Chapter 53: Remembering My Best Friend — Thousand-Eyed Lord
Chapter 53: Remembering My Best Friend — Thousand-Eyed Lord
“It’s a pity my Foundation Building was not done the proper way and took too little time. Otherwise, I could have gotten a Divine Ability from Old Madam.”
Li Si sat cross-legged in the small boat, watching the sky grow dark and the dense Dark Mist in the distance. He could not help but feel regret.
Jiang Ying had said back then that if he could successfully build his foundation, according to the rules of the Floating Cloud Sect, he would be qualified to obtain a Divine Ability, with three choices available: Heaven and Earth Escape Technique, Six Directions Sword Control Art, and Divine Heaven Thunder Control Technique.
They all sounded very powerful, and he wanted them all. If not for today’s incident, Li Si had planned to formally ask Old Madam for one in a couple of days.
What a shame.
“It seems I can only pick two from the other Dao Techniques and upgrade them into Divine Abilities. But doing so will cost too much. I must be very careful.”
Thinking this, Li Si took an item out of his Storage Pouch. It looked like a mask, but it had no facial features, only an outline. If one stared closely, they would see faint, indistinct faces staring back and smiling.
It was very sinister.
This was the spoil Li Si had obtained from killing the Thousand-Eyed Evil Spirit’s clone earlier.
By wearing this mask, one could learn the location of any treasure within a hundred-mile radius. It could also be used to find other items, including people, provided a general description was given.
All in all, it was a very strange and interesting tool.
Of course, the cost of using it was high. After the mask gave one piece of guidance, the Alienation Contamination Degree would increase by 10%. If others used it, even if they gained temporary benefits, over time they would inevitably become puppets or clones of the Thousand-Eyed Evil Spirit. Maybe its clones came from this.
But Li Si was not afraid of a mere 10% increase in Alienation Contamination Degree now. He might as well have the Thousand-Eyed Evil Spirit work for him for free. He thought the Thousand-Eyed Evil Spirit would surely feel very honored.
After examining the Thousand-Eyes Mask for a while, Li Si thought for a moment and then put it on directly. Because tonight, he needed to know who his enemies were and what their specific traits were.
Only then could he formulate appropriate strategies and strengthen suitable Dao Techniques.
As the art of war says, know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.
The moment he put on the Thousand-Eyes Mask, Li Si felt a cold, chilling aura pierce his face like steel needles. His eyeballs almost burst.
At the same time, countless voices of vengeful ghosts crying for his life echoed in his ears. No, it was like hundreds or thousands of ghosts grabbing his ears and drilling inside. It was too cruel.
But Li Si was more worried that his Heart-Clearing Domain and Disaster-Averting Domain would activate automatically because of this. That would not be fun.
Fortunately, that annoying situation did not happen.
After about three seconds, that bizarre state gradually weakened, and Li Si found his vision floating mid-air. All around were thousands of shadowy figures, as if they would fulfill his commands if he gave one.
“I want to know, who are my enemies tonight?”
As soon as Li Si’s voice fell, he saw the scene before him change. A squad of Black-Armored Warriors appeared ahead. This time he saw clearly and received some strange assistance that allowed him to clearly discern the strength of these Black-Armored Warriors.
First, they were definitely weaker than Evil God Cultists. But they seemed to use some method to make their physical strength very powerful, especially their Black Armor, which faintly emitted a sealing aura.
Li Si tried to move closer, but the scene shifted, and his vision returned. The Thousand-Eyes Mask had already completed its task.
At the same time, information appeared.
“You completed a contract with the Thousand-Eyed Evil Spirit. According to the contract terms, your Alienation Contamination Degree +50%.”
“Due to your Heart-Clearing Domain, you were exempted from this severe Aberrant Corruption and it was downgraded to mild Aberrant Corruption.”
“Due to your Flawless Dao Body, you were exempted from this mild pollution.”
“Your Disaster-Averting Domain destroyed the contract-possessing imp sent by the Thousand-Eyed Evil Spirit. You obtained 30 units of White Fate Firewood.”
“Huh? An imp? Where?”
Li Si looked around but found nothing. However, his Heart-Clearing Domain and Disaster-Averting Domain had indeed flared up. 17,000 points of Magic Power were gone just like that.
“Evil Spirits really are unreliable. It almost tricked me. It promised a 10% Alienation Contamination Degree, but suddenly raised the price at the last moment! And it tried to send a possessing imp. Where is its conscience?”
