Seluruh kota mulai runtuh. Banyak orang tersedot ke dalamnya; mereka ingin terbang menjauh, tetapi tiba-tiba menyadari bahwa dasar Kultivasi mereka tidak bisa diputar sama sekali, seolah-olah dasar itu tidak pernah ada.
Saat itu, tangan Meng Hao menggenggam erat jimat keberuntungan. Jimat itu masih membutuhkan waktu lebih dari sepuluh tarikan napas untuk aktif dan sudah mulai memancarkan cahaya. Namun, saat itulah suara kuno bergema di telinganya.
"Buka pikiranmu dan hubungkan dengan Thorn Rampart-mu. Aku berada di ambang kematian, tetapi bisa menganugerahimu keberuntungan yang luar biasa. Anggap ini sebagai caraku berterima kasih atas kebaikanmu yang telah melindungi garis keturunan Klanku selama beberapa bulan terakhir ini."
Suara kuno yang lemah itu adalah suara yang sama yang telah memberi tahu Meng Hao cara mengendalikan Thorn Rampart. Meng Hao sangat sadar siapa orang ini, namun ia tetap ragu.
Dengan jimat keberuntungan, ia sangat yakin bisa meninggalkan tempat ini dengan selamat. Jika ia mendengarkan suara kuno itu, ia akan berhadapan dengan seorang eksentrik tingkat Spirit Severing. Tidak peduli seberapa hati-hati dan waspadanya ia, situasi itu tetap akan berbahaya.
"Tidak ada waktu lagi," lanjut suara itu. "Jika aku ingin merasuki tubuhmu, aku tidak akan menunggu selama ini. Apa yang kau ragukan, Nak? Apakah kau benar-benar berpikir jimat keberuntungan kunomu bisa membantumu melarikan diri dari seorang Kultivator Spirit Severing?!"
"Keberuntungan apa yang ingin Anda berikan kepada saya, Senior?" tanya Meng Hao melalui transmisi suara, matanya berkilat. Kekuatan dahsyat tiba-tiba menyebar dari bawah. Pada saat yang sama, jeritan pilu memenuhi udara. Meng Hao tidak perlu melihat ke bawah; ia tahu kota itu sedang tenggelam dengan cepat ke dalam Heavenly Pit.
Dasar Kultivasi di seluruh area itu dibatasi; namun, Perfect Gold Core milik Meng Hao tidak terpengaruh. Ia masih bisa melarikan diri atas kemauannya sendiri jika ia mau.
"Aku akan memberimu pencerahan Spirit Severing-ku. Itu akan membuka pintu bagimu di masa depan saat kau mencapai tingkat Spirit Severing. Itu juga akan menciptakan harapan bagi anggota Klanku...."
Gemuruh besar menyela suara kuno itu. Holy Snow City kini sudah lebih dari setengah hancur oleh Heavenly Pit di tanah. Tidak jauh di kejauhan, di area tempat kota itu runtuh, Meng Hao bisa melihat jurang hitam pekat. Jurang itu memancarkan aura jahat yang berubah menjadi hitam saat berputar di sekitarnya.
Saat itulah jimat keberuntungan Meng Hao selesai bersiap. Tanpa ragu, ia menekannya untuk mengaktifkannya. Namun, saat itulah wajahnya tiba-tiba berubah pucat.
Jimat keberuntungan itu tidak berfungsi!
Ledakan memenuhi udara saat bagian kota lainnya mulai hancur berkeping-keping. Jeritan pilu memenuhi udara. Meng Hao bisa merasakan gaya gravitasi dari dalam lubang raksasa itu semakin kuat. Untaian Qi hitam yang tak terhitung jumlahnya mencoba menariknya masuk.
Di saat kritis ini, tatapan tekad memenuhi matanya.
"Junior setuju!" Saat ia mengucapkan kata-kata itu, ia membuka pikirannya. Pada saat yang sama, ia mengirimkan Spiritual Sense-nya untuk menjalin kembali kontak dengan sisa-sisa Thorn Rampart yang masih ada di dalam kota.
Begitu Spiritual Sense-nya menyentuh Thorn Rampart, sosok layu yang duduk bersila dengan aman di ruang bawah tanah tiba-tiba melakukan gerakan mantra, menyebabkan tanda segel muncul.
Segera setelah tanda segel itu muncul, Meng Hao bisa merasakan duri-duri yang ada di dalam kota yang runtuh itu meluas. Duri-duri itu menjalar turun ke ruang bawah tanah yang sudah mulai hancur. Saat meluas ke bawah, duri-duri itu tumbuh semakin banyak, langsung menuju ke arah pria tua layu seperti mayat yang telah duduk di sana selama entah berapa tahun.
