Wet viviparity

Chapter 840 Unfulfilled, the Rat's End
The clear sky surged forth, scattering the gloomy expanse, and the sunlight gathered and condensed into a figure—it was the Pleiades Star Lord.

He did not deliberately display divine power; instead, he concealed his aura as if he were a gentle messenger, stepping on golden flames and auspicious clouds, with the jewels around his body jingling softly, and a gentle halo behind his head like the rising sun.

His gaze immediately fell upon the ruyi scepter, a hint of undisguised amazement and admiration, and an extremely subtle sense of nostalgia, flashing in his eyes.

However, before the Pleiades Star Lord could speak, the entire area suddenly fell silent.

After exchanging glances with the Pleiades Star Lord, Ji Ming knew that this quietness came from the Taiyin Goddess, one of the oldest deities in the world.

In this stillness, there were no strange phenomena or pomp, only the moonlight, pure as water, which, from who knows where, gently bathed the entire evil burial site.

In the center of the moonlight, a tiny, pure white light quietly shone.

In this dim light, a phoenix carriage, drawn by nine jade toads with pure white bodies and eyes like glass, silently appeared.

"Homage to the Goddess Taiyin".

Ji Ming dared not be negligent in the slightest. Under the guidance of the Pleiades Star Lord, he led all the immortals present to bow in respect, their tone filled with heartfelt reverence.

The curtain on the phoenix stand was slightly lifted, but the true face of the Divine Mother was not seen. Only a blurry silhouette was visible. The Divine Mother's voice came from within, "Ordinary magic treasures pursue the perfection of 'Completion,' but this treasure specializes in dealing with the variables of 'Incompleteness.'"

By borrowing the imagery of fire and water not clashing, and to depict the state of things before or after opening up, this embodies the profound mystery of the Taoist principle of "great perfection appearing as imperfection." This treasure could indeed be called the "Primordial Perfection Ruyi," and its future transformation into a spiritual treasure would be a natural progression.

"Thank you, Madam, for bestowing this name upon me!"

Ji Ming said loudly.

"Your chess moves were unconventional, but unexpectedly, refining treasures turned out to be a grand and righteous path. You are quite an extraordinary person."

Having said that, from within the imperial carriage, only one hand extended, slender and perfect, beyond description. This hand gently rose, its fingertips pointing lightly at the ruyi scepter.

This is similar to how brine curdles tofu, using the power of transforming decay into something magical to elevate the already unparalleled treasure of slaughter to a higher level.

With a clear and melodious "ding," the Lingzhi auspicious top of the Ruyi suddenly lit up, transforming into the head of a yang crow, bursting forth with pure yang energy; while the bottom of the spiritual pearl shone with a deep and dark light, transforming into a moon rabbit, absorbing all restlessness and gloom.

The golden flower on the middle crank fully bloomed, its golden light flowing, harmonizing yin and yang.

The crow and the moon rabbit circled around Ji Ming, and then eagerly flew to the palm of the hand that extended from the phoenix stand.

Ji Ming's heart skipped a beat, fearing that the newly born Ruyi spirit might offend the Goddess and be crushed on the spot. Fortunately, the Goddess was pleased with the purity of the newly born Ruyi spirit and touched the heads of the crow and the rabbit again.

These two points alone add to its depth and richness.

The consecration ceremony is complete!

Seeing this, the Pleiades Star Lord also made a move. Although his intervention was merely icing on the cake, he was still very happy to do so.

Ling Xuzi's excellence and unpredictability precisely demonstrate his foresight. If everything Ling Xuzi did had unfolded as he had predicted, he might have been disappointed.

With a flick of the finger, a pure ray of morning light merged into the crank, making it more stable and vibrant. Suddenly, it manifested as a divine bridge spanning east and west, and the earth, fire, wind, and water no longer flowed naturally beneath the bridge.

When that hand quietly returned to the phoenix carriage, the sun crow, the moon rabbit, and the divine bridge, along with all the strange phenomena, disappeared, and Ruyi returned to its original place.

With a slight movement, the phoenix carriage was pulled silently backward by nine jade toads, like a reflection merging into water, quietly dissipating into the moonlight. The tranquil atmosphere that enveloped the world also receded like the tide.

The moonlight faded, and the dawn reappeared.

The Pleiades star lord gave Ji Ming a deep look. He didn't leave, but instead uttered a few words. This startled Ji Ming, who nodded to the Pleiades star lord with gratitude in his eyes.

After giving his instructions, the star official transformed into a streak of light, disappeared into the sky, and vanished from sight.

Just then, Yuanbi Ruyi finally reached the last step—the inspiration of the treasure-escaping. His Ruyi, like a swimming fish, darted into the moonlight, reluctantly following the phoenix frame, as if it were its mother.

