Chapter 21
The face of this puppet appeared as if its features had been smoothed and made indistinct, making it impossible to see clearly. However, its body shape seemed to resemble that of a man.
Suddenly, a deep sigh escaped from within him. “Chong Ying, is this the place where you and your mother once struggled to survive? You must have gone through a lot in the past.”
“…” Haowei.
Seeing that Si Lan had misunderstood, Haowei didn’t explain. He lowered his gaze, surveying the surroundings. He felt an indescribable heaviness in his heart, which seemed to grow stronger the longer he stayed in this place.
He had no memories of his time in the mortal realm during his past lives because that was when he first “fell ill,” his internal energy was in turmoil, and he killed hundreds of thousands of malevolent spirits.
While those malevolent spirits had committed numerous sins, their convictions and punishments should have been decided by the Lord of the Underworld. His actions were a blatant violation of the natural order, which required him to descend to the mortal realm to undergo tribulations as penance.
In this life, he carried the burden of being the Star of Ill Omen, with a lonely and arduous destiny. He couldn’t have what he desired, loved, or cherished, and he would ultimately become detached and unattached.
His heavenly mother, seeing the hardships of his current life, had pity on him and, before his descent, consulted with the Divine Emperor. It was agreed that once he returned from his tribulations, he would forget everything related to the mortal realm.
He only knew that he had lived for twenty years in the mortal realm under the name Chong Ying, and nothing more.
He took the puppet with an indistinct face from Si Lan, and his fingers gently caressed it. In an instant, a picture flashed through his mind, showing two hands intertwined together, as if he were holding someone else’s hand and slowly carving the puppet.
Si Lan manipulated the formation once again, and they appeared in a new illusory world.
Haowei quickly refocused, putting away his previous thoughts, and stared in the direction Si Lan was looking. This time, they were in a bridal chamber.
Two incense burners released fragrant smoke, “Double the Happiness” characters adorned the window, red banners hung at the doorway, and a brown pearl curtain remained still in the absence of wind. On the rosewood table, there was an untouched wine jug.
This was the bridal chamber set up for Si Lan’s third wedding, and from the look of it, it was the scene before his new bride underwent her heavenly tribulation.
Si Lan lightly tapped the table, sighing softly. He hadn’t expected that the bridal chamber, which he thought he would never need, was being used now.
He lay down on the bed, patting the space beside him, inviting Haowei to come up. “We’ve had a tiring day. Rest here for a while.”
Haowei’s expression was peculiar, and he didn’t respond to Si Lan. Instead, he sat on a nearby bench, closed his eyes, and pondered, looking like an old sage.
Si Lan couldn’t help but chuckle. He didn’t force the matter and closed his eyes to rest.
Before long, he fell asleep.
Haowei, however, kept his eyes open. Gazing through the lingering smoke, he looked at Si Lan lying on the bed.
Si Lan took off his jade crown, and his dark hair fell freely. His joyful expression accentuated the pinkish hue of his complexion, making him resemble a charming bride.
Haowei suddenly realized that his thoughts had taken a strange turn. He quickly adjusted his gaze and tried to maintain a composed expression.
—
In the following days, Si Lan continued to work on the Extremely Melodic Eight Trigrams Formation, seemingly unaware of the impending danger.
Haowei couldn’t help but wonder if Si Lan was overly optimistic or simply accepting of his fate. Instead of focusing on escaping, Si Lan seemed more interested in studying the formation. After three days, he finally mastered the secrets of the Extremely Melodic Eight Trigrams Formation, displaying the excitement of a child who had just acquired new knowledge.
Haowei marveled at how Si Lan, with such a broad-minded heart, had managed to maintain his position as the Demon Lord.
On the third day, Nine Infants arrived as promised.
A colossal serpent head materialized out of thin air, with a pair of crimson, ferocious eyes. Nine Infants regarded Haowei when he suddenly appeared within the formation and raised an eyebrow, scanning him from top to bottom.
After a moment, he spoke half-jokingly and half-seriously, “Could it be that this child is your offspring?”
Si Lan was taken aback and quickly denied, not wanting Nine Infants to discover Haowei’s true identity. He deflected the conversation, “Have you harmed the disciples of the Mystic Spirit Sect and the Serpent Charm Clan?”
Nine Infants hissed, and a snake-shaped aura swirled around him. He responded coldly, “If they willingly came to seek their deaths, I had no choice but to oblige.”
Hearing this, it seemed that nothing untoward had happened to the Mystic Spirit Sect and Serpent Charm Clan in the past few days.
Si Lan sighed, “After you took my physical body, could you promise to light incense for my parents every Mid-Autumn Festival?”
Nine Infants looked somewhat displeased, “Are you making demands of me?”
Si Lan quickly clarified, fearing that Nine Infants might discover Haowei’s true form and attempt to take control of his body. He changed the topic, “I promised my parents that I would visit them every Mid-Autumn Festival.”
After hearing this, Nine Infants hesitated for a moment and then gave a curt “yes.”
The Eight Trigrams Formation underwent changes, and the illusory surroundings seemed to merge with new scenes.
