Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 1009: How Could There Be a Path to Immortality in This World? (17)

The figure looked like a corpse frozen in an ice-covered mountain for a thousand years... that withered face.

‘Long Xiruo’ frowned slightly as she gazed at the ‘71st generation.’ “The aura of death on you is unprecedented… What exactly have you done to keep yourself lingering in this world?”

“Thank you for your concern, Lord Long.” The ‘71st generation’ sneered coldly, maintaining a composed demeanor… though his hands hung limply, blood continuously dripping, making it hard to associate him with true confidence.

“Who cares whether you live or die?” ‘Long Xiruo’ sneered as well. “The Plain-Clothed Dao has exhausted all heavenly secrets, which was always a grave taboo. If the heavens won’t keep you, then there’s nothing left to say.”

“What does Lord Long think of the current world?” The 71st generation of Heavenly Heart wasn’t angered; instead, he asked solemnly.

“The current world?” ‘Long Xiruo’ frowned.

The 71st generation of Heavenly Heart said, “That’s right—the current world. Where is the path forward for Daoists today? And what about the Demons? You stand above both realms; surely, you can answer me this.”

‘Long Xiruo’ fell silent for a while before responding, “Are you dissatisfied with something?”

The 71st generation of Heavenly Heart replied, “A thousand years ago, Daoism flourished, and the Demon race thrived… Though the world still belonged to humanity, both Daoists and Demons had vast space to exist. They stood above mortal dynasties, detached from the rise and fall of empires. The world was rich in spiritual energy, with countless Blessed Lands and Caves of Immortals scattered across Divine Land. People worshiped spirits and gods, revered supernatural forces. Even mortal emperors paid respect to us… But now? Lord Long, surely you see it more clearly than anyone else.”

‘Long Xiruo’ exhaled and sneered, “So, you’re just a fool clinging to the past, refusing to wake up! Hah! Even if Daoists and Demons once flourished, so what? That era is over. Now, humanity reigns supreme—they are the true rulers of this world. Besides, you never even lived in that so-called golden age! Are you really getting this excited over a fantasy? Idiot! Do you even know how much blood was spilled during the so-called peak of the Daoist and Demon worlds?”“The Great Principle of Heaven states: Out of fifty, only forty-nine are used, always leaving one path of escape.” The 71st generation of Heavenly Heart’s expression became passionate. “There is always a way out! After decline comes resurgence, after hardship comes prosperity. The end of the Age of Decline should herald the dawn of a new era! Even you, Lord Long, cannot deny this truth! If we awaken the spiritual energy within all Dragon Veins of Divine Land, reviving the world’s vitality, making it once again suitable for Daoists and Demons to thrive… we can push back humanity!”

“And even if you succeed, so what?” ‘Long Xiruo’ shook her head. “With today’s human weapons, even if I gave you a world rich in spiritual energy, how many of you could survive against their doomsday weapons? Humanity is no longer the ignorant species of the past. Their pursuit of knowledge has already reached beyond this planet… and you, how many of you could even leave this sky, let alone reach the stars?”

“As long as spiritual energy is restored, immortality becomes possible! Once we open the Celestial Path, we can roam the heavens, grasp the stars and moon! Humanity is irrelevant!”

“Humanity, humanity—you’re getting on my nerves!” ‘Long Xiruo’ snapped. “You act as if you weren’t human yourself! Have you eaten too many rotten vegetables? You keep ranting about immortality—why don’t you just starve yourself to death and ascend right now?! Maybe a few slaps will wake you up!”

With that, ‘Long Xiruo’ flashed forward, raising her hand.

Even with just a fraction of her strength, it was not something the 71st generation of Heavenly Heart could withstand. The overwhelming True Dragon energy burst forth, making him feel as though he were standing before an unscalable mountain.

“This… this is the power of Divine Land’s strongest…” The 71st generation of Heavenly Heart trembled, unable to move under the immense pressure.

In an instant, he bit down hard on his tongue, the sharp pain jolting his sluggish nerves awake… Though his arms hung limp, he still had one last move left!

