Chapter 299: Encounter

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Two rows of wheels rolled as the carriage moved along the dirt road.

An old man in white robes rode the carriage towards the southern *jianghu*, a region inaccessible to the imperial court, known as Shu Land.

History recorded this period of time.

Prime Minister Hu Renong, who became chancellor at the age of thirteen by imperial decree and governed the empire for over twenty years, had been too busy with state affairs to ever leave the capital. During this time, the Nanzhao Kingdom was established, a mortal Celestial Emperor was born, and countless major events occurred. Now, for the first time in many years, he was departing the capital. He would not return from this journey.

At this moment, his gaze was fixed on the scenery outside the carriage curtain, filled with reminiscence. He recalled everything from years past: the arduous yet carefree days of wandering with his scholar teacher, with the sky as their blanket and the earth as their mat—perhaps the most brilliant period of his life.

"Finally, I've taken this step. If life truly is a splendid dream, then after this happiness and fulfillment, the nightmare must begin." He showed weariness, letting out a long sigh as his aged eyes slowly closed.

"I think, therefore I am? This time, I might die. Will the world truly remember me?"

"Death... no one truly anticipates it. It is the ultimate fear of all life in the human world."

This journey was to meet an ancient, terrifying entity from outside this realm. This entity had been guarding his teacher, Baixiaosheng, reading by his side, traveling the world, and observing the *jianghu* landscape. But was it truly just to observe the *jianghu* scenery?

That entity had already met Duan Qianyu of the martial path and Wen Liujian of the sword path, and was now just waiting for him, the last one, of the Confucian path. Her existence was ancient beyond measure; time held no meaning for her, and she possessed immense magnanimity. She was waiting, awaiting a splendid encounter with him... She had silently waited for him for over twenty years, postponing her actions for over two decades, suppressing the invasion of this world, all just to meet him and to witness his Great Zhou Dynasty reach its pinnacle!

"Now, I have arrived."

Shu Land, nightfall.

Baiyun City, located in southern Shu Land, was bustling with lively festivals every Mid-Autumn, drawing an endless stream of tourists. Lanterns hung everywhere along its prosperous small streets, and pleasure boats floated idly on the illuminated river nearby.

It was Mid-Autumn Festival once again.

"Mooncakes! Top-quality Five Kernel mooncakes, hot and still scalding!"

"Osmanthus cakes, osmanthus cakes! Do you remember the ancient legend of the beautiful osmanthus tree?"

"Step aboard the decorated boats and guess the lantern riddles!"

Mengmei walked along the street, gritting her teeth as she looked at the bustling stalls around her. "Darn it, those anti-human Five Kernel mooncakes were created after all."

"It's Mid-Autumn Festival again. It's rare to do as the locals do," Medusa said calmly, walking along the street, pulling a rope behind her that led a scholar who was engrossed in reading.

"I heard that releasing lanterns into the river here for wishes is very effective. I wonder if it's true?" said Hu Haihan, the little fox.

"Let's give it a try," Mengmei said.

The group bought a few small lanterns from a brightly lit lantern stall. They went to the river, wrote notes, and released the lanterns into the water.

What Mengmei wrote, naturally, was her wish to become a saint and live happily ever after, while also seizing the opportunity to peek at the two beside her.

Her apprentice's (wish): "I hope everyone lives well and stays safe."

This one is also quite unambitious, truly my apprentice.

Medusa's seemed more casual, with only two words: "All mine."

Mengmei's face twisted into a bitter expression. What on earth did she mean? Such an arcane mystery? No wonder she didn't mind me peeking... Perhaps I should ask for help online and study the psychology of this Origin Demon God!

On the street, a carriage gradually approached. An old man slowly stepped out of the carriage. He looked around at the bustling riverside streets adorned with lanterns, where people flowed incessantly. Among them, a woman with dark, ink-black hair tied in a ponytail stood out the most.

"You are the last one. You've finally arrived," the woman said with a slight smile.

She wore her black hair in a ponytail and was dressed in an exquisite and elegant black qipao-like garment. Below the hem of her dress, a pair of long, delicate, ivory-like legs were visible, embodying ancient Eastern charm. Her skin was fair, and small crescent-moon-shaped white jade earrings hung from both sides of her face.

Hu Renong admired her. Just by her appearance, no one would guess that this was Medusa, the Supreme Demon God of the Demon World, the origin and return point of all demon races, known as a supreme, vast being whose voice could not be heard and whose gaze could not be met!

