Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 172: Phase Two

In Bai Shuangying’s snow-white eyes, nearly a thousand trigrams drifted slowly. Fang Xiu’s skin was already pale, making the Underworld’s trigrams stand out vividly.

Each of these trigrams represented a successful ritual.

His human had participated in nearly a thousand rituals, killing who knew how many guilty souls along the way. Add to that the karma tangled through each ritual, and it all merged around Fang Xiu as the center. This wasn’t a simple accumulation, but a natural, interwoven whole. Its effect was beyond brute force.

No wonder Fang Xiu’s soul had such a magnificent scent.

Back then, when Zhuang Guiqu designed the Shrine of All E’s, he was aiming for quantity over quality. Even with thousands upon thousands of E’s, their karmic origins didn’t align.

If the E’s in the Shrine were like ancient soldiers with cold weapons, the “Fang Xiu E” was more like a commander wielding modern firepower. Both were human, but their combat power was not even remotely comparable.

Starting at age fourteen and continuing for nearly fifteen years, Fang Xiu had turned himself into the Underworld’s most unique and priceless bargaining chip in history.

Fang Xiu’s past was truly…

“You’re the most formidable mortal I’ve ever seen. I’ve never seen a human dare challenge the Underworld before,”

Bai Shuangying hugged his human tightly in his arm. His tone had no pity, only full admiration. “You’ve done well. I’m proud of you.”

The sharp smile on Fang Xiu’s face softened. “Right? I think I’m pretty impressive too.”

“So that’s why you worked as the ‘Underworld Assassin’. You weren’t doing it for free, were you?”

Bai Shuangying spoke in the tone of someone checking whether their partner was being taken advantage of. He glanced at the line of ghosts nearby, not looking too friendly.

“Of course not.” Fang Xiu turned Bai Shuangying’s face back toward him.

“They tell me who they want dead. In return, I ask for knowledge of metaphysics, or intel on Guishan Sect believers.”

As for the ghosts’ targets, Fang Xiu never took them at their word.

Outside, some ghosts were tasked with tailing and investigating. Some were stationed at the police station to verify the information.

For ghosts, staying in a place like a police station full of yang energy was difficult, so they even created a rotation schedule to take turns tracking the unsuspecting Uncle Yuan.

Fang Xiu would be gone for a long time and only stayed for seven days when he returned. The ghosts had plenty of time to sort through data and verify intel. Their efficiency was excellent. Every time Fang Xiu returned to the living world, a thick stack of reports awaited him.

Still, he figured Bai Shuangying didn’t care about such mundane details.

“I can understand them, honestly.”

Fang Xiu muttered, “Even if their enemies weren’t selected for the rituals, even if I had to gamble each time, they still came to make deals over and over… As the dead, it’s the only thing they can do.”

Bai Shuangying hummed. “As long as you didn’t get taken advantage of.”

Clearly, from his tone, the Corner of Heaven’s Will didn’t think much of the ghosts at all.

A’Shou, on the other hand, had a completely different focus.

She finally understood the strange blank spots in the ritual records. It hadn’t been a mistake. According to Fang Xiu’s wish, his name had been erased, and memories of him had been removed.

She could accept that. But—

“How did you do it?”

A’Shou’s feelings were complicated. She didn’t know whether she should feel admiration or alarm. “You had no memory of the rituals. Even if the ghosts counted for you and told you your soul had gone missing, you still…”

“I didn’t need to remember the rituals.”

Fang Xiu casually said, his face half-buried in Bai Shuangying’s white robes. “I just needed to know that every time I vanished, I became a stronger E. That was enough.”

“When I entered the Disaster Relief Tower again, I could easily guess what my ‘life plan’ was during the ritual. So I just had to win again and make the same wish.”

A’Shou: “But your memory…”

“Even if an adult loses their memory, their mind doesn’t revert to infancy.”

Fang Xiu shrugged. “Some things, even forgotten, still leave their mark.”

But is that really considered “living”? A’Shou was at a loss for words.

Fourteen years. One hundred and seven rituals.

Only seven days in the world of the living. It was so brief. The total time Fang Xiu retained a normal memory added up to only about two years. And in those “twelve lost years” of rituals, all the fear, despair, and blood were buried in darkness by this human with a smile.

She remained silent for a long time, then tore off her veil and let it fall again to cover her face.

“Your obsession is unmatched. If you were to die unjustly, you’d become an even stronger ghost immortal than I am.”

From within her veil, she added quietly, “…Haa. I shouldn’t have obeyed that damn emperor. I should’ve fought him to the end and brought down his whole line.”

Then A’Shou noticed something strange. Cen Ling had gone unusually quiet since Fang Xiu’s memories finished playing.

She turned to look and saw that Cen Ling was murmuring incantations, his body wrapped in layers of spell patterns—

While they couldn’t attack each other, he had been preparing a spell all along!