Ji Ming watched as Ruyi, like an innocent child, relentlessly pursued the fading moonlight, and sighed inwardly that Ruyi was indeed made by him, and that this childlike nature must have come from him.

The next moment, the Yuanbi Ruyi was already in his hand. Seeing that the Yuanbi Ruyi had passed through the final step in this way, Ji Ming was both amused and exasperated. He then held the Ruyi in his left palm.

"Hong Gu!"

Ji Ming smiled and said, "Do you recognize the power of my treasure?"

After he finished speaking, a short horizontal line appeared on his forehead, which was the half of the Yin line that had transformed into Hong Gu.

"Haha, I have already intercepted part of your foreign Yang essence, and you are still completely unaware. Now I am inside your body and still have the strength to fight. Moreover, if I want, your Immortal Lung - Hua Gai Yun will be destroyed immediately." The Yuan Pi Ruyi in Ji Ming's hand spread out a gray and hazy light, which rippled over Ji Ming's body like waves. The half of the Yin line on his forehead quickly disappeared.

Ji Ming raised his right hand, plucked the Taiyi Purple Qi Golden Needle given to him by the Pleiades Star Official from the three flowers on his head, and used the needle to flick his forehead, thus removing the half of the Yin Yao.

"What was that just now?"

Within the half-yin hexagram, Hong Gu was still in a state of great confusion.

"The Unfulfilled Wishes of a Miraculous Light!"

Ji Ming was in a good mood, so he offered a few more words of explanation, saying, "All things are in the cycle of formation, existence, decay, and emptiness, or the cycle of birth, growth, harvest, and storage. 'Before Completion' is the subtle point where things are about to be formed but not yet formed, about to exist but not yet existent, about to decay but not yet decayed, and about to be empty but not yet empty."

This unfulfilled, auspicious light can perceive and lock onto the previous critical point in the current evolutionary trajectory of an attacking spell, which was on the verge of completion, and freeze it in that instant with supreme power.

"Isn't this a treasure that transcends calamity!"

"It doesn't count."

Ji Ming chuckled with rare self-satisfaction, "This treasure is still a magic weapon after all, and it does have its limits. However, below the level of immortals today, no one should be able to surpass its limits. You are fortunate enough to be the first person to test this treasure, so you can rest in peace."

Having said that, he plunged the golden needle into the half of the yin line, and the half of the yin line instantly turned into a lifeless object.

"Big Pupil, I will teach you a technique. Use this technique to capture her."

"Yes, Young Master."

Having obtained the method, the large pupil in his right eye stared at the half-yin line that was pierced by the golden needle. Soon, the half-yin line and the golden needle disappeared together and merged into the vision of his right eye. This was an extremely skillful method of sealing, which was also what the Pleiades Star Official had just taught him.

Ji Ming's joy at easily eliminating Hong Gu's backup plan hadn't lasted long when his primordial spirit, which was scanning outside, seemed to be burned. His gaze turned to Wen Daoyu, who was standing behind Zhu Zhen.

In Wen Daoyu's arms lay the bloated body of Shu Si.

Wen Daoyu felt Jin Tong's gaze fixed on him, and his grief intensified. But as that gaze lingered, he began to feel tense and heavy-hearted.

"Give me."

Senior Brother Jin Tong appeared in front of him, opening his arms towards him.

"Senior brother." Wen Daoyu's lips trembled nervously as he placed the dying Rat Four into his senior brother's arms.

Ji Mingtuo held Rat Four in his arms. This body, bloated and prematurely aged from being burdened with heavy duties for a long time, was much lighter than he had imagined. That pointed rat face was already as familiar as a family member.

Unbeknownst to him, his nasal cavity felt slightly numb and his eyes felt slightly sore.

"Is there still any good karma left?"

The rat in his arms, who was in a daze, seemed to hear his words, yet also seemed not to, and gently shook its head.

Ji Ming swallowed hard and asked again, "Did you take the Corpse Dissolution Elixir?"

"have eaten."

"That's good, that's good." Ji Ming hugged the rat four, who had been with him since he was a nobody, even tighter.

"Master!"

The faint, dying breaths of the rat easily stirred his heart.

“When the battle begins, people die. I have no regrets. It's just that... in the next life, will I still remember the master? Will I remember him and that he will be like me... like me... like me?”

The sound grew fainter and fainter until it was almost inaudible.

In Ji Ming's arms, Rat Four's expression was forever frozen, a final expression that contained both satisfaction and regret.

In that instant, tears fell onto the fur beneath his unfocused eyes, as if they were falling from the rat himself.

Ji Ming sat down with Rat Four in his arms, gently raised the Ruyi scepter, and waved it in the air. With each wave, a blood explosion could be heard in the distance, as if it were a farewell to Rat Four.

"You will come back, you will remember everything, you will still be you, you will not change."

(End of this chapter)