Chapter 136: 185, 186

Even in the Reappearance World, and even knowing that everything was merely an image of the past, and even acting thoroughly as a bystander, Song Cheng's heart still beat very fast.

He watched the moonlight twist and split in a bizarre way, falling once again upon Su Ningyu behind him, and Xiao Yu'er's black hair withered rapidly, endless wrinkles grew upon her beautiful face, and her plump, vibrant body shriveled and withered like a dried corpse that had lost its moisture. The burden on his back became lighter and emitted a rot-like smell, as if the beauty had suddenly turned into a skeleton weathered for hundreds of years.

That was Xiao Yu'er's skeleton, yet it was also his own skeleton from the distant past.

What Xiao Yu'er was experiencing at this moment was exactly what he had experienced before.

Song Cheng looked up; the dark floors had no visible top, boundless and endless, with windows the size of human heads opening on the cold, slanted walls.

Outside the window, that giant face still had its eyes tightly shut, pressing against the Tower and obscuring the sky; its skin texture was visible in every detail, but because it was too enormous, it was difficult to see the full picture, making it impossible to tell if it was male or female.

Song Cheng couldn't help but ask himself: "Did I really experience these things before I transmigrated?" That face, which could make a "megalophobia sufferer" instantly collapse, hung outside the Tower; while It kept Its eyes closed, everything still maintained an oppressive tranquility, but what would happen if It opened them?

Song Cheng was still carrying Xiao Yu'er's skeleton.

This inconceivable situation left him momentarily unsure of what to do.

Before long, Xiao Yu'er's voice came from below the floor again.

"Song Cheng! Song Cheng!"

In the dark spiral staircase, the "thump-thump" of footsteps sounded once more.

Another black shadow ran up, and this time, the moment that shadow reached Song Cheng, a crisp cracking sound was heard.

The "Suppress" had shattered.

It shattered like blue-and-white porcelain hitting the ground.

Xiao Yu'er's hand gripped Song Cheng.

That hand was still trembling, Xiao Yu'er herself was trembling; if death makes one uneasy, then... having died once and come back to life, only to know that death will come again.

In such a case, would you be fearless? The two continued to walk for a while, and when the moonlight fell once again, Xiao Yu'er had completely fallen into a coma. Song Cheng no longer hesitated; he hoisted Xiao Yu'er onto his back and knocked on the side wall of the Tower.

That hard, cold stone wall miraculously turned into a door.

Song Cheng carried Xiao Yu'er and ran out of that door, entering a world of total darkness.

Behind him, the sky-piercing Tower was hazy in every way.

The two drifted further and further away, leaving the Reappearance World and appearing in a forest of colorful flowers and trees; this was exactly where the two had chosen to enter the Reappearance Tribulation.

Xiao Yu'er slowly woke up, still shaken and terrified.

"What was that tower?"

"An Immortal Tower, perhaps."

"An Immortal Tower..."

Xiao Yu'er did not know how to respond.

At this moment, she was clutching Song Cheng's clothes tightly.

The fear of death had not yet dissipated, just like a little girl waking up from a midnight nightmare.

Song Cheng gently comforted Xiao Yu'er while scanning the surroundings; what he found strange was that the surrounding scenery had not changed—it was the same as it had been when they entered the tribulation.

"Could it be that not much time has passed outside?" Song Cheng felt doubtful, yet he clearly remembered that whether it was his own tribulation or when he accompanied Su Mengzhen through hers, half a year had passed in each case.

Not far away, a little bird flew down from the forest and said, "Daddy, Third Mother, you've finally come out."

Seeing his daughter, Song Cheng's mood naturally brightened, and even the giant tower in the bizarre Reappearance World was diluted somewhat. He asked, "A Ting, how much time has passed?"

The little bird said, "A year."

Song Cheng fell silent, and after a moment of thought, he roughly guessed the reason.

The reason a year had passed this time was likely because he had entered a deeper Reappearance World.

In that area, the flow of time was clearly different from the outside.

He closed his eyes to sort things out.

He had gained quite a lot this time as well.

First, his understanding of "Suppress" had improved; second, he generally knew what he had experienced before transmigrating, and at the same time, he had completely separated the "Ghost Tower" from the "Add Points" in his mind.

Originally, when he was weak, he had regarded both as his "Golden Finger."

But now it seemed that the two were clearly different.

Perhaps the latter was more worthy of trust.

Just as he was thinking, the little bird chirped again, "Dad, I ran away from home."

