Chapter 355: Could It Be, I Really Have a Long-Lost Dad?

Chapter 355: Could It Be That I Really Have a Long-Lost Father?

Wang Yuanyu: “?? What is ‘jimei,’ what is ‘inner layer’? What is ‘avoid the thunder’?”

Qi Yuan’s modern speech made Wang Yuanyu’s head swim with confusion; she couldn’t understand a word.

Yet she had learned from Lady Wang that these bloodline bearers came from the Land of Termination, that they were people on the brink of death, and it was only natural they would speak some strange tongue.

“It’s… a meme,” Qi Yuan explained briefly. “‘Jimei’ means ‘sisters,’ and ‘inner layer’ means…”

After hearing him out, Wang Yuanyu’s face flushed beneath her black hood. “Pervert! Who’s your ‘jimei’?”

“Not bad, you’re catching on to the meme,” Qi Yuan said with a smile, then continued, “Since this world is illusory, and in your eyes I too am but a phantom, what harm is there in glimpsing the inner layer? After all, I don’t truly exist.”

“No!” Wang Yuanyu said firmly, but suddenly something struck her, and her expression froze. In that instant, she seemed to grasp something.

Illusion and reality had no clear boundary.

Or rather, did truth and falsehood even matter?

What mattered was her own heart.

Seeing Wang Yuanyu like this, Qi Yuan seemed to recall something. “The way you look now reminds me of a famous saying: I think, therefore I am. Even if in your eyes I am an illusion, if I believe I am real, then… I am real.”

Wang Yuanyu gazed at Qi Yuan, and much of her earlier melancholy dissipated.

At first, when Lady Wang told her that the Scroll of Mountains and Seas was an illusion, created by the Eastern Lord, she had felt deeply unsettled.

Did that mean her entire life’s experience was but a dream?

Now, hearing Qi Yuan speak thus, she understood much more.

If she deemed everything an illusion, she could simply disregard Qi Yuan’s words and calmly reveal her inner layer.

Since she cared, what difference did it make whether he was real or not?

“Truth and falsehood don’t matter—what matters is me,” Wang Yuanyu murmured in realization.

Qi Yuan nodded, looking at her, and said softly, “Just now you asked me a question. Now… isn’t it my turn to ask you one?”

“Please, sir, ask away!”

“This world… how does one go to other worlds?

I’ve been waiting for Ma Longhun, but he never shows. Could he have gone to another world?”

Qi Yuan was somewhat worried.

From the moment he first arrived in this world, he had sent people to search for Ma Longhun while he himself worked to improve his strength.

Ma Longhun had been missing from the very start.

Wang Yuanyu hesitated, then said, “That’s possible. Sir, don’t worry—within a year, Ma Longhun will surely appear.”

According to the original course of events, within half a year she would fall in love with Tu Kongming.

Ma Longhun would also appear, and kill both her and Tu Kongming.

“Oh, is that so? A year isn’t long,” Qi Yuan said, glancing at Wang Yuanyu, and brought up an old topic. “Any interest? I could give you a grandma?”

Wang Yuanyu smiled. “Thank you for your kindness, but no need.”

At that moment, many thoughts ran through Wang Yuanyu’s mind.

Ma Longhun was extremely powerful. According to Lady Wang, when he appeared, he would have reached the peak of the Martial King realm.

In the Scroll of Mountains and Seas, the peak of Martial King was the ultimate, the strongest.

Even the master of the Demon-Suppressing Court would likely be no match for such a being.

Qi Yuan was searching for him because of his mission, and would probably put himself in danger.

She couldn’t let herself implicate Qi Yuan.

So she decided that once she learned of Ma Longhun’s whereabouts, she would leave this place to keep Qi Yuan from harm.

After dealing with Ma Longhun, she would bring his head to Qi Yuan to help him complete his mission.

Then, they would return to the Land of Origin.

“What a pity—it seems we aren’t meant to be,” Qi Yuan said, shaking his head.

