Chapter 124

Yet, he still spoke up to explain as best he could: "Occult gangs, secret dark organizations, Magical Girls, transforming heroes, monsters, mad scientists… and many more things. You could say it has everything, absolutely everything. Just in the few years I lived in Magic City Tokyo, there were at least four villainous organizations with different styles and goals, fighting for control over the world while each having their own different heroic arch-nemeses. It's completely insane."

Rin imagined this chaotic scene, something even weekend morning children's shows wouldn't dare to use, and couldn't help but frown.

But she still said: "I don't think this should be a problem. Among these organizations, is there any that might be related to 'Matara'?"

Qi Xing pondered for a moment, recalling, and replied: "There is a rumor. I heard it often when I was your age, but the authorities have never admitted it."

"—It is said that on the [Reverse Side] of Tokyo, there is a secret underground city."

"A dark, decadent capital isolated from the laws and reason of the surface."

"An [Otherworld] that none of the world's rules can reach."

Volume 3: Shrine Maiden of the Black God: Side Story: Desire

In these first few days of their new marriage, Qi Xing and Elaine's life…

…was indeed a bit too "intimate."

Newlyweds, it's normal—although one would love to say that, no matter what is said, it's actually just an excuse.

After all, for over two years, Elaine had been by Qi Xing's side, serving as his deputy for nearly three years, day in and day out. From the moment she turned eighteen until now, nearly twenty-one, she had been wearing that overly revealing exorcist nun battle suit, lingering in front of Qi Xing every day.

For nearly three years, unless at work or executing a mission, Elaine almost never left Qi Xing's side by more than ten meters. Since they started living together, whether Qi Xing was cultivating, reading, refining artifacts, or going about his daily life, she almost always remained in his room or nearby.

At such close range, living together day after day, watching this white flower bud gradually bloom, if one were to say he didn't develop certain awareness for her, then Qi Xing's sexual preferences must be broken.

No matter how he denied it with his words, he was very certain—he was looking at her with sexual eyes!

If it could be said that from the day she became his assistant, Elaine had offered him her loyalty.

Then, coming back to the present, since their marriage, Elaine had offered him everything.

Longing, adoration, desire.

Bondage, domination, obedience, subjugation…

After the wedding, they played day and night for several days.

From the hotel room, they played in the hot springs,

—doing █ █ in the hot springs was originally quite rude, but since [Master Leipu] wanted to do it, naturally no one could stop him.

After a few days, the places they liked on each other, their fetishes, and even the number of moles on each other's bodies were now all known by heart.

Even those things that normal men and women should absolutely not know about each other, they now already knew everything.

As mentioned before, as long as the males in this world have sufficient Yang energy, even if they need to █ more than blood, it's not a problem—so what about Qi Xing?

His Yang energy was bottomless, at least tens of thousands of times more than those dark-skinned, stubble-faced, giant █-wielding P.E. teachers in Japanese high schools!

Yet Elaine could joyfully █ █ all of this, whole-heartedly █ █, █ █ and also █ █ 's █ █, and with such pure, innocent, and █ █ eyes, she gazed straight at him.

Elaine was willing to █ █ █ everything of his.

Although when █ █, she would shyly press her face against █ █ █ █ █, trying hard to suppress █ █ 's █ █—but whenever Qi Xing █ █ █ █ a little, she would definitely █ █ █ █ in the end, revealing an █ █ expression, █ █ █ █ █ █ 's █ █, █ █ 's █ █ in the █ █ that reached straight to her brain.

No wonder Qi Xing was immersed in it, █ █ █ █ 's █ █ for several days, █ █ █ █ █ █ the originally █ █ █ █.

This wasn't just physical pleasure, but also an incomparable sense of psychological achievement!

…A few days later, it happened that the Pope passed away, and Elaine finally snapped out of it, hugging her computer to return to work.

Qi Xing also finally calmed down, entering a sage mode of thought—My God! Qi Xing, what on earth have you been doing these past few days?!

How could you be so depraved! Have you forgotten your expectations for yourself?!

This cannot go on! You must practice self-restraint and work hard on your cultivation!

[—Yo, you've had a pleasant few days, haven't you?]

Sasa emerged from the shadows at this moment, leisurely and smiling as she asked.

She hadn't shown her face these past few days, which was clearly intentional.

