Chapter 93

Chapter 93

The continuous tremors beneath the Red Mist Sea stunned the disciples of other factions who had come for the spirit awakening ceremony.

"Senior Shen, what is this...?" An elder from Mount Zhu Ming steadied himself and asked with a frown.

What could have happened in the Red Mist Sea to cause such a massive disturbance?

This commotion seemed capable of overturning the entire Red Mist Sea.

Shen Yunyan smiled reassuringly, "Nothing to worry about, everyone. It's just someone in the Red Mist Sea training a spirit beast, causing a bit of a stir. Please don't be alarmed."

Training a spirit beast can cause such a disturbance?

The elder from Mount Zhu Ming was skeptical.

But the inexperienced disciples didn't think much about it; instead, they were amazed and began to speculate—

"What kind of powerful beast is being trained that it can make the entire Red Mist Sea shake?"

"It must be at least an Origin Core-stage spirit beast!"

Shen Yunyan remained unperturbed, his eyes filled with amusement. He wasn't lying; indeed, someone was training a beast. However, it was the monstrous beast sealed beneath the sea, whose cultivation depth was unfathomable.

"Let's focus on the present and proceed with the spirit awakening ceremony," Shen Yunyan said solemnly, hands clasped before his chest. "Behind us lies the Spirit Beast Mountain of the Red Mist Sea, which stretches for a thousand miles. The deeper you go, the fiercer the spirit beasts become. Please act according to your abilities. Remember, do not harm the beasts or intrude into their dens."

"Yes!" the disciples chorused.

Each disciple was accompanied by experienced elders from their clans or sects, so Shen Yunyan was not overly concerned.

He watched as the disciples departed.

Among them, one person had come alone, without leading anyone else.

"You, don't you have any seniors from your clan to assist you? The spirit beasts on Spirit Beast Mountain aren't all docile; it might be dangerous for you to go alone," Shen Yunyan called out to him.

The young man turned around, "Are you talking to me?"

Only when he turned did Shen Yunyan notice that the youth looked to be about eighteen or nineteen, exuding an aura of quiet melancholy.

"Yes, I'm talking to you."

"It's fine, I can handle it." The youth's voice was low, and as he spoke, he patted the box at his side.

"I'm not asking if you can handle it, but rather if you have someone to guide you?" Shen Yunyan sighed, "Spirit Beast Mountain is very dangerous. Which sect are you from?"

The youth replied, "I am a disciple of Shan Ning Realm. No one wanted to bring me because they thought I stole their apprentice's spotlight."

Shen Yunyan was taken aback by the straightforward answer.

The intricacies within sects were countless. Red Sea of Crimson Clouds was perhaps the most peaceful in this regard, due to its small population and the mostly simple-minded spirit beasts they interacted with.

Shen Yunyan understood but didn't know how to console him.

So he said, "Since that's the case, I'll take you to the Spirit Awakening ceremony."

The quiet youth lifted his gaze, then lowered his eyes again, "Sure, whatever."

Someone overheard their conversation and secretly thought the youth was lucky. To be personally led to the Spirit Awakening ceremony by the Master of Red Sea of Crimson Clouds was quite an honor.

Shen Yunyan didn't find it troublesome.

The quality of the spirit beast tamed for the first time had nothing to do with him as the guide; it all depended on the young man's fortune.

...

What Shen Yunyan didn't expect was that the spirit beasts of Spirit Beast Mountain would take such a liking to this young man.

Seeing the young man half-covered by spirit beast cubs, Shen Yunyan was quite surprised. The spirit beast cubs of Spirit Beast Mountain weren't so easy to get along with.

He almost suspected that the young man must have something on him that the spirit beasts liked to eat.

Otherwise, how could he be so favored by the cubs!

This shouldn't happen! This shouldn't happen!

But the fact was, the young man had nothing special on him. He just stood there, and many spirit beasts came to his side.

Shen Yunyan couldn't help but speak up: "You..."

Staring at the little beasts clinging to his legs, Shen Yunyan thought to himself that it was already remarkable that Senior Fourteen could converse with spirit beasts, but how could there be such a talented young man in the Spirit Mountain Realm!

To be naturally favored by spirit beasts! He wasn't envious, not at all!!

