Chapter 6971 Mutations
“The great era has come?”
Everyone sensed the world’s energy changing rapidly, and it shook them all. After all, the great era marked the release of the last reserves of power from the nine heavens and ten lands.
Simply put, the final battle was near. If they lost to the outsider devils, the nine heavens and ten lands would be destroyed. Everyone could end up enslaved, killed, or even treated like livestock.
This was their last chance, and the last chance for the nine heavens and ten lands. But Chi Yutong and the others felt a heavy weight in their hearts.
They looked at Cao Yiyang, Xie Lingyun, Luo Tianxiang, the sinister item-spirit of the Heavenly Devil Zither, and the Zither Sect’s army.
The Heavenly Devil Zither was supposed to be one the ten great primal chaos divine items of the nine heavens and ten lands. But now? It looked more like a venomous ghoul than an ally.
Among the four ancient sects, the Zither, Chess, and Painting Sects now had uncertain ties to Lord Brahma. Maybe they had already switched sides. Could they still be trusted to fight the outsider devils?
The Heavenly Magnificence Divine Prefecture, once seen as the last safe place in the world, had fallen far. Long Chen said that 30% of the top leaders in the divine capital had joined the outsider devils, and another 30% had sided with Lord Brahma.
The other 40% were still lost, fighting each other over small gains. Each one was driven by selfish motives. Could anyone rely on them?
However, when Chi Yutong looked at the unbending figure who never submitted even in the most desperate situations, the one who stood right against the Heavenly Devil Zither, she let out a relieved smile.
As long as Long Chen was present, there was hope for this world. As long as she could stand alongside him in battle, even if they died fighting, it didn't matter.
Cao Yiyang waved his hand, and a blood-soaked Li Jiuyao appeared. The top young expert of the Zither Sect was now just a battered, broken figure.
The Heavenly Devil Zither’s strings wrapped around Li Jiuyao, forming a cocoon. His wounds were so bad that only the Heavenly Devil Zither could save him now.
“The great era has come. Long Chen, let’s see how long you can keep acting proud!” Cao Yiyang snorted and disappeared with a single step.
The Heavenly Devil Zither was still furious. This time, she had clearly lost to Yue Xiaoqian.
The moment that Yue Xiaoqian suppressed her, their defeat was set in stone. If she hadn’t been separated from her other half, Yue Xiaoqian wouldn’t have been able to hold her back at all.
But now, as she was purely a devil body, Yue Xiaoqian was able to counter her. She glared at the Heavenly Devil Zither behind Long Chen, then at Yue Xiaoqian, and finally at the green parrot.
Green Old Sixth folded its wings and stood there, looking smug. The sinister Heavenly Devil Zither’s face twisted with anger. She wanted to hit him, but in the end, she left with Cao Yiyang.
Xie Lingyun and Luo Tianxiang also left without saying anything. What was there to say? The winner was the king. No matter what they said, they would only be humiliating themselves.
After the Zither Sect left, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, especially Chi Yutong and her group. They had just battled the four Music Maestros and over ten experts who suddenly broke through their realms. It had been a tense fight.
This time, the Zither Sect truly had gone all-out. They possessed more than ten existences like Li Wujiu, who had given up their future.
Fortunately, Huo Linger’s wide-range attacks had kept control over the battlefield, or they would have been picked off one by one.
The Wine God, the Tea Saint, and Long Chen closed their eyes, as if sensing something. Everyone watched quietly, careful not to interrupt.
After a few moments, all three opened their eyes at nearly the same time. Their faces were more serious than ever.
“Ye Wensheng greets senior Wine God and senior Tea Saint!” At this time, Ye Wensheng finally had a chance to greet these two legendary existences.
After exchanging a few words, he turned to Long Chen and said, “Dean Long Chen, the great era has arrived. The world is changing. For safety, my Calligraphy Sect must go into lockdown, and I need to stand guard over it. I must say goodbye now.”
Then, Ye Wensheng bowed to the Wine God and the Tea Saint and even cupped his fists to the green parrot.
“Many thanks for coming here, Sect Master Wensheng. I will remember this favor,” Long Chen replied, returning his bow.
Ye Wensheng had come as the Calligraphy Sect’s representative. Even though he didn’t get to fight, he made his stance clear—he stood against the other three immemorial sects. Long Chen knew he owed him for that.
