Chapter 987: Storytelling Deity

Outside the vast bamboo forest, a gentle breeze arose. The crimson bamboo swayed in the wind, a rustling sound reverberating. It was not quite heavenly music, yet it surpassed it.

Fu Xie's mind, too, roared and surged with the sound. In his world, it became part of this celestial melody, affecting his entire body. Every part of him began to tremble gradually, and his thoughts rapidly dissipated.

However, the dissipation was not swift, giving him some time to recall his journey.

The Ten-Mile Sands represented the desert he had traversed, the Hundred-Mile Marsh symbolized the swamp he had fled through, and the Thousand-Mile Tombs were the bald mountains resembling burial mounds. Now, before him, was the Ten-Thousand-Mile Forest. A nursery rhyme had witnessed his entire journey.

It seemed that from the moment he stepped into the desert, his entire existence had been woven into the other party's nursery rhyme. This was an eerie divine power.

His name was Story.

Upon realizing this divine power, Fu Xie's thoughts completely vanished. His mind became a blank slate, his gaze vacant. He fell into an ethereal stupor, staring at the Ten-Thousand-Mile Forest before him and at the deity standing in front of him.

The other party's figure was infinitely vast, as if controlling everything, all-knowing.

He himself felt like a character in a story, gazing upon his creator.

He could not think, for a character's thoughts were bestowed by the storyteller.

He could not move, for a character's actions were also given by the storyteller.

Even fear and horror had vanished. To some extent, this storyteller was merciful.

At this moment, the merciful Yu Liuchen raised his right hand and gently hooked his finger. Immediately, a tearing sound reverberated as the great sword embedded in Fu Xie's back was instantly severed from his flesh. It slowly floated up, and as clumps of repulsive flesh slid off it in mid-air, it revealed the dim bubble and the incomplete tower within.

"Oh, there's someone else here?"

Yu Liuchen's lips curved into a smile.

The moment the voice was heard, Xu Qing, inside the incomplete tower, silently stood up. He walked out of the incomplete tower, stepped out of the bubble, and appeared directly in front of Yu Liuchen.

"Greetings, Senior." Xu Qing bowed his head.

Yu Liuchen's appearance was unexpected. He had thought someone might save him, but he could not have possibly analyzed Yu Liuchen to be that person.

Even though this individual had collaborated with and assisted the Sword-Wielding Emperor during his demise, Xu Qing felt that Yu Liuchen's actions and thoughts were always bizarre and unpredictable. Their moods, their good and evil, seemed to shift on a whim, making them unfathomable.

"Isn't this the Sword-Wielder's successor?"

Yu Liuchen gave a half-smile.

Xu Qing gathered his thoughts and bowed respectfully.

"Senior, Xu Qing will never forget your life-saving grace."

Yu Liuchen smiled, then raised his right hand and waved it. Immediately, bamboo stalks flew forth, assembling themselves into a bamboo table in front of him. Five teacups were placed on it. A brazier also materialized out of thin air beside it, and an old teapot began to heat over its flames.

The teapot contained water, which began to boil. Then, five streams of water flew out, each landing in one of the five teacups. Instantly, a rich aroma wafted forth and spread.

After completing these actions, Yu Liuchen sat cross-legged, picked up the teacup in front of him, and took a sip.

"You say you'll remember, but will you remember with your current divinity, or with the fading humanity you're about to lose?"

Xu Qing pondered for a moment, then took a blank bamboo slip from his storage bag. With his right hand, he carved six characters onto it: 'Yu Liuchen, great benefactor.'

Afterward, Xu Qing placed the bamboo slip back into his storage bag and looked at Yu Liuchen.

"I shall remember by this."

Yu Liuchen raised an eyebrow, a hint of amusement in his expression, and carefully scrutinized Xu Qing.

"Interesting. Then, sit and have some tea."

Xu Qing did not hesitate. He sat down, picked up a teacup, and drank it in one gulp. The scalding tea flowed down his throat, then exploded into a surge of heat within his body. In an instant, it spread throughout his entire being and impacted his mind, stirring up all of Xu Qing's memories from childhood to the present.

These memories, like scenes, appeared in Xu Qing's mind.

He saw Wushuang City, recalled the hardships of his childhood, the silence after his first kill, the death of Master Bai, and the camaraderie of the Seven Blood Eyes. He saw his own distorted self when facing Zi Qing, and the figures of the old Palace Master Kong Liangxiu and the Sword-Wielding Emperor...

He also saw Zi Xuan, Ling'er, and his Senior Brother...

Yet, strangely, all these experiences and images that belonged to him now felt indescribably alien, as if he were watching someone else's life.

The joys and sorrows within them could barely stir his heart in this moment.

Until the next instant, under the heat wave from the tea, the colors of these memory scenes grew more vibrant. The emotions of joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness leaping from within them became increasingly distinct.

Finally, they were infinitely magnified, becoming thunderous explosions that continuously burst forth.

Xu Qing's whole body trembled. He felt joy!

Xu Qing's mind surged. He felt terror, then anger, then horror, then sorrow.

All kinds of human emotions and desires returned in that instant.

The world before him was no longer the same as before; it was filled with color.

Xu Qing suddenly looked up, his breathing rapid, his expression no longer as calm as before. He felt the humanity he had once been forced to suppress now rising.

It achieved a new balance with the divinity he had deliberately amplified. Furthermore, a killing intent towards Fu Xie uncontrollably burst forth in his heart, causing Xu Qing to abruptly turn his head and look at the stunned Fu Xie beside him, his eyes filled with intense murderous intent.

