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Chapter 190: Approaching Irregularity
The seal of the Devil Sealing Grounds was restored, and the Devils had once again been sealed. However, this time, the losses made by the God Races were miserably heavy. Among the clansmen who were sent by the various clans to guard the place, eighty to ninety percent of them lost their lives, and only a small number of them survived. It must be known that those who were qualified to guard the sealing grounds, were clansmen who possessed extraordinary godly powers within their respective clans. This escape made by the Devils had greatly diminished the strength of the God Races. If another outbreak were to occur, they wouldn’t be this fortunate to have the seal restored again.
Zhu Yao had overexerted her godly energy. Though it was strangely replenished after that, it wasn’t her own godly energy after all. After the activation of the seal, the godly energy disappeared, and she was unconscious for two whole days. When she woke up, she realized she had returned to the straw cottage in the furthest northern lands.
Zhu Yao was a little worried about Little Sixth’s injuries, and had wanted to ask her teacher for a vacation leave. However, when she returned to the Parasol Tree to take a look, she still couldn’t find even Yue Gu’s shadow after searching all around the place.
Was ‘occasional disappearance’ a prerequisite skill for every master?
Without any ideas in mind, she could only meditate and recuperate. When the sun began to set, she finally saw a figure flying back from the far skies. A moment later, he had already descended in front of her, and there was even another person standing next to him.
“Little sister.” The person who came back with him was Shao Bai. The moment he landed on the ground, he hastily walked towards her, his expression carried several hints of restlessness. “Why have you gotten up? How’s your body? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?” He pulled her and began to carefully inspect her body.
Zhu Yao pressed down his hand. “Shao Bai, why have you come?”
Only then did he reveal a light smile, and his expression recovered that familiar warmth. Reaching out his hand, he helped her tidy up her hair. “I have already been here for two days. You’re injured, so why wouldn’t I come?”
“I’m fine.” Zhu Yao gave him a relieved smile. “Just that I have overused my godly energy, I will be fine in a few days.”
“Overused your godly energy?” Shao Bai’s expression paled, as he immediately pulled her hand and measured her pulse.
“Don’t worry, I have pretty much recovered.” She had already tested it herself when she woke up. More than half of her godly energy had been restored, at least fifty percent of her battery had been charged.
Shao Bai measured for a few moments, yet, his brows sunk even deeper, and his expression became even more complicated. The corner of his lips moved, as though he wanted to give her a small lecture, but in the end, he merely let out a sigh.
“Yue Nan.” Yue Gu walked over as well, his expression looked stern. With a serious look, he said. “You have done well for this incident.” With praising intentions, he raised his hand, and gently stroked the head in front of him. “Although you were a little slow, you still managed to restore the seal.”
Yue Gu did not praise people often, at the very least, this was the first time she saw him praising someone so directly ever since she went to the furthest northern lands. Zhu Yao was a little happy.
If his hand had not landed on Shao Bai’s head, the effect would have been better.
Zhu Yao evidently saw Shao Bai’s face, which was filled with a warm smile, stiffen for a moment. Silently passing Shao Bai an apologetic gaze, she pulled down a certain person’s evil paw. Sorry, he hasn’t taken his meds today.
“Have a good rest these few days, there’s no need to rush in learning your mystic arts.” Yue Gu gave her a few instructions, and then nodded towards Shao Bai. Then, he turned around and left, so that he wouldn’t interrupt these siblings catching up.
“Shao Bai. About the Phoenix Clan…” Zhu Yao asked a little anxiously.
“Call me second elder brother.” Shao Bai flicked his finger on her forehead, before answering. “Don’t worry, it’s manageable.”
“Then what about Little Sixth?” Recalling the prejudice Shao Bai had towards Little Sixth, she could not help but add a few words. “This time, when I was restoring the seal, I was fortunate to have Little Sixth guard me, otherwise… He was injured because of me.”
As expected, his expression sank a little, though at the very least, he didn’t evidently frown like before as he stroked her head. “I know.” Taking a deep breath, his smile grew even warmer, as he moved away from the topic. “Second elder brother has brought you some things.” With a twist of his hand, he summoned a basket. “It’s everything that you like to eat. If there isn’t enough, second elder brother will get more of them for you…”
Before he could even finish, a white figure flashed beside them. Yue Gu, who had yet to walk far away, had made a u-turn, and blew himself back like a gust of wind. He stared deeply at… the basket in Shao Bai’s hands.
Zhu Yao: “…”
Shao Bai: “…”
Yue Gu: “You two can continue.” He’s just staring.
