Chapter 531: Chasing Another Disciple Out
Lonemoon took one step back and shook his hand off. "At this stage, you're still unwilling to repent? You said you had no clue about Zhi Lin's plot, but why then did you want to do all that you could to destroy that evil ghost? You didn't even want to leave its remnant soul behind." When Shen Ying grabbed hold of the evil spirit's remnant soul earlier, Jian Xing suggested destroying it completely.
"I…" Jian Xing paled. He was unable to say anything else.
"You're a cultivator. You should understand that the proper way of dealing even with evil ghosts is to send them to Samsara, yet you didn't do that!" Lonemoon exclaimed in a low voice. He exposed Jian Xing's inner thoughts. "Given your cultivation level, a half-step demon king would not have managed to hurt you so severely. Not unless you forced it to its limits. Only then would a spirit try to take you down with it no matter the cost."
"…" Jian Xing remained silent but his entire body began to tremble. "You said you didn't know Zhi Lin's plot, and I believe you! But when you helped her to possess Mushroom's body, you should have realized the truth. Still, you chose to completely destroy that evil ghost," Lonemoon said, looking directly into Jian Xing's eyes. "Did you do that purely to get rid of the evil, or did you do that to help cover up for Zhi Lin?"
Jian Xing swayed. He sat on the floor, defeated.
"You made a mistake, but if you took the initiative to explain yourself, I could have considered letting you off." Lonemoon closed his eyes. In a tired voice, he said, "Jian Xing… You've really disappointed me."
"Master…" Jian Xing raised his head to look at Lonemoon, confused. "Teach me then, what was I to do? She was my sister - my only family member. If I didn't do something to help her, was I to just stand by and watch her become a wandering soul?"
"Because of that, you were willing to let Mushroom lose her soul!" Jian Xing remained stubborn, as if he was genuinely convinced that he did the right thing. He smiled. "Everybody has their own selfish motives. I chose to help my own sister - was that wrong? There's no right or wrong in this world, there are only different stands.What's more, shouldn't Master take some responsibility for the way Little Lin turned out?"
"What did you say!" Lonemoon frowned.
"Am I wrong?" Jian Xing said sarcastically. "You accepted her into this immortal sect and allowed her to learn about the huge world outside of what she knew. Then, you kicked her aside. How can you blame her for being resentful? She did everything she could just to return. How can you fault her?"
Lonemoon frowned even more deeply.
"Who in this world can have no selfish intentions at all?" The more Jian Xing spoke, the more agitated he became. It was as if he was finally releasing what he had been harboring in his heart all these years. "Even Master is the same." "You're saying I did all of these things out of pure selfish intentions?" Lonemoon laughed mirthlessly. The last bit of pity he felt for Jian Xing dissipated.
"Isn't it true?" Jian Xing thought that Lonemoon was trying to deny it. He pointed toward Shen Ying and said, "Isn't she your selfish intention? She can't do a single thing right, yet you protect her no matter what and give her all sorts of benefits. You can't tolerate when anyone badmouths her. Just because Zhi Lin said one thing to offend her, you chased her out of the sect. You allow this woman to eat all sorts of spirit fruits, and to take all sorts of spirit herbs. You even allow her to abuse all sorts of high-level beasts and internal cores. Yet, you don't allow even the badly injured disciples in your sect the same benefits. What for? Isn't it because of your own selfish intentions?"
Yi Qing could listen to this no longer. He summoned his sword, but Shen Ying stopped him. Fatty's expression was extremely dark by now, but Lonemoon was even darker. Shen Ying, on the other hand, looked unaffected. She continued chewing on her fruits, as if she had not just been accused.
"You even let the evil ghost loose for fear of waking her up, thereby placing everybody in the city in grave danger," Jian Xing continued, agitated. He was shooting daggers at Shen Ying with his eyes. "She was the one who caused Zhi Lin to be captured. If you say I'm wrong, you are too."
"Are you done?" Lonemoon's silence was frightening. The corner of his lips twitched upward. "These are your true thoughts? You thought that I chased Zhi Lin out because I was purely biased toward Shen Ying?"
"Yes!" Jian Xing nodded profusely. "If Master was not biased toward her, given her skills-"
"Exactly how much do you know about her skills? Have you seen it for yourself?" Lonemoon interrupted him.
Jian Xing paused, not understanding what Lonemoon just said. Lonemoon smiled even more widely and coolly.
"Let me tell you - the combined power of Chef, Fatty, myself and everyone in this room cannot even match up to the power in just one of Shen Ying's hands!" He scanned everybody in the arena and emphasized each word as he said, "Not only that, If she wanted everyone in this mortal continent to die, all she would have to do is think about it to make it happen. Do you really think that I am doing this out of my own selfish intentions?"
Everyone present stiffened. Even Jian Xing looked unconvinced.
"I didn't want to wake her up because none of you would be able to withstand the consequences of that happening! She has been letting you off easy, not because her cultivation level is low.It's because your powers are so low that she can't be bothered!"
"…"
"Do you really think that she's the sect master only in name?!"
"No, that can't be…" Jian Xing glanced at Shen Ying in disbelief
"What do the spirit fruits, spirit herbs and other things have to do with you anyway? Don't give yourself all of these excuses! You think that it's more important for Zhi Lin to stay alive because Mushroom is nothing but a small demon? You think that Shen Ying is merely mortal, so her resources should be distributed to the rest of you? Hmph! At the end of the day, your logic is nothing but an excuse for you to do whatever you want to do and bully the kind-hearted!"
Jian Xing's face drained of all color for the umpteenth time. He seemed to be realizing slowly that he had made a grave mistake. Something in him seemed to crack.
"Jian Xing…" Lonemoon turned to face him with a serious expression. "You're right, everybody does have selfish intentions. You chose to give up Mushroom and save Zhi Lin - I can't say for sure that that iss wrong. You're also right to say that there's no such thing as right and wrong in this world, but… there is definitely good and evil!" He raised his hand and conjured a seal. "My Invincible Sect can do without disciples who harbor evil thoughts in their hearts!"
"No… Master!" An unexplainable fear filled Jian Xing. He immediately tried to crawl toward Lonemoon. This did not stop Lonemoon. He shot the spell toward Jian Xing, directly hitting his dantian. The spirit Qi around Jian Xing's body began to deteriorate rapidly. Even the Nascent Soul in his consciousness dissipated. His youthful face aged before their eyes so that he now looked like a middle-aged man.
Jian Xing watched with fear as wrinkles covered his two hands. "Master…"" He raised his head to beg further.
Lonemoon used two fingers to tap the middle of his forehead. "The experience of learning the ways of the Dao on this mountain caused the changes in Zhi Lin. Get rid of this memory."
Jian Xing's eyes widened, but it was too late for him to resist.
A thick wave of darkness overcame him as he fainted.
Chapter 532: The Heavenly Dao Restarts
"Send him down the mountain!" Lonemoon turned to instruct the other three disciples.
"Yes, Master." The three of them got up and carried the man on the floor before retreating.
Fatty carried Mushroom. "Master, I'm going to bring Mushroom down."
"Mm," Lonemoon responded. His eyes remained on the empty arena as his expression fell. They could not figure out what he was thinking; they only felt the air around them get heavier.
Shen Ying and Chef exchanged a glance, then walked two steps forward to stand on either side of him.
Shen Ying retrieved a pastry and handed it over. "Father Niu, do you want some?" "… No!"
"Oh." Shen Ying put the pastry into her own mouth instead.
Suddenly, silence filled the arena. The only sound came from Shen Ying's chewing of the pastry.
A long time later…
Lonemoon watched as one by one, the pastries in front of him disappeared. He pursed his lips. Finally, he could not help but ask, "Can't the two of you say something to comfort me?"
"Father Niu, what do you want to hear?" Shen Ying asked.
"How would I know?" Can't you tell that I'm in a bad mood?
"Alright!" Shen Ying sighed. "Father Niu, you have so many disciples. It's natural that one or two of them will drop out! Relax."
"Master is right!" Chef added. "You have taught so many people, there will be… some who will not become sword cultivators."
"This is how you comfort me?" This was more like adding salt to my wounds!
