Chapter 3417: Another Corpse of Time
In the wooden cabin, the old man with a red mole between his eyebrows was one of the killing gods of the Heavenly Assassination Organization.
His title was Như Uyên Sát Thần (Abyss Killing God).
On the table, the flame of the oil lamp flickered.
Như Uyên Sát Thần felt the increasingly intense chill emanating from Đào Hoa (Peach Blossom), and couldn't help but sneer: "You're merely a false god. Do you really think you can take the child from my hands?"
"Perhaps I can."
Đào Hoa transformed into a streak of pink light, charging into the wooden cabin.
In just those few short steps, it was as if she had shed a layer of shell, revealing her true appearance. Her eyes, like two swords, regained their former cold ruthlessness.
Như Uyên Sát Thần unleashed his Divine Realm World.
The moment Đào Hoa crossed the threshold, she rushed into a layer of white mist.
Layer upon layer of mist concealed divine thoughts and blocked the five senses.
A false god entering the Divine Realm World of a mid-level god was like a young beast falling into an abyss, losing all chance of escape.
"Crack!"
Đào Hoa raised her finger above her head, and instantly, the world's vital energy of the entire planet was stirred by her spiritual power, transforming into lightning that converged toward her fingertip.
The wooden cabin exploded, turning to ashes.
Như Uyên Sát Thần's Divine Realm World was shattered by the lightning, and the white mist dissipated with it.
"You actually cultivated your spiritual power to... such a level..."
Như Uyên Sát Thần's eyes sharpened. His five fingers turned pitch black, divine power surging outward, as he was about to cruelly kill the child in his arms.
"Swish!"
A golden needle pierced through his brow first.
Then, a storm of spiritual mental force pressed down on his divine soul, sealing his murderous will.
Như Uyên Sát Thần let out a miserable cry. A bloody dot appeared on his brow, the back of his head exploded entirely, and his body toppled backward.
"Thanh Nhi!"
Đào Hoa picked up the child on the ground, hugging him tightly to her chest. Then, directly burning her divine blood, she shot upward, trying to escape.
She knew very well how terrifying Ân Nguyên Thần was.
Ân Nguyên Thần looked at the thick dark clouds in the sky and the dense falling lightning, the corners of his mouth curling upward slightly. "You made the wrong choice! Do you think you can notify your husband to flee through this method? He won't run. Instead, he'll rush over here recklessly, ignoring everything."
"Whoosh!"
Ân Nguyên Thần's figure flickered, appearing mid-air in front of Đào Hoa. The small sword he used to peel cucumbers slashed toward her, dragging a long, bright sword light.
Đào Hoa's spiritual power domain was instantly broken. The sword light grazed past the edge of her cheek, leaving a bloody wound from the corner of her eye down to her chin.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh..."
The second sword, the third sword...
Ân Nguyên Thần's speed was countless times faster than Đào Hoa's. Every sword strike left a sword mark on her body.
Finally, Ân Nguyên Thần struck a heavy palm blow to Đào Hoa's chest and abdomen.
"Bang!"
"Crack! Crack!"
Đào Hoa fell straight down. The sound of bones shattering echoed from within her body, divine blood splattering everywhere.
On the ground, a bottomless pit was smashed out. The entire planet shook with it, dust shooting into the sky.
Ân Nguyên Thần caught the little boy that had been thrown from Đào Hoa's hands, landing lightly on the ground like a falling leaf.
"Ah!"
From the bottomless pit came Đào Hoa's roar, almost like a wild beast's howl.
A golden Buddhist pillar flew out of the pit, shooting into the sky.
The profound Buddhist power caused a massive vortex of clouds to form at the center of the golden pillar in the sky.
Như Uyên Sát Thần's face was pale, heavily injured. He looked at Đào Hoa suspended within the golden pillar and said, "Such a powerful Buddhist aura."
They naturally didn't know that when Đào Hoa was pregnant, Trương Nhược Trần had implanted Vân Thanh Cổ Phật's incarnation body into the child, transforming him into a reincarnated Buddhist child. That was why Đào Hoa had been pregnant for so many years—this was a Buddhist fetus.
What kind of existence was Vân Thanh Cổ Phật?
He was the master of Lục Tổ and Ấn Tuyết Thiên.
A Buddhist fetus could nourish the mother in return. That was why Đào Hoa's spiritual power cultivation progressed so quickly. Her physical body was also nurtured by Buddhist power, with thick, pure Buddhist energy in her blood and bones.
"Give me back my child!"
Đào Hoa's spiritual power and Buddhist power erupted simultaneously. Not only was her divine blood burning, but her lifespan was also being ignited. She was truly fighting with everything she had. A finger sword shot through the air toward Ân Nguyên Thần.
Her figure and the finger sword moved side by side, fast as light and lightning.
Ân Nguyên Thần stood still in place, holding the little boy with one hand. He looked at her, and a colossal divine sword dozens of zhang long automatically condensed above him, slashing straight down at the flying Đào Hoa.
"Pfft!"