The young man's composed eyes showed a hint of helplessness, "That's why I didn't want to come."

Dragging his legs, which were being clung to by the spirit beast cubs, the young man moved forward with difficulty, "I won't awaken my spirit, Lord Shen Hai, you don't need to trouble yourself for me."

"You won't awaken your spirit?" Shen Yunyan said seriously, "Since the elders in your sect mistreat you, you should prove yourself to them. You have this talent."

"I don't like being a beast tamer." The young man lowered his eyes. "Even without taming beasts, there are other paths to take in this world."

Shen Yunyan: "... That's true."

With more and more spirit beast pups, the young man could no longer move. He simply sat down where he was and hugged his box.

"There's no need for you to trouble yourself, Lord Shen. You should go check the source of the tremors in the Red Mist Sea. Those tremors don't seem like someone is taming a beast."

The young man spoke very calmly, as if he knew the cause of the tremors.

"Thank you, but I really don't need to go."

Though puzzled by the young man's words, Shen Yunyan indeed didn't need to worry about the situation beneath the Red Mist Sea. With Senior Lu Yi and Senior Qin Zhou present, if the monster could still cause trouble, rushing over would be futile.

The young man looked at him earnestly and repeated, "You should still go."

Shen Yunyan: ?

"I really don't need to go."

Seeming tired of speaking, the young man fell silent.

Shen Yunyan was curious about the box in his hands. "What is that?"

Young man: "A figurine."

Shen Yunyan: ?

"A puppet," the young man lowered his eyes. "I made it myself."

Shen Yunyan: "Can I take a look?"

The young man shook his head.

Shen Yunyan: "..."

It seemed the young man preferred to be alone rather than answering questions. Shen Yunyan noticed this and smiled. "Then I won't disturb you. What's your name?"

"Yan Qi."

"Alright."

After leaving Spirit Beast Mountain, Shen Yunyan realized something was off.

If Yan Qi wasn't there to tame spirit beasts, then why was he there?

Shen Yunyan shook his head. Whatever, he would go back to Red Mist Sea and check it out.

...

Once Shen Yunyan left, Yan Qi slowly opened his box.

Inside the box were several neatly arranged small wooden puppets.

The quiet young man habitually stroked the heads of the puppets. "Will the magic beasts come out early if Red Mist Sea shakes?"

"If they do, what should we do?" A hint of melancholy flashed in the young man's eyes.

The little puppets remained silent.

No one answered him.

So the young man raised his hand and infused a thread of spiritual energy into the puppets.

"Out they come, out they come! Saving the world is such a hassle~"

"But if the monsters get out, many people will die~"

"What a headache~"

The puppets came to life as if animated, sitting in their box and responding to Yan Qi's words.

Yan Qi scanned from left to right, finally resting his gaze on the doll in the far corner that had been silent for a long time.

The animated dolls also shifted their gazes, as if saying, why aren't you speaking?

The isolated doll felt uneasy: "..."

After a long while, it opened its mouth, "If many people will die, then... save them."

Yan Qi trembled all over.

The spiritual energy at his fingertips disappeared, and all the puppets returned to their original positions, devoid of life. Clearly, the scene of the puppets responding was just the entertainment of the reclusive young man.

But this one, the one that answered...

Yan Qi stared at it intently.

His doll, it had come to life.

Lu San tilted his head slightly and noticed that Yan Qi’s originally calm eyes suddenly sparkled with light.

It seemed that his existence was a delightful surprise.

The effusive warmth in those eyes left Lu San at a loss.

"Would it be better to save you?" Yan Qi picked up the small wooden puppet that was Lu San, asking seriously.

"Um." Lu San nodded.

"Alright." Yan Qi tucked Lu San into his chest and then placed all the other small puppets back into the box.

This one was alive.

The most special of them all.

Held in Yan Qi’s palm, the completely different perspective due to his reduced size made Lu San feel uneasy.

Because of his height, he used to look down on his younger siblings. This was the first time he had to look up at someone.

"Do you have any skills?" After observing him for a long while, Yan Qi asked again.

Lu San: "Blacksmithing."

Yan Qi was delighted, "Then where are your tools?"

