Immortal of the Ages

Chapter 337: It's Already Broken Out!

Yun Xiao felt a chill run down his spine. His face was frosty, and his legs didn't retreat, but in his hands, a sword and sigil appeared, ready for battle at any moment.

From the crack, a dim yellow giant eye looked out, its surface murky and deep, swirling with profound brutality and resentment, like a whirlpool of the underworld from which you could never climb out in a hundred lifetimes.

"This suffocating sensation, truly befitting a beast of calamity," Yun Xiao muttered, frowning.

Such a ferocious and brutal creature was merely a prisoner of the first level of the Immortal Asylum. Who knew what kind of other monsters were imprisoned deeper in the next 17 levels below?

"Exile Yun, you're here?" Just then, the Old Immortal with the mallet suddenly grinned.

He sneakily hid his black, blood-stained mallet behind him, looking somewhat sheepishly at Yun Xiao, as if he felt a bit embarrassed.

Yun Xiao glanced at him, and his tense expression relaxed a little. He nodded to the Old Immortal. "Just bored and wandering around. I hope I'm not disturbing you?"

"Not at all! This Immortal Asylum is so empty. Having a chat with a youngin' is an honor for this old man," the Old Immortal said with a simple smile, his mouth slightly open, revealing toothless gums.

As he spoke, the dull yellow eye in the crack seemed to freeze, motionless, like a painting, less terrifying than before.

Yun Xiao stopped looking at it and walked over to the Old Immortal, looking down at the cutting board and asked, "Whose flesh and blood is this?"

As he asked, images of the Old Immortal cleaning up corpses on the battlefield flashed through his mind, along with the Sword Warden's words about the Nine Hells Conquest Clash from ten years ago, and the thousands from the Immortal Asylum who had watched...

"Please, don't get the wrong idea!" the Old Immortal said, scratching his head. "This meat? It's purchased from outside the Immortal Asylum. Mostly cattle and sheep from the land, and fish from the sea. None of them were demons or devils, and certainly not humans. If you don't believe me, you can take a whiff."

"No need," Yun Xiao replied, looking down again and realizing he might have overthought the situation.

The Old Immortal gave a resigned smile. "Can't help it, these imprisoned beasts are so demanding! Not only does it demand meat, but it insists on the finest cuts, and not just any cuts; it has to be meatballs. If it doesn't get its way, it throws a fit, making a ruckus that disturbs everyone's peace. My old bones have no choice but to work harder to appease it."

"The beast you're talking about, is it that one? The Nian? The calamity?" Yun Xiao asked, looking at the dim yellow eye in the crack.

"That's the one. Who knows how many years it's been around, just won't die, and it's always making noise, driving us all crazy." The Old Immortal sighed.

As soon as he finished speaking, the Nian in the crack roared, shaking the surrounding brick walls and causing a cascade of dust. The ground shook violently!

Yun Xiao, standing so close, felt as if the beast roared right in his ear, leaving him dizzy and disoriented.

BOOM! It started to move more violently in its prison below.

"Here we go, you damned beast!" The Old Immortal, cursing under his breath, scooped up the prepared meatballs from the cutting board and tossed them into the crack.

Gulping sounds echoed from within. Then, the thunderous commotion finally settled down.

"See? The beast calms down after a good meal," the Old Immortal said, giving Yun Xiao an embarrassed smile. "Sorry about that, didn't mean to make a scene."

Yun Xiao remained silent for a moment, then seriously asked the Old Immortal, "With such a large crack, can't it escape?"

"Rest assured, Exile Yun. This crack has been here for over a thousand years. This gluttonous creature is too big and hasn't transformed into a demon. So, it simply can't get out," the Old Immortal explained.

"Does everyone know about this crack?" Yun Xiao asked.

"Pretty much everyone in the Nine Hells should know! It's quite a popular spot for sightseeing," the Old Immortal remarked wistfully.

"Oh." Yun Xiao nodded, deciding not to dwell on this topic.

"Carry on, I'm just passing through," he told the Old Immortal.

"Sure thing! Feel free to wander." The Old Immortal picked up his mallet and pulled out a large shark from his Bag of Holding. He started pounding the fish, bones and all, sending blood and minced meat flying everywhere, drenching him in the process. His gray robe quickly turned into a bloodied one, with bits of flesh clinging to his face and hair.

"Old Immortal, weren't you just cleaning up the battlefield?" Yun Xiao suddenly asked.

It was quite a distance from there to here! The battlefield was always in need of cleaning, wasn't it?

"Ah?" The Old Immortal paused his meat-pounding, his crimson hands touching the back of his head, "That's my twin brother. We've been doing odd jobs here for nearly a hundred years!"

"He's also called Old Immortal?" Yun Xiao asked with a smile.

"We're just handymen, so everyone calls us Old Immortal to save the trouble," he replied.

"I see." Yun Xiao looked outside, puzzled. "I heard the Immortal Asylum is like a sect with at least ten thousand elite cultivators. Why don't I see any of them around?"

"Don't you know, Exile Yun?" the Old Immortal asked in surprise.

"Know what?" Yun Xiao inquired.

"It's said that the Primordial Ruins are about to appear, and almost everyone from the Immortal Asylum has gone to witness this miracle." The Old Immortal's eyes filled with longing. "Honestly, I'd love to see this world-traversing divine vessel myself, but this old beast won't allow it..."

