Chapter 44: The Decayed Shell
After watching Jumeng being bullied by the penguins for a while, and seeing her flustered as she attempted to hit those cheeky penguins while also worried about hurting them and not being able to pay for them, looking both aggrieved and awkwardly cute, Luxianbei could no longer hold herself back and stood up, ready to help.
“Let’s go, according to the plan, after we finish touring the aquarium, we want to visit a few other places,” Luxianbei said lightly.
Watching her figure, Mao Sanyou hesitated several times before speaking up quietly, “Wait a moment!”
“What’s wrong?” Luxianbei turned her head, casting a puzzled look at Mao Sanyou.
“I want to say, since she doesn’t have much time left, you’d better not leave her with too many beautiful memories. Otherwise, if she doesn’t want to d*e but has to, it’ll only make her suffer more,” Mao Sanyou said. “Uh, just my personal opinion, for your reference.”
“……” Luxianbei was silent for a few seconds, rolling her eyes. “Sorry, but that reference isn’t very meaningful!”
After saying that, she picked up the wooden bucket by her feet, which contained small fish, and continued walking forward.
If she just left her like this, allowing her to leave with regrets, that would truly be cruel, Luxianbei thought.
“Hey, wait a moment!”
Just as Luxianbei stepped out, Mao Sanyou seemed to remember something and called out again.
She furrowed her brow slightly, looked back again, and said impatiently, “What else is there?”
Mao Sanyou glanced at Luxianbei and then at the wooden bucket in her hands, his face reddening as he said, “Could you give me two small fish?”
So he still wants to feed the little penguins!
“……”
Luxianbei facepalmed, rubbed her forehead, reached out, grabbed a handful of small fish, and tossed them toward the group of penguins attacking Jumeng. The shiny-scaled little fish fell like rain, and the penguins scattered in a frenzy, quarreling over the fish. With the penguins’ chattering sounds, she placed the bucket on the ground and gently pushed it toward Mao Sanyou.
“Here, the rest is yours.”
As she spoke, taking advantage of the penguins scrambling for the small fish, she stepped forward a few times and effortlessly lifted Jumeng, placing her on her shoulder.
“Whew—whew—!” Jumeng lay on Luxianbei’s shoulder, panting heavily, pulling at Luxianbei’s face, and said angrily, “b*tch, what took you so long? What should be your punishment now!”
“I acknowledge my crime; you may punish me as you wish, my lord!” Luxianbei played along with Jumeng’s act.
“Hmph! You’re smart enough to understand. I’ll punish you…” Jumeng tilted her head thoughtfully, “I’ll punish you by taking me to the nearby theme park to play until dark!”
“Understood!”
Watching Luxianbei take Jumeng out of [Penguin Park], Mao Sanyou withdrew his gaze, rubbing his hands in anticipation, drawing the wooden bucket closer to enjoy the fun of feeding the little penguins during this brief moment of peace.
Then…
Looking at the two little fish left in the bucket, the corners of his mouth twitched slightly. “He said two fish, and he really only gave two? What a stingy person…”
Just as Mao Sanyou was mumbling to himself, a relatively strong penguin rushed over quickly, knocked over the wooden bucket in front of Mao Sanyou with its round body, and, in a flash, grabbed the last two fish in the bucket and ran off.
Mao Sanyou’s eyes widened as he watched the penguin run away, clearly seeing a hint of cheeky disdain and mockery reflected in its eyes.
I actually got looked down on by a penguin?
Mao Sanyou thought, silently adding a third type to his “hated bird species” list—penguins—besides magpies and crows.
In the middle of his contemplation, several unusual spirit energy fluctuations suddenly invaded his spiritual perception range, like intertwining circles chasing after Luxianbei and Jumeng, who had just left not long ago.
Are those morons showing up again?
Mao Sanyou thought, a glint of golden electricity flickering in his eyes as if he was venting his anger toward the penguins onto those spirit ability users and urban legends, silently clenching his fists and muttering coldly to himself.
“d*mn it, just know how to ruin other people’s good mood! I’m a man of my word; you’re all dead today!”
————
In the depths of Peach Source, within the cave where the Fushang Sacred Tree resided.
Wrapped by the serpentine vine-like body, Yuan Ye quietly spread out his spirit energy, consolidating it into semi-real, blueish small hands, swiftly brushing over the spell inscriptions carved around the Fushang Sacred Tree, carefully altering the spell left by the Crow Slave.
From a certain perspective, the existence of a spell structure is akin to an equation, while the spirit energy and incantations that comprise it are the numbers and symbols of that equation.
And the large solidification spell required to awaken Qunyang contains an astonishingly high number of inscriptions. It needs to be precise down to every step; even slight alterations in a few incantations could lead to drastically different outcomes.
Though Yuan Ye could not modify a spell structure of this magnitude, given his familiarity with various spells, he could barely alter a few key incantations to change the outcome of the ritual.
With the tugging of those small hands, the spell inscribed with sunlight began to crack from within, as the originally solidified inscriptions began to break inch by inch.
