Chapter 524: If Only Fang Thirteen Were a Steamed Bun

Chapter 524 If Fang Shisan Were a Steamed Bun

"Just a mere Heaven-level Weapon Master, nothing special."

After a hundred breaths, Qi Yuan returned.

His green robe unstained by blood, but a few more storage artifacts hung at his waist.

Tu Sihai, seeing this, took a deep breath.

Though they had witnessed Qi Yuan kill Mo Sangkong in an instant, doubt lingered—what if that uncanny trick was a one-time use?

Facing over a dozen Heaven-level Weapon Masters, they had been "taunting" Qi Yuan all along, but the pressure was immense.

Now, seeing Qi Yuan return, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"Brother Qi's strength truly deserves the title... Overbearing Arrogant Son-in-Law!" Tu Sihai couldn't help exclaiming.

The others chimed in.

"The number one son-in-law of Ning Kingdom is none other than Brother Qi!"

"Twelve Heaven-level Weapon Masters..." The seductive young woman's eyes flickered.

Seeing Qi Yuan's power, she longed to offer herself to him, but though she was willing, he would not take her.

However, the blind old man then spoke: "Senior Qi, these Heaven-level Weapon Masters... should be from Raksha Kingdom. The leader's surname is Diwu, likely of the royal family."

The blind old man said this with some trepidation.

Raksha Kingdom was once the foremost empire of Qingshan Realm.

A century ago, upheaval struck Raksha, weakening its power, yet it remained among the top three kingdoms of Qingshan Realm.

It had several Divine-level Weapon Masters.

If Heaven-level Weapon Masters transcended mortals, then Divine-level Weapon Masters... were true gods.

The blind old man had once been fortunate enough to see a Divine-level Weapon Master, holding a mountain in one hand, treading the ocean, riding the waters away.

Every living being who saw him—who would not kneel?

The might of Heaven-level Weapon Masters was still within the blind old man's understanding.

Divine-level... surpassed imagination.

That was no longer human; that was a god!

"Raksha Kingdom has Divine-level Weapon Masters. If the royal family learns of what happened here, I fear..." The blind old man was afraid.

He wanted to suggest to Qi Yuan that they clean up the place thoroughly, lest Raksha discover what transpired.

"That's the spirit." Qi Yuan looked at the blind old man and nodded with satisfaction.

This was exactly the flavor he wanted.

The others exchanged glances.

"Alas, I know many in this world speak truth through jest.

You need not treat me so. If Raksha Kingdom does not come seeking trouble with me, I will go seek trouble with them." Qi Yuan's gaze was calm.

Once his role as the son-in-law was set aside, he would set out for Raksha Kingdom.

First, because Divine Wood Abyss was near Raksha; second, having played the part of a divine descent, how could he not return to Raksha, the place where it all began?

"Young master is a god descending to earth; mere Raksha Kingdom is nothing!" Chen Kangbao seized the moment to say.

Beside him, the scholar in Confucian robes looked at Qi Yuan, his expression puzzled and bewildered.

This Qi Yuan was truly bizarre.

"Let's go, deeper in, to see what this so-called Tianyuan really is." Qi Yuan spoke.

Since they had come, they would naturally press on and see this Tianyuan.

The scholar's spirit suddenly tensed.

He too wanted to see what Tianyuan, forged from the blood and bones of three hundred thousand artificers, truly was.

Even if the gods had not deigned to cast their gaze upon it, it was still the life's work of his elder brother and the others.

Tu Sihai and the others did not object.

Objection was futile.

Though they were anxious and feared danger, they thought: if a great figure like Qi Yuan dared to go, why should they not?

Qi Yuan walked at the front, stepping on the stairs, heading deeper into the underground palace.

Along the way, broken bones were everywhere.

The deeper they went, the more crystalline and white the bones became.

They then saw the corpses of two Divine-level Artificers.

"My name is Xuanfeng. I leave behind a forging technique, inscribed on this stele."

These were the words left beside the corpse of a Divine-level Artificer.

This Divine-level Artificer left no lengthy testament, only recording his self-created forging technique here, lest it be lost.

Those present all silently memorized the technique.

Its value surpassed even that of a Heaven-level artifact!

Qi Yuan did not stop them; he too memorized the technique.

To play the role of the blind artificer, he needed to master more forging techniques.

In Tiankun Wonderland, he had already learned many, but it was not enough.

"Perhaps I can create my own forging technique," Qi Yuan thought.

The blind artificer had great ambition; even Divine-level Artificer might not be his end.