He didn’t insist. Or rather, aside from matters he cared deeply about, he let everything else take its course.

Wang Yuanyu smiled and said no more.

…

Time flew by. The monotonous life of guarding the cemetery left no deep impression on Qi Yuan’s mind.

In the dead of night, the graveyard was pitch-black, eerily chilling.

Qi Yuan waved his hand and slew a demon that had strayed in.

Thirty drops of demonic essence blood were added to his tally.

“This is… a demon raised by the Sacred Truth Sect?”

Qi Yuan glanced casually at the corpse and paid it no further heed.

“You have consumed 100 drops of demonic essence blood. Attempting to open a divine aperture… failed.”

Qi Yuan frowned, his face full of pain.

“These demonic essence blood are utterly useless—can’t even open a divine aperture. I can only walk the martial path.”

He tried using the demonic essence blood to advance his immortal cultivation.

The result was clear: failure.

He felt like cursing the demon that had provided the blood—your blood is too useless, too single-function; it can only boost martial cultivation, not immortal cultivation.

Now, with Ning Tao’s help and the rapid awakening of the divine infant within him, his immortal cultivation was advancing by leaps and bounds. He had already reached the second step of Heaven-Striding, becoming a Yin Spirit Venerable.

Of course, this was largely due to the feedback from the divine infant inside him.

Especially the divine infant that had entered the Land of Origin, borrowing the bones of fallen martial lords, awakening at an astonishing speed.

First, because those martial lords had deeper foundations than the people of Archstar; second, because of the different flow of time—the Land of Origin’s time flowed roughly ten times faster than Archstar’s.

One year on Archstar was nearly forty years in the Land of Origin.

In the Land of Origin, the strongest had already reached the level of a Grand Venerable.

This greatly benefited Qi Yuan.

Still, Qi Yuan felt that his Yin Spirit Venerable status was somewhat hollow, his combat power mediocre. If he were his Canglan Realm self, he would definitely be no match.

“Right now, I’m just an ordinary, mediocre Yin Spirit—can’t even challenge those above my rank.”

Qi Yuan sighed.

In reality, he could kill a Mythical as a Divine Infant.

In the game, if he met a Mythical now, he’d have to kneel.

"Divine Infants, put in some effort, let me quickly step into the Yang God!"

Qi Yuan was full of anticipation.

In this game, the martial path had demonic beast blood essence, the immortal path had divine infants as proxies—if the divine infants were strong enough, perhaps he could enter the Yang God while lying down.

After all, his divine infants had deep foundations.

The Mortal Heart Realm and the Canglan Realm were rather special, unable to break through to the Yang God.

The Origin Land, however, had no such restriction.

At the same time, in the Origin Land.

Within the Thunder Grave, a hundred-zhang-long lightning bolt struck down, shattering rocks, with crackling sounds echoing endlessly.

The Thunder Grave was the place where the Thunder Martial Lord achieved his lordship, but also his burial ground.

Back then, when the great war erupted, countless martial lords fell in battle, and the Thunder Martial Lord was one of them.

At this moment, outside the Thunder Grave, a group of uninvited guests arrived.

The leader was gaunt, like a bamboo pole, and on that bamboo-pole body hung two large heads—one male, one female—both human heads.

"The Dawn Chime draws nearer; strange occurrences abound in the Origin Land. Let us hope the anomaly in the Thunder Grave has nothing to do with the Mountain and Sea Scroll."

A male voice spoke, its tone hoarse.

"I smell more and more of those old bastards' auras. Could it be that the Thunder Martial Lord has awakened as well?" The female head on the bamboo pole had a shrill voice.

In the last hundred years, the Origin Land had not been peaceful.

Many martial lords who had once died in battle were appearing one after another.

This livened up the deathly still Origin Land considerably.

Yet some martial lords were astonished—how could those who had fallen in battle be resurrected and awakened?

"If he has awakened, it would be best to recruit him into our Eastern Alliance!" said the Fat Egg Martial Lord.

