Chapter 78
Notes: I'm so sorry for the long hiatus. Had a lot going on since I decided to quit my old job and transition to a new one.
Will make up for my absence with daily releases for the next couple of weeks. Thank you so, so much for waiting. Happy reading! ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ
Father Su is missing.
Even though Su Zui had taken precautions in advance, he couldn't protect him completely.
From the moment of his disappearance, Su Zui and the various Tao families exhausted every means to search for him, but they didn't find any useful information.
Phoenix also secretly mobilized the power of the Judgment Office, but it failed to find even a trace of Meng Qingzhi.
Inside the Judgment Office, Qing Luan frowned as he listened to the reports from his subordinates.
As a divine beast overseeing the world, he rarely felt wary of a human.
Recalling the outbreak of evil (Yin) energy in the small secret realm earlier, his unease grew stronger. He warned the Suzaku in his arms, "This human is not ordinary. With recent disturbances in the mortal realm, stay close to me and don't wander off."
He suspected that the residual Yin energy in the small secret realm hadn't all been absorbed by Phoenix.
Phoenix's physical condition was well-known to him. The previously untransformed Yin energy had kept his body on the brink of collapse. Now, with a continuous influx of Yin energy from the world, as long as humanity's evil thoughts persisted, it would emerge from new sources.
Evil things despised Yang energy the most.
When they were weak, they avoided it, but when they grew powerful, their greatest desire was to annihilate Yang energy, their natural enemy.
Suzaku and the Xuanwu followed the balance of Yin and Yang. Suzaku's star position lay in the south, representing fire and presiding over summer. Among the divine beasts, he possessed the most abundant Yang energy.
Naturally, Yin energy harbored deep resentment toward him. The previous attack on Suzaku during his journey south was likely premeditated.
Already injured from the previous assault, Suzaku would be virtually defenseless if it struck again.
The chubby bird nestled in his arms nodded vigorously, his shiny black eyes flickering with a hint of guilt.
To this day, he didn't dare tell Qing Luan that the human he had encountered in the secret realm was none other than Meng Qingzhi.
Although unintentional, the artifact he had given Meng Qingzhi might have caused trouble...
________________________
Phoenix's fear surpassed even Qing Luan's.
Despite using the power of rules to deduce Meng Qingzhi's whereabouts, he found only chaos. Worse still, the rules backlashed, injuring him. His face grew paler, but his gaze turned more piercing. "This person can actually deceive fate. I never expected there would be a cultivator capable of such things in the world today.
Orders were immediately dispatched to all the divine beasts within the Judgment Office, instructing them to enhance their vigilance and be prepared for the worst-case scenario.
Su Zui agrees, “Yes, it’s strange.”
However, in his heart, he believed that Meng Qingzhi wasn’t just deceiving fate. Rather, fate itself leaned toward him.
After all, as the male protagonist, even in his current state, he carried an aura of destiny that surpassed ordinary individuals.
The only consolation lay in the fact that Su Zui had already used secret techniques to stabilize his father’s soul. Given Meng Qingzhi’s current condition, harming Father Su's soul would be very difficult. Because of this, Su Zui was least concerned about his father’s safety.
But the inability to cause harm didn’t mean Meng Qingzhi would passively await his fate.
Father Su was his sole relative in this world, a direct blood connection. Through this lineage, influencing Su Zui would be easy.
Strangely enough, an entire week had passed since Su Zui’s father disappeared, yet nothing happened.
However, a long period of calm often meant more intense storms.
Right now, there seemed to be no solution.
In this world, the male protagonist’s halo held greater significance than in the previous one.
While technology dominated the modern world, luck remained an intangible force with limited impact on reality.
However, in the cultivation world, destiny was all too real, a force that ancient legends attributed to exceptionally gifted cultivators. Even though spiritual energy had decreased, destiny still determined a cultivator’s foundation.
For instance, now, a simple phrase like “chaos in the heavenly path” could perfectly conceal Meng Qingzhi’s whereabouts, placing everyone at a disadvantage.
Even Phoenix couldn’t find Meng Qingzhi’s location. Su Zui understood that this time, fate was favoring Meng Qingzhi. All they could do was wait and respond when it's the right time.
Phoenix lowered his gaze, silently suppressing the surging energy within him.
The backlash from the rules caused Yin energy to erupt within his body. Unrestrained, the Yin energy etched grotesque black marks on his exposed skin, writhing like hidden desires on the verge of breaking free.
Without looking, Phoenix knew how terrifying his appearance must be at this moment.
Recalling the harm he had inadvertently caused Su Zui during its memory loss, his eyes dimmed. He didn’t glance at Su Zui’s expression but subtly adjusted his wide sleeves to conceal his hand.
Unaware of Phoenix’s subtle movement, Su Zui observed the weakened divine beast. His brow furrowed wondering what he's thinking about.
The lingering Yin energy within Phoenix remained a constant threat.
Su Zui worried about him. Ever since Phoenix had confided his situation to him earlier, this concern had enveloped him entirely.
Although forcibly merging with Yin energy, it was evident that Phoenix struggled to suppress it. Yin and spiritual energy clashed within his body, teetering on the edge of imbalance. Maintaining balance was already challenging, converting Yin energy for his own use seemed nearly impossible.
Su Zui speculated that this problem might be related to the forced changing of the storyline.
In the original plot, Phoenix was completely consumed by Yin energy. Now, not only had he survived, but he also countered the Yin energy. One could say he defied fate. Born as a divine beast in response to the world's needs, the Phoenix's changed destiny directly disrupted the rules of this world.
If this happened to any other creature in this world, they would likely have succumbed to the backlash of rules and destiny, dying without a trace. Phoenix, as the last survivor of its lineage, had the accumulated fortune of his entire clan from ancient times, which made even the heavenly order wary.
However, this situation was unsustainable. Yin energy would continue to grow, and Phoenix's capacity is fixed. If he couldn't fully control the Yin energy, eventually, the expanding Yin energy would rupture the divine beast's vessel.
Even if Phoenix could hold on, Su Zui didn't want to see him struggling every day.
Glancing at his pitiful experience points balance, Su Zui suppressed the urge to purchase healing items. While he couldn't cure the situation entirely, he could at least make Phoenix more comfortable.
However, with no one knowing what Meng Qingzhi was up to, he can't be distracted.
Who knew if greater dangers lay ahead? Both logically and emotionally, Su Zui shouldn't waste his resources at this moment.
Looking at items in the system store a few more times, especially those for potent pain relief, he sadly exited without making a purchase.
The system observed Su Zui's internal struggle between wanting to splurge and restraining himself: "..."
Those experience points seemed increasingly precarious.
Regret.
He regretted it so much.
Why did he naively assume that completing side quests would give him extra experience points?
Clearly, the addition of a Boss would only make their poor family even worse off.
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