To become a truly powerful artificer, one must not only stand on the shoulders of giants but also forge one's own path.

"Alright, since we've memorized it, let's move on. Be careful," Qi Yuan warned.

The ground was clean, with nothing but bones, yet Qi Yuan's eyes could still see that some living being had passed through here not long ago.

"Yes, Mr. Qi."

The others responded and continued forward.

The deeper they went, the more forging furnaces were scattered about, with piles of metal and stone debris.

But these once-precious items had now lost all spiritual essence, like dross.

"This Tianyuan... it has devoured the spiritual essence of so many treasures, and the flesh and blood of three hundred thousand artificers—what kind of terrifying thing is it?"

The deeper they went, the more the people present were shocked, and the more they felt the horror of Tianyuan.

Yet even so, Tianyuan had failed. Were the fragments of the Radiant Divine Treasure really that difficult?

"Here, nearly all the elite artificers of Qingshan Realm were gathered, and still they failed.

Can the fragments of the Radiant Divine Treasure... truly be forged by anyone?" Tu Sihai lamented.

This is merely fragments.

What terrifying existence must the true Radiant Divine Treasure be?

The crowd sighed, their hearts growing heavier the deeper they went.

Along the way, they had seen so many fragments of precious materials.

Only half could they name; the rest were unheard of.

In their complete state, many of these materials would be worth a fortune.

More than enough to forge divine artifacts.

Just then, suddenly, Qi Yuan’s attention fell upon the Divine Wood Token.

“Brother Cleaver, I hear a strange domain has appeared in Ning Country. Since you’re in Ning Country now, could you go into that strange domain and do me a small favor?

If you help me, I’ll urge the Thornblood people to train hard, and after you come to the Divine Wood Abyss, I’ll have a little gift for you.”

The one sending the message was, unsurprisingly, that Thornblood staff member.

“You should train hard too, don’t always slack off while they train,” Qi Yuan admonished. “What favor?”

“I took a small task—to record some things.

Mm, things that happen in the strange domain—I need some detailed intelligence.” The Thornblood staff member quickly sent the message.

In the Void Paradise, he had taken on many tasks.

Collecting information and data from the strange domain was one of them.

The issuer of that task was also a being from this nascent universe.

He seemed to be traveling through various realms, recording histories, writing a book.

“This?” Qi Yuan thought for a moment, holding nothing back.

Since the strange domain was already exposed, news here would likely spread across the world soon.

Concealment was pointless.

“In the strange domain, there are many skeletons, and stone tablets record some words left by divine-level artificers. They came to the strange domain, lived incognito for decades, invited by the Radiant Assembly to forge…”

Qi Yuan told the Thornblood staff member about the information obtained in the strange domain.

As for the son-in-law, the visitors from Raksha Country, and such, he naturally did not mention.

“Failed?” The Thornblood staff member’s tone carried some lament. “Such a strange domain, with the power of a small realm, might only be able to build one. Some large realms could have many, even ten, but well, out of ten, two or three succeeding… counts as decent.”

“Other realms have them too?” Qi Yuan noted the key information.

“The Radiant Divine Treasure—how could it be built in a single realm? Even fragments are beyond the reach of mere divine-level artificers.” When Thornblood mentioned the Radiant Divine Treasure, deep awe flickered in his eyes.

“Ning Country’s Hundred Thousand Mountains’ End… such a thing happened?” Ji Wuyun sent a message; in reality, she felt a strange sorrow.

Thornblood coveted the divine wood in the Divine Wood Abyss, seeking to transform it into a spectral being.

Outside the Green Mountain Realm, it was not peaceful either—three hundred thousand scholars died incognito, hoping to bring a ray of light to the Green Mountain Realm.

In the eyes of ordinary beings, the Green Mountain Realm had only seen more spectral beings lately; in truth, nothing had changed.

But Ji Wuyun knew that the Green Mountain Realm was already teetering, like a leaky hot air balloon.

“The waters here run deep. Even reaching the divine level, you’d likely only be qualified to know a little of the inside story. Brother Cleaver, I advise you not to get too involved, or else I fear you won’t make it to the Divine Wood Abyss.

The grand gift I’ve prepared for you might not be deliverable.” The Thornblood staff member said.

“The Radiant Assembly and Thornblood… what’s their relationship?” Qi Yuan thought of something and couldn’t help asking.

“They should be enemies. Both think they are saving the world.” The Thornblood staff member laughed.

All cultivators have their own thoughts and perceptions, unable to convince each other.

