Chapter 409: Senior Brother, Behind You…
Bai Xiaoyao was still half in doubt.
According to what her Senior Brother said, today's strange turn of events had all been within his expectations. He had even long prepared an item capable of letting his true spirit leave his body and descend into this place—specifically for this very moment.
To be honest, such an explanation was highly convincing.
After all, without prior preparations, it would indeed be far too difficult to bring about the current situation.
Just the requirements alone—an item that could allow a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator's true spirit to leave the body—were already extremely demanding. Not to mention timing it with the anomaly of the Trial of Ascension Platform?
Especially that instant when she had first stepped through the inn's door. Her Senior Brother's confident-sounding words, "you've come at just the right time," had also served as further proof that all of this had been part of a plan.
But there were still some small yet nagging doubts.
The little demoness, skilled at discerning the hearts of others, could vaguely catch traces of a person's thoughts even without watching their expressions—just from subtle shifts in their tone of voice.
And these past days, the people she was most familiar with were undoubtedly the two at her side.
'Senior Brother keeps his thoughts under tight control, but something feels off… Just now, he explained this entire sequence of events far too thoroughly. When speaking with me alone, he's always very aware of my ability to understand. Even a brief explanation would have sufficed, so he rarely goes into such detail.'
Mm… that point alone couldn't serve as conclusive evidence.
This time, the incident had happened rather suddenly. It was reasonable that her Senior Brother, fearing she might miss some important detail, would take extra care in explaining.
'But it could also mean that his explanation wasn't just for me…'
If Luo Wusheng knew what his Junior Sister was thinking right now, he would probably sigh again—this demoness was really smart.
Indeed, his words had been meant not only for her, but also for the Sword Fairy who was still muddled about the situation. On top of that, he was deliberately buying time for Little Yuli, so that the girl could calm her heart after the earlier chaos.
But the result… was less than ideal.
'Compared to Senior Brother, it's really Sister Yuli who shows more cracks in her composure.'
That girl's voice earlier had been trembling slightly, carrying a hint of urgency. It sounded as though some tension and unease still lingered, and as if she were trying too quickly to cover something up.
Bai Xiaoyao fell into thought.
She recalled some tiny details.
When the door had first opened earlier, although she was almost immediately affected by the pull of her true spirit leaving her body—so much so that it felt like a mere blink carried her to this place—she had, in that instant before the blink, faintly glimpsed something within the room.
It was light.
Lightning and a strange golden radiance interwoven, concealing everything inside beneath its brilliance.
What were they trying to hide?
If Senior Brother's earlier explanation had indeed also been meant for Sister Yuli, then… before she herself had arrived, what exactly had the two of them been doing inside that room?
...
Seeing that the matter seemed to have come to a close, Luo Wusheng secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Looked like he had managed to bluff his way through?
Well, knowing his Junior Sister's temperament, it probably wouldn't be so simple.
Still, Luo Wusheng had his own ideas.
As long as he could stir up enough chaos here and completely divert the girls' attention from the earlier incident, then when their true spirits returned to their bodies and everything appeared perfectly normal, that whole matter would naturally be brushed aside.
'I've already left the "crime scene cleanup" to that little ancestor from the Martial Alliance. Since that cat was sent by that white-haired loli, its efficiency shouldn't disappoint me…'
'Although, thinking back, that Immortal Spirit's trait really was a perfect match for Little Yuli's protagonist halo. But the way all these conditions just happened to line up so seamlessly—it still feels like it was all arranged by that mesugaki'
That Tower Master of the Heavenly Divination Tower seemed as though she had predicted everything that would happen in advance, preparing every single thing he would need.
To be honest, Luo Wusheng even suspected that the strange Immortal Spirit had already been present from the start, and that the life-threatening predicament he had just faced might very well have been its doing…
Otherwise, why would that strange stone—quietly resting in the Immortal Nation for who knows how many years without the slightest change—suddenly show a reaction?
Could it really just be blamed on the "trouble-attracting" ability of a protagonist's halo?
'And the ability of that stone is rather absurd too… Is this the level of power one should expect from something tied to the Ancient Heavenly Gate?'
It was clearly just a piece of jade that had sat untouched for ages, yet even his own state had been affected by it…
Forget it. Thinking too much about it won't bring clarity. Better to focus on the present.
Right now, he, Bai Xiaoyao, and Lu Yuliu were all in a state of true spirit separation.
This was a very unusual condition.
It was neither like a Nascent Soul cultivator's nascent soul leaving the body, nor like a Tribulation Crossing Realm cultivator's primordial spirit departure.
The greatest difference was this: both of the latter were manifestations of a cultivator's essence. Losing them meant death.
But the true spirit was essentially a collection of spiritual awareness and mental will. Even if it were damaged, it wouldn't actually wound the cultivator's foundation.
On the other hand, forming the true spirit was extremely difficult, and using it was complicated. Generally speaking, one had to at least reach Nascent Soul, experience the feeling of one's nascent soul leaving the body, and only then begin to faintly grasp the method of true spirit separation. Even then, before full mastery, there were many restrictions.
But Luo Wusheng and the two girls didn't need to think about all those details right now.
The reason they were able to directly separate their true spirits this time—and in a single instant arrive here, at the Trial of Ascension Platform floating who-knows-how-high above the royal city—was all thanks to the cheat that white-haired loli had loaned him in advance.
No doubt, the next time they met, that brat would be coming to negotiate the price.
