Chapter 128: Yumen
“Bang—!” A muffled sound came forth, like two massive stones crashing into each other, the shockwave spreading and briefly dispersing the yellow sand that had been whipped up by the wind.
Hearing the sound, Nanling Yaohua’s heart trembled slightly.
Although she had sensed that the “Calamity” had no killing intent towards “Lu Qingyi,” a lack of killing intent does not mean that “Lu Qingyi” wouldn’t get hurt as a result.
Raising her eyes to look at “Lu Qingyi,” she finally felt a little relieved after seeing the heavy armor that covered her arms.
In the next moment, a brilliant golden light, as clear and radiant as glass, burst forth from “Lu Qingyi’s” palm, accompanied by a vague chanting sound. Confused and chaotic golden lines spread rapidly around her, outlining a tree-like totem with flourishing roots.
The channel of the God Realm Prototype, opened!
As the tree-like totem took shape, glaring rays of light erupted from it, engulfing the figure of “Calamity,” and as the bright light dissipated, “Calamity” vanished without a trace.
Just as the channel of the God Realm Prototype opened and swallowed “Calamity,” Nanling Yaohua suddenly caught a faint yet exceptionally familiar fragrance.
That was… was it Auntie’s God Realm Prototype?
Nanling Yaohua paused for a moment, coming back to her senses, and her gaze fixed on “Lu Qingyi,” her eyes trembling slightly with uncertainty.
In the God Realm Prototype, there were two pomegranate trees in front of the staff building where Lu Xianbei’s family resided, as well as in the small courtyard of Luji Sichuan Cuisine Restaurant where she had lived for a long time.
Those two pomegranate trees were over a hundred years old; it was said that a lovesick man had planted them for his wife a century ago.
However, perhaps due to their old age, the two pomegranate trees no longer bore fruit, yet they still bloomed every year during the flowering period of April to July.
A fiery red expanse, as if the branches had been ignited.
Compared to the faint and nearly negligible fragrance of most pomegranate flowers, the flowers of those two trees were exceptionally fragrant, likely because they had lived so long, with the experiences, people, and events they had witnessed having long settled into the flowers, cultivating a unique charm.
Just catching a whiff of that fragrance gave the illusion of having slowly eaten a bowl of pomegranate seeds.
Of course, that alone shouldn’t have made such a deep impression on Nanling Yaohua, as simply sensing that faint aroma shouldn’t have reminded her of Wang Meili’s God Realm Prototype.
The reason her impression was so deep was that the day before she participated in the college entrance examination in the God Realm Prototype, Lu Xianbei had picked a pomegranate flower and personally tucked it into her hair, then told her, “Do you know what it means to give someone a pomegranate flower in Norse mythology?”
“What does it represent?”
“It represents…” Lu Xianbei’s eyes spun around calmly, “It represents the wish for the departing warrior to return safely. You need to do your best tomorrow; if you really can’t write, just take a look at your classmates next to you. Otherwise, your mediocre grades won’t allow you to go to the same university as me!”
Nanling Yaohua, “……”
What Lu Xianbei said was certainly not true.
Later, Nanling Yaohua had looked it up herself; indeed, there was a legend in Norse mythology related to the pomegranate flower, but in that legend, it was the husband who adorned the wife with a pomegranate flower, and even to this day, Nordic brides have a custom of wearing pomegranate flowers.
In her view, Lu Xianbei must have known that legend, which is why he deliberately mentioned Norse mythology, so she firmly kept that sentence as Lu Xianbei’s confession in her heart.
Although she was very clear that it was just something Lu Xianbei had said under the influence of the God Realm Prototype and was likely not from the heart, some things, even if they are fake, once experienced, cannot be forgotten just because one wishes to.
In fact, at this very moment, in Nanling Yaohua’s arms, there was a withered pomegranate bud that she had picked up while leaving Huacheng.
When she plucked that pomegranate bud, she also hung a wind chime on the branch closest to the window of the Lu Family Manor’s attic. At that time, she was thinking that since Lu Xianbei had given her a pomegranate flower, she had given Lu Xianbei the wind chime, and that would settle things between them.
Unexpectedly, today both the wind chime and that familiar pomegranate fragrance had appeared before her.
Lu Xianbei probably didn’t expect that although she had completely restrained the spirit energy fluctuations of the God Realm Prototype, when the channel to the God Realm Prototype opened, the blurred images that were supposed to appear would also be well hidden, yet her awareness of the God Realm Prototype would still be perceived by Nanling Yaohua.
All because of that unforgettable fragrance.
