Volume 4: Immeasurable
The Method of Soul Destruction.1
Baocai2, get out here and explain yourself! What did you mean before by ‘low spirits’ and ‘injuries not yet healed’?
【Host, I am a system with professional integrity. All the intelligence I provide you is absolutely, word-for-word, the truth.】
He’s been in a coma for two months! How is that the truth?
【There’s bound to be some informational discrepancies over such a great distance. At the very least, ‘injuries not yet healed’ was accurate, and so was the location.】
【Besides, being in a coma is a state of ‘injuries not yet healed.’ And you can’t be happy while you’re unconscious, so isn’t that ‘low spirits’?】
“You’re still trying to argue with me!” Yi Qiu nearly choked on her own breath.
This freaking3 thing really has a corporate-level understanding of things, huh!
…Alright, you can go now, Yi Qiu said in her mind, sucking in a sharp breath.
She realized she had no desire to waste any more time arguing with this system. She shouldn’t have held out much hope for it in the first place. After all, she’d known for a long time that it was useless in a batch4. For a piece of junk like this, being able to function as an encyclopedia, occasionally help with location tracking, and confirm whether the protagonist was dead or alive was already asking a lot.
Yue Zhuo had said that the little pig trotter5 was severely injured and had been in a coma for nearly two months. Hearing this news, the most anxious person was undoubtedly Chao Yun.
In that instant, Chao Yun’s already pale face turned several shades ghastlier.
Chao Yun, who had been walking at the very back, lunged forward two steps. Her eyes were filled with an unconcealable worry. “What happened to him? What… what took place back then?”
Yue Zhuo opened her mouth, but she instinctively glanced over at Xun Chi. When she saw him just sigh softly, showing no intention of hiding anything, she continued, “What else could it be but that Yi Bird?”
You Yan asked, “What did the Yi Bird do?”
“I’m not too sure myself,” Yue Zhuo said. “Basically, it trapped him in a nightmare. You’ll have to ask Xun Chi for the details.”
“Trapped him in a nightmare?” Yi Qiu repeated.
What does that even mean? I don’t think I’ve ever heard of that.
Seeing Yi Qiu’s blank expression, You Yan patiently explained, “The Yi Bird was able to refine a magical treasure like the Floating Dream Pearl, which shows she’s extremely skilled in Nightmare Power6. Even without the Floating Dream Pearl, she can still plunge people into nightmares they can’t wake from.”
As You Yan spoke, she saw the worry in Chao Yun’s eyes deepen and added, “Although a nightmare can harm a person’s soul, it’s nowhere near as difficult to resist as the Floating Dream Pearl.”
The illusions of the Floating Dream Pearl were far too real. If Yi Qiu hadn’t entered with them, and if You Yan hadn’t left a sliver of self-protective consciousness behind before entering, they probably wouldn’t have lasted long inside before being harmed and sent into the next cycle of reincarnation7. If that had happened, even if You Yan managed to escape, she would have been grievously wounded. It certainly wouldn’t have been as simple as just exhausting her spiritual power and needing a few days of rest.
“Why didn’t she just use the Floating Dream Pearl to capture everyone at once?” Yi Qiu asked curiously.
“The Floating Dream Pearl’s stored spiritual power is limited, after all,” You Yan said, a flash of disdain in her eyes. “It had already consumed me. The risk of pulling in anyone else would have been too great. The Floating Dream Pearl used its full power to trap me, and I still managed to break out. If it had really dispersed its spiritual power into multiple illusions, how long could it possibly have held me?”
If the Yi Bird wasn’t an idiot, she definitely wouldn’t have tried using the Floating Dream Pearl again.
Speaking of which, the Floating Dream Pearl was originally the Yi Bird’s ultimate move intended for Luo Mingyuan and Jiang Yuyao. Given how dangerous its illusions were, causing the souls of two mortals who hadn’t even awakened their divine power8 to completely dissipate would have been an easy task. If she and You Yan hadn’t stumbled into the situation by chance, they all might have been sucked into that pearl, starting that endless nightmare of reincarnation.
In any case, the most urgent task right now was to go see just what had happened to that little pig trotter.
