Chapter 509

"Since you're joining my sect, there's a process to go through, isn't there..."

The Qi Refining practitioner neither confirmed nor denied, merely smiling as he spoke, his Immortal Bearing carrying a subtle smile like an HR discussing KPIs.

"You understand what I mean, right?"

He dragged out the ending meaningfully, gesturing in the Void, "That kind... a pledge of loyalty guaranteed by illegal acts to join an illegal organization."

【4】 Translated into human speech, it's just that saying anything else is fart use, you have to hand over a signed confession!

In plain terms, just talking is Fart Use — you need to hand over a pledge of loyalty!

Signed confession——

This term has quite the origin, stemming from the bizarre KPIs of ancient vibrant associations.

Legend has it it was the hard currency for the Liang Shan heroes joining up, later carried forward by all manner of jianghu gangs.

Once you hand over the confession you're automatically bound to a lifetime membership package, truly the most hardcore resume in history.

Simply put, you want to be a gangster, first pull a big job!

Robbery or arson both work, best leave some leverage in the boss's hands, once this job's done, you're grasshoppers on the same rope from then on.

From then on you're the big brother's man, want to jump ship? No way!

emmmmm...

Put here, it seems indeed quite suitable, after all everyone knows you, Yukari Yakumo, are the Dragon God Lord's person.

Right now you want to switch allegiance, without handing over a signed confession, who would believe you're sincere?

So it's reasonable and fair, Coca-Cola.

"..."

"..."

For a moment, silence spread between the two.

——As expected...

——The other party hasn't misunderstood my meaning...

——Clearly she has seen through my thoughts as if observing fire, yet deliberately puts on this act, like leisurely watching a caged trapped beast...

Miss Yakumo slightly lowered her eyes, concealing the waves in her eyes, sighing lightly in her heart.

The Folding Fan rotated unconsciously between her slender fingers.

This long-lost helpless feeling wrapped in subtle powerlessness rose in her heart, mixed with a trace of indescribable strange Ripple...

Like some hidden, shouldn't-exist palpitation...

Actually let her taste a few points of novelty...

Mh?! Wait!

——Wrong! What am I thinking!

——Isn't this a bit too absurd!

Perceiving her emotions were off, the Youkai Sage abruptly came to her senses, the Folding Fan also snapping shut, Fingertips tightening slightly.

She secretly resented herself for how such absurd thoughts could arise, her usually proud composure vanishing completely at this moment.

As a Youkai Sage who has lived over a thousand years, what she detests most is clearly this feeling of being controlled by others, and she shouldn't produce any...

——any emotions similar to palpitation.

That's right! I shouldn't have any Stockholm Syndrome.

Feeling things didn't seem too good, she gritted her teeth, feigning unintentionalness as she raised her eyes, Gaze sweeping past that tall figure beside her.

Yet saw Sunlight slanting down, plating that figure with a layer of hazy halo.

That "person" was casually examining the Front dilapidated Shen She, the Outline of his profile especially distinct in the interplay of light and shadow, the corner of his lips holding a faint barely-there smile.

In a split second——

Purple slightly furrowed her brows, her eyes having a moment of bewilderment.

Just...

"What's wrong? Why aren't you speaking?" He suddenly turned his head, Gaze looking straight over, carrying a few points of Exploration.

"... Nothing!"

The Seventeen-year-old Girl abruptly turned her face away, the Folding Fan "Farming" opening, covering half her face.

This habitual Elegant action, at this moment instead seemed more like a deliberate disguise that only reveals more.

She suddenly felt some shame and annoyance, even secretly hoping the other party had some charm ability, just that she hadn't been able to Discover it.

That way, at least she could find an excuse for that inexplicable Restlessness.

——Though speaking of which, maybe it really is the case?

"..."

"..."

The Golden Hair Great Youkai's gaze wandered uncertainly, finally falling on the Rotting offering box before the dilapidated shrine hall.

The cracked grain of that rotten wood suddenly became extremely interesting, at least far more interesting than the clamoring Restlessness in her chest.

Gently inhaling a breath, she forced herself to Calm Down.

Simultaneously dispelling the Miscellaneous Thoughts and Thoughts in her mind, forcefully Ignoring those strange thoughts.

"Must..."

She Deliberately avoided the youth's Exploring Gaze, the voice behind the Folding Fan light as a mosquito's buzz.

"... Must it be helping you Suo Ding the Dragon God Lord? Can't it be Replaced with something else?"

"..."

"..."

"Forget it, seeing you this conflicted, I won't make things difficult for you... anyway that little dragon probably can't fly out of my Five Finger Mountain either."

The young man stared at her for half a moment, then immediately smiled with carefree ease.

Miss Yakumo's shoulders relaxed imperceptibly, but then tensed up again at once.

