Wanxi Rebirth - Chapter 80

Qin Suoliu couldn’t help but recall the advice Tushan Jinglan had given back then:

—“If you still want to remain a member of the human race, don’t agree to any requests from the World Consciousness!”

From her own experience, the closer one’s power approached the World Consciousness—or the more one was interfered with by it—the easier it was to drift away from a “normal” state, losing even the most basic human emotions and desires.

In that sense, Tushan Jinglan’s words weren’t entirely wrong. Qin Suoliu had indeed spent long periods in that inhuman, imperceptible state, which felt like being stranded on a vast snowy plain—or even more like drowning in the deep sea, struggling endlessly without hope of rescue.

Instinctively, she swung her blade and teleported beside Yue Tingxi, fighting shoulder to shoulder with her.

She observed every step and change her senior sister took. Initially, it had been to defeat the invader as soon as possible, so she had trained hard to advance her realm. Later, it became about saving her—pulling her out of that inhuman state.

Now, Senior Sister Tingxi had reached the rarefied Tribulation-Transcending realm, and waiting ahead was the ultimate assault on the Book-Crossing Bureau.

Her own cultivation had plateaued for the time being, but Senior Sister Tingxi, who could communicate with the Dao of Heaven, could still achieve breakthroughs using this advantage.

At that point, what would the World Consciousness ask of Senior Sister Tingxi? Or… what might she inherit?

A flurry of thoughts surged in her mind. Qin Suoliu swung her blade continuously at the undead army, trying to distract herself.

Yue Tingxi soon noticed her fierce attacks. Considering that Qin Suoliu’s father had once died due to exposure to the vengeful energy of the Ghost Domain, she assumed her actions also carried a sense of venting, so she didn’t question her. Instead, she adjusted her spells to allow the fiery blade energy to destroy even more skeletons and corpses.

Meanwhile, Lin Fengqing, together with two senior members of the Star-Picking Pavilion, reinforced the barriers of the jade flying vessel. She even had the energy to teach Luo Yansha to operate the vessel’s spiritual cannons, letting Bifang first inject fire-based spiritual power into storage devices and then launch it at the undead army.

The white jade flying vessel gifted by Qingyu Shanren was sturdy, fully equipped with various magical artifacts, and guarded by high-level cultivators both inside and outside. The undead army couldn’t even touch its exterior.

Yet, the deeper they went toward the site known as “Withered Bones Blooming,” the more formidable the undead army became.

At first, shattered skeletons stayed destroyed. Later, even when broken, some skeletons reanimated and could even assemble themselves.

They had no intelligence, no sense of pain, repeating “death” and “life” endlessly. Only complete destruction or incineration could stop them.

If low-level cultivators faced such a massive, nearly immortal army, they would likely be drained of their spiritual power and meet certain death!

This reminded Yue Tingxi of a previous cycle where Qin Suoliu’s mother, Lan Kongming, fought these nearly immortal enemies single-handedly—eventually succumbing tragically, having exhausted every last drop of her strength and blood.

She sighed deeply and shifted her spell formation.

The floodwaters receded, the vines withered, and even the golden sword of the Dao disappeared.

Instead, mounds of earth rose, burying the skeletons and corpses beneath the surface.

She then raised her other hand, and a surge of scorching fire gushed from her palm into the buried pits, instantly raising the temperature of the ground.

Qin Suoliu hovered nearby, feeling as if she were in a blazing desert of the southern lands.

Fortunately, being fire-elemental, she found this heat comfortable, even gaining a bit of insight from it.

Once she understood, she repeated the process. But due to her cultivation level, she couldn’t conjure mounds of earth out of nothing. She had to dig pits on the spot, sweep soil over the corpses with blade wind, and ignite them with fire.

Under high temperatures, even if the bones could regenerate, the time required would be longer.

As she thought this, she noticed the ground beginning to “flow”—reminiscent of the sand during the Earth Law Tribulation.

Flowing sand trapped things more effectively than pits, and corpses even more so.

“If I’m not mistaken, the undead army in the ‘Withered Bones Blooming’ city probably regenerates even faster than this,” Yue Tingxi remarked.

After a while, Yue Tingxi observed, “There aren’t many skeletons left now, but the ones that do appear are covered in black flesh. I’m not sure whether it’s due to that ghostly demon’s power or some magical artifact.”

Indeed, the number of skeletons encountered decreased drastically. More often, decayed corpses with black flesh appeared, resembling demons or half-demons rather than human bones.

“Watch out! These corpses have been tainted by dark magic!” Lin Fengqing warned via shared vision through Grey Moth. “Take my Detox Pills! Their bodies are filled with corpse toxins. Just breathing near them could infect you!”

As a medical cultivator, Lin Fengqing had prepared ample medicinal remedies over the past two years, including pills specifically designed to prevent and suppress corpse toxins, refined from her master’s ancestral records.

