Chapter 998: Yu Liuchen’s Favor
Yu Liuchen’s arrival caused an invisible force to spread out through the dome of heaven and the Forbidden Sea.
The sky went still. So did the sea. The waves seemed to just stop in place, maintaining their form, but not moving. The currents simply froze in place. It made everything seem like a painting describing an unknown story. But then the god in that story extended an invitation.
Erniu could be sarcastic, but there was no way he would dare to refuse Yu Liuchen’s tea. He had witnessed Yu Liuchen tell a story about Floating Fiend. It had started with a refusal to drink tea, and then everything got twisted, and Floating Fiend got yanked back and forth in the most miserable way imaginable. In the end, he collapsed mentally.
This guy looks like a typical god, but according to the rumors I’ve heard, all the other gods call hīm petty. Plus, hē has a weird quirk. The more people don’t want to do something, the more hē likes to force them to do it. Besides, what’s out there that my stomach can’t digest? I’m not afraid of this joker!
With such thoughts on his mind, he unhesitatingly reached out, took a teacup, and drank. Eyes lighting up as if he had just consumed the most amazing delicacy, he sighed in admiration.
“Now that’s some good tea. Delicious!”
Off to the side, Huang Yan remained stony-faced, and didn’t so much as touch the teacup.
Yu Liuchen’s eyes narrowed as hē glanced at Huang Yan. It was impossible to tell what hē was thinking, but hē ultimately chuckled softly. Looking away from Huang Yan, hē focused on the meditating Xu Qing.
Addressing Xu Qing, hē said, “Look, buddy, I can tell that you’re actually awake and just pretending to be unaware of your surroundings. It actually reminds me of a tale I happen to know, the protagonist of which is named Xu Qing. Want me to tell the story?”
When Xu Qing heard the word ‘story’ mentioned, he immediately opened his eyes. A golden crow flew out from his eyes, sending out dazzling fire into the becalmed sea and sky. As it circled overhead, it let loose a crisp, clear cry. It flew higher and higher until it was as high as it could fly in the sky. There, it shivered, and the fire surrounding it grew more intense, sending out such explosive light and heat that it was like an incarnated sun. An ancient aura pulsed out from it, the pressure of a god.
There were also ten beams of immortal light that surrounded the golden crow. That was none other than Xu Qing’s profound sun immortal light. Originally, it had consisted of one beam of light, but now there were ten. The ten dazzling beams of immortal light combined with the golden crow, bolstering it, and making it seem even more like a sun. The night was being burned away.
Then, the crow flew back into Xu Qing’s eyes and vanished. The sky went dark again.
However, Xu Qing’s eyes now shone like suns. Rising to his feet, he bowed at the waist to Yu Liuchen. Xu Qing had been more than willing to listen to a story about Floating Fiend as told by Yu Liuchen. But he didn’t dare to listen to a story about himself. Therefore, he needed to show some good manners.
“I’m very interested in Golden Crow’s story,” Yu Liuchen said with a smile.
Xu Qing didn’t say anything at first. Golden Crow’s legacy was far too majestic, and also infinitely complex. It wasn’t something he could truly comprehend in a short period of time. It would have to remain in his sea of consciousness as he slowly absorbed it. And until it was fully absorbed, Golden Crow’s story... would not be complete. Yu Liuchen obviously knew that.
Xu Qing thought for a moment, then said, “If you want to hear the story, Senior, I can oblige.”
Yu Liuchen shook hīs head and put hīs teacup down. “An incomplete story will contain too many uncertainties, and that would affect the quality. I’d rather wait until you know every final detail. Of course, I’m not asking to hear the story for free. We can discuss the details when the time comes.
“Now, you owe me a favor. And you’re going to repay it... by being bait. In short order, you’ll be coming with me on a quick trip to the outer sea.”
Xu Qing considered what it meant for Yu Liuchen to talk of bait and the outer sea. It was already causing some puzzle pieces to click together. After a few breaths of time passed, he looked at Yu Liuchen. “Senior, do you mind being a bit clearer?”
Yu Liuchen smiled faintly. “I want to go on a fishing expedition.”
Huang Yan stood, his eyes flashing.
Yu Liuchen turned to look at him with a serious expression, then projected a message to Huang Yan using divine will.
Huang Yan frowned. Eyes still flashing, he said, “I’ll respect Xu Qing’s decision.”
Xu Qing thought about it for a moment. When in Golden Crow’s dragon chariot, he had visited the outer sea, and though he still didn’t understand much about it, he could tell it was a dangerous place. That said, he wasn’t the same person he had been in the past. That was especially true now that he had Golden Crow’s legacy, which meant that he did have some level of understanding about the place. As long as he was careful, going there wasn’t out of the question. Most importantly, he did owe a favor to Yu Liuchen.
“Right now?” Xu Qing asked.
“Right now.” With a smile and a nod, Yu Liuchen stood. “Let’s go.”
With that, hē strode up into the sky.
Xu Qing took a deep breath.
Huang Yan frowned. “Xu Qing, I’m not going to interfere with your decision. But if you don’t want to do this, just tell me. I’ll think of something.”
Xu Qing shook his head. “Senior Yu Liuchen saved me, and I have to pay back that favor.”
He had his principles. He didn’t forget grudges. But at the same time, he didn’t forget favors. Xu Qing strode up into the sky to join Yu Liuchen.
Huang Yan could see that Xu Qing had made up his mind, so he said nothing further.
When Erniu saw that Xu Qing and Yu Liuchen were about to leave, he blinked a few times, cleared his throat, and then plastered a flattering smile onto his face.
“Well,” he said loudly, “since I can’t be of any help, I guess I won’t be going along. Senior, Little Junior Brother, I wish you speedy success. And now, I’ll be off!”
