Chapter Ninety-Six: The Fourth Life Walks! Saving the Empress? [4,000 Words—Please Subscribe!]

"Of course it's dangerous!"

Wen Shuhong said with certainty.

"During the attack by the serpent-headed fiend, though it failed to injure you, the fiend's aura had already clung to your body."

"This kind of fiend aura is a special method used by the fiend race. It can affect time and space. It can affect the path of travel."

"If a traveler is stained with a strong fiend aura, then they will be drawn toward the fiend cosmos, and the odds of entering that world will skyrocket."

"The upper ranks of Ideal Island once speculated that the more fiend aura one has on their body, and the more fragments of fiend artifacts one uses, the more likely one is to enter the fiend world. One may even be transformed into a fiend."

"Wasn't there a case of sculptures killing people the day before yesterday?"

"Those sculptures were fiend sculptures brought back by members of a family who had themselves become fiends."

Wen Shuhong spoke carelessly of a few hidden matters.

"In a little while, there will probably be an edict banning the use of fiend artifacts. Prohibiting the use of fiend artifact fragments has already become the shared consensus of the strong and the gifted."

"After all, fiend artifact fragments are truly terrifying to the point of making one's scalp prickle."

Wen Shuhong shook his head.

Then he fixed Lin Qiye with a serious stare.

"You haven't used any fiend artifact fragments, have you?"

"No."

"Good. Then you only need to rest for two days, and the fiend aura on your body will dissipate. By then, you'll be able to travel safely again."

"Still, I recommend handing over the fiend artifact fragments. I have a feeling that even carrying them will bring misfortune. You're a genius; don't ruin yourself over fiend artifact fragments."

At this, Lin Qiye nodded in agreement.

He took out two fiend artifact fragments and handed them to Wen Shuhong.

Wen Shuhong laughed freely.

"As expected of you. Not a hint of hesitation."

Lin Qiye also smiled.

In truth, he still had one fiend artifact fragment left.

Not for any other reason.

And not because he wanted to use it right away.

He only wanted a chance to test the fiend race's level.

To use the entire fiend cosmos as an experimental subject.

Of course.

Lin Qiye would not conduct the experiment immediately.

He would first comprehend the Wolf Lord's Annihilation-Defying Arrow, and only then would he test it.

After all, the Annihilation-Defying Arrow was an exceptional technique!

It was perfectly suited to dealing with the fiend race.

Only...

Comprehending the Wolf Lord's Annihilation-Defying Arrow would likely cost several million travel points.

"The road ahead is long."

Lin Qiye let out a faint sigh.

Seeing him like this, Wen Shuhong's expression turned solemn.

"You don't intend to tangle with the fiends, do you?"

"I advise you not to entertain such thoughts!"

"Our island lord once said that before becoming a Heavenly Immortal, one should pray above all not to have too much contact with fiends! It's simply far too dangerous."

"Even our island lord has no wish to enter the fiend cosmos. Do you understand the peril involved?"

Lin Qiye nodded.

"Rest assured, Captain Wen. I'm more afraid of death than anyone."

At those words, Wen Shuhong smiled.

"Good. Then rest well for two days."

"After two days, the fiend aura will have dispersed."

"Do not enter travel before then. Otherwise, you may accidentally wander into the fiend cosmos. Once a platinum traveler enters the fiend cosmos, they are basically doomed to be polluted by the fiends. Even geniuses who have traveled more than ten thousand times, or monstrous prodigies from super families, can perish there."

"Don't make a jest of it."

Lin Qiye fell into thought.

"What treasures can dispel fiend aura?"

"There are some ancient relics that can drive it away, and some ancient god statues can too... but every single one is exceedingly precious. Even Star City and Ideal Island do not possess them."

"In short, wait two days before traveling."

Lin Qiye frowned slightly.

The face of the serpent-headed fiend rose in his mind.

His killing intent surged like a flood.

For a genius and relentless grinder like Lin Qiye, two days and two travels would have been enough to break through to diamond traveler.

And yet.

That serpent-headed fiend had run over here to waste his time?

'Truly deserving of death...'

Lin Qiye exhaled a murky breath.

If he had an anger gauge, it would already have been filled ten times over.

Enough to unleash ten great moves.

Seeing the flames of killing intent flicker in Lin Qiye's eyes, Wen Shuhong patted his shoulder and comforted him patiently.

"Go play on Ideal Island for two days. Then travel again."

"Better yet, stay in the platinum spacetime for two hundred days and travel two hundred times. Once you're familiar with all kinds of sudden changes, you'll be able to handle the next spacetime with ease."

"Then, when you encounter monstrous geniuses from super families, you'll have a chance to go head-to-head with them."

"Ah..."

Lin Qiye sighed.

