Martial Arrogance Dragon Soul-Chapter 337 - 320: Struggle Against Fate with the Heavens
Heifeng Valley.
Upon entering the valley, Qin Qing and the others immediately felt a coldness assault them.
This coldness was not ordinary.
For martial artists like Qin Qing, the cold weather wouldn’t usually cause much discomfort unless it was extreme.
But the coldness in Heifeng Valley was different, as if it penetrated straight to the bones.
And just like the surrounding environment, it was dark and omnipresent.
At the same time...
Qin Qing and the others could feel their cultivation suppressed to some extent.
However, this suppressive force was still weak, so it wasn’t very noticeable.
"Let’s go!"
Qin Qing said in a low voice.
He always felt that making any noise here was jarring against the environment.
It was too quiet here.
To be precise, it was a deathly silence!
Qin Ren and Pei Hong followed behind Qin Qing, the three of them heading straight towards the center of the Life Forbidden Zone.
As they progressed, the feeling of their cultivation being suppressed grew more and more obvious.
"My strength has dropped by about twenty percent." Pei Hong said in a low voice.
"Mine is about the same." Qin Ren said.
Indeed, as the Ritual Officer said, Qin Qing was obviously much less affected by the suppression than Qin Ren and Pei Hong.
Qin Qing’s cultivation did not seem to be significantly impacted.
He was at the Divine Might Realm, which was one Great Realm lower than Pei Hong and Qin Ren.
The higher the realm and the older the age, the greater the impact one would feel here.
Suddenly.
A milu deer burst into Qin Qing and the others’ field of vision.
"There are milu deer here?"
Qin Qing and the others were puzzled.
This area was close to the Life Forbidden Zone, and nearing it, the milu deer should also be losing vitality.
And then, upon lifting its head, the milu deer also noticed Qin Qing and his companions.
Seeming startled, the deer suddenly kicked its feet and sprinted forward, leaping and running away.
"It’s entered the Life Forbidden Zone!" Qin Ren said.
Not far ahead was the Life Forbidden Zone, and the startled deer, in its panic, had blundered into it.
What followed was Qin Qing and his companions seeing the deer that had entered the Life Forbidden Zone slowing down considerably in its running, its bodily functions rapidly aging.
Its originally glossy fur quickly became shriveled and wrinkled, its speed plummeting, and then it could no longer run, falling to the ground, collapsing onto the scorched earth.
And then... the milu deer was completely devoid of vitality.
Even its carcass, under the watchful gaze of Qin Qing and his companions, instantly rotted, withered, and turned into a skeleton...
Qin Qing and the others couldn’t help feeling a sense of shock and sorrow in their hearts.
The scenes they had just witnessed were like the milu deer’s rapidly passing life.
Aren’t people the same?
From birth, to growing up, to aging step by step, and finally dying...
Even as martial artists, who could prolong their lives, there would still come a day when their lifespan was exhausted, even if they achieved the level of a Martial Saint.
Martial Saints too had the end of their lifespan.
Legends say that the lifespan of a Martial Saint is but ten thousand years.
After ten thousand years, even a Martial Saint will ultimately exhaust their life, their light extinguished, turning into dry bones.
Such is the power of time, the most merciless and the most frightening power of all.
Even with high cultivation, one cannot withstand the power of time!
All three involuntarily fell into a mood of pessimism, even hopelessness.
In the end, one would die.
To eventually end up like that milu deer, turning into mere bones.
So why bother struggling pointlessly in this vast sea of misery in the human world?
Might as well depart this way, thoroughly leaving behind the sea of suffering in this worldly realm!
Pei Hong’s eyes turned bloodshot, his expression becoming ferocious, while Qin Ren also showed a look of extreme pain, his brows tightly furrowed, his hands clenched into fists, his gaze beginning to despair...
"No, that’s not right!"
Qin Qing suddenly exclaimed.
"Ninth Highness, Pei Hong!"
Qin Qing’s voice boomed like a bell, startling the two who had fallen into despair.
Qin Qing cautioned aloud.
"The elk isn’t real?"
Upon hearing this, Qin Ren and Pei Hong both turned their attention to the elk’s skeletal remains.