“Two months ago,” Xun Chi began, “Luo Mingyuan and Jiang Yuyao waited for a long time in the mountains for Miss Chao Yun. When she didn’t arrive, they grew suspicious and rushed back to the Moshui River overnight. I knew that the Yi Bird wanted them dead, so I couldn’t rest easy and followed them in secret. After they returned to Moshui City, they first went to the inn, but when they couldn’t find Miss Chao Yun, they went back to the Xianlu Sect.”
“The Xianlu Sect is, at the end of the day, the leader of all mortal immortal sects. If they gathered the full strength of the sect, they surely could have dealt with a single Yi Bird. I thought they would be safe once they returned, and I was just about to take Jian Li and Yue Zhuo back to the mountain when I sensed something was wrong.” Xun Chi couldn’t help but sigh with emotion. “Thankfully, Jiang Yuyao is now Jian Li and Yue Zhuo’s Contract Master9. If she’s in danger, they can sense her location immediately, so we all rushed back together.”
“But we were a step too late,” Yue Zhuo pouted from the side. “They were too worried about Chao Yun. After finding no news of her at the Xianlu Sect, they went down the mountain again to search. That Yi Bird was clearly prepared and had set up an ambush on the path down. When they went up the mountain, the Yi Bird must have noticed we were nearby and didn’t make a move. Later, when it saw we had left, it had no more scruples.”
“That Yi Bird’s methods are truly vicious,” Xun Chi said, his brows furrowing as he gritted his teeth. “What she wants is far more than just taking their lives in this lifetime. She wants their souls to fly and spirit to scatter10, leaving them no possibility of reincarnation—she truly wants to end their very existence.”
Yi Qiu pursed her lips. “Well, of course. If she just killed them, there would still be a next life.”
Leaving Fusang11 aside, this was indeed the Jinwu’s12 final chance. If he failed his tribulation, he would never be able to return to his divine position. But not returning to his divine position didn’t mean he couldn’t still be reincarnated. With the Yi Bird’s level of obsession, how could she possibly allow her imagined ‘love rival’ to continue existing in the world? In her eyes, the Jinwu had to be killed, and Fusang had to be killed too. That way, Goumang13 could belong to her alone… ah, no, to her one bird alone.
That said, while methods to make a person’s soul fly and spirit scatter weren’t numerous, they certainly weren’t rare either. If you were willing to think about it, you could always find a way. The simplest method of soul destruction was, of course, to possess power far greater than your opponent’s and directly shatter their soul.
But this was something the Yi Bird was clearly incapable of doing. Whether it was Luo Mingyuan or Jiang Yuyao, both had unawakened divine power within them. Although they couldn’t easily control this power, it could still invisibly protect their three hun and seven po14, making it impossible for ordinary demons to harm them in the slightest.
“The Yi Bird exploited Yue Zhuo before because heavenly fire can incinerate everything, including the souls of immortals, demons, gods, and devils…” Xun Chi sighed softly as he reached this point in his story. “If the Demon Lord hadn’t intervened back then, Yue Zhuo would have caused a terrible disaster.”
“Stop wasting time with useless details,” You Yan cut in. “What exactly is Luo Mingyuan’s condition now?”
“That night, the Yi Bird laid out a magic array15 in advance. This array was designed to lure people into a dream where they would be tormented by nightmares and die in their sleep—another method to make one’s soul fly and spirit scatter… When we arrived, we saw Luo Mingyuan push Jiang Yuyao out of the array just as it activated. We had no other choice but to first drive the Yi Bird away and then break the array to save him.”
“But after we broke the array, he had already fallen into the dreamscape. We can’t wake him up, no matter what we try.” Xun Chi heaved another heavy sigh, shaking his head in utter helplessness. “Nightmare techniques are often linked to a person’s very soul. The slightest mistake while trying to break the dream could worsen the damage to his soul. I know very little about this kind of magic, and I’ve been too afraid of making a mistake to act rashly.”
As Xun Chi spoke, he had unknowingly led the three of them to a dwelling in the mountains.
From a distance, they could see Jiang Yuyao crouching on a stone step, her expression dazed. She suddenly looked up and, upon seeing familiar faces, quickly stood and hurried over to greet them.
