The echoes of a toad's end (2)
A.N - Which path would you never cultivate even if you were given an inheritance to follow it?
If you had the choice of being transmigrated into the body of a Venerable and inheriting their fate, which Venerable would you choose?
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"Today's events are truly a shame, marking the loss of a great comrade of the demonic path as a whole and a great friend to me," said Lu La, a middle-aged man with a partially gray beard, a bit of black remaining, and a protruding belly, dressed in fine red clothing, his voice carried a tone of lament.
He spoke before a group of various immortals of distinct appearances, all dressed in red, the traditional color of the Thieves' Guild. They gathered near a cliff by a blue lake situated in a geographical depression, famous in the northeast of the Northern Plains, right on the border with the Eastern Sea. This lake, of course, was the secret entrance to the legendary Thieves' Guild, a name that instilled fear in almost all Gu immortals.
"Let us show our mourning, for it is not every day that someone like Kuang Luo To appears in this world. In fact, we may not see someone as talented as him for thousands of years. So, let's drink in his honor!" Lu La declared, pulling out a large bottle of liquor, a Rank 6 Gu material, and began to drink it all, drowning his sorrows.
"To Kuang Luo To, for we all know that above him on the demonic path in our era is only Thieving Heaven!" Ha Da De, a young Gu immortal of common appearance, said while raising a glass of wine and drinking with Lu La.
"It's a great loss indeed! Oh, how I wish I could have fought side by side with the great comrade Kuang Luo To in his final moments," said Bo Luo, a short and somewhat stocky man who looked like an ordinary bandit but was actually a great immortal, also drinking a sip of wine.
"Indeed, this is the greatest loss of a great comrade for us honest bandits who work hard for our livelihoods!" Tie Me, a man so thin he seemed never to have eaten, with a scruffy beard on his face, spoke with conviction and honesty in his eyes.
All the immortals present said a few words of mourning before taking their drinks, a practice uncommon in the Gu world, introduced specifically by the first supreme elder, Lu La, who was publicly known for being a heavy drinker, thus finding ways to incorporate drinking into almost everything.
"Well, great words have been said, but I am not just a man of words, but also of actions," Lu La said, wiping his mouth wet with liquor with the sleeve of his robe.
"What does the world and the righteous forces expect now? I tell you, they expect us to hide like scared puppies with our tails between our legs!" Lu La spoke with great conviction and exaggeratedly, like a typical politician at a rally. "But will we act according to their wishes?!"
"Of course not, for the honor of thieves!" Ha Da De, one of his biggest supporters among these immortals, shouted with a roar as they had agreed beforehand.
"Exactly!! We are the successors of Thieving Heaven and the Thieves' Guild he created!! We cultivate the Theft path with which he used to dominated the world!!" Lu La, with increasing enthusiasm, spoke with his hands clenched tightly into fists in front of his body, which he rocked back and forth anxiously.
"So we will never surrender or falter to these mere righteous forces!! Who is with me?! Which of you stands by my side to once again make the Thieves' Guild a supreme force in this world?!" Lu La raised his fist high, pointing to the sky, prompting the immortals in front of him to roar with force as they did the same, reinforcing their support for him.
Seeing this, he smiled with satisfaction, for this was just a public demonstration he had planned in the past to officially secure everyone's support for his re-election. By coincidence, Kuang Luo To died at this moment, so he used this fact to make the moment even more significant.
But the real reason for the immortals' support for him was not a motivated speech, but a series of backdoor deals and the distribution of benefits to the guild members loyal to him.
The reason behind all this is a unique situation for the Thieves' Guild, which differs greatly from other super forces in this world. As they elect their leaders to serve forty-year terms as the first supreme elder, and when this term ends, another election is held. If the current first supreme elder loses, he is obliged to step down and cede his position to the winner, regardless of his opinion on the results.
This idea alone seems absurd to almost all immortals in this world, as in both the sect system and the clan system, the idea of relinquishing a position of great power and prestige, even to a descendant or disciple while you still alive, is something most immortals would never do. But to do this for someone who could even be a great rival, and to do so because of the vote of lower-ranking immortals, is beyond logic.
