Chapter 59: Becoming Their Common Enemy
“Gu Qiqi? What do you mean by what you just said? Don’t you believe that miracles exist in this world?”
The member of the Miracle Cult examined the girl in front of him through the hood that obscured his face, his narrowed eyes flashing with a cold light.
The cold light here was literal, and Luxianbei suspected that if she said one more wrong word, this member of the Miracle Cult would unleash some cruel “eye technique” that she knew nothing about.
“Please don’t look at me like that; it scares me,” Luxianbei said weakly while subtly using her weak charm ability.
“It’s not that I don’t believe in the existence of miracles; on the contrary, I’m quite interested in your cult. It’s just that there are many temptations, and I wonder if you can help me with some answers?”
As she spoke, the strong thirst for knowledge deep in Luxianbei’s clear eyes seemed to emit a silent cry: “Give it to me, give me the answer quickly!” compelling others to want to satisfy her desire.
“…”
Who can endure this?!
The member of the Miracle Cult was silent for a few seconds, the cold light in his eyes diminishing, and he said softly, “Of course, we believe that our Heavenly Father is the greatest existence in this world. It’s understandable not to fully grasp His spirit, and it is our duty as members of the cult to help those who are lost.”
“Oh, I see!” Luxianbei nodded thoughtfully and said seriously, “Then I want to know, if you believe in the existence of your Heavenly Father, why are you being hunted down by the Siye Society instead of miraculously remaining undetected?”
“Is it because He can’t do it? If He can’t do it, then He isn’t an omnipotent god, right? If He can do it but doesn’t, doesn’t that mean He harbors malice and is an evil deity?”
“If He can and is willing to do it, then why has the Miracle Cult been killed, with three thousand seven hundred twenty-one casualties and over twenty thousand members arrested in the siege by the Siye Society, and yet no miracles have occurred for any of them?”
“If He cannot and is unwilling to act, why do you continue to believe in Him?”
Luxianbei’s little mouth moved like a Gatling g*n spitting blue fire, completing this long series of questions in just about ten seconds. The member of the Miracle Cult stared at her dumbfounded, then his expression darkened, and the spirit energy fluctuations surged violently.
It was like a bad-tempered teacher being asked by a student a question to which he had no answer. The result was only one—”Get out!”
“You, how do you know so clearly about the number of casualties during the Siye Society’s attack on the cult? Are you an undercover agent sent by the Siye Society?!”
This member of the Miracle Cult, whose professional ability clearly needed improvement, could not come up with a rebuttal to Luxianbei’s points for a moment. However, he quickly thought of a reason to k*ll her in front of many illegal spirit energy organization members.
“Ah, don’t get angry!” Luxianbei exclaimed, stepping back a few paces, and pointed not far away at Solang Pema, who had been observing her and doubting her identity. “He said all of this; he also told me that he is a member of the Siye Society and that he has a way to protect me when things get chaotic!”
As Luxianbei spoke, she subtly intensified her charm ability, “It’s true, please believe me, I even saw his Gray Owl Badge!”
As soon as these words fell, several eyes simultaneously turned towards Solang Pema, not hiding their malice.
Solang Pema, “???”
I haven’t even pointed out that you might be in cahoots with the Siye Society!
How dare you throw unwarranted accusations at me?
Luxianbei looked meaningfully at Solang Pema, and at the moment their gazes met, her eyebrows arched provocatively.
Stupid younger brother, I’ve been noticing you for a long time!
First come, first served; the latecomer suffers.
If I don’t deal with you first, am I going to wait for you to jump out and accuse me?
————
Deep within the Peach Source.
The cave where the Fushang Sacred Tree originally grew had collapsed amid a violent explosion of spirit energy.
In the midst of a mountain that was almost just an empty shell, everything in sight was being shaken, torn apart, shattered, and even evaporated.
Layers of complex silver spells floated lightly, sealing, covering, and forcing terrifying spirit energy to be confined within this mountain.
The spirit energy that revived Qunyang, in this limited space, rolled like molten silver, gold, or some other metal, with scorching copper and iron boiling in the cauldron, forming a whirlpool that endlessly churned.
