Chapter 180: Where’s the Inner Demon?
Chapter 180: Where’s the Inner Demon?
Li Si clearly made things too simple.
Not long after refining Peach Blossom Ancestor’s information, a new line of info finally appeared.
“Void Monster Thousand-Armed Vine Demon refined. You obtained 500 copies of Cyan Firewood.”
Li Si didn’t think much of it at the time. But a moment later, another line of information slowly surfaced.
“Void Monster Yan Ruyu refined. You obtained 500 copies of Cyan Firewood.”
This…
Li Si finally sensed something wrong. Then, information began pouring in faster, like snowflakes, lashing and smacking him non-stop, utterly ignoring how he felt.
Wuwuwu!
A full thirty minutes, thirty minutes! Li Si was bombarded into a daze, questioning his very existence. Totally numb.
He endured a whopping 1.753 billion refining notifications.
He didn’t know what had happened, but one thing was clear: this Great Luo Immortal Artifact was now his best friend, star-marked-status best friend.
One-point-seven-five-three billion!
What kind of concept was that?! That must have swept up every single Void Monster within fifty thousand miles, right? Especially around Peach Hill, near the Hall of Fate. The Hall of Fate was suppressed by Fate and couldn’t be pulled in, but this area had the most Void Monsters, all plump, vigorous, and full of energy.
“Li Si?” Zhao Qingxie (her) called him.
“Leave me be. Go cultivate. I need to write a thank-you letter,” Li Si mumbled absently, staring fixedly at his rapidly changing, constantly increasing wallet balance.
This kind of happiness wasn’t something you experienced easily.
Felt freaking amazing!
Huh? Stopped?
Felt drained. Numb, totally numb!
Li Si rubbed his eyes and started counting: units, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousands… stop trembling. Wow! The Cyan Firewood count was now 23,871,900 copies. After refining, he could get 23.87 portions of Purple Qi Luck.
Then White Firewood. He counted it seriously three times and got 8,721,691,000 – eight hundred seventy-two million. He felt like crying. Wuwuwu, what deed had he, Li Si, ever done to deserve this?! Right, better calculate fast. That was equivalent to 87.21 portions of Purple Qi Luck.
Next, Black Firewood. This one was less, only a modest one hundred million. Might as well keep it as pocket money.
Gray Firewood… basically none left. Still the old six hundred million? Ah, now it was 590 million. Daily Magic Power and Soul Power replenishment all depended on this.
After tallying everything, Li Si didn’t hesitate. He directly refined all the Cyan Firewood, White Firewood, and Purple Firewood (wait, seems he meant Purple Qi Luck?), keeping only the Golden Firewood. The final yield was 365 portions of Purple Qi Luck.
Subtracting the previous 150 portions meant Peach Blossom Ancestor alone had provided 215. Truly a lamenting, generous old friend!
Alas, Brother Peach Blossom! Why did you have to die?!
I didn’t kill him, yet he died because of me!
A stream of hot tears flowed down.
“Li Si! Dare to drool again, and I swear I’ll hang you up and whip you!” Zhao Qingxie snapped furiously. What was he doing, sitting there drooling over who knows what filthy thoughts, especially at a time like this!
Only then did Li Si snap back to reality. Instead, he burst out laughing. Then, before Zhao Qingxie could react, he transferred one hundred portions of Fortune of Heaven and Earth to her.
“Li Si…”
“Don’t speak!”
Li Si’s body quickly returned to normal. Zhao Qingxie’s face flushed slightly. She immediately put him down, giving him a light push but ultimately unable to bring herself to use force.
But Li Si had no time to enjoy this tender moment right now. His expression turned serious.
“Old Zhao (Zhao Qingxie),” he began respectfully, “Being pulled into this Great Luo Immortal Artifact is your opportunity. But if you think you can handle it in three to five years, that’s far too slow. Something about this whole thing doesn’t sit right with me. I kept thinking, Peach Blossom Ancestor really had no need to go out in a blaze of glory with us.”
