Chapter 366
"That's true, this matter ended too quickly, some news hasn't even had a chance to reach you yet." Ai Yue paused for a moment, then realized what was happening and gave a subtle look. "Believe me, the real show is yet to come."
"Your former acquaintances are no longer limited to just one person on the Luofu Xianzhou."
Chapter 51 Gu, kill me
"Are you done with work?"
Some time later, in the Prison of Chains, Ai Yue, who had been waiting for a long time, finally saw Jing Yuan again.
Although the time since their last separation was not long, judging from Jing Yuan's state, he had clearly received information that was unimaginable to ordinary people during this period.
This is quite normal, after all, anyone would find it hard to calm down when they see that the former Luofu Sword Master, who had been expelled from the Xianzhou Alliance, has returned to the Luofu Xianzhou without anyone noticing, and even claims to have found a way to kill the Plague that Brings Calamity, and wants to use this as a reason to send a message to the Six Imperators.
Not to mention, Jing Yuan is also the other party's disciple, which makes the current situation even more complicated.
The reason Ai Yue didn't get involved and instead hid in Ren's cell was partly because he didn't like these melodramatic plots, and partly because, given his current status, it wasn't appropriate for him to get too involved in the affairs of the Xianzhou Alliance.
Or rather, now is not the best time.
"Hmm." Jing Yuan nodded, his face no longer showing its usual nonchalance and languor, but instead heavy and serious. "Regarding that Rakshasa man and Jingliu..."
"If I wanted to know these things, I wouldn't be here," Ai Yue waved his hand, stopping Jing Yuan from continuing. "Whether it's the internal affairs of the Xianzhou Alliance or the schemes involving the Star God, those are not things I need to concern myself with."
Compared to the Celestial Boat people's hatred for the Star God of Abundance, to the point of calling him the Plague that Brings Calamity, Ai Yue did not have much ill will towards this star god who never hesitated to spread miracles. Based on the current research on star gods, it is clear that the will of these star gods cannot overcome the characteristics of destiny, which leads to many things being unavoidable even for the star gods.
Moreover, according to Ai Yue's current research results, the Star God of Abundance did indeed grant the wishes of the Immortal Ship people, and this granting was not like some corrupted wish-granting machines that distorted the essence of the wishes, but rather truly brought the Immortal Ship people a long lifespan.
As for the Mara-struck, that's actually a problem caused by the inherent limitations of the Immortal Ship's performance.
In other words, it was precisely because the Star God of Abundance fulfilled the wishes of the Immortal Ship people with high quality and quantity that the Mara-struck appeared. If He had not granted the Immortal Ship people such a long lifespan, they would not have lived long enough for the Mara-struck to manifest.
Other people who have received the Blessing of Abundance also experience similar situations to varying degrees. For example, although the Buli have gained powerful bodies, they are also prone to going berserk and losing their minds. Rather than saying that these are side effects of the Blessing of Abundance, it is more accurate to say that they are caused by the limitations of the race itself.
Therefore, from this perspective, it seems that the people of the Mara-struck Ship have brought this upon themselves, and their actions of attacking the Star God of Abundance are seen by many as "biting the hand that feeds them." For example, in the world that was still a game for Ai Yue, this once sparked a lot of discussion.
However, preventing more people from being harmed by the Blessing of Abundance cannot be considered a wrong action. But the Star God of Abundance clearly cannot change his generous nature, and the other people of Abundance have indeed shown crazy and cruel traits. So the situation here can be described as a complete mess.
Most people would run away from such a situation, so why would they willingly get involved?
Moreover, in Ai Yue's view, the abundant blessings leading to the Hunt were themselves a manifestation of cause and effect. He could intervene in a small, insignificant way, but if he were to become completely involved...
He did indeed possess power comparable to that of a star god, but that didn't mean he could dominate the future war of the gods. Before he grew to the point where he could transcend the rules of fate, it was better for him to be cautious.
But since we've encountered this situation, we should definitely lend a hand if we can.
