614. Moths to a Flame

"Daoist He Ming is still alive?"

Xiya had naturally come into contact with many things related to Daoist He Ming during her time in otherworldly realms. In her understanding, Daoist He Ming should have ascended long ago, his will becoming an evil godlike existence in one of those otherworldly realms, with only his remains left to be fought over.

As far as the "present-day" Ruined City was concerned, he had been a figure from at least several centuries ago. How could he still be alive?

"To be precise, if you define death as the cessation of consciousness, then Daoist He Ming has never died. If you define death as abandoning the physical body, then Daoist He Ming died long ago."

Stone shook the ash from his pipe.

"I don't like the way you talk."

Xiya was blunt. At least Trist would not speak in such obscure and ambiguous terms.

"I'm sorry, Miss Xiya. My profession has made me accustomed to maintaining an air of mystery. If stating only half the truth is enough to achieve my objective, then the other half can be sold for a good price. Of course, in the presence of a Chosen of the Gods, I'll be more careful."

Stone explained that he meant no ill will, then continued.

"According to my investigation with Mr. Trist, Daoist He Ming did indeed ascend. The so-called ascension is the same as sublimation. He acquired a great deal of heavily contaminated knowledge in the Ruined City and may even have directly confronted certain Great Beings. When that contamination reached a certain threshold, he lost his human body and became an existence like those monsters."

"His human remains contained an enormous amount of contamination. His disciples divided them up and kept them in their possession. Sometimes, they appeared for sale