Battle Through the Heavens Prequel - The Legend of Yao Lao Chapter 35

Chapter 35 Flame Mantra

Yao Chen coldly laughed. It was as he had expected. How could Mu Gu be someone so easily taken advantage of? The previous screams and cries had just been a lure.

At this time Yao Chen put on a cloak and silently walked over. His Dou Qi circulated and the cloak released a strange natural fluctuation that caused it to change color, letting Yao Chen's body appear completely the same as the black earth he stood on. This was a special piece of equipment that combined with its corresponding Dou Technique. He had taken this from the number one assassin in the Central Plains. That had occurred because he had accidentally refined a top tier medicinal pill that had incited Pill Lightning. That had revealed his concealed location, and that assassin had come after him.

That really had been lucky for Yao Chen. Yao Chen no longer needed to worry about being sneak attacked or assassinated. He had taken all sorts of secret arts and items from that assassin's body that he now clearly understood every kind of trap an assassin could use.

Yao Chen concealed himself at the end of the wall. The Three Scorpion Devil Ghosts were kneeling on the ground, four Dou Zongs standing behind them with their Dou Qi sealing the three of them. If they used just the slightest bit of force, they would be able to kill them in the blink of an eye.

On the other side were several corpses that had died just recently, however they weren't Mu Gu's people, but experts they had run into along the way. They had attacked these people just now to put on the act. If there wasn't the smell of death, then how could they have tricked them?

The Three Scorpion Devil Ghosts were all exceedingly bitter. They had thought they were the tricksters, never expecting their opponents to be a poisonous viper.

"Yao Chen's right outside. Grandmaster Mu Gu, we came to warn you about this. We didn't have any other evil intentions."

"Yes, that's right, we came here in peace."

The Three Scorpion Devil Ghosts immediately sold out Yao Chen.

Mu Gu was suspicious and didn't believe them. The three of them might be powerful, but what came out of their mouths was complete garbage. Most likely only half of what they said was true.

"Go check." Mu Gu ordered a Dou Huang to take a look.

That Dou Huang nodded and went out, sweeping over the area but not noticing the concealed Yao Chen. That number one assassin's secret techniques were truly worthy of being the strongest.

No matter how carefully that Dou Huang looked around, even releasing strands of Dou Qi to check and using techniques to find concealed people, he was unable to find any reaction. Only then did he return, shaking his head.

Mu Gu icily laughed, "So you want to lie even when facing death. And even if Yao Chen came, so what? What can one person do?"

Without obtaining the inheritance of a senior who had already entered the Light-Shadow Realm, it would be useless no matter how many people he entered with at the same time. They would be scattered and completely unable to reconvene. They might even run into all kinds of forbidden areas and end up directly dying.

Even he who had a secret inheritance had run into all kinds of dangerous areas that had caused him to lose several Dou Huang experts. Only then had he managed to bring everyone here.

Mu Gu took out a green leaf that was actually the exact same as Yao Chen's leaf. The leaf veins were a map of this space and also had the two words Flame and Mantra.

Mu Gu looked passionately at it. Turning to the Three Scorpion Devil Ghosts, he said, "Where is your leaf?"

"Here." The Three Scorpion Devil Ghosts trembled. They didn't dare directly face off with Mu Gu anymore and they also took out an identical leaf.

Mu Gu laughed, "I guess you're not stupid. Right now you three can still be a bit useful. If you don't resist then maybe you'll still be able to get some good stuff in a bit."

After saying that Mu Gu took out three medicinal pills and forced it into them. "This is the seventh tier Soul Attaching Life Seeking Pill. It won't immediately kill you, but if you don't take the antidote within seven days, then even a Dou Zun would forfeit his life."

Those four Dou Zongs watching over the three of them also laughed. They took back their sealing Dou Qi.

The Three Scorpion Devil Ghosts were now completely at their mercy. Having taken that pill, even if they managed to flee they wouldn't have the slightest chance of saving their lives.

At this moment Mu Gu combined the two leaves together. A ray of light flashed out as a strange divine glow came from both leaves. The two of them actually merged together into a larger leaf, one side glowing bright while the other emitted black rays.

