Among those who were there, many were heavily wounded, and some were even disabled. They sat together at the leeward part of the wilderness, huddled in a circle.
A few people who were good at magical healing techniques were treating the wounded. For the moment, the atmosphere felt heavy with seriousness.
Vigilante A remained expressionless. There was no sign of joy or sorrow on his face as he stared into the distance.
Fang Ning quietly said to Sir System, “If things go on like this any longer, I can’t imagine how many more will be dying. Why don’t you do a good deed? Sacrifice a malevolent spirit. In that case, the green-skinned frog’s Death Substitute Technique can be activated, and we’ll be able to use portal teleportation to send everyone out of here…”
“Get out of here!” Sir System sounded flustered and exasperated. “Stop being such a saint. For me to sacrifice malevolent spirits, isn’t it making things too easy for this World of Spirits and Souls? I’m a hero, not a nanny! If these people dared to come here, then they should’ve prepared themselves for this. Otherwise, they shouldn’t have entered in the first place. In any case, I wasn’t the one who forced them to come. It was that Heavenly Axiom who made them do this. If you want someone to take responsibility for this, then go find that stupid Heavenly Axiom.”
Fang Ning became speechless.
At this moment, an injured person suddenly screamed in pain while receiving treatment for the wound on his back.
He shoved the person treating him aside as he stood up abruptly and yelled at Vigilante A who was standing guard along the perimeter some distance away. “This is all your fault. Since you’re so powerful, you should be able to find us, so why didn’t you come earlier to rescue us?”
“Otherwise, I wouldn’t have become so heavily wounded! There wouldn’t have been so many deaths either!”
His behavior shocked the others, causing them to turn and stare.
Putting the blame on others was one of the things humans liked to do most whenever they encountered a difficult situation.
No one else spoke up. Everyone was silently watching the injured person.
If one was strong, then that person would be the one at fault. This was his reasoning.
Then, the Bodhisattva Spirit King shook his head and said, “Almsgiver, you’ve fallen into the unwholesome tendency of hatred. Life and death are decreed by fate, so how can there be no basis for any rise and fall? What happened to you today can’t be blamed on others. Since you entered into this of your own accord, you should also be willing to bear the price that comes with it.”
“Humph, you better stop pretending to be all benevolent and righteous!” The injured person with the back wound was flushed with anger. “Only the two of you are fine here. Of course you’ll be able to make such insensitive remarks!”
Bodhisattva merely sighed, deciding not to continue his conversation with that person any longer.
However, Vigilante A turned his head and let his icy gaze fall on that injured person.
“If you were a warrior, I could still forgive you for speaking and getting injured like this, but you’re just an army deserter who’d caused the death of your own people. How dare you be so arrogant!”
Vigilante A raised a finger and pointed it ahead. An image appeared in front of them.
It was an image of Qiao Anping’s final battle.
In a valley filled with fireflies, there were many great monsters carrying an aura of austere gloominess. Qiao Anping blocked the mouth of the valley, preventing them from rushing out.
Behind him was a group of people who were escaping in a flurry, running away from the valley.
After Qiao Anping struggled with all his might and managed to kill an enormous monster, a sparkling and translucent jade-white orb suddenly appeared and fell on the ground behind him.
Qiao Anping had no time to attend to the object. Meanwhile, among those who were fleeing the scene, there was one person who turned back from the group!
This person ran toward the orb to pick it up.
At that moment, the monsters in the valley suddenly appeared as if they had gone insane, and the ones that were initially just approaching the mouth of the valley had started to attack Qiao Anping more aggressively in close combat.
After the person had picked up the orb, however, various long-range attacks with Yin arrows, Yin spears, and all kinds of other weapons were launched against Qiao Anping all at once!
In the face of such an immense attack, even Sir System would have attempted to evade it instead of taking it head-on.
However, Qiao Anping did not evade the attack. He knew that there were still many people behind him, so he chose to bear the force of the attack on his own!
He drew all of his Blood Energy, making it swell up to form a protective barrier!
Thus, he died.
The person was also stabbed in the back by a long spear that had penetrated the Blood Energy barrier. However, he still managed to get away.
That person was this injured man!
When everyone saw this scene, their facial expressions changed.
“It’s you!” Xu Rui jumped out and gave him a harsh slap on the face, knocking the injured person to the ground!
