Free Web NovelWhen the first bolt of lightning from Zixiao Platform struck, Ju Meng, sensing the approaching danger, instinctively reacted by rushing into the underground space of Jiaochangkou Subway Station to take Lu Yibei, who was still entangled with the Maitian God Offspring, away. However, her rationality quickly overcame her emotions.
She knew that among all the Psychic in Da Chunyang Palace, only that Old man could create lightning of such a scale.
Even when she was in Hua City, she had heard Lu Yibei directly call that Old man by his name more than once, which showed that Lu Yibei had a close relationship with that Old man.
Combining these two points, she deduced that the Old man would most likely not let the lightning from Zixiao Platform affect Lu Yibei, but she and the Magpies she summoned were a different story.
In her opinion, those Guardians of the Night Watch wished she were dead!
If she were in Taoyuan, with the aid of the Eight Hundred Li Peach Garden's leyline aura, Ju Meng would not fear even if all Night Watch Guardians attacked her together. But this was Mountain City, and without the leyline aura's blessing, although she could protect herself, the swarms of Magpies she summoned might not be so lucky.
These Magpies, summoned out of thin air through her authority, had suffered significant losses in the battle with the giant shadow, despite her authority's blessing. If they were struck by Zixiao Platform's lightning again, they would likely be completely wiped out.
Therefore, before the second bolt of lightning struck, Ju Meng left Jiaochangkou Subway Station with the swarm of Magpies. Once they were out of the danger zone, she immediately turned back.
On her way back to Jiaochangkou Subway Station, the smog covering Mountain City gradually dissipated, and Ju Meng finally received the message sent by Turtle Elder through the familiar's mark.
“Mistress, have you finally escaped danger?” Turtle Elder's words carried a sense of exhaustion from surviving a Calamity. “That’s great. If it had been a moment longer, we wouldn't have been able to hold on.”
Ju Meng, “...”
She understood her authority quite well and was very clear about the price of fighting that strange black shadow.
Now, it was time to enjoy the thrill of spending and face the shocking bill.
Fortunately, she was no longer the novice who regretted wanting to hit herself after seeing the spending bill. Instead, she was an Old man who, looking at the empty character box, could calmly say, “Even a commoner War God can be used!”
After a brief silence, Ju Meng took a deep breath and calmly asked, “Tell me, Turtle Elder, how much did it cost this time?”
“Almost all the citizens of Taoyuan took out their family savings...” He paused, seemingly worried that Ju Meng wouldn't know how much all the family savings were, and Turtle Elder added, “Converted into source spirits, it’s at least ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) over one hundred thousand portions.”
Turtle Elder felt he had already made the situation very serious. One should know that for a B-Level to A-Level advancement, besides necessary Alchemy materials, only dozens of source spirits were needed to provide Spiritual Energy. And most transactions involving source spirits in the black market would not exceed four digits.
However, Ju Meng, who had never used source spirits, was like a wealthy young master who had never personally handled money. She seemed to have no concrete concept of one hundred thousand portions of source spirits.
“What? It’s not even...”
Before she could finish her sentence, Turtle Elder's voice drifted into her ears again, “If you used this money to spend on games, you could turn all your game accounts into cracked versions.”
“Even so...”
“At least a hundred times.”
A sudden pang of chest pain made Ju Meng clutch her chest. After several deep breaths, she squeezed out words through gritted teeth, “It’s still acceptable.”
Based on her experience observing thousands of marriage cases, the spending intensity of love was definitely higher than any game.
When this hadn't happened to her, she hadn't felt it tangibly, but now she finally experienced the feeling of “heartache to the point of being unable to breathe” in love.
“Mistress, this Old servant has some words I don’t know if I should say or not?”
“Say it!” Ju Meng rolled her eyes and said, “Anyway, even if I say you shouldn’t, you’ll still say it.”
She had never seen such an informal master-servant relationship.
Sometimes, Ju Meng even felt that Turtle Elder was not like her familiar at all, but rather an Old man butler who had raised her since childhood, with less of the formality between master and servant and more of a senior's strictness.
“Mistress, please stop messing around with the Disaster.” Turtle Elder said earnestly, “There’s less than two months until the Qixi Festival, and the Marriage Temple in the scenic area is almost open. You should come back early to... lead everyone to make money and make up for their losses, right?”
Hearing the words “Marriage Temple,” Ju Meng felt a headache.
That temple was rebuilt after she changed her authority, based on the original fuso temple in the scenic area. Besides being convenient for the citizens of Taoyuan to offer sacrifices, its main purpose was to generate income.
