Chapter 271: Array Offerings
"Shortie!" Lonemoon instinctively reached over to help her up, but felt his breath catch. Suddenly, he felt like someone was tearing his meridians apart from inside.
"Bian Xinchen, you caused Mother Feng's soul to dissipate. I want your life!" Zhu Ming's eyes became bloodshot as he charged over to the other man. He grabbed him and surrounded his entire body with yin Qi, which wrapped around the both of them.
"He wants to blow himself up. Wait!" Lonemoon shouted, intending to stop him. He was too late. There was a huge crash and the entire mystic realm shook violently. A strong pressure ran through the realm. If Yi Qing had not set up a defensive array in time, the entire group would have been pushed back and crushed to dust.
"Hmph, idiot!" Even though Zhu Ming blew himself up, Bian Xinchen emerged unscathed. He dusted his body and scanned the group coolly, as if he was surveying a bunch of ants. "I've already become a true god. Nobody in the three realms can stop me." "Really?" A chilling voice sounded by his ear.
With a swoosh, Bian Xinchen - who was wrapped in God Power and floating in the air - was kicked onto the ground by Shen Ying. The pressure was immediately lifted.
"That's impossible!" Bian Xinchen crawled to his feet with his eyes widened. He stared at Shen Ying in disbelief. "That's impossible… I've already become a true god.. Unless you're once of the three great ancient gods of creation.. how can you come near me? Who are you?"
"Ancient gods of creation?" Shen Ying narrowed her eyes and pondered for a moment. Then she said, "I should try and beat one up the next time, then we can see what the difference is!"
Bian Xinchen instinctively tried to activate all his powers to fight Shen Ying, but found that the rich God Power that he possessed earlier could no longer be activated. What's more, his body felt dangerously close to breaking down. "What's the matter! What did you do?" Shen Ying was just about to kick him, but she halted. She did nothing.
"My God Power…" Bian Xinchen began to panic. It was almost as if a black hole was created in his body which was sucking all of his God Power out of his body. His cultivation level which experienced a rapid increase earlier was beginning to decline once again. No matter what he did, he could not stop it. "That's impossible… I've already completed the Heartless Dao. Mother Feng's soul has already been destroyed. Why is this happening?" He seemed to realise something as his expression turned evil instantly. "It's Zhu Ming! Zhu Ming! He lied to me. This Heartless Dao doesn't allow me to turn into a true god!"
"There isn't a problem with the Heartless Dao. You're the one with the problem!"
Bian Xinchen paused. "What do you mean?"
"Who gave you the wrong idea that you would achieve the Heartless Dao by killing your wife?" "Killing your loved one is the way of the Heartless Dao. I was not wrong!"
Shen Ying used all of her willpower to restrain herself from kicking him. "Your brain is yours - you are deciding whether something is heartless or not. Do you have problems understanding or are you just stupid? Do you think you can lose your feelings just by killing someone?"
"You-"
"You're the one whose heart was moved and who developed feelings. Why didn't you fix your own heart before you killed your wife? What did it ever have to do with your wife?"
"…"
"You just could not bear to hurt yourself, that was why you killed her as an excuse."
"No, no…" "You thought killing your wife would help you achieve the Dao? Are you an expert in the Great Dao? The Great Dao is not lacking girls - it did not need your wife."
"I was not wrong. Not wrong!"
"The next time you try to achieve a Dao, try reading a book!" Shen Ying advised him seriously. "Otherwise, you will just become a bastard that was not willing to let even his wife off."
"Shut up! Shut up!" Bian Xinchen roared. His face was now drained of all colour. He could do nothing to stop the God Power from draining out of his body and his cultivation level from further deteriorating. By now, he was even less powerful than Shortie. "My cultivation level.. My cultivation level.. No…"
"Chef, come over here for awhile." Shen Ying could no longer be bothered with him. She waved at Chef and pointed to the crazed man who was now grasping at thin air. "Call a soul. I don't know how to."
"Call a soul?" Yi Qing stared blankly back at Shen Ying Nevertheless, he conjured a seal and shot it over.
Bian Xinchen could not even fend against Yi QIng's spells now. A figure of a female floated out from his body in front of everyone.
"Mother Feng!" They cried out. This was Mother Feng's primary soul. They had not thought that it would be found in his body.
Perhaps because the other parts of her soul were now gone, Mother Feng's primary soul was in a deep sleep. Both her eyes were closed and she looked extremely calm. She looked nothing like the maniac that they saw just a few moments ago.
Lonemoon quickly conjured a seal and kept Mother Feng's primary soul. Although all that was left of her was her primary soul, they could still send it to the River of Forgetfulness in the hopes that the power of reincarnation would one day make her soul whole again.
Bian Xinchen's cultivation level dipped further the moment Mother Feng's Soul left his body. All the blue God Power around his body disappeared. In a blink of an eye, his cultivation level became incomparable even to Xuan Tong's.
Everybody frowned and understood why he wanted Mother Feng's primary soul now. Just as Shen Ying had said earlier, killing his wife did not help him to achieve the Great Dao. Instead, he even might have been granting Mother Feng what she wanted. In the moments before she died, it was likely that Mother Feng no longer felt any love for Bian Xinchen. That was probably the reason why she became a ghost immortal after her death.
Bian Xinchen, on the other hand, did experience an increase in his cultivation level upon accepting Mother Feng's soul into his body. But he must have realised that something was amiss. That was why he tried to keep Mother Feng's soul in his body. The increase in his cultivation level was Mother Feng's!
"That's weird, where are the other remnant souls?" Lonemoon asked anxiously. He tried a couple of spells to recall the souls, but there was no sign of a single remnant soul making an appearance There was only Mother Feng's primary soul in Bian Xinchen's body. "Heh heh heh…" Bian Xinchen suddenly laughed maniacally. He looked to the group and broke into an evil grin. "You thought I created this mystic realm just to kill Mother Feng?"
"What do you mean?" Lonemoon's heart sank.
"So what if you got Mother Feng's primary soul back? All of you will become like her soon - you will never get to reincarnate!" He roared with laughter. "If I cannot become a true god, all of you will perish with me!"
"What did you say!" The entire group exclaimed. Bian Xinchen conjured a seal and his body began to crack apart along with his soul. It looked almost as if they were made of ceramic. Then, the broken pieces disappeared before their very eyes.
"This is… an offering!" Bai Ze gasped.
Before any of them could react, the ground began to shake. The entire mystic realm began to fall apart. They could faintly hear screaming and wailing coming from far away. Red beams of light shone through from on top of their heads. "What's going on?"
"It's the outside!" Lonemoon looked up and shouted. "This mystic realm is falling apart Let's get out!"
They mounted their swords and flew upward. Just as they exited the mystic realm, they were blinded by an intense red light. The red beams on the outside seemed to reach right to the sky, so that the entire earth seemed to be cut up into pieces by it.
Chapter 272: Earth-Destroying Array
"Bian Xinchen used the souls as offerings to the array earlier on. He must have activated some other array!" Bai Ze exclaimed, gesturing for everyone to get out of the way of the red light.
They did not hesitate. On their swords, they flew as far away from the red beams of light as they could. When they turned around, they saw the red light spreading quickly across the entire horizon like a web moving to wrap around the entire world. Each beam reached the clouds, until the whole Underworld became covered in the red light.
The ground was shaking more violently now and the array was amplifying the cries of unseen ghosts. The voices were high-pitched and ear-piercing. The traveling souls seemed to be experiencing some kind of excruciating pain as they tried to seek cover.
"I sense a lot of different auras coming from over there," Yi Qing suddenly shouted as he pointed to his right. "Right there, where the two realms intersect."
The group exchanged glances. "Go!" They turned around and flew toward the exit of the Underworld. The journey that ordinarily would have taken them an hour took less than ten minutes now. They found themselves at the intersection between the two worlds. It was not that they were fast, but… the Underworld was shrinking.
Σ(°△°|||)
There was a flash of white. A faint wall of light stood in the air between the two worlds, sealing the Underworld off from outsiders. On top of the wall were several unidentifiable arrays. As those arrays interacted with the red light that was filling the Underworld, an invisible force pulled the wall of light toward the Underworld.
As the light wall got closer, the Underworld got darker and the Divine Realm got bigger. It was almost as if the Underworld was being swallowed. For some reason, the wall of light caused each traveling soul that touched it to dissipate with a cry of pain.
