Chapter Eight: Even If She Is an Urban Legend
In that bizarre dreamscape that felt almost like another world, Du Sixian seized every opportunity to practice the spell formula she had just learned.
“Boom——!”
A sudden thunderclap froze her in place, her hands still poised for the completion of the spell.
The thunder roared unusually loud, as if it were exploding right next to her, accompanied by a massive and feverish madness that pressed upon her nerves, as if it wanted to ignite her bl**d.
“Boom——!”
Several fiery red arcs of lightning flickered within the clouds, thunder booming again. Looking up, the dark clouds in the sky were being stirred by some force, condensing into a gigantic lead-colored vortex with a terrifying rumble of thunder that became clearer and clearer among the clouds.
Something was coming?
As this thought flashed through Du Sixian’s mind, the next moment, a massive fireball shattered the accumulated darkness in the sky, like a comet falling, the fiery red light illuminating the dilapidated city.
On the distant streets shrouded in reddish-brown mist, strange figures appeared from time to time, wandering like lost souls and wild ghosts.
At the moment the massive fireball appeared, those figures suddenly became agitated, calling out in different languages.
“There is a Zhongshan person. There is a girl in blue clothes…”
“There is a Zhongshan person. There is a girl in blue clothes…”
“…”
The foul-smelling sewage on the ground continued to heat up, sending up wisps of gray smoke, the chaotic calls constantly worming their way into Du Sixian’s ears, sending sharp pains deep into her brain.
Chaotic red lines danced in her mind like raging fires consuming grasslands, seemingly alive, dancing like spirits.
Images she dared not imagine even in the deepest of nightmares flickered before her, as a huge black basalt stele rose before her, engraved with ancient Arabic text.
Children rolled on the stone altar, letting out painful screams, bl**d splattering only to evaporate instantaneously, the stench of smoke twisting together to form a towering figure in mid-air.
That figure was as massive as a giant, wrapped in flames and thick smoke, with curved horns resembling blades seemingly forged from lava, dazzling like a torch suddenly igniting in the darkest night.
Uncertain how much time passed, the frightening hallucinations in her mind gradually faded, and Du Sixian slowly lifted her head, as if waking from a nightmare that lasted a lifetime.
The air above the dilapidated city seemed to have ignited; the huge fireball was getting closer to the ground and would soon descend onto the invisible street.
“Boom——!”
Accompanied by a deafening roar, the flames rapidly expanded among the collapsing buildings, a violent shockwave swept outwards with terrifying heat, melting rebar and concrete that was violently flung into the sky, turning into golden fire rain that showered over every corner of the city.
The towering evil spirit soared into the fiery rain, spreading its arms wide in an embrace of the sky, intoxicated by the light and flame of destruction it created.
That was the pure spirit energy containing the remnants of Ifrit’s will.
“Gurgle——!”
Du Sixian stared fearfully and numbly at the terrible figure in the sky, swallowing hard, her heart racing as she desperately shouted, wanting to force herself awake from the dream, yet unknowingly her mouth opened, letting out a series of calls.
“There is a Zhongshan person. There is a girl in blue clothes…”
……
“There is a Zhongshan person. There is a girl in blue clothes…”
Strangely, a low call echoed beside Luxianbei’s ears, awakening him from his stupor.
Then he realized he was falling, into a dark abyss.
Though there was no sound of wind by his ears and he felt no sensation of weightlessness, he truly felt that way.
He was falling, amidst the chanting low voices.
However, when he listened carefully, he discovered that no sound was coming from beside his ears.
It was as if the voice resonated within his consciousness, a multitude of people calling out together, rising like echoes in the mountain winds, piece by piece, forming a voiceless voice rising from deep within their souls.
Amidst that distant and ethereal calling, one voice gradually became clearer—it was the voice of Du Sixian, his only attachment at present.
d*mn! Why is it always you?! Can’t you give me a break?
