Chapter 351: Phenomenon in the Demonic Realm
The next moment, a white light flashed. The figures disappeared, and the passage sealed itself up so that the air returned to its normal state.
Lonemoon finally began to breathe normally again. He faced Shen Ying and said, "According to what he said… Why do I feel like Jing Qi and this stupid god came here by accident? It doesn't seem like they intended to get here."
"Mm, indeed they did not." Shen Ying nodded and sat down.
She picked up a fruit and chewed on it.
"Then what's going on?" Lonemoon asked. "According to proper procedures, doesn't one have to get your permission in order to transmigrate into this plane?" Was that not the reason why Shen Jing issued the both of them permits in the first place? Otherwise, if invaders came in by force, they would be rejected by the plane like Chef was earlier. By right, they should have been half-dead. Yet, the two men looked completely fine, aside from the fact that Jing Qi's soul had since separated from his body. From the beginning, he thought that it was because the god - as the manager of his own plane - was strong. But Lonemoon saw with his own eyes that the god was so weak that he could not even win against Chef in a fight. It was obvious they would not be able to withstand rejection from the plane.
"How did they get here safely?" Lonemoon could not figure it out. Was the plane taking a break from rejecting invaders?
"It could be that they did not even make use of the plane gates," Shen Ying replied.
Lonemoon stared blankly back at her. This caught even Yi Qing's attention.
"What do you mean?"
Shen Ying swallowed the mouthful of fruit and turned to address them. "Our plane seems to… have a hole in it!"
Yi Qing: "…" Lonemoon, "…"
The two of them momentarily did not know how to react. At that moment, the ground beneath their feet began to shake. There were a series of loud crashes which sounded throughout the entire Heavenly Palace. A great force seemed to appear out of nowhere, sweeping past them and causing the immortal Qi around them to thicken significantly.
The three of them started and quickly ran out of the main hall to release their divine perception. It was then that they detected a faint pillar of light in the distance, which extended all the way to the sky. It was blinding.
What was that?
"That's the direction of… the demonic realm!" Yi Qing's eyes widened.
Lonemoon jumped. That pillar of light had a frightening amount of immortal Qi. Why was there so much immortal Qi coming out of the demonic realm? "Sect Master, Elders…" Just as he was thinking about this, Yu Hong rushed into the hall, addressing them anxiously. "Little Black is in trouble."
Lonemoon exclaimed, "What's the matter with him this time?"
"I… I'm not sure either," Yu Hong replied worriedly. She seemed to be at a loss for words.
"Bring us there!"
"Yes." Immediately, Yu Hong led the three of them toward the side hall.
The moment the three of them entered the hall, they saw Little Black lying in the bed, writhing in pain. His face was drained of all colour and covered in cold sweat. He looked to be in a massive amount of pain. More importantly, swirls of black smoke were continuously flying out of his body. Lonemoon immediately stepped forward to check on him. Shocked, he said, "HIs demonic Qi is dissipating." Even his cultivation level seemed to be unstable. "What just happened?"
Yu Hong shook her head. "Nothing. We didn't step out of this hall after Elder Yi Qing brought us back here."
Lonemoon frowned. Little Black was a demon - there was no way Lonemoon would be able to figure out what was wrong with him at this moment. "Get Boss Lan-"
Just as Lonemoon was about to suggest that Yu Hong call Lan Hua over, Si Yu rushed into the hall.
"Sect Master, something has happened. Celestial Emperor Lan Hua has…" Before she could finish her sentence, she realised Little Black's condition. "Why is he also-"
"Something's wrong with Lan Hua?" Lonemoon asked.
Si Yu nodded. "He was refining pills when he suddenly collapsed."
What a coincidence - both of them collapsed at the exact same time?
The few of them immediately rushed over to Boss Lan's room. Lonemoon checked his meridians and found that he was suffering from the same condition as Little Black. His demonic Qi was dissipating rapidly. In fact, his condition looked much worse than Little Black's.
Lonemoon did not know why this was happening and had no choice but to conjure a defensive array so that their demonic Qi would be prevented from escaping.
"What's the matter?" Why was this suddenly happening to them?
"How are the Skyfiends who were waiting in the guest hall?" Yi Qing suddenly turned to address Yu Hong. "Go and check on them. Are they alright?" Yu Hong paused. "I'll go right this moment. She quickly ran out of the room. A few minutes later, she returned. "Elder Yi Qing, the Skyfiends have collapsed as well. I've already sent disciples to look after them."
"In other words, all of the demons are undergoing the same condition?" Lonemoon's expression darkened. He exchanged a meaningful glance with Yi Qing and said, "Could it be because of that pillar of light?" Was that pillar of light controlling all the demons?
"Watch them!" Lonemoon instructed. To Shen Ying and Yi Qing, he said, "Let's go to the demonic realm and check things out."
The three of them mounted their swords and flew toward the demonic realm.
Shortly, they arrived at the boundaries of the demonic realm. The normally dark realm filled with demonic Qi was now completely lit up. In the center was that blindingly bright pillar of light, which was responsible for illuminating the entire demonic realm. Everywhere they went, they saw demonic Qi dissipating. The pillar of light seemed to have a cleansing function. It was cleaning out the demonic realm, ridding it of all its demonic Qi. The strange thing was apart from demonic Qi, the immortals seemed to be unaffected. Lonemoon even felt like the pillar of light was unbelievably rich with immortal power.
Just as they guessed, all the demons they saw along the way were suffering from the same condition as Little Black and Lan Hua. They were all writhing on the floor. There was not one demon left standing. The demons of lower cultivation already had weak physical bodies to begin with. As their demonic Qi dissipated from their bodies, even their silhouettes grew fainter.
If this carried on, all the demons would probably disappear into the light.
Lonemoon's heart sank. He quickly flew next to the pillar of light and realised that Little Black's demonic palace was right in the middle of it. Underneath the demonic palace was a huge array. The array looked extremely strange. It was set up in levels, as if it were made up of multiple different types of arrays stacked up one on top of another. All around, there were golden talismans placed in a complex formation. Lonemoon could not figure out what this meant. "Chef, can you tell what array this it?"
Yi Qing shook his head. "I've never seen anything like it." He drew his immortal sword. "Whatever it is, we have to break it!"
He waved his sword and caused hundreds of thousands of swords to shoot toward the array. Lonemoon drew his immortal sword at the same moment, employing different sword techniques to complement Yi Qing. Although they did not understand what the array was and why it was set up, they could not allow it to continue standing or the demonic realm would disappear forever.
The swords became a blur as they all shot down toward the array. The strange thing was the array stood completely unaffected. Neither sword Qi nor immortal Qi could break through it. While the demonic palace fell into smithereens from Lonemoon's and Yi Qing's attacks, the array remained. In fact, if anything, the pillar of light became even brighter.
"This pillar of light can absorb immortal Qi!" Lonemoon exclaimed. "Attacks using immortal Qi would have no effect on it!"
Chapter 352: Plane Tear
Yi Qing also reacted, and with a change of sword technique in his hand, a trace of blue God Power came onto his immortal sword. He directly released the sword intent, forming a giant dragon with blue radiance. He waved a hand, and the dragon went right towards the layered array.
In the next moment with a few clashing sounds,the array broke instantly. Even the light pillar darkened to a lightness many times lower than before.
"It works!" Lonemoon was joyful, and he directly adjusted his cultivation to Immortal level, used his God Power to produce Sword Qi, and attacked once more. In a moment, the array broke apart even more rapidly. In several minutes, the array had completely disintegrated.
The light pillar in the middle disappeared, and the thick immortal qi around it disappeared instantly as well.
Lonemoon was relieved. Just as he was about to check on the other demons, Yi Qing suddenly cried out. "Look at the ground!"
He looked down, and realized the ground on which the pillar just disappeared suddenly broke a giant tear like in an earthquake, and a white light shone from within. The whole Demon Palace collapsed instantly, but the tear actually opened even wider, extending in all directions like a spider web, as though it was going to tear the whole Demon World apart.
"What is this?" Lonemoon was shocked. He could feel that the huge sucking power that came from that white tear was nothing like a ground crack, but more like… a tear in the plane.
