flstandardbreds Chapter 254 The Foundation of Cooperation
Chapter 254 The Foundation of Cooperation
In a deserted oasis, Ning Xiaoxi leaned back in a rocking chair. Ten masks floated above her head, complete with head, body, limbs, torso, soul, demonic source, and internal organs. How could she rebuild her physical body?
It seems a bit difficult.
Just as she was pondering how to forge these ten masks into a complete physical body, a strange chill surged through her. Ning Xiaoxi abruptly sat up, looking towards the northeast. It was the "person" who had injured her on the icy plains—no, that should be Hou Qing's clone. Was this chill emanating from Hou Qing?
As she sat up, the ten masks floated upwards. Warm air currents connected the masks in the middle, stringing them together like a necklace. The air currents were fluid and alive, merging with the cold air coming from afar. At the point where the heat and cold met, a light mist rose, dreamlike and ethereal.
Ning Xiaoxi quietly watched the interaction between the ten masks and the coldness, even the spiderweb-like writing and patterns on the masks became much clearer and deeper.
With the support of the heat, the cold gradually intensified. This heat and cold were like a communication between Nüba and Houqing across the distance, and gradually they took on a stimulating meaning. Back and forth, sometimes the heat impacted the cold and made it retreat, and sometimes the cold overwhelmed the heat, even impacting the heat in the middle of the mask.
"Why won't you listen to me? Your physical body and soul have been torn apart. If this continues, you will truly vanish into nothingness." The angry voice of the man suddenly pierced the air, its coldness rising and falling like a man's vocal cords.
"Brother has already done too much for me, I don't want to burden him anymore." The sorrowful female voice was soft and distant. "Now, my body and soul are both broken. What use is it to become a demon? I have been eaten by humans and sealed for thousands of years. I am already living a life worse than death. Wouldn't it be a kind of liberation to merge into the world?"
"Hmph, the human race is shameless, betraying the alliance with my demon race. Even if I die, I will make them pay the price."
"Brother, haven't you come to terms with it yet? The rise of the human race is an unstoppable trend. You have the ability to transform into a zombie, so you can hide among the humans. Even without spiritual power, you can still live forever. Don't risk your life for pointless conflicts."
"Humans can exist in this world, so let's use human bodies. I've found a suitable partner to live in, borrowing his body. Although I can't replace him for now, I can come and go freely in the Celestial Master's Pavilion." The man's voice was filled with disdain. "The reason humans can exist in this world is only because of their short lifespan. They've been passed down from generation to generation, a mere thousand years. Look at what's left of humanity now?"
“Indeed, these are all things that our ancestors have already mastered, and they’re still so smug about them!” Ning Xiaoxi murmured softly.
"Who?" A sudden chill enveloped all the masks, protecting them.
Ning Xiaoxi's eyes lit up as she looked up at the mask. "You can hear me?"
"Who are you?" The chill was intensifying.
"Brother, no, it's too taxing," the woman said worriedly.
Ning Xiaoxi pouted, "All I did was set fire to the Corrupted Thorn Demon, and you almost killed me. Now you're pretending not to know me?"
"It was you?" Leng Yi froze for a moment, then subsided considerably. Recalling the clone that had been shattered by a slap, he felt somewhat wary. "How could you have overheard my conversation with Ba'er?"
Ning Xiaoxi leaned back in the recliner helplessly, looking up because she was too tired. "Because these ten masks are the ones I collected."
The heat and cold air seemed to freeze, and the ten masks simultaneously adjusted their orientation to face Ning Xiaoxi on the recliner below, as if they could see her through the masks.
Ning Xiaoxi felt a little uncomfortable. "What? Can you see me?"
All ten masks shook their heads simultaneously.
"Oh my god, this is too much! It's the middle of the night, it's really scary."
The ten masks remained still.
"Let's just communicate normally, okay?" Ning Xiaoxi muttered again.
"Are you a Taoist master?"
"Yes. You really are Hou Qing."
The man's voice sounded unsure of her meaning, "Is this even fake?"
Ning Xiaoxi didn't want to talk. Whether directly or indirectly, she had killed three of its demon generals, and she didn't want to be remembered.
Who saved you that time?
"Save me? What do you mean save me? You mean the time you chased me? That was because I was fast and had an escape formation that allowed me to evade your pursuit. If someone really saved me, I would have turned the tables and killed them all."
"How do you know it was me who killed you that time?"
Ning Xiaoxi replied dryly, "Because my senses are superb! Your aura is so obvious, how could I not recognize you?"
The coldness subsided, and a gentle warmth flowed, making the patterns on the mask seem to glow. "Thank you for collecting my remains."
“But you’re very strange.” Ning Xiaoxi stared at the lifelike mask, feeling a sense of unease. “Your soul was possessed and enslaved by Huanmeng, becoming her vessel. Do you remember?”
A gentle smile suddenly appeared on the mask that now had facial features. "I remember, when I awoke, I was in a strange space. Originally, I was supposed to perish along with Huanmeng. But later, Chaos released me, exchanging Huanmeng's death for my life."
Ning Xiaoxi looked at the smiling mask and asked, "You think this is life?"
"Chaos has woken up?" the male voice interjected, then changed the subject, "Chaos saved you back then." This time he was very certain.
Ning Xiaoxi didn't have time to pay attention to it. "Huanmeng's death brought you life, but what about Jiufeng?"
The Demon Source Mask flickered, taking on a slight red hue, which was quite noticeable in the night.
As expected, Chaos sacrificed the life souls of two powerful human beings to exchange for the remnant souls of Nuwa and Jiufeng, making their opposing stance of life and death all too obvious.
"So you all know what happened after that?"
A puzzled expression appeared on the face mask. "We were placed in a ruin and couldn't move. I could see the other parts of my body, but I couldn't connect them. It wasn't until the ten masks were completed that I was able to connect my complete consciousness today." As he spoke, the smile on the mask became more pronounced. "I never expected to be able to connect with my brother. It's a complete surprise."
Ning Xiaoxi was also confused about what was going on. This was tens of thousands of miles away, yet they were able to connect so miraculously. However, it seemed that if they stayed inside the cave, they wouldn't be able to sense what was happening outside, which was good.
Hou Qing seemed to only then realize the issue of distance, "Where are you?"
Ten masks shook their heads.
Ning Xiaoxi looked at the obvious pleading expression on the face mask with annoyance. It's just a mask, how can you have such a rich expression? "In the desert. I just collected your sister's remains and am studying how to rebuild her physical body."