154: Chapter 153 Breaking Free from Fate!! Dragon-Serpent Crystal!!

Chapter 153: Breaking Free from Fate! Dragon and Snake Crystals!

Liu Bang raised the broken sword, but instead of swinging it down as others had expected, he placed it against his own neck.

"Son of the Red Emperor, what are you doing?! Do not ruin yourself!"

"Son of the Red Emperor, are you not afraid of sinking into the River of Fate forever until you are completely obliterated?"

"Liu Bang!! Stop!! If you dare disrupt the outcome of this Red-White Struggle, when Lord Red Emperor holds you accountable, he will make sure you long for death but cannot find it!!"

Liu Jianren, possessed by Liu Bang, burst into hearty laughter. "You puppets who have obtained True Spirits and stolen divine thrones are all nothing but gutless cowards! When I, Liu Bang, was still a mortal, I had already looked past life and death. How could I be cowed by some obliteration of my True Name? What I regret most is that back then, in my ignorance, I became his bullshit Son of the Red Emperor!"

"I was born between heaven and earth, and my father's name is Liu Duan. I don't have a second father, nor do I have any interest in being made a fool of by him anymore."

"Audacious!! Liu Bang, it is not too late for you to regret this now. We can still plead for mercy on your behalf with the Red Emperor. Otherwise, it will be too late for regrets!"

As they spoke, the raging flames and golden storm in the void above erupted with unprecedented intensity. One red and one white, they resembled two gigantic hands that reached to the heavens, reaching down to crush Liu Bang.

But before these two giant hands could even draw near, they were pierced horizontally by a shining beam of five-colored light, causing both the giant hand of fire and the giant hand of storm to disperse.

Two voices cried out in disbelief, "The Five-Color Divine Light?!"

Zhuang Zhou's old, lazy voice echoed from above, "This old man can even perform the signature techniques of your two masters. What is so special about a mere Five-Color Divine Light?"

Sun Po marveled once again at how much of a bug Zhuang Zhou truly was. Kong Xuan's Five-Color Divine Light was renowned as "no treasure it cannot bring down, no object it cannot sweep away," a unique technique of his, yet Zhuang Zhou could use it so casually.

This exclusive talent of being able to use whatever existed in his dreams was truly the most terrifying Sun Po had ever seen. Furthermore, judging by the reactions of the messengers of the Red Emperor and White Emperor, Zhuang Zhou was likely an existence that no one dared to provoke, even in the Outlands.

Zhuang Zhou continued, "Go back and tell those two old fogeys that I'm tired of seeing everything play out according to the script every time. It wasn't easy to finally get a different character, and this old man just wants to see this new Son of the Red Emperor."

Liu Bang bowed deeply toward the void above from afar, then turned around to say to Sun Po:

"That brat Liu Jianren is indeed of my bloodline; his knack for making friends isn't bad at all. When he revives, tell him to remember to burn some good incense for me. Without me, the Liu family would still be treated like monkeys in a show."

"Also, tell Xiang Yu that I, Liu Bang, am not the Red Emperor's dog!!"

With that, the shattered red sword exploded, bursting into raging red flames. Liu Jianren, whose body was already battered and broken, was now completely transformed into a giant human torch.

From within the flames, a streak of red light shot out, flying straight toward Sun Po.

Sun Po raised his hand and caught it firmly. The palm of his Black Rhino Armor glowed slightly red from the heat. When Sun Po opened his palm, he saw a transparent crystal shimmering with red divine light.

Inside the crystal, a mysterious red pattern glowing with red brilliance could be faintly seen.

The pattern seemed to be a simple dragon shape, overall resembling a curved "S". It was not exquisite, possessing the simplicity and archaic quality of a proto-script from ancient times. However, looking closely, its shape seemed to be constantly changing. Sun Po seemed to faintly see crimson flames, a scarlet dragon soaring amidst the lightning of the nine heavens, and a colossal red shadow behind the canopy of heaven whose full form could not be glimpsed.

He felt as if he were in a dark night of pouring rain and flashing lightning. Amidst the deafening sound of the thunderstorm, Wuzhiqi's voice seemed to drift from afar, yet he could not make out what Wuzhiqi was saying no matter how hard he tried.

Sun Po seemed to have lost all his power, becoming a mere mortal facing the lightning, torrential rain, a giant red serpent rearing its head and roaring towards the sky, a scarlet dragon soaring in the heavens, and that colossal red shadow behind the sky whose full form remained unseen.

Sun Po still did not know what was happening, but he saw the scarlet dragon swoop down toward him. The colossal red shadow behind the sky moved slowly, appearing to crouch down, allowing Sun Po to finally make out the outline of its head.

