The Battle for the Heaven-Mending Pill

Chapter 496: Stirrings Beyond the Sea—The Battle for the Pill

“Hmph! Dissolution through death? Don’t you think I’ll simply refine your Nascent Soul instead, denying you even the chance at reincarnation?” Brutal Beard stared fixedly at Wan Tianming’s Nascent Soul, his voice icy.

“If you truly possess such divine powers, what would it matter if I die at your hands? But Elder Man, consider first how you will withstand my True Thunder!” The infant Nascent Soul spoke vaguely before flinging one of the two thunder pearls from its hand without the slightest hesitation.

The moment it left the infant’s palm, the pearl exploded, transforming into a violet ball of light the size of a carriage wheel. It rolled toward Brutal Beard with an overwhelming momentum.

Brutal Beard’s brows shot up. A fierce aura radiated from his face as he raised his golden hand and slammed two heavy blows against his own chest. From atop his head, celestial music rang out. Amid a burst of golden light, a pale-gold infant Nascent Soul appeared.

This infant’s features were identical to Brutal Beard’s. At two and a half inches in height, it seemed slightly taller and sturdier than Wan Tianming’s. But its eyes were tightly shut, and in its hands it clutched a small, azure-green shield.

The shield was round, exquisitely crafted, and at its center was set a transparent crystal the size of a soybean, gleaming with brilliance.

Seeing the violet light mass rolling toward it, the Nascent Soul did not open its eyes, yet it seemed fully aware. It raised the small shield, and a pale azure protective barrier shot forth, enveloping Brutal Beard’s entire body.

The violet light flame smashed into it without the slightest hesitation.

On the other side, Heavenly Truth, Extreme Yin, and the others watched the two Nascent Souls break free from their physical forms and felt a chill of dread in their hearts. They knew these two were truly prepared to fight to the death.

An earth-shattering explosion resounded through the air. The space above the light barrier was dyed a deep violet-red. A thundercloud over ten spans in diameter suddenly appeared, engulfing Brutal Beard completely, sealing him in an impenetrable storm.

Purple lightning raged and slashed wildly within the cloud. The roar of thunder, the howling wind, and the blinding flashes of lightning intertwined in an instant, as terrifying as a heavenly judgment descending, as if the Thunder God himself had come to the mortal world.

The others stole glances at the scene, their hearts trembling with shock. They had long heard of the power of the Celestial Net True Thunder. But this was the first time any of them had witnessed such a terrifying display at release. It was indeed fearsome, worthy of its vast reputation.

Yet even as they marveled at the might of the Celestial Net True Thunder, their own attacks grew swifter and more vicious by two or three measures.

Wan Tianming’s Nascent Soul, however, did not even glance at the thundercloud trapping Brutal Beard. Instead, it summoned a small purple sword into its free hand with a single gesture.

A violet light flashed. The Nascent Soul and the small sword vanished simultaneously.

When they reappeared an instant later, they were already a mere four or five spans from the five-colored light mass below.

“Nascent Soul Sword Flight!”

The four cultivators locked in tangled combat changed expressions simultaneously. This was not a visual illusion caused by sheer speed. This was a genuine, instantaneous teleportation. It was a special ability available only to a cultivator’s Nascent Soul after leaving the physical body and shedding the constraints of the flesh.

But such a profound movement technique came at a great cost to one’s foundational vitality. Every Nascent Soul stage cultivator knew the incantation, yet none would employ it lightly. Now, Wan Tianming had used it in a completely unexpected move. How could the others not feel a tightening in their hearts?

Extreme Yin and the Confucian-robed elder abandoned their opponents simultaneously without prior agreement, turning to flee toward the Heaven-Mending Pill.

Their opponents, Heavenly Truth and the gaunt dark-skinned elder, exchanged a glance. For reasons unknown, they merely released a few trivial spells as a bluff, making no serious attempt to block their retreat.

Thus, Extreme Yin and the Carefree Hermit slipped free from their entanglements with ease, shooting downward like arrows.

Wan Tianming’s Nascent Soul did not turn back, but it sensed what was happening behind it. A cold smirk, utterly incongruous on its childish face, flickered across its features. At this distance, that Heaven-Mending Pill would surely be in its grasp the next moment. Who could possibly stop it now?

As expected, Wan Tianming’s Nascent Soul flashed again and appeared beside the five-colored light mass. It conjured a great violet hand, scooping the mass up in its grasp.

The five-colored light vanished as the giant hand clenched its fingers. All that remained was a single, crystalline, five-colored pill resting in its palm.

Wan Tianming’s heart surged with wild joy. But Extreme Yin and the Confucian-robed elder, arriving right behind him, were not about to let it go. Their eyes spitting fire, Extreme Yin roared in a low voice:

“Wan Tianming! Leave the Heaven-Mending Pill behind!”

A vast wave of sinister Yin demonic energy descended from above. Countless azure silk threads shot forth in its wake, too numerous to count.

“Do you think you can trap me?” The infant Nascent Soul let out a thin, sharp laugh. A violet light flared, and it teleported clear of the azure threads and black energy.

The Nascent Soul appeared atop its purple flying sword a dozen spans away, looking back at the two with a mocking expression.