“You’re really no fun. I was hoping we could talk more,” Fang Xiu said. “But actually, good timing. It’s almost time.”

Time?

A’Shou quickly calculated. It had only been an hour since they entered the world of the Immortal Encounter E.

One hour…

Wait, wait—an hour?

Add to that the fact Fang Xiu had Xiao Tian smear blood and Jiao Jiao release a blood mist…

Damn it, Fang Xiu had pulled them into the memory, but the point wasn’t the “memory”.

It was to “drag her and Cen Ling inside”!

A’Shou’s face darkened instantly. She opened her mouth to speak, but Fang Xiu snapped the Immortal Encounter E shut.

The pages collided with a soft pop, and the frozen scene around them vanished.

They returned once more to the hospital’s central garden.

As soon as the scenery reappeared, Cen Ling drew his bronze sword and shield, summoning a gust of yin wind across the ground.

He clanged sword against shield, veins bulging on his face. Yin energy burst from him like a flood.

All the trapped Immortal E’s trembled violently and began to rise, seemingly obeying his command.

Now Cen Ling finally understood. Fang Xiu was an E like no other. The hidden E in the hospital—was Fang Xiu himself. No wonder his people kept accidentally breaking taboos.

But now that he knew the E’s true form, the method of resolution was simple: Kill Fang Xiu’s physical body, even if it meant blowing up the entire hospital.

The problem was, before he could make a move, he had to get rid of Fang Xiu’s soul—

Fang Xiu completely ignored him.

At some point, he had begun holding a small cauldron. It was blood-red all over, only the size of a human eye, small enough to hide in his palm.

Bai Shuangying: “…Ah.”

It was the Earth Knocking Cauldron—no, it was his meal card!

Recently, he’d been eating too much of Chef Fang’s private dishes that he had forgotten it even existed. If he remembered correctly, its effect was—

“A magic weapon stained with blood. After soaking for over an hour, it can be fed into this cauldron.”

Fang Xiu let go of Bai Shuangying. “You taught me that.”

With that, he pressed the cauldron into the mass of Immortal E’s.

“Psycho,” A’Shou could only get that one word out.

The entire field of E’s had been soaked in Fang Xiu’s blood mist, and the especially powerful ones had even been smeared with his blood by Xiao Tian.

Fang Xiu merely touched the pile of E’s, and countless ones shattered into glowing fragments and were absorbed into his fist.

As the whirlwind of absorption swept through, new E’s rushed in to replace them. The field of E’s churned like a spring lake, constantly drawn into Fang Xiu’s cauldron. Before they could respond to Cen Ling’s summoning, they had already been reduced to light and vanished.

Inside Fang Xiu’s hospital room, his physical body twitched slightly. The ghosts nearby instantly pulled back, pressing themselves to the walls.

The karma surrounding Fang Xiu was increasing at an unprecedented rate—to a degree his body couldn’t withstand. On his skin, trigram symbols surfaced and trembled, then split repeatedly in an effort to contain the overwhelming karma.

In moments, his entire body was covered in shifting trigrams, creating a terrifying sight.

Then came a wave of raging yin energy, sharp as blades. The medical tubes on Fang Xiu’s body began to shake violently.

The little black dog barked madly. Guan He shouted, “Cheng Jie, the shield!”

He didn’t know what was happening to Fang Xiu, but he knew how to suppress that yin energy.

Cheng Songyun quickly deployed her Resentful Ghost Shield, shielding the entire room—especially the vital medical equipment—completely from the rampaging energy.

Guan He stepped out the door and guarded the tiny hospital room vigilantly.

Outside, everything was silent.

As if nothing had happened.

……

Fang Xiu withdrew his gaze from the direction of the hospital room and continued destroying the Immortal E’s without a care.

The “meal card” had never experienced such a lavish recharge before. The rate of absorption was astonishing. In just a dozen seconds, nearly half the Immortal E’s on the field were gone.

The particles of light in the air grew more dazzling. The surrounding “Uncle Hou’s believers” exchanged uneasy glances and ducked for cover. The death of the original Uncle Hou was of little concern. As long as his living soul was preserved, they could still pass the ritual.

As for Xiao Tian and Jiao Jiao, they were once again pulled onto the boat by Xiao Li. This time, no one had the energy to fight. They raised the boat to the highest point, avoiding the chaos below.

Only Yan Yan remained by the window, staring in disbelief. “What the fuck—how many E’s is he destroying… Wait, can these even be destroyed? Aren’t these Immortal E’s?!”

In the garden below, others clearly shared the same question.

The elite believers who were summoned had all violated taboos. The Immortal E’s they had stolen were now being rapidly destroyed, impossible to recover. Cen Ling attacked Fang Xiu with all his might, but every strike was easily blocked by the flamboyant white-clad ghost. Rage welled up in his throat as the taste of blood filled his mouth.

“Ghost Immortal A’Shou, Fang Xiu is shaking the very foundation of the Disaster Relief Tower!”

