Chapter 18: Ordon

Darkness fell in an instant; Pei Er didn't even have time to scream before that profound despair completely devoured her.

She had never learned magic, so she naturally knew nothing about that deep, terrifying Nine Abyss, yet even so, being inside it, Pei Er couldn't help but feel an immense chill.

So cold… what kind of place is this?

In the pitch black where one couldn't see a hand, Pei Er suddenly heard an extremely faint voice, its source unknown, yet it pierced straight into her heart with a dread, ghostly aura, making her shiver involuntarily.

"Uhh… another one has come."

"Delicious meal… delicious meal… hmm, it's been a long time since new people arrived."

"Since the Death God will take you anyway, why not offer your flesh to us and become one of us…"

"W‑what is that!" Pei Er felt a chill in her heart and grew somewhat frightened. "You… you stay back! Otherwise, I won't be polite!"

"Hmm… a little girl who can't use magic, are you trying to scare us? Hehehe…"

The voices seemed to laugh, bearing a kind of soul‑capturing magic.

"How could a human without magical power defeat the undead of the Nine Abyss? Little girl, you are far too naive…"

"Wuwu… when I was first swallowed in, I thought the same…"

"Become one of us…"

"If you don't act, I'll go first!" Suddenly, one sharp voice could no longer hold back; a dark‑red light flared up not far in front of Pei Er, bearing an icy, bone‑piercing aura, and surged straight toward her. Instinctively, Pei Er tried to dodge, but the light seemed to understand her intent, altered its path, and struck her heart with a fierce blow!

Human strength is weak before magic. Moreover, Pei Er was facing the undead of the Nine Abyss. Seeing no way to retreat, her mind strangely calmed. Perhaps this is fate? To die in this dark, terrifying place, never seeing the light of the mortal world again. If this is her destined end, then she has no other choice.

At this crossroads of life and death, she felt a faint sense of release. Which is more alluring, fleeting life or eternal death? If one is born into this world yet cannot obtain personal happiness, if loved ones depart, if living means endless battles and pursuits, then perhaps abandoning one's responsibilities and sinking forever into the endless "death" is better. At least that way she wouldn't have to endure the suffering of a chaotic world, nor constantly miss that person, nor weep in dreams over vague, illusory emotions.

She closed her eyes, a faint smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.

Then, death, come.

A dull thud, like a burst of light, echoed; though Pei Er kept her eyes shut, she could still feel the light before her shatter in an instant. "I'm about to die," she thought blankly.

Yet her body felt no pain at all.

A sharp, mournful cry reached her ears from not far away.

What? She wasn't hit? How could that be…

She opened her eyes; the previously pitch‑black world now flashed with two dazzling lights. A gray one, snake‑like, writhed in the distance, revealing the pale, terrifying forms of the hidden undead and mercilessly cleaving them into fragments. Another white light swirled a few steps from her, forming a sturdy barrier; the undead's beams struck the barrier and, wailing, shattered explosively.

The scene felt familiar.

She stared in amazement, her heart racing. This couldn't be… it couldn't be real, yet everything before her unmistakably proved it wasn't an illusion. That figure, that familiar figure, stood right before her, within arm's reach, shattering every enemy that dared attack. It was true, truly true. He had returned.

The boy she had longed for appeared suddenly at the very moment she was in peril, at the most unlikely instant, at her deepest despair, using his light and body to support her shattered world.

"Foolish kid…" Pei Er murmured, feeling her whole body lose strength in an instant. Days of toil and helplessness had already left her exhausted, and the recent battle with Viscount Luo Fugude had drained almost all her spirit. Now, in a dark hell surrounded by undead, she suddenly saw Luo Shan's figure; the spirit that had sustained her for days suddenly relaxed, and her body could no longer hold on. Darkness surged again, but this time a faint pure white light threaded through it, weaving the familiar silhouette of the boy. She knew she must cling to him tightly this time, never letting go.

As for Luo Shan's arrival, it was originally an accident.

