Chapter 157: This is Love
Chapter 157: This is Love
In just an instant, Xia Xiaowan returned to normal. It looked like nothing had happened, but her mind was anything but calm.
After saying those two words, Li Si fell silent. His persona now was Eternal Life Real Person Xu Changsheng, not Junior Li Si, so he needed to stay profound.
However, Xia Xiaowan, after a moment of silence, brought up another matter. “After Muan was corrupted, he almost devoured the Devil Mushroom. Had he succeeded, he would have transformed into a true Evil God. None of us could have done a thing about it. Yet, at the last possible second, the Devil Mushroom fled and vanished. Because of that, Muan managed to retain a sliver of reason. So, for the last several months, we have been pushing deep into the Illusory Realm, slaying various Illusory Void creatures. If all goes well, we might even help Muan break free. In that case, the greatest crisis would be averted.”
“But not long ago, Muan suddenly lost contact with us. We don’t know what he devoured, but he is now evolving towards the complete form of an Evil God. A great calamity is unavoidable.”
“We all hurriedly retreated from the depths of the Illusory Realm, and then I received the message from the Real Person.” [Xu Changsheng]
“Real Person, are you aware we’ve long suspected Deity and Demons were involved, but we never had solid proof? You are the first to provide it.”
“So, could you explain this to me in detail?”
Li Si looked at Xia Xiaowan. A hundred thoughts raced through his mind, but he finally spoke calmly. “Half the population of my North Crossing City vanished into thin air. I happened to be nearby, and the Land Deed Seal was warning me. I immediately used the Land Deed Seal to suppress it, but I only managed to kill one fly. Based on fragments mentioned in some ancient sect texts, I guessed it might have something to do with Deity and Demons. But what exactly are Deity and Demons?”
Xia Xiaowan stood there, seeming to consider Li Si’s words. Only after a long while did she speak. “Those who ascend to the Land of Infinite Vastness, yet find ways to secretly return… they are Deity and Demons. They are basically failures, unable to survive in the Land of Infinite Vastness, so they seek a chance for a comeback. For instance, the Fortune of Heaven and Earth we guard is something they desperately crave.”
“But Real Person, regarding that fly… do you still have its remains?”
“No. The Land Deed Seal came down in suppression. How could any remains possibly be left?” Li Si shook his head decisively. This was also the truth. He had told her almost everything he could, except for the Fate Forge.
“What a shame. If we could analyze that Deity and Demon’s origins from it, we could have made some targeted preparations.” Xia Xiaowan paused. “Real Person, I wish to investigate this site. Would that be acceptable?”
Xia Xiaowan actually requested this from Xu Changsheng. Was she showing respect to him as the Calamity-Bearing Human King, or was she always this disciplined? Li Si couldn’t tell. [Xu Changsheng]
Li Si, naturally, couldn’t refuse. He watched as Xia Xiaowan dissolved into hundreds of black wisps of gas, sinking into North Crossing City. He had no idea how the investigation was done.
After roughly a few minutes, all the black gas returned, coalescing back into Xia Xiaowan. But for some reason, her form looked at least half as substantial as before.
“It definitely points to a Deity and Demon. But the opponent is powerful. I attempted forced analysis and suffered a backlash. Apologies for troubling you, Real Person. I must return now.”
With that, Xia Xiaowan gave a slight curtsey to Li Si, who appeared as Xu Changsheng, and completely faded away.
A long time later, the Xu Changsheng incarnation walked back into the Yunhua Law Seal. Back at the Yunhua Sect base, Li Si’s real body frowned.
“Herb Gatherer conducted an analysis on you. You generously bestowed a portion of your calamity upon her. Your Calamity-Bearing Human King calamity resolution progress +15%. Total resolution progress now at 18%.”
—
“This… this is true love!”
Li Si’s eyes welled up with hot tears after a long moment, deeply moved.
Still… why did Xia Xiaowan choose to analyze me?
“Don’t ask. Ask at all? Then it must be love.”
Meanwhile, inside the Hall of Fate, billowing, terrifying black smoke suddenly surged out from the form of Herb Gatherer Xia Xiaowan. Before she could even summon her Soul Lamp, the smoke coiled around her limbs and neck and then vanished in an instant.
“So strong. Is this the Great Calamity nurtured by the Fortune of Heaven and Earth? It nearly wiped out twenty percent of my cultivation. Sigh… seems I’ve become a calamity-bearer too,” Xia Xiaowan murmured a long sigh.
Silently, she drifted out of the Hall of Fate and merged into the Palace Ruins Secret Realm. One step, two steps, three steps… a hundred steps… three hundred steps… nine hundred steps.
Ahead suddenly brightened. It still looked like ruins, but vibrant colors filled the scene: multicolored stones, an ancient tree bursting with life, young green sprouts. In the center sat a man with vertical eyes on his forehead.
At first glance, he seemed normal. But look closer – his entire lower body had sprouted roots, burrowing deep underground, vanishing out of sight.
Xia Xiaowan arrived here. Her red bridal veil lifted automatically, revealing a beautiful, vivid face. Only her eyes remained blank and vacant, as if under control.
“I instructed you to probe that Li Si. What were the results?”
“Reporting, Master… It might be due to the Fortune of Heaven and Earth protecting him, coupled with the Great Calamity he carries, I failed to analyze him. Instead, I suffered backlash.” Xia Xiaowan answered dully, like a puppet.
“Strange. Just what is Li Si’s background? Even my analysis gets twisted and misled. This definitely isn’t just the Fortune of Heaven and Earth.”