But for a urban legend of her nature to spend time “working” in the temple every day, just thinking about it made her uncomfortable.
Not only did it resemble a matchmaker from a marriage agency, but it also inexplicably felt like an obstetrician. It was too strange!
However, she was, after all, the ruler of the Eight Hundred Li Peach Garden, the Guardian of countless believers and urban legend, and the object of prayers from a large number of tourists who came to Taoyuanli Scenic Area with the belief of “seeking marriage” and “seeking offspring.” She was destined not to leave Taoyuan for too long.
The pleasant vacation time was over; it was time to return to work.
Ju Meng, “...”
“Mistress?” Seeing Ju Meng fall silent, Turtle Elder urged, “Mistress, are you listening?”
“I’m listening!”
“Good that you’re listening...” Turtle Elder continued, “When you left earlier, you said you discovered someone disrupting the Disaster’s red thread of fate, and under the compulsion of your authority, you were going to stop the malicious incident from happening.”
“But now, it’s been so long, surely the Disaster’s red thread of fate has returned to normal, right?”
“...”
It hadn't!
Her red thread of fate had not only not returned to normal but had also gained an unformed red thread of fate.
Guess whose it was?
Thinking this, Ju Meng looked up at the direction where thunderclouds were gathering in the distance, frowning slightly.
It was strange; she had thought that after the incident created by Hua Xieyu, Lu Yibei's red thread of fate would stabilize, but the reality was completely opposite.
When Lu Yibei left Hua City, a red thread of fate showed an anomaly. And when that giant shadow appeared, after a dozen of her numerous, more delicate red threads of fate broke, the remaining red threads of fate experienced widespread chaos, with several even getting tangled together, which meant...
Several individuals who had never met Lu Yibei would, with her as a medium, develop some rather subtle affections.
Fortunately, Lu Yibei hadn't yet interacted with those fated individuals. If she had already interacted with them and clearly stated she couldn't be with them, it might have given rise to strange alliances like the “Heartbreak Front Alliance” or the “Hatchet Squad against Calamity.”
In fact, manipulating destiny with red threads of fate, while an unprecedentedly ingenious maneuver, also carried significant risks.
Lu Yibei's already altered unknown destiny was like a surging flood, and each red thread of fate was like a dam regulating the flood. Once the dam burst, the resulting Calamity and destruction would likely be far more terrifying than the original flood.
What should she do then?
If that situation arose, would I still be able to help Lu Yibei?
Thinking this, Ju Meng saw Jiaochangkou Subway Station appear ahead. She collected her thoughts and said to Turtle Elder, “I understand, Turtle Elder, I’ll be back as soon as possible.”
“In the next few days before I return, you and everyone else should plan the Qixi Festival activities well. The specific guidelines will be as I previously instructed you.”
“Uh...” Thinking of Ju Meng’s proposed plans, Turtle Elder was momentarily speechless. After a short pause, he asked, “Mistress, aren’t your plans a bit...”
“Don’t worry!” Ju Meng said righteously, “Those mobile game scams all use this trick. We’ll just reskin it and use it. As long as we can precisely stimulate the tourists’ G-spots, are we afraid they won’t pay?”
“Besides, it’s Qixi Festival, right? It’s only natural for people who want to pray for marriage and offspring to offer me sacrifices, isn’t it?”
Although Ju Meng didn't know the exact time of her birth, and thus didn't even know her own birthday, as a marriage god with a Magpie form, Qixi, in a sense, was almost like Ju Meng's birthday.
Your great god Ju Meng is celebrating her (five thousand three hundred and) eighteenth birthday, what’s wrong with receiving some gift money?!
“Alright, for the specific details, I’ll tell you after I return in a couple of days.”
After speaking to Turtle Elder through the familiar's mark, Ju Meng withdrew her attention and looked forward, seeing a shocking sight.
Accompanied by a soul-stirring thunderclap, the third bolt of lightning generated by Zixiao Platform descended from the sky, carrying violent Spiritual Energy fluctuations, connecting heaven and earth with a brilliant blue line.
However, just as that bolt of lightning was about to strike the giant shadow, Ju Meng's vision blurred for a moment. Vaguely, the “refuting destiny with money” part of her authority trembled slightly, like a plucked string, and then the giant shadow vanished from her sight.
It’s just gone? So I was fighting thin air just now? Would I look like an idiot for fighting thin air and spending over one hundred thousand portions of source spirits?