Si Lan and Haowei found themselves in a vast cave. The cave’s walls had been eroded by water over the years, leaving behind colorful and eerie marks. The dim light illuminated the cave with a haunting quality.
Within the cave flowed an underground river, its waters trickling gently. On the other side of the river stood Quze, who had been waiting for them. When he saw Si Lan’s arrival, he appeared indifferent. However, upon noticing Haowei standing beside Si Lan, his eyes showed signs of wariness.
Behind Quze, a gigantic serpent head sculpture stood upright, displaying slight differences from the one Si Lan had seen before.
This sculpture had closed snake eyes and retracted fangs, as if it were in a deep slumber.
Si Lan was deeply moved and said, “I never expected that, after living for a thousand years, I would end up nurturing someone else’s body.”
Haowei looked up at Si Lan and, upon seeing the bridegroom on the bed, couldn’t help but feel uneasy. “Have I been misunderstanding something?”
“Haowei.
It seemed like he was worrying for no reason.
At this time, he was still thinking about the two of them forming a bond!
Jiuying gradually revealed its appearance, blocking the snake head statue behind it. Its eyes darkened, and a powerful aura instantly surged towards Si Lan, lifting him into the air and bringing him in front of it.
It circled around Si Lan, a satisfied expression on its face.
A race that should have gone extinct in the ancient times unexpectedly still had descendants after ten thousand years.
Tsk tsk.
It couldn’t hide its excitement, transforming into a tiny flower. At this moment, flower had turned into a snake spine, hanging above Si Lan’s head.
The tip of the tonyflower was like a sharp tool, piercing through Si Lan’s nape, causing Si Lan to reveal a pained expression. “Ugh…”
“I’m going to replace your spine with that of a snake.” Jiuying not only intended to restore his humanoid body but also planned to restore its true body, which would undoubtedly require snake bones.
Si Lan was in so much pain that his face turned ashen, cold sweat forming on his temples, and his hands clenched tightly, suppressing the tremors.
Haowei, seeing this, couldn’t help but have a tense expression. He tried to approach Si Lan to help, but was stopped by Quze.
“Ugh…”
Suddenly, a cry of pain from Si Lan echoed in the air. Haowei raised his head and saw that Jiuying had disappeared. All that was visible was a bright white light that enveloped Si Lan tightly. In the next moment, the light burst forth, and the world in front of them became blindingly white.
“Ugh… Ugh…” Si Lan’s cries of pain grew more urgent, continuously emanating from the light.
Haowei didn’t expect that Si Lan’s path in life was not one due to optimism but rather a lack of fear to face death.
He felt a sense of frustration as if he were trying to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. However, everything was obscured by the strong light, and he could only rely on Si Lan’s aura to move toward Si Lan’s path, but was stopped by Quze’s iron arm.
This troublesome disciple…
Out of anger, Haowei directly broke Quze’s iron arm.
Quze grunted, but still showed no fear. He used his remaining left hand to draw a long sword and attacked Haowei again.
Haowei evaded the sword energy and instantly appeared in front of Quze. He struck Quze’s chest with a palm.
Quze fell from mid-air and tumbled to the ground, vomiting blood.
In mid-air, the blinding white light gradually dissipated, and Haowei, with red eyes, looked at the figure in mid-air.
The person still wore the same blue clothes and jade belt, but for some reason, he felt that the entire person had changed.
“Si Lan” moved his neck and stretched his body. Slowly descending from mid-air, he had a deep and amused look in his eyes. “I’m very satisfied with this body.”
It had been a hundred thousand years, and he could finally touch himself again.
Thinking about this, Jiuying burst into laughter, with an arrogant and carefree expression. His hands gathered energy and struck the surroundings violently, causing rocks to tumble, and the earth to shake.
In front of him, the originally closed snake head statue slowly opened its eyes, revealing two dark doors. The right eye’s door held the transformed humanoid snake mother, while the left eye’s door held a purple-gold four-cornered box.
That box was none other than the Golden Crescent Immortal Box.
After venting his emotions, Jiuying walked strangely toward the Golden Crescent Immortal Box, holding a corner of it. He muttered, “Don’t worry… I will use the snake mother’s blood to resurrect you…”
After saying that, Jiuying suddenly reached out to the snake mother, and in the next instant, the snake mother was brought directly in front of Jiuying.
Jiuying pinched the snake mother’s neck, her face gradually losing its blood color, and blood spilling from the corners of her mouth. She struggled to hit Jiuying with both hands, but to no avail.
Jiuying’s eyeballs rolled rapidly, his face covered in sinister and terrifying snake patterns, and his nails turned into sharp weapons that pierced the snake mother’s neck.
Seeing that the snake mother’s life was hanging by a thread, an untimely voice suddenly rang out.
“Ah, I look a bit ugly like this, don’t I?”
“I still think that I should possess my own body.”
T/N: Hey there! There is plenty more where that came from, so stay tuned! And stay healthy! Straighten your posture, so some stretches and drink some water before continuing hehe~
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