Chapter 58: Individual Journeys

“This whole time felt like a dream.”

Lu Mingfei lay on the grass, fingers spread wide toward the sun overhead.

At noon, the piercing sunlight streamed through the gaps between his fingers into his eyes.

“Indeed.” Ke Lain had once suspected an Outer God had woven him a dream, one that would end like the Desire Mother Tree incident when he woke.

No one’s going to tell me now, “General, I want to have a child with you…” right?

Thinking about it, it was still terrifying.

Demigods love to craft beautiful dreams, slowly corrupting you while you sleep.

His own dream back then… cough.

Fortunately, his will was strong, and he woke up.

“Maybe I’m a little greedy?” Lu Mingfei said, voice tinged with self-doubt. “Sometimes I wonder, if this dream had come two years earlier, it’d be better.”

Now, he might finally have a chance to save those who died.

Ye Sheng and Jiude Yaji—a couple he thought perfectly matched—dying in the Bronze City was such a waste; he felt that as long as they had each other, they’d never suffer the Blood Sorrow of half-breeds.

Old Tang too—Lu Mingfei had always dreamed of riding his Greyhound across America, but that dream could never be fulfilled.

Xia Mi’s brother, that big dumb dragon, was actually quite nice—no malice toward humans, loved games and snacks just like him.

Lu Mingfei still felt guilty—even if it was the Little Devil controlling his body, he was the one who killed them.

He never wanted to kill Constantine, or Old Tang, or Fenliuer. After all, even if he truly had some connection to the Black Emperor, he wouldn’t dwell on being a traitor or anything like that.

He hadn’t listened to a word the Headmaster told him—who says coexistence is impossible?

Even little babies can be born.

You agree, Ye Mengjia, right?

Now, he was just Lu Mingfei.

His father was Lu Lincheng, his mother was Qiao Weini, and their home was Apartment 301 at Auntie’s Oak Garden.

“Maybe.” Ke Lain had also thought about it—then he could save the Captain, Old Neil… and many others.

But without taking the Potion, could cultivation alone free him from Inzeg Weier ’s design…?

That lady, whom the True Creator used as a vessel for descent—he couldn’t save her… the disparity in status was too great.

Perhaps it could be changed, perhaps not.

But at least he could save Lady Dai…

“Thinking about this now is meaningless.”

Long silence.

Ke Lain stood, brushed the dirt off his pants; Lu Mingfei had closed his eyes and fallen asleep in the sunlight.

The interdimensional talisman in his hand shattered; he walked toward the portal, his steps lighter than when he’d arrived.

The holiday’s over—time to go back to “work.”

As if remembering something, Ke Lain pulled a printed photo from his storage pouch—it could be controlled with mere spiritual energy, quite convenient.

Ke Lain turned back, looked at the sleeping Lu Mingfei, and gently placed the photo in his arms.

Then he set down a glass bottle beside him—inside, a Tier-9 Assassin Potion.

He left a note:

“You can obtain the Tier-7 Potion from Su Lin. After you’ve digested this one, come find me for the Tier-8 Potion—I’ll give it to you free.”

Having done all this, Ke Lain turned and jogged away.

—————————————

“Comrade Han Li,” Zhong Li put down his brush, holding a bamboo scroll, and looked toward Han Li, who had just arrived.

Age need not be considered—those seeking the Dao address each other as “comrade.”

“Brother Zhong, ready?” Han Li held up the interdimensional talisman, preparing to return to his world.

The planting of Golden Thunder Bamboo and Nine-Twisted Spirit Ginseng was complete; with the array’s effect on Water Mirror Peak, harvest might be possible in a few years.

“Thank you,” Zhong Li nodded, gathering the scattered items on the table.

The foundation is laid—now comes practice.

The complete Immortal Path…

Zhong Li felt anticipation—what growth would he achieve once this path was fully restored?

He sensed that as his Immortal Path gradually healed, the wear upon him was also mending.

The Immortal Path truly is an eternal path.

After witnessing the strength and landscapes of countless worlds, Zhong Li, after millennia, once again set out in pursuit of power.

To wander the mortal realm freely, one must first possess sufficient capital to avoid or resolve its troubles.

Such capital may be power, wealth, or wisdom.

“Brother Zhong, no need for formalities,” Han Li said as his talisman shattered into a portal: “After you.”

The two walked side by side into Han Li’s world, heading together to the Chaotic Star Sea—as previously agreed.

Zhong Li’s strength should let him walk freely in the Chaotic Star Sea; at least, traveling with him meant no more harassment from Wu Chou and his crew.

No—he no longer needed to be so cautious; future opportunities might be obtained earlier with Zhong Li’s help.

As the two stepped through the light gate, Wangshu Pavilion fell silent once more.

Few of the group remained on Water Mirror Peak—Su Lin had returned to the city to settle his lease, and everyone who left had already said goodbye, so he knew.

After packing his belongings, Su Lin planned to move permanently to Water Mirror Peak.

If he needed to stay in the city for any reason, he could still use Ke Lain’s apartment, rented under Ke Lain’s ID—free of charge.

Three bedrooms, one living room—wasting it would be a shame.

Thinking carefully, he rarely had anything to do in the city anyway; most of his time was spent cultivating on Water Mirror Peak, only going to the city to play games with friends or run errands for points.

Later, he’d go to Ke Lain’s room, run a network cable, and move the portal to his own room on Water Mirror Peak.

The online noise had grown too loud lately—better to quiet down for now; he wasn’t ready to fully intervene.

We’ll deal with it after returning from the Dragon Clan world.

The qi revival script will begin in no more than one or two years.

Su Lin returned to Water Mirror Peak, carrying heavy bags, and flew straight toward Wangshu Pavilion.

As “Patriarch,” his room naturally faced the best view.

Others could live there too—Wangshu Pavilion was quite large.

He checked the group chat: Xiao Yan had returned; now only Ye Fan, Lu Mingfei, and Emiya Shirou remained.

Ye Fan would rest a few days, then return once his condition improved; rumor had it Emiya Shirou’s projection technique had matured slightly, while Ye Fan lacked sufficient Divine Source—he’d likely be taken along to try the counterfeit industry.

Hope the original production in the Conceal Heaven world stays intact.

Even if the projected items were low-tier, quantity made up for it—if no one could tell, selling them at one percent of the original price was still profit.

Raise costs? Laughable.

Xiao Yan, Han Li, and Yao Lao had partnered to build a pill-refining assembly line, integrating cultivation, harvesting, and diversified production; Zhong Li had invested a small amount of technology—enough to be useful.

Ye Fan and Emiya Shirou had opened the extraterrestrial market, combining innovative thinking with new technology to build weapon production lines, Kaipi new sales channels, direct offline sales, no after-sales service, using low prices to dominate the market—bad money driving out good.

Upon hearing this, Zhong Li had also contributed a stack of weapon blueprints and helped enhance them as technological equity…

Ye Fan, Zhong Li, and Emiya Shirou had split profits 6:2:2; Su Lin had already imagined Ye Fan’s overflowing coffers.

And what about him?

Mid-flight, he spotted Lu Mingfei below, sleeping like a dead pig; Su Lin couldn’t help but look away and shook his head.

“Sigh!”

Do something useful, Lu Mingfei.

Your boss is running out of money.