Ju Meng was momentarily stunned, then snapped back to reality, remembering that Lu Yibei was still directly beneath the giant shadow. Now that the giant shadow had vanished into thin air, Lu Yibei became the target, and her heart immediately tightened, her expression changing.
Without the slightest hesitation, she made a decision. Accompanied by a sonic boom and surging air currents, she flew towards Jiaochangkou Subway Station, preparing to endure Zixiao Platform's lightning to take Lu Yibei away.
She was prepared to be severely injured, as long as Lu Yibei could be safe and sound.
What were a few minor injuries?
Anyway, she was about to return to Taoyuan to “serve time,” so it would just be like going back to recover from injuries!
The fierce wind whipped at her face, and in her sight, the city shrouded in night transformed into a vast expanse of blurry shadows.
Ju Meng, flying at full speed, was already incredibly fast, even breaking the sound barrier. But even so, she couldn't outpace the lightning descending from the sky. Before she could reach Jiaochangkou Subway Station, the brilliant blue lightning poured into the underground space.
On the asphalt road, the opening connecting to the underground space was filled with wildly dancing blue electric arcs, as if a gate to a world of lightning had opened.
Ju Meng’s heartbeat instantly stopped, and a hint of sourness involuntarily rose in her nose.
Given Lu Yibei’s level, a direct hit from Zixiao Platform’s lightning would almost certainly be fatal.
However, before she could fully immerse herself in sorrow, she noticed something was amiss.
The Spiritual Energy fluctuations emitted by those seemingly powerful lightning bolts didn't seem as strong as she had imagined, and... Lu Yibei's Spiritual Energy fluctuations hadn't, as she had thought, instantly evaporated when bathed in the lightning.
Could it be... the scoundrel is fine?
With a glimmer of hope, Ju Meng moved closer, hovering in mid-air, looking down from the ground opening into the hole, and then her mouth twitched uncontrollably.
Through the dazzling lightning, a small figure could be seen in the underground space, enduring the continuously descending lightning, moving around within the not-too-large underground air-raid shelter.
Upon closer inspection, her movements almost entirely involved “low-altitude flying” around the Maitian God Offspring. Bolts of lightning would often first pierce through the Maitian God Offspring’s body before striking her own.
Ah, this... what kind of Qin Wang circling the pillar is this?
If she didn't know the cause and effect, Ju Meng would even suspect if Lu Yibei was temporarily serving as Zixiao Platform's aiming point for striking the Maitian God Offspring.
You scoundrel, you almost made Sister shed a tear!
But, since she's fine, I don't need to risk my life, do I?
Hmph, a fellow like her deserves to be struck by lightning!
As Ju Meng was thinking, she suddenly felt a palpitation as if sensing something, followed by a Spiritual Energy fluctuation that made even her feel a hint of fear, entering the range of her spiritual perception.
He was stunned for a moment, and following the direction of the Spiritual Energy fluctuations, he saw the aged figure surrounded by lightning, wearing a dark robe and a jade crown, exuding unparalleled majesty.
The Head of Da Chunyang Palace, the strongest Guardian of the Night Watch, the Black Emperor...
In an instant, a series of titles flashed through Ju Meng’s mind.
Why did this Old man appear?
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No, this isn’t his true body...
Ju Meng secretly glanced at Zhang Huainan out of the corner of her eye and quickly realized that what appeared here was merely a projection of Zhang Huainan, who had descended with the help of Zixiao Platform.
When a urban legend or Psychic reaches Calamity, their authority becomes a symbol, and they are fully capable of casting projections by leveraging corresponding phenomena.
She could do it before she changed her authority, but now that she has lost Jumang’s authority, and her control over the spring breeze is incomplete, it’s difficult to do so. However, it’s very convenient to appear in a delivery room or at a wedding.
Since this Old man’s projection appeared, that scoundrel should be safe, right?
So, I just need to watch from the sidelines now?
Ju Meng thought, then secretly glanced at the Psychic not far away, the only one in all of Z Country whom she feared. She then frowned and silently moved a distance away.
She wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but she noticed that while the Old man was secretly observing Lu Yibei, he also occasionally cast strange glances at her.
Logically, there should be no problem with the Lord of the Eight Hundred Li Peach Garden and the Guardian Black Emperor meeting on a narrow road and observing each other.
It was just a projection; even if his eyes flared with murderous intent, Ju Meng was completely unafraid.
The problem, however, was that Zhang Huainan’s gaze held no hostility at all.
On the contrary, besides the majesty imbued by the Spiritual Energy fluctuations, there was also a hint of... benevolence and doting.
