Chapter 12: A Deity’s Wrathful Gaze: To Kill, Not to Save. The deity’s name is Fu Yu.

Chapter 12: A Deity's Wrathful Gaze: To Kill, Not to Save. The deity's name is Fu Yu.

The candle flame flickered slightly in the thatched hut.

"Gods and demons fear causes, mortals fear consequences."

"Causes and consequences are one and the same." Fu Yu's voice sounded ethereal and mysterious. "A Diviner perceives the threads of karma in the world, manipulating hearts and steering destinies with a turn of the hand."

Li Xueke knelt on a cushion, his posture straighter than a schoolboy's in a private academy. His lips were pressed tight, hands folded on his knees, eyes unblinking as he nodded earnestly from time to time.

Fu Yu said, "You consumed 'that person's' elixir, thus forming a karmic bond with her."

Li Xueke nodded repeatedly. "Yes, yes! I advanced to the Golden Core stage entirely thanks to that 'Divine Elixir'!"

Wu He: "..."

Wait, hold on. That whole spiel about fate and karma just now had him half-convinced there might be something to it. But what in the world is a "Divine Elixir"?

That useless Drum Spirit Elixir? Wasn't that the one *he* concocted?

The corner of Wu He's eye twitched.

He glanced furtively and saw Fu Yu sitting there with perfect composure, looking utterly convinced of her own words. He couldn't help but silently give her a thumbs-up—her ability to spout nonsense with a straight face was truly something he felt inferior to.

Wu He cooperatively nodded slowly. "Mhm... mhm."

Li Xueke leaned forward, lowering his voice with a shudder. "You have no idea how terrifying that thing in the dream was! Killing in a dream... it scared the living daylights out of me!"

Fu Yu nodded. "You are in peril. 'That person' will not stand idly by."

She raised a palm, signaling Li Xueke not to get too excited just yet.

She continued, "A senior expert cannot protect you for a lifetime. The only one who can truly help you ward off danger and disaster is yourself."

"I understand, I understand." Li Xueke hurriedly nodded. "But the opponent is far more powerful than me. That Dream Kill Art is utterly unfathomable. How can I contend with him?"

Fu Yu smiled. "Invoke a deity."

Li Xueke craned his neck, listening intently.

Wu He also lifted his dark eyelids slightly, curious to see how she would spin this lie.

Fu Yu produced a peachwood sword from somewhere.

"Incense guides the way above your head, your feet tread the Celestial Steps."

She slowly waved the talisman sword in her hand, murmuring incantations, stepping and pausing in a deliberate rhythm.

"The deity's wrathful gaze kills without salvation."

Li Xueke studied earnestly.

Wu He also watched without blinking.

After Fu Yu went through it once, she raised an eyebrow. "Remembered?"

Li Xueke nodded vigorously.

Wu He nodded even more vigorously.

The corner of Fu Yu's eye twitched, utterly speechless at her accomplice: We're fooling Li Ten-Thousand here, why are *you* nodding?

Li Xueke slowly practiced a few times, vaguely grasping the gist.

His eyes suddenly lit up. "I understand! This is the Invocation Prayer!"

Wu He: "..."

One dares to deceive, the other dares to comprehend.

Fu Yu nodded. "Correct."

Li Xueke's eyes shone. "Which deity am I invoking?"

Fu Yu smiled. "That would be the deity of our Prayer Sect—the Emperor Witch Fate Master. The deity's name is Fu Yu."

Li Xueke's eyes grew even brighter with delight. He clenched his fists in joy, holding the incense to pay respects. "Excellent, excellent!"

Wu He: "...???"

He silently turned his face toward the window.

Took a deep breath. Gazed at the sky.

Indeed, the reason he couldn't achieve great things was because he was too uptight, couldn't lower his pride.

Look at Xie Fuyu's sheer audacity—it was truly a sight to behold!

The Seven-Star Lamp was lit in the thatched hut.

Incense smoke curled, vermilion talisman seals protected his body.

All preparations were complete.

Li Xueke sat upright in a cross-legged position, closed his eyes, his breathing grew long and steady as he gradually entered a meditative state.