“……”
That fragrance was most likely drifting out from the God Realm Prototype…
The wind chime in “Lu Qingyi’s” hand could still be explained with “from Lu Xianbei,” which wasn’t a very credible excuse, but how should one explain Wang Meili’s God Realm Prototype? Was it also from Lu Xianbei?
Absolutely impossible! thought Nanling Yaohua.
In her understanding, although Lu Xianbei’s mouth was like a high-speed train station, acting wildly and not like a proper person, Lu Xianbei would never hand over the only relic left by his mother to someone else.
After ruling out all impossibilities, what remained, no matter how bizarre, was still a fact.
So, does that mean Lu Qingyi is really disguised as Lu Xianbei?
Nanling Yaohua thought with a complicated mood, instinctively taking a step forward. Her thin lips parted, just about to ask “Lu Qingyi,” when suddenly a strong surge of spirit energy fluctuated, coming from the direction of “Lu Qingyi,” crashing into her spiritual awareness like a wild, uncontrollable beast.
That wave of spirit energy, upon first contact, felt filled with hope, like the first ray of spring sunshine dispelling the winter chill, suggesting that as long as one bathed in it, any miracle could happen, but with a little careful observation, one could immediately detect the anomalies.
That “warm sun” seemed to harbor sharp edges of unpredictable twists, sinister threats, and restless, violent emotions…
As if adorned with gold dust and flowers, everything was a beautiful façade hiding cruelty.
At the moment Nanling Yaohua sensed that spirit energy fluctuation, her heart jolted, and coming back to her senses, she immediately gripped her sword, taking bold strides toward Lu Xianbei.
However, before she could get close to Lu Xianbei, she heard Lu Xianbei’s voice calling out.
“Danger! Don’t come over!”
Hearing this, Nanling Yaohua’s steps froze. Steadying herself, she looked up at Lu Xianbei, and her pupils trembled violently.
The howling wind kicked up yellow sand, as Lu Xianbei stood in the gust, her petite frame already covered in armor, hands raised in front of her chest, cradling a brilliant golden light, as if forcefully trying to bring her palms together, exerting constant power, twitching and trembling.
It looked as if a terrible force was preventing Lu Xianbei from closing the channel to the God Realm Prototype, and Lu Xianbei was struggling to halt it.
Within that brilliant golden light, something seemed to be rampaging, twisting and contorting, unleashing arcs of electricity as thick as a child’s arm.
Each arc of electricity contained the spirit energy fluctuations that Nanling Yaohua had sensed earlier, akin to a deceptive trap.
Those spirit energy fluctuations collided with Lu Xianbei’s own, instantly stirring up waves of horrifying air currents that enveloped the arm armor covering Lu Xianbei’s hands. In the violent clash of the two spirit energy fluctuations, it trembled violently and emitted a piercing, harsh buzzing sound reminiscent of a sharp blade scraping across steel.
Occasionally, arcs of electricity would sh**t out from this fierce collision of spirit energy fluctuations, carrying a destructive force that swept across the ground, immediately plowing a charred ravine, and soon, that scorched earth visibly transformed into a metallic texture.
Golden, like gold…
Seeing this, Nanling Yaohua’s expression changed.
That was one of the five sacred relics of the Miracle Cult?
But didn’t Grandpa say that some of the sacred relics from the Miracle Cult had been controlled by the Siye Society, and some had been lost, no longer with the Miracle Cult?
Where on earth did she get it from? Nanling Yaohua thought uncertainly.
Followed by an unexpected loud noise from a distance interrupted her thoughts.
Turning her gaze, Nanling Yaohua was once again distracted.
The tornado sweeping through the Gobi Desert seemed to be called forth by some mysterious power, roaring and dancing, continuously approaching where Lu Xianbei was.
Wherever it passed, tons of sand and gravel were whipped into the air; the distant sky appeared to be draped with a dark yellow curtain, and then a sudden deafening roar followed, terrifying and shocking.
Behind that curtain, a brilliant blue and white light continually fell from midair, igniting the terrifying fireworks containing horror destructive power on the Gobi ground, sending shockwaves of giant waves rolling through the swirling sandstorm.
That was the result of spatial fissures hidden within the tornado colliding with each other, intertwining and annihilating.
And in the higher sky, gigantic shadows appeared, slowly descending, making the already dim night look even deeper.
The sky seemed like it was about to collapse.
This was a terrifying sight that Nanling Yaohua, who had lived on this Gobi Desert for more than ten years, had never witnessed before.