Luxianbei cursed inwardly, then immediately, like a mischievous child, he threw a stone into the surface of the dark lake, causing invisible ripples to spread out.
The next moment, a sound like shattering glass echoed from the depths of darkness, something was torn apart, a delayed howling burst forth, and endless flames erupted from Luxianbei’s body, roaring towards the desolate and ruined city.
……
“Boom——Boom——Boom——!”
In the ruins of the city, the temperature kept rising, burning trash and debris emitted acrid smoke, thickening the mist drifting through the city.
Du Sixian trembled as she hid behind a fallen boulder, knowing that the massive monster, like a derailed speeding train, was rampaging through the city, recklessly destroying everything, getting closer to where she was.
The terrifying heat made her mind feel dizzy, as if she would pass out from dehydration at any moment.
I can’t hold on much longer…
Where is the divine spirit? The divine spirit that resides in this ruin? Du Sixian wondered.
She had seen that divine spirit with her own eyes; it was that spirit that guided her to join the Siye Society. She had always believed that if that divine spirit was still here, it would not allow the destruction to continue.
As Du Sixian was lost in thought, the temperature around her rose once again, the entire city seemed to transform into a giant red-hot copper furnace.
However, what struck her as odd was that even in this intense heat, she felt a strangely inexplicable sense of comfort.
Surroundings had seemingly quieted without her noticing; the calls echoing through countless streets, the sounds of collapsing buildings, and various other noises vanished in an instant.
Du Sixian stood frozen for a moment before emerging from her hiding place, then her gaze was drawn to a magnificent scene.
Bundles of fiery light fell, deeply sinking into the city’s ruins, light like a forest.
Then, the city trembled.
In that instant, among the countless lights in the sky, a graceful figure standing in the void slowly emerged, akin to sitting upon the throne at the center of this dream world.
Fiery red hair flowed behind her, fierce flames interwoven into a garment wrapping around her petite form, her eyes tightly closed as if in unconscious sleep.
Du Sixian stared blankly at the girl in the sky, and after a long while, she finally came to, a realization flashing in her eyes, and she exclaimed, “It’s a high person! The high person is actually… Oh my God!”
Du Sixian had always known that high people were powerful and had suspected that she was an urban legend.
But she never anticipated that the high person she had been searching for and longing for was very likely the legendary mythological being.
Moreover, inexplicably, she had established some kind of special connection with the high person.
What to do now?
I am a member of the Siye Society, and the high person is an urban legend. Doesn’t that make me an informant?
Du Sixian worriedly thought, but soon she convinced herself to accept the current situation and firmly resolved to cling to this “big leg.”
An unnoticed informant is still a good operative, right?
Moreover, the high person hasn’t asked me to do anything bad, Du Sixian thought.
Just as she was pondering, an unexpected change occurred.
Accompanied by the drawing of spirit patterns, the power of Ifrit that had invaded this ruin sensed danger upon the girl’s appearance, letting out a thunderous roar, striking first before the girl could act, launching an attack.
In the city center, a storm suddenly erupted, massive amounts of air were drawn into the swirling smoke, and momentarily, a pillar of flame as colossal as a mountain shot into the sky, lifting Ifrit’s vile form wrapped in roaring flames, heading straight for the girl in the sky.
The next moment, the girl in the sky suddenly woke, her golden eyes shooting forth a tangible blazing divine light.
Time froze.
Under the illumination of the flames, from that petite form emanated an invisible fury, and under the suppression of that formless spirit, Ifrit’s body instantly stiffened.
This was the natural suppression among urban legends!
Even though both were ancient legendary entities, Ifrit had a trace of divinity, but the tales represented by the girl’s power were far older and closer to true deities.
The gap between them was like that of a small lord in a remote fief and the genuine imperial heir.
Moreover, this was Luxianbei’s dreamscape.
Entering here was akin to intruding into her world.
In simple terms, in this place, she was invincible without needing to pay!
