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Chapter 52: Everyone Loves Little Immortal Mushroom (X)

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Shang Ke woke up from his pleasured state as the restrictions outside were touched. He let out his divine sense to check and saw a dozen black cloud shaped things dropping from the sky and slamming into his restrictions, then turning into smoke before slowly condensing again.

What is that? In his confusion, Shang Ke suddenly felt himself being penetrated deeply. Coming back to his senses, he once again shifted his attention to the man before him. He seems to be unhappy with Shang Ke not giving him his full attention and sped up the rotation of his true essence. A wave of power caused his body to rise and fall like there were waves crashing within.

Shang Ke’s clothes were messy, with the tops of his shoulders being revealed. The loose robe covered his intimate place while his long legs were stretch out in full view as they were tangled around the man’s sturdy waist. 

“Yan Lu, let’s finish this alright?” Shang Ke straightened his upper body and lowered his head to gently peck Yan Lu’s lips.

Yan Lu pressed him down and landed kiss after kiss on him, true essence passing from his lips to Shang Ke’s without leaking out.

Shang Ke’s eyes were half-lidded, his long lashes gently sweeping his cheeks. His consciousness gradually blurred and he once more sank into divine pleasure.

While the two were “concentrating” on cultivation, the outside world had descended into chaos.

The round, black clouds that Shang Ke had discovered outside his restrictions before were devil clouds from the devil realm. The damage devil clouds could do to cultivators was not high, but they could invade a normal person’s body, absorb their essence energy, then grow and propagate.

However, the emergence of a large number of devil clouds was the prelude to the opening of the devil realm. In the skies above the cultivation realm, a huge crack split apart the heavens and showed glimpses of the realm behind it. Countless devil clouds flew out from the crack like a torrent of meteor shower.

When Shang Ke discovered the devil clouds, the crack had not been there for long. After they went at it for seven days, a great heaven-breaking sound finally ended their cultivation.

Dark clouds covered the sky so tightly that the light of the sun and moon couldn’t get through. The cold wind blew and sounded like the wails of ghosts and the howls of wolves. The entrance of the devil realm was already half open. Not only were devil clouds coming out, but countless low-level-sentience devil spirits.

Every cultivator of the cultivation realm moved out but the few who were in charge of sealing the devil realm passage, and the others who were in charge of clearing up all the things that came through the passage. They could not let the devil realm passage open fully, lest the cultivation realm enters a period of complete devastation.

Shang Ke thought back to the information given by the System and remembered that in the original plotline, it was when the devil realm crack appeared that Yan Lu had the chance to take over the cultivation realm. Under his control, the devil spirits engulfed the world, swallowed up all living creatures and used a forceful control spell to refine countless devil slaves.

The devil realm passage did not completely open due to the restriction of Heavenly Law as well as the sacrifice of a dozen experts who successfully sealed it in the end. But under the plundering of the devils, the cultivation realm turned into a hell.

Shang Ke turned his head to look at the man beside him. Although he had turned onto the righteous path, who knows if he might suddenly feel that destroying the world would be pretty nice and willfully defect to them. The frightening thing about the devil path was that one did not need to cultivate again from the beginning. As long as one’s heart wavers, it was possible to fall.

Countless devil spirits fell from the sky and headed directly for the location of Shang Ke and Yan Le.

With their current cultivation, dealing with these devil spirits was beyond easy. But the longer the passage to the devil realm remains open, the more devil spirits that would flow out. Eventually, it would lead to a never-ending battle, killing foe that would be replaced just as they fell.

“Everyone, please leave for Yunxiao City as quickly as possible to help seal the passage.” A deep and resounding voice suddenly transmitted through the air, by way of a sound talisman, to all the remaining experts.

“Yan Lu, let’s go too.” Shang Ke look down at the tragic scene and he couldn’t bear to remain still. He could understand the devil spirits killing cultivators—they were at war and the cultivators could defend themselves. But seeing thousands of innocent civilians being tormented by the devils, he really could no longer stay indifferent.

Moreover, the sooner they seal the passage, the sooner the cultivation realm could return to peace and the sooner they could return to their cave and cultivate.

Yan Lu did not have any opinion and followed Shang Ke to Yunxiao City.

The devil realm crack was right above Yunxiao City. hundreds and thousands of cultivators gathered there, but the ones that could truly help seal it numbered few.

The number one  Purity Sect had a great Sealing Devil Array made by a deceased senior. It was very strong, enough to seal the devil realm’s passage. But to arrange the array, there needs to be forty-nine Immortalization experts. To actually use it, they still needed at least twenty Demigod Stage and twenty-nine Immortalization Stage cultivators.

