Volcanic Age-Chapter 420: The Worst Reunion (1)

Volcanic Age-Chapter 420: The Worst Reunion (1)

Blessed Existence exploited the fact that no one in the Era of War and Chaos cared much about the trap mechanisms to make an utter fool of the
murim.
‘Since we were dealing with someone like that, I thought he'd rely on arrays and trap mechanisms.'
Going back in time by around two months…
Zhou Xuchuan contacted the Shandong Branch of the Valley of Phantoms to bring someone to him. And that someone was none other than the Posthumous Genius Zhuge Shengji, the sole potential threat to Blessed Existence's plans.
Zhuge Shengji was basically dragged to Zhou Xuchuan's location against his will. Understandably, he tearfully complained about this treatment, but he didn't need long to have a change of heart.
"You actually dragged me to the middle of the enemy camp? Isn't this too much, hyungnim?! Just let me go home!"
"You might want to stay here. You'll be dealing with a trap mechanism that Blessed Existence had worked hard to set up, after all."
"I shall devote this weak body to the sake of the murim's peace, hyungnim! Now, let us reclaim the Righteous faction's heartland, its headquarters in Hefei!"
The words "Zhuge Shengji" and "valor" couldn't be part of the same sentence. Not only was he cowardly, but his social skills were not great, either. He preferred holing himself up in his room or a workshop rather than going outside and interacting with other people.
However, for some unfathomable reason, his eyes would gleam maniacally at the mere mention of "mechanisms," and he'd willingly follow Zhou Xuchuan anywhere.
In more ways than one, he was a peculiar fellow. Of course, it could also be charming in its own way. No matter how talented Zhuge Xiuluan was, Zhou Xuchuan firmly believed that she alone couldn't bring down the one-man fortress called Blessed Existence.
Zhou Xuchuan muttered, "Since an array can malfunction even with the slightest miscalculation, I didn't think you'd be adventurous enough to install trap mechanisms below it, too."
Having a high level of attainment in two disparate fields was one thing, yet Blessed Existence went beyond that by doing something even Zhuge Xiuluan thought was impossible. That was something not even Zhou Xuchuan could have predicted in a million years.
"However, I had a hunch that you'd make your moves based on Shengji's involvement. Even if you have pulled off a feat that not even a genius thought was possible, I know how you operate. You would never let your guard down and keep your eyes on me. So, I didn't bother to investigate ahead of time."
Blessed Existence gasped and swore loudly. "What? You bastard, Zhou Xuchuan…!"
As it turned out, Zhou Xuchuan had guessed correctly. Even after preparing the arrays and the mechanism, the Dark Gateway, Blessed Existence never stopped being wary.
Since he had poured so many resources and effort into the Dark Gateway's creation, he was rightly confident of its effectiveness. Even so, there was always
that
one in a million chance, so he stepped up the security and surveillance as a countermeasure.
Zhou Xuchuan continued to speak. "If I had sent Shengji a little too early, and you found out about it, things could have taken a turn for the worse for us. After all, you'd certainly tweak the plan in some way.
"Rather than creating a variable, I thought doing things this way would be better. So, around four hours before our battle began, I sent Shengji in, along with a trusted escort, first."
Zhou Xuchuan acknowledged Blessed Existence's capabilities more than anyone. That strategist was wholly responsible for the Dark Heavens Association's shocking level of meticulousness verging on mental illness and its dismay-inducing malice, after all.
Blessed Existence advised not only the association's executive and the Head Archivist, but even the Association Lord numerous times to never let their guard down. Whenever his subordinates made mistakes or harbored foolish thoughts, he'd mercilessly get rid of them, too.
To the strategist of the Dark Heavens, subordinates were nothing more than disposable tools of war; as a firm believer of throwing away useless tools and replacing them with something else, Blessed Existence unhesitantly got rid of anyone not deemed useful.
It was this meticulousness that forced Zhou Xuchuan into trying his absolute best not to give away any hints of what he was up to. And as the fated hour loomed closer, he stealthily dispatched Zhuge Shengji at the figurative last minute.
"Even you would have never guessed that one man would only need a few hours to dismantle a trap you put so much effort into constructing for almost a year."
A satisfied grin spread on Zhou Xuchuan's face.
This outcome was not because Blessed Existence had failed; neither was it his fault for failing to anticipate the enemy's next move. Anyone who thought that the Dark Gateway could be dismantled in only a handful of hours was a lunatic, after all.