While Long Chen and Li Chenggang had been old friends, Li Chenggang was his own person, and the Calligraphy Sect was its own group. They weren’t the same.
“Long Chen, the great era is starting. We shouldn’t stay outside, or the Heavenly Daos might notice us. Will you come with me to the Tea Saint Dao Temple, or go with Brother Carefree to the Wine God Palace?” the Tea Saint asked after Ye Wensheng left.
The Wine God looked at Long Chen too. Zi Nuo and the others were excited, hoping Long Chen would join them at the Wine God Palace so he could keep guiding them.
However, Long Chen shook his head.
He said, “I am planning on going to the Flame God Sect and patiently waiting for the great era to fully manifest!”
The Wine God couldn’t help but smile and pat Long Chen’s shoulder.
“Ah, you...”
The Wine God understood Long Chen’s intention, but he didn’t say anything about it. He just left with Zi Nuo and the others. The Tea Saint also knew what Long Chen was thinking and quietly left.
Soon, it was just Long Chen, Yue Xiaoqian, Chi Yutong, Yan Li, and the unconscious Xin Yu.
“Come, the great era is coming. We must return to the Flame God Sect to prepare,” said Long Chen.
When Chi Yutong saw Long Chen turn down the chance to go to the Wine God Palace or Tea Saint Dao Temple and choose the Flame God Sect instead, her eyes grew red.
She had thought about asking Long Chen for help many times. Maybe he could get the Flame God Sect protected by the Wine God Palace, Tea Saint Dao Temple, or even the Calligraphy Sect. But she never asked because she didn’t want to make things hard for him.
However, Long Chen was willing to stay with the Flame God Sect during this time and face the new world together. In other words, he was tying his fate to theirs. How could Chi Yutong not be touched?
“Old Sixth, are you coming with us?” asked Long Chen.
This time, Green Old Sixth had truly been loyal. It had tied down the sinister Heavenly Devil Zither. Even though Green Old Sixth was just repaying a debt, Long Chen felt that a single stone wasn’t enough to make things even
Most of Green Old Sixth’s fancy feathers had fallen off during the fight. Long Chen was touched—sometimes, this bird was quite reliable.
When Long Chen looked over its body, Green Old Sixth realized it was almost bald again. It snapped, “What are you staring at?! That ugly woman was really strong! If I hadn’t stripped down to my skin, I couldn’t have beaten her!”
Chi Yutong and the others covered their mouths and turned away, trying not to laugh. The legendary Six Dao Stone really did have a funny side.
Green Old Sixth grumbled, “I’m not going with you. Fighting that bitch wore me out. Now that the great era is here, my own chance should show up too. I only lost because she had a bunch of helpers storing up power for her, and I didn’t.”
Long Chen paused to think for a moment and said, “Old Sixth, I still have a strand of your core energy. I’ll hold onto it for now and see if I can use it to find another chance for you.”
Last time, when Green Old Sixth left with the stone, it gave Long Chen a strand of its core energy so they could stay in touch. That was how Long Chen had been able to contact it after leaving the Devil Suppressing Illusion Realm.
“Don’t tell me you want another favor from me? Honestly, your favors are tough to pay back,” Green Old Sixth said warily.
“Don’t worry, I won’t ask for another favor this time. You really helped me out. If I don’t give you something extra, I’ll feel bad,” Long Chen promised.
Hearing that, Green Old Sixth relaxed and laughed. “I knew brother San was loyal. Honestly, I think highly of you...”
Even without feathers, Green Old Sixth waved its wings at Long Chen. Long Chen’s promise made it feel like its efforts were worth it.
After all, it had met Long Chen many times and knew what he was capable of. Long Chen didn’t make promises lightly, but when he did, he always kept them.
“If you have any extra energy, leave me a bit more. You’ll get it back in the end, so you won’t lose anything,” Long Chen said, ignoring most of the bird’s nonsense.
“Alright!” Green Old Sixth said, giving Long Chen a bit more of its core energy.
Three black and three white spheres slowly faded into Long Chen’s palm. After that, Green Old Sixth was completely featherless. There wasn’t a single feather left to pluck.
“Brother, I’m leaving now. I’ll wait for your good news!”
With that, Green Old Sixth vanished.