But soon, he took a deep breath, averted his gaze, looked at Yu Liuchen in front of him, stood up, cupped his fists, and bowed once more.

"Thank you, Senior!"

Yu Liuchen took a sip of tea and spoke calmly.

"No need to thank me. I came here primarily out of curiosity."

Xu Qing hesitated, his thoughts churning. He couldn't quite grasp what the other party was curious about.

"I'm curious about the state of a person composed of primordial desolate flesh and blood. Before you, this has never occurred."

Yu Liuchen looked at Xu Qing.

"That's why I came."

"In fact, even if I hadn't come, the one who would save you was already nearing."

"So, you don't need to thank me. I don't want to create any karma with you."

Xu Qing remained silent, glancing at the bamboo table and noticing the three extra cups besides his own and Yu Liuchen's.

"Speaking of which, your situation this time is quite interesting..."

Yu Liuchen smiled and waved his hand towards the stunned Fu Xie.

Fu Xie's body trembled. His senses returned, and his body regained its ability to move. His pupils contracted, and horror and terror flooded back.

After doing this, Yu Liuchen leisurely continued speaking.

"Although Fu Xie's scissors are decent, they couldn't escape my sight, so how could they escape the Human Race's Empress's sight? Moreover, your master remained silent from beginning to end."

"But perhaps you don't know... During the days you were missing, the Human Race and Yan Yue jointly issued decrees, creating an extremely grand display of power and completing a perfect coordinated effort. This unified the will of the Eastern Ancient Realm of Wanggu, deterring other regions and the Holy Lands that had descended upon your Eastern Realm. At the same time, using the excuse of searching for you, they logically arranged their forces and strategic deployments. Some of these arrangements... even I couldn't quite see through them."

Yu Liuchen praised.

Xu Qing understood Yu Liuchen's hidden meaning and sighed.

As for Fu Xie, his breathing clearly quickened upon hearing this.

"I believe your Human Race's Empress's next move will be to use your situation as a pretext, and to prevent similar incidents, she will, after demonstrating her deterrent power, reasonably and domineeringly disperse all Holy Lands in the Eastern Realm! Such a method would allow her to initially clear the Eastern Realm with very little cost. No wonder the Sword-Wielder chose to assist her."

Yu Liuchen narrowed his eyes and looked at Xu Qing.

"It's just unfortunate for you, such a tumultuous journey. Indeed, deities are all heartless, how tragic, tragic, tragic."

Xu Qing, feeling helpless, looked at Yu Liuchen.

"Senior, your words hold profound meaning..."

Hearing this, Yu Liuchen happily chuckled. He was deliberately trying to sow discord, not for any other reason than for amusement.

But soon, he couldn't laugh anymore.

Xu Qing spoke earnestly: "But Senior, my perspective is not so narrow... If what you say is truly the case, then I trust even more that my master has everything under control."

"Is it possible that your appearance, Senior, was also within my master's expectations?"

Xu Qing looked at Yu Liuchen and said softly.

Yu Liuchen blinked. Xu Qing's words made him feel less amused, and he became thoughtful.

Just then, madness flared in Fu Xie's eyes. Seizing the opportunity, his body suddenly boomed, and his entire cultivation and aura erupted. He retreated at full speed, sparing no cost, no dao blood, nothing.

The Emperor's Scissors above his head also suddenly appeared, swiftly cutting towards himself.

With a crisp 'crack,' it seemed to cut through the void.

Fu Xie's body vanished instantly.

Xu Qing watched with cold eyes, while Yu Liuchen, beside him, didn't even glance and spoke calmly.

"Young man, let me tell you a story."

"In the story, there was a cultivator named Fu Xie. He walked through the Ten-Mile Sands, the Hundred-Mile Marsh, the Thousand-Mile Tombs, and came to the Ten-Thousand-Mile Forest. Then he got lost, and by luck, he teleported back. Finally, to show gratitude, he decided to explode, open a flower, and then drink a cup of my tea."

No sooner had Yu Liuchen finished speaking than the void twisted at the spot where Fu Xie had just vanished. Fu Xie's damaged and even weaker figure, his cultivation seemingly on the verge of collapse, reappeared.

The moment he reappeared, Fu Xie looked at the scenery and people, which seemed utterly unchanged from when he had left a month ago. His expression was filled with even greater horror, and his terror surged once more.

A month ago, after severing his karma here, he had not hesitated to explode the source of his scissors in exchange for teleportation.

He had finally escaped this place. In the month that followed, he had faced countless life-and-death situations, traversed innumerable regions, until... he had returned here.

Trembling, he looked at Yu Liuchen, without a hint of hesitation. With a roar from his body, he actually chose to self-destruct.

This was the only way he could think of to escape now.

Yet the next instant, when he regained consciousness, the scene before him was still not what he had envisioned. What he saw was still the bamboo forest, still Xu Qing, still Yu Liuchen...

He had not woken up at his intended destination, but rather, he had woken up here.

"Have some tea."

Yu Liuchen said calmly.

Fu Xie stared blankly at the teacup in front of him, trembling in despair as he picked it up and drank it down with a bitter gulp.

Meanwhile, in the distant sky, it suddenly turned gray, as if transforming into mud, spreading in all directions. An honor guard composed of countless mud figures, carrying a divine palanquin, was approaching this place.

In the procession, Er Niu's face was filled with excitement and joy as he waved at Xu Qing.

"Little A-Qing, your Senior Brother is here!"