Chapter Fifty-Seven: Turning Misfortune into Blessing

Grabbing the opportunity in a flash, Ge Qian made his most effective counterattack without hesitation.

Ordinarily, in the presence of those two ancient monsters, Ge Qian would not amount to even a speck of dust. Fortunately, they paid him no heed, wary instead of each other. Moreover, Ge Qian was a master of disguise, feigning humility and timidity, dodging and praying, thoroughly lulling them into complacency.

Thus, the two had long since dismissed him as irrelevant. They were perfectly matched opponents—one possessed the bloodline of the Devouring Beast, the other that of the Thunder God.

Both bloodlines were among the most exalted in existence. The Devouring Beast, an ancient mythic creature, consumed all things, acting with arrogance and disregard for any restraint, an embodiment of chaos. The Thunder God, on the other hand, governed the heavenly law, administering divine justice, slaying demons and evil spirits, upholding all realms with unwavering rectitude, the very personification of righteousness.

Thunder was the ultimate symbol of integrity, representing radiant purity.

Chaos and order—one darkness, one light. Chaos belonged to the shadows, unable to bear the sun’s gaze, the essence of Yin. Righteousness was a blazing light that banishes all darkness, the very incarnation of Yang, the champion of justice.

Yin and Yang are the two extremes, eternally in opposition, each restraining the other. The stronger prevails, but when their strength is equal, it becomes a matter of volume.

Thus, there are times when evil cannot overcome good, and times when Yin prevails and Yang wanes—the Dao of Heaven cycles, and Yin and Yang alternate.

When the Fire-Thunder Divine Ape and the Marauding Deity clashed, the outcome was a deadlock, their powers perfectly matched.

The nameless heart scripture Ge Qian chanted did not break the stalemate; on the contrary, it seemed to harmonize their powers, like two people separated by a great river, awaiting a bridge to unite them.

The two ancient monsters, seasoned as they were, sensed something amiss. The youth they had so thoroughly dismissed now revealed an uncanny magical art, and their hearts sank.

The Marauding Deity said, “Fire-Thunder Divine Ape, we must separate at once. I have a bad feeling about this. Why not finish off this brat before we continue?”

“I feel it too. Agreed, let’s both withdraw our powers together,” replied the Fire-Thunder Divine Ape.

Ge Qian immediately ceased his chanting. If the two monsters separated, his death was certain, so he ruthlessly seized the moment to strike first.

Just as the two prepared to part, the scripture abruptly stopped, causing tremendous harm to the listeners. Their previously tranquil spirits erupted into chaos; countless mantras lost their order and exploded, ejecting large fragments of will from their primordial souls.

Their primordial souls still formed a taiji diagram, only smaller and now inseparably fused, spinning in a slow counterclockwise motion no matter how hard they struggled to break free.

The two ancient monsters had weathered countless storms—even when suppressed, turned into puppets, they had escaped with their souls intact. But this time, they were utterly helpless, forced to watch as their wills were refined and obliterated.

The primordial soul is the energy body of the spirit, while the will contains memory and ability.

Simply put, after a cultivator’s death, the primordial soul can possess another, but if the will is destroyed, true death follows—no reincarnation, only the purest energy remains.

Now, the two faced true annihilation.

Ge Qian showed no mercy, coldly saying, “You tried to possess me. Don’t blame me for my ruthlessness when I utterly refine you both.”

With that, he began chanting the scripture anew.

The Marauding Deity, trapped for millennia, had sacrificed all his accumulated power to send his soul out of the formation, shattering a portion of his memory, intending to start anew—first destroy, then rebuild. Now all his efforts and schemes were reduced to nothing.

It was more agonizing than death. Worse still, he had imparted his “Heavenly Marauding Art,” “Marauding Demon Body,” and all his insights to Ge Qian, thinking he was preparing for his own rebirth by ensuring the techniques would not be lost with fragmented memory. Now, it had all become a gift to another.

It was as if he had been lecturing his enemy day and night—a total loss, his heart seething with hatred, but it was too late for regrets.

Yet, the Marauding Deity was nothing if not adaptable. He quickly pleaded, “Spare me, young master! I can be of great use to you. Do you really think the techniques I gave you were genuine? That was only to deceive you. Release me, and I will teach you the true arts. Besides, you’ll need me to ascend to the Spirit Realm—only I know the method! Let’s become sworn brothers; what do you say?”

The Fire-Thunder Divine Ape fared no better. In truth, he had foreseen he could not survive the great heavenly tribulation, so he had sealed a sliver of his soul, deliberately allowing himself to become a puppet spirit.

He had sought to hide from tribulation in the lower realm, then use the formation to refine the Marauding Deity, seize his “Heavenly Marauding Art,” and cultivate anew, perhaps even ascend to the Immortal Realm.

After so many calculations and schemes, success was almost within his grasp, only to suffer utter destruction at the last moment. While the Marauding Deity might revive under the formation, his own fate was sealed—his corpse would become a puppet forever.

He, too, begged, “Spare me, young master. I also know the way to ascend to the Spirit Realm. I have left many means behind there; with my help, you could ascend safely.”

Ge Qian ceased his chanting again and said, “You both should accept your deaths in peace. As for your techniques, I’ll study them myself. Ascension is far beyond my reach for now. The future can wait; if I miss this chance, I’ll never be able to control you. So today, you must die.”

With the chanting resumed, the two monsters screamed again, their wills shattered once more, their primordial souls shrinking yet again.

The Marauding Deity realized his arrogance had been his undoing. This ordinary youth from the lower realm had a mind unmoved by temptation or fear—he had misjudged him entirely.

He sneered coldly, “Very well. You will pay for your foolishness today. One day, I’ll see you suffer a fate worse than death. My true body remains sealed—when it breaks free, your doom will come!”

With that, he utterly dissolved his will, vanishing without a trace.

The Fire-Thunder Divine Ape snarled, “Absorbing my Thunder God bloodline is a blasphemy against the Thunder God himself. Prepare to face his wrath!”

He, too, dissolved his will, choosing annihilation over torture and refinement.

Ge Qian, still cautious, continued refining them over and over. Their threats meant nothing to him; tomorrow’s problems could wait for tomorrow—his task was to master the moment.

Three days later, he had finally finished refining the taiji diagram, now the size of a thumb, distinct in black and white. The black was as deep as hell, able to swallow all life; the white, as radiant as a heavenly sun, thunder flickering within it. Even a fallen demon would be transformed into an angel before its brilliance.

Ge Qian nodded to himself, sensing the immense power within. He now had even greater confidence in his foundation-building.

Yet another vexation remained: the fragments of will from the two ancient monsters were too powerful for his current strength to fully obliterate. Fortunately, they drifted like dark clouds in his sea of consciousness, posing no immediate threat.

He remembered the jade slip the Marauding Deity had given him—perhaps it held the solution. For now, he needed to leave this place. Unless he advanced to the Spirit-Refining stage, he would never return.

He formed a seal, pointed at the earth above, and whispered, “Twists and turns reveal a new path.”

His body leapt up, passing through the soil as if it were air, and swiftly emerged onto the surface.