He had known since childhood that he possessed a "blood‑thirsty" soul, but it wasn't until the battle at Lin Quan Town that he truly realized how terrifying that power was.

It was an unquenchable thirst for slaughter; death no longer seemed terrifying, but a feast, rendering him unable to control his sword arm. Had Pei Er not cried out, he didn't know when his consciousness would return to his own. Yet even after finally awakening from bloodshed, his heart remained heavy. If he continued this way, the horrors he would commit were beyond his own imagination.

So he chose to leave. Even as he abandoned the wounded Pei Er, his heart felt as if cut deeply by a knife.

The sea of fire at Lin Quan Town faded into the background behind him; Luo Shan dared not take the main road, instead drifting with the wind along the Lin Quan River aimlessly. Passing the town, he wouldn't stop to rest, merely picking wild fruit in the woods for sustenance and drinking from the river when thirsty. Though harsh, at least he no longer had to involve himself in worldly conflicts or wield weapons.

Yet that morning, while he sat under a tree with eyes closed, a sudden wail of women and children rose from afar, shrill and mournful. He snapped his eyes open, instinctively gripping his sword hilt with his right hand. Though he had sworn to cease killing, he could not stand by when injustice arose!

Once the wind‑riding technique activated, any distance closed in an instant. In his sight were several black‑robed mages, clumsily seizing a group of women, leering as they tore the women's clothes to assault them. A few men's corpses lay aside, evidently their relatives. The women screamed, utterly powerless to resist. Yet suddenly a cold glint flashed in the crowd's eyes; a mage's movement halted, an incredulous expression appearing, and a streak of blood rose on his neck as his head was severed in an instant, landing with a clang! The women froze in terror, and the remaining mages, startled, lifted their trousers, sprang up, raised their staffs, only to see Luo Shan's stern face a dozen paces away, his long sword gleaming with blood.

"Get out." He seemed to be restraining something; blood dripped from his long sword drop by drop, yet he made no further move, speaking softly. "Go as far as you can, don't appear before me."

"Boom!" Several black beams answered him. Luo Shan's expression shifted slightly, his body swayed, and in an instant he evaded the attack, swinging his sword at the mages. Another light formed a dark barrier before the mages. Luo Shan's footwork had already activated; unable to dodge, he crashed straight into it. The mages instantly lit up with joy. Know that no matter how skilled a swordsman, human strength cannot match magic. Their combined "Black Barrier" was both offensive and defensive, containing a deadly hidden technique; since the opponent collided head‑on, he would be struck by the concealed magical force. The young swordsman was likely reduced to bone and ash.

Yet in a heartbeat, the "Black Barrier" shattered. Luo Shan raised his long sword and struck fiercely; a faint white glow emanated from the blade, as if harboring powerful magic, the oncoming blow surging like a bamboo‑splitting force!

The mages were aghast; they hadn't expected Luo Shan's swordsmanship to be astonishing, let alone his magical power. Each was a highly powerful sorcerer of the Spirit God Temple, nearly at the junior 'Ren Shi' level; only a sovereign‑grade master like Ming Guang could shatter them in a single strike. Yet Luo Shan's simple blow effortlessly pierced the barrier they forged together. Such strength at such a young age was truly incomprehensible!

Amid the screams, several mages were slashed by Luo Shan's long sword—some heads flew off, others bodies were cleaved. This magic‑infused assault was utterly unstoppable; though Luo Shan wielded a merely ordinary iron sword, it cut like a treasure blade that could split gold and jade. Blood gushed from their bodies, nearly drenching Luo Shan.

At that moment, Luo Shan felt a sudden haze, as if something inside him awakened again, roaring to break the shackles of his flesh. The blood splattering everywhere seemed to stir a craving within him—killing, killing, killing—roaring like the dark god Makas once did, nearly possessing his entire body.