Qi Xing's mouth twitched, only then realizing that she could actually have been hiding in the shadows the whole time, peeking. And Qi Xing was completely helpless against Sasa in this one regard—Qi Xing couldn't exactly ask Rin to stand guard while he was █ █ with Elaine, and have her burn Sasa with divine fire the moment she caught her peeking, right?

[Don't be embarrassed. Releasing your desires like this is not harmful to your cultivation itself; on the contrary, it further promotes your realization of your true self.]

Sasa snickered,

[Haven't you noticed? Yang fire transforms when it meets Yin, Yin clears when it meets Yang, lead and mercury in the same furnace. Your Sage Body is already more perfect. You are only one step away from becoming a world unto yourself, transcending the mortal and becoming a sage.]

Laozi said: The gate of the mysterious female is the root of heaven and earth. Heaven and earth use the intersection of Yin and Yang ▓ to create living things, and alchemy uses the █ union of Yin and Yang to produce medicine. For there is no creation that can be achieved without █ ▓—this is not some lewd book or evil art, but the "Cantong Qi" (The Seal of the Unity of the Three), the supreme path of alchemy from the Eastern Han Dynasty.

Therefore, Qi Xing was silent.

He naturally knew his own body best; otherwise, this cultivation would have been in vain. Previously, Qi Xing was only an earthly immortal, and he did not practice the Golden Elixir method. Although he had broken through the barrier of life and death to attain immortality, he had done so by force, without understanding the Great Dao.

What does it mean to force open the barrier of life and death?

…In short, first refine one's true energy to the pinnacle of extreme Yang and reach the peak of perfection, then engage in consecutive life-and-death battles with many strong enemies, lingering repeatedly on the edge of life and death on the battlefield. Finally, fight until one is half-dead, cross the opposing life and death Yin and Yang, die first and then live again, naturally cutting off the three corpses and breaking through the barrier.

It's just that with this forced method, out of ten thousand people, probably 9,999.9 die and never come back to life.

In any case, there is not just one path to traditional cultivation. Just within the cultivation systems Qi Xing knows, there are ten mainstream categories; and what he himself has mastered, including Qi absorption, guidance, fasting, visualization, Yin Elixir, Outer Elixir, and the method of Taiyin Body Refining, totals seven types.

Conversely, the Golden Elixir method, which is the most common and widely circulated in novels, is something Qi Xing has dabbled in very little, and one could almost say he is not good at it.

Therefore, although his cultivation has reached the pinnacle, in the past, he had never reached that "flying" realm.

The so-called "reaching the peak" was merely being an "earthly" immortal standing at the top of the mortal world, unable to touch "heaven."

Until now.

Last time, when he used the [Dominator] silver coin to forcibly command his body to turn into lightning, Qi Xing vaguely sensed—he had already touched the edge of "Heavenly Law"; these past few days, with the fusion of Yin and Yang and the harmonization of water and fire, he had gone a step further, separated by only a thin line.

He was only a little bit away from being able to connect all the barriers, transcend the mortal, and become an "immortal."

But what exactly was this last bit missing?

[Didn't I say it already?]

Sasa leaned lazily in the void, saying,

[Only by truly understanding one's own desire can one step into the gate of the supreme.]

[All magic, all paths of cultivation, are connected in this principle.]

[Those who follow the demonic path will say: "Do what thou wilt."]

[Those who practice true cultivation will say: "The immortal path values the self." —If you want to become an immortal, the most important thing is to know what "I" actually want.]

[In the words of the ancient Greek philosophers, it is "Know thyself."]

[What is "I"? What is "my desire"? Qi Xing, what kind of Dao do you seek? What kind of immortal do you want to become?]

[Can you answer this question now?]

Who am I? Where am I going?

This is not only the ultimate proposition of philosophy but also the fundamental question of all cultivation methods in the world.

Having power and knowledge alone is not enough. If one cannot answer this question, empty power is just a child wielding a sledgehammer, which will eventually backfire on oneself; hollow knowledge is also nothing more than talk on paper.

Even the [Silver Coin Messengers], although (theoretically) they don't need to cultivate themselves, must also recognize themselves, otherwise they are just as prone to self-destructing.

First, one must recognize one's own desire. Then, through the improvement of one's state of mind, it helps to better express one's desire; and better expression of desire brings stronger power.

Therefore, the Loli Evil God, the creator of darkness, was looking at Qi Xing with a smile, with a kind of almost divine solemnity, and with a scrutinizing gaze.

It was like a god watching a star about to take shape.