"Father Niu, if you really can't bear to let him go, ask him to come back. It's no big deal." It was true that there were very few people with innate sword embodiments.. What's more, apart from messing up for the sake of his sister, Jian Xing was pretty good in other areas. He was not entirely hopeless.
"No way!" Lonemoon turned that suggestion down immediately and frowned. "Even if there are no more sword cultivators in the world, I will not accept someone as evil as him being responsible for passing the Dao down."
"But… everyone has flaws." "I know." Lonemoon turned to face Shen Ying. "I can forgive him for making mistakes in order to protect his sister, but I cannot forgive him for harboring evil intentions toward innocent people. Mushroom did nothing to harm him. Why did she have to pay the price for Zhi Lin to survive? Jian Xing knew that Mushroom was innocent, but he helped Zhi Lin to obtain her body anyway, and even thought of an escape plan for her. If he had come clean about this, there would have been better ways to deal with it. But he didn't! If he could do something like that to someone he knew, who's to say what he would be capable of after he sets up his own sect and when there's no one around to control him?"
Lonemoon sighed. "Of course I know that there's no such thing as a perfect person. Everybody makes mistakes. I've taught him for so many years. I was waiting for him to become a master himself. Yet, all my effort went down the drain just like that. This concerns the entire mortal race. Of course I'll feel like it's a waste. But I will not ignore the truth just because of the importance of the mortal race. If I let him off this time, who is going to let Mushroom off? Who will seek justice for her? If everyone gives up the truth for the sake of the greater good, this world will become a scary place."
"I just think that while there's no such thing as right or wrong in this world, and while it may be hard to tell good from evil sometimes, there must at least be some form of fairness, right?"
He was extremely serious as he spoke. Even Yi Qing was looking at him strangely. It was almost as if Yi Qing was only really looking at him for the first time. Was this really the shrewd businessman he met initially?
Shen Ying suddenly laughed. She patted Lonemoon firmly on the shoulder and said genuinely, "Father Niu, good on you."
Eh?
Why was she praising him so seriously all of a sudden?
"You've done it."
"What?"
Lonemoon paused. The next thing he knew, he heard a series of thunder as the sky darkened. He looked up and saw the lightning clouds rolling in and covering the sky above him. It was not just nearby. He released his divine perception and found that the entire mortal continent - no, the entire plane - was this way. The gray clouds covered the skies throughout the entire plane.
It was clear as day just seconds ago, but everything was pitch black. Lightning began to flash among the clouds. These clouds looked different from the ones that rolled in during the lightning tribulations. Above the layer of clouds, Lonemoon could faintly see something huge forming. It was like a shapeless net was hovering over the entire plane.
That thing was familiar but foreign at the same time. It was formless, and omnipresent. Lonemoon felt it get closer and closer. This was… the nomological force!
(⊙_⊙)
Before he could react, the transmission amulet by his side lit up. Hong Meng's agitated voice came through. "Sir, Sir! Did you see that? The Heavenly Dao has been set up! Come up and see, it's the Heavenly Dao ah…. It's finally set up! That's great! Wah… this world finally has the Heavenly Dao hahaha…. wah ah…"
Hong Meng was crying and laughing at the same time, so that he sounded like a strange wailing ghost. He sounded so excited that Lonemoon and the others were expecting to see his head pop up out of the transmission amulet anytime soon. He was shouting so loudly that their heads hurt.
Confused, Lonemoon looked up at the sky. Once again, he felt the new nomological force above the layer of clouds. It was almost as if the nomological force was responding to everything he said. He felt like his observations and thoughts were very welcome by the nomological force, which seemed to be rejoicing.
This really was the Heavenly Dao!
How did it suddenly set up? He did not do anything. Weren't things like the Heavenly Dao set up in a more formal manner? Didn't they need to conduct a meeting to discuss the rules of the Heavenly Dao one by one? Wouldn't they have to put it to the test before they then confirm those rules? Shen Ying, the manager, had not even done a single thing yet.
Could it be that he was leaving something out? He thought back to everything that just happened. It was almost as if what he said…
Fairness?!
His heart thudded as he clenched his fists by his side, crushing the transmission amulet in his hands. Hong Meng's wailing and screaming finally stopped. He turned to face the master and disciple duo, face falling. Rage began to fill his body.
"Both of you, explain things to me! What exactly is going on?"
The two of them stiffened and averted their gaze. One looked to the left, and the other to the right.
"Huh? Father Niu, what are you saying? I don't understand at all!" "That's right, Father Niu, what are we supposed to explain?"
"Get lost! Continue acting!" Lonemoon pointed to the sky. "This Heavenly Dao was set up because of me, wasn't it? I'm a freaking assistant, and I'm not even from this plane. Where is this authority coming from?"
"Congratulations, Father Niu!" Shen Ying reached out and shoved a piece of paper into Lonemoon's hands. She seemed to have been prepared to do this for a long time. "From today onward, you are the manager of this plane. Applause!"
Once she finished speaking, the master and disciple duo began to clap awkwardly.
Lonemoon lowered his head to see that there was a piece of A4 paper in his hands. On it was written in huge font - Plane Transfer Form!
Lonemoon: "…" Son of a b*tch!
Chapter 533: The First Lightning Tribulation
Three hours later.
"So the Heavenly Dao was formed because of me?" Lonemoon said through gritted teeth. He was trying his hardest to suppress the resentment he felt.
"You're the manager. Whatever you desire will be formed by the nomological force!" Yi Qing nodded..
"You knew this as well?" Lonemoon turned to Chef, shooting daggers at him with his gaze.
"Er…" Chef was caught between admitting he did or lying that he did not.
"In other words…" Lonemoon clenched his fists by his side so that his fan nearly broke into pieces. "You've been so obedient these days so that you can successfully trick me onto this sinking ship!" "Ahya, Father Niu, stop being caught up in all these details.
Being promoted is a good thing!"
"Details my ass!" How was this another detail? "I don't get any salary nor any insurance for doing this job, neither do I get to take a break from it. It's a job that will take up my time 24/7. How can this be any good?"
"Er…" That was true. She had nothing to say in reply.
"One plane is enough to stress my mind. Now you're throwing me yet another one. Do you think this is a game?" He turned and glared at Shen Ying. "And you, Shen Ying! You're just freaking lazy, aren't you! Each and everyone of you is leeching off me - you wastrels! How dare you still add on to my workload!"
He had indeed snapped. Father Niu was scary when he lost control. Both the master and the disciple hugged each other and trembled uncontrollably.
"You're still displaying affection in front of me!" Shen Ying: "…"
Yi Qing: "…"
They immediately jumped apart and wrapped their hands around themselves. They lowered their heads and tried to hide from his sight.
"I don't care - I'm not going to take over this plane. Throw it to whoever else you want." Lonemoon paced back and forth in anger. "Otherwise, give it to Hong Meng. I already have enough on my plate with the previous plane. I don't want to take over this mess as well!"
"What if you don't have to manage the previous one anymore?" Shen Ying asked meekly.
Lonemoon halted. "What do you mean?"
"I mean…" Shen Ying was just about to explain when they heard a series of thunder coming from the skies.. The three of them hesitated. The gray clouds that had just dissipated were returning. This time, however, they only hovered above the mountain and not above the entire plane. A strong suppressive force began to press down against them. Was this… the lightning tribulation?
"Master…" Fatty suddenly rushed over and addressed the three of them. "The disciples in our sect are about to go through the lightning tribulation. It's the Golden Core Lightning Tribulation!"
That's quick! Lonemoon hesitated. He had not expected that the first lightning tribulation from the newly formed Heavenly Dao would take place here.
"Go and take a look!" This matter was urgent - he had to go over and take a look. The moment he reached the entrance, he stopped and turned back to glare at the two companions behind him. "The two of you, just wait and see. I'm not done!" With that, he exited.
Shen Ying: "…" Yi Qing: "…"
A long time later.
"Master, how much of our allowance do you think he'll dock this time?"
"Er… three months' worth?"
"…"
For some reason, Yi Qing felt like Lonemoon would likely dock three years' worth of their allowance.
He began to consider if the amount of food they had stored up over the years would be enough to last them for such a long time.
Just as Lonemoon walked into the front hall, he spotted the three disciples standing in the middle of the stage confused. The spirit Qi around their bodies began to expand rapidly. They looked like they were not at all ready to deal with this.
