178. Darkness.
.
Yu Wang, the Demon King, had turned to face Luoyin, Kai Zhen, and Old man Bao...
...with a face identical to Luoyin's!
"Are these old eyes failing me?" Old man Bao whispered without realizing.
Yu Wang and Luoyin had the exact face and build, and Luoyin felt a bit like when he first saw the original 'Zhang Luoyin' in the mirror.
But this was even more glaring, and the two seemed like the manifestation of a living Yinyang.
On one side was Yu Wang, pale as death, bloody irises, clothes and hair darker than the deepest night.
On the other side was Luoyin with his original moon-silver hair, gold irises, and light-blue robes.
"Do you own that face...? Or are you simply misleading us?" Luoyin calmly asked, but his thoughts were in disarray.
His 'Yuan Jing' technique was still active...
But unlike with Yu Wang's giant body, Luoyin could find no flaws or illusions in the body before him.
That body which looked exactly like his, really seemed to belong to the demon king within it.
But the demon king was at least five hundred thousand years older than he had ever been...
What could it mean?!!
As if sensing Luoyin's chaotic thoughts, a self-satisfied smirk curved Yu Wang's lips upward.
"Hmph. Shouldn't you be used to this by now?" He began. "Except with 'Zhang Luoyin', he stemmed from your immortal life, whereas..."
A wicked gleam flashed in Yu Wang's eyes, and his voice turned soft as he finished,
"...you're nothing but a tiny bit of essence I once discarded..."
Time seemed to stop in Luoyin's eyes.
The winds were still and Yu Wang's words and their implication flew around in his head.
'L- lies!'
"Hmph! How conceited! You really thought you were some legendary genius?" Yu Wang taunted. "Tch. You only excelled thanks to mere remnants of my power!"
Everyone of his words stabbed through Luoyin...
Was he really just some piece of the demon king's essence?!
'No way...!' He thought.
But even if he ignored Yu Wang's words, or discard what his own eyes were seeing, how cover he explain the strange similarities in he and Yu Wang's aura?
Yu Wang's crystal shield felt much stronger than his had ever been.
Yu Wang was also much older than him.
Even if their appearances were some sort of coincidence, could he pretend he wasn't related to Yu Wang in some way?!
But Old man Bao's calm cut into his thoughts.
"Xiaobai, do not listen to a devil." He said, placing a firm hand on Luoyin's shoulder. "No matter the distant past, you were born to my grandniece and the East Sea King some fifty or so thousand years ago..." He sighed.
"From then till now, will you discard your Immortal and Mortal lifetimes? Disregard all your experiences? Will you belittle the relations you've shared with us? With Xiaowei, or your countless friends and family?
"All because of a few words from some stray devil?"
Yu Wang scowled in protest, but Old man Bao gave a nod.
"Mhmm. All I know is that you're my great-grandnephew."
"And you're my sometimes foolish disciple!" Kai Zhen lightly slapped Luoyin's back.
Luoyin did feel a bit foolish.
"I worried for nothing..." He muttered.
'One's experiences shape them to who they become...'
Whoever or Whatever he had been in the past- even if just a strand of Yu Wang's hair, he had long detached from that identity, and now had people to protect!
He couldn't afford to lose his senses before an opponent like this, and he sent a cold glare at Yu Wang.
"Piece of your essence, or not, I put my words here..." He began, and his crystal blue sword appeared in his hand. "I won't let you have your way!"
"Hmph! Seeking death!" Yu Wang's sword appeared in his hand, a stark black monstrosity also forged with dragon scales, and with a swing, he directed a thousand black projectiles at them.
The three leapt apart, flashing amidst the projectiles which were so dense that merely passing close by one could disrupt their qi.
Old man Bao's fingers flew as they evaded, and a white seal bloomed beneath Luoyin.
Luoyin felt Old man Bao's aura flood him, and he suddenly darted forward in an impossible burst of speed.
But Yu Wang was ready for him, and their swords met, exploding in a grand display of fierce black and blue aura.
A burst of light shot into the skies, turning night to day, and the earth rumbled with another massive quake- threatening to bury the entire city.
The Immortals around shielded themselves, taking their fights to the skies.
With the Swallows bringing chaos to the Eternal Realm Demons, the Immortals had gained the upper hand, and they struck at the demons, determined not to be deterred by the earthquakes.
"Hmph! This demon king cares nothing for his own demons!" The Shadow Deity scoffed, using the flying lava to enhance her fire attacks against the demons.
"Isn't that better for us?" The Plague Deity asked as she raised a hand, directing a severely foul-smelling gust at an incoming demon.
The demon fell to his knees, wailing as filthy boils popped across his skin, rupturing and oozing a putrid green fluid.
"Urgh!!" The Shadow Deity covered her nose and mouth with her sleeve, her eyes squinted in disgust as the demon keeled forward, unconscious.
"Unsightly!!"
But the Plague deity simply smiled, directing the same attack at two other demons...
