Chapter 135: A familiar voice, a burning longing.
Yao Jun was fighting alongside Wei Zhong Jun and Yun Yantian and Lin Ren were crushing the Broken Boulder Sect. But they were not the only ones fighting right now. Guo Luo had also thrown herself headfirst into battle the moment she set foot into the plain that the titanic bird had pointed at.
Her actions could be considered reckless, as she battled with abandon and only rested when she had completely tired herself out. Every enemy she found that was within her level of strength, she fought. When she was wounded, she would find a safe place where she could rest and use a bit of medicine to recuperate.
Guo Luo knew herself well, she knew what she could and could not do. And she knew that the her right now, could do nothing to support Yao Jun or Titan's Gate, she was only a burden. Yun Yantian and the others all had secondary fields that they excelled in, like forging or array creation.
Yao Jun did not have a secondary field that he excelled in. But when it came to the one field he excelled in, battling, there was no one in Titan's Gate who was better than him. The others attributed his talent in battling to the Demonic beasts he had absorbed, gaining their instincts.
But Guo Luo knew better than that, after all, she had been by his side longer than any of the others. She knew that his talent for battling did not come from the instincts that his Demonic beasts gave him. It came from his continuous practice, his unyielding will that caused him to train harder and harder every day.
In comparison to all of them, what was it that Guo Luo excelled in? There was nothing. She was the weakest person in the group, and she did not have anything she excelled in, she could only be considered weak in every aspect.
So she threw herself headfirst into battle, so that she could grow stronger, so that she could gain more battle experience, so that she could stand proudly next to him. The place where she battled also ended up being very advantageous to her, so she made sure that she would take this chance to grow much stronger.
The reason this plain was very advantageous to her was because she quickly noticed that all the Demonic beasts she faced on this plain used illusions. No matter large or small, every Demonic beast she had seen used mental energy to create illusions as they battled. Thanks to the continued battling, killing, and absorbing of mental energy, Guo Luo had already reached the late stage of the 2nd Mortal Earth.
As the holder of the Illusion God's Gate, there was no way any illusions worked on her, so she had the advantage when they battled. After she killed the Demonic beasts, she could also absorb the mental energy from them to strengthen herself. She of course did not know that Yao Jun had tried the same thing with the Demonic beasts that he had killed, but he was completely unable to absorb them into his Demon God's Gate.
Guo Luo was currently embroiled in battle. The yellow scarf that Yao Jun had bought for her had been torn up and used as a make-shift eye patch for her ruined left eye. The emerald green clothing that she had bought to match with Yao Jun were also torn and tattered, now only covering her chest and lower half. Her rainbow colored hair was dirty and unruly, dried blood clearly visible in it.
The enemies she was currently facing were a small group of Demonic beasts that resembled foxes. They were a little over one meter long, and around half a meter tall. They only had three legs, but they had four fluffy tails moving behind them, and their fur was deep violet in color. They could be considered very cute Demonic beasts, but their golden eyes were looking at Guo Luo with a hungry gaze.
Guo Luo's body was covered in a myriad of scars both large and small, both dried and fresh blood present on her body. Her breath was slightly heavy, the taste of blood filling her mouth. The crystalline armor that used to only cover her right arm had now spread to cover both her arms and her back, but it was slightly cracked.
Even though these foxes specialized in illusions and their individual strength was slightly weaker than Guo Luo, since she was facing five of them, she was at a disadvantage. The transparent sword she held in her right hand was dripping with blood, the corpses of a further four foxes sprawled on the ground not far from them.
“Come then. I wish to return to his side as fast as possible, so give me your strength.”
Guo Luo ignored the fuzzy feeling in her head and the weakness in her arm and raised her sword higher, pointing it at the remaining five foxes. She could not afford to keep fighting for much longer, lest they attract other Demonic beasts in the area. She was also losing blood with every second, so she wanted to finish up the battle and bandage her wounds.
The foxes also wanted to end the battle quickly, lest their prey get stolen by someone else. They had noticed that their prided illusions did not work on the human in front of them, so they had already given up on using them. But even without their illusions, they were still Demonic beasts who were approaching the late stage of the 2nd Mortal Earth.
