Two Tales of the Past

"The Old Marshal suspected you?" Zhang Yuanqing asked, his tone tinged with surprise. The Lord of the Stars was not a fallen one. Before the battle for the Compass of Light, he had never even made contact with the Covenant of Freedom's Demon Seeds. In other words, whether inside or out, there should have been nothing suspicious about him. Why would the Old Marshal suspect the Lord of the Stars of being a fallen one without any reason? The Lord of the Stars spoke in a flat, unhurried cadence, as leisurely as if he were hosting an afternoon tea: "Any Spirit Realm walker with some experience knows that Taiyin counters the Stars. Yet few realize that a Scout's Insight counters the Stars just as well. "I wonder if you have ever heard a saying: in this world, no one can lie to the Marshal. "Over the past sixty years, I secluded myself within the Spirit Realm and lived in obscurity. On one hand, I deliberately concealed my capabilities; on the other, I avoided contact with the Old Marshal as much as possible. Taiyin can shield deductions made through Stargazing, while Insight can see through my arrangements and strategy. "Yet sometimes, deliberate avoidance itself reveals a guilty conscience. What is more, some of my schemes, no matter how secretive, still showed flaws he could detect." Zhang Yuanqing asked, "Such as?" The Lord of the Stars looked up at him with a meaningful expression. "Such as the mastermind behind Huo Zhengkui's assassination, which you are currently investigating." Zhang Yuanqing narrowed his eyes. In the past, he might have been struck with utter shock, having an epiphany and saying: *You old scoundrel, so the mastermind was you all along! No wonder I could never track it down.* Now, however, he only felt a sense of enlightened realization that it indeed made sense, without any real shock or surprise. "You assassinated Huo Zhengkui to prevent the Second District from forming an official organization, to stop a second Papacy from emerging?" Zhang Yuanqing asked. The Lord of the Stars nodded gently. "The political landscape and cultural background of the First District predestined them never to become a second Papacy. Out of their desire for 'freedom,' they even formed their own factions and allied with the Covenant of Freedom to overthrow the ancient Papacy. "The Second District is different. Unification is an idea deeply rooted in every Spirit Realm walker here, whereas division is considered an unforgivable sin. If Huo Zhengkui had been allowed to negotiate with the authorities, the official organization would have been established fifty years earlier. Today, the most powerful orthodox organization would not be Heaven's Punishment, but the Second District. "The fruit of the evil faction's painstaking efforts to destroy the Papacy would have gone up in smoke." "If that was the case, why didn't you take the initiative to establish the official organization yourself?" Zhang Yuanqing asked, puzzled. The Lord of the Stars gave another profound look. "The Same Boat Society attempted it, but failed, facing opposition from most members. Looking back now, failure was inevitable." He sighed. "In that era, we had suffered foreign powers trampling upon us and the island nation's invasion, hovering on the brink of subjugation and annihilation. Everyone utterly despised foreign powers and was extremely sensitive to Western rule. Attempting to establish an official organization dominated by Western influence at that time went against the historical tide. Those who go against the tide are bound to fail!" "So it was around then that your body was in one camp while your heart belonged to the other, becoming a fallen one?" "To be precise, it was during that very period that I came into contact with corruption from the Yin deities. In a Dominator-stage S-rank dungeon, I fell under the gaze of the Torch Dragon, and my body and soul were inevitably tainted. After leaving the dungeon, I lost control and slaughtered the companions who once fought by my side, resulting in the tragedy that wiped out the Same Boat Society sub-branch." The Lord of the Stars unveiled that piece of history in a calm voice. A look of shock finally surfaced on Zhang Yuanqing's imposing face, and he let out a long sigh. "So it was you!" *The terrifying figure in Shanhe Yongcun's dream was you!* To be frank, this truly defied his expectations. The person in that dream had been clearly corrupted and mentally deranged, whereas the Lord of the Stars was not corrupted. Because of that, Zhang Yuanqing had never linked the two together. The Lord of the Stars did not respond to his remark, continuing: "That was only a Dominator-level dungeon, so the corruption was not excessively severe. Moreover, the specialty of the Stars is a wise, steadfast mind; mild corruption was not enough to twist my sanity permanently. "After slaughtering the village, my clarity began to return. Later, as my level rose and I took command of the Astral Origin, I eradicated the corruption entirely. However, the essence of corruption is a Yin deity spreading its ideals. Once you know such things, you cannot un-know them; they cannot be rooted out." *The Astral Origin can cleanse corruption, but Taiyin cannot. Such is fate!