The immortal stared at the Immortal Lord seated before him, lost in thought.
It was nothing special, just that he had never seen the Immortal Lord act so strangely before. The Immortal Lord was tugging at his own ears, patting the top of his head, adjusting his collar... He found himself staring absent-mindedly until the Immortal Lord shot him an icy glare, which startled him back to his senses. He hurriedly lowered his head.
It was then that he carefully recalled and realized the Immortal Lord seemed to be holding something in his hand... Was it some kind of spirit beast? But he had never heard of a spirit beast as small as a palm.
Moreover, even if it were a spirit beast, it shouldn't be in the Immortal Lord's palm.
Even divine beasts that came to this Mount Gushe were fated to be doorkeepers for the Immortal Lord! Hadn't they seen the qilin still lying by the steps outside the hall?
This person harbored doubts as he and the others bowed to the Immortal Lord. Then they saw the Immortal Lord suddenly stand up and hurriedly leave.
The rest immediately showed worried expressions.
"Could the rumors be true?"
"Only the Immortal Lord in all of heaven and earth can see the past and future. Could it be that he just glimpsed the secrets of heaven and saw some momentous event?"
They discussed in hushed tones.
Only that immortal remained silent.
He felt that... it seemed to have something to do with what the Immortal Lord was holding in his palm.
Meanwhile, Zhuo Wu entered another side hall, placing Jing Jiujiu on the table.
His face was cold.
Today we shall make three rules.
Don't crawl in and out of my clothes.
Don't jump around on my head, ears, or shoulders.
Evil spirits shouldn't be too intimate with me...
The words reached Zhuo Wu's throat but he couldn't spit them out.
Jing Jiujiu's face, however, was full of understanding. Whenever Bai Yuhuai was this cold, agitated yet restrained, it meant he wanted to do intimate things with him. But he was just a paper figure now!
Jing Jiujiu tugged at Zhuo Wu's hem, then climbed up a bit further.
Finally, he hung upside down by Zhuo Wu's hair, kissed his lips lightly, then floated away.
Zhuo Wu froze in place, the words in his throat sinking even deeper until he said nothing at all.
It's just that... it seemed this evil spirit had stolen another breath from him!
Really...
Zhuo Wu thought for a long time but couldn't come up with a suitable description.
Jing Jiujiu, on the other hand, had already wandered off on his own quite skillfully.
When he wandered to the vegetable garden where spirit plants were grown, Jing Jiujiu picked up a tree branch and began scratching some characters on the ground that the Divine Attendants couldn't understand.
Jing Jiujiu was pondering -
At first, he had entered his own past experiences.
Why did it change to Bai Yuhuai's past later?
Although Zhuo Wu was Bai Yuhuai.
But he still needed to return to reality.
Jing Jiujiu scratched away on the ground but in the end couldn't list out any possible breakthrough points.
"Forget it," Jing Jiujiu said softly.
He only had a superficial understanding of mystical arts and mythological legends. Why torture himself?
"Might as well go ask Zhuo Wu."
Jing Jiujiu gave up quickly and set off again with a swaggering gait, slowly walking out of the garden. The Divine Attendants watched helplessly as he wreaked havoc on the spirit garden.
Apart from wiping away shocked tears afterward.
There was nothing they could do!
"The Immortal Lord is really too indulgent with this evil spirit!"
They thought they were speaking softly, but Jing Jiujiu heard every word. Not treat me well? As if he treats you any better?
Jing Jiujiu smacked his lips.
He also wondered if that "toxic fan" youth was among these Divine Attendants.
Jing Jiujiu walked on while thinking.
Ever since coming here, whether Jing Jiujiu could return to Zhuo Wu's residence before dark after wandering out depended entirely on luck.
There was no help for it, his legs were too short.
And he was afraid of riding the wind, worried he might accidentally fall to the foot of the mountain.
So he mostly relied on Zhuo Wu to come pick him up.
But today he had walked such a long, long way without seeing Zhuo Wu's shadow.
"Was Bai Yuhuai from a thousand years ago this petty?" Jing Jiujiu muttered, just as he saw a Divine Attendant hurrying towards him. The attendant crouched down, carefully picked him up, and mumbled something. The gist was that he had received orders from Bai Yuhuai, no, Zhuo Wu, to bring him back.