The five foxes all charged at Guo Luo at the same time, shifting their positions so that they completely surrounded her. With them surrounding her, they all lunged at her and revealed their fangs. Using the tiny illusions that Guo Luo had placed around the battlefield, Guo Luo could clearly see the attacks of all the foxes.
She judged that even if she took on the attacks, there was no risk of her dying after taking on the attacks. Switching position with her illusions was out of the question, as the foxes seemed to be able to sense when she was switching position, meaning that they could quickly turn and attack her as she appeared.
With those thoughts in mind, Guo Luo decided on her course of action. She reached out with her left arm, allowing one of the foxes to bite down on it. She dodged the attack of a second fox, and let two of them bite down on her legs, with the last one biting her waist.
The moment one of them bit down on her left arm, she grabbed onto that one and quickly pulled it closer. Her right arm moved upwards and her sword pierced through the body of the fox biting down on her left arm, piercing both it's heart and spine. A stream of mental energy traveled from its body and into Guo Luo, but she was already used to it, so she moved on to the next fox.
The next target was one of the foxes biting down on her legs, the one biting down on her right leg. She tightened the muscles in her right leg, catching the teeth of the fox biting down on it. And with the first fox still impaled on her sword, she stabbed downwards and ran the second fox through, piercing its neck.
The three other foxes pulled quickly pulled back after two of their companions were killed. They had already lost six companions in this battle, leaving the original nine as only three. They could not afford to simply retreat, they had to kill the human in front of them.
Guo Luo let the two impaled foxes slide down her blade, her body wobbling slightly. She was right that none of the attacks she had suffered were fatal, but she had forgotten to account for the loss of blood. She had already killed six of the nine foxes, but she had suffered several injuries doing so, she was already running dangerously low on blood.
The remaining foxes would not miss this opportunity, charging in the moment they saw that Guo Luo's body was unsteady. They had noticed that she seemed to be capable of constantly knowing their position, so they did not bother with trying to attack from blind-spots, they simply charged at her from the front.
The three foxes looked at each other, one of them nodding its head. The one that nodded its head put power into its leg and jumped towards Guo Luo's head. With the fox approaching her head, she would be forced to put her focus on it, allowing the two others to attack more freely.
And they were correct, Guo Luo raised both arms, using the left to defend her head and the right to swing out with her sword. The sword pierced through the fox, but its momentum did not vanish, allowing its corpse to hit Guo Luo's head and stagger her even more.
It was at this time that the two other foxes arrived in front of her. They did not bite down on her this time, instead using a hit and run tactic. They struck out with their claws, one slashing a deep gash in her thigh, while the other one slashed a wound in her abdomen. After making the attacks, they rapidly pulled back, not giving Guo Luo a chance to counter attack. The way they saw it, Guo Luo would die shortly simply from blood loss. All they had to do was wait.
And they were correct, the will to battle was there, but Guo Luo's body was already too drained. She had jumped from battle to battle, barely getting any rest or food. Whenever she was injured, she would use medicine and bandages to heal herself, and then go out and battle again. She was bound to end up exhausted.
Guo Luo's vision was blurry, the colors and shapes in front of her merging together to form unrecognizable blots. From the corner of her vision, she could see darkness encroaching, swallowing everything in front of her. There was a hollow feeling in her chest, a deep sense of pain, longing, and loneliness filling her body.
“Is this...death? Am I dead? Dying?”
Guo Luo's voice was faint and barely audible, blood flooding out of her mouth as she spoke. This hollow feeling, this longing and loneliness that called out for her beloved. If this was not death, then what was?
“I don't want to die. I want to see him again... I want to stand next to him, to see the peaks that he sees. I want to raise a family with him.”
Guo Luo grit her teeth as she spoke, giving voice to her desires. She did all she could to push back the encroaching darkness, to return color to the world in front of her. She did not want to die here, she refused to die here. She managed to force her eye to stay open, pushing back the encroaching darkness.
And as the darkness was pushed back, a bright light flooded Guo Luo's vision. The darkness at the edge of her vision completely vanished and the world became clear in front of her eyes again. But the world that appeared in front of her eyes was much more colorful than she was used, everything was dyed in vibrant and magnificent colors.
“This is not death. Death is cold and empty, a void which very few can escape from. This is hope, a hope only available to you. A hope that you might achieve all that you wish for, and then go beyond that.”
