Chapter 456: Three Hundred Jin Smile

Chapter 463: The 300-Pound Smile (Two in One)

It was normal for those Shushan disciples not to know; only a few top-tier beings were aware that, as per the original plan, Baixiaosheng had long transformed into Hermes, now residing in the Demon Realm as the God of Light and Wisdom.

Baixiaosheng no longer existed.

"I didn't expect to encounter this as soon as I entered."

Xu Zhi stood up, looking at Baixiaosheng's retreating figure, feeling a sense of strangeness.

"That Baixiaosheng was formed by the collective wishes of all beings. After all, everyone was praising and teaching about Baixiaosheng, who brought forth the two mortal systems, making his appearance mysterious and unpredictable."

This Baixiaosheng, though seemingly similar to himself in wandering the world and exchanging knowledge, must be evil in reality!

For a grotesque being, none were benevolent!

This was a natural consequence of their nature.

The Incense Heaven Emperor absorbed the good thoughts and faith of all beings to become a god, while grotesque beings grew stronger by absorbing negative emotions and fear from them.

One absorbed good thoughts, the other absorbed evil thoughts.

For instance, "Xiao Wei," though a rare harmless grotesque, even caused others to harm her, turning them into murderers who dismembered her, so she could absorb their fanaticism and evil, thereby growing stronger and multiplying her kind.

"He must be harming people, and as a grotesque formed from the collective thoughts of sentient beings regarding wisdom, it likely possesses extremely high, perhaps even the highest, intelligence!" Xu Zhi knew what this meant: it was a dark Baixiaosheng.

Xu Zhi mused for a moment, then began his main task, walking through the desolate wilderness. A notebook appeared before him, containing official data from Hermes' side. He even saw some grotesque beings he had encountered before listed there.

Grotesque ID 105: False Neighbor.

Also known as: Xi, Sui, Nian.

Quantity: Not singular, existing as multiple populations. Due to the fear of beings across various prefectural continents, they coalesce sporadically in different locations, with an estimated quantity of 800 to 1000.

Activity Area: Initially appeared in Qingshui County, spreading to the entire Yuzhou region within a few years, and has now diffused throughout the mortal realm.

Characteristics: At 12 AM, there's a knock at the door, followed by friendly greetings from a neighbor. Upon opening the door, it requests help from the victim, then finds fault and kills the victim.

Countermeasure: At 12 AM, absolutely do not open the door, regardless of any sound outside. False Neighbors cannot force their way in.

Disaster Level: Low (due to established folk custom).

Grotesque Realm: Fifth-tier Dao Palace.

Remarks: As one of the most widely spread grotesque beings, local authorities conduct a regular hunt on the last night of every year to prevent unforeseen incidents.

Utilizing its regular activity cycle, they lure and kill it. On that night, various neighborhoods and relatives will knock on each other's doors at 12 AM for a midnight New Year's Eve dinner.

"False Neighbors" inevitably blend in. If a "False Neighbor" appears, the household will ask it to help light firecrackers and send a signal to local authorities for elimination. This day regularly removes the "False Neighbor" that creates rifts between people, encouraging visits among neighbors and relatives, gift-giving, and house calls to lure the False Neighbor out. In various local customs, it is known by different names, such as "New Year's Eve" or "New Year's Day."

"They have indeed gotten used to it."

Xu Zhi chuckled, realizing that over these few centuries, from the outbreak of grotesque beings to their adaptation, life had indeed become more harmonious and natural.

By now, with the perfected Three Realms and the converged wishes of all beings, unique phenomena and laws, much like those of the ancient Lava World, had formed. All sorts of demons and monsters, along with folk customs, had transformed into a high-level supernatural world.

"However, this is much like the Pokédex in Pokémon." Xu Zhi kept searching, but ultimately couldn't find any information on the dark Baixiaosheng, presumably because it hadn't been documented or discovered by humans.

"Perhaps it's like a 'legendary Pokémon' not recorded in the Pokédex."

Xu Zhi couldn't help but ask his intelligent sub-brain, "What is the name of that grotesque deity who achieved godhood?"

"Like that Baixiaosheng, it is not recorded in the 'Registry of Demons and Monsters.' It is a grotesque in the Three Realms yet to be discovered by the world!" A mechanical voice replied, bringing up recorded images.

After watching for a while, Xu Zhi instantly understood why this grotesque being was able to achieve godhood.

This was because it had never been discovered or hunted, accumulating energy continuously from the first tier and steadily improving its realm. Its unique method of acquiring energy was extremely simple, and even now, its godhood had not been detected by powerful beings.

"Perhaps this grotesque should be called the God of Spring Dreams, or Beautiful Dreams."