In the next second, the skeleton turned into countless white particles, and with a gust of wind, it disappeared into the air, like a fleeting cloud of smoke.
"But even if it’s an illusion, the truth it illustrates is still real, right?" Pei Hong murmured.
"We will all grow old eventually, just like that elk, becoming nothing but white bones, and even the bones will cease to exist, like a fleeting cloud of smoke, leaving not even a trace in this world..." Qin Ren also said.
"No!" Qin Qing’s tone was firm, and his eyes also conveyed a resolute look.
"Cultivating to a higher realm can extend one’s lifespan!" Qin Qing proclaimed.
"But what’s the point of extending our lifespan? Lifespans inevitably come to an end; even a Martial Saint doesn’t live more than ten thousand years... Ultimately, we can’t resist the power of time, and we’ll turn to dust just the same," Qin Ren said helplessly.
"What about beyond a Martial Saint?" Qin Qing asked.
"Beyond a Martial Saint?"
Surprise flashed across the faces of Qin Ren and Pei Hong.
"The lifespan of a mortal is a mere hundred years, Golden Core practitioners live a thousand years, and transcending the ordinary to reach sainthood means drifting through the universe for tens of thousands of years... As one’s cultivation improves, so does the lifespan. I believe that if cultivation reaches a certain realm, one will surely live as long as the heavens and earth, competing with the sun and the moon for brilliance!"
Qin Qing’s words sent another shock through Qin Ren and Pei Hong.
"To live as long as the heavens and earth, to compete with the sun and the moon for brilliance??"
"Moreover..." Qin Qing continued, "even if we cannot pursue the peak of martial arts, isn’t the process of battling the heavens, the earth, and the Dao for our lives also an endless joy?"
"So... often, people only see the final outcome and forget that the scenery along the way is the most beautiful memory."
Qin Qing’s speech enlightened Pei Hong and Qin Ren all at once.
"Indeed!"
"Brother Qin speaks the absolute truth!"
Pei Hong agreed with much enlightenment on his face.
"Continuously improving cultivation, contending with the Dao, fighting with the heavens and earth for life! There is endless joy in that!"
"Hahaha..."
Both Pei Hong and Qin Ren laughed at the same time.
The despair that had enveloped them both seemed to dissipate in an instant.
Qin Qing secretly curled his lip; truth be told, when he spoke those words just now, he himself felt somewhat muddled at first. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶
But wasn’t Qin Qing also speaking to himself?
When that illusion struck, a gloomy mood had enveloped everyone, including himself.
He too had fallen into the atmosphere of despair, and had he not spoken these words to himself, Qin Qing could not be sure he wouldn’t have succumbed to despair.
If he, too, had fallen into the same pit of despair as Qin Ren and Pei Hong.
Then it wouldn’t be long before the three of them, like the elk illusion they had witnessed, would mindlessly walk into the Life Forbidden Zone and then their vitality would wither away, turn to white bones, never able to leave...
The three of them gathered their emotions and continued walking.
About a quarter of an hour later, they finally set foot into the Life Forbidden Zone.
This is the last forbidden zone where the Tree of Life lies...
The environment seemed to become even darker.
Even the ground had turned a scorched black, as if poured and shaped by liquid iron, losing any semblance of what the soil once looked like.
In the air, strands of black mist occasionally rose up.
This black mist exuded an extremely dangerous aura, and it was obvious that contact with it would likely strip away a significant portion of one’s vitality.
The suppression of life in the Life Forbidden Zone was clearly much stronger than before.
Even Qin Qing was starting to struggle.
The Spiritual Power within his body moved sluggishly while his Qi-Blood was rapidly depleting.
"Be careful!"
Qin Qing suddenly shouted a warning.
"Hiss!"
A gravelly, low growl sounded.
A black shadow flashed suddenly.
Upon hearing Qin Qing’s warning, Pei Hong’s Spiritual Power surged into action, forming a Defensive Shield around his body.
The attacking shadow struck Pei Hong head-on.
There was a dull thud.
Pei Hong’s Defensive Shield cracked instantly.
At the same time, a one-inch-deep wound appeared on his chest.
"Hiss..."
Pei Hong inhaled sharply from the pain.
The next second, his expression drastically changed.
"What is that thing?"