"So it really was like this. In order to open the treasure house, you must combine two leaves together to form the key."

One of the Dou Zongs said, "Our little act truly was efficient. We got three stupid little birds."

The Three Scorpion Devil Ghosts were infuriated at that but could only keep their heads down and keep their rage inside.

Yao Chen frowned. He only had a single leaf. Moreover Mu Gu had already made his preparations long ago and clearly already knew that the Three Scorpion Devil Ghosts had had the same leaf map on them.

Mu Gu walked right up to the huge building's gate. The building was made of some unknown material. It was like rock but not like rock, like wood but not like wood. Altogether it looked like some sort of natural growth of the heavens.

The others all got closer to Mu Gu. Suddenly the gate began to rumble and ten beasts appeared, emitting the power of light. They were just like the light beasts from the grasslands, but they were much stronger. Each one had the great power of a peak Dou Zong.

Mu Gu and the others were all shocked and gathered their full strength in order to flee. That was something they had already talked over. These ten Dou Zong beasts were enough to completely destroy them.

"I offer sacrifice to the master; let us obtain the Flame Mantra."

Mu Gu raised the leaf in his hand high into the air. A ray of light and darkness exploded out. An imposing empty figure appeared in the sky. This empty figure was something that didn't have any substance, but it emitted endless spiritual pressure. That terrifying power caused everyone present to kneel in front of it. Whether it was a Dou Huang or a Dou Zong, in front of this empty figure, you would not even be able to raise your head.

Yao Chen's face was extremely ugly at this time. Since he was hidden with his Dou Technique he couldn't move. He could only use his spiritual energy to resist that pressure. Was this the power of a Dou Di? Just an empty remnant image without any energy could cause Dou Zongs to be helpless in front of it. However Yao Chen's spiritual energy was exceptionally strong. Waves of it flooded out and he was actually able to block that figure's pressure.

At this time, the Dou Di's empty figure shot a glance at Yao Chen. Raising its hand and pointing at Yao Chen, light and shadow flashed. There were no energy fluctuations, but that formless figure turned into a black seed that disappeared. At the same time those light figures emitted a mournful howl, turning into rays of light that dispersed into the sky.

Mu Gu and the others who had been suppressed to the point that they hadn't even been able to raise their heads had been completely unable to see that empty figure of the Dou Di pointing his finger at Yao Chen. Sensing that the pressure had disappeared, they joyously got up. Looking towards the gate, they saw a wormhole-like spatial black hole had appeared. The gate was a fake. The true way to enter was through a spatial transportation.

"Go."

Mu Gu ordered the Three Scorpion Devil Ghosts to take the lead. If this was some sort of trick he naturally wanted those three to test it out first.

The Three Scorpion Devil Ghosts ground their teeth and charged into the black hole. However…

The three of them passed right through the black hole and crashed directly into the large gate.

They were all startled by this. This black hole was clearly emitting a spatial teleportation energy. How did the Three Scorpion Devil Ghosts go right through it?

Mu Gu frowned and said, "Could it be that only the person with the key can enter?"

Thinking about it, Mu Gu steeled himself and walked into that black hole.

Nothing happened. The Mu Gu who was the owner of the leaf key actually also passed right through it without being teleported. It seemed this black hole was also a fake. However everyone knew that the spatial energy being emitted from it was definitely not a fake.

Just at this moment, that gate shook and actually opened on its own.

Behind the gate were chains of light. These chains were formed from light attribute Dou Qi. Amongst them were strange seals and glyphs containing a Dou Formation's power. Those seals slowly collapsed and disappeared, revealing a huge space that had been sealed off.

As for outside, the huge building began to glow with endless white light. Countless light beasts escaped from that white light, running for the sky. The entire building began to shrink, slowly turning into a final light figure that also faded away.

After all that fade faded, a huge pagoda appeared in front of everyone. Its entire body was pitch-black. Black mist floated around it, emitting a terrifying power.

This was a black sacrificial pagoda. It had always been suppressing and sealing the light power. Now that the light had scattered, the darkness returned. The entire sacrificial pagoda recovered its original state. The sky's dark energy was absorbed by it, quickly condensing into dark beasts.