"Plane tear!" Shen Ying who kept silent the whole time suddenly spoke.
"What?" Lonemoon was shocked.
Shen Ying called out a light screen, and scrolling through the data on it, she said, "This plane is torn. But the tear is not big, at most… it will swallow the whole Demon World." "…" That is considered not big? Hello?
No wonder that array was broken so easily just now. This was its base.
"How to deal with this?" asked Lonemoon. "You are supposed to know, right?"
"Just patch it up."
"Of course. I mean how?"
"I think I have tools… Wait." Shen Ying dug in the storage bag at her side, took out something, and handed one each to the two. "Just patch it up with this."
Lonemoon looked down, and on his hand was a piece of a rectangular band-aid with small strawberry patterns on it. "…"
What the hell is this band-aid?
"You want me to use this for so large a crack… Wait, Chef, where are you going?" Before he had time to complain, Chef also flew down with that band-aid without a moment of hesitation.
"Holy shit! You really…" Just as he was about to stop him, he saw a light flying out of Chef's hand. With a flash, a gigantic band-aid the size of the whole Demon Palace appeared. It covered the crack on the ground directly, and in an instant, half of the crack was sealed.
Lonemoon, "…"
(⊙_⊙)
How is this a f*cking band-aid? This must be a XXXXXXL size? "Father Niu!" Yi Qing looked back and urged him.
Lonemoon's mouth twitched. Only then did he take the band- aid and fly to the other side of the crack. Indeed, in the next instant, the other band-aid in his hand flew out, became larger instantly, and directly covered the other half of the biggest tear.
Within a couple minutes, the white tear on the ground disappeared. Even the smaller tears around it closed slowly. The white light gradually disappeared and the ground returned to its original state.
Lonemoon, "…"
"Done!" said Shen Ying.
"What band-aid is that, how can it become so big?" Father Niu gave her a look.
"It's not a band-aid!" Shen Ying inclined her head. "Then what's that?"
"Plane repairer." answered Shen Ying, and thinking about it, she added, "My sister gave it to me."
"Why didn't you say earlier?"
"Eh? I thought…"
"If you dare say you thought I knew, don't expect to eat from tomorrow onwards!" Lonemoon gave her a stare.
"…" Father Niu was so fierce.
——————
After that strange light pillar disappeared, all the demons recovered. Although their demonic Qi was lost and cultivation was reduced, they fortunately didn't lose their lives. Yu Hong also sent a message saying that Lan Hua and Little Black had both recovered.
Lonemoon went a few rounds near the destroyed Demon Palace, but couldn't discover how that plane-opening array appeared. That thing looked like it came out of nowhere. There wasn't a tiny bit of array-setting aura in the vicinity.
"Chef, have you discovered anything?" He turned to Yi Qing.
He was the most sensitive to auras.
"There's nothing here beside the lingering immortal qi." Yi Qing shook his head. Then he frowned as though he thought of something. He looked at his wristband and asked Shen Ying beside him, "Master, is the plane tear just now considered a plane emergency?"
Shen Ying looked at him, then nodded. "Yes."
"But… Why is there no warning?" He pointed at his wristband. "Oh yeah." Lonemoon remembered this problem too and looked at his own wrist. When the stupid kid came previously, there was a warning. Right now the light pillar was so obvious, but there was no warning. "Is the warning broken?"
"Plane warning can only provide immediate warnings," said Shen Ying, "Which means things that happened after we took charge of the plane."
After…
Yi Qing was shocked, and his eyes suddenly opened side. "Master means that this plane tear may have existed since long ago?"
"Yes." Shen Ying nodded.
"But we just saw it breaking." Lonemoon's expression was blank. "Besides, who can hide such a big crack? And this was the Demon World, how could so many demons take no notice of it at all? Unless… He stopped in the middle of the sentence, exchanged a look with Yi Qing, and they said together as one,
"The Godfiend!"
For such a plane emergency, only the manager is capable of fixing it. If the crack had been there since long ago, then the only ones who could be able to hide it temporarily was the three ancient gods. Demon World was in Godfiend's charge and he couldn't do nothing. The reason that nobody realized it over all these years could only be that the Godfiend himself concealed it.
By the way… With such a big happening in Demon World, how did Godfiend not even come to give them a notice? Last time, when Jing Qi intruded, he hurried to call them. Yet why did he remain silent this time?
Lonemoon's face darkened. He directly drew a line in the air, opening up the entrance towards Godfiend's Divine Realm. "Let's go and ask him about it."
Instantly, an entrance appeared in the air, into which the three walked. They thought that they would see the familiar green seas and blue sky, but they only saw a pitch darkness which surrounded them in the next moment.
Yi Qing subconsciously called out a flame, but they could only vaguely see water flowing in the surroundings. His mind moved, and immediately the flame grew into a fireball which ascended through the air, lighting up the whole space instantly.
Chapter 353: Godfiend Missing
Only then did the three see clearly that the whole Divine Realm had turned to a dim space of only black and white, like a picture filtered into monotone. The sky that was once blue looked like broken glass, and it broke and disappeared gradually. The Divine Realm which was once very wide had become a void, expect a small area of a few hundred meter squares.
"What happened?" Lonemoon looked at the scene, his face full of shock.
"This place is collapsing." Yi Qing stepped forward, let his Divine Perception out to sense the area carefully, before he looked back. "Godfiend is not here."
This is the Divine Realm of Godfiend, which was like his exclusive mystic realm, and there shouldn't be a problem with it, unless… something happened to him!
"This Divine Realm is connected to the Demon World. If it continues collapsing, it is sure to affect the Divine World." Yi Qing reminded them. He turned to call up his sword, looked at Lonemoon and said, "I'll go to the right side to set a Five Elements Array."
Lonemoon nodded. "Okay, I'll set an array here."
The Five Elements Array can attract Qi of five elements. All opening of mystic realms require this array. It is the only method to stabilize a mystic realm.
The two cast spells at the same time. Immediately, a large wave of white array lights appeared, and the rapidly dissipating scene around them slowed down gradually. But a series of cracking sounds actually came from the sky, which was cracking even more severely. This was the Divine Realm of Godfiend after all, and it was incompatible with the aura of Yi Qing and Lonemoon. Injection of their powers actually accelerated the collapse.
"Oh, it's going to collapse." Shen Ying looked up at the spiderweb-like sky.
"And you may as well make yourself useful!" Lonemoon gave her a stare. He didn't know what to do for a moment.
Shen Ying's head inclined. She looked at her hand, which turned and made a hand seal exactly the same as theirs. In a moment, Lonemoon felt something rushing madly towards them, and a golden array immediately appeared underneath Shen Ying's feet. Instantly, it spread over the whole Divine Realm. In the areas it passed by, the space which looked vaguely broken just now was instantly refreshed, as if it was a picture replaced.
Even the original green seas and blue sky became a lively green grassland now. It felt even larger than the previous Divine Realm.
"Holy shit!!" Lonemoon looked at everything in front of him, completely stunned. He turned to Shen Ying. "You know the Five Elements Array!"
"No, I don't!"
"Then just now you…" Did she think he was blind? That was obviously a Five Elements Array just now. A super strong version of it besides.
"Oh, I just learned it from you."
"Just?" Do you have to be so fast?
"Didn't you ask me to help?"
"…" What the f*ck! You praise-attractor!
Lonemoon's mouth twitched. On the other side, Chef had already returned. His expression was confused. "Master… Why do I feel that this Divine Realm had no more Godfiend's aura left?"
"Oh, maybe I accidentally covered it just now."
"What do you mean?" asked Lonemoon. "It means…" Shen Ying thought about it and answered, "that the land ownership is transferred."
Lonemoon's mouth twitched. "So now, this is…"
"My divine realm."
Lonemoon, "…"
Yi Qing: "…"
Are you sure you came to help?
Godfiend would probably cry when he came back. He definitely would!
"Problem solved." Shen Ying looked around the place and clapped her hands. "Shall we go home and eat?" "Yes, master." Chef immediately opened the exit towards Invincible Sect's back palace.