Ju Meng, “...”
Damn it, is he treating Sister me like a child?
Sister I am more than five thousand years older than you, you Old man, alright?
Bastard, rude Old man!
————
Inside the underground space of Jiaochangkou Subway Station.
Being watched by two pairs of mocking eyes, Lu Yibei had a moment of inexplicable doubt, wondering if “Disaster” meant schadenfreude.
Some say that sometimes, seeing others suffer brings one joy. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
And the essence of torment is to take away another’s joy.
So, after enduring the baptism of lightning for about five minutes, Lu Yibei plunged into the God Kingdom Prototype before she was electrocuted to a crisp.
Since you’re having so much fun watching, of course I have to deprive you of your joy!
Anyway, the current lightning is no longer enough to break through Lingtai Pure Karma’s defense...
Then I won’t play with you anymore; there’s a whole bunch of Eclipse Society members waiting for me to deal with in the God Kingdom Prototype! Lu Yibei thought.
Thus, with a flash of golden light as the God Kingdom Prototype’s passage opened, her petite figure vanished in the blink of an eye.
The Maitian God Offspring, suffering from the torment of the lightning, saw its enemy about to “open a portal” and escape, so it immediately followed. However, Lu Yibei controlled the God Kingdom Prototype and kicked it out.
God Kingdom Prototype access denied, you need permission to perform this operation!
“...”
You want to enter my God Kingdom Prototype without my permission?
Save it!
Enjoy the lightning; I’ll come out to collect your corpse later! Lu Yibei thought.
————
At Da Chunyang Palace, lightning surged on Zixiao Platform.
Suddenly, accompanying the violent tremor of the thirty-six enormous stone pillars on the massive platform, which resembled a lightning pool, figures clad in dark iron armor, half-solid and half-ethereal, emerged from the stone pillars.
In a breath, the thirty-six figures surrounding them quickly converged towards the center, gathering on the altar in the middle of Zixiao Platform, then merging into one. The Old man, baring his upper body, reappeared on the altar, and a hint of regret flashed in his slightly cloudy eyes.
Being able to watch Lu Yibei, that troublesome little... fellow, being tormented, was absolutely a refreshing experience for him, even more satisfying than watching Lu Yibei eat twenty catties of unripe melons.
What could be more satisfying than watching a brat get disciplined?
However, before he could fully enjoy himself, Lu Yibei slipped away, and his joy abruptly ended.
It was like being woken up from a beautiful dream halfway through, before reaching a perfect ending.
Zhang Huainan’s primary reason for projecting himself in Mountain City was to deter the Maitian God and prevent it from taking advantage of the situation. His secondary reason was to personally witness Lu Yibei’s suffering.
Now, seeing the unfavorable situation, the Maitian God had already fled, and Lu Yibei had also entered the God Kingdom Prototype. Zhang Huainan, not having fully enjoyed himself, was forced to return to Zixiao Platform with that awkward, neither-here-nor-there mood.
As his figure reappeared on the altar of Zixiao Platform, countless lightning bolts quickly converged and flowed into his body, then through his body as a medium, into Zixiao Platform.
In a breath, the lightning dissipated.
The moment the last bolt of lightning entered Zhang Huainan’s body, he seemed to sense something, and a look of surprise flashed across his brows.
As someone who specialized in divination, he sensed a strong ominous omen!
Closing his eyes, he pondered for a moment, took out three copper coins, and after a simple divination, Zhang Huainan suddenly opened his eyes, his face turning pale.
During the divination, through the hexagrams, he saw a tragic scene.
He saw someone releasing all the Spiritual Energy contained within Zixiao Platform, causing a vast area to be enveloped in eternal, unceasing lightning, solely to imprison a certain urban legend.
The imprisoned urban legend was Pink Fluffy Rabbit.
And the person who released Zixiao Platform’s Spiritual Energy was none other than himself...
Zhang Huainan, “...” Strange! How could I have seen such a scene, even though it’s absolutely impossible for it to happen?
That scene overturned his understanding of divination, which he had cultivated for many years...
————
When Lu Yibei put the Eclipse Society members into the God Kingdom Prototype, relying on her increasingly skilled control over the God Kingdom Prototype, she deliberately opened up a small area on the periphery of “Hua City,” drew a boundary, and temporarily brought them under control.
Although the Spiritual Energy levels of those guys were not high, none of them were good people. Executing them all might lead to some wrongful deaths, but executing every other one would definitely miss some. If they were simply thrown into the God Kingdom Prototype and left unchecked, it could cause a huge mess.
