CHAPTER 476: CHAPTER 476: RETURN

The cultivation level of the old handsome guy is indeed very high.

Even though he smokes, drinks, goes clubbing, is always entangled in debts of love, is often dragged off to act as a makeshift Dao companion, and even sets up a stall selling consecrated souvenirs and figurines at the foot of Qianfeng Ling Mountain, his cultivation level is truly high.

He can even instantaneously detect "time displacement," something that theoretically shouldn’t leave any trace in the real world, and notice that Yu Sheng just "went somewhere else."

"Let me take a breather first," Yu Sheng looked at Yuan Hao in surprise and then immediately waved his hand amid the concerned gazes of the three Erins piled up, "Let’s go to the living room, sit down, and I’ll tell you slowly."

"Oh, should we call the silly fox and the C-type buckle back?" the Erins blinked. "Anyway, the silly fox just goes down the mountain to eat, eat, eat..."

Yu Sheng shook his head: "No need, it’s a rare opportunity, let them roam."

A moment later, Yu Sheng and Yuan Hao were in the living room, and one of the Erins casually climbed up onto the coffee table in front of Yu Sheng. This puppet laid a small cushion, sat cross-legged on it properly, with a serious face.

Yu Sheng didn’t know why this usually giggly little puppet suddenly turned serious, but under the gaze of those crimson, unusually serious eyes, he truly felt a bit pressured.

...This pressure might also be related to the divine temple he saw in the depths of that darkness, and the unavoidable connections and speculations that arose.

"I just fell into the mirror," Yu Sheng slowly opened up after organizing his thoughts slightly, "and saw a completely new dimension connected to the mirror..."

He laid bare his experiences in the depths of that black mist, including the phantoms kneeling around the divine temple and the noise they emitted, as well as the devout zeal tempered by the strange and contradictory "prayers."

——Both revered and cursed, both embraced and resisted, praised as a terrible yet merciful omen.

This sounded somewhat like prayers offered to a deity, but no matter how you listen, something seemed off, as if there’s a hint of madness involved.

The little puppet was all confused, shaking its head on the coffee table for quite a while, suddenly blurting out: "...So it turns out that when they were dying, they shouted at their god, no wonder that divine temple wants to eat people, it must have lost a cursing match with its believers and got red-hot raging."

Yu Sheng: "..."

This perspective does align well with Erin’s usual style, emphasizing understanding yet not quite understanding, not too good at thinking but having a great attitude.

Yu Sheng cautiously observed Erin’s reaction and found that the little puppet still looked like its usual self, even though she tried hard to appear serious earlier, that demeanor didn’t seem to last more than a few minutes.

Especially when the TV next to them started showing a variety show, it was evident that the Erin designated for serious talk on the coffee table suddenly lost her computational capacity.

Yu Sheng immediately breathed a sigh of relief, realizing that his worry about this silly puppet was unnecessary.

At least, for now, it was unnecessary.

"What you saw is quite different from what I saw in the depths of Black Star," Yuan Hao said, thoughtfully stroking his chin, "perhaps, as you said, that’s some form of ’history,’ a reflection of what the ruins looked like before they collapsed... However, to simply say it’s just an illusion is clearly not right, since the divine temple could trap your mind, and even faintly harbor intentions of slaughter—such feats are impossible without sky-high prowess."

"Now there’s another question, which is why the mirror leads to that place," Yu Sheng began speaking while pondering, "the ’Dao Mark’ you provided was devised based on your condition when you fell into Black Star back then; even if it’s not entirely accurate, it shouldn’t directly point to another space, let alone another timeline... And the strange situation I encountered when opening the door in that black mist gave me a feeling..."

Yu Sheng rambled on, unable to find the right words to describe it, contemplated for a long time before finally continuing, "...It’s like once entering that darkness, all the ’parameters’ related to time and space are disrupted and reset."

Yuan Hao furrowed his brows slightly and raised his hand to calculate, "Another universe and cosmos?"

Yu Sheng stared fixedly at Yuan Hao’s strange gesture of pinching calculations, feeling that this old handsome guy’s cultivation was truly unfathomable: "Another universe and cosmos... Did you deduce that?!"

"Nope, I guessed it."

Yu Sheng: "...Then what were you doing with all those gestures!"

"I couldn’t deduce it, so I just guessed," Yuan Hao shrugged, "It’s not like every deduction yields a result."

Then he got up and walked over to the refrigerator near the dining area, like he was at his own place, opening it and rummaging around: "You got anything refreshing and thirst-quenching? All that calculating really dries out the mouth..."

Yu Sheng stared at him, stunned, not having time to speak before the old handsome guy had already fished out a can of cola, opened it with a "pshh" and gulped it down, showing a look of enjoyment.