The Divine Attendant tucked him into his robes and quickly returned to the small house.
Then Jing Jiujiu vaguely understood from the conversations between several Divine Attendants that Zhuo Wu was currently in the library.
To this day, Zhuo Wu didn't know why this "evil spirit" could steal his breath, so he was reading through ancient texts, trying to find the reason.
When Jing Jiujiu directed the Divine Attendant to carry him into the main hall of the library, Zhuo Wu had just turned to a page that read:
Dual cultivation, merging of essences, indistinguishable from each other
"Who dares to intrude?" Zhuo Wu slowly turned around with a cold face.
He saw the Divine Attendant first.
The attendant was so frightened he knelt on the ground, raising both hands high to reveal the little paper figure cradled in his palms.
Zhuo Wu suddenly lost his grip, and the book in his hand fell with a "thud".
With a thought, the book quickly flew back up to the bookshelf. But he still appeared somewhat flustered.
"...Bring him over," Zhuo Wu said.
After saying this, he suddenly moved, walking to the Divine Attendant and picking up Jing Jiujiu himself.
The attendant tactfully retreated.
Zhuo Wu examined Jing Jiujiu.
He couldn't imagine the little paper man's original appearance... perhaps he should have been good-looking, with a docile face?
Those few words in the book had already vaguely pieced together a complete experience in Zhuo Wu's mind.
Zhuo Wu: "You come from the future?"
Jing Jiujiu: "No... well, yes." He didn't know how to explain it to Zhuo Wu. So he asked, "Do you know about the Mirror of Past Reflection?"
The term "Mirror of Past Reflection" was too specialized and too different from ancient language for Zhuo Wu to understand its meaning right away.
Jing Jiujiu was also slightly bewildered: "You are a person from my past. Or perhaps... you are a person from your own past..."
"I've just arrived in a past experience."
"I am real."
And you are false.
Zhuo Wu was silent for a moment, and it wasn't clear if he understood Jing Jiujiu's meaning, but he said softly: "I see."
Zhuo Wu didn't continue reading. He carried Jing Jiujiu and slowly walked outside.
It wasn't until they crossed the threshold that Zhuo Wu's voice sounded again, low: "You will leave in the future, won't you?"
Jing Jiujiu seemed to understand, so he nodded his head.
Zhuo Wu said that sentence again: "I see."
After that, he fell silent, his expression no different from before, making it impossible to discern his thoughts.
The next day, Zhuo Wu carried Jing Jiujiu around Mount Gushe, rather than letting Jing Jiujiu wander about on his own.
At each place they went, Zhuo Wu would calmly tell him what was flying by, what was growing on the ground, the history behind a certain rock...
"This herb is called 'Congratulations'."
"There's not much meaning in becoming an immortal. Many immortals lose their sense of taste and desire after expelling the mundane energies. After being a deity for some time, they want to taste the flavors of the mortal world again. But they can't pick up the mundane energies again. So they take this herb to restore their five senses."
Jing Jiujiu heard that eating this herb would allow one to taste the flavors of the mortal world.
Oh!
If he took a bite, wouldn't all five senses be restored?
Jing Jiujiu jumped down from Zhuo Wu's collar, heading straight for that herb. He first hugged it, then began to try to pull it out with difficulty... but the herb was extremely tough and wouldn't budge no matter how hard he pulled.
Seeing this, Zhuo Wu bent down and plucked it easily: "You want it?"
Jing Jiujiu pointed at his own mouth.
But his mouth was so small.
The paper figure was still flat and thin.
How could he eat it?
"You want to eat it?"
Jing Jiujiu nodded repeatedly.
Zhuo Wu put the herb in his own mouth.
Jing Jiujiu: ?
Zhuo Wu slowly chewed and swallowed, then with just a lowering of his eyes, a cut appeared on his fingertip. He then crouched down and smeared a drop of blood on Jing Jiujiu's tiny mouth.
Jing Jiujiu smacked his lips.
Though it was just a drop of blood, he immediately let out a satisfied burp.
