si-mexico Chapter 152 The Xiang River Breaks and the Jade Mountain Collapses (1)
Chapter 152 The Xiang River Breaks and the Jade Mountain Collapses (1)
As the two emerged from the alley, Mei Shiyu realized that he hadn't actually run very far before Li Tingyun intercepted him. They were still standing not far from Xiaoxiang Pavilion.
Li Tingyun casually tossed the mask in his hand back onto the unattended stall.
Mei Shiyu's gaze followed Li Tingyun's action of throwing away the mask, then shifted to the dimly lit area, looking at the mask stall that no one was paying attention to. The ancient and mysterious Nuo masks on the shelf instantly caught his attention.
Mei Shiyu walked over and muttered to himself, "Whose things are these? Why weren't they taken back before curfew? Aren't they afraid of being stolen if they're left in the market?"
Li Tingyun said, "In the market, stalls like these that are left unattended are the least afraid of theft. On the contrary, the stall owners might even be hoping that someone will be tempted to touch their things."
He crossed his arms and said, "What's free is the most expensive. This is a trap to fool ghosts. If an ordinary little ghost puts on a mask, even if his face is torn to shreds, he can't take it off. If his spiritual power isn't strong, his soul might be sucked away and devoured by someone."
Mei Shiyu asked curiously, "How do you know so much detail?"
Li Tingyun did not answer him immediately. After a long while, she laughed.
He raised his chin and said arrogantly, "I know everything and understand everything."
The reason is actually quite simple: he was a child and got hurt because he was a bit of a rascal.
It can't be said that it was purely because he was being impulsive...
At that time, he had just died, and his soul drifted to the border market. He turned from a human into a ghost, but he still couldn't escape the misfortune of being targeted everywhere and suffering from other people's contempt. In life, he had always wanted to cultivate immortality, but after he died and became a ghost, he had no choice but to cultivate demonic arts.
Since he has given up the chance of reincarnation and made up his mind to cultivate demonic arts, the first major problem he faces is to obtain cultivation resources, such as demonic stones and pills.
Just as people need to eat to avoid starving, low-level demonic cultivators also need a lot of demonic energy to grow; otherwise, if they become "starved" and emaciated, they will be devoured by their own kind.
The demonic energy stored in magic stones is the purest, and many low-level demonic cultivators need this stuff.
When Li Tingyun first entered the demonic path, demonic stones were his food, his wealth, and his lifeline.
To obtain magic stones, he was willing to work recklessly. The odd jobs in the market were nothing to him. In addition, he would eagerly take on all the hard, tiring, and dangerous jobs that the Ghost Emperor conscripted, such as mining magic stones and repairing hell. He was capable of anything.
You should know that these kinds of jobs, which involve doing hard labor in the land, are usually mandatory. The benefits you can get are not necessarily much, but the risks are definitely very high. If you encounter a mine collapse or fall into hell, no one will come to your rescue.
As a child, Li Tingyun was reckless and impulsive; he was not only fearless but also shameless.
Even if someone were to play a trick on him, making him roll around in lava a couple of times, and if he could still stand up, they would give him a few magic stones in return, and he would readily agree, even feeling delighted by it.
And so, one day, he was tricked again.
The man told him to wear an extremely ugly mask, promising to give him a magic stone if he did. He agreed and put it on. A large group of ghosts surrounded him, some calling him ugly, some cheering, but most just waited to see him perish.
Because the scene was beautiful.
When the soul dissipates, it will be like a crystal exploding, dreamlike and illusory.
For the gloomy, dead ghost, this was a magnificent spectacle.
Unfortunately, the mask did nothing to Li Tingyun.
Even more regrettably, when he went to ask the person he had initially agreed to pay him back, that person went back on their word and refused to give him the money.
Li Tingyun naturally wanted to settle accounts with him, but unfortunately he was not strong enough and was beaten down and kicked several times.
He lay on the ground, silently trying to remove the mask, only to find that the ugly mask was stuck to his face. He tore his face apart, almost gouging out an eyeball, but still couldn't remove it.
As the two sides began to argue, the crowd of onlookers scattered in all directions, their chaotic footsteps trampling him to the ground. Countless footsteps fell like raindrops, almost crushing him flat. However, he was a ghost, so even if he was crushed, it wouldn't be a big deal.
However, he was always called an "ugly monster" when he was alive, and now that he is dead, because of a mask, he has become a real, truly ugly monster. He wishes he could cut off this head and grow a new one.
Because this little devil has someone he likes, and she's so beautiful. If he were ugly, he wouldn't be good enough for her, right?
He scratched his face, extremely distressed, thinking he would never see the person he loved again—if he showed up and scared them to death, wouldn't that be the end of him?!
"Does this mask really devour people's souls?"
"Who created such a sinister thing?"
Mei Shiyu fiddled with the puppy mask and asked three questions in a row: "You wore it just now, but nothing happened. Is it because you are too powerful, 'omniscient and omnipotent,' so this little bit of evil magic has no effect on you?"
Li Tingyun said jokingly, "That's right, it's because I'm very powerful and I'm not afraid of anything, haha."
Mei Shiyu glanced at him and said, "You're easily flattered."
Li Tingyun confessed: "Actually, this thing isn't that scary. As long as the soul can withstand the mask, the evil magic will naturally fail, and the mask will become like a plaster that falls off when exposed to high heat."
Don't be fooled by how easily he talks about it now. When he was a child, he really didn't know what the solution was. He couldn't take off the mask, and he was so distressed that he could only relieve his boredom by killing people.