“You return now. Continue organizing those World Guardian True Immortals to resist. Muan has now devoured the Six Desires Radish and will soon transform into the Evil God. You must control the pace: keep the situation perilous, but don’t let Muan shatter the defenses all at once. Only then can we constantly stimulate this world, forcing it to continuously generate Fortune of Heaven and Earth, until it finally births the Will of Heaven and Earth.”
“As for that Li Si… he claims he suppressed and killed a fly with his Land Deed Seal?”
“Yes, Master. Li Si said it might have been a Deity and Demon. I almost feared my own cover was blown.”
“A fly? A Deity and Demon? Could someone else also be eyeing this Mortal Realm?”
“Do not act rashly yet. Continue as normal.”
“Yes, Master.”
Xia Xiaowan retreated. Instantly, the man with vertical eyes let out a cry of agony. A grotesque head sprouted violently from his neck, cackling madly.
“Jiuxuanzi! Good brother! Listen to me! Just grab that Li Si! Hack him to pieces! Cut him a thousand times! Won’t we know then what secrets he’s hiding?! If you keep dragging this out, you might just lose everything!”
“Hmph! What do you, a devil, know of this? This Mortal Realm ultimately birthed and nurtured me. I never intended to destroy it. I only wish to borrow some of its Fortune of Heaven and Earth, to use the birthed World Will as the spirit of my Divine Artifact. When I kill my way back into the Land of Infinite Vastness, I will repay it a hundredfold, a thousandfold, ten thousandfold!”
“I warn you – don’t play any more tricks. Do you truly think I cannot cut down my Inner Demon?”
“Hahaha! Oh, I’m so scared, good brother! Jiuxuanzi, Founding Patriarch of the Jiuxuan Spirit Sword Sect, so mighty and powerful! Ha! There’s another descendant-disciple of yours out there with your very Dao Name. If she saw you now—what you’ve become and what you’ve done—do you believe she wouldn’t just cleave you in two with her sword?!”
Before the voice even finished, countless blasts of purple-gold sword light rained down. The Inner Demon screamed, and the man with vertical eyes howled in unison.
“Ha! Don’t try! It’s useless! You know deep down you need me! You do your thing! I do mine! We don’t interfere!”
The Inner Demon rasped out with difficulty. The next second, thousands upon thousands of insect eggs rolled out from the roots forming Jiuxuanzi’s lower body. They instantly grew into huge flies. But the very next instant, sword light flashed everywhere. Most flies were annihilated. Only one escaped.
Was this chance? Coincidence? Or… deliberately permitted?
—
Back at the Yunhua Sect base, Li Si had already put aside the matter of Xia Xiaowan analyzing him. This matter? It was best not to think about it at all! Think about it? It could only be love! [true love]
“That Big Fly will surely return. This time, maybe even two will come. But because it needs a coordinate to sneak in, it needs time. At least for the next six months, I don’t need to worry.”
“So, I must use this time to make all the preparations.”
Li Si quietly pondered. He originally thought about informing Lingjingzi – in fact, Lingjingzi was back now and had sent him a message asking for details. His Fairy Leader had also inquired.
But this time, Li Si chose silence. He pretended to be offline. Mm. Everything could wait until he got back. [I’ll explain everything when I get back]
He’d grown wiser now. After all, he was the Calamity-Bearing Human King. Leaving the protective range of the Yunhua Law Seal to journey alone thirty thousand li away… under normal circumstances, that was practically asking for trouble. [the definition of ‘if you don’t seek death, you won’t die’]
Therefore, his location had to stay secret.
Then, Li Si set off.
One teleport brought him outside Bu Tian City [City-Repairing City]. Another fifty li forward, and he’d be outside the Yunhua Law Seal’s coverage area.
He already knew the location of Lingjing Sect. He’d even managed a glimpse during his earlier Soul Leaving the Body Spirit Journey. Now, what he needed was to go there in person – because he had to actually carry Lingjingzi’s Dao Foundation Immortal Body back.
Mm. Carry it.
After all, even without the Blood Coffin Curse, Lingjingzi, as a True Immortal guarding the Fortune of Heaven and Earth, had a Dao Foundation Immortal Body weighing around a hundred thousand jin [~50 tonnes+]. His two Golden Core junior disciples wouldn’t stand a chance of hauling it across thirty thousand li.
Li Si didn’t use a flying artifact. At this stage, flying through the dense Blood Clouds would just be idiotic.
He ran on the ground. He aimed for a thousand li per day. That way, he would get there within ten days.
To be even more low-key, he released his Wish-Fulfilling Pearl to scout the path five li ahead. If he encountered anything, he would avoid it. He also maintained the Track-Finding and Trace-Erasing Curse continuously. In short, he avoided any unnecessary complications and tried to leave no trace.
Thus, in just six days, Li Si had crossed eighteen thousand li. Over half his journey complete. Then, he encountered a massive city. People lived there, perhaps as many as a hundred thousand.
This wasn’t really due to Li Si’s carelessness. During his Spirit Journey, his main purpose was to locate Lingjing Sect, and he hadn’t come this way. So he’d missed this city, nestled between towering mountains.
This city was still within the territory of the Sacred Raven Kingdom. Strangely, the kingdom’s flag still flew here. It also retained a portion of the kingdom’s Fortune, and the current king was the old king’s son.
Li Si was curious. He was curious why the Sacred Raven Kingdom could still maintain at least fifty units of Azure Fortune. He was also curious about the local terrain.
Two tall mountain peaks, west and east, guarded the city. Passing by from afar, one could easily miss it. Li Si only noticed it after deviating from his route due to a prompt from his Fate Forge. Otherwise, he’d have brushed past it unnoticed. Even picking up the Lingjing Sect members later, he’d likely brush past it again.
In short, this place… was odd.