The more Yu Sheng watched, the more familiar it seemed, realizing that it was the same state Xuan Che had been in last time while drinking cola at his place.

...So, even Senior Brother’s hobby of sneakily drinking sweet little beverages was taught by his Master Uncle?

While his mind was wandering, Yuan Hao had already turned around and strolled over, burping as he casually said, "All in all, one thing’s for sure, my ’Dao Mark’ is evidently useful—though it can’t accurately lead to the place first recorded, it at least can open a passage in that Spirit Mirror... it’s all up to fate where it goes."

Yu Sheng thought for a moment, just about to speak when Erin jumped over from the coffee table, the little puppet skillfully climbed up his shoulder and pulled his hair: "Then you better not touch that mirror casually for now, your fate is like a curse, what if I can’t pull you out next time."

Yu Sheng frowned and fixed his gaze on the little puppet before him: "...A bloody disaster?"

Erin stared at him blankly, the crimson eyes seeming to flicker with a faint light, but after a long look, she still shook her head: "Haven’t seen that yet. I just feel this isn’t reliable."

"...I understand," Yu Sheng gently exhaled, "No matter what, I’ll be cautious. Until I figure out what’s ’below,’ I won’t mess around."

"The ’Dao Mark’ I’ve left is already imprinted in that room. I checked a while ago and found part of it has merged with the mirror. Removing it recklessly might be difficult," Yuan Hao added, "I’ll apply some seals later to prevent the Dao Mark from being affected by external forces."

Instantly, a scene flashed in Yu Sheng’s mind of the dashing fellow building some brick walls at the end of the second-floor room—truth be told, when Yuan Hao said the word "seal," he almost asked him if he needed cement, luckily swallowing the words back.

Then he saw Yuan Hao rummage through his sleeve, pull out a square, glowing brick, and head upstairs with it...

How else could he say it? It’s really not his fault for wild imagination!

...

Deep within Qianfeng Ling Mountain, at a Half Mountain Pavilion on Beast Taming Peak, two venerable-looking figures were seated at a stone table, facing the mountain breeze, leisurely drinking tea.

Both carried some injuries.

Yuanling took a sip of tea, his face slightly twitching.

"...Senior Brother seems quite angry."

Yuan He didn’t speak, just watched the tea leaves gently swirl in his cup, his face... looking a bit fuller than usual.

The ancestor’s teachings were right, drinking too much wine indeed harms the body.

Yuanling noticed his junior brother not speaking for a long time, took another sip of tea, and finally said leisurely, "Still worried about that girl?"

Yuan He’s expression finally changed.

He sighed: "Not really worried... just received news last night that she’s left the Netherworld Valley territory. With her cultivation level as a Great Demon, even without the Immortal Boat, she should be back by now. Netherworld Valley is not far."

"She didn’t say she would return when she left," Yuanling raised his eyebrows, "That’s your assumption. Perhaps she’s wandering the world? With her cultivation as a Great Demon, she could establish her own sect in some remote areas."

"Where can she wander? She hasn’t seen much of the world," Yuan He shook his head, "...That silly girl might just spend the night in the wilderness?"

Yuanling chuckled: "...She’s a Snake Demon first! Spending the night in the wilderness is nothing. You’re almost obsessed these days, drink some tea, drink some tea, perhaps you need a shock of electricity."

Yuan He sighed again, but just as he was about to pick up his tea cup, his action suddenly halted, as if sensing something, he lifted his head to look someplace.

Yuanling also raised his head.

In a moment, a beam of dark purple mystic light abruptly flew up from the Cloud Sea, then landed on the nearby mountain path, a long figure crawled out from the mystic light, accompanied by a signature, irreverent shout: "Yuan He old rogue! I’m back!"

"See, what did I tell you!" Yuan He sprang up from the stone table, boasting to Yuanling while looking at the approaching Snake Demon, "Isn’t she back... Hey, the head, the head, there’s an extra head, take it back!"

"Oh, didn’t notice," Snake Princess glanced at the leopard head on her shoulder, casually pushed the extra head back, then boldly looked at Yuan He, "I came back last night, but saw fireworks in the city below, watched half the night. Then I got tired, found a cool place to sleep, and was fished out just now, they said no sleeping in the moat..."

As she spoke, she crawled into the pavilion, saw snacks and fruits laid out, leaned in to munch, prompting a distressed Yuan He: "Use your hands! How many times have I told you to use your hands—you won’t learn if you don’t practice!"

Snake Princess ignored him, chewing grapes as she raised her head, then suddenly seemed to notice something. She swallowed the grapes and looked at Yuan He in surprise: "Hey, old rogue, why’s your face swollen?"

Yuan He’s previously cheerful expression suddenly froze, his mouth trembled twice involuntarily.

"Uh, drinking harms the body... and the face."