Xu Zhi's expression grew strange as he continued to sense it. "It's not a physical entity, but like a nightmare, it walks through the dreams of all beings. It generally appears to only two types of people. The first are those who are down on their luck or unsuccessful, granting them dreams of success where they wield power, wealth, and beautiful women.

The second type are restless, hot-blooded teenagers. This is more straightforward: it grants the best, incredibly vivid spring dreams to both genders, then seizes the opportunity to drain one's essence, spirit, and vigor, leaving them feeling empty and exhausted upon waking."

It was extremely subtle; usually, those affected wouldn't speak of it, finding it hard to articulate, nor would they suspect anything. It also wouldn't completely drain one's vital energy, leaving only when the person was significantly harmed or fatigued.

"No wonder it could become a god, moving so stealthily through the dreams of all beings," Xu Zhi sighed. "It targets exactly the kind of weakness that's difficult to explain to others."

"But that Baixiaosheng just now is still one of the most powerful grotesque beings. Wisdom is truly the strongest power," Xu Zhi sighed. "The reason grotesque beings can still be somewhat contained is their predictable behavior and generally low intelligence, lacking adaptability. However, this Baixiaosheng has been endowed with extreme wisdom by all beings."

As Xu Zhi walked the earth, examining information about the grotesque beings of this era, his Sea of Consciousness suddenly trembled slightly.

"Is Xila beginning to awaken?"

*Whoosh.*

Xila appeared before him.

It was as if some heavyweight being had descended; the ground violently shook, stirring up a fine cloud of gray dust.

"Mr. Messiah..."

Xila's eyes shone brightly, her face beaming with joy. "What era is it now? You've finally awakened?"

Xu Zhi stared up in a daze at Xila's explosively muscular physique, a terrifying, formidable giant of muscle, a massive mountain of flesh. She stood a full 2.7 meters tall, yet her neck was topped with a pure, adorable, exquisitely beautiful face, framed by lovely hair, her eyes blinking cutely.

Above and below her neck were two entirely different aesthetics.

Xu Zhi's eyelids twitched wildly, and he gasped sharply. "Pan Yuxian, you are truly a *talent*!"

"Ah!!"

Xila froze, then realized her own massive form. She looked down at Xu Zhi, her two solid arms, thick as waists, swinging nervously. "You, you've misunderstood!"

She subtly shrank her form, returning to her previous slender and beautiful appearance. "I'm already at the Heaven Emperor realm. That state is a combat form. I've just gotten used to the sense of security that muscle brings, so I usually stay like that. Changing back to this feels quite uncomfortable."

Only then did Xu Zhi's eyes feel more at ease.

Pan Yuxian was truly a competent fitness coach; she had completely warped aesthetics.

"Over these years, many things have happened while I've been like this. May I tell you about them?" Xila quickly asked.

In fact, the matter was relatively simple.

Xila had no cultivation talent long ago. As the daughter of an ordinary merchant team leader, who used to assist him in the bar, it would have been difficult for her to survive to this day, six hundred years later. The reason she was still alive, and even at the Heaven Emperor realm, was because she trained her body using the "system," purely stimulating its potential.

This path, much like the mortal cultivation of Shushan, required no cultivation talent or bloodline; it only needed the "system" to monitor her training. So, she began building muscle, transforming into the muscular woman she was now.

After all, to survive, she had no other choice, which was understandable.

"A pure physical cultivation Heaven Emperor? Not the kind with ancestral witch true forms, meridian circulation, and dantian, which are semi-mana-based?" Xu Zhi admired this.

This path was extremely arduous, arguably the most difficult cultivation system, and it also required a "system" to monitor the body, acting as a fitness coach, otherwise it would be hard to train every part of the body.

He had originally thought Xila wouldn't survive to this day, six hundred years later, so this was somewhat unexpected.

"We call ourselves Martial Emperors."

Xila explained, "This path has spread, encompassing the martial arts cultivation of the mortal pugilistic world and the physical cultivation of the demon race. Now, Jianghu martial artists, Shushan sword immortals, and the imperial court's incense cultivators are the three major systems developing in parallel. However, without the 'system's' assistance, their cultivation is very slow. Our faction, consisting of members with the 'system,' has formed the incredibly mysterious Martial God Palace. We have no fancy Daoist techniques, no powerful meridians or dantians, only pure physical bursts of power."

As they walked and talked, Xu Zhi realized that many things had transpired over these six hundred years.

It was rumored externally that Liu Wenjian had died, making a miracle impossible, but in reality, she was still alive.

This was because she had also embarked on the path of physical cultivation. After all, she had no cultivation aptitude, but pure physical training didn't require any. She was currently living in seclusion in the Heaven Realm, and almost no one knew she was still alive.

