Chapter 46: Everyone Loves Little Immortal Mushroom (IV)

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Chapter 46: Everyone Loves Little Immortal Mushroom (IV)

Yan Lu waited several days, but Shang Ke remained in his little mushroom form without any sign of changing back. In the end, Yan Lu simply took the piece of rotting wood the mushroom was growing on and continued on his way.

He had no particular destination. Before this, he had simply followed Little Mushroom as though it were the most natural thing in the world. When that fellow was bouncing energetically around him, Yan Lu had never thought much of it. Now that he had gone quiet, Yan Lu suddenly discovered just how lonely life could be. In his otherwise empty world, there seemed to be only this single mushroom growing there. Sometimes it felt a little troublesome, yet he could never bring himself to pluck it out.

“Little Mushroom, if you don’t wake up soon, I’m going to eat you.” Bored, Yan Lu spun the piece of rotting wood in his hands as he threatened him.

Shang Ke’s mushroom cap shook wildly from all the spinning, and he nearly came loose from the wood.

A flash of light passed, and Shang Ke transformed into human form before Yan Lu.

Yan Lu looked him up and down and felt that he seemed even thinner than before. His waist had already been slender, but now it looked narrow enough to fit within a single hand.

He reached out and pinched it. Smooth, but with hardly any flesh at all.

Shang Ke dodged away, then quickly took a robe from his storage ring and put it on.

“Your injuries healed?” Yan Lu asked.

“Mm.” Shang Ke moved his arms and legs experimentally, then smiled at Yan Lu. “After thinking it over carefully these past few days, I’ve decided to take you to the Voidheaven Secret Realm.”

“Voidheaven Secret Realm?”

“Right.” Shang Ke explained enthusiastically, “Rumor has it that treasures left behind by an ancient Divine Lord are hidden there. There must be a cultivation technique suitable for you.”

According to this world’s original course of events, when the Demon Lord and Demon Mushroom threw the cultivation world into chaos, they not only destroyed several sects but also excavated numerous ancient ruins. Most outrageous of all, they preserved only the demonic cultivation techniques and burned the majority of the orthodox ones. Several thousand years later, the cultivation world would be reduced to the pitiful state of desperately lacking proper cultivation methods, while cultivators capable of attaining the Dao and ascending to immortality became exceedingly rare. Demonic cultivation flourished while the righteous path declined, plunging the cultivation world into an age of demonic chaos that lasted a full five thousand years.

And the chief culprit responsible for all of it was the man currently standing beside Shang Ke. The System had instructed Shang Ke to guide Yan Lu onto the righteous path rather than simply eliminate him. Presumably, this was not only for the peace of the cultivation world, but also so Yan Lu could repay the karmic consequences he had created and help restore the cultivation world.

The slaughter would begin with him, and it would also end with him.

With their destination decided, the two headed for the Voidheaven Secret Realm. Along the way, Shang Ke remained true to his original intentions and continued helping others whenever he could. Several times, his identity as a spirit caused cultivators to chase him into hiding, but he never complained. He stubbornly held to his principles, preferring to be injured himself rather than harm another living being.

One day, Yan Lu finally couldn’t resist asking, “With your temperament, how did you ever fall into the demonic path?”

Shang Ke smiled. “Even if I become demonic, I won’t bring disaster upon the world. But if someone else becomes a demon, there’s no guarantee the world will remain peaceful.”

“No matter how much you do, who is going to appreciate it?” Yan Lu thought this little mushroom was unbelievably foolish.

“I don’t need anyone to appreciate it.” Standing amid green mountains and clear waters, Shang Ke spread his arms and declared loudly, “Look at how beautiful this world is. I came here to experience all the wonderful things it has to offer, keep the happiness, cast away the worries, and become a tall and mighty mushroom!”

Yan Lu was silent for a moment before stating objectively, “Even if you cultivate all the way into a Demon God, you still won’t become tall and mighty.”

Shang Ke glared at him. “I may be short in body, but my aspirations are lofty. A shallow person like you, with nothing but a handsome exterior, would never understand.”

Yan Lu declined to comment and merely said, “On the path of cultivation, if you do not advance, you fall behind. You are a demonic being, yet you reject the demonic path. Your strength may never improve.”

“Don’t I still have you?”

