Chaotic World Book-Chapter 522 - 508: The Gradually Approaching Truth

The next morning, several maidens trudged hundreds of miles through hardships to serve His Majesty and the Saint Envoy, their faces crying the whole way.

Who knows the sorrow of the working class, huh?

It might sound like letting you go back to sleep is an invitation to slack off, but actually, if they really didn’t show up the next day, they wouldn’t dare. Even if there’s nothing to do, you still have to show your face. But trekking back and forth for hundreds of miles, even though everyone is equipped with Qinggong or the Light Body Gu, is simply exhausting.

To get there earlier, you have to rise before dawn.

It would be better to let us stay the night; at least we’d get a good sleep after finishing our duties.

Muttering amongst themselves, they arrived to find a window open, and Sisi sitting by it looking at a mirror, with Zhao Changhe standing behind her combing her hair.

Seeing their Queen’s face brimming with joy, the maids looked at each other and didn’t dare to disturb Her Majesty to pay respects; it felt like they needn’t have bothered coming at all.

"What are you all skulking around for?" Sisi said languidly. "Someone go get our map."

Maid: "...Please, go back to sleep. Even if you make all of Holy Mountain hear, no one would laugh at you."

At this moment, the soul of the town and village maids awakened. We’re going to play both sides.

But then Zhao Changhe came out and handed each of them a small dollop of "jelly."

The maids, holding the jiggly little balls, were confused. Are you trying to demonstrate His Majesty’s touch to us?

Zhao Changhe apologized: "Sorry for the trouble of hurrying over... But there are some factors that make it inconvenient for us to move there. This should be the last time we trouble everyone to run around. You don’t need to come by after this; we have enough food here. We’ll manage on our own. These Energy Crystals aid in Cultivation, consider them compensation for your efforts."

The maids’ eyes sparkled with excitement, and before they could say anything, Sisi came out, protectively looping her arm through his: "Stop trying to curry favor here. Currying favor won’t help, my Spirit Clan has a monogamy rule – don’t think about being a courtisan!"

The maids turned their heads away, watching their Queen’s bluff.

God, monogamy, that’s a lie told to the common folk. Which Chief up there doesn’t have a bevy of concubines? The poor souls below are deceived into believing they are being righteous.

However, the institution indeed practices monogamy, and a wife’s status is quite high. With the Alien Clan being open and less restrained by rites and rituals, if you fancy someone, you could simply invite them to your tent, so most relationships would use the Unity Gu.

I wonder if Her Majesty has used the Unity Gu... She probably wouldn’t dare use it on the Saint Envoy, but if she hasn’t, wouldn’t being played and discarded be miserable?

But having accepted the Saint Envoy’s jelly bribe, the girls felt too guilty to say anything. Instead, they energetically competed to run back and get the map. It just goes to show that jobs will be done, as long as there’s payment.

Zhao Changhe then continued to sit back on that platform to meditate. He always felt that the platform must have a purpose; it couldn’t just be for decoration. Observing and meditating here, he was sure he would eventually discover the truth.

Sisi came up behind him, beginning to comb through his long hair, helping him to tie it up: "What about those Energy Crystals, I don’t have any..."

"...You’ve already been pumped full of Pao Fu, and you still want more?"

"What’s Pao Fu?"

"It’s like your flower cake or bug cake, except filled with fresh cream."

It took a few moments for Sisi to comprehend, then she giggled and leaned against his back, whispering in his ear: "Don’t tell me that stuff is your essence? If you’re giving it to them, isn’t that kind of a tease?"

"Nothing of the sort. That substance is actually dissipated energy from a treasure... It’s just that I’ve absorbed a lot of this type of energy; its essence doesn’t differ much from Dual Cultivation with me, and I’m not practicing Dual Cultivation with them."

"Hehe... don’t get any ideas, they’re pretty cunning. If it happens and you get caught in the Gu, don’t say I didn’t warn you."

Finally, Zhao Changhe turned to look at her.

Sisi looked down as she tied his hair, speaking casually: "I’ve put a Gu on you too, you know."

"Ah? Is that so? Which day’s?"

"Not that day, yesterday. To make you craving for Pao Fu, any regrets?"

Zhao Changhe didn’t care, just chuckled: "Which Gu?"

Sisi didn’t get the panicked reaction she hoped for and pouted: "The one you like."

"Pain transfer?"

"Life-sharing Gu, not transfer... It just allows me to feel your pain," Sisi said, as if mentioning an insignificant trifle. "You’re always going to leave, and I can’t possibly follow... No matter where you are, at the ends of the earth, I want to know if you’re hurt or in trouble, as if I’m right there beside you... If you’re in agony, I’ll be in agony with you."

