Chapter 67
Perhaps it was the comforting scent that set him at ease, Su Zui murmured a phrase and was no longer fearful.
Only a disturbed Phoenix was left.
The Phoenix felt green atop his head. He was possibly on the verge of turning into a green-headed Phoenix.
Upon reflection, he realized that he would surely look very ugly that way.
He dropped his gaze at Su Zui, wiping away the traces of blood around his lips, transferring some spiritual energy to him, but his heart was uneasy.
He couldn't help but care about what Su Zui had seen in the illusion, whom he had encountered, for him to be so deeply affected by the formation and to fall to this state.
Although the formation was powerful, Su Zui was originally a natural spiritual body, pure and clear, and inherently restrains illusion formations. Even if his heart and spirit were slightly weak, he shouldn't have fainted in a pool of blood.
With circumstances now as they are, the only explanation could be that his spiritual weakness was far too deadly.
So deadly that a single touch could result in a gruesome bloodshed.
He had investigated Su Zui's life and apart from his spiritual bones, Su Zui's life could be called ordinary. He didn't have many friends, and apart from his parents, there weren't any special people in his life.
The Phoenix's thoughts were heavy, and his body soon began to change.
Dark, twisted lines gradually appeared on his exposed pale, black skin at the neckline. Under these curse-like lines was the suppression of the world's deepest malice.
Day and night, it churned and surged restlessly.
These malicious forces were related to the laws of heaven and should not be suppressed by anything.
It was only due to his unique constitution, being a primordial divine beast and born bearing qi fortune, that he was able to suppress these malicious energies.
However, it was still forced.
The malice was too powerful, even for him. To completely refine these malicious energies for his own use, he would need to spend at least several thousand years.
And before that, he would have to endure the pain of the malicious energies rampaging in his body every second.
This pain was worse than any known pain. Any ordinary person would be tortured to death within seconds.
Originally, he had no intention of opposing these malicious energies because it would be troublesome and painful anyway.
He didn't have such a big heart that even if this evil energy would continue to ravage the world after swallowing him, he would remain unaffected.
The reason he ultimately chose this path was only because he had encountered an existence that he couldn't bear to disappear when he was about to give up.
The Phoenix's eyes gradually deepened. He pointed his finger in the air, and the illusion array's focal point appeared out of thin air, emitting a faint glow.
He wanted to investigate what had happened in the illusion world, but when he was just a bit away, he stiffened for a while, and eventually slowly lowered his hand.
Yet, it seemed he thought of something, his face turned cold, and he held Su Zui, motionless.
His aura was icy cold and sharp, like a sword sheathed in ice and snow.
The darkness of the surroundings slowly surged towards him, wrapping him gently.
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When Su Zui's eyelids fluttered open finally, what he saw was the man's face half-submerged in darkness.
Smelling the man's scent, he couldn't help but freeze.
After he shattered the illusion, he fell into a brief state of chaos due to his injuries.
And during that time, he only felt Fu Shijun's scent lingering around his nose.
He thought it was the last illusion brought about by the illusion array, but as it turned out...
Su Zui quickly regained his consciousness. His eyes turned cold and he pushed the phoenix away and stood up.
The phoenix also stood up and just stood there quietly,
Su Zui seemed to see a shadow on his neck, but that shadow quickly disappeared. His neck became pale and clean again.
Su Zui didn't care about this little incident. His face was full of disbelief, and after a long while, he still couldn't help but ask solemnly: "...Who are you?"
Of course, he knew that the man in front of him was Qing Luan.
But what about beyond that?
Countless speculations flashed across Su Zui's mind, and he pursed his lips.
The scent of the man was far too familiar to him. It was the scent of the person he had lived with day and night for decades, the first thing ingrained in the blank canvas of his mind after he lost his memories.
Although he consciously tried to stop himself from recalling, many things could not be forgotten at will. Perhaps even after many more decades, he could still recognize it in an instant.
Why did this man's scent exactly match his lover's from his previous world?
Could it be… could it be…
The system 555 that Su Zui usually forgot about answered without asking, innocently saying, "Could it be that they used the same set of code?"
Su Zui: "..."
Su Zui's expression was indifferent: "Oh, I see."
He almost forgot, including him, all the characters in these worlds were virtual products constructed from data.
It was also odd that the technology used by this system was too advanced. The emotions of each person, such as anger, sorrow, joy, and happiness, all felt so realistic.
But no matter how real it looked, in the end, it was just his one-man show.
He just... might have gone crazy, as he actually felt the illusion that his lover from the last world had also followed him to this mission world.
Phoenix noticed his unpleasant expression, and his face tightened.
Upon hearing Su Zui's question, Phoenix pondered in silence.
He used to disregard worldly affairs, yet after this journey, he actively learned a lot.