"In short, thank you." Seeing Ai Yue's obvious refusal, Jing Yuan naturally didn't continue the topic, but simply nodded in acknowledgment. "I noticed earlier that Jingliu's condition... is much better."
In the disaster that nearly destroyed the Luofu Xianzhou, Jingliu suffered a severe mental shock and teetered on the edge of Mara-struck, even showing signs of demonic possession several times. Jing Yuan once had to face the cruel choice of "killing his Esteemed Teacher" because of this situation.
But this time when they met, he found that Jingliu was in much better condition. Not only was he able to express his opinions more calmly and clearly, but he also did not show any signs of mental instability when Jing Yuan deliberately brought up the topic of the past.
Not only that, the other person even went along with his topic for a few more words, and the manner in which they spoke almost made Jing Yuan think that his former master had returned.
Unfortunately, what has already happened cannot be changed, and no matter how similar things may seem, they can never go back to the past.
"It's nothing, and besides, it's a good sample for studying Mara-struck." Ai Yue waved his hand. "Speaking of which, what about that Rakshasa?"
"Mr. Rakshasa has cleared his name and has been released from the Prison of Chains," Jing Yuan replied. "Unlike my teacher, he has no criminal record and should not be staying here. Moreover, he brought such a 'gift,' so he deserves to be treated as a guest."
"What a pity. If you ask me, this kind of guy is the one who should be locked up the most... Never mind, I was just joking," Ai Yue chuckled, then changed the subject. "Speaking of which, didn't you tell her that Ren is here?"
"Of course not, although it's probably impossible to hide it forever, but we'll delay it as long as possible." Jing Yuan couldn't help but feel a headache coming on at the thought of what might happen if Ren and Jingliu met. "And Dan Heng... Honestly, should I be urging you to leave as soon as possible?"
Ai Yue glanced at Jing Yuan, then at the person still unconscious not far away. "Should I leave?"
"Never mind what I said." Jing Yuan quickly shook his head, then smoothly steered the conversation to Ren, "So, how is he now?"
"It's terrible, worse than I thought, far more troublesome than the Mara-struck of the Immortal Ship people." Ai Yue also looked at Ren, his tone filled with helplessness. "Simply put, he's no longer human, but... a collection of Blessing of Abundance."
"Because his body is no longer that of a normal living being, he possesses such a life force that can be described as resurrection, able to recover from any injury," Ai Yue paused, then continued, "But for the same reason, his will is deeply intertwined with the Blessing of Abundance, inseparable from it."
To remove the Blessing of Abundance from the blade, there seems to be no other way than to kill the opponent, but this is clearly not the result Ai Yue wants.
Killing Blade wasn't difficult for him, but Blade's existence was an excellent example for him. If he could solve the problem of Blessing of Abundance while preserving the opponent's life, then the problem of the Immortal Ship people would no longer be a problem.
At the same time, the long-haired man regained consciousness and slowly raised his head. "It seems that Kafka overestimated you. Can such a small problem really stump you?"
Ren's voice sounded somewhat hoarse, clearly indicating that he was not in good condition, but even so he still mocked Ai Yue, which only showed that he was truly seeking death.
"I've said it before, killing you isn't difficult; the difficult part is keeping you alive." Ai Yue didn't care about Ren's sarcasm, because this wasn't the first time he'd said something like this. "Or are you planning to evade your guilt and end it all with your death?"
Upon hearing this, Ren fell silent. He lowered his head, making it difficult to see his expression. Clearly, Ai Yue's words had struck a nerve.
As someone who has committed heinous crimes, Ren knows perfectly well that everything he is in now is his own fault. Even though he has experienced the pain of death countless times, he still cannot stand tall and say that he has atoned for his sins.
"That's why I said you just need to be a guinea pig." Ai Yue pressed on while the iron was hot, "If we can find a solution to the Mara-struck based on the data we get from you, that would be a contribution on your part, wouldn't it?"