In the Origin Land, the most powerful faction among the martial lords was the Eastern Alliance.

The founder of the Eastern Alliance was the legendary Eastern Lord.

That one had reached the realm of the ineffable.

It could be said that the Eastern Lord alone could sweep away all the martial lords of the Origin Land.

"The Eastern Alliance? This old man has no interest." From within the Thunder Grave, an old man covered in lightning appeared, the flashes concealing his form.

"Thunder Martial Lord, you are indeed alive!" The shrill voice carried surprise.

The hoarse voice, however, was filled with vigilance: "You have broken through and become a Great Martial Lord!"

Martial lords from the first to the third rank were also called Lesser Martial Lords.

From the fourth to the seventh rank, they were called Great Martial Lords.

The seventh rank was also known as the Title Martial Lord.

This was similar to the stages of the Yin Spirit.

Before his fall, the Thunder Martial Lord was a third-rank Lesser Martial Lord; now he had become a fourth-rank Great Martial Lord—how could he not be shocked?

"Amid life and death, I gained some insights and broke through by luck," the Thunder Martial Lord's voice was filled with uncertainty, as if he had endured much.

"The Dawn Chime is less than three thousand years away. I hope the Thunder Martial Lord will consider the greater good and join our Eastern Alliance!" The bamboo-pole man extended an invitation.

Within the Eastern Alliance, Great Martial Lords were considered formidable combat power.

Each Great Martial Lord, by offering their own blood essence into the Mountain and Sea Scroll, could accelerate its operation.

According to the Eastern Lord, as long as the world truly restarted successfully before the Dawn Chime, the Origin Land would gain a chance at life.

"This old man's blood essence is insufficient; I shall not join the Eastern Alliance." Having said this, the Thunder Martial Lord's form directly dissipated, without even a farewell.

The Eastern Alliance martial lords before him exchanged glances but said nothing more.

The bamboo-pole man's expression shifted, and then he said, "What a pity. This world is full of selfish people who enjoy the fruits of our labor."

To maintain and accelerate the operation of the Mountain and Sea Scroll, the Eastern Alliance's martial lords regularly injected their own blood essence into it.

"After the Dawn Chime ends, we will settle accounts with these people," the shrill female voice said with murderous intent. "For now, it is not wise to start a war."

At present, the most important thing was to deal with the Dawn Chime.

At that moment, the Fat Egg Martial Lord looked up and asked, "Dual Aspect Martial Lord, what is the current progress of the Mountain and Sea Scroll?"

The other martial lords also turned their gaze to the Dual Aspect Martial Lord.

This martial lord was the offspring of a Title Martial Lord and knew more about the progress of the Mountain and Sea Scroll than they did.

"Forty percent have entered the game, forty percent are in the process of conquering, and twenty percent have failed."

Hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"As long as we conquer twenty percent before the Dawn Chime, we can survive!"

"Indeed, three thousand years, twenty percent—no problem!"

The bamboo-pole man looked at the Fat Egg Martial Lord: "These hundred years, you have worked hard, injecting your blood essence into the Mountain and Sea Scroll."

Upon hearing this, the Fat Egg Martial Lord's face twisted like a bitter gourd: "I am utterly drained now, squeezed dry, not a drop left."

The Fat Egg Martial Lord had once been a Title-level martial lord.

But in the great war, he was severely wounded, and his strength had fallen to only the second rank of martial lords.

Injecting blood essence into the Mountain and Sea Scroll periodically without his strength declining further was already a blessing.

The bamboo-pole man felt a hint of smugness.

Before the Great Cataclysm, the Fat Egg Martial Lord was an existence he could only look up to; now, he was merely his subordinate, obeying his commands.

"Since that is..." The bamboo-pole man was about to speak when suddenly his eyes widened as he stared at the Fat Egg Martial Lord. "You... what is happening?"

The other martial lords also looked at the Fat Egg Martial Lord, their faces filled with shock.

