Chapter 248: The Face in the Portrait
Ten thousand… how many times exactly?
It doesn’t matter; anyway, it’s already exceeded five thousand times.
As the attempts to condense the spiritual seal increased, the number seemed to have lost its meaning. Gazing at the fiery red flame in her hand that was about to take shape, an unprecedented sense of fatigue enveloped Lu Xibei.
The Celestial Maiden Ya was the foremost calamity from countless ages ago, once a destroyer who dispelled wind and rain, descending to turn thousands of miles into barren land, a deity symbolizing drought and the withering of life…
When her divine power fully manifests, ordinary people with insufficient spiritual awareness cannot even catch a glimpse of her figure under normal circumstances. All they see are a series of natural phenomena such as burning winds, scorching sun, wildfires, and desolate lands.
It was as if, at the place where Jumeng lingered, ordinary people would only see a flock of magpies, loving couples, healthy offspring, and… “another billion investments” – to see Stinky Sister’s true form, it would only be possible if she herself was willing.
However, the inability to glimpse the figure of Celestial Maiden Ya can be considered a sort of luck from a certain perspective.
For low-level spiritual ability users with faint spiritual awareness and urban legends, directly facing the fully manifested Divine Power of Celestial Maiden Ya usually means d*ath… Their sight would be scorched by unnamed high temperatures, and their spiritual energy and divine power would wither like tender grass under a blazing sun, their bl**d flowing like rivers that have lost their source, drying up.
Lu Xibei could visualize the figure of Celestial Maiden Ya and attempt to condense the spiritual seal, not only supported by the foundation of being an A-Class Spiritual Ability User but also because she possessed the power corresponding to that of Celestial Maiden Ya. Yet even so, with many attempts, she still felt fatigue.
Although she was currently in a conscious space without the constraints of a physical body, the kind of fatigue was accumulated directly in her consciousness through the continuous visualization of Celestial Maiden Ya’s figure, rising slowly from within.
It was somewhat similar to how metals experience fatigue under cyclical stress or strain, gradually accumulating permanent damage in places invisible to the n*ked eye, ultimately leading to fracture.
“If this goes on, I won’t be able to hold on…” Lu Xibei muttered.
Although she was very patient in trying to seize that minuscule opportunity, at most, after another two or three hundred attempts, her consciousness would completely fall into “fatigue,” unable to support her any longer.
Of course, given Lu Xibei’s disposition, she would probably only try another fifty times, and the remaining attempts would be left for the “original version” of Celestial Maiden Ya’s spiritual seal.
In life, one must always leave a way out for oneself.
If worse comes to worst, there’s always the “ancient god’s visage”!
It’s not like it can’t be used…
It was only at this moment that Lu Xibei realized that trying to replace the appearance of Celestial Maiden Ya’s spiritual seal with her own face had a hint of self-destructive flavor to it.
In fact, as early as around five thousand five hundred attempts, she had the opportunity to successfully condense a “modified version” of the spiritual seal, but it was at that time that she encountered a terrifying unexpected situation – the lack of a suitable “template.”
As everyone knows, the members of the old Lu family have never had any artistic talent. It was impossible for Lu Xibei to condense the visage of Celestial Maiden Ya by herself. With no other choice, she could only reference how others perceived “herself,” and that reference caused big issues!
Jumeng’s view of Lu Xibei, Jiang Li’s view of Lu Xibei, the Calamity Witch in the eyes of the urban legends of Huacheng, as well as Wang Buliu, the bloody witch Gu Qiqi, Jujuzi, and Lu Qingyi…
A whole mess of distorted aliases and images emerged all at once, nearly causing the spiritual seal of Celestial Maiden Ya to transform into a monster with a dozen heads, and the power feedback from the seal almost shattered her consciousness.
It was like a code with chaotic lower layers that had to run rigidly, resulting in inevitable problems.
In that instant, a violent pressure ravaged her consciousness, as if several invisible forces were brutally twisting her awareness. In a split second, the conscious space was engulfed in a terrifying storm.
Various thoughts clashed, chaotic and contradictory, violently tearing at her, almost wanting to rip her into numerous pieces to accomplish different tasks.
The immense pain that followed was like a whip of execution, questioning her, “Speak! Are you Lu Xibei, the Calamity, Wang Buliu, or Gu Qiqi?”
It turned out that whether it was Jiang Li, Jumeng, Nanling Yaohua, or the urban legends of Huacheng, as well as the spiritual ability users and urban legends pursuing “Gu Qiqi,” their understanding of “Lu Xibei” differed, even contradicting each other in certain details. Using their perceptions to condense the spiritual seal would surely lead to problems sooner or later.
