Chapter 177 : Initial Communication with the Asura Beauty
Chapter 177: Initial Communication with the Asura Beauty
Du Yiluo’s overly familiar enthusiasm indeed eased the originally tense atmosphere by a few degrees. But after her voice fell, while Long Tao was still pondering what rank a “Vice Commander of the Blood-Pattern Legion” counted as, True Person Mingzhu’s heart had already sunk.
Long Tao might not have known, but as a Golden Core True Person, she understood all too well.
Although that great upheaval of heaven and earth in antiquity had likewise severely damaged the Asura Realm, suppressing their cultivation realms just like traditional cultivators, their innate racial advantage had never been erased.
That was the power of bloodline.
A pure-blooded Asura, even if they did not cultivate or fight from childhood, could rely solely on talent to trade blows back and forth with a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator during their youth.
And once they reached adulthood and joined any Asura legion, even as a newly enlisted recruit, their strength would firmly stand at the threshold of mid-stage Foundation Establishment.
As for the Du Yiluo before them, the three words “Vice Commander” would never be a position one could idle into within any Asura legion.
At the very least, that required… combat strength at the level of late Golden Core. Moreover, Asuras were born warlike; there was no such thing among them as someone with an empty realm but hollow strength.
True Person Mingzhu suppressed the shock in her heart, her tone remaining even.
Since falling into this ghostly place, they had finally encountered someone who could speak normally. Naturally, she had to seize the opportunity.
“Miss Du, from what you said just now, could it be… you are also trapped here?”
“Heh heh.” Du Yiluo crossed her arms, the corner of her lips lifting into a half-smile tinged with a hint of interrogation. “I, for one, do find you two fairly pleasing to the eye. But information should go both ways to be fair. Since you just arrived, how about I ask first?”
“No problem. Please.”
“I won’t ask much—just one thing.” Her gaze swept across their faces. Her tone was casual, but her eyes were serious. “Do you know what kind of place this is?” She paused, then added, “Best not try to fool me with something meant for laymen. The quality of your answer will determine what kind of treatment you receive in my mind. If the level’s too low, there’s no need to continue this conversation.”
True Person Mingzhu gave a slight nod. From that statement alone, it was clear there were more than just a few outsiders here.
“We cannot speak in specifics,” she met Du Yiluo’s gaze frankly, “but we are certain that this should be a fragment world of the Ancient Heavenly Court.”
“Good!” Du Yiluo’s eyes lit up.
The earlier scrutiny vanished instantly. She laughed brightly and even clapped her hands in delight. “As expected of people who know their stuff! Since you know this is a Heavenly Court fragment, our conversation will be much easier.”
As she spoke, her gaze moved past their shoulders, glancing behind them before curling into a knowing smile.
“You two are Long Tao and Yi Suyue, right? From now on, we’re comrades-in-arms here. If we want to get out of this damn place, we’ll definitely have to lend each other a hand.”
The words struck like a bolt from a clear sky, freezing both of them in place.
They had never given their names!
What shocked Long Tao even more was—where had the name “Yi Suyue” come from?
Before they could question her, Du Yiluo lifted her chin slightly, signaling them to turn around.
The moment they did, a chill shot from the soles of their feet straight to the tops of their heads.
At the door of the house they had stayed in for just one night, a brand-new wooden plaque now hung. On it were clearly carved two names—“Long Tao” and “Yi Suyue”!
Long Tao whipped his head toward True Person Mingzhu, only to see a rare trace of embarrassment flash across her face. She muttered irritably in a low voice, “What are you staring at? Yi Suyue is my birth name! Did you really think I was actually called Mingzhu?”
“I wouldn’t dare, wouldn’t dare.” Long Tao quickly waved his hands, forcing a smile. “I just think… your original name is rather cute too, True Person.”
“Too many words.”
Though they bickered aloud, a storm had already surged within their hearts. After staying just one night, a nameplate bearing their true names had automatically appeared at the door?