Duri-duri itu menembusnya, seketika menciptakan semacam hubungan antara pria itu dan Meng Hao. Keduanya tiba-tiba berbagi satu tubuh!
Kekuatan yang sangat kuat meledak ke dalam pikiran Meng Hao.
Suara dentuman memenuhi benaknya, dan urat-urat menonjol di sekujur tubuhnya. Wajahnya terdistorsi, dan matanya dipenuhi urat darah. Ia mulai gemetar, dan rasanya seolah tubuhnya akan terkoyak menjadi berkeping-keping. Rasa sakit menusuk jiwanya, dan rasanya seolah Spiritual Sense-nya akan hancur!
Aura yang sangat kuat tiba-tiba melonjak melewatinya.
Aura ini bukanlah aura Core Formation atau Nascent Soul, melainkan... Spirit Severing!!
Saat aura itu meledak, pikiran Meng Hao berputar, dan ia mendengar raungan geraman.
"Aku adalah Patriark dari Klan Frigid Snow. Aku memperoleh pencerahan Dao selama badai besar, dan melakukan Pemotongan Pertama (First Severing) seribu tahun yang lalu!"
Saat suara itu bergema di benak Meng Hao, sebuah gambaran menyatu. Dalam gambaran itu, Meng Hao melihat badai yang membentang sejauh mata memandang, bangkit dari Bumi hingga ke Langit. Petir menyambar di mana-mana, mengguncang segalanya. Ini adalah badai yang bisa menguliti Kultivator Nascent Soul hingga berkeping-keping, namun di tengah-tengahnya ada sosok yang memancarkan kedalaman yang luar biasa.
Itu adalah seorang pria paruh baya, tinggi, mengenakan jubah panjang. Kepalanya terangkat ke arah Langit saat ia mengeluarkan raungan yang kuat.
"Keturunan Klan, ingatlah aku! Aku adalah Hanxue Bao, Patriark generasi keenam dari Klan Frigid Snow. Untuk Pemotongan pertamaku, aku memotong Cinta keluarga. Namun, aku tidak memotong cintaku pada Klanku! Memotong Cinta dan menggantinya dengan Dao, menyelesaikan Pemotongan Spirit pertamaku, dan memicu Badai setengah Surgawi!"
Gambaran itu memudar, membuat pikiran Meng Hao berputar. Di sekelilingnya, angin tiba-tiba muncul. Angin itu menjerit dari dalam lubang raksasa di tanah. Kota itu kini tidak lagi runtuh, dan para Kultivator tidak lagi menjerit. Pusaran di Heavenly Pit tiba-tiba tenang. Angin menderu memenuhi lubang itu, mendorong kota yang hancur itu keluar dari dalam.
Angin itu kini menjadi badai, menyapu segalanya. Raungan yang mencengangkan memenuhi udara. Angin itu tampak mampu menembus rintangan apa pun; langit meredup dan bumi berguncang.
Binatang-binatang yang tersebar di seluruh negeri mengeluarkan pekikan pilu dan jatuh tersungkur, gemetar. Para Kultivator dari Black Lands Palace memuntahkan darah, dengan tatapan keheranan di wajah mereka.
Wajah para Kultivator Gurun Barat dipenuhi keterkejutan. Adapun Luo Chong dan kelompoknya, ekspresi mereka juga berubah, dan mereka mulai terengah-engah saat melihat badai yang mengamuk di sekitar Holy Snow City.
Sebaliknya, Kultivator Spirit Severing berjubah hitam di langit tertawa. Saat tawanya menyebar, cahaya hitam yang belum pernah terjadi sebelumnya bersinar dari matanya. Pada saat ini, ia benar-benar terlihat seperti semacam matahari hitam.
"Kehendak Spirit Severing! Patriark Hanxue Bao, aku tidak pernah menyadari kau akan menunjukkan keberanian dan kekuatan seperti itu di ambang kematian! Kau mengubah Kehendak Spirit Severing-mu menjadi tanda warisan yang kemudian kau berikan kepada Kultivator yang bahkan bukan dari Klan Frigid Snow! Betapa menyedihkan! Kau memotong Cinta dengan Pemotongan pertamamu, namun, ketika putramu mengkhianatimu, kau menunjukkan empati, dan tidak membunuhnya! Kau melawan Dao-mu sendiri, dan menghancurkan dirimu sendiri!
