23 Roles

(TN: sadly I can't continue Wao due to licensing but the good news is that La0 said he'll try to finish it this year. I'll send the 31 chaps I had done to him so he can publish it. sorry!)

. .. ... .... ..... .... ... .. . . . .

Liuping didn't stay there for long, instead, finding a secluded cave, sat down cross-legged, and closed his eyes.

Cultivation.

Cultivation forms the foundation if he wants to protect himself.

Without sufficient strength, it's stupid to delve into the depths of these caves, unless, of course, you want to die without knowing how.

As spiritual power courses through his limbs and bones, surging through checkpoints, his entire body became more translucent and more attuned with heaven and earth.

Opening his eyes after a while.

Before him, a string of minuscule text lingered in the void:

[You can break through at any moment.]

Liuping rose to his feet and stretched.

"The innate aptitude of this body is many times stronger than my original one" he mused.

With this cultivation session concluded, the bottleneck in the Qi refining period had been broken, though the spiritual power necessary increased.

Once his spiritual power recovers, he has to rush back to Dark Mist Town to advance to the foundation establishment.

In a world filled with danger and death on every corner, there was no room for relaxation.

Thus, the only thing he could do now was—

Liuping closed his eyes and murmured to himself "Let me see how the old man designed this underground sanctuary..."

Various memories flooded his mind.

Suddenly, Liu Ping recalled a particular moment.

It was before the decisive battle between the human race and the demons that Master had planned to start designing underground shelters.

"Let me take a look. Tsk, old man, there is a flaw in the layout" he remarked, tapping the jade slip.

"What flaw?" inquired the master.

"It lacks aesthetics and isn't very accommodating to dual Cultivators, they have no private space for themselves" Liuping remarked.

"Scram!, brat you already reached the Divine Reflection realm. Hurry up and perfect it for me, then ascend!" the master retorted.

"Ascend? No thanks. I have no desire to scram either" I declared.

"Why not?" the master inquired.

"You once told me that the Divine Reflection is the pinnacle of cultivation. And I am free to pursue whatever I want once I reach this stage." I explained.

"Yes, that's what I said."

"Hmph, I've dedicated years to rigorous cultivation, enduring countless hardships to attain the Divine Reflection Realm finally. And then you tell me about 17 more stages after Divine Reflection!, and who knows how many more there are and you're not telling me about" he scoffed.

"—Old fart, why didn't you tell me earlier? Do you realize how detrimental this is?" exclaimed Liu Ping.

The master's expression froze.

After a moment of silence, he spoke, his voice strained "The higher the realm, the greater the strength. Cultivators of my generation value strength above all else. If you refuse to ascend, what purpose is there for a cultivator?"

shaking his head "If I ascend I need to go to the countless worlds beyond ours. It's a one-way journey—what if I can't return?"

"Return? Once you've become an unparalleled cultivator, why would you concern yourself with our low-level spiritual world?" the master argued.

"No, I can't abandon this world" Liu Ping insisted.

"Why?" the master pressed.

"Because my past is here," he replied.

"Master, I've discovered a way to elevate our world to higher realms. While others ascend by themselves, we can lift our entire world alongside us, overcoming all hardships together."

The master's expression softened, yet held a tinge of sadness. "It's a fool's dream... and it's not the right path..."

"I won't ascend. Instead, I'll focus on this task" he declared.

As the memories faded, He tried to remember the jade slips he had encountered while constructing the underground refuge.

Opening his eyes, a sense of bewilderment filled his every being.

'Had the master been urging me to ascend because he already knew it was too late?'

He realized his master had come to terms with the fact that there was no other way but to resort to the pill to alter his fate.

Snapping out of his thoughts.

'But times have changed.'

What was once a world of opportunity has now transformed into a realm of Death.

Even the strategies I once envisioned now seem like mere fantasies, unattainable in this altered reality.

Liu Ping took a few silent breaths, murmuring softly, "Once I've completed laying the groundwork, I will uncover what you two left behind on the 39th floor underground."

He stepped out of the cave, prepared to take flight along the familiar path, when suddenly he halted.

In the emptiness, small crimson lines materialized:

[Attention.]

[The 39th floor underground likely harbors secrets crucial to the current world. We must investigate them.]

Liuping finished reading and exclaimed, "Another investigation ?"

The last time he had encountered this was upon awakening.