Stare~~~
Zhu Yao’s expression darkened. This ancient glutton! Letting out a deep sigh, she took the basket off Shao Bai’s hands. A certain pair of eyes then instantly shifted to where her hands were. Zhu Yao could even feel that her fingertips were turning hot from his stares, and she had no choice but to pass it over to him.
A certain person took it with a satisfied look, and gave her a ‘good disciple’ gaze. Casually, he scooped up a dried fruit, and nibbled on it with a noble and glamorous look, while turning his head to look at Shao Bai’s hands, as though he was waiting for him to pull out something again. He no longer brought up any intentions of leaving.
Teacher, where’s your morals as an ancient God? She really wanted to severe their teacher and student relationship.
Under these intense stares, Zhu Yao simply could not make small talk with Shao Bai without being distracted, let alone removing the knot in her heart regarding Little Sixth. Shao Bai hastily left her a few words, and then headed off. Before he left, he passed her a wooden carved bracelet. “This is made by the wood of the Parasol Tree, and it can be used to suppress devilish energy. Remember to wear it at all times.” After saying that, he purposefully moved closer to her ear, and sent a voice transmission. “Don’t worry, second elder brother prepared another bag of them in the bracelet.”
After saying that, he even gave a meaningful glance at Yue Gu, and then reluctantly walked away. Zhu Yao was speechless. Just why did he think that she liked eating snacks?
Five days later, Zhu Yao’s godly energy had completely recovered, and there was a faint feeling of it increasing in capacity. Just as she was getting pumped up and planning to give everything she had, Yue Gu began to slack off. Not only did he not teach her any mystic arts, he neglected his duties, and brought her on hunting expeditions all around the mountain all day. As long as he spotted a living creature, he would catch it and request her to cook it.
“Teacher, that’s a grasshopper, it can’t be eaten.”
“Teacher, that’s a snake. It’s poisonous.”
“Teacher, can you let that sparrow go? It’s not even as large as your palm yet.”
“Teacher, release that panda. You really can’t eat that.”
“Teacher, it’s true you can eat apples, but that one has already turned into a spirit. Can’t you see it crying?”
“Teacher…” Zhu Yao let out a deep sigh. Resigning to her fate, she took out the bag of snacks from the storage bracelet, and passed it to him with her two hands. I will be honest and turn this over to higher management, alright? So please, conduct your lessons.
Yue Gu was startled for a moment, before receiving it with a calm look. He took out a dried fruit, and finished it in two bites. “Disciple, from tomorrow onwards, why don’t you teach your teacher how to tie my hair?”
“Eh?” Was this for real? Wasn’t he unwilling to learn because he always had clumsy hands?
Why did he suddenly have a change of mind?
Yue Gu closed the bag, and placed it back onto her hands. Suddenly, the corners of his lips curved up. “Your teacher suddenly wants to learn it.”
“…” What?
Yue Gu said with a stern look. “Your teacher has always not mind about things when it doesn’t concern my physical condition. But I can’t always have you help me.”
Zhu Yao looked at the bag of snacks on her hands, and then glanced at his smiling expression. She could not help but reach out to touch his forehead. Her teacher couldn’t possibly be this normal.
“Teacher, you don’t have a fever, right?”
“…”
Three days later, Zhu Yao really felt that Yue Gu was having a fever. Not only did he not snatch her snacks out of nowhere, he even took the initiative to learn the various life skills. From hairstyling, to cooking, and to making various living necessities. And she had even recently learnt how to do make-up.
Although the hair he tied would mostly end up like a chicken’s nest, the dishes he cooked would all turn charred black, the various furniture would be missing an arm or a leg, and the things he sewed would all turn into torn cloth, he seemed to have suddenly understood the importance of life skills, as he was learning them especially seriously.
Furthermore, he was determined in not having her intervene, he had rather have a chicken’s nest on his head every day and have it shake everywhere. No matter what, he was insistent on doing it on his own. This sudden change in personality had made Zhu Yao suspect if his body had actually been taken over, if not for the same, calm “it’s not me who did it” expression he had no matter how many times he failed.
Zhu Yao thus spent every day watching him fail on various tasks, and of course, she had put aside the matter of learning mystic arts.
Just who was the master, and who was the disciple here?
This situation lasted for a month, and it only began to improve when the three Patriarchs suddenly came to the furthest northern lands.
The three Patriarchs came this time to first ask about the matter regarding the revelation that day. Back then, Yue Gu once promised that he would inform the various clans once he made a conclusion. The second matter, however, was a grave matter that was causing everyone to feel great fear and unease.
