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~strong~Chapter 26
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TN: Unedited. Next chapter will make you sad. And the one after that one will also make you sad in a slightly different way. But it adds flavor to what comes later so hang on to your skirts (or britches) everyone~ Your hankies too~
Footnotes galore because we get introduced to a new character.
The so-called Endless Abyss was an empty space at the junction between the Human Realm and the Demon Realm.
As a transitional space, the Endless Abyss was full of the dangerous and unknown, full of twisted and rent spatial whirlpools and fiery magma.
The disciples present all along this road had already expended a great deal of energy. After the previous exertion, most had collapsed. The only ones left standing were Shen Qingqiu, Luo Binghe, and Shang Qinghua.
Since the Endless Abyss was opened, it meant that there would be demonic things coming out from that side.
The three people held their breaths, vigilant, and calmly waited.
From the darkness, the figure of a tall man walked out.
Once he saw that face as cold as ice and that aura of a godly figure repelling others for thousands of li, Shen Qingqiu immediately knew who he was.
He swept a glance sideways to the pale Shang Qinghua, wanting to laugh but unable to actually laugh.
Why did this future subordinate of Luo Binghe's who did all kinds of evil things at command, committing murder and arson, the jet fuel to his flame, appear here right now!
Mo Beijun [1] was a pure-blooded, legitimate second generation offspring of the demons who inherited his family's territory in the northern boundary of the Demon Realm and succeeded the Demon Lord seat. He came and went like a shadow all the time with nothing to do, heeding no one. Such a maverick character, after being fiercely beaten by the lynched Luo Binghe of that time, inexplicably bowed his head and vowed his allegiance, appointing himself to be at his beck and call. From henceforth, Luo Binghe had yet another errand-runner (...... ).
However...... clearly, according to the original development, there should be at least five hundred chapters before it's your turn to make an appearance, all right Great One?! [2]
Messed up, messed up, everything's messed up!
Shang Qinghua advanced a step forward, questioning sternly: "Who are you? Why are you here?"
Shen Qingqiu:...... Hehe, continuing to pretend?
Isn't that your true direct boss? Letting dangerous creatures into the Immortal Alliance Conference was an order he gave you! You continue pretending!
Mo Beijun slightly inclined towards the side, his handsome and masculine face half submerged in darkness. It let people's hearts feel a deep chill. Shang Qinghua stepped forward another step. He had only just raised his hand when a fierce force lifted him into the air, like hitting and breaking a piece of ancient wood. He fainted, unable to stop spewing out blood straight at Shen Qingqiu, who was unable to stop the admiration in his heart:
Brother, you really go all out for the sake of your job!
In his heart, Shen Qingqiu sighed and groaned in sympathy.
All right, he knew it would still be up to him to make an appearance in the end.
He blocked in front of Mo Beijun's path, holding his sword horizontally in front of him. Neither haughty nor humble, he said: "Is Your Excellency [3] a Demon Realm mediator?"
This was a load of rubbish. If you couldn't see that black mass of demonic energy, then you were blind.
A silver-white light flashed. Luo Binghe actually didn't say a word, blocking in front of Shen Qingqiu.
Earlier he had still been angry and argumentative, but now in the presence of a strong enemy, he blocked in front of him without any hesitation. If you were to say that Shen Qingqiu hadn't been moved at all, it would be false.
Only, he felt more and more that what he was going to have to do to Luo Binghe in a while was really inexcusable. He said: "Binghe, stand down."
Luo Binghe didn't reply or respond. He stood off directly with Mo Beijun, actually unmoved by his power and momentum.
Mo Beijun let out an 'yi, ' as though he'd discovered some little thing able to stir up his interest.
Shen Qingqiu raised his voice: "Running wild! Since when does a disciple block in front of the master?"
Mo Beijun said: "You are a Cang Qiong Mountain sect disciple?"
Luo Binghe responded: "Cang Qiong Mountain sect's Qing Jing Peak disciple, Luo Binghe, greeting Your Excellency."
Mo Beijun suddenly smiled coldly: "Immortal, yet not immortal. Demonic, yet not demonic. Interesting."
Hearing these words, Shen Qingqiu suddenly had a feeling of seeing the light.
Could it be...... Mo Beijun's reason in appearing here...... was to take the place of the Black Moon Python Rhinoceros in progressing the plot?
"Immortal, yet not immortal, " should be speaking of that Shang Qinghua lying at the side, who didn't forget to vomit blood even while playing dead. Clearly, he was an immortal cultivator, but still worked as hard as a bull or horse for the demons [4]. As for "demonic, " there was Luo Binghe present at the scene; who else could it be? After all, Luo Binghe's pair of fiery and discerning eyes [5] revealed at a glance that his bloodline was different from others.
Shen Qingqiu couldn't confirm it, but he also didn't dare take a risk. With a cold voice he ordered: "Binghe, this master's words, will you listen or not? Right now, I want you to quickly leave and bring all the other sect elders nearby to here. Will you go or not?"
