Chapter 92

"It is because my thoughts are the righteous path! Because I am not a part of this vile world of yours!"

"Because I am a god descended from the heavens to save you pathetic things!"

"Because without me, you would only continue to live in ignorance in this absurd yellow world!"

"To ensure I am never tainted by your vile, filthy world, I will do whatever is [necessary] by any means."

"So, you lowly NPCs! If you don't want to die, if you don't want to suffer, then you must love me, respect me, and worship me! Because I know more than you do!"

"Admire me, this Transmigrator, and swear to die for me, this [Descender], I, I, I— I am [Master Leipu]!!"

If Qi Xing could truly think this way, if he were truly this insane and arrogant, if he possessed such immense confidence and hubris— then his life in this world would surely be even happier.

Unfortunately, he isn't that crazy… Perhaps he really should consider this question carefully.

Sasa is certainly crazy enough; after all, she really did create this world, by her own bizarre standards.

Fortunately, Qi Xing still has some capacity for self-reflection, and at least he knows how to roast himself and others. A sense of humor is an important part of life; losing one's sense of humor is worse than death.

"Who says there are no Evil Gods now?"

These thoughts all occurred in a fraction of a second. To bystanders, Qi Xing simply listened to what was said and retorted directly,

"Seven hundred years ago, an Evil God came down from the snowy mountains and skinned your ancestors; seven hundred years later, you are still on the mountain skinning your own descendants. Doesn't that just make you a second-generation Evil God?"

"You ask me, an outsider, what right I have to interfere… Good question. I will consider the answer carefully."

"But that is for later— for now, I'll kill an Evil God for you all first."

With that said, there was naturally nothing more to say.

Jūyaku Sōgen roared and led his insect-transformed clansmen, lunging tragically toward Qi Xing!

…And then Qi Xing used [Forbidden Technique] to freeze them all in place.

He dismantled Jūyaku Sōgen's body thoroughly with his bare hands, checking these monsters twenty times over.

Their regenerative immortality was indeed incredible, almost like hyper-fast growing plants. But Qi Xing crushed his brain a dozen times and still couldn't find where the [Core] was.

Later, Qi Xing shattered the head of a centipede-like half-human, half-insect warrior over forty times, and finally, it stopped regenerating, its body turning directly into snow-white ash.

"Looks like I don't need to kill you a hundred times after all."

Qi Xing said indifferently while frowning.

The frozen Jūyaku Sōgen had long since closed his eyes, waiting for death, but now he just grinned coldly.

"I'm afraid this is as far as we go."

"But Lady Ise will surely defeat you, [Master Leipu]."

"She will defeat both you and Jingo Rin."

091: The weak me of the past is dead

Ise?

That white-haired shrine maiden actually didn't die?

Others hearing this old man's words might be incredulous.

But Qi Xing had been walking the world for ten years after all. Although this world was vast and full of inexplicable things he hadn't seen, he at least knew that anything inexplicable could happen, so he wasn't surprised at all.

It was just, should this be considered [actually didn't die], or [as expected, didn't die]?

"That's a bit cliché— but since it fits the situation so well, I'll say it anyway."

Qi Xing raised his fist,

"You go down first and save a spot for Ise."

After saying that, he punched, shattering the head of this Insect Master clan head!

—Actually, because of the super-regeneration ability, Qi Xing had to hit him a few more times to kill him completely.

Honestly, killing people like this wasn't particularly satisfying. Fortunately, Qi Xing was used to it— in the two or three years since he achieved the Sage Body, most battles were resolved in one or two punches, no different from buying orange juice from a vending machine. Good enemies who could make him enjoy a fight were hard to find.

However, just as Qi Xing raised his fist, preparing to continue beating Jūyaku Sōgen to death, that Onmyoji from the Gojo Family interjected: "[Master Leipu], wait a moment. This head of the Jūyaku Clan might still know some information regarding [True Buddhism]. Don't kill him yet."

Bang!

But Qi Xing didn't even turn his head, smashing down with another punch, splashing semi-congealed insect fluid.

"You said, don't rush to kill."

While continuing to kill, Qi Xing replied calmly, his hands never stopping,

"Could it be that the Onmyoryo headquarters is coveting the unorthodox evil arts this family has accumulated over seven hundred years?"

Gojo Masamichi frowned, straightened his collar, his voice remaining steady: "Please don't say that, [Master Leipu]. We Official Exorcists would not do such a thing."

"[Would not do such a thing]."

Qi Xing looked up at him with a half-smile in his eyes,

"Most of the time, indeed not. Unless it's [reasonable utilization], [supervision of improvement], or [a temporary expedient during extraordinary times]?"

The official Onmyoji was left speechless for a moment.

Actually, Qi Xing knew that Official Exorcists were [basically] good. Because the underlying laws of this world determined that magic was easily manifested externally. Magic was born from the heart, from will and feeling, and expressed through desire, so it was almost impossible for those on the righteous path to secretly use evil arts. Once used, it was hard not to be discovered.

Those who played with evil arts, unless they had extremely strong willpower and control over their desires— such as a perfect [Silver Coin Messenger]— would basically reveal it on their appearance. The more you used it, the stronger you used it, the more your magical resonance would show, making it hard to hide. For example, the old man from the Jūyaku Clan had turned himself into something like an insect.

But on the other hand, everyone knew that the Imperial Court generally acted based on practical needs. If they were ever really pushed to the wall, they would probably still take out the banned evil arts to use. It's just that, because it was hard to hide, they would find some high-sounding excuse when the time came.

Because evil arts were always so convenient— dark desires were always the easiest to breed and grow.

Gojo Masamichi clearly dared not talk back to [Master Leipu] or deny that such a thing would never happen.

