Chapter 197: The Venerable Of The Seven Paths Of Heaven
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The Heavenly Venerable of the Seven Paths of Heaven.
One of Bing Xue’s enemies from the past and one of the mightiest Venerables of Murim before her Ascension.
A formidable, cunning, and malicious man with no morality or any sort of shame, he was a depraved monster, perhaps the worst amongst all those men corrupted by power in Murim.
And interestingly enough, Bing Xue had discovered he was similar to her.
He was a Reincarnated Soul.
Instead of her coming directly to Murim with her own body, though, he was a Soul that was Reincarnated in this world, appearing several years in Murim before her.
And unlike her, he was granted a “cheat”.
His Reincarnation was abnormal too, and it could even be said it was more like Transmigration.
His Soul had been placed inside the body of a recently deceased Young Master of a Small Sect within the Desolate Mountains; a region known for its ruthlessness amongst all of Murim.
In there, he had been granted a crippled, weak body and was deemed a failure due to his terrible talent for cultivation and was shunned by his entire sect as well.
But all of this did not matter; although he struggled at the beginning, his powerful “cheat” allowed this man to climb to the top at lightning speed.
In only a year, he became an Immortal, and in three more years, he ascended into a Primordial.
In just seven years since his Transmigration, he had already become a Venerable!
And this cheat…
This power that allowed this man to climb to the top so easily was…
The Fate Devouring Villain System.
A System similar to the one spread through the Tower and Earth, but at the same time, completely different. It was a Personal System granted to him miraculously; he never truly asked where it came from, and he never wondered why he had it.
He took it for granted, a privilege of simply being Transmigrated, after being someone who, in his previous life, was someone who had never developed a social life, and closed himself inside his room, reading novels with these same premises over and over again.
It seemed as if this obsession had become some sort of insanity, to the point that he didn’t even question what this power was or anything of the sort.
He accepted what happened to him and happily used this power to do as he pleased!
He fulfilled all his fantasies using it, stealing the Fate of every person barely lucky enough to be a good target and even receiving many rewards and resources by committing all sorts of villainous acts.
He ruined the lives of countless “Fate’s Chosen”, stealing their Fate and then killing them, not before humiliating them for daring to be better than him.
With the Fates he stole, he gained tremendous new powers and great chances and fortune every time, growing stronger as he walked the path of an unhinged demon, a terror in the Martial Cultivation World.
He took what he wanted: riches, territories, treasures, resources, power, and women, especially women. He was obsessed with women and carnal and sexual activities; he was a man driven and controlled by his endless lust.
Causing chaos every time he stole the princesses of large kingdoms or empires, stealing the wives of important immortal sect leaders, and whenever he found a pretty woman, he would forcefully abduct them and do whatever he wanted to them.
To him, Murim was his playing field, and the world was his!
Eventually, after devouring the Immortal Souls of hundreds of Immortals and Primordials, his own Ascension was eventual.
Because his Immortal Physique, Psyche, and Aura being a combination of so many other different powers, it glowed with a rainbow color, showing seven beautiful paths, rivers of colorful essence.
So, despite his horrendous personality, terrible acts, and monstrous legacy, he was given a fancy title due to this appearance, a title he forced others to use to refer to him.
Instead of the “Lustful Demonic Venerable of Depravity” that the Orthodox Factions called him, he was given another title by the rest of the world.
The Heavenly Venerable of the Seven Paths of Heaven.
Or as his mysterious system called him, Murim’s Destined Villain.
In a way, his System had indeed done what it desired, turning him into one of Murim’s greatest villains know to all.
Even the other Demonic Cultivators utterly hated him because of how far he went!
Bing Xue fell into silence after hearing his voice; without a doubt, it was him.
The Heavenly Will was behind this; she was sure of it.
“That crack behind him… Those must be gates that lead to Murim.” She thought, calming down almost instantly after her initial panic. “So he has somehow revived and come through that portal to Earth, with… how many Immortals and Primordials are those? Perhaps a hundred? Hmm.”
“I’ve even brought you a surprise party, all from Murim! Rejoice, my dear white jade! The Demonic Sects you suppressed, my thousands of heirs, all of them have been waiting for this moment, you know?! You shouldn’t have stupidly left them alive!”
Fang Gu Lan laughed out loud. The gigantic floating Pagodas, which were Divine Martial Houses created by stacking several Formations together, moved through the skies, charging large quantities of Immortal Ki within their gigantic golden crowns, pointing their attacks at Bing Xue’s own Pagoda.
