Book 5: Demonic Passion Chapter 17: Stealing the Heavens, Seizing the Sun
In an instant, Dugu Baitian's jet-black hair turned purple, and his eyes became blood-red and shining. He glared furiously at the heroes beneath his feet like a demon god.
"Sacrificing oneself to become a demon!" "He has become a demon!" "The devil has come!"
... Chaos erupted within the Valley of Longevity as the heroes began to panic.
"Everyone, don't panic! It's just 'Sacrificing oneself to become a demon'! There's nothing to be afraid of. Are we, so many of us, afraid of him alone?" a King-level expert shouted loudly.
The agitated crowd gradually calmed down, drawing their swords and blades to face Dugu Baitian in the air.
Dugu Baitian coldly swept his gaze over the heroes, took two steps forward treading on the void, his left arm holding Situ Mingyue, his right hand reaching towards the direction of Dugu Feiyan and Dugu Yanzhi. A beam of soft white light emanated from his palm, enveloping the two. In the blink of an eye, the wounds on their bodies completely healed.
The heroes watched, dumbfounded. The King-level expert who had spoken earlier felt particularly alarmed. Treading the void and emitting holy light – only legendary Saint-level experts could achieve this. He felt a chill running down his spine.
Someone shouted, "Kill!"
Countless swords and blades were hurled into the air, filling the sky with glinting steel.
"Back!" Dugu Baitian roared.
The weapons all froze in place three feet away from him, then shot back at ten times their original speed.
"Thud" "Thud" ...
Blood splattered as countless people wailed, their own swords and blades deeply embedded in their bodies.
"Kill!"
The sound of killing shook the heavens within the Valley of Longevity.
Yu Yi harbored a deep hatred for Dugu Baitian. Hiding in a corner, he altered his voice and shouted, "Don't be afraid, everyone! He has only sacrificed himself to become a demon. If we just hold on for a while, he will revert to his original form. By then, he will be extremely weak, and even a child could kill him."
The heroes' spirits were greatly boosted.
Dugu Baitian shot through the air like a bolt of lightning to where his grandfather and father stood. He enveloped them in a faint shimmering screen of light, then soared into the sky and vanished from the heroes' sight in an instant.
After flying several hundred zhang through the air, he landed and pushed Situ Mingyue towards Dugu Yanzhi.
"Baitian, where are you going...?" Dugu Yanzhi grabbed Dugu Baitian just as he was about to turn away.
"I'm going to kill!" His eyes were blood-red,射出仇恨的光芒 (emitting rays of hatred).
"Sacrificing oneself to become a demon may have instantly elevated your power to a peak, but after the peak comes the trough... You... you can't go!"
"Father, Grandfather, don't worry. I will definitely live on. You needn't worry about me. Uncle Situ and the others are here. Go back with them. You can't help me here. I already know who harmed Yue'er and will certainly avenge her." Though Dugu Baitian's voice was icy, it carried deep affection. After speaking, he knelt on the ground, kowtowed three times to Dugu Feiyan and Dugu Yanzhi, then soared into the sky and flew away.
A short while later, a large group of people arrived in the distance – experts from the Situ family, a martial arts clan of the Han-Tang Empire.
Dugu Baitian believed these people certainly hadn't come to deal with him. From afar, he only heard a few grief-stricken and furious cries: "Mingyue ah..." Then that group departed together with his grandfather and father.
When Dugu Baitian flew back to the Valley of Longevity, the heroes, who were just about to evacuate, became agitated once more. He landed right in the center of the valley, coldly scanning the crowd until his gaze finally locked onto Yu Yi, who was stealthily retreating.
At this moment, the pouring rain gradually ceased. A rainbow hung high on the horizon, yet the Valley of Longevity was shrouded in a heavy, murderous aura.
A sword beam shot straight towards Yu Yi.
"Bang"
Yu Yi's right palm exploded into a mist of blood that drifted in the air.
"Ahhh..." A horrifying, agonized scream made everyone's scalp tingle.
The crowd paled, then roared in unison.
"Kill this demon!" "Kill him!" ...
Countless people charged towards him.
"Explode!"
These people suddenly exploded before they could get within ten feet of him. Blood splattered, limbs flew in all directions, and for a moment, a bloody mist filled the entire valley. As the mist slowly drifted away, the ground was littered with minced flesh and shattered bones, red and white intermingled, a glaringly gruesome sight.
Dugu Baitian, with his purple hair, red eyes, and blood-stained clothes, swept his gaze over the heroes like a bloodthirsty demon god. Over a dozen King-level experts watched his every move intently, their faces expressionless.
His gaze then swept over the young Quasi-King level experts: Li Shi, Shui Jing, Wang Dao, Bu Yusī, Lan Haitian, Hua Yunfei, Shangxin Ren, Yu Yi who had lost his right palm... Their expressions were complex, each different.
The surrounding heroes were terrified, trembling with fear. Faced with the terrifying power Dugu Baitian displayed, each one's heart was filled with dread.
"Haha..." Dugu Baitian laughed heartily towards the sky, then said in an icy voice, "Aren't you the self-proclaimed righteous heroes who eradicate demons and defend the Dao? Come on! I, the demon in your eyes, am standing right here. Come and destroy me!"