Li Si was speechless. He quickly reapplied a Heart-Clearing Domain and a Disaster-Averting Domain on himself, and put on the Thousand-Eyes Mask again. The enemies couldn’t just be those Black-Armored Warriors; he needed a more comprehensive understanding.
As for the painful process of wearing the mask, forget it. Consider it paying some interest. After all, the Thousand-Eyed Evil Spirit had worked hard, if not successfully.
Caring for the physical and mental health of Evil Spirits is the fine tradition and virtue of us cultivators.
What is convincing others with virtue? We are good at convincing all things with virtue!
Thinking this, Li Si no longer felt the pain. A sublime feeling rippled through him…
“I want to know, besides the Black-Armored Warriors, who else are my enemies tonight?”
Li Si asked again. This time, the Thousand-Eyes Mask seemed to hesitate for a second, but ultimately decided to fulfill the contract. In an instant, ghostly shadows flickered, the stars shifted, and his vision appeared at the abandoned village downstream. Hey, he knew this place.
But right now it was very lively. Not only were there nearly three hundred Black-Armored Warriors, but also dozens of Evil God Cultists. Most importantly, there were six individuals who clearly were high-ranking members of the Evil God Cult, wearing robes embroidered with Blood Crow patterns, looking very mysterious.
They seemed to be performing some ritual, placing the entire foundation and all remaining supplies on it. Under the dim firelight, it seemed like black shadows crawling all over it.
But before Li Si could examine it closely, an angry shout suddenly came from around the village, and then everything was cut off.
“Crack!”
A cracking sound was heard. Li Si took off the Thousand-Eyes Mask, very surprised. This time the contract wasn’t completed? And no Alienation Contamination Degree?
What was going on? Had the Thousand-Eyed Evil Spirit been moved by his boundless love and decided to offer itself? Oh no, please don’t. I am a gentleman, unless…
“Boom!”
Others couldn’t hear it, but a loud blast echoed in Li Si’s ears. One of his Annihilation Domains had burst.
Then information appeared.
“An unknown enemy is attempting to deduce your location. Since the opponent’s strength does not exceed the True Immortal level, the deduction failed. The clues held by the opponent decreased by 10%. The difficulty of deduction increased by 10%.”
“Eh?”
Li Si was startled, immediately recalling what he had seen through the Thousand-Eyes Mask. So those guys were there trying to deduce his location!
Thinking of this, he sneered coldly. Come at me, then.
Completely ignoring it, Li Si put on the Thousand-Eyes Mask again. This time, he clearly felt the mask’s resistance.
The first two times it eagerly pierced his eyeballs with steel needle-like cold auras. This time it was evasive, half-refusing, half-yielding, dragging its feet, dilly-dallying, dawdling…
It had no backbone at all!
“Stop dawdling. I just want to know where these people came from.”
Finally, Li Si could only offer comforting words. What could he do? Everyone was just trying to get by; it wasn’t easy. Long live understanding! Really, as the poem goes:
I am a cultivator, bringing joy to the Evil Spirit’s heart.
One search spans two or three miles, another reveals four or five bodies.
Fragrant grass before the door, deep feelings bury my true self.
Henceforth, heaven and earth are vast, a golden house hides the cosmos.
In short, with Li Si’s persuasion, the Thousand-Eyes Mask finally cooperated. In an instant, his vision followed the river downstream for dozens of miles. Then, they met a mountain peak shaped like an axe splitting the river in two. On the west bank of the river stood a low hill, and on the hill was a brightly lit town. The eerie Dark Mist stayed away from the town for over ten miles.
Hmm, so prosperous? There must be at least ten thousand people, right?
Just as he thought this, before he could get within ten miles, he heard a strange “caw” sound. A beam of bloody light flew out from the center of the town. The next moment, everything was disconnected again.
“Crack, crack!”
No need to guess; the Thousand-Eyes Mask directly shattered into powder. A dull, decaying aura spread out, but Li Si moved quickly and smashed an Evil-Warding Aura down on it.
Then his heart sank. Oh no!
He had used too much force and accidentally killed his best friend!
“Alienation Contamination Degree +10%”
“Mild pollution, already exempted.”
“Killed the severely injured contract imp sent by the Thousand-Eyed Evil Spirit. Obtained 30 units of White Fate Firewood.”
“Friendly reminder: The Thousand-Eyed Evil Spirit harbors deep hatred for you.”
“I…”
For a moment, Li Si felt unbearably heavy-hearted. How could it come to this? How could it?
Brother, I truly had a sincere heart and genuinely wanted to be friends with you! You must listen to my explanation. If not, I will definitely bear the blame and apologize in the future!