Blade did not respond; it was unclear whether he had chosen to remain silent or had simply passed out again.
Throughout this process, Jing Yuan remained silent. He was somewhat unsure how to face his friend, but as the general of the Jing Yuan Luofu Xianzhou, he had to do what he had to do, even if it was awkward. "Ren, I need your help with a question—where is your accomplice Kafka?"
With their current tasks temporarily completed, the Stellaron Hunters' question resurfaced—why were these dangerous individuals, who had earned a notorious reputation throughout the universe, in Luofu? According to the Stellar Train, they came to Luofu at the request of Kafka, but why would she do that?
The behavior of the Stellaron Hunters is clearly illogical, because so far they have not gained any benefit from it, but instead have to take on huge risks. No normal person would do such a thing.
If the Stellaron Hunters were a passionate and proactive force of order like the Nameless Ones, it could be explained as "helping those in need." But these guys chasing after Star Cores are clearly not chivalrous figures. So why are they doing this?
Jing Yuan was unable to ascertain the other party's motives, which was why he urgently needed to find the current core members of the Stellaron Hunters to get to the bottom of things.
"Heh, you don't know?" Ren's reaction to Jing Yuan's question was equally indifferent. He raised his chin and looked at Ai Yue, "Then why don't you ask him?"
Jing Yuan paused for a moment, then looked at Ai Yue.
"Oh, Kafka is next door." Ai Yue pointed to the cell next to him. "We originally planned to keep her in the Divination Department, but Fu Xuan went to the Divinity Manor to oversee things, so we were afraid we wouldn't be able to keep an eye on her and sent her to the Prison of Chains."
How come no one notified me of something this big?
Jing Yuan was about to ask this question, but in the end he didn't say anything.
Thinking about it carefully, compared to all the messy things like the rebirth of Jianmu, the explosion of the star core, the invasion of the Great Extinguisher, and the return of Jingliu, capturing a Stellaron Hunters doesn't seem like such a big deal.
It seems that Luofu has been at peace for too long, causing it to become so complacent.
Jing Yuan shook his head, and soon he and Ai Yue arrived at the cell next door. There, Kafka was sitting leisurely in a chair, swirling the wine in her glass. She didn't look like a prisoner at all, but rather like someone on vacation.
In fact, that was pretty much the case. As someone who cooperated fully with the Immortal Boat's work, and with Ai Yue acting as her guarantor, Kafka was not subject to much restriction in the Prison of Chains. The fact that she remained so well-behaved despite being able to come and go freely also demonstrated her attitude.
"The reason?" Faced with Jing Yuan's question, Kafka smiled slightly, "General, you are so insightful, surely you haven't figured out the reason?"
"I do have some inferences, but I lack strong evidence, which is why I need to seek answers from you." Jing Yuan stared at the other party's calm expression. "Stellaron Hunters, what exactly do you intend to obtain from the Immortal Ship?"
"We ask for nothing more." Despite Jing Yuan's intensely piercing gaze, Kafka remained composed, as if the pressure had no effect on her. "To put it bluntly, the current outcome is exactly what we want."
At this point, she revealed a meaningful smile, "This is a win-win-win situation... no, a win-win-four situation. Is the General not satisfied?"
"So, you're after the Stellar Train?" Although the other party still didn't give a direct answer, Jing Yuan still caught some clues. "I heard that Miss A Xing has a connection with you, so the Stellaron Hunters are after her?"
Kafka was silent for a moment, then shook her head. "I didn't say anything."
Even so, her attitude was already quite clear.
After getting the answer he wanted, Jing Yuan breathed a sigh of relief. After all, the Stellaron Hunters were indeed a dangerous organization, but as long as they could determine the logic behind their actions, they could greatly reduce the danger they posed.
"You may leave now, Miss Kafka." After a moment's consideration, Jing Yuan nodded to her. "The Luofu Xianzhou is fair in its rewards and punishments. Objectively speaking, you have indeed done Luo Fu a favor, and we must repay you. As long as the Stellaron Hunters do not commit any illegal or criminal acts on the Luofu Xianzhou, I can turn a blind eye to your existence."
