NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 267: The Gates
Chapter 267: The Gates
No one expected this battle to last nearly a thousand years.
The sky shook, the earth trembled, the sky split, and the ground collapsed… It was indescribable. Thousands of Supremes clashed in a chaotic battle-the result was unimaginable.
Indeed, those below the level of Supreme could only imagine what had happened, as no one had witnessed it firsthand.
The moment Xu Lian returned to the sacred land, his pupils contracted sharply. He saw countless spatial cracks spreading from the direction of the battlefield, with fragments of space swirling in the air, covering the sky and earth. It was clear that the thousands of supreme beings from both sides had already begun their battle!
Immediately, the sacred land panicked and activated its protective barrier to its maximum capacity.
However, it was futile. Despite the vast distance between the Holy Land and the battlefield, the terrifying energy waves from the clash of thousands of Supremes were too much to withstand.
The protective barrier cracked like an eggshell, with countless cracks appearing, on the verge of shattering.
With no other choice, the sacred land brought out some of its most precious treasures and stored all of its disciples inside.
These treasures were then scattered to the far reaches of the world, hoping to save as many as possible instead of being destroyed all at once.
As the Saint Supreme, the nominal highest authority of the Holy Land, Xu Lian naturally had the privilege of… escaping first.
He, Ling Ran, and their twin children were stored in an ancient cauldron that flew to the edge of the universe.
It was said that this cauldron was a treasure passed down by the founder of the sacred land. Although it had lost most of its spiritual energy over the ages and was no longer useful in supreme-level battles, it was still capable of storing a few people.
In the years that followed, Xu Lian and his family of four often felt the Cauldron shaking violently, unsure of what was happening outside.
They were afraid to go out to check, for fear of being killed by the shock waves.
Xu Lian felt that even staying inside the Cauldron was not entirely safe, so he used his memories to exchange for a powerful small barrier, which he set up inside the Cauldron.
And so the family of four spent over a thousand years inside the Cauldron.
It wasn’t until the outside world finally fell silent that Xu Lian cautiously emerged from the Cauldron.
What he saw left him stunned.
The whole world was in ruins. As far as the eye could see, there were spatial cracks, chaotic spatial currents, and countless pieces of debris floating in the void.
Xu Lian reached out and grabbed a fragment floating by – a piece of a small tiger head shoe.
This made his heart sink as he thought of his descendants and concubines who had lived luxurious lives in the capital of the Mortal Empire. No doubt, they had all been reduced to ashes.
With thousands of Supremes battling it out, the battlefield couldn’t possibly remain in one place. The entire world had become a battleground. Not only had the mortals perished, but even the powerful cultivators had been reduced to dust.
“Father, what should we do now?” asked his son.
Xu Lian thought for a moment, then said, “Let’s go back to the Cauldron and hide for a while.”
His son sighed, but knew that this was the best course of action. With spatial cracks and chaotic currents everywhere, it was easy to get swept into them and die.
Besides, they didn’t know if any enemy Supremes had survived. Going anywhere would be unsafe.
So the family of four returned to the Cauldron and continued to hide.
Fortunately, Ling Ran, their son, and their daughter were all cultivators with a long life span.
Xu Lian himself was fine because he could exchange memories for whatever he needed, as long as he could afford it.
So the family of four hid in the Ancient Cauldron for several more centuries.
One day, they were pleasantly surprised to hear Liu Qing’s voice: “Come out.”
Xu Lian emerged from the Cauldron and saw Liu Qing, half of his body shattered and charred like charcoal. He almost didn’t recognize him.
After scrutinizing him for a while, he confirmed that it was indeed Liu Qing. “Did we win?”
Liu Qing weakly replied, “We didn’t win, but we didn’t lose either. It was more like a mutual defeat. In the end, only a few dozen Supremes from each side survived.”
Xu Lian asked, “What about A Xian and Wang Heng?”
Liu Qing said, “They are dead.”
“…” Xu Lian didn’t know what to say. In a battle involving thousands of Supremes, death was inevitable. Those who survived would probably be riddled with injuries and wouldn’t live much longer.
If he waited a few more years, wouldn’t he succeed in reaping the benefits?
Of course, this was just his wishful thinking. Liu Qing and the surviving Supremes wouldn’t let him take advantage of them. Before they died, they would surely take him with them… After all, no one was stupid.
Xu Lian asked, “What do you want me to do?”
Liu Qing stared at him. “The Ruler of Supremes doesn’t want to fight anymore. She suggested negotiations, and we agreed. Now, we need you to represent us in the negotiations with her.”
Xu Lian was surprised. “The blue-haired girl, the Ruler of Supremes, is still alive?”
Liu Qing sighed. “She entered this illusory world many years before us. Her cultivation has surpassed that of an ordinary Supreme. If it weren’t for her overwhelming strength, we would have won. We paid a heavy price to bring her to the brink of death,”
Xu Lian nodded. “Alright, let’s negotiate. With fewer people now, we can share the rewards of the broken world.”
Liu Qing brought Xu Lian and his family of five back to the ruins of the sacred land. The disciples who had survived by hiding in treasures at the edge of the world had returned and were rebuilding the Sacred Land.
A few days later, Liu Qing and the few dozen outsider Supremes escorted Xu Lian to the agreed upon negotiation site.
The blue-haired girl, the ruler of the Supremes, also arrived with a few dozen Supremes.
Seeing that everyone was battered and charred, Xu Lian almost laughed, but managed to hold it in. Otherwise, they would have strangled him.
The blue-haired girl looked at Xu Lian with a complex expression. “I entered this world more than thirty years before you. Even though you had a huge advantage by rising first, you still managed to turn the tables on me. You are truly formidable.”
