Chapter 113 Skill 2: Long Time No See
"Master has sent another letter!"
Xu Xing carefully put away the spiritual message. This time, his master said that she had arrived in the demon realm and been promoted to a high-ranking position, and that they should not worry.
Shen Du said softly, "Yes, I already told Master about your ten-year agreement with King You last time."
For Fu Shuang, who has lived for over a thousand years, ten years is but a blink of an eye. Therefore, knowing that they are safe and sound, she has no intention of urging them and has only sent two messages in total.
Calculating the time, they have already been in the Netherworld for six years, and they will be able to leave in four more years.
Actually, the underworld is quite interesting. Prince Su Jing doesn't have to inherit the throne of the King of You, so he spends his days eating, drinking, and having fun. Xu Xing would also go out and play with him during his busy breaks.
If he didn't miss his master so much, and if there wasn't any spiritual energy here, Xu Xing would have been willing to stay for a few more years.
"Xu Xing! Are you alright now?"
Just as Xu Xing was thinking of Su Jing, he heard his voice outside the courtyard. Xu Xing pulled Chen Du along, "Let's go fishing in the River Styx!"
The River Styx is also a river. Once, while passing by the Bridge of Helplessness, Xu Xing suddenly had the idea to cast his fishing rod in the River Styx. After that, he couldn't stop fishing and even caught the funerary artifacts that King You had lost five hundred years ago.
After demonstrating his unparalleled fishing skills, Su Jing looked at Xu Xing with eyes that could only be described as adoration, and he would drag Xu Xing out fishing whenever he had a spare moment.
Even Xu Zhen, who had been patiently waiting in the underworld, fell in love with this form of entertainment.
Although Shen Du wasn't fond of this kind of thing, he always accompanied Xu Xing. Unlike Shui Yunxian, this time he could stay by Xu Xing's side openly without worrying about his bad luck affecting her.
There are actually no fish in the River Styx, but there are many strange things. Funerary objects are the most common, and there are also many dazed and confused ghosts that have been submerged at the bottom of the river for many years. They have helped the King of You settle many old scores.
"There are so many new souls today..."
Su Jing peeked out and watched as the new souls of the Netherworld Guards and Yaksha Ghost Generals were driven to different levels of the Underworld. He muttered, "Even the Yellow Springs can't hold all of them."
"They still haven't found out?"
Xu Xing also knew that in recent years, there had been many unexplained deaths of beings from all walks of life. The royal family of ghosts was not allowed to leave the underworld, but it seemed that the reason why some of the spirits and ghosts that the King of the Underworld had arranged to stay outside had not been found out.
"Yes, Father is so annoyed, but we have a clue. It seems to be the work of the Demon Realm again."
Su Jing complained, "The demons are the most annoying. Every time they make a move, the Netherworld will have a lot more ghosts."
Su Jing wasn't born when the war between immortals and demons took place, but he later learned about the tragedy from records. It is said that during that time, the Bridge of Helplessness was blocked by water, and many souls had nowhere to go, so they had to jump into the River Styx.
A considerable number of the spirits were not retrieved and were taken by the ruthless demons who used them to cultivate demonic arts.
“Each race has its own set of survival rules, but the demons burn, kill, and plunder, which goes against the laws of nature. However, we are also ruthless towards these demons. The yin spirits in the Soul Refining Cauldron are basically evil demons.”
Xu Zhen also sighed, "What goes around comes around, and retribution is inevitable."
Xu Xing glanced at him, and couldn't help but think of Xu Zhen's death back then.
It is said that he died after being bitten by a poisonous snake. Based on the accounts of the villagers in Xiahe Village, Xu Xing speculated that the poisonous snake was probably a snake demon, perhaps arranged by a demon clan that was at odds with Sheng Qing.
Xu Xing was puzzled. If they had discovered her existence, they should have killed her or taken her away. Why would they attack a mortal?
She had also tried to ask Xu Zhen about this, but he was unwilling to bring it up. Whenever Xu Xing tried to investigate, Xu Zhen's soul would tremble and avoid the topic.
After a while, Xu Xing didn't dare to ask anymore, but he had a bold guess in his heart: could it be that the one who hurt Xu Zhen was actually Sheng Qing?
"What are you daydreaming about?! They've taken the bait!"
"nothing."
Xu Xing came to her senses and realized that the pole was extremely heavy. She quickly pulled back with all her might, and Chen Du also stepped forward to help.