"H-hyungnim? You do know that I'm still here, right?" Zhuge Shengji asked while nervously staring at Zhou Xuchuan. His gaze pleaded with the latter to stop provoking Blessed Existence any more than this. His smile was long gone by now, too.
"Zhou… Xu… chuan!" Blessed Existence shuddered in indignation like a lone leaf against the storm winds. He clenched his fist so tightly that his nails dug into his flesh.
Whew! That man is not furious at me!
Zhuge Shengji breathed a sigh of relief just then.
"And you… Zhuge… Shengji!" Blessed Existence looked up and glared murderously at Zhuge Shengji. Blood vessels burst in the whites of his eyes as the glare in his eyes burned brightly. "You… You sons of bitches!"
His always icy-calm mind finally melted due to an eruption of fury.
"
Hii-eeehk
?!" Zhuge Shengji yelped pitifully and hurriedly retreated.
"I will kill you!" Blessed Existence roared before stabbing his hand inside his clothes to pull out a black sphere the size of his palm.
"I don't think so!" Zhou Xuchuan cried out and charged forward as if he had been waiting for Blessed Existence to do that.
He had not been sure if they were dealing with yet another illusion here. However, seeing Blessed Existence pulling out what could be his last trump card, an object that looked like a thunderbolt bomb, convinced him it was a real person this time.
"Stop him!"
"Protect Lord Blessed Existence!"
Experts of the Warped Valor Star urgently cried out.
‘We will sacrifice our lives to stop him!'
These experts didn't even bother thinking about harming Zhou Xuchuan in some way. Never mind killing him, they couldn't even be sure of cutting off a finger or two. The best they could hope for was throwing their lives away to buy Blessed Existence enough time.
"Chu Lian! And the Shandong Branch! Protect Shengji!"
Zhou Xuchuan didn't even care about the Seven Stars Division warriors.
True qi being extracted like a string from just below his navel traveled down his legs before explosively gushing out from the Yongquan acupoints on his feet. His body, now light as a feather, gained unbelievable momentum to shoot past the group of Warped Valor experts. His sword light followed right afterward.
"
Kuh-aaahk!
"
"
Kuhk!
"
On the surface, at least, it looked as if Zhou Xuchuan had pushed his physical abilities to the extremes and swung his sword at an incredible speed, but that was not what happened. No, he was performing the South Sea Single Blade Flow.
Although it was only one move, he performed it repeatedly. Others simply hadn't realized it, as he was moving too fast. Zhou Xuchuan moved as if he was folding space until reaching Blessed Existence's location. Then, he grabbed the latter's wrist holding the thunderbolt bomb.
Crunch!
"
Ku-ah-ahk!
Zhou Xuchuan, you son of a…!"
"Aren't you glad to see me up close?"
Zhou Xuchuan's expression remained frigid, unlike his tone that sounded ever so slightly mischievous. His brows furrowed sharply like a hawk's eyeline while bone-chilling iciness oozed from his eyes. Not even a hint of a smirk could be spied on his lips.
"Go to sleep."
Pow!
"
Keok
?!"
Blessed Existence's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets at the impact to his gut. He eventually collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.
"N-no!"
"Lord Blessed Existence has been…!"
If Shaolin was the
murim
's pillar and Zhou Xuchuan was the
murim'
s hope, Blessed Existence was the Dark Heavens Association's hope—its one and only command center. At this very moment, that command center was taken down.
One could search every corner of the
murim
and still not find someone to substitute Blessed Existence. The Dark Heavens Association would obviously despair at the prospect of losing him.
"If you value your lives, surrender now, members of the Dark Heavens," said Zhou Xuchuan while carrying Blessed Existence on his shoulder.
"…"
The warriors of the Dark Heavens Association exchanged silent gazes with each other, seemingly asking each other's options. Moments later, they raised their weapons higher and unleashed killing intent to say they had resolved themselves.
"Lord Blessed Existence has lost his consciousness, which means that we will now follow the emergency protocol!"
"Zhou Xuchuan will not murder Lord Blessed Existence!"
"It is as Lord Blessed Existence has anticipated! We follow the emergency protocol number thirteen!"
The Seven Stars Division warriors quickly regrouped and got ready to fight again.
"
Huh
? Really now?"
"What persistent bastards!"
