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Chapter 73: A Long Parting Always Ends in Reunion

Jiugai Prefecture, as one of the most renowned upper prefectures in the cultivation world, was home to countless great clans and sects. Among them was a family by the name of Li, which had once produced several ancestors at the peak Mahayana level, but had gradually fallen into decline over the years, pushed out to the very margins of Jiugai Prefecture, on the verge of being quietly driven out of the prefecture entirely—until, in recent months, it once again found itself the center of everyone's attention.

The Li family head's youngest son, who had shown only mediocre talent as a child, had his aptitude retested at the age of sixteen, and was found to possess eleven sword-path spiritual roots!

Never mind Jiugai Prefecture—not even the whole of the Nine Thousand Prefectures had seen such a sword-path prodigy in a very long while; the entire cultivation world was shaken in an instant, with no small number of great sword-path sects extending offers to the Li family—yet the family head turned them all down, one after another, saying only that he would let his youngest son choose for himself.

At the border of the demon realm, a young man stood upon the reddish-black earth, excitedly looking around him.

Had any member of the Li family been present, they would have recognized him at once as their newly-appointed young family head, who had recently snuck away from home—Li Tafan.

"System, let me ask you again, are you certain I'm the destined protagonist of this world?"

The young man's eyes burned with excitement as he stared out at the empty air before him, as though something existed there that no one else could see.

"Yes."

A calm voice rang out in his mind.

"You are a one-of-a-kind transmigrator, destined to stir up great change in this world and achieve extraordinary feats. Once you cultivate your way to Ascension, you'll be able to break through the void and return to your original homeland."

"Like hell I'm going back! That broken old place has zombies running around now, nowhere near as good as it is here! I can cultivate immortality, it's ancient times, the people are simple and honest, it's practically a paradise beyond the mortal world!"

"Li Tafan"—or rather, the outsider soul that had taken possession of the body named "Li Tafan"—waved his hand dismissively, then shifted the subject: "You said you could help me get stronger. Well, let me ask you this, can you make me as strong as that Chen Moqing guy from three hundred years ago?"

For some reason, the system in his mind fell silent for a long while before slowly, almost reluctantly, it seemed, spitting out a single word: "Yes."

Li Tafan grinned: "In that case... I want to exchange my points for an item, give me that top-grade disguise pill!"

"...Host, you don't quite have enough points."

"So let me pay in installments! Didn't you say installments were an option? Don't be so stingy! Once I start cultivating, my cultivation's bound to shoot up fast, I'll pay you back in no time!"

"...Very well, Host."

Before long, Li Tafan saw a pill, gleaming with golden light, materialize in the air before him. Without the slightest hesitation, he snatched it up, turning it between his fingers: "All I have to do is swallow this, and my face will completely change into anyone you've ever seen, right?"

"Correct." The system answered promptly.

"Perfect!" Li Tafan grinned, swallowing the pill in one gulp, "I want... Chen Moqing's face!"

Chen Moqing—the human race's Immortal Elder, this world's Sword Venerable, the pinnacle of the mortal realm, master of the sword, talisman, formation, and soul paths all at once.

Ever since he was a child, he'd heard this name over and over—how, three hundred years ago, the world had fallen into great chaos, and the Immortal Elder had sacrificed himself, using his own body to mend the great Dao, redeeming all living beings—he'd heard it so many times his ears had practically grown calluses from it.

As far as he was concerned, if that Chen Moqing hadn't had a Demon Emperor dao companion at the peak of Tribulation Crossing, if that Demon Emperor hadn't kept vigil at his grave for three hundred years, the world wouldn't be singing his praises so much, piling on all those exaggerated titles—it was all just to curry favor with the current Demon Emperor, wasn't it.

A few months back, after he'd awakened his eleven sword-path spiritual roots, talk of "Chen Moqing" had only grown louder around him, with plenty of people saying he was destined to become the next Immortal Elder, to him, it was all just a joke.

Become Chen Moqing? Wasn't that basically cursing him to an early death?