Wu He gazed at Xie Fuyu with a deep, inscrutable look.

He had heard that the highest level of deception was to deceive even oneself.

Today, he finally witnessed it firsthand.

Look at her, so calm and composed, as if lifting something heavy with ease—she was really acting like she was a deity.

Wu He hesitated, words on the tip of his tongue. "...Is this really okay?"

This was their own lair. A monk could run, but the temple couldn't.

Fu Yu thought seriously.

Li Xueke's dream was, in fact, his own domain. As long as he genuinely believed that he had invoked a deity, Fu Yu, entering the dream, might actually be able to wield her former strength.

The deity invocation was real. She, the High Priest, was also real.

She said, "Do you think he believes?"

Wu He: "I think he believes, but..."

Fu Yu: "Then that's fine. Sincerity brings efficacy."

Wu He: "..."

So Li Xueke is going to trap himself, deceive himself, brainwash himself, and finish himself off?

Isn't scamming a dummy like this a bit hard on the conscience?

Wu He looked out the window and let out a long sigh.

Turning back, he found Fu Yu, who had no conscience, already asleep, leaning against a pillow.

Wu He: "..."

Night deepened.

Outside the thatched cottage, Lu Xingchen's eyes were bloodshot, his gaze pained and restrained.

He gritted his teeth and said bitterly, "So this is what it feels like."

The Foxtail Grass Spirit turned over on a branch and poked its head down. "Stop, stop. Don't you dare project your messy affairs with your cousin onto others."

Lu Xingchen was thoroughly choked up. "My cousin and I are completely innocent."

The Foxtail Grass Spirit sneered. "Right, right. Innocent roughhousing, innocent cuddling, innocent sharing a bed!"

Lu Xingchen laughed angrily. "Your sharp tongue really resembles your master's."

The Foxtail Grass Spirit snorted and turned its head away.

Lu Xingchen was silent for a beat, then said softly, "Fu Yu truly misunderstood. How could I possibly share a bed with my cousin..."

He couldn't bring himself to finish, shaking his head. "It never happened!"

The Foxtail Grass Spirit turned back. "Your cousin said so with her own mouth. Are you implying she lied?"

Lu Xingchen frowned.

After a long pause, he hesitantly said, "Perhaps... perhaps my cousin was referring to something from our childhood, and Fu Yu misunderstood."

The Foxtail Grass Spirit shook its head in disappointment. "Even now, you still believe your cousin."

Lu Xingchen sighed. "She's actually quite pitiful. Could you please not be prejudiced against her?"

The Foxtail Grass Spirit was silent for a good while.

"Pfft!" It laughed. "Lu Xingchen, the one anxiously waiting outside someone's door, torn up and overthinking, doesn't seem to be my master, does it?"

Lu Xingchen: "..."

The Foxtail Grass Spirit added another jab. "Don't worry. Whether your eyes are red or your heart aches, my master doesn't care one bit. My master is handling important matters you don't even understand!"

The words still hung in the air when.

A chilling Sword Intent shot into the sky.

Shining through the sealing array, it suddenly illuminated the eyes of Lu Xingchen and the Foxtail Grass Spirit.

Lu Xingchen drew a sharp breath. "...Celestial Sword Intent."

Not long after Li Xueke fell asleep, a sudden chill ran through his body and mind.

An extremely cold, sinister chill coiled around him. As his heart contracted, a sharp, icy pain shot up from the soles of his feet.

He snapped his eyes open to find himself barefoot, stepping into that forest of gray-white bleached bones.

Here it comes again!

"Boom! Boom!"

The earth shook, boom... boom... The towering, chaotic bones around him shuddered, shaking loose fine bone dust and fragments.

He splayed his hands slightly to keep his balance.

"Oooom—Huuuum—"

The giant bone monster, whose full form remained unclear, was once again swinging its massive bone spheres, searching for him.

It blotted out the sky!

Li Xueke's heart pounded wildly, leaping into his throat with each beat.

"Don't panic... don't panic..."

He took a deep breath, steadying his mind.

He formed a hand seal, raised his hands, and stepped forward.