The martial artists of the alliance couldn't believe what they were seeing.
"I had a feeling this might happen," Zhou Xuchuan muttered while making a fed-up expression. "Lady Zhuge! How long until we reach our destination?!"
Zhuge Xiuluan shouted back, "Two… No, less than one hour!"
Zhou Xuchuan nodded, then roared out his new orders. "Follow Lady Zhuge's lead and break through all the way into our headquarters! Prioritize the protection of the Tactician Phoenix and the Mechanism Dragon!"
"We obey!"
"Ignore the Dark Heavens warriors as much as possible! However, if you believe doing so will be impossible, stay back and delay them! Also, do not forget that we're still inside the array formation! Minimize your movements! Once everything is finished, I will send people to assist you! That also goes for anyone falling behind!"
"Understood, Great Hero!"
"Good! Let's go!"
***
Whoaaaaaaah!
The roars reverberated within their skulls and deafened their ears. The vibrations unceasingly pierced their eardrums. A hawk boasting impressive black feathers circled above the headquarters, and its yellow eyes took in the sight of the gruesome battlefield below.
"Die!"
"This is the end for you!"
"
Ku-aaahk!
"
"Help me! Nooo! Help me!"
The people on this battlefield seemed to be saying something, but all the wretched screams ringing out had drowned their voices out. The only words escaping relatively unscathed from that maelstrom were cries filled with the unbridled killing intent or pleas and struggles of someone on the brink of death.
"Halt!" Zhuge Xiang shouted while raising the fan in his right hand. "Stand back!"
The eight thousand alliance forces seemingly filling the land reacted immediately and backed off. The Dark Heavens Association warriors didn't bother to give chase.
"Is that all?"
Standing before the center-most gate of the eight entrances was the Dark Heavens Association Lord. A sneer tugged at his face, and it seemed to be asking, "
Is that all you have?"
What a monstrous bastard!
Zhuge Xiang swallowed those words back down his throat. The alliance forces were definitely not weak. After all, it was a united army of the Righteous and Evil factions, plus factions from other areas, boasting a scale rarely seen in the past.
However, the Dark Heavens Association was not all that different in that regard. Despite boasting only half the numbers of their enemy, the organization's warriors ably held their ground.
The two sides showed the world what a close contest ought to look like.
The biggest problem was undoubtedly the monster standing before everyone's eyes, the Dark Heavens Association Lord. He was perfectly unscathed despite taking on the combined assault of dozens of martial artists. In fact, he didn't even need others' help to brush away numerous high-realm experts.
"Association Lord, I have a proposal," said Zhuge Xiang.
"A proposal?" the Association Lord asked back, a hint of interest now seeping into his expression.
"That's right. A proposal that will surely benefit both sides."
"A mere trickery to stall for time, yes, but I'm also curious about what your proposal is. Very well, let's hear it."
"You are a wise ruler. That is why you must've realized the truth from this clash. If we continue, we will only be ensuring our mutual destruction, not victory."
The Association Lord responded by remaining silent. However, the look in his eyes was urging Zhuge Xiang to continue.
"Once the war ends and peace comes upon us, we will need manpower to rebuild what has been lost. Do you not agree that any further losses and sacrifices are unnecessary for both the alliance and the Dark Heavens?"
This alliance was temporary and would never last forever. The Righteous and Evil factions put aside their deeply ingrained grudges and joined hands only because the situation had forced them to.
They could bleed and die together if doing so could defeat the Dark Heavens, but such losses would place so much burden on their shoulders when considering what was to come in the future.
Whether it was the Martial Alliance or the Evil Valley, they were no longer the same as before. Various events leading up to this moment had dramatically reduced their combat strength, after all.
"As befitting your title, Heavenly Strategist! You understand very well."
The Dark Heavens Association Lord also acknowledged this point. His organization had lost its executives, starting with Vast Gate. Without Blessed Existence's efforts, the organization would have become paralyzed a long time ago.
Even if the Association Lord had successfully conquered the
murim
, it'd be pointless if he was all by himself at the end of it. Preserving the troops seemed even more important now that Destructive Soldier, who worked so hard to nurture geniuses, was no longer here.
"My proposal is… the duel between the generals!"
"
Hoh-oh
?"
What Zhuge Xiang proposed was a one-on-one battle between the generals.