The casually spoken words sent a ripple through Yan Lu’s heart. Shang Ke’s utterly guileless smile seemed like a lotus blooming before his eyes. Yan Lu could not understand how Little Mushroom could remain so open and free of resentment when, every time he encountered danger, Yan Lu had only stood by and watched coldly, never once considering stepping in to save him.

“I won’t save you,” Yan Lu said coldly. “Even if you’re going to die, I still won’t save you.”

“Of course.” Shang Ke looked perfectly calm. “With your current cultivation, you’re simply incapable of fighting those cultivators. Not interfering is the sensible choice.”

Yan Lu fell silent.

Shang Ke looked at him again. “Then let me ask you this: if you were powerful enough, would you step in?”

He had better answer yes, or this friendship was over on the spot! Shang Ke stared at him with blazing intensity.

“Mm.” Yan Lu stood with his hands clasped behind his back. “I would.” He would kill every last one of them.

Shang Ke nearly burst into tears. It wasn’t easy! He had finally managed to claim a place in this future demon’s heart.

Two months later, Shang Ke and Yan Lu arrived at Crane Feather Mountain, where the Voidheaven Secret Realm was located.

The entrance to the secret realm lay beneath a cold spring guarded by a spirit beast. For the first time, Shang Ke took full advantage of his species and used a drop of poisonous blood essence to knock the guardian beast unconscious, allowing the two of them to enter without difficulty.

Of all the ancient ruins Shang Ke knew about, the Voidheaven Secret Realm was the easiest to enter. Had its entrance not been so well hidden, it probably would have been looted clean long ago.

Afterward, under the glorious protection of the “protagonist halo,” the two passed through layer after layer of traps and successfully reached the Treasure Pavilion.

However, the instant Yan Lu stepped into the Treasure Pavilion, the scene around him abruptly changed. An immense pressure slammed into him head-on, forcing his upper body backward, yet he endured it without giving up even a single step.

“Hmph.” A cold snort exploded beside his ear like thunder, making Yan Lu’s entire body tremble.

Shang Ke, standing behind him, heard nothing. He merely saw Yan Lu frozen at the entrance with one foot extended and found it rather strange.

He walked around Yan Lu and stepped through the entrance to the Treasure Pavilion himself.

Yan Lu’s pupils contracted. Unable to speak a warning, he could only watch Shang Ke pass him.

He had expected Shang Ke to be suppressed by the same force, yet Shang Ke walked into the Treasure Pavilion without encountering the slightest resistance.

Yan Lu found this strange, and so did the wisp of spiritual consciousness remaining inside the Treasure Pavilion.

The Voidheaven Secret Realm had once been the secluded retreat of an ancient cultivator before he underwent his ascension tribulation. After successfully passing it, he deliberately left behind a wisp of spiritual consciousness—partly to open the Treasure Pavilion for those destined to find it, and partly to prevent members of the demonic path from entering.

The instant Yan Lu stepped inside, that spiritual consciousness sensed him. There was no demonic qi on Yan Lu, and his potential for immortal cultivation was extraordinarily high. Yet the spiritual consciousness easily perceived the demonic nature buried deep within his soul. Immortal roots and a demonic nature—two such contradictory qualities somehow existed within the same person. The boundary between becoming divine and becoming demonic was only a single line, but at present, his demonic nature clearly overwhelmed his immortal roots. It was steeped in bloodshed and darkness, like the wailing of demons and ghosts, enough to send a chill through anyone who sensed it.

The spiritual consciousness would not allow such a dangerous person to enter the Treasure Pavilion. If Yan Lu were allowed to obtain a cultivation technique, there was no telling what unimaginable turmoil he might someday bring to the cultivation world.

Just as it prepared to expel Yan Lu, another person stepped into the Treasure Pavilion’s ward.

The spiritual consciousness was shocked once again.

The man who entered first possessed the qualities of an immortal yet concealed a demonic heart. The young man who followed clearly possessed a demonic body, yet carried incomparably pure divinity. They were complete opposites, yet equally contradictory.

The instant the young man stood beside the other, the dangerous aura the spiritual consciousness had sensed from Yan Lu vanished like smoke. The world that had seemed utterly lifeless suddenly burst with vitality, as though flowers had bloomed across endless fields. Yin and yang balanced one another, giving rise to life without end.

The spiritual consciousness had never witnessed anything so strange.