Luo Binghe fixed his gaze on that unknown demon man: "Shizun, he won't let any of us leave. We might as well pit our strength together and do battle."
Shen Qingqiu said: "Staying here is only vainly giving up your life."
Luo Binghe said: "Whether it's dying for Shizun, or dying with Shizun, this disciple is perfectly happy to do."
Is that any way to speak, you bear child!
Mo Beijun disdainfully said: "Do battle with me?" The 'don't know the heavens come first and the earth after' [6] phrase, he was polite enough not to say out loud. In his heart, Shen Qingqiu thought, thankfully you didn't say it out loud. It won't even take three years for Luo Binghe to smite you until you can't get up. If you don't honestly become his minion, you'll be hitting your own face!
Mo Beijun spoke again: "That's also good. Then let me see whether your worth is in jin or liang [7] to be able to do battle with me!"
The sounds of his words had hardly landed when a murderous aura expanded in the air.
Shen Qingqiu's steps moved unpredictably. In a moment, he flashed in front of Luo Binghe, his left hand sheathing the Xiu Ya sword. Regardless of whether it was of any use, he blocked first and asked later. His right hand was like an eagle picking up a small chicken, picking up Luo Binghe and throwing him out, sending him outside the range of Mo Beijun's demonic energy. Turning around, he confronted Mo Beijun's palm strike!
Both people's palms met. In Shen Qingqiu's chest, blood rose and churned just as though he'd been struck by someone there. His entire body's spiritual power seemed to be boiling excitedly without end. Though his cultivation wasn't low, this Demon Lord's inheritance had a cheat-like arrangement: the new Demon Lord could directly inherit the previous Demon Lords' collective powers, accumulated generation by generation. As one could imagine, a Core Formation cultivator was nothing to look at in front of Mo Beijun.
But he must try his best!
Facing this kind of odd-tempered, fiercely ambitious person required fighting to the death without any regard for life. That was the only viable method to survive. According to Shen Qingqiu's decades of experience reading all kinds of novels, this type of person would have at least a smidgen of respect for someone who fought a bloody battle to the end and had such hard bones they wouldn't bend in the slightest. Towards a soft-footed, shrimpy-hearted coward, he would definitely have no mercy!
Luo Binghe had been sent out by Shen Qingqiu for a certain distance. On his own initiative, he drew Zheng Yang from its scabbard. Mo Beijun took it away with his hand, sending the dazzling white sword into the shadows with a flick. The body of the sword was unable to bear the demonic energy pouring in like the sea. In a burst of white light, it broke on the spot into pieces.
Mo Beijun's palms opposed Shen Qingqiu's two palms, overwhelmingly holding the upper hand. When he lost interest, he used his power to open up a space between him and Shen Qingqiu. He said: "Aptitude is poor. Foundation and techniques are inflexible. Scram."
Shen Qingqiu: "......"
If it were the original goods hearing these words, he would definitely vomit three liters of blood.
Shen Qingqiu himself in the Human Realm couldn't be said to be an unmatchable genius, but he could at least be said to be a first-rate talent within thousands of li. Cang Qiong Mountain sect's foundational techniques couldn't be called inflexible; it was called orthodox! In Mo Beijun's mouth, it became a bunch of rubbish......
Luo Binghe's sword had broken, but he didn't pay it any mind. But when he saw that Shen Qingqiu had been shaken by the power of the palm strike until his internal organs suffered harm, gritting his teeth and swallowing the blood down into his stomach, his gaze suddenly became gloomy and cold.
The aura around his entire body instantly changed!
Mo Beijun perceived this startling change. His two eyes radiated an excited, bloodthirsty, and cold light: "First I'll finish off this meddling shifu of yours, then fight again!"
Suddenly, a completely black ice sword coalesced in the air. One birthed two, two birthed four, four birthed eight. The sword split into an ice sword array of hundreds, surrounding and shooting from all directions towards Shen Qingqiu!
These ice swords couldn't be defended by normal methods at all, because they were formed from the purest demonic energy. Shen Qingqiu's spiritual power was now nearly exhausted. If they were to confront each other, it would be like facing off against starfire and monstrous waves as high as the sky. The result of this kind of disparity went without saying.
Against a sword array pouring down like rain, in that moment, Shen Qinqiu roared like thunder in his heart.
How much hatred was there, that he couldn't even die a better-looking death and had to be defeated by many hundreds of black swords stuck through his body, until he was pierced into a sieve?! Could you see?!
However, he waited for a long while but didn't feel the pain of swords piercing through his heart.
At this kind of time, if it wasn't Mo Beijun suddenly changing his mind like the wind and withdrawing his sword array, then there was only one person and one possibility that could withstand this wave of murderous attacks.
Shen Qingqiu opened his eyes without any expression on his face.
Sure enough.
In all directions in the air, the dense and countless sword arrays were smashed to pieces. Smashed into pieces very thoroughly, until it was as though they had disappeared without a trace and there was only a sky full of black ice crystals reflecting the moonlight, falling down little by little.