Just as he finished speaking, the Nian started roaring and screaming again, venting its frustration.

"So noisy!" The Old Immortal, irritated by the noise, hastily resumed hammering the shark.

Yun Xiao didn't say anything more. He alternately glanced at the dim yellow eye in the crack and the Old Immortal pounding the meatballs. A violet pupil quietly opened on his forehead, taking in everything around him.

"I understand now..." Yun Xiao's expression changed slightly, and his heart skipped a beat.

"All right, that's enough! Stuff yourself to death, you beast!" The Old Immortal finished another meatball and tossed it into the crack. Once done, he turned to Yun Xiao with a grin. "Careful not to look too closely."

Yun Xiao inhaled softly and changed his tone slightly, addressing the old man, "Well, I have other matters to attend to. I won't disturb you further."

With that, he turned and left, his white robes gradually disappearing into the darkness.

After he was gone, two meatballs suddenly flew out of the crack, covered in green slime.

"Ptui!" The Old Immortal spat on the meatballs and cursed. "Truly, revoltingly inedible!"

On the way back, Blue Star asked in a low voice, "Did you figure it out?"

"Yes, it's already out," Yun Xiao replied, his expression slightly pale.

"What do we do now?" Red Moon asked, feeling a bit dizzy.

This situation was completely unforeseen before entering the Immortal Asylum.

"If it chose to deceive me, it may not necessarily be my enemy. We'll just have to stay alert and see how things unfold," Yun Xiao reasoned, knowing that he already had too many enemies.

In the closed environment of the Immortal Asylum, there was no need to meddle in affairs unless absolutely necessary. If not for that extra glance with Soul Origin, he might have been completely fooled.

"So, did the people of the Immortal Asylum really go to see the Primordial Ruins?" Blue Star asked.

"They might have ended up as meatballs, too."

At this moment, Yun Xiao arrived back at the Radiance Palace.

"Exile Yun" At the entrance, the graceful woman in a light golden dress, Mu Dalong, looked anxious and was searching around. Seeing Yun Xiao, she breathed a sigh of relief, her eyes slightly reddened.

"What's wrong?" Yun Xiao approached her.

"I couldn't find you anywhere... I was afraid," Mu Dalong murmured, looking down.

"Afraid I was dead?" Yun Xiao smiled wryly. "Don't worry. There's too much injustice in this boundless world that needs a hero like me to stand for justice and fairness. How could I possibly afford to die?"

"You, a hero?"

"Don't I look like one?" Yun Xiao asked.

"Not really." Mu Dalong looked up at him, her eyes trembling slightly as she murmured. "Maybe deep down you are a hero, but you don't want others to know. You're a good person."

"I'm certainly not a good person... Good people are bound by too many moral shackles. I'm a villain! It's more liberating to be bad, not caring what others think!" Yun Xiao said earnestly.

"Is that so?" Mu Dalong gazed at him intently. Then, she suddenly shook her head with a slight smile. "Actually, you have the heart of a free-spirited youth, unrestrained and lawless. You claim to be a villain, but there's a moral compass in your heart. As long as it's there, you'll always be endearing..."

"Endearing?" Yun Xiao frowned. How could that word possibly describe him?

"Yes, a charming young boy." Mu Dalong covered her mouth and giggled softly.

"Not a man? I've never been so offended in my life!!" Yun Xiao shot her a playful glare, then walked past her slender figure into the deep corridors of the Radiance Palace.

Mu Dalong wasn't afraid of him; she smiled sweetly and followed.

Reaching the end of the corridor, Yun Xiao chose a secret chamber and stepped inside.

Mu Dalong closed the door for him, then waited outside. She didn't know how long she could accompany this young man. In these limited days, she wanted to do everything possible to fulfill her duty, to guide this bright gem through the darkness to a place beyond her reach.

As time went by, more and more Sword Cultivators gathered in the Radiance Palace. During the Fate Ocean Battle Royale, they simply played their cards and withdrew when it was their turn.

"Exile Yun is far-sighted. Today, those seven hells all suffered casualties, but only our Sword Ruins remained unscathed."

"In troubled times, survival is paramount."

"It's the other seven hells, though, that really let off some steam!"

The Sword Cultivators looked towards Yun Xiao's place of cultivation with growing admiration.

Inside the secret chamber.

"Blech!" Blue Star vomited a large amount of upgraded Heavenly Dao Sariras, piling them into a small hill in front of Yun Xiao.

"This should be enough for me to break through two stages and reach the Fate Ocean Realm," Yun Xiao said, satisfied.

Holding the little black beast by the nape, he asked, "Of the 100 million Immortal Jades last time, how much did you two pocket?"

"Pocket? How could you use such a term? We were safeguarding it for you, understand?" Blue Star said indignantly.

"Cut the chatter, is there more?" Yun Xiao demanded.

"Don't worry, you'll have enough to get through the entire Fate Ocean Realm... But to break through it, you'll need to topple the other seven hells!" Blue Star patted his chest in assurance.

"Bluey, when you speak, speak! Why are you hitting me?" Red Moon, on the black beast's chest was furious.

"Huh? So what if I hit you! It's called being expressive!" Blue Star quipped back.

"Yeah, the next time you do that. I'll show you just how expressive I can be!"

"You dolt. That's your hand too!"