Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 129: Vague Legend

Ghost Immortal A’Shou stood before the wooden rack, carefully placing the completed report into one of the compartments. She looked up at the seemingly endless wall of documents and nearly sighed again.

This was the sixth time Fang Xiu had left his name here. Maybe that red-robed scholar really would make it through all eight rituals and earn a wish.

Who knew what that kid would wish for? If it was within karmic bounds, maybe he’d wish to smuggle that seductive ghost back to the world of the living…

Thinking back on how those two acted like conjoined twins, A’Shou couldn’t help but reach under her veil and wipe her face bitterly.

Still, after clearing her head with a walk around the Shrine of All E’s, her thinking had become much sharper.

According to Dian’er, Fang Xiu had already picked his fellow Disaster Resolver teams for the next ritual. Coincidentally, or not, they were all Guishan Sect members.

Considering that guy’s shady… no, “lively” past behavior, those people were basically equivalent to meat rolls in Bai Shuangying’s hotpot. Clearly, he was planning another “no survivors but me” storyline.

But Fang Xiu hadn’t picked the E yet. Maybe she could use the chance to nudge him a little. Since he was going to investigate the Great God of Calamity, it was best to provide him with enough background.

Intervening directly would be too obvious. But guiding him to understand the Great God of Calamity better…

A’Shou turned away from the rack storing ritual records and walked to the opposite shelf. This rack also had no end, but the scrolls stored in its compartments were sparse, giving off a lonely feel.

As A’Shou reached toward it, Dian’er shuddered. “My Lady, you—”

The “E’s” on this shelf were all “Sealed E’s”. Due to their extreme danger, they were excluded from the karma furnace and could only be assigned manually.

As far as Dian’er knew, these E’s were usually reserved for the eighth ritual. Thousands of Disaster Resolvers had come and gone, and those who could resolve one were one in ten thousand.

“Fang Xiu is the best Disaster Resolver we have. Even I can’t fully understand his methods, which makes this appropriate,” A’Shou said calmly, her tone cold and harsh.

“But, but he’s already on his seventh ritual, my Lady. According to the rules, we could assign it for his eighth ritual…” Dian’er was sweating profusely.

It clearly saw Fang Xiu’s murderous intentions toward the other teams. But this type of “Sealed E” usually required total cooperation from all participants.

This team composition was all wrong!

It had finally caught a high-quality project. How could it just sit back and watch it fall apart?

A’Shou chuckled softly and tapped the scroll with her hand, which was slightly larger than a normal human’s. “Just include this as one of the options. The choice is his. If he doesn’t pick it, I won’t break the rules.”

Dian’er accepted the scroll with tearful resignation. But no amount of lamenting could override a direct order from a superior.

There was no comfort at all. Who didn’t know that this human surnamed Fang was reckless beyond belief?

A few hours later.

Fang Xiu, reckless as ever, said, “Hey, this one looks interesting.”

He had flipped to the “Sealed E” Dian’er had deliberately placed at the end. His eyes lit up like he was ordering food at a restaurant.

Dian’er instantly teleported to his side, speaking urgently. “If you look at the description, this one’s the most dangerous…”

“But it’s also the E most closely connected to the ‘Great God of Calamity’.”

Fang Xiu ran a hand over the information sheet. “Look, it says: ‘Of ancient origin, aligned with heaven and earth. Worshipped by the people, mindful of the will of the ancients.’ …This thing sounds kind of sacred.”

Dian’er: “It’s written vaguely because the Underworld lacks detailed records. Why not check out a different one? I even drew out the full form for you—”

“What’s the point of playing by the walkthrough?” Fang Xiu blinked.

“That’s not the point,” Dian’er tried to reason. “You have to think about your teammates. The eighth ritual is always hard. This seventh one is a good time to adjust the pace. Just think…”

Fang Xiu glanced over at Cheng Songyun and Guan He, not bothering to lower his voice. “From the moment I arrived here, I’ve only acted on my own judgment.”

“If I respect someone, I’ll try to take care of them. But I won’t change my choices just for their safety.”

Afraid of being accused of stirring up discord, Dian’er shook its head quickly. “That’s not what I meant! Really! I just… maybe consider your seductive ghost…”

Fang Xiu paused briefly when Bai Shuangying was mentioned. “Relax. I’ll take care of him. At the very least, I won’t let him die before me.”

Like Underworld I’ll relax, you stubborn lunatic! Dian’er was fuming.

Meanwhile, Cheng Songyun and Guan He had heard everything clearly, yet both looked completely unbothered. Guan He even broke off a piece of meat bun and fed it to the black dog romping around the courtyard.

Noticing Dian’er’s resentful gaze, Guan He shrugged. “Without Fang Ge, I wouldn’t have survived past the third ritual.”

“These rituals are life-and-death. Expecting someone to protect you unconditionally is just shameless.”

Cheng Songyun’s take was simpler. “The Guishan Sect wants to use the Great God of Calamity for evil. So if we study it more, it’s a good thing.”

Seeing the two humans completely unconcerned, Dian’er desperately looked to Bai Shuangying for support. But the white-robed ghost was frozen, his entire spirit seemed to have left his body.

What a timid ghost. Was he scared stiff?

