Nine Venoms Sect Founder

Chapter 143: Unyielding (1)

"Beloved, the Abyssal River is yours. Subdue it within half an hour, or get ready to collect my corpse. Meantime, I will do a co-op with Dolma. The sooner you succeed, the sooner it ends." Taking a jesting tone, Harun lay down the battle plan. Restless under the weight of the Undying Crow's intolerable pressure, Mukri backpedaled and shifted his gaze between Harun and Jiyan. "Boss, do we really want to do this? Not to bring down the troops' morale but…I'm not feeling this," Mukri laid his fears bare. Harun wasn't the only one to conclude that by giving up their new puppet, they might avoid this abomination's attention. However, neither Birandar nor Jiyan believed in procrastination. It all had to end now. Realizing that he couldn't sway their intent, Mukri lowered his head, cursing all the heavens for his superiors' lack of sensitivity. 

Passing control of Dolma Doll onto Harun, Jiyan ignored the Undying Crow's overflowing aura, and turned toward the Abyssal River. As if boiling from excitement, the Abyssal River bubbled up. Blood-red steam surged upward, with flying fishes spiraling around the rising vapor. By now, sandwiched between the Undying Crow and Abyssal River, the whole Obsidian Soul Stone mine teemed with baleful energies, but undaunted, Jiyan rushed forth, and coated in thick purple energies, dove into the river. Welcomed by the Abyssal River, Jiyan faced no barrier. On the contrary, a potent suction force dragged her faster toward the river's bottom, taking her on a fast-paced tour of that aquatic treasure's depths. Massive packs of eels, freshwater fishes and basses swam under the watchful eyes of great whales, and clashed for resources with hordes of venal sharks. Underneath them, algae abounded, forming circles around smaller aquatic plants. josei

Instead of a river or lake, Jiyan sank into an ever-expanding oceanic world, whose countless lives only had one thing in common: a blood-red color. Directing the underwater troops, the sharks and whales locked their bloodthirsty eyes on Jiyan, punctuating their voracious hunger by opening their gigantic maws. Ignoring them, she carried on, letting the Abyssal River keep its children in check. Suppressed by the river's will, the great sanguine beasts didn't dare rush at Jiyan. The lower she went, the more abundant the Blood, Space, Water and other Essences became, giving Jiyan the sensation that, instead of a treasure, she faced a sentient cultivation world—she was correct. 

In the early stages of the Heavenly Dream Land, refiners reigned supreme. But unlike the cultivators that succeeded them, most refiners had a profound distaste for sectarian structures, and while some hid in their God-slaves' Internal Heavens, others put their vast knowledge to selfish use, crafting miniature worlds to meditate in peace.

Even the three Venerable Protectors, who undeniably ruled the refiners' era and commanded the strongest factions in the history of this Landverse, didn't dare call themselves kings and masters, at least not with other refiners.

Influenced by the endless mysteries oozing from mighty refiners' flesh, the miniature worlds grew sentient, driving the scholarly ascetics to study the phenomenon and devise precise methods to create sentient tools. 

Even the method used by the Million Emperor Sect to create the Imperial Seal stemmed from refiners' insight. However, following the Million Emperor Sect's extermination of the refiners and subsequent self-destruction, only six sentient treasures survived. Needless to say, as none inherited the refiners' boundless knowledge, the method died with them. Now, even with the right materials, celestials and gods could at best create Awakened Treasures—stronger than lifeless tools, but a far cry from true sentience.

Reaching the bottom of the Abyssal River, Jiyan landed before Dolma's lotus throne which, unlike the blood sea world she swam in, seemed carved in an incorruptible marble white. In that seat, the River's ancient will was at its strongest, challenging Jiyan to defy and refine its spirit.

Just like Jiyan needed to take control of the river, to leave the Obsidian Soul Stone mine and breakthrough its current limits, the Abyssal River needed an exceptional vessel: a Jiyan. Aware of the stakes, Jiyan sat on the lotus throne, resting her hands on her thighs as she spread her will throughout the Abyssal River, attempting to consume it before it consumed her—their mental clash thus started. 

…

Entranced by its duty, the three-legged crow ignored Jiyan's departure, ignored Harun's stand, and opened its beak. Gray seeds flew out, tumbling onto the ground which, after all the battles, tribulations and bombing it suffered, had turned into a succession of craters. As the seeds fused with the earth, eerie veils of dark pollen surged upward, staining the atmosphere with the oppressive scent of decay. Arching its head back, the three-legged crow spread its massive wings, and screamed at the broken ceiling. 

Ominous energy vortexes formed across the mine, each summoning flocks of crammed dark crows that nearly stole all the available spots in the air as they formed battle squads around their master. Barely the size of an adult man's head, the thousands of crows fixed their demonic-black eyes on Harun's group, overshadowing the Birusk side's presence with their foul, linked auras. And while the raspy sound of cawing crows filled the mine, a misty blend of four colors circled the undead crow. Grief, Soul, Sacrifice and Death Essence oozed out, the first three at profound-enlightenment, and the last at minor-accomplishment—consequence of Weeping Soul's final breakthrough.

Casting a succession of mental orders, Harun arranged his 103 Desolate Corpses around Birandar and Mukri. In this fight, not only could those two only play a supportive role, but their worth to Harun's forces went beyond 10,000 corpses. To ensure their safety, he would spare nothing. Understanding their position, neither objected to this arrangement, leaving Harun and the Blood Matron at the vanguard of the final battle. 

Strained by the purple eye's use, Harun's internal organs grew chaotic, his arteries tightened, causing jolts of stabbing pain that spread across his chest. Closing his eyes, Harun took in a deep breath, suppressing his internal damage as he mustered the full powers of his eyes. As they did in Dolma's Mandala, the Sovereign Pupils became burning gold and purple orbs—shimmering as if reflecting the stars. All the way back to the Birusk clan, the Serpent Totem turned into a bright-green shooting star, and at quasi-teleportation speed, raced past all barriers to merge with Harun's body. His aura reached a new peak, and the battle…began.