Cen Ling shouted harshly. “If all the Immortal E’s are destroyed, the Great God of Calamity will descend. Without the Immortal E’s to suppress it, not even immortals can save us!”

A’Shou didn’t move.

“The Guishan Sect only wants to awaken humanity to truth and cultivate great virtue. This man wants to see the mortal world utterly destroyed!”

Seeing the situation spiral out of control, Cen Ling grew desperate. “I’ll break the information seal on this place. Hurry—inform the Underworld!”

As he spoke, he bit through his fingertip and drew an incredibly complex sigil in the air.

Cracking sounds echoed through the world. They came from every direction of the hospital. Then, something invisible had shattered.

Cen Ling’s heart ached.

Since the location of the ritual had been decided, the Guishan Sect had brought out their best magic weapon, painstakingly creating this formation. It was supposed to unravel naturally when the ritual ended.

But now he had broken it himself, hoping the Underworld enforcers would relay the abnormal situation to the heavens.

If these Immortal E’s were all destroyed, the Guishan Sect’s plan to “hijack the E’s and bring them into the mortal world” would collapse entirely. And with each E gone, resealing the Great God of Calamity would become even harder.

In this moment, his interests aligned with those of Heaven and the Underworld. It was better to pit one tiger against another. Let the gods suppress Fang Xiu.

Even if he were punished or killed here, preserving the Immortal E’s was what mattered most. The sect leader was still abroad cultivating talent. The Guishan Sect would still have a future.

As for Fang Xiu’s “wish to destroy the Guishan Sect”? What a joke. The man was on the verge of releasing the Great God of Calamity—there was no way the immortals would ever negotiate with him!

A’Shou still didn’t move. The veil over her face puffed slightly, as if she were sighing.

“Thank you for your cooperation. Your task is complete.”

Fang Xiu shattered a whole new swath of E’s and smiled as he beckoned.

“One of my taboos: I will repay all Guishan Sect followers in kind.” 

Cen Ling wavered midair.

His legs instantly became mangled flesh. A massive slash appeared on his abdomen, blood pouring out nonstop. He fell to the ground and swallowed a large handful of pills.

Just as his injuries stabilized, Fang Xiu beckoned again.

Agonizing pain returned. His right leg broke again, and the wound on his abdomen reopened. Gritting his teeth, Cen Ling downed another handful of pills.

“Relax. I won’t let you die yet. The good part is still coming.”

Fang Xiu continued destroying Immortal E’s in a methodical rhythm. There weren’t many left in the courtyard. “Yan Yan, come down and help me gather the remaining ones—don’t miss a single one.”

The red-haired young man leapt from the window, landing as a massive red fox.

Grumbling, the fox sniffed the air and ran around the garden, picking out the small, overlooked Immortal E’s that had rolled into obscure corners.

Its vibrant red fur fluttered wildly. From the airborne boat came a suspicious hissing gasp, but Yan Yan pretended not to hear it.

Cen Ling knelt in place, constantly struggling against his mortal injuries. But his healing couldn’t keep pace with Fang Xiu’s rate of destruction.

Right before his eyes, Fang Xiu wiped out all the Immortal E’s. His fellow believers, who were supposed to use the E’s, were hiding in the shadows, watching the show as if it had nothing to do with them.

Most baffling of all, the ghost immortal A’Shou had silently watched the entire time as well.

He didn’t understand.

For a moment, Cen Ling was at a loss.

In a daze, he suddenly realized—the bronze sword and shield in his hands were the last two Immortal E’s of the Disaster Relief Tower.

Fang Xiu walked toward him, still holding that accursed book, the Immortal Encounter E.

“Do you even know what you’ve done?”

Cen Ling clutched his bleeding abdomen, his once-bright voice now filled with bitterness.

“You won. You really destroyed my sect’s plan.”

“But you’ve also unleashed the Great God of Calamity… Heaven and the Underworld will see you as a madman and crush you without mercy…”

Fang Xiu raised one hand to interrupt.

“No, no. I haven’t won yet.”

He crouched down and placed his hands on the sword and shield.

An anomaly ability triggered. Ghost flames burst into life from Fang Xiu’s palms. Under the intense heat, the bronze quickly melted and twisted, becoming two useless lumps of scrap.

“You misunderstand. I’m not targeting you.”

Reflected in the blue flames, Fang Xiu’s tone was quiet and gentle.

“It’s just that your brilliant plan happened to conflict with my life goals.”

“Don’t be so smug…” Cen Ling’s vision dimmed from the pain. “With the protection of the God of Xushan, my sect…”

“Yes. It’s still too early to be smug.”

Fang Xiu’s voice grew even softer. “The second phase has only just begun.”

Behind him, Bai Shuangying raised his gaze from his own hands.

That beautiful, usually expressionless face curved into a smile.

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The author has something to say:

The white cat was free.

What bad thoughts can a tabby have.jpg

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