Ye Yang: “! I did it!”
Shen Ming: ?
Spirit Snake: ?
What the hell? He had just been messing around, trying to tease Ye Yang—how did he actually pull it off?
Not believing his luck, the spirit snake taught him another, even more complex spell. This was a divine technique at the soul level, one that even Shen Ming rarely used.
Ye Yang got about halfway through casting it and, sure enough, failed.
“So it really doesn’t work?” Ye Yang’s excitement deflated instantly.
The spirit snake and Shen Ming didn’t say anything. They just exchanged a glance, both catching a hint of gravity in the other’s eyes.
They both knew perfectly well that Ye Yang hadn’t failed because of some difference between demonic power and divine power. He had even come close to succeeding.
It was simply that the spell was too profound. Given Ye Yang’s current strength, he couldn’t complete it even if he drained every last drop of his demonic power.
They said nothing. One coiled around Ye Yang’s calf, the other quietly changed the subject.
Shen Ming: “Regarding your mission, I have some leads. I’ll look into some materials tomorrow and let you know if I find anything. It’s late now—you should head home.”
Ye Yang, being somewhat single-minded, had been feeling down a moment ago, but at these words, he immediately forgot his disappointment and happily went home.
Before leaving, he remembered to take the midnight snack Shen Ming had prepared—red bean paste dumplings.
After Ye Yang left, Shen Ming didn’t go to his room. Instead, he sat on the sofa, deep in thought.
Ye Yang… Ye Yang… Too many signs pointed to an extraordinary connection between Ye Yang and himself.
But what kind of connection could it be? Could he really carry Shen Ming’s divine blood within him?
Yet divine blood was something ordinary animals and low-level demons couldn’t withstand, let alone a lowly creature like a sea sheep, sea hare, or sea slug.
Even if he had somehow absorbed divine blood and made it his own, there would have been a violent, chaotic process. There was no way it could have left no trace.
The spirit snake, ever blunt, pointed out the reality Shen Ming had been avoiding: “But aside from divine blood, you can’t have any other connection.”
Shen Ming’s gaze turned razor-sharp, stabbing straight at the spirit snake. The snake was unafraid and only poured more oil on the fire. “I don’t suppose you could forget, either. No matter how much you delay, what needs to be dealt with must eventually be dealt with. Drag it out too long, and no one benefits.”
…
·
Elder Li rushed into the scripture pavilion, dusty from the road, nearly colliding with Yue Sheng, who was organizing the bookshelves. Regaining his footing, he quickly looked up and, seeing Shen Ming leaning against the railing on the third floor, engrossed in an ancient book, finally relaxed.
He had rushed over the moment he got the news, leaving behind an unfinished barrier. Finally catching Shen Ming—this once-in-a-century opportunity couldn’t be missed!
He straightened his collar and cuffs, then pulled out a small comb from somewhere. As he smoothed his hair, tousled by the winds of Kunlun Mountain, his jet-black locks turned grayish-white.
Satisfied, he clasped his hands behind his back and, with unhurried steps, made his way up to the third floor.
“Lord Xuanwu, what brings you to the scripture pavilion today?”
Shen Ming closed the book in his hand but didn’t look at Elder Li. He simply picked up the next one and continued flipping through it.
Elder Li was used to this. Ever since he had used some underhanded methods to make Shen Ming stay, Shen Ming had never given him a warm look.
The few times they had spoken recently, Elder Li had had to relay messages through several intermediaries. Their last face-to-face meeting had been over a hundred years ago—so long ago he couldn’t even recall the exact day.
Flipping his hair, Elder Li continued on his own. “Meeting you in person is harder than reaching the heavens. But at least I’ve finally managed it today.”
“The moment I heard you were here, I rushed over.”
“As for what happened before—yes, it was my fault. But it was all for your own good, my lord. And no matter the process, as long as the outcome is good, isn’t that what matters?”
Slap! Shen Ming forcefully shut the book. Finally unable to tolerate the old tree spirit’s incessant chatter, he turned to face him. “What exactly are you trying to say?”
“Hehe~” Elder Li chuckled. “I see you’ve adapted quite well to human society these past few years. Have you given any more thought to what we discussed before? It’s just a small favor. Surely you wouldn’t refuse, my lord?”
Shen Ming searched his memory but genuinely couldn’t recall.
Reading his expression, Elder Li quickly reminded him: “The Underground Floating City in the demon realm. For the peace of both worlds…”
Before he could finish, Shen Ming cut him off. “I still need to think about that. First, do me a favor.”
Elder Li paused, then broke into a wide grin. “Of course, of course! No problem!”
The favor Shen Ming wanted to ask of Elder Li was simple—it was precisely the reason he had come to the scripture pavilion. “I need you to help me find information on an old artifact. It should be a magical instrument with something like a wish-granting ability…”
“I know exactly what you’re looking for.” After hearing Shen Ming’s detailed description, Elder Li thought for a moment and immediately had the answer. He waved his hand, summoning a small booklet from the fifth floor of the scripture pavilion.
The scripture pavilion was a tower—not particularly wide, but eighty-eight stories tall, hollow in the middle, its perimeter lined with all kinds of rare manuscripts and ancient books that had developed their own consciousness.
The booklet Elder Li summoned was one he had written himself, containing records of various strange objects from ancient times to the present.