The moment Ifrit’s figure was exposed to the girl’s sight, wings formed of smoke and flames unfurled behind it, extending countless fiery red lines that wove into numerous grotesque human forms that seemed to crawl out from hell.
The fire demons screamed, sang praises, gathering into a legion, raising weapons towards the girl above the firmament.
The girl slowly raised one arm, and several massive fire swords extended from the void behind her, spinning continuously, stirring the wind and clouds, and creating brilliant cyclones.
Under the firmament, Du Sixian gazed at that brilliant fire sword, a sudden sharp pain shot through her mind, and immediately, a chant of the spell formula unexpectedly surfaced in her memory.
“Scorching Firmament, Ten Directions Mountains and Rivers, Red Earth for a Thousand Miles, Shatter, Calamity, Burn Away, Convey the Sword of Disaster, Divine Fire of Heavenly Punishment, Flame Sword **!”
Accompanied by Du Sixian’s incantation, the girl reached out, slicing through the void.
In an instant, the fire sword descended from the sky, a red rainbow cascading down as if the Milky Way were reversing, crashing into the legion of fire demons summoned by Ifrit, instantly tearing them apart, their bodies sliced down to grain-size fragments, turning into twinkling sparks.
The next moment, a roaring wave surged forth, a torrent of bl**d gushed from behind the girl, competing with the flames for the high-purity spirit energy dissipating into the sky.
Watching the scene before her, a strange thought flashed through Du Sixian’s mind: the flames ignited the flames.
“Roar——!”
A sharp, mournful wail suddenly erupted.
It pierced the eardrums of all figures in the city, as if each soul felt the imprint of pain.
Ifrit, surrounded by flames and bl**d, relentlessly flew towards the gap in the dark clouds above the sky, its body convulsing uncontrollably.
Struggling painfully.
It wanted to escape, but its speed was decreasing, in the final moment, it stretched both arms toward the sky with all its might.
Just a little more.
Under the dark clouds, its last connection with the outside world was severed, ushering in its tragic end.
bl**d and fire shattered it into dazzling fragments, spilling across the city, merging into the earth.
From a distance, Du Sixian saw a brilliant flame fly towards her, striking her forehead.
……
“Ah——!”
The moment the flame struck her forehead, Du Sixian suddenly awoke, opening her eyes wide, staring at the ceiling for a long time, the dream of fire rain falling, the sky red like the end of the world lingered in her mind.
In her daze, a spell suddenly surfaced from the depths of her mind, whispering in her ears.
She concentrated, trying to hear it clearly, but felt her brain seize painfully.
“Hiss——!” Du Sixian gasped, clutching her forehead, then stared blankly at a corner of the room, deep in thought.
That spell formula should still be beyond my current grasp; one shouldn’t aim too high. The gains from this time have already been significant.
As she pondered, Du Sixian gently clenched her fists, feeling that after witnessing those scenes, she had fully mastered Serial Number Sixteen’s spell formula.
“The power of high people is truly unfathomable; every time I feel like I’m almost catching up with her, she creates an even greater distance.” Du Sixian mumbled to herself, feeling a bit dejected.
This experience had unknowingly enlarged Luxianbei’s image in her mind even more.
However, she didn’t know that even Luxianbei, after leaving the dream, could not possibly cast such a high-level spell…
……
After inhaling the noxious steam, Bai Kai witnessed many bizarre scenes.
He saw the human trafficker who had abducted him as a child, saw the desolate Gobi that almost cost him his life, saw the Hundred Demons Walk in Huacheng over a decade ago, and saw the woman he could never forget.
That woman, with a charming look in her eyes, spoke softly to him, “Xiao Bai, I’m back. I won’t leave again. Can we be together?”
“Sure!” Bai Kai smiled and opened his arms, stepping forward, but the moment he embraced that woman, a silver light surged from his hands, erupting sharp sword energy.
……
“Cough——Cough, cough——!”
Bai Kai awoke violently from the room filled with noxious steam.
