Volume 1, Chapter 518 – Choice

“Heart of Heaven? The world core of this realm?”

Shi Lan was no stranger to world cores. The world core of Qinghong Realm had already fused with her. Within that stretch of heaven and earth, she was an omnipotent god.

“There are some differences, but not by much. This is the source of the Heavenly Dao’s power. Splitting off half of it is the same as weakening itself. If you can refine this half of the Heart of Heaven, then half of this realm will effectively be yours.”

Reincarnation sounded somewhat regretful. “But with the Heavenly Dao awakening at its current rate, you’ll be discovered before you can finish refining it.”

“Why would the Heavenly Dao of this realm do this?” Shi Lan asked, puzzled.

No matter which world it belonged to, a Heavenly Dao always placed tremendous importance on source power. Leaving half of its own origin out in the open was undeniably dangerous. If someone took advantage of it, the consequences would be unimaginable.

“I’m not too sure either. But if you want to swallow this half of the Heart of Heaven, it’s not entirely impossible. Put it into the Qiongluo Realm and bring it back to Lingyang. Then you can take your time with it.”

Because of Shi Lan’s sudden appearance, the battlefield paused for an instant and fell into an eerie silence.

Her exchange with Reincarnation had taken no more than a fleeting moment. For the time being, Shi Lan set the matter of the Heart of Heaven aside. Her thoughts raced as she began weighing whether to stay or leave.

This was no muddy water to wade into lightly. Judging from the black-and-gold imperial robes on the middle-aged man and the dragon-patterned reliefs on these generals, even if the man before her was not the current Son of Heaven, he was still a royal scion, far beyond the likes of a collateral kinsman like Liu Bei.

Since these people dared to pursue him, it was enough to show just how terrifying the power behind them was. They were no ordinary warlords.

“Who goes there? State your name!”

Before Shi Lan could decide whether to stay or go, a sharp shout rang beside her ear.

The speaker wore black armor, with sword-like brows and a tigerish beard. He held a three-chi saber, his blood and qi vigorous, his build powerful, and his Martial Dao cultivation unfathomably deep. Behind him followed a squad of black-armored generals.

“Who cares who she is? Kill anyone who blocks the way!”

Rеαd оո ΚatReaԁіոɡСαfе

Before Shi Lan could even speak, a lance-light flashed across the sky, murderous intent surging as it stabbed straight for the crown of her head.

Blood-colored wings unfurled behind her, tearing open space. Shi Lan gathered her thoughts, a cold light flashing through her eyes, and vanished from where she stood.

The thrust missed. A trace of surprise flashed through the spear-wielding general’s eyes, but before he could withdraw his weapon, a pitch-black halberd swept out of the void, roaring toward him with boundless tyranny and blazing fire.

Buzz!

The dazzling halberd-light lit up the world, unstoppable as it smashed into the spear general’s chest in an instant.

Crack!

Blood sprayed as a figure was sent flying sideways. The Scarlet Crow War Halberd carried overwhelming force, instantly blowing apart half his body. Flesh peeled away, exposing stark white bone beneath.

After landing that blow, Shi Lan did not pursue. She instantly retreated, barely avoiding an icy saber-light that slashed diagonally toward her.

Shi Lan withdrew to a point not far from the carriage. Perhaps because of what she had just done, the general in dragon-scale crimson armor did not attack her. Instead, he moved a few steps closer in her direction, as if he intended to join forces.

Looking at the black-armored generals in the distance, Shi Lan felt a headache coming on. This group’s Martial Dao cultivation was anything but ordinary. Every one of them was a top expert of the age, and several were far stronger than she was.

Once a fight truly broke out, the mere dozen or so people beside her would stand no chance at all.

Screech!

The piercing shriek of space being torn open was deafening. The black-armored man with the saber in the distance clearly had no interest in wasting words. He strode forward, killing intent swirling in his eyes, and his gleaming blade-light split apart the nine heavens.

Boom!

Rеaⅾ оո ΚatRеadіոgCafe

Shi Lan’s heart jolted, and she instinctively glanced to the side. The carriage that had been nearby just moments ago had already vanished, leaving only a fading streak of crimson on the distant horizon.

Clearly, these people were fleeing. They had no intention of fighting head-on. Their earlier approach had only been to use her as a shield.

Shi Lan pulled away at top speed. A glimmer flashed at her brow as she took more than a dozen Dao weapons out from the Qiongluo Realm, hurled them out, and detonated them all in an instant.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Earth-shattering thunder rolled across the sky. Dazzling and brilliant clouds of light instantly devoured the surrounding void, plunging the entire world into chaos. The violent energy fluctuations were clearly visible even from tens of millions of li away.

