Chapter 680 - 679: Physical Out-of-body, Extraterrestrial Demon

The night deepens.

Li Jing followed the Ancestral Dragon across space, arriving at an unknown small town in the area controlled by the neighboring Zeroth Mechanism where the Ancestral Dragon’s shed skin resides.

The small town is not developed.

But it has all the essentials.

At this late hour,

There is no shortage of people on the street, and countless stalls spring up, targeting the late-night shoppers.

Upon arriving in the small town, the Ancestral Dragon, familiar with the area, led Li Jing to a nearby snack street, walking into a humble late-night stall.

As soon as he stepped through the door, the Ancestral Dragon called out in a commoner’s tone to the busy proprietress.

"Aunt Bao!"

The proprietress called Aunt Bao, startled upon hearing the voice, turned around and was surprised to see the Ancestral Dragon.

"Ancestral one? When did you get back?"

"Earlier today, just came back to visit."

The Ancestral Dragon cheerfully replied.

"The usual, a plate of meat stir-fried noodles, two bottles of beer, and a pound of crayfish."

"Okay!"

Aunt Bao answered.

Turning his head, the Ancestral Dragon looked at Li Jing.

"What would you like, Old Li?"

In order to blend into the city, Li Jing had used the Formless Divine Skill to disguise himself as an ordinary old man to avoid any unusual attention due to his association with the Ancestral Dragon.

Upon being asked, Li Jing blinked and pretended to look at the menu on the wall of the stall, stealthily conveying a message to the Ancestral Dragon.

"Master, I don’t have any money on me."

Upon receiving this message, the Ancestral Dragon paused, then coughed and looked at Aunt Bao, who was about to get busy.

"Uh, skip the crayfish. Just one plate of meat stir-fried noodles, one bottle of beer."

?

Aunt Bao furrowed her brows and turned her head.

Li Jing had a nervous twitch at the corner of his mouth.

The devil is in the detail.

The Ancestral Dragon’s change of order completely shattered Li Jing’s perception of him.

The Ancestral Dragon did not change his appearance, and after entering the city, he effortlessly transitioned from a mysterious old man to an ordinary old man, switching roles astoundingly fast.

It was evident that he had spent a long time blending into human society in the past.

That he knew this restaurant,

And was an old acquaintance with the proprietress,

suggested that the Ancestral Dragon had stayed in this small town before, or had observed what the Ninth Mechanism would do with his shed skin.

None of these assumptions were problematic.

The problem was that, after he admitted he was out of money, the Ancestral Dragon’s reduction in his order was truly outrageous...

What the Ancestral Dragon had ordered,

With or without the crayfish, was a separate matter.

That’s one thing. number one.

Secondly,

He even reduced the order by one bottle of beer.

Furthermore,

He did not intend to order anything for Li Jing.

What does this suggest?

He was broke...

Even from the moment he stepped into the restaurant, he assumed Li Jing would treat him, and that’s why he generously ordered a pound of crayfish.

Honestly,

At this moment, looking at the Ancestral Dragon made Li Jing uncomfortable.

Under the wooden gaze of someone, the Ancestral Dragon’s old face slightly blushed, and he conveyed a message.

"Earning a living on Earth is still somewhat difficult, I mostly rely on the meager welfare payments, you can’t possibly ask me, the great Ancestral Dragon, to go work on a construction site, right?"

"..."

Li Jing was speechless.

Earning a living on Earth is indeed not easy, this he understood very well.

But the problem was, the mighty Ancestral Dragon had been on Earth for so long, and he had even witnessed Hua Xia’s growth from nothing to become what it is today, yet he was relying on meager welfare payments to get by. Was this reasonable?

So here comes the question.

How should he respond to Aunt Bao, who looked a little strange due to the changes in the Ancestral Dragon’s orders and was now looking at him to place his order?

After a moment of silence, Li Jing spoke.

"Two pounds of crayfish, one plate of stir-fried noodles."

"Wait a moment."

Aunt Bao responded, gave the Ancestral Dragon a white eye, and turned around to continue her work.

As if accustomed to Aunt Bao’s white eyes, the Ancestral Dragon’s face remained unchanged, and he quietly conveyed a message.

"Didn’t you say you had no money? Do you know how expensive crayfish are right now? As a dragon, you must have principles. You can’t be planning to dine and dash, right?"

Upon receiving this message, Li Jing moved his lips and said,

"Ancestral one, sit for a while by yourself, I need to use the bathroom, I’ll be right back."

The Ancestral Dragon nodded upon hearing this.

He was an old wise dragon.

Li Jing’s urgent need to "pee", was obviously his need to go get money.

Go get money, that’s a good thing!