* Zhang Yuanqing sighed inwardly. Taiyin was inherently the universe's negative aspect. Theoretically speaking, it shared the same source as the Yin deities. The Lord of the Stars steered the conversation back: "The Marshal had always been secretly investigating the assassination of Huo Zhengkui and the truth behind the destruction of the Same Boat Society sub-branch. Although he lacked definitive evidence, with his level of Insight, he already suspected me. "Taking advantage of my inclination to father children, he arranged for Ling Jun's birth mother to be by my side. A woman of the Saint stage was nothing to fear, but the person behind her was terrifying. "As the person closest to me, conveying just a few small details was sometimes enough to let the Old Marshal piece together many truths." *So Ling Jun's mother had to die...* Zhang Yuanqing frowned, puzzled. "With your deduction abilities, you must have known why Ling Jun's mother married into the Taiyi Sect. The Marshal certainly knew you knew, an unspoken understanding between you two. Killing her was practically an admission of your guilt!" The Lord of the Stars smiled faintly. "She died inside a dungeon with many witnesses. The Old Marshal had no evidence to prove I killed Ling Jun's mother, just as he could never prove I was the one who wiped out the Same Boat Society sub-branch or assassinated Huo Zhengkui. As fellow demigods, without proof, he could not bring me down. Even he never managed to figure out how I orchestrated her death. "Of course, after that incident, the rift between us became official, and we became unspoken enemies. Therefore, he had to die!" Many things clicked into place for Zhang Yuanqing at once. "So that's why the Marshal didn't join forces with you or the four league masters back then, choosing instead the promising rising stars he favored—the Four Xiaoyao Paragons. Ah, a demigod-level melee was indeed the best place to kill the Old Marshal." At this point, a thought struck him: "During the battle for the Compass of Light, you deliberately went easy on them, letting the Xiaoyao Organization claim the core fragment so the Marshal and Void would draw all the fire." The Lord of the Stars said impassively, "Unfortunately, Void's hidden trumps exceeded my calculations. Single-handedly, he suppressed three demigods, and in the end, I failed to obtain the core fragment of the Compass of Light." With that, he crooked a finger. Above Zhang Yuanqing's head, a golden solar disc rose uncontrollably. Within it, a Golden Crow was dragged, slowly breaking free. Zhang Yuanqing's heart sank. Unbeknownst to him, he had been trapped inside the Ziwei Six Fiends Formation for nearly an hour. Neither his uncle, the Twin Gods of Wind and Thunder, nor Old Ancestor Xie had succeeded in breaking their formations. Left with no choice, he abandoned his plan to stall for time and swiftly retrieved the Merit Roster. On the scroll, the ID "Awakened One" surfaced and was promptly obliterated by golden radiance. A murky, dark sheen suddenly veiled the Lord of the Stars' forehead. A darkened brow! The retribution inflicted on him this time was a drastic reduction in his fortune, meaning misfortune would plague him relentlessly from this moment on. Zhang Yuanqing turned into a streak of golden light and crashed toward the Lord of the Stars. His right leg whipped out with a crack, like the world's most terrifying lash, splintering the surrounding space. He had to seize this moment while the Lord of the Stars was engulfed in misfortune to engage in close-quarters combat and inflict heavy damage. Sitting cross-legged in the mire, the Lord of the Stars unhurriedly drew a metallic shield from his inventory. *Bang!* Zhang Yuanqing's whip kick smashed the shield to pieces. Relying on the immense recoil, the Lord of the Stars flew backward. As he retreated, the shattered pieces flew back instantly like iron attracted to a magnet, recombining in midair. It was a shield forged from Breathing Earth. The Lord of the Stars raised the shield to block Zhang Yuanqing's follow-up elbow strike. *Bang!* The elbow strike shattered the shield once more. The shards of Breathing Earth turned into razor-sharp shrapnel, burying themselves deep into the Lord of the Stars' flesh with a rapid flurry of wet thuds. Misfortune had struck. Seizing the opening, Zhang Yuanqing unleashed a barrage of elbows, knees, and fists, pouring all the terrifying, monstrous strength of the Lord of the Sun onto the Lord of the Stars. Half of the latter's skull fractured, and his ribcage caved in. Yet he still spread his arms unhurriedly as pairs of illusory, muscular arms sprouted from his back and ribs, closing around him like spider legs to form a barrier. He had borrowed the power of a Demonic Enchanter from the Ziwei Six Fiends Formation. *Boom! Boom! Boom!