Lu Xibei felt that under such circumstances, even forcibly condensing the spiritual seal would lead to a “car tearing” at the level of consciousness, turning her into a serious split personality patient.
Thus, attempting to steal the power of a deity seemed calm most of the time, but with the slightest misstep, she would immediately slide into an abyss of no return.
Moreover, Lu Xibei’s “theft” was different from the usual kinds of “theft.”
It was like breaking into a temple, smashing a statue, donning a divine robe, and sitting in the center of the divine altar, insisting that she was the idol itself – there was no difference.
The nature of it was extremely vile!
Additionally…
Having too many aliases was not necessarily a good thing; playing too many roles made it exceptionally difficult to reclaim “oneself” when necessary.
Therefore, after that time when she forcibly interrupted the condensation of the spiritual seal, Lu Xibei became much more careful, subdividing each step she had already attempted hundreds of times into dozens of smaller steps.
If her previous process of condensing the spiritual seal was akin to a pencil sketch, then now it was like using a dotting tool to draw, progressing slowly and steadily.
“…”
Finally, again arriving at the critical moment of condensing the spiritual seal, Lu Xibei stared at the flame in her hand, briefly hesitating.
With my own standards, I wonder if I can succeed in condensing it before completely falling into a “fatigued state.” If only I had a more objective template to refer to… she thought to herself when suddenly, akin to a hallucination, a voice echoed beside her.
With a “sizzle!” sound, like paper being torn.
Upon hearing that sound, a spark of understanding flashed through Lu Xibei’s mind.
That’s right, the portrait that Shen Baiwei had drawn earlier!
I haven’t tried using that portrait as a template…
Why not… give it a shot?
So thinking, she looked down at the flame in her hand, and her gaze focused.
——————
“Can you put this in for me too?” Shen Baiwei, dressed in a coarse cloth garment, said as she handed over the sketch of Lu Xibei torn from her small notebook to Longbang.
Longbang reached out his hands to receive the portrait, placing it solemnly into the iron box in front of him. After a moment of contemplation, he frowned and said, “Miss Shen, are you sure? I can’t shake the feeling that your sister still has a chance to wake up.”
This iron box was the one that Li Tietou escorted back, containing the tokens of various Longxiang Army Armor Soldiers, which could all be considered relics.
Although Miss Shen had been unconscious for over a hundred days, she was not entirely lifeless and should still count as a living person. Longbang felt that keeping a living person’s portrait alongside a whole box of relics was somewhat inauspicious, even though these relics belonged to the soldiers who bravely perished protecting Yumen Pass.
Shen Baiwei turned to look at Lu Xibei, who had been unconscious for quite some time, and a hint of sadness appeared between her brows. “Just put it in. It’s been so long; she might have already turned into a vegetable. If she really wakes up in the future… it’d be good to leave a memento.”
She knew that Lu Xibei would wake up. As a calamity, as long as one wasn’t completely dead, there was always a chance of awakening over time.
However, Longbang and the citizens within Yumen didn’t know that the God Realm Yumen would be sealed for a millennium, yet she herself understood.
She was a bit worried that if Lu Xibei awakened several hundred years later, she might not be alive by then.
“…” Longbang opened his mouth, wanting to say something several times but ultimately nodded, “Alright, we’ll do as Miss Shen says.”
After saying this, he closed the iron box again, activated the spiritual energy, and engaged the seals atop it.
More than a hundred days had passed since the Nanling County King and the Longxiang Army Armor Soldiers had perished. During this time, Longbang and the young armor soldiers left behind in the city had sent out every token they could, yet there was still a small portion remaining.
The soldiers of Longxiang Army, aside from those following Longxiang from Xiaoxiang City to this place, there were also three thousand soldiers bestowed by the Sage during the recovery of Guasha and Erzhou; their homeland was not in Yumen, and their tokens could only be returned once the God Realm Yumen reopened.
But…
Who knows when the God Realm Yumen will reopen?
Although Longxiang left instructions for Longbang, stating that once the Sage’s reinforcements arrived, the God Realm Yumen would reopen, he also mentioned that the reinforcements could take anywhere from ten days to several years.
Until the reinforcements arrive, just to be safe, Longbang planned to send this iron box containing the relics of the fallen soldiers deep into the County Prince’s Mansion for safekeeping, as the Yumen Pass had become somewhat unstable…
Even though Longxiang handed him half a token symbolizing the status of the Nanling County King, Longbang was not his brother, and even with the token in hand, he found it hard to intimidate the crowd.