—Because those who reach the next realm can be comparable to stars.

This gaze, on the contrary, made Qi Xing feel a slight sense of emotion.

…It might be a bit strange to say this now, but recently Qi Xing often felt that being able to meet Samael might be a stroke of luck.

He was already a peak powerhouse in the mortal world; although there were still some who could fight him, it was hard for anyone to truly look down on him from above and guide him.

Although Sasa was a bit silly, although she was a devil and an evil god, and often frivolous—she indeed had the qualifications to point out the direction he couldn't see from a higher level.

What she said might not be entirely correct, but because of that, that was the part Qi Xing had to think about for himself.

Where in the world is there a simple, easy-to-understand guide to becoming an immortal by just following the book?

The true Dao must ultimately be thought out by oneself.

After thinking for a long time, Qi Xing finally spoke:

"For a very long time in the past, I always thought that my desire—my greatest wish—was 'not to be polluted by this world.' But later, Elaine told me that was not a wish, but fear."

"I was afraid of losing, I was afraid of being polluted and changed by the world."

And precisely because of this, Qi Xing's most proficient magic was Lightning Magic, and his specialty was lightning-speed combat. Because of fear, he subconsciously pursued extreme speed, the god-like speed that "no one can reach," surpassing everything in the world, absolute initiative, absolute evasion.

But passive fear, as a driving force for power, was ultimately insufficient and could not compare to positive desire.

For example, even if a person tries their best to want immortality and does not want to die, if the foundation of this obsession is just 'fear of death,' then it still doesn't count as a true wish. Fear and desire seem similar, but their essence is completely different.

Now Qi Xing has faced his fear and is no longer afraid. Then the next step should be a more positive and proactive wish.

What kind of 'Dao' do I pursue?

What kind of 'immortal' do I want to become?

Taking out the [Dominator] silver coin, Qi Xing flicked it gently, letting the silver light spin and leap into the air.

Past battles, choices, struggles, and persistence flashed through his mind, converging into a clear feeling.

The answer, like awakened flowing water, quietly rose from the bottom of his heart.

"The mythological prototype transformation I obtained through the [Dominator] silver coin is Osiris. In my understanding, he is the King of the Underworld, the judge, and the punisher."

He said.

Sasa nodded gently. She was actually slightly dissatisfied with Qi Xing's current understanding—this interpretation was too singular and had not yet touched upon the deeper meaning. But as a beginning to achieving immortal status, it wasn't bad.

"I want to be the judge, the punisher—and also the purifier—of this dark world."

This was Qi Xing's desire… at least, it was the desire he could confirm at his current stage.

This answer made Sasa narrow her eyes slightly.

———Hmm, as a start, this is okay. Anyway, the road ahead is still very long.

[Then you should act accordingly. As long as the desire is clear and the will is firm, the [silver coin] will naturally lead you to that result.]

Speaking of this, Sasa smiled again, her smile carrying the familiar banter, the devil's mockery, but not as frivolous as usual.

[…Speaking of you, as expected, your fetishes are terrible. A sadist, wanting to pin others down fiercely, █ until their eyes roll back—that feeling is great, right?]

In an instant, Qi Xing started to break out in a cold sweat:

"…What nonsense are you spouting? Things between a husband and wife are consensual—how, how can that be considered sadism?"

[Do you only do this kind of thing to people who are "consensual"? What do you think a "Punisher" is? Isn't it the same when fighting, liking to beat up enemies, electrocuting people until they lose control of their bladders? You even spanked me last time.]

Sasa scoffed,

[Don't be such a coward. Since it is a path of dominance, then be righteous and bold, subdue everything as you move forward, no need to care about others' opinions.]

[Since you want to walk the path of dominance, from now on you are no longer just the [Master Leipu] who pursues self-realization.]

Speaking of this, she showed a very playful, wicked smile again,

[Silly boy, go and become [Venerable Leipu].]

To universally transform the world with the power of thunder, hold the thunder decree, carry out divine punishment, and wherever righteous energy reaches, no evil spirits can hide.

This is indeed the orthodox path of the immortals.

…But did you have to put it that way?

Volume 4: Evil Arts Magic City Tokyo: 120: Tokyo's Strongest Magical Girl

Midnight, at the hour of the Ox, all was silent.

In the suburbs of Tokyo, in an overgrown abandoned factory,

Magical Girl Mint Bubble, 14 years old—male, (real name Mizuno Shuto)