What?
"Hey, hey…" Lonemoon pointed to the front. "Leaving like this? What about Godfiend? Apparently something happened to him?"
The master-disciple pair exchanged a look and inclined their heads in an identical way. "And then?"
"Of course thinking of ways to save… Eh?" Lonemoon was stunned, his mouth twitched, and as though he remembered something, he cursed to himself, "Shit!"
The original anxious look disappeared, as he turned and walked out first.
"Go home and eat!" Thinking that the person who suffered was the annoying Godfiend, he immediately felt no pressure at all!
╮(╯▽╰)╭
The three were completely unmoved. They even wanted to compliment the kidnapper.
"Chef, get two extra dishes for celebration tonight."
"I can do extra dishes… but we don't have enough ingredients."
"This month's food expenses are doubled."
"Okay, Father Niu! No problem, Father Niu!"
—————— Regarding that light pillar, Lonemoon at first guessed that it might be the doing of immortals who hated the Demon World. Apparently, that was aimed to capture the whole Demon World at one go. Yet with the plane tear that appeared later on, he started hesitating. Besides, the relation of Immortal and Demon World right now was more harmonious than he imagined. Even when they were in the Demon World just now, they had seen many immortals. Most were healing injured demons, instead of killing them off.
Especially that special Immortal Qi. He had never seen any Immortal Qi as such. It was even thicker than God Power. According to Shen Ying, that plane tear had existed since before they took charge, and the one who temporarily sealed it was likely just Godfiend. Lonemoon finally understood what Shen Ying said about there may be many pits in the acceptance plane. This was apparently one.
Now that Godfiend was gone, the only one who might know was…
"What plane tear?" Meng Po who was suddenly dragged over was stunned, her expression blank. "You don't know about it?!" Lonemoon was shocked.
"No, I don't!" Meng Po shook her head. "Godfiend never told me about his matters. Besides, the Divine World was created by Godfiend in the first place. I don't often go there."
"Godfiend is missing. Do you know about this?" asked Lonemoon.
"What?!" Meng Po was shocked. "When?"
"We don't know the details, but the divine realm is already destroyed," Lonemoon continued, "Have you never returned to check?"
"No. I also ended interaction with him last time." She seemed to remember something, snorted softly and said, "Though Godfiend is in charge of order, with sect master here now, whether he is here isn't important any more." Meng Po's nervousness sustained for 0.1 second, before she waved a hand, totally uncaring, but actually turned to take out a bag excitedly. She looked at Shen Ying and said, "Sect master, I found many delicious foods in the lower realm this time. Do you want to try them?" Then she took out a pile of various vegetables and fruits from the bag…
Lonemoon, "…"
Yi Qing: "…"
Shen Ying, "…"
Being both among the three ancient Gods, what happened to their love for fellow gods?
"Okay, we get it." Seeing that she kept taking out more of them, as if she wanted to fill up the whole yard, Lonemoon had to stop her. "You go back to Underworld first, we will continue investigating the matters of Demon World."
"Oh." She nodded, but didn't leave. "Anything else?" asked Lonemoon.
She gave Shen Ying a look before starting, hesitantly, "Sect master, before I… I go, can I… can I go and see Master Chengyu?" She hadn't seen her for a long time.
Shen Ying was stunned, and after a long time she nodded. "Yes."
"Thank you, sect master!" Her expression was joyful and relieved, as she turned and flew towards the side wing.
"Even Meng Po doesn't know about it. Who is it that wanted to destroy the Demon World?" Lonemoon. He felt lost. "And where did those special Immortal Qi come from?"
"Shall we ask that one who robbed the dowry?" Shen Ying suddenly spoke.
"Robbed the dowry?" Lonemoon was stunned. "You mean that new Demon King!" Only then did he remember about that person in the dungeon. "Can this have something to do with him…"
He thought about the purple gas and turned to walk towards the dungeons. After a few steps, he turned back and dragged Chef and Shen Ying. "We go together!" None of them would be allowed to be idle.
The three approached the dungeons. Before they came near, Lonemoon felt faint aura of arrays. His heart tightened, and he rushed straight in. Indeed, the person inside was already gone.
In the next instant, Lonemoon felt a numbness around his hand. The wristbands of the three suddenly started making an unstopping series of "ding". Almost instantly, a huge light screen marked with numerous exclamation marks appeared in front of them, filling the entire sight range.
The three of them: "…"
This is… a plane warning!!! (⊙_⊙)
In a moment, the three seemed to hear the sound of many deep pits approaching.
Chapter 354: Wholesale of Cracks
"What's up?" Lonemoon looked at the hundreds of alarms which popped up all around them. "How can there be so many?"
"Go back to the Divine Realm!" Shen Ying said with a deep voice and directly clicked her wristband. Lonemoon felt a flash before his eyes, and in a moment, they returned to an extremely vast space.
But unlike the space with green mountains and waters just now, the Divine Realm right now had the look of a starry sky. The surroundings darkened, and a large number of twinkling stars appeared in front of them. It looked like the milky way.
"This is the Divine Realm?" Lonemoon was surprised. How was it different from just now?
"Oh, this is studio mode." Shen Ying said casually.
"…" There are actually different modes to a Divine Realm! So you not only took Godfiend's place, but renovated it too? o(╯□╰)o
Shen Ying directly drew out a light screen and did some operations. Instantly, the stars in front of them enlarged and, in a short while, became many translucent light beads the size of a ball. The light beads surrounded them. On their surfaces, mountains, oceans and lakes could be vaguely seen.
"These are… the Three Realms!" Lonemoon was shocked, and he stepped forward for a closer look. Indeed, each light ball showed the scene of one world. So this starry sky is actually the true form of this whole plane?
Shen Ying directly stroked the light screen, and most of the light balls disappeared leaving only some with red lights.
"Master, are these the lower realms that set off the alarm just now?" Yi Qing glanced at the light balls and said.
"Yes." Shen Ying nodded. "There are so many of them!" Lonemoon glanced at the light balls left. There must be at least hundreds? With a closer look, white cracks could be vaguely seen on those balls. "Do all these realms have plane cracks?"
"More than 90% of them do." answered Shen Ying. There were still some with unknown causes.
Lonemoon's brows tied into a knot. "How much time do we have?"
"It's not certain." Shen Ying operated the screen, looking at a row of data going across it. After a long while, she pointed towards a light ball and said, "For example, this one will collapse after half an hour."
"So soon!" Lonemoon was shocked. "Then we'll have to fix it ASAP. Oh yeah, your band-aid… uh no, plane repairer, do you still have them?"
"I do." Shen Ying directly took out a handful of band-aids. "But we don't need to rush as such…" "We don't need to rush?" Lonemoon interrupted directly, "At this rate, all the Three Realms will be collapsing."
"We can…"
"Now is not the time to be idle!" Lonemoon said with a completely serious expression.
"Actually…"
"We've got to act separately. Chef, you go to these dozens on the left. Shen Ying, you go to those on the right. Leave the rest for me."
"Father Niu…"
"There's no bargain. I'll go for this one which is collapsing the fastest." And without waiting for her reply, he directly opened up the void and went to that plane. Shen Ying, "…" You do as you wish.
Yi Qing actually took a step forward and looked towards Shen Ying with a complete calmness. "Master, do you have an order?"
Shen Ying looked at the direction in which Father Niu disappeared and sighed. "Chef, go and fetch Radish."
"Yes, Master."
***
Lonemoon had already reached the lower realm right now.
He turned to look at the surroundings. This was a plane for mortals. Its Spirit Qi was so thin as to be negligible. That's why the plane crack was most severe here. Unlike the one in Demon World, this one appeared in the sky. When Lonemoon arrived, half of the whole sky was already split open. On the originally clear sky was a giant crack which went across the sky like a piece of it was torn.
In the middle of the crack, many types of strange auras kept rushing in menacingly. Wherever they went, everything turned into a void. The ground also shook violently like it was going to burst.
Lonemoon's heart tightened, and he directly threw out the plane repairer in his hand. The band-aid enlarged immediately and flew right towards the tear in the sky to cover a large part of it.
