Clan’s wealth was rivaled only by kingdoms, even surpassing the combined wealth of Wei, Han, and Wu. Yet, his garrison troops had never been so poorly equipped. What kind of battles had the Great Zhou army endured? Even considering Wu Zhao’s death, their destitution was puzzling.

Qing Qiu continued, “And my ancestor, Da Ji, she was a powerful fox demon, capable of ascending to the immortal realm, yet she chose to remain in the mortal world. As did her husband, Emperor Xin…”

Fan Li frowned. If not for Qin Shi Huang’s burning of books, perhaps they would know more of ancient history. And the ancients clearly knew more of the immortal realm than they did. What was it truly like? A place to be yearned for, or avoided?

Only one thing was certain: immortals lived for a very, very long time. Shangguan Wan’er and Wu Zhao had ascended during the Warring States Period, thousands of years ago. Even the one hundred thousand Great Zhou soldiers were from that era. The lowliest among them had lived for millennia. Longevity, perhaps, was the immortal realm’s greatest gift.

“Look out!”

Lost in thought, Fan Li reacted too slowly. As Qing Qiu’s warning reached him, he felt a chilling presence behind him, like a predator’s breath on his neck. He turned, but it was too late. He couldn't escape. Was this clone about to die? At least let him see his attacker! He spun around and saw… a cloud of black mist. A man’s hand, its skeletal fingers reaching for him, emerged from the darkness. Each finger, like a grotesque straw, pulsed with a strange, sucking force.

“This is…” A chilling familiarity washed over Fan Li. A name flashed through his mind. The Devouring Demon Arts?!

Thump! Five fingers, like needles, pierced his lower abdomen, targeting his dantian. Blood splattered. Yet, Fan Li felt no pain.

“Qing Qiu!” he roared in anguish. Qing Qiu stood before him, her abdomen pierced, collapsing into his arms.

“Hahahaha! Success! I finally succeeded!” A triumphant laugh echoed from the black mist. It was Yan Shifan! His cultivation, at its peak, hadn't been suppressed by the Soul Cleansing Wine!

“Suck! Devouring Demon Arts, suck! I knew it! A direct attack might have failed, but I knew she would sacrifice herself to protect her beloved! A Great Vehicle cultivator? A suppressed Great Vehicle cultivator! I’ve never tasted such a high-quality supplement!”

Yan Shifan grinned, his gaze shifting from Qing Qiu to Fan Li’s horrified face.

“Don’t worry, Duke Jin! Your cultivations are sealed. Neither of you can escape!” He was ecstatic. “I paid a fortune for a fragment of the Devouring Demon Arts from one of Dong Zhuo's attendants. Though incomplete, I painstakingly restored it! It absorbs one percent of a cultivator’s power, with no side effects! Soul Cleansing Wine? Useless against my demonic arts! They laugh at me, Yan Shifan, for relying on pills? Hah! I consume… people!”

In his eyes, Fan Li and Qing Qiu were already dead. But then, his expression changed.

“What? Where’s her power?” Yan Shifan felt as if he had taken a large bite, expecting a feast, yet found only air. His stomach felt full, yet empty. He couldn't comprehend it. The Great Vehicle cultivator before him was a mere clone.

In the distance, a green figure appeared.

“Do not fear…” Qing Qiu’s clone in Fan Li’s arms said with dying breath, “my original… is coming…”