Chapter Seventy: Luxianbei, Time to Wake Up and Pinch Your Face!
The spiritual world of the Inheritance Beast.
The light gray sky seemed to have been torn apart, and where the sun should be, there was a deep, pitch-black hue. An endless stream of black flames erupted, cascading down from the horizon like a torrential flood.
In this hazy state, Luxianbei felt her own body ignited from within, as if she were living flesh shoved into a furnace, flames engulfing her petite figure and burning fiercely. The incredible heat penetrated her shell, incinerating everything thoroughly.
The black flames that fell from the sky seemed to carry a bizarre power, temporarily halting the core of her urban legend essence, as if filled with extreme disgust, it moved away from her.
Only Ifrit’s spirit patterns foolishly charged ahead like a beast sensing the scent of bl**d, lunging to devour her, only to be burned in the mouth and yelp before “running away” with no further details.
As the black flames spread to her limbs and bones, she teetered on the edge of collapse.
Her organs wailed as if they could explode at any moment, even the thoughts that flickered through her mind were swallowed by the flames. Those thoughts flashed by and were instantly forgotten, as if burned to ashes.
Yet, in such a state, she could not help but be struck with some nonsensical thoughts.
What if I’m already dead? Then Miaomiao Sauce found my corpse…
Last time, when she vanished with no sign of life, she could at least pull off a wondrous trick with a grave, this time, if she saw the corpse, wouldn’t she have to cremate me on the spot?
I wonder, would she cry this time? Luxianbei thought.
But just when she thought she was about to explode and d*e, a premonitory thought crossed her mind.
【He embraced you】
A pair of cold little hands pierced through layers of black flames, grabbing Luxianbei’s wrist, and with great effort, pulled her into an embrace, slender arms tightly holding her body.
Feeling the sudden embrace, Luxianbei used her last strength to lift her eyelids, and then she saw that young face engulfed in black flames.
In his silver-gray eyes, there sparkled a stubborn light. His small body shielded her from more black flames raining down.
“……”
It’s Wang Ying!
So good…
I hope he won’t do terrifying things again after recovering his freedom, and also… read more books, study hard, and improve daily.
Thinking this, Luxianbei slowly closed her eyes, and darkness consumed her.
————
In the shattered city.
Nanling Yaohua, dressed in a white outfit, slowly lowered her three-foot green sword, looking around with a hint of confusion in her beautiful eyes.
In the past hour or so, she had single-handedly wielded her sword, setting off from Mudan Street toward the staff dormitory, almost completely slashing through kilometers of dark red flesh and urban legends.
However, just as she was close to reaching the staff dormitory, all the dark red flesh and urban legend creatures suddenly ceased their attacks, as if petrified, frozen in place.
Then, less than three seconds later, the sun in the sky vanished from sight, as if a lamp had suddenly been turned off, and darkness descended in an instant.
Terrifying lightning pierced through the slowly descending clouds, tearing the sky apart and creating a massive void that revealed deep blackness.
Nanling Yaohua looked up at that black void, instantly feeling a sense of urgency, clenching her long sword tightly in her grip, a few beads of sweat forming in her palms.
Whether it was a mirage or not, she felt the dark void resembling a giant eye, deep, cold, and devoid of any emotion.
As the giant void appeared in the sky, black flames, like torrential rain, fell to the earth.
The dark red flesh and lingering urban legend creatures were instantly ignited as if by its “gaze,” with black flames erupting from their bodies, an ear-piercing wail breaking out in waves.
In a daze, Nanling Yaohua saw a huge shadow, carrying an aura of decay and ominousness, descending from the horizon and casting a horrific outline on the crumbling structures throughout the city.
The grotesque, twisted silhouette wriggled, revealing a myriad of wounded faces within the swaying black flames, struggling and silently screaming as if they wanted to break free from the wall.
What is going on here? Is there a problem with this special space and the urban legends taking advantage of the situation? Nanling Yaohua frowned.
She hadn’t even figured out the origin of the dark red flesh, and new enemies had suddenly appeared, making her emotions grow heavy.
But, isn’t everything seemingly a problem?
No matter what enemy, she could face them with her sword!
With this thought, Nanling Yaohua’s gaze sharpened as she gripped her long sword tightly, about to leap into the air when a deafening shriek echoed from above.
Following the sound, she saw a dazzling rainbow light breaking through the air, soaring straight up like a rainbow sweeping across the sun, heading right for the black void in the sky.