Teleporting from the underground of Jiaochangkou Subway Station into the specially opened small area within the God Kingdom Prototype, Lu Yibei found the Eclipse Society members and saw a chaotic scene from afar.
A group of Eclipse Society members gathered on a grassy plain surrounded by mountains. From a distance, one could hear arguments and curses from the crowd. Some Eclipse Society members were even wrestling with each other, while the rest watched from the sidelines, occasionally uttering provocative words.
Standing on a high vantage point, Lu Yibei spent a good while before finally finding the flustered and anxious Ji Yunpei in a corner. However, Qingji was nowhere to be seen beside her.
That’s not right! Where’s Ancestor? freewebnσvel.cøm
If Ancestor had stepped in, these guys should be as obedient as elementary school students by now!
Also... Ji Yunpei should have been teleported near Peony Street, right? How did she get here by herself? Lu Yibei wondered, puzzled.
This scene gave her an inexplicable feeling, like eagerly opening a nurturing game only to find that all the characters inside weren’t acting according to her plans, and the whole thing had gone awry.
Simply put, the tools had rebelled!
Collecting her thoughts, she quickly traversed the forest and approached the trembling Ji Yunpei, asking the question in her heart.
“Ji Yunpei, what’s going on? Didn’t you go to Peony Street to find someone as I instructed? How did you get here?”
Hearing Miss Blue Yi’s voice behind her, Ji Yunpei’s body trembled slightly. After two seconds of stunned, she turned around and replied with a bitter expression, “I was originally with that senior.”
“And then?” Lu Yibei tilted her head.
“Then...” Ji Yunpei looked around and said weakly, “He sent me here and told me to maintain order for now, and he would come later.”
Lu Yibei, “...” He didn’t run off to hang out with those Old man on Peony Street again, did he?
After entering the God Kingdom Prototype for some time, Qingji quickly adapted to his elderly life and became close with the Old man on Peony Street, who were his grandchildren’s generation.
He would often take Wang Yingying to show off to those Old man, making Wang Yingying sing songs or tell crosstalk for them, all to outdo other people’s grandchildren.
A strange desire to win.
“Didn’t he tell you where he was going?” Lu Yibei asked.
“He did!” Ji Yunpei replied, “He said that his child caused trouble at the kindergarten and the teacher asked the parents to go immediately. He also said that these stray cats and dogs are nowhere near as important as his own child, so it’s perfectly fine to leave them for a while.”
Thinking she could be lazy, but it seems I still have to personally intervene... Lu Yibei was speechless for a moment, rubbed her slightly throbbing temples, and after a brief thought, asked, “I remember you said you took over your father’s job at Sunrise Biotechnology Company, right?”
“Mhm, mhm!” Ji Yunpei nodded, “My father has been working there for almost twenty years!”
He actually worked for so long? Lu Yibei nodded thoughtfully and pressed on, “Then do you know your father’s colleagues? You must have met some, right? Or perhaps your father told you some things about them?”
In Lu Yibei’s opinion, Sunrise Biotechnology Company, as a subordinate organization of the Eclipse Society, was definitely not a good place. A father, if he had even a little paternal love for his daughter, would definitely give her some instructions before she started working at such a company.
And what this father instructed could very well be a powerful weapon for dealing with these outlaws.
“Yes, yes!” Ji Yunpei said, fumbling around on her person, pulling out her phone, opening her memo, and then handing the phone to Lu Yibei. “My father gave me this the day before I started working. He said it was personal information about some old employees, which could help me manage interpersonal relationships.”
“However...”
Lu Yibei took the phone, quickly scanned the contents of the memo, her eyes lit up slightly, then she looked at Ji Yunpei, shook her head, and sighed silently.
With such a divine artifact in hand, she couldn’t even control these rabble?
Besides the factor of insufficient strength, she was still too young!
In that case, let me be the big villain!
Lu Yibei thought, silently activating her authority, connecting it with the God Kingdom Prototype. Then, with a thought, the ground of the entire circular valley vibrated violently, followed by a human-shaped mountain rising from the ground, dividing the Eclipse Society members into three parts.
First, let’s use the prisoner’s dilemma to break down their psychological defenses... Lu Yibei thought, looking up at the Eclipse Society members who had not yet recovered from their shock. Her gaze finally settled on a burly, sinister-looking man.
She looked down at the memo and nodded.
Wu Gaozhi, is it?
Let’s start with you!
I heard your daughter has been sick recently, right? Lu Yibei thought to herself.
