Chapter 431: The Rebirth of an Old Foe
This novel is translated and hosted on Bcatranslation
Lu Chao Chao was slung over a shoulder, jolted so violently that she nearly vomited her dinner.
She watched with wide eyes as the captor traversed mountains and valleys, finally arriving before a cave.
With swift hand seals, he struck the air in front of the cave.
A barrier instantly appeared. Carrying Lu Chao Chao, he passed through the barrier effortlessly.
Boom…
Before she could react, she was thrown into a corner of the cave. Fortunately, the weather was cool, and she was wrapped in thick layers of clothing. Her plump little body absorbed most of the impact, preventing any real pain.
The cave reeked of blood. As she placed her hands on the damp ground, she felt the stickiness of blood clinging to her fingers.
A man cloaked entirely in black, his face shrouded in darkness, spoke with a hoarse and menacing voice.
“Damnable Mountain Demon! I ordered you to harvest hearts, and you bring me a person instead?!”
“You’ve ruined the Master’s plans. Prepare to suffer the consequences!”
The Mountain Demon held a compass in his hand, his eyes burning with excitement. “Look carefully, my lord! Do you know what she is?” The compass spun wildly before stopping, its needle pointing directly at Lu Chao Chao.
“She possesses the Sacred Heart!!”
“One Sacred Heart is worth thousands, tens of thousands of ordinary hearts! With this alone, we need not search any further! This Sacred Heart alone is enough to satisfy the Master!”
The man in the black cloak sharply turned to face Lu Chao Chao.
“SACRED HEART?!”
“How is that possible? A Sacred Heart existing in the mortal realm?”
“It is known that most mortals possess common hearts. On rare occasions, a genius might be born with a Seven Apertures Exquisite Heart, blessed by the heavens. Gods who ascend shed their worldly desires, refining their souls into a Supreme Immortal Heart.”
“But the Sacred Heart…”
“Even the Monarch Emperor of the Nine Heavens failed to cultivate one.”
“It is said that the Sacred Heart can communicate with the heavens and even stand on equal footing with the Heavenly Dao. Yet, for countless millennia, not a single person possessing it has ever been seen…”
The black-cloaked man slowly approached Lu Chao Chao. The glow of the compass grew so intense that it shattered in his hand.
Shards of the broken compass embedded into his flesh, causing droplets of crimson blood to drip onto the cave floor.
Yet, he paid no mind. Instead, his laughter echoed through the cave, wild and unrestrained.
“Hahahaha! Excellent! This truly is the Sacred Heart! With this, the Master’s worries will be resolved!” The man in black laughed maniacally, his sleeves billowing as his voice filled the cavern.
Lu Chao Chao, however, fixated on the blood droplets before her, her brows furrowing deeply.
The aura surrounding him could be concealed, but the energy within his blood…
This was…
A god’s presence!
The usually carefree Lu Chao Chao now bore a solemn expression.
“When the Master controls Southern Kingdom, Northern Zhao, Eastern Ling, Western Yue, and Brahma Kingdom, the mortal world will be in the palm of his hand!”
“Bring the Sacred Heart forward!” The black-cloaked man turned and walked deeper into the cave.
The Mountain Demon grabbed Lu Chao Chao and followed.
The walls of the cave were lined with luminous Night-Luminescent Pearls, their glow illuminating the path. The deeper they ventured, the stronger the stench of blood became.
After navigating through a series of winding tunnels, they emerged into a vast chamber.
The entire mountain had been hollowed out.
The Night-Luminescent Pearls made the space as bright as daylight. In the center lay a massive pool filled with divine energy. Golden lotus flowers floated atop the water, and numerous koi fish swam beneath the surface.
If not for the pale figure sitting cross-legged within the pool, absent of breath or heartbeat, the scene might have been considered serene.
The man sat bare-chested in the water. One look at him, and Lu Chao Chao’s pupils shrank violently.
She nearly summoned the Sunshine Sword right then and there.
To behead the person before her!
Her expression turned grim, her chubby fists clenched tight. Her wary eyes fixated on the man shrouded in the aura of death.
What were they doing?! Did they even realize what they were doing?!
Her gaze burned with rage.
In the dawn of time, when the world first formed, the Divine Realm ruled over the Three Realms.
Mortals possessed greed, anger, obsession, hatred, love, wickedness, and desire—only by severing these seven emotions could one ascend.
Who would have thought that over the passage of time, the gods—beings of purity and detachment—would succumb to desire?
And from these desires, a monstrous force was born—the Seven Sins, feeding upon the malice and lust of the Three Realms. In a mere ten years, it grew stronger each day.
The Three Realms fell into chaos. The Divine Realm, unable to protect the mortals, watched as the weakest realm—the human world—descended into hell.
Even when the gods waged war against it, losing more than half their forces, they failed to deal it a single lasting wound.
Back then, Lu Chao Chao had sacrificed half her life, piercing the Seven Sins with a single sword strike, shattering it on the spot.
Following that battle, the Heavenly Dao collapsed.
Lu Chao Chao had offered herself as a sacrifice, mending the Heavenly Dao and awakening its will.
But now, these fools—
They were reviving the Seven Sins!!
Lu Chao Chao’s rage boiled to the point where even her hair stood on end.
The Divine Realm had long abandoned its duty. The world was already drowning in its own malice, and if Seven Sins were to rise again…
Hah…
Let it all burn.
Lu Chao Chao’s face darkened. Idiots.
“The Fallen Fiend is powerful, but the Master has discovered a way to control him! Once he is reborn… there will be no one in the Three Realms who can stand against us!” The black-cloaked man’s voice trembled with madness.
With a flick of his sleeve, countless beating hearts emerged around the Fallen Fiend.
Ordinary hearts, when removed, would cause immediate death. Yet, through secret arts, these hearts remained alive, encased in a transparent glow.
The black-cloaked man lightly stepped onto the lotus leaves, drawing divine energy from the pool.
The energy wrapped around the hearts, sending them one by one into Seven Sins’ chest cavity.
In an instant—
Each heart exploded into a spray of blood.
The Mountain Demon scowled. “Still useless!”
The black-cloaked man remained silent, inserting heart after heart. Yet, each one burst apart on contact, filling the air with a suffocating stench of blood. Lu Chao Chao nearly gagged from the overwhelming odor.
“We still have the Sacred Heart! This will work!”
“The Sacred Heart is blessed by the Heavenly Dao—it must work!” The Mountain Demon flung Lu Chao Chao onto the lotus leaves.
The little one barely steadied herself, narrowly avoiding a plunge into the pool.
The black-cloaked man muttered, “Why won’t it work? Three thousand six hundred twenty-two hearts, and not one succeeded?!”
“Sunshine Sword Sovereign sacrificed herself for the Three Realms, her soul obliterated, yet she was reborn. Why should I fail?!”
“What is wrong?!”
His gaze fell upon Lu Chao Chao, dark and cruel.
“What divine will! The heavens sent you to Jade Mountain County for this purpose—to aid the Master’s rebirth!”
The man laughed, his voice filled with ecstasy.
“Young as you are, you shall bring about the rebirth of the Fallen Fiend—a glorious feat.”
“That is your honor!” The Mountain Demon’s eyes gleamed red, eager.
Lu Chao Chao scowled at them. “You want this honor? Take it yourself.”
The Mountain Demon’s face twisted in fury.
“Ungrateful wretch!!”
“Lend me your Sacred Heart!” The black-cloaked man reached out.
Lu Chao Chao’s body lifted into the air against her will.
His veil fell, revealing a sorrowful yet revered face—a god, worshiped throughout the Three Realms.
And yet, today—
He sought to carve out her heart.