Chapter 267: What If She Runs Away?
In truth, the method that Luxianbei thought of for poisoning the Shaman Queen was, in practice, simple yet complicated.
It was complicated because the Shaman Queen had special powers and abilities, and ordinary toxins, alchemical potions, or even insufficient quality powers had little effect on her.
To successfully poison her, it required at least cataclysm-grade powers to create a “deadly toxin” of polluted powers.
It was simple because the Shaman Queen seemed to have very bad luck. Not long ago, within the now-sealed God Realm Yumen, in addition to focusing all her power on sealing Hong Bian, a cataclysm-grade existence was born and unfortunately stood on the opposite side of her.
The difficulty level of the “game” had instantly jumped from easy mode to hell mode.
Furthermore, the so-called “poisoning” could be simply described as contaminating the Shaman Queen’s powers.
If having Shen Baiwei impersonate the Miracle Saint under Fang Ji’s name to establish the Miracle Cult was a good plan that would take a thousand years to fully destroy the Shaman Queen’s powers and cure the “chronic illness” of the God Realm Yumen,
Then the current “poisoning” was like a potent medicine that couldn’t cure the disease but could quickly alleviate the uncomfortable symptoms.
The twisted seed of the Miracle Flower had already been planted, and the spread of the Shaman Queen’s corruption had to be stopped immediately to allow the moment for curing the “chronic illness” to arrive and buy enough time.
How should I put it? It’s like when going to the hospital for surgery, if the bl**d pressure or other indicators are high, the doctor will prescribe some adjustment medications and wait for the indicators to normalize before starting treatment, ultimately curing the disease, Luxianbei thought.
As for how to “administer the potent medicine,” she was very familiar with it.
How the Proxy Player Sister manipulated the perfectly fine Code F urban legend into a Pink Fluffy Rabbit was something she had closely observed!
Such opportunities to learn “skills” from a super-standard cataclysm-grade being, almost like a hands-on offline teaching, were not available to everyone.
Although Luxianbei did not have the same powerful means as the Proxy Player Sister to directly alter the perceptions of everyone and the urban legends corrupted by the Pink Fluffy Rabbit, she couldn’t summon the Ancestor here in Yumen Pass to strike a blow that could sever time and briefly interrupt the Shaman Queen’s corruption, allowing her to slip in…
But she was not facing the Pink Fluffy Rabbit right now; she was facing the Shaman Queen.
In her eyes, the Shaman Queen had weaknesses…
If the Miracle Flower, tortured by the Flower City Limited Edition, exposed her weaknesses, how could she possibly fare well?
Unlike the Pink Fluffy Rabbit, the Shaman Queen’s creation of corruption was purposeful. She aimed for the God Realm Yumen, or to devour the powers of Hong Bian that were fused within it.
Moreover, with Shen Baiwei appearing under the guise of the Miracle Saint, the Shaman Queen felt threatened and must have been extremely eager to expand the corruption to every corner of the God Realm Yumen, forced to give birth to those “seeds” under the pressure from Hong Bian.
This urgent need and intense purpose were the Shaman Queen’s weaknesses!
Moreover, the Proxy Player Sister’s ability to contaminate the Pink Fluffy Rabbit had a limitation: it required preserving the lives of the majority of those who had been corrupted. Luxianbei, however, had no such constraints.
Destruction was much simpler than salvation!
Those “seeds” that had already been corrupted and infiltrated were beyond saving; keeping them was a disaster that needed to be exterminated…
Luxianbei only needed to infuse a part of the North Goddess’s powers into the God Realm Yumen, mixing it with Hong Bian’s powers, and that would count as successfully “poisoning.”
As the Shaman Queen continued to indiscriminately consume the powers contained within the God Realm Yumen, when that portion of the North Goddess’s powers was transmitted through her to those “seeds,”
It would be like adding ultra-micro bombs into food and drinks—Luxianbei wanted to detonate the powers to destroy those “seeds,” and it would just be a thought away.
Conversely, if the Shaman Queen halted the corruption and temporarily gave up the consumption, the Miracle Cult that had already been born within the God Realm Yumen would take over a thousand years to wear down her powers, allowing her to completely disappear from the world.
For the Shaman Queen, this was an incurable “deadly poison”!
Perhaps, just this choice between “to consume or not to consume” would be enough to torment her for a while.
In comparison, the Pink Fluffy Rabbit, which acted purely on instinct, indiscriminately corrupted everyone and everything, could only rely on a coalition of big shots to complete the sealing—it was far more terrifying.
