Talisman Emperor

Book Nineteen - In The Beginning, There Were Two

Gurgle….

Bubbles surged out from within the muddle pool of water and emanated a strange gurgling sound. It sounded like a wild beast was snoring in its sleep.

Chen Xi's entire body was immersed within the pool. The skin all over his body was in pieces, and his bones were exposed to the water within the pool. His entire body seemed as if it was on the verge of shattering into pieces.

Chen Xi's eyes were closed tightly while his vital energy was extremely weak. It was like he was being kept alive by a thread of vitality. He seemed like he was deeply unconscious to the point that even his consciousness was blurry….

…

When he entered the Door of the Last Days, Chen Xi's body seemed as if it couldn't endure the burden that weighed down upon it anymore, and he collapsed into an unconscious state.

He didn't know whether he was dead or alive.

He didn't know where he was.

He seemed as if he'd really died. The only difference was that his practically destroyed body still a trace of intermittent vital energy.

Three years passed by.

Six years passed by.

Nine years passed.

…

Time seemed to have become completely meaningless to Chen Xi. He was unconscious. He didn't know the season or the time, nor was he aware of the situation around him or even himself….

This was a strange state. It was like he'd lost everything and didn't know anything.

Swish!

After an unknown period of time, a strand of obscure energy seemed like a sharp that had sensed blood, and it surged silently into the muddy pool before carefully surging into Chen Xi's extremely damaged body.

This strand of obscure energy was extremely careful. It seemed to be exploring and observing something, and it stayed on Chen Xi's ankle bone for a long time before it started to act.

It was like a bloodsucking leech, and it was soundless and impossible to take preventions against.

It moved along Chen Xi's ankle and gradually arrived at his knee bone beneath his damaged flesh, and then it surged slowly towards Chen Xi's stomach, chest….

In the end, it stopped at Chen Xi's neck without moving. It seemed to have noticed something and was afraid of something.

This wait continued for over a year. It seemed to be extremely patient.

Om!

A strand of extremely weak vital energy flashed through Chen Xi's body that was practically on the verge of death, and then it vanished almost instantaneously.

Swoosh!

Right at this moment, that strand of obscure energy seemed to have grabbed the best opportunity, and it suddenly transformed into a bolt of lightning that passed through Chen Xi's neck and swiftly arrived at Chen Xi's sea of consciousness which resided at the center of his forehead!

Chen Xi's sea of consciousness was completely grey and cloudy.

His damaged Soul Divine Flame was dim as if it was on the verge of going out, and it was suffused with an icy cold aura. A Violet Gold Imperial Sovereign Star hunt in the air above his soul. However, it was dim and lusterless right now, and it didn't possess even a trace of vitality as well. It seemed like a desolate and dead star.

However, the strand of obscure energy seemed to be extremely excited when it noticed all of this, and it trembled without end. It was like an extremely hungry wolf that saw a grand banquet.

However, it still seemed extremely vigilant and careful even at a time like this. It observed carefully for a long time before it seemed to have decided. It swiftly flashed towards Chen Xi's soul.

However, it suddenly stopped when it was halfway there, and then it started to observe carefully again.

Obviously, its previous action was clearly a form of probe, and it wanted to use actions to lure out any dangers that may exist!

If it wasn't a strand of obscure energy, then one might even wonder whether it was a cunning and skilled hunter who possessed abundant experience.

Chen Xi's sea of consciousness was completely empty, and deathly silent. There was no movement at all.

This allowed that strand of obscure energy to finally become resolved. It actually instantly transformed into a strange and warped marking that charged like a bolt of lightning towards Chen Xi's soul.

It succeeded!

At the instant it entered Chen Xi's soul, it started to release its might, and it transformed into a terrifying devouring force that seemed to intend to take possession of Chen Xi's dim and seemingly dead soul.

Om!

However, right at the instant it started to release its might, a strand of mysterious aura suddenly surged into appearance from the depths of Chen Xi's soul. It was like a shapeless hand that instantly restrained that obscure strand of energy!

After that, the strand of obscure energy seemed as if it was terrified. It suddenly started struggling violently, but it was done in vain in the end. It rumbled as it exploded into pieces, and then it transformed into droplets of light that rained down in Chen Xi's soul.

At the same time, that strand of mysterious aura had vanished as well.

Swish!

The droplets of light rained down like a rain of life. As it poured down within Chen Xi's dim and seemingly dead soul, it seemed like a wisp of vitality than created a strand of extremely nourishing energy.

In an instant, Chen Xi's damaged figure suddenly trembled, and then it fell into death silence once more.

But at this moment, it was like a bolt of lightning had struck open Chen Xi's consciousness, and it caused him to experience a short moment of consciousness.

After that, numerous scenes appeared within his sea of consciousness.

There were scenes of the battle with Aruye….

At that time, Aruye had released extremely terrifying and destructive force, and it ceaselessly raged in his body. It made Chen Xi feel as if he was on the verge of death.

He tried to utilize the energy of Terminus to put an end to the terrifyingly and destructive force. However, it was far from sufficient.

He tried to awaken to the River Diagram to save him, yet he failed as well.

In the end, he thought of Samsara, and he thought of how he'd grasped the supreme Grand Daos of Paramita, Oblivion, and Terminus.

