I Forged the Myth of the Ancient Overlords
Chapter 641 - 641 640. One-sided statement_1

Chapter 641: 640. One-sided statement_1 Chapter 641: 640. One-sided statement_1 In Storm Villa, there were at least three forces in existence.

Taoist Crane Cry was one of them, having seized Bronning’s body to hide here.

Another was the actual ruler of Abandoned Capital, the Ancient Overlord who truly tread upon the earth, a living deity.

The last one was an entity that Taoist Crane Cry had to suppress using the paintings of Ancient Capital and the power of another Ancient Overlord.

“What do you want?”

Shia asked.

Making a deal with an entity that had lost its human identity sounded insane, but as a Chosen by Gods, sometimes crazy decisions turned out to be right.

“There’s a remnant of my former self hidden in this Storm Villa.”

Bronning said casually.

“I’ve told you before that I once clashed with a deity in Abandoned Capital. Back then, I was also trying to transform my body to come close to a deity’s might with powerful flesh. Unfortunately, I failed, and therefore, I left behind some inheritance.”

“Are you referring to the Ascension Tribulation?”

Shia, having spent a long time in Foreign Domain, was naturally familiar with the life of Taoist Crane Cry. She had heard the story of him sitting under a tree getting struck by lightning and subsequently ascending dozens of times.

“Exactly.”

Bronning nodded, seemingly unsurprised that Shia knew of it.

“So, was that lightning strike truly from an Ancient Overlord of this place?”

Lu Ban blurted out.

This divine punishment, was indeed a divine punishment.

It seemed like Taoist Crane Cry got caught by the big boss of Abandoned Capital just when he was preparing to further Sublimate himself. A direct lightning strike turned his physical body to ashes and dust, which was why he ended up in this state now.

Lu Ban had always thought that Taoist Crane Cry had abandoned his physical body to reduce his Pollution, but now it seemed he had his own serious reasons.

“Cough cough, actually, I had anticipated this.”

Taoist Crane Cry maintained his elegance as he spoke.

“At that time, I had already sensed that the more one refines the body, the more one tries to resist everything materially, the more one feels the limits of flesh and blood.”

“What are you trying to say?”

Shia couldn’t help but ask.

“He’s saying he’s no longer human.”

Lu Ban helped to answer.

“…I was already prepared to abandon my physical body, it’s just that he expedited the process.”

Taoist Crane Cry was silent for a moment before he steered the conversation away from the turn Lu Ban was taking it.

“It was also because of that lightning strike that in the course of my severe Pollution, I groped toward some forbidden knowledge, which enabled me to transform myself into a concept that persists in this world. That being must have sensed this as well, which is why he’s been suppressing my sect and disciples all over Abandoned Capital, trying to erase my name from this world.”

“As for that corpse struck by lightning and suffering the greatest Pollution, it became my biggest concern.”

Upon hearing Taoist Crane Cry’s words, Lu Ban finally understood the aims of these three forces.

Taoist Crane Cry wanted to solve the issue with his former body, a corpse that bore massive Pollution and was deeply related to himself. It might be influenced under the effect of some Ancient Overlords, such as if that corpse revived through some will, it would contend with him for the title of “Taoist Crane Cry,” leading to the weakening of his own concept. Therefore, resolving the corpse’s problem comprehensively was Taoist Crane Cry’s ultimate goal.

Before that, Taoist Crane Cry had suppressed the remnants of the old rulers as Bronning by leveraging the powers of other Ancient Overlords, but with Bronning’s waning strength and some unexpected circumstances, he had to seek a way to break the deadlock.

And in the Abandoned Capital, that powerful figure, an Ancient Overlord who roamed the earth, aimed to utterly obliterate Taoist Crane Cry, cutting off his path to becoming an existence like the Ancient Overlords themselves, and thus eliminating a future threat.

Ultimately, the one being suppressed, the one wanting to stir up trouble, was actually Taoist Crane Cry’s own remains.

“You want us to reduce your remains to ashes and dust, to get rid of them for you?”

Lu Ban asked.

“…My remains have been influenced by that Ancient Overlord and only lack an opportunity to attempt to replace me. What I’m proposing in our deal is to ensure your safety by offering you some special knowledge in exchange for eradicating my remains.”

Taoist Crane Cry said.

“It amounts to the same thing.”

Lu Ban offered a blunt summary.

“But why should we help you?”

Shia had no fondness for Taoist Crane Cry, and the benefits of helping him were unpredictable; they might even offend the Ancient Overlord of the Abandoned Capital, a genuine big shot whose mere glance could drive a person mad.

“The Conjuring is a ritual. When the Soul Summoning Night comes, ‘Taoist Crane Cry’ will be revived, and by then, all of you witnesses will be devoured by my remains, becoming part of its strength,”

Taoist Crane Cry replied, then paused before continuing.

“Furthermore, I’m not sure how much you know about those monsters, but those sludge creatures come from the Clan of an Ancient Overlord. Their master is under a Seal, while their Clan has been used by that being from the Abandoned Capital as experiments, aiming to develop a more powerful race or, shall we say, attempting to approach some supreme existence in a different way.”

“When I tried to summon these creatures, I also thought that was the answer. However, only after I turned myself into one of them did I realize it’s a trap.”

Upon hearing Taoist Crane Cry’s explanation, Shia immediately reacted.

“You transformed yourself into one of those Sludge Monsters?”

“It seems you know quite a bit.”

Taoist Crane Cry nodded.

“Yes, that thing devours human consciousness and eventually mimics them. I saw through this and controlled it instead. I was successful, but even this was anticipated by the other party. In the end, my efforts were in vain, and my remains are now a Sludge Monster with a personality similar to my own.”

“And…”

Taoist Crane Cry glanced at the black and white photo of Bronning’s portrait.

“I’ve been living here, unable to locate it, only feeling it slowly reviving. After I failed to suppress it using the power of another Ancient Overlord, I thought of this—faking my death to lure the other party out. I even found it disguised as that pitiful opportunist merchant, whom I easily killed, but I’m certain it still exists.”

“You killed Gaude?”

Shia countered.

“Yes, it was easy to kill him. I only needed to control his body and choose death. It tried to hide itself, but in the face of life or death, it ultimately revealed itself.”

Taoist Crane Cry explained.

Lu Ban suddenly understood why Storm Villa amplified human emotions and caused many people to have hallucinations, and even prepared to end their own lives. It was probably Taoist Crane Cry causing trouble, trying to find the disguised remnants.

However, Lu Ban also quickly noticed something.

“Wait a minute, big guy, you said you controlled his body to kill himself, so what did you do with his internal organs?”

At Lu Ban’s question, the expression on Taoist Crane Cry’s face momentarily stiffened.