Meanwhile, Yu Wang's eyes narrowed at Luoyin, and with a sudden blast of energy, Luoyin was flung backwards.
He caught himself just as another Luoyin swiftly appeared right before Yu Wang, his sword moving downward.
But Yu Wang deflected the sword with a single flick of his finger, pushing the clone away.
Overwhelmed by the dense aura, the clone simply vanished.
"You've spent so many years as a genius... I'll teach you humility!" Yu Wang said.
Then he moved a single step.
Yet in the next instant, three afterimages had already crossed the distance, and his black sword flashed toward Luoyin's neck.
But Luoyin reacted instinctively.
Clang!
The impact sent a violent tremor through his arms, forcing him back hundreds of feet before he regained his footing. But before he could steady himself, Yu Wang had already closed the distance again.
"Hmph." Yu Wang pointed two fingers and a beam of black qi shot toward Luoyin's dantian.
Luoyin's hand moved and three talismans lit from his sleeve, arranging themselves as a stack.
The beam passed through the first, only to slow within the second before the third twisted space entirely, diverting it into the skies where it erupted into a pillar of black light.
Yu Wang merely smiled, his black sword gleaming.
"Heh! You think your talismans will save you?!"
He appeared before Luoyin once more, but...
Crack!
Kai Zhen's golden whip coiled around the black sword, golden light surging through it as countless Kirin runes emerged along its length.
"Wealth Binds Heaven!" He yelled as the whip tightened.
Bit Yu Wang gave the tiniest tug, and his overwhelming strength dragged Kai Zhen off his feet instead.
"Hao." Yu Wang swung his arm and Kai Zhen was hurled through three ruined buildings before crashing into a fourth.
Dust filled the air.
"Master!" Luoyin shouted.
"Looking elsewhere while facing me?!" Yu Wang was already approaching Luoyin.
But before the sword could descend, the wind suddenly changed and Old Man Bao appeared between them.
His white sleeve fluttered gently, and two fingers stopped Yu Wang's blade with a massive Clang!
The surrounding space was charged with immense aura, and a blue-and-white dragon phantom coiled behind him for the briefest instant before disappearing.
Yu Wang's smile finally faded.
"So you still have some strength!"
Old Man Bao forced a smile.
"This old man has lived long enough to know that young people should not shoulder everything."
His sleeve swept outward and the wind roared, bringing a thousand currents of dragon-shaped streams, all crashing toward Yu Wang from every direction.
But Yu Wang did not evade, letting the dragon currents struck him together, and there was a large explosion which shook the poor city once more.
However, the dust had not fully cleared when a black figure burst out untouched, and his fist connected right into Old Man Bao's chest.
Old man Bao slid backward, and his robes fluttered violently as blood escaped the corner of his lips.
But before Yu Wang could pursue him,
"Twelve Soul Slaying Needles!"
There were instant flashes of brilliant blue as qi needles appeared around Yu Wang, simultaneously striking twelve major acupoints from impossible angles.
Yu Wang frowned, but swept his sword in a circle, instantly shattering nine needles, and deflecting three...
Yet one still pierced into his skin!
His shoulder trembled, and Luoyin's eyes lit up hopefully as the ground beneath Yu Wang was suddenly illuminated with blue Formation lines.
Yu Wang instantly tried leaping away, but a force kept him rooted in place as hundreds... No, thousands of blooming lines spreading outward, causing his brows to furrow.
"When...?" He wondered aloud.
Then his eyes widened. "I see... It was when your clone attacked me! You used that split-second distraction to send other clones out to lay down the formation, and those needles just now...
"There were thirteen! The hidden one trapped me on the formation and was the trigger to activate it!"
Luoyin smiled faintly.
"Hao. You don't just have my face, but also a very little part of my brains."
The formation suddenly erupted, sending forth thousands of icy chains from beneath the earth, and a massive ice gate towered before Yu Wang.
"Frost Hell Prison!" Luoyin cried, and Kai Zhen reappeared in that moment, sending forth thousands of gleaming gold weapons at Yu Wang, while Old man Bao's giant phantom dragon also charged at Yu Wang with deadly force.
Three perfectly synchronized attacks, but...
Yu Wang simply laughed.
"Things have become interesting! However..."
Black aura exploded outward from his skin, and their attacks were instantly reduced to nothing!
Then Yu Wang's arm swept forward, and an overwhelming power struck all three at once.
Luoyin caught the full force if it, and fell to his knees coughing up a flood of blood, but Old man Bao grabbed him and vanished, saving him from a brutal after wave of Yu Wang's aura.
There was silence as Yu Wang stood there, completely untouched.
"Hmph. Such lowly power can't harm me!" He declared. "I'm the chosen One! Destined to rule the Three Realms!"
He raised the black sword, and a vast black aura spread from beneath his feet, fanning outward and rising higher and higher.
It was neither violent nor chaotic.
But calm...
Too calm!
And the skies darkened, blinding the stars from sight.
"It's time..." Yu Wang began. "For this world to slip into darkness...!"
.