And then, dozens of powerful lasers reached her and her floating building, aiming to destroy everything.
“Hmph.”
Bing Xue didn’t even flinch. Harnessing her powers and waving her hand casually, a massive wave of Void and Photon Essence manifested, slashing through the beams and them completely destroying them before they could hit her building.
BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!
“If that’s everything you’re going to do, then this has become a rather lame party, Fang Gu Lan,” said Bing Xue. “I would love to know why you’re here, though. Don’t tell me… Perhaps not even Death wanted to embrace your ugly self?”
Fang Gu Lan glared at Bing Xue with a slightly dumbfounded face; he was sure she wasn’t as strong as she is now back then when they fought to the death. He looked irritated afterwards but then forced a confident smile.
“Hah, of course, I’ve been told you became a Venerable that surpassed all Venerables… So you achieved the next Realm, something that I was never able to achieve no matter how hard I worked…” he muttered. “Your strength is indeed phenomenal, Bing Xue. I suppose my army is close to nothing before you?”
“Yeah, less than ants,” Bing Xue said nonchalantly. “So you either come at me directly or this will end very quickly.”
“Y-You…” He was growing even more irritated; for someone who lived hundreds of years, he still had close to zero patience when it came to women daring to speak back to him. “Power or not, you’re still just a filthy bitch… With the new powers I’ve gained, I’ll make sure to beat you into a pulp and use your body for as long as I want! I’ll make you mine!”
“Disgusting… I would rather die.” Bing Xue sighed. “Why don't you walk back where you came from? You’re such a waste of oxygen."
“ENOUGH!”
He was so bad at taking some trash talk that he instantly lost all patience, his Aura exploding into seven rivers of colorful auras, rushing towards Bing Xue at once.
“That’s your Immortal Intent, huh? Yeah, did you receive some free upgrades from the Heavenly Will when he revived you? Hah, Fang Gu Lan, always relying on other external forces and chances to help you progress. Never doing anything on your own is truly pathetic. Probably the most pathetic man I’ve ever met in all my eleven thousand years of life.”
As Bing Xue spoke calmly, she pushed her hand forward, generating a gigantic golden palm that clashed against all Seven Paths that were manifesting within Fan Gu Lan’s Venerable Intent.
CRAAASH!
RUMBLE!
The skies and the ground below trembled; ripples in the fabric of space began to spread rapidly everywhere the two immensely powerful energies clashed.
Indeed, Fan Gu Lan had received a substantial boost to his powers… The strongest foe she has fought so far, the Primal Spider Goddess, couldn’t compare in terms of Aura.
This was indeed the refined and powerful force and intent of someone from the Murim World, a Venerable no less!
“Bing Xue! What’s going on?!” Urbosa called her.
“Is this a war? Out of nowhere?” Merkite asked.
“Mama…!” Orion cried. “Are these bad people?”
“They aren’t good! That man said weird things about Mama... I don’t like him one bit!” Athena said angrily.
Bing Xue glanced at her family right behind her, feeling a bit sorry that they had to see this monster, the embodiment of her terrible past and of the horrible world to which she had been confined for so long.
“Yes, he is indeed a bad man…” Bing Xue said.
Murim, that accursed world of bloodshed and suffering, where she struggled for thousands of years before getting anywhere.
It was a world so hostile to everything that she still sometimes cannot believe she was able to survive until her power level.
And it was a world she wanted to forget already, people he didn’t want to remember anymore, and monsters that remained as traumas that she didn’t want to ever recall ever again.
Yet here they were. Murim itself came after her; it didn’t let her rest; it didn’t even let her have a proper vacation either!
“It’s the damned, accursed world to which I was confined all these years,” she said. “After escaping from it, it has now come back to me. that man and his people are from Murim.”
“M-Murim?!” Mursha asked. “But wasn’t that world… so far away?”
“You said you had to cross a literal black hole to get here,” said her sister.
“I know, I am not even sure how this is even happening,” Bing Xue said. “But we don’t have the time to sit down and figure it out either… That man’s name is Fang Gu Lan, a Venerable, a monster I once battled and killed. He has been… revived. And he has come after me, as ridiculous as that sounds.”
“A Venerable, like you?” wondered her mother. “How strong is that man?”