But the crack was really too big, that in a short while after the repairer was stuck on, it showed a tendency to fall off. A crack became visible from its edge.
It can't be fixed with one repairer? Lonemoon's heart tightened, and threw out two more, covering the small cracks at the sides. But the cracks in other places actually became more and more. He had to throw several more before he could completely seal the plane tear. The shaking of the surroundings stopped. The patch-like band-aid slowly integrated with the plane, and in a short while, it was just a sunny sky once more. Only then did Lonemoon feel relieved. Looking at the only two repairers left in his hand, he felt fortunate that Shen Ying gave him a lot of them. Otherwise, he may not be able to seal this crack.
But then he remembered that there were still hundreds more cracks like this, and his heart sank. Unsure whether Shen Ying had enough repairers, he went straight back to the Divine Realm.
"Shen Ying, that repairer…" Before he could finish, his whole body stiffened, and his face darkened instantly.
He thought that he would return to that starry sky, but in front of him was a scenery of green mountains and waters. The light balls of Three Realms disappeared, and were replaced by a wide grassland and a big Western dragon set up high on the grass.
Sounds of excited discussion came from the front. "Chef, is roasted dragon really delicious?"
"I've tried before. The meat of this pseudo-dragon after roasting is oily but not greasy, and very delicate. Master will definitely like it."
"But can it be cooked, with such thick skin?"
"Rest assured, Master. I'm roasting it with True Phoenix Fire, and each part will be evenly heated. It is sure to be cooked."
"Actually, don't make it fully cooked. Medium well tastes better."
"Yes Master, no problem Master!"
Lonemoon, "…"
He felt like something broke in his mind. Immediately, he had an urge to sever relationship with them.
After taking several deep breaths, he spoke. "What are you doing?!" I am working myself to death, but you are actually doing BBQ here?
(╯°Д°)╯(┻━┻
Only then did the two notice the person who returned. Shen Ying waved a hand in greeting. "Oh, Father Niu!" She pointed to the giant dragon the size of a small hill. "Want a piece?"
"To hell with your pieces!" Lonemoon felt enraged. "You are actually in the mood for roasting meat. What about those plane warnings? Did you know that the lower realm is about to collapse?" Is this the time for eating roasted dragon?
"Yeah, I know!" Shen Ying's head tilted.
"And yet you are doing barbecue here!" Who is the manager, after all? Hello? "Radish is already fixing them." Shen Ying pointed to the front.
"Radish?" Lonemoon's mouth twitched. Since when could Radish fix plane cracks?
You must be f*cking kidding me!
Chapter 355: Radish's Repairing Method
Lonemoon looked around and realized that not far from him was a separation array. He turned and walked towards that direction. He clapped to remove a corner of the array, and immediately the scene in front of him was visible through the corner, like a curtain was lifted. Behind, there was half of a starry sky and a naked figure within it…
As though he sensed the movement behind him, Radish who was lifting his shirt turned around. Lonemoon saw two shades of white on his butt…
"Eh, annoying one, you are back!" Radish who finally turned into human shape but was half naked, called out and started walking towards him.
Lonemoon's mouth twitched, and at an extremely fast speed, he put back the separation array in his hand, and casually added several more layers of separation arrays upon it, covering this obscene scene, before he walked back gloomily.
"What is Radish doing?" Acting indecently in front of the Three Realms? Shen Ying took a piece of roasted meat from Chef, as she replied most naturally, "Blooming!" Isn't this very obvious?
"Rubbish! Of course I know he is blooming." This was the only trick that Radish could play. "What is he blooming for?"
"To repair the planes." Shen Ying answered, gnawing at the meat.
"Repair?" Lonemoon was stunned. "What do you mean?" Since when did Radish have such an ability?
"Master means, too many planes are having troubles this time, so there won't be enough time to fix them one by one." Yi Qing by the side explained. "So Master attached the data of plane repairing on Radish. Radish is the Thousand Leaves Vegetation Spirit, so he can communicate with all plants. His flowers can send data accurately to every tear in the Three Realms. So…"
"That's why she lets Radish bloom here and then transmit the dandelions to worlds with plane tears to directly repair the planes in batches. "Oh!
So there's actually such a method. "Why didn't you say earlier?" He actually ran down to the lower realm.
"You left before Master could finish." You ran too fast, how can you blame us for that?
"…" Motherf*cker!
Shen Ying nodded, wiping the oil on her mouth.
"One more piece, Chef!"
"Okay, Master."
"Father Niu, you really don't want a piece?" "Get lost!"
——————
Radish's sowing-like repairing method indeed worked. In a short while, Lonemoon saw the warnings on the wristband turn off one by one. In less than half an hour, there were only two or three warnings left.
Radish walked out directly from the separation array. "Little Missy, I've finished blooming, and I've saved you the largest one!" With that said, he rushed over with a dandelion the size of a Hydrangea flower in his hand.
Lonemoon's mouth twitched. He directly stopped him half- way, and with a turn of hand, he produced a piece of garment and threw it over. "Put on the pants!"
"Chey!"
Radish's face was full of displeasure, and only through Lonemoon's fierce look, did he slowly pull on the pants. He raised the dandelion in his hand high as he ran towards Shen Ying. "Little Missy, look, look, this is the biggest one."
Shen Ying who finally finished up her roasted meat turned to give him a look, and slowly replied, "I don't want it." It loses seeds.
Radish's overflowing passion instantly died down. He was so upset that he seemed to wither. "Little Missy…"
Sad…
Seeing that she showed no intention of accepting, he took it back. His body turned, and he changed back into Radish shape. He held the pants which fell off and threw it to Lonemoon.
Little Missy must have refused the flower because the pants didn't look nice. It must be so!
Pui! The annoying one is to blame!
He snorted towards Lonemoon, before habitually climbing up to his leg to be an accessory.
"Shen Ying, have you figured out what happened this time round?" Lonemoon paid Radish no heed, and looked directly towards Shen Ying. With so many plane tears appearing so suddenly, it can't be normally whichever way you think about it. "Where did these cracks come from?"
"In normal circumstances, only plane storms and plane invasions can produce tears." Shen Ying gestured for Chef to put away the unfinished roasted meat. Her hand pointed, and the grass underfoot instantly disappeared, and the surroundings changed back to that starry sky.
Only that this time, there seemed to be more star-like light balls floating in the air.
"Plane invasion?" Lonemoon frowned. "But there wasn't an invasion warning just now." "Indeed not," said Shen Ying, "So these tears are the same as that one in the Demon World."
"Demon World?" Both Lonemoon and Yi Qing looked shocked. Yi Qing directly stepped forward and asked, "Master means that these tears has also existed since a long time ago, but was previously hidden by something?"
"Yup." Shen Ying nodded. She thought about it and added, "When we were fixing this Divine Realm, I upgraded your sensors by the way." That's why they could detect so many tears at once.
So, these are all pits left in the plane?
"But… if the tears had been there all along, why nothing happened before? And all of them suddenly activated now?" Lonemoon frowned. This was a bit too coincidental. And it actually happened with Godfiend missing. "Can it be that array?"
He suddenly remembered that light pillar in Demon World. It seemed that plane tears only appeared after that thing appeared.
"There's special Immortal Qi in that array." Yi Qing also nodded. "I've never seen any Immortal Qi like that, unless…"
"Unless it doesn't belong to this plane to begin with!" Lonemoon continued. This way, it all made sense. "That array and its Immortal Qi broke up the plane?"
"You're half right." Shen Ying's head tilted, and she directly pulled out a light screen. Pointing to the data on the screen, she said, "But, that array was not used to break the plane, but to repair it!"
"What?!" The two were stunned. "What do you mean?"
She reached out and clicked on the light screen. Immediately, an exact image of the array back in the Demon Palace appeared in front of them. "This array contains the rule of space. It can't completely fix a plane tear, but it could temporarily stabilize them. It's the same in other planes." Lonemoon was stunned. That meant, there was actually an array like that on top of every plane crack. No wonder after Chef and himself destroyed the array, that crack suddenly appeared. The array was actually used for blocking the crack.