“He was an Evil God on the same level as Giant Mushroom. If he really wanted to run, I absolutely couldn’t stop him, even if he suffered some losses. Yet he chose mutual destruction. Doesn’t that strike you as… suicide squad style?”
Zhao Qingxie lowered her head slightly, Li Si’s breath brushing her ear, making her earlobes flush. She took half a step back. “Li Si, not like this. The Mortal Tribulation surged, I can’t control it.”
Li Si blinked, not understanding. But as Zhao Qingxie placed a palm against his chest… whoa. His heart instantly went wild, passions surged uncontrollably. Looking at Zhao Qingxie opposite him was like facing an erupting volcano. At that moment, even if she told him to die, he would have willingly done it.
Luckily, Zhao Qingxie quickly pulled her hand away, shooting him a glance laced with such charm he nearly triggered the Mortal Tribulation himself.
“You… you… how on earth did you suppress it?”
“Not really hard. I am, after all, a True Immortal.” In just a few moments, Zhao Qingxie’s face had returned to normal. “What you just said… I had considered it earlier. This matter truly is fishy. If Peach Blossom Ancestor wasn’t even afraid of death, who could threaten him? So, I guess two possibilities.”
“First, Peach Blossom Ancestor entering the Great Luo Immortal Artifact, even if refined into immortal herbs, wouldn’t truly perish. You must know, he was originally great medicine (likely referring to his nature/power). So what is mutual destruction for us is, for him, quite a worthwhile trade.”
“But there’s a problem: if Peach Blossom Ancestor is refined into immortal herbs, even if he retains the possibility of resurrection, who would help him revive? Jiuxuanzi? Impossible. Jiuxuanzi is about to succumb to demonic influence, barely able to save himself.”
“Therefore, I believe Peach Blossom Ancestor must have had an accomplice. That leads to the second scenario I mentioned: an unknown person ordered Peach Blossom Ancestor to pursue mutual destruction and could guarantee his awakening in the future.”
“And this is what worries you, right? You fear that Peach Blossom Ancestor’s accomplice only needs a very short time to master this Great Luo Immortal Artifact and awaken Peach Blossom? Meanwhile, I’m still here trying to break through? By then, at his mercy, truly unable to live or die. Am I right?”
“Right. So I gave you one hundred portions of Fortune of Heaven and Earth. Don’t be frugal. Focus on rebuilding your Dao Foundation Immortal Body. Let’s just get out of here first,” Li Si nodded.
But for some reason, hearing this, Zhao Qingxie showed a strange expression. She stared fixedly at Li Si for a long time. “Do you know… if I can rebuild my Dao Foundation Immortal Body, this Mortal Tribulation I’m undergoing right now will be overcome. I’ll obtain a complete Mortal Dao Heart. Plus, with the Seventh Dao Heart I mastered before, all seven Dao Hearts complete… add in mastering this Great Luo Immortal Artifact… I no longer need to wait upon anything.”
“This world cannot bind me any longer,” her voice dropped slightly but stayed firm. “You cannot bind me. Even the Deity and Demon formation cannot bind me. I can Ascend directly to the Land of Infinite Vastness.”
Li Si froze. This, he genuinely hadn’t considered.
Zhao Qingxie continued, fixing her gaze on him. “Falling in love? For ordinary mortals, it can be deep and memorable. But for Cultivators… unless it triggers the Mortal Tribulation, it holds no attraction whatsoever. Especially for True Immortals like me. It’s utterly inconsequential.”
“If not for you triggering my Mortal Tribulation, no matter what you did to me, I’d have only ever regarded you as an ant.”
“Now, under the Mortal Tribulation’s influence, I’m willing to do anything for you. Even die for you. But once the Mortal Tribulation passes, Li Si… I won’t kill you. But I will leave you without a shred of hesitation.”
