Jun Moxiao arrived above the Northern Sea. Gazing down at the boundless ocean, he couldn't resist shouting, "O sea! You're all water!"
He figured the sea must have every kind of seafood imaginable, so he decided to treat himself to a seafood feast. Seafood from a fantasy world had to taste better than what he'd eaten on Blue Star in his previous life.
Jun Moxiao landed on a beach, caught some shrimp and crabs from the sea, and grilled them. Having grown up eating all kinds of meat with Shi Hao, he'd learned not only to enjoy food but to cook it, too. He also kept plenty of seasonings in the System Space. Usually, when he was with Shi Hao, Jun Moxiao only had to eat; he never got a turn at cooking. Now that he was alone, he had to work with his own hands to keep himself well fed.
Sure enough, the fish and shrimp in this world tasted far better than those on Blue Star. They were incredibly fresh and delicious. After all, there was no pollution, and even the flesh contained spiritual energy. If these fish and shrimp were put up for sale on Blue Star, the rich would bid astronomical sums for them.
The Northern Sea was also known as the Forbidden Sea. Ghostly incidents often occurred here, much like Ghost Soldiers Crossing the Road. Black mist would frequently rise over the water, carrying roars and the sounds of battle, and Headless Knights, Ghost Ships, and other such things appeared from time to time.
Jun Moxiao wondered, Will I run into any of them?
And what about the Ruthless Great Emperor, who sets paper boats afloat downstream in the River of Time? Will I see her?
Just as these thoughts crossed Jun Moxiao's mind, gusts of eerie wind blew across the sea. An enormous black ship slowly sailed into view. Lanterns hung aboard it, but there was no one on deck, and everything was deathly still. The entire ship was pitch-black, giving it an utterly sinister, terrifying air. It looked a little like one of those skeleton ships from Pirates of the Caribbean.
With skill came courage, and Jun Moxiao jumped straight aboard.
Huh! Why hasn't anything happened? Even that creepy feeling from before is gone. How strange. Am I so powerful that all those ghosts and demons are afraid to come near me?
Since that was the case, there was nothing to fear. He simply took out a bottle of Monkey Wine and enjoyed his seafood, utterly at ease.
Jun Moxiao used the Heavenly Dao Eye to examine the mist below. Beyond it, a scene appeared before him: a woman wearing a ghost-face mask was setting little paper boats into a river. A while later, another woman's voice came through. "Ah! I'm the only one left."
Jun Moxiao blurted out, "Huh! Isn't that the Ruthless Great Emperor setting paper boats afloat? Is she looking for the Desolate Heaven Emperor to ask for help?"
The next instant, the empress turned and looked straight toward Jun Moxiao, exclaiming, "It's you!"
Her voice came across the River of Time, and he could clearly hear the excitement in it.
Jun Moxiao was completely bewildered. How does the Ruthless Great Emperor know me?
So he asked, "Aren't you the Ruthless Great Emperor? You know me?"
The empress tried to approach, but a sudden bolt of lightning shattered the scene before him.
Holy shit! What's going on? The Heavenly Dao is actually stopping her! Jun Moxiao reckoned the empress should probably have Immortal Emperor-level strength at this point. Since she actually knew him, did that mean he would later visit the world of Shrouding the Heavens?
Jun Moxiao asked the system, "Meng Die! What's going on? The Ruthless Great Emperor actually knows me?"
Meng Die replied, "Master! You'll understand in the future. Master has checked in at the Forbidden Sea. Your cultivation has advanced to the perfected Spirit Transformation Realm. Rewards: two black paper boats folded by the Ruthless Great Emperor and one pair of Flowing Cloud Boots, an Immortal King Weapon."
Jun Moxiao said, "Meng Die! Doesn't this mean I now have a karmic connection with the Ruthless Great Emperor? The Immortal King Weapon, the Flowing Cloud Boots, is pretty good, too."
Jun Moxiao took the two black paper boats and the Flowing Cloud Boots out of the system. Huh! Why are these women's shoes? They were delicately crafted and exquisite, with emerald-green and white patterns blending together across them.