"Ahem. You don't need to overthink it. On the way, you can take this chance to feel out what it's like to be in a state of true spirit separation… This is also a rare opportunity, and will be of great benefit to your future breakthroughs."
Standing between the two girls so as to prevent any private exchanges that might cause trouble, Luo Wusheng finally spoke.
In their current state, each of their forms was covered in a veil of mist, their features indistinguishable.
This wasn't an inherent trait of the true spirit—it was the effect of the external force they had relied on. Under normal circumstances, a manifested true spirit would appear identical to one's physical body.
But the item that white-haired loli had delivered via the Immortal Spirit—the so-called [Three Portions of Immortal Aura]—had, in an instant, drawn out their true spirits. Then, like a mist, it shrouded their forms, and in the blink of an eye had brought them here.
The Trial of Ascension Platform was the very first step on the Mortal-Immortal Stairway of the Ancient Heavenly Gate. So it seemed this "Three Portions of Immortal Aura" was also something tied to that bygone power.
Recently, Luo Wusheng couldn't help but feel that his entanglements with the Ancient Heavenly Gate were piling up more and more.
"Indeed… Such a beneficial opportunity, and Senior Brother didn't forget about little me and Sister Yuli. Senior Brother is so good to us."
From his right, Bai Xiaoyao's voice came, soft and calm—but a few of the words carried obvious emphasis.
Even though her expression was obscured, Luo Wusheng could completely sense that the girl's gaze was fixed straight on his face.
Thankfully, in this state, none of his expressions could be seen. There would be no cold sweat, no betraying fluctuations in his aura.
Thus, he could still feign composure, calmly shaking his head.
"From a rational perspective—according to the promise you two made before, a month from now you'll be heading together to the Ancient Heavenly Gate ruins. Once you're there, the ties created here today may well come into play. Therefore, it's easy to judge: among those around me, you two are the most suitable to undergo this experience."
Speaking with clear logic, Luo Wusheng simultaneously had his true spirit body move first, breaking through the parted clouds and leaving the two dazed girls behind, adopting the pose of one sighing with emotion.
He could roughly guess what was going through their minds:
Sister Xiaoyao (Sister Yuli) told this bully (Senior Brother) even about that promise?!
'No reaction… Looks like dropping the fact that I know about their pact really did stun them. Though of course, my source was just the "original script"… No matter. Now I only need to keep shifting their focus, and brushing over the earlier mess will become that much easier.'
Thinking this, Luo Wusheng pushed his true spirit to move with even greater intent.
His blurred figure clasped its hands behind its back, stepping forward one pace at a time as he looked down toward the ground.
"Besides that… on a personal level, I don't know many people in this world. Naturally, I'd treat you two a bit better."
Rumble… rumble…
When his words fell, the only reply was the rolling echo of muffled thunder.
Hm?
No response?
Had his words really shaken the two girls so much that they still hadn't recovered?
But keeping this silence up was kind of awkward…
After a brief moment of thought, Luo Wusheng—still fully attentive to what was happening behind him—had his true spirit turn, now facing the two indistinctly shrouded female figures.
"Forget it, let's leave that aside for now… Speaking of which, this is actually my first time seeing the Trial of Ascension Platform in its current state."
"Six years ago, when I participated in the Human Immortal List, I arrived slightly late, so I only ever saw the Platform after it had been transformed under the influence of the Immortal Nation's formation. I never thought that before the change, it would be this vast—its size even surpassing that of the entire royal city…"
Gazing at the two hazy figures, their bodies still half-sunk in the colored clouds, unmoving since earlier, Luo Wusheng tried once more to steer the conversation away.
Come to think of it, the colored clouds themselves were rather peculiar. Until parted, they completely obscured what lay ahead, but at the same time, they didn't prevent vision of the immediate surroundings.
For some reason, as he recalled this detail, he finally heard a reply.
And it wasn't from the little demoness, but from Little Yuli—who, from the very beginning, had barely spoken a word for fear of saying something wrong before fully grasping the situation.
"Th-that… please don't say any more…"
?
A question mark floated into Luo Wusheng's mind. But then he saw that his Junior Sister seemed to have finally calmed her heart, her voice steadying as she spoke again.
"Senior Brother… behind you…"
If earlier he still didn't quite understand, then now—it felt like he had realized something.
His gaze shifted slightly. Instead of looking back immediately, he first glanced down at his feet.
The platform beneath him was forged from radiant immortal jade, the very same kind he had not yet obtained—but was destined to receive from Her Majesty the Empress after the events in the royal city.
That jade was as reflective as a mirror. In its sheen, it not only reflected his own face, but also revealed a patch of shadowy black.
Following the reflection's position, his gaze moved upward.
Above the platform, in the darkened sky, a pair of crimson vertical pupils—mad yet eerily calm—locked eyes with him.
And for some reason, he thought he could see a flicker of startled surprise within those eyes.
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Note: Link to the character Illustration:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1lkIcPnCxeyuyZA4Kkb621dPC05UvWjhD[1]
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Tn: I updated the story daily, but if you want to see more chapter of this story ahead of time, please go to my Patreon.
Latest Chapter: Chapter 532: What On Earth Is Master Talking About?[2]
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[1] https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1lkIcPnCxeyuyZA4Kkb621dPC05UvWjhD
[2] https://www.patreon.com/posts/chapter-532-what-156146549
[3] https://www.patreon.com/posts/chapter-532-what-156146549