As the founder of Shushan, her current pursuit of pure martial arts to survive might cause some commotion.

As for figures like Emperor Lei and Long Wuming, after merging with faith, they were simply clinging to life.

For years, they dared not absorb the faith of beings, fearing complete assimilation. Yet, without an energy source, they made no progress whatsoever. Furthermore, they couldn't afford to be injured; if they were, they'd have to draw upon the power of faith to recover, which would only accelerate their assimilation and lead to loss of consciousness.

"They're living a truly miserable existence."

Xu Zhi pondered internally, realizing that this period had indeed seen monumental changes.

"Over these years, not only has the Heavenly Dao achieved godhood, but there are also those in the Demon Realm who have become gods, like the Blood Emperor," Xila explained earnestly, then spoke of the customs gradually forming in this land.

"Do you know why the False Neighbor, originating from mere Yuzhou, spread so widely?" Xila suddenly smiled.

"Why?"

"Because the government deliberately disseminated it among the populace, spreading fear of it throughout the land," Xila explained patiently, lowering her head.

Xu Zhi asked with a smile, "And why was that?"

"To control the people's fear and public opinion."

Xila explained earnestly, "The amount of fear energy generated in a place is limited, just as the generation of incense is limited—one positive, one negative. Since human fear of these entities is inevitable, it's better to direct people's negative emotions and fear towards grotesque beings that are less likely to cause casualties."

Xu Zhi caught on, marveling at the cleverness of this method!

After all, human fear is finite. When you're solely preoccupied with fearing one ghost, it's very difficult to simultaneously fear another.

Controlling and guiding public opinion was an ingenious method.

"The government popularized several grotesque beings that were easy to control, less likely to cause disasters, and simple to kill, making people fear them across the land. This significantly reduced pressure afterwards," Xila stated with emotion.

After explaining all this, Xila couldn't help but speak again, "I'm also a Heaven Emperor now, and many of my demoness sisters who trained in physical cultivation back then are Heaven Emperors too. Our Martial God Palace is vying for the chance to achieve godhood in this era. Uncle Messiah, you're also waiting for that chance, aren't you? Let's work together!" Her eyes shone brightly, as if she had been waiting for this moment.

Xu Zhi remained noncommittal.

As the two spoke, they had already arrived at an ancient-style town.

A group of government soldiers, clad in tight black uniforms and carrying embroidered spring blades, patrolled everywhere.

On the streets were burly martial heroes and muscular heroines, mostly around two meters tall, with explosively strong muscles and bronze skin. With every step they took, the ground trembled slightly.

"Is it all like this now?" Xu Zhi was somewhat astonished. This aesthetic was clearly wrong. Previously, martial heroes wore flowing white robes, rode spirited horses, and were incredibly graceful. Now, the streets were filled with muscular martial artists.

"Now, the physiques of ordinary people and martial artists are immediately distinguishable. Moreover, only ordinary people ride horses; martial artists, with their 300-jin physiques, would instantly crush a horse to death," Xila carefully explained the changes over the years as they walked the streets, observing the era. "Currently, the Shushan lineage, with their ethereal beauty and sword-riding, has replaced the handsome status once held by martial heroes.

Now, even those burly martial men can only seek out muscular martial women for marriage. Ordinary slender women cannot withstand their powerful physiques and terrifying weights. Therefore, muscular martial women are now extremely sought after."

Xu Zhi: "..."

He looked at the muscular woman before him, over two meters tall, with explosively bronzed, brawny muscles, even more sought after than ordinary slender, beautiful girls. He couldn't help but marvel at someone's influence—perhaps they truly had changed societal norms?

Women should be self-reliant?

Is female muscle now considered beauty?

What a *talent*, Xu Zhi thought, a headache throbbing.

Suddenly, a muscular woman nearby, who appeared to weigh 300 jin, tall and imposing, noticed Xu Zhi's gaze. She grinned, her facial muscles twisting into a knot, and Xu Zhi's heart instantly seized up.

A 300-jin smile?

Such a smile was terrifying; only those who had witnessed it could truly understand.

Xu Zhi's brow suddenly twitched. "Xila, how much do you weigh now?"

Xila's body tensed, and she replied awkwardly, "I weigh 3,700 jin now."

Xu Zhi fell silent for a moment.

The unit of measurement was proportional, converted from the Earth Mother Green Vine's original scale.

In other words, the slender, beautiful young woman Xila before him weighed a full one and a half tons. While she appeared graceful, her mass and density were incredibly astonishing. Her fair skin was so smooth it resembled marble, and a single slap from her hand could crush a horse to death.

This was her compressed form. Remembering her explosively muscular, full-power combat state from moments ago, such a weight was entirely understandable.