The spirit was very light. Su Jing rubbed his hands excitedly and asked expectantly, "Could it be a top-grade funerary artifact?"
"Smack—"
The taut fishing rod broke!
The force pulling back was clearly that of a living thing. Shen Du sensed something was wrong and released his grip in time, protecting Xu Xing as she retreated, thus preventing her from being pulled into the river.
With a "splash," the dark green waters of the Styx River flowed across the ground, and a large, silvery-white snake burst out of the water, with half a fishing rod still hooked between its scales.
With a flash of white light, the giant snake transformed into a stunningly beautiful woman in a white dress, but a large hole suddenly appeared in the shimmering hem of her dress.
After tearing off the fishhook from the hole, Sheng Qing, holding the broken fishing rod, glanced at the ghost, the human, and the snake before finally locking onto Xu Xing.
She curled her red lips into a smile and raised an eyebrow, asking, "Your fishing rod?"
"Well……"
Xu Xing avoided eye contact, somewhat embarrassed. The last person he had caught alive was his senior brother.
However, since it was the White Snake, she had already guessed the identity of the person who came, and subconsciously turned her head to see Xu Zhen's reaction, but who knew...
"Where's my dad?!"
Having never seen such a handsome person before, Su Jing suddenly became reserved and cautiously pointed in a certain direction, "Master Xu drifted over there."
"..."
"It's been too long since you've seen me, maybe you're shy."
Sheng Qing casually brushed her long hair aside, and the soaked strands instantly dried. "Alright, I'll go find him first, and I'll talk to you later."
"etc!"
A blush appeared prominently on Su Jing's pale face. "You...you don't know the path to the underworld, no...I...I..."
It must be said that although Su Jing's skin is a bit too pale, his facial features are still quite good, and he can be described as handsome.
Sheng Qing looked Su Jing up and down, shrugged uninterestedly, and said in a nonchalant tone, "He's not even fully grown yet, forget it."
With that, she flashed away and instantly chased after the direction where Xu Zhen had disappeared.
The beautiful woman spoke to me; her voice was so lovely…
Su Jing felt like he was floating, dizzy and unaware of what the world was like.
Xu Xing nudged him disdainfully, "Wake up, she could very well be my mother."
The young man's heart shattered with a snap.
Su Jing remained silent for a long time, then suddenly glanced at Xu Xing shyly and said with utmost seriousness, "How about having another 'father'? I'll treat you well!"
I treated you as a friend, but you want to be my dad?!
Xu Xing's eyes widened slightly, and he said angrily, "Not good at all!"
"The ghost race and the snake race are impossible, and more importantly, they clearly have no interest in you!"
Now, the young man's heart was completely shattered into pieces.
Why are you so direct!
Su Jing, whose budding romantic feelings were dealt a heavy blow, squatted down by the Bridge of Helplessness and started counting mushrooms while whimpering.
Anyway, with the Netherworld Guards following him, he wouldn't get into any trouble, so Xu Xing didn't pay any attention to him. "Senior Brother, should we follow them?"
After a moment's hesitation, Chen Du, who was also not good at handling such situations, suggested, "How about we go later?"
"That's right. Father ran away as soon as he saw Shengqing. I don't know what really happened back then."
However, since Sheng Qing was willing to come to the Netherworld to find someone, it must not have been her who harmed Xu Zhen. To entrust the "puppet" she had painstakingly created, which still contained a dragon pearl, to a mortal for upbringing, Sheng Qing must have trusted Xu Zhen a great deal at the time.
Xu Zhen's only destination in the Netherworld was that small courtyard. After confirming that Sheng Qing's aura was inside, he lingered outside the alley for a while before Xu Xing peered into the courtyard through the slightly open gate.
Just then, Sheng Qing gently touched Xu Zhen's somewhat blurred face, seemed to say something, and then hugged him into his arms. Xu Zhen did not refuse.
"Let's come back tomorrow."
As expected, he shouldn't have interfered in the affairs of his elders. Xu Xing straightened up instantly, pretending not to have seen anything, and pulled Chen Du to slip away, but then he heard Sheng Qing's voice.
"Why are you running? I have something to ask you."
...
"So, you already have the recipe for the Resurrection Pill, you just need the ingredients and a body."
After listening to Xu Xing's explanation of how to bring Xu Zhen back to life, Sheng Qing made the final decision: "I'll leave the Resurrection Pill to you. You can use any of the materials from the Golden Serpent Palace. As for his body, I will prepare the most suitable one."
"Alright, that's settled."