Meng Die said, "Master! These are an Immortal King Weapon. You can give the shoes to someone else!"
Jun Moxiao immediately thought of someone. Wouldn't these be perfect for Sister Willow Deity? He'd wanted to get her a beautiful pair of shoes for ages, so she wouldn't always appear barefoot, floating everywhere.
Now he had a pair of Immortal King-grade Flowing Cloud Boots, and even their colors suited her perfectly. Whatever he wanted seemed to come right to him.
This system was truly thoughtful. It absolutely deserved a five-star review.
Jun Moxiao stopped dwelling on why the Ruthless Great Emperor knew him. Matters of the future could be dealt with in the future, so he continued drinking and eating seafood. When the mood struck him, he even sang a song from Blue Star, "Lonely Braveheart":
All are brave
The wound on your forehead, your differences, the mistakes you've made
None need to be hidden
I become the puppet, your mask, your self
They want to bring light to tame every monster
They say your wounds must be stitched closed, that no one loves a clown
Why can't solitude be glorious?
Only human imperfection deserves to be praised
He really had loved this song in his previous life, and singing it stirred something inside him.
"Pfft... hehehe..."
Just then, a silvery laugh rang out from above, filled with an irresistibly enchanting allure.
Jun Moxiao looked up and saw a breathtakingly beautiful woman with a devilishly stunning figure standing on the ship's mast. Every inch of her radiated temptation as she watched him with a thousand shades of charm.
Whoa! Jun Moxiao felt that a legendary fox spirit must look exactly like this.
Jun Moxiao knew she was the Witch, a fairly important supporting character in Perfect World. Sadly, she had later died in battle during the Dark Turmoil. In the original story, she and Shi Hao were close confidants, yet they could never become lovers. Many readers had found that deeply regrettable.
The Witch was lively, adorable, kindhearted, and so beautiful. Since he was here, he had to save her. If he didn't save a goddess like this, heaven would strike him down with lightning.
Jun Moxiao called up to the Witch, "Beautiful sister, aren't you afraid you'll catch a chill standing so high in the wind? Want to come down for a couple of drinks?"
The Witch giggled. "Hehe...! Little handsome brother, that song you just sang sounded wonderful! Aren't you scared, being here on the Forbidden Sea all alone?"
Whoa! That voice is far too seductive. I can't take it. She really deserves the name Heavenly Fox Fairy.
Jun Moxiao declared smugly, "Scared? What's there to be scared of? I'm incredibly strong. In all my travels, this great hero has never known the meaning of fear! There's a saying: that year, I stood with both hands in my pockets and didn't know what an opponent was."
"Pfft... hehe...!"
The Witch was amused by his cocky demeanor. Combined with the little fellow's flawless, slightly cherubic face, he looked so adorable that her heart melted.
She decided to get to know this boy properly. More importantly, he was only around ten years old, yet he dared to come to the Northern Sea alone. That piqued her interest enormously.
The Witch promptly flew down and approached Jun Moxiao with light, graceful steps, swaying enchantingly. She picked up the wine and took a gulp.
"I never expected you to have such fine Monkey Wine, little handsome brother!"
Jun Moxiao said, "Beautiful sister, don't call me little handsome brother. It gives me goosebumps. My name is Jun Moxiao. What should I call you?"
The Witch said, "So you're Jun Moxiao. You're that Invincible Handsome Guy from the Void God Realm, aren't you? Oh, what a memory I have. You even wrote, 'Drunk upon the battlefield, laugh not at me,' spelling out your name for everyone."
"As for me, I don't have a name. Everyone calls me the Witch."
Jun Moxiao feigned surprise. "The Witch? The Witch known as the Heavenly Fox Fairy? Oh my! So my beautiful sister is actually a fairy!"
Jun Moxiao continued, "Am I really that famous? Even a fairy from the Upper Realm knows about me?"