Take Thornblood, for instance—their doctrine is that transformation into spectral beings is another form of continuation.

But who among ordinary people would willingly become a spectral being without reason or will?

“In the strange domain, there should be a Celestial Core. Since they failed, that Celestial Core… is probably only worth collecting. If you can bring me the Celestial Core, I can help you leave the Green Mountain Realm… even this shattered, chaotic star region.” The Thornblood staff member urged.

In his view, the Green Mountain Realm’s fate was sealed; the divine wood would eventually become a powerful spectral being, and this world would collapse in the silent night. No one would notice that the opening of the Divine Wood Abyss was the opening of a demon’s gate.

“No, I’m playing a game; I don’t want to go offline.”

Qi Yuan withdrew from the Divine Wood Token, his thoughts calm.

This game’s background was growing more complex.

Thornblood wanted to transform living beings into spectral beings—clearly the villain.

The Radiant Assembly organized three hundred thousand artificers to forge the Radiant Divine Treasure—seemed extreme, but for now, counted as an extreme righteous faction, though pending.

Whether righteous or villainous, to Qi Yuan they were all NPCs. If they were old and didn’t like bathing, they might even ascend to become his moonlight.

The group slowly explored deeper into the underground palace.

The further they went, the heavier their hearts grew, feeling immense pressure; no one dared speak.

Suddenly, Qi Yuan stopped.

Ahead in the underground palace, there was a corpse and a figure.

The few present halted, their expressions grave.

The corpse lying on the ground also seemed to be at the Celestial level.

The standing figure, like a servant, exuded an eerie aura.

That figure also turned his head sharply at that moment, and when his gaze fell on Qi Yuan, a flicker of surprise passed through his eyes.

“Qi Yuan!”

“Fang Thirteen?” Qi Yuan’s expression was calm.

The figure before him was identical to Fang Thirteen of the Radiant Assembly.

And from what his eyes saw, this person… could also be considered Fang Thirteen.

But wasn’t Fang Thirteen… dead by suicide?

Back in the dungeon, Fang Thirteen had killed himself in front of Qi Yuan.

“I didn’t expect… you could make it this far. Could it be… you too are favored by this world?” Fang Thirteen’s face showed astonishment.

“Are you a respawnable NPC?” Qi Yuan asked with interest.

He had played games for so long; such NPCs were rare—plenty on Blue Star, but he hadn’t encountered any since coming to the Canglan Realm.

Fang Thirteen looked puzzled, not understanding Qi Yuan’s words, but he roughly grasped the meaning and said smugly, “Aren’t you curious why I’m still alive? Don’t you want to know the reason?”

All beings in this world seek nothing more than power, wealth, and immortality.

Of course, some “losers” seek a bit more—breasts.

Resurrection from death would astonish and allure all beings. Otherwise, why would so many emperors on Blue Star seek eternal life?

“Not curious. It’s easy to understand—either you have a respawn point, or… you’re a clone.” Qi Yuan said calmly.

Having played so many games and watched so many cartoons, Qi Yuan was used to it.

He had also heard no small number of tales about the various methods of murder in locked rooms.

Fang Shisan was stunned.

So calm?

In the past, on the Green Mountain Boundary, whenever he had died in front of certain people and reappeared, the expressions on those who saw him were especially amusing—shock, terror, as if they had seen a ghost.

But Qi Yuan was very calm, which made Fang Shisan wonder if he had mistaken the person.

“You have no desire for these abilities?” Fang Shisan asked, perplexed.

To rise from the dead—such a power would drive anyone mad.

“I do, but… I want to rely on myself,” Qi Yuan said, his voice steady.

Fang Shisan’s resurrection was certainly not by his own effort.

Translated into a game, it was like a programmer writing a script that kept refreshing it.

If Qi Yuan were to act, he would be the boss of the programmer, not the code.

Fang Shisan fell silent, then sneered, “What a big mouth!”

The nearby Earth-level Imperial Soldiers, overhearing their conversation, were all bewildered; some seemed to catch fragments of meaning, their faces turning pale with shock.

He added another remark, “You haven’t inherited a shred of your father’s humility.”

As Fang Shisan said this, there was an undeniable sadness in his expression.

He had known Qi Yuan’s father; back then, it was through his introduction that Qi Yuan’s father had come to the Strange Domain.

“You came here… just to say this nonsense?”

Qi Yuan desperately wanted a verbal substitute, someone to fight his battles with words.