Because she heard the young man draw out his tone:

"Only, you wouldn't happen to have been tricked by Merry, would you? For instance, feeling this job is too troublesome, not wanting to do it anymore, so tricking you into coming here to take the fall and such……"

No need to suspect.

Merry simply has that kind of vicious disposition, she absolutely could do something like this.

Of course, in a certain sense, Purple Miss actually isn't much better either——

Wisdom and cunning settled by the years have long since fused into her marrow, and her rich life experience (?) absolutely crushes Merry's by a wide margin.

If the two were truly made to compete on fair terms, who pits whom is hard to say.

As for right now……

Both sides mainly have an information gap, resulting in a very obvious disparity; Merry's pair of eyes and the intelligence she grasps——are simply too advantageous.

——Under such circumstances.

——If Purple unknowingly falls into a disadvantage, it is also a perfectly normal thing.

"No."

Purple shook her head, the bow on her golden hair swaying gently, "She didn't say anything to me, nor did she show any appearance of being averse to what needs to be done now……"

Rather, it's more like……she's enjoying herself?

Recalling slightly, the seventeen-year-old girl felt it did indeed seem to be the case.

"Then that looks to be a rare patience." Xia Zhi nodded, commenting calmly, his gaze watching the Boundary Youkai before him with interest, as if wanting to see through her thoughts: "Then what about you?"

"Me?" Purple was slightly startled.

"Yes, why did you take the initiative to seek me out?" The Qi Refining practitioner blinked: "You should be the type who's very lazy, the kind who usually even finds excuses to hibernate."

Damn it, who exactly is ruining my reputation……

Towards this kind of remark she normally wouldn't care about at all, the seventeen-year-old girl at this moment gritted her silver teeth secretly, feeling abnormally annoyed, and somewhat unable to accept it. Her fingertips tightened slightly, the fan ribs emitting a faint "creak" sound.

Only at this time, there's also no way to argue. Purple took a deep breath, suppressed the irritation in her heart, weighed her words:

"I……Gensokyo is my life's work, I don't want it destroyed, so I could only come find you."

She estimated——

Felt that lying before this "person" had little meaning, better to be frank directly.

So she chose to speak her true thoughts straightforwardly.

This indeed is the actual situation.

Only……

"……"

"……"

Xia Zhi fell silent, his slender fingers gently stroking his chin, traces of contemplation emerging between his brows.

Sunlight passed through the shrine's eaves, casting fine specks of light on his handsome profile.

"Eh, no……" He frowned slightly, his voice carrying a few hints of bewilderment, "I don't quite understand your meaning, I don't seem to have planned to destroy Gensokyo either."

"……"

"……"

Bizarre silence.

Yakumo Yukari's eyes narrowed slightly, golden hair strands swaying gently in the breeze, she gazed at the young man before her with a strange look.

That gaze seemed to be silently retorting "Do you believe those words yourself" like that.

That gaze carrying Youkai power's unique penetrative quality lingered on his face for a moment, finally turning into a nearly inaudible soft sigh.

"Perhaps right now there indeed isn't……"

She spoke softly, her voice like wind passing through the gaps of boundaries——

"But, along with the changes you bring, along with the arrival of the great era of spiritual energy, all of this will definitely become different accordingly……"

"As of now, I can still have confidence to maintain the status quo, persuade other people……"

"But the future, yet is not certain."

Slanting sunlight was cut apart by drifting clouds, mottled light and shadow wandering between the two.

Just like behind Hakurei Shrine, that dream woven by the bounded field, as if foretelling it cannot keep its original appearance forever.

"That is also a very long time later."

Xia Zhi pondered slightly, then shook his head: "Rather than worrying about some future moment even boundaries can hardly sustain, better to focus on the present first."

"But it will come eventually, and I'll still have to know, the position left for Gensokyo within the upheaval you've stirred……"

Yakumo Yukari's voice suddenly became very soft, as if afraid of startling something.

She let out a long breath, this action making her look rarely revealed a few points of fatigue. The folding fan in her hand had been folded at some unknown time, gripped tightly in her palm.

"I asked Merry, whether those eyes of hers could see the future's landscape, tell me the answer, but she didn't say."

Didn't say.

Actually in a certain sense, also equals having said it.

"……"

"……"

"So——the only way is to seek shelter under you."

Yakumo Yukari suddenly broke into a smile, that smile making her look like a genuine seventeen-year-old girl. Sunlight shone on her golden long hair, refracting dazzling light.

Probably because she had straightforwardly spoken her heart's true voice, her whole person seemed to have let go a lot, even her shoulders drooping down relaxed.

"I asked Merry, and she also said only you can grant a truly eternal peaceful dream."

"She really has confidence in me, then..." The youth chuckled softly upon hearing this, "But the phrase 'truly eternal' is a bit too vague and illusory."