After that….

At the instant Chen Xi had fused these three Divine Dao Laws, he instantly felt as if he'd become a completely different person. He had no emotions or distracting thoughts. He was cold and indifferent.

He watched as he utilized the Netherworld Register and Condemn Evil Brush like a supreme overlord and successively dispersed Aruye's attacks.

He watched as he waited for the Netherworld Register to flip to the blank page at the end before he wrote the word 'Samsara' there. After that, Aruye was swept into Samsara. His strength, experience, memories, lifespan…. Everything was seized from him.

In the end, Aruye became a young child, and then he transformed further into a drop of dark gold blood.

…

The scene flashed here, and then it became the towering Door of the Last Days.

Chen Xi saw himself utilize the Condemn Evil Brush to tear apart the grey tribulation lightning that enveloped the Door of the Last Days, and then he saw a row of strange markings of the Dao branded on the surface of the Door of the Last Days.

After that, Chen Xi saw himself wipe away that row of strange Dao markings with the Condemn Evil Brush, and then he left behind a similar row of strange markings of the Dao.

Chen Xi had discerned their meaning, yet he was just unable to remember it.

It was an extremely conflicting feeling!

It caused Chen Xi to feel a strand of indescribable displeasure at this moment.

Bang!

In the next moment, Chen Xi's consciousness fell into an unconscious state again, and he lost all of his senses.

His body was still damaged and on the verge of breaking apart, and his eyes were still shut tightly. He seemed like a dead person that only had a trace of vitality left.

His entire body was immersed within the muddy water and floated erratically, and he was completely unaware of the passage of time.

After another unknown period of time.

Swish!

A strand of obscure energy appeared once more. This time, it was clearly much stronger and even more careful.

Obviously, this strand of obscure energy and the strand of obscure from before had come from the same source. It seemed to be extremely disgruntled by its previous failure, so it had appeared here once more.

This time, it surged skillfully into the muddy water and slowly moved along Chen Xi's damaged body.

All along the way, it didn't encounter any obstruction just like before, and it arrived within Chen Xi's sea of consciousness in next to no time.

Unlike like the first time, it had set its objective onto the extremely dark Violet Gold Imperial Sovereign Star above the soul of Chen Xi's corpse.

But in the end… it had still failed!

At the instant that it had charged into Chen Xi's Violet Gold Imperial Sovereign Star, it was restrained by a strand of mysterious force, and it didn't even have a chance to struggle before it was crushed into pieces and transformed into a rain of light.

In the end, these droplets of light transformed into a strand of vitality that was absorbed by Chen Xi's soul.

Chen Xi's figure shook once more, and he regained momentary consciousness again.

This time, he recalled the scenes after he entered the Door of the Last Days.

It was a grey and misty world that resided within the Door of the Last Days. It seemed to be boundless and endless. It was unimaginably vast, and it was filled with a terrifying aura that could instill fear in the gods and devils of the world.

However, before Chen Xi could see everything clearly, he'd felt extremely sharp pain throughout his body, and it caused him to seem as if he'd been struck by lightning while his figure crashed downward uncontrollably.

In the end, he smashed into a pool of extremely muddy water!

He didn't know what the pool was. However, he felt an indescribable feeling of safety when he fell into the pool, and his strained nerves had eased up completely.

After that, a strand of irresistible exhaustion surged throughout his heart, and it caused his consciousness to become blurry before he fell into an unconscious state. He was unable to sense anything anymore.

At this moment, when he saw all of these scenes, Chen Xi suddenly came to an understanding. So, I'm actually on the verge of death now….

At this instant, a strand of extremely strong unwillingness suddenly surged out from Chen Xi's heart!

He wasn't willing to die just like that!

He wanted to wake Zhen Liuqing up, he wanted to get his parents back, he wanted to crush the Sovereign Sect…. There were too many things that he wanted to do. So, how could he die just like this?

No! I can't die!Chen Xi shouted in his heart while an extremely strong desire to live arose in his heart. He tried hard to make himself maintain his consciousness, he worked hard to awaken the vital energy throughout his body he worked hard to….

In the end, Chen Xi felt a wave of sharp pain from his sea of consciousness, and then his consciousness was covered in a dark shadow before he fell unconscious once more.

However, Chen Xi hadn't noticed at all that his originally deathly silent soul was suffused with a trace of bright light now. Even though it was faint and extremely inconspicuous, it really existed in the end!

At the same time, the last trace of extremely weak vital energy within his body actually seemed to have been invigorated. It stopped being intermittent, and it started to circulate incessantly throughout the damaged meridians and apertures in his body.

Regretfully, the damage suffered by his meridians and apertures were too severe. They seemed to be in a complete mess! So, merely a strand of vital energy would take countless years to full repair Chen Xi's body.

Swish!

After an unknown period of time, another strand of obscure energy appeared once more. Just like the last two, it came from the same source.

However, unlike the last two, the obscure energy seemed extremely violent, vast, and powerful this time. It was more than 10 times stronger than before!

As soon as it appeared here, it transformed into a myriad of finer strands of energy. It was like it had instantly divided itself into a myriad of clones.

In the end, it transformed into a vast and mighty army that surged soundlessly into the muddy pool of water and shot towards Chen Xi's body….