Happy as a lark, the Ancestral Dragon waved his hand, sat down, and said,

"Be quick, I won’t wait for you when the food arrives."

Upon hearing this, Li Jing silently opened his mouth, chuckled wryly to himself, and left the late-night stall.

Although this version of the Ancestral Dragon, so recently shaped in his eyes was completely shattered, everyone has their own way of living, if the Ancestral Dragon is happy living on the meager welfare payment, there’s not much he can say.

However,

He could understand why the Ancestral Dragon enjoyed living as an ordinary old man amidst the common folks.

Since his arrival to this point, already over a hundred years had passed.

As his level of cultivation continuously improved,

He had to admit that he missed the simple days when he was an ordinary man.

There was no need to ponder this or that, no need to rack his brains to gain experience and Essence Source to enhance his own cultivation level.

He could just be, and if he didn’t want to be, he could work hard to make money.

...

After leaving the night stall, Li Jing entered a dark narrow lane on the side of the street, and in one step, returned to the controlled area where the Ancestral Dragon’s shed skin is observed by Zeroth Mechanism.

Then he returned to his true appearance, targeted Bai Lu, who was busy in the control area, with his powerful God’s Will, and stepped out again.

The next second,

He appeared directly next to Bai Lu, who was diligently adjusting the monitors in a surveillance room filled with countless screens.

Upon realizing that Bai Lu was intently adjusting the monitors, Li Jing spoke.

"Are you looking for me?"

No one in the surveillance room, including Bai Lu, had noticed Li Jing’s arrival.

His sudden utterance not only startled Bai Lu but also caused more than a dozen security personnel, each busy with their tasks in the surveillance room, to stand up one by one within a second, pulling out their service pistols, releasing the safety, and aiming them at him.

Upon seeing this, Bai Lu quickly shouted.

"Don’t shoot!"

The security personnel were clearly well-trained, and they trusted Bai Lu unconditionally.

Hearing her words, the security officers immediately lowered their guns and turned their attention to her.

"He is one of us, no need to be so nervous."

Bai Lu spoke, then took Li Jing’s arm and quickly left the surveillance room before saying in a puzzled manner.

"Brother Li, where did you run off to all of a sudden? I couldn’t find you anywhere."

"I went to the underground to take a look at the Ancestral Dragon’s shed skin, just to verify."

Li Jing truthfully replied.

"Also, there were some other complications, I’m sorry for not informing you in time."

Of course, Bai Lu wouldn’t blame Li Jing.

She didn’t dare.

Receiving a clear-cut response from Li Jing, Bai Lu hesitated slightly, then asked.

"There’s something, I want to confirm with you, Brother Li. A little while ago, it seemed everyone in the base was being mind-controlled, was that you?"

"Hmm."

Li Jing responded, saying,

"Relax, I didn’t do anything to the Ancestral Dragon’s shed skin, or anything harmful to you."

Having said that, he cleared his throat.

"More than this, do you have any money?"

"..."

Bai Lu.

She understood the reasoning.

What Li Jing said, she was willing to believe.

So why is this person asking her if she brought money?

Is he asking her for money?

Really?

Speechless, Li Jing blandly said.

"I just returned to Hua Xia, I don’t have any RMB, can you lend me some for now..."

Before he finished speaking, Bai Lu took out her phone and handed it over.

"The pay password is XXXXXX. X mobile payments are prevalent since you left, you should know how to use it, right?"

Li Jing nodded, took the phone, thought for a moment, took out a high-grade spiritual material, and in an instant, melted it and refined it into a level nine spirit weapon short sword, then casually handed it over.

"I have to go now, don’t wait for me. After you finish here, just go back to the zeroth mechanism, if necessary, you can contact me through this phone."

Having said that, he turned around, took a step, and disappeared.

"..."

Bai Lu.

Li Jing left without saying a word, which was unexpected for her.

And from what he meant.

It seemed he was not planning to go back to the zeroth mechanism...

Feeling puzzled, Bai Lu looked at the corridor which had been completely deserted not long ago, then looked in bewilderment at the short sword in her hand that had accepted her as its master as soon as Li Jing handed it over.

Level nine spirit weapon.

Holy crap!

Is this something she, a Fifth Boundary person, could possess?

Looking at the short sword in her hand, Bai Lu wasn’t sure how to react for a while.

In a world where cultivators are as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns, artifact refiners are even more precious than nationally protected animals, most cultivators learn to refine artifacts by fumbling around on their own.

God knows how many cultivators have spent their whole fortune for a precious item with growth potential.

In addition to the scarcity of spiritual energy on Earth.

Feeding a weapon, this is something most cultivators don’t even dare to think about.