"Invincible Handsome Guy, your record in the Void God Realm is 'unmatched in all ages, never to be surpassed.' Almost everyone in the Lower Realm knows about you; very few have actually seen you. Now that I've met you, you really are an exceptionally handsome little fellow!"
"I'm nothing special. Fairy, you're from the Heaven Severing Sect in the Upper Realm. Why have you come to the Forbidden Sea?"
"To take a look at you, of course, and that Beast-Milk Baby. I heard you two are always together. Why isn't he here?"
"Beautiful sister, I feel like something's very wrong here! You must have some bad intentions toward me."
"Pfft...! Little handsome brother, of course I have intentions toward you. How about coming with me? There are lots of lovely young ladies where I live."
The Witch chuckled and reached out with her delicate hand to gently pinch Jun Moxiao's cheek.
"I'd like to invite both of you to join the Heaven Severing Sect. What do you think? I'll introduce you to some beautiful fairy sisters."
Jun Moxiao pushed the Witch's wandering hand away and began chatting with her. Once he heard that she actually wanted to recruit him into the Heaven Severing Sect, he promptly refused. Their little temple couldn't possibly accommodate a great Buddha like him.
"Beautiful sister, you're beautiful, and your dreams are pretty beautiful, too. I'm happy to be friends, but forget about joining the Heaven Severing Sect. Besides, Fairy Sister, this is only a spirit body. You're not showing any sincerity at all."
The Witch slipped into full drama-queen mode, clasped both hands over her heart, and said sorrowfully, "Ah! To think my sincere invitation would be so heartlessly rejected by this little handsome brother. My heart is breaking."
Jun Moxiao shook his head. "Oh, beautiful sister, can you be serious for a moment? You don't even know how to act. You haven't shed a single tear. Stop the performance for now and try my grilled lobster."
The Witch made herself at home. "I'll call you Xiaoxiao! Are you here to fight for the Kun Peng Inheritance, too?"
Jun Moxiao said, "If I made a move, what chance would anyone else have? My brother Hao Tian can handle it. Once he gets it, I can just learn it from him!"
The Witch said, "Xiaoxiao, you're so wicked! Come on, let's go rob people together."
Without waiting for Jun Moxiao to agree, she took his hand and flew toward the Kunpeng Nest.
Jun Moxiao said, "I never expected my beautiful sister to enjoy robbery, too. But how long can this spirit body of yours last?"
The Witch said, "This isn't a spirit body. It's the Primary and Secondary Bodies technique, and this body is a secondary body. The Primary Body and secondary body think differently and have different personalities."
At the mention of primary and secondary bodies, Jun Moxiao wondered whether this was something like a split personality. Two souls in one body-rather interesting.
Jun Moxiao teased, "Isn't that just schizophrenia? Splitting two personalities out of one mind."
The Witch paused. "Schizophrenia? It really is more or less what you described."
Jun Moxiao spouted nonsense with a perfectly straight face. "Schizophrenia is an illness. Of course, I'm not talking about you! I just feel that your Primary and Secondary Bodies cultivation method isn't very good, beautiful sister."
The Witch said irritably, "Xiaoxiao! Is that any way to talk about your sister? I think you're talking nonsense."
Jun Moxiao said, "Beautiful sister, I think you're cultivating Primary and Secondary Bodies purely for fun."
The Witch said, "Xiaoxiao, you've actually hit the mark. I'm competing with a certain sworn rival. Whatever she has, I have to have, too."
Jun Moxiao said, "All right! You're just trying to one-up someone. There's really no point to it."
The system issued a notification: "Checked in with the Witch. Master's cultivation has advanced to the Inscription Realm. Obtained the Great Unity Immortal Art, one of the Ten Great Immortal Arts of the Primordial World (the system has adapted it into an Immortal Emperor art for Perfect World)."
Jun Moxiao said, "Holy shit! Meng Die, isn't this reward ridiculously powerful? The Great Unity Immortal Art is what Patriarch Bodhi taught Sun Wukong in Journey to the West!"
I've struck it rich! I've struck it rich! An Immortal Emperor art! If word of this got out, it would shake the entire world.
Before you continue