The head of the colossal shadow bore a pair of ferocious, giant horns, and its outline looked like a massive bull's head. Its head turned slowly, seemingly noticing Sun Po as well.

However, what Sun Po did not see was that several different phantoms were also standing behind him, their auras even more magnificent.

There was a giant water ape with powerful muscles, a tall and slender white gibbon with six ears, a golden tiger, brilliant silver-white stars, and a ferocious red-skinned giant ghost.

Further back were black and blood-colored colossal shadows. The full forms of these two colossal shadows could not be glimpsed either, but the blood-colored phantom appeared far larger than the colossal red shadow opposite it.

The sky behind Sun Po was not pitch-black with lightning and thunder, but was instead a brilliant expanse of five colors.

Suddenly, the wind died down, the rain stopped, and the lightning ceased. The black sky and the colossal red shadow were rapidly eroded away by the five-colored sky, and the scarlet dragon dispersed mid-flight.

In Sun Po's ears, Wuzhiqi's voice suddenly grew loud: "Master!! Master!! Are you alright? Master?!"

By the time he snapped back to his senses, the flashing lightning, the giant dragon-python shadow, and the five-colored sky had all vanished. Only Wuzhiqi was there.

He stood by his side, asking with concern, "Master, are you alright?"

Sun Po looked at the strange, cooled crimson crystal in his hand and said, "I'm fine."

Wuzhiqi paced around Sun Po somewhat suspiciously before saying, "It is good that you are fine. Master, this crystal is truly a terrifying object."

Sun Po was completely baffled. He did not know what this thing was either, but it was a crystal that flew out when Liu Bang used Liu Jianren's body to commit suicide. Moreover, he had just seen the phantom of the scarlet dragon, so it undoubtedly had everything to do with the exclusive talent, Mandate Dragon and Snake.

Suddenly, a bad premonition arose in his heart.

Previously, he had heard Liu Bang, while possessing Liu Jianren, say before his suicide that the so-called Red-White Struggle was merely a game of the gods, the Red Emperor and the White Emperor.

It was all played out according to a pre-existing script. This identity of the Son of the Red Emperor was nothing good either, as it was constrained by the so-called Red Emperor.

Since Liu Jianren's exclusive talent was Mandate Dragon and Snake, what was the red dragon phantom inside this crystal?

Holding this thing, wouldn't he get entangled with that damn Red Emperor? He wouldn't end up as a scapegoat, becoming some new Son of the Red Emperor, would he?

The situation Sun Po worried about was not impossible. He had always viewed these things from the Outlands through a haze, not knowing how powerful the so-called Red Emperor and White Emperor truly were, nor whether they were indeed the Five Emperors of Antiquity from his memories.

When it came to things like fate, it was even more profound and mysterious. However, having experienced so many high-end scenarios and with Wuzhiqi by his side, he had at least gained a vague concept of this so-called power of fate.

He knew that the implications of this object were likely far hotter than its physical temperature just now. But since it had already found its way to him, it probably wasn't something he could resolve by simply throwing it away.

Sun Po asked Wuzhiqi, "Do you know what this is?"

Wuzhiqi replied, "I do not know. However, the moment you caught this object, Master, I sensed a terrifying existence. Its terror within the River of Fate surpasses any existence I have ever heard of before, and that terrifying existence actually attempted to lock onto you, Master."

Sun Po thought to himself that this was bad. What he feared most had indeed come to pass; it really did involve matters within the River of Fate.

He then told Wuzhiqi everything about the illusion he had seen. Wuzhiqi's thoughts were similar to Sun Po's, basically confirming that the terrifying existence should be the legendary Red Emperor, and Sun Po had likely already become entangled with it.

During this brief moment, the crimson flames burning on Liu Jianren had completely burned out.

Liu Jianren had now completely vanished. In the void, a red crystal identical to the one in Sun Po's hand floated quietly. This red crystal also slowly drifted toward Sun Po and flew into his hand as well.

Within this crystal, Sun Po saw a pattern identical to the previous one—no, wait, it seemed to be the pattern of a giant serpent. It also looked like a curved red "S" shape, but the difference was that its pattern appeared much simpler. Compared to the dragon shape, it seemed to lack features like dragon claws and horns.

As soon as Sun Po grasped this crystal, his vision blurred again, and he found himself entering a courtyard.

The courtyard was like an ordinary rural courtyard of ancient times, with yellow mud walls and a thatched roof. In the very center of the courtyard was a stone millstone, around which a few people were performing a war dance. Two men dressed in scholar's robes each held a scroll, leaning against a haystack in the sun and chatting.

At the doorway of the thatched cottage, two domestic dogs were playing and biting at each other.