* Each of Zhang Yuanqing's punches was heavier than the last. Shockwaves rippled through the space like shaking cloth; waves surged through the mire beneath their feet, and the canopy of starlight above violently trembled. Even without unleashing solar divine power, the Lord of the Sun's physical body stood peerless among demigods. No item could match the destructive force of his fists. With his eight arms closed in defense, the Lord of the Stars retreated repeatedly. Suddenly, his foot slipped—seemingly jarred off balance by a massive shockwave—and he tumbled to the ground. Misfortune had taken effect again. Zhang Yuanqing naturally would not squander this opportunity. He moved in to deliver a righteous thrashing to the old schemer. Yet even as he fell, an illusory Dionysian Scepter coalesced in the Lord of the Stars' hand. *Thud!* The scepter struck the ground, warping the reality of his fall into a teleportation. He reappeared hundreds of meters away, tumbling to the ground with a thump and evading the Lord of the Sun's iron fist. Next, the Lord of the Stars dissolved the scepter, swept his hands forward, and spread out an altar table, expertly beginning a ritual. *Trying to counter the bad luck through prayer?* Zhang Yuanqing's brows twitched. Inhaling deeply, he roared: "Ling Tuo!" Before the altar table, the Lord of the Stars stiffened abruptly. Violent psychic fluctuations erupted from within the black full moon hovering over his head. The remnant spirit on the verge of annihilation seemed to receive nourishment, awakening once more. During his conversation with the Lord of the Stars, Zhang Yuanqing had not been idling. He had constantly communicated with Ling Tuo's remnant spirit, wringing out and stoking his rage, resentment, and unwillingness. A wraith's power originated from the mind, and the essence of the mind was emotion. The stronger the grievance, the fiercer the spirit. *** Inside the Qingyang Formation. Fear Heavenly King looked at Fu Qingyang, who had descended into the dungeon, his expression momentarily startled. Soon, a smirk played on his lips, and he clicked his tongue. "I didn't expect that administrator would still have the spare capacity to pull you into the dungeon." Fu Qingyang maintained a cold, stern expression, ignoring him. Driven by a Scout's habit, he calmly surveyed his surroundings. It was a desolate dungeon, as barren as the Gobi Desert of the far northwest. A pitch-black celestial orb hung in the sky, and the air was thick with a chill that made hairs stand on end. It felt as though an invisible divine sword was constantly radiating sword intent. At the same time, the bizarre, maddening aura emanating from the black celestial body caused even a high-status Scout like Fu Qingyang to feel his blood quietly simmer, filling him with an urge to fight recklessly until his life reached its end. "Haven't seen you in a while; you leveled up quite fast." Fear Heavenly King spoke in a casual tone, as if greeting an old friend. "At your level, facing me is suicidal. You must have companions!" As if in response to his words, another figure materialized out of thin air a few meters away from Fu Qingyang. Fear Heavenly King and Fu Qingyang turned their heads at the same time. The former froze for an instant, his face darkening abruptly. "You?" The newcomer wore an athletic headband across his forehead. He was tall, handsome, and projected the image of a bright, fit young man. It was none other than Demon Eye Heavenly King. Fear Heavenly King stared intently at him for several seconds before letting out a dry laugh. "I thought I had persuaded you. With your obsession with cleansing the world, Yuanshi Tianzun shouldn't have been able to make you turn back even if he talked his mouth dry. "Demon Eye, have you truly thought this through?" Demon Eye Heavenly King's appearance here proved that the Lord of the Sun still held a place in his heart, and that he had ultimately chosen to break with the Freedom faction. Otherwise, that administrator would never have sent him in. Fu Qingyang was equally surprised. Demon Eye Heavenly King pointed to his own chest and grinned. "I asked it what it truly wanted. It answered me: cleanse the world!" Fear Heavenly King shrugged. "So what is wrong with destroying the world? The most thorough cleansing is destruction!" "Once, I also believed the best cleansing was destruction. But after you left, I kept thinking: could destroying the world truly cleanse the evil of human nature?" Demon Eye Heavenly King shook his head. "The answer is no. Leaving this planet is merely jumping from one cesspool into another; essentially, there