What was more surprising was behind the wall of light, there were countless different types of divine beings. Each of them were conjuring the same seal. It seemed like they were joining forces to push the wall of light toward the Underworld, swallowing it whole. Faintly, they saw a familiar figure.
"Are those.. the roleplayers?"
"Feng San, Long Zhen!" Lonemoon stepped forward and shouted. "What are you doing here? What kind of array is that?"
The two of them did not answer, as if they had not heard a word that Lonemoon shouted to them. Their expressions remained blank as they continued working at the array.
"Their divine souls are being controlled by someone else. They're already one with the array and they can't hear a thing we're saying," Bai Ze said as his expression darkened. "'The rest are the same."
Their hearts fell as they looked on in disbelief at the uncountable army outside of the array. There were at least ten thousand of them out there. What kind of person could control so many souls at once - and divine souls at that? "They're all divine beings. How can that…" Lonemoon paused mid-sentence as his eyes widened. He turned to Shen Ying and at the same time, they cried out.
"Remnant souls!"
The colour drained out of the faces of everyone in the group. They had thought that they were the only few who had lost their remnant souls. From the looks of it, the uncountable army of people outside of the array had all lost their remnant souls as well. That meant that more than half of the population of the Divine World had fallen for the trap.
Holy shit, they had to admit that this was pretty impressive. Someone was obviously hell-bent on destroying the Underworld. But who would want to do something like that?
Lonemoon turned and pulled Yi Qing next to him. He lowered his voice and instructed, "Chef, Bai Ze, get as far away from this array as you can." The wall of light was being pushed closer and closer to them by the second, and it was bringing with it a destructive aura. Without question, as soon as either of them touched the wall of light, they would become just like the rest of the traveling souls - their souls would dissipate. They had no choice but to retreat. Lonemoon anxiously scanned the crowd. "We have to quickly find the person who is controlling them, otherwise the entire Underworld will be finished."
"Elder Lonemoon, look!" Xuan Tong suddenly screamed as she pointed to something on her right.
All of them turned to look. Not far away from them to their right, the wall of light was emanating a beam of white light which shot straight through the darkness of the Underworld, toward the deepest crevices of the Underworld. It was almost as if someone was creating a path. Faintly, they saw a white figure flying through the white beam of light.
"That must be the mastermind. Give chase!" Lonemoon shouted. He turned and mounted his sword, flying to catch up with the white figure. The rest of the group followed closely behind him.
In front of him, the figure was getting faster. Even though all of them were now giving chase at top speed, they could only faintly see the back of the figure. Lonemoon gritted his teeth and started to increase his speed.
"Father Niu!" Shen Ying suddenly reached out and pulled him back.
Lonemoon almost fell off his sword. "Shen Ying, you-"
"There's a river!" She exclaimed, as she pulled Xuan Tong and Bai Ze back as well.
The Yin River!
Lonemoon stiffened. It slipped his mind that such a thing existed in the Underworld. He looked at the figure that was now just a white dot in the distance and became more anxious. "We need to make our way around-"
"Too slow!" He was just about to suggest for Shen Ying to bring them around the river, when she interrupted him. Lonemoon's heart sank. He suddenly had a bad feeling in his gut. "Wait, Shen Ying, you're not…"
Before he could finish speaking, he felt his collar tighten. Suddenly, he was speeding past everything. The surroundings became a blur of lines as the wind blew strongly past his ear. Beside him were three others, who were also being dragged along in a similar manner as he was.
The four of them: "…"
(⊙_⊙)
In a blink of an eye, the man who was just a white dot moments ago became a discernible figure once more. With another whir, they found themselves standing in front of the man in white.
He was an elderly man dressed in white robes, with white hair and a white beard. He wore a hint of a smile and looked like a friendly old grandfather. There was not a hint of evil on his face. He did not look like someone who would be interested in destroying the Underworld.
"It's you!" The elderly man frowned as he looked at Lonemoon. He did not look panicked at all, as if he had been expecting this all along. "My predictions were right. You're the greatest variable."
"You know… blurgh!" Before Lonemoon could finish his sentence, his expression changed. His delayed motion sickness suddenly took hold of him as he turned around and vomited. His entire face turned green.
His reaction seemed to trigger everyone else as well. Yi Qing, Bai Ze and Shortie turned around one by one and began to vomit as well. All of them puked even their gastric juices up.
Just like that, the scene was set with two people facing each other and four others puking uncontrollably.
Shen Ying: "…" The elderly man: "…"
The atmosphere was extremely awkward…
-_-|||
He knew this would happen. Shen Ying was too freaking fast! Lonemoon quickly conjured several spells and finally suppressed the urge to continue vomiting. He turned to look at the man in front of him. "Who exactly are-"
Before he could finish speaking, Bai Ze - who had also regained his composure - exclaimed, "Supreme Divinity Hongyu!"
Chapter 273: Soul-Controlling Technique
When the man regained his composure, he maintained his relaxed and kind demeanour. Smiling at Bai Ze, he said, "Supreme Divinity Bai Ze, it's been a long time!"
"Why is it you?" Bai Ze could hardly believe his own eyes. He had interacted with Hongyu for a long time. The other man always came across as someone who did not mind much about the rest of the world. He had always been kind and he never came into any conflict with anyone. Although he had the highest cultivation level in all of the Divine World, he would not even harm the wild beasts. He was the kind of person who was even willing to share his own techniques with others. "Hongyu, you… really want to destroy the Underworld?"
Hongyu smiled even wider. Unabashedly, he said, "This is my life's mission."
"Why?" Bai Ze would never have thought that the man who wanted to destroy the Underworld was him.
"Everything I did was for the commoners of the Three Realms." "The commoners? Without the Underworld, how can the living beings of the Three Realms reincarnate?"
"I don't want any more reincarnation."
Bai Ze stiffened. "What do you mean?"
Hongyu's face remained calm as his eyes clouded over. A moment later, he answered, "Bai Ze, I am different from you. I've been alive since the ancient times and I saw my closest friends leave me one by one. Be it friend or foe, once they entered Samsara, they forgot everything. I'm the only one who remains. Although their soul is the same, they are no longer the same person they used to be. I kept thinking what I should do in order to get them back."
Hongyu sighed, as if recalling a painful part of his past. His eyes still glossed over, he continued, "In this world, be it mortal, immortal or god, no one can ever truly live forever. Immortals cannot and neither can gods. One day, we will all fall. After we enter Samsara, we will become someone else." His expression darkened as he focused on the group. "Everybody in the Three Realms is looking for eternal life. Mortals want to ascend to immortality and immortals want to become gods. Gods on the other hand… still fall. I am the only one left of the very first batch of ancient gods. Does anyone still remember the Qilins and the black turtles? I kept thinking, we have unlimited life, yet why do we all still meet our end?"
He suddenly broke into a grin, and recovered his kind expression from before. His body continued to emanate a godly glow. "Later, I finally understood. Nobody has true eternal life in this world because of the Samsara."
Bai Ze jumped and understood why he wanted to destroy the Underworld. "You want to destroy the Reincarnation Stage!"
"Without Samsara, there would be no reincarnation," Hongyu answered unabashed. "Without the Underworld, there would be no Reincarnation Stage. The living beings of the Three Realms would never have to enter Samsara and there would be no so- called life and death. That's true eternal life - the eternal life that will belong to all beings of the Three Realms."
"You…" Bai Ze's eyes widened. "Do you know how many travelling souls that array of yours has killed? Without the Reincarnation Stage, they would not be able to reincarnate. They'll disappear from the face of this world forever!"
A look of pain flashed across Hongyu's face as he closed his eyes and said, "That's a necessary sacrifice."
Bai Ze's heart tightened. Lonemoon stepped forward and drew his immoral sword. This an is obviously caught up in his own ideas. He would not listen to reason. "We will not let you destroy the Underworld."
Hongyu scanned Lonemoon from head to toe, his expression unreadable. "You are indeed the greatest variable. Even though I made Bian Xinchen take on your appearance and closed the heavens, you still managed to make it to the Divine World."
Lonemoon paused. "You know me?" Lonemoon was sure that he had never met Hongyu.