"That's wonderful," Kafka smiled, seemingly having foreseen this outcome. "However, until A-Ren's matter is resolved, I think it's best for everyone if I stay here, isn't it?"
Back in Blade's room, Jing Yuan couldn't help but stroke his chin. "Why do I feel like this so-called Stellaron Hunters isn't as dangerous as the rumors say?"
They're even a little too friendly... Are the Stellaron Hunters really this easygoing organization?
"Heh." Upon hearing this, the black-haired man beside him couldn't help but let out a cold laugh. "Don't you even look at who's standing next to you?"
Ai Yue blinked, giving an innocent look.
What's it to me?
Chapter 52 Would it be foolish not to cling to a powerful figure?
Ever since being found by Pardofelis on Twilight Street, Ai Yue has been able to roam freely with the help of the system, and has hardly encountered anything that can be described as troublesome.
But he now has to admit that this Gou Ba Fate Power is indeed a bit difficult to deal with.
Perhaps because his previous exchanges with Amber Lord and Boshizun were too "smooth" (although strictly speaking, Ai Yue didn't get much valuable information from the two star gods), coupled with the Power of Light could simulate the effect of the power of destiny to a certain extent, Ai Yue couldn't help but think that "destiny is nothing more than this."
Even if the similarity between the two can reach 99%, it is still just similar, not the same. Since they are not the same, it is destined that there are some things that cannot be solved by the Power of Light.
For example, the curse of immortality on Blade.
After failing once again and nearly blowing his opponent to smithereens, Ai Yue temporarily stopped his experiment and turned his attention to the experimental data on the other side.
Repeated experiments made him realize one thing: if he continued like this, he would eventually fulfill Blade's wish and kill him completely.
In fact, Ai Yue is capable of doing this now, but that is not his goal. What he wants to do is to completely solve the problem of the Blessing of Abundance by studying the blade, and incidentally turn him back into a normal person.
If Ai Yue accidentally kills someone while trying to save them, he'll lose face.
"Failed again?"
The man, having regained consciousness, looked at Ai Yue, who was busy not far away, and naturally understood the outcome of this attempt. "You really are persistent."
"At least we've achieved some results," Ai Yue glanced back at him, "Look at you, you can still stay rational, isn't that good?"
Although the experiments all ended in failure, Ai Yue still managed to learn something from them. Now he can use the Power of Light to suppress the speed of Blade's body's self-healing and reduce the pain Blade experiences during the process. It is precisely because of this that Blade is able to remain conscious and not fall into chaos.
Normally, he needs to rely on Kafka's "word magic" to barely maintain himself.
"Heh, being sober isn't a good thing for me." Blade sneered, his tone filled with negativity. "After all, at times like this, past memories become incredibly vivid."
Ai Yue did not respond to his words, partly because theoretically he shouldn't know these things now, and partly because he didn't want to get involved in such complicated matters.
"What you're doing is pointless." Seeing that Ai Yue didn't speak, Ren paused for a moment, then spoke up again, "Even if you could heal me, I would choose death, so why not just destroy me? I know you have that ability."
"After you're healed, how you squander your life is your own business." Ai Yue wasn't surprised by Ren's words; he knew this person had no will to live. "I just need to get the necessary results from you; don't worry too much about it."
"Then I'm relieved." Ren nodded slightly, seemingly interpreting Ai Yue's words in a way that wasn't clear to her. "I thought you were the more compassionate type."
"How did Kafka describe me to you that made you think this way?" Ai Yue raised an eyebrow upon hearing this, but then looked thoughtful. "Well, I have to admit, the word isn't entirely wrong, but even so, 'compassion' doesn't mean meddling in everything, does it?"
Ai Yue had no intention of commenting on Ren's life. This former weapon-forging genius chose to take a risk to save his friend from tragedy, but ended up causing an even greater tragedy. This made him completely despair of his life. For such a person, death might not be such a bad thing.
