Translator: BOTA Fireteam
Ying Huo, Meow Meow and Xian Xian all surrounded the flower bud that Feiling had transformed into, craning their necks to peer at it.
Xian Xian pressed the ear of its spirit body against the fragrant petals and listened for a while. She finally excitedly said, âI can hear a heartbeat!â
âLittle sis, youâre saying thereâs a human hiding inside?â Ying Huo asked curiously.
âOf course. How could it really be a plant?â Xian Xian pouted.
âThatâs good. Mom still wants her grandkids, and we couldnât let Tianming do the dirty with a flower,â Ying Huo sniggered.
âStinky Brother Chick!â Xian Xian glared at the foul-mouthed fowl for a moment before hopping around the flower. âStill, it seems sheâs become super duper small. Will she grow big again after she comes out?â
Ying Huo was speechless. âWhat, sheâs going to become a child bride?â
âThatâs good! Then Lingâer will have to call me uncle! My seniority will rise!â Meow Meow lazily stretched.
They were all optimistic, already convinced that Feiling would get through this.
âBy the way, Lingâerâs power just now during the ninety-ninth Perpetual Nirvana was pretty scary. She offed Sovereign Xi just like that.â Ying Huo was still incredulous when he thought of that scene.
âMaybe itâs related to Vaporize? I wonder if she can recover quickly once she comes back.â Xian Xianâs face was still filled with worry.
It had to be said that Sovereign Xiâs luck had been terrible to come and bother Feiling at this time.
There was no crime Sovereign Xi hadnât committed in pursuit of her goals during this period of time. In the end, she had even wanted to take Feiling hostage to threaten Tianming. However, Feiling had ended her in what could only be called rightful retribution. Honestly, if she hadnât come and agitated Feiling, Feiling might have failed to survive the repeated Perpetual Nirvanas without that rage boost.
Here at the mooncore, only Sovereign Xiâs ashes were left. No matter how beautiful you were, everyone would stay away once you were ash.
The divine moonrace outside surely wouldnât expect that their main pillar could be dead.
Ying Huo had already tied the dimensional rope to Lan Huang and Xian Xianâs bodies to ensure stability. Now, all that was left was to wait for Tianming.
They huddled together, focusing their concentration on the gate to the xenomemory space. All of them were united in their anxious expressions. They didnât notice that Sovereign Xiâs Moondream Soul was still floating there. Nor did they notice a white hand grabbing onto it.
The action produced some sound that made Ying Huo and the rest realize they werenât alone.
They turned around and saw a white-robed person standing at the entrance, holding onto Sovereign Xiâs sword and looking at them coldly. His attention seemed to be on the flower bud Feiling had transformed into.
It was Bodhi!
His expression was inscrutable, and no one could tell what he was thinking.
âHow long have you been hiding there?â Ying Huo lifted its head, its crimson eyes with coldness.
âFor a while. I saw Sovereign Xi die. You all are pretty good, directly killing my greatest enemy,â Bodhi said. Now that Feiling was sleeping, Tianming was still in the xenomemory space, and Sovereign Xi was dead, no one could get in the way of his grudge with Tianming anymore. As soon as he acted, he would be a mortal threat to Ying Huo and the rest.
Sovereign Xi at least still wanted Tianming back, but Bodhi would be praying that Tianming wouldnât return. Ying Huo and the rest easily grasped this logic.
âSovereign Xi? Pfft. What miserable thing is she anyway? She can only be blamed for courting death herself,â Ying Huo said emotionlessly. This was a very troublesome and awkward moment. Just now, Sovereign Xi had already caused so much trouble.
They knew that Lingâer could use the curse to control Bodhi, but how could she activate it now that she was a flower bud? Bodhi had more or less escaped their control already.
The only route left for mutually assured destruction was to escape and publicly announce Bodhiâs identity. Even with Sovereign Xi dead, the divine moonrace still had more than enough gods to get revenge on the specters. Still, a complete breakdown in diplomacy would at least make Bodhi trap Tianming in the xenomemory space forever.
Neither side said anything.