“Because of a simple thing like that, you caused the death of Uncle Qiao!”
“No, no, this is all fake. It’s his magical energy that’s creating that image!” That injured person was crawling backward, looking nervous.
“Whether it’s fake or not, we’ll know for sure after searching your body!” said Xu Rui with an icy tone. Compared to this person, he would rather believe the reputable Vigilante A.
Upon hearing this, the injured person climbed up frantically and fled outside!
There was no need for any more doubts on the matter.
There was a fleeting flash of a sword, and the injured person vanished. What remained was a translucent orb on the ground that emanated an azure glow.
“Hey, isn’t this the Nine Transformation Soul Restoration Orb?” Tianjing Fawang exclaimed. “This is a valuable treasure that only appears in the World of Spirits and Souls once in a million years. No wonder those monsters would go crazy over it. This orb can restore a spirit or a soul to a Yang state, and fashion a real body for it. In fact, after the body is formed, its cultivation proficiency can even be fine-tuned to perfection.”
When they heard this, there was a flicker of greed that could not be concealed crossing many of their eyes.
Vigilante A stretched out his hand, and the orb fell onto his palm.
“We’ll let Old Qiao use this. Any questions?” He calmly spoke.
There were some who seemed as if they had something to say, but then they decided against it and closed their mouths.
Then, the Bodhisattva Spirit King suddenly said, “This orb may not necessarily be used only once. As long as it is charged with vitality, it can be used on a continuous basis. However, right now, it’s not fully charged yet. To be able to do so, at least ten thousand years’ worth of magical energy will be needed.”
Fang Ning heard this, and felt like a veil of darkness had appeared before his eyes. It was a bottomless stretch of darkness.
“Ten thousand years’ worth of magical energy. How much exactly is that?” Someone could not help but ask.
“According to the calculation method currently used by the Magical Energy Bank, it would amount to one billion Dan unit.” The Bodhisattva Spirit King was quick to give an answer.
Hearing this huge figure, the people were not surprised but delighted.
“That’s great!”
“In that case, even if we die here, there’s nothing to worry about!”
As they rejoiced among themselves, their hearts started feeling relieved.
However, after the joy had passed, a sense of doubt appeared again.
Why was the provocative guy just now so unwise? He could have brought it back and turned it in to higher authority. Not only would he be absolved of his faults, but he would also receive merit for it.
One could only assume that he had been too mesmerized by the treasure that he was tempted to keep it for himself.
“Wait a minute. Why would Zhao Mingtian provoke the Venerable One? If he’d gotten his hands on such a great treasure, he should be more low-key about it. Why was he being so arrogant just now then?” Someone posed the question suddenly.
“Perhaps he wanted to make a strong first impression and put the blame on the Venerable One, so that when there’s an investigation on Vice Principal Qiao’s cause of death, he wouldn’t be suspected for it,” one of them guessed.
“What a malicious intention. He deserved to die!”
The group of people began to express their indignation at such injustice.
However, Fang Ning watched this scene in cold silence, feeling bitterly disappointed.
Aside from the Bodhisattva Spirit King who was willing to speak in support of him when he was in a difficult situation, who else had actually spoken up on his behalf?
These people were clearly just wanting to vent their anger on someone other than themselves!
He had wanted to be kind and play the saint for once in order to help them leave in advance. Nevertheless, none of them showed any appreciation for his assistance, and merely sat aside watching like a spectator.
Now that the situation had changed, once they saw that reincarnation would soon befall them, their demeanor changed in an instance.
Qiao Zishan and his sister were not among these people. It seemed that Qiao Anping also knew how dangerous things would be this time, so in order to ensure that his family would not be left without any descendants, he did not allow those two siblings follow him here.
If they were here, however, they should be able to understand his situation.
How easy was it to save others?
In fact, was he obligated to do so?
Thinking of this, he suddenly said to Sir System, “This orb may be valuable, but for us, it holds no practical significance, so let’s give it to Bodhisattva instead.”
“What? Do you really want to see me die from anger? Was I to bear all the maltreatment just now for nothing?” Sir System said in vexation.
