Chapter 2026 - Divine Bird Chong Ming

Unlike the city’s other evil spirits, the Lost suppressed in the Fog-Shrouded Street had had their souls completely corroded by the power of the curse. They’d long since fused with the street completely!

Their strength was incontrovertible, but the most terrifying thing about them was that even when they were destroyed, they could recover in the blink of an eye.

They could fight and kill forever, without ever needing to rest, unless... the Fog-Shrouded Street was destroyed.

But the Fog-Shrouded Street was part of the City of the Lost, and it was formed entirely from the power of the Curse of the Ancient Gods. It had stood throughout the ages, and no one had ever destroyed it.

This meant that those who entered the Fog-Shrouded Street would be trapped in endless combat, worn down until they ultimately perished. Not even gods were exempt!

When one side had terrifying strength and the other could recover endlessly, the former was sure to lose in the end. An unkillable opponent was the most terrifying of all!

And Ye Chunqiu knew this place like the back of his hand. He even knew the origins of the thirteen god-level Lost trapped in the Fog-Shrouded Street, as well as their terrifying abilities.

It was for this reason that he’d chosen to lead the attack earlier. He was a Ghost God, too, so he could control the Curse of the Ancient Gods as well!

Yet Su Yi, who knew none of this, had insisted on leading the charge. Ye Chunqiu couldn’t help but sweat on his behalf. He was irritated and exasperated, but he figured that after Su Yi suffered a little, he’d realize how dangerous his predicament was.

However, after seeing the power of Su Yi’s strike, Ye Chunqiu realized that he’d underestimated his old friend’s strength. No, he’d completely misjudged it!

The terror of the Fog-Shrouded Street lay in the fact that here, the Lost could recover almost immediately and in perpetuity. They could fight without rest and without end. Su Yi, however, could counter its power. He could end the Lost completely, giving them no chance to come back to life!

So, this is the power of reincarnation, huh...?

Waves of emotion coursed through Ye Chunqiu’s heart: astonishment, excitement, but more than that, delight on his dear friend’s behalf.

He’d reincarnated to begin his cultivation anew. Even gods feared him, and all malevolent creatures fled in terror before him!

How taboo and terrifying was this power? Here in the City of the Lost, it could even sever the power of the Curse of the Ancient Gods in a single slash!

As Ye Chunqiu’s thoughts raced, Su Yi’s sword manifested an endless Sea of Purgatory. A good dozen of the Lost were enveloped and plunged into eternal oblivion.

Ye Chunqiu had keen senses, and he noticed that before the Lost vanished completely, their expressions filled with relief. They’d finally found release.

Ye Chunqiu’s heart shook with a complicated mix of emotions. It made sense. The Lost had been trapped in the Fog-Shrouded Street for a long, long time. They’d lost all sense of self, and they couldn’t die no matter how much they longed for it. How agonizing must that have been for them?

It seemed as if they were being cut down, but to them, dying a true death meant release!

Kaboom!

All of this took some time to describe, but it happened in a flash. The Sea of Bitterness churned as the thirteen Lost Ghost Gods displayed their terrifying might. Soon, one of them actually managed to break free!

She was a white-haired, unearthly beauty wrapped in the striking, blood-red power of the curse, and she fought with terrifying, ferocious majesty.

Ye Chunqiu recognized her. Her name was Gu Xingyi!

In life, she’d been a Creation Realm Lesser God. She’d come here from the God Domain to capture Ghost Gods to refine her Epoch Treasure.

At the time, Grandmother admired Gu Xingyi deeply, and she broke precedent to offer her clemency three times in hopes that she would submit.

But Gu Xingyi refused. She wouldn’t lower her head, not even if refusing meant losing herself completely and becoming one of the Lost!

It was obvious how proud Gu Xingyi had been.

When Ye Chunqiu saw Gu Xingyi charge out of the Sea of Bitterness, his heart clenched on his old friend’s behalf. Despite having lost her awareness, Gu Xingyi was still stronger than the Papercrafter and Qiu Man!

“Die!” Gu Xingyi’s eyes blazed red as she attacked, the power of the curse manifesting blood-red sword qi that descended upon Su Yi like a pelting rain.

Su Yi’s eyes flashed like cold lightning. He took a step forward; visions of reincarnation surged forth, their power blocking the endless streaks of blood-red sword qi.

When Su Yi swung and thrust his sword...

Whoosh!

Countless fiery flowers of the Far Shore fell down to earth, and the Path of the Far Shore extended into the endless darkness. A dreamlike and ethereal rain of light fell, illuminating the path as if to guide the souls of the fallen into the next world.

Reincarnation Sword Intent——Flowers Bloom on the Far Shore!

The countless streaks of blood-red sword qi exploded in midair, and Gu Xingyi’s charging figure was drawn uncontrollably onto the Path of the Far Shore. Countless fiery flowers instantly fell around her, enveloping her completely.

Kcch! Kcch!

A series of hissing noises rang out as the blood-red power of the curse was relentlessly ground away. Gu Xingyi was drawn further along the Path of the Fare Shore and ever deeper into the endless void.

Suddenly, Gu Xingyi shook, as if awakening from a dream, and whipped around to look at Su Yi.

Who knew when it had happened, but her red eyes were now calm and clear, and a rare hint of bewilderment and excitement had appeared on her peerlessly beautiful face.

Suddenly, Su Yi’s dignified voice rang out. “If you want to leave the City of the Lost alive, don’t struggle!”

Gu Xingyi’s beautiful eyes took in her surroundings. She seemed to understand her situation.

