Don't the Old Men in the Upper Realm Ever Bathe?

Qi Yuan's figure spanned the sky. In the Origin Land, Martial Lord Heilu and the others took in the Demon Court, wonder gleaming in their eyes. "This is the Myriad Demons Realm?" "The homeland of the Lord of Ancestral Demons?" "To think we've come to the homeland of Dongjun's Dao companion!" Amidst their chatter, a ripple in space surged above the Demon Court. Excitement shone in the Demon King's eyes. This was the fluctuation of the ancestral master descending from the Upper Realm. The other Purple Mansion demons of the Demon Court looked on in awe, though their hearts were still fraught with uncertainty. They had no idea what realm the ancestral master stood in, nor did they know how strong that formidable enemy truly was. Either way, both were at realms far beyond their comprehension. The ripples grew increasingly violent. Before the figure even arrived, a voice boomed ahead: "This Venerable One's physical form is somewhat immense. Lend your strength, and let me slip a toe through first." The voice drifted from the oscillating space. This ancestral master from the Upper Realm clearly wished to show off. *The enemy is somewhat big?* *Could he possibly be bigger than me?* The Demon King and the many Purple Mansion demons glanced up at the firmament. Seeing that the colossal entity gave no response, they directed their demonic power toward that tear in space. At that moment, the space was finally forced open into a massive fissure. A gargantuan mass the size of an entire city squeezed through, blotting out the sky and sun. It cast a vast shadow over the demons beneath the Demon Court, obstructing their vision. "Ah, the fissure is far too small! Only one toe managed to get through!" A hint of smugness and vanity tinged the voice. By Blue Star's terms, this was pure humblebragging. He was, after all, a Great Venerable of the Sky Treading Fourth Step. A single punch from him could effortlessly obliterate an entire kingdom. How could there be any rival for him in the Lower Realm? Witnessing this, the Demon King beside the rift was inwardly startled. Under normal circumstances, seeing a toe this huge would indeed compel him to prostrate and fawn in reverence. A toe the size of a city was terrifying enough. Yet compared to the boundless entity overhead whose edges could not even be seen, it fell far too short. The Demon King could not help glancing toward the Demon Queen. The Demon Queen understood what he meant and transmitted her voice: "Perhaps the ancestral master is compact and mighty." Generally speaking, using "compact and mighty" here was absurd. Yet compared to the terrifying behemoth in the vault of heaven, it was already high praise. "Let us hope so," the Demon King thought uneasily. He and the other Purple Mansion demons exerted their strength once more to widen the rift. Minutes and seconds ticked by. The gigantic entity descending from the sky grew ever larger. Eventually, it reached the size of half the Demon Court. Blotting out the sun, it was truly terrifying. A colossus of this scale could level a city with a single sneeze. A colossal eyeball looked as large as a lantern. "The light of the Myriad Demons Realm is actually red? How interesting." The ancestral master from the Upper Realm finally squeezed all the way through. His body was massive—this was the largest form he could sustain. His gaze naturally fell upon the ten-thousand-zhang-long serpent within the Demon Court, a hint of disdain flashing in his eyes. This Demon Court King was truly narrow-minded and ignorant. A ten-thousand-zhang serpent? And that was called "somewhat big"? It was merely passable. Well, it was normal for those in the Lower Realm to be uncultured. "Are you the one who killed my disciple?" the old man boomed, his voice like thunder. A gale swept across the entire Demon Court. Many low-ranking demons could not hold their ground and were hurled through the air; some were even shaken to death on the spot in utter agony. The Demon King's heart leaped into his throat. Just from the ancestral master's gaze alone, he felt as though his divine soul would be extinguished. "Ancestral Master, I am the Demon King of the Demon Court, not the formidable foe! I was the one who notified you just now!" the Demon King hurried to explain in a panic. The old man from the Upper Realm froze, feeling slightly awkward. "Oh. Then where is the enemy?" He scanned the surroundings and saw no creature that seemed particularly large. "Oh? Could he have been scared away by This Venerable One?" The old man was full of smug satisfaction. It was only natural. In the Upper Realm, he was a prominent figure with a name and a face. Among Great Venerables, some could even lay eyes upon the legendary Yang Gods. If one caught a Yang God's eye and was granted the qualification to reflect upon the heavens, that would be monumental. Coming to the Lower Realm, it was only expected that an enemy would fear him. "Where did he flee to?" the old man could not help asking. At this moment, the Demon King glanced at the Demon Queen again. He suddenly felt that compact did not necessarily mean mighty—it could just be thoroughly unreliable. "He didn't flee. He is... in the sky." "Fled into the sky?" The old man only half-listened. He angled his massive head upward to gaze at the firmament. ... "...Your sky looks rather peculiar, quite red. This old man just remembered he still has an uneaten meat bun left. I'll return after finishing my bun." Having said that, the old man prepared to beat a dignified retreat. Yet as his colossal frame lunged backward, no matter how hard he tried, he could not burrow back into the spatial rift. He was beside himself with anxiety. His composure finally shattered, and he was on the verge of tears. Right then, a voice rang beside his ear: "Are you the mastermind who plotted against me?" The old man stiffened, not daring to twitch in the slightest. "This humble old servant did not! I didn't! Absolutely not, Heavenly Venerable!" In the Upper Realm, a Yang God was respectfully addressed as a Heavenly Venerable! Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine that in this backwater wasteland, he would encounter a Yang God! What kind of concept was this? It was like going fishing in the pond outside your front door, only to find an aircraft carrier parked in it. Well... The odds were miniscule, right? Fine... encountering it once could be written off, since illogical things always happened in the world. So how... could it happen a second time in the very same place?! "Was it not you who sent Thousand Eyes to Can Star to have them cancel the Martial Arts Tournament and stop me from playing my game?" The voice was vast, and a gigantic eyeball stared intently at the old man. The old man trembled from head to toe, sweat rolling down his forehead. A sour, reeking rain poured down upon the Demon Court. "This humble one would never dare plot against the Heavenly Venerable!" How many years had it been since he last broke a sweat? Qi Yuan's expression was calm. The other party was not lying. After all, his nose had not grown longer. "Don't you old men in the Upper Realm ever take baths? You reek completely," Qi Yuan said in disgust. It seemed the Upper Realm's civil conduct was pretty poor as well. Compared to the Lower Realm, it was merely the pot calling the kettle black. Once he reached the Upper Realm, he would definitely reform its morals and customs. Everyone would practice good hygiene! Old men and old women would bathe once a day! When the time came, opening a public bathhouse would surely make him a fortune. After all, old men and old women were all his potential white moonlights. Having a white moonlight who didn't bathe gave Qi Yuan an uncomfortable knot in his chest. "I..." The old man was choked for words, utterly terrified of speaking back. When immortal cultivators reached their realm, who still took baths? Water was dirtier than they were. "Since you aren't the mastermind, could it be someone else?" Qi Yuan mused in surprise, looking at the old man. The old man shivered uncontrollably. As for the Demon King, utter dread gripped his heart. Looking at this, compact truly wasn't mighty! "This humble old servant genuinely knows nothing, nor do I know of any Martial Arts Tournament!" the old man cried out, proclaiming his innocence. Inwardly, he cursed the Demon King to death. "Could it be that I misunderstood?" the terrifying colossus pondered. The old man shivered. Even the legendary Heavenly Venerable of his sacred ground didn't possess a dharma idol body this enormous, did he? Just what kind of monster was this! At this moment, Qi Yuan found himself in a bit of an awkward spot. He began to suspect: was he suffering from persecutory delusions? Impossible. Being a bit cautious was always wise. Better to kill mistakenly than to let the culprit go. Still... "Do you know of the Lord of Ancestral Demons?" Qi Yuan recalled something and inquired. He wanted to understand the background lore of this world's game. According to Martial Lord Heilu, Dongjun's Dao companion was the Lord of Ancestral Demons. In the ruins, the ancient Purple Mansion demon had mentioned that after the ancestral demons disappeared, the demons from the Upper Realm occupied the Myriad Demons Realm. Hearing this, the old man stammered, "This humble old servant has heard of her. The Lord of Ancestral Demons was a... Heavenly Venerable." Bitterness flooded his heart. Having one Heavenly Venerable appear here was bad enough; why was there yet another? "A Yang God?" Qi Yuan was not surprised. He asked again, "Who was her Dao companion?" The old man paused, then replied, "I have never heard of the Lord of Ancestral Demons having a Dao companion." In the Origin Land, Martial Lord Heilu and the others were taken aback upon hearing this. "Hmph! That demon is talking nonsense! The Dao companion of the Lord of Ancestral Demons was none other than Dongjun!" "It must simply be short-sighted and ignorant!" Qi Yuan looked at the old man and continued, "Then have you heard of Dongjun?" "Never," the old man answered hastily. "Oh, really?" Qi Yuan was intrigued. "Do you know the origins of the Lord of Ancestral Demons?" "This..." The old man wracked his brain frantically. Facing a Heavenly Venerable, he dared not conceal a thing. Or rather, hiding anything would be futile. A single soul search from a Heavenly Venerable would grant him all the answers anyway. "I once heard that the Lord of Ancestral Demons was not a being native to this world. "With mighty divine abilities, she severed communication between heaven and earth, refusing to ascend to the Upper Realm. "Later, she vanished, and only then did this realm fall into our hands," the old man said. Normally, a Yang God could never appear in the Lower Realm. The appearance of an outsider like the Lord of Ancestral Demons had already been terrifying enough. Yet now, a new one had arrived. How could he not be petrified? "This humble old servant is named Qian Li, an elder of the Thirty-Seventh Realm of Mount Wuliang. "A Heavenly Venerable resides within our Mount Wuliang, enthroned upon the Triple Heavens." The old man mentioned his sect and origin in hopes of intimidating Qi Yuan. That way, perhaps Qi Yuan would spare his life. "Oh? Does that mean he is the true mastermind? "I'll give you a chance. Call him down here," Qi