"Yah, karena tidak ada anggota Klanmu yang bisa menerima warisan Kehendak Spirit Severing-mu, tampaknya itu akan menjadi keberuntungan bagi anggota generasi junior ini. Sayangnya, pada akhirnya, keberuntungan itu tidak akan menjadi miliknya. Tanda ini, yang berisi generasi penerus Grand Dragoneer Klan Frigid Snow, akan menjadi milikku! Hanya seseorang sekuat aku yang mampu terhubung dengan lebih dari tiga generasi. Paling banyak, bayi ini hanya bisa terhubung dengan satu. Lebih dari itu akan membunuhnya seketika!
"Murid, muntahkan darahmu! Saksikan saat Guru membasmi kerabatmu untukmu. Dao-mu akan selesai, dan hari Spirit Severing-mu akhirnya akan tiba!" Kultivator berjubah hitam itu tertawa terbahak-bahak. Di sampingnya, Hanxue Zong memiliki tatapan rumit di wajahnya. Namun, tanpa mengucapkan sepatah kata pun, ia menampar dadanya dan memuntahkan seteguk darah.
Begitu darah itu menyembur keluar dari mulutnya, Kultivator berjubah hitam itu menyambarnya. Ia meremasnya di tangannya, di mana darah itu membentuk gambaran berdarah seorang remaja, dengan tatapan ketakutan di wajahnya, serta kegelisahan.
Gambaran itu terlihat sangat mirip dengan Hanxue Zong.
Begitu remaja itu muncul, matanya dipenuhi kebencian. Cahaya berdarah memancar darinya, dan ia melesat turun menuju badai yang mengelilingi Holy Snow City.
Saat mendekat, Meng Hao mengangkat kepalanya dan mengeluarkan raungan kesakitan. Kehendaknya masih tetap ada, dan masih miliknya, tetapi saat ia melihat pemuda itu, hatinya dipenuhi penderitaan. Rasa sakit itu tak terlukiskan, dipenuhi kesedihan, kemarahan, dan kegilaan.
Ia bisa merasakan bahwa badai di sekitarnya mulai runtuh, dan itu terjadi karena remaja berwarna darah itu.
"Zong'er...." kata suara kuno di kepala Meng Hao. Suara itu bergema di dalam dirinya, dipenuhi emosi mendalam yang mustahil untuk dinyatakan dengan jelas. Semua puluhan ribu hal yang perlu dikatakan, semuanya terucap dalam satu nama itu.
Saat suara itu bergema di dalam Meng Hao, badai di sekitarnya mulai dipenuhi tetesan hujan. Saat hujan turun, Meng Hao menyadari bahwa itu bukanlah hujan yang sebenarnya, melainkan air mata dari Patriark generasi keenam Klan Frigid Snow.
"Penyesalan...? Tidak, tidak ada penyesalan!" Gema suara itu bergema di kepala Meng Hao saat akhirnya, badai yang mengejutkan itu menjadi gila. Badai itu mulai runtuh, dan saat melakukannya, badai itu mencabik-cabik segala sesuatu di jalurnya, termasuk remaja berwarna darah itu.
Saat remaja itu hancur menjadi serpihan, suara baru tiba-tiba menggelegar di benak Meng Hao.
"Aku adalah Patriark generasi kelima dari Klan Frigid Snow, Grand Dragoneer Hanxue Ding! Aku memahami makna Kehendak Langit di atas gunung bersalju dan melakukan Pemotongan Pertamaku di Kolam Sepuluh Ribu Naga!" Suara ini jelas berbeda dari suara Hanxue Bao. Suara ini sedikit kurang mendominasi, namun sedikit lebih bermartabat. Saat suara itu bergema melalui Meng Hao, tubuhnya dipenuhi rasa sakit yang tak tertandingi dan intens.
Chapter 375: Incredible Good Fortune!
The entire city began to cave in. Many people were sucked along; they wanted to fly away, but suddenly discovered that their Cultivation bases couldn’t be rotated at all, as if they didn’t even exist.
At the moment, Meng Hao’s hand was tightly clasped around the good luck charm. It still required a bit more than ten breaths of time to activate and was already emitting a glow. However, it was then that the ancient voice transmitted into his ear.
“Open your mind and connect with your Thorn Rampart. I am on the verge of death, but can bestow upon you an amazing bit of good fortune. Think of it as my way of thanking you for the kindness of protecting the bloodline of my Clan over these past months.”
The ancient, weak voice was the same one that had told Meng Hao how to control the Thorn Rampart. Meng Hao was well aware who this person was, but nonetheless, he hesitated.
With the good luck charm, he was absolutely confident of being able to leave this place safely. If he listened to the ancient voice, he would be facing up against a Spirit Severing eccentric. No matter how cautious and careful he was, it would still be a perilous situation.