Song Cheng was stunned and said, "Did your mother pressure you too hard?"

The little bird nodded.

Song Cheng actually knew why An Chenyu was so anxious; in fact, it wasn't just An Chenyu who was anxious, he was anxious too... but the source of his anxiety was not the same as the Young Miss's.

The Young Miss worried about A Ting's life, while he worried about how to let his family live as long as possible, and also worried about the changes in this world.

"Dad, aren't you angry?" the little bird asked.

Song Cheng said, "My daughter has already grown up and can protect herself; why should Dad be angry? The juniors of ordinary martial arts factions all have the habit of going out to gain experience; what's wrong with my daughter going out to gain some experience?"

"Coo coo coo!" The little bird chirped happily.

Having left home, she had been worried about a complete break with her family, but seeing her old man's reaction, he was actually very understanding.

So, the little bird continued, "Dad, actually... I've been away from home for over half a year now, and I've already reached Leiyun Continent. When I was at home, I kept hearing Xiao An say there were many foreign lands beyond the Western Yin Yun Zhang, so I just went to take a look."

Song Cheng:... He hadn't expected his daughter to have "run away from home" so far.

"Why not within the borders of the Great Shang?"

"I'm tired of seeing it all; it's not fun."

"Fun?" Song Cheng couldn't help but say, "My girl, do you know how dangerous it is outside? And you call it fun..."

"So what if it's dangerous?" the little bird argued righteously. "Am I not dangerous myself? I walked all the way, looking for ruins, and dug up the skeletons of many old things in the ruins; I turned them all into my little animals, hmph!"

The little bird proudly raised her head, then said, "For such a long time, I've been thinking about what I want to do.

Mother is so anxious, and I actually understand and realize why."

"Therefore, I want to make this short life of mine a bit more brilliant, a bit more special."

"Your life will not be short," Song Cheng interrupted her, "Father will find a way."

The little bird "cooed" twice, then flapped its wings and flew far away.

Song Cheng casually prepared some food, filled his stomach with Xiao Yu'er, and then used the spare time to scan his panel.

The points were increasing normally.

As for the 【Taboo】 column, the original blessing had suddenly changed into "Blessing of the Drowned Ghost, Ghost Hair, Burned Ghost, Ghost Hand, Bone Ghost, Ghost Grave, Sword Ghost, and Hanged Ghost."

Bone Ghost? Ghost Grave?

Sword Ghost?

Hanged Ghost? Song Cheng still had some understanding of these few ghosts.

These ghosts were all prepared beforehand by Sheng Tianfo and the others, arranged in the order of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth; after all, ghosts that generate and restrain each other are easier to devour and easier to control.

Among them, the Bone Ghost is a type of evil ghost formed by the gathering and connection of the many grievances at a mass grave; it is said that the ghost's body is pieced together from the skeletons of many people who died miserable deaths, and its nature belongs to "Earth."

The Ghost Grave also belongs to "Earth."

The Sword Ghost belongs to "Metal."

The Hanged Ghost belongs to "Wood."

Eight ghosts, possessing all five elements. Song Cheng was looking at the panel when he suddenly saw Xiao Yu'er sucking on her finger while looking at him.

Having experienced the terror in the Reappearance World, she wanted to give birth to offspring all the more urgently.

"Husband."

Xiao Yu'er clung to him, leaning against Song Cheng's shoulder. Her soft, creamy legs lifted slightly, resting her embroidered shoes on Song Cheng's calves, and her small feet twisted and hooked, wrapping around Song Cheng's ankles.

She leaned in and said sweetly, "Husband, I want a baby. In the future, every time, will you give it all to me? Give me lots and lots, okay?"

Late spring.

Song Cheng and Su Ningyu returned to the Imperial Capital.

Song Cheng also kept his promise, working diligently with Xiao Yu'er, and after all sorts of efforts, she finally became pregnant.

During this period, he quickly performed a deduction on the "Mysterious Grade Ding Quality" Xuanwu Moon-Swallowing Art.

The base probability of deducing "Mysterious Grade Ding Quality" into "Mysterious Grade C Quality" was only "0.0005%," but after consulting several schools of techniques and dueling with experts from across the world, this probability had increased several times over, reaching "0.512%."

He had 5695 points; each deduction cost 7 points, allowing for 813 attempts, with a success probability of 98.46%.

On the 385th attempt, he succeeded, and immediately after, he added more points, maxing out his cultivation techniques and combat arts.

The panel and his strength changed once again.