Gazing at that rainbow light, Nanling Yaohua was momentarily stunned, her rosy lips trembling slightly.
Using her extraordinary vision, she saw a rapidly moving broken sword within that rainbow light. Following the broken sword was a flowing, elegant green gown, and covered under the gown was a flesh-colored object, but definitely not…
From a distance, it looked like a long-dressed irregular meatball that kept wriggling.
Nanling Yaohua, “……” What the heck is that? A meat attribute slime urban legend?
Just as she mused over this, the meatball made its move.
It soared on a sword, charging toward the sky.
Watching the trajectory swiftly traced by the broken sword in midair, Nanling Yaohua’s pupils trembled, “That’s a sword technique from the ‘Taihe Gentleman Sword Illustration’… Jun Tian Zou?!”
She knew the ‘Taihe Gentleman Sword Illustration’ was a true legacy of Dachunyang Palace. Her Master Lu also knew it and had once wanted to teach her the details of the sword techniques.
Though, in terms of swordsmanship alone, Master Lu always fell short compared to Master Bai, making her believe that her family’s inherited sword technique was likely more powerful, so she had not studied under Master Lu.
However, she did know the general sword techniques.
At this moment, she watched a monstrous meatball execute the strongest sword technique from the ‘Taihe Gentleman Sword Illustration,’ and her emotions were very mixed.
A strike of 【Taihe Gentleman Sword · Jun Tian Zou】 unleashed, the sword energy surged, stirring up a storm and forcibly carving a massive gap in the black void of the sky.
The heavens trembled, and a dull roar echoed through the clouds, as if a deity was beating a giant drum above the clouds.
The spirit energy dispersed in the air trembled restlessly.
The brilliant sword energy hadn’t flown far when a whisper of incantation began to echo in the sky.
“Scorching the sky, all mountains and rivers, thousands of miles of scorched earth, annihilation, calamity, burn to ashes…”
“Scorching the sky, all mountains and rivers, thousands of miles of scorched earth…”
“Scorching the sky…”
Hearing the first half of the incantation carried by the wind, a look of surprise crossed Nanling Yaohua’s face.
Is this the Mountain and River Flowing Fire Order? Multifold chanting, a forbidden incantation… What is this guy really about?
Her grandfather had often taught her the saying “Bitten off more than one can chew,” so in her understanding, a spirit ability user or an urban legend typically only excelled in one or two aspects of their abilities.
If she were to score a spirit ability user’s various abilities using the level of spirit energy fluctuation as a standard, then even her Master Lu only had spells that reached S level, while other abilities like swordsmanship and body techniques only reached A level at most, or even only C level.
Well, Master Lu’s body technique is super weak; compared to spirit ability users of the same level, he is essentially a klutz.
Even so, he was already considered a monstrous being among spirit ability users.
At this moment, that meatball in the sky boasted one hand in the ‘Taihe Gentleman Sword Illustration’ and the other hand chanting a forbidden incantation, both abilities reaching A-level, truly astounding.
While Nanling Yaohua was marveling at the meatball’s performance, suddenly several whispering incantations almost echoed simultaneously, blending into one and then howling winds swept through, carrying the latter half of the incantation into her ears.
“…Deliver the sword of calamity, the fire of heavenly punishment, flame sword heaven. Burial!”
Upon hearing it, her pupils slightly constricted.
Not the Mountain and River Flowing Fire Order?!
Flame Sword Heaven. Burial… How have I never heard of this incantation name before?
Could it be a mutated incantation? Nanling Yaohua pondered.
Of course, besides the possibility of a modified incantation based on existing ones, there was also the chance of a self-created incantation, but she never thought in that direction.
After all, creating a self-made forbidden incantation was simply too outrageous.
Most incantation segments can find their prototypes in natural phenomena or legends, then be combined in specific ways to achieve resonance, ultimately showcasing various miraculous powers.
Through countless years of development, various incantation systems have become quite mature. To improve upon existing foundations is already impressive; self-creating incantations, especially of high-level, is almost impossible.
It’s akin to enhancing an existing algorithm versus completely reconstructing a highly efficient new algorithm; the effort required between the two is vastly different.
“……”
But……
What type of modified incantation is this?
What do “deliver the sword of calamity, the fire of heavenly punishment” symbolize? Nanling Yaohua wondered.
Then……
Before she could search her memory for the relevant content about the incantation, the air suddenly grew hot.