Play?

Star City was too dangerous.

The Painted-Skin Fiend was lying in wait.

One misstep, and he could very well be assassinated.

So playing was impossible.

He had to remain in prison on Ideal Island for two days...

With that thought, Lin Qiye's gaze became calm, and no one could tell what he was thinking.

...

The night passed without incident.

The next day.

Lin Qiye sat upon the Soul-Anchoring Square Platform.

The moment he sat down, his intuition told him that this travel would be extremely dangerous.

"There's still a very high degree of danger? Looks like I'll have to waste another day."

Lin Qiye's features were cold and stern.

He looked up at the picture of the serpent-headed fiend hanging on the wall of the cultivation chamber.

He walked over to it.

And wrote a bright red word on the picture: death.

Then he added a few more words underneath it.

Kill its entire family.

After finishing, Lin Qiye stared coldly at the serpent-headed fiend's image.

"Settle all the accounts on you and the Painted-Skin Fiend. Once I become a diamond traveler, you're the first I'll cut down."

As he murmured to himself, Lin Qiye's gaze swiftly settled into stillness, like a sheet of ice.

...

The following day.

After enduring another day in bitter patience, Lin Qiye once again sat upon the Soul-Anchoring Square Platform.

This time.

His intuition told him that the danger level had plummeted, down to an acceptable range.

Though some danger remained, it was not fatal. With caution and care, he could complete the journey.

Thus.

A faint smile curved Lin Qiye's lips.

"It's already considered safe. This cosmos can resist fiends, so perhaps there are some good treasures, even geniuses, even marvelous immortal arts. This journey may well bring in a fortune."

Lin Qiye smiled.

A strange anticipation rose within him.

However.

He did not rush to travel.

Instead, he placed the remaining fiend artifact fragment into the isolated space within the wall.

Then he carefully inventoried his own foundation.

The interface provided by the main world recorded all of Lin Qiye's attributes.

Name: Lin Qiye
Gender: Male
Age: Fourteen
Primary Cultivation Method: Chaotic Azure Thunder Art. Currently of platinum-grade cultivation quality; as strength increases, it can advance into diamond quality, immortal quality, and even higher. Perfectly suited to his constitution!
Constitutional Root: Pure Void Divine Thunder Root. A lesser immortal grade constitution, surpassing diamond quality and brushing against the edge of immortality.
Physique: Violet Star Divine Physique, incomplete; only a fragment of Violet Star True Bone remains, which has condensed into a protective barrier that guards against fate-based attacks.
Immortal Art: Immortal-qi version of the Dao Treasury Art. Enables the practitioner to reach adulthood at the age of six. However, to refine more immortal qi from this art, one must devour peerless heavenly treasures.
Martial Arts: Wind-Thunder Infant Spirit Sword Art, perfected, golden quality... Ancient Saint Thirty-Six Blades, perfected, golden quality...
Movement Art: Heaven-Spanning Star Shift, perfected, golden quality...
Defensive Martial Art: Golden Bell Like a Rainbow, golden quality...
Secret Art: Five-Fury Burning Blood Skill, golden quality...
Concealment Art: Formless Art, golden quality...
Wisdom Card: Little Enlightenment card, golden quality; one enlightenment every two years.
Physique Card: Thousand-Year Flood Dragon King card, golden quality.
Weapons: A diamond-quality ring-pommel saber, forged by a girl through her blade-supporting talent while in a state of enlightenment, and requiring more killing aura and karmic power to temper; a silver-grade longsword.
Special Treasures: A strand of immortal qi, highlighted as especially significant; 10 formation foundation stones, with 49 needed for a long-distance teleportation array.
Travel Points: 2.21 million travel points.
...

After looking over his foundation, Lin Qiye felt somewhat conflicted.

As a newcomer who had only traveled three times, possessing such a foundation was already monstrous to the extreme. Whether it was the immortal qi, the Dao Treasury Art, the ring-pommel saber, the Violet Star True Bone, the Pure Void Divine Thunder Root, or the Chaotic Azure Thunder Art, every one of them was a first-rate treasure.

Even a monstrous genius from a super family might not necessarily surpass Lin Qiye.

A single immortal-qi version of the Dao Treasury Art put him far ahead of the pack.

But on the other hand, Lin Qiye's martial arts, defensive martial arts, and movement art were all only of golden quality.

He likely still had a gap compared with seasoned platinum travelers.

"I still need to become even more invincible."

"On this journey, I must not only break through to diamond traveler status, but also search for martial arts of higher quality!"

Lin Qiye's goal was clear.

First, he needed to find platinum-grade, or even diamond-grade, martial arts, defensive techniques, and movement arts.

Second, he needed to break through to diamond traveler.