But at that moment, the 71st generation of Heavenly Heart suddenly lost sight of ‘Long Xiruo’.

Because in that instant—he found himself in a completely unfamiliar place.

There was no riverbank, only scattered deadwood and rocks!

Startled, he looked down and murmured to himself, “Hope…?”

---

A palm strike swept through the air, but ‘Long Xiruo’ felt nothing. It was clear—her attack had missed.

The 71st generation of Heavenly Heart couldn’t have simply vanished before her eyes… He wasn’t even supposed to have such an ability.

“Hope!”

‘Long Xiruo’ turned sharply toward Hope.

But the young Dragon Vein only looked at her with fear, slowly backing away as if both frightened and hesitant.

“Hope, it’s me!” ‘Long Xiruo’ took a step forward.

“Don’t come any closer!” Hope shouted before turning and vanishing before her eyes.

“Hope…”

This child’s power was spatial folding… and with just her created body, she had no way to chase him down. A deep frustration surged within her.

With a sudden wave of her hand—

The river exploded for hundreds of meters, water surging into the air like a storm, then crashing down like a torrential downpour.

She tilted her head back, letting the falling water drench her.

---

She raised her head, gazing toward the top of the waterfall. But Luo Qiu knew—Long Xiruo was sharing the vision and senses of her created body.

Here, the ‘rain’ from the explosion arrived slightly later than it had above the falls.

Luo Pianxian stretched out her palm. Water droplets gathered there, quickly dispersing. But as the ‘rain’ grew heavier, she became uneasy and looked toward Luo Qiu.

Luo Qiu simply said, “Let your Sister Dragon have some time to herself.”

Nothing that happened above the waterfall had escaped Luo Qiu’s sight. The confrontation between Long Xiruo and the 71st generation of Heavenly Heart, Hope’s intervention—he saw it all.

For now, he chose not to interfere…

But the words of the 71st generation of Heavenly Heart intrigued him.

To restore spiritual energy, to create a world fit for the extraordinary once more—such a goal meant defying the very will of the world, which now belonged to humanity.

A brave and reckless heart… one consumed by obsession.

“The mist… it’s clearing.” Luo Pianxian looked around.

The dense fog had begun to dissipate… as if the source of the disturbance had moved far away.

Long Xiruo’s created body descended from above. Then, it shrank, finally transforming into a small round pearl, which returned to her palm.

"Aren't you going to continue repairing the seal?" Luo Qiu suddenly asked.

Long Xiruo, however, replied indifferently, "Don't you think it's ironic? As the True Dragon of Divine Land, I'm using a Dragon-Sealing Stone to seal the Spiritual Vein Dragon."

Luo Qiu remained silent and simply took a fresh towel from his backpack.

However, Long Xiruo let the 'rain' soak her, paying it no mind. Instead, she walked up to Luo Pianxian and said calmly, "Take me back. Hope has already left, so there's no need to stay here."

Luo Pianxian glanced at Luo Qiu in a panic. Seeing him first shake his head and then nod, the little Butterfly Demon hurriedly said goodbye to Luo Qiu. Then, she spread her colorful butterfly wings and took Long Xiruo away through the sky.

Afterward, Luo Qiu walked to the Dragon-Sealing Stone and examined the inscriptions. Originally, only three of the seals remained intact, but now a fourth had been restored—Long Xiruo had repaired just one of them.

He ran his fingers over the engravings, tracing the intricate formation of spell marks.

"Such delicate craftsmanship."

Luo Qiu smiled faintly and then restored everything around the pool to its original state.

When the mist fully dissipated, the pool had returned to its natural form. The roaring sound of the waterfall drowned out everything else, and the orange-red sunlight cast a drowsy atmosphere over the place.

"It's about time to head back," Luo Qiu muttered to himself before closing his eyes. "Their location is... hmm, this way."

…

…

As the dizziness gradually faded and the heat coursing through her limbs subsided, a sense of emptiness took its place.

The cooling of her body made Song Ying shiver suddenly. She sat up groggily, rubbing her temples with both hands.

But something felt off.

