Now what should I call this? Fate? Destiny? Or a divinely ironic joke.
The fact that I was able to encounter the Laughing Slaughterer's tool, the Tower back in planet Xi Son, my home planet was at first luck, but then to find out it belonged to a person from the Beyond was an absurd coincidence, but not only a random person, but one of the Suns of the Beyond, a cultivator so powerful that only eight other cultivators in this entire vastly great dominion can compete and be compared with.
Yes, an item that belonged to him is in my possession, and I've crossed distances greater than one could even think of, and am now holding what is his.
Interesting to say the least.
The both of us, me and old man Fu, headed out of the cave system after traveling through it for a couple of days, we made sure to stay one day inside the caves in case we were followed, but the complexity of the cave was too much for anyone to peruse us unless they were to eradicate the entire thing.
"Something is off," said Old man Fu as the two of us were resting.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Think about it for a second, why didn't the herald for example just topple the entire cave upside down when they were looking for us? I would presume that the Herald has higher power and control than a mere inner disciple like the ant queen,"
"Valid point, but you're missing something important from that deduction," I said as I showed him what came along with the map.
He opened it and said, "I still don't get it, what does this painting have to do with anything?"
"This is just a copy of the painting we need to bring and it already has a sliver of the Dao of Slaughter in it. I'm not proficient in the Dao of Slaughter, but I can see it. If this is a copy, I wonder what the original has, also this is clearly a gift, the value of it isn't something too great, which is obvious, but it has sentimental value," I said.
Old man Fu looked at the painting's depiction, there was a woman painted there with hair that looked as red as blood, standing upon a river of blood as a village burnt, however, even through all that devastation, there was serenity and peace within the painting. Two completely antagonistic ideologies in one picture, it's not something anyone can make.
"This is probably a gift for the Red Sun, and the Herald probably knows the value of such an item, or, maybe since the woman who's able to control a gigantic hub like the ant cave isn't so simple," I said.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"Meaning?"
"She could be related to the Red Sun, perhaps a concubine, or an estranged daughter, I wouldn't know," I said, "But she was given power more than her status or ability, so her background isn't simple," I said.
"I see," he said, "No wonder the herald couldn't destroy the ant cave, in fear they might offend the Queen," he said.
"Right then, we'll need to move," I said.
"We'll be instantly recognized," he said.
"You might," I smiled at him, "Automaton, are u here?"
"Yes Master," it spoke, and suddenly a portal opened up in front of us.
"What the hell is that?" asked Old Fu
"Don't worry about it, it's a helper. Anyway you never called me Master Before, what changed your mind?" I asked it.
"Yes, since now I'm in the land of my creator, I must call you master, and my creator My Lord, Only he deserves the name of Lord," he said.
I tilted my head, I didn't know what to think of this but I just shrugged, "Fine do what you want, anyway I need my original body," I said and he revealed my main Body for me.
I had switched from Shen Bao to Shen Mo before I entered the Celestial exile of old man Fu, and now I can go back to my original appearance.
I placed Shen Mo's body back and was finally back to my original body.
I took a deep breath and looked back at old man Fu who was astonished. "That's way too many secrets you've been holding on to me, what is that thing? where did it come from and where did it go? Also is that an Avatar? At your level? How?" he said.
"To answer your questions it'll take too much time, but for the avatar, it's nothing but compatibility, I mean, it's not that hard, I've seen many cultivators with avatars," I said shrugging.
old Fu looked at me like I was an idiot speaking utter nonsense, he shook his head then firmly replied "No, having an Avatar isn't something that simple, compatibility wise it needs to be perfectly attuned to you, meaning that the both of you need to have the same soul, most just use possession and call it an avatar, but that body didn't seem like it was possessed," he said.
"Yes, because that body was gifted to me and wasn't snatched or taken, it was willingly given," I said as I shrugged.
"Did you clear a grudge for it or something?" he asked. "Because I can't see any other way a person will willingly give up their body..."
"Yes," I replied.
"Even so, how did you manage to make it cultivate just like your main body? You both have ruined meridians," he said.
"They're not ruined, only you see them that way, otherwise how would I reach my current level," I replied.
"That's such an interesting cultivation method, indeed, the world is truly vast and great," He sighed. "But I can't do like you, I can't change my body," he said.
"I can change it for you," I replied.
"How? Anything like a human mask will be seen. Unless you have a mystical ability that will surpass the eyes of a Void level cultivator, I doubt you can do anything, you might have to proceed on your own," he said.
"Just trust me," I said as I pulled a small box that was full of golden acupuncture needles.
"What is that?" he asked.
"I'm not just a poison cultivator, I do dabble in medicine, allow me," I said as I approached the old man with the needles.
The old man was a bit skeptical at first but then allowed me to use the needles on him.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmI slowly began embedding the needles across his face, then soon over the rest of his body, slowly picking and selecting specific points on his body.
"What are you doing? Most of the acupoint spots you're using are secondary ones and only improve blood flow and healing," he said.
"Yes, because you'll need it soon," I said as I gave him a pill to swallow.
The moment he swallowed the pill, I placed the last needle on his forehead, and finished the connection.
"This will hurt, like… a lot," I said.
"I can take it, don't worry," he said.
Suddenly, the old man's body began contorting, his face seemed to crumble and reconstruct and his bone structure began changing, giving him a slightly bulkier build and taller frame, while his old and slightly rigid and wrinkled skin became more taught and elastic.
His whole body received a major change without affecting his cultivation, even the white hair on his head turned completely black as he regained more than thousands of years of youth.
He however still bled out from all orifices but didn't utter a single grunt of pain. I waved my hand channeling my Qi and washed all of the grim and filth from his body while removing the needles and placing them back in the box.
"Here," I said as I handed the old man… -well, you can't call him old anymore- a mirror.
He looked at himself and his eyes widened, "Is this a magic mirror?" he said as he was touching his skin, only when he realized that it was actually smooth and no longer wrinkled, and his own fingers looked sleek and lean instead of rugged and as if they had osteoarthritis.
"What sort of magic is this? This feels… natural which in itself is unnatural," he said.
"I just rejuvenated your body by reconstructing your bones and allowing a better blood flow, the rest is all done by your body, a cultivator's body is one of the easiest to assist in retaining a healthy and young look. Most cultivators who look old choose to do so unconsciously, they can all look as young as they wish to be honest. Anyway, this should help us stay undercover," I said.
"No it won't," he said.
I frowned,
"We're too damn handsome!" he said that as if it was an insult.
…
I was about to slap the guy in the face, but had to hold back since he's way stronger than me...