"What are you waiting for? Quick, go and find a spot to focus. The lightning tribulation is going to start," Lonemoon shouted at them.
The three of them looked up blankly at him. Then, they fell to their bottoms and sat cross-legged, still confused. They had no idea what grave danger they were in.
Lonemoon could not help but remind them again, "This is your lightning tribulation, and it's a test from the Heavenly Dao. After you form your golden core, you will endure a lightning tribulation like this for every big cultivation level that you cross. You have to use all the power in your body to defend yourselves against it. This is one of the hardest obstacles you will face. You cannot escape it, nor can you get somebody else to replace you. You might not survive it as well. If you do, your cultivation level will grow rapidly, otherwise you'll be gone. But this is the only way you can gain the affirmation of the Heavenly Dao. Do you understand?" The three disciples began to panic, but immediately they tried to calm themselves down. "Yes, Exalted Master!" They began to focus hard and regulate their spirit Qi to prepare to defend themselves against the upcoming tribulation.
It was almost time. The spirit Qi around them was getting thicker and thicker. Three flashes of lightning suddenly shot down from the sky, out of the gray clouds, and down onto the three of them.
The moment it struck them, Lonemoon looked up to the skies. He decided to observe the first lightning tribulation from the Heavenly Dao. The next bolt of lightning seemed to brake mid way through the air. The tip of the lightning bolt seemed to take on a life of its own as it turned and headed toward Lonemoon. It stopped and turned back toward the three disciples, then back at Lonemoon, then back at the three of them. For a long time, the bolt of lightning did not reach the ground.
It zig-zagged in this fashion a couple of times, as if it was unwilling to strike the disciples. Even the nomological force surrounding it felt… confused. It looked like it was asking Lonemoon for his opinion. Lonemoon pursed his lips. This really was the Heavenly Dao that was born from his thoughts. A moment later, he gritted his teeth. "Do what you have to!" Why did it have to ask for his permission?
It was only then that the lightning bolt struck down toward the three disciples. The first bolt of lightning was a mental demon tribulation. The three of them were now battling with their own mental demons.Their faces were twisted in anguish. After all, this was the golden core lightning tribulation. They regained their consciousness quickly enough.
The second bolt followed quickly after, then the third. Each one struck the three people below accurately. Not only did they not make any detours, the speed with which they shot down from the skies was exactly the same as well. Even the suppressive force and voltage of each lightning bolt was exactly the same.
Lonemoon felt like he was looking at the lightning tribulation performing its accuracy. It was almost as if the lightning tribulation was putting on a show, conscious that it was being observed, Lonemoon's expression darkened. If not for the fact that the lightning tribulation was not over, he would have gone back to give the master and disciple duo a good beating. The lightning tribulation ended soon enough. There were a total of 9-9, 81 bolts of lightning. The gray clouds finally began to part but the thick spirit Qi and nomological force lingered, as if not daring to dissipate without Lonemoon's instructions.
Lonemoon sucked in a deep breath and tried to keep his anger under control. He said, "Alright!" The nomological force dissipated. It was almost as if it just heaved a sigh of relief. Thank goodness the leader was happy.
The three people who had just endured the lightning tribulation were injured in varying degrees, but the spirit Qi around their bodies seemed considerably more powerful. This was the good thing about lightning tribulation. The Heavenly Dao was kind to the people who managed to endure the lightning tribulation. Fatty surveyed their wounds one by one and found that none of them were seriously injured. Instead, all of their cultivation levels seemed higher.
This perhaps was the Heavenly Dao's way of making up to them. After all, they had been training their core for a long time before the Heavenly Dao formed. This lightning tribulation was considered late. It could have let them off just like that, but now that they were at the mercy of the nomological force, the lightning tribulation was unavoidable.
Chapter 534: Receiving the Plane
Fatty gave the three disciples elixirs that would help them with the recovery. After that, he gave them some guidance as to how to carry on cultivating. At the same time, he gave them a more detailed lesson on the lightning tribulation. Perhaps it was because they had already gone through the lightning tribulations themselves - as the disciples listened, they had fear and respect in their eyes. The pride they had in learning the ways of cultivation all disappeared. They no longer felt like they were a step above the rest.
If the three of them stayed true to themselves, it was possible that they would each become leaders of their own sects in the future. Lonemoon nodded satisfactorily and allowed Fatty to lead them away. Thinking that the two bastards were still at the rear hall waiting for him to deal with them, he headed back to the rear hall.
But he found that Hong Meng, who was supposed to be thousands of miles away, had also sprouted out of nowhere and was sitting in the rear hall as well.
"What are you doing here?" Lonemoon glared at him. "Where did you throw Rabbit to?" "Sir Lonemoon, please do not worry. Rabbit is learned and very good with words. The divine races have also settled down considerably. Rabbit will be alright alone," Hong Meng said nervously. "Moreover, I don't have much to do in Purple Night Palace as well. I was getting bored out of my mind. The only thing I could do to help was hand Rabbit carrots."
"I've already done everything you needed to do - of course you're bored!" Lonemoon looked at him contemptuously from head to toe. "I have no idea how you even became an ancient god. It's no wonder that you screwed things up so badly!"
Hong Meng felt extremely close to coughing up blood. Could Lonemoon not stab him right through the chest? Still, he maintained his polite smile. "Heh heh heh… Sir, your teaching is true. I really owe it all to the three of you for all your help. This time, I came here to thank you personally for re-building the Heavenly Dao!"
Lonemoon narrowed his eyes and scanned him from head to toe once again. "Is it the usual practice in this plane to come empty-handed to thank others?"
Hong Meng paused and faintly felt another knife shoot through his chest. His entire palace had been moved away from his mountain to this place. What else did Lonemoon expect from him? Weren't they supposed to be friends? His heart was continually being stabbed by countless daggers.
"You came all this way just for this?" Lonemoon looked at him suspiciously.
"Er…" Hong Meng kneaded his hands and looked all around the room. A moment later, he finally spoke up. "It's like this: Now that the Heavenly Dao has been set up, the plane is officially out of danger. But having the different races live together and mix around together can't be good for the development of the plane. That's why I think it will be better to split them into different realms so that they can be dealt with one by one. It's a pity that I'm not powerful enough. What's more, I heard that the Heavenly Dao was formed thanks to Sir Lonemoon. So can I please request your help-"
"Get lost!" Before he could finish speaking, Lonemoon exclaimed.
"Eh?" Hong Meng stared blankly at him. Why didn't he wait his turn? "If you want to split them into different realms, you can go ahead and do so." Lonemoon was not going to get involved in the problems of this plane. "You're not paying me any salary. Why should I help you?"
"Father Niu…" Yi Qing could not help but step forward and pull Lonemoon aside. He whispered in his ear, "You're now the manager of this plane. If you don't take control of this plane, it'll fall apart." Lonemoon could make full use of the fact that Hong Meng was unaware about all of this to make it seem like Lonemoon was helping him out.
"Heh heh." Lonemoon slapped Yi Qing across the cheek. "You're trying to blame me for the pit that the two of you dug?"
Yi Qing: "…" Master, I tried.
Shen Ying hugged the plate of pastries closer to her and formed a tight circle with the two of them. "Father Niu, what's done is done. What's more, this company is yours now. You're the boss. Of course you won't get any salary." Lonemoon narrowed his eyes and saw through all of Shen Ying's fake intelligence. "You mean to say that I no longer work for you anymore?"
"Oh. That's not true." He had to continue raising his own daughter.
"Then what are you saying!" No matter how she put it, he would still have to work his ass off for the both of them. It was enough that he had to work his ass off to raise two wastrels. Now, even Hong Meng was his burden. What was that all about? He even had to deal with this entire plane.
"…" It was too difficult to bluff Father Niu, who had already changed his line of business. Suddenly, the two of them understood why the people who cheated Lonemoon before felt so worried when they were exposed.
"Ah!" Shen Ying sighed. She suddenly reached out and handed the plate of pastries back to Chef. She sucked in a deep breath and pulled on Lonemoon's sleeves. A certain air about Shen Ying disappeared all of a sudden. She opened her eyes wide and pouted, so that she looked like she was about to cry. Her voice became soft and meek. "Father Niu… Are you really planning on rejecting this plane?"
