Chapitre 57: One Last Upgrade!
*Objective: Lay down the roaming servants: 0/37*
*Mission Difficulty Evaluation: Minimal*
''...I'm back! Holy heavens!''
Li Ao looked left and right at the wide hall stretching before him. There were a few lanterns lighting up the way. Corpses of serpentine demonic beasts donned the holes and cracks on the walls.
Again, most were destitute of flesh and blood, but bones seemed to be in good condition.
Smiling like a monkey, Li Ao skipped over to the nearest corpse and caressed its hundred-meter long spine.
''...its rotten on the inside.''
His smile stiff, he walked over to another one, then found it rotten too.
Flashing past dozens of corpses, touching and caressing and breaking, he found none of good quality.
Each step he took brought further misery to his heart.
''Fuck! Aren't you supposed to be more abundant? Which Li Ru-like retard ate off their flesh!?''
Ate, indeed. The bones seemed to be licked clean of anything on their surface.
''...''
Sighing twice, Li Ao snapped his fingers. A small crimson flame boomed above him and lit up the rest of the hallway.
He walked around twenty minutes before encountering another ghost.
Again, it was a male spirit, bound to his place. He stared at a rusted hilt next to his feet until Li Ao stood an inch away from his face.
''Howdy brother!''
The ghost raised his head, breathed out, then looked down again.
''...it smells like shit!''
Why did ghost breath smell like shit?
''Why does it even smell?''
Wiping his nose, disgruntled, Li Ao grasped the ghost's head and crushed it. With a small explosion the ghost turned into a pile of ash.
''Ghost cultivators shouldn't be too rare, right?''
His future missions would be much easier if he could complete them by listening to a pleasant song.
Especially when it contained clues about what he wanted to know.
''Right...if the poem is without lies, the reigning God of Heaven should be the Heavenly Son in the hymn.''
There were a lot of points to consider within the poem itself. Origin of life, existence of a living myth, and most importantly bane of a Heavenly God.
Li Ao had a faint understanding of the intention in giving the entire poem as a reward.
In a sense, he was given a new ceiling of cultivation to look up to, first and foremost. He didn't know what stage was above Ascendant, but God of Heaven must have been infinitely higher than that.
Second, there were mentions of four realms within the hymn, all existing within one eon distance of each other. They appeared briefly to congratulate the Heavenly Son's birth.
Abode of the Heavenly God, where the first generation God of Heaven created and resided with his creations.
Heaven and Earth Paradise of Queen Mother, where the mysterious Queen Mother of all humanoids, Divanam slept. Her second daughter sent countless treasures to congratulate the birth of the Heavenly Son, Immeasurable Sun.
Six-Fold Immortal World, where a council of six Ancient Immortals remained trapped. Their prime disciple Ouyang Sanyu delivered the gifts in their stead.
These three worlds he knew to some extent, either from his mission or from the notes he gathered.
Last one, however, he saw no mention of it anywhere.
Temple Of Divine, where the King of Kings resided. There was no knowledge about the place, nor the identity of the King of Kings—only, the man delivered the most spectacular gift among them.
A pair of horns from a God Bull, a being equal to Heavenly God in stature.
While he admired it when listening to the performance, the sheer exaggeration made him doubt most of what he read later on.
Still, Li Ao knew he shouldn't take things too literally in fiction. They were, after all, fiction. Even an epic poem about the past could be romanticized for general consumption of the community.
''After all, what kind of retard looks at a lake for a thousand years?''
Scratching his cheeks, Li Ao cast a look above.
''She pointed a finger above when talking about Heavenly God...is he not in the Kalen Divine Castle, then?''
Perhaps that motion, too, was metaphorical.
Thinking as he walked, extracting bits of what might be important, Li Ao stumbled upon several servants on the way.
''Howdy Sister!''
''Howdy Brother!''
''Howdy p-person?''
He 'laid them to rest' with a punch every time. Continuing, he found a lot more corpses, though space-time rifts didn't seem to be abundant within this hall.