Another burning line emerged:

[This sequence is commencing its second investigation.]

[Please proceed to the 39th underground floor to uncover the secrets left behind by the corpse refiner, enabling us to better understand the current situation.]

"Will you activate once we do that?" Liu Ping inquired with intrigue.

A rapid succession of small texts appeared:

[Attention.]

[To prevent detection and ensure our mutual safety, this sequence will remain sealed.]

[Even if activated inadvertently, this sequence will not be compelled to act.]

[This sequence will remain sealed.]

With a wave of his hand, Liu Ping gave up trying dejectedly.

'Whatever'.

It's been always the same, ever since his first interaction with it in the past.

"...Fine, do what you want" Liuping muttered, retrieving several spiritual stones and clutching them tightly, swiftly replenishing his depleted spiritual power.

Once again, a line of small text emerged:

[Although this sequence will remain sealed, if you choose to explore the secrets using this sequence, this sequence will offer assistance while ensuring your safety.]

Liuping remarked, "Just like last time?"

The last time he had captured the living dead and allowed the sequence to analyze it, he had been rewarded with an extraordinary ability: "A Man Without A Role."

So, what awaited him this time?

Another line of small text materialized in the air:

[You have now become 'A Man Without A Role.' This is merely the beginning. If you uncover more secrets, you will earn Role points and unlock additional extraordinary abilities.]

"Role Points? Exploring secrets to earn points?" Liu Ping couldn't help but question.

[That's correct. This sequence will assess the secrets you uncover and award corresponding Role points" the response came]

[Once you accumulate enough points, 'A Man Without A Role' will evolve into an even more extraordinary and mysterious force.]

After pondering for a moment, Liu Ping declared, "Deal!"

Half an hour later, relying on his recollection, he navigated his way to the lower levels.

The path was adorned with various mechanisms, formations, and concealed passages, all meticulously crafted by the Gua Saint.

With Liu Ping's current strength, unraveling them was beyond his capabilities.

Fortunately, during the initial construction, measures had been taken for accommodating ordinary people.

Thus, there were highly secretive tunnels on the first few floors, offering a direct route to the subsequent levels.

However, traversing these passages is extremely dangerous.

The slightest misstep would trigger lethal traps.

Yet, these designs posed no challenge to Liu Ping.

He systematically disarmed each trap and pressed onward.

After about an hour, Liu Ping arrived at a cliff.

The path for mortals ended here.

To proceed further, one needed to be a cultivator with the appropriate tokens and techniques to navigate the perilous terrain and evade the deadly obstacles below.

Looking down over the edge, Liu Ping dropped a stone into the abyss.

As the stone fell, the void shimmered with countless vibrant auras, coalescing into billions of razor-sharp threads that surged forward and twisted with gentle grace—

In the blink of an eye, the stone was reduced to powder.

Liuping sighed, settling down at the cliff's edge, contemplating his next move.

In truth, there were multiple paths available to practitioners leading to the lower levels.

Moreover, the base of this cliff marked only the beginning of the forty floors below, with each subsequent floor decreasing by one, thus making the level below this one the thirty-ninth floor.

This cliff—

Is actually a trap.

Not only were there the spiritual thread-cutting mechanisms witnessed just now, but also dozens of methods of obliteration lay in wait.

Should anyone leap forth, aiming to reach the depths in a single bound, they would soon discover that they must contend with overwhelming attacks while also being forbidden from utilizing any flight techniques.

—Only the items imbued with spiritual power remained immune, continuing their descent unscathed.

'This was a consideration borne from my own counsel to Master.'

"Master, the trap here is not flawless" I once remarked.

"Oh? What did you find this time?" he inquired.

"As the saying goes, killing and looting are a matched set of actions. After this cliff obliterates intruders, designing a combined formation array capable of identifying items imbued with spiritual power and preserving them intact would give it justice. This way, we could still profit from them" I suggested.

"Hmph, Wealth is all you think about? This old man does not care for mere trinkets" he retorted.

—Yet..., Master still created a combined Formation Array for identifying and storing items imbued with spiritual power, allowing them to descend unscathed.

But that was all in the past.

Liuping pushed aside his reminiscences and sighed, "Spiritual objects... I possess few, with only one being worthy enough to go all the way down safely..."

He rose to his feet, extending his hand towards the cliff, and silently uttered:

" Piggy Bank."