Sheng Qing stood up. "I'm going to see King You."
To take away a soul from the underworld, one must first greet the Lord of the Underworld.
As expected of a snake queen, her attitude of taking the lead was incredibly natural, leaving Xu Xing speechless. Fortunately, he didn't forget to ask about the snake clan.
"Wait! How are Yunxi and Yunlan? And Yujingzi, he..."
"They are fine. As for Yu Jingzi, thanks to your master's help, he has been imprisoned and can no longer cause trouble."
Sheng Qing was tall and slender, and always spoke with a nonchalant air. She looked down at Xu Xing and said, "Is there anything else? Ask all of it at once. After I've met King You, I'm going to take him away."
"..."
Xu Xing didn't know how to talk to this nominal "mother," and watched helplessly as she patted Xu Zhen's hand and left gracefully.
Xu Xing asked Xu Zhen, who had his head down, "Father, did you agree to her request?"
"Yes, I agree to leave with her."
Xu Zhen said in a low voice, "Back then, I mistakenly thought it was her..."
The second half of the sentence was left unsaid, but Xu Xing guessed it. It seems that Xu Zhen has fallen deeply in love with Sheng Qing and has completely trusted her in just a short time.
"It was all a misunderstanding. I'm so happy to see her again."
Seeing that Xu Xing's expression was somewhat complicated, Xu Zhen did not forget to explain for Sheng Qing, "She has always been carefree and easygoing. It's not that she doesn't care about you. She was seriously injured back then because of your successful birth."
It's easy to imagine that creating a puppet that looks just like an ordinary person must have taken a lot of effort. Although it wasn't for her, Xu Xing accidentally used this body, so Sheng Qing was indebted to her.
But after all, Xu Zhen was the one who raised her, so Xu Xing hesitated for a moment before finally reminding him, "Father, actually there are..."
Xu Xing was worried that Xu Zhen would be heartbroken because Sheng Qing had so many male favorites.
"I know."
Xu Zhen interrupted her, smiled gently, and said tenderly, "As long as I can stay by her side, I'll be content."
He caught a glimpse of the lofty Snake Goddess while gathering herbs in the mountains years ago.
From then on, her beautiful image appeared in my dreams.
Xu Zhen never imagined that he would have any interaction with her. He thought that being able to raise her children was already a blessing from heaven. He never expected that after staying in the underworld for many years, he would meet her again.
She came specifically to find him.
Just thinking about it filled Xu Zhen with joy, and he could hardly take his eyes off Sheng Qing.
"Xu Xu, your father doesn't want you to worry about the Rejuvenation Pill."
Having let go of his obsession, Xu Zhen took Chen Du and Xu Xing's hands and folded them together. "As long as you live well, I have no other requests."
"The ingredients for the Resurrection Pill are hard to find. I've heard that the Demon Realm is extremely dangerous. Promise me you won't go there."
Xu Xing was taken aback. She had not told Xu Zhen that the remaining two ingredients for the Rejuvenation Pill were in the Demon Realm.
"Father, don't worry. Although I really want to refine the Resurrection Pill, I definitely won't risk my life."
Sheng Qing arrived like a gust of wind, and then casually took Xu Zhen with him when he left.
Later, Xu Xing learned from Su Jing that unlike them who accidentally entered the Netherworld through the teleportation array, Sheng Qing must have gone to great lengths to find the entrance to the Netherworld.
With this, Xu Xing's last trace of worry disappeared.
Everyone has their own destiny. Her willingness to stay in the Netherworld and refine the Resurrection Pill was simply to repay the debt of gratitude she owed for being raised.
But she never thought of interfering with how Xu Zhen would live his life in the future.
With Xu Zhen gone, Xu Xing devoted herself to alchemy and weapon crafting for even longer periods. As her ten-year term came to an end and it was time to leave the Netherworld, her skill panel was refreshed once again.
Gold mining 36
44 herbs
Forging 67
Medical Skills 71
Cooking 66
Sewing 29
Although she was still extremely unbalanced in her studies, finding Nether Stone mines in the Netherworld was not easy, so Xu Xing didn't force it. Now that all three of her main skills had reached level 60, she was already very satisfied.
Some low-level pills and magical artifacts can simply be handed over to the space.
"You must come often in the future! I will also visit you in the human realm!"
Su Jing looked reluctant to part, wanting to take Xu Xing's hand and say goodbye, but after glancing at Chen Du beside her, she held back. He was no longer the clueless guy who didn't even know what a Daoist partner was.
