A fair distance away from the town or Zhu Diyu’s court, Hui stopped. He looked around, turning a circle in midair to be sure, then nodded to himself. Good. I’m all alone here. Time to try the talisman and see what happens!
He lifted his hand and pointed the talisman at empty space. Waves emerged from the talisman, shuddering the space itself. Black gaps opened between the waves. Hui leaned forward. Is that… those gaps, the space between space… are those what Zhu Diy...
2023-04-15 14:00:01 +0000 UTC
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Hui stood there smiling until the reaper faded away. The second she faded away, the smile dropped off his face. No time to waste. While she’s away, time to find out what happened to all the other reapers before me!
He hurried off into the town, looking around for a clerk with some free time. All the clerks rushed by, eyes dead ahead, clutching records and scrolls to their chests. After a few minutes, Hui frowned. Narrowing his eyes, he leaned against a wall and watched the ru...
2023-04-14 14:00:03 +0000 UTC
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Sighing, the reaper kicked him up, then caught him over one shoulder. “I don’t know what happened up there, but I can guess. Si Wang?”
“Mhm. I think… he redirected my emergence from the Underworld, then captured me,” Hui explained. He hung there limply, tired. I’ve given up on figuring out what’s happening, but I’m not being stepped on anymore, so that’s nice. Hopefully Elder Sister isn’t kidnapping me someplace horrible.
Haa, I’ve spent a long...
2023-04-13 14:00:02 +0000 UTC
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The demon bobbed in the net, then rolled onto its side, as if tilting its head. It flailed its arms at Hui. It opened its mouth and yipped at him again.
“Ah… yes. You can’t exactly talk, can you,” Hui murmured.
“Can it write?” Si Wang asked, pointing at its many arms.
Hui looked at the demon.
It wobbled in place, then lifted its many arms and gave an emphatic shrug.
Reaching into his tattered robes, Si Wang drew out a ragged scroll and a writing brush...
2023-04-12 15:00:03 +0000 UTC
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Hui hurried over to Si Wang’s side. “Elder Brother, how impressive! Handling that dangerous demon so easily…”
“I merely used an artifact. Simply one of my many artifacts,” Si Wang said haughtily, flicking his hair again. He glanced at Hui, watching his reaction.
It’s obvious you’re showing off, Elder Brother. Sighing internally, Hui put on an amazed face. “Wow! Senior must have a great number of artifacts at hand!”
“Hmph! You haven’t even see...
2023-04-11 15:00:02 +0000 UTC
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Si Wang stared at Hui. “You?”
Hui laughed lightly. “It makes me nervous when you stare at me like that.”
“You created those demons? Why? How?” he demanded.
“Er, simply… a little bit of experimentation. Ah! I didn’t mean to create a demon! I was simply trying to absorb death qi, and the resentment got in the way,” Hui said, nodding. The first time, anyways. The second time—the second time is your fault! I needed a way to distract you while I...
2023-04-10 16:00:04 +0000 UTC
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Si Wang leaped into the air, dragging Hui after him. Hui hung limply in his grasp. A paralyzing force spread through his body from Si Wang’s hand on his neck, not that he bothered to fight it. I’ll just… give in. The faster we get this over with, the better. Plus, he doesn’t seem to want to fight me, which is always a bonus in my book! Let’s talk it out peacefully, not fight! At last, I’ve found someone who understands my principles!
“No one else will listen. The ...
2023-04-09 15:00:02 +0000 UTC
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However, it’s still good to know what I just learned! Hui looked at her. “Can you come running that fast any time Bai Xingxue uses the charm?”
Bai Xue shook her head. “Only when I’m close. I still haven’t learned spatial techniques… I am only sixth realm, after all. Most cultivators can’t comprehend the secrets of spatial techniques until eighth realm.”
“And Li Xiang…” Hui asked.
Bai Xue shook her head. “She’s closer to eighth realm, but ...
2023-04-08 14:00:04 +0000 UTC
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Hui stared after Bai Xue for a few moments, then shook his head and tore his eyes down. Bai Xingxue and Li Weiqi… I should make sure everything is going according to plan. Such as I have a plan!
Now that Li Weiqi considers Zhubi his rival, he should be motivated to learn how to become stronger, but that still leaves Bai Xingxue. I need to figure out how to motivate them before I can consider my plan a success!
A moment before he leaped away, someone coughed beh...
2023-04-07 15:00:02 +0000 UTC
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Bai Xue looked at him, then sighed. “Well, I can’t say I’m surprised.”
“Eh?” Hui said.
“You faked your death, right? Wanted to skip out on child-rearing, hmm?” Bai Xue asked, hooking an eyebrow.
Hui shook his head and waved his hand. “Elder Brother, no, no! I’m dead. I’m actually dead!”
“You don’t look very dead,” Bai Xue said, looking him up and down.
Hui licked his lips. How do I explain this? “Er, no, I know I don’t l...