“……”
Recovering from her brief daze, Nanling Yaohua glanced down at the wind chime on her ankle that was ringing loudly, then looked at Lu Xianbei in the distance, frowning.
Although no expression appeared on Lu Xianbei’s face, she could tell that Lu Xianbei was almost using all her strength at this moment.
Through the gaps in the visor, she could vaguely see that expressionless face, pale skin covered in tiny beads of sweat, veins popping on the forehead, and the bl**d vessels beneath her skin giving off a golden-red glow due to the high-intensity operation of spirit energy within her body.
She could also see that Lu Xianbei was in a very dangerous position…
She had personally felt the solidity of Lu Xianbei’s armor, and it was the hardest spirit energy item she had ever seen.
In her view, it even had the chance to withstand the full-force strike of an A+ grade spirit ability user.
But even this hardest spirit energy item began to reveal glowing cracks under the onslaught of the chaotic arcs of electricity continually blasting out from that brilliant golden light, as if it would shatter at any moment.
At this moment, when Lu Xianbei told her not to approach, although there was a voice in her heart continuously shouting at her, “Hurry to help her! If you let her insist on being strong like this, she will be in life-threatening danger!” rationality told her it was better to obediently stay put.
If she impulsively got closer to Lu Xianbei, what could she do?
She could do nothing.
Her grandfather, the previous head of the Yumen Sands Sea Branch, had unexpectedly disappeared while working with the guardians of the Siye Society to repair the Yumen Pass.
The incident occurred suddenly; as the current head, she had been forced to take over all responsibilities without any preparation.
Through the violently vibrating wind chime, she could judge that the Yumen Pass was getting closer…
Through the sand turning into gold, she could guess that it was related to the sacred relic of the Miracle Cult…
Beyond that, she didn’t know much more.
She had not gone through the normal successor process, and she had not been raised as a successor since childhood. After taking over as head of the Yumen Sands Sea Branch, everything relied on herself, and without anyone teaching her, she learned from scratch while handling the matters of being the head.
Yet despite her efforts to learn, there was still so much she had not had time to master.
For example, how to suppress the sacred relic of the Miracle Cult, and how to communicate with the Yumen Pass to prevent its descent…
Even if she wished to help Lu Xianbei, she had no idea how to start, and it might even distract Lu Xianbei, putting her in an even more dangerous situation.
In such moments, perhaps doing nothing was the greatest help she could offer Lu Xianbei.
Thus, Nanling Yaohua remained standing there, her face filled with worry, as if petrified, even slowing her breath, but her heart raced, just like the wind chime on her ankle, vibrating continuously…
————
Glancing at Nanling Yaohua who had stopped, Lu Xianbei secretly sighed in relief and immediately shifted her focus to the now agitated Oujinbang… or rather, it would be more appropriate to call it the sacred relic of the Miracle Cult?
Lu Xianbei thought, casting a gloomy glance at Fang Ji, who was walking toward her.
When she opened the channel to the God Realm Prototype and sensed that the sacred relic of the Miracle Cult had suddenly become agitated, she realized that she had fallen for Fang Ji’s trick.
And the moment she got caught was probably when she locked eyes with Fang Ji and felt that inexplicable sense of comfort.
From that moment onward, Fang Ji conveyed a certain strange power that would lead to the agitation of the Miracle Cult’s sacred relic onto her.
Even if she didn’t open the channel to the God Realm Prototype and send the imposter calamity to meet the ancestor, she would eventually communicate with the God Realm Prototype. Once she did, the Miracle Cult’s sacred relic would sense that strange power and become agitated.
It was a real agitation. When she communicated with the God Realm Prototype earlier, she sensed that “mysterious golden stick-shaped unidentified flying object” had already trended in the God Realm Prototype’s hot search…
She even suspected that even if she didn’t communicate with the God Realm Prototype, under the subtle influence of that strange power, the Miracle Cult’s sacred relic would eventually lose control.
There’s no such thing as a free lunch in the world, and neither would free comfort be exempt…
Lu Xianbei initially thought that her inexplicable good fortune after encountering Fang Ji in the past was an exception, but unexpectedly, it was merely a trial version of “induced consumption.”
Facts proved that what is free is the most expensive.
Now, the bill for the free service had arrived…
And this bill was a massive amount beyond what she could afford with the cores of two urban legends, spirit patterns, and spirit seals that could supply far more spirit energy than the vast majority of similarly ranked spirit ability users and urban legends.
If it weren’t for Ling Tai Purification protecting her, she would likely have turned into a statue by now.
