Chapter 269: The Return Journey 8

Chapter 269: The Return Journey 8

The gap between the two rows of picture book shelves was only as wide as a palm, but when the two approached, it instantly widened, revealing a narrow alley leading to the main street.

There was actually another checkpoint for identity verification, but Ji Xinghai ignored it and led the way in.

The environment inside Taohuayuan was noticeably different from the outside world. Their bodies felt lighter, and all their pores opened up, sensing the dense energy in the air.

Qin Yu also felt this sensation, but neither of them actively absorbed the free-floating energy.

This energy carried a binding force similar to a contract; if one consumed too much, they would become dependent.

"This high-purity energy is partly due to my efforts," Ji Xinghai remarked casually.

At that time, he had devoured so much energy from this world, and eventually, his body could no longer withstand it and shattered. Naturally, that energy returned to the world in its proper form.

And it wasn't just him who died; there were also those pampered sorcerers.

"When a whale falls, all life thrives. But back then, more than one whale fell."

He didn't eat people, so those well-fed core sorcerers naturally returned to the earth. The combined energy they released far exceeded Ji Xinghai's.

This might have been their greatest contribution to the world since birth.

Sorcerers always complained about resource scarcity, but killing a few at the top of the pyramid solved everything, didn't it?

Of course, Ji Xinghai could entertain such thoughts because his strength supported this simple, brutal, and morally questionable yet effective method. Besides, he was mad, with no psychological burden.

It seemed that Ji Xinghai began to let loose in this world.

Initially, he wanted to be an ordinary person, as this world appeared peaceful on the surface.

However, stepping on some medicinal residue at a crossroads could transfer a terminal illness?

Picking up a lost red envelope meant facing a ghost's wrath at night?

Even being stared at by someone on the street could lead to losing one's soul the next day?

What about swapping lives, using substitutes, or transferring misfortunes and blessings...

When Ji Xinghai first arrived, he was still grappling with the pain of hunger and the desire to eat anything, even ghosts. He soon realized: if everyone was this crazy, what difference did one more make?

Ji Xinghai's fragile body and powerful soul were incompatible, so he was destined to be short-lived. Why not live fully and do whatever he wanted?

After coming to terms with this, anyone who tried to blame or bind him would receive the same answer: "I'm dying soon. Do you want to die too? If not, get lost. If you do, I'll help you along."

The alley was not long; they emerged after walking for just over ten seconds.

Qin Yu looked up, seeing this strange small space for the first time. It was spherical, with all buildings facing inward, so when he looked up, he saw another street where the sky should be, bustling with people.

Was this small space defying gravity to oppose the normal world?

Qin Yu was curious how Ji Xinghai had consumed most of it.

Before he could ponder further, Ji Xinghai had already led him into the crowded street.

Although they came from a place like JiuZhou, the people here were not limited to those with black hair and eyes. Common Western sorcerers, such as cloaked wizards, spiritual mediums, and neighboring shrine maidens, could be found among the crowd.

"Is Taohuayuan now so international?" Seeing them reminded Ji Xinghai of his time learning magic in the Western world and his elf mentor on Blue Star, whom he had tricked into coming here.

The magical and cultivation systems of the East and West were different, but to learn Western magic, he studied several ancient languages no longer commonly used. His happiest moments were when he fused different systems to create new spells.

Back then, Eastern and Western sorcerers hardly interacted, despite their similar actions.

Thus, at the beginning, Taohuayuan, known as 'Eden' in the West, was divided among several factions, each ruling their own small world.

Each faction fought within their own realm, maintaining the unspoken rule: fight and quarrel as you will, but don't harm Taohuayuan itself. That wasn't called stealing someone's livelihood; that was called overturning the table.

Until Ji Xinghai, the madman who directly targeted Taohuayuan, appeared, these factions were forced to unite. Ordinary sorcerers discovered that different countries' mystical realms were interconnected.

After a grueling battle, they failed, and Taohuayuan was scattered and reformed.

Of course, Ji Xinghai didn't succeed either; in the end, everything returned to dust.

"The changes are significant."

Unlike Ji Xinghai's leisurely stroll, the sorcerers on the street rushed like couriers, checking their time even while speaking.

Compared to the peaceful times in Ji Xinghai's memory, these people now looked like overworked laborers, which was oddly refreshing.

In his memories, Taohuayuan had many unique private gardens where sorcerer 'clans' lived, grew, and died. Now, most of these gardens had been demolished and replaced by densely packed small buildings.

