Chapter 125 - 124 All of This, Burned to Ashes (Thanks to alliance leader momod!)

Chapter 125: Chapter 124 All of This, Burned to Ashes (Thanks to alliance leader momod!)The map on the Nian Qin terminal only has a few marked places, indicating the landing sites for Black Market operations—a cemetery, a vegetable market and a grocery supermarket, and a specially marked ’red heart’. The ’red heart’... naturally represents ’home’. Home. An Jing thought carefully and realized that it had been a long time since he’d thought about this concept. He was born with Innate Wisdom, and during his childhood years, the hazy scenes in his dreams always made him feel like his previous life was home. But as he grew a little older, those days living with his parents, those memories of joy and sorrow, made him consider the An Family Village as home, even as a lifelong hometown. However, ever since Gufeng County’s An Family Village was buried under endless ice and snow by the Frost Calamity, and the family was forced to flee the village in escape, he knew that without a miracle, he would find it difficult to return home for the rest of his life. Never mind. It doesn’t matter if the original home is gone, as long as his mother is there, An Jing considers that place to be home. That’s what he had thought, but due to a twist of fate, a mix-up of good and bad karma, An Jing ended up separating from his mother. In the end, An Jing felt that perhaps Hanging Fate Manor could become his new home. He was willing to accept, to accept those instructors and lecturers, to accept those junior brothers and sisters as family. Even though the memories of his past life told him that all this was merely akin to the methods of a pyramid scheme-like Demon Sect, he relished it nonetheless. Humans always need something to rely on. No matter what, they always want a place where they can rest without having to think, without having to engage in scheming, without having to care about so many things. But the dream has ended—in the cruelest of ways. Perhaps... it was precisely because An Jing truly wanted to consider Hanging Fate Manor as home, and he really had started to think so, that he found it especially unbearable to tolerate the evil of the Demon Sect. "I really don’t want to be on tenterhooks at home, worrying if I’ll get eaten..." With a sigh, An Jing’s expression became somewhat lonely. He clearly understood that he no longer had the luxury of having a home - not even if he found his mother again could he return to those calm days of old. Fortunately, he didn’t want to go back anymore either. After seeing the damn state of the world, he didn’t want to be peaceful ever again. He wanted... wanted... —to burn it all to ash! An Jing sped through the darkness. On the streets of Xuanye City at midnight, many more checkpoints had appeared. Fully armed, armored soldiers of Xuanye City were patrolling, scanning each suspicious passerby. Some people attempted to bribe their way through with money, not only did they not get let off, but they were also punched to the ground and dragged into the nearby vehicles for questioning. Others who obediently underwent the inspection were still monitored by drones until they truly returned to their residences. An Jing silently circumvented the crowded streets, sometimes passing through sewers, sometimes speeding over rooftops. With the blockage of his Sword Spirit and the effect of his Mysterious Steps, those soldiers, who were at most at the Qi Refinement level, couldn’t detect him. While passing an area that seemed to be a slum or a suburban village, An Jing saw a giant steel Puppetry, at least twenty meters tall, looking like a Huangjin Warrior, but more angular and emitting strong waves, comparable to a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Mounted on its shoulder, a heavy machine gun was spraying bullets down the street. An Jing didn’t know what its target was—it could be the poor people who snuck into Xuanye City without a City Entry Pass, or maybe the civilians in the slums, or even gang members hiding among them. But whichever it was, they were unlikely to survive the night, for An Jing saw at the exits of the area, bodies were being carried out by the cartload and were being checked one by one for identification. Old and young, entire families together. As long as the world isn’t stable, homes are not safe. When the world is in upheaval, there’s no peace for the small households. It began to rain. Purple-blue rain fell from the sky, the rain full of Evil Qi and acid eroding the streets and the bodies, which, if left uncollected, would be nothing but bones by the next morning. In a narrow alley, a man with an anxious and irritable expression