The twisted, corrupted giant tree loomed over this horrifying scene, with its roots extending downward like bl**d vessels of some colossal monster, intricately intertwined and continuously writhing until the end of vision.
One hundred and eight bronze pillars, each over a thousand meters long, were firmly pinned to the sprawling roots of the giant tree, which had been buried underground.
These bronze pillars, forged by Jumeng himself, were far more than mere decorations that recorded the history of the Peach Source; from the moment of their creation, they bore the mission of suppressing the corrupting power within the Fushang Sacred Tree.
This was a magnificent prison.
“Boom—!”
A deafening sound, like the impact of colossal machines, erupted suddenly.
As that high-pitched roar struck the eardrums, it also caused the trembling mountainside to shake.
Initially, it was just a faint tremor, but gradually it turned into a rumble!
Like a kn*fe cleaving, an axe hacking, or dragons clashing, like the roar of the earth as a meteor fell.
A tsunami-like roaring spread, taking along astonishing spirit energy fluctuations, struggling to break free from layer upon layer of shackles and restraints.
As if knives and axes were cleaving, the scales of dragons scraping, and when the stars fell, the earth cracked. Endless shrieks spread out, coalescing into vast ripples, trying to break free from the multiple layers of shackles and constraints.
An explosive quake erupted, airwaves swept across.
In the empty mountain, the light seemed to congeal and roll like liquid.
At that moment, countless pulses of earth energy surged down like a waterfall, cascading from the enormous broken opening at the mountain’s peak, merging into the one hundred and eight bronze pillars.
A high and melodious bird’s cry echoed.
In an instant, the bronze pillars began to tremble and hum, cracking inch by inch, bursting forth brilliant emerald light from within.
Accompanied by the emerald light radiating in all directions, the hum produced by the bronze pillars converged together, making it feel as though they were singing.
It was as if countless people were singing praises to another deity born from the Fushang Sacred Tree.
“In the month of Mengchun, its deity Jumang…”
“In the month of Mengchun, its deity Jumang, the remaining months of spring are the same; the holy and divine stand firm to establish the realm, ruling the world with the virtue of wood, bringing merit to the people.”
“…”
Accompanied by this prayer-like chant, the restless powers of Qunyang temporarily quieted down…
————
At the top of the corrupted Fushang Sacred Tree.
Jumeng stood at the top of the crown, eyes closed, standing alone, his toes merging with the branches.
Thus, a bizarre scene unfolded.
At the very top of the giant tree, every branch burst forth with vibrant life, thin twigs constantly sprouting tender buds; the buds blossomed into fresh leaves, clustering in verdant masses that shaded the canopy, while delicate pink peach blossoms fell, starting a new cycle.
Petals fell like rain, as if the season had shifted from the depths of winter to the warm spring in an instant.
Beneath the canopy, the giant tree’s thick branches were either covered in decaying flesh or dry and cracked, emitting intense light, or were riddled with protrusions resembling tumors, creating a dense cluster—like a skin disease causing festering sores.
Life and d*ath intertwined, simultaneously manifesting on this giant tree born of the same roots.
If Luxianbei were to see such a sight, she would surely exclaim, “This is definitely a server bug in the world!”
After a long while.
Utilizing the faith power contained within the earth’s energy to temporarily suppress the corrupt spirit energy within the Fushang Sacred Tree, Jumeng slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air, opened his eyes, and looked down with a serious expression.
Within a massive tree hole of the Fushang Sacred Tree, a mass of dark red, vague flesh constantly writhed, differentiating into various organs of different creatures, only to decay in an instant, growing black feathers or beaks akin to those of crows.
It’s like hundreds or thousands of possible urban legend powers related to the Fushang Sacred Tree were continuously evolving, imitating, and trial-and-erroring to find the power that belonged to Qunyang.
Shifting his gaze away from the flesh, Jumeng looked at the Crow Slave.
The dark red, vague flesh clung to the Crow Slave from all sides, nearly consuming his entire body, leaving only his face exposed as he stared vacantly at the sky.
“Tsk, foolish guy, it’s because of your kind of followers that the irresponsible dead kid left the mess for me and walked away…”
After merging with the Fushang Sacred Tree once more after many years, Jumeng instantly understood the origins of the shocking upheaval in the Peach Source.
