C1456 Panicked
Yuen Qingxi knelt on the ground, the epitome of humility.
As a being of his caliber, he stood among the strongest beneath the vast and supreme cosmic order.
Yet, in the presence of the skeletal remains, he resembled a devotee before a deity worshiped for eons, his every gesture of reverence executed with painstaking precision.
The ritualistic air about him was unsettling, tinged with malevolence.
The scroll he presented, though still rolled up, exuded a potent aura of dark energy.
As he lifted it, the gathered ghosts and Earth Demons recoiled, as if too terrified to draw any closer.
The white bones, a specter in their midst, had failed at what the peculiar scroll now accomplished with ease.
Beneath Yu Yuan's feet, the Dragon Slash Platform burst forth with a brilliant white light. Hidden beams, dormant for millennia beneath the Space-time Dragon, coalesced into orderly chains.
Yu Yuan perceived these luminous chains as if they were ropes of light, intent on ensnaring the scroll to prevent its unveiling.
His expression shifted subtly as he grasped the true nature of the Dragon Slash Platform's hidden power over spectral beings.
Yuen Qingxi, the venerable ancestor of the Ghost Wizard Sect, was visibly affected by the platform's stirrings and the awakened Dao Laws. His form, prostrate before the bones, quivered ever so slightly.
Yu Yuan observed closely and saw flashes of pure white Dao Laws strike Yuen Qingxi's back like divine lashes.
Though flesh and blood and a bona fide practitioner of the Ghost Wizard Sect, unlike the unaffected spectral bones, Yuen Qingxi was vulnerable.
With a mere flick, the bones severed the visible Dao Laws on Yuen Qingxi's back as if they were mere threads.
The scroll, a revered relic of the Ghost Wizard Sect, seemed to seek its true master as it drifted towards the bones.
The scroll came to a gentle halt before the skeletal figure.
With an enigmatic glint in his eyes, the figure reached out, taking hold of the scroll, a wave of recognition washing over him.
It was as if an artifact, long adrift in the Outland Star River, had at last returned to the hands where it rightfully belonged.
The painting seemed to find its rightful place in his hands.
"This..."
The skeletal figure was equally perplexed.
As he clutched the painting, Yu Yuan's face turned ashen, and a wave of intense unease washed over him.
The tall and striking figure holding the painting exuded an aura of perfect harmony and naturalness, as if the painting had belonged in his grasp for millennia.
It was as though the two had always been meant to be one.
In the hands of the skeletal figure, the Ghost Wizard Sect's Artifact became docile and tame. What could this signify?
"Look up."
Clutching the painting, a peculiar sensation began to swell within him, growing stronger by the moment.
It was as though countless voices were pressing him to unveil the painting.
Yet, he resisted. He quelled the rising desire from deep within his subconscious, choosing not to open the painting but instead to calmly watch as Yuen Qingxi slowly lifted his head.
"You..."
As Yuen Qingxi spoke, tears involuntarily escaped him, his body shaking violently.
"I have obeyed your commands. Should you fail to ascend to godhood, I would never show myself to you. My existence is to present this painting to you upon your ascension, leaving the choice to open it in your hands."
"However you choose to exist is your prerogative. I respect your decisions."
The ancient emotions of the Ghost Wizard Sect's elder took Yu Yuan by surprise.
His profound feelings for the skeletal figure, a blend of dependency and affection, had been pent up for eons and now burst forth with undeniable authenticity.
"Have I opened this before?" The skeletal figure's expression was one of bewilderment.
"When you were the Evil King, Yu Xi, I found you deep within the Outland Star River. Since you had already achieved godhood, I followed your orders and brought the painting to you. You unveiled it, learned its secrets, and then..."
Yuen Qingxi's face contorted into something monstrous, as if myriad demons lurked beneath his skin, eager to burst forth and ravage all life.