There were a couple hundred of Demigod Stage experts, but experts of the Immortalization Stage were only twenty.

The situation slowly worsened and they couldn’t delay any longer. The Sect Master of Purity Sect decided to begin, seeing as there was no other choice, and gathered the twenty Immortalization Stage experts along with fifty-eight Demigod Stage experts to arrange the array. The fifty-eight Demigod Stage cultivators paired together to combine their power to make up their deficiency.

When Shang Ke and Yan Lu hurried over, the Sealing Devil Array has already been started.

In the dark sky, the long crack that ripped apart space revealed an endless black hole. Countless devils flew out from within, howling and crying ear-piercing noises.

The near one hundred cultivators floated in the sky. Rays of light shone from their bodies as if they were stars as they spread around and surrounded the crack. It crossed and interwove, gradually assembling a giant array.

The array’s power was great and tens of thousands of cultivators fought to protect it. All the devils were trapped within, like small fish in a net, struggling and tightly-packed. As more and more were grouped together, the greater the impact the array was starting to make. The light would brighten and darken, as if it could be broken at any moment.

Cultivators of the Demigod Stage could not compare to Immortalization Stage, furthermore, the more people there were, the more mixed the power, the harder it was to control.

One of the cultivators in the array suddenly spat a mouthful of blood and fell from the sky.

Soon after, there were a second and third that fell. Although there was someone who quickly took their place, it was hard to make up the deficiency.

The great array started to become unbalanced and was soon about to break when two white lights suddenly sped by and took place of the two that fell.

With their participation, the great array immediately returned back to full power and the light became even brighter.

Everyone looked over and was finally able to take a good look at the two.

Perhaps no one knew of them before the Origin Realm opened. But after it, their name resounded throughout the entire cultivation realm.

Yan Lu who everyone praised as the “Hidden Saint”.

And Shang Ke, the spirit who made everyone run around on a wild goose chase.

The appearance of the two attracted countless gazes until the devils once again attacked the array and they returned back to the matter at hand with full concentration to handle the crisis. 

But the cultivators protecting them did not have such misgivings. Their curious gazes would float to them from time to time, Especially to Shang Ke. As a rare spirit that could only be found every millennium, he was the dream of many cultivators for dual cultivation to greatly enhance their power.

The spiritual light flickered across Shang Ke’s body along with the remnants of immortal qi. His clear eyes were bright like jewels and his white hair fluttered with the wind. His beauty was exceptional and he appeared like a bright moon within the group of gloomy and dispirited cultivators.

The longer the array stayed activated, the weaker the people who were holding the arrays became, their spirits failing. Only Shang Ke became more seductive the more tired he became. A quarter of an hour passed and Shang Ke and Yan Lu were still the brightest among those in the dark sky, like two Imperial Stars facing off against heaven. 

Within the crowd was Feng Luoling. Seeing how everyone’s gazes were attracted by Shang Ke, hate filled her heart along with the birth of jealousy. 

While her attention was divided, a devil spirit took the chance to enter her body. Although it was quickly driven out, it left behind the shadow of a devil. Under normal circumstances, this kind of shadow would only need a few days to be eliminated. But Feng Luoling was currently held by jealousy and malice filled her for a moment. She concentrated power to her finger and quietly shot it at Shang Ke’s back.

Shang Ke was concentrated on the array and was unable to defend himself, let alone from a sneak attack from behind. He felt only a pain from his back, then his true essence going into chaos as it was almost taken over. Although he settled it down in time, he was still obtained a serious internal injury. Blood slowly flowed from the corner of his lips.

As Shang Ke’s dual cultivation partner, Yan Lu was the first to detect that he was attacked. He suddenly turned his head, murderous gaze landing on Feng Luoling.

Feng Luoling immediately regretted her actions.  The cultivation realm was in peril, so how could she worsen the situation due to personal spite? Soon after, she saw that Shang Ke managed to resist her attack and was somewhat relieved. But in the next moment, she was frozen still by Yan Lu’s frigid gaze. It was like she had fallen into a cage of ice, her entire body was stiff.

She saw Yan Lu’s figure move, ready to deal with her. She wanted to escape but then saw his figure stop and glance at Shang Ke. He quelled his urge and once again placed his attention onto the array. But his body was still emitting a cold aura that was even more frightening than the devils in the array.

Feng Luoling couldn’t help but let loose a breath of relief. She felt annoyed, but also nervous, alongside some feelings of unwillingness. 