Failing to persuade anyone, Dian’er’s paper face crinkled with deep wrinkles. It sighed and noted down “Meeting the Immortal E” as the selected option, utterly despondent. “Since you’ve picked this… how much do you know about the ‘Great God of Calamity’?”

Fang Xiu poured himself a cup of tea. “I was about to ask you that. Why do both the Underworld and the Guishan Sect call it the ‘Great God of Calamity’? Who copied who?”

Next to him, Bai Shuangying didn’t move a hair or a sleeve.

But Dian’er, in its bad mood, didn’t notice anything unusual. “We’re not too sure. I suppose they adopted the Underworld’s term.”

Fang Xiu stared at him for a moment. “Before coming here, I didn’t know anything about that ‘Great God of Calamity’ plan. It’s just—”

“Just?”

“As far as I know, the spiritual totem of the Guishan Sect has always been Xushan…” Fang Xiu cleared his throat and began explaining calmly.

Xushan was the largest mountain range in the world, vast in area.

Its interior was extremely dangerous, home to large stretches of untouched forest. It was considered a “forbidden zone” for humans. Even in modern times, people had only explored its outer edges and never ventured into its core.

The mountain in the first ritual, Weishan, was one of the outermost peaks of Xushan. Weishan Village was a remote mountain village. Most of the surroundings of Xushan were similar.

“It’s said that near the end of the Kui Dynasty, Zhuang Guiqu sealed a terrifying evil spirit within Xushan and became a so-called ‘half-immortal’. He later disappeared in Xushan, and they claim he ascended.”

“The current Guishan Sect says they inherited Zhuang Guiqu’s legacy.”

“So compared to ‘Xushan’, the true holy land where their founder became an immortal, that imperial tomb from before isn’t even worth mentioning.”

Fang Xiu’s tone was like a museum guide. Calm, practiced, as though he’d gone over this many times in his head.

Guan He stopped feeding the dog. Cheng Songyun listened with full focus.

“What’s the connection between Xushan and the ‘Great God of Calamity’?” she asked seriously.

“Since even the Underworld confirmed it, the ‘Great God of Calamity’ is probably the spirit Zhuang Guiqu sealed in Xushan.”

Fang Xiu shrugged, clearly uninterested in this part. “Cultists say all sorts of things. According to them, the sealed spirits in Xushan could fill a whole fantasy epic.”

“If they’re calling on the ‘Great God of Calamity’ for support, it must be the strongest among them.”

He finished and stared meaningfully at Dian’er.

Dian’er fumbled and sputtered nonsense. “Speaking of the Great God of Calamity, uh… honestly, the Underworld doesn’t have many records either. From what we know, yes, it’s definitely powerful.”

“Ahem, from how much you know about the Guishan Sect, we thought you were an expert…”

Useless. Fang Xiu silently looked away.

“I really don’t know their full plan. It’s like when you intend to kill—um, ‘handle’ someone, you don’t care what they’re having for dinner.”

He admitted freely, “From Mei Lan’s situation, I gather that the plan is only shared among their upper ranks. I just want to see if there’s anything I can exploit.”

That was the truth.

Fang Xiu didn’t believe in “waiting for the enemy to transform”. He preferred strangling threats in their cradle rather than politely watching their plans succeed. This current probe was just on a sudden whim… or from the heart.

But to Fang Xiu’s surprise, the Underworld was unusually concerned with this ritual yet knew remarkably little about the “Great God of Calamity”. The lack of knowledge was almost suspicious.

And Bai Shuangying, too, was evasive, clearly reluctant to discuss it.

…Things were getting interesting.

Hopefully this “Immortal Encounter E”, said to be closely tied to the Xushan seal, would give him an answer.

Wait a minute.

Was it really written that it was tied to the Xushan seal? Why had he assumed that?

Fang Xiu flipped back to the paper. He suddenly found the antique script unfamiliar. The words wobbled in front of him, making his stomach churn.

He forced himself to keep reading. The characters crawled around, but their meanings shot straight into his brain like bullets.

[The Immortal ■■■ E originates from the ■■■ Great God of Calamity, whose ■■■■■■.]

[The Immortal Encounter E originates from the sealed ■■■, whose ■■■ whereabouts are unknown.]

[The Immortal Encounter E originates from the sealed Great God of Calamity, whose current whereabouts are unknown.]

The text yanked at his nerves, trying to convince him the sentences were ordinary, describing well-known facts. If a sane reader saw them, maybe it would’ve worked.

Unfortunately, like the latest virus unable to infect an ancient buggy operating system, Fang Xiu’s mind was too messed up. He’d just been hammered by the Grave-Sealing E. He wasn’t “sane”.

So he calmly watched the words perform their little act, quietly moved but unwilling to accept.

Now he was sure of two things:

First, “Great God of Calamity” was definitely not the original Underworld term. Someone had tampered with it.

Second, the Great God of Calamity was even more powerful than he had imagined. A high-quality bargaining chip.

Excellent. Fang Xiu cracked his knuckles in anticipation.

No matter the outcome, his ghost was in for a feast this time.

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The author has something to say:

Xiao Bai: What if the promised main course gets canceled?

Then of course we’ll replace it with something just as tasty!

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