Chapter Ninety-Eight: Death Scythe

The aura emanating from him was utterly unfathomable, and his eyes were as cold and bleak as the dead of winter.

Gegan could not in the least discern the stranger’s level of cultivation. If that was the case, then the man was most likely at the Infant Transformation stage.

For someone of such terrifying stature, Gegan dared not be careless. By the time one reached Infant Transformation, one was already an ancient monster who had lived for a thousand years or more, with a bizarre temper and a reclusive nature. It was said that if they were in a bad mood, they would often annihilate a few minor sects just to vent their anger, devil incarnates who killed without so much as blinking.

Almost unconsciously, he moved in front of Moonshadow Dune and said respectfully, “If this junior can be of any service, Senior, please give your orders. Though my cultivation is humble, I know this area well. Running errands and handling small matters are my strengths.”

The mysterious man’s face was covered in scars, crisscrossing one another in a hideous, nauseating pattern. His eyes faintly glowed with a red light.

He slowly said, “Princess, you truly are lively and full of mischief. Why won’t you behave and stay in Death God’s Hell? What are you doing out here? Have you grown tired of that desolate place and come out for a breath of fresh air? I happen to know many amusing places. Why not come with me and have some fun?”

His voice was hoarse and low, like a venomous serpent hissing in the dark, chilling to the bone.

Moonshadow Dune slipped out from behind Gegan and smiled faintly at the mysterious man. “I don’t like playing with you, because you’re too ugly. Even the skeletons and zombies in Death God’s Hell look less disgusting than you. I want to play with this big brother instead. Look how handsome and graceful he is.”

With that, she even stuck out her tongue.

Gegan could only smile bitterly in his heart. His looks were ordinary enough, so where did “handsome and graceful” come from? Still, compared with the man before him, he really was far easier on the eyes. He had not expected that after escaping one dangerous place, he would fall into another. Provoking that old monster with such words was no different from courting death; if trouble came, even standing still would get him struck. Before he knew it, he had once again been drawn into some new karmic entanglement.

As expected, the mysterious man’s facial muscles twitched a few times. He said, “Little princess, to tell you the truth, I’m here to take away the Death Scythe sealed within your body. If you hand it over obediently, I won’t make things difficult for you. Otherwise, I’ll have no choice but to refine you along with it.”

At last the man lost his patience and no longer bothered pretending to be a good person. Since he clearly could not keep up the act, he simply revealed his purpose, and his ferocity showed through at once.

Moonshadow Dune was not frightened in the least. She touched the tip of her nose and said, “So you came for this? You should have said so earlier. I’ve always hated it. If I hadn’t been carrying it around, I’d already have flown away by now. Take it.”

As she spoke, a pitch-black scythe, seven feet long and dark as ink, slowly took shape in the girl’s hand. Its edge gleamed with lethal sharpness, capable of cutting through anything, its blade lined with jagged, irregular teeth. A pure and concentrated aura of death coiled upon the scythe.

It gave the impression that whoever held the scythe held death itself.

Within Gegan’s body, the sword qi of the Eighteen Hells stirred restlessly, and the sword qi of the Ten Kings of Hell also surged eagerly. This was the true aura of death, born from hell itself.

The mysterious man stared at the Death Scythe in the girl’s hands, unable to restrain the desire in his heart. Greedily, he admired the weapon as though gazing upon the most beloved person in his life.

“Hand it over, little princess,” he said, extending a rough great hand, trembling with excitement.

Yet Moonshadow Dune lifted the scythe high above her head. In the air above, a luminous array condensed from deathly qi began to revolve, and from within it came a woman’s voice.

“Ancient Demon Lika, you have quite the nerve, daring to set your sights on my daughter. Even your master, the Lich King, would not dare openly scheme against me. Since that is so, do not blame me for breaking my promise and taking you apart myself.”

As the words fell, a massive hand condensed from deathly qi emerged from the light array. It radiated a terrifying might capable of shaking heaven and earth as it reached out and seized toward Ancient Demon Lika.

Lika thought with alarm, This is bad. I was too reckless. I never imagined that the Death Scythe could activate a space-crossing teleportation array. A power at the Spirit Refinement stage can channel spells through such an array, killing from thousands of miles away.

