Against The Heavens 52 A Grand Mausoleum.

Li Yang mindlessly killed, the spear in his hand stabbing and sweeping without end. Silver blood splattered the area around him, his entire body drenched in the foul smelling liquid. Despite the blood drenching his body, despite the fact that his mind was blank, his lips had curled into a wide smile. Since he was acting on instinct alone, he was able to unleash everything he got, the satisfaction of being able to fight freely filling every inch of his being.

But sooner or later, all things must come to an end, and Li Yang's mindless battle ended after he spent almost three straight months battling. When the last beast was slain and Li Yang no longer sensed any beasts in the surroundings, his consciousness slowly returned. He blinked his eyes a few time to get used to his vision again, giving the surroundings a quick sweep with his gaze.

All the beasts that were slain had already sunk back into the earth, their silver blood the only trace that remained of the battle that had just taken place here. Li Yang could feel his stomach grumbling the moment his consciousness returned, so it was easy to guess that at least over two months had pa.s.sed. He glanced at Jinwu, who had grabbed a tight hold on his shoulder and was sleeping without a care, before swiping his interspatial ring and taking out some food and water, quickly scarfing it down.

Thinking back to the three other trials he had taken, his lips could not help but curl into a wry smile as he shook his head. Were these trials ever meant to be completed by anyone? When someone with a cultivation as weak as his had to spend over two months of continuous battle to clear Bai Yawen's trial, how long would those with a stronger cultivation have to fight? Not to mention the trial where his body was disintegrated and rebuilt, or the two illusory trials he had to endure. Even Li Yang felt that the trials were quite s.a.d.i.s.tic and cruel.

After Li Yang finished the food and drinks he had pulled out, he gave Jinwu a few pokes to wake him up. He slowly woke up, looking at the surroundings with a droopy gaze, slowly spreading his wings. He took off from Li Yang's shoulder, but it seemed like he had only done so to stretch his body, as he quickly returned to Li Yang's shoulder, now fully awake. Li Yang gave him a few pats, muttering quietly as he scanned the surroundings.

"So, where do we have to go receive the emblem for completing the trial?"

Jinwu joined Li Yang in sweeping the surroundings, looking for any sign that would let them know where to go. Li Yang was just about to start heading in a random direction when he felt his chest heat up, the three emblems that were already lodged in chest flying out and floating in front of him. The three emblems formed a square that was missing a corner, a faint light radiating from each of the emblems.

The faint breeze that blew through the area started to increase in strength, the blood that covered the ground rising into the air and gathering into s.h.i.+ning orb. The orb flew over to the three other emblems, taking up a spot in the missing corner of the square, rapidly shrinking. The blood turned into a small square emblem that was silver in color and was engraved with the image of a spear piercing through a roaring dragon, an awe-inspiring pressure radiating from the emblem. Once the emblem formed, the familiar voice of Bai Yawen rang out in Li Yang's head.

"You have fought, and you have won, proving your worth. I grant you my emblem, whether or not you can acquire the rest depends on your performance."

After the voice rang out, the new emblem started to release faint light that connected it to the three other emblems. The moment all three emblems became connected, the light they released quickly grew blinding, forcing Li Yang to close his eyes and turn his head away. The blinding light continued to s.h.i.+ne for a few seconds, before it quickly receded, allowing Li Yang to turn his head back.

In the place where all four emblems had floated, there was now only a single emblem, floating proudly as s.p.a.ce around it distorted from the power it released. The emblem was the size of Li Yang's hand and a deep golden in color, arcs of golden lightning crawling along the surface. The emblem was engraved with the image of two long dragons, one golden and one purple. The dragons coiled around each other, their maws wide open as they roared at the heavens.

While Li Yang was looking at the emblem, the ground beneath the emblem lit up with a large array, runes covering the ground for as far as Li Yang's eyes could see. The entire mountain started to shake as the array activated, a ma.s.sive amount of Qi filling the runes as they lit up with a gray light. As Li Yang was preparing to deal with whatever might happen, the light of the array dimmed down, four familiar kneeling figures appearing before him. Upon seeing these four figures, Li Yang's tensed body calmed down as he spoke out.

