A Person from the Upper Realm

Great Venerable Moli's eyes burned with fervor, pools of spring water rippling beneath her lashes. Seeing Qi Yuan appear, a flush of crimson bloomed at the corners of her eyes. "If you desire it, Fellow Daoist, what would it matter if I gave you the Mythological Secret Vault?" After all, once her master possessed the body of the Blood-Robed Sword God, wouldn't the Mythological Secret Vault effectively belong to him anyway? "See? Didn't I tell you Great Venerable Moli wanted to give me the Mythological Secret Vault?" Qi Yuan cast a smug glance at Old Man Qishang. "You have no idea what kind of life an extraordinarily handsome guy gets to live." Old Man Qishang's weathered face flushed slightly, and he said nothing more. Qi Yuan knew all too well that when a man chose to be shameless, women stood no chance; but when a woman took the initiative, a guy hardly had to lift a finger. "So..." Qi Yuan's tone suddenly shifted. "How about I skip going to Phoenix Palace? You can just confess right here and hand over the Mythological Secret Vault to me now." Qi Yuan's logic was simple. Since the outcome was the same, why not cut out the middle steps? Great Venerable Moli could simply hand over the vault directly. Besides, Qi Yuan considered this a display of his high emotional intelligence. Great Venerable Moli had invited so many Yin Gods just to set the stage for her confession. He was bound to reject her. With so many people watching, it would cause her immense humiliation. Taking the Mythological Secret Vault directly would save her from that embarrassment. Now that was a true win-win. The smile on Great Venerable Moli's face stiffened slightly. Naturally oblivious to the thoughts running through his head, she cooed coquettishly, "I have specially prepared a grand surprise. If you do not go, Fellow Daoist, all my painstaking efforts will have gone to waste." As she spoke, her supple body leaned toward Qi Yuan. Qi Yuan dodged immediately. He had no desire to be touched by Great Venerable Moli. Catching some disease would be bad news. "Since you insist so warmly, I suppose I will go take a look at Phoenix Palace," Qi Yuan finally agreed. A trace of regret flickered through Great Venerable Moli's eyes. The pity was that after today, she would only get the Blood-Robed Sword God's body, never his heart, which left her quite disappointed. The two transformed into streaks of flowing light and sped toward Phoenix Palace. Phoenix Palace was also located within Qinghong City, not far from the Dao Seeking Palace. Soon, they arrived above Phoenix Palace. At this moment, Phoenix Palace was brightly lit as if it were day, yet it was eerily silent and somewhat sinister. This was not what Qi Yuan had pictured. "A crowd of people isn't going to swarm out the moment I walk in and start chanting 'Kiss her,' is it?" Qi Yuan asked in surprise. If that happened, it would be pretty awkward. Great Venerable Moli froze slightly, completely unable to fathom his train of thought. She chuckled, her laughter laden with deep meaning. "Once you step inside, Fellow Daoist, you will understand everything." "I just hope it isn't too much of a surprise." Following Great Venerable Moli, the two landed outside a palace hall. The massive doors swung open at that moment with a heavy clatter. Light from inside spilled over Qi Yuan, stretching his shadow long across the ground. Qi Yuan looked in with an expectant expression, only for his pupils to constrict slightly. Inside the vast palace hall, the stench of blood hung heavy. Strewn haphazardly across the floor were more than twenty corpses of Yin Gods. These Yin Gods looked familiar to Qi Yuan; they had all attended the celebration of the Origin God Sharing Society. Yet now, these twenty-odd Yin Gods had perished silently within Phoenix Palace, their corpses in wretched states. On a large tree merely ten meters away from Qi Yuan, a corpse hung suspended. Its eyes were stretched wide, as if it had witnessed something utterly terrifying before death. Such terror was rarely seen in the eyes of powerhouses at the level of Yin God Venerables. Moreover, the scene was exceedingly bizarre. Clashes between Yin Gods would inevitably drag the combatants into the Void Realm. Yet these Yin Gods had died right here inside the palace hall, mysteriously and without explanation. At that moment, a sultry voice whispered by Qi Yuan's ear, "Fellow Daoist, do you like this surprise?" Only then did Qi Yuan turn to look at Great Venerable Moli, his gaze filled with bitter sorrow and indignation. "I never thought you were this kind of person!" Qi Yuan was furious, feeling he had truly underestimated the malice of the human heart. How could human wickedness reach such an extreme! Great Venerable Moli relished the Blood-Robed Sword God's reaction. She loved seeing formidable figures like him display disbelief, rage, and shock. "Just because you feared failing your confession in front of everyone and feeling inferior, you flew into a rage from shame and slaughtered them all? "Someone like you... isn't worthy of liking me! "I reject your confession!" Qi Yuan snapped, fuming with righteous indignation. He had already figured it out: Great Venerable Moli knew she was going to be rejected, so she had preemptively murdered the audience. That way, she wouldn't have to suffer the embarrassment of a failed confession. "Huh?" Great Venerable Moli was utterly dumbfounded. Qi Yuan's accusation made zero sense to her. Why was he furious out of shame? Shouldn't he be terrified right now? "Being liked by someone as petty