【Name: Song Cheng】

【Talent: Chang Sheng Bu Lao】

【Add Points: 939 points】

【Realm: Mysterious Grade B】

【Cultivation Technique】

Xuanwu Moon-Swallowing Art (Mysterious Grade C) (Dual Soul) (Completion)

【Combat Art】

Moon Transforms into Snake (Completion)

On the panel, the cultivation technique had not changed; "Mysterious Grade C" was merely an improvement on the original Xuanwu Moon-Swallowing Art, transforming it from "Giant Soul" to "Dual Soul." Among the combat arts, there was originally only "Turtle Eats Moon," but now a new combat art, "Moon Transforms into Snake," had been added.

As for his overall strength, it had reached "2809~6143."

As for this "Moon Transforms into Snake," Song Cheng also found some time to test it slightly.

If "Turtle Eats Moon" was about devouring moonlight to make one's own Soul extremely difficult to extinguish, then "Moon Transforms into Snake" was the follow-up strike of "Turtle Eats Moon"—devouring the moon.

Exhale it, and it becomes a snake.

The moon stores the soul, and the soul does not perish.

Exhale the moon to transform into a snake; the snake travels a hundred miles to devour a person's Soul.

It could be said that Song Cheng, having mastered the Dual Soul of the Xuanwu Moon-Swallowing Art, had reached a state of absolute invincibility within his current realm.

If he locked onto a certain aristocratic scion, even across a distance of a hundred miles, he could extinguish their Soul completely with a single breath, causing their Soul to scatter.

A distance of a hundred miles, which was originally only the range of his Dharma Image perception, had now also become his killing range.

Song Cheng, advancing steadily, entered a "dormant period" after completing the deduction of his new techniques and combat arts.

Sometimes, he would even look forward to enemies "popping up immediately after he broke through his technique who could suppress him," allowing him to return to that life of walking on thin ice and striving to break through.

Unfortunately, there were none.

Sometimes, he would think, "If he escaped his comfort zone and went to adventure in places he had never been to as soon as he broke through—for instance, going deep into the North Land, or entering the chaotic mazes between nations, or even places like Jilei Mountain or the Yunhe at this time—then... would he encounter even more terrifying enemies?"

But there are no "ifs" in this world.

After completing his breakthrough, Song Cheng did not intend to leave his comfort zone.

He was waiting for the "Four Fierce Lands" to form, and then he would steadily break through to "Mysterious Grade A."

He firmly believed: whether it was to extend the lives of his family or to deal with the changes in the world, nothing was more reliable than steadily becoming stronger. The reason these problems could not be solved was simply because he was not strong enough yet. The "Flat Peach" was proof of this.

Therefore, after entering the dormant period, he did not start running around "like a headless chicken," but instead began to fulfill his mission as the head of the family.

After Song An fought with all his might once again, erupting with powerful strength and showing a vigorous fighting spirit, he agreed to Song An's westward journey.

But before the westward journey... Song An needed to repay those emotional debts, so the eldest young master of the Song Prince Mansion married nine wives in one go, and after leaving behind offspring and completing his "honeymoon period," Song An, "very much in the style of Zhao Huafeng," led an army of fifty thousand and headed west.

But unlike Ouyang Chuchu, Zhao Lingxue also followed Song An on the expedition.

She was also the only one among Song An's ten wives to accompany the army on the expedition.

Because this young girl had also grown up under Song Cheng's watchful eye, she naturally received no shortage of benefits and had a talent for beast taming.

So strictly speaking, Song An set out with an army of fifty thousand and ten thousand magical beasts.

Because Zhao Lingxue, along with some disciples originally from White Camel Manor, brought "ten thousand magical beasts," which could even be considered a small legion.

The reason Song Cheng agreed to let Song An go west also included his worries about A Ting.

If A Ting went to the west, then the Great Shang Dynasty army would also go west; only in this way could they look after each other.

There were many believers of Xuanwu Temple in the Great Shang Dynasty army, and whenever those believers performed a little contemplation, he could also appear in the west, so he could take care of his children in times of crisis.

Although A Ting did not speak with her mother, she still talked to him daily about things outside, about the strange customs and cultures she encountered, about making a few companions, and about upholding justice with those companions.

Although A Ting herself was cold, her few companions were full of hot blood, which made A Ting feel it was interesting.

And because of A Ting's coldness, strength, and mystery, she was called "Big Sister" by those few people.

However, the Big Sister who was cold outside would talk incessantly about her companions when in front of Song Cheng.

