ATEG Chapter 57

Shuoyue suddenly froze in place.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to flee. The fear rising within her from an unknown source was frantically urging her to run, as if staying even one more second would mean her death here. 

But after the deity’s voice rang out, Shuoyue could no longer move.

An irresistible force descended upon her, a force so clear and powerful, like a pure ray of light.

Within this light, Shuoyue felt as if her consciousness had been split in two—one half filled her with trembling fear, while the other half made her feel peaceful and relaxed.

Just as Shuoyue was suffering from this strange sense of division, her body suddenly trembled involuntarily, and a dark red blood-light flew out from her body, fleeing madly down the mountain.

However, the blood-light had barely flown a foot before it was fixed in mid-air.

The blood-light trembled and struggled in the air, but the divine power merely gathered it with ease, forcibly bringing the blood-light up the mountain.

Shuoyue stared at that blood-light, her expression extremely grim.

“What is that…?” Wangyue asked uncertainly.

“That is a method Daoist Feiying left on my body,” Shuoyue said through gritted teeth. “Neither of us detected it.”

Daoist Feiying was an ancient monster who had lived for who knows how many years, having cultivated countless dangerous and terrifying evil arts. That blood-light was of unknown nature, but it likely contained a portion of Daoist Feiying’s consciousness. Not only could it think and judge independently, it could also influence Shuoyue’s consciousness and thereby control her actions.

When Shuoyue sensed the divine power on Ding Qin halfway along the road, this blood-light had sensed it at the same time. Detecting danger, it began to influence her consciousness and judgment.

At the time, Shuoyue had thought it was merely her own vigilance, but what did she possess that was worth coveting? Her only expertise was dream-related magic. But as Wangyue had said, since this deity could easily capture the Dream-Eating Tapir in the dream world—a creature that had already absorbed the abilities of countless dream beasts—how could he possibly need her meager skills?

Even if there truly was something on her that such a deity would want, with his abilities, there would be no need for such trouble. He could simply capture and coerce her by force, just like Daoist Feiying had done.

He had indirectly saved her life, and had his divine messenger invite them up the mountain with courtesy, yet she had been full of malicious speculation. Although influenced by the blood-light, Shuoyue still couldn’t help feeling guilty.

If that blood-light hadn’t been discovered, who knows what she might have done under its influence?

Daoist Feiying had planted this method on her because he had never intended to let her go. Even without the blood gu, she could never escape his control.

Shuoyue hated Daoist Feiying with every fiber of her being. As she was filled with lingering fear, she suddenly felt herself being pulled into a warm embrace.

“Shuoyue, Shuoyue…” Wangyue held her tightly, calling her name repeatedly in a trembling voice.

Shuoyue felt warm, wet traces fall on her back, which the mountain wind blew into a soft coolness.

“It’s alright now,” Shuoyue nuzzled her, repeating in a low voice, “It’s alright now…”

……

After the blood-light departed, the inexplicable dread Shuoyue had felt toward this mountain forest also disappeared.

The mountain forest was tranquil and peaceful. Bird songs hid in the tree canopy, small beasts peered out from the bushes with vigilant curiosity, and lush wild grass grew between the ancient, broken bluestone paths, extending all the way to the serene white walls and black tiles.

An ancient plaque hung above the gate.

Li Manor.

Shuoyue recited silently in her heart.

Though she was no longer anxious and uneasy, as she drew closer to meeting the deity, she instead grew more nervous, which then turned to irritation. She had barely had any proper communication with others for over six hundred years. For most of that time, her only conversation partner had been Feiying, and Feiying…

Shuoyue clenched her teeth.

She had spent a full six hundred years at Feiying’s side. Even aside from that blood shadow, she had been too deeply influenced by him. These extreme, restless emotions would sooner or later affect her cultivation, but for now, Shuoyue could only forcibly suppress them, leaving them to be gradually adjusted later.

The ancient, heavy wooden door opened with a creak. The small pine outside swayed twice in the wind. They passed by the giant rock split in two and walked all the way into the ancient residence where the deity dwelled.

Between the deity’s fingers writhed a dark red blood-light. The blood-light trembled and coiled restlessly in his palm, but no matter what, it could not escape beyond his five fingers.

Sensing them reach the doorway, the deity looked up. His eyes, distinct in black and white, were penetrating and profound.

At the instant the deity’s gaze left the blood-light in his palm, the blood-light suddenly contracted and expanded, about to explode!

Shuoyue’s eyes widened. She had no time to warn him, but without any visible movement from the deity’s fingertips, when the blood-light had expanded to half a palm’s width, it suddenly deflated and shrank back down.

Before Shuoyue could relax, she saw the blood-light continue to shrink smaller and smaller, seemingly about to dissipate in the blink of an eye. But when it had shrunk to half a finger’s length, the blood-light suddenly froze, unable to move any further.

Shuoyue unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.

“Relieved now?” Li Chi said with a faint smile.

The tension and restlessness in Shuoyue’s heart dissipated all at once, and she instead felt somewhat embarrassed.

“I apologize for the trouble, and thank you for saving me,” she said.

Shuoyue’s voice was very similar to Wangyue’s, only somewhat more hoarse and deeper in comparison.