Still, he really was quite interested in Chen Moqing's dao companion, that Demon Emperor who stood at the very summit of the cultivation world.

As a child, with no talent to speak of, he'd endured no end of scorn from his own family; even back then, he'd understood that changing his own standing would take more than just his own effort—he'd need a powerful backer, too.

Maybe... he really could ride this face of his all the way to becoming the next Chen Moqing.

Li Tafan's face began to burn, a heat so intense it felt as though it would scorch straight through his skin and flesh; even knowing full well it was the disguise pill at work, he still couldn't help but writhe and scream.

He thrashed and howled in agony for a full half hour, until the system's voice finally rang out in his mind, saying "Done"—and in an instant, the burning sensation on his face vanished entirely.

Li Tafan cursed under his breath, pulling out a mirror with trembling hands, holding it up to his own face.

At once, he froze, staring for a long, long moment, before raising a hand in disbelief, touching his own face.

"...Damn, I'm actually this good-looking." Li Tafan muttered to himself, "No wonder that Demon Emperor couldn't let him go. Even after hundreds of years, people still won't shut up about him. Did he really land that Immortal Elder title just on looks alone?"

For some reason, once he crossed into the heart of the demon realm's territory, the system in his mind fell silent, but Li Tafan paid it no mind—he strutted about with this new face of his, and everything went exactly as smoothly as he'd imagined—

He came across a few demons, who looked at him with startled, astonished eyes. He pretended to have lost his memory, claiming he had no idea why he'd ended up at the edge of the demon realm, and had forgotten who he even was... and before long, those great demons led him to a towering, magnificent hall.

He had never seen a hall so grand and ancient; the demons stopped outside, and he walked alone up the long staircase, his excitement and trembling nerves mounting with every step, until he reached the great hall at its end.

Deep within the hall, a heavy darkness pressed down from above, faint candlelight flickering, its glow tracing out, inch by inch, a towering throne forged from iron swords, casting the cold throne in a dim, bloody hue, and illuminating the tall, sharp-edged figure seated high upon it.

The sovereign of the demon realm reclined sideways upon his throne, one hand propping up his chin, his cold black hair scattered carelessly across his dark gold robes, silver ornaments glinting faintly among his locks, giving off a sharp, piercing sheen that mirrored the cold light in his crimson eyes, like a blade cleaving straight through the darkness.

Li Tafan froze on the spot.

Before stepping into this hall, his heart had been full of excitement, certain he could meet the Demon Emperor this easily, certain that with this face, he already held victory in his grasp... and yet, now, standing in the darkness of this hall, it was as though he had fallen into an icy pit bristling with frozen spikes.

The Demon Emperor sat high upon his throne, looking down upon him with disdain, as though gazing upon some rotting insect.

The instant those crimson, blood-red demonic eyes fixed upon him, an unprecedented terror seized his heart in an iron grip; he wanted to flee at once, wanted to scream and run from this place—and in the very next instant, a sudden, searing agony tore across his face, wrenching from him a scream that could no longer be called human.

It was as though his entire face had been torn clean off.

...

At the border of the demon realm, in a remote mountain no one paid any mind to, a figure trembled, pressing two blood-soaked fingers desperately against his own face.

"Host..."

Waking from the agony, Li Tafan found that he had not died—but he had also, permanently, lost something of his own—

His face.

His face no longer had any features at all, only a sheet of raw crimson, unable to heal even with the pill the system had given him before... like some kind of monster!

The system told him this was the Demon Emperor's decree, impossible to break—except by exchanging a staggering number of points for a particular item.

He had no points left at all. Fortunately, he still had the system, and after repeated, desperate pleading, it finally offered him a way out.

"You may wager your soul in exchange for thirty thousand points," the system's voice flowed into his ear; its tone was as flat and unmoved as ever, and yet, somehow, he found it filled with warmth, "You are this world's protagonist, a child of fortune, and so, your soul is extremely precious. However, I would not recommend this course of action. Once you wager your soul, you will be bound to me permanently, and will never be able to return home."

"...I don't need to go home!"

It took Li Tafan only a moment to make up his mind.