But he would not sit waiting for death. His body swelled by more than thirty feet, while armor of phosphorescent scale the size of bowls appeared over his body. A single horn rose from his brow, and a half-broken blade materialized in his hand as rolling black demonic qi surged around him.

Yet he did not counterattack. Instead, he formed a seal and cast a spell. With a dull boom, he turned into a cloud of blood mist and vanished from where he stood, reappearing a thousand feet away. He left behind only one sentence: “Senior, you misunderstand. I was merely joking with your daughter.”

Then he transformed into a streak of rainbow light and shot into the distance. His speed was astonishingly fast, and in the blink of an eye, he was gone without a trace.

The hand of death paused, then said, “You ran quickly enough. But using Bloodlight Escape and burning through your essence blood, you won’t recover for thirty or fifty years. Moonshadow Dune, you are still so willful. I told you before that you do not yet have the ability to protect yourself and cannot leave Death God’s Hell. Did you understand? And yet you never listen. Come back with me now.”

As he spoke, the hand shrank and seized the girl around the waist, preparing to depart.

The girl pouted, thoroughly unwilling, but there was nothing she could do. She reached back and tried to grab Gegan, only to catch empty air.

It turned out that the instant the array appeared, Gegan had already sensed danger. With two great experts about to clash, if he did not withdraw in time and got caught in the crossfire, would he not die an unjust death?

He immediately cast his spells. With “Withdrawing the Fuel from Under the Cauldron,” he lowered the oppressive pressure, otherwise he would not even have been able to move. Then with “A Path Around the Peak,” he opened a passage, and with “Replacing the Beams and Pillars,” he swapped positions with a stone more than thirty feet away. After a few quick leaps, he had fled more than a hundred feet.

Moonshadow Dune was furious and shouted, “Big brother, you promised to take me as your disciple and carry me into the sky, to watch the sunrise and sunset from Celestial Star Peak. You lied to me?”

Gegan gave a bitter smile. “You are a dignified princess, while I am merely an ordinary disciple of a small sect. How could I be your master? If fate allows, we will meet again.”

The moment he finished speaking, the space-crossing teleportation array vanished into a blur in the air, leaving only Moonshadow Dune’s words behind: “Mother, take that man away. All right?”

Gegan did not linger. He feared something unexpected might happen. With the little skill he had, it was better to stay far away from such important people; one poorly chosen word, and he might be cut down on the spot.

So he departed on his sword.

Still unfamiliar with the region, Gegan descended into a valley thick with forest and lush green grass. There he carved out a temporary cave dwelling and set up a formation, intending to recover his strength first.

The cave dwelling was not large, only about five hundred feet across. Aside from the meditation mat on which Gegan sat, there was nothing else. He swallowed a Spirit Gathering Pill and regulated his breathing to restore his magic power.

At that moment, within the sect master’s cave dwelling of the Celestial Star Sect, two people were seated: the sect master, Starlord Wind, and the high priestess, Qin Chuchu.

Below them knelt Bai Ruyu and Ying Xue.

Starlord Wind naturally carried an air of authority. In a gentle voice, he asked, “How did you build your foundation? Tell me the truth.”

Bai Ruyu and Ying Xue did not dare conceal anything, for the sect master’s presence suppressed the entire hall, making even their souls tremble involuntarily.

Thus the two of them recounted how Gegan had guided them. As for certain crucial matters, they were not fools. Since they could not tell whether the sect master’s inquiry would bring blessing or disaster, they left unsaid whatever they could.

After glancing at Qin Chuchu, Starlord Wind said, “Your foundation is a blessing to our sect. You may withdraw for now. From this day forward, cultivate on Celestial Star Peak. I will spare no effort in supporting you with pills and all that you need. You may go.”

The two bowed respectfully and withdrew.

After pondering for quite some time, Qin Chuchu said, “I believe this Gegan is most likely the sect’s lucky star. Do not be deceived by how low his strength still is now; his room for growth is beyond compare. We exhausted countless rare treasures and foundation pills to help Zhu Huanhuan establish her foundation, yet Gegan unexpectedly comprehended the secret of building the heavenly foundation, and he even generously instructed the two of them without the slightest stinginess.”

“Such an important matter must not leak out. Let it remain known only to the two of us. Whether or not Gegan is the one destined to save our sect, just from this insight alone, I will do everything in my power to nurture him. Let me see where he is now,” Starlord Wind said excitedly.