As such, it was no surprise that he found another largely intact corpse of the pair of beasts.
These two were quite spectacular.
Looking like an ant below them, Li Ao stared above toward the white and black serpents lodged within each other's throats. They stood stout and straight. Their fangs deep within the other's nape, tails stretching out the holes, they remained fighting even in death.
''How cool...''
Smiling, Li Ao waved his hand.
Nothing happened.
''Huh?''
Waving again and again, flicking his sleeves and snapping his fingers, he still couldn't put away the corpses.
''Come on!''
He tried a few times more but still, no result.
Incensed, his Qi circulated and pulsated within his muscles; with a stomp, he leaped twenty meters into the air and sprinted up its back towards the tail.
Li Ao landed before the crack and inspected where the tail disappeared. Within it revolved a space time rift devouring the body. The dark swirl ate away bits of flesh, bone, and blood with each turn.
''Its interfering...do I have to cut the tail?''
But could he?
Silver mist poured out of his pores and revolved under his palm to form a long spear. Raising it above his head, Li Ao swept it down.
''Hah!''
Sparks flew from the white scales, lit up his face, then a shockwave sent him flying back.
Sailing through the sky, Li Ao rolled upon the serpent's back and fell a hundred meters down to the ground.
''...fuck! Why do you even give me hope!?''
Cursing for a moment, he cast a look up at where two pairs of fangs met.
''Oh.''
Li Ao shot to his feet and climbed up in haste. Kneeling like a thug, he ran his fingers before the puncture wounds. The fangs snug right into the pierced flesh.
However, years of gravitational pull had made the fangs loosen and slash further down, so Li Ao had a fist-sized hole he could cut from inside.
Once more, rumbles echoed out of his body. Silver Aura Weapon formed in his hand. This time, he softly pricked the wound and sheared away a part of the flesh.
It came undone and droplets of fresh blood poured out.
''...do I have to cut everything?''
Though he didn't face the spiritual pressure like last time, to cut apart two large beasts like this would consume too much time and power.
This particular hall had quite a lot of broken holes and passages, so he wasn't sure about putting himself in a dangerous position.
''Still, I can retreat if things go awry.''
Since his seniors advised to relinquish the mission below Foundation Establishment, any straggling demons were probably equal to him at most.
Thinking so, Li Ao took out Crimson and several formation flags. He set two layers of formations; one he made in his style of using multiple words for each flag, and the other in Li Xuanhe's interlocking single words style.
That didn't feel safe enough, so he took out Golden Maw and Bubbles to rest on his shoulders. Not only could they shield him in danger, since he would spill a lot of blood while dissecting, they could absorb remnant power to grow further.
Bubbles in particular seemed quite hungry for improvement.
After absorbing his remnant Soul Power as well as Hell Thunder from tribulation, her thoughts grew more coherent. Instead of emotions and instinct, she could communicate with him on a level that bordered near language.
''I climb big long!''
''No, you stay right there.''
''Big long!''
''That is a snake, a serpent.''
''I climb asnake aserpent!''
''...''
Li Ao sighed and took off his upper robe. Bare chested, he leaped over to the demonic serpent and inspected its wounds as well.
''Since this one's flesh is corrupted, I'll practice with it.''
After all, he knew next to nothing about skinning. His precision and accuracy was great as a cultivator, but physical capability couldn't replace skill and experience.
Taking deep breaths, Li Ao brandished aura weapon and began cutting through. Each strike slashed away a dozen meters of flesh and separated them into slits.
Most turned out in weird chunks, which he further cut apart to separate scales and pour the blood.
Bit by bit, spending hours, he dissected the beast.
In two days, he only managed to separate a quarter of the beast. He took frequent breaks to recover and cut slices of the white serpent to eat for replenishment.
After each round of dissection, Li Ao could feel his flesh and Qi grow stronger.
His body taxed, his Qi withdrawn, four days later he cut the last bit of flesh on the upper half of the demonic serpent.
When he did so, the white serpent's body overwhelmed the former, then both fell on the ground with a giant boom.
