Chapter 157: Tarnish the reputation of Chong Da
Xuan BaiShe stood at the center of the now perfectly smooth plain of ashes, the wake of his devouring having erased every last trace of life or death within a radius of several kilometers.
His eyes, ink black with violet pupils, fixed on the horizon where the silhouette of the Great Pagoda of Sealing seemed to mock the gray immensity of the tomb. His Omega Heart beat with sovereign power, infusing his Dantian with purified Khao energy that firmly stabilized his second stage of Overlord.
He had initially intended to hunt down Chong Da immediately to put a premature end to the Path of Humans, but his strategist mind, inherited from his Immortal Sage Heart, imposed a more nuanced reflection.
’ Chong Da possesses fifty thousand points of luck. At this level of fortune, the Dao protects its chosen one with an almost desperate fervor. Killing him now would risk triggering a karmic backlash that even my Devourer Physique would have trouble digesting without issue.’
He turned his gaze toward the Yin mist that still lingered in the distance. A narcissistic and cruel smile stretched his lips.
’ On the other hand, if I let this blind monk achieve his goal, if he manages to break the seals of the Ashura,’ he continued in his inner monologue. ’ The two entities will confront each other in a duel of transcendental laws. When both are exhausted, drained of their Qi and their will, I can appear as the Celestial Judge to devour them simultaneously. The banquet will be much more refined if the main dish is seasoned with the despair of a demigod and the fall of a son of luck.’
Consequently, BaiShe decided to change roles. He had to become again, for a time, the vulnerable and heroic young master in the eyes of the world. He deactivated his Devourer form. His black hair became silvery again, and the blackness of his eyes faded to make way for the clarity of his heterochromatic pupils. He used a tiny fraction of his own Qi to reopen the wound on his shoulder that he had simulated in front of Zhi Mei. The silvery blood began to flow again, staining his now torn black silk tunic.
He set off toward the area where he had separated from the holy templar. He walked unsteadily, simulating extreme exhaustion, his breath becoming short and wheezing.
Meanwhile, Zhi Mei wandered in the clouds of Yin Qi, her heart tight with an anguish she could no longer repress. She had summoned her azure lotus to repel the shadows, but her vision remained blurred by tears of guilt.
" BaiShe... " she murmured, her voice lost in the whistling of the wind. " If you perished because of me... if I let the Executor die a second time... "
Suddenly, her senses as a 5th stage Overlord detected a familiar signature. A silhouette slowly emerged from the darkness, wavering, seeming to carry all the pain of the world on its shoulders.
" Miss... Mei... " articulated a weak and melodious voice.