The Palaces of the Twelve Sacred Beasts

Translated by Rikko of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Drip… drip… A sudden clap of thunder zipped across the sky. A droplet fell onto the scarlet ground right before vanishing into the pitch-black swamp. The black soil was splattered with dark red bloodstains. The people collapsed on the floor were trembling slightly; occasionally, a blue electric current would run across their bodies. More and more water droplets started pouring down, bringing down a curtain of rain from the sky to the ground not long after. At a distance away, there were two men standing in the middle of the sky and earth. Jue's voice was chilly, and there was bitterness hidden in it, "The reason why I didn't kill them is to let them have a clear look of how you're going to die."

Gu Ting Yu lowered his head; he seemingly didn't catch what Jue said. He gazed absent-mindedly at the blood on his hands. He didn't know if the fluid streaming down his cheeks was blood or rain droplets. A metallic salty taste lingered in his mouth. "Are you afraid now?" Jue placed the Soul-slashing Sword on Gu Ting Yu's throat, forcing him to lift his head.

Silence engulfed the two of them as they stared at each other in silence. Not a single spark of light was present in Gu Ting Yu's eyes; his ink-black eyes were completely dead. His breathing was light, as though even heartbeats were too much of a luxury for him. Such a quiet, statue-like Gu Ting Yu reminded Jue of the helpless expression someone would have when their prized possession was trampled on the ground. A while later, Gu Ting Yu's lips opened a little, murmurs seemingly coming out of it.

Jue frowned, "What are you saying?"

"… Let's go home… I meant what I said… Let's… go home…"

Jue's heart tightened in that instant, but he composed himself and raised the sword hilt high up. Just then, an excruciating pain gushed out from his leg. Once he lowered his head, he saw a layer of sparkling ice crystals rising from his feet. Nian Xing's head was buried in the dirty mud while his hands were clutching tightly onto Jue's ankles, his fingernails digging deep into Jue's flesh.

Lightning struck down and burned the bridge supports. Nian Xing lifted his head arduously to look at Gu Ting Yu. He revealed a clear smile on his bloodied face, looking just like a mischievous child who had just succeeded in pulling a prank, and blinked his crafty eyes. Jue's expression was abnormally gloomy. He raised his leg to kick Nian Xing's soft stomach, sending Nian Xing's skinny body roll a few meters away. Nian Xing lay immobile on the floor.

"Arg…!" as though being pulled back from a chaotic nightmare to reality out of shock, Gu Ting Yu surveyed the surroundings in disbelief before burying his face into his arms as he growled out deeply. Nonetheless, his roar couldn't remedy the situation at all. Pain pierced his heart like a sharp sword. Right now, he didn't want to face anything. Instead, the only thing he had in mind was to kill the person in front of him. He felt his entire body burning up. He raised his empty, bloodshot eyes to glare at Jue. Never in his life did he loathe anyone, but now, an unfamiliar despairing hatred brewed in his heart. Why… did he have to drive them into a corner? Gu Ting Yu just wanted to bring them home—just that and only that! Those kids did nothing wrong at all. They were burdened with enormous pain ever since their birth. The only thing Gu Ting Yu wanted was to stay by their side.

The ground started quaking, causing Jue to backstep instinctively. A white ring of light struck down and exploded on the area he was standing on just before. Jue dodged in a panic, taking numerous steps back. The moment the tips of his feet landed on the ground, a huge explosion would follow right next to him.

There was only one bit of conviction left in Gu Ting Yu's mind—never let anyone snatch them away from him. His body seemed to know what to do next as he dashed along the blue rays from the sword. His repeated attacks were swift and brutal, stealing any chance to take a breather. Never had Jue ever experienced such powerful spirit power. He even felt like a tiny boat on the verge of swirling down the middle of a whirlpool when faced with a sudden appearance of a tsunami in the calm ocean. Thus, the only word left in his mind was—evasion.

The ancient palace began to fall apart due to the violent shakings. Such power definitely wasn't something a human should have possessed. Jue had his back to the Clocktower of Reincarnation; he had nowhere to retreat. "Is this the power of Ming Lei?" he muttered to himself, "No wonder Evil Source wanted it at all cost."