The group slowly sat down at a roadside stall and ordered some grilled food and a few pots of spirits from the waiter.

"Actually, I truly admire you, Hu Renong," Medusa said, pouring herself a cup of wine and taking a small sip. She then slowly poured a cup for the scholar next to her and offered him some grilled food.

Xu Zhi calmly accepted it, holding his book and eating simultaneously. After all, Baixiaosheng normally ate, which was commonplace and wouldn't attract attention.

"The taste is good."

Xu Zhi was content, calmly eating the grilled food and listening to the conversation, though his mind was contemplating. The Food World had just opened and needed to progress to catch up with the Ancient Wilderness World, which had developed for hundreds of years.

"Confucianism, are you finally ready?"

Medusa sipped her wine and spoke softly, "The longer I stay in this world, the happier I feel. This is a fertile land with an incredibly superior living environment. It has bright sunshine, your twenty-four solar terms, various wonderful festivals, temple fairs, sunrises, and sunsets—things we couldn't even imagine."

"In my homeland, what you call the Demon World, do you know what color it is? It's a barren, desolate, and lifeless world, utterly somber. Fifty years of daylight, fifty years of night. Most common beings there only live into their thirties, and in their entire lives, they never witness what sunshine is, what night is. To see another world is simply a fantasy. To have a day divided into day and night is the greatest happiness. In our world, the only festival is the Night of Heavenly Witch 'Asaz', but that night symbolizes impurity, darkness, fear, and misfortune. Creatures must pray and hide indoors... Your world's Spring Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, they are truly enviable."

Hu Renong listened quietly to her narration, as if it were a casual chat with a friend about her homeland. Yet, in his heart, he clearly understood that this was the reason why this Demon God had secretly descended upon this world. War was already inevitable.

Medusa smiled, "Especially now, for the past few centuries, the temperature in our world has been rapidly decreasing. Our powerful beings have traveled the entire world—mountains, rivers, world edges—but they cannot find the reason for our world's drastic environmental change. The temperature is getting lower and lower... The air in the various magic potion kingdoms is becoming tight, making it hard to breathe. Is our world going to be destroyed? No one knew. Perhaps, in this world that is rapidly turning into ice and snow, it will be hard for living beings to reside. We must find a way out."

Xu Zhi held his book, calm and collected, with grilled food in his hand, listening to this formal declaration of war that would ignite a global conflict. This was about to enter the annals of history. He did not want to interfere; he was merely an observer, calmly watching history advance towards an unknown future.

Although he clearly knew that the winter in his own orchard in Dongcheng was relatively cold, it was a southern region where it wouldn't snow, and temperatures would only drop to a few degrees. But for the Wizard World, the drop in temperature was unprecedented, unknown, and terrifying. The world might be on the verge of destruction.

Medusa continued, taking a sip of wine and parting her red lips to eat grilled fish. "Ten years ago, I had the certainty of a breakthrough, capable of formally initiating the invasion of this world. But I didn't break through; instead, I waited. I waited another ten years for you. Do you know why? ... I was waiting for you all to become stronger. Otherwise, you are too weak now to withstand our world's invasion!"

"Because invasion is wrong, and I feel deeply ashamed... I can only compensate by allowing us to become evenly matched opponents, to kill each other in a contest. After all, everyone has the right to choose to survive."

Hu Renong, the white-haired old man, involuntarily gazed at Medusa, looking at the beautiful young woman. As the current Prime Minister, he found it hard to imagine the magnanimity of this great ancient entity who had descended upon the world, the Origin Demon God. She seemed not evil at all, but rather kind, and she appeared to feel guilty, having no choice but to invade this world.

The Mengmei next to them, however, had a dark expression on her face. "Damn it, I actually fell for your tricks! If I hadn't known you before, I really would have been fooled by what you said! You're clearly hiding it from Armin, delaying the invasion time, waiting for the other side to become stronger, and then looking forward to an evenly matched battle! You're just a battle maniac!"

"Pitying the opponent, not wanting them to die?" Mengmei's face turned completely dark!!

Currently, the two recognized villains are a man and a woman: Medusa and Di Qi. Medusa's danger level far surpassed Di Qi's. Di Qi, as the mastermind, rarely killed anyone himself, whereas Medusa had killed countless people. She was the number one super villain in history! She had the least right to say such pleasant words.