First, there was the issue of her clothing... For this outing, while she hadn’t exactly been heavily dressed, she certainly hadn’t worn too little either. But now, she was left with only her underwear.

More accurately—it was hanging on her body. The back clasp of her top was even undone.

Blurry fragments of memory from the moments before slowly became clearer... Song Ying turned to glance at Zhang Qianrui, who had been caught up in the same strange situation as her.

What she saw immediately made her panic.

Zhang Qianrui, usually as composed as a lotus in summer, had red-rimmed eyes. Though she had already put her clothes back on, they were far from neat.

There were several red marks on her fair neck… Song Ying didn't need to think too hard to figure out how they got there.

She didn't even know if she had any similar marks on her own body.

Zhang Qianrui wasn’t looking at Song Ying, instead sitting with her knees drawn to her chest. A massive sense of guilt hit Song Ying, and she hurriedly put her clothes back on.

"I... I didn’t expect something like this to happen. Um... maybe it was those vines..."

"Hmm..."

"But... but it’s not a big deal, right? I mean, we’re both women, and there wasn’t, you know, a man involved, so technically, neither of us lost anything, right?"

"Hmm..."

"Actually, this kind of thing is pretty normal abroad, especially in high school and college… You don’t even have to be, you know, into girls. Sometimes, it’s just... a way to strengthen friendships—"

"Hmm..."

Song Ying finally gave up trying to explain, lowering her head. "I'm sorry... Let’s just forget about this, okay? You have to believe me, I like men way more!"

"Hmm..."

Song Ying sighed. She felt like she had somehow become the villain in this situation, as if she had forced herself on a noble lady from a secluded home.

The underground chamber fell into silence again, returning to its previous stillness. With no way to ease the awkward atmosphere, Song Ying could only remain quiet.

At that moment, a particularly jarring phone ringtone suddenly broke the silence!

"It looks like we have a signal!" Song Ying hurriedly searched for her phone and, upon finding it, turned to Zhang Qianrui. "It’s Luo Qiu calling."

Zhang Qianrui finally showed a bit of a reaction.

"Hello!" Song Ying answered quickly. "Luo Qiu, is that you?"

"...Unless someone else is using my phone to call you, then yes, it’s me."

"You... just don’t say anything!" Song Ying gritted her teeth. "Where are you right now? Is Song Haoran with you? Listen, Zhang Qianrui and I fell into a pit and are stuck. We can’t get out! I’ll send you our location. See if you can find us."

"Oh... I think I’m right above you. Just climb up a bit."

"Climb? Do you have any idea how deep this—wait a second!"

Song Ying was stunned by his words. She turned to Zhang Qianrui, only to see her looking ahead in surprise.

She said, "I think... we can actually climb out."

"...What?" Song Ying instinctively stood up but immediately hit her head hard against a rock above her. She yelped in pain—when had the ceiling gotten so low?

Not just that... The terrain was completely different from when they first fell in!

The two exchanged glances before crouching down and crawling forward. Just a few meters ahead, the space suddenly opened up!

Standing up straight, they realized the pit they had fallen into was now only two or three meters deep. It seemed that after the initial fall, they had unknowingly crawled further into a horizontal tunnel.

By now, the sky outside had completely darkened. Only a faint red glow remained at the horizon, casting the mountain valley into shadow.

"Can you get up?" Luo Qiu extended a hand toward them.

Song Ying and Zhang Qianrui nodded in unison. One after the other, they grabbed his hand and, with some effort, finally climbed out of the pit.

"We’re finally saved..." Song Ying let out a relieved sigh.

But just as she looked up and met Luo Qiu’s strange gaze, a sinking realization hit her.

The joy of escaping danger and the happiness of reuniting with a companion overlapped—yet instead of doubling her relief, it became a source of dread.

Because in their haste to climb up, neither of them had properly adjusted their disheveled clothes.

"It—it's not what you think!" Song Ying frantically waved her hands in protest.

Meanwhile, Zhang Qianrui’s face had gone pale.

"Oh... okay," Luo Qiu replied with a nod.

Okay, my ass!!