Zhuo Wu watched as the paper figure absorbed his blood completely.
In this world, forget evil spirits, even ordinary immortals couldn't withstand his blood.
Only the little paper man absorbed it clean, and after eating and drinking his fill, he hugged Zhuo Wu's finger and climbed onto the back of his hand.
Zhuo Wu gently cradled him and picked him up again.
I truly have dual cultivated with this "evil spirit".
My future self has dual cultivated with him.
Zhuo Wu lowered his eyes discreetly.
Until Jing Jiujiu climbed up to his ear, stepping twice, touching it once... why did it seem a bit hot?
Jing Jiujiu pushed the thought aside and started chattering by his ear again, not caring if he understood or not: "You know, if a person first falls into the Nai River, which is the River of the Underworld, and then eats the flesh and blood of a Drought Demon, from then on, whatever they touch will burst into flames... What should be done?"
"Drought Demon?" Zhuo Wu only understood this part.
Again, it was early the next morning.
Jing Jiujiu opened his eyes to find that the small room now contained a Drought Demon??? It was bound in golden chains, eight feet tall, with long hair cascading over its shoulders, long fangs protruding from its mouth, a thin frame and dark skin. Its face was contorted in a fierce struggle as it stomped, creating a charred hole in the jade floor, and reached out, igniting a small fire on a pillar...
Jing Jiujiu: ???
Uh... I didn't ask for a Drought Demon!
On Mount Guye, everything had become barren overnight.
The Divine Attendants nearly wept in the vegetable garden.
Jing Jiujiu jumped down, afraid of being set alight by the Drought Demon, and hurriedly made his way out, carefully circling around it.
Outside, everything had completely changed.
Even the little paper man was shocked, its mouth agape.
Was the divine court about to collapse, leaving the sun and moon without light?!
Jing Jiujiu grabbed a Divine Attendant: "Where has your Immortal Lord gone?"
The Divine Attendant didn't understand.
So Jing Jiujiu resorted to gestures and drawings. Finally, he tugged at the Divine Attendant's clothes, dipped his finger in some ink, and drew a simple version of Zhuo Wu's head.
His head was easy to draw, very distinctive.
A human head topped with a cloud of mist - that was Zhuo Wu.
The Divine Attendant understood and informed him: "The Immortal Lord has gone on a long journey."
Jing Jiujiu: "..."
Oh dear.
Jing Jiujiu found another small room and started worrying about what to do.
As he worried, he closed his eyes out of boredom.
After closing his eyes, his perspective suddenly took a 180-degree turn—
"Greetings, Immortal Lord."
He heard a voice ring out, then saw a man with feathers in his hair, dressed in wide-sleeved robes that floated ethereally, step forward.
Then he saw Zhuo Wu standing before the man.
Zhuo Wu's figure was still tall and straight. Just standing there, he resembled a lone, proud pine on a mountaintop, like untouchable stars and moon, with the majesty of mountains and rivers, and a sharpness that could swallow the heavens and earth.
Jing Jiujiu was momentarily stunned.
But Bai Yuhuai had always been this handsome and imposing.
Jing Jiujiu watched them from a god's-eye view.
He saw the man's face filled with excitement, not like an Immortal, but like an ordinary person afraid of death. He spoke softly to Zhuo Wu about the recent speculations and panic from various quarters, and asked if the gods would truly perish.
Zhuo Wu: "Mm."
"We were born because of the Immortal Lord, and naturally only the Immortal Lord can save us from the predicament of extinction. Please, Immortal Lord, show us the way."
In that instant, Zhuo Wu coldly responded again: "Mm." He slowly raised his eyes.
His eyes were beautiful, but they seemed devoid of any emotion.
Zhuo Wu raised his hand and gripped the man's neck, extracting a ball of golden light and a flickering white light.
Thanks to Bai Yuhuai's experience of flaying and crushing the poisonous Weiqing, Jing Jiujiu recognized them—they were the man's divine consciousness and soul.
There was no earth-shattering calamity, no ghostly wails. Everything happened so quietly.
With a pinch of his fingers, he crushed the soul to dust, leaving only the divine consciousness.
Zhuo Wu had begun to slay the gods.