He had no choice — who would let him want to get close to a human?
Nowadays, with thin spiritual energy, the relationship between spirit beasts and humans is extremely poor. Most cultivators in the mystery sects are coveting spirit beasts.
Would Su Zui think better of him if he knew his identity?
Phoenix's mind stirred slightly.
He never took pride in his identity. In fact, he was always annoyed by his origin. Yet, if he could win the favor of humans because of this, it might not be absolutely useless --
Just as he was contemplating what to say, Su Zui spoke again, "Forget it, there's no need to explain. In the end, we are like passing ships on the water. No matter who you are, thank you for your help. You're at a higher cultivation level than I am, I am afraid I might not be able to offer a satisfactory reward," He took out some talismans he had prepared beforehand, "Here are one hundred advanced talismans, see them as a token of my gratitude."
He had prepared two hundred talismans before setting out, but he couldn't give them all away, he had to reserve some for his own use.
If this man really was Qing Luan, a hundred advanced talismans could not be of much use to him.
But all that Su Zui could offer now was just that.
His expression had returned to calm, became indifferent, and no longer questioned the man's origins.
It was as if the ripples just now were merely an illusion.
Seeing Su Zui calculating everything so clearly, the Phoenix couldn't help but feel a sudden surge of anger in his heart. The dark and sinister patterns on his body almost appeared again.
Afraid of losing control and frightening the delicate human, the Phoenix didn't accept Su Zui's talismans. He stepped back, his figure quickly swallowed by darkness that came from an unknown origin.
Su Zui stood still for a while before he left expressionlessly.
There was still a lingering warmth on the Phoenix jade pendant on his chest, as the heat slightly burned the flesh of his wound.
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Xie Yu emerged from the illusion realm and soon located Su Zui with the help of Su Zui's magical instrument. Worriedly, he asked, "Are you alright?"
Su Zui shook his head: "Nothing happened."
He had just been injured, but the man seemed to have transferred some spiritual power into him. He had also taken some healing elixirs, so he had almost recovered. There was no need to mention it to Xie Yu.
Xie Yu hesitated to speak, "That's good then ..."
Although Su Zui seemed fine, his expression was cold and somewhat frightening.
Despite looking calm, Xie Yu couldn't help but feel that Su Zui may be... sad?
Perhaps something in the illusion realm had evoked a sad memory?
The illusion realm was indeed powerful. He had just encountered his deceased parents there. If it were not for the recent events that had strengthened his will, he might have been heavily affected.
Due to the possibility of prying into Su Zui's privacy, Xie Yu didn’t ask more about it.
After passing the first level of the illusion realm, what appeared before them was a place similar to a small secret realm.
It wasn't a real secret realm but a virtual world constructed by the power of the illusion realm.
However, the rules were still the same. They still needed to compete for resources and as much attention as possible, solve difficulties. From this moment on, their every move would be present in the eyes of the elders responsible for scoring. All of these would become the basis for the final score.
Everyone was earnestly striving to perform like a peacock displaying its plumage in front of unseen cameras, showcasing their capabilities. Only Su Zui remained internally unfazed, eager to complete the process as quickly as possible and return home to sleep.
He initially participated to advance the mission meter, but after the illusion realm, all enthusiasm had vanished. His entire disposition had grown cold and distant. He languidly performed tasks alongside Xie Yu, his actions listless.
Seeing Su Zui’s distracted state, Xie Yu felt some concern, “Are you really okay? If not, let's stop participating and go back.”
Without raising his head, Su Zui broke open a formation method, pulled out a spiritual grass, and casually tossed it into Xie Yu's arms: “It's nothing. I just don't feel like moving. I guess I'm feeling lazy."
There was nothing more Xie Yu could say.
He could tell that Su Zui was perfunctory, but it didn't seem that way to others.
An elder with a long beard watched Su Zui's movements, surprised enough that his beard twitched, "Whose youngster is this? His ability to break formations is even faster than mine."
The one who spoke was an elder from a formation family. He had dealt with formations all his life and was currently one of the leading figures in the formation area of the mystical realm. Yet, when it came to breaking formations, he was not as smooth as the indifferent-looking young man in the video.
"His method of picking spiritual plants is also very proficient. Though it looks casual, he hasn't actually hurt the root system of the plant at all."
The elders kept murmuring amongst themselves in surprise as they continued to observe. Only after a while did they finally glance at the person's name: "Su Zui? The one who made a name for himself previously in the Fan Tian small secret realm?
"So those rumors were true!"
During the time in the Fan Tian realm, although everyone said that Su Zui was extremely capable, they didn't fully believe it because they hadn't seen it with their own eyes.
Only after the news spread about the destruction of the Xie family formation did they begin to take this youngster seriously.
Speaking of the Xie family, someone said oddly, "Eh, isn’t the person beside Su Zui, Xie Yu from the Xie family?"