The tiny bit of spiritual energy gained from daily cultivation is hardly enough to improve their own cultivation, let alone having spare spiritual energy to feed their weapons?

Those who have spirit weapons on Earth are mostly old monsters who have been hiding for thousands of years.

This time.

Did Bai Lu gain more than she bargained for?

As everyone knows.

Weapons that are refined into spirit weapons are hard to tame, and the forceful attempt is highly likely to lead to backlash from the spirit weapon, which would result in damage to the cultivator’s cultivation or even death.

...

An unknown small city.

Li Jing stepped through space to return, once again transforming into the previous old man, walked into a night food stand, paid with Bai Lu’s mobile phone, and then casually sat down opposite the Ancestral Dragon.

Seeing him return and pay directly, the Ancestral Dragon’s face visibly reddened a little, as if he had taken a great deal.

Li Jing took all this in, his brows slightly furrowed.

Performing as an ordinary man.

The Ancestral Dragon’s acting skills are very on point.

But right now...

A bit too flamboyant...

He realized something was not quite right.

At this moment.

The Ancestral Dragon picked up the wine bottle on the table, gestured to him, took a big gulp, then looked at him and said with deep meaning.

"You don’t think that this body of mine is a mortal flesh birth, do you?"

?

Li Jing typed a question mark.

Mortal flesh birth?

Before he had time to consider this, the Ancestral Dragon shrugged and messaged him.

"In front of you right now is merely an external incarnation made according to human standards. It barely counts as being able to borrow a bit of the power of the original body."

Li Jing fell silent.

He had already noticed something amiss about the Ancestral Dragon.

But the fact that the body in front of him was just an external incarnation made by the main body of the Ancestral Dragon as per human standards was genuinely unexpected.

What shocked Li Jing even more,

Was that the Ancestral Dragon that had astounded him at first sight, even awakening his bloodline with a single drop of blood, was not the real thing.

At most it was just borrowing a tiny bit of the power of its original body...

Just as he didn’t know what to say, the lady boss brought up the fried noodles and crayfish. The Ancestral Dragon happily thanked her, then peeled the crayfish while messaging him.

"Overall, I was duped by the Star Cloud Heavenly Path, but more so, I became complacent after transcending. I thought becoming the original dragon could solve any problem. Otherwise, my original body would not be trapped outside of heaven. I can only rely on an external incarnation to live my days on Earth."

Li Jing didn’t say a word, pretending to eat the fried noodles while waiting for the Ancestral Dragon to continue.

The Ancestral Dragon didn’t hurry to continue, leisurely eating three crayfish before continuing with the message.

"The issue Star Cloud brought up isn’t trivial, the main problem is in the Upper Three Realms and Immortal Realm, these two places were completely taken over by outer-realms demons billions of years ago."

Outer-realm demons?

Li Jing’s eyes brightened, and he asked seriously with a message.

"What kind of outer-realm demons? Can you explain more?"

"Can’t explain it clearly."

The Ancestral Dragon shook his head and then messaged him.

"In short, they are filthy things that shouldn’t exist in the world, unreasonable in every aspect. You want to manage the matters of the Star Nebula Great World, sooner or later you’ll meet them."

Not getting a direct response, Li Jing was full of unsatisfied desires, but he had no choice but to temporarily put aside this key point.

"According to you, is the low spiritual qi in the Star Nebula Great World entirely due to these demons?"

"You could put it that way."

The Ancestral Dragon responded, messaging,

"However, the chief reason for the scarcity of Spiritual Qi is that the Star Cloud Heavenly Path couldn’t decisively deal with these demons. Out of helplessness, they closed off the Upper Three Realms and Immortal Realm that had already fallen and been taken over. This directly affected the breath of the spirits in the source, leading to its cessation."

Upon hearing this explanation, Li Jing’s eyebrows furrowed slightly.

The breath of the spirits affects the limit of the world.

He knows this.

But he doesn’t know that the breath of the spirits directly affects the environment qi.

To this point.

The problem seems relatively simple.

As long as the sealed-off Immortal Realm and Upper Three Realms of the Star Nebula Great World are restored, the spiritual qi of Earth and the entire Star Nebula Great World can be rejuvenated.

But behind this simplicity, complexity is inevitably revealed.

Outer-realm demons.

They have forced the Star Cloud Heavenly Path into making desperate moves, even severely limiting their will.

For Li Jing at this moment.

Even the transcendental original Ancestral Dragon stands as a warning example of wanna-be meddler.

Even though the Ancestral Dragon didn’t explicitly state.

It’s quite clear that his original body was also trapped in a situation where it couldn’t go forward or back because of these outer-realm demons. This is why he could only live his days on Earth through his external incarnation.