Could it be that he had secluded himself for so long that he had fallen completely out of touch with the times? Was the cultivation world nowadays full of bizarre people like these?

Separated, the two would become demonic; together, they would become divine. It was truly unbelievable!

The spiritual consciousness lowered the ward and allowed them both inside. It wanted very much to see what the future would make of these two.

Yan Lu discovered that the force imprisoning him disappeared shortly after Shang Ke entered. He glanced at Shang Ke beside him, then at the portrait hanging on the main wall. It depicted an elderly man with the bearing of an immortal. Though the painting looked ordinary at first glance, it radiated an upright aura impossible to ignore.

Yan Lu watched it for a moment before looking away and surveying the Treasure Pavilion. It contained not only all kinds of cultivation manuals and secret arts but also many rare and extraordinary treasures.

Yan Lu did not rush to take anything. He remained wary of the portrait on the wall.

Shang Ke, on the other hand, had nothing to hide and paid it no mind, which left him completely unrestricted.

Just as Shang Ke was enthusiastically rummaging through the treasures, the spiritual consciousness within the portrait spoke. “Little fellow, there’s no need to rush.”

Shang Ke raised his head, looked at the portrait, then asked Yan Lu, “Was that him talking just now?”

Yan Lu nodded expressionlessly.

Although Shang Ke had relied on his “foreknowledge” to locate the Voidheaven Secret Realm, he did not know every detail of how events would unfold. He had only possessed a vague impression that this spiritual consciousness existed. Now that it had spoken, the details gradually became clearer.

“Who are you, Senior?” Shang Ke asked.

“This old Daoist is Luo He. Several thousand years ago, I passed my tribulation and ascended to immortality. I left behind a wisp of spiritual consciousness here to await those with whom I share fate.”

Shang Ke smiled. “Since Senior has allowed us inside, I assume that means we are the fated ones you were waiting for.”

“Hehe, little fellow, you’re very clever.” The spiritual consciousness continued, “You may freely take and use the things in this treasure vault. However, several treasures are protected by wards. I will teach you how to lower the wards so you do not injure yourself.”

In those final sentences, the spiritual consciousness had addressed Shang Ke alone, rather than both of them, clearly indicating that it intended to teach the method only to him.

Yan Lu did not care. He understood Little Mushroom’s nature very well. As long as Yan Lu asked, Shang Ke would give him anything.

Shang Ke asked, “Senior, if we accept your gifts, how should we repay you?”

“There is no need for repayment. I only hope the two of you cultivate diligently, cast aside wicked thoughts, and ultimately attain the righteous Dao.”

After saying this, the spiritual consciousness transmitted the complete method for lowering the wards to Shang Ke, then secretly warned him, 【The man beside you possesses an innate demonic nature. You must be exceedingly careful with him in the future.】

Shang Ke replied through the same private transmission, 【I know. He was originally on the verge of passing his tribulation and becoming a demon. I forcibly interfered, causing his tribulation to fail and erasing his memories of the past.】

Shang Ke did not mind telling the truth to a mere remnant of spiritual consciousness.

【So that is what happened. No wonder he possesses immortal roots yet still carries such a demonic nature… Wait. If he was already an accomplished demonic cultivator, why would he possess immortal roots?】 After thinking it through, the spiritual consciousness exclaimed in shock, 【It was you!】

Shang Ke smiled. 【I destroyed his cultivation. I was willing to become demonic in his place so that I could help him attain the Dao.】

At last, the spiritual consciousness understood why it had witnessed such an extraordinary phenomenon in the two of them. The young man before it had willingly fallen into the demonic path for the sake of a demon, taking a demonic body upon himself so that the other could step onto the path of immortality.

It reminded him of the great compassionate vow of Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva: “Until hell is empty, I vow not to become a Buddha. Only when all sentient beings are delivered will I attain bodhi. If I do not enter hell, who will?”

He had believed the world would never again see someone possessing compassion like Kṣitigarbha’s. Yet now, in a mere spirit, he had discovered the same merciful heart.

【Child,】 the spiritual consciousness said warmly, 【I believe you will surely achieve what you desire. This old Daoist will give you one more gift.】

Golden light flashed and gradually condensed into a seed in midair before slowly sinking into the right side of Shang Ke’s chest.

“What is this?” Shang Ke touched his chest curiously.

But silence filled the Treasure Pavilion. No one answered him.

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