“Based on the strength he had before, he would be much weaker than me,” said Bing Xue. “But it feels like he has become stronger; he’s actually beginning to push back my own Intent slightly… I might have to go serious and all-out against him like I did when I handled Orion from the future and his tantrum.”
“But that’s…!” Mursha muttered.
“Yeah, it’ll be a massive battle,” Bing Xue said. “One that could destroy the planet if I’m not careful. Hence, I’ll lure him to follow me… the rest. I have two options: you either leave them to me and I take them down, but I’ll considerably slow down my time, making it possible for him to deal more damage to the planet, or… you take them on. However, this is not something I want to force you to-”
“We’ll do it!” Urbosa said. “Of course we will, Bing Xue. What are you even talking about?”
“We’ve been growing stronger and cultivating this entire time,” said Merkite. “Also leveling up a lot as well! Our Skills and Abilities have improved a lot, right?”
“You said we were already strong enough to face even some of the mighty immortals of Murim,” Mursha crossed her arms. “Isn’t that right?”
“Yeah, yeah!” Kalana jumped around, raising her little arms.
“I also want to help and fight!” Fiery Hair said. “Will protect family and home!”
“Yeah, like mom said!” Rainbow Eyes agreed.
“My daughter…”
“Sister!”
Her mother and her sister glanced at Bing Xue’s eyes.
All of this time they spent training and cultivating with the most efficient methods…
“Master! I humbly ask you to leave it to us.” Nicholas bowed.
“Let us prove you we’ve grown strong enough.” Jackes said.
“All of the power we’ve cultivated to protect the planet… our home.” John smiled, nodding.
“Finally some bastards to try out our new strength!” smiled Aiyana. “Bing Xue! Don’t you dare tell me now that I can’t try it out, right? It’s the perfect chance!”
“I agree with her, master,” Francisco said. “We’ll be careful too.”
“I’m going too! With Anubis!” said Hekita. “Merneith’s joining in, right?”
“But of course! There’s nothing you could ever say to stop me, Bing Xue,” said Merneith. “I’ve grown stronger too; my bond with Ra has strengthened through this cultivation thingy. And there’s a debt I must repay for all you’ve done for me.”
“If Hekita is going, then let me join,” said Sara.
“I have mastered my power thanks to you, so I owe you as much,” said Heba, crossing her arms.
Bing Xue’s eyes widened slightly; through all of them, she remembered her own sect in Murim.
The many reliable seniors and juniors who she helped grow stronger, guiding them towards the path of the new future, a future of peace and prosperity.
Now it was her home planet that was being threatened by the demons of her past…
And she wasn’t alone either.
“Very well,” she didn’t even hesitate. “However, I’ll divide you all; there’s other places that need our assistance right now. As the Heavenly Court whose purpose is protecting Earth, we mustn’t just prioritize personal battles.”
Bing Xue could feel it; all the way in Washington, DC, a huge war was breaking out, and even back in New York, mysterious invading forces were rapidly approaching.
Everyone nodded, agreeing to whatever her ideas were; they trusted her without any doubt.
“Then I will move you where you’re needed the most. I’ll accompany you, of course, through Doppelgangers. Go.”
FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!
As several of her disciples and family members disappeared one after another through bright flashes of golden light, Bing Xue’s Venerable Intent began to gain ripples, forcefully pushed back as she noticed Fang Gu Lan’s intent transformed.
“{Seven Heavenly Paths}: {Seven-Headed Heavenly Dragon Roar}”
With a confident smirk, Fang Gu Lan took the opportunity, attacking Bing Xue with everything he had.
“ROOOAAARRR!”
The Seven Paths, the manifestation of his Venerable Intent, transformed into seven long, serpentine Chinese dragons of each color, roaring mightily and pushing Bing Xue and her Pagoda back.
RUMBLE!
“Bing Xue, my dear white jade… Is it my idea, or have you become rusty?” He laughed out loud.
“I should be asking the same question to you.”
“Huh?!”
Out of nowhere, Fang Gu Lan screamed as she noticed Bing Xue right in front of him.
“When did she get here?! She moved so fast that I-”
BAAAM!
Interrupting his train of thoughts, Bing Xue infused all her power into her fists, punching the man’s face and breaking his nose, shattering through all his hundreds of layers of defensive barriers.
“Uuuaagh?!”
CRAAASH!
Fang Gu Lan hopelessly crashed into a nearby Pagoda, destroying it by breaking it in half and making the entire thing collapse, falling into the deserted wastelands beneath.
BOOOM!
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