Xu Lian replied, “You are not bad either. Surviving to the end despite being targeted by thousands of outsider Supremes is no small feat.”
The two exchanged compliments, as both sides were exhausted and genuinely interested in negotiating.
The few dozen native Supremes on the side of the blue-haired girl had a simple demand: they wanted the outsiders to leave this world as soon as possible. Once the outsiders were gone, they could rule the world.
Xu Lian had no objection. After all, they didn’t belong here, and their departure was inevitable.
The blue-haired girl’s condition was that she would take 50% of the rewards, while the remaining 50% would be divided among the few dozen outsider Supremes on Xu Lian’s side.
Xu Lian disagreed, insisting on an equal split.
The blue-haired girl coldly said, “I represent one faction, and you represent another. What’s wrong with me taking 50%?”
Xu Lian stood firm. “There’s no way you can get 50%! If you insist on 50%, then there’s no point in negotiating. We’ll just keep fighting until there’s only one side left.”
The blue-haired girl scoffed. “Fight until only one side is left and then let you reap the benefits?”
Xu Lian calmly replied, “I am just a mortal with no cultivation. Even if only one person survives from both sides, I wouldn’t be able to reap any benefits.”
The blue-haired girl scoffed. “If I’m not mistaken, you still have a lot of memories, right? As long as you want, you can exchange them for cultivation at any time. Being a mortal is just a facade!”
Xu Lian said, “I have been in this world for over 1,600 years. Without exchanging for cultivation talents, I’ve already used up a lot of memories just to extend my life span.
“I don’t have many memories left. Even if I exchanged all my remaining memories for cultivation, I still wouldn’t be able to reach a high level. I don’t pose a threat to either side, so there’s no way I can benefit from it.
“You should understand this, right?
“When you were first born, why didn’t you immediately exchange for cultivation at the highest level? Instead, you chose to exchange for a supreme talent. That’s because memories aren’t enough to directly exchange for cultivation at the highest level!
“After consuming so many memories, do you really think I can exchange for high level cultivation now?”
The blue-haired girl thought for a long time before slowly saying, “Fine, I’ll compromise. I’ll take 40% of the reward.”
Xu Lian shook his head. “40% is still too much! There are so many of us, and you want to take 40%? Your appetite is too big!”
The blue-haired girl said, “40% is my bottom line!”
Xu Lian retorted, “Just 10%! You want 40%? Absolutely not.”
The two began to haggle.
Eventually, the few dozen native Supremes on the side of the blue-haired girl grew impatient. They urged her to take less and reach an agreement quickly so that they could leave this world.
The blue-haired girl had no choice. If the native Supremes turned against her, she wouldn’t be able to stand alone against Xu Lian’s few dozen outsider Supremes. She reluctantly agreed to take only 30%.
Xu Lian discussed this with Liu Qing and the few dozen outsider Supremes, and they agreed.
After all, the blue-haired girl’s cultivation was incredibly strong, surpassing that of an ordinary Supreme.
Killing her wouldn’t be easy.
With that, the two sides agreed on the distribution of the rewards and made a solemn oath.
The next steps were simple.
Both sides worked together to find out if any outsiders were still hiding, so as to prevent anyone from unfairly benefiting.
Surprisingly, they found a few outsiders who had been hiding.
These people had deliberately avoided becoming Supremes, so they hadn’t been found during the first battle when everyone deduced and eliminated the hidden Supremes.
These people were quite strange. One of them had used his memories to exchange for a treasure that allowed him to hide, along with an ample lifespan. He had hidden at the edge of the world and remained dormant until now.
Another had disguised himself as a “native,” pretending to die of old age. In reality, he had preserved a sliver of lifespan, barely clinging to life and exchanging a tiny bit of lifespan every day to survive until now.
All sorts of bizarre survival tactics emerged, each more ridiculous than the last.
Unfortunately, under the combined deduction of the supremes of both sides, all these tactics were exposed, and the hidden outsiders were found and killed.
Finally, Xu Lian, the blue-haired girl, Liu Qing, and the few dozen outsider Supremes began to draw lots. The purpose? To determine who would die.
According to the rules of the Broken World, rewards would only be given when only a small number of people remained. With so many still alive, they needed to reduce their numbers.
Those who drew the short straw didn’t have to worry about the survivors reneging on their promises, for they had already made a solemn oath. Once they left this world, the survivors would receive the rewards and distribute them accordingly.
After several rounds of drawing, the number of outsiders dwindled. Finally, when only five outsiders remained and the illusory world disappeared.
The five of them appeared in the world they had entered earlier-a world with only soil, sand, and stones, devoid of plants, trees, insects, fish, birds, or beasts. It was eerily silent, with nothing but deathly silence.
Xu Lian was lucky enough to be one of the five.
The blue-haired girl was there as well.
Liu Qing was not here; she had drawn the short straw and had been eliminated.
But it did not matter anymore. Whoever received the rewards would have to abide by the solemn oath and share them with those who had been eliminated.
Five stone gates appeared before the five of them.
There were no markings, just five gates standing alone.
The five of them exchanged glances, unsure of what this meant.
The blue-haired girl said, “It’s obvious. Each of us will choose a gate, enter it, and receive our rewards.”
Someone asked, “Can all five of us enter the same gate?
The blue-haired girl replied, “I don’t think all five of us can enter the same gate. Even if we could, I wouldn’t agree to it. What if we only get the rewards from one gate? That would be a great loss.”
Xu Lian said, “Let’s split up. Each of us will choose one gate.”
And so, the five of them each chose a gate, stood before it, exchanged one last glance, and stepped inside.