Chapter 289 - Reappeared Styx, Opened Door of the Underworld
The Holy Emperor was back. He respectfully walked next to Li Nianfan and said in a troubled voice, “Mr. Li, my daughter’s traumatized.”
“Sigh. There must’ve been something terrifying in the battlefields.”
Li Nianfan softly sighed. Then, he looked at Ziye, “Even Goddess Ziye can’t do anything about this?”
Ziye hurriedly said, “If the body was injured, there’d be medicine to cure it. But Lady Shiyu lost her soul. I can’t offer my help.”
Li Nianfan frowned.
He groaned.
To be honest, he was surprised that the Immortals could not help her. He felt unconfident.
‘Can I really cure her?’ Li Nianfan self-doubted.
Zhong Xiu carefully observed Li Nianfan. She asked in a trembling voice, “Mr. Li, do…do you have any methods?”
“I have a method in mind. However…” hesitated Li Nianfan. He continued, “However, it’s an ordinary method that isn’t mainstream. I’m afraid it’s not very hopeful.”
‘Another ordinary method of curing?
‘Ordinary methods are nice!’
1
The Holy Emperor was flushed from excitement.
He knew about how Li Nianfan performed a C-section for childbirth. He also knew about how Li Nianfan reattached Lin Mufeng’s arm. Li Nianfan always got The Answer from being ordinary.
‘Which Immortal could ever compare to that?
‘The expert can transform ordinary ways into Saintly effects. Shiyu’ll be saved!’
The Holy Emperor concealed his excitement and said, “Please, try it, Mr. Li. It might have unexpected effects.”
Li Nianfan nodded. “True. Trying’s better than nothing.”
He said, “I’ll need a bowl of rice, an incense stick, and a bowl of water. Oh, yeah. Bring me some empty bowls and a few metal spoons.”
“Okay, okay, okay, I’m on it!” The Holy Emperor did not hesitate. He immediately ordered people to prepare it.
The items requested were very common. It was soon retrieved with ease.
Li Nianfan noticed that everyone was looking at him with high expectations. He smiled awkwardly and shook his head.
‘Alright, can’t back out now.’
He was using a superstitious method. In the past realm, it was known as Spiritualism, also known as Evocation.
It seemed to be effective but it also seemed to be ineffective. In conclusion, it was all too silly.
However, the System provided him with methods like that before. With a few tweaks from the past realm, it felt reliable somehow.
Li Nianfan thought of the System and knew where to draw the line.
Li Nianfan skipped the bell-shaking-stage-making-ritual-dancing process because he could not bear to do it himself. He was not that shameless.
‘Let’s begin.’
He brought his brush and paper. He placed it on the table and said, “Daji, help me grind the ink.”
Daji replied, “Yes, sir.”
Li Nianfan held the bowl of water and placed it underneath the door.
Then, he threw rice at the four corners of the room. He lit the incense and stuck it on the bed.
Li Nianfan looked weirded out. He opened his mouth like he was about to say something. Then, he said, “Holy Emperor, you should all hold the empty bowls and spoons. Later, when you hear me yell ‘Evocation’, knock the empty bowls with the spoons.”
Li Nianfan felt awkward. It was hard to say it to a bunch of cultivators and Immortals.
Just the thought of it was funny.
“Okay, Mr. Li.” The Holy Emperor nodded. He said to the others, “Please, everyone.”
The others naturally went along with it. They said without hesitation, “Of course.”
Li Nianfan walked to the table with a serious expression. He held his brush but did not do anything for a long while.
Phew—
He exhaled and looked at the white paper. Then…he painted!
Buzz!
As he painted, the realm seemed to change in an unknown way. Waves were appearing out of thin air along with his brush strokes.
His brushstrokes were complicated but he was not writing something. He seemed to be painting some sort of symbol. It was barely a painting but it was not writing for sure.
He did not stop with the brush strokes. It seemed like he was casually painting but it also seemed precise.
The white paper was long. Li Nianfan painted something long, too. It was all in a single stroke and he did not dare to pause. He started to sweat.
The wind started to blow!
The wind blew into the room. It blew on the bowl of water at the door, causing some ripples.
1
The wind was extremely creepy. It was not strong but it was bone-chilling. They would describe it as… Ghostly Wind!
Even the Immortals felt cold.
The others looked outside. It was dark out, not because of the clouds but because it was suddenly nighttime!
Gu Xirou kept observing Li Nianfan. Then, she widened her bloodshot eyes in horror as her mind went blank. She hurriedly closed her mouth with her hands. She did not dare to scream out loud.
The others quickly noticed it, too. They quietly gasped as their hair stood on ends. They felt their skins crawl.
Ziye and Taoist Xinghe forgot to breathe. They looked behind Li Nianfan, baffled as they trembled.
Everyone tried their best to control themselves. They did not dare to make a sound.