“There’s no time,” continued the voice. “If I wanted to possess you, I wouldn’t have waited so long to do so. What are you hesitating for, lad? Do you really think your ancient good luck charm can help you escape from a Spirit Severing Cultivator?!”
“What good fortune is it that you plan to give me, senior?” transmitted Meng Hao, his eyes glittering. An intense power suddenly spread up from below. At the same time, miserable cries filled the air. Meng Hao didn’t need to look down; he knew that the city was rapidly sinking down into the Heavenly Pit.
Cultivation bases in the entire area were being restricted; however, Meng Hao’s Perfect Gold Core was not one of them. He could still flee of his own volition if he wished.
“I’m going to give you my Spirit Severing enlightenment. It will open a door for you in the future when you reach Spirit Severing. It will also create some hope for my Clan members....”
A huge rumbling interrupted the ancient voice. Holy Snow City was now more than half destroyed by the Heavenly Pit in the ground. Not too far off in the distance, in the area where the city was crumbling into, Meng Hao could see a pitch black abyss. It emanated a sinister aura, which turned black as it circulated around.
It was at this time that Meng Hao’s good luck charm finished preparing. Without hesitation, he pushed down to activate it. It was at this time that his face suddenly fell.
The good luck charm didn’t work!
A boom filled the air as the rest of the city began to fall to pieces. Miserable cries filled the air. Meng Hao could feel the gravitational force from within the enormous hole growing stronger. The countless strands of black Qi were trying to pull him in.
At this critical moment, a look of determination filled his eyes.
“Junior agrees!” The instant he spoke the words, he opened his mind. At the same time, he sent out his Spiritual Sense to reestablish contact with the remnants of the Thorn Rampart that still existed within the city.
As soon as his Spiritual Sense touched the Thorn Rampart, the withered figure who safely sat cross-legged in the subterranean chamber suddenly performed an incantation gesture, causing a sealing mark to appear.
As soon as the sealing mark appeared, Meng Hao could sense the thorns that existed within the crumbling city expanding. They extended down into the subterranean chamber, which was already beginning to break apart. As they expanded down, they sprouted out with even more thorns, heading directly toward the withered, corpse-like old man who had been sitting there for who knew how many years.
They pierced into him, instantly creating a sort of connection between him and Meng Hao. The two of them were suddenly sharing a single body!
An unspeakably powerful force exploded out into Meng Hao’s mind.
A booming sound filled his mind, and veins bulged out all over his body. His face distorted, and his eyes filled with veins of blood. He began to shake, and it felt as if his body were about to be ripped into pieces. Pain stabbed into his soul, and it felt as if his Spiritual Sense were about to shatter!
An intensely powerful aura suddenly surged through him.
This aura was not that of Core Formation or Nascent Soul, but rather... Spirit Severing!!
The instant the aura exploded out, Meng Hao’s mind reeled, and he heard a snarling roar.
“I am the Patriarch of the Frigid Snow Clan. I gained enlightenment of the Dao during a great tempest, and performed my First Severing a thousand years ago!”
As the voice echoed out in Meng Hao’s mind, an image coalesced. Within the image, Meng Hao saw a tempest that stretched as far as the eye could see, rising from the Earth all the way up to the Heavens. Lightning crackled everywhere, shaking everything. This was a tempest which could flay a Nascent Soul Cultivator into pieces, and yet there in the middle of it all was a figure who exuded immense profundity.
It was a middle-aged man, tall, wearing a long robe. His head was raised toward the Heavens as he let out a powerful roar.
“Clan descendants, remember me! I am Hanxue Bao, sixth generation Patriarch of the Frigid Snow Clan. For my first Severing, I severed familial Love. However, I did not sever my love for my Clan! Severing Love and replacing it with the Dao, accomplished my first Spirit Severing, and incurred a half-Celestial Tempest!” [1]
The image faded, leaving Meng Hao’s mind spinning. Around him, a wind suddenly appeared. The wind screamed out from within the giant hole in the ground. The city was now no longer collapsing, and the Cultivators were no longer crying out. The vortex in the Heavenly Pit suddenly calmed. The howling wind filled the hole, pushing the crumbling city back out from within.
The wind was now a tempest, sweeping across everything. An astonishing roar filled the air. The wind seemed capable of crashing through any obstacle; the sky dimmed and the earth quaked.
The beasts that spread out across the land emitted miserable shrieks and fell prone, trembling. The Cultivators from the Black Lands Palace coughed up blood, looks of astonishment on their faces.