Zhao Changhe watched her tying up her hair and remained silent.

He had also come to understand recently: the so-called Unity Gu was where both parties could sense each other’s joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure, and might even know what the other was thinking. There was an even stronger version called the Life-sharing Gu, where if one person died, the other would die as well. These two types of Gu differed in degree, but both were filled with a twisted desire to control.

But this Sharing Gu was the opposite, it was unidirectional. No matter how much pain she was in, he wouldn’t feel it. But if he hurt even a little, she would writhe in pain even if she were thousands of miles away.

A thousand knots entwined in this heart, and there were no more roles to play.

Zhao Changhe sighed, "Why do you have to do this?"

Sisi pretended as if it were nothing, "I’ve never used it before, so I wasn’t clear that besides pain, it could share other things. Now I know... Don’t you just love it when a little pinch from you makes me jump up, clutching myself? It satisfies your lordship’s tastes..."

With those words, she finished tying her hair. Sisi hopped back and laughed, "I’m going to get you some cakes; they’re all made of bugs, eat them till you drop."

...

A morning of reflection still brought him no new insights.

However, this hermit-style cultivation was not without its benefits... Zhao Changhe had always grown through combat, and this kind of quiet, reflective practice had always been rare for him. Previously, it was mostly about External Skill, but now that his Inner Strength had improved, quiet reflection had become a relatively important phase.

He could feel the two entwined energies coiling like a spiral, becoming more defined in their spiral formation.

This shape, at first glance ordinary, was actually quite mysterious.

In Hua Xia Ancient Times, there were images of Fu Xi and Nüwa intertwined in a spiral, and modern science has confirmed that human DNA is also structured in a spiral.

This form could be a fundamental form of life itself and also represents one aspect of Yin Yang philosophy.

Zhao Changhe could clearly feel that the Second Secret Treasure was just a paper-thin barrier away... He even had a premonition that even without any special circumstances or discoveries, just by continuing this reflective cultivation for a year or half, he might naturally break through his current barrier.

After all, not all breakthroughs require enlightenment; accumulation can also lead to a qualitative change just as well. It was just that he had always pursued efficiency and rarely experienced this sort of accumulation leading to a transformation.

Sisi also practiced beside him, digesting the power she had obtained last night as Pao Fu.

Generally speaking, Dual Cultivation was a joint progress, but her Cultivation was quite a bit behind Zhao Changhe’s now. She had just broken through to the First Secret Treasure, while Zhao Changhe was on the verge of the Second; he was a whole Level ahead of her. In their Dual Cultivation, she could offer him relatively little help, while he could provide her with significant improvement. Thus, Sisi also lost the mood to engage in romantic chit-chat and quietly focused on her practice.

At noon, the maids returned with the map they had retrieved, and Zhao Changhe spread it out to compare with the Mountain and River Atlas.

Due to precision issues, the shapes of the two maps weren’t exactly the same, but one could still see they corresponded in general.

Indeed, since the last epoch, Xuanwu had known the shape of the Spirit Clan Secret Realm, or rather, in Its eyes, this section was the Spirit Clan, and what extended beyond might not be.

What was this basis for judgment? Was this an entire continental plate?

Zhao Changhe frowned tightly, staring at the two maps for comparison, while half-listening to Sisi and the maids’ conversation: "Go away, go away, from now on everyone should change clothes, and if anyone dares to show their waist or feet in front of him again, I’ll beat you to death!"

"Hehe... don’t you want to ask the Saint Envoy himself? Maybe he loves to watch. You know, before, he always sneakily watched your feet; we all knew that."

Zhao Changhe: "..."

"That’s because he loves to watch mine, what does it have to do with you?" Sisi defiantly said, "With your looks, even if you were to lie flat out in front of him, he wouldn’t spare you a glance."

"Really? I don’t believe it, shall we try tonight?"

"Get lost, do you think I can’t set you on fire..."

Zhao Changhe’s expression gradually changed.

Lie flat out?

Looking at these two maps, didn’t it kind of look like a person lying down?

"A Great Witch who stood tall between heaven and earth, catching the sun in one hand and the moon in the other, whose breath was a hurricane..."

Perhaps the Spirit Clan’s ancient ancestor wasn’t buried in a mountain or above the Nine Heavens.

If this entire small world was a transformation of the Spirit Clan’s ancient ancestor, then didn’t all the puzzles make sense?

————

PS: Ji Ba is gone again... craving for those monthly tickets, wailing~

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