Looking up at the sky, she saw turbulent airwaves rolling, a bl**d-like torrent gushed from behind the meatball, harshly seizing the spirit energy diffusing through the air.
Light burst forth.
In an instant, nine massive flame swords appeared out of nowhere, unfolding behind the meatball, like some alien wings suddenly unfurling.
That guy is actually casting incantations nine times at once?! Nanling Yaohua thought in disbelief.
However, what she didn’t know was that this strike would cost Luxianbei about four to five months’ worth of life as proxy player fees…
“Get lost!”
Faintly, Nanling Yaohua heard a delicate shout.
The next moment, a howling sound erupted as the nine flame swords, carrying terrifying light, shot upward, violently crashing into the gaping black void.
Black and crimson flames collided, stirring up mighty waves in the clouds.
Amidst the continuous roars and explosions, ferocious flames flared and danced between the dark clouds, and it seemed as if the heavens were about to collapse.
Then, following a brief silence, the sky truly “collapsed”!
From the torn clouds, burning light incessantly emerged, showering down onto the ground.
The entire city was instantly engulfed in a crimson downpour.
Then……
As if the rain had cleared, the dark clouds in the sky dissipated, the black void vanished, and the formidable meatball, wrapped in black flames, fell to the ground like a shooting star.
Seeing this, Nanling Yaohua’s gaze narrowed slightly, and with a thought, she dashed toward the direction where the meatball fell.
————
“Luxianbei, Luxianbei, wake up and stop sleeping, it’s done!”
“Luxianbei?!”
“Luxianbei, time to wake up and pinch your face!”
In a daze, upon hearing someone calling her to pinch her face, Luxianbei’s eyelids trembled, and she awakened.
You say that, and I’m not sleepy anymore!
She suddenly opened her eyes, seeing a small park with a diameter of less than two meters, and the surrounding black flames still flickering.
As her gaze shifted slightly, she saw Wang Ying lying beside her, completely charred, unmoving as if dead.
Seeing the seemingly lifeless Inheritance Beast, Luxianbei quickly regained her senses, her willow brows knitting together, “Is he… dead?”
“Are you stupid?” the Proxy Player Sister’s voice coldly retorted in her ear, “You’re still in his spiritual world! How could he possibly be dead? At most, he’s half dead!”
“……” Luxianbei pondered for a few seconds and inquired, “How could this happen?”
“Tsk, someone went all out!” Proxy Player Sister said, “The Solar Eclipse Society activated the Black Sun Fire Seed, intending to destroy the Inheritance Beast. This guy, being foolish, used his body to block most of the black fire for you at a crucial moment.”
“However, with me here, he barely held on and extinguished the fire.”
“Black Sun Fire Seed?” Luxianbei tilted her head.
“Didn’t I mention it before?” Proxy Player Sister explained, “The Solar Eclipse Society believes in a deity that is suspected to be fictional, who possesses primal powers, but they don’t pray for its coming, just seek its existence, hoping for its acknowledgment.”
“The Black Sun Fire is a mark of the Solar Eclipse Society President receiving initial recognition; he used the Black Sun Fire to create numerous Black Sun Fire Seeds and bestowed them to his loyal subordinates.”
“In simple terms, the President of the Solar Eclipse Society provided one-off nuclear weapons to his subordinates; the power is tremendous!”
“How much?” Luxianbei asked instinctively.
“Bigger than Gu Qiqi’s chest fat.”
“……”
What the heck?
That’s at most a 36… phew! Almost got led astray by her.
Luxianbei cursed inwardly and pressed on, “Then what about Wang Ying now…”
“Don’t worry! He won’t d*e; it’s just uncertain when he will wake up.” Proxy Player Sister said, “But right now isn’t the time to worry about that; you need to quickly reshape your body and gain control of the special space.”
“Due to the invasion of the Black Sun Fire Seed, the Siye Society’s anchoring has failed.”
“Also… please pay this time’s proxy player fee.”
Luxianbei, “???”
What the heck, I was just unconscious for a while, how did a fee arise? Isn’t this really forced consumption? Be careful; I’ll report you to the consumer association!
————
Meanwhile, at the Huacheng Folk Culture Research Management Bureau, Office No. 2.
In the corridor, Li Xuan was hurriedly walking toward his office, carrying a lunchbox. He paused in front of his office door and glanced down at the lunchbox, a hint of disgust crossing his features.
