Netherworld Painted Skin Scroll

Chapter 291 Disaster
Xiao Suo immediately turned his gaze to Mei Qiulu: "Senior Sister... Sect Leader!?"

Mei Qiulu looked at him calmly, and after a while said, "Ask away."

“I…” Xiao Suo choked up, speechless for a moment, only looking left and right. But what he saw was the same extremely shocked expression on the faces of more than a dozen fellow disciples. Then, he saw the expressions on the faces of some people change from shock to grief, and then to bewilderment.

Lou He stopped laughing and softened his tone: "You're afraid that if you ask, you'll believe it yourself. But if you don't dare to ask, don't you know what you really think?"
Xiao Su hesitated, straightened up for a moment, then slowly slumped back down.

Lou He looked at him, then at the crowd: "I know what you're all thinking right now. But to be honest, none of you can compare to me."

“You believe in Taiyi, and I used to believe in it too. Not only did I believe, but I also felt that I had been possessed by the true spirit of Taiyi. If we're talking about disappointment or even fear, I should have felt it more than you. But do you know why I'm here telling you these things now?”

He turned to look at Li Wuxiang: "Because of this one."

"This man never believed in the Eastern Emperor Taiyi from beginning to end—he never believed in him even before he himself was aware of it. Li Wuxiang, isn't that right?"

Mei Qiulu frowned slightly, but Li Wuxiang nodded: "I suppose so."

"Did you hear that? Haha." Lou He laughed. "When I first realized he was this kind of person, I found it very strange. Since this person doesn't believe in Taiyi, why did he join forces with the swordsman? Gradually, I came to understand that he doesn't believe in anything, but only in himself, and he has his own reasons for adhering to them. Perhaps the reason why the Karma Emperor chose him to become a true immortal is because of this—he is his own spirit."

"Gentlemen, why not learn from him? Why must you always submit to others? Before Emperor Ye attained enlightenment, there were no spirits or gods in this world. Did the cultivators back then act like we do now?"

"In my opinion, you were all horses kept in captivity before, and even worse, horses for meat. Only today have you realized that those who kept us in captivity actually want to eat us—at this point, will you choose to stay in the pen, trembling with worry, or will you break out of the pen and roam freely in the world?"

Xiao Su remained silent, but Li Ke seemed to be stirred by his words and suddenly stood up: "Senior Brother Lou is right! If someone is to become a Great Calamity True Lord, there is no one suitable except Senior Brother Li! We can't trust Taiyi anymore, but we can trust the Great Calamity True Lord!"

Lou He nodded to him: "Junior brother, the first half of what you said is correct. But we need to change the second half—there is nothing in this world that we should believe in. When we worship the Great Calamity True Lord, we should not worship him as a ruler or an emperor, but as a friend, a fellow disciple, an assistant, and a hope. Wouldn't you feel much better if we did that?"

Xiao Suo's expression finally softened, and he looked up at Li Wuxiang.

At this moment, Xiao Suo was not the only one looking at him, so Li Wuxiang sensed the change.

After returning to the mortal world and telling Mei Qiulu about the Great Calamity True Lord's status, he himself felt somewhat ethereal. Because he could no longer sense that thing, as if everything that had happened before, Li Ye's prophecy, and the conferment of titles in the lower realm were all things of the past, things that belonged to others. Now, "Great Calamity True Lord" had become just a name that had nothing to do with him.

But now he felt it again. Before, when the swordsmen learned that Donghuang Taiyi might also be alive, they were filled with despair, disbelief, and many despondent thoughts, and this position representing ruin and destruction showed no reaction. However, at this moment, hope rekindled in their hearts, and Li Wuxiang suddenly felt something tremble in the darkness—like a faint blood-red starlight in the deepest night, which now shone slightly, indicating its existence.

Is this... the willpower it requires?

He felt his divine sense connect with that faint glimmer. It was still very weak and couldn't offer him any assistance. But Li Wuxiang sensed its longing and realized what it truly desired—

It exists independently of the human destiny, yet it is still somewhat intertwined with it. The human destiny is immortal, therefore the position of the Great Calamity True Lord is not one of complete ruin and destruction, but rather, after ruin and destruction, there is a hidden tendency for rebirth... Just like the Great Calamity Mountain, just like this new world, it was once destroyed, but then rebuilt. This is what it truly desires, much like what the Heavenly Master of Fate pursues—destruction followed by construction, not complete annihilation!
Then Li Wuxiang felt something else coming along with this connection. His heart trembled slightly, and he felt that he had gained an extra instinct.

This instinct... is like a person knowing that they can grab a pebble in front of them by simply raising their hand—he now knows that with the slightest thought, he can sow the seeds of disaster for someone.

As for what this "calamity seed" was, he knew the answer the moment he thought of the word.

—It wasn't so much that he planted the seed of calamity in someone through his supernatural powers, but rather more like following fate and destiny, prematurely triggering a person's destined tribulation. The person planted with the seed of calamity will experience hardship and danger. If they can survive, the power of their vows after surviving the tribulation will enrich their status and that of the Great Tribulation True Lord. If they cannot, the despair and resentment they experience will also be used by him, albeit with minimal effect—

This is simply... Li Wuxiang felt a funny and absurd thought pop into his mind—a mission reward?

He discovered what was needed for this position, and thus gained a stage-specific reward—this supernatural power?
When he looked at the dozen or so swordsmen again, he saw something else in them.

It seemed to be the hardships they might experience in the future, which he now "saw" in a form similar to fate. Some people would have a smoother future—for example, Xiao Suo, whose aura of hardship was only a thin layer, seemingly not having much impact on his future.

Others are shrouded in this misfortune, as if their entire being is enveloped in shadow, almost severing their "future" and affecting their lifespan—like Li Ke. This lively and kind-hearted junior brother seems to be shrouded in an inescapable fog. In Li Wuxiang's eyes, this fog is like a tribulation cloud... Without the help of others or the intervention of external forces, he will likely never be able to escape this tribulation cloud, and his lifespan will soon be exhausted.

Among these dozen or so swordsmen, there are few like Xiao Suo and many like Li Ke, as if they are all heading towards death and unable to escape this Great Calamity Mountain.

As for Senior Sister Mei and Lou He—he couldn't see the suffering and calamities on Senior Sister Mei's body, probably because she had already become a Yang God.

But Lou He terrified him. Normally, when describing someone's poor complexion, one would say their face is ashen. But now, looking at Lou He, Li Wuxiang felt as if he were beset by misfortune, his face pitch black, as if... in the next moment, or even a dozen breaths, he would die here!

(End of this chapter)