Roaming the Four Seas, Chapter 126: Impossible to Tell Human from Ghost

The sense of emptiness in Su Ye’s sea of consciousness grew slightly fuller after he slew the blood demon with his sword.

It was exactly as Xiao Qian and Meng Yan had said: his aptitude was low but his potential ceiling was high, which meant that relying on magical treasures to slay high-level demons and evil spirits yielded little improvement. Having long been prepared for this, he felt no concern.

His right hand shimmered with a faint light, drawing out the demon’s inner core, which resembled a blood-red bead. These natural treasures, formed by absorbing the essence of the sun and moon, strangely lacked any scent of blood. He stored it in his jade gourd, hung it from his demon-warding vessel, and returned along the path to Luo Jinghong.

Before her lay three large, red-furred rats, lined up in a row, utterly devoid of life.

"The Great Luo Fire Shield is truly useful," Luo Jinghong said with a faint smile, "though it still cannot compare to the Lotus Jade Purifying Bottle that Master Cixin bestowed upon me."

"So you do have a magical treasure."

"Everyone says your comprehension is exceptionally high... an artificer who lacks magical treasures—wouldn't that be a laughingstock?"

"That is true." Su Ye took back the Great Luo Fire Shield she handed him and said softly, "Now that the great demon is gone, we must pass through the ferry as quickly as possible and head to Lingxi Island."

"Be ready to draw your sword at any moment," Luo Jinghong warned.

Su Ye immediately heightened his vigilance. The two moved stealthily into the dense forest, seeking the site where the teleportation array was hidden. Upon transmitting the specific spiritual energy, a shimmering spatial gate appeared.

A weak, evil thought suddenly emerged, darting toward the spatial gate from afar. The Taichu sword flickered with a crescent slash, and the pristine blade cut it in two. Without another glance, he turned and took Luo Jinghong’s slender hand, and together they stepped into the portal.

A sense of comfort, like basking in a warm sun, washed over him, and in the next instant, they stood upon Lingxi Island, built atop the clouds. The imagination of a boy from a mountain village was rudely awakened by this dreamlike reality.

The entire island was illuminated as bright as day by lanterns drifting across the sky. They were not filled with candles, but with night-luminescent pearls from the East Sea. The name of the First Immortal Island of the Great Qian was derived not only from its location high above the clouds but also from its opulent, overflowing display of wealth. It was, without a doubt, a holy land for artificers.

"The most difficult things to deal with during the Sixty-Year Demon Purge are not the fierce great demons, but the sinister spirits that can possess bodies and the monsters that can disguise themselves as humans," Luo Jinghong said, her brow slightly furrowed. She felt no joy at arriving on the immortal island, only a reminder for Su Ye to stay alert.

Placed in an environment thick with demonic aura, her instincts as a demon-warder awakened, much like a cat sensing the presence of mice. Su Ye had originally thought that if all the combat forces of the Great Qian were gathered, they could easily weather the Sixty-Year Catastrophe. Hearing Luo Jinghong’s words, he gained a new understanding of the terror of these evil entities.

As his thoughts shifted, he seemed to sense the "heartstrings" like those of a zither—some clear and resonant, others murky and heavy. Su Ye turned his gaze toward the direction of a heavy, murky heartstring.

On a cloud dozens of feet below their landing spot, there sat a brightly lit pavilion. More than a dozen men in luxurious robes were gathered around exquisite low tables, occasionally drinking fine Immortal-Drunken wine or tossing golden ingots.

Luo Jinghong followed his gaze and frowned. "The teleportation ferry has been occupied by evil spirits, yet the people here are still lost in drunken dreams..."

"Compared to mountains of corpses and seas of blood, who could not love a gentle trap?" Su Ye looked around and asked, "How do we get across?"

Luo Jinghong summoned her Green Water Sword and performed the art of sword flight. The three-foot blade expanded to seven feet, hovering beside her ankles, which were as fair as mutton-fat jade. She stepped onto the treasure sword and reached out to pull Su Ye up. The Green Water Sword did not repel Su Ye—it even seemed to show a hint of submission.