With that, Erniu prepared to send the dharmaship racing away, as if he didn’t want to be involved in any capacity.
Up in midair, Yu Liuchen looked down at Erniu. “If you want to come along, Niu’er, you can just say so. There’s no need to play with words.”
Erniu shook his head, slapped himself on the chest, and loudly proclaimed, “You misunderstand, Senior. I’m not going. I’m absolutely, positively not going! In fact, even if you beat the crap out of me, I still wouldn’t go!”
Yu Liuchen’s eyebrows shot up, and hē smiled enigmatically. “I supposed that means that if I don’t beat the crap out of you, you will go? Since you want to go that much, then fine. Adding some extra bait to the fishing line sounds like a great idea.”
Hē waved hīs right hand, and Erniu floated up next to Xu Qing. Then Yu Liuchen strode forward, and the redness in the sky shrank down, converging into the form of a red cloud that shot off toward the outer sea.
On the dharmaship, Huang Yan watched silently as the red cloud disappeared in the distance.
High in the sky, inside the red cloud, Erniu was scowling on the verge of tears.
That said, based on what Xu Qing knew of his Eldest Brother, he could tell that he was secretly very pleased with himself.
“You can stop it with the act,” Yu Liuchen said. “I was going to bring you along as bait regardless of what you said. As long as the two of you don’t have a death wish, this little situation will be dangerous but not fatal.”
It would have been better if hē hadn’t said anything at all. Xu Qing suddenly started feeling very uneasy, and couldn’t help but glance at Erniu. When it came to death wishes, if Erniu could be said to take second place in all of existence, then there couldn’t be a person in first place.
When Erniu saw Xu Qing looking at him that way, he felt a bit guilty. He cleared his throat. “Senior, in order to make this the best fishing expedition possible, and in order to make sure you profit handsomely, then er... maybe you could explain all the details of the mission. If you don’t, sir, well, it’s not as if our two lives are important, but it would be truly heartbreaking if your great plan went south.”
Xu Qing looked in the direction the red cloud was traveling. He had been thinking of saying the same thing Erniu had just said. After all, knowing the details of the mission would make things a lot safer.
Yu Liuchen knew exactly what they were thinking. Hē laughed softly. Considering hē had come to accept repayment of a favor from Xu Qing, it wouldn’t make sense for hīm to hold things back. Besides, the mission at hand was extremely important to hīm. Thus, as the red cloud sped on its way, hīs voice echoed into the ears of Xu Qing and Erniu.
“Before getting into the mission, I need to explain a bit about the outer sea. It’s a very mysterious and unfathomable place, with a history that goes back farther than the Brilliant Heaven Godfolk. Although, not even I know much about those times. What’s more, there are many dangers there that not even my god perception can detect.
“As far as I can tell, the Brilliant Heaven Godfolk probably came from the outer sea. It’s the origin of thēir species.... It was only after emerging from the sea that thēy established Brilliant Heaven. Later, though the progenitors of you cultivators crushed and sealed the Brilliant Heaven Godfolk, and built the Revered Ancient mainland atop Brilliant Heaven, they could never do anything about the outer sea.
“My guess is that the reason Crown Prince Golden Crow was left behind with authority to patrol the world had nothing to do with strength or power. Rather, it was because of bloodline. The outer sea is essentially a unique, standalone world.”
Yu Liuchen’s words contained profound information that few people in the world were privy to. Xu Qing and Erniu were both shaken deeply by what they were hearing.
“Now, as for this mission of mine....” Yu Liuchen trailed off and stopped talking for a moment. “Xu Qing, do you understand the difference between cultivators and gods?”
Xu Qing was still trying to digest the previous information. After thinking for a moment, he replied, “Immortals cultivate essence. Gods cultivate omniscience.”
Yu Liuchen laughed. “You’re right. But you’re also wrong. The correct answer is this: immortals cultivate a true ego, while gods cultivate a true name! That’s why Summer Immortals can perish, but True Gods are undying. If a True God is killed, it doesn’t matter, as long as thēir true name circulates in the starry sky. After enough years pass, thēy will return. Of course, what will return is that god, but at the same time, isn’t .”
Yu Liuchen’s voice contained something very ancient within it. As it vanished into the surrounding cloud, Xu Qing and Erniu looked at hīm standing in front of them. Hīs eyes were focused on the outer sea, while hīs voice seemed to come from within ancient time itself.
“Your Revered Ancient has a history full of war. Your progenitors who came from the lower worlds defeated the Brilliant Heaven Godfolk here. Although I didn’t participate in that war, I’ve seen it within the time of Revered Ancient. And I saw a True God of the Brilliant Heaven Godfolk being cut down in the outer sea.
“Later, during the tens of thousands of years that passed after I was injured, I told a story about that True God to time itself. Ultimately, about a thousand years ago, time recognized my story, and I could sense an aura that indicated that True God had returned. The god is weak, and is still in the process of awakening. But it’s enough for me to finish telling the story.
“The reason I chose the two of you as bait is that both of you are connected to the Summer Immortals. You’re linked by karma. This True God was originally killed by a Summer Immortal, and though the two of you aren’t related to that specific Summer Immortal’s essence, in this starry sky of the gods, there are only a few Summer Immortals.
“That’s why you two are the best choice to be bait. I want to make use of your auras to lure out that extremely weak True God. I want my story to become true and real, and in that way, push my god altar to the very peak. And then I can find that most extremely elusive path to True God.”
Yu Liuchen wasn’t hiding anything. By the time hē finished explaining his mission, Xu Qing and Erniu were shaken to the core. And that was when the red cloud stopped moving.
They had arrived at the outer sea. On the surface of the water, there was an endless line. On one side, everything was black. That was the inner sea. On the other side, everything was violet. That was the outer sea.