"I only predicted that you were once my biggest obstacle." He smiled, as if Lonemoon now no longer mattered to him. "But the way things are now, you can no longer stop me!"
Before Lonemoon could figure out what Hongyu meant, Hongyu waved his hand, presenting an invisible crystal ball which glowed with a white light. A great force emanated from it.
The group retreated a step, but Hongyu was already flying ahead.
"Stop… Holy shit! Bai Ze, what are you doing?" They were about to stop Hongyu when Bai Ze suddenly drew his sword, turned around and began to attack them. Lonemoon managed to dodge instinctively, but Bai Ze kept charging toward them. "Bai Ze, you don't really believe him, do you? Chef, help-" He turned to ask for Chef's help, but his eyes widened in shock when he did.
For some reason, Chef also drew his sword. He did not come to Lonemoon's aid, but instead began to attack Shen Ying.
"Shen Ying!" "Huh?" Shen Ying turned around. Yi Qing's sword brushed her side and struck the ground so that a huge pit appeared.
"Yi Qing!" Lonemoon stared at him in disbelief. On closer inspection of Bai Ze and Yi Qing, he saw that they both had dazed expressions that reminded him immediately of Feng San and Long Zhen.
"Shit, Shen Ying, they're both being controlled by that old man Hongyu," Lonemoon said as he dodged another attack from Bai Ze. "Bai Ze and Chef's remnant souls are in his hands."
Shen Ying frowned and turned to look in the direction that Hongyu flew in. He had not flown far away. In fact, they could see him standing where he was. He waved to them and the darkness around them immediately disappeared. Hongyu seemed to have opened something. A golden beam of light shot straight toward the sky.
"It's the Reincarnation Stage!" Lonemoon shouted.
Shen Ying started to fly toward Hongyu, but Yi Qing flashed in front of her and blocked her way.
She paused. "Chef?"
"He's being controlled. He has no consciousness. He's just using the subconscious in his remnant soul to attack you!" Lonemoon reminded her. "He will not listen to you."
Indeed, Yi Qing did not respond to Shen Ying. He conjured a seal to lock Shen Ying in where she was. He waved his hand expressionlessly and caused it to rain swords. The cool blades pointed toward Shen Ying. As Yi Qing flew into the air, the swords rained down on Shen Ying.
Shen Ying stared blankly, not knowing whether she should react.
The swords were just about to reach her.
Lonemoon jumped and shouted, "Shen Ying, Short-" Before he could finish, there was a ringing sound. An uncountable number of immortal swords dropped… all around Shen Ying. They formed a circle of swords that trapped her within.
Shen Ying felt a weight on her neck. She bent down and felt a heat around her lips as something smacked her there.
Huh?
Lonemoon: "…"
Xuan Tong: "…"
Shen Ying: "…"
(⊙_⊙)
Was this… his subconscious working? There was a rare moment of emptiness in Shen Ying's mind. What was important was that the person who was standing on tiptoes and hugging her neck obviously did not have experience in kissing. He just brushed his lips against hers, then stuck out his tongue and… covered her entire face with saliva.
"…"
The corner of Shen Ying's mouth twitched. She tore Yi Qing away from her. "Father Niu, can I kill him?"
Lonemoon: "…"
Before Lonemoon could answer her, Bai Ze broke out of the array and attacked him once again. Holy shit, Bai Ze was out to kill him. Both of them were acting on their subconscious - why was Yi Qing performing so well?
Chapter 274: Meng Po in the Underworld
"Help me out!" Lonemoon had no choice but to turn around and beg for help from Shen Ying.
Without any hesitation, Shen Ying picked up Chef - who was still trying to climb up her body - and ran to Lonemoon's side. She grabbed Bai Ze's sword with one hand and twisted her wrist, flinging it to the ground.
Lonemoon quickly activated his immortal Qi and hit both Yi Qing and Bai Ze on the back of their necks. At the same time, he conjured passing out spells so that both of them fell down unconscious.
"Sect Master! Elder!" Shortie pointed toward the front in a panic.
The two of them turned around just in time to see a big patch of white light in front of them. Very faintly, they could see an army of figures. That array has made its way here! That was quick!
Lonemoon quickly turned around to Hongyu. He saw Hongyu ascend the Reincarnation Stage. There were strange arrays all around him. The pearl that he used to control Bai Ze and Chef was now floating in the middle of the Reincarnation Stage, emanating a blinding white light. Inside it, there seemed to be an explosive force that was threatening to break out of the pearl.
"Everybody's remnant souls must be in there. He's trying to explode that spirit pearl!" Lonemoon's face drained of all colour as he exchanged looks with Shen Ying. At the same time, the both of them rushed over to Hongyu.
Lonemoon immediately activated all the sword Qi in his body and waved his sword at Hongyu, who had been setting up an array. Hongyu sensed a great blow of sword Qi charging toward him and flicked his hand so that his God Power dissipated Lonemoon's sword Qi at once.
"I've already said - you cannot stop me!" Hongyu's expression darkened. Lonemoon smirked and pointed in front of him. "I can't, but she can!"
Hongyu turned around to see Shen Ying already standing on the Reincarnation Stage. She reached out for the floating spirit pearl and carried it off the stage.
"How can this be!" Hongyu exclaimed. Finally, his facial expression showed a hint of rage. "Put that spirit pearl down!" Suddenly, wind blades filled the sky, each one of them pointing toward Shen Ying.
"Shen Ying, take care of the spirit pearl!" Lonemoon shouted.
Shen Ying was just going to retaliate when she paused, turned around and retreated a couple of feet.
The wind blades flew down from the sky and landed around the Reincarnation Stage. The array immediately darkened so that even the great red array that covered the Underworld seemed to flicker. Lonemoon's eyes brightened as he said, "Shen Ying, the array near the Reincarnation Stage - that big red one outside - destroy it!"
Shen Ying did not hesitate. Holding the spirit pearl in one hand, she clenched her other fist and dealt a blow to the ground. There was a loud crash and the array began to crack. The cracks quickly spread around the array, causing the red light to become fainter and fainter. The cracks continued even onto the ground, breaking apart the layers of arrays. Then… the Reincarnation Stage cracked apart.
Shen Ying: "…"
Lonemoon: "…"
Hongyu: "…"
"Er… Father Niu, if I said I didn't do it on purpose, would you believe me?" "Believe your ass!" Lonemoon suddenly felt an uncontrollable urge to strangle her. "You're a freaking spy, aren't you?" It was bad enough that she cracked the ground. Why did she have to break the Reincarnation Stage? She must be in the same league as Hongyu, wasn't she?
But all was still fine - the Reincarnation Stage cracked but it had not fallen apart.
Crash…
The crashes echoed all around as the ground began to shake violently. Before Shen Ying had the chance to retract her fist, the cracks on the ground began to open up about a metre wide. The gap was headed straight toward the Reincarnation Stage.
Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit!
Whatever he imagined was coming true. Lonemoon turned pale. We're done for, done for, done for… "Father Niu, hand me your sword."
"Huh?" Lonemoon was still cursing under his breath.
Shen Ying snatched his sword and turned around, running toward her right. She gripped the sword tightly in her hand and stabbed the ground with it, causing another loud crash.
A bigger crack appeared on the right and as it spread, it stopped the cracks that were headed for the Reincarnation Stage. The ground around the stage became stable again.
Lonemoon heaved a huge sigh of relief. Damn it, he was nearly scared to death.
"Elder, Sect Master!" Suddenly, another panicked cry sounded.
The two of them turned and their eyes widened. "Shortie!" They had not noticed when Hongyu snatched Shortie onto the Reincarnation Stage. "What do you want?" "The spirit pearl is gone. This girl's soul is special - it can also be used to ruin the Reincarnation Stage." Hongyu smiled at the two of them, as if he had achieved something big. He immediately jumped into the Reincarnation Stage with Shortie.
"Shortie!" Lonemoon screamed. It was too late for him to rush over. The two of them had already disappeared into the Reincarnation Stage. There was a flash of golden light. Lonemoon's heart seemed to stop. Hongyu must have done this on purpose. He did not even need the spirit pearl to destroy the Reincarnation Stage. He wanted to use Shortie's soul all along.
"What should we do? Shen Ying, can you see Shortie?"
"I can't!" Shen Ying shook her head. Suddenly, she recalled something. "Father Niu, do you have the pearl that contains Shortie's remnant soul?"