There, on the Fat Egg Martial Lord's body, the round egg had turned crimson, and the blood vessels on his body were clearly visible.

A bloody light spread.

Golden blood darted about like swimming dragons.

The aura of the Fat Egg Martial Lord surged at that moment.

"Bloodline Ascension!"

"This is a Bloodline Ascension!"

"How could the Fat Egg Martial Lord undergo a Bloodline Ascension!"

The scene before them was all too familiar to these martial lords.

Upon reaching the martial lord realm, every time their cultivation advanced by one rank, their descendants would undergo a Bloodline Ascension.

And now, the Fat Egg Martial Lord had actually undergone a Bloodline Ascension.

Was he not the bloodline progenitor?

How could the source of bloodline undergo a leap?

These martial lords stared wide-eyed, their expressions utterly bizarre.

The martial lords were astonished, and Fatty Dan martial lord also looked puzzled: "I... my bloodline leaped?"

"Fatty Dan martial lord, could it be you're not the bloodline progenitor, but have a father behind the scenes?" asked a martial lord.

This matter was hard to explain.

Generally, it was descendants whose bloodlines leaped; how could the bloodline progenitor's bloodline leap?

"Impossible, I was born of heaven and earth, how could I have a father?" Fatty Dan martial lord quickly shook his head.

"Then how do you explain your bloodline leap?

Could it be that a descendant of yours broke through to martial lord, becoming a second-generation progenitor?

The Land of Termination, martial arts in decline, this is impossible.

In the stronghold, there are only martial lords.

A few peak martial kings, unless they enter the Origin Land and receive the blessing of ancestral blood, cannot break through to the martial lord realm."

It could be said that breakthroughs to martial lord were now monopolized.

One needed to enter the Origin Land and receive the blessing of ancestral blood.

But now, the stronghold had not yet connected to the Origin Land, so how could anyone break through to martial lord?

Therefore, the most likely possibility was that Fatty Dan martial lord was not a first-generation progenitor, but a second-generation progenitor.

He actually... had a father.

"So, you definitely have a father behind the scenes!"

"Fatty Dan martial lord, as expected of a former titled martial lord, silently gained a biological father."

"Not necessarily a father, could be an ancestor!"

These martial lords laughed and joked, some envying Fatty Dan martial lord for having a father who could still break through.

In the Origin Land now, martial lords who could break through were too rare.

"Could it be... I really have a long-lost father?"

...

Within a page of the Mountain and Sea Scroll.

Wang Niang frowned, her expression quite complex.

"Wang Niang, how is the progress?" a man asked in a deep voice not far from Wang Niang.

"The young lady... she has not fallen for Tu Kongming."

"What? Not fallen for him? That won't do.

She and Tu Kongming must fall in love, only then can this painting return to the correct world line, and our mission be complete.

Which link went wrong? We must fix it quickly!"

"The young lady... seems more attached to a bloodline bearer."

"A bloodline bearer?" the man frowned. "Go talk to him, tell him to stay away from the young lady. We'll help him with his task."

"This bloodline bearer seems to have some mental issues. The young lady has been by his side these years and seems to have been affected. I fear that even if he stays away, the young lady won't fall for Tu Kongming in the short term."

"If that doesn't work, use stronger measures. Directly drug them, cook the rice—then, whether she likes it or not, she'll have to comply!" the man said in a deep voice.

"This..." Wang Niang hesitated, unable to bear it.

"Don't think this is wrong. We are saving the world. For the sake of saving the world, what's wrong with using some extreme measures?

It's not the young lady's life we're after, only her chastity—a necessary sacrifice.

Moreover, in the original world line, the young lady and Tu Kongming were already in love.

For the world, we can sacrifice everyone, including all bloodline bearers, even destroy this Mountain and Sea Scroll!" the man declared passionately.

Clearly, to save the Origin Land, he was willing to pay any price.

Sacrificing some people was the most normal thing.

Wang Niang, who had been hesitating, heard this and her gaze became resolute: "Good, I understand what to do!"

(End of chapter)