Stranger Danger

Chapter 769: Annihilation Hammer

Boom boom boom…

For a time, the rumblings and the quakes kept going on as if it would never end.

It was a true clash of titans. Zongtian was showing off the might of ghosts and gods; celestials and Buddha. Every move they executed was fancy and broke the world around them.

Li Hentian was the opposite. He was a master who had boiled down every martial art he had learned into its simplest form. Strike, block, gather, smash. Every move he executed was basic to the extreme. And yet somehow, these basic moves were perfect, natural, and flawless like the Way; like nature itself. And just like Mother Nature, their power was immeasurable.

With just a pair of hands, he could dismantle every art.

With just a pair of fists, he could suppress an Ancient.

At first, Ye Qing was quite eager to watch the duel between the duo. But as time passed, and the battle grew more and more intense, Ye Qing began looking away from the battle, sealing his hearing so he wouldn’t be able to hear their rhythm, and even withdrew his demonic thought to avoid perceiving their concepts.

It was because their battle involved the laws and ultimate concepts of the martial way, and right now, he wasn’t yet qualified to even make contact with such things. One slip of the concentration, and their martial concepts could very well extinguish his consciousness.

In the end, he even had to seal off his five senses and his spiritual perception completely, though he did not forget to block in front of Murong Xianxian and shield her.

Despite this, the shockwaves of their battle still blurred his consciousness and threw his energies into disarray. Blood was pouring out of his eyes, ears, nose and mouth.

If even he was suffering, then the likes of Sun Sovereign could only do worse. After all, they had all taken a considerable amount of injuries beforehand, and that was rapidly being compounded by the battle between Li Hentian and Zongtian.

They were lucky though. The battle was so terrible that it did not just shatter the world around them, but also the seal Murong Xianxian had set up beforehand. They had escaped as soon as the opportunity presented itself.

As time passed, the battle between Li Hentian and the master of Zongtian only got more and more intense. It shattered mountains and rivers, ripped holes in the sky, shook the sun and moon from the sky, and ravaged the Demonbearer Abode even more than it already was.

“‘Break Hammer’!”

An unknown amount of time later, a sudden yell broke the winds, scattered the clouds, cracked the four cardinal directions, and ripped a hole in spacetime. All lawful things returned to lawlessness, and all of creation returned to Primal Chaos.

The Ghost and God’s two faces were no exception. They instantly dissolved into nothing as well.

“Argh!”

When the faces shattered, a masculine and a feminine voice screamed at the same time. Then, they reverted into their original form.

Right now, Zongtian was in a horrible condition. Their body were covered in wounds, and their two faces were covered in cracks. Smelly yellowish pus was leaking out of the cracks, and countless wronged souls and bodies were howling in rage.

“You dare try to steal my woman when this is all you got? Pathetic!”

Li Hentian laughed and descended toward the Ghost and God.

“Those who disrespect gods deserve death!” The master’s two faces roared at the same time. As soon as the word “death” escaped their lips, the sky split open, and the waters of the Yellow Spring poured down from above. It was as if the world itself was at their beck and call.

The torrent of yellow water transformed into a gigantic spellsword that put a hole in the sky itself. It was a dignified-looking sword that seemed to herald the arrival of the Son of Heaven; demanded the submission of all living things.

“Son of Heaven Sword of Yellow Spring”

“Those who blaspheme against gods deserve DESTRUCTION!”

As soon as the word “destruction” escaped their mouth, the ground collapsed, and a sea of blood spilled out of the cracks. It transformed into a sky-splitting saber of blood. The saber was as gnarly-looking as it was scary. It looked like the manifestation of the vilest ghoul, and it desired nothing more than the death of all living things.

“Rakshasa Saber of Blood Sea”

The Son of Heaven Sword of Yellow Spring commanded all ghosts. None dared to disobey its will.

The Rakshasa Saber of Blood Sea was the bane of all living things. Those who were slain by it would experience true death.

The sword descended. The Eighteen Hells formed its blade, and the ghosts’ roar became its edge.