"Of course…" Lonemoon turned around and glanced at the woman who was pouting as she spoke to him. Suddenly, the word "adorable" appeared in his mind. He clenched his fists and was just about to give in. It took all his willpower to hold himself back and say, "Shit! Stop using the same trick you use on Shen Jing on me as well!" Thankfully, he had seen a more adorable version of Shen Ying - Baby Ying. He… could handle it! He stiffened his neck and stopped himself from nodding.
"Alright!" Shen Ying once again slumped over and stopped acting cute. "If you really don't want to take over the plane, then forget it."
"Master…" Yi Qing was put in a trance by Shen Ying's show, but after hearing what she just said, he snapped back to reality and called out anxiously.
"Forget it, Chef. Let's not force Father Niu anymore." Shen Ying sighed long and deep. She tilted her head and acted nonchalant as she said, "But I've already transferred this plane away. We have to find someone to take over it. It's not easy to gain the approval of the plane. Other than Father Niu, I don't know who else will be able to. Why don't we just hand the plane back to my older sister? This plane is quite near to mine as well. From time to time, she can come here and observe the disciples…"
Lonemoon and Yi Qing's faces drained of color. A chill ran down their spine. Lonemoon quickly interrupted her. "Alright, I'll take it!" Could he still accept the plane now? They just did not want Shen Ying to call the big demon over.
"Really?"
"Yes, really!" Did he have any other choice?
"I'm not forcing you?"
"… No, you're not!" As if! But being forced to do it was better than being beaten to death by the big demon.
Lonemoon gritted his teeth. "Alright, Father Niu! Thank you, Father Niu!" Father Niu's promotion was finally decided. Shen Ying patted him on the shoulder and turned to grab a pastry from the plate Yi Qing was holding.
"Want one?"
"Get lost!"
"Alright."
The three of them had come to a consensus, so the meeting finally ended. They turned and returned to the table, to see Hong Meng staring blankly at Shen Ying. Although he had not heard anything, he did see something. He saw Shen Ying acting adorable and was clearly moved.
What did he just see? All he knew was his heart was beating extremely quickly and he suddenly felt the urge to rub something. He turned to look at Shen Ying. "What are you looking at!" The two people by Shen Ying's side shouted aggressively. "What does this have to do with you?"
"No… I…" I don't know what's going on either?
"Holy shit, you dare to let your nose bleed?"
"Master, can I slaughter him?"
Shen Ying: "…"
Chapter 535: Separation of Three Realms
When the plane was first created, all three realms were mixed together. Only when the Heavenly Dao was created, and the nomological force was formed, did the division of three realms start. And what Lonemoon had to do now was to divide the three realms. So long as the three realms were completely separated, the problem of the human race that Hong Meng worried about would no longer exist. In addition to that, there were all of Lonemoon's earlier efforts which established Daoist teachings among the humans. Though they still couldn't fight the divine race, they were no longer completely defenseless.
Hong Meng gave them a crash course on how to divide the realms. If it was only dividing up the land, it'd naturally be easy, just like directly tearing up a piece of paper into three layers. But dividing realms was different, because though the three realms were divided, they were still linked with one another, or they wouldn't be a complete plane. Just like the plane earlier, though the boundary between realms couldn't be crossed, there were still realm gates to connect them.
"How then?" Lonemoon frowned. It had to be separated yet connected, did he mean to fold the plane? But wouldn't that crush the lower-layer beings? "This is actually quite easy to solve." Hong Meng hurried to say earnestly, "We just need to arrange the original source, which is the River of Forgetfulness of this plane, properly. But because there is no Meng Po here, we will still have to trouble Sir to arrange the River of Forgetfulness yourself."
"How to arrange?" That small ball of original source purple gas back then had already grown into a big river, covering the whole plane.
"You just need to make a trip to the center of the purple gas." Hong Meng hurried to say, "You only need to help me return it to the original state, and after the three realms are divided, change it back."
Lonemoon pressed his forehead. He also had no other way, now that he had already accepted the responsibility of this mess. Therefore, he gave Fatty a few reminders, and then left with Hong Meng, dragging a master and her disciple with him. "Don't you two be idle!"
That place that Hong Meng talked about was actually not very far from his Purple Night Palace… No, Purple Night Lawn was all that was left of it now. After all, that was the center of the whole plane. Hong Meng finally revived his plane after so much longing, and he was naturally very nervous about the original source purple gas, that he didn't even dare to live too far from it.
He even used up half of his God Power to completely isolate it, in case ignorant members of the divine race went inside and destroyed it. This was also part of the reason he couldn't beat those twelve divine races.
They followed him looking all the way. They went past countless traps and arrays on their way, some of which even Hong Meng himself forgot about, and they were almost shut outside, and only entered after spending some efforts to solve the array. Lonemoon expressed strong condemnation of such unreliable behavior of his, and then… spent two hours cursing him.
Finally, they reached the center of the original source purple gas. That was a plain-looking desolate patch of land. It was so desolate that not even a plant grew on it, but in their eyes, the scene was completely different. That was an endless wave of purple, like a purple ocean hanging in the sky, making the whole world purple in its reflection. Connecting to that purple sea were many rivers wide and narrow. They reached out in all directions to every corner of the plane. Even Lonemoon was momentarily shocked by the scene in front of him. He didn't expect that the original source which was the size of a well back then had already grown so huge right now. It seemed that Hong Meng really did protect it with all his heart these years.
"Sir, this is the center of the original source," said Hong Meng with a little pride.
The corner of Lonemoon's mouth twitched. "You're f*cking asking us to contain so big an ocean?" You must be joking. What could he use to contain it?
"This is, of course, not to be kept directly." explained Hong Meng. "The original source is different now from the past. To completely control it, we may have to go nearer towards the center."
"Then what are you waiting for? Go!" urged Lonemoon. "Alright!" Hong Meng finally continued to fly inside. In an instant, their figures were swallowed by large waves of purple gases. The further inside, the thicker the aura of the original source. Around them, they could see nothing but the purple waves. Lonemoon followed behind Hong Meng, and at the same time he had to let out his divine perception to go towards the center in which the purple gas was the thickest.
Perhaps it was an illusion, but he somehow felt that the further he flew, the deeper that purple went. It gave him the illusion of darkness, as if a monster as tall as the sky was coming right towards them…
Roar~
Holy shit! So it wasn't an illusion, but a real monster!
Lonemoon hurried to drag Hong Meng back towards the side. In the next moment, a claw the size of a mountain slammed down beside his body with a bang, bringing up a wild gust of wind which blew away the purple gas in front of his eyes. The wind was so strong that even Lonemoon felt a bit unstable. "What the hell is this?!"
Only then did Lonemoon see that it was a huge monster the same height as the sky. He couldn't even see its head, and its lower body was completely immersed in original source purple gas. Around its body were patterns of black and white circles, like a zebra. And those patterns were moving continuously without a fixed pattern. Its whole body was surrounded by these two colors, and no specific shape could be identified. And an aura he had never seen before came out of its whole body, it seemed to… not belong to any plane.
"This… is a Beast of Chaos!" Hong Meng gasped, his face full of disbelief.
"What beast of chaos?" asked Lonemoon.
"That's a monster that grows in primordial chaos." explained Hong Meng, even more panicked. "He must have arrived at this plane following the living beings of this plane, and nourished by the primordial qi on those beings, that's why it hid in the original source of the plane the whole time." "Why didn't you say earlier about such an important matter!" Things from the chaos were more terrible than things from another plane!
"I… I also didn't know!" Hong Meng's face was full of anxiety. Should it be allowed to stay here, after it had sucked all the primordial qi, it will start with the original source purple gas.
"Shen Ying, this thing…" Lonemoon looked back at a certain person habitually, only to find an emptiness behind him. That familiar figure wasn't actually there. "Holy shit! Where did she go?" Did she have to be absent at every important moment? Hello?
Lonemoon seemed to have also just realized that Shen Ying and Chef who stayed behind the whole time were gone. He was stunned for a second. "We probably lost them just now because the purple gas was too thick."
"Shit!" Lonemoon really wanted to curse right now.