"Can't it be that the lower realms collapsed because Chef and I destroyed that array?" He felt awkward.
"No!" Shen Ying shook her head. She turned to take out a fruit from the bag beside Chef and said while nibbling, "The array at each crack was independent. We only sealed that one crack back in the Demon World. Besides, that array was modified."
"What's the matter with the lower realm then?" Lonemoon asked anxiously. "Can it be that someone destroyed all those arrays at the same time?"
"Not destroyed…" Shen Ying stopped short and took a look at him before saying, "but taken back!"
"…" What do you mean?
Chapter 356: Hidden Plane
Lonemoon was stunned, but Yi Qing beside him nodded in understanding. "Master is right. Nobody can destroy so many arrays at once. Only the person who set the arrays can take them back any time." That meant the person who set the arrays caused so many cracks to appear at the same time.
"The person who set the array?" His heart sank. Can't it be that evil thing Godfiend?
But with careful thought, it seemed impossible. Both Yi Qing and himself didn't fight Godfiend so many times for naught. They were most familiar with his aura. Those special Immortal Qi on the arrays can't be his. Besides, he was an ancient God of Creation who schemed to get Shen Ying here. How could he find trouble for himself like this?
Lonemoon's head was suddenly filled with the plot of out- dated dramas. Even that setter of arrays was not Godfiend himself, he must have a close relation with Godfiend. Which meant, before Shen Ying took charge of this plane, Godfiend let that person seal all those plane cracks temporarily. But now he took back the arrays without giving them any notice. Couldn't he have… turned hostile towards Godfiend? Besides, looking at the number of those cracks, this plane was apparently long worn like a sieve? It can't be imagined how many troubles there will be in the future!
The more Lonemoon thought about it, the more worried he became. Shen Jing was right indeed. This plane was a huge trouble!
What to do now? They didn't even know who set the arrays.
Perhaps that person had other moves planned.
"Master." Yi Qing suddenly remembered something. "Is it possible to track the origin of those special Immortal Qi on the arrays?"
Lonemoon's eyes brightened. Indeed, should they know where the Immortal Qi came from, they could definitely find out the setter of arrays.
"Let me try." She finished up the fruit in her hand rapidly and clicked the light screen in front of her. In a short while she stopped. "There's nothing." The looks of the two darkened. So it couldn't be found indeed.
"Nevertheless, we can try tracking this one." Shen Ying suddenly pulled out a transparent box containing purple gas.
"This… is the purple gas that the new Demon King wanted to rob?" The two suddenly got it. Yes, Shen Ying said that the array at the Demon Palace was modified, so there was the light pillar that almost destroyed the whole demon kind. Apparently the person who modified the array was that new Demon King who disguised as a demon. Besides, one who could modify the array must be very familiar with it. He definitely knew who set those plane crack-sealing arrays.
Besides, his purpose was to obtain these purple gas in Shen Ying's hand, which meant that he would definitely appear in places with this type of gas.
Shen Ying directly unfolded her hand, and the box containing purple gas flew up. Traces of gas emerged from the box and floated towards the light balls of Three Realms. But none of the Three Realms produced a reaction from it.
Within a short while, the purple gas went back into the box.
"Nothing!" Lonemoon was shocked. How could this be?
"Eh?" Shen Ying actually pointed to the position where the box stayed. "Chef, where is that place?"
Yi Qing took a careful look in the direction she pointed to and said, "Those on the left should be Mortal Realms, and those on the right should be Celestial Worlds."
"What about the middle?"
"The middle?" Yi Qing was stunned, looking at the pitch blackness in the middle. "Master, that is the void between Mortal Realms and Celestial Worlds, there wasn't any…"
Before he finished, Shen Ying suddenly raised a hand and stroked. Instantly, the Three Realms magnified in front of them. Most notably, in the place that he described as the void, a black ball emerged in the next moment.
"This is…" Both Lonemoon and Yi Qing were shocked. Upon a closer look, they realized that a layer of black gas covered the bead, integrating it with the darkness all around it. This was a hidden world!
"It's demonic Qi!" Lonemoon immediately produced a gas spell, clearing up the black gas in an instant. A complete light ball became visible. And in the box that contained the purple gas, a tiny trace of purple gas pointed right towards that world.
"Where is this?" The two were completely confused. They had never known that in between Celestial Worlds and Mortal Realms was another hidden world.
And the demonic Qi that covered it apparently belonged to Godfiend. Why did he hide this world?
"No matter where this is, it must have something to do with the array-setter," Yi Qing said with a deep voice, "We'll know after going in to explore." Lonemoon nodded. "Let's go inside to find that person first." With that said, he directly stroked the air, and was about to go right into that world.
"Wait a minute." Shen Ying suddenly grabbed him.
"What's the matter?"
"Uh, I just want to let you know this first. This world had severed connection with the plane."
Lonemoon, "…"
Yi Qing: "…"
What?
"What do you mean, severed connection?" Lonemoon stepped forward and asked. "To put it simply… this world is independent." Shen Ying thought about it and added, "In the words of this plane, it was no longer under the laws of Heavenly Dao."
"Huh?" Lonemoon was stunned. "Isn't this world one of the Three Realms?" How could it not be under the laws of Heavenly Dao? He suddenly thought of something and his eyes opened wide. "Can't this world be an intrusion from another plane, too?"
"No."
He felt relieved. "Then why is it disconnected? Are planes allowed to be independent?"
"Theoretically not." She shook her head. "But this plane is different."
"…" Lonemoon understood instantly. This plane was a trouble. "Master is worried that entering this world, our powers may be limited?" said Yi Qing.
"Yes." Shen Ying nodded.
"Never mind!" Lonemoon clenched his fist. "Go there first." Even if they couldn't find the array-setter, it would be nice to find Godfiend and give him a beating.
"Good luck, Father Niu!" Shen Ying hurried to wave!
The figure who was just about to enter that world paused. He turned around and shouted towards the two indifferent people behind him. "You both f*cking come over too!"
"We also need to go?"
"Of course!" Whose plane was it? Hello? "That's so troublesome…"
"Shut up!"
——————
Lonemoon only felt a white light flash in front of him, and in the next moment he was already on a village lane. He subconsciously sensed the aura of the surroundings and found to his surprise that it was Immortal Qi instead of Spirit Qi in the air. Only obviously much thinner than in Celestial World.
Is this the effect of severing connection with the plane?
"Shen Ying, look for…" He turned to remind Shen Ying to take out the purple gas for clues, but he felt only an emptiness beside him.
Huh? "Where are you!"
Σ(°△°|||)
His side was empty. Not only Shen Ying but also Chef, was gone.
Chapter 357: Wonder Plane
Lonemoon hurried to click his wristband for communication, but it did not react at all. Can this be the limitation that Shen Ying mentioned? Not only was the position they entered into random, they can't even use assistant authority here?
Then how on earth is he going to find them?
He looked around him and decided to find an immortal city to gather some information first. Just as he was preparing to call out his sword,
Subconsciously, Lonemoon wanted to call out his immortal sword, but then, that giant bird figure flashed in front of him and changed into human shape. He walked towards him smiling. "Where is this Fellow Immortal going? Would you like an exclusive bird service? To and fro trips included. Enjoy luxurious vehicle and a five-star experience. Zero immortal power consumption. We have a 99% positive rating on Didi Beast Services!" [Didi is a Chinese ride-hailing company]
"…" What the hell?
(⊙_⊙)
"Fellow Immortal looks unfamiliar. New customers can enjoy a 30% off for the first ride! It costs only 3 mid-tier immortal stones. We can stop and leave at your command with perfect punctuality guaranteed. Would Fellow Immortal like to leave now?" With that said, he patted his own back hard.
Lonemoon's mouth twitched. "It's… It's okay. I can fly myself!" With that said, he flew up on his sword.
"Eh? Fellow Immortal, don't go! Flying on sword is so immortal power-consuming! If you're not okay with 30%, 40% is fine too… Or 50%
What was going on?
Lonemoon's expression was full of confusion. He accelerated on his sword. Exploring with his Divine Perception, he realized that there was an immortal city nearby. Indeed, quite a lot of mansions soon appeared afar.