Some people would claim that this idea started during the age of the Three Kingdoms, but that was far from the truth. Logically speaking, no nations would let a fight between their leaders decide the outcome of the war. In reality, it was a type of military arts birthed by the
murim
, as it prioritized individual martial prowess and honor.
The leader of the Martial Alliance, Yun Guang, seized the initiative and said, "Association Lord! Don't spit on the honor of the Seven Empyrean Overlords."
We can't let the sacrifices continue. Far too many people have already died at this point.
Yun Guang's heart was heavy. The wars of the past several years led to the deaths of too many people. They were all physically and mentally spent.
As befitting the leader of a sect practicing Taoism championed by Laozi, he couldn't bear to see more people dying from this war. And as the Martial Alliance's master, it was his duty to minimize the losses as much as possible for the future, as well.
"
Oh,
the master of the Martial Alliance, you are rather lacking at provoking others. As expected of a Taoist practitioner, you sound far too soft." The Association Lord glanced at Yun Guang and sneered openly. "However… Very well. I accept your proposal."
Wheeew.
It wasn't just Zhuge Xiang; the rest of the alliance's leaders sighed in relief as well.
Zhuge Xiang turned to his companions and said, "Those who wish to participate in the duel, please step forward."
The ones stepping up were unsurprising, to say the least: the Martial Alliance Leader, the Evil Valley Master, the leader of the North Sea's Ice Palace, and the Sword Demon. The four pillars representing the peak of the
murim
alliance had stepped forward.
‘So, that's the Dark Heavens Association Lord…?'
The Evil Valley Master nervously swallowed his saliva while scanning the Association Lord from top to bottom. That man seemed extraordinary from afar, yet now that they were this close, the Evil Valley Master realized that he had been subconsciously holding his breath.
He had not felt tension this dreadful even while encountering other Empyrean Overlords. His skin felt numb and tingly at the nervousness he hadn't sensed in so long.
"The duel will follow the rule of an honorable martial battle by not allowing any interfer—"
KA-BOOM!
A loud explosion stopped Zhuge Xiang from finishing his announcement.
The place where the Association Lord was standing had somehow exploded. The man himself had vanished, leaving behind only a deep crater in his place. The Association Lord vanished from the face of the earth, only to reappear right before the Evil Valley Master's nose!
Whoooosh!
That speed was something that even an Empyrean Overlord and his considerable physical abilities couldn't follow. The Association Lord's sword, infamous for its incredible speed, brushed past the Evil Valley Master's cheek.
The Evil Valley Master swore while stumbling back. "What the hell?!"
"It certainly is as amazing as I've heard," muttered the Association Lord in genuine admiration.
That sword strike of his had been performed at his full strength. Indeed, he went for the kill, not to test the waters. When he neared the Evil Valley Master, a strange phenomenon suddenly occurred.
"The… Hegemon Edict Art!"
This art allowed the Evil Valley Master to emit his internally stored qi. He wasn't simply throwing it away in the empty air, however; with this power, he could "rule" the surrounding area up to a certain distance. It was an ability one could acquire by reaching the final stage of the Hegemon Edict Art, and it was also the Evil Valley Master's Manifestation of his Path.
Even if one had lightened their body like a feather, entering this field would increase their weight, making them feel as if they were wearing heavy, steel armor, or it would be like someone was pushing them to the ground from above.
"However…" The Dark Heavens Association Lord's speed was also affected by the Hegemon Edict Art, or more correctly, the Evil Valley Master's "rule," but it had slowed down only marginally. "Your ability's compatibility with my noble self is rather terrible, it seems."
For the first time after becoming an Empyrean Overlord, the Evil Valley Master sensed a grave threat to his life. Even during this crisis, he still proved that he deserved to be called an Empyrean Overlord by instinctively activating his Manifestation to its maximum.
Unfortunately, his power wasn't working on the Association Lord at all!
Sensing the imminent danger, the Evil Valley Master urgently turned around to escape, only for his vision to get obscured by the Association Lord's fingers.
"Evil Valley Master."
KA-BOOOOOM!
Under the gaze of the trio of absolute masters, Yun Guang, Leng Yuefei, and Wu Qu, the Evil Valley Master's head was slammed straight into the ground by the Association Lord.
"Let's not waste any more time." The whites of the Association Lord's eyes turned black as a haze billowed out of him. "All of you… Come at me at the same time."

Chapter 420: The Worst Reunion (1)