Wanxi Rebirth - Chapter 81

“…The reason you rushed in after me wasn’t excitement, but anxiety, wasn’t it?”

After a few moments of eye contact with Qin Suoliu, Yue Tingxi let out a soft sigh. “I really want to say, ‘Don’t worry. Since I don’t want to see you walk down that kind of future, I certainly won’t let myself go down that path.’ But without solid evidence, such a promise is nothing more than temporary comfort—it’s useless.”

She didn’t want to lie to Qin Suoliu, so she spoke honestly about her guesses and concerns: “I even seriously considered whether Basha could be my future. But I’ve stopped thinking about that now. Even if I prepare for the worst in advance, until the final moment, no one can truly know what lies ahead.”

Noticing that her mistress didn’t respond but turned her gaze away, she couldn’t help but open her arms and pull her close.

“So all I can promise is to take the path that’s best for you and for this world,” she said softly. “I never dare claim that the path I walk is absolutely correct. With my abilities and understanding, I can only walk the path that I believe is right at the moment.”

Qin Suoliu opened her mouth but hesitated.

She wanted to say: even if the “right” path meant self-sacrifice, becoming a transcendent, godlike being, would you still walk it?

She also wanted to tell her that no matter whether the road ahead was smooth or deadly, she would accompany her.

But the surge of emotions in her heart felt like a lump of cotton blocking her throat, making it impossible to breathe, let alone speak.

She had once walked the wrong path, and upon starting over, was saved by the one she cared for and loved the most. Now, with the World Consciousness’s power nearly spent, they might not have another chance.

What should she do?

What could she do to catch up to this snake and firmly hold her, never letting her slip away?

“Ah…ya.”

A gentle call sounded by her ear, just like when she was a child, coaxing her softly: “First, hurry and replenish your spiritual power, okay?”

Qin Suoliu immediately gritted her teeth.

After a long pause, she said, “I want to form a contract with you.”

“Huh? Didn’t we already—”

“There’s a type of soul contract in the demon world called the ‘Death-Bond Wedge.’ It leaves a special mark between two souls, like a wedge that firmly nails one to the other,” Qin Suoliu continued. “If one party perishes, everything about them will be inherited by the other—their memories, their cultivation level.”

“If there’s a worst-case scenario, I hope… you can retain your original body,” she said as calmly as possible, though her body trembled. “Then I’ll ask Qingyu Shanren—I’m sure they can separate your soul from mine and return it to your own body.”

Yue Tingxi had never expected Qin Suoliu to have considered this step.

She had previously organized such a soul contract while purifying her mistress’s soul, thinking it was simply some obscure knowledge—but never imagined that one day they would actually use it.

She had no reason to refuse and, after a brief pause, instinctively nodded: “Alright, how do we do it? What do I need to do?”

“Don’t resist, don’t worry about me,” Qin Suoliu said, pointing at her own brow with her fingers. “It will be done quickly. Just relax a bit.”

She began chanting an ancient, lengthy incantation. At first, her voice was clear and steady, but by the end, sweat appeared on her forehead, her hands and body trembled violently, and her breathing felt as if it would stop.

Yue Tingxi instinctively wanted to intervene, but a fierce look from her mistress froze her in place.

…Yes, she knew her best.

Her mistress had always been strong and domineering, and after the torment in the demon world, she had become insecure, trusting no one but herself, insisting on handling all important matters personally.

Including extracting a portion of her own soul, enduring unbearable pain, and forming the “Death-Bond Wedge.”

Since she couldn’t stop her, Yue Tingxi gently stroked Qin Suoliu’s back, channeling her own spiritual power to ease her pain.

When the portion of the soul was finally extracted, Qin Suoliu felt as if half her life had been drained.

She placed a tiny glowing point on Yue Tingxi’s brow, closed her eyes, and used only her spiritual power and consciousness to gradually merge it with her beloved’s soul.

Throughout the process, she did not call on Gray Moth.

But Gray Moth quietly watched from the side.

Only after confirming that the Death-Bond Wedge was formed did Qin Suoliu lower her arms and faint.

Yue Tingxi quickly caught her, replenishing her spiritual power and healing the damage to her soul.

After the contract was established, she could feel a warmth in her soul—a tiny spark of fire, quietly and silently warming her consciousness.

She didn’t touch the little flame. Once she finished her immediate tasks, she took out the Mustard Seed Ice Wheel and the last of the Soul Purification Pills.

After taking all the pills, she probed the Ice Wheel with her spiritual perception and quickly found the invader previously known as “Lin Chaoyao,” now called “Du Bai” by Xie Zhi.

Golden flames of law burned Du Bai’s soul. At first, he shrieked continuously, but now he was too weak to even cry out.

Interestingly, when Yue Tingxi’s cultivation was lower, she would have been consumed with the desire to kill him immediately upon remembering past events.

But now, after multiple breakthroughs and extraordinary encounters—and having caused chaos in the mortal realm with her mistress—when she faced him directly, seeing him in such a pitiful state, she no longer felt such hatred.

It wasn’t “letting go,” but “understanding,” so her attention was no longer solely fixed on this abandoned pawn.

Sensing Du Bai’s soul looking at her, she silenced him before he could speak.

She came for information, not to hear nonsense.

Law and spiritual perception simultaneously entered Du Bai’s soul, racing toward the memory bubbles.

However, her efforts were blocked by the laws themselves.

“Even after taking a full bottle of Soul Purification Pills, you can’t withstand the contamination from those memories,” Xie Zhi’s voice came from behind Yue Tingxi. “Those are the records of thousands of small worlds’ missions, plus the memories of eighty-one cycles spanning hundreds of years. Not even a Tribulation-stage cultivator—or an immortal—could avoid their soul being tainted.”

“So, the World Consciousness is now already in a polluted state?” Yue Tingxi asked. “The 7364 System was originally part of the World Consciousness. Now that the invader is dead and it regains freedom, to increase its chances in the final battle, it must share all it knows with the World Consciousness.”

“But whether it’s the 7364 System or the World Consciousness, they can withstand this level of pollution,” Xie Zhi emphasized.

“Two years ago, when we explored the Xuanshui Secret Realm, Lin Fengqing said she heard a heartbeat like a drum,” Yue Tingxi said, turning to meet her eyes. “That heartbeat must come from the deep layer we haven’t set foot in. It’s said that an indescribably huge alien monster resides there.”

“Yet now we know the Secret Realm is a special micro-world closest to the World Consciousness, and as its divine guardian, you haven’t eliminated the deep threat,” she continued. “Besides, you said you chose to guard the Xuanshui Secret Realm yourself.”

“So what?” Xie Zhi smiled faintly.

“You’re guarding the original World Consciousness, aren’t you?” Yue Tingxi bluntly voiced her guess. “That monster is the already-polluted World Consciousness. It cannot come out, nor be harmed. Anyone who’s seen it either dies or is expelled from the deep layer, which is why so few survive.”

“But since you are the ‘Scales of Salvation,’ worshiped and relied upon by humans, you cannot act like a true villain and kill indiscriminately. Perhaps if you did, the World Consciousness’s pollution would worsen. That’s why you spared some, only killing those whom the laws deemed ‘evil’.”

After speaking, she noticed that the woman before her smiled more brightly.

“Yet many explorers who’ve seen indescribable monsters survived, but the timing doesn’t add up,” Xie Zhi pointed out.

“Then you better align your narrative with the World Consciousness first,” Yue Tingxi smiled. “It personally told me that ‘a portion of resentment was placed in high-risk realms of past time.’ Though Xuanshui isn’t high-risk, it has three layers, and the relic layer has you, a divine creation, stationed. Who says the deep layer isn’t ‘high-risk’?”

Silence spread among them.

But soon, Xie Zhi laughed—a sound both resigned and helpless.

“Even if you know it’s polluted, what can you do?”

After laughing, she said, “This world is now independent. No gods will interfere. The original Creator and World Controller left only the ‘Nine-Nine Return to One’ final safeguard. Without the World Consciousness, if another invader comes, do you expect you ants constantly fighting among yourselves to resist it?!”

Her words fell, spreading unprecedented pressure.

Yue Tingxi was unprepared, but having anticipated this, she braced herself with her cultivation, standing straight and meeting the Scales of Salvation’s gaze.

“One demon-world calamity could push both sides to absolute opposition… So it must continue as the World Consciousness, continue being polluted. No matter what happens, it cannot slack off,” Xie Zhi’s eyes froze on hers. “Whether questioned or cursed, it must bear and endure. Once it awakens and forms its own consciousness, it is destined to shoulder the full responsibilities of this position—unless a strong enough successor comes to assume the role, then it may step down.”

Hearing this, Yue Tingxi took a deep breath, gradually calming her shock at yet another truth.

“So… it purified me—my past self, deliberately placed in the past, stirring up demon calamities,” she said. “It needed a pure successor, one molded entirely by itself, who even if born into this filthy world, can maintain their heart… the ‘next World Consciousness,’ to take over and relieve it from endless suffering.”

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