"Yes, but-"
"Throw it in!" "What?"
"Hurry!"
Lonemoon retrieved the spirit pearl that he had and threw it into the Reincarnation Stage. The next moment, there was a loud crash. The Reincarnation Stage started to fall apart inch by inch. The golden light from within it looked like it was being blown in all directions. It flew around in specks and slowly darkened, like fluorescent light.
Lonemoon stared blankly at the specks of golden light all around him. His face fell. "Shortie, she's-"
"She's back!" Shen Ying interrupted.
"What?" Lonemoon paused. But Shen Ying was already turning around to see where the golden specks were flying to.
He followed her gaze and found that the fluorescent light that became dim earlier was bright once again. What's more, it was flying higher and higher, reaching out in all directions. The Underworld that had reduced in size because of Hongyu's array was no expanding once again.
All around were the golden specks of light. It was almost like a flood - it could not be stopped. Lonemoon finally understood why Shen Ying said that the Underworld was too bright the last time. It was indeed very bright. As he looked up, he saw that the entire Underworld was covered in the golden light. It looked like an unending sea. The only black shades were the Yin River, which ran across the horizon here and there.
This is… the River of Forgetfulness? It was not the Reincarnation Stage, but the entire Underworld?
Lonemoon was still in a daze. Suddenly, the view in front of him changed. The golden sea turned into blue seas and skies in a blink of an eye.
This is… the ancient gods' divine territory?
"Sect Master, Elder Lonemoon," a familiar voice sounded behind them.
Lonemoon turned around and saw a familiar figure walking toward them from not far away. She was wearing a beautiful smile.
"Shortie!" Lonemoon's heart jumped. It was great - she was fine! He was just about to walk forward when he heard Shen Ying's voice.
"Meng Po."
"…" What?
Chapter 275: What a Con
Lonemoon paused and glanced at Shen Ying, then turned back to Xuan Tong, who was now grinning even wider. What the hell?
"I'm used to being called Shortie." Xuan Tong smiled with pride as she walked briskly to Shen Ying. "Sect Master, you are indeed wise. When did you realise it? I even sealed my memory and gave up my remnant soul."
"Mm…" Shen Ying pondered very seriously for a moment. "From when the Godfiend let us find you."
The corner of Meng Po's lips twitched as her smile faded. "So you've known from the beginning? Sect Master, can't you leave me a bit of my pride? Why can't you say a different time just to please me?"
"Oh." Shen Ying nodded and continued, "Then from the first time I saw you and realised that your soul was slightly different!" "…" Isn't that much earlier?
-_-|||
"Wait!" Lonemoon turned around interrupted their conversation. "Shen Ying! Shortie is… she's Meng Po. You freaking knew from the beginning and didn't bother to tell me?"
"I thought you knew!" Shen Ying tilted her head.
"Knew my ass!" How would he know if she did not say a thing? "What exactly is going on? Isn't she the mental demon that Chen Ge cut off from himself?"
"Mental demons aren't souls. Even if they made use of the power of Samsara, how could they turn into entire souls in a few short lifetimes?" Xuan Tong explained before Shen Ying could begin to respond. She stepped forward and continued, "In the beginning, I was the one who felt too bored in the Underworld. I wanted to walk around in the mortal world and chanced across that mental demon in the River of Forgetfulness. Out of curiosity, I picked it up and reincarnated together with it. Actually, before that, I had already reincarnated multiple times."
"You went on your own? Why did that Godfiend lead us to you then?" If she was Meng Po, how did the Godfiend not tell? Was he blind?
"He did not know about my reincarnation." She shook her head. They were all part of the three great ancient gods. They could calculate everything that would take place in the world, but they could not predict what would happen to one another. "What's more, initially, I left a part of my remnant soul at the River of Forgetfulness. That was why he thought I was in the Underworld all this time. Later, Hongyu took hold of my remnant soul. That was how he found out I was missing." Hongyu himself also realised that her remnant soul was different from all the others. That was why he pulled her from the immortal realm back into the Divine Underworld.
"What's up with the plot that the Godfiend gave me then?" It was obviously about her.
"Although I became a mortal after I reincarnated, my luck was very different from everyone else's. Coincidentally, he wanted to settle the problem with the demonic realm. That's why he included me in his calculations." The girl's wretched luck in the plot was also related to the fact that she was Meng Po.
What a mess! It was no wonder that Hongyu instigated Bian Xinchen to pull her back into the Divine World by force. He even said that her soul was special. How could it not be? She was the Supreme Divinity of the River of Forgetfulness.
Lonemoon scanned the familiar stranger from head to toe. He opened his mouth, as if wanting to say something, but no words came out. A moment later, he clenched his fists by his side and asked, "Well, now… are you Shortie or are you Meng Po?"
"I am both."
Lonemoon frowned, not satisfied with the answer. "Shortie, you can't come back with us?"
"…" Meng Po did not reply him. She did not know how to answer him. "Forget it," Lonemoon sighed. He did not want to hear the answer anymore. Damn it! Was the Invincible Sect fated not to have any sword cultivators as disciples? "Since you're Meng Po, do you have a way of getting the remnant souls back from the people who have lost them?"
"As long as they are not being controlled by anyone, their remnant souls will find their way back." She smiled. "Mother Feng has already entered Samsara. The travelling souls that were destroyed earlier will take a couple of days before their souls reform once more."
Lonemoon heaved a sigh of relief. It was good to know that everything was going to be alright.
"There's one more person whose situation is quite complicated…" Meng Po frowned, as if trying to solve a difficult puzzle. "His soul is almost completely dissipated, yet he still refuses to enter Samsara."
Lonemoon realised who she was talking about immediately. "Hongyu?" She nodded and waved her hand. An elderly man with white hair and a white beard appeared in front of the two of them. He still had a kind and gentle expression on his face, but now he looked much more worried and pained. The God Power that once surrounded his body was now almost transparent. He looked almost as if he would disappear at any moment.
"You…" On seeing Lonemoon, Hongyu paused. He seemed to realise something as he bent down and sat on the floor. The fight had completely left his body. His expression was one of utter hopelessness. "I planned this for so many years. I did not expect that everything would come to this."
Lonemoon frowned, not knowing what to say in response. Hongyu was not a bad person by nature. He harboured no selfish intentions. All he wanted was to keep everything in the world the way they were. He did not even mind jumping into the Reincarnation Stage and blowing himself up. Bai Ze said that when Hongyu organised sermons, he would never turn down any visitor, nor would he keep anything for himself. More than 80 percent of the beings in the Divine Realm had received some sort of grace from him as well.
Even though he did all of this just to claim a little bit of each person's remnant soul to aid him in destroying the Underworld, they could not deny that he was good at heart. What's more, he knew the technique to control people's souls. He could have done what Bian Xinchen did - steal people's primary souls to boost his own God Power - yet he did not. To the end, he did not even allow any of the people being controlled to enter the Underworld and fight to their deaths.
He was indeed a kind-hearted man who had taken a wrong turn.
"Forget it!" Hongyu sighed. He was becoming more and more transparent. Specks of light was beginning to fly out from his soul. "Life was always meant to be this way. The living beings in the Three Realms are fated not to be able to escape from the pains of Samsara. They can only fight to survive in the mortal world. No matter how hard I try, I cannot fight the heavens."
"Why do you refer to it as the pains of Samsara?" Shen Ying suddenly asked.
Hongyu paused and looked at her. "If Samsara was not painful, why do mortals pursue immortality? My life wish was to help the living beings of the Three Realms escape this Samsara." "But how is your life wish related to the Three Realms?"
"What?" Hongyu stared blankly at her.
"I mean, Uncle… did you conduct research on the population? There are many people who pursue immortality, but there are more people in the world who are mere mortals."
"But who doesn't want to live forever?"
"Oh, have you asked the living beings of the Three Realms?"
"Well…" He trailed off.
"You didn't even ask them before deciding that all of them want eternal life?" Shen Ying sighed and sat down, cross-legged. She rested her chin on her knuckles and said, "Perhaps eternal life is good, but you could be the only one who thinks that way. Each person has a different opinion. For all we know, some people don't even want to live." "I…" Hongyu turned pale. He did not know what to say in response.