The Sealing Devil Array was entering its final stage, but it was also the time where the devils began attacking the most fiercely. Almost all of the people working on the array had exhausted their true essence, now persevering on pure will and faith.

Right at that moment, a giant claw suddenly stretched out from the closing crack and ripped it back open. A powerful wave of devil qi swept away everyone in the area and caused ten array holders to be shaken and thrown down. The large array that took so many people to support was almost destroyed.

Luckily for them, the Sealing Devil Array could now work on its own at this stage. As long as the spiritual power is replenished quickly enough, it was stabilized. But the present people were for the most part, completely spent and were powerless in helping the others confront that large devil’s crazy attacks.

Whether or not they could successfully seal the crack would depend on the dozen people who were still holding on within the array.

“Everyone, for the safety and peace of the cultivation realm, even if we die today, we will have no regrets.” Purity Sect’s Sect Master spoke in his low voice that echoed in the sky.

“No regrets!” Countless other cultivators repeated after him.

Quickly, the lights on their bodies began to brighten as they planned to go all out for their last fight.

Similarly, Yan Lu and Shang Ke drew on their last reserves to advance alongside everyone else.

A dozen dazzling rays of light illuminated the dark sky. The surrounding cultivators all raised their heads to look up, their faces filled with reverence.

The claw from the crack rapidly withdrew under the rays of light. The sharp cry of the devil resounded as the crack closed at a speed that could barely be seen with the naked eye.

Golden light flashed and the heaven and earth started to shake. The crack disappeared without a trace, causing the other devils to retreat in panic. The black clouds that floated above gradually dispersed and the blue sky could once again be seen.

The entire place was silent for moment, before cheers broke out.

The cultivators in charge of the arrays that were still floating fell one after another. Following that, the other cultivators quickly caught them and safely placed them on the floor.

Their true essence was completely used up. They lacked even the energy to meditate.

Yan Lu was also in rather bad shape. He had just landed on the ground and prepared to absorb some energy, but had subconsciously looked toward Shang Ke before and found that he was gone.

Yan Lu’s heart tightened and he swiftly got up to let out his divine sense to find Shang Ke.

Immediately, he jumped and quickly flew in a direction under everyone’s flabbergasted expression.

As it turns out, right when the devil realm was sealed, the seriously injured Shang Ke was unable to maintain his place and fell to the ground. But before he hit the ground, he was caught by some conspiring bastards and quickly taken away.

A dense murdering intent shone in Yan Lu’s eyes. His figure was as fast as lightning and he caught up to those cultivators in an instant.

Seeing how Shang Ke was so unsteady and panting, their courage grew and left only a single person to make sure the weak Shang Ke couldn’t go anywhere. The others all went to surround Yan Lu.

“Death, you all deserve death!” The sound of cheering from the distance still sounded in his ears. In order to seal the devil realm passage, he and Shang Ke had used up their true essence and this group of bastards chose to take advantage of it for personal gain, ignoring morality. He really hated them!

Yan Lu had never been so angry before. The viciousness within him swelled and he showed no mercy, as if he was a killing god.

The group of people had thought Yan Lu no longer had any power to resist, but they didn’t expect him to be so strong that he could kill two and seriously injure three in a moment. The remaining man retreated to his remaining three companions, one hand gripping Shang Ke’s neck as he trembled, “Don’t move, or I’ll kill him.”

Yan Lu stood in place while coldly staring at him.

That man gained a bit of courage after seeing his threat having some effect and loudly spoke, “If you want him to live, then destroy your own meridians.”

Yan Lu remained motionless.

That man became more forceful, angrily shouting, “You…”

He abruptly stopped speaking because a woman’s voice was transmitted into his mind: 【You cannot allow that man to live, if you can’t destroy him completely today, then he will take revenge one day.】

【Who are you? What do you want?】 He responded back.

【It does not matter who I am. What does matter is do you want to get rid of the man before you or not.】

【Of course I do, but I am not his opponent.】

【You forget what you have in your hands?】

That man froze, then looked at Shang Ke in front of him and asked: 【You want me to use him to threaten Yan Lu? What’s new about that? I am already doing that.】

【Heh, threaten? Why did you catch Shang Ke? Didn’t you want to improve your cultivation? Now that the legendary medicine is in your hands, you aren’t using it.】

【You mean to…?】

【Absorb the immortal qi from his body and increase your own power to immediately deal with Yan Lu. It would be effortless.】

That man’s eyes lit up and greed flitted through his eyes.

The two people’s exchange only lasted a few seconds. The man grabbing Shang Ke made his decision and started to work his true essence to absorb Shang Ke’s immortal qi.