He went down directly and saw a giant stone tablet, upon which was a line of exquisite calligraphy in big fonts: Welcome to Shang Fang Immortal City!
Lonemoon was stunned. Doesn't this type of welcoming message seem a bit familiar?
Coupled with the 'Didi Beast Services' he mentioned just now, Lonemoon suddenly had a foreboding feeling. After a while of hesitation, he walked inside. Almost instantly, bustling sounds surrounded him.
"50% bargain sales! 50% off all immortal pills at Danding Pavilion! Applies to each and every item, 1 day only! First come first serve!"
"Jumbo Mansion clearance sale! Immortal artifacts of original price at dozens and hundreds going at only five! Level one to level five immortal artifacts for you to choose from!" "Shang Fang Immortal School is open for registration! Our school has top-level Mystic Immortal teaching lessons. Your level-raising dream can come true within a century. All cultivations below Earth Immortal are eligible. A full refund of school fees will be given to those who haven't achieved immortal ascension by graduation. Shang Fang Immortal School is your best choice for improving cultivation!"
"Are you still concerned with aging looks because of late pill formation? Are you still regretting once giving up the opportunity to cleanse the meridians or reform the body? Huancai Fang's top-tier Age-Resisting Pill will make your immortal dream come true.
"Seventh-level immortal beast eggs…"
Lonemoon, "…"
This is… an immortal city?
Looking at these modern selling tactics and familiar advertising phrases, he wondered whether they hired a strategist from another plane, or all of them traveled through time together?
Lonemoon's heart sank. There was obviously something wrong with this world, something seriously wrong. Very possibly, there was more than one intruder. He had to find Shen Ying soon.
Just as he was about to ask for some information, he suddenly heard a loud bang. Looking up subconsciously, he saw something rising into the sky not far away, and exploding like fireworks. A large golden array covered the whole immortal city instantly.
But there was no immortal pressure from it at all. It seemed like merely a large marking, shining in the sky.
"Wow, that's an expensive doing!" In confusion, he heard the surprised shouts from cultivators in the streets. In their talking there was no panic, but actually some envy.
"I don't know who is so rich to actually buy a whole-city immortal marking."
"Yeah. Once this marking is out, it can be seen across the dozens of immortal cities."
"This is my first time seeing a whole-city marking. I'm not sure whoever that paid so much for marketing can earn back the worth of this marking!"
"Rich great cultivators are different after all."
So this array in the sky was just an advertisement?
-_-|||
"There, there! Look, the marking is activated!" Someone gave a reminder.
All the cultivators in the streets looked up, and so did Lonemoon, subconsciously. The golden array in the air suddenly started changing, and the whole figure started condensing and transforming, generating large amounts of golden stars which fell down. Words vaguely appeared in the middle of it and started getting clearer gradually. Within the time of burning half an incense, two words in attention- catching large fonts were formed - Father Niu!
"…"
Damn!
"Eh? What is Father Niu, anyone heard of it?"
"I've never heard of it. Can it be some top-level pill?"
"Or maybe some rare artifact."
"No, no. In my opinion, this must be some special cultivation method." Lonemoon's mouth twitched, and the veins in his forehead were about to burst. Killing aura overflowed all over his body. He produced a wind-riding seal and turned to rush towards the position from which the array just rose.
These two idiots!
ლ(艹皿艹)ლ
He went all the way to the square at the very center of the immortal city. Indeed, from far away, he saw a platform raised in the middle of the square, on which two familiar figures stood. One of the leaned lazily on a chair, nibbling at a fruit. The other stood behind holding a giant banner. On the banner, it was written in golden font: Paying substantially to look for Father Niu!
The two glanced at the crowd in front of them while chatting casually.
"Chef, do you think Father Niu will see it?" "Master, rest assured. With his cultivation level, even without meeting us, he wouldn't come to danger."
"Uh… How many immortal stones have we owed, then?"
"Including the cost of fireworks just now, it would be 45105 mid-tier immortal stones in total."
"Chef, quickly use your Divine Perception to do a careful search. We must find Father Niu!"
"Yes, Master. No problem, Master!"
The footstep of Lonemoon, who just reached the square, paused. In the next moment he turned to leave without hesitation. Holy shit, I don't know these two burdens.
"Father Niu!" Shen Ying actually recognized him fast. "Chef, stop him!" "Yes, Master!"
In the next moment, with clanging sounds, a sword rain fell in front of Lonemoon, surrounding him tightly. The cultivators around him hurried to dodge. In the middle of the whole square, Lonemoon was the only one left, surrounded by immortal swords.
Shen Ying stood up rapidly and raised a hand for a passionate greeting. "Hey! Father Niu!"
"Get lost!"
Don't think about me paying all your debts!
——————
Lonemoon realized deeply that he had been keeping two costly burdens. It was less than four hours since they separated, and the two could actually use up tens of thousands of mid-tier immortal stones within such a small immortal city. Besides, they were merely eating, without buying any dharma artifacts or dharma treasures.
Lonemoon pressed his bag of immortal stones with a bleeding heart. More than forty thousand mid-tier immortal stones, forty thousand! How much dirty work… pui, business, would he have to do, and how many spirit plants and dharma artifacts would he have to sell to make up for that?
For the 1001th time, he wanted to sell these two burdens!
Chapter 358: Group Time-Traveling
"How on earth did you owe so much money?" Lonemoon gave the two a stare.
"Father Niu, I…" Shen Ying was about to answer.
"You shut up!" Lonemoon stopped her directly and turned to look at Chef beside her. "You tell me!" Never mind about Shen Ying, he had been used to getting burdened by her. But since when did even Chef become so unreliable?
"When Master and I arrived, we happened to be in different areas of this city." explained Yi Qing. "That was past lunchtime. When I found Master, she was eating at Immortal Dining Place in the city. Master was too hungry that she ate a lot…"
"That's it?"
Chef's look fluttered before he continued, "I realized that the spirit rice from that shop was good so I got some by the way." "Were you eating a king's meal? Even if you ate and bought spirit rice, you couldn't have used tens of thousands of spirit stones?" Most cultivators gained Grain Liberation so eating wasn't necessary. Therefore, most cultivators' restaurants were not expensive. A bit more than one hundred spirit stones were the maximum.
"It only cost… eighty-three spirit stones."
"What about the rest then?"
"The rest…" Yi Qing's expression changed slightly, and he continued with a cough, "We only realized that we didn't bring spirit stones after eating so… we rented a platform to look for you and bought a seeking firework by the way. And… it became tens of thousands."
"So…" Lonemoon breathed deeply. "For eighty plus spirit stones' worth of meal cost, you spent tens of thousands to find me to pay the bills."
The master and the disciple went stiff, staring at the sky together.
"With that… Don't mind such details, Father Niu!" She really didn't know that a firework was that expensive.
"Get lost!" I don't want to be your Father Niu. "Don't expect to get your living allowance next month. Go and eat your spirit rice!"
"Father Niu…"
(இдஇ;)
"Hey, are you going to pay the bills or not?" The restaurant owner who kept waiting at the side became impatient. He glanced at the three. "45105 mid-tier spirit stones in total. They must be paid in full by today. Our restaurant accepts no credit. If you're not going to pay for them, don't blame me for extracting their cultivation and make it into immortal pills to serve as payment." With that said, he looked at the two up and down and snorted. "Thought you had some backing. So you can't afford to pay indeed. Why buy a city marking if you don't have money?
Don't have money?
(艹皿艹)
Who doesn't have money?!
Lonemoon's look darkened and he directly took out a bag of spirit stones and threw it over. "45105 mid-tier spirit stones right? Here are 500 top-tier spirit stones. Keep the change!" He most hated being called not having money.
"Top… top-tier spirit stones!" The owner was surprised and immediately he smiled like a flower. "It seems that I was over- thinking, then. Should Fellow Immortal want to send another city marking next time, our shop will give you a discount."
"That's not necessary." Seeing that the other party's expression wasn't pleasant, the owner didn't dare speaking much. "I will take my leave then. Thanks for visiting." With that said, he went away holding the bag of spirit stones in his arms.
