Chapter Sixty-Two: A Conspiracy Born of Mutual Dependence

Azure Dragon unleashed all the power he could currently muster, releasing a massive blade of blue light stretching some seven or eight zhang. Its aura locked entirely onto Hu Mo, a strike in which Azure Dragon staked everything. If not for the severe restrictions on his strength, how could he have been forced to such a desperate move?

Hu Mo slowly raised his head, gazing up at the descending blade of light. Suddenly, a faint curve appeared at the corner of his lips. Though his reason had long since vanished, his instinctual sensitivity to power made him dismiss that pure wood attribute force. In fact, he hungered for it, as if he wished to devour the blue light entirely.

Wood begets fire; wood only fuels fire, making it burn fiercer still. White Tiger and the others could not fathom why Azure Dragon would do something so foolish.

But in that moment, Vermilion Bird’s expression suddenly changed. He had caught a single glance from Azure Dragon, and years of unspoken understanding told him instantly what was meant.

He let out a clear, phoenix-like cry and soared upward, absorbing in one breath all the wood attribute power from that blade of light. In the next instant, he appeared at Dongfang Jun’s side, channeling that fire attribute power wholly into his body, where it was transformed into potent earth energy.

White Tiger immediately understood, drawing in the earth energy passed from Dongfang Jun—earth begets metal, and his metal power swelled without limit before being transferred into Black Tortoise. In that instant, Black Tortoise’s form suddenly expanded, and in moments he had become a gigantic tortoise, revealing his true form just as Azure Dragon had.

It all seemed premeditated, a deliberate weaving of the five elements’ cycle. Black Tortoise’s otherwise unremarkable water power was now being rapidly amplified, elevated nearly to the level of primal chaos water.

Though they faced the primal chaos fire, the combined water force of all five had reached a terrifying degree.

Hu Mo’s chaos fire was indeed mighty, but his own cultivation had only just reached the level of a war king. His current arrogance was but a fleeting flare; having entered a state of demonic possession, it was only a matter of time before the overwhelming chaos fire consumed him completely. Should he awaken from this state, he would face Black Tortoise’s fiercest assault—certain death. No matter how he looked at it, death was inevitable, and Dongfang Jun’s earlier frustration began to dissipate.

Hu Mo roared like a wild beast, his frenzied visage enough to chill the heart. Yet on every face there was a smile of exultant pleasure. Even White Tiger, who had once admired Hu Mo, now shouted in excitement, at last understanding why that enigmatic Tianji had called Hu Mo a variable.

On that great stone, Zhu Xinyue, who had been in a deep sleep, slowly forced her eyes open. Her mind was muddled, as if thick with paste. She only recalled running around a corner, after which her memories went blank.

She slowly sat up, and the first thing she saw was Hu Mo, howling like a beast. Her mind went utterly blank.

“What’s going on? What happened? What’s wrong with that bastard?” she muttered dumbly to herself, sitting atop the great stone, completely at a loss.

“No, I have to help him!” Suddenly, Zhu Xinyue grew calm. She jumped down from the stone and ran toward Hu Mo.

At that moment, she had no other thought but to save Hu Mo. She forgot her own limited strength—in a battle of this scale, her presence would not even rate as cannon fodder.

Black Tortoise used no special technique, simply relying on water power approaching the chaos level to erode Hu Mo’s primal chaos fire. The other four ceaselessly cycled their elemental energies, sustaining him with a steady tide of power. Though Hu Mo’s chaos fire was tyrannical, his cultivation remained what it was—everything had its limits, and not even he was exempt.

Now, his consciousness was wholly submerged within himself—more precisely, it was entirely bound by the power of the three treasures. The treasures had taken over the struggle against Azure Dragon and the others, but they could not enable Hu Mo’s body to withstand too much of their power. He was not truly possessed by a demon; rather, he had yielded control of his body to the three treasures, his sole hope of fighting back.

Yet, faced with this sudden reversal, he could only give a wry smile as his long-dormant awareness slowly revived. Long ago, he had learned to anchor his consciousness within himself; this time was no exception.

He could clearly see the “overloaded labor” of the three treasures, especially the Green Wood King Cauldron, which had turned from green to crimson, its output held in check so as not to incinerate his body and soul to ash in a single burst.

He could see all that happened outside, behold the beastly forms taken by the guardians, and only now did he understand the meaning behind their names. Truly, they had become the four legendary divine beasts.

The power of the four divine beasts—who were these people, truly? From what he had read in historical records, the four beasts had emerged before the continent split, vanishing completely afterwards. Some said the gods took them away; others, that they were sealed; still others, that they were slain by divine wrath for meddling in mortal wars. Whatever the truth, since then they had become legend.

Now, with these things of legend reappearing, how could Hu Mo possibly make sense of any of it?

When his gaze fell on Dongfang Jun, his eyes went even wider. Dongfang Jun wielded pure earth attribute energy, its strength in no way inferior to the four guardians in beast form. Hu Mo could only shake his head with a bitter smile. What was the point in continuing to fight?

Dongfang Jun’s words echoed in his mind—the one called Tianji had said he was a variable. Dammit, what did being a variable have to do with him? The people they sent to kill him were already this strong—their true power was unfathomable. How could he be so foolish as to provoke a force like that? To make it worse, he didn’t even know who they were—dying in such confusion was truly ridiculous.

Watching the Green Wood King Cauldron struggle to hold on, Hu Mo was sorely tempted to give up and take them all with him. But when he saw Zhu Xinyue running toward him, the thought vanished completely.

“Damn! What is this woman thinking? Is she tired of living?” Hu Mo couldn’t help but cry out in alarm, and the shock nearly made him retake control of his body. Had he done so, he would have been shattered by the flood of water energy in an instant.

He was desperate—what should he do? Both the chaos fire and the near-chaos water were deadly to Zhu Xinyue. And from the look on Dongfang Jun’s face, he wanted to save her too. But if he intervened, the cycle of the five elements would break, and Hu Mo’s chaos fire would instantly reduce them all to ashes—of this there could be no doubt.

For the sake of the five’s survival, Dongfang Jun did not rush in. His face only grew colder, a trace of cruelty gleaming in his eye—he had decided not to care whether Zhu Xinyue lived or died.

Hu Mo’s brow furrowed ever tighter. Zhu Xinyue was almost upon them; just a few more steps and any contact with these powers would mean her death.

“Well, death is death, no matter how it comes. Ha, you want to harm me? Then you’ll all keep me company on the way down!” Hu Mo screamed inwardly, his resolve to die passing into the Green Wood King Cauldron.

He could feel the three treasures wailing in protest, unwilling to accept this fate. If only they could unleash their full power, things would not have come to this!

He simply hadn’t had enough time to prepare, and thus could not keep pace with the world’s rhythm. But this was the way of things—great powers snuff out threats at the source, a lesson every true contender must learn.

He could only curse this world for having such absurdly powerful people, able to divine his threat with a mere calculation at home. If he’d had such power, even if every woman in the world were dancing naked, he’d have stayed home and slept—no doubt about it!

“Sigh, venerable treasures, you’ve followed me so long, and I’ve done you only injustice. Today, I’ll set you free at last.” With a sorrowful smile, Hu Mo lifted his hand in his mind’s eye. A single seal, and the Green Wood King Cauldron’s power would be fully unleashed, ending it all.

“Too bad I never saw that old witch before the end. Some nerve, breaking your word—I’ll remember you even in death!” he muttered, a tearful smile on his face. He shook his head and whispered, “Farewell, old witch.”

“Old witch? Do I look like one?”

“After living so many years, you’re not old...? Master, Teacher Cang, you’ve finally come to save me!” Hu Mo cried out as Cang Ling suddenly materialized before him. Only now did he understand: Teacher Cang truly was a savior of legend!

“What are you on about? I only came to see if you were dead, and maybe save the girl as a favor. Why so excited? Go on, pretend I was never here.” With a wave of her hand, Cang Ling vanished from Hu Mo’s body as naturally as she’d appeared, leaving him utterly bewildered once again.