Yet another gust of wild wind swept in front of his eyes, with the momentum that seemed to be able to crush everything. Lonemoon's hand turned and the fan in his hand turned into a longsword instantly. He grabbed Hong Meng beside him and flashed towards the side.
He didn't care anymore! He could only attack right now. Fortunately, though this Beast of Chaos was powerful, its movement was very slow. He wasn't completely without hope.
"Sir…" Hong Meng's standing was a bit unstable. The primordial qi brought about by that giant beast could directly erode the God Power in his body.
"Get away and don't be a bother!" With that said, Lonemoon turned his hand and threw Hong Meng out like a ball.
Chapter 536: A Strange Beast of Chaos
Hong Meng only heard loud waves of wind sweeping beside his ears, and in an instant, he had flown out of the range of primordial qi. The suppressed sensation disappeared from his body, and his God Power had recovered. He took two heavy breaths, and knowing that he couldn't help, could only look nervously at the person over there.
Lonemoon had already rushed up holding his sword. Immediately, tens of thousands of sword arrays appeared. A sword rain covered the whole sky, and started gathering to form the look of a tornado, attacking right towards the Beast of Chaos.
Roar~
The Beast of Chaos made a loud roar. The sword arrays in the air stagnated. Lonemoon tightened the sword in his hand and directly broke through the sound wall and attacked inside. Yet at the instant the blade came in touch with the body of the Beast of Chaos, the God Power on the swords dissipated directly, and they dropped right from the sky. Lonemoon froze for a moment, yet another gigantic claw appeared in the sky and slapped right down at him. He barely dodged it on his sword, yet was still swept by its wind. Thick primordial qi rushed towards his face. He only felt a pain in his heart, and the God Power all over his body disappeared. He opened his mouth and spit out blood.
Even he himself was stunned for a moment. After becoming a plane assistant, beside that time dealing with that invading Manager, this was his first time being hurt by something else. But the hesitation lasted only an instant. He clutched his sword and rushed over once more.
But however he attacked, the sword arrays he made still fell directly before it reached the body of the Beast of Chaos. It couldn't hurt it at all. Instead, the injuries on his own body were actually increasing.
"Master…" Yi Qing looked at the slightly wretched Lonemoon and said worriedly, "Do we really not need to go and help Father Niu?"
"To take over the plane, he has to go through something like this." Shen Ying said in a deep voice. "If not this time, then there will be a next time." And it will only be more serious.
"…" Yi Qing's hands tightened beside his body, and he didn't go after all.
Yet over there, Father Niu's situation seemed to worsen. His various attempts led to the conclusion that this Beast of Chaos seemed immune to all forms of power in this plane: God Power, Immortal Qi, or Spirit Qi. Before the attacks near its body, they were directly dispelled by the aura around its body.
But fortunately, he still had other abilities. Lonemoon took a deep breath, and the Immortal Qi all over his body disappeared. The power belonging to a plane assistant rushed up instantly, and the aura on his body changed immediately. He looked to be merely an ordinary man, but with a suppression that nobody could resist. Even Hong Meng behind him was shocked, and subconsciously took one step back.
Lonemoon gave the sword in his hand a wave, and the same sword arrays appeared once more. But this time, it directly broke through the primordial qi beside the gigantic beast and severed a part of its body. That Beast of Chaos made a deafening howl instantly, which seemed to be a scream of pain. From the place where it was hurt by the sword a ray flowed out a river of thick black liquid, yet it disappeared the moment it fell.
Lonemoon continued attacking, and the injuries on the beast's body kept increased. Its whole gigantic body also started twisting. Only then did Lonemoon realize that there was only a huge mouth above its head, without eyes, nose, and other facial features. At the moment, it was screaming continuously, and even the earth trembled with it.
Yet its body was really too huge, that these wounds from Lonemoon was far from fatal to it. Unless there was something to blast out its body completely, like… like the detonator that Shen Ying used to bomb that planet back then.
Shit, how could there be a destructive weapon at such a martial arts world! Even if it could be made, he didn't know how… Wait! Suddenly, layers of complicated arrays flashed across his mind, and a large wave of strange yet familiar knowledge rushed into his brain, eventually turning into the detonator that he once saw. Holy shit, he really knew how!
Lonemoon felt a joy in his heart. Immediately, he flew up to the space above the Beast of Chaos, and his hands started conjuring seals. He activated the power of assistants all over his body to conjure the complicated arrays, which layered up in his hands. White, bright light from the arrays grew brighter and brighter. In an instant, it was as though the whole space full of purple gas was lightened.
He finally conjured the last array, used the last bit of strength in his body to fly down right towards that huge mouth of the Beast of Chaos, going directly into its body.
In the next instant, with a deafening bang, countless white light rays penetrated the body of the Beast of Chaos like sharp blades. Its huge body inflated instantly and then exploded with another bang. It burst into black pieces that looked like pieces of meat, and then directly dissipated into black gas.
Only then did Lonemoon let out a breath. His whole body relaxed, and he directly dropped from the sky as he no longer had any strength to ride his sword. "Chef." Shen Ying hurried to call out.
Yi Qing flew out instantly, catching the person who fell from the sky with his strength depleted.
"Father Niu, are you okay?" Shen Ying went forward and asked.
Lonemoon rolled his eyes at her directly. "Do you think I look like I'm okay?"
Yet Shen Ying gave him a very warm smile, "Father Niu has done great."
"Very great indeed." added Chef.
"Hmph!" Lonemoon snorted. As though remembering something, he added, "Stop flattering me, where the hell did you two go…" Before he finished, a loud bang came from the sky. The whole sky twisted, and a large hole suddenly appeared. Those black gas that the Beast of Chaos turned into seemed to be pulled by something in an instant, and rushed wildly into that black hole. Shortly, it had disappeared completely, yet that hole didn't close up, but started sucking with an even larger force. Even the purple gas in the surroundings started rushing inside it.
"It's a primordial crack!" Hong Meng flew over hurriedly, and his face looked even more anxious. "That Beast of Chaos opened the crack to the primordial chaos. What should we do? Primordial chaos can devour everything, if it is not fixed, the whole plane would be dragged into the primordial chaos."
"Master, this is…" Yi Qing also looked at that black hole, his face full of shock. Somehow he felt it was a bit familiar. "A plane storm?"
"Yes." Shen Ying nodded.
Yi Qing frowned. This was a bit troublesome. He looked towards Father Niu subconsciously. Could this be fixed? Yet Lonemoon sighed, looked up at Shen Ying, and then smiled somewhat bitterly, "It seems that I can't take this plane." Vaguely, he had already sensed that this was a test. But only the Manager and the assistant could deal with a plane storm. He had already depleted his strength defeating that Beast of Chaos. Right now, he had no power left to fix this one.
"You can do it, Father Niu!" Shen Ying didn't actually show the least bit of anxiety.
"Shen Ying, it's not that I don't want to take it. With the situation now, it's just…"
"You can do it!" Shen Ying actually interrupted his words, suddenly took his hand and raised it in the direction of the plane storm, smiled sweetly and said, "You are the best, Father Niu!"
Chapter 537: New Management
Lonemoon was stunned. In the next moment, he felt a strong energy flooding his body, he subconsciously released it outwards and saw a white light glowing in his palm. It immediately colored the surrounding white, some special energy sweeping everywhere, spreading across the whole plane. And that big hole in the air that had been expanding continuously seemed to be experiencing some shrinkage and gradually became smaller in the white, disappearing at last, like it had never appeared before.
The purple Qi that clustered around them dissipated, a violet sea appeared beneath them, but it was slowly shrinking, in less than a moment, it became the size of one's palm and flew up, landing stably in Lonemoon's palm.
In the next moment, everything about the entire plane was imprinted into Lonemoon's mind, a new energy spilled out of his body, it was one that was a hundred times stronger than that he had felt when he first became a plane assistant. Large amounts of information surged into his mind, it was as if he could see every corner of the entire plane with one thought. Though he did have such a feeling when he became a plane assistant, but it was a completely different thing now. It was as if the whole world was in his hands and at the mercy of his control.
"Sir, you've subdued the original source!" Hong Meng looked at the pond of violet spring water in his hands with delight, looking up as he said, "That's wonderful, this way you can… huh?" He suddenly faltered, gazing dazedly at Lonemoon who was in front of him, somehow feeling that there was something different about him, the aura from his body suddenly made his legs go weak and he kneeled down for no reason. "You… you…"
"Congratulations Father Niu on officially becoming a Manager!" Shen Ying smiled and said.