“Look at you. You’re always short-sighted. My reasons for giving it to Bodhisattva are, firstly, because it works better with his Spiritual Insect Reincarnation Technique; secondly, to strengthen our relations with him as an ally; and finally, to divert the attention of everyone else, so that we can work in a more discreet manner. I have a feeling that this orb isn’t a good thing to take with us.” Fang Ning persuaded.
To have the miserly Sir System let go of a treasure that had just come into his possession was a tough task indeed.
“Just these three reasons?” Sir System sounded dissatisfied. “I refuse to give it to him.”
“Then let me tell you something else. The timing of this orb’s appearance is too odd. This is very likely a plot of the World of Spirits and Souls, and their target is us. Since they’re very clear about the type of person we are, and know that Vigilante A is mad about money, they’ll design such a plot to get us. Knowing this now, will you give it away or not? Do you plan on keeping a time bomb to have me killed with an explosion someday?” Fang Ning said coldly.
“Uh, let’s talk nicely. Why would you lose your temper?” Then Sir System said decisively, “Let’s just give it away. I won’t die without it anyway. But if you give it to Bodhisattva, won’t he be placed in danger instead?”
“Humph, Bodhisattva has subdued countless demons and devils. He’s the real expert. If this thing carries any hidden dangers, it’ll be dealt with in the most proper way in his hands. He can turn waste into treasure. When we return home, you can just send him a telepathic message in private to tell him about this as well.” Fang Ning scorned.
After that, under the anxious gaze of everyone else, Vigilante A handed the Nine Transformation Soul Restoration Orb over to the Bodhisattva Spirit King.
“I thank Bodhisattva for taking a stand for justice just now. There’s nothing I can give to repay your trust. This orb won’t be of much use to me, so I shall give it to Bodhisattva. I only hope Bodhisattva will help revive Old Qiao first. We shouldn’t let the brave person down on this,” Vigilante A said solemnly.
The Bodhisattva Spirit King was slightly stunned. Clearly, such an action from the other party had somewhat exceeded his expectations.
Since when had the greedy Dragon God learned to be so generous?
Nonetheless, he could not turn down the gift, for just as Fang Ning had said, this orb was of great use to him.
“In this case, I shall humbly accept it.” He joined his palms together devoutly, and then collected the orb to keep it.
Among those who were there, many were heavily wounded, and some were even disabled. They sat together at the leeward part of the wilderness, huddled in a circle.
A few people who were good at magical healing techniques were treating the wounded. For the moment, the atmosphere felt heavy with seriousness.
Vigilante A remained expressionless. There was no sign of joy or sorrow on his face as he stared into the distance.
Fang Ning quietly said to Sir System, “If things go on like this any longer, I can’t imagine how many more will be dying. Why don’t you do a good deed? Sacrifice a malevolent spirit. In that case, the green-skinned frog’s Death Substitute Technique can be activated, and we’ll be able to use portal teleportation to send everyone out of here…”
“Get out of here!” Sir System sounded flustered and exasperated. “Stop being such a saint. For me to sacrifice malevolent spirits, isn’t it making things too easy for this World of Spirits and Souls? I’m a hero, not a nanny! If these people dared to come here, then they should’ve prepared themselves for this. Otherwise, they shouldn’t have entered in the first place. In any case, I wasn’t the one who forced them to come. It was that Heavenly Axiom who made them do this. If you want someone to take responsibility for this, then go find that stupid Heavenly Axiom.”
Fang Ning became speechless.
At this moment, an injured person suddenly screamed in pain while receiving treatment for the wound on his back.
He shoved the person treating him aside as he stood up abruptly and yelled at Vigilante A who was standing guard along the perimeter some distance away. “This is all your fault. Since you’re so powerful, you should be able to find us, so why didn’t you come earlier to rescue us?”
“Otherwise, I wouldn’t have become so heavily wounded! There wouldn’t have been so many deaths either!”
His behavior shocked the others, causing them to turn and stare.
Putting the blame on others was one of the things humans liked to do most whenever they encountered a difficult situation.
No one else spoke up. Everyone was silently watching the injured person.
If one was strong, then that person would be the one at fault. This was his reasoning.
Then, the Bodhisattva Spirit King shook his head and said, “Almsgiver, you’ve fallen into the unwholesome tendency of hatred. Life and death are decreed by fate, so how can there be no basis for any rise and fall? What happened to you today can’t be blamed on others. Since you entered into this of your own accord, you should also be willing to bear the price that comes with it.”