Green Old Sixth had just left when the ground suddenly burst open. A giant tree shot up into the sky and crashed toward them.
Everyone quickly moved aside, only to realize that the tree had its own spirit. Its aura was as strong as a Human Emperor’s.
“How is that possible?!” Yan Li exclaimed, stunned.
This battlefield had just been destroyed, and all the plants here were newly grown. How did a Human Emperor demonic tree appear so quickly?
Also, this tree-demon ignored the restriction of the Human Emperor realm and didn’t even try to transform. It floated in the air, its huge body still growing fast.
“The world’s changes and the burst of karmic luck caused this tree-demon to be infected by strands of karmic luck. It has mutated!” Long Chen said seriously. “We need to go. It’s dangerous to stay here!”
Chi Yutong summoned the Scarlet Blood Battle Chariot. Just as they got on and began to fly, an explosive noise echoed from behind. They saw a giant, deer-like creature emitting black qi suddenly crash into the tree-demon, knocking it over. The deer-like creature then crazily devoured its branches.
“It has the aura of an outsider devi!” Chi Yutong exclaimed, shocked.
How could there be outsider devils here?
Additionally, the shape of this deer was strange. Its aura differed from that of the other outsider devils they had met. Everyone felt a shiver down their spine. This world seemed entirely different from the world they knew.
“Long Chen, what is going on?” asked Yue Xiaoqian.
Long Chen slowly looked away from the deer and replied, “The outsider world’s power is fighting against the power of the nine heavens. As the karmic luck of the nine heavens and ten lands erupts, so does the outsider world’s karmic luck. The karmic luck of the nine heavens and ten lands will only fall on its native lifeforms, while the outsider world’s karmic luck will go to the outsider devils.
“The existence of this deer shows that the outsider devils have spread their seeds everywhere. Some creatures have been infected by their devil qi, but we couldn’t tell before. Now, as the outsider world’s karmic luck erupts, their potential is triggered, and they mutate. Since we are mortal enemies, battles will soon erupt between us.”
Just as Long Chen finished explaining, the strange deer charged toward them.
“Its aura...!”
To everyone’s surprise, the deer’s aura had just risen to a new level. It was unbelievably fast.
Just then, Zhi Zhi’s voice rang out, startling Long Chen. After taking a deep breath, he said, “Go, but be careful!”
All of a sudden, countless vines shot out of the void and enveloped the deer. Choked screams rang out as Zhi Zhi killed the deer and devoured its flesh.
At this sight, Long Chen felt a heavy weight in his heart. Zhi Zhi wanted to find its own path in this world.
The world was changing, and the laws of the Heavenly Daos were unstable. Good and bad were mixed together in a confusing mess. Long Chen didn’t know if this would turn out well or badly.
Zhi Zhi was a World Destroying Ghost Vine from the outsider world, an existence capable of bringing about the downfall of entire worlds. It could devour all things within heaven and earth.
If it grew too strong, it could lose its current nature—or maybe it would regain its original nature. Then, it would become Long Chen’s enemy.
Still, Long Chen chose to let Zhi Zhi go free. Since he had decided to trust it, he would trust it completely.
Long Chen instructed, “Yutong, activate the chariot’s formation. Seal out the outside world’s aura. This karmic luck is too homogeneous. If you absorb it, it will nourish a heart-devil and affect your mind. Yan Li, you’ve already absorbed some. That’s dangerous. Since your mental fortitude isn’t that strong, this could result in a heart-devil!”
Yan Li turned pale in an instant. Just now, he had relived the bloody memory of his sect’s destruction. Long Chen’s warning made him realize how dangerous that was.
He quickly used the Golden Crow Flame to expel this energy from his body. Given his past, it was very possible for him to develop a heart-devil. He couldn’t afford to be the slightest bit careless.
Soon, they arrived at the Flame God Sect, which was now on full lockdown.
Many strange plants had suddenly grown over the once-barren land, and some of them had flames burning around them. Their auras were rather frightening. Many people within the sect nervously observed the strange plants.
“It’s the Scarlet Blood War Chariot! The divine daughter is back!" Relief erupted from within the barrier as the crowd finally relaxed. The runes on the Scarlet Blood War Chariot shimmered, allowing it to pass through the barrier seamlessly.
"Activate the transportation formation! I must return to the Spirit Heart Sect!" Xin Yu said urgently.