Chapter 99

Posted by Kuze, ? Views, Released on January 26, 2025

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Saying goodbye to the Shaolin Temple signage, it seemed that Ma-du was a Dharma Protector under the Divine Sect.

The guy who had been sailing across the vast sea with dozens of ships didn’t even know what he looked like as the command ship was far away, and Choi Riyong had no clue about him either.

But Qing thought he might be the fiercest man from the Demon Cult.

Truly, it was a journey that crossed mountains and oceans.

Perhaps due to good fortune, he finally encountered the only small boy among the masters of the Demon Cult.

“Hey, kid.”

“…?”

Ji Seung-ju widened his eyes.

It was pretty clear how surprised he was considering his normally expressionless face.

“What’s up? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“You… are alive?”

“What do you mean? When did I ever die to be alive now?”

“I definitely saw your corpse. It was in a spot that looked like the front yard of the Divine Sect’s mythological pavilion.”

“Mythological pavilion?”

“It’s the manor where the Great Dharma Protectors reside. It seems someone wants to kill you so badly that they made you a phantom. Be careful. Just because it’s an illusion, they might charge at you trying to kill you.”

The conversation was directed at just one person.

Choi Riyong coughed.

“Ahem.”

“It’s good to see you’re safe, My Lord.”

“I’ve come to help because the Demon Lord wants to dispel the formation. Is there any progress?”

“We’ve cleared a few traps, but I have no idea how many were set in the first place. For now, we’ve applied the hexagram to the nine palaces and implemented the mountain path.”

“I saw that there was a river on the route to the celestial realm.”

“Oh, then we should remove the four similar paths in the southern river: the Spirit Hexagram, the Celestial Spring, the Outlet, and the Mysterious Path.”

A ton of specialized jargon was flying around.

From that point on, the conversation became entirely incomprehensible to Qing.

Of course, he had no intention of helping anyway.

So, losing interest, he looked around but found nothing particularly interesting.

Eventually, boredom got the better of him, and he yawned widely.

Choi Riyong clicked his tongue at the sight.

“Tsk tsk, are you trying to tear your mouth open like that?”

“What am I supposed to do when I’m sleepy?”

“Then you might as well sleep. A big girl shouldn’t be so reckless, yawning like that. By now, you’d have been a mother long ago.”

Qing tilted his head.

Is this some familiar nagging he’s hearing?

Do all old folks end up like this?

But Choi Riyong wasn’t one of those familiar faces.

Qing frowned.

“Namisa. What does it matter whether I become a mother or a father?”

“Your attitude is just disgusting. Why does it seem like you’re getting worse and worse? Just because your face is half decent doesn’t mean you can go around acting like this.”

“Anyway, how long do you think this will take?”

Choi Riyong looked at Ji Seung-ju.

Ji Seung-ju exchanged strange glances between Qing and Choi Riyong. Then, unable to bear the unspoken pressure from Choi Riyong, he finally spoke.

“I think it’ll take at least another day, but if the Demon Lord helps, it’ll be much quicker. The truth is, we’re running low on water, and time is tight.”

People can last a while without food, but without water, they can’t hold out for long, not even the high-level masters.

Qing calculated quietly.

Ji Seung-ju was an expert.

Even if this old man helped, it would still take a whole day to do what he thought would take less time.

Then I can sleep in peace, huh?

“Since the old man is working, I’ll take a nap. Wake me up once the formation is dismantled. I just want to see how things go.”

With that, Qing made sure to leave a note and then lazily slouched, finding a comfortable position.

It seemed he’d long passed due for sleep, and as his body relaxed, slumber began to creep in.

—-

The dismantling of the formation took much longer than expected.

When Qing finally awakened from a long slumber, he found himself back in that dreary royal palace auditorium.

Choi Riyong, looking weary, moved between the mountains, fields, and the palace. Well, if an old man kept running around, he could get tired.

Qing felt embarrassed just being in his arms.

“Old man, why don’t you take a break?”

“Who’d get tired just because a master stayed up a day? There’s no need for silly worries.”

“Or just put me down. I can walk and run too now.”

“If you wander around out of curiosity and misstep, everything we’ve done will go to waste. Just stay put; that’s how you help.”

Is that so? Well, if he says so.

Having gained a reason, Qing shamelessly enjoyed the ride.

The dismantling work was utterly incomprehensible to an outsider.

Muttering incomprehensible words, standing still, stopping, and turning, sometimes moving sideways and backwards, then abruptly coming to a stop and kicking at the void.

Then a metal ball would spring forth from thin air and roll across the ground.

It was an endless cycle of such bizarre actions.

Plus, he was hungry!

But he couldn’t exactly whine about his hunger when Choi Riyong’s already sunken eyes seemed to deepen in shadow.

In front of him, Qing felt too embarrassed to complain about being hungry.

“I’m starving to death. What about food?”

“What can we do? We have to starve.”

“Ugh, that’s the worst. They should really cut off those guys who set up this formation. They should face us honorably instead of doing this.”

“Yeah. You’re right. Those jerks are the worst.”

Choi Riyong gritted his teeth as well.

While suffering from hunger pangs, Qing’s mind began to wander.

Wouldn’t it be much faster if we woke up a few more people to help? Surely there’s someone among the Demon Cult members who specializes in formations.

Wait…?

Now that I think about it, didn’t I knock out a few people to check on the Heavenly Demon Soul’s location?