"At least..."

His gaze passed beyond the Youkai Sage, looking toward the vault of heaven above, that boundless sea of stars.

Although it was currently daytime, he could see that there, countless billions of stars were flashing, each one recounting the vastness and indifference of astronomical scale.

"Compared to the boundless Universe Law of this vast cosmos, my 'Knowledge' and 'Ability' are still limited..."

So-called lifespan covering Heaven and Earth, without end time.

In most cases, it is merely an adjective; according to the Qi Cultivation System he founded and opened up, Qi Refining Stage and Foundation Establishment Stage can be so described.

But it is also merely just a description—

Those years flowing beyond mortal understanding, compared to the future of planets and the end of Human Order, are indeed equivalent to this. Long to the point of incredible.

As if the entire planet, the entire World ended, Cultivators of this stage would also continue to exist eternally without cease.

But this is ultimately only a relative 'eternity'.

At least for now, the Universe also has an end, and the azure sky likewise has a time when its lifespan ends.

Xia Zhi gazed at the Horizon; in the depths of his pupils were reflected the birth and death of countless stars, and he still could not even Reach the end of this Universe...

Far from qualifying as true eternity.

"If it is distant to the point that even I cannot see the end, then there is no difference at all."

The golden-haired Great Youkai did not dwell on this much—

"So... what do you think? I wonder if I might have this honor?"

"..."

"..."

"Obviously, I have no reason to refuse."

Xia Zhi finally smiled, "Since you're so diligent, I'll arrange a job for you too, so Merry won't be too busy..."

As he spoke, he extended his slender palm.

The next moment, Five Fingers Spread.

Within it, Five Colors bloomed, faintly circulating.

"This is... what?"

Yukari Yakumo's pupils suddenly contracted, her golden eyes reflecting that circulating five-colored radiance.

Blue, Yellow, Red, Black, White—five colors intertwined, like the chaos differentiation when Heaven and Earth first opened, yet also like the ultimate manifestation of the Five Elements' cyclical revolution.

As a Youkai who manipulates Realm, she instinctively tried to analyze the light before her, but her hitherto invincible Realm Power now sank like a clay ox into the sea, unable to stir even a single Ripple.

The 'Law' and 'Principle' contained within those five colors far exceeded her Cognition; that intent and purpose were far from something the current her could Speculate on.

"A mere trifling trick, not worth mentioning..."

Xia Zhi said modestly: "But never mind that for now, the point is to come pick your Spiritual Root."

"Spiritual... Spiritual Root?"

"That's right, you can understand it as a lifeform's affinity for my Spiritual Energy, or more broadly—"

The Qi Refining scholar smiled faintly: "Calling it immortal destiny would also be fine."

"It... what specific use does it have?"

"Naturally it allows one to better absorb the surrounding Spiritual Energy, sense the spiritual rhinoceros beyond heaven, and according to different Spiritual Root Elements, allocate the weight of Spiritual Energy..."

He answered seriously: "Generally speaking, whatever Element the Spiritual Root leans toward, one will correspondingly have more Advantage in that Element's Spiritual Energy."

Whether it is cultivation.

Or fighting techniques.

This is a 'Setting' Xia Zhi created to promote his own Qi Cultivation System, making it more systematic, easier, and more Smooth for all living beings to accept.

"This sounds like aptitude, talent, ability — but aren't those things innate?"

Miss Yakumo frowned slightly.

Meaning everyone has a chance to touch Spiritual Energy, but those possessing Spiritual Roots will correspondingly have more Advantage?

"From the basic definition, it is indeed something innate..."

"For example, now that Spiritual Energy has appeared in the world, life born from now on will have a probability of possessing Spiritual Roots..."

Xia Zhi Blinked: "But how much this probability is, I can't tell you, it's a trade secret."

The Youkai Sage Realized: "I see, because the Spiritual Qi Environment appeared, Spiritual Roots appeared too..."

"That's not it—"

The youth laughed heartily: "Mainly because I only just now decided to assign a value to the concept of Spiritual Root."

"Eh?"

The Seventeen-year-old Girl blinked in surprise, what does this mean.

"This thing didn't exist before; I myself didn't have any Spiritual Root to speak of."

The Nascent Soul Cultivator said: "But now I'm prepared to make this concept become reality."

—Matter, energy, are both different encoding forms of information.

—High-level operators can, through the Phenomenon layer, directly access the underlying information architecture.

He can now freely change matter's shape, Element, function, even Environment, needing only to change and modify the Object's information attributes to do so.

Hardness, Heat, Magnetic Field, friction, energy Absorption...

Information is determined just like this.

Xia Zhi doesn't know if this is the Youth Version of a Magic God's Phase manipulation ability, but he is advancing by leaps and bounds on this Road.

(Chapter End)