The Western Desert Cultivators’ faces filled with shock. As for Luo Chong and his group, their expressions also changed, and they began to pant as they looked at the raging tempest that swirled around Holy Snow City.
In contrast, the black-robed, Spirit Severing Cultivator up in the sky was laughing. As his laughter spread out, an unprecedented, black glow shone out from his eyes. At this moment, it really looked as if he were some type of black sun.
“Spirit Severing Will! Patriarch Hanxue Bao, I never realized you would display such courage and power on the verge of death! You transformed your Spirit Severing Will into a legacy brand which you then gave to a Cultivator who isn’t even of the Frigid Snow Clan! How sad! You severed Love with your first Severing, and yet, when your son betrayed you, you showed empathy, and didn’t kill him! You went against your own Dao, and destroyed yourself!
“Well, since none of your Clan members can accept the legacy of your Spirit Severing Will, it seems it will become good fortune for this member of the junior generation. Unfortunately, in the end, the good fortune will not belong to him. This brand, which contains successive generations of Frigid Snow Clan Grand Dragoneers, will be mine! Only someone as powerful as me would be able to connect with more than three generations. At the most, this infant could connect with one. Any more would kill him instantly!
“Disciple, spit up some of your blood! Watch as Master eradicates your kin for you. Your Dao will be completed, and the day of your Spirit Severing will finally come!” The black-robed Cultivator laughed loudly. Next to him, Hanxue Zong had a complex look on his face. However, without speaking a single word, he slapped his chest and spit up a mouthful of blood.
As soon as the blood shot out from his mouth, the black-robed Cultivator snatched it up. He squeezed it into his hand, whereupon it formed the bloody image of a teenager, a look of fear filling his face, as well as agitation.
It looked very similar to Hanxue Zong.
As soon as the teenager appeared, his eyes filled with hatred. A bloody glow emanated out from him, and he shot down toward the tempest surrounding Holy Snow City.
As it neared, Meng Hao lifted his head up and let out a roar of pain. His will still remained, and was still his, but the instant he saw the youth, his heart filled with agony. The pain was indescribable, filled with sorrow, fury and insanity.
He could sense that the tempest around him was beginning to collapse, and that it was happening because of the blood-colored teenager.
“Zong’er....” said the ancient voice in Meng Hao’s head. It echoed about inside him, filled with deep emotions that were impossible to state clearly. All of the tens of thousands of things that needed to be said, were all said in that single name.
As it echoed about inside Meng Hao, the tempest around him began to fill with raindrops. As the rain fell, Meng Hao realized that it was not truly rain, but rather, the tears of the sixth generation Patriarch of the Frigid Snow Clan.
“Regrets...? No, no regrets!” The echoes of the voice resonated in Meng Hao’s head as finally, the shocking tempest went mad. It began to collapse, and as it did, it tore everything in its path into shreds, including the blood-colored teenager.
As the teenager shattered into fragments, a new voice suddenly boomed out in Meng Hao’s mind.
“I am the fifth generation Patriarch of the Frigid Snow Clan, Grand Dragoneer Hanxue Ding! I grasped the meaning of Will of Heaven atop a snowy mountain and performed my First Severing in the Ten Thousand Dragons Pool!” This voice was clearly different from that of Hanxue Bao’s. It was somewhat less domineering, and yet a bit more dignified. As the voice reverberated through Meng Hao, his body filled with an unparalleled, intense pain. [1. The “Ding” in his name is the character for “cauldron”]
It felt as if his soul were about to collapse, and his body were going to be ripped into pieces. Up above, the sky grew dim, as if it were about to disappear. Suddenly, the image of an immense body of deep water appeared up above.
Ripples moved across the surface of the water, spreading out in all directions. The sound of a multitude of roars could be heard as countless black dragons burst out from the deep waters, which seemed to hang upside down above everything. The roaring dragons caused all of the beasts on the ground to wail mournfully. As for the Cultivators, looks of astonishment filled their faces, and blood sprayed from their mouths.
This was especially true of the Western Desert Cultivators, whose bodies trembled violently. One of the two Nascent Soul Cultivators looked up, and spoke in a weak voice: “The Ten Thousand Dragons Pool! According to the legends, after the Greatfather of the great Frigid Snow Tribe became a Grand Dragoneer, he took the Ten Thousand Dragons Pool as his own. After that, it disappeared from the Western Desert!!”
Up above, the black-robed Cultivator’s face flickered. “So, this kid has managed to support a second legacy brand!!”
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This chapter was sponsored by Alex Ly
The “Bao” in his name is the same character from the word “tempest”The “Ding” in his name is the character for “cauldron”
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