“…”
Though, executing the “poisoning” action was not without risks. If she was careless, the successfully condensing North Spirit Seal could be left incomplete…
When it was time to repair it, there would no longer be the “flame” containing the entire past of the Celestial Maiden Ya to visualize it, and whether she could maintain cataclysm-grade powers would be up for debate.
However, as long as she agreed on terms with Hong Bian in advance and established a contract, he should help her safeguard that part of the powers, right?
When the Time Princess brought her back, she could retrieve it from the God Realm Yumen and reintegrate it into the spirit seal… Luxianbei thought somewhat guiltily.
To be honest, she hated handing over the initiative to others.
If not for the Shaman Queen’s special powers, using Hell on Earth to “poison” her would not only have no effect but could even enhance her powers, making her feel excited as if under the influence of drugs. Luxianbei really didn’t want to risk the North Spirit Seal.
After all, it was hard to come by a “divine artifact” that could k*ll in all directions; if she didn’t get the chance to enjoy the thrill of mowing through enemies and lost all durability while battling the BOSS, it would be too disheartening.
Indeed, if she had some “human fireworks” to act as “toxins” to pour onto the Shaman Queen, it would definitely be highly effective.
But the problem was, the last time Luxianbei cooked up some human fireworks, to put it nicely, it was a stroke of genius; to put it badly, there was a bit of lucky coincidence involved. It wouldn’t be so easy to replicate that success.
“…”
But, if she had a porcelain bowl from the “Floating Life” collection to assist, perhaps she could produce some inferior products?
Inferior-grade human fireworks piled up like a mountain should also be able to make up for the lack of quality in a specific context, right? Even if there were some side effects… heh, it’s not like I’m the one eating it!
Looks like I’ll have to think of a way to trick Boss Hu into letting me “borrow” one of the porcelain bowls from the “Floating Life” collection! Luxianbei thought sneakily.
————
“Power… level, huh?”
Hong Bian repeated Luxianbei’s words, deep in thought.
After pondering for a while, he seemed to have made a great decision, looking up at Luxianbei with a fixed gaze. “I understand now, Miss Shen, please follow me.”
“Shall we first go to the God Realm’s central area and then discuss the next matters?”
He was a smart man; although he hadn’t initially considered the specific method of “poisoning” the Shaman Queen, with just a slight hint from Luxianbei, he quickly guessed her thoughts and further thought of a better strategy.
“Yes, the God Realm’s central area. This matter definitely requires…” Luxianbei’s thoughts were still immersed in the review of the “poisoning,” and upon hearing Hong Bian mention the “God Realm central area,” she instinctively responded, but before she could finish, she realized something was off.
“Wait a minute? Where did you come from just now?”
“The God Realm central area.” Hong Bian calmly repeated, “The strategy Miss Shen just mentioned, doesn’t it require utilizing the God Realm’s central area in Yumen Pass?”
“But…” Luxianbei hesitated.
But I originally thought it would take a lot of persuasion and patience to get you to agree, and now you’re being so proactive…
It was almost like when pursuing a girl; after saying just, “Hello, can we be friends?” suddenly the girl takes off her clothes, ready to “make friends.”
It really made it hard not to suspect that you wanted to cut out my kidney, buddy! Luxianbei thought.
What was even more frustrating was that her prepared arguments had no chance to be voiced.
BB-chan could not BB, and it was uncomfortable to hold it in!
Hong Bian sized her up for a moment before stopping and asking, “Miss Shen, do you have any concerns?”
Luxianbei opened her mouth but didn’t speak and then shook her head.
At this point, saying something like “I’m worried you might harm me!” felt difficult to express, right?
However… Luxianbei’s peripheral vision drifted towards the ghostly figure of Hong Bian beside her, her eyes narrowing slightly.
Going to the central area of the God Realm and slowly following this guy’s lead seemed to be a decent choice?
After all, the ghostly figure of Hong Bian that she currently saw might not represent Hong Bian’s entire will.
Who could guarantee that this phantom created by Hong Bian hadn’t been tainted by the Shaman Queen after its creation? Luxianbei thought.
To her, the only place within the entire God Realm Yumen where she could speak freely without worries was the God Realm’s central area.
A thousand years later, when corruption spread to every corner, the God Realm Yumen could still barely function, which demonstrated that after a millennium, the control center of the God Realm Yumen hadn’t been touched by the Shaman Queen, let alone now.