Under these circumstances, there's no point in continuing to persuade him. It's better to treat him first and then make plans later. Anyway, even if Ai Yue can't convince the other party himself, there's still Jing Yuan, Dan Heng, Kafka.
Thinking of this, Ai Yue stopped speaking, and Ren also fell silent again, seemingly lost in thought. Thus, the nominal prison once more fell into silence.
After reorganizing the experimental data, Ai Yue gradually found a solution. In fact, he had found a way to "cure" the blade before, but those solutions could not eradicate it, so they could not achieve the effect that Ai Yue wanted.
For example, Ai Yue could "infuse power" into Ren, using a massive amount of Power of Light to strengthen Ren and forcibly dilute the proportion of the Undying Curse in Ren's body with a numerical advantage, until the Undying Curse could no longer affect him—according to calculations, as long as Ren has the strength to rival the Commander, he can achieve such an effect.
The other method is much more complicated, but it is closer to the result Ai Yue wants most—he can perform an incredibly precise "surgery" to separate the blade's consciousness from his body, which has been completely assimilated by the Power of Abundance, and then create a brand new body for him, and then insert the consciousness into it.
However, it is obvious that no matter which solution is chosen, they all bypass the most crucial issue, namely the Power of Abundance itself. If this blessing cannot be fully understood, then eliminating the Mara-struck is just empty talk.
Ai Yue could expend a great deal of energy and effort to tailor a treatment plan for Ren, but how many Immortal Ship people are there in the entire Luo Fu? What about the entire Xianzhou Alliance? Was he supposed to save them one by one?
The answer is, of course, no. As a scholar, it would be unqualified to relieve the suffering of others through such inefficient means as primitive people.
"Come on, let's try again."
After organizing the experimental data, Ai Yue had a new idea. He came to Ren again, but this time he didn't take out any random equipment. Instead, he simply placed his hand on Ren's forehead.
"What are you going to do?" Blade looked at him with a strange expression. "Abandon technological means and turn to the occult?"
"You do know quite a bit, but those two things don't contradict each other." Ai Yue shrugged. "As for what I'm going to do... well, just grit your teeth and bear with it for now."
The next second, Ren saw the person in front of him transform into pure white particles of light, mysteriously disappearing into his body.
"This mere Blessing of Abundance, I'll devour it raw!"
Two powerful forces erupted within Ren's body, and intense pain instantly overwhelmed the man's already numb nerves, to the point that he almost immediately fainted.
Even so, a smile appeared on his face.
You're something else, it even hurts more than usual...
With this somewhat inexplicable thought, and a slight expectation that he himself could hardly perceive, the man's consciousness sank into darkness.
Meanwhile, Jing Yuan, in a daze, knocked over his teacup. He blinked, wondering if this sudden turn of events foreshadowed something.
"Jing Yuan? Jing Yuan!" Sitting opposite him was the petite Tai Fu Xuan, whose temperament and abilities were exactly the opposite of his. She looked at the dazed Jing Yuan with a hint of doubt in her eyes, "You, did you fall asleep again? Did you even hear what I just said?"
"That's not quite right. I've always trusted Fu Qing's abilities. This so-called work report is just a formality; there's no need to take it so seriously." Jing Yuan, having snapped out of his reverie, tidied the table, a lazy expression returning to his face. "So... uh, where were we?"
"I knew it." Fu Xuan sighed helplessly, but this time he surprisingly didn't take the opportunity to say anything about asking the other party to step down. Instead, he got back to business, "Now that the current matters have been dealt with, let's talk about the plans for the future, shall we?"
The girl paused for a moment, then looked directly into Jing Yuan's eyes. "What exactly are you planning to do?"
"Fu Qing a man of unparalleled wisdom and has the ability to deduce all things from the Qiong Guan Formation, how could he ask such a question?" Jing Yuan raised an eyebrow, a puzzled expression on his face. "Didn't you do any divination?"