Đào Hoa was sent flying backward, even more blood spilling out.
Before she could fall to the ground, Ân Nguyên Thần's five fingers had already grabbed her head, forcefully pressing her body down to kneel. The kneecaps of both her legs exploded directly, turning into bone dust.
Blood continuously flowed from her knees. Her body trembled, but she could no longer use any power.
The gap in cultivation was too great!
Đào Hoa's increasingly blurry eyes looked at the little boy in Ân Nguyên Thần's hands. Her voice was weak, filled with pleading: "Let him go... he's just... just a child... kill me, let him go..."
A strange glint flashed through Ân Nguyên Thần's eyes, but it instantly returned to cold cruelty. "Whether to kill him or not—you can't decide that, and neither can I!"
"Please... ah..."
As if her soul had been pierced, Đào Hoa let out a scream of utmost agony.
Ân Nguyên Thần's five fingers pierced through her skull. Wisps of witch god aura flowed from his fingertips as he began forcibly searching her soul, trying to find A Lạc's whereabouts.
Just then, an extremely bright sword light tore through heaven and earth, heading straight for Ân Nguyên Thần.
The sword light carried a sharp, furious roar.
"You finally came!"
Ân Nguyên Thần looked at the sword light, smiling with satisfaction. Then he let out a long roar.
A divine demon lion radiating golden light appeared behind him, roaring together with him.
Divine Demon Lion Roar!
The roar spread out, turning every human on the planet into dust.
The seas dried up, the celestial body cracked apart.
In the void of the universe, only a yellow, hazy nebula of dust remained.
A Lạc had long been blasted away. His body was tattered, bones visible in many places, internal organs riddled with holes, blood flowing endlessly from his wounds.
But he didn't flee. His eyes were sharp as swords, fierce as wolves, as he continued walking toward Ân Nguyên Thần.
Ân Nguyên Thần shook his head in disappointment. "Once, you could be my opponent. But over the years, how have you become so weak? Where is your sword? A swordsman—do you think that by throwing away your sword and disguising yourself as an ordinary person, you can live a happy, peaceful life?"
"Without a sword in hand, you become nothing but an ant, your life and death beyond your control. Only those who charge forward bravely, daring to face the cruelest challenges, are worthy of defending their family."
"You talk too much!"
A Lạc's body ignited. His eyes were blood-red, his lifespan and blood rapidly draining away. Using his own body as a sword, he shot toward Ân Nguyên Thần like a beam of light.
Ân Nguyên Thần pointed out a finger. Countless sword path rules condensed, forming a colossal divine sword dozens of zhang long...
Suddenly, Đào Hoa, who had been heavily wounded beside them, struck out with a palm. Dozens of purple lightning bolts burst from her palm, striking toward Ân Nguyên Thần's heart.
"Whoosh!"
A divine tree connecting heaven and earth erupted from within Ân Nguyên Thần's body, blasting Đào Hoa flying away.
At the same time, the colossal divine sword slashed out, cutting A Lạc in half at the waist. The two halves flew toward the distant void.
Ân Nguyên Thần threw the little boy to Như Uyên Sát Thần and chased after A Lạc's two severed halves. Unexpectedly, A Lạc didn't flee. Both halves flew back simultaneously, attacking him from left and right.
A Lạc roared from his mouth: "I'll hold him off! You run! Go to Tinh Hoàn Thiên and find Trương Nhược Trần!"
A Lạc's lower half executed a leg technique, manifesting a footprint the size of a mountain, stomping down on Ân Nguyên Thần.
"Mother... Father... where is this? I want my mother..."
The little boy woke up, frightened into tears by the scene before him, pounding Như Uyên Sát Thần with both hands.
Đào Hoa looked tearfully at A Lạc and Ân Nguyên Thần in the distance. Then, she activated a spiritual power divine technique. A Buddhist shadow condensed behind her.
The might radiating from the Buddhist shadow stunned Như Uyên Sát Thần's divine soul for a moment.
In that single moment, Đào Hoa pierced through Như Uyên Sát Thần's divine body, snatched the little boy from his hands, and then transformed into a pillar of light, shooting beyond the heavens.
She had no choice. For the sake of her child, she could only choose to flee first.
She guessed that Ân Nguyên Thần and the Heavenly Assassination Organization were looking for A Lạc, most likely wanting to use him against Trương Nhược Trần. If so, A Lạc wouldn't be in immediate mortal danger.
Ân Nguyên Thần slashed through the footprint A Lạc had manifested, shattering his lower half into a cloud of blood mist. Then, his gaze turned toward the fleeing Đào Hoa!
Just as he was about to chase after her, an extreme sense of danger arose in his heart. He turned his head.
He saw, within the blood mist, A Lạc's upper half flying toward him. His body was covered in cracks, each one crimson red, releasing destructive energy.
"Even without a sword in hand, I will use my life to protect those I must protect! Let's die together!"
A Lạc's divine source exploded.
His divine body turned to powder, space collapsing with it, long cracks appearing everywhere.