‘That… That’s…’
Behind Li Nianfan, a long, bloody river slowly appeared. It was just a figure but it was powerful. Moreover, the long river was menacing. Howls from ghosts could be heard. It was deafening and memorable!
Boom!
The river started to become clear. The river had strong waves and it seemed to be mad. ‘That isn’t a river, that’s clearly an ocean… A blood ocean!’
They guessed it. That was probably where they would go when they died.
Ziye did not blink. She gradually breathed faster. There were tears in her eyes.
‘The Styx. The Styx River of the Underworld!’
5
Countless skulls struggled in the Styx. Ghosts howled and roared. It was chaotic.
The door to the Underworld was long gone. The Road of Reincarnation had been broken for years. Did the expert reopen the door to the Underworld? Did the Underworld reappear?!
So scary! So horrifying!
It seemed like the expert was set on rebuilding the eldritch eras.
Li Nianfan finally paused on his last brush stroke. It was over!
He picked up the paper and lit it on fire!
“May the four Gods of Ghosts open the Ghost Door. Follow the sounds as guides, please, return her soul!”
Buzz!
The ocean of blood rose like a tsunami. Everything changed at that moment.
Nothing much changed on the appearance, but all the cultivators could feel the enormous changes of the realm. They could not identify what it was. It felt like some sort of wall was broken.
They snapped out of it when they heard Li Nianfan. They did not dare to delay. They quickly picked up their spoons and knocked on the empty bowls.
Cling clang!
The room echoed with the sounds.
Li Nianfan walked to the door with the paper. He placed the end of the paper that was still burning into the bowl of water.
The fire did not go out when it touched the water. Instead, the color of the flames turned blue. It was dim and flickering.
“Seems like it’s working!”
Li Nianfan was feeling hopeful. He chanted, “Soul and consciousness within thousands of miles, return in a hurry! The Princess of the Ganlong Immortal Dynasty, the daughter of the Holy Emperor and Zhong Xiu, Luo Shiyu. Evocation, return!”
Fume!
A gust of wind blew in but it made the paper burn faster. It quickly turned to ash and melted into the water.
Li Nianfan hurriedly looked over. He saw a shiny circle in the bowl of water.
That must be the sign of a successful Evocation.
Suddenly, the world returned to what it once was. The figure of the blood ocean had vanished. The realm was once again peaceful. They were still knocking on the bowls in the room.
Li Nianfan softly coughed, “Alright, don’t need to knock anymore.”
Everyone stopped and looked at Luo Shiyu lying on the bed.
The incense stick was still burning. The smoke slithered in front of Luo Shiyu.
Suddenly, Luo Shiyu’s eyes moved slightly. Then, she slowly opened her eyes. She looked confused.
Zhong Xiu was instantly overjoyed. She quickly yelled, “Shiyu!”
“Mother,” said Luo Shiyu softly. Her voice was weird because her soul had not fully remerged with her body yet.
“You’re awake,” smiled Li Nianfan. He sighed in relief. He did not expect Evocation to work.
‘Of course. The Immortal Realm has cultivators, so superstitious practices would work, too.’
“Mr. Li.” Luo Shiyu jolted. She was about to get up.
Li Nianfan did not want to take credit for saving her. He said, “Holy Emperor, Concubine Zhong, Lady Shiyu just woke up. It’s not good for her to move around. She needs rest. We should go now.”
The Holy Emperor hurriedly saluted and said from the bottom of his heart, “Thank you so much for today, Mr. Li. We can’t repay you for your generosity. We’ll visit next time to thank you.”
He was telling the truth. He did not know how to repay the expert.
“You’re too courteous. How could I stand by and watch her die? You don’t need to thank me, just don’t be a stranger,” laughed Li Nianfan. Then, he said, “Alright, we should go.”
“Okay, yeah, safe travels, Mr. Li. Let me see you off.” The Holy Emperor was touched. He quickly wiped away his tears and kept nodding.
‘What did we do to deserve this? The expert’s too nice to us!’
Gu Xirou, Ziye, and the others all looked at Li Nianfan with complex emotions.
Bigshots saw life as an insignificant weed. They viewed people as insects. It was not an incorrect statement. No one would care about the lives of insects. However, the expert was different.
The other hidden experts would treat the realm like a game. In reality, they still saw other people as insects. However, the expert was different. He truly treated everyone equally. His state of mind was beyond all of it.
The state of mind of being ordinary.
That was a true bigshot!
The legendary Saint would be a loser in front of the expert!
‘We’re lucky enough to become the expert’s chess pieces. We’re lucky beyond lifetimes!’
The others naturally followed Li Nianfan. They said, “Holy Emperor, we should get going, too.”
The Holy Emperor respectfully saw them off until they reached the door. “Thanks, everyone. Safe travels.”