The small booklet floated before the two, pages turning on their own. Elder Li stroked the few whiskers on his chin and began to explain: “The Mirror Beyond the Boundary. This should be what you’re looking for. But it’s no longer a magical instrument—it’s an evil object.”
Shen Ming skimmed through the text, quickly committing the information on the Mirror Beyond the Boundary to memory. Then he nodded at Elder Li. “Thank you.”
Elder Li looked rather pleased with himself. Stroking his beard again, he said, “I’ve done my part. So, my lord, would you… eh? Eh?! Hey! Why are you running?!”
Yue Sheng, who was in charge of guarding the scripture pavilion, had just finished organizing the bookshelves on the tenth floor. The moment he looked down, he saw Elder Li standing in the middle of the pavilion, pointing at the air in a huff.
Elder Li was so angry he could barely speak: “Th-this—this Xuanwu… he was never like this before!”
Before he could even finish his sentence, Shen Ming had vanished on the spot. Running off so fast, and reneging on his word—was this even the Shen Ming he knew?!
The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. Elder Li stomped his foot hard, and the leaves on his head rustled loudly. “Who taught him to be like this?!”
Yue Sheng snickered to himself, then quickly turned to face the bookshelf, pretending he hadn’t seen anything.
·
Ye Yang was organizing intelligence at the company when he received a message from Shen Ming.
“The Mirror Beyond the Boundary?”
He rolled the name around on his tongue, then called Xing Tian and Chi Lian over to read it together.
The Mirror Beyond the Boundary was originally a magical instrument from the Upper Realm. It was ancient, its creator unknown. All that was known was that the artifact contained a universe within itself—with enough spiritual energy, it could reshape heaven and earth.
Perhaps because its power was too outrageous, the artifact was soon sealed away. But during the great catastrophe in the Upper Realm, chaos erupted everywhere, and someone brought the mirror back out.
After being sealed for so long, the internal space of the Mirror Beyond the Boundary had nearly dried up. Once unleashed, it immediately lost control, frantically absorbing power—no longer limited to spiritual energy.
All kinds of turbid forces rushed into the mirror’s internal space, triggering unforeseen changes.
The source of power it could draw from shifted from spiritual energy to life force—that is, fate energy.
The artifact became a full-fledged evil object. After the great catastrophe, it disappeared without a trace.
The shimmering blue door Ye Yang and the others had passed through to enter the small church was the entrance to the mirror’s internal space.
The space inside this evil object could change according to the holder’s needs. Everything inside could be made indistinguishable from reality.
“Ah! I get it now—those naked women must have been conjured, not real!” Ye Yang suddenly realized.
Xing Tian nodded. “That makes sense. No wonder it didn’t match any missing persons cases.”
They continued reading. The Mirror Beyond the Boundary’s abilities went far beyond that. This evil object could amplify human desires while also absorbing life force—that is, vitality.
“Amplify desires and absorb life force?” Ye Yang focused on himself for a moment. He didn’t feel any particularly strong desires—nothing different from usual.
Xing Tian tapped the line of text. “Doesn’t it say right here—amplifies human desires? Are you human?”
Ye Yang: “…” Damn. That was actually fair.
Perhaps because they themselves were strong enough, or perhaps during its time missing, the mirror had undergone changes and was no longer as powerful as before—whatever the reason, the thing could now only absorb human life force. It could no longer harm spiritual beings like Ye Yang.
But its danger was still not to be underestimated.
The Mirror Beyond the Boundary absorbed life force while amplifying desires. People with strong desires would involuntarily make wishes to it. It used a portion of the absorbed life force to grant some of those wishes. But those whose wishes were granted never had their desires satisfied—instead, they grew even more greedy. The greedier they became, the more life force was absorbed, until their vitality was completely drained.
It could grant any wish except those related to lifespan. Because lifespan was tied to life force, and the value of life itself far exceeded everything else.
Moreover, the mirror was insidious. It didn’t directly absorb the life force of the wish-maker. Instead, it first drained the life force of those blood-related to the wish-maker—starting with the weakest, and only finally absorbing the wish-maker themselves.
Xing Tian narrowed his eyes. “Much of this matches, but here’s the problem.”
Everyone who came into contact with the Mirror Beyond the Boundary couldn’t escape the grip of desire. Based on the intelligence they had gathered so far, the Cult Leader had indeed absorbed the power of faith. That meant his wish must be to become a god—a wish related to lifespan. The mirror shouldn’t be able to grant that.
Ye Yang scratched his head. “Got it wrong? Maybe it’s not the Mirror Beyond the Boundary?”
Chi Lian rolled his neck. “Whether it is or not—why don’t we go back and find out?”
“Right.” Ye Yang smacked his forehead. “We’ve already confirmed they’re all ordinary people. Even if the usual spells don’t work on them, we can just restrain them directly.”
No need to disguise themselves as followers and wait for the fixed gathering time. Half an hour later, they were at the small church.
This time, they came with answers to verify, which made things much simpler than before.
The three of them each took an invisibility talisman, concealed their forms, and boldly walked through the locked back door of the small church. The bluish entrance looked no different from what they had seen before.
Just as they had guessed, the Cult Leader was an ordinary person. He couldn’t fully control the Mirror Beyond the Boundary at all. The mirror wanted to absorb life force, so the entrance would never close—anyone could enter.
But this time, the scene they encountered was different again.
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