"You made the decision for them without even asking. Even when we elect the president, everybody has a say. Whether they want to live or they want to die, this is a matter for them to decide. You cannot take away everybody's power to choose, then say it's for their own good, right?"
"…"
"Uncle, you can't have such double standards as a god."
Chapter 276: The Plane Gates
Hongyu was completely dazed by now. He looked increasingly confused, as if he really had never thought about these things before. He began to tremble ."Could it be… I was really wrong?"
"I don't know if you were wrong, but…" Shen Ying lowered her voice and continued, "All your theories must gel well with reality, right? Weren't you one of the earliest gods? You have never gone through Samsara, have you? See… if you haven't done it before, how can you say it's not good?"
"…"
Shen Ying patted his almost transparent body. "The saying is good - you can only truly understand if you experience it yourself. Why not you enter Samsara before you conclude?"
"I-"
He was even more troubled by now, but he no longer looked as helpless as he did earlier. Although there were things he still could not figure out, his soul was no longer splitting into specks of light.
Meng Po was nearly bursting with excitement next to them. She quickly waved her hands, transforming Hongyu into a beam of light which shone right into the River of Forgetfulness. He had entered Samsara.
"That's not bad - your persuasion skills have improved!" The corners of Lonemoon's lips twitched as he nudged Shen Ying.
"Father Niu, you have taught me well!"
"Pui!" He never taught her anything like that.
"Sect Master, you are indeed awesome!" Meng Po grabbed Shen Ying's hand excitedly. "Actually, to this world, every single soul is important. If he refused to enter Samsara and had his soul dissipate as a result, that would have meant a lot of trouble for me." "Without the Samsara, would the living beings in the Three Realms really enjoy eternal life?" Lonemoon asked.
Meng Po shook her head. "Actually, all living beings have a limit to their lives in this world. If they stay for too long, they would disintegrate slowly. If they stay even longer, their souls might even dissipate. The training that immortals and gods go through can only strengthen the soul so that it holds up for a little longer. The River of Forgetfulness, however, can strengthen one's soul by returning it too its original state. Without the Samsara, before long, there will be no more living beings in the Three Realms, much less eternal life."
So that's the case. She should have just told the Elderly Hongyu in the first place.
"I've already returned to my original form. I can no longer interfere with matters in the Three Realms, so it was not for me to explain it," Xuan Tong added after seeing Lonemoon's expression.
Lonemoon looked around. "Oh right, where's the Godfiend? He led me to you. Now that I've found you, he can make his appearance, right?" "Of course I'm here!" The moment Lonemoon finished speaking, a voice filled the air and a familiar figure landed in front of the group.
"It's been a long time, you both." The Godfiend was smiling kindly at them. "I have to thank the two of you for locating Meng Po. Now there can be peace in the Three Realms."
"Enough of that nonsense. We have found her. It's time for you to tell us how the two worlds can be merged, right?" Lonemoon asked anxiously.
"Of course," the Godfiend answered, grinning. He raised his ends and a scroll appeared in front of them. "This is the technique to open up the gate between the two world. Once you figure this technique out, you can return to your own world."
Lonemoon received the scroll. He had not thought that the Godfiend would hand over the solution to them so easily. He had already been away from his original world for too long. If not for Shen Ying's appearance, he would have left everything in that world behind. "All I have to do is set up an array?" Shen Ying glanced at the scroll curiously. "We don't need an entry pass?"
"An entry pass?" The Godfiend paused, not understanding what she meant. A moment later, he said, "A huge amount of God Power is needed to connect the two worlds. One must open the the gates in the Divine Realm." He waved his hand once again and two exits appeared. "These are the exits to the immortal realm and the divine realm. I hope that the two of you will consider very carefully which door you walk through."
Shit, he knew it would not be so easy. He could only choose one or the other.
"You mean to say that once we choose one, we cannot go through the other?" Shen Ying narrowed her eyes.
The Godfiend paused and immediately grinned. "Well… of course you can. It's just that the Transmigration Array needs a long time to be activated, and activating it consumes cultivation. It would take at least a Supreme Divinity to activate that array." "Oh." Shen Ying scanned the Godfiend from head to toe. Something flashed in her eyes, but she did not ask anymore questions.
"Then we will first go to the Divine World," Lonemoon answered quickly. In any case, Chef was still there. It would not be too late for them to research into the array then.
"Since that's the case, the two of you can walk through the exit on the right to enter the Divine World." The Godfiend pointed toward their right.
Lonemoon and Shen Ying exchanged a look before walking toward the exit on the right. Meng Po suddenly cried out behind them.
"Sect Master…"
"Huh?" The two of them instinctively turned around.
Meng Po paused. An unexplainable expression flashed across her face as her hands trembled by her side. Grinning widely, she said, "Sect Master, Elder Lonemoon, I… Can I still go back to the Invincible Sect to visit you?"
Lonemoon frowned and nodded. "Yes!" Even though she was no longer Shortie.
"Thank… Thank you." her smile deepened, yet it did not reach her eyes. It was almost as if she was hiding something. "Goodbye, Sect Master! Goodbye, Elder!"
The only disciple they had who was interested in sword cultivation was gone. Lonemoon sighed, turned around and started to step through the door once again.
"Wait!" Shen Ying grabbed him and pulled him back. She turned around and glanced at Meng Po, who was still looking at them longingly. She turned to the Godfiend next to her. After a moment, she said, "Godfiend, this exit… is not the Plane Gate right?"
"…" The moment she finished speaking, there was a white flash of light behind her. The entrance, through which Lonemoon had already stuck one foot, started moving toward them. It almost looked like the door was going to swallow them whole. They faintly caught a panicked expression at the corner of their eyes.
Then, the two of them found themselves in an entirely different environment. A passionate voice accompanied by the sound of birds chirping travelled toward them.
"Do either of you need a taxi? It's the lowest price in the entire city. Which hotel do you want to go to?" A middle-aged man walked across the pedestrian crossing toward them and asked. "From the way you're dressed in ancient clothing, I'm guessing you just got off work?"
Shen Ying: "…"
Lonemoon: "…"
This is… the modern world! Son of a b*tch!
——————
One month later.
"I've seen it. There isn't any array in the scroll that the Godfiend gave me. It's completely empty."
"Oh."
"He did this on purpose. From the beginning, he wanted to send us back here once we found Meng Po."
"Yes."
"This bastard, kicking us to the curb after he finished using us. He still dared to act as though he was keeping to his promise under the Heavenly Dao. Now, I've finally figured things out. He's of the same level as the Heavenly Dao itself. Any promise made by him is of no effect whatsoever."
"Oh." Shen Ying tapped on her keyboard as she drank a gulp of her Coca Cola.
"What's more, I already spent hundreds of years in that realm, yet only four or five days have passed in this world. The time difference is way too big."
"Oh." Shen Ying raised her head to look at him in the eye.
Then, she sighed, "So… you came to look for me about this?"
"Of course not!" His expression darkened. "I went back to the office these few days and found out something."
He picked up Shen Ying's iPad somberly and played a video before placing it in front of her face.
"Look at this!"
Chapter 277: Automatic Correction
A video was playing on the screen and Lonemoon was standing on the stage. He was introducing something in a low voice. Sometimes, his voice sounded high and other times it sounded low. There were different sorts of background music playing as well.
Was this… a MAD video[1]? Father Niu watches these too!
"it's pretty well-made," Shen Ying commented.
"Well-made my foot! Look at that face!" He pointed at the video and then pointed at himself. "It looks exactly like me!"
"And then?"
"This was made two years ago!" Lonemoon pointed at the title of the video. "I remember this was before I transmigrated, at a launch of one of our games. At that time, I had not yet transmigrated and had not begun training my body. I should not have looked like that." As he spoke, he switched tabs back to Baidu[2]. He searched for more news about himself. Every single one of the images showed a Lonemoon that looked like how he did at present. "Look at these photos. I look exactly like the way I am now. I went back to the office as well. No one realised that I look different from before."
"Oh." Shen Ying pondered for awhile, then asked, "Could it be that the Plane corrected its own mistake?" Shen Ying continued tapping on her keyboard as she said, "You belong to this world. You transmigrated by accident and did not go through the proper channels. Now you're back. Maybe the world is trying to make sense out of your existence"
Automatic correction?