“Humph, you better stop pretending to be all benevolent and righteous!” The injured person with the back wound was flushed with anger. “Only the two of you are fine here. Of course you’ll be able to make such insensitive remarks!”
Bodhisattva merely sighed, deciding not to continue his conversation with that person any longer.
However, Vigilante A turned his head and let his icy gaze fall on that injured person.
“If you were a warrior, I could still forgive you for speaking and getting injured like this, but you’re just an army deserter who’d caused the death of your own people. How dare you be so arrogant!”
Vigilante A raised a finger and pointed it ahead. An image appeared in front of them.
It was an image of Qiao Anping’s final battle.
In a valley filled with fireflies, there were many great monsters carrying an aura of austere gloominess. Qiao Anping blocked the mouth of the valley, preventing them from rushing out.
Behind him was a group of people who were escaping in a flurry, running away from the valley.
After Qiao Anping struggled with all his might and managed to kill an enormous monster, a sparkling and translucent jade-white orb suddenly appeared and fell on the ground behind him.
Qiao Anping had no time to attend to the object. Meanwhile, among those who were fleeing the scene, there was one person who turned back from the group!
This person ran toward the orb to pick it up.
At that moment, the monsters in the valley suddenly appeared as if they had gone insane, and the ones that were initially just approaching the mouth of the valley had started to attack Qiao Anping more aggressively in close combat.
After the person had picked up the orb, however, various long-range attacks with Yin arrows, Yin spears, and all kinds of other weapons were launched against Qiao Anping all at once!
In the face of such an immense attack, even Sir System would have attempted to evade it instead of taking it head-on.
However, Qiao Anping did not evade the attack. He knew that there were still many people behind him, so he chose to bear the force of the attack on his own!
He drew all of his Blood Energy, making it swell up to form a protective barrier!
Thus, he died.
The person was also stabbed in the back by a long spear that had penetrated the Blood Energy barrier. However, he still managed to get away.
That person was this injured man!
When everyone saw this scene, their facial expressions changed.
“It’s you!” Xu Rui jumped out and gave him a harsh slap on the face, knocking the injured person to the ground!
“Because of a simple thing like that, you caused the death of Uncle Qiao!”
“No, no, this is all fake. It’s his magical energy that’s creating that image!” That injured person was crawling backward, looking nervous.
“Whether it’s fake or not, we’ll know for sure after searching your body!” said Xu Rui with an icy tone. Compared to this person, he would rather believe the reputable Vigilante A.
Upon hearing this, the injured person climbed up frantically and fled outside!
There was no need for any more doubts on the matter.
There was a fleeting flash of a sword, and the injured person vanished. What remained was a translucent orb on the ground that emanated an azure glow.
“Hey, isn’t this the Nine Transformation Soul Restoration Orb?” Tianjing Fawang exclaimed. “This is a valuable treasure that only appears in the World of Spirits and Souls once in a million years. No wonder those monsters would go crazy over it. This orb can restore a spirit or a soul to a Yang state, and fashion a real body for it. In fact, after the body is formed, its cultivation proficiency can even be fine-tuned to perfection.”
When they heard this, there was a flicker of greed that could not be concealed crossing many of their eyes.
Vigilante A stretched out his hand, and the orb fell onto his palm.
“We’ll let Old Qiao use this. Any questions?” He calmly spoke.
There were some who seemed as if they had something to say, but then they decided against it and closed their mouths.
Then, the Bodhisattva Spirit King suddenly said, “This orb may not necessarily be used only once. As long as it is charged with vitality, it can be used on a continuous basis. However, right now, it’s not fully charged yet. To be able to do so, at least ten thousand years’ worth of magical energy will be needed.”
Fang Ning heard this, and felt like a veil of darkness had appeared before his eyes. It was a bottomless stretch of darkness.
“Ten thousand years’ worth of magical energy. How much exactly is that?” Someone could not help but ask.
“According to the calculation method currently used by the Magical Energy Bank, it would amount to one billion Dan unit.” The Bodhisattva Spirit King was quick to give an answer.
Hearing this huge figure, the people were not surprised but delighted.
“That’s great!”
“In that case, even if we die here, there’s nothing to worry about!”