“d*mn it, I saw through the scam at a glance. That guy could never come back to find me!”
“d*mn it! It’s useless to seek me now; I’ve been galloping on horseback every day for so long. How could I ever turn back?”
Bai Kai cursed as he opened his eyes, finding the room filled with black smoke, visibility extremely low. He turned to look at the hospital bed and caught sight of a faint, breathtaking outline.
What a great figure! Truly impressive! Wait a minute!
What the hell? What’s going on? Why has Xiao Bei turned into a girl? What do I do now!?
Just as Bai Kai was briefly stunned, a sudden sound like shattering glass echoed in his ears. He snapped back to reality and looked towards the source of the sound.
Under the shroud of smoke, the spell used to seal the spirit energy fluctuations along with soundproofing in the corners of the room had been eroded by the high concentration of noxious steam, glimmering golden cracks spreading out.
Seeing this, Bai Kai’s gaze sharpened slightly; he clapped his hands on the ground and sprung up swiftly.
“O divine turtle of strange substances, embody the natural order of the universe… Breathe along with yin and yang, hiding the light of the scenery in deep springs…”
After standing, he murmured two lines of poetry, and immediately dense silver sword light surged around him, swirling as it gathered into a turtle shell shape. The moment the turtle shell emerged, the noxious steam was pushed back half a meter from his body, unable to draw near.
After ensuring protection, Bai Kai quickly acted, his lips trembling as he made hand seals, swiftly running around the room, reinforcing the spells in the corners.
Then, he picked up Luxianbei’s clothes from the ground, closed his eyes, and walked forward. As he slipped past her, his clothes drifted down gently onto her body.
After completing all this, Bai Kai found a corner farthest from Luxianbei, leaned against the wall, slowly sat down, sensing her spirit energy fluctuations, deep in thought.
The weak, non-attribute spirit energy fluctuations hidden beneath the savage and scorching spirit energy; he was very familiar with these two energies, and besides that, there was another bloody energy fluctuation similar to that of an urban legend clashing with it…
What a blunder; checking whether the spirit patterns were urban legends was supposed to be a necessary step. I overlooked it simply because the subject was Xiao Bei.
I had thought my good brother had no talent in spirit energy cultivation, but he was actually a genius in spell formulas and alchemy. That wicked woman is an upper urban legend, a hybrid of human and legend, possessing innate spirit patterns.
The child born from such two people would either inherit the talent of one side or would negotiate a compromise, but still within the realm of humanity.
Who would have thought that Xiao Bei would turn into an urban legend?
And a witch-type urban legend at that. When exactly did she…
This is really dangerous. Even if she is still human, she needs assistance to safely draw spirit patterns. I wonder if she can…
At this thought, Bai Kai rubbed his hair vigorously, “d*mn, d*mn, d*mn, crow mouth! Her spirit energy fluctuations have gradually stabilized; the most dangerous time is mostly over. Now the most crucial issue is…”
Bai Kai spoke to himself, looking up at Luxianbei with a furrowed brow.
The most important thing is, if she really is Xiao Bei, and not some urban legend disguised as her, now that she has become like this, how do I get her out, and…
How should I interact with Xiao Bei in the future? If she’s a girl, there will be a difference between the genders, and we can’t be so intimate, right? How do I explain it to Xiao Hua?
And, and when I meet her parents in the underworld, how should I explain it?
If I tell them, “Sorry, I didn’t take care of your son. Inadvertently, I let him turn into a girl.” The couple will definitely not let me off, right?
For a moment, Bai Kai’s thoughts became a tangled mess, sprawled on the ground, his eyes blankly looking at Luxianbei like a salted fish that had lost its dreams.
But…
Even if she is an urban legend, as long as she is Xiao Bei, I will protect her until the day she truly falls, and then personally… Bai Kai’s eyes glimmered coldly as he thought of this.
At that moment, a soft nasal sound suddenly echoed in the room.
“Hmm… hmm…”
Luxianbei awakened.