To his luck, the black serpent's tail came undone from the spatial rift, so Li Ao put the entire corpse away and began to dissect the white one.
Around a week later, finished with his haul, he sprinted across the hall and laid the remaining servants to rest. There was no other surprise or stragglers. As a reward, he received another part of the Sublime Sphere's recipe.
Appearing back within his room, Li Ao washed himself, put away the snoring Bubbles and soaked Golden maw, then visited Li Anjing.
''...which idiot dissected these?''
His smile stiff, Li Ao sat within the child-like man's alchemy room. Smell of the bubbling medicine cleared away his lungs.
Swiping his divine sense through the bag, Li Anjing's aloof face froze.
''How big are these beasts?''
''Around a kilometer long? Most had only a quarter of their body.''
''...''
Li Anjing took the satchel away and gave him a square look.
With a flick of his sleeve, the man sent him tumbling out of the room. Li Ao rolled twice, ended up on his back, then watched the gates shut behind him.
''You old fucking geezer!''
''What is wrong with old people in this house!''
Truly, he had no understanding of these people.
One moment, they were affectionate and reasonable.
Next moment, they acted like retarded old monkeys.
''You old donkey!''
The door opened a sliver.
Li Ao sprang up and leaped out of the fourth-floor window.
''...this child.''
Sighing, Li Anjing closed the door to his study. He walked to one of the steaming cauldrons and sat on a low stool.
Mixing the cauldron with one hand, inspecting the dissected parts with the other, he showed a slight smile at each new find.
Unbeknownst to him, his appearance flashed back and forth between a child and a middle aged man.
*********
*Current Balance: 21880*
''...''
Li Ao scratched his cheek at the outrageous number.
''When did it become this easy?''
Li Ao rubbed his eyes.
Li Ao noticed the number was still there.
Li Ao stood up and paced around his room.
Li Ao noticed the number remained the same.
Li Ao, in his infinite wisdom, took out Bubbles and they had a short walk around the estate. The little girl practiced long and hard, and now could run on her two feet without falling.
But she still wobbled.
Also, she was as big as two heads now. Shapes of her arms and legs seemed more defined and human-like, but she had no head to accompany it.
She was a walking blob of dark-silver, a sublime amalgamated sphere, and the servants who saw her seemed more terrified than adoring.
Li Ao inspected her growth for a while, enjoyed their stroll, then returned at nightfall to look at his balance.
*Current Balance: 21880*
''O HEAVENLY GOD YOU ARE BLESSED!
Li Ao made nine kowtows out of his window towards wherever the castle was.
Then, clearing his throat, he sat cross legged on his bed while Bubbles climbed furniture with her baby arms.
''What do I do with this?''
He felt aimless for a moment.
''Magical art, right!''
Opening up the Universal Store, Li Ao searched up for Soul Magical Arts.
Since he had much more coins to spare, he went in bold and looked up those above ten thousand coins.
His eyes swept over catalogs of skills and arts, many of use and few of them terrible, but none seemed to satisfy this urge in him. They always dealt in breaking minds or using soul as a direct weapon.
Li Ao wasn't interested in weaponizing himself any longer. He had a three-fusion Dark Foundation, but it was simply for the sake of survivability.
He still had his formations and forging to study, sword skills and Scarlet Path to master, and his body and soul cultivation to catch up.
There was neither need nor time for another branch of expansion.
That being the case, the thing that caught his eye seemed god-sent to his current self.
*Dream Sight*
*Description: Mobilizes soul power to construct another layer of reality. This reality is abstract and illusory, and has no bearing on the observed reality of the practitioner and practiced person. It can be used to peer through illusions, decipher cryptic dreams, or establish cues upon another mind's to nudge their perception in the desired way. Later stages allow enough freedom to explore other realities and modify the Observer Effect.
*Author's Note: This art can be used to fool one's own senses as well. Indeed, a case might be made in regards that anything that can be observed is real, hence the reality you construct for your own observation very well be the true reality of your consciousness. The case, again, can be made that since one cannot experience another's consciousness even through absorption of souls or memory reading, your own consciousness is the only instrument to read the universe.
