AZI Volume 5 Chapter 22

Standing at the starboard bow of the ship, Long Hua leans his back against the guard rail.

The scent of the air is rather salty, which is to be expected since they are out at sea.

(Hmm. Lao Bai said, that these ruins were the sites of the previous world—prior to the reset. Seems like this area was the sort to have managed to get a part of itself wiped away. In that case, what happens when we get to the edge of this world?)

As Long Hua is thinking of this, the horn of the ship goes off—signaling the excavation's beginning, as the warship begins to move.

"…"

On the opposite end of where he is, Long Hua sees Hui'er and Zhang Yong, along with other members of the hall crowded together.

"…!"

Almost as soon as Zhang Yong had turned towards his direction, Long Hua would put his hands together to crack his knuckles, causing the former to avert their gaze immediately.

"…"

Turning around, Long Hua takes out a beach chair to rest on, and stares out at the gloomy seas.

Similarly, the Tai Xuan Emperor has her vessel do the same, while asking—

(*-laoban, why so melancholic?)

Towards the Tai Xuan Emperor's question, Long Hua replies—

"I want out of this world as soon as possible."

Heaving a sigh, Long Hua continues to say—

"Talk about your past, Tai Xuan Emperor."

(…What are you talking about?)

"Earthborn Elementals' Realm, that's where you came from, right?"

(…)

As the Tai Xuan Emperor remains silent, Long Hua remarks—

"You walked through an entire lifetime with me. In my previous life, I never tried to understand you as a person."

(…Isn't trying to understand me a bit too late at this point?)

Smiling with amusement, Long Hua replies—

"Who knows? I just know that you and I are both travelers. Neither of us are a native of this world, or the Everlasting Spirit Realm for that matter. This isn't the place we belong. We… Come from places very far from here, places with vastly different cultures. Ai, let's just say that I'm bored, and am in the mood to listen to a boring story."

(Rather rude, don't you think?)

"It's probably something stupid, isn't it? You got betrayed by someone close to you? Maybe a disciple? Or a family member? Or maybe by your own people, who were fed up with your attitude?"

Clicking her tongue, the Tai Xuan Emperor replies—

(You really are rude, *-laoban. Contrary to your belief, I was quite popular with my subjects. If I were a gacha game character, my rarity would be SS- No, UR, with a power level that would keep me as a tier zero unit from the game's release until its end of service.)

"…"

...…

Inside the dreamscape, the Tai Xuan Emperor can't help but frown under these circumstances, as she mutters—

"Has he realized that the doll is my vessel?"

As much as the Tai Xuan Emperor wishes to ask Long Hua about this directly, she cannot afford to risk it, hence—

...…

"Master."

"Hm?"

Turning to Tian Cheng, Long Hua tilts his head, while the former says—

"Asking someone about such an unpleasant topic—is indeed a bit rude, don't you think?"

"…If I want to know something, I'll be blunt about it. Besides, she and I did walk through an entire lifetime together. I think, I have the right to know—the history of my stalker."

"Is what he says? So, Tai Xuan Emperor, what will you do?"

Asking herself this question through her vessel, the Tai Xuan Emperor raises a sigh, and says—

(Fine, fine. It's exactly what you think it is, I got betrayed by my little sister.)

"And the cause of it?"

(Till this day, I still don't know the reason. One of my purposes for wanting to return there is because I want to know why. What exactly caused that cute little sister of mine—whom I had raised, to end up stabbing me in the back?)

Heaving another sigh, the Tai Xuan Emperor adds—

(Look, *-laoban, I won't bore you with the boring political landscape of my homeland that had no doubt changed greatly while I was away. In any case, the cultivation methods of my homeland were focused on the development of divine senses and soul nurturing. Beyond the Nascent Soul realm, we enter the Spirit Body realm. In this realm, our flesh and blood bodies, along with our souls become one. We can swap between the two, but since combat bodies are much more superior in spec, we tend to maintain a spiritual body to occupy it.)

"I see."

As Long Hua nods, the Tai Xuan Emperor pauses for a brief instance, prior to continuing her explanation.

(When I had my guard down, my little sister took out an unknown Spirit Armament. Using that, she managed to rip my physical body and soul apart. As a spiritual body, I didn't have a choice but to flee into the Divine Weapon of Tai Xuan—that I was in the process of making at the time. …As the Tai Xuan Emperor, I was an extremely cautious individual; so the platform that I was developing the weapon on was also able to be converted into an escape pod. Activating that, I made my swift getaway.)

"…?"

Hearing this, Long Hua's expression turns odd, to which, the Tai Xuan Emperor remarks—

(Look, the environment that I grew up in—it didn't allow me to be lax with anything, alright? Besides, you're not any different from me.)

"…Fair enough. What I want to know now is… You can actually give me anything contained inside of the divine weapon for free, right?"

(…)

"What is your main objective in creating this gacha system?"

Blinking her eyes inside of the dreamscape, the Tai Xuan Emperor answers—

(*-laoban, part of my contract with Dao He Tian Xue is definitely there as one reason.)

"Right."

(The other reason… Ai… Whatever, I'll be honest with you. It's because I want to refine the Divine Weapon of Tai Xuan again. I want to make it into the ultimate Spirit Armament, one that surpasses my home planet—Planet Jí Jìng's greatest defensive weapon, the Aurora unit. To do that I need rare metals and minerals. That thing you got from that knock-off Immortal is called an abyssal star gem, it's worth six pulls.)

"So, what happens after you finish refining it?"

(Ideal case scenario, I take over your body, and return to the Earthborn Elementals' Realm in full glory to slap some faces, however…)

"Keep dreaming, you bitch."

(Right…)

Hunching forward, and pressing a hand to his chin, Long Hua asks—

"…Can't you just make do with a combat body?"

(A combat body is meant to be occupied by an individual with a complete body—meaning, an individual with both a soul and a flesh and blood body that is merged together using the unique cultivation methods of the Earthborn Elementals' Realm. In my current state, I cannot hope to demonstrate a combat body's full strength even if I were to occupy one.)

"Aren't you supposed to be very capable? Why not just make a combat body that can demonstrate its full strength with just a spiritual body occupying it?"

Towards Long Hua's question, the Tai Xuan Emperor raises a sigh, and replies—

(You make it sound so easy. This is the issue with amateurs, who don't know any better about Spirit Armaments… Hmm.)

Contemplating for a bit, the Tai Xuan Emperor says—

(There is one item inside of the gacha that may be able to deal with this issue.)

"What item?"

(There's no proper name for it. I just simply call it, the "Heart.")

"Hm?"

(Essentially what it is—is the cultivation base of a practitioner, in its rawest form. If you insert that into a combat body, maybe I can demonstrate its full potential—even as a spiritual body?)

"In that case, get it the hell out."

(I can't. Anything related to the divine weapon is held at a vice-grip by the contract between Dao He Tian Xue and I.)

Raising a subtle laugh, Long Hua remarks—

"…Seems like it can't be helped then. You'll just have to stay in there till the world ends."

(C'mon, don't be like that, *-laoban. You've got resources that you can throw in there for exchanges, right? Get your cute little Tai Xuan Emperor what she wants most—an SSR rarity combat body and the "Heart." Do that and you might be able to raise my affection gauge, and unlock a few CGs here and there with the hopes of eventually-)

"Piss off."

(As coldhearted of a man as usual…)

Blinking his eyes, Long Hua heaves a sigh, and says—

"Well, glad we got some matters sorted out between us, I guess? Looking forward to working with you again, Tai Xuan Emperor."

(To you as well, I suppose, *-laoban?)