These dark beasts leapt onto the sacrificial pagoda one after the other. A seven-colored flame would erupt every time a beast jumped onto the pagoda.

"This pagoda is suppressing it!"

"Flame Mantra! The Dou Di's unrivalled cultivation technique. It actually required both light and darkness to suppress it."

"Now that the light has faded, the remaining dark energy is unable to hold it back anymore. This cultivation technique also has some of the power left behind by the Dou Di."

"What should we do now?"

Those Dou Zongs all looked at Mu Gu. They saw that he was extremely excited. The inheritance he had obtained was from an eighth tier alchemist's cave from hundreds of years ago. That alchemist had once entered the Light-Shadow Realm and also saw this black sacrificial pagoda. Unfortunately, in the end for various reasons he was unable to muster the courage to enter. After leaving this space he had spent dozens of years researching just what treasure had been sealed under those two powers, in the end coming to the conclusion that it was very likely left behind by this world's final Dou Di, the Tuo She Ancient God's inheritance.

Tuo She Ancient God! There were only one or two mentions of that existence within the ancient texts. He had been called the Flame God. He was a Heavenly Flame which had gained a spirit and cultivated to become a Dou Di.

The inheritance he had left behind must definitely have something to do with Heavenly Flames. According to the ancient texts, all of the Heavenly Flames on the Heavenly Flame Rankings had once been swallowed by the Tuo She Ancient God. By obtaining his inheritance, you would also be able to do the same. You would be able to swallow all sorts of Heavenly Flames and not have to be afraid of the Heavenly Flames devouring you instead.

No matter how strong the alchemist or how prepared you were, when it came to swallowing Heavenly Flames there was always a greater than fifty percent chance of failure. And failure would inevitably lead to death.

If the Flame Mantra truly had been left behind by this Tuo She Ancient God, you would be able to subdue Heavenly Flames without restriction. This was an irresistible temptation for alchemists! Just one Heavenly Flame was a defiance of the heavens. If you could control two, or three…

Perhaps you could even become like the Tuo She Ancient God, completely absorbing the twenty-two Heavenly Flames on the Heavenly Flame Rankings as your own… perhaps then you could even become a second Tuo She Ancient God and become a Dou Di!

Mu Gu's entire body was trembling slightly. Despite being a Dou Zong with powerful Dou Qi, he was unable to keep down the excitement inside. Of course, amongst those present, only he knew of this possible origin of the Flame Mantra.

Otherwise even he couldn't possibly be able to suppress the greed of the experts who were just following him for convenience.

Perhaps if it had just been a Heavenly Flame or a powerful alchemist technique it might not be as enticing as the promise of a favor from a seventh tier alchemist.

But a cultivation technique that could allow one to become a Dou Di would immediately cause a bloodbath if it was leaked. Not a single person should hope to obtain it without others trying to kill them after.

The hidden Yao Chen was also excited. Looking at the black sacrificial pagoda, endless rumblings came from his mind. It seemed something from that pagoda was calling him. Spiritual summoning!

He could see from his position that the floating black mist around the pagoda was vaguely changing shape. He could see indistinct lines of characters. Those characters were burning like flames, yet also as deep and abstruse as the ocean. It drew in his spirit. Each word was carved into his soul, but each line seemed to also take a part of his soul as the price.

Yao Chen's vision blurred and he saw a huge black demonic cauldron emitting a cold, dark energy. Dark beasts were born one after another from within that demonic cauldron. When they charged out they were formed of nothingness, yet they quickly gained substance.

But Yao Chen quickly turned his eyes away. He had a feeling that if he had continued to look, his spirit would also transform to become a dark beast and he would lose all sense of himself.

Yao Chen didn't have any inheritance like Mu Gu did. He could only rely on his own intuition to guess just what was being suppressed within that black pagoda.

A divine black demonic cauldron?