"So it's Little Zhu and the others, you guys nearly gave me a heart-attack."

The four figures that appeared were Lin Zhu and the others, all four guardians had appeared before him, kneeling in human shaped. Since all four had arrived at the same time, Li Yang guessed that the array that had activated was an array designed to teleport the four guardians here once someone completed all four trials. Zizai was the one to respond to Li Yang, his cheerful voice ringing out.

"Congratulations on completing all four trials, Lord Li Yang, I knew it was only a matter of time."

Zizai stepped forward with a slight bounce, his childish face covered in a wide and beaming smile. The three people behind him also stood up, their faces similarily covered in smiles. Finally, after so many years of waiting, someone had completed all four trials. And it was not just anyone, it was the Thunder Monarch himself who had come to pick up his own inheritance. Li Yang let out a light chuckle as he gave a slight wave of his hand, turning towards Chen Huo as he spoke.

"Alright, alright, no need to try and flatter me. So, how do I go about entering the Thunder Flower Memorial, and is it possible for me to bring the four of you out of here once I have picked up whatever is in the Thunder Flower Memorial?"

Right now, Li Yang was very curious exactly what of his inheritance that Zhao Feng and the others had left behind in the Thunder Flower Memorial. At the same time, he would like to bring Mengxiang and the others out with him, after spending so many years stuck here, they must surely be bored. Chen Huo stepped forward, pus.h.i.+ng the floating golden emblem towards Li Yang as he spoke, giving a slight shake of his head.

"Entering the memorial is easy, you merely need to have that emblem on you as you enter the city. That way, none of the arrays will activate. As for bringing us out of here, while we appreciate the thought, we have sworn to our previous masters that we would not leave this hidden realm unless they were to return."

Li Yang grabbed the emblem, which turned into a stream of energy that sank into his body, settling in his chest. He then furrowed his brows slightly, his gaze moving between all four guardians as he questioned.

"You swore to them?"

Since Chen Huo said that they swore, it must mean that they had sworn an oath. To cultivators and powerful Demonic beasts, an oath was the strongest binding force, a promise they could never break. One would generally only swear an oath to ones closest friends and allies. Mengxiang was the one who responded, with a bright smile on her face as she gave a nod of her head.

"Yes. No matter what, they are our masters, we refuse to follow anyone else. Only if they were to return will we leave this hidden realm. If they never return, we will never leave here."

They were Demonic beasts that had incredibly might, they had their own pride and dignity. They had completely submitted to Zhao Feng and the others, so they would never follow anyone else. They respected Li Yang for his past might, but that did not mean that they would be willing to follow him. Seeing them like this, Li Yang could only let out a slightly regretful sigh, but his lips quickly curled into a warm smile.

"I see, that's a shame. Then let's hope that they managed to reincarnate, that way we can all go and drink some good wine together, just like in the old days."

Lin Zhu and the others replied with bright smiles of their own, nodding their heads. If they could all gather once more, simply drinking peacefully, that would truly be bliss. After a short moment of silence, Zizai stepped forward, his body turning into a wind that surrounded Li Yang and Jinwu.

"Lord Li Yang, let me take you to the memorial."

With Zizai surrounding his entire body, Li Yang's body shot through the air. When he was wondering how Zizai would bring him out of the mountain, the ceiling above them split open, a pa.s.sage to the outside appearing. With Zizai bringing him away at full speed, Li Yang's vision blurred so badly he was unable to tell what anything was.

But despite their speed, they still had to fly for a few minutes before they managed to reach the Thunder Flower Memorial. Zizai brought Li Yang down in front of the Thunder Flower Memorial, which was a large city covered in a light layer of white snow. The sky was covered in dark clouds, snow continuously falling from the sky. Yet despite the continuous snowfall, the layer of snow covering the city did not grow any larger. Looking at the city ahead of him, Li Yang could not help but let out a slight murmur, his voice heavy with reminiscence.