Asura Heavenly King Zhao Cheng said, "Dugu Baitian, don't be so arrogant! Since ancient times, evil has never triumphed over good. Even if you are triumphant for a day, you will surely taste bitter fruit another day."
"Hmph! For saying that, I'll spare your wretched life so you can see for yourself this so-called 'evil never triumphs over good' in the future. Shatter!"
Two purple-red sword beams struck Zhao Cheng's arms respectively. After two "Bang" sounds and the dispersal of two clouds of blood mist, flesh and bone scattered on the ground. Zhao Cheng's two arms were severed cleanly at the shoulders, blood gushing out like a fountain.
Dugu Baitian laughed cruelly. "Heh heh, it seems the martial world truly is a place where the weak are prey to the strong, where strength is revered. Back when I was fleeing, how arrogant you all were! 'Destroy the demon!' 'Slay the demon!' 'Execute the demon!' Today I stand right before your eyes, yet not a single person steps forward... Heh heh... Heroes indeed!"
Li Shi, ethereal and immortal-like, stepped out from the crowd. "Dugu Baitian, for every person you kill today, your sin increases. Do you truly intend to emulate the Undying Demon of legend? You must know, there is always someone better, skies beyond skies. Even if your demonic flames reach the heavens today, you will inevitably meet a miserable end someday!"
"Haha..." Dugu Baitian threw his head back and laughed wildly. "I'm emulating the Undying Demon of legend? Didn't you all already consider me the Undying Demon long ago?"
Then his voice turned cold: "What wrong did I actually commit initially, for all of you to hunt me down? Just because of those damned words 'Sacrificing oneself to become a demon'? Today I have sacrificed myself and become a demon. Have I lost my nature? Have I become a mindless killing tool? No! It was all forced upon me by you! Since you force me, I will grant your wish! I will dye the heavens red with blood! I will pile mountains high with dry bones!"
Just then, someone shouted, "Fight this demon with our lives! It won't be long before he reverts to his original form! Kill him!"
The crowd surged towards him madly.
"Many among you will survive. I want you to witness the truth of history. But – the majority of you must die!"
Having said that, Dugu Baitian soared into the air, arriving above the Valley of Longevity. A trace of an evil smile curled on his lips as he looked down upon the heroes beneath his feet.
He let out a great shout, like the roar of a dragon or tiger, its sound shaking the earth for dozens of li. "Steal——Heaven——Seize——Sun!"
A curtain of blackness enveloped his entire body, plunging him into utter darkness. Simultaneously, a massive wave of energy surged towards the heroes on the ground. Those with slightly higher cultivation quickly retreated backwards, while countless others were pinned down by mountain-like pressure. An irresistible force assailed every part of their bodies. Pinpoints of white light drifted out from their bodies, flowing towards Dugu Baitian high in the sky.
The heroes who escaped this disaster were extremely terrified. Older generation figures couldn't help but exclaim, "It really is the Stealing Heaven Seizing Sun Demonic Art!"
"No, this is a mutated Stealing Heaven Seizing Sun Demonic Art! The true Stealing Heaven Seizing Sun Art only seizes the essence of plants and steals the energy of Heaven and Earth!" ...
A quick death is not frightening. But when you face death firsthand, watching yourself slowly and painfully die, that is when true fear sets in. The heroes trapped under the Stealing Heaven Seizing Sun effect felt their vital essence – their life energy – constantly flowing out. They became listless, their faces ashen, as if all vitality had left them.
These several hundred people wailed incessantly, their voices utterly miserable. The white light emanating from their bodies converged into a massive pillar shooting towards Dugu Baitian shrouded in darkness.
The watching heroes were furious enough to burst their eyes. Countless swords and blades were hurled into the air, but these weapons froze three feet away from the dark mass, unable to advance an inch further. Then they exploded one after another, turning into powder that drifted down like scattered dust.
By now, the cries from the several hundred people on the ground gradually weakened, and the white light emanating from them also dimmed. These people all shared the same feeling: their lives were fading, their souls perishing. When the white light completely vanished, all of them exploded with "Bang" "Bang" sounds. Fresh red flesh, blood, and white bones covered every corner of the Valley of Longevity. Blood on the ground gathered into small streams, gurgling as they flowed. Blood mist rose, permeating every inch of space, the pungent smell of blood nauseating.
The thousands of heroes were covered in bits of flesh and splattered with blood. Each one was filled with grief and indignation.
The Valley of Longevity was like a field of Asuras, truly becoming a living hell on earth.
Just then, a brilliant light suddenly erupted above the Valley of Longevity. Dugu Baitian's entire body was filled with myriad rays of light, putting even the sun in the sky to shame. Countless dazzling beams of light shot towards the firmament. Under the hateful and bewildered gazes of the heroes in the valley, the life energy of those several hundred people was thus scattered into the air by him.
Dugu Baitian gazed silently into the void for a long, long time.
After a very long while, he slowly turned towards the west and said grimly, "You old不死 (undying/decrepit) one have finally come! I've been waiting for you for a long time!"