and narrow-minded as you makes me sick!" Qi Yuan declared angrily. Great Venerable Moli was completely at a loss. Just then, a man's voice sounded behind Qi Yuan. "Your conduct, Fellow Daoist... is rather amusing." Qi Yuan's left eyelid twitched again. He turned around toward the source of the voice. He immediately saw an ancient mirror. The surface of the mirror was stained with fresh blood, framed in bronze that was engraved with all sorts of bizarre patterns. [Ancient Tiankun Mirror: A precious mirror from the Nine Heavens. Stained with ominous blood.] Inside the mirror, a figure stood with his back turned to him. Qi Yuan paused. "Why do you have your back to me? Are you turning your back on all living beings to reign supreme through eternity?" The back-facing figure in the mirror froze for an instant before speaking in a voice overflowing with self-assurance. "I intend to bestow upon you a tremendous fortune, Fellow Daoist. I wonder if you are willing to accept it?" "What fortune?" Qi Yuan asked, completely unhurried. "You were born in the Canglan Realm, yet you cultivate a poison-free method. You must possess some knowledge of the Nine Heavens. "The fortune I offer you is... to take your physical body and witness the magnificent grandeur of the Nine Heavens!" The voice was laden with supreme confidence and yearning for the Nine Heavens. "Speak like a human!" Qi Yuan frowned. "People with low emotional intelligence should just stay mute. You can't even express yourself clearly." Great Venerable Moli looked toward the Blood-Robed Sword God, her eyes brimming with affectionate devotion. "What my master means is that he wishes to borrow your physical vessel. He will use your body to favor me in the Nine Heavens. "This will be the greatest opportunity of your life, granting you the chance to break free from this cage and behold the glory of the Nine Heavens..." "Stop daydreaming. You're making me physically nauseous," Qi Yuan cut in quickly. He understood now: he was being harassed by a low-class creep of a woman. Harassing an innocent, pure-hearted young man right to his face made him quite angry. Was there no law and order left in this world?! "Your constitution is mediocre. Were you not born in the Canglan Realm, a body like yours... wouldn't even warrant a second glance from me. "Being chosen by me is your honor," the back-facing man declared confidently. Meanwhile, Qi Yuan narrowed his eyes, noticing that his surroundings had shifted. "Did I... step inside the ancient mirror?" This was an abandoned palace hall filled with collapsed walls and broken pillars, littered with fragments of bronze artifacts. In the corners, dark bloodstains appeared to have endured the baptism of tens of thousands of years. Ahead of him stood the back-facing man, looking like a nocturnal phantom. Great Venerable Moli knelt on the ground like a submissive hound, her eyes reverent. Qi Yuan surveyed the area. "This treasure isn't half bad." "You have some eye. This treasure was bestowed upon me by my father." "Do you two throw parties in here all the time?" Qi Yuan sniffed the air and furrowed his brows. "You're defiling such a fine treasure. With this much space, you could empty out a whole supermarket and stockpile supplies. You wouldn't even have to worry if the apocalypse arrived. "Instead, you use it for this garbage. How shortsighted." Qi Yuan spoke calmly. The back-facing man paused, his voice remaining aloof and haughty as ever. "Blood-Robed Sword God, now that you have entered the Ancient Tiankun Mirror, there is no need to play dumb. It will not alter your end." "You're the one playing dumb!" Qi Yuan fired back instantly. "Your whole family has certified mental illness! I'm completely normal—I don't have a certificate, and I don't pretend to be crazy!" "Heh. Do you think that by slaying the Four Generals of the Lei Family, you have become the undisputed number one in the Canglan Realm, free to act without restraint? "Alas, your narrow perspective limits you. "The confidence you display right now is laughable in my eyes. "You have no concept of the kind of existence you are facing!" the back-facing man proclaimed, his voice echoing grandly. He had seen plenty of people like the Blood-Robed Sword God. Accustomed to running rampant in a single realm, believing themselves supreme, they lost all reverence and swelled with arrogance. Little did they know that there was always a higher heaven and greater beings beyond their sight. "Don't tell me you're from the Upper Realm too? You reek of the exact same pretentious attitude!" Qi Yuan couldn't help saying. This guy reeked of the exact same smug nonsense as Li Qiuchen. Were they birthed by the same mother or something? "You do have some insight. Master hails from the Upper Realm and is the scion of a Yang God!" Great Venerable Moli interjected, her eyes shimmering with adoration. The scion of a Yang God! In the Upper Realm, establishing a sacred land required the presence of at least one Yang God powerhouse. "Now that you know Master's identity, why haven't you knelt?" Great Venerable Moli snapped coldly. "Three days ago, I just killed an arrogant prick from the Upper Realm, and it seems I'll have to kill another today. "Sigh, has the culture of the Upper Realm degenerated to such a degree?" Qi Yuan couldn't help sighing. "Looks like I need to hurry up and go to the Upper Realm. Its culture desperately needs to be cleansed by Origin Celestial Venerable!" "Still playing the fool!" The back-facing man suddenly let out a thunderous roar. The sound carried a soul attack sufficient to