Xie Yu had also gained some fame because of the last secret realm incident.
Besides, to be able to cleanse the marrow and reshape one's physique at such an age, it's not something that just anyone can experience.
He reshaped his physique with honey brewed from a mystical beast, which made him even luckier than the youngster from the Meng family.
It's unknown why such rare incidents of adult cultivators cleansing their marrow and reshaping their physique — usually seen once every few hundred years — occurred twice in succession.
Speaking of Xie Yu, everyone naturally turned their eyes to the elder of the Xie family.
Someone with less restraint asked, "What's going on?"
Normally, the Xie family should have turned against Su Zui, the grudges from the destroyed formation and the several elders involved aren't something that can be resolved quickly. So why does Xie Yu seem to get along so well with Su Zui?
Although one should befriend such a powerful individual, the animosity between the two families was significant and the position Xie Yu sits in between the two is very delicate.
Does the Xie Family have no objections?
The elder of the Xie Family: "…"
What was he supposed to say?
Not to mention they got beaten up trying to covet someone else's resources, Xie Yu, such a promising youngster, was alienated from the Xie family by their own Patriarch's actions.
The Patriarch's son, although gifted, had a poor temperament. This time, with the illusion as a test, he was eliminated in the first round and performed worse than some ordinary disciples, let alone compared to Xie Yu.
They actually drove Xie Yu away!
If this matter was revealed, the Xie family would become a laughing stock!
— Although it is almost a laughing stock now.
The Xie Family elder was quite reluctant to speak.
But under the pressure of so many people, it was impossible not to respond.
He had to vaguely say, "Xie Yu no longer stays at home."
The elders had seen all types of situations, many of them were quite astute, and seeing his evasive demeanor, they knew something was off.
They pressed further with their inquiries.
Fortunately, someone spoke up, "Speaking of this, I remember now, my disciple told me that Xie Yu seemed to have signed up as an independent cultivator, he found it strange why Xie Yu didn't join with the Xie family?"
The elder of the Xie family fell silent awkwardly, wishing he could dig a hole and bury himself.
Among the elders of the Xie family, he preferred seclusion and was not well-versed in worldly matters. He usually didn't meddle and focused on his cultivation. Only because of the large number of injuries in the Xie family last time was he asked to attend this grand event.
At his age, to lose face this badly, what karma was this?
"So that's how it is." Someone said, full of implications.
Seeing the elder of the Xie family in such a state, what was left there for the crowd to not understand?
It was clear that Xie Yu had cut ties with the Xie family.
The elders of various families couldn't help but have some odd expressions on their faces.
They weren't without thoughts of "finding a way" to get Su Zui's resources, but for the Xie family to get to such a point where they failed in stealing and even lost their rightful possession...
The Xie family... truly amazing.
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In another spacious room, the Phoenix, Qing Luan, and Suzaku — the three birds — were also watching the situation in the illusionary formation.
As members of noble status, they didn't need to be crowded in a room with other elders.
Cold incense was lit in the room.
The Phoenix sat alone on the couch, with his long hair hanging loose. His narrow, almond-shaped eyes were half-open, showing a slightly indifferent expression.
Qing Luan had grown accustomed to his demeanor. The Phoenix was, by nature, a pessimistic person, and it would be a miracle if he were in a good mood. The fact that he actually took the initiative to go out this time was quite surprising.
"Human beings are regressing more and more seriously. There were still some worth watching a thousand years ago, but now they are not even worth mentioning."
He occasionally chatted with the Phoenix to relieve their boredom, while Suzaku tried hard to jump around in his arms, trying to talk to the phoenix. However, both Qing Luan and the Phoenix simultaneously treated him as if he were air.
Qing Luan looked at the image of Su Zui and suddenly remembered the previous story of how Su Zui had helped the Phoenix.
He noticed that the Phoenix had been staring at Su Zui the whole time, and recalled that when the name was mentioned before, the Phoenix seemed to have more energy. Qing Luan had a thought and praised Su Zui gently, "Among everyone so far, this human has the most potential. If he were in our era, he might even have become a Saint."
Unexpectedly, upon hearing his praise, the Phoenix's face turned green instead of lifting his spirits.
He immediately turned his face away, giving a cold huff.
It was as if something embarrassing had been pointed out.
Qing Luan: "..."
Why was this Phoenix unhappy again?
He seemed to care a lot about this particular human just a while ago.
Sigh.
He worryingly plucked some of Suzaku's feathers in his arms.
Understanding the boss's mind is like finding a needle in the sea.
He wasn't sure if it was his misperception, but ever since they had left seclusion, the boss seemed to have become increasingly difficult to please.
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Author's note:
Fat. Angry. Chirp: I see you guys just want to make me jealous!
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