was activating a Soul Condensing Talisman. He affixed the Talisman Paper to his forehead, and only after regaining a calm expression did he tidy up his clothes and open the apartment building door with a smile on his face. Around the dark corner, cultivators wearing gang attire huddled together, consuming strange pills; some grinned stupidly, while others wore expressions of anger and satisfaction, still others leered obscenely, slumping among the black trash bags. What kind of illusions did they all see? Boom...rumble... Majestic booming noises echoed throughout Xuanye City as An Jing raised his head to see the grand, city-like Immortal Path Great Void warship taking off. It shot towards the sky, piercing through the clouds, and momentarily halted the rain— but soon, the rift cleaved by the warship in the canopy of the sky merged once more, bringing even more rainfall. Yet, An Jing saw that in the pitch-black night sky covered by endless clouds... there was no moon, only countless stars that spun rapidly, flying with a frenzied speed. The twisted starry sky, the world filled with Demonic Qi, soldiers patrolling the streets, and the massive steel puppets strafing crowds with gunfire. "Why doesn’t the Golden Core True Person intervene to find the True Talisman?" "He cannot take action. There are three True Lords in this city who have certified their Immortal Industry, and two of them are not friendly." "So that’s how it is... No wonder Luofu is so enraged, the strife between the corporations has indeed reached a fever pitch..." An Jing muttered to himself, not surprised by this revelation because if it were not so, it would have been impossible for him to leave with the True Talisman— even more so, from a conspiratorial point of view, could it be that the loss of the True Talisman was permitted by that Golden Core True Person? Hey, who knows. This city is truly as dark as the deep night, worthy of the name Xuanye City. After skulking and hiding, An Jing arrived near his destination. At this moment, he stood on the side of the street, amidst the narrow cluster of buildings, and looked up at the tallest structure in the whole of Xuanye City, the magnificent and neon-lit grand tower that soared into the high heavens. [Luofu Immortal Platform] An Jing gazed at the Immortal Platform and then turned his head, returning to the darkness of the crevice. One day... one day... he would stand even higher than it, and then, just as they decided the fates of others, he would decide theirs. Weihai District, Southern District Twelve Streets. Tan Domain Apartment Building, fifty-ninth floor, room 601. This old apartment was covered with graffiti, advertisements, and psoriasis stickers, while the illegal holographic adverts on the walls on both sides flashed ambiguous pink lights, promoting ’Ultimate Desire Peak, Customize Your Virtual Companion.’ The soft flesh and pretty faces in the light shadows attracted carnal desires, while the steel door remained tightly closed. An Jing pressed the doorbell. Seconds later, the security camera at the door lit up, focusing on the young man who hid his face with a gas mask. "[Who are you?]" A voice too young, almost childish, sounded, tinged with a cautious electronic noise. "Your mother asked me to tell you," An Jing paused, as if considering how best to phrase his message. Eventually, he resolved and said, "She has to take a long trip, a company errand." "There’s no need to wait for her to return." "[...Is that so]" The young voice fell silent for a moment, clearly becoming somber: "[I understand]". To An Jing’s surprise, following a click, the door opened. "Thank you for taking the trouble to come and inform me of my mother’s passing," said a slender little boy who looked to be around eleven or twelve years old, standing behind the door. His features were gentle, his black hair shiny, but his blue eyes unexpectedly carried a sharp glint, like the dawn breaking over the sea, piercing through the facade of illusions. —Does he have Bloodline Pupil Skills like Nian Qin? As the thought flickered through his mind, An Jing’s lie was exposed, but he didn’t show embarrassment; instead, he simply shook his head. The boy who had opened the door gave An Jing a slight bow and spoke softly, "If you don’t mind, please come in for a cup of tea." "However, regarding my mother... could you tell me something that I am allowed to know?" "Heavenly Spiritual Root?" Meanwhile, through An Jing’s eyes, the Sword Spirit that truly beheld the son of Nian Qin before them also gasped in astonishment: "He actually has the Heavenly Water Spiritual Root!" "Cang Bo Morning Pupil, Heavenly Water Spiritual Root... these are divine gifts, External Alchemy Talisman Seeds!"