Regaining her thoughts, Luxianbei expressionlessly said, “It’s nothing, please lead the way!”
Hong Bian looked at her with meaningful eyes, nodded, turned around, and headed deeper into the County Prince’s Mansion.
At that moment he sighed silently, almost as if he were conversing with Luxianbei, beginning to mutter to himself in his heart.
“…”
Miss Shen, you actually don’t need to sacrifice your own powers to deal with the Shaman Queen…
The situations you’re considering are all based on the premise that I am unwilling to give up control over the God Realm Yumen and my personal powers. But have you ever thought that all this is useless to me, and these things can be sacrificed?
Miss Shen, you… would make a fine successor to the Lord of the God Realm Yumen, wouldn’t you? Hong Bian thought.
Luxianbei could pass a portion of her powers to Hong Bian, allowing him to “poison” the Shaman Queen while controlling the God Realm Yumen; naturally, Hong Bian could also pass all his powers and the control of the God Realm Yumen to Luxianbei, allowing her to handle it herself.
As long as he successfully stopped the Shaman Queen, Luxianbei wouldn’t need to worry about her powers losing completeness.
Sacrificing herself rather than making “Shen Baiwei” make sacrifices was the better method Hong Bian had thought of!
————
As they walked, the two left the back garden, and the main architectural area of the County Prince’s Mansion gradually unfolded before them.
Gazing into the distance at the side hall called the Cunxin Hall, Hong Bian’s eyes trembled slightly.
On the day the God Realm Yumen was established, Longxiang had expelled all the Longxiang Army Armor Soldiers and servants within the County Prince’s Mansion, inviting only him to drink and celebrate in front of the Cunxin Hall.
In Longxiang’s words, “At such times, having the bright moon for company, with a few dishes, boiling good wine, and inviting a confidant is sufficient; having others nearby will only make one feel noisy.”
After hearing this, Hong Bian had arrived with joy.
After three rounds of drinks, the two drunken men climbed onto the roof of the Cunxin Hall, leaning on the ridge as Hong Bian asked Longxiang, “Do you have any wishes?”
Hearing his words, Longxiang laughed, “Why? Do you want to use your powers to fulfill my wish?”
“Exactly,” Hong Bian replied.
“My wish is very simple: to protect a peaceful and prosperous world.” Longxiang said, “If you want to use powers to fulfill such a wish, you’d probably have to exhaust yourself to do it, right? So, I might as well do it myself; that way, it feels more fulfilling.”
“But I can assist you, just like…”
“Like now?” Longxiang said, “Haha, then it’s settled?”
“Agreed!”
…
Immersed in memories, Hong Bian seemed to see Longxiang standing in front of the Cunxin Hall from a distance.
Longxiang waved at him, as if waiting for him to come forward.
At that moment, Hong Bian suddenly realized that when he chose to merge everything he possessed into the God Realm Yumen to exchange for a glimmer of hope for all beings within the God Realm, he had already become detached from this world.
He had grown up without knowing who his parents were, raised in the Zoroastrian sect, and later pursued and hunted down due to his thoughts and powers conflicting with the doctrines of the sect. In the eyes of the Zoroastrians, he was guiltless.
He nearly died in the vast wilderness while fleeing; it was Longxiang who saved him. To repay Longxiang’s kindness, he assisted him until the very last moment; to Longxiang, he was guiltless.
The people of Yumen Pass revered him as a deity and held him dear, so he devoted everything he had to them for a glimmer of hope; to the people of Yumen Pass, he was guiltless too.
Now, with grievances cleared, entrusting the control of Yumen Pass, arriving with nothing and leaving with nothing, what does it matter?
In fact, even before merging everything into the God Realm Yumen, Hong Bian had considered entrusting the control of the God Realm Yumen to someone else.
When the reinforcements from the Tang Dynasty would arrive was uncertain; having the vast God Realm controlled solely by his remaining faint consciousness was certainly not as effective as having a living person in charge.
If not for Longxiang’s d*ath, among the entire Yumen Pass, there was no one else who could bear the burden of controlling the God Realm Yumen and be worthy of trust—and now…
“Shen Baiwei” seemed to be a good choice?
As for why not tell Miss Shen the truth…
What if she learns about the cost of controlling the God Realm Yumen and runs away?
Hong Bian raised his head to look at the plaque of the Cunxin Hall and turned to Luxianbei, saying, “Miss Shen, we have arrived. The central area of the God Realm Yumen is within this side hall.”
