Chapter 53 - 53 53 Seven Luminaries and Seven Fiends

53: Chapter 53 Seven Luminaries and Seven Fiends 53: Chapter 53 Seven Luminaries and Seven Fiends “I just wanted to escape from Hanging Fate Manor, but I ended up encountering a three-way power struggle… What kind of formation is this!” With a long sigh, An Jing felt his heartbeat quicken. Before heading to the Otherworld, he had already witnessed the unsealing of the Heavenly Demon, and the intervention of two Masters of the Divine Repository… Undoubtedly, that power was far beyond his current capacity to deal with. Neither he nor the Sword Spirit had imagined that a Heavenly Demon—especially one so powerful—would be lurking among the Red Armored Guards, seizing the opportunity to unseal its kin. What was Da Chen doing? How did he let a Heavenly Demon infiltrate their ranks?! “How many days can I stay in the Otherworld?” Regaining composure slightly, An Jing asked, and the Sword Spirit, who had been deep in thought, quickly responded, “Three days.” “Three days…” An Jing closed his eyes and centered himself; in his Divine Sea, surrounding the broken sword, were three shining points of Sword Light enveloping him. The first one was gradually fading, which was the ‘three days’ mentioned by the Sword Spirit. “Within three days, if I wish to return, I can transport myself to an area within a half-mile radius centered on the point where I left the Huai Xu Realm.” An Jing summarized the current situation, “After completing one ’round trip,’ your teleportation will go into cooldown, Sword Spirit. It requires a full day and night cycle of recharging before you can support my next teleportation.” “Yes,” the Sword Spirit interjected, “which means you’ll have to evade pursuit on your own for at least a day before you can enter the Otherworld again for refuge.” “This is somewhat troublesome,” murmured An Jing as the Sword Spirit remained unruffled, “Wait until you find more fragments of mine, then my abilities will be enhanced. Longer durations, faster teleportation, more recharging methods, my complete form is not troublesome.” “Besides, three days is enough. Those Heavenly Demons have long since departed, and even if they had contingencies, they wouldn’t remain in place to avoid discovery.” “The Demon Sect and Da Chen’s people are likely entangled with each other; they won’t have the time or energy to pursue you relentlessly. With your present strength, you should be able to leave these mountains, conceal your identity, and return to the world of men.” “Since the Heavenly Demons have left,” An Jing mulled over his next move, “can I seek out Da Chen’s Red Armored Guards again? Although there’s no need for me to worry about Ye Qi and the others, but…” “Perhaps, but it’s extremely dangerous. I do not recommend it,” the Sword Spirit said gravely, “The fact that Heavenly Demons infiltrated Da Chen indicates that although there may not be many Great Heavenly Demons, there are definitely more common Heavenly Demon hosts than we anticipate!” “Heavenly Demons are like cockroaches; if you see one, there’s already a swarm hidden in the shadows.” “If we enter Da Chen under our current identities, we will definitely be discovered by the Heavenly Demons!” “The very reason I suggested you leave is because of this fear—who knows if there are other Little Heavenly Demons hiding among the Red Armored Guards, waiting to capture you when you let your guard down?” “Mhm.” An Jing had also considered this point, but with the Sword Spirit’s admonition, it became even clearer to him. He sighed, “But this means my junior brothers and sisters are in danger as well…” “You don’t need to worry about that,” The Sword Spirit didn’t disapprove of An Jing’s concern for the people he was familiar with; on the contrary, it appreciated An Jing’s nature of valuing relationships. Therefore, the Sword Spirit stated frankly, “After all, your little friends do not carry enough value to justify a Heavenly Demon risking exposure to act against them—only you and I have such worth.” “That’s just like us,” An Jing chuckled self-deprecatingly. Having collected his breath, he stood up and looked around. The place still looked the same as when he left it. Sёarch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. An underground cave glowing faintly, ancient and decrepit metal loft, a field of bodies he had already scavenged through. “Hmm… there’s a lot missing.” An Jing pondered; last time he had only stayed here for an hour, leaving right after breaking through his “Inner Breath”, naturally without needing to think much. But now that he had to stay for a full three days, he had to consider issues like food, air, water, making fire, and a safe place to rest. One must know that this place harbored monsters capable of killing a group of gunmen who had reached the “Inner Breath” level! The firearms of this world felt much more powerful than the firearms from An Jing’s previous life; even the gunpowder was not ordinary. He had killed Master of the Medicine Manor with a handgun, although it was a sneak attack and the opponent was off guard, yet it was but the standard equipment of this otherworldly team. Yet, such formidable firepower was still completely wiped out here. Though these people had all died from “Heart Soul Damage”, An Jing would not be careless; after all, having heart soul abilities did not mean the monsters had weak bodies, and he had to prepare for the worst. “If it really comes to that, I’ll return to the Huai Xu Realm,” An Jing thought. “But I must at least hold on for a night, otherwise if I go out now, it would be easy for the others who haven’t gone far to find me.” As for now, he needed some rest. From conducting the Ritual Tracks to slaying the Heavenly Demon, from dueling with the Master of the Medicine Manor to rescuing companions from the dungeon, and the forthcoming unsealing of the Heavenly Demon, to traversing to the Otherworld… plus the deficit after the effect of the Qi Boosting Pill wore off, An Jing was extremely exhausted by now. He felt as weak as if he had gone without food for three days and then ran up a mountain for two hours, feeling pain with every friction between his bones and muscles, and discomfort all over. He urgently needed to find a safe place to recover his strength. An Jing searched the manor’s attic and main hall, both of which were empty. These rooms were supposed to house ancestral statues or statues of immortals on their altars, but now, with the columns fallen and floor tiles removed, there was truly nothing left but dust. However, the beams of the main hall were still sturdy. They were dirty and decayed, but now was not the time to be picky. An Jing climbed up there, nestled in a corner, and forced himself into Meditation to regulate and restore his breath. “After I finish meditating and regulating my breath, I’ll probably need to sleep for two or three hours to allow my body to naturally recover. Can you help keep watch?” An Jing inquired of the Sword Spirit and, upon receiving an affirmative response, he began practicing the Tranquil Sword Manual, nourishing his Inner Breath for a while before gradually drifting into a deep sleep. As An Jing slept, a faint Spiritual Light illuminated on his forehead, manifesting a silver sword pattern with a gleaming Sword Light at the center, resembling an opening eye. “This world… feels very familiar. And indeed, it’s not an illusion; this world also possesses ‘Demonic Qi’.” The Sword Spirit murmured to itself, with a solemn tone, “The monster that killed the entire exploration team must also be some kind of ‘demon’.” The Sword Light tilted slightly downward, seemingly gazing at the sleeping An Jing: “And this child’s Fate Pattern is indeed strange… Blood Fiend, Fiend Sword, Spiritual Fiend, Soul Fiend; he can accept them all. Even in my era, there were hardly any people with such Fate Patterns.” “Indeed, it’s not just any Strange Mandate with Star Detriment; it only emerges during great calamities…” “‘Seven Luminaries and Seven Evils’?” After a moment of silence, the Sword Spirit lifted its gaze, “If so, fortune and disaster are unpredictable… I had thought I was guiding him, but perhaps I have been ensnared by his Heavenly Mandate.” “Well, let’s see how far this child and I can go together.” It started keeping watch. Soon, three hours had passed. An Jing awoke.