In this situation, storing the iron box in the depths of the County Prince’s Mansion was the safest choice, especially since disciples of the Hong Bian Monk guarded that place, making it difficult for any ordinary person to approach.
Particularly in recent days, the neighborhood that had once been relatively harmonious had begun to erupt in quarrels and brawls over inexplicable trivial matters. Theft and robbery incidents had increased severalfold compared to the past. Even the trained Longxiang Army Armor Soldiers had experienced several conflicts for no apparent reason.
It seemed that everyone was becoming increasingly abnormal, either feeling that the world was making things difficult for them over minor matters, or feeling utterly useless in the face of setbacks, breaking down into tears, or experiencing inexplicable euphoria, singing loudly in the deep night and irritating others…
In response, Shen Baiwei explained, “People tend to become irritable when confined in a closed environment for too long. While resources are sufficient now, it’s still okay. But when resources become scarce, they might get even stranger.”
Longbang, puzzled by Shen Baiwei’s statement, asked, “How would Miss Shen know?”
“I was…” Shen Baiwei hesitated for a moment, pouting, “I was forced to stay at home for more than three months due to a plague back in my hometown.”
Longbang responded to Shen Baiwei’s answer with silence.
……
After resealing the portrait and a batch of tokens, Longbang hoisted the iron box onto his back, and when he stood up and turned to look at Shen Baiwei, his pupils trembled slightly.
“Ah? Miss Shen, what’s… what’s wrong?”
“I…” Shen Baiwei opened her mouth, and after a long time, she finally squeezed out half a sentence through gritted teeth, “I’m a bit tired, like…”
Before she could finish her sentence, an unexpected wave of dizziness hit her, sealing away the remaining half-sentence “like spiritual energy has been exhausted” in her throat.
————
Within a chaotic consciousness space.
The fiery red light silently spread, unfolding in a myriad of threads, entangling one another beside the tightly closed eyes of Lu Xibei, stirring a turbulent current that enveloped her with astonishingly high-temperature spiritual energy, making the surroundings viscous as if soaked in syrup, then permeating from the outside in, soaking her limbs, bones, and even every single cell.
The flames had been ignited, originating from the divine power of Celestial Maiden Ya, quietly undergoing some unknown transformation, producing a faint golden hue.
With a golden-iron color, the flames spread through Lu Xibei’s fingertips, surging spiritual energy, the figure of Celestial Maiden Ya, and the portrait drawn by Shen Baiwei in her memory were all drawn into the fire as she skillfully guided them, as if a furnace had been set up, continuously adding materials for forging.
Then, the fusion began; her fingers came together, holding everything tightly!
In an instant, the surging blaze erupted from between her fingers, creating a whirlwind that swept through the consciousness space.
The core of her mythological species’ urban legend seemed to vibrate like it was shouting, releasing a vast amount of spiritual energy, while the core of the witch species’ urban legend and the White Wolf divine seal appeared to dodge that power, momentarily stalling in their operation.
The searing heat that melted souls surged from her palms into her body, igniting her flesh and bl**d.
It’s coming… Lu Xibei silently thought.
Previously, when she referenced how others perceived “herself” while attempting to alter the appearance of the spiritual seal, errors had occurred at this very stage.
In the next moment, excruciating pain surged through her, instantly making her consciousness blur. After a brief moment of disorientation, unprecedented clarity arrived just as the pain had not yet dissipated…
That feeling was like undergoing a tumor segmental necrosis surgery, not only with no anesthesia but also being given a stimulant instead.
It’s over, it’s going to go wrong again! Such a thought flashed through Lu Xibei’s mind, yet immediately following, the scene before her eyes suddenly became clear.
When Celestial Maiden Ya expelled the Wind and Rain Masters, the unstoppable figure, the lonely back as she headed north after being expelled, standing alone north of Chi Shui and looking south mournfully, and then as the accumulating malevolence finally transformed into a monster, that bitter smile…
Everything appeared before Lu Xibei in an instant.
And then, she felt fatigue.
An unprecedented fatigue.
As if the exhaustion that should have arrived after two or three hundred attempts suddenly erupted at this moment.
For just a moment, she felt as if she had transformed into a blade of wild grass on the barren plain, gradually dying amid endless drought.
She seemed to be on the verge of d*ath, yet… consciousness maintained an unprecedented clarity under the overwhelming pain and fatigue.
The figure of Celestial Maiden Ya in her vision gradually became blurry, like still-wet ink spreading in water.
In the next moment, an unknown surge of spiritual energy rushed in.
What had already been vague, the face of Celestial Maiden Ya, suddenly contracted violently in that instant, then quickly converged, as if an invisible brush was swiftly sketching, condensing Lu Xibei’s visage…