Lonemoon looked at the owner who went away, and something flashed in his eyes. He tried hard to suppress the urge to beat the two up, and gave them a two-hour scolding.
Only after that did he start thinking about the situation of the whole immortal city. Ever since coming to this city, he had felt that every detail about it was absurd. What he saw all the way was too un-immortal like.
Those modern advertisements, and that strange city marking in the sky…
There was a bold guess in his mind which couldn't yet be confirmed. Thinking about it, he turned to the two behind him after a long while, "Shen Ying, the two of you stay here and don't walk around. I'll go and…" "Buy some oranges?" Shen Ying answered subconsciously.
Lonemoon's mouth twitched. "Get lost!"
————————
Lonemoon walked around the city asking and finally managed to roughly understand the situation in this world. This was a world of mixed immortal and mortal residences. All the mortals in here could cultivate, from Qi Refinement all the way till Mystic Immortal level. There didn't seem to be the concepts of Stygian Immortal and Exalted Immortal here. Or nobody ever rose to those cultivation levels.
Besides, they didn't experience Lightning Tribulation with every rising in level like cultivators of other planes. Lonemoon guessed that they might be because this plane didn't operate under the Heavenly Dao.
The cultivation system here was extremely complex as well. Besides the five elements of spirit roots, there were actually magic, qi competition, ancient martial arts… and a great many other cultivation methods. For example, the advertisement in the sky that Shen Ying sent to look for him previously was actually a magic array, he got to understand later. Though it was also formed by condensation of immortal qi, it had vastly different uses. No wonder he didn't see any immortal pressure from the array previously.
There were also many sects, colleges and training camps, etc. in this plane. All of them were places to improve cultivation, and they were varied in quality. But the people here seemed used to that and didn't find it strange at all. Coupled with those completely different sales tactics that he saw just now, Lonemoon guessed that there might have been more than one intruder in the world.
He had long known that this plane was probably intruded like a sieve being passed through by grains. Yet seeing this sieve personally, he still felt shocked..
"So that's why Godfiend hid this world?" Yi Qing frowned and said.
"Very probably!" Lonemoon nodded. "He probably concentrated all those intruders into this one world, that's why it is so strange here." Godfiend might have separated it from the Three Realms in fear of the intruders affecting other planes.
"But the people here don't look like intruders to me."
"No indeed," said Lonemoon. "I've known from just now that everything they knew about the outside world were taught by their predecessors. Those who knew them have long passed away."
"Which means that the intruders who were put into isolation in this world by Godfiend have actually disappeared long ago. And those in this world now are the descendants of intruders?" Is this a world remade by a time-traveling group?
"This should be the case.
"It' not possible!" Yi Qing shook his head. "This world is isolated from Heavenly Dao, which means souls from here do not enter the Samsara. Where do the people come from then?" They can't appear from nowhere. "I can't explain this as well." Lonemoon frowned. Indeed, he couldn't sense the aura of the River of Forgetfulness in this world, which meant that this was a world allowing entrance but no exit. Yet apparently, there were no less cultivators here than anywhere else. Where did all these people come from then?
"It seems that we'll have to ask Godfiend about this." Lonemoon pushed Shen Ying beside him. "Have you discovered traces of that purple gas?"
"Oh." Shen Ying looked like she just remembered about business. She took out that box of purple gas, and in the next moment a tiny trace went towards the right. "To the South."
"That's the North!"
Lonemoon was speechless. He gave Chef a look before flying up on his sword and starting in that direction.
Chapter 359: Extremely Straight Man
The three of them followed the purple gas' lead the entire way. To protect the remaining purple aura they had, they tried not to fly too quickly. From time to time, some cultivators would fly past them. For some reason, Lonemoon felt like the more they travelled toward the north, the more cultivators there were around them. What's more, it seemed like each cultivator looked more excited than the last. Some even greeted them warmly. Lonemoon was not too bothered at first, but as the number of cultivators around them increased, the looks they were getting got stranger as well.
Lonemoon began to feel like something was amiss. However, he kept his focus on the purple aura and tried not to think too much of it. That was until Shen Ying, who was seated on Yi Qing's sword, spoke up.
"Eh, it's gone."
The two of them stopped and realised that the line in the purple gas was gone. There was nothing floating over to them anymore. "What happened?" "If the aura didn't disappear, I think we're already here," Yi Qing replied.
The three of them scanned their surroundings. There was a lake underneath their feet, and in it stood a small island. They could vaguely make out a crowd on the island. Everybody's faces seemed to carry excited expressions, as if they were in the midst of an interesting discussion. The noise from the island travelled upward toward them.
They exchanged glances and decided to land on the island. Just as they were about to check if there was any similar aura as the purple gas' there, everybody went silent. The previously noisy island became so quiet that they could hear a pin drop. The cultivators all turned to look at them in shock and disbelief. It was incredibly strange.
Lonemoon's heart fell. Was this island private territory? Were they not allowed on the island? But from the looks of these people's clothes, they were all from different sects. There was also no array around the island. Why then were they all staring at the three of them?
Lonemoon looked back at them in confusion. Out of habit, he wore his business-like smile on his face and greeted everybody. "Greetings, fellow immortals." He was just about to ask what was going on when someone tutted!
"Hmph! How rude and unsightly!" The voice belonged to a man dressed in a green robe. He scanned Lonemoon and Yi Qing from head to toe, his expression full of contempt. One would think that he was looking at piles of garbage. "You're contaminating this holy ground." After he finished speaking, he tossed the red cloth in his hand onto a branch next to him. He tugged at the female cultivator beside him and flew off.
"…"
What just happened? Lonemoon pursed his lips. He did not just offend that cultivator, right? All he did was greet the crowd
- the greeting was not even directed at that man! There was no reason for him to get mad.
Once the cultivator in the green robes left, the silence broke. Everybody burst into discussion once more, albeit in a lower volume than before. Every once in awhile, people would shoot glances at the three of them. People were obviously keeping a fair distance from the group. Some of the people from the crowd even left the island, following the cultivator in the green robes. Within seconds, a huge space was created specially for the three of them on the previously crowded island.
The three of them: "…" What?
(⊙_⊙)
"Fellow immortal, please don't mind them." A cultivator in blue robes stepped forward and patted Lonemoon on the shoulder sympathetically. "It's obvious that those people are cultivators from Shuoyue City. Their lives are too closed-up from the rest of the world. That's probably why they could not stand it. Fellow immortals, since you've already come, please don't mind how others view you!"
With that, more people began to approach the group, expressions full of pity. One by one, they took turns to offer comfort and advice to the three of them.
"This fellow immortal is right! The two of you are extremely brave. Please don't take what he said to heart. As long as both of you are genuine to each other, it will be alright."
"That's right. Nothing is perfect in this world. As long as you're genuine, it does not matter that you wouldn't end well."
"I think you will be fine too."
"Yes, everything is in God's hands. Perhaps there will be a miracle!"
More and more people began to gather around them so that the crowd on the island became split into two. The people on one side looked extremely pained, as if they had been wronged. The people on the other side looked absolutely disgusted with them. They were looking at the other group of people with contempt.
Wait a moment!
Lonemoon was confused. For some reason, he felt like the situation was odd. What were these people saying? "All of you…" He was just about to ask when he was interrupted.
The cultivator in the blue robes who first stepped up to comfort them suddenly retrieved a red cloth and stuffed it in Lonemoon's hand.
"Here! Hold this. Fellow Immortal, you can go first. No matter what the outcome is, it will be alright as long as both of you love each other!"
He gave Lonemoon a light push, to the huge tree in the middle of the island. Next to him was an equally confused Chef, who was also holding onto a red cloth that someone else stuffed in his hand.
What was going on?
Lonemoon exchanged a look with a very confused Chef next to him. He looked at the red cloth in his hand and studied the crowd behind him who was looking at them intently, cheering them on silently. Suddenly, he realised everybody else around them were in pairs - one male and one female. A bad feeling surfaced in his heart.
"Well… Can I just ask what tree this is?"