"The guiding incense atop my head... wrong. Head carries, incense guides..."

He accidentally bit his tongue.

Li Xueke swore under his breath. He closed his eyes, calming his spirit.

"The guiding incense atop my head!"

That was right this time, though his voice cracked and wavered a bit.

"Feet tread—" He swallowed hard. "—the Celestial Steps!"

"Thud."

His toe struck the cold, hard corner of a tombstone, sending a jolt of pain through his body.

"Boom!"

The ground beneath him shook violently, sending bone fragments flying, hanging in the air for a moment.

The air suddenly fell silent.

Even without looking up, he could sense something was very, very close to him.

It was slowly, slowly emerging from the depths of the gray bone mist above.

Emerging.

A terrifying, cold, oppressive force locked onto him.

Li Xueke panicked. "The guiding incense atop my head, feet tread, tread—"

Say it! Say it now!

Move, legs!

"Thwump!"

Li Xueke's body suddenly stiffened.

The forest of bones stirred. A bone spike pierced his abdomen, slowly lifting him into the air.

So all of it, the densely packed, fishbone-like structures standing all around, were part of "it."

He slowly lowered his head.

He knew this was a dream, yet the icy, excruciating pain from his abdomen made his scalp feel like it was about to explode, made life feel worse than death.

Breathing hurt even more, but he couldn't control it—his breaths became shallow and rapid.

"Ha—ha—ha—ha—"

Something warm and sweet gushed out, flowing from his mouth.

He unconsciously tasted it.

It was the taste of iron.

His impaled body was hoisted into the air. A massive bone eye loomed from the fog before him.

Li Xueke could clearly feel his own eyeballs trembling in their sockets.

The bone mouth gaped open, pale and bottomless.

Sharp bone teeth bit down toward his left ankle: "Your name. Speak."

Li Xueke gritted his teeth, hot blood spurting out between them.

"Crack."

Li Xueke froze for a split second, then a scream erupted from his throat: "Ah—"

Then the bone teeth moved toward his knee.

It repeated: "Your name. Speak."

Li Xueke broke out in a cold sweat, his eyes bloodshot.

At this moment, he realized the true and immense terror.

This was no joke.

He would die. Die. Die, die, die!

It hurt! In his entire life, he had never experienced pain like this!

His lips trembling, seeing the bone teeth about to bite through his knee, he spoke: "I... I'll tell..."

Trembling, he felt for the bone spike piercing his abdomen, curled his left leg, and planted his right foot on the white bone "gum" densely covered with sharp teeth.

The bone eye waited quietly for him.

Li Xueke's voice quivered: "I... I am..."

He gripped the spike impaling him with his backhand and suddenly lunged forward!

"I am your father!"

The instant he tumbled into the bone maw, he endured the excruciating pain, dragged his broken foot, and launched into the Celestial Steps!

With the first step, his eyes bulged with fury.

Blood splattered on the white bones, blooming like lotuses.

"Head leads with incense, feet tread the Celestial Steps."

His voice was hoarse, teeth gritted, steps unwavering.

He wedged his broken foot into a bone crevice.

Eyes burning red, heart pushed to the brink.

"Divine wrath in its gaze, only slaughter—no salvation!"

In an instant, the eerie wind died.

The twisted, gaping bone jaw still snapped down toward him. Li Xueke, nearly spent, bent over, hands bracing himself on his still-intact right knee, breathing low and ragged.

"I summon the Emperor Witch Fate Master, divine name... Fu Yu."

Fu Yu.

Suddenly, a brilliant light blazed forth.

In his blood-red vision, a figure stepped out of thin air.

Her form was graceful, but seeing this, no one would dare think of grace.

The light was too intense. Li Xueke strained to open his eyes wide but still couldn't see her face clearly.

He only saw her slowly pivot.

Above her fingertip, as if pulling the threads of countless calamities and karma, a dazzling golden brilliance shimmered.

She raised her hand.

Before her peerless beauty could be clearly seen, it was already covered by the Imperial Sorcerer Mask, symbolizing slaughter and conquest.

Beneath the mask, her smile was icy.