"Take me with you," Su Ye said softly, his arm gently circling her slender waist.

Luo Jinghong smiled and pointed her right hand toward the pavilion in the clouds. Beneath the full moon, the beautiful pair soared through the sky on their sword.

————

The stone platform extending from the pavilion featured pillars carved with cloud patterns, upon which the carved celestial horses looked incredibly lifelike. The Green Water Sword landed steadily.

Su Ye stepped off first. Two robust men nearest the platform sensed their presence and turned to look at the two late-night visitors. Su Ye’s dashing, elegant appearance and Luo Jinghong’s breathtaking beauty left them stunned.

"Are you two... from the heavens?" the drunken man asked, gesturing toward the distant silver moon hanging high in the sky.

"You could say that," Su Ye replied, playing along—neither admitting nor denying.

A vague answer. One could advance or retreat as needed. This clever response instantly turned the outsiders into guests of honor. The two robust men shared a table, making room for Su Ye and Luo Jinghong.

To Su Ye’s left, there was a pair of feet clad in straw sandals. The owner took off one shoe and used his toes to scratch the itch on his other ankle. Looking further north, he noticed a man with his clothes open, lying flat on a silk cushion, occupying three table spaces by himself.

Su Ye did not disturb the eccentric man and looked toward the north. A woman with light makeup was dancing gracefully on a stage three steps high. The musicians sat to her right, watching her in a trance, as if they had been bewitched.

Su Ye sensed two heartstrings. One was weeping, the other was laughing. Both originated from the woman dancing on the high stage. Hidden within the beautiful silhouette beneath the moon was a soul-devouring demon.

Only then did Su Ye realize the true utility of the ability bestowed upon him by the Ancestor of Confucianism. The Ten Directions Dream Realm quietly unfolded, enveloping the entire pavilion. The man lying on the cushion suddenly sat bolt upright.

Two small, triangular eyes were crusted with sleep, and his open-front vest was covered in conspicuous patches. He looked at Su Ye, who was sitting at the end of the table, with a smile that was not quite a smile.

Within the dream realm, Su Ye condensed a dharma body using the power of his soul. He stepped onto the high stage and, amidst the illusion, placed the Buddha-bone prayer beads around the dancer’s neck.

With a shrill, piercing scream, the demon possessing the dancer was forcibly ripped from her soul. The soul demon struggled, crawling out of her body and attempting to grab her hair to evade the death that was about to befall it.

The black-and-white Taichu sword, wreathed in vast soul power, struck at the demon’s shifting neck, severing it with a single blow. Ink-like blood splattered, ending the soul demon’s life. The pure Buddhist energy of the prayer beads absorbed it all, vanishing without a trace.

The Ten Directions Dream Realm quietly dissipated.

*Thud.*

A dull sound echoed. The pavilion fell into chaos. The musicians stared in terror, not daring to move. The guests near the front stepped onto the red-carpeted stage to assist the dancer who had collapsed into a faint.

"What happened?" the robust man at the next table asked, his face still flushed with wine.

"Miss Chen... she seems to have fainted." His companion leaned over to see, recounting what had happened on the stage.

The booming voice echoed through the pavilion. Everyone’s relaxed hearts tightened instantly. The man on the stage tending to the dancer summoned a bronze mirror with two azure dragons carved on its rim, reflecting the unconscious woman.

Su Ye looked at the bronze mirror and saw the scene from the Ten Directions Dream Realm. It was not the actual reality; it looked as if it were veiled in fog, with only the outlines visible.

"It seems someone attacked Miss Chen," the man holding the mirror said, his voice hesitant. No one present had left the pavilion. If someone had attacked, it would have been impossible to escape their perception.

"This old man knows who did it..." the man in the patched vest said, his voice raspy and grating. As he spoke, his skin-and-bone hand clamped onto Su Ye’s wrist like an iron vise. "It was this nameless hero who saved Miss Chen."

Everyone turned their eyes toward Su Ye. This uninvited guest, it seemed, had some skill.