These small buildings in Taohuayuan were formed by magic and could be taken away when leaving, leaving the land for the next sorcerer to recharge.

The shops on both sides of the main street remained open, but instead of selling exotic beasts and treasures for show, they now sold practical tools and medicines.

A few familiar sorcerers haggled with merchants, buying items with pained expressions, lacking the former extravagance.

"Can compressing living space break a millennia-old system?" Qin Yu wondered aloud. Would the weak rebel because their living space was further compressed? Perhaps, but only a few. Unless a rebellious leader emerged to awaken the masses.

"Because resources were redistributed," Ji Xinghai answered.

He couldn't recall his exact thoughts back then, but perhaps he simply couldn't stand seeing the chosen ones live comfortably. Knowing he would die, he still swallowed most of Taohuayuan.

The remaining energy was too much to consume, and his body was near collapse. He violently reorganized the remaining resources of Taohuayuan.

Resources were now placed in a stepped manner, with higher resources closer to the netherworld.

At the same time, each resource point was set with an entry threshold. Those who couldn't withstand the intensity would explode upon entering.

Even on the brink of death, he still insisted on doing this, not for anything else but to express his opinion: artificial geniuses, get lost!

In this way, even if those 'clans' still possessed numerous secret manuals, without genuine talent, diligent practice, and massive resources, they could not hope to ascend to immortality by sitting around.

However, to say that Taohuayuan would no longer have class monopolies would be a joke. People have their own selfish desires, and forming cliques to monopolize resources is inevitable; it's just not as blatant or easy as before.

Ji Xinghai looked at the street filled with ordinary-looking sorcerers. In the past, these people had to search everywhere outside for treasures to offer in order to gain entry into Taohuayuan.

But now, even if they were weary from travel, their expressions no longer showed the subservience of someone inferior.

Seeing such sorcerers, he finally felt some regret and withdrew his initial thoughts—swallowing the remaining third.

Ji Xinghai firmly denied that this was because swallowing that piece of pie would bind him to this world, and he did not want to be bound to this world.

The entire Taohuayuan, excluding the magically expanded living areas and small spaces, was about the size of an ordinary small town. Walking briskly along the main street for half a day would bring one back to the starting point, and even walking slowly would take no more than ten hours.

Ji Xinghai and his companions even went to the place closest to the Yin Realm, where seals were densely packed.

Apart from the seals, they also issued many tasks to punish evil and promote good, all with points that could be exchanged for extended stays in Taohuayuan. The task with the highest points was assisting the police in solving murder cases.

All of this was done to prevent the Yin Realm from becoming unstable.

To protect Taohuayuan, the sorcerers had truly given everything they had.

Indeed, without Taohuayuan, where would they be? They would all become ordinary people—something they could not bear.

"Was it a big deal back then?"

Ji Xinghai was looking at memories, while Qin Yu observed the environment.

After so many years, he could still sense the raging, almost screaming fluctuations nearby. What exactly happened back then that forced Ji Xinghai to rather burst himself than let Taohuayuan remain?

"A big deal?" Ji Xinghai looked at the still-damaged resource area. "For the whole world, probably not. It was just a commoner's rage, spilling blood within five steps. But I am a tall commoner, so my five steps are larger."

Is it reasonable?

Reasonable indeed.

Once upon a time, there was Zhongshan University in the Eastern sorcerer community, which claimed to widely recruit students, valuing the capable above all, appearing like a breath of fresh air among hereditary families. In reality, it was the private property of the Su and Song families, serving as a training ground for their descendants.

Even the deanship rotated between the Su and Song families: today it was the Su family, then passed to the Song family, and back to the Su family... anyone who dared to interfere would find their grave overgrown with grass several times over.

Outstanding students with no background were usually taken under their wing under the guise of cultivation, only to meet with accidents or incurable diseases, leaving them with nowhere to turn.

The energy from these students somehow appeared in the disciples of the Su and Song families, allowing even teenagers to possess decades of cultivation.

That teenager entered the school as the top student of his year, hailed as a once-in-a-century genius. He later became the top figure at Zhongshan University with the highest benefits, led by his father and mentor to 'venture overseas.' It seemed the Song family had a 'tiger father and no dog son,' ensuring a successor.

He took a fancy to Ji Xinghai... and his innovative spells.

"Someone wanted to use my bones to build a throne for his son and crown my achievements with his son's name.

"I refused, so his teacher came, his teacher's teacher, his father, and then his ancestors and his teacher's ancestors all came.