Lonemoon hesitated. "In other words, apart from you, everyone else thinks that I looked like that all along?"
"Yes." Shen Ying waved her hand. "Don't worry, it won't affect you." "How do you know all of this?"
Shen Ying looked at him seriously. "Isn't this general knowledge about planes?"
General knowledge my ass! How come he never had such knowledge?
"Wait!" Lonemoon chewed over what Shen Ying had just said. "You said I didn't go through the proper channels to transmigrate. In other words… there are proper channels to transmigrate in this world?"
"I think so?" Shen Ying looked away.
"Are there or are there not?"
"I don't know either." Shen Ying shook her head. "I don't have much exposure to planes - I don't have a degree in it." "We can learn about these things in schools?" Lonemoon rolled his eyes. "Where did you learn these things from?"
Shen Ying's hand began to tremble so that the sound of her typing slowed down a lot more as well. An indiscernible expression flashed across her face. A moment later, she replied, "I think it's better that you remain in the dark."
Lonemoon narrowed his eyes at her, as if suddenly thinking about something. "It wasn't your older sister, was it?"
"…" Shen Ying shivered.
"Where is she? Bring me to her!"
"I don't know. She stays away for one or two months at a time, but…" Shen Ying turned around, a serious look on her face. "You'd better not look for her."
"Why?" Lonemoon paused. How would he clarify matters if he did not look for her? "No way, I must see her. I'm going to wait for her right here."
Shen Ying frowned. "This is my house, you-"
Before she finished speaking, Lonemoon tapped gently on the iPad. Shen Ying's phone rang beside her.
[Di di! Received *** dollars on WeChat[3].]
"Alright, Father Niu. No problem, Father Niu." Shen Ying's eyes twinkled. "Which room do you want to stay in? Do you want a cup of coffee? Do you want milk or sugar with that?"
"…' Retard.
Lonemoon rolled his eyes at the cheap brat. Suddenly, something on Shen Ying's screen caught his eye. "Oh yes, you were tapping non-stop on your keyboard earlier… Wait, isn't this the information bank from my company? What are you trying to do now?" "Nothing?" Shen Ying laughed nervously. "I'm just deleting some useless information that I stored in your system earlier."
"Information?" Lonemoon's expression darkened. "Why did I see you on my online game database then?"
"Er…" Shen Ying cleared her throat. "I also changed my online game database while I was at it."
"…" F*ck you! Stop changing online game databases just because other people wouldn't be able to detect it!
Shen Ying had already re-opened the game, logged in and within ten seconds, got killed by her opponent.
Lonemoon, who felt the urge to beat her up: "…"
-_-||| Her hacking skills were completely inversely proportional to her gaming skills. This was… refreshing.
How did you get killed so quickly?
"Indeed, the tenfold defence does not work. I should change it to hundredfold."
"…" That's enough - you might as well erase all the enemies from the game!
(╯°Д°)╯┻━┻
Lonemoon took a deep breath and scanned the woman who now resembled an internet addict beside him. He lowered his gaze and sighed, "Shen Ying, don't you want to return to that world?"
Shen Ying paused, finally looking up from her screen. "Father Niu, you want to go back?" He hesitated and clenched his fists by his side. A moment later, he sighed again. "Yes!" Although only four or five days passed in this world, he had already lived for hundreds of years in that other realm. He was already used to life over there. Even if he belonged to this world originally, this world seemed extremely foreign to his present self. Everything that he was familiar with was in the other realm. "I want to go back!"
"Oh." Shen Ying frowned. A moment later, she said, "But… even if I have a way to send you back, the Godfiend would send you here again if you go back alone."
The corner of Lonemoon's mouth twitched. He had already thought of this. "That's why you have to freaking come with me!"
"I can't stay there for too long," Shen Ying shrugged.
"Why?"
"Because…" Shen Ying was just about to explain when her eyes widened as she recalled something. "That's right, what date is it today? What time is it?"
"Huh?" Lonemoon hesitated and glanced at the electronic calendar. "Isn't it the 10th? It's almost noon."
Shen Ying paled as she jumped out of her seat. "Oh no, you need to get out for awhile. Hurry!"
"What?"
"There's no more time." Shen Ying had been pushing Lonemoon out the door. She looked at the clock and pulled him back. "Quick, hide."
"Wait!" Lonemoon had no time to react before she pushed his head down underneath the table.
What the hell? Σ(°△°|||)
The next moment, a beep sounded from Shen Ying's computer. The image flickered. A figure of a woman who looked 80% like Shen Ying appeared on the screen.
"LIttle Ying." The woman spoke in a low voice.
Shen Ying shivered. She turned around as if in a daze, then she put on a forced smile. In an equally low voice, she answered, "… Big Sister."
"Why do you still look so pale after resting for so many days?" The woman on the screen frowned. "Did you slack off and wander off again?"
"No, no." Shen Ying immediately sat upright and shook her head furiously. With her back still straight, she said, "I did not go anywhere. I'm also finished all the follow-up work required. Really!" She began to perspire…
[1] A Japanese term referring to remix videos edited by secondary authors.
[2] A Chinese website that works similarly to Google
[3] An application that includes financial services in China
Chapter 278: Plane Management
"Alright." The woman nodded and did not pursue the matter further. She changed the topic. "What are the results of your analysis of the time and spatial storm in District T98?"
"I've already sent it to you."
"Alright, you settled it pretty well this time, that's why you're getting this additional one month off. But don't play too hard. You have to come back to work eventually."
"Oh."
"There aren't many things happening in these few days. Don't coop yourself up at home. Go out for walks. Do you want me to arrange several places for you?"
"No, no, no… There's no need." I'm afraid I won't be able to come back if I go to the places you arrange for. "Why? You don't like it?" The woman's face fell.
Shen Ying's heart jumped into her throat. She shook her head furiously once more. "No, but… I've only a day of holiday left. I don't want it to affect my work, heh heh."
"Mm, I'm relieved that you think this way." The woman nodded. "I've already transferred this month's allowance into your account. Check it later."
"Yes, Big Sister."
"That's all then. Recently, some problems seem to be occurring near District C. I'll probably come back during the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. I'll bring you some mooncakes as well."
"Thank you, Big Sister! See you, Big Sister!"
"Mm." The woman nodded, reached out to break the signal, and then suddenly paused. "Oh right, who's that person next to you?"
"Huh?" Shen Ying's heart stopped. Her entire back was drenched with perspiration. "What… who?"
The woman's facial expression darkened. "The one who's under the table, being squashed by your right foot."
"… N-No?" Shen Ying was obviously struggling to answer.
"Oh really?" The woman's voice turned cool. She waved her hand. Suddenly, a light screen appeared in the house. It shone into every single corner of the house, leaving no crevice unlit and offering the woman a 360-degree view of the apartment. The screen was floating in mid-air. The screen which was displaying the woman earlier suddenly displayed Lonemoon sitting very still under Shen Ying's foot.
Shen Ying's leg trembled. She retracted her right leg instinctively. Lonemoon crawled up and took several deep breaths. "Holy shit! The next time you squash someone with your foot, can you not step on their faces!" Was she trying to kill him? He was suffocating!
"Shen. Little. Ying!" The woman called out in a very chilling tone. She even added the "Little" into her name! Shen Ying's heart fell. "Stay in that house. I'll be there in five minutes!"
"Wait, Big…. Listen to me!" Shen Ying reached out to the screen, but it was too late. The light screen in the apartment went out immediately. Her screen returned to display her game character's corpse.
The entire room was silent. Shen Ying could hear her heart pounding in her chest and she felt the tears well up in her eyes.
(இдஇ;)
—————— The woman said she would take five minutes, but she arrived in less than two. The entire house was in a mess. It looked almost like someone had raided it. A hole as tall as a human being appeared.
This was… teleportation.
How could it be?
Before Lonemoon could react, a woman who looked 80% like Shen Ying stepped out of the hole, dressed in red. She had a cool gaze as she scanned the two of them. All she did was look at him from head to toe, yet Lonemoon felt a chill run down his spine. He sensed Shen Ying's fear from where he was standing. He had never seen her like that before. It was making his legs feel like jelly.
"Shen…" He instinctively turned to face Shen Ying.
Shen Ying was a step ahead of him. She threw a pillow from the sofa down onto the ground and knelt on it "Big Sister, I'm in the wrong!" Lonemoon: "…"
(⊙_⊙)
Where's the camaraderie?