is no difference. Fear, as you know, I was born in an orphanage. It was my parents who adopted me, giving me love and warmth. When I lost them, an intense urge to destroy the world was born within me. "Yet in truth, that hatred stemmed from a longing for love and family, from feeling disappointed that humanity and society failed to live up to expectations. What I wanted was always to cleanse the world, never to destroy it. "I still hold hope... for humanity!" Demon Eye Heavenly King opened his arms, as if embracing his faith, and spoke in an immensely resolute voice: "I love this world!" *** Because of the initial fusion with Taiyin, the Lord of the Stars and the Lord of Taiyin essentially shared a single body. Once Ling Tuo's remnant spirit erupted, it instinctively began contending with the Lord of the Stars for control over the body. Given Ling Tuo's current state, he was no match for the Lord of the Stars, but Zhang Yuanqing only needed a distraction. Taking advantage of the moment the Lord of the Stars froze, Zhang Yuanqing flashed behind him, his right leg whipping out in an afterimage. *Crack!* The whip kick shattered the Lord of the Stars' skull, sending bone fragments and brain matter flying. Aided by misfortune, the attack succeeded with extraordinary smoothness. The Lord of the Stars' body plunged abruptly into the mire, and the scattered brain matter did the same. Like a foul loach, he concealed himself in a familiar environment to escape a natural predator. This choice was also guided by Ling Tuo's will. In the face of danger, the instinct for survival led the remnant spirit to reach an alignment with the Lord of the Stars. At the same time, vengeful wraiths rose from the mire, an altar table set before each of them. Zhang Yuanqing had no time to disrupt the wraiths. Two beams of golden light shot from his eyes, locating the Lord of the Stars within the mire, his head already fully regenerated. Zhang Yuanqing reached into the mud, grabbing for the Lord of the Stars, only for the opponent's body to suddenly collapse into clear streams of water. An item of the Water Ghost class! Meanwhile, the wraiths controlled by the Lord of the Stars successfully completed their prayer, dispelling the lingering misfortune between his brows. Only then did the Lord of the Stars recondense his physical form and dare to emerge from the mire. With eight arms manifested and the black moon overhead, he defended against Yuanshi Tianzun's assaults while using items to tie him down. Like a cat toying with a mouse, he moved with ease, refusing to engage in a fight to the death. After a flurry of ferocious attacks, Zhang Yuanqing suddenly felt a wave of intense exhaustion wash over him. From the solar disc behind his head, the Golden Crow that had been half-pulled out was finally yanked free. Wrapped in a shroud of starlight, it was cast into the swirling vortex of astral radiance, drifting like a paper boat caught in a whirlpool. The Golden Crow flapped its wings violently, struggling to break away, yet it could not escape the vortex's pull. Zhang Yuanqing's connection to the Golden Crow was not severed, but he could no longer recall it. He looked at the Lord of the Stars and sighed. "You won!" Seeing him halt his attacks, the Lord of the Stars said impassively, "You haven't lost yet. You can keep fighting, and I will entertain you to the end." "That would only make me lose faster!" Zhang Yuanqing said. *** Inside the Dikong Formation. What greeted Xiahou Aotian's eyes was a blizzard of swirling goose-feather snowflakes. The sky hung dark, snow accumulated past his knees, and the icy wind lashed against his body like blades. Even with his status as a Level 8 Dominator, he shuddered violently. "It's so cold..." he heard someone shivering nearby. Looking toward the voice, he saw a young man in a black mink coat, arms crossed over his chest, trembling all over. It was none other than Zhai Cai, the sole heir of six generations of Papacy knights. Xiahou Aotian said in astonishment, "How did an unlucky bastard like you end up in here too? With your measly skills, coming in here is just courting death." Zhai Cai was equally shocked. Hearing that, the corner of his mouth twitched as he retorted, "Knowing someone even more incompetent is here to die with me makes me feel much better." As they spoke, goose-feather snowflakes and icy grit, swept up by the gale, slapped against their faces like repeated blows. Even though both of their expressions were contorted from the freezing cold, Xiahou Aotian sneered, "Look at you, freezing like a dog." Zhai Cai chuckled coldly. "Cold? Not cold at all! It's delightfully brisk!" Xiahou Aotian: "I'm not cold either!" No sooner had he spoken than a barrage of curses from the Qin Dynasty alchemist echoed from within the ring: "Why haven't you taken me off? Are you courting death, you bastard?! You truly are courting death!"