Wangyue likewise expressed her gratitude, then asked with concern, “High God’s compassion—may I ask if there are any other problems with Shuoyue’s body?”

Li Chi shook his head. “After you return, simply restore her divine position and incense offerings to her.”

After stripping away the divine position that didn’t originally belong to her, Wangyue would be able to take that step to become a demon deity. Originally, this had been her initial purpose in seeking out Li Chi, but after learning news of Shuoyue, becoming a demon deity had been cast to the back of Wangyue’s mind. Only now, when Li Chi mentioned it, did she suddenly remember again.

Returning Shuoyue’s divine position to her would also be good for Shuoyue. She had neglected her cultivation for over six hundred years, and her disposition had become skewed during this time. Although her dream deity position had not yet been able to condense, the divine path was the proper way of cultivation, and this divine position could also help her adjust her consciousness.

Li Chi had Ding Qin intercept Wangyue and Shuoyue in advance precisely because of the contingency Daoist Feiying had left on Shuoyue’s body. Now that this blood-light had been extracted, there were no other matters.

Wangyue and Shuoyue had traveled all the way from near Taiwu County, crossing more than half of Lu Kingdom to run back here. Now they were physically and mentally exhausted. With this matter concluded, they would first return to Shuigu Town to rest and recuperate.

Before descending the mountain, Shuoyue stirred, as if wanting to do something, but in the end she only lay quietly in Wangyue’s embrace and went back with her.

Halfway along the road, Shuoyue sighed inwardly. She had originally wanted to tell the deity about the dream the Dream-Eating Tapir had entrusted to her. However, this matter was significant. Although High God Li Chi had helped her greatly, she had only met him once, and everything else she knew about Li Chi came from what Wangyue had told her.

Perhaps it was also because she herself had become too suspicious now. After that blood shadow departed, although that feeling of viewing everyone as harboring ill intent had mostly dissipated, some part of it still remained.

Shuoyue knew in her heart that if her suspicions grew too strong, she would come to see no good people in the world, finding everything hateful. If this continued, she would probably fall onto an evil path before long.

But if she were to force herself against her nature to tell a deity she had only met once about the dream that the Dream-Eating Tapir had struggled so hard to hide and conceal, she couldn’t do it either.

Wait a bit longer.

Wait until she understood this deity better, and until she had adjusted her mindset more.

Shuoyue let out a long breath from her chest.

……

Within Li Manor.

Ding Qin looked curiously at the blood-light in Li Chi’s palm and asked, “High God, what is this?”

“This barely counts as a type of body-division technique,” Li Chi said.

“Barely?” Ding Qin asked.

“Orthodox body-division techniques require the practitioner’s mental state and cultivation to reach the level where the soul can be divided in two, then use materials to refine an avatar, fusing the divided soul into it for control. The avatar and original body can each act independently—though the soul is divided, it remains one entity.” Li Chi said this much, then moved his gaze to the blood-light in his palm, saying slowly, “As for this…”

“It’s nothing but a mongrel evil art. The person who cultivated this technique lacked sufficient mental cultivation and forcibly stripped away a small portion of their own soul, parasitizing it on another living being to hide and lurk. If the original soul remains intact, this soul fragment will be suppressed by it and cause no problems. But if the original soul perishes, this soul fragment will gradually influence and assimilate the host, reviving from the host’s body.”

Hearing this, Ding Qin couldn’t help but shudder. Being parasitized by such an evil art was too terrifying—unknowingly becoming another person.

She asked again, “Then is this evil art showing abnormal movements now because Daoist Feiying is dead?”

Li Chi shook his head. “He’s still alive.”

“Then…?”

“This is the drawback of such evil arts.” Li Chi’s smile was quite meaningful. “When the original soul is severely injured and weakened, the divided soul will likewise awaken. But those who cultivate such evil arts do so precisely because their own mental cultivation cannot reach the level of dividing the soul in two. That’s why they take shortcuts to forcibly split their soul, keeping the stripped soul fragment dormant and motionless normally.”

“But now two souls exist simultaneously…” Ding Qin realized, gradually widening her eyes.

“So… both souls think they are Feiying, both want to survive, yet they are not of one mind…” Li Chi curved his lips, looking at the blood-light lying quietly in his palm.

This soul fragment had already awakened, which was why it wanted to flee after sensing his power. Though merely a fragment, it wanted to survive.

The two actions just now—attempting self-destruction and actively dissipating—had transmitted quite desperate consciousness fluctuations from this fragment. They weren’t its voluntary choices, but methods Feiying had set up beforehand to prevent the soul fragment from falling into someone else’s hands, or to prevent having an uncontrolled “other self” while he was still alive.

When the soul fragment was about to dissipate, Li Chi had employed methods to conceal the karmic connection on this soul and temporarily severed its link with the original Feiying.

Now, it had become a completely independent soul. And the original Feiying probably already believed this fragment had perished.

“Though you are powerful, I will not help you deal with myself,” the soul fragment transformed into blood-light said faintly.

Li Chi chuckled softly, his voice indifferent and contemptuous:

“Who said I’m keeping you in order to deal with Feiying?”