The woman narrowed her eyes and stood up even straighter. She stepped forward two steps and sat down on the couch, dipping a tea bag into a cup of hot water. It was only after she finished drinking the entire cup of water that she said, "What did you do wrong?"
Eh? Shen Ying hesitated. Oh yes, what did she do wrong? She knelt down out of habit.
(⊙ o ⊙)
"It's rare to see you bringing someone over." The woman turned to look at Lonemoon. "Your boyfriend?" Shen Ying and Lonemoon's eyes met. In each other's eyes, they saw disgust that emanated from their bones.
"No!" She said with determination!
"No!" Pure truth!
"Then why is he in your house?" The woman's expression did not even change, but the air in the room immediately changed. The air pressure dropped so that both Lonemoon and Shen Ying began to pant. "Little Ying, what did I teach you? Did you forget? I don't mind helping you deepen the memory."
"Big Sister, things are not what you think-"
"Mm?" The woman seemed to have discovered something. She got to her feet, fingers underneath Shen Ying's chin, then scanned her from head to toe. The woman's expression darkened. "Why is there a strange aura from another plane on your body? Where have you been the past few days?" "I wandered to another plane."
Seeing that the woman's expression had softened, Shen Ying immediately spilled all of the details. She did not keep anything to herself. She even told the woman what colour Lan Hua's underwear was.
This was the first time Lonemoon saw Shen Ying speak so much. She went on for a full two hours.
The more the woman listened, the deeper her frown became. "You mean to say that someone pulled people over from this plane without my permission?"
"Yes, yes, yes." Shen Ying nodded furiously. Big Sister should be chasing someone else.
"How long were you there for? Did you discover anything strange?" The woman's expression hardened once more, displaying doubt that raising Shen Ying was worth it. "I didn't before, but I did later." The letter that the Godfiend handed her indeed contained her sister's handwriting. But on second thought, her older sister never threatened her on paper. She would hit her immediately. "In the beginning, I thought that it was your holiday assignment for me." And a really easy one at that.
"So…." The woman turned to look at Father Niu. "He was the extra credit on your paper?"
Shen Ying: "…"
Lonemoon: "…"
What the hell?
"Get up first, I want to ask you something!" The woman frowned.
"Yes, Big Sister." Shen Ying jumped onto the couch. "Did you look into the reason behind this matter?"
"Father Niu was the main reason. It could have been that there was a mistake in the plane which caused a chain reaction. When you were not around, I became more sensitive. That was probably why I got pulled over."
"Have you met the manager over there?"
"No."
"Plane sensing?"
"No response."
"Could it be a native plane?"
"There's a fifty percent chance." "What are the coordinates of that plane?"
"I only know it's an immortal spirit plane."
"Mm. I'll get in touch with the management over there. I'll keep your problem in mind." The woman scanned Shen Ying from head to toe, causing her to shrink instinctively. Then, she looked away and continued, "Don't they know the rules? How dare they snatch someone from my plane!" She got to her feet and started to walk off.
"Wait!" Lonemoon interrupted. He looked at the two of them in turn. "What are the two of you talking about? Why don't I understand a word? What plane? What manager?"
Was he still in Earth?
"You didn't tell him?" The woman who was just about to walk off turned back to address Shen Ying.
Shen Ying pursed her lips and answered meekly, "Didn't you say I'm not allowed to?"
"Hey, spare some thought for the victim…" The woman scanned Lonemoon from head to toe and said in a low voice, "I am Shen Ying's big sister and the manager of the plane - Shen Jing!"
"…"
Huh?
Chapter 279: Capability Test
As someone who had transmigrated between two worlds, seen ancient gods, battled against the strongest Supreme Divinities, and acted as the effective CEO for Shen Ying's sect, Lonemoon suddenly felt like he needed to re-evaluate his knowledge.
This was the first time that he was hearing that there were several other planes apart from the one filled with immortals and mortals over there, and the modern one that they were in now. What's more, the people who were watching over the stability of all these other planes were called managers. They were the ones who were in control of the life and death of all the living beings in their own planes, as well as the interactions with any other plane.
"How big is our plane?" He could not help but ask.
"Hmm… it's the entire universe!" Shen Ying answered as she chewed on a slice of cake.
"So, your sister is really…" He was starting to have difficulty believing his own ears. Although he had already felt from early on that Shen Ying came from a different world than his own, he did not expect that this would be the reason behind it.
"Yes."
"And you are-"
"My big sister's… assistant." The kind that did not get paid.
Lonemoon looked at her once again, then glanced at the locked front door. Still in disbelief, he said, "Why are you scared of your big sister? She seems to treat you quite kindly from what I saw!"
Shen Ying pursed her lips, as if she recalled something. Sheepishly, she answered, "If you were thrown among the insect races when you were five to train your body, made to self- study all the disciplines in the Star College at ten, and put in charge of invasions into the plane at 15, you would feel the same way."
Lonemoon's heart jumped. Insect race… not the kind in the movies, right?
"Was she not at all worried that you would be eaten by those insects?" Lonemoon could hardly believe it. "Would she follow you in secret?"
"She would!" Shen Ying nodded. "She would follow behind me every time."
"Oh." I knew it.
"Then gang up with the insects to attack me!"
"…" Are you really biological sisters?
"Wait, didn't you say that you retained in primary school a couple of times?"
"Yes!" "Why?" If she could self-study all the disciplines in the Star College at 10 years old, she was a prodigy! Why would she have retained?
"Probably because… I miscalculated the Mother Star's literacy standard."
"What do you mean?"
"For example, primary school children are always taught that one plus one equals two. But if you asked the same thing to a university student, would you get the same answer?"
"…" Of course not. "So?"
"I accidentally over complicated the questions. My teacher thought I did not respect the questions and gave me zero."
"…" So it was because her perspective was different? Why did he suddenly feel the urge to light a candle for her?
"I was young then. Only at eight years old did I understand what was going on, but I had already remained in the first grade for three years."
"…" Alright, our teachers have completely embarrassed everyone in Earth.
Lonemoon wanted to ask something else, but Shen Ying suddenly sat upright. That was when he realised that Shen Jing had emerged from the room. She still did not look too good. Her expression remained so cold that it was sufficient to invoke fear in everyone around her.
"I couldn't get in touch with the manager there." Shen Jing frowned. "Maybe that plane really is a native one - it doesn't even have a manager."
"There are three ancient Gods of Creation over there. We met them," Lonemoon anxiously said. "They were the ones who dragged us into their world. Aren't they the managers?" "They're just the divine spirits of that accompany that world." Shen Jing gave him a look that warned him against belittling the managers.
"What do you mean?"
"There is always a remnant chaos of consciousness remaining in every plane where there was life. One day, that mess would become one with the plane."
"Become one? You mean they would reincarnate as well?"
"Yes." Shen Jing nodded. "Managers are different. We necessarily exist on a higher level than the planes."
"Then can we go back to that plane?"
"Before I clarify the situation, you can't!" Shen Jing's voice lowered. "But we will settle this score. As for Little Ying…" She turned around to address the woman who was chewing on an apple beside her. "What's wrong with you?" "Ah?" Shen Ying paused and tilted her head. "What… What's wrong?"
"From the moment I returned, you've been eating? You've already made six trips to the fridge. Have you not eaten today?"
"But I'm hungry!" Shen Ying felt wronged.
"Big Sister Shen Jing, she's always been this way. In the past, Chef would cook a lot more," Lonemoon added instinctively.
Shen Jing scanned him from head to toe. "Who told you that she's always been this way?"
"Ah?" Lonemoon hesitated.
As if thinking of something, his eyes suddenly widened.
Was she not?! Shen Jing's expression darkened as she stood up. "Both of you, come in with me!"
Once she said that, she turned around and went back into the room.
Lonemoon and Shen Ying exchanged glanced and followed her into the room. That was when Lonemoon saw what it was like inside. It was a plane white space that was frighteningly huge. He could not see the end of the room. It looked way more spacious than an average flat was supposed to look.
Inside, apart from a pillar that was as tall as his waist, there was nothing else.
Shen Jing walked next to the pillar, reached out and let her hand hover over it for a second. The room suddenly lit up. All around, countless screens appeared, displaying complicated patterns and diagrams which Lonemoon did not understand. He suddenly felt like he was in the future.