Lu San flipped out of Yan Qi’s arms, searching through the box for a long time before finding the Bag of Holding that had shrunk along with him, "Here."

Yan Qi treasured it as if it were a precious gem, praising, "You’re amazing."

Lu San: "...Thank you."

When he was young, the village chief also praised him like this.

Lu San was very happy.

Yan Qi was also very happy.

So Yan Qi placed Lu San in his arms and carried him down from Spirit Beast Mountain.

"We will now go to see the sea monsters."

"Okay."

...

Duyan fainted again.

Wen Jue didn't want that thing to overhear his conversation with Qin Zhou, so he used some force to knock the beast out.

Only then could he chat conveniently with Qin Zhou.

Qin Zhou told him most of the story of this world.

"So to find the World Tree, we need to find the Son of the World first?"

According to Qin Zhou's idea, the World Tree is the origin of the world. And the Son of the World determines whether the World Tree thrives or withers.

In the Multiverse, he should be considered the Son of the World.

In the Spirit Mountain Realm, most of the plot revolves around the ‘protagonist,’ who is the player. Therefore, it seems that the Son of the World should be the ‘protagonist’ that the player portrays.

“I have been to Ten Thousand Spirits Village; the Golden Child has been away from the village for two years. He might have joined another sect. If we follow the original storyline, it’s uncertain whether the protagonist would come here within ten years.”

“If we know his name, it shouldn’t be too hard to find him. We could ask Shen Yun for help,” Wen Jue thought aloud.

“We don’t know his name.” This was what Qin Zhou found particularly challenging.

‘Golden Child’ is the nickname given to the ‘protagonist’ by Ten Thousand Spirits Village. The protagonist’s real name is freely chosen by the ‘player.’

It could be one or it could be two.

Not knowing the name or appearance, finding someone is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Complicating matters further, this character cannot be considered an NPC, so he cannot use the Map of Mountains and Rivers to directly teleport and search for him.

What Qin Zhou found particularly challenging was that he had no idea who the ‘protagonist’ was. Logically, if there were no players in this world, the ‘protagonist’ should not exist.

But... clearly, that’s not the case.

The Golden Child left the village and entered the world, which already proves his existence.

“I’ll go out and think of a way. But before that, you need to stay here,” Qin Zhou said.

Wen Jue didn’t seem to mind, “Go ahead. I’ve been in the Immortal Prison before; back then, there wasn’t even any entertainment, and I still managed to stay. Unlike now, at least there’s some entertainment.”

By ‘entertainment,’ of course, he meant the unconscious Duyan.

“You shouldn’t interact with him too deeply. Duyan is good at deceiving people,” Qin Zhou reminded him.

Wen Jue lifted his chin. "I understand."

Qin Zhou stroked his hair. "Then I'll be off."

"Alright."

After Qin Zhou left, Wen Jue finally came to his senses and glanced at Duyan, who lay on the ground like a corpse.

Still not awake.

Once Qin Zhou was gone, he felt bored again.

Wen Jue closed his eyes.

Just as he was about to doze off, a black mist suddenly surged from his forehead.

"You see, he's left you here again."

"He gave you a hairpin before, but he still left you, didn't he? You can't trust this person."

Duyan's voice came from within his heart this time.

Wen Jue opened his eyes.

The voice continued tirelessly in his mind, "This body is called 'Lu Yi.' But is it really you? This body has existed for thousands of years in this world. Do you know who else has inhabited this body? For the thousands of years he was away from you, he was always with this 'Lu Yi.'"

"Do you really understand him? You don't even know his background or where he comes from."

It was Duyan's voice, yet not Duyan.

Wen Jue looked at the black mist lying on the ground, seemingly like a pile of sludge, and thought thus.

He patted his chest.

This is not the Solitary Nightmare.

This is his heart demon.

The Solitary Nightmare indeed has the ability to awaken his heart demon.

Even though he had sworn to Qin Zhou that he would not be affected, he still... Wen Jue closed his eyes for a moment.

"It's useless."

"I have said before, as long as he exists, you will never amount to anything." A mocking smile curved at the corner of Wen Jue's lips. After waiting for nine thousand years in the All-Heaven Realm, this heart demon failed to consume him, didn't it?

Not to mention, Qin Zhou has returned.