She raised her jade-like hands and inclined her head in greeting. “Many thanks for saving me, Fellow Daoist!”

Then, she gave up the struggle completely and let the rain of light envelop her.

Kcch!!

A moment later, she blurred into a beam of light bundled in a Flower of the Far Shore and fell into Su Yi’s palm. The Flower of the Far Shore was fiery red, resplendent, and translucent.

When Su Yi exerted his will, the flower transformed into a mysterious imprint and disappeared into the lines of his palm.

This was one of the many wondrous applications of the mysteries of the Far Shore: he could seal souls.

Later, when Su Yi mastered the complete natural order of reincarnation, he’d be able to erase the sealed souls from existence completely, or send them to the Platform of Rebirth to re-enter the cycle of reincarnation and be born anew!

When Ye Chunqiu saw this, he couldn’t help but be rueful. He finally realized that reincarnation didn’t just counter the power of the ancient curse. It could also free the Lost, saving them from the eternal torment of longing to die yet being unable to do so!

Boom!

The Sea of Bitterness churned. After Gu Xingyi was sealed, the other twelve Lost Ghost Gods broke free and attacked, one after another.

But when Su Yi unleashed the mysteries of the Far Shore, he plunged them all onto the Path of the Far Shore and sealed them away too. From beginning to end, he encountered no danger to speak of.

This was for the simple reason that when the power of the Far Shore freed the Lost of their curse, they regained some of their awareness and realized that Su Yi was trying to save them. All of them immediately chose to give up the fight!

Seeing this left Wu Lingchong and Li Shuang completely wide-eyed and tongue-tied. They couldn’t even begin to imagine how Su Yi was pulling this off.

Numerous Lost still struggled within the Sea of Bitterness, wailing in terror. One after another, they were lost to oblivion, erased from this world completely.

Su Yi only managed to save a few of them, and he couldn’t help but find it a pity. In life, these Lost weren’t gods, and they'd been trapped here for far too long. They were still top experts within the Great Realm, but after losing their awareness in the City of the Lost, most were too far gone. There simply wasn’t enough left of them to bring back.

The few he could save, he sealed away. As for the others? Death was the only true form of release left to them.

Without any further hesitation, Su Yi leaped through the air and controlled the Sea of Bitterness to erase the remaining Lost trapped in its waters.

In the last moments before their deaths, all of them looked relieved.

Before long, the Sea of Bitterness dissipated, and Su Yi landed gently on the ground without so much as a hair out of place.

But the way Ye Chunqiu, Wu Lingchong, and Li Shuang looked at Su Yi had changed.

He’d sealed thirteen Lost Ghost Gods one by one, and he’d granted over a hundred other Lost a true death!

Barely any time had passed before the curtains fell on this unprecedentedly fierce grand battle.

The Fog-Shrouded Street looked much the same; it was still empty and shrouded in fog, and the blood-red lightning and dark clouds overhead were as strange and unsettling as ever. However, the lanterns hanging from the eaves had gone out.

Su Yi looked around. “Ol’ Ye, do you know how to get out of here?”

He’d already grasped that the street was manifested from the city’s Curse of the Ancient Gods. Here, it was like the natural order of the heavens.

Being here was like being stuck in a maze. If you couldn’t find the exit, you’d remain trapped here forever.

“Yes,” said Ye Chunqiu. “Starting from our current location, proceed to the one-hundred-and-ninth shop on the right side of the street and break open its doors. Then you can leave.”

“Want to leave? You’ll have to get through me first!” That handsome scholar appeared in the distance once more. He was headed their way.

As he walked, the tightly shut doors and windows of the buildings lining the Fog-Shrouded Street opened, and a tide of black baleful energy billowed outward.

Whoosh!

The billowing baleful energy churned and continuously flooded into the handsome scholar’s body. His appearance and power transformed.

His gaunt frame grew, bit by bit, making him fiercer and more powerful. His flesh expanded, bursting his clothing, and his head transformed into that of a bird. His eyes were red, with two pupils per eye, and his hands transformed into sharp claws. A pair of enormous black wings sprouted from his back.

Boom!

He took to the skies, an avian head on his winged human body. The black, baleful fog condensed into a spear in his clawed grip.

And his dual-pupiled eyes were like blood-colored whirlpools. They could suppress and intimidate the soul!

“What kind of monster is that?” Wu Lingchong called out in alarm.

“Chong Ming, or ‘twin lights,’ is a divine bird, a natural variant beast born of chaos. He’s one of Grandmother’s Dao Protectors, a group of nine Ghost Gods under her direct command. Over the years, he’s killed numerous gods and devoured their Godheads. He controls a full five Epoch Laws!” Ye Chunqiu’s gaze was solemn, and he spoke with unconcealable dread.

Ghost God Chong Ming was the strongest of the nine Dao Protectors of the City of the Lost. He’d personally suppressed more than half of the thirteen Lost Ghost Gods trapped in the Fog-Shrouded Street over the years!

“Ah, so you were a filthy feathered beast all along,” said Su Yi. He was a bit surprised.

At a glance, Ghost God Chong Ming seemed like a handsome, elegant scholar, with comportment far beyond the masses. Who’d have thought he was actually a yao cultivator?

Still, there was no denying that Ghost God Chong Ming was terrifying!

As he continuously refined and absorbed the billowing baleful fog, his ferocious power soared.

His wings were especially striking, as countless unsettling, blood-red eyes opened between the feathers. A single glance was enough to make one dizzy and leave their soul bewildered and off-kilter.