The main reason for the revival of Qunyang’s powers lay in the existence of that dark red flesh.
According to Jumeng’s observation, that dark red flesh had almost no urban legend power but possessed a bizarre fluctuation of spirit energy. Under the influence of that spirit energy fluctuation, they would imitate any urban legend power they came into contact with and then choose the strongest template among them to multiply and differentiate.
When Jumeng first interacted with the Fushang Tree, that dark red flesh had even imitated her powers and undergone a series of multiplication and differentiation.
However, they soon decided that her powers were not as strong as Qunyang’s, abandoned the imitation of her, and continued imitating Qunyang’s powers, even mimicking the corrupted parts as well.
Thus, Jumeng felt a profound humiliation.
However, if the existence of that dark red flesh alone were present, it would not be enough to revive the long-dead powers of Qunyang.
The reason for the situation developing to such an extent was all “thanks” to Qunyang’s most loyal follower—the Crow Slave and those fire crows.
The imitation and differentiation of that dark red flesh limited to the level of powers and spirit energy fluctuations, was like single-celled organisms that completely lacked independent consciousness, inadequately causing such a degree of destruction.
Without consciousness, no matter how powerful the spirit energy, it was merely a lifeless entity—not close to reviving.
The issue arose when they began to imitate Qunyang’s powers for proliferation, at which time the Crow Slave appeared nearby and offered himself up as a sacrifice.
Thus, after the dark red flesh devoured the Crow Slave and those fire crows, they materialized a weak consciousness based on the Qunyang they recalled and even fabricated from their memories, welcoming a grand awakening.
“It’s simply ridiculous; if this thing escapes and leaves the Peach Source, that would be disastrous,” Jumeng scolded fiercely.
A thousand people will see a thousand Hamlets.
The Crow Slave and those fire crows outnumbered a thousand, and in their eyes, even if there were repetitive possibilities regarding Qunyang, there would still be at least hundreds of completely different images.
The consciousness born from these images could only be said to move feebly; aside from being able to move, their thoughts were even more chaotic than entirely corrupted and fallen deities.
The corrupted powers and spirit energies of Qunyang, along with the chaotic consciousness, would give rise to an urban legend that could be foreseen as an immensely destructive but unreasonable monster.
That would be a terrifying disaster of great suffering.
“I wonder what that guy would think if he were still here to see this,” Jumeng murmured.
While abandoning his powers and walking away was indeed wrong, it wasn’t unforgivable; it could only be considered rather irresponsible.
But those followers, like rotten fans who always shout, “Qunyang darling, I love you,” are a different story. The things they have done are nearly wishing for Qunyang’s early demise.
In contrast, everyone in the Peach Source is much cuter, Jumeng thought.
As she pondered, a surge of intense corrupting power rose again, and she quickly gathered her senses, controlling the earth’s energy to suppress it.
After completing the suppression, Jumeng looked toward the direction of Tangcheng and sighed silently.
This was the third time she had suppressed that corrupting power; each time expended a considerable amount of earth energy, and her powers would incur a certain extent of corruption.
Now, she could only allow the powers of Jumang and Qunyang to be destroyed along with the Fushang Sacred Tree in the radiant beams of the city barrier to prevent a disaster from occurring.
Once the bow is drawn, there is no turning back.
When she transformed into a bird and flew toward the giant tree that had broken through the mountain and sprung up, she had already cut off any possibility of retreat…
————
Near Golden Toad Rock in the Peach Source scenic area, a large rock that jutted out in the turbulent river, resembling a golden toad emerging from water.
[Calamity: “The matter is settled; in five minutes, they will appear near Golden Toad Rock in the Peach Source Canyon, signaling with silver-white sword energy.”]
Xing Yuan, leading forty Siye Society operatives hidden in the shadows, double-checked the message sent by Luxianbei a minute ago, frowning slightly.
Why silver-white sword energy?
I remember her sword energy was clearly crimson, right?
While Xing Yuan was pondering, Silver Horn, beside her, saw what was on her phone screen and asked softly, “My lord, how did she accomplish this?”