Yue Tingxi, still focused on the undead, was about to retrieve the pills when Qin Suoliu quickly pressed a fragrant pill to her lips.

“The fifth elder just gave me some updates, basically a reminder,” she said. Confirming they all took the detox pills, Lin Fengqing continued, “The early opening of the Ghost Domain last time wasn’t just due to accumulated vengeful energy over cycles. Sacrifices were likely a major factor.”

“My father’s records mentioned this as well,” Qin Suoliu replied. “Back then, the Tongyou Master Qi Qi performed the sacrifices, setting a bad precedent. A few years later—twelve years ago—the He Shen also became a victim.”

“Yes. At that time, he could see Qiongqi and obtain demon artifacts, likely thanks to the so-called ‘believer privileges.’ Otherwise, with their cultivation level and the difficulty of obtaining a few Cold Yeasts, they couldn’t enter the city or meet Qiongqi normally,” Lin Fengqing explained.

“I still have some energy left, but if I waste too much spiritual power here fighting these almost immortal beings repeatedly, our chances in later battles could be compromised!” Yue Tingxi frowned. “Why don’t you stay with the flying vessel while I bring the immortal herbs and, using the Dao’s power and Grey Moth’s assistance, see if I can go straight to Qiongqi’s lair?”

The path ahead would only be more dangerous. Even with Grey Moth’s detailed map, she couldn’t guarantee the safety of everyone and didn’t want close companions taking unnecessary risks.

“Don’t worry. You don’t have to think about protecting everyone,” Xie Zhi’s voice suddenly came. A dazzling golden light radiated from the white jade flying vessel.

“I’ve temporarily merged with the vessel. Even the strongest corpse toxins can’t penetrate my Dao power.”

Centuries of observing Qingyu Shanren’s accumulation had borne fruit. Xie Zhi knew the vessel was part of Qingyu Shanren’s true body and was intimately familiar with it.

“You should come in too!” Qin Yingguang reminded. “The main means by which the demon controls the undead army is something you’ve already seen. Without entering the city, she can’t unleash her full abilities.”

Yue Tingxi and Qin Suoliu exchanged a glance and returned to the vessel.

“Do you have enough spiritual power?” Qin Suoliu asked immediately upon entering.

“The power I’ve accumulated is enough for me to ‘indulge’ three times,” Qin Yingguang replied subtly. “But my sister’s spiritual power…”

“I brought enough spirit stones!” Lin Fengqing promptly took out a storage bag and tossed it to Qin Suoliu. “While we’re not yet in the city, you can replenish a bit more!”

Qin Suoliu took the bag and entered the vessel’s resting cabin.

As soon as she closed the cabin door, she felt someone behind her.

“You came just in time, Tingxi!” Qin Suoliu now felt comfortable calling her by name and immediately pulled Yue Tingxi to sit beside her on the bed.

But she didn’t start replenishing her spiritual power immediately. Instead, she held Yue Tingxi’s hand.

Snakes are cold-blooded, and their body temperature fluctuates with the environment. The mud outside was now almost a desert, so Yue Tingxi’s hand should have been warm.

Yet it felt icy in Qin Suoliu’s hand.

Seeing this, Yue Tingxi’s heart skipped a beat. “What’s wrong? Could it be… me too?”

“…I don’t know, but your hand really is cold,” Qin Suoliu said, trying to find another explanation. “Are you just too nervous? After all, the real battle begins once we deal with that ghostly demon.”

“Maybe. But since even you noticed it, it may not just be nervousness.” Yue Tingxi continued, dashing Qin Suoliu’s hope. “As humans say, ‘Once you shoot the arrow, there’s no turning back.’ We must still…”

“Do you remember the dream my little sister mentioned?” Qin Suoliu interrupted.

Yue Tingxi paused, recalling it. “That was guidance from the World Consciousness, right?”

“But it may not be the truth,” Qin Suoliu murmured. “You also told me your dream afterward—the person in it had white hair and wore a gray robe. Do you think that was the future me?”

“I remember that dream vividly,” Yue Tingxi replied.

After having this dream and hearing Qin Yingguang’s, she naturally assumed that the person she could never catch in the dream was Qin Suoliu.

“I’ve been wondering if the World Consciousness might use Yingguang’s words to mislead us about the ‘truth’?” Qin Suoliu asked. “White-haired humans and demons are rare. The white-haired person connected to us is… Basha, whom you possessed.”

She suddenly removed the disguise from Yue Tingxi, which had been hiding Basha’s hair color to prevent other cultivators in the secret domain from associating her with the “Twin Fox Asuras.”

Once the “isolation” spell was lifted, Yue Tingxi’s white hair was striking, piercing Qin Suoliu’s heart.

“Like standing alone on a silent snowy plain, with all senses lost…” Qin Suoliu looked at her steadily. “Could this… also be your future?”

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