A spell had changed, triggering a chain reaction instantly, like a runaway train barreling toward an unknown destination, transforming along the way.
“Buzz—buzz—!”
Under the intense disturbance of spirit energy, the air erupted with buzzing sounds, blue lightning flickering within the murky air around the Fushang Sacred Tree, threatening to explode and unleash a violent tide that would engulf everything!
At that moment, a deep voice whispered, “The giant spirit of the turtle, bearing Penglai, deeply knows its weight…”
As Yuan Ye began to chant the description of his own abilities, a vast amount of spirit energy suddenly surged into the collapsing solidified spell, forcibly reversing the impending destruction while reorganizing the internal spirit energy structure without altering its external form.
After a long while, the buzzing gradually faded, and Yuan Ye slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air, his appearance seemingly aging several times within just a few minutes.
Though he had completed the preliminary alterations to the inscriptions on the day he was imprisoned, turning such a large-scale solidification spell around without being detected by the Crow Slave was no easy task; it took a lot of patience.
He spent several days tirelessly modifying it whenever there was an opportunity, finally achieving success today.
“Caw—caw—!”
A sudden cacophony erupted in the cave, and Yuan Ye glanced in the direction of the sound, a trace of contempt and annoyance flashing in his murky eyes.
The Crow Slave was here again, accompanied by over 1,200 fiery crows transformed from Qunyang’s subjects.
Praying, offering sacrifices, and expressing wishes to the long-lost deities… These were the things the Crow Slave and those 1,200 fiery crows did every day, three times a day, at sunrise, noon, and sunset, as if they never got tired.
“Hmph, talking a heap of nonsense to an empty shell, do they really think they can awaken it?”
Yuan Ye said, just as a wave of heat rushed toward him. He quickly concentrated his mind, using his innate skill—Turtle Breathing—to fall into a deep slumber with both life signs and spirit energy fluctuations reduced to zero.
In fact, apart from studying the Classic of the Turtle Shell, it was due to having such an ability to convince the Crow Slave that he took on the task of altering the solidified spell in this grand scheme.
Soon, amid the clamor of the cawing crows, the figure of the Crow Slave cloaked in black feathers landed before the Fushang Sacred Tree, kneeling on one knee, and began to chant a difficult ballad in its strange voice.
Accompanied by that eerie song, one fiery crow after another took flight, circling the Fushang Sacred Tree in twisted postures, dancing a ritual dance, loudly screeching, dipping their wings in sacrificial bl**d, and vigorously scattering it.
The bl**d and fire staining the ground drew twisted and bizarre patterns, quickly solidifying under the high temperatures and blending into the soil.
As time passed, the calls of the fiery crows became increasingly fervent, and the faint light descending from the Fushang Sacred Tree illuminated the most manic crows, their bloodthirsty frenzy reflected in their gleaming eyes.
This prayer activity, reminiscent of a cult’s ritual, lasted for about an hour.
At the end of the ceremony, the Crow Slave bowed solemnly to the Fushang Sacred Tree, then quietly turned and left.
Long after the Crow Slave departed, Yuan Ye slowly emerged from his Turtle Breathing state, extending his neck in a way no human could, gazing at the direction the Crow Slave had taken.
“Hmph, behaving like fools, doing pointless tasks all day long.”
He coldly scolded, and just then, a soft whisper brushed past his ear.
“On the soup valley, there is Fushang, the tree stands ten thousand zhang tall, appearing one day, disappearing the next…”
Hearing that illusory voice, Yuan Ye was momentarily taken aback, his gaze lingering on the wilted and decayed branches of the giant tree overhead, his sight sweeping back and forth, lost in thought.
But…
The giant tree appeared to be dead, just like it had been for hundreds of years, showing no signs of change.
“Perhaps I’m thinking too much? Those brats come every day, and when they do, they just screech nonstop, it’s driving me mad…” Yuan Ye muttered to himself.
He was well aware that it was absolutely impossible for the Crow Slave to awaken Qunyang. The power of Qunyang had been suppressed for a long time by Jumeng, utilizing the energy of the earth vein, leaving behind nothing but a decayed shell with vast spirit energy.
As for Qunyang’s consciousness, it was unknown whether it perished or gave up its power and detached from its body, but in any case, it had long ceased to exist.
If praying to an empty shell like the Crow Slave actually worked, I would have been shouting “wife” at that bronze turtle statue at the village entrance every day!
Yuan Ye thought, concentrating his mind as he shrank back into the serpentine vine-like body, once again using his Turtle Breathing ability to fall into slumber.
The vast cave returned to silence, the gentle breeze carrying a murky essence flowing silently. On the towering giant tree, among the intertwined branches, a single leaf swayed gently on a branch, guided by the breeze.
It was a dark leaf, very small, with a texture resembling flesh, covered in pale golden, feather-like patterns, looking as if it had decayed, yet also resembling a tender sprout…
(The firecracker sounds outside are too loud, I really can’t concentrate on writing today, so there will be fewer updates! Also, wishing everyone a Happy New Year~!)