Yuan said offhandedly. The old man's face turned dark, his expression pained. "This humble old servant... does not possess the status to meet a Heavenly Venerable." Mount Wuliang spanned seven hundred realms in total; he was merely an elder of one of them. Where would he ever find the qualification to see a legendary Heavenly Venerable? "Boring. Truly boring." A flash of blood-red light swept across heaven and earth. The terrifying giant eye in the sky closed. Within the Demon Court, every demon stiffened at that very instant. By the time the colossal eye opened again, every demon in the Demon Court, including that unbathed old man from the Upper Realm, had perished. A blood-red figure also materialized above the Demon Court, extraordinarily handsome. This blood-red figure was Qi Yuan. He had come down to see whether any traces left by the Lord of Ancestral Demons remained in this realm. However... after sweeping through the area, he found no useful information. ... In the end, Qi Yuan did not attend the feast on Can Star. He did, however, sneakily take a boxed portion of pork knuckle rice before leaving. After all, heading back to Arch Star through the sky was rather dull, so eating a box of pork knuckle rice along the way was just right. By the time he finished the meal, Qi Yuan's figure had returned to his home. "Meow!" Xie Xinsu's fur bristled as it let out a pathetic wail. The robot Zero-One stood quietly, resembling an elegant female housekeeper. "Welcome home, Master." The bodysuit-clad woman's nerves tautened instantly. Looking at the excessively handsome young man before her, her heart hammered wildly. Even now, she could not accept that her junior brother... was actually that gargantuan titan in the sky. "I'm back. I didn't keep you waiting too long, did I?" Qi Yuan looked at the woman, his voice gentle. After all, this was his creditor. "N-No! Not at all!" the woman stammered. "I know you traveled all this way to find me because you want me to pay back the money. "Sigh, things are a little tight right now. The tens of thousands I owe you... could I pay it back a little later?" Qi Yuan probed tentatively. He still wanted to save up to buy land and build the Netherworld. Paying back money was simply out of the question for now. "No! You don't have to pay it back!" the woman blurted out. Perhaps out of sheer tension, her breathing came in short gasps. She almost doubted whether this overly gentle, cautiously speaking man before her was really the existence that had swallowed a star whole. "There truly are plenty of good people in this world!" Qi Yuan could not help sighing with feeling. "Actually, I'm a good person too. Going to Can Star to make them keep the Martial Arts Tournament was partly for selfish reasons. "However... more than that, I didn't want our traditional culture to die out in our generation, nor did I want the tournament's audience to lose such a wonderful show in the future. "By doing this, I'm also contributing to Qinyuan Kingdom's GDP!" Toward the end, Qi Yuan sounded slightly guilty. After all, claiming he was contributing to GDP was a bit of a stretch. Qi Yuan had heard this joke before: Person A took out a hundred yuan and told Person B, "Eat that pile of dog poop in front of you, and I'll give you this hundred yuan." Tempted, Person B ate the poop and earned a cool hundred yuan. Suddenly feeling cheated, he took out the hundred yuan and challenged Person A to eat dog poop too. Feeling unhappy about losing a hundred yuan, Person A ate the poop to win his money back. Neither of them made any money, and both ended up eating dog poop, yet they contributed to the nation's GDP growth. Hearing Qi Yuan's words, the woman could only nod along, uttering faint "mhm"s, completely terrified of saying anything else. As for persuading Qi Yuan to leave and hide in the Tianyuan Sect? She would never dare bring that up again. "All right, I have to head to the Origin Land. Bye-bye, see you next time." With that, Qi Yuan vanished into thin air. He came in a hurry and left in a hurry. He was still waiting to see the Wall of Dongjun and find out what the legendary Spirit Realm Martial Lords were all about. ... The Mountains and Seas Picture Scroll. The pure moon shed its radiance, mingling its shadow with the luminous river. Upon the limpid lake, a lone skiff rested like a single brushstroke in a landscape painting. A woman stood at the bow, her eyes filled with boundless uncertainty. Gazing ahead, she murmured softly, "How much longer until we behold the truth?" Wang Yuanyu looked at her and said softly, "Perhaps ten years, perhaps a century." Within the Mountains and Seas Picture Scroll, countless scrolls began to crisscross and intertwine. Endless slaughter unfolded. When Wang Yuanyu first met Lüzhu, an overwhelming killing intent had surged within her heart. She had felt an impulse to slay her. Yet in the end, she suppressed her instincts and chose to cooperate with Lüzhu. Because she knew that once they beheld the truth, they would face a genuine Great Tribulation. "I hope time moves a bit faster." Joy and anticipation flashed in Lüzhu's delicate eyes. "Aren't you afraid that when the worlds converge, your body will perish and your Dao will dissolve?" Wang Yuanyu asked. "In this realm, all that is false may be destroyed, leaving only a single truth." "I am afraid. But I want to see Master again, and tell him 'thank you' in person," Lüzhu said wistfully. The princess of the past had finally grown up. Back then, when Master disappeared, she hadn't had the chance to thank him. That unsaid "thank you" had lingered in her heart ever since. "I also want Master to know that Lüzhu hasn't brought shame upon him!"