Shang Ke’s pale face momentarily became transparent and pain shone in his eyes. Being controlled by another person, he couldn’t turn back into his original form, otherwise, the loss of his immortal qi would go even faster.

Yan Lu immediately felt the reaction and his eyes narrowed. He condensed the last bit of his power and crazily rushed the man.

That man had preparations long beforehand. He passed on a message to his companions and had them delay Yan Lu for him.

Yan Lu was strong once, but because he used up too much power and he was trapped by the group of despicable people. The killing intent in his heart surged and the few devil spirits that were left behind rushed over as if they were summoned.

“It’s devil spirits! How did they come back again?” One man asked in shock.

“Don’t worry about them, deal with Yan Lu first!”

Under the devil spirit ring, the people continued to attack Yan Lu.

Yan Lu did not care about the injuries that were steadily worsening on his body. The expression within his eyes gradually became cold and gloomy as the remaining immortal spiritual qi was taken back and the presence of a devil started to slowly invade.

The pained Shang Ke very much alarmed by this scene. He didn’t even need to think to know this was the first sign that Yan Lu was about to enter the devil path!

He finally drew Yan Lu to the righteous path, how could he let him re-enter the devil path? This wasn’t just for his mission, it was also for Yan Lu’s future.

Although a Devil Lord was mighty, one needed to go through countless devil tribulations. Just a single mistake could scatter and destroy the soul. If all the worlds he experienced were real, and this man he loved was always reincarnating in those worlds, he didn’t know if he could still meet him in the next world if his soul was scattered and destroyed. He didn’t dare gamble on it.

“Don’t, Yan Lu!” Shang Ke shouted loudly.

But Yan Lu could not longer hear his voice as he sank into a state of neither emotion nor desire

Shang Ke’s power was slowly being drained bit by bit. He watched as Yan Lu was about to become a devil, his eyes full of unwilling determination.

Then, his white hair began to float as golden light flickered on his body, slowly changing into countless bright spots. 

“You, what are you doing?” The man who was absorbing the immortal spiritual qi had a face full of amazement as he stared at Shang Ke.

Shang Ke still did not say a word, his gaze firmly set on Yan Lu from beginning to end.

However, in a moment, the man realized Shang Ke’s intent. He was actually scattering his power?! Although he wanted to stop him, it was already too late. Shang Ke turned into a bright fog before him and charged quickly into Yan Lu, blending within his body.

The familiar presence had just entered his body and returned Yan Lu to his senses.

“What are you doing?!” His face was full of fury.

Let this power blend into his body, and with the path before him, clear away his karmic hindrances until the stairway to heaven opens. 

【Little Mushroom, stop, I don’t need your power!】

【Yan Lu, promise me. Don’t walk on the path of the devil, hold strong to the righteous path.】 Once upon a time, the little mushroom was devoured by Yan Lu and became the tonic for him to break through the devil realm. The current little mushroom will willingly let him devour him, and become a helping hand for him to enter the God realm. 

【Why should I hold onto this kind of righteous path?】 The so-called righteous sects were only a group of despicable people wearing a lovely righteous name. On the other hand, Little Mushroom saved countless people, was so very kindhearted and never obtained anything in return. Rather, he was bullied and humiliated by others. He was doing his best to protect the cultivation realm, yet was forced onto the path of no return by these righteous cultivators.

【Then… let me become the righteous path within your heart.】

【What?】

【Don’t fight for righteousness because of heavenly law, but for me.】

【Only for you…】 A trace of splendor flashed through Yan Lu’s eyes.

【I wish to tie a life and death agreement with you, so that even if I reincarnate after hundreds of thousands of years, we can meet again. So Yan Lu, for me, hold tightly onto the righteous path. One day, you and I will be able to stay together under the sun without fear and accept everyone’s respect…】

Shang Ke’s voice quietly faded away, but his familiar presence stayed within Yan Lu’s soul, fusing together with him. 

Golden light shone from Yan Lu’s body, dazzling like the sun, as all the devil spirits were cleared from the surroundings in moments. The power within him bubbled up crazily, a powerful aura sweeping everything away like a hurricane. 

This show of power quickly drew the other cultivators nearby. When they saw Yan Lu within the golden light, they all revealed shock. 

Why do it for heavenly law, or for righteousness? His Little Mushroom was his heavenly law, and his righteousness.

Tribulation clouds formed aboved. 

The nine layer tribulation began.

A new God Lord shall ascend from this tribulation. 

Yan Lu slowly opened his eyes. They were cold and detached, but a smirk rose to his lips…

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