2023-04-06 14:00:02 +0000 UTC
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“Ah? You’re finally man enough to fight me?” Li Weiqi asked.
Zhubi shrugged. He slid forward another step, taking his usual small steps.
“Stupid long-haired tight-robe-wearing freak. Are you even a man? You think you can actually—”
Zhubi’s hand snapped out again. It struck Li Weiqi in the chest, and Hui caught his breath. Shit! Did Zhubi actually—
Li Weiqi glanced down. Rather than grab him, Zhubi had grabbed his robes by the collar. “Ha! You...
2023-04-05 14:00:03 +0000 UTC
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“Elder Sister, I’m going this way,” Hui said, gesturing toward his quarters. Right now, I need to head back topside and check in on my children, encourage them to keep growing. Once they have a reasonable comprehension of the importance of running for help and working on growing their ability to run away, I can focus on some of my personal objectives.
The reaper sighed. She shook her head. “You should spend some time here. Get to know the clerks and the Underworld.”
2023-04-04 15:00:04 +0000 UTC
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“So? What troubles do you bring me this time?” Zhu Diyu asked, sitting forward on his throne.
The reaper saluted respectfully. A beat later, Hui joined her, half out of reflex. “Sir,” the reaper stated, “We encountered Black Impermanence again.”
“Ah? What’s he doing now?” Zhu Diyu grumbled, shaking his head. His long blood-red hair fell over one shoulder.
“He calls himself Si Wang, and he appears to have discovered a way to condense demons from resentment...
2023-04-03 15:00:02 +0000 UTC
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The reaper led the way, but this time, Hui walked abreast with her, fully aware of their destination. Back to Zhu Diyu’s court. We’ve been by twice in such short succession… does the reaper always visit this often, or is it only since I arrived that she’s been so active?
Hui straightened his robes, dusting them down self-consciously. “Elder Sister, remind me again. What are we reporting to Zhu Diyu about?”
She stared at him, dead-eyed. “Do you not remember?...
2023-04-02 15:00:02 +0000 UTC
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Hui watched over the disciples until the sun began to descend in the sky. The lead instructor signaled that it was time to return home for night, and the disciples rose and began filing off. The other instructor marched directly for him, but before he could reach Hui, Hui hurried off, using his true fifth-realm cultivation to speed off. The instructor chased him at a speedwalk, and Hui sped off at a speedwalk, but between the two, the distance only opened between Hui and the other instructor....
2023-04-01 14:00:05 +0000 UTC
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The second the two children left his line of sight, Hui sat up, resisting the urge to laugh. These children… I even deliberately gave myself a pulse, but that clumsy child was too panicked to find it. Ah… trying to pull a scam like that? How cheeky, how adorable! They’re truly my children.
But… if they’re running roughshod like this over the other disciples, they’re well on their way to becoming Young Masters with inflated opinions of their own self-worth. At th...
2023-03-31 15:00:02 +0000 UTC
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When the familiar shape of Starbound Sect appeared on the horizon, Hui jumped off the shuttle. “Thank you, Song Wei. I’ll take it from here!”
Song Wei nodded. He turned around and flew back, leaving Hui alone.
Hui took a deep breath, then used the snakeskin disguise technique on himself. I don’t necessarily want Starbound Sect to know I’m back. For one thing, I’m not. I can only return here momentarily. For another… if Sect Master Lan is bullying my children, I d...
2023-03-30 16:00:03 +0000 UTC
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Flying out of Song Wei’s room, Hui burst off, pushing himself to fly as fast as he could. I don’t know how close I can get. The reaper said I don’t have much time, and it takes most of a day to fly between All-Heavens and Starbound Sects. But… I have to bet everything on it! I’m so close. I can’t give up now!
As he flew off, Shen Aiguo landed on Song Wei’s step. She frowned, looking after Hui, then peeked inside. “Song Wei, was that Gui Yutong’s husband?”
2023-03-29 15:00:02 +0000 UTC
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The second he stepped inside, Hui dropped into a meditative pose. He circulated his energy, focusing on his route to the surface. The seed on the far side of the mountain barrier. The seed in the Southern region! Call out to me, seed!
To his surprise, two beacons lit up in the Southern Sect Conference. One, brighter than the other, called to him like a sun, eclipsing the light of the second seed. Hui frowned, then shrugged mentally. Let’s go find out! I can take a few ris...
2023-03-28 15:00:02 +0000 UTC
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A hand closed around Hui’s collar. Leaping upward, the reaper burst away from the mud and soared into the sky. The mud lurched inches past Hui’s toes, and then they surged up, leaving the town far behind. The mud crashed through.
“Ah! Elder Sister is right. When you can’t play dead, fleeing is the next best thing!” Hui said, nodding vigorously.
The reaper snorted. She frowned at the mud. “This resentment…”
Hui peered at the resentment as well. I wonder if...
2023-03-27 15:59:01 +0000 UTC
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The reaper looked over her shoulder, then stood, turning. She scowled. “Si Wang! What are you attempting to do?”