As the world was dyed in colors, a soothing and pleasant voice rang out in Guo Luo's head. From in front of her, between the two remaining foxes who were now completely frozen, a beautiful woman came walking.
The woman had crystal clear pink eyes, long rainbow colored hair, smooth and clean skin that resembled white jade, and cherry red lips. She was clad in a long pink robe and walked towards Guo Luo with graceful steps, a blooming smile on her face.
“It's you...”
Color had returned to the world, but Guo Luo's body and voice were still weak. She did not recognize the person in front of her, but she could recognize her voice. It was the voice that resounded in her mind when she first awakened her power, and then once more when Yun Yantian and Lin Ren awakened their powers. The voice of her Illusion God's Gate.
“Indeed. I am the embodiment as well as the first holder of the Illusion God's Gate. Although right now I am nothing more than a small fragment of the real Illusion God's Gate, the other fragments are scattered all around.”
The pink robed woman nodded her head and affirmed Guo Luo's words. She was the consciousness that was born when the Illusion God's Gate was born. But the current her was only a fragment, weakened greatly after eight cycles. No one could even remember her name anymore, she had already become a forgotten god. She could only appear here now because this place was connected to her.
“There is no need for you to say anything, you are a bit too wounded to be speaking. I also can't appear here for too long, I could only appear now because of where we are. Do you want to live? To return to his side and help carry his burdens?”
Seeing that Guo Luo was about to say something, the pink robed woman waved her hand and prevented her from saying something. She could not stay here for long, so she quickly had to do what she came here for.
“I do.”
Guo Luo did not even hesitate. No matter the price she had to pay, she would pay it. All so that she could return to his side and stay next to him. To help carry his burdens, while he helped carry her burdens.
“Excellent. You know, I too once fell for the Demon God. Together we toured the endless universes, seeing all that was to see. Had it not been for the greedy All God, I am sure that we would still be doing just that.”
The pink robed woman's smile grew even wider. She was not sure if it was because this was the ninth and last cycle, but she found that the current holders of the God Gates all greatly resembled the first holders of the gates. She too had fallen for the Demon God, just like the girl in front of her. But their joy had only lasted a few million years before it was cut short by someone they once called a comrade.
After the pink robed woman's words fell, soul rending pain suddenly wracked Guo Luo's body, causing her to crumple to the floor. It felt like someone was using tiny needles to slowly drag out every single piece of her body. The worst pain came from her chest, where the Illusion God's Gate was placed.
“Feel the pain, embrace it, allow it to connect you even closer with the gate, just like that beloved of yours once did. Learn how to truly use the power of illusions. All creation is naught but a fading dream.”
The pink robed woman's voice rang out again, soothing Guo Luo. The process she was putting Guo Luo through right now was the same one that Yao Jun had once gone through, fusing the God Gate with her very soul.
“I hope you end up more lucky than we and your other predecessors did. As the Illusion God of the ninth and last cycle, I hope that you can stand against the All God.”
The pink robed woman sent one last loving look to the world around her, before her figure dissolved and her final words rang out. She could only appear here because they were inside the gate of her beloved, but she was still only a fragment after all. No matter how much she wished to stay here, she could only be here for a pitiful amount of time.
Guo Luo continued to writhe around in pain, but the world around her was still completely frozen, not even the wind moving. The bleeding wounds on her body were also slowly closing, pulling her away from death's door.
When the pain stopped and Guo Luo regained her clarity, even though the wounds on her body had not completely healed, they were not as grave as they were before. Guo Luo stood up with shaking legs, inspecting the world around her.
“Is this the true power of the Illusion God's Gate? I wonder when I can use it properly.”
Guo Luo could not help but mutter, longing for the day she could properly use the true power of the Illusion God's Gate. She looked at the two remaining foxes, their bodies dyed a multitude of colors. She reached out with her hand and grabbed at those colors, pulling them apart.
When she pulled the colors apart, the bodies of the two foxes quickly started dissolving, turning into colored lights that vanished into the air. Only two streams of mental energy remained, flowing into Guo Luo. After the two foxes vanished, Guo Luo felt a throbbing headache as a massive amount of mental energy and Qi were drained from her body.
The colors that dyed the world around her vanished, time resuming to move. But the two foxes were still completely dissolved. This was the true power of the Illusion God's Gate that she had just been taught. To turn reality into illusion, and illusion into reality.