As they rejoiced among themselves, their hearts started feeling relieved.
However, after the joy had passed, a sense of doubt appeared again.
Why was the provocative guy just now so unwise? He could have brought it back and turned it in to higher authority. Not only would he be absolved of his faults, but he would also receive merit for it.
One could only assume that he had been too mesmerized by the treasure that he was tempted to keep it for himself.
“Wait a minute. Why would Zhao Mingtian provoke the Venerable One? If he’d gotten his hands on such a great treasure, he should be more low-key about it. Why was he being so arrogant just now then?” Someone posed the question suddenly.
“Perhaps he wanted to make a strong first impression and put the blame on the Venerable One, so that when there’s an investigation on Vice Principal Qiao’s cause of death, he wouldn’t be suspected for it,” one of them guessed.
“What a malicious intention. He deserved to die!”
The group of people began to express their indignation at such injustice.
However, Fang Ning watched this scene in cold silence, feeling bitterly disappointed.
Aside from the Bodhisattva Spirit King who was willing to speak in support of him when he was in a difficult situation, who else had actually spoken up on his behalf?
These people were clearly just wanting to vent their anger on someone other than themselves!
He had wanted to be kind and play the saint for once in order to help them leave in advance. Nevertheless, none of them showed any appreciation for his assistance, and merely sat aside watching like a spectator.
Now that the situation had changed, once they saw that reincarnation would soon befall them, their demeanor changed in an instance.
Qiao Zishan and his sister were not among these people. It seemed that Qiao Anping also knew how dangerous things would be this time, so in order to ensure that his family would not be left without any descendants, he did not allow those two siblings follow him here.
If they were here, however, they should be able to understand his situation.
How easy was it to save others?
In fact, was he obligated to do so?
Thinking of this, he suddenly said to Sir System, “This orb may be valuable, but for us, it holds no practical significance, so let’s give it to Bodhisattva instead.”
“What? Do you really want to see me die from anger? Was I to bear all the maltreatment just now for nothing?” Sir System said in vexation.
“Look at you. You’re always short-sighted. My reasons for giving it to Bodhisattva are, firstly, because it works better with his Spiritual Insect Reincarnation Technique; secondly, to strengthen our relations with him as an ally; and finally, to divert the attention of everyone else, so that we can work in a more discreet manner. I have a feeling that this orb isn’t a good thing to take with us.” Fang Ning persuaded.
To have the miserly Sir System let go of a treasure that had just come into his possession was a tough task indeed.
“Just these three reasons?” Sir System sounded dissatisfied. “I refuse to give it to him.”
“Then let me tell you something else. The timing of this orb’s appearance is too odd. This is very likely a plot of the World of Spirits and Souls, and their target is us. Since they’re very clear about the type of person we are, and know that Vigilante A is mad about money, they’ll design such a plot to get us. Knowing this now, will you give it away or not? Do you plan on keeping a time bomb to have me killed with an explosion someday?” Fang Ning said coldly.
“Uh, let’s talk nicely. Why would you lose your temper?” Then Sir System said decisively, “Let’s just give it away. I won’t die without it anyway. But if you give it to Bodhisattva, won’t he be placed in danger instead?”
“Humph, Bodhisattva has subdued countless demons and devils. He’s the real expert. If this thing carries any hidden dangers, it’ll be dealt with in the most proper way in his hands. He can turn waste into treasure. When we return home, you can just send him a telepathic message in private to tell him about this as well.” Fang Ning scorned.
After that, under the anxious gaze of everyone else, Vigilante A handed the Nine Transformation Soul Restoration Orb over to the Bodhisattva Spirit King.
“I thank Bodhisattva for taking a stand for justice just now. There’s nothing I can give to repay your trust. This orb won’t be of much use to me, so I shall give it to Bodhisattva. I only hope Bodhisattva will help revive Old Qiao first. We shouldn’t let the brave person down on this,” Vigilante A said solemnly.
The Bodhisattva Spirit King was slightly stunned. Clearly, such an action from the other party had somewhat exceeded his expectations.
Since when had the greedy Dragon God learned to be so generous?
Nonetheless, he could not turn down the gift, for just as Fang Ning had said, this orb was of great use to him.
“In this case, I shall humbly accept it.” He joined his palms together devoutly, and then collected the orb to keep it.