shake the mind of a Mythological-level powerhouse. With that roar, the man whirled around, revealing an extraordinarily handsome face to Qi Yuan. At the sight, Qi Yuan flew into a rage. "You bastard, how dare you steal my face!" He was incensed. The face the man was using was none other than his own. "Under Master's Soul Seizing Art, you still dare struggle?" Great Venerable Moli narrowed her eyes, filled with awe toward the man. "Master will enter your dantian, devour your soul, seize your sea of consciousness, and claim everything you own!" "Him? As if he's worthy," Qi Yuan sneered. "My father personally reforged my spiritual body. "Even if you were a Mythological powerhouse reflecting across all heavens, I could seize you with ease!" The man brimmed with confidence. Back in the Upper Realm, he had once carelessly flirted with Moon Goddess Yuanjun. She had struck him down with a single palm across two heavens. His father, a Yang God powerhouse, had paid an enormous price to mend his soul and specially reforge it before sealing it within the Ancient Tiankun Mirror. Having offended Moon Goddess Yuanjun, remaining in the Nine Heavens was out of the question. Thus, he had descended to the lower realms to begin his journey. Who would have guessed that the Ancient Tiankun Mirror would teleport him into the legendary Canglan Realm? Now that the Moon Goddess Palace and the Taihuang Palace were at war, with the Moon Goddess Palace at a disadvantage, he had finally conceived the desire to return to the Upper Realm. Unfortunately, trapped inside the Canglan Realm, even his father could not guide him back up. That was why he plotted to possess the body of the Blood-Robed Sword God and ascend to the Upper Realm. "A mere practitioner of the Six Steps of Sky Treading dares resist me?!" The man roared, and his spiritual body hurtled straight into Qi Yuan's dantian. "Fine, I won't resist then," Qi Yuan thought about it and gave up resisting. A smile spread across Great Venerable Moli's face. "A wise man submits to circumstance. Having your body put to use by Master is the greatest honor of your life." Yet in the very next breath, a bloodcurdling scream shattered the air inside the ancient mirror. "Aaargh... What is this?! No... Demon!" The conscious entity that had just plunged into Qi Yuan's dantian scrambled out like a terrified rabbit. Having entered for less than a breath, the spiritual body was already battered and riddled with gaping holes, his eyes wide with sheer horror. The man was paralyzed with terror. He could not comprehend what he had just witnessed. Dense and packed tightly together—over five thousand Divine Infants! Inside the Blood-Robed Sword God's body, there were actually five thousand Divine Infants! And that wasn't even the most terrifying part. The most horrifying thing was that every single one of those five thousand Divine Infants radiated an aura ten times, a hundred times stronger than his own! He felt as if he weren't facing Divine Infants at all, but five thousand Mythological entities on the verge of stepping into the Yang God realm! How could he not be terrified out of his wits?! "Don't run!" "I'm actually pretty curious about your memories." "I'd like to see if the social atmosphere in the Upper Realm is truly so depraved!" Qi Yuan narrowed his eyes. His dantian trembled. The fleeing man's spiritual body froze, as if caught in a colossal gravitational pull. His spiritual body was dragged back, plunging once more into Qi Yuan's dantian. "No, spare me...!" Piteous wails rang out. The man was drenched in pure dread. "What kind of monster are you?!" The scene before him defied all reality. Even if his father were summoned here, he would never be able to make sense of this sight. "I'm no monster. I'm a Vanguard of Civilized Society!" Qi Yuan narrowed his eyes. "Man with the Back, for the sake of purifying the Upper Realm's atmosphere, please die!" Five thousand Divine Infants trembled in unison. All of the man's pride and arrogance vanished into nothingness. A crushing, boundless pressure descended, utterly impossible to withstand. The spiritual body reforged by a Yang God shattered into fragments in an instant. A flood of memories surged into Qi Yuan's mind. He glanced at Great Venerable Moli, murder flashing in his eyes. "So you were the one who murdered someone right in front of me last time? "You two filthy scoundrels truly deserve each other." Great Venerable Moli stared at Qi Yuan, her eyes drowning in agony and fury. "You... what did you do to Master? Let him go!" Her anger evaporated in an instant, replaced by tearful begging. Her clothes half-loosened, she wept like rain upon pear blossoms. "Spare Master! You can do whatever you want to me, I beg of you!" In her heart, the man occupied an incomparably sacred place. "Die." Qi Yuan didn't hesitate in the slightest. Great Venerable Moli's soul was torn away at that moment, dying alongside the man. Qi Yuan's gaze turned profound. "He really was from the Upper Realm... and offended Moon Goddess Yuanjun..." ... In an unknown place, Qi Yuan's Innate Seed had sprouted. A woman in a white coat adjusted her spectacles and said softly, "Severe delusions... severe... Put this certificate away safely for him; it can be used to claim social assistance." The woman placed a certificate stamped with the words "Severe Mental Illness" onto the desk. A hint of pity showed in her eyes. Both parents killed in battle, raised from childhood through robotic social rearing, and now afflicted with mental illness. The life of this young man named Qi Yuan was truly tragic.