Finally, he had to find a way to devour top-tier heavenly treasures and give birth to a second strand of immortal qi!

Carrying these three small goals with him, Lin Qiye sat cross-legged on the Soul-Anchoring Square Platform.

He anchored his soul.

Preparing to begin his fourth lifetime of travel.

The command light's gemstone had sufficient energy and could travel at any time across the myriad worlds.

You currently possess:
Golden physique card, Thousand-Year Flood Dragon King Body;
Golden wisdom card, Little Enlightenment;
You choose to carry the Chaotic Azure Thunder Art;
A strand of immortal-qi version Dao Treasury Art;
The principles for manufacturing awakening potions, the principles for manufacturing soldier-summoning potions...
Enter this life and travel.

Your Pure Void Divine Thunder Root will manifest when your body matures to the age of 14.

Your Angel Wings will manifest at the Golden Core stage.

Your diamond weapon, the Scarlet Rainbow Long Saber, will accompany you on this travel and will unseal when your strength reaches the Golden Core stage.

You are ready. Do you wish to begin travel and start a new simulated life?

Please note: each travel world is randomly generated, and your identity is randomly generated.

Please note: cultivation from the main world cannot be carried over. You will be born as a fragile infant, with countless possibilities of dying young.

Because of your special contribution, the main world issues a warning: the fiend aura on your body will attract fiend spacetime. Traveling now will draw you into a cosmos invaded by fiends. Please decide with caution.

Do you wish to begin the great-world travel and enter simulated life?

A stream of prompts sounded.

There was even a warning from the main world.

Yet Lin Qiye felt no fear.

He merely nodded slightly.

"Enter the fourth travel!"

Entering travel now.

Command light gemstone notice: a chosen savior has entered the same spacetime as you.

Command light gemstone notice: a traveler bearing the imprint of this cosmos's heavenly dao has entered the same spacetime as you.

Command light gemstone notice: a destroyer has entered the same spacetime as you.

Hearing these three special prompts, Lin Qiye froze.

A savior?

A destroyer?

These seemed to be some kind of special titles.

Those who save more than a thousand universes obtain the title of Savior.

Those who bring ruin to more than a thousand universes obtain the title of Destroyer.

As for a traveler bearing the imprint of this cosmos's heavenly dao...

Lin Qiye was familiar with that one.

He himself possessed the heavenly dao imprint of the Xia universe.

"So, this time, three geniuses are traveling with me: one who has saved a thousand universes, one who has destroyed a thousand universes, and another who sensed that this cosmos faces catastrophic danger and has been invited here."

"It seems this will be an interesting grand spectacle."

Lin Qiye's eyes burned brightly.

Three geniuses.

None of them were ordinary mortals. This journey would undoubtedly be a fierce contest among dragons.

And on their persons...

They must surely be carrying vast treasures!

With that thought, Lin Qiye smiled.

"Enter travel!"

As the decisive words fell, dense spatial-temporal power rose upon the anchoring platform, enveloping Lin Qiye within it and turning him into a giant egg radiating temporal force.

The simulated life begins! The golden command light gemstone burns, illuminating your life—

...

This journey belongs to the defensive world forged by the Heavenly Fate Empress through thousands of deaths and an obsession that forcibly shaped the world.

In this world, scaled-skin heavenly demons invade, winged wolf royal clans ravage the land, and humankind stands on the brink of collapse.

The empress alone cannot bear this burden. To save the world, she once sent manifestations of herself into other spacetime realms to seek aid. Alas, spacetime turbulence and the winged wolf race, together with the myriad-aspect heavenly demons, intercepted the pleas of more than three thousand such manifestations. Only one manifestation encountered you.

You must travel to the time before the empress's weakness gave way to her rise, and save her.

"Hm?"

"What does that mean?"

Lin Qiye was somewhat puzzled.

"A manifestation encountered me?"

"Who was that?"

"The only ones who encountered me were Ji Qinghuan and Zhu Yuheng, right? Ji Qinghuan wouldn't use a manifestation to meet me, so was it Zhu Yuheng? Or was it one of those heavenly prodigies from the Xia universe?"

Lin Qiye pondered.

He could not find a definite answer.

Because...

It seemed all of them were possible.

"Forget it. I'll understand once I see them. No need to guess blindly."

Lin Qiye was not a man given to indecision.

If he could not figure it out, he simply let it go.

He chose the simplest, clearest path.

Thus.

The life illuminated by the command light gemstone unfolded before his eyes.

At age 0, you were born in a human city during the age of spiritual energy revival. Both your parents were awakened ones, and they loved you deeply...

At age 1, your parents encountered disaster, and only two urns of ashes returned. One month later, you and your elder sister were killed by your enemies.

...

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