"Both of you, stand over there." Shen Jing pointed over to her right., where two red spots shone onto the ground. "I want to test your data."
The two of them walked over as instructed.
Shen Jing tapped on one of the screens, causing a bunch of data to appear around each of them. There were more than a hundred pages of data surrounding each of them, but Lonemoon understood none of it. Faintly, he could see that the letters "SSS" were written on the last page.
He instinctively turned to look at Shen Ying's. Her data was all warped. A bit further down, all Lonemoon saw was a mess of numbers. At the end was written in red - "Numbers messed up!"
"What's the matter?" Lonemoon looked confused. His heart fell subconsciously. Even the blind would be able to see that there was a problem with Shen Ying. Moreover, it was probably the reason why she felt like eating so much all the time.
"Unable to test?" Shen Jing whispered. Her voice was giving Lonemoon the chills. Very quickly, she manipulated the data around Shen Ying. Yet, it remained a mess of numbers. The red warning at the bottom did not disappear.
Shen Jing's expression got darker and darker. A moment later, she seemed to realise something. She turned to tap on the screen beside her. Suddenly, a transparent stage appeared in front of Shen Ying's face. On it was a round piece of equipment.
"I can't scan it. Try using this." Shen Ying pointed to the ball.
"Body-Scanner?" Shen Ying hesitated. She immediately recognised the equipment and picked it up. "Big Sister, haven't I always been a 3S body type?"
"Hold it!" Shen Jing did not answer Shen Ying.
"Oh." Shen Ying trembled and immediately took hold of the ball, tightening her grip on it instinctively.
There was a crack. The precise equipment suddenly broke into a thousand pieces. Faintly, they could see flashes of electric current between her hands.
Shen Ying: "…"
Lonemoon: "…"
She wouldn't be killed, right?
Σ(°△°|||)
Chapter 280: Phenomenons in the Plane
"Indeed!" Shen Jing sighed, as if she finally recognised something. She walked over. "Something happened to you when you transmigrated, causing there to be weird changes in your body. All your body numbers have exceeded the limits."
Shen Ying paused. Instinctively, she asked, "Haven't I broken through several times?" Ever since she was five.
Shen Jing's expression hardened.
"Alright, they're weird changes. Go on." Shen Ying covered her mouth.
"This time, the numbers are not increasing ordinarily." Shen Jing lowered her voice. "It could be… they've crossed a certain line."
"Then she's eating so much because…" Lonemoon asked. "Her body's numbers have gone up. Naturally, she's consuming much more energy. She's always feeling so hungry because her body is sending signals that she needs to re-fuel."
"Oh." Shen Ying hesitated. "Big Sister, what kind of line did I cross?"
"I'm not sure about that yet," Shen Jing replied, frowning. After awhile, she thought of something. "I have to go out and confirm something. You need to stay here for a couple of days. I'm extending your holiday until I come back with an answer."
Holiday!
Shen Ying's eyes twinkled. "Yes, Big Sister. No problem, Big Sister."
Lonemoon: "…"
Shen Jing: "…" The weird changes in her body was probably retardation!
——————
Several days had passed since Shen Jing stepped out of the front door. In the beginning, Lonemoon was extremely worried and anxious. As time went by, he became increasingly bored.
"Father Niu, don't you have to go to work?" Shen Ying asked as she chewed on a slice of cake.
"I already transferred the assets under my name to my family members yesterday," Lonemoon answered matter-of-factly. "I was gone for so long and have become out of touch with how to earn money for the company. I thought it would be better to hand it down to someone more familiar with these things."
"Oh." Shen Ying suddenly thought about Invincible Sect's treasury, which grew day by day. He had forgotten about how to carry on his business, but he had definitely not forgotten how to make money. "You transferred it just like that?" Was there no fighting within the family, and no competition between the brothers?
"What kind of expression is that?" Lonemoon glared at her. "If you have something to ask me, shoot."
"Are you considered a bankrupt?"
Lonemoon pursed his lips, picked up the iPad and opened his own account. Shen Ying was blinded by the number of zeros she was seeing.
"I'm not managing the company, but I still get a bonus every year, alright?"
"Oh." Shen Ying nodded. She pointed at the wok and asked, "Then why aren't you ordering in? Why are you cooking?"
"…" Lonemoon's hand that was holding the spatula froze. Shit, he forgot that there was such a thing in this world. Wait a moment!
He turned to look at Shen Ying. "You freaking don't want to eat my food, that's why you're saying this, right?"
"No." She put on a serious expression.
"My ass!" If it's not true, then don't freaking nod! Who am I doing all of this for? Stop making it so obvious in your expression that my food is sh*t!
"Father Niu, I know a place that cooks really good food."
"Get lost!"
30 minutes later.
"Father Niu, do you think there's a chance that we can drag Chef into this world?" "Don't eat if you don't want to!" Lonemoon glared at her. In any case, I'm not the one who's hungry.
"…" Shen Ying sighed and dug in reluctantly.
She was missing Chef for the umpteenth time since she got back!
Lonemoon scanned the stock market lazily. In just a couple of seconds, he had made several million dollars. He put aside his tablet and began to feel bored almost immediately. A life where he did not have to manage a sect or clean up someone else's mess felt so empty.
"Do you want to play?" Shen Ying pointed at her computer screen.
Lonemoon glanced at the game and gave her a dirty look. "You want me to die with you?"
"…" "How can someone like you, who hacks my system on a daily basis, be so sh*tty at a game?"
Shen Ying lowered her head and thought for awhile before replying, "I'm just not used to these medieval operations."
"Medieval?"
"In the past, I always played on the Star network."
"Star network!" Lonemoon's heart jumped. "You're saying that even aliens play online games."
Shen Ying turned to glance at him. "You want to try?"
"Can… Can I?" Lonemoon's eyes widened. As an Earthling, of course he wanted to try games from outer space. What's more, he used to create online games for a living. When Shen Jing helped them to check their body data previously, he already felt overwhelmed by the advanced technology he was witnessing. "Hold on, let me hack into a Star network account for you." Shen Ying turned back to her computer screen and began tapping on her keyboard.
"…" So she always relied on hacking in order to get online?
Shen Ying tapped for a while and picked a screen from nowhere. She worked on it for awhile as the tapping continued. A moment later, she stopped.
"It's done!" She turned around and pulled a wristband out from one of her drawers. She handed the wristband over to Lonemoon.
"What's this?"
"A simplified lightbrain."
Lightbrain! What is that? Before Lonemoon could think about it any further, he took the wristband.
Immediately, his vision blurred. The next thing he knew, he was in a white space. There was nothing but white space all around him. He could not even feel the ground underneath his feet.
He's in the game? Did he not even need to choose a name or create a character?
He looked around and found that there was not a single other person in the room. Far away, there was a black dot that seemed to be getting closer.
"Shen Ying!" Lonemoon instinctively ran toward the dot. "What kind of game-"
Before he could finish speaking, a loud roar sounded from the other side. The entire room began to tremble. Lonemoon saw the figure for what it really was - a beast. It had eight long legs and was hairless. Its mouth took up half of its entire body. From time to time, a disgusting liquid would drip from its mouth. It looked like a beast straight out from horror movies, scarier and more disgusting than any of the demonic beasts that Lonemoon had ever seen.
Holy shit shit shit shit shit shit shit!
What the hell is this?
Lonemoon's heart fell. He was already cursing Shen Ying repeatedly inside his heart. Turning to run, he realised he was already too late. The beast was travelling way too quickly and was already about ten meters away from him by now. It was obvious that his two legs could not carry him as quickly as the beast's eight legs could
His mind was completely blank. I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm dead.
How the hell does this game work?
He refused to die immediately! The beast's sharp legs were just about to stab him. Lonemoon had no choice but to roll away and avoid the attack. He found himself directly underneath the beast. There was an ear- piercing scream as the beast opened its huge mouth, revealing rows of sharp teeth. It was biting down toward Lonemoon.
Lonemoon's heart seized. There was a familiar warmth rushing through his body. He conjured a defensive fire seal and an inferno dragon charged toward the beast, attacking it right in the mouth.
Lonemoon heard a loud cry of pain. The beast which was as huge as a hill, turned into ashes.