However, that is a lie. A lie can only remain a lie. Imagined reality is that, imagined, and a single consciousness cannot ???. ??? is separated from the true reality by ???*
*???(Insufficient Cultivation)*
*...also, do not use this on mortals. Getting people high with this art can cause addiction!*
*Author's Note (2): The art requires comprehension of the metaphysical to further solidify its potency. As it is, one can only use it to mobilize Soul Power and plant small cues in another's psyche.*
*Required Cultivation: Foundation Establishment(Soul)*
*Required Comprehension: Dreams(I), Subconscious(II), Core Memory(III), Soul Memory(IV), Observer Effect(V), ???(VI),???(VII), ???(VIII), ???(IX), ???(X)*
*Cost: 19000 Universal Coins*
''...now this is fishy.''
Again, there was little room for coincidence in a cultivator's life.
This wasn't Li Ao's experience, however.
It was his grandpa who always repeated as such. He told, or with his passion one could say that he almost preached what he told, that coincidence was a superficial excuse.
Everything had a cause.
Cause was born from circumstance, and circumstances happened because of consequences.
Consequences were born from actions, and actions were beget by causes.
The great chain of life was this simple circle of affect and effect.
Hence, now encountering his untold number of chances, Li Ao felt a little suspicious about his circumstance.
''Am I being goaded?''
That thought didn't take hold of him for long. It stood for a reason that the Universe was wide and far. If he searched enough, he might have found another art just like this, which fit his needs and wants.
''...it is weird.''
''It wasn't like this with Zhu Qiu.''
Envoy In Danger, although hardest in retrospective, was a mission he had much fun while doing.
The divine castle, demons, and now complicated talks about history and reality made his head hurt.
''What use is thinking?''
Li Ao sighed. He knew he couldn't avoid thinking for too long. It would only repeat his past tragedy.
For now, however, he wanted to let off some steam.
''Okay, buy it!''
*Balance: 21880 -> 2880*
Again, the knowledge about the art poured straight into his mind.
This time, however, Li Ao didn't faint.
His increased cultivation and Adept-level Soul Power not only kept him awake, he could see the process of how he was taught the art.
The art consisted of three hundred and thirty-three seals—each of them containing the entire set as memories. These seals descended into his brain and imprinted themselves.
First dozen seals didn't take hold of him, and his only memory of the art remained vague and blurry.
Each falling seal further reinforced that memory, then bit by bit he could think more and more details about the Dream Sight itself.
In the end, two hours later, he knew the entire magical art by memory and instinct.
The curious thing was that the remaining forty-or so seals didn't disappear.
Flashing, then materializing, they fell over his knees. Each shaped like round hard-wood tokens, their surface sparkled dark blue.
Like the time he was granted the Beginner's Gift, a panel appeared within Li Ao's vision.
*Remnant Memory Seal (Dream Sight)*
*Remaining Memory Seals from the bought art. Can be used on others to enlighten the subconscious, possibly inheriting the first level of art free of copyright protection*
''Can I give it to Bubbles?''
Looking around, Li Ao saw bubbles doing muscle-ups on the window ledge.
Imagining a druggie Bubbles, he shuddered, then put them away.
They wouldn't be useful to his family, nor anyone he knew. Soul Cultivation, after all, was rare. Even in other worlds.
Only Abode Of Heavenly God seemed to be the queer one, focusing on both Soul and Spirit.
However, if he ever met someone that could use it then they might prove good.
''What is the difference between spirits and 'Spirit' anyway?''
Thinking, Li Ao meditated a while to practice his new Magical Art, then opened up the mission interface to press on Let Them Sleep.
A weight bore on him, pressed upon his back, then he vanished.
*Beginning Mission: Let Them Sleep*
*Objective: Lay down the foot-soldier of the Divine Castle: 0/1*
*Mission Difficulty Evaluation: Hell*
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone