Chapter 397: Why Is Senior Brother More Anxious Than Me?
In the end, since they couldn't agree on how to address each other, Luo Wusheng and Kirin wrapped up their meeting at the Wandering Immortal Inn rather early.
Luo Wusheng didn't mind. After all, his goals for seeking out Miss Kirin this time had already been fully accomplished. Things were progressing one by one just as he had anticipated, all falling into place.
He even had the leisure to check out the rather dull Foundation Establishment sparring matches. Upon spotting two familiar Golden-Ranked member co-workers, he even managed to "introduce" himself to Da Zhuang through a bit of discreet voice transmission.
He also happened to see the former innkeeper and staff of his Wandering Immortal Inn among the crowd. They had been locals to begin with. Although they were out of work now due to the previous incident at the inn, the Immortal Nation had paid them generous compensation, and they were actually living quite comfortably at the moment.
After quietly getting in touch with them, Luo Wusheng went ahead and finalized the plans for reopening the inn.
Right now, the Wandering Immortal Inn was a prime location. It was covered by anti-surveillance formations laid down by a certain white-haired loli, and there was a good chance it could become an excellent spot for major powers in the royal capital to secretly exchange sensitive information in the future.
Once all that was sorted out, the Demon Sect's Holy Saint returned once again to the Demon Artifact Pavilion...
. . . . . .
"Senior Brother Song... are you sure this is okay?"
"Relax. We know it's your first time, but we've got lots of experience. It'll be over quickly and won't hurt a bit... Mm, once you try it, I guarantee you'll fall in love with the feeling."
"Well... then let's do it…"
Bang!
The moment the sound of the gunshot rang out, Luo Wusheng couldn't take it anymore. He turned around and left the fourth floor of the Demon Artifact Pavilion, descending back to the third floor.
He fell into deep thought.
'Was what I just saw really an artifact forging session… or a pyramid scheme?'
The Demon Sect Holy Saint sighed once more at the terrifying strength of the "pathogen"—another one of their Artifact Refiners had clearly lost their mind and was about to be fully brainwashed into a full-blown self-destructive maniac.
And the worst part was… they were voluntarily doing it. So he really couldn't say anything.
"Thinking about it now, the Demon Sect Artifact Refining really does feel like some kind of dark cult…"
Especially after the ones upstairs figured out the correct way to use it.
Well, their wild, unrestrained, and utterly reckless methods were very much in line with the Demon Sect. No wonder that group of Artifact Refiners led by Song Zhong had been progressing even faster than the four officers wasting away their days in the brothel.
With all these thoughts in mind, Luo Wusheng sat alone on the third floor, idly flipping through what looked like a completely ordinary book.
"…As expected, aside from the bizarre and absurd ways all the cultivators in it died, there really isn't anything special about this book."
He muttered to himself while turning to the next page.
The book he was reading now was one of the volumes his Junior Sister had obtained using the Holy Maiden Token. It was also the only one he had skimmed through before.
The All Kind of Weird Ways A Cultivator Has Died.
Previously, back in the overlapping spatial zones on Little Phoenix Mountain near Qifeng City, Bai Xiaoyao had shown him that these books might actually be useful. So Luo Wusheng had decided to take them seriously this time and give these "junk"… ahem, these "gifts" from his so-called master another shot.
He'd start by properly reading through one of them.
'But the more I look at it, the more it just seems like total garbage…'
Take the one he was reading now, for instance.
It spoke of a fortunate and talented cultivator who, during a fateful encounter, obtained a severed leg belonging to a powerful cultivator who had undergone heavenly tribulation. The leg was sealed under layer upon layer of complex formations.
At the time, this genius cultivator was on the verge of breaking through to the Tribulation Crossing realm. When he saw that leg, wrapped in countless profound laws, he realized that if he could just peer into the object beyond the seals, he might be able to use it as an opportunity to ascend to the next realm.
So he pulled out all the stops and finally managed to pry open a tiny hole in the seal.
Just as he predicted, the moment he gazed into the sealed object, enlightenment struck him like lightning, breaking the bottleneck in his cultivation. A heavenly tribulation quickly followed.
He was prepared. He activated layers upon layers of tribulation-defending formations and was just about to break through successfully…
Meanwhile, the hole in the leg's seal slowly began to close again…
But just as the breakthrough reached its climax—an unexpected change occurred.
No one knew exactly what went wrong—but somehow, a single Tribulation Crossing realm leg hair slipped out from the tiny gap in the seal and floated right into the center of the tribulation clouds.
"And then the presence of a Tribulation Crossing realm object altered the Heavenly Tribulation itself, turning it into an Immortal Tribulation that even a Peak Tribulation Crossing realm cultivator couldn't survive… That poor guy got obliterated, body and soul. His mental state probably exploded on the spot. Even if he had survived, I bet he would've developed a full-blown phobia of leg hair."
Luo Wusheng honestly wanted to know where the author of this book had managed to dig up so many absurd and outrageous ways for cultivators to die.
Seriously, just this one case alone would be impossible for a normal person to replicate.
Considering how powerful the leg of the Tribulation Crossing realm is, it's hard to imagine how many intact legs of a dead cultivator might even still exist in the world—and how many weren't completely annihilated by the Immortal Tribulation.
'That headless Buddha statue does come to mind… but there's probably a lot of secrets surrounding that one too… Hmm?'
Luo Wusheng suddenly thought of something and touched his chin.
His hand lingered on that page for a long moment before his flickering gaze turned back to the book, and he continued reading.
. . . . . .
Sunset.
Before leaving the Demon Artifact Pavilion, Luo Wusheng stretched his arms out with a satisfying groan.
Honestly, he was really curious how his Junior Sister had managed to get through this pile of books.
He had spent the whole afternoon flipping through them, and hadn't found much practical use. On the contrary, the more he read, the sleepier he got… If he hadn't pulled out his wooden sword to chat with Little Yuli, play a few rounds of Chess, and goof off a little, he probably wouldn't have been able to keep going.
"That said… there were still a few worthwhile things buried in there."
Walking down the road toward home, Luo Wusheng glanced up at the horizon… and occasionally turned his gaze toward certain silent, seemingly empty directions.
He could sense faintly hidden fluctuations in spiritual energy—clearly concealed, but just barely noticeable.
It seemed the Immortal Nation was still working according to the intel he'd provided, sweeping out the remaining Nether Formations scattered throughout the capital.
'If it continues at this pace, it might actually be possible to eliminate all the Nether Formations within the Royal Capital…'
'That would make the upcoming chaos much easier to control.'
Furthemore, it would also give him a better opportunity to pick the perfect spot and pose to get himself killed for his resurrection.
Everything was still within his grasp.
The corners of his mouth lifted ever so slightly as he arrived at his estate—then went straight to his Junior Sister's room.
Little Yuli, having just suffered a crushing defeat in their online five-in-a-row game, was currently in self-imposed secluded cultivation. So it would be better for him not to bother her right now.
Besides, he had something he needed to discuss with Bai Xiaoyao anyway.
. . . . . .
The room was already lit, warm and softly glowing.
At her request, Luo Wusheng was lying flat on the lap of his Junior Sister, enjoying the soft and fragrant sensation while she gently stroked his head. Her breathtakingly beautiful face gazed down at him, his reflection clearly visible in her eyes.
Then, Luo Wusheng suddenly spoke softly.
"…Junior Sister, is there any way… in a short amount of time—preferably before the Human Immortal List even starts—to fully complete this Predestined Effect?"
The hand gently stroking his head froze for a split second.
Bai Xiaoyao blinked, gazing down at the serious expression on her Senior Brother's face. A strange look flashed through her beautiful eyes.
Why did it feel like… her Senior Brother was more anxious than she was?
If he knew what the true nature of this so-called "Predestined Effect" actually was… would he still be saying something like that?
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Note: Link to the character Illustration:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1lkIcPnCxeyuyZA4Kkb621dPC05UvWjhD[1]
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Tn: I updated the story daily, but if you want to see more chapter of this story ahead of time, please go to my Patreon.
Latest Chapter: Chapter 532: What On Earth Is Master Talking About?[2]
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[1] https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1lkIcPnCxeyuyZA4Kkb621dPC05UvWjhD
[2] https://www.patreon.com/posts/chapter-532-what-156146549
[3] https://www.patreon.com/posts/chapter-532-what-156146549