"Long Sword Creates the World, Sword God Returns." Suddenly, a clear voice rang from nearby, piercing the roars that occupied his mind, clearing his thoughts instantly. "Who comes?" Luo Shan swung his long sword sharply. "Are you traveling with those guys?" From the tone alone he judged the speaker's power to be formidable, not to be underestimated. Since friend or foe was unknown, he prepared. In an instant a magical barrier enveloped him. "I'm lucky today to have run into you here. I heard you severely wounded Gote; your strength is impressive." The voice sneered; a middle‑aged man in blue appeared before Luo Shan, holding two short swords. "But to get to the point, if you can't even defeat that guy Gote, how can you be my enemy, Ordon?"

"Ordon?" Luo Shan was startled, realizing he was one of the Seven Palaces of the Spirit God, equal in fame to Ming Guang and Gote. Besides the Cold Mountain Main Hall, the Spirit God Temple has seven sub‑halls, each led by a sovereign‑level master; Ordon is one of them, said to be far stronger than Gote, Silicia, and able to stand shoulder to shoulder with Ming Guang.

"So, then," Luo Shan tightened his grip on his long sword. "You're here to take me back?"

"Take me?" Ordon laughed heartily. "Why would I take you? To send you back so Ming Guang can fulfill his wish, using an angel's pure soul to resurrect a deity? I won't do such a matchmaking trick." He glanced at Luo Shan. "An angel with a dark soul—that's interesting. Kid, your soul is 'blood‑thirsty', right?"

Before Luo Shan could answer, Ordon continued laughing to himself. "Interesting, interesting—so young yet wielding such powerful magic, and a blood‑thirsty soul. Given time, you might become a deity yourself. If so..." His eyes tilted, a strange light flashing within. "Kid, I offer you a chance: join my side, obey my orders, and together we'll achieve grand, spectacular deeds. When it's done, this entire continent will be ours." He twirled the two short swords in his palms.

"My parents were captured by the Spirit God Temple; you want me to join the Temple? Not a chance," Luo Shan lifted his long sword proudly and declared.

"Spirit God Temple?" Ordon sneered. "What is the Spirit God Temple? Kid, don't think just because I'm a master of the Spirit God Seven Palaces that I have to follow Cold Mountain Main Hall's orders in everything. To me, the Temple is insignificant; once I have enough power, those who crawl over my head—Ming Guang, Bavaria, all of them—will be cast into the Nine Abyss's hell." He looked down at his twin swords. "Kid, it was Ming Guang who seized your parents, and it was Ming Guang who proposed using an angel's soul to resurrect a deity; he is your true enemy, not the Spirit God Temple, not me."

He no longer needed to call himself "this seat". "If you cooperate with me, with your blood‑thirsty soul and my aid, refining power will be a breeze. In a few years, not even Ming Guang—let alone his seven allies—could match us. Then rescuing your parents would be no trouble at all."

His words were extremely seductive, and Luo Shan felt his resolve waver. "You just said," he said, slowly lowering his long sword. "I have a blood‑thirsty soul, that's..."

"Relation?" Ordon looked at him. "A blood‑thirsty soul draws power from slaughter; centuries ago a deity achieved the 'Human‑God' realm through killing. Truly, to see a god and kill a god—whether Makas or Mikar—none can match it. Though your power is lacking now, you're young; your future potential is limitless. Together, we will accomplish great deeds!"

"So you're saying," Luo Shan said, staring at Ordon's eyes, word by word.

"Exactly!" Ordon declared proudly. "A man who wishes to achieve greatness must tread on others' corpses—millions of bodies, rivers of blood—to gain future status and power. To rule this continent, killing a few people is nothing."

"Enhancing power by killing so you can kill more at will. Ordon, if you think I would agree to you, you're truly foolish."

"Ordon, I will never aid you. If you want my life, come up, and we'll have a good fight."

"Kid, you're truly beyond foolish," Ordon snarled, his shame turning to rage. "You don't intend to rescue your parents? Do you merely want to be like an ant, crushed by me today and lost for eternity? To possess such power yet never wield it—that's a true waste of talent!"