His younger apprentice Huasang was simply too bizarre, able to eat dark culinary creations like stir-fried chicken breast with bitter melon juice mixed with orange juice and black rice.
Earlier at the restaurant, the waiter was astonished; he repeated his order three times before it was finally completed.
The only reason Huasang ordered such a meal was to ensure a balanced intake of nutrients mixed together for convenience.
If it weren’t for the restaurant staff firmly refusing Li Xuan’s further request to mash these ingredients up, according to Huasang’s logic, this mixed rice should have been a mushy substance.
“Creak—!”
Carrying a feeling of grievance, Li Xuan pushed the door open to his office and paused at the sight of the empty room.
“Strange, where did she go?”
After searching the office repeatedly, Li Xuan confirmed that Huasang, who had been lying in his office like a corpse for a long time, was nowhere to be found.
——————
In Huacheng, at Banshan Primary School.
Huasang stood under a gnarled, ancient banyan tree, drooping her eyes and gazing at the old teaching building ahead, her brow furrowing.
Amidst distorted lights and shadows, various broken buildings with different styles sprouted up against the teaching building like bamboo shoots after rain.
“Tsk, what a hassle! Why is the anchoring suddenly about to be destroyed?”
Huasang mumbled while scratching her back with the ruler tucked behind her collar, “The Chief Priest is really overly cautious; why say there might be a problem?”
“Clearly, he knows for certain that something is bound to go wrong, isn’t that why he sent me here?”
After speaking, she moved into action.
She circled the decrepit teaching building and ultimately stood in front of the old banyan tree at its entrance. She pulled out a shiny black turtle shell from her wide sleeves and a small kn*fe, starting to carve into the shell slowly.
【Water emerges from the tremor palace, flexible yet firm, turtle and snake form, forever stabilizing the mountains and rivers.】
After carving out a line of small characters, she squatted down, using the ruler to dig a pit, tossed the turtle shell in, covered it with soil, and then stood up, stamping on it forcefully.
Completing this series of motions, she looked as if she had just expended a great deal of effort, turning slightly pale, with beads of sweat forming on her forehead.
It seemed she had done nothing, but she had done everything she could.
Wiping the sweat from her forehead, Huasang looked up at the leafy tree canopy above, mumbling, “Is this good enough?”
This is the most formidable turtle shell I’ve caught in recent years… Huasang added in her heart.
The next moment, the fluctuating spirit energy in the air suddenly trembled profoundly.
The earth shook.
Accompanied by intense vibrations, a bottomless fissure spread from the roots of the banyan tree, swiftly etching out a perfectly round shape that encircled the tree.
“Boom—— Boom——!”
The rumbling sounded as if thunder was rolling across the sky, or like the rushing sounds of great rivers and seas.
With the booming, the ground beneath Banshan Primary School quaked, and below the land, the surging spirit energy oscillated, bursting waves that sketched complex incantations, gradually sinking, sinking… until it reached the soon-to-be uncontrollable special space.
Soon, the tremors ceased, leaving only a distant sound that felt like an illusion resembling the tide.
Shortly after, Huasang seemed to exhaust her strength, her body softened and fell to the ground.
Lying in the patch of weeds, she stared at the branches of the banyan tree swaying in the wind, listening to the faint tide sounds from underground, and let out a long sigh.
“When I get back, I must get the Chief Priest to convince the master to let me go down the mountain for training this year to make up for my help with this…”
In Dachunyang Palace, over a year ago, Huasang had already been forbidden from going down the mountain for training.
The reason wasn’t complicated; when others went down to train, she merely sought to slack off.
Going down the mountain for training was so good, no morning classes, no evening classes, and certainly no need for practice.
While others raced to their master’s assigned tasks, she headed straight for the nearest resort, renting a room and staying there for twenty-nine days, only acting on the last day of the training, spending twenty-three hours and fifty-nine minutes to find the task target and then taking two minutes to defeat it.
What do you mean by procrastination? This is sheer talent in the art of slacking off!
As a result, two annual trainings, one lasting a month, were all her delightful leisure time.
However, the saying goes, frequent movement in the river leads to wet shoes; after several times, Huasang’s little schemes were ultimately discovered by her master, leading to her losing the privilege of training down the mountain.
Nevertheless, if the Chief Priest made the request, it should be possible to negotiate for an exception to… no, to go down for training, Huasang thought.