This kind of scene could be described as beautiful.
Sure enough, he stood in the middle of the scene. In Luo Binghe's body and in his eyes, there seemed to be a blizzard gathering around him that could only be described as 'terrifying. '
Introducing Shen Qingqiu this scum villain; whether it was by morality or ability, how could he cause the male protagonist explode forth and block swords for him?!
This was an inhuman battle.
Shen Qingqiu sat next to a large tree, swallowing blood down into his stomach while circulating energy to recover his injuries and watching this mountain-splitting, world-wrecking demon king battle.
The seal on Luo Binghe's demon blood hadn't yet been lifted. Mo Beijun was also only testing him, yet still they fought until it seemed like the heavens and earth were in darkness without the light of the sun or moon. Both people were like stormy seas overflowing with demonic energy, almost like clouds covering the day.
This area was where the Thousand Leaf Cleansing Snow Flower...... this thing is called this name, right?! Right, the essence of the Thousand Leaf Cleansing Flower and its range, demonic creatures completely didn't dare get near. But after getting inundated by the overflowing demonic energy that was like blotting out the sky and covering the earth, the abundant spiritual energy of the Snow Lotus withered and went into necrosis to its roots. Those creatures that lurked and hid in the black shadows all crawled out, greedily picking out the scents that interested them.
Shen Qingqiu saw some Ghost Head Spiders sneakily climbing onto the bodies of a few Cang Qiong sect disciples, their hairy legs about to □□ into their temples. His spiritual power was just about exhausted, so he couldn't use a technique. He could only directly grab their filthy, tangled hair and throw them to the side.
He'd made sure of where he was aiming before throwing. He took care to throw in the direction of this traitor Shang Qinghua's body!
And on that side, Mo Beijun had just about tested and gotten a feel for Luo Binghe's depths, planning on closing in and making a final hit.
His fingers flicked and sent a bright red light into Luo Binghe's forehead.
That light streamed over and made contact with Luo Binghe's forehead, immediately entering his skin, melting into a fiery red seal [8]. Luo Binghe who had gone berserk with the need to kill, didn't know what it was. He only knew that he had a strong headache, almost making him kneel on the ground. His entire body churned with a savage impulse he had no way to expend. Conveniently, with a toss, the demonic energy exploded as though from the barrel of a cannon towards Mo Beijun.
This time the power was extremely strong. Mo Beijun raised his hand and slashed it apart, slightly surprised as he praised: "Not bad."
He also didn't care whether Luo Binghe's consciousness now was clear or not as he speculated to himself: "The Human Realm is not where you should stay. Why do you not return to your origins?"
Now, Shen Qingqiu could finally confirm with one hundred percent certainty.
Yes, Mo Beijun's sudden appearance, was for the purpose of taking the place of the Black Moon Python Rhinoceros!
Only compared to the original, Mo Beijun had done things more thoroughly. He-he-he, he actually directly opened the seal suppressing Luo Binghe's demon blood.
—End Chapter 26—
[1] Mo Beijun (漠北君): Another poor guy who got saddled with a very literal name, courtesy of Airplane Towards the Sky. His name translates directly to his lineage, i. e. Mo (Desert) Bei (North) Jun (Gentleman/Lord/Monarch). So Northern Desert Lord/Monarch is the closest approximation.
[2] Great One (大大): Not sure if this means 'dad' or 'great one. ' But meaning is pretty much the same.
[3] "Is this gentleman...": The term used is gexia (閣下) which is a rather formal way of speaking. My trusty little dictionary says it translates to 'Your Excellency. '
[4] Worked hard as a bull or horse (當牛做馬): A saying mean to slave away for someone or something. In this context, it's referring to how bulls and horses are farm animals for hard labor.
[5]... fiery and discerning eyes (如炬的火眼金睛): This was hard to translate. Literally, it's saying that Binghe's got torchlike/fiery eyes. Huo yan jin jing (火眼金睛) is more complicated, translating more literally to 'fiery eyes and diamond pupils. ' The meaning however, is more like he's got piercing/discerning eyes.
[6] 'Don't know the heavens come first and the earth after' (不知天高地厚): A phrase meaning someone not knowing their place, in my interpretation. My dictionary's giving me 'high as the heavens and deep as the earth' meaning 'complexity of things. '
[7]... Worth is in jin or liang...: Jin (斤) and liang (兩) are units of weight. Mo Beijun is basically saying that he's going to see if Binghe is all talk or has the strength to back it up.
[8] Fiery red seal (紋章): Wen zhang translates to 'coat-of-arms, ' but I think it sounds better as 'seal. ' From my understanding, this 'seal' is both a leftover of the seal locking his blood and an identifier for his demon bloodline. In Chinese culture, seal stamps are important little things that might be only a couple Chinese characters long at most (or a single one) but can be personalized to an individual or to a specific family/clan/what-have-you. You can just imagine a single red Chinese character glowing on his forehead if it helps.
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