The saber rose. The sea of blood and bones silenced all living things, and neither reincarnation nor the six realms of samsara existed within its hungry, bottomless depth.

“Hahaha… now we’re talking!” Li Hentian let out an arrogant laugh in the face of the destructive sword and saber. “In exchange, I’ll show you my own punch!”

“Annihilation Hammer”

As soon as he threw out the punch, yin and yang switched places, the five phases disintegrated, time and space disappeared, and the cycle of reincarnation was no more. Anything and everything in the world returned to void and silence just as it was before Primal Chaos began, and creation was a thing.

If even existence itself was unraveling, how could the sword or the saber possibly exist? Both the “Son of Heaven Sword of Yellow Spring” and the “Rakshasa Saber of Blood Sea” disappeared at the same time the punch was unleashed.

The Ghost and God’s mouth opened in shock, but before they could say anything, they began disappearing bit by bit like sand. They slowly but surely disappeared into nothingness.

All things were returned to the void before annihilation. Hence, the name.

The effects of the technique did not stop there even though the master of Zongtian Palace was gone. It continuously ate away at this crumbling pocket world.

Rumble rumble rumble…

Strange rumblings began echoing throughout the world, and it was only growing louder and louder over time. Then, entire patches of the sky crumbled into pieces, and the ground quaked and sundered. Sea water poured through the gaps and flooded the world by the second.

Clearly, this tortured world had had enough. Unable to withstand “Annihilation Hammer”’s fist intent, it finally tipped over the edge and slid toward unstoppable destruction.

The survivors did not hesitate. They executed their techniques and made a break for it.

“Big sis—”

Ye Qing noticed the danger as well and regained his consciousness. However, whatever he wanted to say died in his throat when he opened his eyes and saw Li Hentian standing in front of him.

Murong Xianxian stared at Li Hentian. “You didn’t need to come out.”

“Isn’t that what you wanted?” Li Hentian smiled. “You’re the one who forced me out into the open.”

“Yes, I did,” Murong Xianxian’s lips spread into a dazzling smile, “but you didn’t have to comply with my demand.”

Li Hentian shrugged. “How can I not, when you’re putting your own life at stake?”

“Is that so?” Murong Xianxian’s smile grew a tad provocative. “Eight hundred years ago, I manipulated events so that you would perish, and the Demonbearer Abode would be destroyed. Now, I forced you to show yourself and fight Zongtian at the cost of your True Spirit. Do you really not blame me? Resent me? Hate me for what I’ve done?”

“To tell you the truth? Yes, I did resent you. I did hate you for what you did. But blame you? Never,” Li Hentian replied honestly. “I’m the one who killed your family and annihilated your clan. What happened after that is just karma.”

“If you resent and hate me, then why didn’t you leave me for dead?” Murong Xianxian asked.

“Because I couldn’t bear to lose you, of course.”

From the start, Li Hentian’s gaze on Murong Xianxian was gentle and loving. “Eight hundred years ago, I couldn’t bear to kill you. Eight hundred years later, I still couldn’t bear to watch you die.”

“You… couldn’t bear to lose me?” Murong Xianxian wobbled a little on her feet.

“Yes, I couldn’t.” Li Hentian let out a deep sigh. “Eight hundred years ago, I couldn’t bring myself to do what I must no matter how much I resented you. For the same reason, I couldn’t bear to watch you die even though you once again pushed me against my will.”

“Do you know why I used Repentance to seal you? Yes, it was because I hated you, and because I wanted you to regret what you did. However, it was also because I didn’t want you to leave me!”

“Do you know why I left behind this wisp of True Spirit? It wasn\'t because I feared death such that I would rather suffer an ignoble existence, but because I wished to see you and accompany you for as long as I am able!”

“Do you know why I didn’t stop you even though I knew that you were intentionally luring outsiders into the Death Sea? That you were the one who leaked the Dark Overlord Tokens to that idiot, Zongtian? It wasn’t because I couldn’t stop you, but because I couldn’t bear to see you suffer.”