"So this is the place huh? They really went all in."

The part of the city he could see in front of him was a perfect recreation of a city that the six of them often visited in the past, or it might even be the actual city. Li Yang was unable to see the center of the city, but he could feel that there was a terrifying power gathering at the very center of the city. Zizai formed his body in front of Li Yang, giving him a slight bow as he spoke.

"This is as far as I can take you. As we are the guardians of the four trials, we cannot be gone for too long, lest the arrays that support the trials crumble without our support."

Li Yang gave a slight nod of his head, bidding Zizai farewell. Zizai's body quickly turned into wind, vanis.h.i.+ng into the distance as he returned to the trial that his master had told him to keep an eye on. Li Yang watched Zizai leave, and then turned towards the city in front of him, staring at it in silence for a moment.

He took a deep breath, and then stepped forward, entering the city. The emblem in his chest released a faint heat after he stepped into the city, so it seemed like it had activated, preventing the arrays in the city from activating. Li Yang walked at a slow pace through the city, his gaze carefully sweeping the surroundings, sometimes stopping on a few buildings as he reminisced about the past, a past he would never be able to return to.

Jinwu could sense his somewhat melancholic state, so he pressed up closely to Li Yang's neck, comforting him. Seeing Jinwu acting like this, Li Yang's lips curled into a faint smile. His eyes landed on a small building not far from them, a small balcony adorning the front of the building. Li Yang raised his arm to point at the building, a warm smile on his face as he spoke.

"It's a city full of familiar places. Do you see that building there? It used to be a restaurant, I had my first proper date with Fang Ying there. That building was where I and Fang Ying first became one."

After he pointed at the restaurant, he moved his arm and pointed at a tall paG.o.da located a small distance to their right. The paG.o.da used to be a hotel that charged a truly exorbitant sum for even a single night's stay. The two continued to slowly make their way through the city, Li Yang occasionally pointing out a few places that were noteworthy.

When they got deeper into the city, the buildings slowly gave way to larger stretches of land that did not belong to the city. Li Yang could see a small lake covered in lotus flowers in the distance, a single weeping willow standing at the bank of the lake. He could not help but stop when he saw the lake, the smile on his face growing even warmer.

"That small lake over there, beneath that weeping willow is where I and Fang Ying shared our vows. It was a small ceremony, only Zhao Feng and the others serving as witnesses, but it meant the world to us."

Li Yang stood still and looked at the lake for a bit, his mind lost in the past. In the end, he closed his eyes and took another deep breath, taking his eyes away from the lake, continuing deeper into the city. As they got closer to the center of the city, the terrifying power slowly grew more oppressive, so it was clear that they were quickly approaching it.

After he spent around three more hours walking, the two of them finally reached the center of the city, a magnificent sight appearing in front of them. At the very center of the city stood a small hill that looked completely unremarkable, but atop that unremarkable hill stood a grand mausoleum. The mausoleum was a deep azure in color, and Li Yang could tell that it was built out of a single Demon crystal.

Li Yang did not even have to guess at what Divine beast had been slain to acquire such a large Demon Crystal, as the skeletons of two dragons adorned the mausoleum, their bodies positioned so that they coiled around each other and roared at the sky. The terrifying power that Li Yang had felt came from these two skeletons, a testament to their might when they were still alive. At the bottom of the hill stood a small marker, a few words engraved on it. Upon reading the words, Li Yang could not help but laugh out.

"So this is where you built the memorial, huh? A nameless hill turning into the world's greatest memorial? Dai Shu, you always had such a flair for the dramatic, didn't you?"

How could Li Yang not recognize that small and unremarkable hill? It was the place where he and Fang Ying had died, the place where they shared their last kiss, and the place where he swore that death was not enough to stop him from chasing her. Li Yang took his eyes away from the marker, locking his gaze onto the mausoleum as he stepped forward.

"Well then, shall we go and see what they hid away for me in such a grand mausoleum?"