“I’m curious too, but…” Xing Yuan glanced sideways at Silver Horn, swinging the terrifying pitch-black giant axe in her hand, and said coldly, “You just peeked at my phone, didn’t you?”
Silver Horn, “…”
————
“Boom—Boom—Boom—!”
Colorful lights streaked across the sky above the canyon like a meteor shower, the loud sounds shaking the eardrums, and the entire canyon trembled violently.
From a distance, a clamor could be heard.
“k*ll her! Tear her to pieces!”
“I want to tear that little wench Gu Qiqi into shreds, inch by inch!”
“Judgment, our Heavenly Father! Please bring down judgment and reckon with Gu Qiqi’s sins!”
“…”
The noisy roars and screams gathered together, boiling the entire canyon.
Every member of the illegal spirit energy organization was howling, their faces twisted in rage as they pursued the girl who claimed to be Gu Qiqi, like tangible negative spirit energy fluctuations spreading throughout the canyon.
Suddenly, the thick smoke from an explosion was torn apart.
A rapidly moving figure, carrying a girl on his back, ran atop the rushing river, treading the rolling waves, perfectly catching every gap, skillfully weaving between various explosive spells and innate skills, speeding forward and leaving behind a chaotic silver-white trail.
Once a certain distance was achieved, Bai Kai let out a sigh of relief, turned to Luxianbei on his back, and said gently, “Xiao Bei, I can hardly remember how many years it has been since the last time you let me carry you; it was back in elementary school. I’m so touched.”
“Save the touching stories for later; watch out ahead, you need to keep your eyes on the road!” Luxianbei shouted, seeing a giant rock approaching head-on.
She felt that making Bai Kai carry her was the worst decision she had made in recent times, utterly more thrilling than the world’s biggest roller coaster combined with a super double twist.
Hearing Luxianbei’s exclamation, Bai Kai suddenly leaped into the air, landing on the giant rock that came flying toward them. Pausing for just a moment, the explosive noise and dazzling silver light erupted beneath his feet, propelling him like a cannonball nearly five hundred meters forward.
Once he stabilized himself, Bai Kai turned back to Luxianbei and asked, “Xiao Bei, things got too chaotic just now. I was focused on running and didn’t get a chance to ask you; how did you provoke these people?”
Recalling the scene when they arrived at the Number One Scenic Platform in the Peach Source, where Luxianbei was surrounded by dozens of fierce-looking individuals, he still felt a lingering fear.
“I… didn’t do anything!” Luxianbei said somewhat awkwardly, evading Bai Kai’s gaze. “I just refuted the existence of the Father of the Miracle Cult, wronged several spiritual ability users as undercovers for the Siye Society, mocked the creation of the Wandering Poet Society a bit, and exposed a few little secrets that some major urban legends didn’t want people to know…”
Luxianbei took over a minute to summarize how she sparked trouble, causing Bai Kai’s mouth to twitch uncontrollably.
That’s called ‘not doing anything’?
If you were dead set on doing something, then that would be quite a problem!
However…
“But Xiao Bei! Listening to you, didn’t you just shift all the blame onto others while provoking them? Why are they still chasing you?” Bai Kai asked in confusion.
“Oh, that’s very simple!” Luxianbei explained. “After I threw all the blame out, I just needed to find an actor with excellent skills to play the bad guy, expose me, and provoke public outrage!”
“If it were just about inciting those illegal spirit energy organizations into conflict and making them turn against each other, it wouldn’t be enough for them to want to k*ll me quickly.”
“After all, there are existing adversarial relationships among them, balancing each other, unwilling to act easily, which leads to weakening their strength.”
“But if at this moment, a reliable person jumps out and points the finger at me, making them realize that I possess massive knowledge of things they want to cover up, it becomes different. Don’t you think?”
It’s like when two people are arguing fiercely, and suddenly a common enemy jumps out.
Even without doing anything, I’ll become their emotional outlet.
“…” Bai Kai pondered for a few seconds and said earnestly, “Xiao Bei, after this is done, let’s publicly sever our father-son relationship, shall we?”
Luxianbei, “…”