However… using dark energy to suppress darkness? That was a bit impossible. Or perhaps it was using something within the demonic cauldron to suppress something else, something that was related to Heavenly Flames…

Looking at the flame that was occasionally erupting from the top of the pagoda, Yao Chen couldn't help feeling some longing for it. If he could grab a Heavenly Flame seed and bring it back to the Yao clan in the Shennong Mountain Range… the accomplishment of adding another Heavenly Flame to the clan's collection would definitely be enough to have his father and mother's names carved into the Clan Monument no matter how Yao Wangui objected! But that was all he wanted. When it came to rejoining the Yao clan, Yao Chen no longer cared. The Falling Star Pavilion was his home, and Feng Xian was his family.

At this time, Mu Gu had walked up to the black pagoda and raised the leaf in his hand. A black bolt of lightning suddenly descended and struck the leaf in his hand. Mu Gu suddenly turned into a ray of light that entered into the sacrificial pagoda, completely disappearing from their sight.

"Only those with the key can enter."

The Three Scorpion Devil Ghosts' faces were ugly. They had also obtained an expert's secret recordings on his entrance to the Light-Shadow Realm. They had obtained some information that without the leaf map, it would be impossible to enter this black sacrificial altar. There were detailed records within that secret recording that said the black pagoda was suppressing some kind of powerful energy. That kind of energy was something only alchemists could receive, but even the pagoda itself was a treasure. Their goal had been to obtain that sacrificial pagoda!

Even if obtaining it had been hopeless, there were also many powerful treasures within it. Just by obtaining one would have brought endless benefits. That senior who had wrote the secret recordings had claimed that with his talent, the best he should have achieved would have been in the Dou Zong class. But because of something he had obtained in the black pagoda, he had managed to reach the Dou Zun class. There were also countless other items of similar value within the pagoda.

Just at this moment, another ray of light suddenly shot out from the pagoda and struck Yao Chen.

BOOM! Yao Chen was unable to avoid it in any case. Having been struck by this lightning, all he felt was his body suddenly become lighter as he turned into a ray of light that was drawn back into the pagoda in the blink of an eye.

The Three Scorpion Devil Ghosts' faces were green now. "It's Yao Chen! He also has a leaf."

"We already told you before that Yao Chen was behind but you didn't believe us!"

"This is bad…"

The experts who were following Mu Gu all angrily cursed at the Three Scorpion Devil Ghosts. They even began to violently beat them. Everyone of them realized that amongst the lies the three of them had said at the beginning was actually a single truth. If they were telling the truth then they should have stuck to it!

Now that black pagoda had an extra variable called Yao Chen…

Would Mu Gu still be able to obtain the complete inheritance?

When it came to battle strength, Yao Chen was at the peak of the Dou Zong class while Mu Gu was just an eight star Dou Zong. Mu Gu was weaker by not just a bit. As for these helpers, they were unable to enter the black pagoda.

If Mu Gu was unable to obtain the inheritance, then their profits would also fizzle out.

Everything was all because the Three Scorpion Devil Ghosts hadn't stuck to their word but instead went silent! The originally perfect situation now had a huge problem!

The Three Scorpion Devil Ghosts were all letting out miserable shrieks. The three of them would be able to even fight against a Dou Zun if they joined hands, but at this time they didn't dare resist. Without the antidote to the Soul Attaching Life Seeking Pill that Mu Gu had made them consume, their lives were forfeit.

Putting aside the miserable state the Three Scorpion Devil Ghosts were in… within the black pagoda, Yao Chen saw a path that had been battled through. Mu Gu's aura had been left all over, and all the mechanisms that had been left along the path had been broken by him. This let Yao Chen travel completely unimpeded.

It reached the point that even Yao Chen started to feel a bit bad about it. However he wasn't a pretentious person and he followed along the path Mu Gu had created for him.

After walking up level after level, Yao Chen became a bit worried. He had only entered the pagoda a short time after Mu Gu, but even after half a day of chasing he still only met with the leftovers of battles and was unable to catch up to Mu Gu. Mu Gu had to have had at least a two hour lead on him for this to be possible.

It seemed that time and space had been twisted within this pagoda. Perhaps just the blink of an eye was an hour outside. Yao Chen quickened his footsteps as he rushed up the pagoda.