Only after more than ten breaths did the violent spatial turbulence gradually subside.

The black-armored generals halted in midair, their expressions dark. The man Shi Lan had heavily wounded earlier had been completely annihilated within the surging energy storm.

The black-armored leader took out a compass. After confirming the direction, he spoke coldly:

“Southwest, Black Tortoise sector. After them!”

…

…

Several million li away, Shi Lan followed that streak of crimson with her eyes, her chest tightening. The Dao weapons she had thrown out earlier had all come from the spoils she had gained in the Reincarnation Hall, and they had all been of extremely high grade.

Although they were little more than a drop in the bucket to her, they were still worth a great deal.

Her original intention had been to profit from the chaos. Instead, things had gone against her wishes, and she had wound up losing quite a bit. The thought pained her.

In less than half the time it took to drink a cup of tea, a bone-piercing killing intent struck from behind, seeming to bore straight through Shi Lan’s back.

Rеаԁ οո KаtRеaԁіnɡCаfе

Clearly, those behind her had already caught up. That did not surprise her. Shi Lan’s gaze sharpened, true essence circulating through her body. Her footwork shifted slightly, as if she were stepping on a clear moon, and her speed surged by several levels.

The Great Sage Moon-Veiling Step was a top imperial-path divine ability, second only to imperial arts. It possessed a terrifying speed and was extraordinarily difficult to comprehend.

Shi Lan had devoted a great deal of effort to it in the virtual space, and even now she had only barely reached minor mastery.

With her current cultivation, using a divine ability of this level consumed far too much. Even with the self-recovery speed of her Innate Spiritual Body, she was already struggling to keep up, stretched to the limit.

The killing intent behind her refused to disperse. It had clearly locked onto her. Shi Lan drew a deep breath, pushed her speed up another notch, and the crimson streak in her eyes became clearer and clearer.

Hum!

A prickling sense of danger rose in her heart. Shi Lan instinctively lowered her head, and more than ten pale silver arrows shot past above her scalp. The violent airflow that followed sent her long black hair flying wildly.

Boom! Boom!

The arrows exploded one after another high in the distant sky, knocking the crimson streak out of the air. Fragments of the carriage, mixed with bloody pulp, spread across the heavens.

Shi Lan crossed the sky in a single breath, then came to a stop, facing the pursuing group from afar through the drifting wreckage of the carriage.

The middle-aged man from the carriage rolled across the ground, his imperial robes stained with blood. After being smeared with blood, the crimson longsword in his hand trembled, as if it were about to awaken.

The little boy was still clutched in the arms of a crimson-armored general who had protected him to the death. He had not suffered the slightest injury, merely fainting from the tremendous impact. The general shielding him, however, was already dead.

The pursuing black-armored generals wore grim expressions. Without a single word, they leaped forward, intent on killing Shi Lan together with the crimson-armored general.

“How dare you! What rebels dare injure the Son of Heaven?!”

Rеαԁ on ΚаtRеаⅾіոgСafе

A furious shout suddenly exploded out. In the nearby void, a battle flag bearing the character “Cao” appeared, dark red like blood, and strangely familiar to Shi Lan.

A pitch-black figure burst out of the void like a falling meteor. The great halberd in his hands swept out with the immense force of sun and moon revolving, crashing heavily into the midst of the black-armored generals.

The saber the black-armored leader had just raised shattered instantly. Man and blade alike were split into pieces by that single halberd strike, turning into a cloud of blood mist.

The pitch-black figure was like a tiger entering a flock of sheep. In the span of a few breaths, he hacked the black-armored generals into total disarray as easily as chopping melons and slicing vegetables.

Shi Lan took it all in, then slowly descended to the ground. She bent down, pried apart the little boy’s slightly pale fingers, and drew out the jade booklet.

“If this half of the Heart of Heaven is lost, what effect will it have on this world?” Shi Lan silently asked as she stroked the cover of the jade booklet.

“The Heavenly Dao’s decline will accelerate. The loss of the world’s energy will also intensify, and it will fall into decline sooner. That was already inevitable.”

“Is it possible that it will follow in the Qiongluo Realm’s footsteps?”

“That possibility cannot be ruled out. The universe is full of variables. No one can know the future.”

“Then forget it.”

Shi Lan shook her head slightly and tucked the jade booklet back into the little boy’s arms. The karmic burden of an entire world’s rise and fall was too heavy for her to bear.

“This half of the Heart of Heaven is enough to push your cultivation to an extremely high level. In the future, you could even devour this world with it. Think it through carefully.”

Reincarnation was not surprised by Shi Lan’s decision, but still found it somewhat regrettable, and could not help urging her once more.

“Excessive greed only backfires.”