“Chao Yun!” Jiang Yuyao called out happily. Her gaze fell on You Yan and Yi Qiu beside her, and she quickly asked, “Miss You, Yi Qiu, what are you two doing here? Did you… save Chao Yun?”
At this, she took Chao Yun’s hands and looked her over. Seeing how terribly pale Chao Yun was, she became certain of her assumption.
“That Yi Bird really did capture you!” Jiang Yuyao said, frowning. She turned to You Yan and Yi Qiu and gave them a deep bow. When she looked up, her eyes were filled with gratitude. “Miss You, thank you… thank you for saving my Shimei16…”
“There’s no need for that,” You Yan said, her gaze sweeping coolly over Chao Yun.
Chao Yun lowered his gaze, remaining silent for a long moment before finally looking up at Jiang Yuyao and shaking his head. “I’m fine. How are you?”
“I… I’m fine…” Jiang Yuyao replied, but a hint of sorrow entered her eyes.
“Luo-shidi17…”
“He was injured by the Yi Bird’s array while protecting me,” Jiang Yuyao said, biting her lip. “He’s been unconscious ever since. Even Shang Shen18 Xun Chi says there’s nothing he can do…”
“Don’t worry, there has to be a way!” Yi Qiu said, tugging on You Yan’s sleeve. She offered earnestly, “You Yan is here! I’m sure she can help.”
You Yan frowned and stated flatly, “I can’t help.”
Yi Qiu: “…”
“Even Miss You has no solution…?” Jiang Yuyao murmured, a trace of disappointment flickering in her eyes.
Chao Yun seemed about to say something, but then he saw Jian Li walk over. Jian Li’s gaze lingered on You Yan and Yi Qiu for a moment before shifting to Chao Yun with profound shock. Jian Li opened her mouth, but a title rising in her mind caught in her throat, leaving her unable to speak.
Seeing her reaction, Chao Yun just shook his head and sighed softly. “It’s alright. It can’t be hidden.”
“Lord… Lord Wood God19,” Jian Li managed to say, instinctively pulling Yue Zhuo behind her, as if afraid the Wood God had come to pass a heavy sentence upon Yue Zhuo.
Jiang Yuyao’s eyes widened at the sight, her gaze fixed on Chao Yun in utter disbelief.
“You, you’re… Goumang, the Wood God?” Jiang Yuyao stammered.
She remembered what Yi Qiu had once told her: that her original form was the Fusang Divine Tree20 of the Jade Sea21, which had been protected for millennia by the Wood God, Goumang. But she never could have imagined that her closest Shimei in the Xianlu Sect would turn out to be the Wood God himself.
Chao Yun frowned. “Yuyao, there are some things I’ll explain to you slowly later. For now, let me go in and see Luo-shidi.”
“You have a way?” Jiang Yuyao asked.
“I’m very familiar with the spiritual power the Yi Bird cultivates,” Chao Yun replied. “It might be worth a try…”
“That’s wonderful,” Jiang Yuyao said, no longer dwelling on Chao Yun’s identity. She quickly led him toward the house.
Yi Qiu stood where she was, unable to resist tugging gently on You Yan’s sleeve. She muttered under her breath, “Tsk, tsk. He’s even figured out the spiritual power the Yi Bird cultivates. Looks like… Chao Yun and that Yi Bird really do have a leg22.”
“If that weren’t the case, he wouldn’t have gone out of his way to protect her back then,” You Yan said, taking Yi Qiu’s hand in her own. “Let’s go take a look.”
Right. No matter what, we should see the situation for ourselves first.
At this point, she only hated that she’d transmigrated into a BE23 angst text24. The protagonists had none of the plot armor a normal protagonist should have; it felt like they could kick the bucket25 at any moment.
On that point alone, she thought, I’ll never be able to make peace with Little Bird Coo Coo Fly in this lifetime.
The author has something to say:
Updates will be very irregular for the next two days, so I suggest you all don’t wait. The main problem is that I’m throwing up everything I eat, including my medicine, and I don’t know what to do. I’m going to the hospital tomorrow to see what’s up. If I really can’t write, I’ll post a leave of absence notice _(:3」∠)_
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