A 24K pure gold statue!
Like some kind of life-sized collectible figure…
However, at this point, it was no different from a statue. Lu Xianbei could sense that as long as she relaxed her control over the God Realm Prototype and spirit energy input for a moment, the sacred relic of the Miracle Cult would immediately break free from her control.
“……”
She should never have placed the Oujinbang within the God Realm Prototype just for a bit of gold.
Was that something to be carelessly placed? Now she’d caused a huge problem, being greedy for a small advantage only to get a huge loss!
If she had known, she would have handed it over to the Siye Society; perhaps she could even get a banner saying “Thanks to Operator Lu Xianbei for the Oujinbang” to hang in her office… Lu Xianbei thought.
While pondering, Fang Ji reached her side.
————
After Fang Ji struggled out from the wind-eroded mound, more than ten minutes had passed.
In these ten minutes, he was struck by violent golden arcs of electricity, his right hand turned to gold, swept away by the tornado, and pierced through the shoulder by the flowing light produced from the collision of spatial fissures…
He had suffered injuries from various “accidents” yet had never stopped moving closer to Lu Xianbei.
Finally, when he staggeringly crossed that long distance of one hundred meters and stopped beside Lu Xianbei, he was already battered and bloodied.
But a smile appeared on his face.
His handsome face, dyed with bl**d, looked somewhat grim when he smiled.
With just one glance, Lu Xianbei quickly closed her eyes.
Fang Ji had already deceived her once when making eye contact, she absolutely would not trip over the same stone twice.
“Do you know that smiling so happily at a poker face is very rude?” Lu Xianbei said, eyes tightly shut, voice squeezed out through clenched teeth, “Do you also know that if my hands weren’t busy right now, I would definitely give you a good beating?”
“Beat me?” Fang Ji smirked, “I thought you’d want to k*ll me, since I am the mastermind behind taking away your little girlfriend.”
“What was her name again? Jiang Li, right?”
“Indeed, it’s you…” Lu Xianbei said.
She had had a vague suspicion of this when she saw Dailin and Fang Ji mingling together.
“I did think of you as a friend all the time!”
Hearing Lu Xianbei indirectly admit that she had come out to the Gobi Desert for her “little girlfriend,” Nanling Yaohua’s heart trembled. Her breath, which she had been trying to keep steady, instantly became heavy.
Being misunderstood and injured inexplicably.
After hearing Lu Xianbei’s words, Fang Ji paused for a moment, the smile on his face stiffening. After a few seconds of contemplation, he sighed silently, “Sorry to disappoint you; just consider this a mission I must complete, okay?”
He truly hadn’t expected that “Calamity” would see him as a friend.
“Mission?” Lu Xianbei asked, “Are you short on money? Or are you being coerced? You should have said sooner; I can help you. You don’t need to create so much trouble!”
“To be honest, my connections are vast. Whether it’s the Black Emperor, General, Hu Boss from Liao Zhai Tavern, or the Master of the Eight Hundred Miles Peach Spring… as long as I say the word, they appear in front of me in minutes, ready to be commanded.”
With her hands gradually losing sensation, the spirit energy within her flowed slowly like mercury, Lu Xianbei felt she was about to collapse. It seemed that even with Ling Tai Purification’s protection, her body was gradually turning into gold, hence she suddenly became more talkative.
Now she couldn’t care less; she could only recite all the cataclysm-grade names she was aware of, hoping that perhaps some big shot would sense it and come help her!
However, she didn’t wait for any big shot to come to her aid, but rather found Fang Ji ruthlessly exposing her.
“Don’t waste your effort; the Yumen Pass is about to descend, and under such a strong interference of spirit energy fluctuations, they won’t be able to sense anything.” Fang Ji said softly, “Moreover, whether you truly wish to help me or not, I am very grateful.”
“However, if I had asked you earlier to hand over that sacred relic, would you have given it to me?”
“Of course not,” Lu Xianbei replied without hesitation.
She knew that thing was extremely dangerous and couldn’t be casually given to others.
Moreover, before this, the Oujinbang had been her personal money printer, and if someone wanted to take it away, that would be akin to robbing her of her wealth—a grudge that couldn’t go unpunished!
“Heh…” Fang Ji chuckled dryly, “So, if you truly wish to help, how about giving up control of the sacred relic? I really don’t want to hurt you.”
“……” Lu Xianbei opened her mouth, as if she wanted to say something, but as her lips parted, she realized she couldn’t utter a word, and even breathing had become difficult.
It was as if… a piece of gold larger than her fist was lodged in her throat.