Si Wang laughed, not listening. The paper strips on his hat whirled on the breeze, his tattered black robes flying. “Bury them! Bury them all!”
“Elder Sister, is there any meaning to this? Can’t we return directly to the Underworld… or in the worst case, can’t you stomp the mud away again?” Hui asked.
The reaper nodded. “I can.”
“Cult...
2023-03-26 14:00:02 +0000 UTC
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Hui adjusted his neck one last time. Experimentally, he circulated the crystallization technique. I’m not in my true body, but between plant and crystal, this body, forged from the stone of the Underworld, is surely closer to crystal.
That, and the plant technique relies on life qi. Life qi… which I no longer have. I hope it’s stored in my body, and not lost… ah, I’d have to cultivate for so long to make up for the lost life qi if I didn’t hold onto it!
...
2023-03-25 15:00:03 +0000 UTC
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“Excuse me?” The man waved a hand in front of Hui’s unblinking eyes. He pushed Hui away and sat up, frowning. “Is someone in there? Hello?”
Nope, I’m dead. I’m totally dead. Go prank Elder Sister Reaper instead of me! I’m too well versed in the art of faking dead to fall for your dying act, Elder Brother! So leave me alone and find some other sucker to pull it on!
The man looked at Hui for another moment, then shrugged. He laid back against the ground agai...
2023-03-24 14:00:06 +0000 UTC
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Bare minutes after he’d been rudely ripped from the surface, Hui stepped back into the mortal world, raising a hand to squint against the sunlight. I feel like a yo-yo, zipping back and forth between the realms… but then, I’ve only got myself to blame. If I hadn’t been up exploring the mortal realm… no. If I hadn’t died in the first place, I wouldn’t have to worry about the Underworld.
Ahhh, dammit. I’m still annoyed that I died. It was so easy to accept dea...
2023-03-23 20:13:35 +0000 UTC
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A/N orry guys, I dunno what happened there. It was scheduled and everything, Patreon just... *Shrug*
Hui waited, unwilling to break his connection entirely. Come on, someone hurry back! I’m waiting urgently online! There’s a battle going on, and it’s just a matter of time before someone kills this poor dead cultivator!
Outside, Mo Riyan and Long Tongshi clashed in a spray of sparks.
“I, your father, will teach you a lesson!” Mo Riyan snarled.
2023-03-22 19:14:20 +0000 UTC
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Long Tongshi looked at the meditating Hui, emanating a cold, dark aura. He scowled. “I don’t trust him.”
“Why not? He hasn’t been threatening, not even once,” Mo Riyan said.
Long Tongshi shook his head. “He broke through the barrier with ease. We shouldn’t dismiss him. He’s stronger than he looks.”
“You’re getting worked up over nothing,” Mo Riyan said, shaking his head. He nodded at Hui. “If he wanted to kill us, and he was really that powerful, ...
2023-03-21 15:00:02 +0000 UTC
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Hui followed after Long Tongshi and Mo Riyan as the two flew ahead. They led him to a spartan temple carved directly from the mountains’ stone. A pair of dragons bared their teeth from either side of a tall square doorway, while a phoenix spread its wings over the top of the doorway. The doorway itself stood empty, no more than a dark rectangle cut from the brownish granite.
Sighing, Hui paused, gazing up at the massive scaled coils. He put a hand to his empty neck. I miss Zhubi...
2023-03-20 14:59:01 +0000 UTC
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Oh, over there. There’s the other one. And he’s alone! Perfect. Hui flew up to the man, pasting a polite smile on his face. “Excuse me, Elder Brother, but I was wondering—”
The man turned. Hui barely repressed the urge to widen his eyes. Tall! This man is huge!
With a frown, he crossed his arms. “I thought you were going to search for that irregularity.”
Hui laughed nervously. “Haha, I didn’t find anything, so I’m back. Er, Elder Brother...
2023-03-19 15:59:01 +0000 UTC
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“So boring,” Mo Riyan complained, yawning.
Long Tongshi prodded him in the side. “Look alive. We’re here to guard the border to the Southern region.”
“What are we going to do? If the Eastern region decides to attack, we’re only fifth realm. The lowliest rank of the Eight Tiers Palace wouldn’t take us in!” Mo Riyan returned.
“It’s our important duty to sound the alarm. We must stay alert,” Long Tongshi returned stiffly.
“Eh…” Mo Riyan compl...
2023-03-18 15:00:01 +0000 UTC
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Hui watched the reaper go and let out a quiet sigh of relief. I didn’t get stepped on. Good! What happens once can be taken as a coincidence, but what happens twice must happen a third time, and what happens a third time is a habit. My step counter is already at one, which means we’re on the very brink of being stepped on as a habit!
Wait, no. I’m on the brink. Right, right. I’m not a set of clones anymore. Just me. Just… this one me.
He glance...
2023-03-17 15:00:02 +0000 UTC
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