Beside her, Yi Qing also took a step back and cupped his fists solemnly. "Congratulations Father Niu."
Lonemoon was baffled, so it was only now that he had officially become a Manager? Bowing his head, he glanced at the hand that'd been grabbed by Shen Ying earlier, then looked at the original source on his other hand, somehow feeling that Shen Ying had helped him to cheat just now. "Manager! S… Sir…" Hong Meng only reacted then as he abruptly widened his eyes, staring at Lonemoon. Their plane had gained a Manager so quickly? Could he be dreaming?
"S…"
"Scram!" Lonemoon glared at him, then threw the original source purple gas over angrily. "Original source has been quelled, go divide and form the worlds now."
"Alright Sir, no problem Sir!" Hong Meng nodded repeatedly, looking as excited as an obsessed fan boy, this person here was their Manager, theirs! He turned and was about to leave when he suddenly thought of something and turned back. "But Sir, I lost half of my divine power, to divide and form the worlds is a little…" Difficult.
Before he could finish, Lonemoon reached out and touched his forehead, Hong Meng felt something flow into his body and the divine power that he'd lost returned instantly. His eyes widened in shock, this was the ability of a Manager. "You can scram now!" Lonemoon waved his hand.
"Yes… Yes!" Hong Meng then walked away with a dumbfounded expression.
Lonemoon turned towards the duo before him, his expression darkening. "Now, I'm giving both of you a chance to explain! What was going on with that chaotic beast? Both of you were obviously leaving me to deal with it alone on purpose."
Both of them exchanged a look before Yi Qing explained, "That was the plane's test for you!"
"What test?" Lonemoon frowned.
"Father Niu, taking over the plane isn't a simple task." Yi Qing said in a low voice, "Only after obtaining the approval of the plane, has one truly become the Manager. There is no plane consciousness on this side and the Heavenly Dao was born because of you. So only with the recognition of the original source purple gas, will you be considered the true Manager. You've already done it earlier." "So that chaotic beast was my test, I had to deal with it alone?" Lonemoon was puzzled.
"Yes!" Yi Qing nodded and said, "If Master and I had acted, it would affect the judgment of the original source."
"Then was everything that I've been doing being considered previously? Probation period?"
"You can put it that way." He nodded and said, "You made the Heavenly Dao emerge, that alone gives you the qualification to become the Manager."
So was Heavenly Dao only an entry-level examination?
Lonemoon turned towards Chef and frowned, "How are you so clear about everything? Hold on! Why is your aura…" His eyes widened, as if he had thought of something. "Damn, when did you become a Manager too!" He wasn't able to tell when he was an assistant previously, after becoming a Manager now, he realized that his aura was the exact same as his own. Yi Qing stiffened and revealed straightforwardly, "I was already one since Master recovered from her dormancy."
Lonemoon turned to glare at Shen Ying. "Can you get any freaking lazier?" Both planes were just thrown to them like this.
"Father Niu, don't focus on such minor details." Shen Ying quickly handed a fruit over. "Want a fruit?"
"Get lost!" Did you take me for Mushroom? That I can be coaxed with just a fruit? He continued after some thought. "Hold on, if we need to get the plane's recognition to become a Manager, then that plane transfer deed that you shoved back then was completely fake right?"
"Um…" Shen Ying stiffened, her eyes darted around as she quietly took back her fruit and asked in all seriousness, "Chef, what time is it? Is it time for lunch?"
"Don't think of changing the topic!" What a forceful change in topic, Lonemoon glared at her, his expression as dark as the bottom of a pot. "The both of you ganged up to trick me huh? Or did this start ever since Chef became a Manager."
"No, not that far back." Yi Qing hurriedly interrupted. "I only knew about this when we were in Southern Land, so we should start counting from then."
"What was the difference?"
Yi Qing: "…"
Shen Ying: "…"
Alright, there's no difference! The two poor worms trembled in fear.
A while later…
"Forget it." The odd thing was that Lonemoon did not flare up, his expression had resumed peacefulness as he glanced at Shen Ying. "I've already taken it, there's no other way out."
"Father Niu the best!"
"Father Niu mighty!"
"Get lost!" Lonemoon rewarded them with an eye roll, glancing at the sky that had suddenly darkened, he could see that the horizon not far out was beginning to warp and change. Seems like Hong Meng has begun dividing the worlds, hence he turned around and opened up the plane passage. "Let's return to the Divine Realm first, the division of worlds have started."
In the next moment, the trio arrived in the completely dark Divine Realm, there was only a big gold tree standing in the middle, the only difference was that, a purple tree was gradually growing beside the gold tree, it was slowly expanding its branches. This was the plane that Lonemoon had just taken over.
"What's going on with this tree?" Lonemoon turned to look towards Shen Ying. "Oh, I linked that side of the plane with the Divine Realm." Shen Ying casually explained. "It's more convenient this way."
Chapter 538: The Reason For Transfer
Lonemoon sensed it for a moment, sure enough the entire Divine Realm was connected to that plane, this seemed to be the common space of the two planes. Perhaps because Hong Meng was still dividing the worlds, that purple tree was still growing, it did not look as thick and strong as the big gold tree, even on its branches, there were only one or two pitifully small leaves, they were newly born little worlds after all.
Lonemoon stop paying attention to it after one look and waited for the division and formation of worlds to be completed. With a thought, the pitch dark Divine Realm instantly changed, a field of green grass appeared other than the two plane trees.
Chef informed, "Master, I'll go make lunch!" With that said, he turned and walked away, skillfully pulling out pots and pans.
Lonemoon waved his hand and tables and chairs appeared, on second thought, he changed them to an even more comfortable set of sofa and side table. For once, he even kindly made two cups of tea and handed one to Shen Ying. "Here!" "Oh." Shen Ying immediately took it and drank a sip, then continued to nibble on her fruit.
Whereas Lonemoon turned and sat on the sofa beside them, then fixed his gaze on the person opposite…
Until a certain person felt her goosebumps rise and the taste of her fruit a little different, did she finally speak up, "Sigh, go ahead and ask."
"Honestly speaking, why did you do that?" Lonemoon asked bluntly. "If it is just being lazy and not wanting to manage it, you're not any much more hardworking right now? There's no need for such an unnecessary move."
"Er…"
"I am not Chef!" Lonemoon's eyes darkened, his expression solemn, only there was some worry faintly caught in his eyes. Something suddenly came to mind as he abruptly widened his eyes, "Is anything going to happen to you again?!" "It's… not really!" Shen Ying sighed, turning to glance at Chef who was cooking at the other side, she put down the fruit in her hand before saying seriously, "It's just that after I woke up from my dormancy the previous time, I realized there's been some changes."
"What changes?!" Lonemoon tensed up at once.
"I can't put it in words." Shen Ying shook her head. "I just felt that I shouldn't continue managing the plane, so I transferred them to you two."
"Then will anything happen to you?"
"No, this is not a bad change."
"Really?"
"Really!" Father Niu's tensed up nerves then relaxed. He thought for a moment before asking again, "Does your sister know? Why don't we inform her!" Though she was a Demon King, but in critical times, she was much more reliable than Shen Ying.
Shen Ying's figure froze. "No need, if she did know, she should have noticed after I woke up the previous time."
Lonemoon agreed on further thought, with the extent of Shen Jing's sister complex, she should have found out long ago. If she hasn't, it could only be that Shen Ying's changes were something even she could not notice.
"Don't worry Father Niu." Shen Ying continued eating her fruit and said, "Who knows, I might be able to find out the reason in no time."
"But now that you've transferred the plane to us, then… then what are you now?" He was really bad at asking questions. "Weren't we your assistants? But now…"
Before he could finish, Shen Ying suddenly touched the middle of his forehead. He felt a cooling sensation at the spot and instantly a black and white image floated out of his body.
This was…
"The assistant seal!" Lonemoon was shocked, this was the assistant's mark that Shen Ying gave them in the past. "Why is it still here?"
Shen Ying retracted her hand, the mark floated back into Lonemoon's body again.