Finally he managed to hear the sound of fighting from the level above him. Quickening his pace, he arrived to that level and realized that this was the peak of the pagoda. A huge formation was in front of him and Mu Gu was currently fighting at its end. His Dou Qi surged while the huge formation released endless black mist that transformed into all kinds of strange things. Swords, hammers, axes, demons, ghosts, devils, beasts, etc. They all charged at Mu Gu wave after wave. This huge battle power continuously assaulted him. However, in front of Mu Gu was a leaf emitting a majestic pressure. Those things were completely unable to pierce through it and all shattered upon meeting that leaf. Then with a wave of Mu Gu's Dou Qi, those shattered pieces were completely dispersed back into nothingness.

Mu Gu had yet to notice Yao Chen's arrival. His entire focus was on the formation in front of him. He had already reached the final moment to destroy this formation. His Dou Qi violently rushed out while that leaf was also constantly pushing back the formation. As long as he could use the key, he would be able to stop the formation's attacks.

Yao Chen hesitated slightly. Should he attack Mu Gu right now? Although attacking someone from behind would hurt his reputation, being merciful to enemies was just hurting yourself.

"Mu Gu, do you believe that the Heavens will also bring retribution to evil?"

At the same time as Yao Chen spoke out, a ball of Bone Chilling Flame that he had condensed over and over shot out towards Mu Gu.

Mu Gu was completely startled and immediately jumped out of the way. Now he could no longer bother with breaking the formation in order to dodge the Bone Chilling Flame, but he was also too late to dodge and was struck right in the stomach.

In terms of strength, Yao Chen's peak Dou Zong strength in addition to catching him off-guard meant that Mu Gu was completely unable to resist. He screamed miserably and coughed up several mouthfuls of blood. Using his full strength, he suppressed the Heavenly Flame burning his stomach, continuously taking all kinds of medicinal pills. Only then did he just manage to escape being killed by the Heavenly Flame.

"Yao Chen! You! How vicious!" Mu Gu held his stomach. That attack had caused him to lose half his battle strength. Originally he would have been able to fight against Yao Chen's peak Dou Zong strength. Even if he couldn't win, he could fight with him for a while without losing like this. But now that he was so heavily wounded, he had no way of fighting him.

"Mu Gu, do you think you're in a position to say that to me?" Yao Chen coldly looked at him, but didn't continue attacking. Instead he walked towards the center of the formation. His leaf suddenly flew out and merged into the two-sided leaf of Mu Gu's that was floating in the air. When the three leaves merged, they suddenly emitted a strange cadence. An imposing power completely dispersed the black mist overflowing from the formation. The leaf lightly floated down to the center of the formation.

With a loud boom, seven-colored Heavenly Flame spouted out. Within the flame was a green mist that transformed into two ancient characters.

"Flame Mantra."

Yao Chen's eyes flashed. The characters of the two words were not common scripture. Partial information on these kinds of characters was something that had been passed on in the Yao clan. He had once studied up on it a bit and was perhaps able to recognize around a hundred characters of that script. It was said that that kind of ancient language had over a thousand characters that when joined together would form a huge formation that was extremely frightening. But just like how the Dou Dis disappeared seemingly overnight, those ancient languages also disappeared. Only mysterious fragments of them continued to exist.

Those two words emitted a majestic might that was similar to that of a Heavenly Flame. Powerful fluctuations continuously surged out. Yao Chen was the one bearing the brunt of its power, and he felt the Bone Chilling Flame in his body shiver as if deathly afraid. Even a Heavenly Flame was afraid!

However this green air that had transformed into these two words didn't seem to be Heavenly Flame. Yao Chen didn't even know just how he would manage to collect this green air.

Mu Gu's face was ashen. He was completely unable to move at this moment.

Yao Chen's heart shook and his Dou Qi went to clasp that green air, handling it like he would a Heavenly Flame.

But as soon as his Dou Qi touched, a spiritual fluctuation rushed into Yao Chen's mind. Those two ancient characters quickly began to transform, in the blink of an eye forming ten thousand transformations that were carved deep within his mind. This was a deep memory, so deep that even if his spirit lost all its memories and he forgot who he was, he would still remember those ten thousand transformations.

Chapter end