More terrifying still—Long Tao himself had not known True Person Mingzhu’s birth name, yet this village had unearthed it effortlessly… This place was so bizarre it made one’s scalp tingle.
Du Yiluo had clearly anticipated their reaction.
With arms still crossed, she continued explaining, “Once you spend a night in that house and the nameplate goes up, it means you’ve officially become part of this village. Though it’s a bit… compulsory.”
Long Tao hurriedly asked, “Miss Du, do you know any way to leave this place? Even the slightest clue would help!”
“If I knew, would I still be wandering around here?” Du Yiluo shrugged helplessly. “You should’ve noticed too. This place is different from ordinary Heavenly Court ruins. There’s obvious rule suppression here. My guess is that some ancient undying relic is maintaining it from behind the scenes.”
“But you don’t seem… anxious at all?” Long Tao pressed.
“I’m an Asura.” Du Yiluo flicked her fingernail carelessly. “If I’m truly driven into a corner, I can just die and reincarnate back in the Asura Realm. Rebirth carries a price, sure, but it’s still a trump card. Those old fossils who survived from ancient times don’t have the guts to snatch my soul from the Asura Realm.”
“Is it because they fear backlash from the world’s will?” Long Tao recalled something True Person Mingzhu had mentioned before and eagerly applied it.
“Oh!” Du Yiluo’s eyes brightened. She patted his shoulder approvingly. “You people from the Uncircumvented Heaven World really are different—learned and well-mannered. Much better than those fools who understand nothing yet strut around arrogantly!”
True Person Mingzhu took the opportunity to ask, “Are there other outsiders in this village like us?”
“Yes, quite a few.” Du Yiluo curled her lips. “Mostly from the same small world. They stumbled in by accident. When they first arrived, there were over a dozen of them, each with their noses in the air, babbling about ‘the Master does not speak of strange powers and spirits,’ completely ignoring this place’s bizarre rules. And what happened? After a few of them died, they finally learned to behave.”
“From a small world?”
“Mm. According to them, their world doesn’t have any proper cultivation inheritance. They prattle about ‘the words of sages’ all day and claim cultivators are just charlatans putting on tricks.” She paused, and for once her tone carried a trace of acknowledgment. “Though they do have the inheritance of the Mo Palace. Their Mechanism Arts are quite decent.”
True Person Mingzhu said nothing, only nodding. After the heavens shattered, small worlds like that—where spiritual energy declined and Dao lineages were severed—were indeed not uncommon.
“So, Miss Du, you… have also become a mortal body like us now?”
“Of course!” Du Yiluo shook her wrist helplessly. “In this damned place, aside from those absurdly powerful ‘wild beasts’ at night, everything becomes a mortal object. Look—this spatial bracelet of mine is just decoration now. I can’t take out a single thing from inside.”
True Person Mingzhu sighed softly as well, fingertips brushing the radiant necklace at her throat. “Mine is the same. Only an empty shell remains.”
If one ignored the content of the conversation and looked only at the scene, it would seem like two peerless beauties leisurely appraising each other’s jewelry.
Amid the slightly heavy atmosphere, Long Tao suddenly remembered something and fumbled toward the pouch at his waist.
He had not held much hope—but to his surprise, when he casually reached inside, a lustrous and translucent mid-grade Spirit Stone brimming with spiritual energy appeared in his palm!
The two women’s gazes instantly froze.
“Y-your pouch…” Du Yiluo’s eyes widened round as saucers. “Why can it still be used? Don’t tell me it’s just an ordinary cloth bag?”
“N-no,” Long Tao himself was stunned. Subconsciously, he reached inside again. “This really is a spatial pouch…”
This time he pulled out a meat bun wrapped in oiled paper—the very one he had prepared earlier to fill his stomach during commentary.
Du Yiluo’s gaze stuck fast to the Spirit Stone filled with spiritual energy and the fragrant meat bun. Her throat rolled unconsciously.
The look in her eyes resembled a wild wolf that had gone hungry for three days and nights suddenly spotting a plump lamb.