Over the past decade, the Youwang Mansion has helped Xu Xing a great deal. Now, she has not only gathered most of the materials for the Soul-Returning Pill, but has also accumulated a backpack full of pills and magical artifacts.
I'm afraid even some small sects outside can't compare to Xu Xing's current wealth.
"If you're careful, this is enough for you to eat for a year."
Xu Xing smiled and tossed Su Jing a storage bag full of food. Inside, besides the food, there was also a small surprise, though he didn't know when Su Jing would find it.
With the ethereal space at her disposal, Xu Xing almost entirely entrusted the cooking to it. Over the years, she accumulated a considerable amount of food, and a bag of it was nothing special. Moreover, since Su Jing provided all the ingredients, she could cook as much as she could without worrying about running out.
Xu Xing had already left several spiritual energy imprints in the Netherworld. Since he could be teleported here once, he could naturally be teleported here a second time.
Compared to the teleportation artifact, the teleportation item artifact is easier to craft. However, she currently lacks the necessary materials for both, so she cannot craft another one to test it.
Hopefully, her sudden appearance in the Netherworld won't startle Su Jing, once she's back and able to refine it.
Su Jing looked at King You with pleading eyes and tentatively asked again, "Father, please let me go with them! Maybe I can find out..."
King You glared at him angrily. This kid was bewitched by that beautiful snake woman and kept saying he wanted to go to the demon race. It was infuriating!
After pulling Su Jing aside, King You looked at Xu Xing and sighed, "Sheng Qing and Xu Zhen have a wonderful daughter."
"Please keep an eye on that matter for me, but there's no need to take any risks, since life and death are preordained."
He was referring to the frequent occurrence of unexplained and violent deaths in various circles. The royal family of ghosts found it difficult to leave the underworld, while the ghosts remaining in the outside world made slow progress. So, before the two left, the King of the Underworld entrusted this matter to them.
"I will do my best."
Shen Du agreed, since the Demon Realm had the highest number of violent deaths, and the two spiritual herbs needed for the Resurrection Pill were only found in the Demon Realm. They would have to go to the Demon Realm sooner or later.
"Thank you for taking care of me over the years. Consider this a token of my gratitude."
Xu Xing gave King You a storage bag containing many fourth-tier Netherworld artifacts. Although King You's mansion was not short of Netherworld artifacts, these with different effects were rare.
A year ago, she finally developed a tool for converting between funerary objects and ritual implements. She then spent another six months refining it, finally enabling the conversion between the two without compromising their quality.
However, the main reason Xu Xing didn't use this to make a deal with King You was that he was afraid King You might decide to make her stay for a few more years on a whim...
King You was initially surprised, but then he understood why Xu Xing had taken out these funerary objects. He was both amused and exasperated, but he didn't mind her harmless little scheme.
Over the past decade, he and Xu Xing had benefited each other, so he accepted the money without hesitation.
Staring into Xu Xing's golden eyes, the Nether King pondered for a moment, and suddenly a gray object wrapped in Netherworld power appeared in his palm. "Keep this safe. It is bound by Netherworld restrictions and cannot be opened, but it will break free when the time is right."
Hopefully, this child with the aura of a dragon will never need it.
"Get ready, I'm about to open the exit. You will be taken to the last place you stayed outside the Netherworld."
Xu Xing suddenly felt something was strange. Before she could figure it out, King You had already raised the Netherworld Artifact and opened a black passage in front of them.
Xu Xing stopped thinking about it, waved to Su Jing who was looking at him with a wronged expression, and then stepped into the passage with his senior brother without looking back.
Yu Jingzi, who had been imprisoned in the burial ground for five years, was surprised to see the two suddenly appear. His handsome face showed some surprise, but then he revealed his usual nonchalant expression.
Xu Xing had just steadied himself when he heard a familiar teasing voice beside him, "Yo~ Long time no see~"
Upon seeing that familiar face, Xu Xing finally remembered where that strange feeling came from.
King You sent them back to where they came from. It was indeed true that the last place she and her senior brother stayed was the Burial Ground, but the Burial Ground was where demons who made mistakes were imprisoned!
"that……"
Xu Xing pulled Chen Du back slowly, chuckling awkwardly, "Grandpa, what a coincidence..."
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Author's Note: Thank you to Qianqianruoxue, Zaisuiyihui, Yimitangtang, Tiantianshuidaozixing, Xingfumiao, Yanyan, and Niuniu for the nutrient solution~ [heart]
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