Haven’t they woken up yet?

The old man seems to have come to.

As Qing mulled this over, a voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts.

“Mom.”

“Hehe, my son.”

“Mom.”

“Yes, I’m here. My son.”

Qing turned his gaze following the voice and frowned at the strange sight.

It was a mistress with a sinister look on her face.

Despite her hatred-laden expression, she gently stroked her grown son’s head resting on her thigh, speaking sweetly.

However, that son’s face looked familiar.

“Ah! That bastard! What a lucky boy he is!”

It was the Supreme Being Representative, wearing a bright smile.

“Old man, put me down for a sec. I’m not letting that jerk off the hook.”

“Speak sense. Why would I want to watch that unfold with my own two eyes? There’d be no reason to go through all this.”

“Tch,”

Qing clicked his tongue.

That guy was naturally irritating, but now he’s rolling around with his mother after getting caught up in this formation.

But it was surprising too.

I expected the Supreme Being Representative would be claiming his throne and making grand speeches about being the emperor or some nonsense.

But his most desired fantasy was to chat with his mother?

Qing made an exaggerated expression of disgust and asked.

“This is the Supreme Being Representative’s fantasy, right? Is this really what he most wanted? Is that arrangement what he desired?”

“If you think about it, the Supreme Being is actually quite pitiful. He’s never even had his mother hold him once, so that longing manifests in this way.”

“What does that mean?”

“It’s the karma of the bloodline. Tsk tsk.”

The vessel that carries the divine blood could never be ordinary.

The bones need to be strong, and the energy must be vast, with a clear upper dantian and robust innate abilities, so they generally abduct the best-suited women from the Central Plain to bear the children of divine blood.

Thus, it was rare to find a mother who would unwillingly give birth, possessing maternal instincts.

The expression parents hold when looking at their offspring is filled with malice, and if they open their mouths, they spew forth cruel words as if their tongues are sharpened, skills that would rival the greatest swordsmen.

“Mom.”

“Yes. My son. My beloved son.”

“Mom.”

“Yes, I love you too. My son.”

The expression of that woman was filled with clear rage.

Yet, her voice was so tender, it sent chills down one’s spine.

“Wait, but why does mom’s face look like that?”

“I guess I’ve never seen any other expression in my life. I can’t even dream of imagining a different one.”

Qing found himself speechless, his mouth agape.

The mother had a face frozen in hatred while the Supreme Being Representative stood there with a bright, happy expression.

Qing sighed heavily, swallowing back curses.

For real, these Demon Cult bastards don’t have a single normal one from top to bottom.

—-

The dismantling of the formation was finally completed after what felt like ages.

Starving, thirsty, and falling asleep from exhaustion, Qing’s head started throbbing, making it impossible to sleep any longer.

With bleary eyes, he peered around.

Suddenly, Choi Riyong stopped walking and exclaimed.

“The formation is disappearing.”

“Ah, really…”

Thank goodness it’s finally over. The omitted ending thought.

That was Qing, who had merely dozed off in his arms.

At this point, he thought it’d be fitting to celebrate the achievement of his conscience transforming from a triangle to a perfect circle.

The world began to ignite slowly, like paper burning at the edges.

Ash floated around, revealing the dimly lit tomb bit by bit beyond the smoke.

Despite the torches having long burned out, the tomb wasn’t completely dark because the technique of channeling light through a small hole from outside had reached a refinement akin to immortality.

Demon Cultists began breaking free from the illusions.

Disappointed sighs, occasional cries of loss, or shouts of despair echoed in the stone chamber.

Some even slumped down, sobbing and murmuring names only they knew.

The brutal formation Ji Seung-ju had mentioned had its reasons.

When caught in an illusion, they wouldn’t want to escape, and even when the formation was dismantled, they’d writhe in agony over their tremendous losses, embodying pure malice itself.

Thus, an opportunity presented itself for Qing.

“Whoosh.”

Qing jumped down easily from Choi Riyong’s hold.

“Kid?”

“Hehe, it was a long humiliation…”

At the same time, Qing stomped his feet hard against the ground.

He activated the anti-gravity walking technique of Moon Lady’s Step.

In the dark, a brilliant pyramid shone above the celestial glow of the Heavenly Demon Soul, casting a shadow of a human figure on it.

Finally, Qing grasped the shining pyramid in his hand.

He took a deep breath, and the clear sound echoed through the tomb.

“Hey! Listen up! Can you all see this?”

In an instant, all eyes turned to Qing.

The dazed gazes left behind by the broken illusions quickly fixed upon the divine artifact in Qing’s hand, and each person changed appearance in response.

Some wide-eyed in shock, some simply blinked in disbelief, and others immediately knelt down, bowing their heads.

Among them, as Qing caught Ji Seung-ju’s gaze, he winked at him.

Seeing Ji Seung-ju’s lip movements, even if he couldn’t hear him, Qing understood what he meant.

What the hell.

And the Supreme Being Representative, this jerk, where is he?

Wait, he’s still dazed?

The Supreme Being Representative stood there with a blank expression still.

Could there be a more critical moment than this?

Well, once I smash the Heavenly Demon Soul apart, maybe I’ll see what kind of expression he can make.

Qing inhaled deeply once again.

Now it’s truly the end; smashing out of this tomb means saying goodbye to those irritating Demon Cult guys.

Just as Qing was about to deliver his departing line—