Chapter 214: The Celestial Master Doesn’t Hold Grudges; He Always Settles Them on the Spot!
So what if they were immortal and indestructible? Zhang Yangqing had plenty of methods to torment these eternally living anomalies.
The Five-Fingered Golden Mountain he summoned had already transcended the dimensions of this world; it was something no one here could undo. Its power was also precisely within the range that the strange tale world could withstand.
After inscribing a segment of incantation upon the Five-Fingered Golden Mountain, it would stand here for five hundred years.
The Eternal King would suffer five centuries of ceaseless, sleepless torment. The unparalleled purifying power of the golden light would keep his mind painfully clear. Beneath him was the never-melting ice, its chill relentlessly eroding half his body. Behind him was the colossal Five-Fingered Golden Mountain, causing a suffocating sensation throughout his entire being, making it impossible to move even a finger.
He would die in extreme agony, then revive, only to die and revive again, over and over. Probably before too many cycles, he would truly experience the feeling of desperately wanting to die but being unable to.
The greatest advantage of the Eternal Race was their immortality and indestructibility, yet now it had become their greatest torment. Other bosses would at most be struck once by Zhang Yangqing before turning to dust and vanishing. Who knows how many times the Eternal King would have to die before he could finally escape from beneath the Five-Fingered Golden Mountain.
After five hundred years of this torment between life and death, the Eternal King would most likely become a mindless creature. Did the Eternal King really think he could get off easy after provoking Zhang Yangqing? He was delusional.
If given another chance at time reversal, the moment Zhang Yangqing opened that door, he should have knelt down or curled up in a corner covering his head. That way, he could have avoided five hundred years of torment. Zhang Yangqing never showed mercy towards anomalies who plotted to kill him.
If there were no rules, or if it were someone else, perhaps the Eternal King might have actually succeeded. Unfortunately, he kicked an iron plate.
Witnessing this scene, the audience couldn’t remain calm.
: Five hundred years! Back when the Monkey King wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Palace and caused such a disaster, he only got five hundred years. And this Eternal King just played a little trick and gets five hundred years too? Isn’t that a bit too miserable?
: Look at it another way. With just a simple scheme, this Eternal King achieved the same “reward” the Monkey King got for wreaking havoc in the Heavenly Palace.
: Alright, alright, a “reward,” is it? By your logic, in a certain sense, the Eternal King is actually quite impressive too.
: Daring to play petty tricks right under the Celestial Master’s nose is truly showing off one’s meager skills in the presence of a master.
: Facts prove that even those with undying bodies must never offend the truly powerful. Otherwise, sometimes dying might become difficult!
Not just the audience from Long Guo, but viewers across the entire Blue Planet felt that one must never, ever offend the Celestial Master.
If you offend others, they might still reason with you, or perhaps hold back due to face and not act against you. But offending Zhang Yangqing? Judging by his performance all along, regardless of who it is, there are never good consequences. It could also be said that the Celestial Master’s greatest virtue is not holding grudges; he usually settles them on the spot!
It’s unclear whether Zhang Yangqing did this deliberately or simply indulged his nature within the strange tale world. But the impression he gave was exactly that—an aura of unparalleled majesty.
Everyone could notice that Zhang Yangqing truly didn’t speak much, but he always meant what he said. Even the elderly Taoist priests from Long Guo’s Taoist sects spoke highly of him. They all felt that with Zhang Yangqing’s bearing, he could completely represent the highest Taoist orthodoxy of Long Guo. Especially Zhang Yangqing’s appearance—that was the very face of the Taoist tradition! If the Taoist tradition needed an image ambassador, it would undoubtedly be Zhang Yangqing.
Meanwhile, many countries on Blue Star had begun establishing their own Taoist associations to study Taoist techniques. All of this wasn’t because Taoist techniques were necessarily so powerful, but purely due to personal worship of Zhang Yangqing.
Even though Gregory’s performance in this round could be called near-perfect, with no flaws to criticize besides his bloodthirstiness, he was only close to perfect. The definition of perfection was Zhang Yangqing.
Inside the strange tale world, seeing Zhang Yangqing casually crush an angel that even the Eternal Race couldn’t destroy gave his teammates a new understanding of his power. It seemed like nothing couldn’t be killed with one hand from him. But when Zhang Yangqing summoned the Five-Fingered Golden Mountain to suppress the Eternal King, it completely overturned their understanding.
In their eyes, immortality and indestructibility were the most shameless talents in this world. No one wanted to mess with the Eternal Race. Even the Black Feather Clan leader didn’t dare say much after his territory was forcibly occupied by the Eternal Race. But this person here could suppress the Eternal King for five hundred years with one hand! Five hundred years!
Not just the ordinary teammates, even the anomaly teammates trembled inwardly at this sight. The anomaly teammates, having devoured Eternal Race members to gain great power and immortality, were like typical humans—once they gained a bit of ability, they felt capable again. But the Eternal King just gave them a masterclass in how to seek death.
This forced the anomaly teammates to ponder deeply: if the Eternal King got toyed with and abused by this great one, and we only devoured ordinary Eternal Race members, would trying to move against him not be suicidal?
Goatee Captain, as per routine, woke up his old friend, the Black Feather Clan leader. Then he helped his friend close his dropped jaw. Good thing not many people were around, otherwise his old friend would have been thoroughly embarrassed. Although Goatee Captain’s own heart was also roiling with shock, he couldn’t show it. He had to pretend like he was used to such sights.
Previously, he only felt Zhang Yangqing was incomparably powerful. Seeing him now effortlessly suppress and annihilate this world’s two major bosses made Goatee Captain feel like he was dancing with a god. It seemed no creature could oppose this teammate of his.
After a long while, the Black Feather Clan leader finally reacted, exclaiming, “Tonight, I finally understand why women always like powerful men. That unparalleled sense of security is truly something to yearn for.” His words resonated deeply with those nearby.
With Zhang Yangqing here, they didn’t even feel any fear facing the Eternal King and the angel. If Zhang Yangqing weren’t present, and they had to face the Eternal King and the angel, wouldn’t they be instantly annihilated? They were experiencing firsthand what it meant to have a god-like teammate—and not as a joke, but a real god!
After having his teammates check the area for any treasures, Zhang Yangqing led the team away from this place. Although Zhang Yangqing arrived the latest, he was among the few Chosen Ones who encountered the hidden task and completed it the fastest.
Perhaps watching Zhang Yangqing’s screen, the audience couldn’t grasp how powerful the angel truly was. But when they watched Rahman’s screen, they could see just how absurd the angel’s abilities were.
On the screen, the ‘human’ in Rahman’s team had been fighting the angel for twenty-seven minutes. Many parts of the Glacial Canyon had collapsed, filled with polluting elements. The angel’s pollution, besides eye contact, also turned any place it stared at for a prolonged time into a source of pollution.
Currently, only the ‘human’ dared to fight within the Glacial Canyon; others couldn’t approach. Besides pollution, the angel could also summon energy chains to entrap targets, a super-tier magic. Many viewers noted that each of the angel’s eyes could fire a special energy beam, capable of burning even the never-melting ice, creating pits. It even had a certain degree of spatial distortion ability, creating afterimages and repeatedly escaping the human’s assaults.
In some dangerous situations, the angel could also split, becoming a four-winged or two-winged angel. This wasn’t mere illusionary clones; these were real, solid splits. These were perhaps just the tip of the iceberg of the angel’s abilities. Everyone observed from a distance, unable to accurately judge all of the angel’s skills. The angel was a combined entity, possessing countless abilities.
What surprised everyone was that the ‘human’s’ combat power seemed somewhat exaggerated. Before the Eternal Race, humans didn’t seem very capable and were even captured. According to intelligence, the humans lost without the Eternal King even needing to intervene. By that logic, humans shouldn’t be able to defeat the angel.
Yet, quite the opposite, the ‘human’ completely overwhelmed the angel this time. Because he was a modified being specifically designed to counter the angel. The doctor had obtained the angel’s design plans and created him accordingly. In other words, the ‘human’ might not defeat many opponents, but he could definitely defeat the angel.
The method to defeat the angel was also simple: pierce all its eyes. And with each eye pierced, the human’s power grew stronger; he seemed able to seize the angel’s abilities.
Inside the Glacial Canyon, the two monsters fought for a full thirty minutes. Now, the angel’s wings were drenched in blood. With each flap, copious amounts of blood sprayed out, looking extremely terrifying and reeking of blood. Facing the human’s powerful assault, the angel only had one eye left—the one serving as its ‘body’.
At this moment, a subtle pit appeared. Because the angel had few eyes left, Rahman and the others observed from a distance.
Rahman felt something was off. It seemed like a case of one weakening while the other strengthened. The angel growing weaker was good, but Rahman suspected there was a catch here. It wasn’t persecution paranoia; he felt the strange tale world wouldn’t let him complete the task so simply.
“Where are you going?” Seeing Rahman actually walking forward, Goatee Captain cautioned him. He even grabbed Rahman, thinking Rahman might be under some hallucinatory influence.
“Captain, don’t you think that ‘human’ is looking more and more like the angel?” Hearing Rahman’s words, those nearby gathered around.
Rahman explained his observations. All along, the human’s body was ‘frail’ and unstable. He needed to seize the angel’s power to maintain his combat ability. Just now, Rahman seemed to see an eye peeking from behind the tattered clothes on the human’s back.
Based on his deduction, the angel might have evolved some special ability, like parasitism or possession. If the angel possessed the human, or if the human and angel merged into a new species, then he wouldn’t really have completed the task. So he wanted to go closer to confirm if he saw correctly.
According to the rule’s hint, if his gaze made contact with the eye on the human’s back and he experienced adverse symptoms, that meant pollution. Because the rule could also be interpreted conversely to deduce whether the human was already ‘parasitized’.
After Rahman said this, Pyramid Country’s expert panel thought his guess was probably eighty percent correct. Because the expert panel could watch many screens, they saw that the Chosen One from Stick Country died a horrifying death in the Nameless Mountain Village stage, parasitized by a mini-version of the angel—the anomalous infant. After being parasitized, his body began to change; the skin and flesh on his back tore open, and eyes appeared all over his body.
If the ‘human’ was parasitized, a similar condition should appear, though the human was stronger, so the reaction might be less pronounced and perhaps not even noticed during intense battle. Or maybe the angel didn’t want him to notice yet. If so, the people in the Nameless Mountain Village were likely escapees from the Sanatorium. The Sanatorium was attacked by the Eternal Race; most people there were killed, the Director was captured, but some, like the doctor, escaped.
The doctor researched how to kill the angel, believing everything would return to normal if the angel died. The people in the Nameless Mountain Village researched how to devour the Eternal Race and studied the mini-angels. The expert panel deduced this was the connection between the three locations.
Inside the strange tale world, Rahman couldn’t see other screens and had to rely on his own observations. Hearing that Rahman dared to test for pollution using himself, his teammates greatly admired him.
“Alright, I’ll go with you for support,” Goatee Captain said, acting quite honorably. If danger arose, he could help Rahman escape.
When the two advanced a distance and carefully observed the human’s back, they indeed saw densely packed eyes through the tattered clothing. These eyes were concealed by the clothes. Rahman and Goatee Captain experienced physical discomfort, some nausea. Before becoming fully contaminated, they immediately retreated.
Then they told the doctor everything. Rahman speculated the doctor’s goal was definitely to eliminate the angel; otherwise, he wouldn’t have created the human.
“Doctor, what should we do?” Goatee Captain was also panicking now. If the human was possessed by the angel, wouldn’t they all die? Maybe they should just run, even if it meant not completing the task here.
At this moment, the doctor seemed to reach a decision. He looked at Rahman and asked, “Do you still have that poison?”
Rahman nodded. “Yes. Do you have a way to make the human ingest it?” He seemed to guess something, but the doctor’s method still surprised everyone.
The doctor placed several pills in his mouth. When the human killed the angel, his consciousness might still be relatively clear, as he wouldn’t yet know he was parasitized. The doctor, as the human’s creator, would then offer the human food laced with poison to help him recover. Having fought for so long, the human would be exhausted and naturally wouldn’t refuse.
When the human realized he was poisoned, the parasitizing angel would also sense it. At that point, the climbing team needed to distance themselves, as the angel would continue trying to possess others. The closest person, the doctor, would naturally be the first choice.
The doctor’s outcome had two possibilities. First, he could wait for the human’s poison to take effect and, before both the human and the angel reacted, run away. Then he would be fine. Second, while running, he might be controlled by the angel parasitizing the human, due to the angel’s exaggerated abilities. Then the angel would parasitize him, and he would choose to bite down on the poison, perishing together with the angel.
This was the doctor’s plan.
After thinking for a moment, Rahman said seriously, “I actually have the antidote.”
The doctor shook his head, smiling, “No need. I might be possessed by then. No matter what reason I give to ask for the antidote, don’t give it to me.” The expression on his face showed a resolve that had accepted life and death.
After he said this, the climbing team was deeply moved. It seemed the doctor intended to use his own death to eradicate this world’s greatest pollution.
Rahman inwardly sighed. Was this the solution for this stage? From beginning to end, the doctor gave him the impression of being upright and friendly. He was an NPC with firm convictions, willing to sacrifice himself to complete the mission.
Actually, Rahman shouldn’t have mentioned having the antidote. The doctor dying was the best outcome. But he seemed to hold a certain admiration for this doctor and wanted him to live. If the doctor hadn’t refused, they might have been wiped out.
This confirmed the saying: hidden tasks undoubtedly came with great difficulty. Don’t be fooled by Zhang Yangqing’s casual, effortless completion of the hidden task, making some viewers feel it wasn’t that hard. Some even habitually thought hidden tasks and rewards were just things you picked up along the way. But upon careful thought, only Zhang Yangqing could play like that. Anyone else trying his methods would have died countless times over.
In a strange tale world of this difficulty, with a polluting boss, even a Cardinal like Gregory had to treat it seriously. Pollution was a special rule; even superhumans could be contaminated. Zhang Yangqing wasn’t purely reckless either; he had the skill “Clarity,” an insurance layer, allowing him to act this way. It could be said that without two hundred percent certainty, Zhang Yangqing wouldn’t mess around.
Other ordinary Chosen Ones had to pay a great price and rely on extreme observation and thinking to complete hidden tasks. Simply reaching this point required all the prior intelligence and items; missing any would make it impossible.
Rahman’s performance this round could be considered quite excellent, with a bit of luck involved. Regardless, he represented the ordinary Chosen Ones who made it here, bravely challenging the hidden task.
In the Glacial Canyon, with a piercing, buzzing shriek, the angel’s last eye was torn out by the human’s bare hands. The scene was also explosively gruesome. The eyeless angel could only release one final shockwave! Then, its massive body crashed onto the ice, blood gushing and splattering, staining the ground with red marks.
The human stood coldly nearby, like a god-slaying warrior, emanating a terrifying aura. At this moment, the doctor, holding the pills in his mouth and carrying food, strode forward. He marched fearlessly towards death!
At this moment, Rahman felt he was merely a passerby completing the stage. The doctor was the true hero saving this world! The grimy white lab coat, the dirty yet determined face, the unkempt stubble from long, dedicated research—all of it formed a towering, magnificent silhouette.
Sighing, Rahman said to his teammates, “Let’s go. We need to leave this place quickly.”