Smoke rose from every direction. Gu Ting Yu shot a cold glare at Jue; surprisingly, an intimidating resolution lay in his eyes. "Why did you do that? Just straight up kill me if you want to… Why did you… have to torture them?"

Jue flashed a serious gaze at Gu Ting Yu, looking at the human Huan Sheng was in love with. "Why must I torture them, you say? … Hah," Jue laughed out slowly before raising his Soul-slashing Sword, and continued softly, "this sword can only absorb every single bit of Ming Lei's power when your spirit power is unleashed to the extreme."

"… You want Ming Lei?"

"Haha…" Jue's laughter got increasingly strange, "Not me… However, to wake him up, Ming Lei is one of the vital factors, because…" The whole world paused at that very moment. Jue whispered out a few words hoarsely into his ears. However, those few words were precisely the reason why Gu Ting Yu forgot to attack. He looked at Jue incredulously. During that brief moment of daze, he felt an abrupt, intense pain from his chest. Upon looking down, he found a sharp sword with a blue glow piercing through his chest. His brows wrinkled. His attempts to breathe were obstructed by the heart-wrenching pain in his chest. "Ugh…!"

With the tearing sound of flesh, Jue used all of his might to thrust the sword, which was halfway inside Gu Ting Yu's body, further in, until it had fully impaled him, nailing him to the Clocktower of Reincarnation. It happened too fast. Jue leaned on Gu Ting Yu's shoulder to catch his breath lightly; his pair of hands clutching the hilt of the sword tightly had already been painted red by Gu Ting Yu's blood.

The human's soft, black hair swished gently with the wind as he looked at Jue strenuously. He opened his mouth to speak, but a sudden gush of blood from his throat cut off his ability to do so. Jue wiped off the bloodstains from his hands mechanically. In truth, there was no point in saying anything; everything was destined to happen right from the start.

A thousand years ago, Evil Source had already laid a premonition in Jue's body. Thus, although Evil Source's physical body had dissipated, his presence and words chained down Jue all the time. No matter how far Jue tried to escape, in the end, he would still return to the original spot. The obscure curse that followed him relentlessly like a shadow had rooted itself deeply in Jue's heart like weeds.

What exactly is true despair? It is when someone instigates you to fight and struggle, but no matter how hard you try, as seasons pass and time flies, nothing changes in the end—except you ended up being a step closer to death.

Jue had gotten used to despair a long time ago. However, being completely dead inside was kind of a release for him. Instead, the sole speck of light in the darkness, that type of murky, unclear light which was rumored to be able to topple the whole world over, that was the real cause of suffering. Therefore, Jue had no hope in regards to Gu Ting Yu's appearance right from the beginning. This was exactly the biggest difference between him and Huan Sheng. Before darkness enveloped them, Jue neither believed in empty hopes nor did he wish to struggle needlessly. On the contrary, Huan Sheng would choose to fight, even if it was just for that tiny shred of fabricated comfort. "Huan Sheng, just wait patiently for a bit longer. I will use my ways to get you back." With his head raised, Jue heaved a sigh.

All of a sudden, the Clocktower of Reincarnation went silent. A mighty force exploded into the air, filling the sky with dust as it blanketed everything. A gigantic ring of light circled Gu Ting Yu—and the Soul-slashing Sword absorbed his spirit power ceaselessly.

"Ugh—!" sorrowful cries rang out across the entire area. Not a single one of the Sacred Beasts laying on the ground was willing to believe what had just transpired in front of their eyes. The scene was identical to the premonition Evil Source gave out in the past. Besides that, Evil Source would revive after this, and all of the Sacred Beasts would be led to their deaths.

"Gu Ting Yu!" the Sacred Beasts yelled out with their broken bodies in tow, every one of their words dripping in blood. "Jue! I. Want. You. Dead!"

With his back facing Gu Ting Yu, Jue trudged towards the Sacred Beasts on the floor. He felt a sudden spell of exhaustion when hearing the Sacred Beasts' roars.

In truth, the real resurrection ceremony was just beginning.