"So it means that, even if I'm no longer the Manager, you both are still my assistants."
"…" In other words they'd only changed to a nicer sounding position but in reality, they were still working for her? What's with the feeling of suddenly wanting to resign?
However, it was great she was fine. That the assistant's mark was still around, proved that there was no problem with her cheat function and he could not sense the situation that she was in the previous time she had over-expended herself. He did not want to the Shen Fifteen period in her dormancy again, Baby Ying, he could still consider.
Lonemoon glanced at her, his eyes dimmed and he downed half a cup of tea before continuing to ask, "Since you're fine, why didn't you tell me about taking over the plane right at the start?"
Shen Ying paused, turning her head to look at him, she only replied with her head tilted after a while. "To get a few more months of food allowance?"
"No conscience, scram!" Lonemoon rolled her eyes. "When have I given you less?" Even after saying he'd deduct each time, he still gave it in the end! He snatched the fruit away from her hand in one grab. "You little heartless one! You were probably afraid that I would overthink? That's why you got Chef to hide it from me too?"
"…" Shen Ying did not say anything, only took out a new fruit and continued to nibble on it lazily. Lonemoon did not continue to persist and instead asked, "What's with Chef then? I didn't see any changes with him previously, how is he suddenly a Manager?"
"Because it's time." Shen Ying lazily explained, "He was the original Manager that the plane's consciousness chose, and Godfiend and Kai Tian, they'd been too anxious and brought me to this plane. Previously Chef had not grown up and my capabilities were above his."
"So…" Lonemoon was shocked, "Back when you took over the plane, the plane chose you directly and gave up on Chef."
"Mm." Shen Ying nodded and added after some thought, "It's not considered giving up, his capabilities has always been growing. He only completely developed into a Manager after that battle with the intruding Manager so I just handed things over."
"Damn, no wonder he was a little cheat the whole time!" Turns out the plane had opened the back door for him right from the start, this bunch of cheating dogs! Lonemoon ranted, then as if having thought of something in the next moment, he turned towards Shen Ying with an odd expression. "Don't tell me that you were worried I would feel indignant, so you kept it from me the whole time, then stuffed the other plane to me as a consolation prize?" After all, they were both plane assistants, if one was suddenly promoted, the other would definitely feel a little upset. Besides, if they were to get to the bottom of it, he was the one who was innocently dragged into this world.
Shen Ying paused in the munching of her fruit, then turned to look towards him, her expression serious for once. "It's not a consolation prize, I intended to do that from the very start, because… Father Niu is indeed very outstanding."
Lonemoon choked, suddenly feeling awkward, he subconsciously put a hand to her forehead. "Praising me so seriously, have you gone silly?" He was not used to her without her sharp remarks.
"…" Could they have a proper conversation?
Shen Ying's mouth twitched and she continued speaking after a moment. "Father Niu, getting the approval of the plane, isn't a simple matter." She inhaled deeply. "My sister had to block multiple intrusions into her plane before she got complete control; Chef worked hard for three thousand years and even reloaded once to pass through the plane to find us; and me, I didn't even have the right to be born at the very start.They could not take a wrong step, otherwise they might lose the whole game."
Lonemoon faltered, that's why they did not tell him the truth beforehand, to not distract him and allow him to focus on taking over that plane.
As for whether he wanted to be a Manager, cut the crap, he naturally did!
Chapter 539: Twinning Planes
Although being Shen Ying's assistant was a little troublesome, he did not think there was anything bad about it. But to be able to go a step further, anyone would naturally be willing. Though he complained about them forcefully dragging in him previously, he was not very averse to it in actuality. This had nothing to do with emotions, but a chance that anyone with a bit of desire to improve would want to grab.
He did consider it, if he had known that Chef was a Manager from the start, though he wouldn't be jealous, he would certainly feel slightly pressured in his heart. If Shen Ying had asked then for him to be the Manager on Hong Meng's side, he would most probably agree at the end. One side was a Manager Chef who'd already succeeded, another side was a Manager to be, his mentality would naturally be affected.
And taking over a plane was extremely dangerous, it'd be better to not know anything at the start.
Out of the blue, he suddenly understood why Shen Jing objected so violently when Shen Ying wanted to manage a plane back then, it was because she had been through that phase herself, so she was afraid that she would be in danger. Shen Jing kept suggesting she reopen a new plane, thinking back now, the test that this new plane had for him was indeed much easier. So… did Shen Ying hand the safest responsibility to him?
"Shen Ying…" His heart suddenly felt a little warm.
"Huh?" Shen Ying looked back.
The corner of Lonemoon's lips unconsciously lifted into a smile, the words were in his mouth yet he did not know how to let them out, somehow feeling that it would be a corny no matter how he put them, not in accordance with his image of being big and tall, hence he could only reach out and rubbed her head, squeezing out two words after some time. "You fool!"
She was so lazy, the kind that might starve if they took their eyes off her for a while. Yet she thought more than any of them did. But… she was still a good daughter that knew to take care of her father, he suddenly felt that he could still continue to have her around. Shen Ying was stunned, peeking at the claws on her head, she quickly chowed down the fruit in her mouth, then held onto her storage bag tightly.
"Father Niu…"
"Hmm."
"Let's speak if there's any problem, can you stop smiling at me? I feel slightly flustered!" She kept having the illusion like she was about to lose something.
"…" Lonemoon's outstretched hand froze, his expression suddenly turned overcast. The hand that was originally stroking her hand suddenly turned and forcefully rubbed her head messily. Shen Ying's smooth hair was turned into a bird's nest.
As expected, she was still a worrying person, him feeling touched earlier was definitely because he was blinded!
Shen Ying: "…" Yi Qing: "…"
Sigh! Sure enough, Father Niu who'd entered menopause was totally unreadable now.
————
When Hong Meng came over looking exhausted but also excited, the few people in the Divine Realm happened to be eating.
Lonemoon and Shen Ying sat one on each side, as if comparing their hand speed, the chopsticks in their hands flew across the table like shadows, the dozen of dishes on the table were disappearing at top speed. While Yi Qing was standing behind Shen Ying, one hand holding her hair, the other wrapped around a comb, he was conscientiously… helping her comb her hair.
Perhaps because Shen Ying was snatching her food too intensely and Yi Qing's actions were very gentle, her hair would slip out of his hands occasionally and he could only let go and start combing from the top again. He seemed to have been combing for a long time but he was still very patient, continuing to comb again and again.
Hong Meng vaguely felt like he'd been stuffed with something and turned to look at his Manager who was burning with ardor as he snatched his food.
"Cough, Boss!" He coughed and could not help but called out. Ever since finding out that Lonemoon was their Manager, Hong Meng had very sensibly changed his address for him.
The duo who was fighting over their food paused and the three people present turned back together to glance at him, then… turned back, the ones snatching food continued to snatch food and the one combing hair when back to combing, as if completely nonchalant about his arrival.
Hong Meng: "…" Why was he suddenly feeling like he had a dagger in his heart.
Until all the dishes were completely wiped clean and Yi Qing had tied up Shen Ying's hair and was beginning to clean up the dishes, did these few people finally have the time to bother with him.
"Why are you here again?" Lonemoon glanced at him, still the same sage-like manner, his bold and fierce manner from snatching dishes earlier was totally gone.
"Boss, I've completed the task you assigned me." Hong Meng answered with some agitation. "Hereafter, our plane is complete."
"Who makes up an 'our' with you!" The corner of Lonemoon's mouth twitched, the way he says it makes it sound like they were having an affair.
Hong Meng: "…" He suddenly had this sense of crisis that he would be fired.
"What are you doing here?" Lonemoon asked. Hong Meng then pointed to the plane tree at the side, while answering, "Replying to Boss, the division of worlds has been completed."
Lonemoon then turned back and looked in the direction of the plane tree, sure enough, the plane tree that was still a small tree earlier was now as tall as the one beside it, uncountable branches extended out, even pairing finely with the big branches of the gold tree beside. Especially when the purple tree was smaller and both trees were close together, it somehow gave one an illusion of depending and leaning on each other.
As the Manager, Lonemoon could naturally sense everything that the plane tree sensed, including the Manager of the gold plane tree — Chef.