Bodhi lifted up the Moondream Soul, mildly looking at the four beasts as they prepared themselves for battle.
Bodhi suddenly smiled. âNo need to worry. Li Tianming once told me that our two races have similar enemies and circumstances. Now that our greatest enemy has died, I just have to finish off the lackeys. You donât mind if I take this sword to sow some chaos, right?â
If Tianming was here, he would have immediately taken away the battle spoils. Ying Huo and the rest hadnât taken notice because they had been worried about Feiling.
Now that the sword was already with him and Tianming didnât lack for weapons anyway, Ying Huo and the rest didnât press the matter. It was already a miracle that Bodhi wasnât kicking them while they were down.
âIf you want. Our matter is already settled, so we donât care about your feud with the divine moonrace,â Ying Huo said.
âThen letâs meet again one day.â Bodhi smiled, before entering the passageway and directly leaving. He hadnât taken the opportunity to take revenge, surprisingly.
âIs he really going to peacefully coexist with us? He didnât even do anything just now. Maybe heâs really scared of us?â Meow Meow said.
âSomethingâs off,â Ying Huo said.
âWhatâs wrong?â Lan Huang asked.
âI've never seen him smile before, but he smiled twice just now! He must be really excited inside. Is it just because Feiling killed Sovereign Xi? He wasnât the one who did the deed, so whyâs he so happy?â Ying Huo wracked its brains.
âTrue. Something really good must have happened for someone like him to smile,â Meow Meow said.
Now that Sovereign Xi was dead, he could start a massacre. But he had already killed so many that it didnât feel like that would lead to smiling.
âIf I were him, I wouldâve killed us just now.â Xian Xian pursed its lips.
âMaybe he was afraid of dying in a strange way like Sovereign Xi. After all, he doesnât know what condition Feiling is in now,â Ying Huo replied.
âHe can really endure. His style is completely different from Sovereign Xiâs. Why do I feel this kind of person is scarier?â Lan Huangâs eyes widened.
âTrue! But itâs good that heâs cautious. If he was hotheaded, we would have to pull Tianming out.â
But that would have ruined Tianmingâs rescue, and as the eldest sibling, Ying Huo had to think hard about Bodhi now that Tianming and Feiling werenât here.
Tianming and Bodhi had made a pact to work together against Sovereign Xi and the divine moonrace first. They had planned to resolve their enmity afterward.
Tianming had later mentioned he was willing to coexist with Bodhi and the specters. However, Tianming was aware that Bodhi wouldnât stop.
Now that his counter was gone, the shadow he cast was growing.
â¦â¦
The blood lake at Sovereign Xiâs palace had once been a forbidden zone of the divine moonrace. However, Bodhi could now casually enter. He quickly reached a palace with no people around.
âDaddy.â The roomâs door opened and a little girl wearing white clothes was standing inside. She had a happy expression upon seeing her father back.
âLittle You, let me tell you some good news.â He bent down and picked up his daughter, flourishing the Moondream Soul in his hand. âSee what this is?â
âYou have the key?â Little Youâs eyes lit up. She extended her hands and touched the sword, excitement in her eyes, as well as an unconcealed ferociousness.
âIt was very lucky. That girl who gave you the curse suddenly had the power to kill Sovereign Xi.â There was some fear in Bodhiâs eyes as he recalled that scene.
âShe seems to be the reincarnation of some god from Flameyellowâs legends, Xuanyuan Xi, Xuanyuanâs descendant. People call her Feiling. Daddy, is she stronger than Li Tianming?â Little You had been controlled by her before, so there was some fear in her heart, too.
âI canât tell. Li Tianming is in the xenomemory space now. This is technically my best chance to kill him and his lifebound beasts. However, I still fear Xuanyuan Xi, even though sheâs a flower now. I fear dying in some strange manner, like Sovereign Xi. Those two are both unimaginable existences. It was still fine to go against them before, but now, if weâre not careful, weâll end up like Sovereign Xi.â Bodhi frowned.
âThen, are we giving up?â Little You was full of unwillingness.
âWho said that? If we were, why would I take this sword?â Bodhi lifted the sword, his expression filled with malevolence.