The cultivator in the blue room smiled kindly and replied, "Don't worry, Fellow Immortal. You're not at the wrong place. Look at the stone tablet over there if you don't believe me."
Lonemoon looked over and found a stone tablet just underneath the tree. On it was written in golden letters using an immortal dharmic technique. The words were flashing: The Marriage and Fertility Tree!
Lonemoon, "…"
Yi Qing: "…"
The two of them jumped back immediately. After reading what was written on the tablet, they felt the sudden urge to gorge their own eyes out. Fer… Fer… Fertility!
Σ(°△°|||)
Why would they beg for children! Were these people all looking at them so strangely because they thought he and Yi Qing were here to ask for children?
He and Yi Qing!
In what way did they look like they were here to ask for children? And why would he come here with Yi Qing? This might be some random realm at the boundaries of the world, but they didn't have to act this stupid! In what way did Yi Qing and Lonemoon look like a couple! What's more, Shen Ying was clearly standing next to Chef. Why would they jump to conclusions and think that Yi Qing and Lonemoon were an item? Were they blind!
Wait a moment! Why was Chef moving so far away from him?
I'm straight!
"Master, I've used my divine perception to search around. There's no hint of the purple gas over here. Let's go somewhere else!" Once he finished speaking, he carried Shen Ying to his own sword and flew off.
Lonemoon, "…"
A while later…
"You two little bastards, come back!"
The audience of couples: "…"
Eh? What's going on? When did that woman on the sword arrive? They thought that they were witnessing an unusual relationship. But now there was one more person involved? It was a love triangle.
Suddenly, everybody on the island felt a strong urge to gossip…
——————
"What should we do now?" Lonemoon sighed when he finally caught up with the two of them. He glared at them and gritted his teeth. "Chef, why are you standing so far away from me?"
"Er…" Yi Qing looked up into the sky.
"I'm going to say it again - I'm straight!" Lonemoon suppressed the strong urge he felt to beat Yi Qing up. "That's about enough from the two of you! Let's talk business!! Get the hell over here!"
"…" I'm just worried you'll badly influence Master.
Chapter 360: A Realm Beyond the Realm
Yi Qing brought Shen Ying a bit closer.
Lonemoon frowned, trying to suppress his anger. Awhile later, he said, "The purple gaseous clues are gone now. If we want to find it-"
"No!" Shen Ying interrupted.
"What?"
Lonemoon paused. Shen Ying suddenly handed the box containing the purple gas over. A thin line drifted out of the box. There it was again! This time, though, it was leaning toward the west.
"Holy shit! Why is it here again?"
"I don't know." Shen Ying tilted her head. "I just realised it was there." Lonemoon took the box and studied it closer. "Forget it, let's try to search in the direction it's leading us."
Once he finished speaking, he followed the direction of the purple line. Yi Qing tried to catch up.
"Master, just now…" Yi Qing started saying, but realised that Shen Ying was looking in the direction of the Fertility and Marriage tree once again. She looked deep in thought. "Master? Master!"
"Yes?"
"But it seems inappropriate."
Shen Ying faced Yi Qing. After pondering for a moment, she said, "Chef, don't you think that-"
"I found it!" Lonemoon, who was in front of them, suddenly shouted. He looked at the box once more, then pointed below. "It's right there!" Indeed, the box containing the purple gas began to glow very faintly with purple light. It looked like something was pulling it downward.
The few of them landed. Surprisingly, it was a forest. All around them were tall, sturdy trees. It did not look like many people came here before. The moment they entered the forest, the light disappeared. Their surroundings became pitch black.
All three of them felt slightly surprised. Initially, they had found the purple gas in different dharma artifacts which resembled accessories. Naturally, they thought they would be led to other similar-looking artifacts. Yet, it did not look like this forest contained any similar-looking artifacts.
Lonemoon quickly used his divine perception to scan the forest, but he found nothing. Frowning, he asked, "Why can't I find anything?" If the purple gas was correct, they should find something over here.
The three of them split up to look around. "Father Niu, don't you feel…" Yi Qing pointed to the trees around them. "Don't you feel that these trees are all grown in quite unique positions?"
The trees!
It was then that Lonemoon realised the suspiciously tall trees all around them. On closer inspection, his eyes widened. "This is an array!"
Yi Qing's and Lonemoon's eyes twinkled with surprise. Arrays required some kind of force to sustain - spirit Qi, immortal Qi or demonic Qi would normally do the trick. Yet, this array looked like it was being supported by the natural trees. The roots of the trees were buried deep in the soil, where the immortal meridians flowed. Naturally, the array would be able to obtain some by seeking support from the trees. This was the reason this array was camouflaged so well. It would give outsiders the impression that this place was filled with immortal power. However, nobody would realise that there was an array standing right there.
This was the first time either of them was seeing an array like this. Indeed, the person who set it up was creative. Lonemoon walked toward one of the trees and activated some immortal Qi. Using the immortal Qi's force, he changed the flow of the array and broke it open.
At once, the dense forest shook before their eyes. As if curtains had just been opened, the forest disappeared. A majestic palace stood in its place.
The immortal Qi around them surged, making them feel like they were standing inside an immortal meridian.
"I think this is an ancient monument." Lonemoon surveyed the palace, which was practically engulfed by immortal Qi. "Let's go in and take a look. Be careful."
He stepped forward with Yi Qing following close behind him.
Shen Ying was right behind them.
"Eh?" Just as she stepped through the door, she halted, turning around to look at the forest behind them. "Master?" Yi Qing noticed Shen Ying pause. He turned around quizzically.
Shen Ying lowered her gaze, then turned back to the front. "That's alright. Let's go!"
A small jade-like staircase appeared in front of them, leading the short way to the front hall which was floating in mid-air.
The three of them began to climb the stairs. A short while later, they arrived at a huge field. The field was so vast that they could not find its boundaries. Immediately, they mounted their swords and flew across the field to the front of the hall.
On top of the hall hung a red signboard. On the signboard was written three words: Purple Night Palace. The font was bold and strong, commanding some sort of authority. It caused both Lonemoon and Yi Qing to frown. They looked away and did not look at it again.
Shen Ying, on the other hand, raised her head and looked at it for a long while. Hey!
The gate to the hall was shut tight. Lonemoon had thought that it would be protected by one or two arrays. To his surprise, however, the gate creaked open when he gave it a light push.
When the three of them entered the hall, they noticed that it was completely empty, just like the outside. Immortal Qi over here was so thick that it was comparable to the heavenly palaces in the immortal realm. Yet, for some reason, they had an eerie feeling while inside. It looked like this place had been deserted for a long time. The strange thing was that everything was in perfect condition. There was not a speck of dust inside the house. There was no sign that anyone had ever been here.
"Quick, look in the middle!" Yi Qing exclaimed as he pointed to the center of the hall where the immortal Qi felt the thickest.
Lonemoon turned to look. Faintly, they saw a purple light in the middle of the hall. His chest tightened as he walked briskly toward it. Indeed, there in the middle stood a stage made out of white jade. There was a lamp on it that was lit up, not with fire, but with the purple gaseous mass that resembled smoke. "We found it!" Lonemoon exclaimed. He picked up the lamp. "There is indeed a purple-"
"Father Niu!" Before he could finish speaking, Yi Qing's eyes widened in shock. "Put it down!"
Huh?
Lonemoon paused. He saw the purple gas turn into purple flames, which spread at top speed. They swallowed his lower arm and threatened to swallow his entire body.
He tried to loosen his grip on the lamp, but found that he could not. His arm was now numb.
Yi Qing activated his sword Qi and directed it at Lonemoon, causing the purple flames to retreat back down his arm. The lamp fell to the floor with a clank. Lonemoon's sleeves were entirely burnt off and his lower arm looked badly scarred.
His heart thumped. What kind of technique was that? He couldn't feel his arm at all.
Before he could figure it out, the gate to the hall closed itself back with a loud bang.
The entire hall lit up. The darkness turned into a blinding white light. A beam of light was shining down on the hall from above, causing a big hole to appear right in the middle.
An emotive male voice sounded.
"You're finally here, Manager."