Although, in the Celestial Kun Strange Land, he and that Holy Light clan member bickered daily, year after year, he was simply bad at arguing.

He could never bring himself to utter sharp, forum-savvy lines like, “You deliberately post controversial stuff, then set your phone to vibrate and shove it in your butt crack.”

Even if he plagiarized, his social anxiety made him too embarrassed to say it.

“I just came to confirm once more whether it failed… to see where the flaw lies,” Fang Shisan said, and the light in his eyes dimmed.

He was dead.

Since it failed, the Celestial Origin here had lost its value.

If it had any value, it might be a shred of collector’s worth.

Few would care about a failed Celestial Origin.

Fang Shisan’s corpse fell to the ground, lying close to another corpse.

The two bodies seemed drained of all spirituality.

Tu Sihai and the Confucian-robed scholar, seeing this bizarre sight, felt a flicker of fear in their hearts.

But Qi Yuan wore a thoughtful expression: “If his resurrection consumes no energy or resources, haven’t I discovered infinite resources?”

Kill Fang Shisan once, and you get a corpse.

The others were somewhat baffled.

Chen Kangbao’s eyes widened, his breath quickened, and then, struck by an idea, he lamented, “Why isn’t Fang Shisan a steamed bun!”

If he were a bun, wouldn’t he have an endless supply of buns to eat?

Qi Yuan’s eyes lit up: “Truly my strategist—one word awakens the dreamer. Why isn’t Fang Shisan my moonlight!”

With such a moonlight, Qi Yuan could ride day and night without ever tiring.

Hearing their exchange, the faint fear that had arisen in the hearts of those present vanished in that moment.

“They must have died from the Celestial Origin,” Tu Sihai said gravely. “Where is the Celestial Origin?”

He looked around but saw no trace of it.

By now, they had reached the deepest part of the underground palace.

Here, besides the two corpses, there was nothing else.

Just then, another message came through the Divine Wood Token.

“The Celestial Origin is formless and shapeless; only the Divine Wood Token can bear it.”

The message was from that staff member of Thornblood.

“Is that so?”

At that moment, Qi Yuan inexplicably sensed an aura of death, decay, and withering.

He looked up and saw a withered leaf falling, like a ginkgo leaf, yellow in hue.

That leaf drifted down into Qi Yuan’s hand.

[Celestial Origin, bearing of fate, failed to transform into Divine Enlightenment Light… there are several flaws… according to… can be repaired, can be reversed… Human Enlightenment Light.]

A flood of information poured into Qi Yuan’s mind.

For a moment, his body felt weak.

It was as if the information was too much; the strength of his current body couldn’t handle receiving so much at once.

“This Celestial Origin can still be repaired?” Qi Yuan was in good spirits.

A failed Celestial Origin, refined in vain, had only collector’s value—not even worth an ordinary Celestial Artifact.

But if it could be repaired, even melted into fragments of a Radiant Marvel, then… that would be extraordinary.

After all, back in the Celestial Kun Strange Land, Qi Yuan had heard of Radiant Marvels.

Such treasures seemed even more powerful and terrifying than offensive Creation Marvels.

Remember, in the Six Heavens of the Immortal Realm, he had labored so long just to forge a single Human Sovereign Banner.

Relying on that banner, along with supreme principles and his own hard work, he could sweep through the Six Heavens.

If he obtained a Radiant Marvel, to what level would his combat power rise?

Facing the mysterious and unfathomable Sole Hall, perhaps he would even have a fighting chance.

He looked at the Celestial Origin, his expression joyful.

That withered yellow leaf imprinted itself on his palm, leaving only a faint trace, and then vanished.

The surrounding Imperial Soldiers, including Chen Kangbao and the others, had not seen that withered leaf at all.

“Alright, the treasure hunt is over. It’s time we left.”

The others felt a pang of disappointment upon hearing this, for they had not seen the legendary Celestial Origin.

Still, since Qi Yuan wanted to leave, they dared not stay—if they encountered a Heaven-level Imperial Soldier, they might die here.

“Let’s go.”

The group came quickly and left just as fast.

When the last figure departed from the Strange Domain, the underground palace, which had existed for less than a century, collapsed with a roar, turning to dust, as if it had never been.

The scholar in Confucian robes wore a look of desolation, which finally dissolved into a long, lingering sigh.

Three hundred thousand artificers, along with the elder brother... and Tianyuan, lie buried together in the forgotten corners of history.

I wonder if, a thousand years hence, anyone will still know of this strange realm?

(End of this chapter)