A man sat on the threshold. Looking like an ordinary old farmer, he was playing with a small red snake in his hand while watching the two dogs fight with great interest.

Then, the man raised his head and waved at Sun Po, speaking with the familiarity of a neighbor, "Come on, kid. Weren't you just thinking about how to destroy me? Why, now that I've slit my throat, you don't recognize me?"

Hearing this, Sun Po was greatly astonished. "So you are Liu Bang? Where is this? What are these two crystals?"

Sun Po had many questions in his mind at this moment, and he couldn't help but ask them all at once.

The farmer-like man replied, "I am merely a true name fragment of Liu Bang left behind in the River of Fate. I don't know where the real Liu Bang has gone either. This courtyard was my home back in Pei County, a materialization of my inner heartscape."

"These two crystals are the Mandate Dragon and Snake."

Sun Po's heart shook violently upon hearing this. He knew about true name fragments, but he had never known that a true name fragment could possess such great capability. And what was Heartscape Materialization?

Liu Bang seemed to see through Sun Po's confusion. "Under the long erosion of the River of Fate, some true name fragments will eventually be obliterated, while others will be attracted by the Card-Making Sequence and ultimately turn into cards. The strongest among them are those who withstand the long erosion of the River of Fate and cultivate a complete True Name. You humans probably call such existences monsters, right? Me, as well as the Wenqu Star Lord trapped in his past life, and Fahai—we are all considered monsters."

Sun Po felt it was somewhat crazy and wanted to ask more, but Liu Bang interrupted him. Looking at the small red snake in his hand, he said, "My time is running out. Let these true name fragments of my old brothers be the final legacy I leave to my descendants."

"Within that dragon-patterned crystal is the blood of the first scarlet dragon in heaven and earth. According to the original script of the Red-White Struggle, Liu Jianren would eventually become the Son of the Red Emperor, stimulating that drop of Scarlet Dragon Blood. He would master even greater power, and I would also become his new card. Once things turned out like that, he would forever be the Son of the Red Emperor, forever a lackey under the Red Emperor's command."

"And that serpent-patterned crystal is Liu Jianren. Seven days from now, Liu Jianren will be resurrected from that crystal."

"Resurrected?"

This was the first time Sun Po had ever heard anyone explicitly mention the concept of resurrection in this world.

Liu Bang continued to explain, "It isn't exactly resurrection, just the reconstruction of his body."

Saying this, he pointed at the small red snake in his hand. "This is Liu Jianren, or rather, the current Liu Jianren has only reconstructed to this extent. My Liu family was a family of dragon tamers in ancient times, possessing the Dragon Transformation Secret Method. Naturally, we don't need to slay some white snake to successfully complete the Dragon-Snake Transformation. Moreover, this crystal has already fused all my accumulation, which is enough to help him successfully transform into a dragon. It's just that this kid is too weak right now, so he can only turn into a small snake for now."

Sun Po was shocked. The Dragon Transformation Secret Method left behind by the ancient Dragon Master Liu Lei, and the Early Han Heavenly Group left behind by Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang—this was the true weight of the Golden Knife Liu family. From this, it was clear that the so-called identity of the Son of the Red Emperor was likely not a gift to help one defy fate and change their life, but probably just a minor embellishment, or perhaps even bait dropped by the gods.

If the Son of the Red Emperor in the Red-White Struggle was so powerful, why was the other protagonist of this grand drama—the Son of the White Emperor—so weak?

Even when the two met, one of them was already a half-dead remnant soul, and a monster at that. Did such a white snake even deserve to be called the Son of the White Emperor?

It was truly riddled with doubts, but it could also be that Sun Po simply had too little information, making him unable to see through the secrets within.

Liu Bang continued, "The original great fortune ability of the Mandate Dragon and Snake has already been sealed within that dragon-patterned crystal. That mandate is both a blessing and a curse, but Zhuangzi said that the mandate holds only benefits and no harm for you, so he told me to just give it to you. Consider it a reward for helping Jianren."

Sun Po grew even more puzzled. When Zhuang Zhou first appeared, he had even asked which family Sun Po belonged to. Yet, in Liu Bang's words, Zhuang Zhou had clearly planned everything long ago. He had even calculated precisely that Liu Jianren would fall into Jinshan Temple, that Liu Bang would possess him, and that he would ultimately blow himself up to produce the two crystals—the dragon-patterned and serpent-patterned ones. This was clearly a scheme that had targeted him from the very beginning.

Zhuang Zhou's disguise instantly triggered Sun Po's vigilance. This person was simply too mysterious and had to be guarded against carefully.

And just as Sun Po was deep in thought, a noble and coldly arrogant, majestic figure had quietly appeared behind him.