That ruthless brat killed everyone who had tricked him or watched the spectacle.
Li Tingyun has never been one to take things lying down. Even if he is beaten down and unable to fight back, and is trampled on, it doesn't matter. He will save his life first, and then repay the favor tenfold or a hundredfold.
Poisoning, ambushes, traps—it doesn't matter what methods are used. Since we can't defeat them head-on, we'll use any means necessary behind the scenes to kill them and then absorb all their power.
He killed too many demonic cultivators and ghosts. The underworld demanded that he atone for his sins, so he tried to escape. When he couldn't escape, he fought desperately. In his final moments, he would shout, "Emperors take turns," which infuriated the Ghost Emperor to the point of death.
Mei Shiyu put the mask back and shook his head, saying, "Isn't most of what's sold at the border market a lie?"
Li Tingyun said, "Yes, but ironically, many people on earth and immortals on mountains still travel thousands of miles to this underground place to pan for gold from waste materials. It's really ridiculous."
“Here, five spirit stones can be exchanged for one magic stone. Even so, many people in the cultivation world are rushing to come here to suffer losses.”
“I once had the idea of doing a big business here, but I never had the time, so it was delayed.”
Mei Shiyu asked suspiciously, "Do you like money that much? You destroyed that golden house in Taiji Hall without hesitation."
Li Tingyun said, "Of course I like money. Who in the world would complain about having too much money? But that house was originally prepared for you. If you don't like it, there's no point in keeping it."
When Mei Shiyu recalled that he used hibiscus wood to make furniture and even to fire alchemy furnaces, he knew that his words were just empty talk. He said he loved money, but that might not be true.
It seems there's nothing in this world that he truly cares about.
Li Tingyun looked at him, raised an eyebrow, and nodded towards Xiaoxiang Pavilion not far away.
"Let's go, let's go together."
"No, I'm not going."
Mei Shiyu was still shaken and refused to go that way no matter what.
Li Tingyun said, "We're not really going to visit a brothel. We're just dragging out the owner and politely and friendly asking for directions."
"Immortal Mei, don't be afraid. I'm here this time. If any female ghosts or demons try to entangle you again, I'll cut off their hands!"
“You are ‘gentle and chivalrous’ and don’t fight with women, but I am different. I don’t care about men, women, or children. Once I kill them, they are all corpses, so there is no difference.”
Mei Shiyu said, "Your so-called 'asking for directions' probably wasn't so friendly..."
Li Tingyun said, "I'm not killing him, so isn't that being friendly?"
Mei Shiyu remained silent.
He had no choice but to follow Li Tingyun over there.
This time, not only were there no girls trying to entice him at the entrance of Xiaoxiang Pavilion, but even after he stepped over the threshold, no "soft and fragrant beauties" dared to approach him.
Mei Shiyu thought to herself, "Could it be that all the women in brothels are bullies who prey on the weak and fear the strong?"
So he put on a stern face, looking unapproachable.
Unexpectedly, a series of soft chuckles came from the surrounding area.
"Hey, isn't that the young man from earlier? Why is he even more shy than us girls!"
Mei Shiyu: "..."
Was he shy? Was he shy?!
He was clearly expressionless, with a cold and aloof demeanor, keeping everyone at arm's length.
"Sisters, he seems unhappy. Can someone go up and cheer him up and make him smile?"
Mei Shiyu got goosebumps all over when he heard this tune.
I can't stand this awful place anymore.
He immediately turned around.
Just as he was about to leave, he heard several muffled thuds behind him. He turned around and saw several dismembered bodies on the ground, their figures graceful and draped in thin gauze. Could it be none other than those women who had been flirting with him earlier?!
Li Tingyun truly... kept his word.
Mei Shiyu was slightly surprised. The scars on the necks of these corpses, about the size of a bowl, were very smooth and without any bloodstains.
He wasn't surprised by how quickly Li Tingyun acted.
He was wondering what these things, which were neither like living people nor dead ghosts, really were.
If it's a living person, how can there be no bloodstains? If it's a dead person, how can they just stop moving after their head is removed?
"puppet."
Li Tingyun whispered in his ear.
Mei Shiyu looked up at him: "A puppet?"
He immediately thought of Yan Shi, the infamous impermanent ghost Fan Wujiu.
He asked, "You mean the underworld officials who run brothels here are Black Impermanence?"
Li Tingyun said, "He's not the only one. Come in and see what's inside."
Mei Shiyu stood at the threshold, hesitant to go in, but after hearing what he said, she had no choice but to go over.
The view suddenly opened up before me.
He immediately spotted the Jiuli Zuiquan (Drunken Spring) in the center of the hall.
A group of handsome men and beautiful women surrounded the artificial hill and water, some sitting, some standing, some leaning, and some even lying on the ground, half of their bodies soaked. The men were all embracing each other, already drunk, surrounded by beautiful women, intertwining and teasing each other.
One of the men grabbed the girl's long hair, pinched her delicate chin, and forced her to open her cherry-like mouth. He took a sip of wine, his face lewd, and kissed her. As they kissed, they began to frantically tear off their clothes and take off their pants!
As the saying goes, "a lecherous demon."
In matters of love and relationships, these monsters are exceptionally unrestrained. What does it matter if they do it in front of outsiders? Even if it's under the open sky, it doesn't matter. The more perverse they are, the more we like them.
Mei Shiyu observed the absurd scene with remarkable detail. He didn't blink, and even took a step forward. As soon as he took that step, he realized that something was wrong—his mind was being affected!
It seems that what we are seeing is not only absurd but also quite strange.