"Thirty thousand points, that's enough for me to trade for plenty more items besides! System, help me, please help me! I want a face, a face as good-looking as Chen Moqing's!"

"It doesn't have to be exactly like his, just good-looking enough will do!"

He could never allow himself to go on living like some monster—but he had no wish to return to his old, ordinary self, either! He wanted to... become someone who would never fall short of that Chen Moqing!

The only reason the Demon Emperor hadn't killed him was surely because of this face! With a new face, and with his eleven sword-path spiritual roots, the next time he stood before the Demon Emperor as "Li Tafan," maybe, just maybe, he really could...

Li Tafan pressed his hands tightly over his face, his whole body trembling faintly, listening as the system confirmed its question three times over, and each time, he nodded without the slightest hesitation.

"Do it, system. Wager my future!"

"Transaction complete."

The moment the system's voice fell silent, darkness swept across his vision, as though a new face had truly settled over his own.

Then, his sight returned, and he saw his own "body"... lying on the ground, for some unknown reason.

His viewpoint drifted upward, beyond his control, as though he were floating in midair, and beside his "body," someone had appeared, with no warning at all.

An utterly ordinary-looking person, ordinary in build, unremarkable in every way, smiled as their eyes met his, letting out a sigh of pure delight: "Finally, this day has come..."

There was nothing remarkable about this person at all, from head to toe, except for one thing. His voice. It was the same as the system's.

Li Tafan watched, wide-eyed, as this person with the system's voice stood before him, extending his right hand: "Hello. My one hundred and ninety-second host."

"...Who are you..." It was a long while before Li Tafan heard his own voice ring out again.

Across from him, the man's smile remained just as bright as ever: "Me? My name is... Li Tu."

Li Tu—such a strange and yet familiar name; Li Tafan suddenly remembered, this was his own name, from his original world!

"No! You're not!" Had Li Tafan still possessed hands and feet in that moment, he would have already clutched his head and screamed; but in his current spirit-form, all he could do was bob up and down, like a frenzied flame, "I'm the real one! That's my name!"

"You can't possibly be Li Tu! If you're Li Tu, then who am I?!"

He roared, he howled in fury, and he was afraid, too—and what frightened him was not only this person who had suddenly appeared before him, but a faint, half-formed suspicion, one he had never entertained before—

"You are the original owner of this body." He heard the system say, calm and unhurried, pronouncing his death sentence, confirming that very suspicion, "There was never any transmigration. You have always, from the very start, been Li Tafan himself, the true child of fortune."

"...Impossible! Impossible! I clearly remember my past! I remember my parents, I remember everything about that world, these memories... whose memories are these?!"

The system—or rather, Li Tu—looked calmly at the wild, flickering will-o'-the-wisp before him, and grinned: "Mine."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than that ghostly flame stopped flickering entirely, as though frozen solid.

"Sorry for the deception, but there really is a person named Li Tu, and he really was a transmigrator, too—pulled into this world, forced to become an existence called a 'system'. Only by devouring the souls of ninety-nine children of fortune can I earn myself one more chance to become human again."

"Of course, it only counts if the child of fortune offers up their soul willingly, otherwise, it's useless."

"So, my one hundred and ninety-second host, you see, I've actually failed plenty of times before this, too."

"There, there, no need to cry so loudly. This was all your own choice, wasn't it? I did warn you... though, I suppose I may have given you a little nudge here and there, too. But I really did warn you."

Li Tu smiled, reaching out a hand, cupping the violently trembling, insignificant little wisp of soul-fire before him, opening his mouth—and swallowing it whole.

A child of fortune, a soul favored by Heavenly Dao—truly... quite the nourishing meal.

A pity, though, that the children of fortune favored by this world's flawed, counterfeit Heavenly Dao tended, more often than not, to already be flawed people themselves—their souls were particularly unpleasant to eat.

He had once found it puzzling, but came to understand it later—this was simply the perverse taste of this world's own version of Heavenly Dao, which took a certain delight in watching rotten, depraved people seize fortunes beyond their station, rise to great heights, and wreak havoc on this world as they pleased, grinding its mortal realm into ruin.