"Xiao Yuan is particularly lively; I only say one word, and she will say seven or eight sentences. She especially likes to talk about what she did during the day, and the rest of the time, she practices the saber. According to the Great Shang Dynasty's classification, she should be a Qi Realm expert; she is very powerful. She especially likes to stick to me, saying that I am a powerful existence among Prayer Spirit Masters who can communicate with animals and allow animals to possess mysterious power, but that I myself am very weak, so she protects me."

"Xiao Feng is from a large country called the Wanling Empire on the side of the Yinyun Barrier.

He said that the Wanling Empire is at war with the Molten Empire, and he and his parents fled to the remote east.

It is said that he is a descendant of a Prayer Spirit Master and also masters the mysterious Prayer Spirit Art. Well, the Prayer Spirit Art is like a spell, and Xiao Feng can control the wind. However, according to him, he can only use this power in the territory around the Wanling Empire; if he goes too far, it won't work."

"Zhang Ling uses a bow; he was very annoying at first, his mouth running all day, and he even wanted to tease me. However, after I tore off a piece of skin in front of him and then had a little rabbit beat him up, he didn't dare to anymore. Now he also calls me Big Sister every day."

"Lu Yi's family is very rich; his father seems to be the ruler of a kingdom subordinate to the Wanling Empire. Wherever we go, he is the one who pays, hehe."

Following A Ting's description, Song Cheng's understanding of the west also increased.

He learned that west of Leiyun Continent, crossing the Yinyun Barrier was actually another new world.

There was a large country there called the Wanling Empire.

This country, the Wanling Empire, also had many subordinate small countries.

There were Martial Artists and Prayer Spirit Masters in the Wanling Empire; as for whether there were noble families, he did not know.

Prayer Spirit Masters mastered the Prayer Spirit Art, which could be used in the territory around the Wanling Empire.

The Wanling Empire was at war with a country called the Molten Empire.

As for why they didn't come to the Great Shang Dynasty, it was probably because the Yinyun Barrier was difficult to cross and the time required was long, so both sides naturally had a "geographical insulation."

Besides that, the east of the Wanling Empire bordered the west of the Great Shang Dynasty, but these two sides happened to be the most remote places of both countries... naturally, no one cared.

But what was the Yinyun Barrier? Song Cheng was also unclear, and a thought emerged from the bottom of his heart—perhaps the Yinyun Barrier was the original prototype of the Chaos Journey.

However, this thought was completely impossible to verify.

In the blink of an eye, it was deep winter.

This winter, the Ghost Tide in the North Land moved south again, and the Ghost servants had completely occupied the north; anyone walking there would likely encounter strange-looking Ghost servants after walking only a few steps.

And the Ghost servants continued to move south, forming a standoff with humans at Jiuqu Prefecture.

But now, the Great Shang Dynasty, with the "Xuanwu Emperor" as its faith, was incomparably powerful, and Jiuqu Prefecture even had a Holy Child stationed there personally.

Most of the time, Martial Artists could solve the Ghost servants, and if they encountered a huge crisis, the Holy Child would set up an altar to pray, asking the Emperor to descend to the human world to eliminate the demons.

Song Cheng would arrive upon invitation, possess the Holy Child, and clear away a large chunk of the Ghost servants.

Perhaps because of the Yunhe, the strength of these Ghost servants was delayed and suppressed at the Form Realm and Qi Realm, and rarely reached the Pseudo-Xuan. At this time, inside the Song Prince Mansion, it was bustling with activity, without the slightest sense of coldness as it had been at the An Mansion in Hanping Prefecture.

The nine wives that Song An married were from nine major influential families... among them, five were daughters of the leaders of the forces, and the other four also had incomparably complex relationship networks.

Now, these nine were all sticking out their big bellies.

Those nine major forces naturally sent things car by car under the name of "taking care of the juniors," and the leaders of the forces also took the opportunity to enter the mansion to visit the Song Prince.

Xiao Yu'er was actually the same; she had a big belly, carrying Song Cheng's third child, experiencing the feeling of being a mother, and was full of happiness every day. Compared to Xiao Yu'er's happiness, Song Cheng was more worried.

If A Ting was the child born to him because of the "Skin Ghost, Drowned Ghost."

Then, this third child was the child born to him because of the "Great Dark Heaven, Ghost Hair, Burned Ghost, Ghost Hand, Bone Ghost, Ghost Grave, Sword Ghost, Hanged Ghost."

What kind of child would this be? However, he was only worried, not afraid.