Lonemoon instantly felt goosebumps all over his body and instinctively turned and happened to clash into Chef's gaze that'd just turned over too. Both of them exchanged eye contact and shivered, then turned away at the same time.
Eugh… Hong Meng: "…"
Shen Ying: "…"
"Sir, Boss Lonemoon, what's happening?" Hong Meng wore a puzzled look, why were these two suddenly vomiting?
"Ah, you're not part of the circle you won't know!" Shen Ying patted his shoulder. "Continue to grow upright!"
Hong Meng: "…" What did that mean? Did he miss something?
"Shen Ying, do these two plane trees have to be so near each other? Can't we shift them apart?" Makes it seem like he and Chef were hugging each other, it looked oddly disgusting.
"Master, while this purple one is still small, why not replant it?" Chef also suggested. Hong Meng's face paled. "Both of you don't be impulsive!" Did they really think those were ordinary trees that could be planted everywhere, those were planes.
"There's no way already." Shen Ying pulled out a fruit and said while biting, "These two planes were close to each other in the first place." Back then she was lazy to run, so she directly opened it at the side. "Unless we reopen another one."
Both of the frowned, recalling Shen Ying's dormancy incident back then, they could only give up on the plan on shifting the trees. The two exchanged a look again, then turned around and continued vomiting!
Whereas Shen Ying went forward for a look, that newly grown purple tree, compared to the flourishing one beside it, seemed slightly pitiful, only one or two visible leaves hung from its branches.
"Mdm, this plane tree has been divided into three worlds." Seeing the two other vomiting so hard that they really couldn't take in anything he was saying, Hong Meng immediately started introducing it to Shen Ying like he was presenting a treasure. "I divided the worlds according to the division of the plane on this side."
Chapter 540: Sudden Appearance Of An Invitation
Hong Meng pointed to the plane tree and said, "The three worlds are the Human and Demon Beast World, Immortal and Demon World, Divine Underworld. But now the human and demon beast races are still weak, with a small population. Thus, I set up boundaries between every world. Though both races are in one world, they are still separated from each other. It's the same for the Immortal and Demon World, but for now no one from the Lower Realm has ascended, there is no one there except for some low level Divine Race."
"Oh." Shen Ying looked at the barren branches. "Why are there no leaves."
"This is because the worlds have just been divided out, the human race has yet to prosper, the little worlds here have not formed the Three Realms." Hong Meng explained, "When the human race develops, we will have more realms to fully form the Three Realms. And if someone from the Immortal and Divine World opens a mystic realm and obtains the acknowledgment of Heavenly Dao, it can also grow into a realm of its own." "Then will it bear fruit?" Shen Ying asked.
Hong Meng froze, what the hell was such a question, don't really take it to be a tree- hello… After a good while, he then laughed dryly, "Heh heh… You must be joking Mdm. How is it possible that it would bear…"
"Oh, then what's that on the tree?" Shen Ying reached out and pointed to where the leaves lushest in between the two trees.
Hong Meng looked over following her hand and saw a speck of an unusual red color in a gap where those purple and gold interlaced, a plump object was hidden between the layers of leaves.
"There's re… really a fruit! BBB… Boss!" Hong Meng was entirely stunned, frantically looking around, he turned and grabbed onto Lonemoon, saying, "Boss! Stop vomiting, look at the tree! Fruit… quick, look there's a fruit!"
"What fruit?" Lonemoon really could not stand those two trees, his eyes wouldn't even flicker in that direction. Hong Meng could only spin him around entirely. "It's the plane tree! A fruit has grown on the plane tree… there has never, huh?" He stopped midway in his speech, his eyes becoming even wider in the next second. "Hold on, Madam Shen Ying, what are you climbing the tree for? That is the plane tree! Every leaf was a little world, not to mention the fruit."
He instinctively wanted to stop her but it was already too late, Shen Ying was already up there, her hand reaching towards the bright red fruit.
"Wait! You can't pick that, the worlds will coll…"
With a snap, the fruit was already in her hands. She then turned back to look towards him, "What did you say?"
Hong Meng: "…"
Then, nothing happened at all!
"No… Nothing!" Heh heh, as long as all of you are happy. My heart feels so tired! Why are all three people so unreliable, it suddenly feels like the future of the two planes is dim and dark.
"Master." Chef who finally stopped vomiting and recovered then walked over and helped the person on the tree down, glancing at the fruit in her hand, he asked, "What is this?"
"I don't know, an apple?" Shen Ying looked at the fruit. "Why don't we eat it!" With that said, she opened her mouth and was about to bite it.
Lonemoon snatched it away promptly and she bit into the air.. "Eat my foot!" He glared at her then after some thought, pulled out a bag of pastries, shoving it into her hands as an exchange before turning his attention to look at the fruit seriously. "This is obviously a space!" And it was a space bigger than a little world, the odd thing was that Lonemoon's divine perception could not penetrate it at all.
"This thing doesn't seem to belong to the plane on this side." Yi Qing had also sensed the aura of a foreign plane from the fruit and frowned, asking, "Why did it grow on this plane tree?" "It didn't grow on the tree!" Shen Ying suddenly spoke up.
The two people were taken aback. "What do you mean?" Didn't you climb up the tree and plucked it down?
Shen Ying looked down instead then turned back to search under the tree before picking something and bringing it over. "It was tied to the tree."
Both of them took a look and realized that it was a thin, white ribbon, they couldn't tell the material it was made of but it was suffused with a faint white light that resembled moonlight. Lonemoon took it for a closer look and found that the ribbon felt so weightless that it was really like moonlight.
"This doesn't belong to our plane either." Lonemoon's expression darkened. "Could it be that someone secretly tied this fruit to the plane tree while we weren't around?" But the plane tree and the Manager was telepathic, if anyone had done anything, they ought to be able to sense it immediately. To be able to leave this behind unknowingly, the other party's capabilities was definitely not beneath that of a Manager. "Don't tell me it's a Manager of another plane again?" Were Managers being produced in bulk these days?
"Father Niu, could you let me take a look at the ribbon!" Yi Qing asked in a low voice, Lonemoon handed it over directly.
He looked closely at the light on the ribbon, thought for a second and sent a stream of Immortal Qi into it. At once, the ribbon floated up, transforming into multiple rays of light and slowly bent to become rows of unfamiliar characters.
"This is… a letter?" Lonemoon was taken aback.
"More like an invitation!" Shen Ying suddenly said as she took a step forward, reaching out and flicking her hand towards the white light in the air, instantly messing up those characters. In the next moment, the characters rearranged to become words that they were familiar with.
A row of striking big words were written on it: Sincerely inviting the two Managers of the immortal spirit planes to join the Planes Union: Big Dao Meeting! All the Managers of the union looking forward to your alliance.
Regards,
Big Dao Meeting
Presently.
"What is this?" Lonemoon frowned. "What does it mean?" An NGO[1] formed by Managers?
"Master, have you heard of this Big Dao Meeting previously?"
Shen Ying replied while chomping on her pastries from a side, "I think I've heard of it somewhere, don't really remember anymore." "No matter what, this is specially regarding Managers." Lonemoon guessed. "Does plane management also have any related organizations?"
"Yes!" Shen Ying replied casually. "The administrative committee is one."
"What administrative committee?" The two were shocked.
"It's the Plane Management Association!" Shen Ying said calmly. "Huh? Have I not told you two about it!"
Lonemoon: "…"
Yi Qing: "…"
Could you change your habit of giving belated information!
Was it still possible to change? "Talk about that administrative committee first!" Lonemoon inhaled deeply, what's with this helplessness that he was already used to feeling?
"It's not a big deal." Shen Ying stuffed another pastry in before continuing incoherently, "It's just a non-official, informal, don't-contact-unless-you-have-problems, might-not contact- even-if-you're-facing-problems association that a group of managers who were familiar with each other formed."
"…" What's with it sounding increasingly unreliable as they listened on? Since it's so trashy, why build this association? Too idle?
"Basically, planes are completely independent of each other, but sometimes there are also small interactions with one another." Shen Ying then slowly revealed for them.
In conclusion, it is still related to transmigration between planes. Sometimes those who enter other planes, might not be intentionally intruding, it could just be an accidental entry. For example, being pulled in by a plane storm or falling into cracks in the plane and such. [1] Non-governmental organization.