But she still stubbornly maintained her spirit energy input into the God Realm Prototype until Fang Ji gently placed a hand on her shoulder, leaning down to her ear and whispering softly.
“Don’t worry, your little girlfriend is very safe, and she’s not even in this Gobi Desert…”
Upon hearing this, Lu Xianbei’s mind shook.
Not in this Gobi Desert? Then where is she? Didn’t she find out earlier that Dailin bought a lot of alchemical potions needed to cross the desert? Was it just a trick?
“… She’s in the Kubuqi Desert, Xiangsha Bay.”
To affect Lu Xianbei’s mindset, Fang Ji deliberately slowed down the pace of his speech, giving Lu Xianbei ample time to daydream for a moment before continuing, “Kubuqi Desert, in Inner Mongolia.”
“Alright, I’ve now told you her exact location. Don’t you want to rush there to save her?”
After that, Fang Ji waited a moment, and when he saw Lu Xianbei remain unmoved, he frowned and continued, “Could it be that you’re angry because I lied to you? Fine, I promise that if I survive from Yumen Pass, I’ll come to apologize to you…”
“Just give up, Calamity. This matter has nothing to do with you. Go do what you should do? For this kind of thing that doesn’t concern you…”
“Shut up…” Lu Xianbei glared at Fang Ji, forcing out sounds in broken gasps, then she somehow squeezed out a surge of strength, snapping her jaw shut with a metallic sound, finally managing to say a complete sentence.
“Shut up, you stinky younger brother! Now that I know the leader is safe, I even more have to manage this mess!”
Hearing this, Fang Ji was momentarily stunned, regaining his composure with a dark expression. The hand resting on Lu Xianbei’s shoulder gradually increased in strength until his fingertips dug into the flesh of her shoulder.
“Sorry, I really didn’t want to do this…” He said, slowly exhaling a breath of foul air, then followed up with a quiet chant of power description.
“The soul originating from the illusion, its existence is proof of miracles.
It has brought golden, covering the earth.
It has brought swords, ending wars.
Cattle and sheep abound, food is inexhaustible, sweet wine flows like rivers…”
Accompanied by the melodic chants echoing, Lu Xianbei felt the level of agitation of the Miracle Cult’s sacred relic in the God Realm Prototype suddenly rise several levels.
If before it was a runaway wild horse, now it was a runaway Sleipnir, almost immediately breaking free from her control.
At the moment the sacred relic of the Miracle Cult broke free from her control, she felt as if she had suddenly been struck by a heavy blow to the chest. Her bones shattered, her organs ruptured, and bl**d transformed into gold, surging uncontrollably from her mouth, along with her body flying away like a severed kite, tracing a curve in the air.
In a daze, she heard Fang Ji call out loudly, his piercing voice carrying far and wide, seemingly enveloping the entire Gobi Desert.
“Welcome, Holy Son, elders, please summon the sacred relic!”
She saw Nanling Yaohua, with a panicked expression, rushing towards this side, the sword in her hand unleashing a wave of sword energy towards Fang Ji.
Though Lu Xianbei had told her not to move from her spot, and though Lu Xianbei had initially appeared friendly during their conversation, seeing Lu Xianbei injured, she couldn’t help but act.
However, before she could get close to Fang Ji, the sword energy transformed into gold, fell to the ground, and then even the sword itself was gradually influenced by the strange power radiating from the sacred relic, slowly turning golden.
Lu Xianbei also saw that the massive shadow in the sky finally descended from the heavens, revealing its true form.
An immense flow of yellow sand poured down from the sky like a flood breaking through a dam, shaking the earth and emitting a horrifying roar.
The yellow sand seemed to boil, dark yellow sand columns kept surging up, falling, and then surging again… Just like countless hands reaching up from the ground, competing to grab everything on the surface and into the sky.
Following this, amidst the violent tremors, countless buildings gradually surfaced from the towering sand, revealing towering and somber castle walls, huge solidified spell formulas cast in bronze covering the wall…
Countless arcs of electricity, containing terrifying spirit energy, burst forth like blooming flowers, then spread out, flowing across the wall like water.
On top of that castle wall, disregarding the unsettling shadows flitting back and forth, leaving eerie green traces, the massive metal framework of the giant crossbow in the arrow tower had long rusted, yet the solidified spell formulas inscribed upon it remained intact, densely intertwined, outlining a half-real, half-illusory bow and crossbow shape…
Finally, her gaze settled on that enormous city gate.
The two large characters written on it were—“Yumen.”