Because no matter what kind of child was born, he would love it.

Flying snow filled the air, obscuring people's eyes.

In the distance, saber light flickered in the houses, breaking through the air to take shape, turning into a phantom; that was Ying'er who had practiced until she formed a phantom. Ying'er, who was focused on cultivation and was in the Song Prince Mansion with extremely deep fortune, was naturally the fastest among the group in cultivation.

Ling'er, as usual, hung wind chimes on the eaves; she was quite satisfied with her current life, and even though she could not cultivate and her lifespan was only a hundred years, it was enough to occasionally fulfill her duties as a bedchamber maid and accompany the young master for a night.

The bells, polished until they were bright, made crisp sounds in the wind and snow, mixed into the wind, like ethereal singing coming from afar.

Behind the luxurious walls, charcoal braziers were placed, and the red, blazing flames of the warm fire were like forked snake tongues, licking the warm fragrance and gradually dispersing it. From time to time, laughter came from within; Song An's nine wives were talking and laughing with their Third Mother.

And after Song Cheng entered, those nine wives hurriedly stood up, respectfully chanting "Father-in-law," looking curiously at their father-in-law's youthful, ageless face, then bowed and left.

Song Cheng sat down next to Xiao Yu'er, who was still smiling, gently stroking her belly and feeling the changes in her womb.

All kinds of Pills had actually been prepared long ago, to prevent Xiao Yu'er from having the same situation as Young Miss An before.

Xiao Yu'er pursed her lips, smiling until two small dimples appeared, then snuggled into her man's arms, silent and speechless, listening to the wind chimes and the heavy snow together. It was only after a long time that she seemed to find something to say: "Do you still remember how A Ting used to draw in the snow, Song An used to run in the snow, and Ling Xue used to follow behind like a tag-along?"

Scenes flashed before Song Cheng's eyes, and only then did he remember that he seemed to be about to become a grandfather.

In the afternoon.

The imperial chef, under the order of the Regent, brought the "Eight Treasure Cold Fragrance Beef" offered by Jiangnan to the An Mansion, and then spent the whole afternoon cooking a table of delicacies with it as the main dish... The Song Prince Mansion set up a large table, Song Cheng sat in the main seat, and below him, his wives and daughters-in-law sat at another large table.

After the meal, the daughters-in-law said that "Leaf Card Game" was popular in the Imperial Capital recently, and Xiao Yu'er, Young Miss An, and Tong Niangzi were bored, so these three mothers-in-law followed their daughters-in-law to play the Leaf Card Game.

When it reached the first hour of the night, the women of the Song Prince Mansion were about to disperse when a cry of surprise suddenly came.

That cry of surprise soon came like a tide, dispersing into the wind and snow.

"It's bad, the Third Madam is bleeding!"

"Quick, quick, quick, hot water!"

When Song Cheng rushed over and saw Su Ningyu, he realized that the latter's face was deathly pale, her breath was as thin as a thread, and when he touched her hand, it was almost like a block of ice.

Tong Niangzi herself was a divine doctor; she hurriedly gave instructions, and after more than half a night of busyness, Su Ningyu finally lay down.

Young Miss An sat in front of the couch, holding Su Ningyu's hand, and said softly: "It's okay, Sister Su, I was like this when I was pregnant with A Ting before. Everything will be fine."

Su Ningyu smiled bitterly and said, "It is different. Chen Yu's cultivation realm at the time was only the Force Realm, while I have already successfully passed the Tribulation. If this cold air can cause me such pain, I have no idea what kind of little demon king I am carrying in my belly."

Young Miss An laughed, "That is just perfect. She can have a companion in Sister A Ting, and they can compare who is the stranger one."

The two chatted back and forth, and slowly, Su Ningyu relaxed and drifted off to sleep.

An Chenyu walked out of the house; under the eaves outside the door, lanterns swayed and white snow danced chaotically, while Song Cheng in his black robe stood with his hands behind his back.

An Chenyu walked to his side and said, "Sister Su is fine, Husband need not worry."

Song Cheng nodded slightly, then added, "You can also rest easy regarding A Ting. She is doing quite well over there, so well that... she and her companions have even dubbed themselves the 'Hao Ran Five Heroes,' specializing in acting with chivalry and upholding justice."

"Hao... Hao Ran Five Heroes?"

An Chenyu was stunned for a long moment, then her brows relaxed, and she said as if smiling, sighing, and finding relief all at once, "As long as she is happy."

(End of chapter)