Even though Ân Nguyên Thần's mastery of the Light Stream Path was very high, and he fled at the first moment, he still couldn't escape the core area of the divine source explosion.
"Boom!"
The destructive force surged outward, sweeping in all directions. All of Ân Nguyên Thần's defensive measures were shattered, and his body was torn into pieces.
"No!"
Đào Hoa fled while roaring through her tears, her vision completely blurring, her heart aching unbearably.
She didn't think A Lạc had brought the disaster upon himself. She believed it was her fault—that she had dragged A Lạc down.
The Heavenly Assassination Organization could find them, surely because of the wisp of soul fire she had left with the organization when she joined the Heavenly Assassination back then.
Why did it have to be like this? They had already fled to the desolate borderlands, already distanced themselves from trouble, and reformed themselves. Why would heaven still refuse to let them go?
Perhaps from the day she joined the Heavenly Assassination, it was destined that she could only end up like this.
Như Uyên Sát Thần was also fleeing, but he was still hit by the destructive energy of the divine source explosion. His divine body burst apart, his divine soul shattering into fragments.
Đào Hoa fled the fastest and was the farthest away. Although she was also struck by the destructive energy, she ultimately survived.
She landed on a cosmic rock, looking back at the shattered space behind her. Wisps of blood mist flowed within the spatial cracks, but there was no longer any trace of A Lạc's spiritual fluctuation.
She knelt on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.
Vân Thanh was confused, not knowing what had happened. He asked, "Mother? Where's Father? Where are we? I'm so hungry. I waited at home for you all day. Why didn't you come back?"
Đào Hoa pulled herself together, hugging Vân Thanh tightly. "It's okay. Your father just went to find his good friend—your godfather. We'll go find him now..."
Her words stopped abruptly, as if her neck had been grabbed. She suddenly couldn't speak.
Her gaze was fixed, staring into the distance.
A chariot bathed in lightning, using the void as its road, approached from afar.
Huyền Nhất sat in the chariot, appearing before Đào Hoa.
Đào Hoa couldn't muster any will to resist, because the entire space was sealed. Even moving a finger was incredibly difficult.
In her eyes... only despair remained.
Huyền Nhất looked down at her from above, his gaze indifferent to the extreme—no different from looking at a blade of grass or a stone.
Đào Hoa's appearance aged at a visible rate. Her skin turned yellow-brown, her hair turned white, and her body gradually withered.
Moments later, she completely lost her life.
Like a skin-wrapped skeleton, she turned into a Corpse of Time.
"Mother, Mother, wake up, wake up... Aren't we going to find Father? And the godfather you always talked about? Wake up! Thanh Nhi won't be naughty anymore!"
Vân Thanh grabbed Đào Hoa's withered, stick-like hand, shaking it vigorously, tears streaming down his face.
Gradually, Vân Thanh seemed to realize that his mother would never wake up again. The pain in his heart grew deeper and deeper, as if someone were gripping his heart, squeezing it tightly.
A hidden power within his body was awakened. Golden light burst forth, illuminating heaven and earth.
A Tam Sinh Môn (Gate of Three Lives) appeared floating behind him.
"Oh! An unexpected gain!" Huyền Nhất said.
Boundless grief crushed this eight-year-old child.
He went limp, fainting on the ground.
In the distance, Ân Nguyên Thần's divine body recondensed. He was extremely weak, but he still stood straight, flying down to land beneath the lightning chariot.
He glanced at Đào Hoa, who had turned into a Corpse of Time, and said, "I failed my mission. Not only did I fail to capture A Lạc, but I also caused Như Uyên Sát Thần's death. Please punish me, Thần Tôn!"
Huyền Nhất said: "You certainly deserve punishment. But do you know where you went wrong?"
"I underestimated the enemy!" Ân Nguyên Thần said.
Huyền Nhất let out a cold snort: "Do you think your every move can escape my notice? You didn't underestimate the enemy—you grew soft-hearted! You cut A Lạc's body into two halves and sent both halves flying. Wasn't that because you wanted to let him escape? You had at least three chances to kill Đào Hoa, but you didn't strike. Could it be that you saw your own shadow in them?"
Ân Nguyên Thần knelt on one knee. "Perhaps there was a moment of softness. But I only wanted to give her a quick death. After all, she rendered many services to the Heavenly Assassination in the past!"
"Boom!"
In the starry sky, the rules of light and the rules of space became even more active. Countless extinguished stars flickered continuously.
Huyền Nhất looked up, gazing toward a certain direction.
Ân Nguyên Thần asked: "Could it be that a Thần Tôn of the Quang Minh Thần Điện has learned of our whereabouts and is chasing us to Huyễn Diệt Tinh Hải?"
Huyền Nhất remained silent, his eyes filled with coldness and indifference. "A Lạc is dead, but this child is still useful! Bring him along. Follow me."
...
The manhua adaptation of "Vạn Cổ Thần Đế" has been released, updating on the largest manhua platform in the country, the "Kuaikan" app. Tiểu Ngư went to check it out—the art is very well done, exceeding expectations. Everyone, go check it out now!