novelraw Chapter 8 : Chapter 8
Chapter 8 : Chapter 8
Chapter 8
At this point, there was nothing left to change.
Cai Suhong led the group toward the Mystic Realm—only to circle back to that pear grove where the climate had been abnormal.
The wind and snow had stopped, yet the ground was still gleaming white.
The earlier snow had already melted away; what carpeted the earth now were pear blossom petals.
Lang Qingyun asked Cai Suhong for the storage pouches of the Six Bandits.
Sure enough, inside Shi Liuzi’s pouch was a box of human skin—more than a thousand pieces. Shi Liuzi’s tanning work was decent.
Every sheet was snow-white and soft, with brows drawn and lips painted red.
Lang Qingyun frowned deeply.
From the other pouches, he found many more brutal implements.
He gathered the remains of those victims whose families could no longer be found and buried them in this white pear grove.
Then he returned the storage pouches to Cai Suhong.
Though there were many spiritual materials and medicinal herbs inside, Lang Qingyun did not want bloodstained things.
Shuang Wenlü had no intention of touching them either.
After Cai Suhong handed the pouches over to Wujiguan, they could dispose of them properly.
As for whether Cai Suhong or the people of Wujiguan might be tempted by greed and secretly keep them, he did not care. Cause and effect could not be seen or touched, yet it was real. In Qiankun, among cultivators who reached the ninth Tianshu Realm, not a single one had taken a crooked path.
It was only that most people were lucky-minded. When their eyes saw immediate benefit, they forgot an obvious truth.
After Lang Qingyun finished collecting and burying those pitiful remains, he sighed with grief.
“If they had not met the bandits… if Shi Liuzi had not been bullied for being ugly…”
He was not pitying Shi Liuzi.
He was thinking that if Shi Liuzi had not suffered humiliation for his appearance, perhaps his temperament would not have grown so warped.
Those victims might have lived well, and the world would have held fewer tragedies.
“I know someone,” Shuang Wenlü said.
“Since childhood, her father beat and cursed her. She was covered in wounds and forced to work every day. Later, when her father ran out of money, he sold her. She struggled in the mire for many years. When she finally gained power, she did not flay a thousand men.”
Lang Qingyun sighed.
“That is an extraordinary person. It is a pity not everyone can be like her.”
Of course she was good.
She was from his Sword Pavilion—her heart was like a nimble swallow.
A thousand surging waves could not force her back; ten thousand kinds of filth could not stain her heart.
Cai Suhong also praised, “Senior speaks with such reason. People who want to do evil can always find excuses for themselves.”
Shuang Wenlü glanced at her.
“I did not speak any reason. I merely told a story.”
Cai Suhong’s heart pounded under his gaze.
At once, she turned inward and asked the System again for confirmation.
Shuang Wenlü had already turned away and continued walking.
His hem carried the wind, and pear petals swirled up behind him before drifting down again.
Some mourn fallen blossoms for losing their color and fragrance; others think fallen blossoms become spring soil, nourishing the next year’s flowers.
A flower is only a flower. What sorrow or joy can it have? Sorrow and joy belong to the human heart.
A story is only a story. What people hear from it, what they see within it, is still only their own heart.
If one could truly understand that, the road of cultivation ahead would become clear.
But unease weighed on Cai Suhong, and she did not notice any of this.
She only fretted, wavering with anxiety, afraid Shuang Wenlü had seen through her concealment.
She asked the System nervously, “Are you sure it will be fine? Will he see something?”
“It shou—” The System stumbled. “…be fine.”
“Why did you hesitate?” Cai Suhong grew even more nervous.
The System looked at the sword qi that had suddenly appeared inside its internal space and nearly burst into tears. It said to Cai Suhong, “It is fine; it is fine!”
It had finally realized who this unfathomable figure truly was.
Other than a world’s Guardian of the Dao, who else could so casually place a strand of sword qi into its space?
“Boss!” the System knelt with enviable speed.
While continuing to placate Cai Suhong, it confessed honestly to the sword qi, “I am a proper rule fragment. I know all the rules. I will not act recklessly.”
“My original name was ‘We Are the Mastermind System Behind Global Instances.’ After arriving in Qiankun, I adapted to local customs and changed it to ‘We Are the Mastermind System Behind the Mystic Realms of the World.’”
Cai Suhong said, “Even if there is no problem now, once we enter the Mystic Realm, will he see that it is fake?”
To Cai Suhong, the System said, “No, no—absolutely no problem.”
To Shuang Wenlü, the System said, “The Mystic Realm you are about to enter is fake…”
…
Cai Suhong said, “We only spent a month designing that Mystic Realm. Will there be flaws?”
To Cai Suhong, the System said, “Relax, I have arranged everything.”
To Shuang Wenlü, the System said, “We started designing it a month ago. It is rather rough…”
…
Cai Suhong said, “The Mystic Realm’s bearing capacity is limited. Can it withstand someone of such high cultivation entering?”
To Cai Suhong, the System said, “It is fine, it is fine. We have a solution.”
To Shuang Wenlü, the System said, “That thing is, at best, an illusion realm. It is easy to break…”
This was their first attempt within the Qiankun world.
They lacked experience and did not understand Qiankun’s Dao well enough.
Beyond scenery, the illusion contained nothing. Cai Suhong had even taken out some of her own resources and placed them inside as fake “loot” to fool people. And at most, it could be entered once—after that, the illusion realm would collapse.
The more people entered, and the more they believed the illusion was real, the more energy they could harvest. Of course, there were other messy influencing factors as well.
Only later could they shape something that truly deserved to be called a Mystic Realm.
The System laid out everything—its plans with Cai Suhong, and all their intentions.
It was not afraid Shuang Wenlü would seize its weakness and coerce it.
If it were an ordinary living being, it might give rise to greed and malice and try to exploit it through threats. But a Guardian of the Dao was different.
Those who could become the Guardian of the Dao of a Great Thousand World were people of lucid wisdom, sharing weal and woe with heaven and earth. What was there to fear in speaking plainly to such a person? Shuang Wenlü indeed had no intention of doing anything to it.
The Mystic Realm system, like Luo Mi’s Infrastructure System, was a rule fragment approaching the next step—attempting to shape a small world.
Whether infrastructure or Mystic Realms, both were trials within the greater world, meant to accumulate experience before truly taking that next step.
This did not harm the greater world. Moreover, such systems had often traversed countless worlds.
Their records of other worlds’ rules were far richer and more complete than those of ordinary rule fragments.
The new rules they attempted to develop would also benefit Qiankun.
After the System finished its cautious confession, the sword qi within it finally responded.
Shuang Wenlü’s voice sounded within its space.
“So long as you do not endanger Qiankun, I will not strike against you.”
The system exhaled in relief and hurriedly promised, “Rest assured, I will absolutely not do bad things!”
Then Shuang Wenlü said, “But I want you to help me with something.”