For some unknown reasons, ever since the incident where the Devils broke through the first layer seal of the Devil Sealing Grounds, not a single one of those phoenix clansmen who died on the frontlines had reincarnated. Initially, a phoenix whose lifespan was depleted would reincarnate from the flames of Nirvana. However, a month had passed, yet not a single one of those phoenixes who passed away had summoned the Nirvana’s flames.
And not just that, even the children of the Dragon Clan had encountered problems. The dragon eggs within Dragon Mountain had long reached their dates of birth, yet, the little dragons within their eggs had yet to break out from their shells. And the presences within were growing weaker each day, as though they could disappear at any moment.
Although the qilins had always been given birth through the mothers’ wombs, and it was still unknown if there’s any birth crisis, seeing that two out of three God Races had encountered problems, they could not help but feel flustered as well.
Yue Gu was the only remaining ancient God in the world. If there’s anyone who could give them answers for this strange phenomenon, it could only be him. Hence, after a lengthy discussion, the three Patriarchs decided to visit the furthest northern lands.
“Highgod, the bloodline of the God Races cannot be severed. Without the protection of the God Races, I’m afraid the Devils will no longer have any obstacles once they return to the world.” Xian Yu carried a heavy expression, her brows clearly showed her anxiety.
Unfortunately, even Yue Gu was unable to give them an answer. He simply raised his head and looked into the distant skies, letting out a light sigh. “Everything is dictated by the Heavenly Dao. Even we are powerless to resist it.”
The three Patriarchs could only return with disappointment on their faces.
Seeing the three ashen figures, Zhu Yao faintly felt a little depressed. Generations of the three God races had guarded the seal for so many years, and in the end, they had to welcome the crisis of the end. No matter who it was, he or she wouldn’t be able to wrap their heads around it.
“Teacher, is there really no way?”
Yue Gu turned his head, and stared at her for a few moments. He then reached out his hand to stroke her head, and gently said. “There might be one, and there might not be one…”
What?
Zhu Yao did not understand. However, in the following days, the situation seemed to have grown even worse. The earth-shaking situation that happened before, occurred once again. It was as though the entire world was shaking. Back then during such a situation, the Parasol Tree fell, and the Devils even broke out from the seal.
This time, she still did not know what the consequences were, but evidently, they wouldn’t be too hopeful either.
However, her teacher was not as anxious as before. Instead, he stayed in the furthest northern lands with a calm look, seriously practicing his messy life skills. And, he even became especially tolerant with her, as though his ‘disciple trolling’ buff had been removed. Not only had he evidently improved from his studies, he was beginning to worry about her when it came to living necessities. He was becoming more like her actual master Yu Yan.
Zhu Yao felt that this was a little strange. She had an inkling that there was something wrong with his attitude, but she couldn’t put it into words.
But she was beginning to grow restless. It was impossible for the Devil Sealing Grounds to be completely intact, and she was worried about Little Sixth and Shao Bai. Thus, she tried bringing up the topic of heading over there to take a look.
Yue Gu stared at her for a long while, to the point where she thought that he was going to object her decision. However, what she got in reply was a heavy sigh. “Do you truly want to go?”
She nodded.
Yue Gu turned solemn, and the eyes he was looking at her with was mixed with various emotions, which was hard to discern by others. Finally, he still reached out to stroke her head, and said these two words. “Go then.”
Zhu Yao’s mixed emotions miraculously calmed down, though, even after flying out of the furthest northern lands, she still could not understand what’s the meaning behind the look in his eyes. Raising her head, she looked at the approaching skies, and for some reason, she suddenly recalled the man who was standing on top of that gigantic tortoise head. Her feet stopped, and then, she turned and headed in that direction.
She did not know why she wanted to head there either. But she faintly sensed that she would be able to obtain the things she wanted over there.
As she approached that place, all the events that happened ever since she first came into this world suddenly appeared in her mind. When she broke out of the egg shell prematurely, the inheritance stones at the Pavilion of Revelations, the earth-shaking phenomenon, the gigantic ‘bug’ on the tortoise’s head, that strangely intimate-looking man, the words in the Revelation, and the pool of godly energy that suddenly came when she was restoring the seal…
Her mind was in a mess, until the shadow of the gigantic tortoise gradually revealed itself before her eyes, along with the man who was still smiling warmly at her within the fog.
The sound of a ringing bell suddenly reverberated in her mind. All the dots had been connected. All of the things that she was confused about and did not understand, became as clear as day.
Zhu Yao, who found out the truth, simply wanted to cuss out!
What the freaking hell!