“Your existence, your efforts, everything you’ve done for me… will be utterly insignificant. Even if we… shared intimacy. Even if we had descendants… nothing could affect this outcome. Do… you understand?”
“The me now is inside the Mortal Tribulation. I fear nothing. What I fear is… you developing mortal love for me. This isn’t the Mortal Tribulation, yet it’s far more terrifying.”
Li Si remained silent. He didn’t want to admit it, but what Zhao Qingxie said was true.
“So now,” Zhao Qingxie stared into Li Si’s eyes, seeming to pierce through him, “do you still insist on giving me this hundred portions of Fortune of Heaven and Earth?”
That gaze reminded Li Si of a saying: Devoted followers meet miserable ends.
It was a life-or-death question!
“How can you be this rational?” Li Si could only change the subject for now. This version of Zhao Qingxie was impossible to handle. What was with her today? Hadn’t she just dealt with her Inner Demon?
Zhao Qingxie smiled faintly, her eyes bright and clear, showing absolutely no sign of the Inner Demon affecting her.
“You sorely underestimate True Immortals. And you grossly underestimate the Cultivator system. You think Spirit Cultivators are formidable?”
“But you don’t know: Spirit Cultivators cultivate the soul, not the heart; the will, not the body. Focusing solely on strengthening the soul often leads to extremes.”
“True Cultivators focus on the flesh body, with the soul as support. But probing the heart is paramount.”
“Facing the same Mortal Tribulation? Your soul is powerful, extremely clear, direct, and sensitive. But once that strong defense of yours is breached… you’d be crippled entirely.”
“But True Cultivators use their Dao Hearts to set layer upon layer of defense, weakening its impact point by point.”
“So, even within the Mortal Tribulation, I retain the most basic levels of calm and judgment.”
“Right, don’t dodge the question. Answer me. Do you still insist on giving me this hundred portions of Fortune of Heaven and Earth?” Zhao Qingxie pressed relentlessly.
Helpless, Li Si replied, “Fifty of them belonged to you in the first place.”
Zhao Qingxie shook her head. “Avoidance is pointless, Li Si. You know what I’m asking.”
“Are you going to confine me within the Mortal Tribulation forever, unable to transcend? Or are you going to do this pointless good deed, letting me transcend and Ascend to the Land of Infinite Vastness?”
“Don’t mind my view of things. Without the Mortal Tribulation, you are merely a rock to me. A dead man.”
“So, speak your heart’s true desire. No need for pretense.”
“The me now – my entire being, my Immortal Spirit – belongs entirely to you. You truly can do whatever you want.”
Li Si opened his mouth. But facing Zhao Qingxie’s gaze, he could only end up with a bitter smile. “Fine. Even if there’s no love like mortals have… there’s at least comradeship, right? Or friendship? At the very least, we’ve faced life and death together.”
“I see you as a comrade-in-arms. A sworn sister, okay? This hundred portions of Fortune of Heaven and Earth? Take it! Your bro ain’t poor!”
“Truly?”
“Truly,” Li Si wailed internally. Was I just dumped? Yeah… must be dumped! Damn it!
But suddenly Zhao Qingxie stepped forward. She gripped both his ears and squeezed hard. Pulled up his eyelids to look. Forced open his mouth, checking his teeth. Even pulled his tongue out for scrutiny.
Finally, she looked at him strangely. “Where is your Inner Demon?”
“Huh?” Li Si was utterly confused.
“I asked: where is your Inner Demon?”
“What?” Li Si blinked, too overwhelmed by his dumped misery to process.
Thwap!
“Ow! What!?”
“I’m asking you – where is your Inner Demon? Didn’t even come out after I provoked you so thoroughly?” Zhao Qingxie scrutinized Li Si like he was a freak.
“Wait… Old Zhao…”
“Dare call me that again!” Zhao Qingxie bristled instantly.
Li Si instantly fell deathly silent like a winter cicada. He let Zhao Qingxie conduct a full-body check.
Oh… just a DUI check? Scared me half to death!