But the instant that derisive smile appeared on its face, its expression suddenly twisted into one of terror. An expression of utter disbelief, it looked sharply upward.

The result left its childish face deathly pale.

Up above, Wan Tianming’s physical body had been lifted high by someone—a hulking, golden figure. Who else could it be but Brutal Beard?

But now, his hair was scorched and curled, his robes torn and tattered. He looked somewhat disheveled. Yet his body was covered in golden scales, and his face was twisted in a savage glare, making him as terrifying as an evil god.

“Impossible! How did you get out?” Wan Tianming could not believe it. He turned his gaze quickly to the thundercloud. His face was filled with horror.

The thundercloud, with all its fearsome might, had vanished without a trace. Not a single strand of lightning remained.

“Heh. Great Sect Leader Wan, I suppose your luck is just not very good. It so happens that I once killed a rare thunder-whale demon beast. I was wounded quite badly at the time, but I managed to secure its lightning-absorbing stone in perfect condition. Your Celestial Net True Thunder is certainly formidable. But when this bead has absorbed most of its power, what do you think it can still do to me?” Brutal Beard raised a single hand. A glittering violet crystal appeared in his palm. With a slight shake of his hand, it vanished again.

“Now, I’ll count to three. If you don’t toss the Heaven-Mending Pill over here, I’ll destroy your physical body right now. You understand the consequences well enough, don’t you?”

“One.”

“Two…”

Brutal Beard gave Wan Tianming no time to bargain or think. Holding Wan Tianming’s body in one hand, he pressed the other, glowing with golden light, against the crown of its head, counting without a moment’s hesitation.

Wan Tianming was a mix of fury and shock. He had clearly set several layers of restraints on his physical body before releasing his Nascent Soul. Yet it had still fallen into his enemy’s hands.

This was as hard for him to believe as the fact that his opponent possessed a lightning-absorbing pearl.

But he had no time to ponder. If his physical body was truly destroyed, his mid-stage cultivation Nascent Soul would surely dissolve into green smoke. He had not yet reached the level where his Nascent Soul could wander the world independently.

This was precisely why Nascent Soul stage cultivators, despite knowing they could unleash some formidable arts after leaving their bodies, were still reluctant to let their Nascent Souls depart so easily.

Wan Tianming had seen the Heaven-Mending Pill within reach but had been unable to shake off Brutal Beard’s entanglement. For a moment, greed had overtaken him, and he had committed this grave error.

Now, with Brutal Beard showing every sign of refusing to negotiate, Wan Tianming, though filled with regret, quickly analyzed the balance of pros and cons. So, when his opponent reached “two,” Wan Tianming gritted his teeth, abandoned all hesitation, and hurled the Heaven-Mending Pill into the air, sending it shooting toward Brutal Beard.

From the moment Wan Tianming’s Nascent Soul had taken the Heaven-Mending Pill by sword flight to the moment he was forced to throw it back, this dramatic reversal took place in the blink of an eye.

Brutal Beard, his eyes gleaming with excitement, snatched the five-colored pill out of the air. Then, without a moment’s pause, he used his single hand to hurl Wan Tianming’s physical body with all his might.

The body flew straight toward the barrier wall. If nobody caught it, it would surely be smashed to pieces.

Seeing this, Wan Tianming’s Nascent Soul was terrified out of its wits. It forgot everything else and shot straight toward its physical body. Fortunately, though the distance was considerable, with the teleportation of his Nascent Soul Sword Flight, he could still intercept it in time.

Brutal Beard, meanwhile, seized the opportunity to transform into a golden rainbow and flee directly toward the stone steps.

It was not that Brutal Beard did not want to destroy Wan Tianming outright. But the man was, after all, the Sect Leader of the Ten Thousand Laws Sect. If he killed him mercilessly, it would mean irreconcilable enmity with the Righteous Path. And the Madwoman of the Ten Thousand Laws Sect, the number one cultivator of the Righteous Path, was someone even he could not defeat. He had no desire to be pursued by her day and night. The greater enemy for both Righteous and Demonic Paths was still the Star Palace. As long as he had the pill in hand, that was enough.

Seeing Brutal Beard unexpectedly seize the Heaven-Mending Pill and begin to flee the Void Heaven Palace, Heavenly Truth and the gaunt dark-skinned elder naturally would not let him go. They immediately gave chase, clearly unwilling to give up.

Extreme Yin and the Confucian-robed elder hesitated for a moment, exchanged a glance, and then, with great reluctance, also soared into pursuit.

But as the black cloud formed by Extreme Yin passed over the heads of Han Li and Wu Chou, he spoke in a cold voice:

“Wu Chou! Stay here quietly with Han Li and do not move recklessly. This patriarch will return shortly. I’ll lend you these two demon corpses to command for now.” With those words, the two Celestial Capital Demon Corpses appeared on either side of Wu Chou. Extreme Yin Patriarch vanished into the air an instant later.

And so, the Nascent Soul stage elders followed Brutal Beard’s golden light, one by one breaking through the barrier at the stone steps, chasing madly off the platform. Even the recently reincarnated Wan Tianming, gnashing his teeth, turned back into a violet light and gave chase as well.