Of course, not all votes carry the same weight, as the value of a Rank 6 immortal's vote varies according to their position in the guild, and the same applies to Rank 7 immortals, whose votes are much more valuable. The Rank 8s, which the Thieves' Guild currently lacks, have an even higher value, able to decide elections easily if they are the only Rank 8 in their time.
"Hahahaha, the enthusiasm of everyone is truly proof of our guild system superiority as it was created by the wise Venerable Thieving Heaven," Lu La said with a false smile on his face, while inside he bled in his heart for the amount of benefits he had to give up to win this election.
But even with his high status as a Rank 7 Gu immortal, he was completely unable to do anything about it, for these were the rules of the guild and how its system functioned, established personally by Thieving Heaven. Previous first supreme elders who were brave or foolish enough to go against this had met cruel and swift deaths.
"But it's still worth it!" Lu La thought as he tried to boost his own morale by remembering the future benefits he could gain as the leader of the Thieves' Guild. As after experiencing it for the last eighty years, he was not willing to give it up. So, he resolutely gave up as many benefits as necessary to win the election.
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*Western Desert*
"Honored Empress, we have just found a location matching the legends of the entrance to the Empress of Eternal Flame's inheritance!" A cute Eggman, the size of a baby, said as he knelt on one knee,in his sophisticated and imperial combat armor while exuding the aura of a Rank 5 Gu master.
Before him stood a woman, also comparable in size to a baby, wearing a magnificent imperial armor designed to resemble an elegant dress, yet displaying the qualities of a great warrior.
More beautiful than the armor in the eyes of an Eggman—whose beauty perception differs greatly from that of a pure human—stood the legendary and most acclaimed Eggwoman Empress of their time. She was the only known remaining immortal of her species, now leading her people as the sole supreme ruler.
"Wonderful! At last, we have the results of our risks after so much time and so many sacrifices!" Hua Liang Yong now had a satisfied smile on her face as a great burden was lifted from her heart.
"Tell me, how many casualties did we suffer in this last exploration?" Hua Liang Yong asked, bracing herself for high losses as usual.
"Honored Empress, we had one Rank 5 Gu master injured, four Rank 4 Gu masters injured, and two dead. Among the Rank 3s, a dozen were injured and five died," the Rank 5 Gu master reported directly, without trying to hide or embellish the losses, as it had become routine for him.
"... Fortunately, we have found the Empress of Eternal Flame's inheritance, for we wouldn't have been able to continue for much longer..." These words, unexpected from an immortal who should despise the lives of mere Gu masters, reflected a particular situation for the Eggmans.
As she believed that, aside from the Beastmen who were completely extinct, her race was now the weakest and seemed to be heading towards a similar fate. Thus, each talented and strong Eggman was valuable.
Obtaining the legendary Empress of Eternal Flame—the last Eggwoman Empress to reach Rank 8 according to stories—was crucial. Unfortunately, due to the age and various tribulations the inheritance had faced, it was in an extremely unstable state. If someone with as many dao marks as an immortal entered it, it could collapse. Therefore, she had to bite the bullet and sacrifice her valuable subjects, risking everything for the future of all Eggmen.
"Times are changing with the death of Kuang Luo To. The immortal world will descend into chaos," Hua Liang Yong declared softly, her cute face reflecting a thoughtful expression. "If we do not obtain this inheritance, we can only accept our destruction... For our people, we cannot fail!"
"Even if we have to sacrifice everything until only one of us remains to carry on our people, understood!" Hua Liang Yong exuded an unshakable determination, as stable as the volcanic mountain on which they stood.
"I understand, Empress, and I swear with all my heart!" The Gu master made a typical Eggman salute, his face to the ground.
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*Central Continent*
"Hahahahah, it seems our righteous forces have put an end to Kuang Luo To," a strange and macabre being, resembling a hybrid between a human and an ant, spoke with a hoarse and unnaturally odd voice.
He was a creature with a coal-black exoskeleton, which appeared as strong as celestial armor yet gave him a horrific appearance like a monster straight out of an insane man's nightmares.