"You were ambushed by two Great Demon Gods and three alien chieftains! The traitor who divulged your whereabouts must have been Zhu Zhenxiong from the Devil Palace, who had deduced your true identity. You are the master I have devoted my life to serving; I would never dare harm you. Although I had some dealings with Yun Hao in secret, he had long since aligned himself with Zhu Zhenxiong!"
As Yuan Qingxi spoke, he was overcome with tears.
While speaking, he continued to kowtow, seemingly drowning in self-reproach.
He blamed himself for not having made proper arrangements in the past, which led to Bai Gu falling victim to treachery in a former life.
Yu Yuan watched, his expression blank with shock.
Beside Bai Gu, Yu Yuan's Yin God stealthily retreated into the Dragon Slash Platform. With his thoughts, he controlled the platform, creating a distance between himself and Bai Gu.
It was only within the Dragon Slash Platform that he felt a semblance of safety. When he looked at Bai Gu again, his entire outlook had shifted.
Who was Bai Gu, truly?
Before Bai Gu, he was the Evil King Yu Xi.
And before Yu Xi, he was Youling, the Ghost King of Horror Land.
How had Youling died, and how had he become a ghostly being?
Yu Yuan found himself delving deeper into these thoughts, his mood growing increasingly somber.
"I am your master? I only remember my life as Youling. I have no recollection of who I was before that. Moreover, as Yu Xi, I don't recall ever meeting you."
Bai Gu was brimming with questions. Despite the oddness of the situation, the sensation of holding the painting made it feel inherently his.
Furthermore, although he didn't remember meeting Yuen Qingxi, the things Yuen Qingxi spoke of, and Yuen Qingxi himself, felt strangely familiar.
"Just by opening this painting, you can reclaim your identity. Your life before Youling, your forgotten memories of me, everything you've lost is imprinted within this painting. It is a part of you. If you wish to awaken, simply open it, and all will become clear."
Yuen Qingxi spoke with reverence.
Yu Yuan was filled with a bitter sense of irony.
He had never imagined that Bai Gu, who had accompanied him into the Foul Land, was such an eminent figure that even the elders of the Ghost Wizard Sect would kneel in veneration.
Was he, the master, now a guest in his own home, aiding in the awakening of another?
"The Foul Land gathers the soul, and only through corruption can one be truly free. Awaken now, to the boundless evil power that slumbers within you..."
Yuen Qingxi bowed his head, hands pressed against his chest, chanting an ancient incantation as if to assist Bai Gu in making a choice, to awaken his true self.
Yu Yuan, having uttered his spell, suddenly found himself severed from his true form.
He was unable to sense his true self, aware only that his true form, along with Loong Jie and Yinn Xueqi, had just entered the Medicine God Sect.
The final image he saw was the alchemists and guest elders of the Medicine God Sect staring at him in terror.
His preparations to summon his true body and harness the full power of the Dragon Slash Platform were disrupted by the onslaught from Yuen Qingxi and his skeletal form.
"No."
The skeleton gently shook its head.
With a swift motion, it grasped the painting, and with a single breath, all of Yuen Qingxi's efforts were erased.
The painting, attempting to meld into the skeleton's palm like water, was abruptly halted.
Yuen Qingxi looked up, bewildered, "What's wrong? Don't you want to awaken?"
"Bring the Evil Cauldron to me," the skeleton abruptly commanded.
Yu Yuan, who had been ready to employ the residual power of the Space-time Dragon for a cosmic shift, was taken aback by the skeleton's demand.
"The Evil Cauldron?" Yuen Qingxi echoed in surprise.
"Bring it to me," the skeleton insisted.
Yuen Qingxi's expression soured, "That object is under the Earth Demons' control. It's beyond my ability to limit."
"Then take me to it," the skeleton demanded once more.
Yuen Qingxi was utterly perplexed, "I don't understand..."
"You don't need to understand!" the skeleton barked.
"Oh, alright."
Yuen Qingxi reluctantly complied.
The skeleton turned its gaze back to Yu Yuan, "We shall proceed."
Yu Yuan, even more bewildered and unsure whether to stay or go, steeled himself and replied, "Oh, alright."