Someone as low and deceitful as himself—wasn't he, too, chosen by Heavenly Dao and dragged into this world, having ruined one hundred and ninety-two heaven's chosen, whether by shattering their families or destroying them body and soul, swallowing ninety-nine of their souls along the way, and yet facing no punishment at all for it.

In fact, he'd even earned himself a reward. His quota of ninety-nine souls met, he could now take all his accumulated points and go home.

Li Tu strolled unhurriedly out of the cave, transforming at once into a streak of long light, slipping through the void.

No one in this world could stop him, for his entire system of power had never belonged to this world in the first place, nor did it answer to this world's rule—it seemed this, too, was a privilege this world's own Heavenly Dao had granted him.

A clear, pleasant wind brushed past his face; Li Tu narrowed his eyes in contentment, murmuring to himself: "Finally, I can go home..."

"Oh? Is that so?"

A voice utterly without warmth pressed down from above; the color of the sky changed violently, crimson crashing down on every side!

Li Tu's figure stopped dead in its tracks; before he could even react, an agonizing pain tearing through his body swallowed him whole, wrenching a scream from him on the spot, before his very own horrified eyes, the body he had only just condensed was crushed into a mist of blood!

A feeble wisp of spirit drifted high in the sky, fleeing in a panic in every direction, unable to escape the gaze of a pair of crimson eyes fixed upon him!

Black hair, dark robes—the handsome, coldly menacing Demon Emperor stood poised high in the sky, looking down upon that worm of a creature with cold indifference amid the blood-red sky.

The spirit trembled violently. This "system," which had lain in wait within this world for who knew how many ages, now found his mind thrown into utter chaos.

...No wonder, no wonder his previous host had never been struck down and killed by the Demon Emperor on the spot!

From the very instant they had appeared before the Demon Emperor, he had already been discovered!

In the next instant, the feeble spirit, without the slightest hesitation, detonated itself outright!

The Demon Emperor's expression showed not the faintest ripple; his gaze swept across, locking instantly onto another location—

High above the demon realm, a rift in the void burst open, and a nearly transparent wisp of spirit appeared directly before the rift, slipping into the void!

Cross the void, reach the boundary wall, and he could go home!

With his points shielding him, there was no one here who could stop him!

The spirit blazed with brilliant light, nearly becoming a single beacon guiding the way through the darkness. Before him, the universe seemed vast and boundless, his to roam freely—

Deep within the void, a streak of verdant-gold sword-light came slashing down!

That blade of light, blue-green shot through with gold, tore through the fathomless darkness, splitting the very void itself open, cutting straight across his path forward!

The spirit came to a sudden, violent halt, transforming in an instant from a blazing, brilliant flame into a block of frozen ice.

In Li Tu's horrified field of vision, he saw, drifting down from the boundless darkness, the hem of an ink-wash robe shot through with gold, and with it, a figure he would never forget even in death.

It was... peak great perfection of Mahayana!

It was this world's Sword Venerable!

Three hundred years unseen, and in those three hundred years, he had already reached half a step from Tribulation Crossing!

"Oh? So it's you."

He heard that person's clear, pleasant laughter, and every single word of it felt like plunging him into an icy pit.

"Thank you, for showing me the way."

No sooner had the words fallen than the void shuddered once more, torn open by another long, deep fissure, revealing a crimson expanse of the demon realm beyond!

Against that blood-red backdrop stood a tall, dark figure, carrying with him an overwhelming aura of murderous intent—and yet, with a single glance, he froze in place.

Chen Moqing turned, and after three hundred years, for the very first time looking out beyond the void, saw the mortal world once more.

He saw his great demon.

In the next instant, the Demon Emperor's dark robes swept upward, as though transforming into a streak of flowing black flame, burning fiercely through the void, hurtling toward that figure without the slightest hesitation.

After three hundred years apart, Cang Shun spread his arms wide, and at last, folded his moon into his embrace.

——Just as he had, once before.

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