"It is truly a pity for the world to lose someone of such talent..." This strange being moved with inhuman speed through vast, deep, and dark caverns that stretched for endless kilometers.
"Ahhh, it is pathetic how some righteous path immortals are celebrating the death of such a legend." This declaration might shock many, who would judge him for daring to praise such a demon. But to Ming Yi, one of the three supreme elders of the Ancient Soul Sect, it mattered little.
In fact, even as a member of a Central Continent new super sect, he cared little for or believed in the Heavenly Court's ideas and beliefs about human superiority or maintaining justice and prosperity among the righteous path.
He believed only in one thing: power determines everything. For now, he was a supreme elder of the Ancient Soul Sect and a pure human. But that was simply the ladder he climbed to power, one he would discard at any moment for a better one.
"Hahahaha, aside from that, it seems my luck hasn't failed me at this moment..." Ming Yi's eyes gleamed red as his coal-black ant exoskeleton moved in strange and horrific ways that would disturb anyone watching.
"Now that all the righteous forces and immortals are occupied with their stupid fight to exterminate the demonic path..."
"...I don't have to worry about being disturbed in my exploration of the Earth Abyss, so my exploration will advance much faster!!" Ming Yi sped through the various caverns and ravines of the Earth Abyss, slaying numerous creatures that could be nightmares for Gu masters but were nothing to him, an Rank 6 immortal.
His enthusiasm for exploring these subterranean caverns, which he named the Earth Abyss after discovering them accidentally while excavating beneath the Ancient Soul Sect to test his transformation into an imperial soldier ant, was simple: resources.
He found an infinite number of mortal resources from various paths, but more importantly for him, he discovered a considerable amount of immortal materials from the transformation path, his cultivation path. Even better, this was only within the three layers he had explored so far, and it seemed there were many more layers to go.
"Hahahah, while you fight over those miserable resources of some demonic path cultivators... I have a gigantic resource point all to myself!!" Ming Yi said, his ant mandibles opening and closing as if to indicate his happiness.
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*Southern Border*
"What an impressive battle! Haha, how could I miss such a spectacle happening on my southern continent?!" said a tall and muscular man dressed in ragged clothes made from the hides of wild beasts, resembling a caveman.
"Hahahaha, what a disgrace to my name, Bao Shiren! I couldn't even participate in this incredible battle!" he said, biting into a piece of meat, eating carelessly and not worrying about the fire the meat was being roasted over.
"Ah, unfortunately Kuang Luo To self-destructed, and those bastards from the Heavenly Court took their dead bodies away... So I won't even be able to get a good dinner!" Bao Shiren said as he licked his greasy fingers from the meat he was eating.
"And now I had to eat this worthless Rank 5 Gu master! Well, at least he was quite fat, so there's plenty of grease, hahaha," Bao Shiren said, delighting in the meat of one of his victims, who in the mortal world was at the peak, but for him was just a low-quality snack.
"Ah, if the damn super forces of the Southern Border hadn't united to kill me after I just ate one immortal, I could have more good food now!" Bao Shiren said, diverting his attention to dozens of Rank 5 mortal Gu masters in a cage, screaming desperately for mercy.
"Stop screaming! You should be grateful to fill the stomach of a great immortal like me!" Bao Shiren simply grabbed one of the fatter Rank 5 Gu masters and, as if he were as weak as an insect, threw him into the fire.
"Hmph, and don't flatter yourselves too much because your meat tastes like crap compared to that of an immortal!" Bao Shiren said, not caring about the Gu master's agonized screams, which quickly ended when he died a painful and cruel death.
"Hahaha, I imagine how good the meat of a Rank 8 immortal must be..." Bao Shiren said while devouring the meat in front of him like a savage, not caring that it belonged to another human being. "...but those Heavenly Court bastards took away the dinner I wanted so much!"
"But they will pay for it, for one day I will achieve my greatest goal!" he said, finishing all the meat in front of him once more.
This caused him to pause for a moment before looking at the cage again with a wild smile on his face. "And I will be the first to discover what the flesh of the legendary Immortal Venerables tastes like!"