"These people were used to doing such things; otherwise, how did their originally talented disciples die? How did several of them suddenly get incurable diseases? They were used to bullying the poor and kind."

Ji Xinghai sneered.

He had no other virtues except being strong, bad, and vengeful. If someone hit him, he would destroy their ancestors' tablets and offer them to the heavens.

Moreover, their arrogance and self-righteousness tarnished the profession of 'teacher.'

Ji Xinghai held three professions sacred: police officers and soldiers, his mother's profession, and teachers, his father's profession.

These scoundrels were dancing in his minefield.

Thus, his previously healed spirit, nurtured through travel and learning, instantly became unstable again. His insectoid state returned, and he killed without restraint, unwilling to put down his blade.

Not for any reason, but because this was the norm, and he could no longer tolerate it.

"If this world has no karma, then I am your retribution."

It was something like that.

"What university?"

"Zhongshan University."

"What were their names?"

"They've been reduced to ashes; who remembers? Probably something like Song Shijie or Song Shijian. But I remember his catchphrase, 'My dad is Song Wei'er,' indeed very Wei'er."

"So..." Qin Yu wanted to know if these people had any descendants or relatives, whom he could also handle.

"We're done here. Let's go outside; it's time for a late-night snack." Ji Xinghai waved his hand. Why talk about them anymore when their ancestors had already been crushed?

Let's go back; Taohuayuan no longer held any appeal.

So they retraced their steps.

It was already past nine in the evening, yet the small comic library still had disillusioned sorcerers lingering around, now ordinary people.

Having experienced the frailty, poverty, illness, and aging of ordinary people, their resentment was nearly tangible—they had once been so high and mighty, able to decide others' fates with a wave of their hand, but now they were reduced to mere beasts of burden.

No one knew how many sorcerers had become ordinary people in this world.

Would they adapt and move forward, or remain trapped in old dreams, unable to awaken? No one knew.

Only one thing was certain.

"The security has improved so much in recent years. When I was a kid, if I wasn't home by eight o'clock, I'd get beaten up. Back then, there were plenty of rumors about human flesh restaurants and black markets for organs, along with numerous unsolved serial killings. People would be on edge just stepping out of their homes. Nowadays, people dare to wander around with their phones."

"Isn't that the truth? Look at now; it's almost ten, and there are still so many people out."

Ji Xinghai and his companion followed two leisurely strolling uncles. They walked past the lotus pond, seeing someone fishing under a tree at night. They passed through a quiet lane, watching students riding their bikes home after school, their faces free from fear and tension.

Finally, they entered the bustling night market, where the aroma of steaming snacks and diners in tank tops and slippers filled their vision.

"Two skewers of grilled squid."

"Sure thing, two skewers of grilled squid. Do you like it spicy? I have non-spicy, mildly spicy, and extra spicy options."

"Mildly spicy, boss. Add two sausages too, also mildly spicy."

Ordinary people could finally enjoy a meal in peace, rewarding themselves for their hard work.

They wouldn't die because they stepped on something.

They wouldn't die because they were beautiful.

They wouldn't die because they were exceptionally talented.

They wouldn't die because they were born on a special day.

They wouldn't die because they rejected someone they didn't like.

And they certainly wouldn't be stopped by some arrogant and inexplicable person who said their blood was good and should pave the way for them.

"If this world had always been like this, maybe I could have lived longer." Ji Xinghai looked longingly at the steaming snacks. This world was the closest to his hometown, even the food was similar.

The more he thought about it, the unhappier he became. This was the kind of life he wanted!

Supernatural nobles, retreat! Retreat! Retreat!

"It's not too late now." Qin Yu appeared before him with two large cups of skewers, tall paper containers filled with various sizes of skewers, their oils glistening under the lights. Of course, the most dazzling sight was Qin Yu himself.

"How did you get these?"

"Secret." Qin Yu handed over the skewers, which had been kept at the perfect temperature. One container held seafood, while the other had fruits, vegetables, and meats, ensuring no flavors mixed.

They walked through the bustling crowd, passing through the still-lit streets, all the way to the riverside. Sitting on the riverbank railing, each holding a large container, they ate skewers under the moonlight reflecting off the shimmering water.

Somewhere along the way, two bottles of green apple-flavored fruit wine appeared between them.

"This world will only get better in the future. Even though I won't be here, let's raise a toast to that!" Ji Xinghai lifted a bottle.

"Where did you get them?" Qin Yu asked.

"Sec-re-t."