Fortunately, Qi Xing didn't pursue it, just continued to smash the remains of Jūyaku Sōgen, which were still wriggling at his feet, his tone neither fast nor slow.

"I'm in a bad mood these past two days."

"But life, well, it's just that there are always times when you're in a bad mood."

He said this as if chatting about the weather,

"Even the strong are no exception; after all, I am not a Buddha."

Gojo's brows twitched, seeming to want to say something, but was interrupted by Qi Xing.

"So even if my [mood] is bad, I won't hesitate or slow down when I move my [hand] to kill someone who deserves to be killed. And this person is someone who deserves to be killed."

He slowly raised his pot-sized fist, aiming once again at the still-wriggling, regenerating head.

"There are so many people here, go find another tongue to question yourself."

The tone changed suddenly, as if Qi Xing was casually giving an order, or perhaps a warning: "But remember this."

"If I see similar insect-hybrid evil arts spreading elsewhere next time…"

"I will f*** your entire Onmyoryo."

Once these words were out, the atmosphere immediately froze.

Cold sweat finally broke out unconsciously on Gojo Masamichi's forehead.

Are you kidding me! Are you using your personal power to threaten the highest supernatural department of the government of a country like Leipu?

It's a metaphor, it's a metaphor, right?

After a moment of silence, Gojo Masamichi finally collected himself, his voice solemn and steady: "Bringing the criminal back alive, if possible, is our duty."

He looked directly at [the strongest man on earth], looked directly at the person who could rip his head off in half a second, his tone as steady as iron.

He was worthy of being a warrior who had been insect-█ █-ed for ten minutes and still had no mental breakdown.

"Therefore, preventing such things from happening again is also a responsibility we must bear."

"If something happens in the future—"

He nodded, his voice resolute,

"[Master Leipu], you can come and hold me accountable for whoever you want."

These words finally made Qi Xing smile a little.

"Fine, you've got some backbone."

Raising his hand and dropping it again, Qi Xing's palm wind was like thunder, smashing Jūyaku's half-body, along with all possibilities of regeneration, into powder with a single palm.

The rain stopped.

—Later, the Onmyoryo sent another team of Official Exorcists to seal up the other living insect-hybrid Jūyaku clansmen and take them back for careful examination.

Qi Xing warned them to notify him early when they found the next batch of enemies, not to go up and feed themselves to the enemy, and then he transformed into lightning and flew away.

Returning to Shingo Village, near the hot spring inn, it was just past noon.

However, he wasn't in a hurry to return to the inn.

The spiritual energy in this rural village was much more comfortable than in the city. A breeze brushed over the mountains and forests, carrying the scent of grass and soil. Qi Xing was a cultivator after all, so he simply stood by a stone tablet at the entrance of the village, closed his eyes, practiced breathing, and quietly drank the wind.

Until mini Sasa slowly poked her head out from the shadow at his feet: "Why are you in a bad mood?"

"Go, go, go." Qi Xing half-opened his eyes, waving his hand lazily, "Let me have some peace and quiet."

"What reason do you have to be annoyed?"

The devil rolled her eyes, propping her face with her hands, sitting on the edge of the shadow with her two little legs swinging, her eyebrows raised high,

"The little nun just agreed to have an orgy with you; as for that shrine maiden, although she isn't one now, if you just pursue her hard, I don't think it's hard to win her over."

She shook her head like a storyteller, her tone sarcastic,

"Crushing enemies all the way, while looking up at the sky at forty-five degrees and saying: [I can start a harem of beautiful girls! How miserable! I, Qi Xing, am going to fall! I am going to be corrupted by this dirty world!] Are you this kind of abstract person? I'm going to despise you, little fool."

This devil was indeed quite vicious in her speech.

Fortunately, Qi Xing was already used to Sasa and remained unmoved, just saying indifferently: "That's not the problem. I'm just thinking… By the way, Sasa, I remember you said before that as long as I have fifteen silver coins, you can send me back to the upper world?"

Silence.

The silence lasted for a moment.

Then Sasa— although she looked calm on the surface, she had already started to break out in a cold sweat, her spine even stiffening for a second.

Wait, why did he suddenly ask this?

It can't be, right? He wouldn't really want to run away, would he?

If Qi Xing really gathered fifteen silver coins and just patted his butt and returned to the upper world, what would she do afterwards?!

This wasn't just a matter of who would help Sasa collect thirty silver coins afterwards.

The point was— the point was… if Qi Xing ran away— Samael would only have the dolls she created left in this universe. Even if she regained her full divine power, there would be no one to banter with her. No one to watch the show with her, no one to viciously evaluate the people of this world with her… Just thinking about this was enough to make her hair stand on end!

"Yes, I can. What's wrong?"

Although her heart was pounding like fifteen buckets drawing water, the devil was, after all, somewhat professional, and said nonchalantly,

"Why are you suddenly mentioning this? Is it because of what that old man who was messing with insect-hybrids said earlier that affected your mood?"

"You don't need to think about what those evil people say. Just treat their words as farts, like dust."

She was actually a bit panicked.

"You are the biggest villain in this universe." Qi Xing immediately retorted, "Why do I still chat with you all day?"

Ah, this.

Sasa was speechless for a moment.

"I've been thinking these past two days because I realized that I haven't completely overcome the contradictions in my heart. I just haven't finished crossing my own inner demon yet."

Looking at the Evil God loli's embarrassment, Qi Xing smiled slightly,

"When Elaine said that starting a harem was also a good thing, I couldn't help worrying about whether I would be assimilated by this world in the future, after all… starting a harem is just too satisfying."

"But then again, do I really hate this world that much? If I really hate it so much, why don't I hate you, the Creator God, the greatest Evil God of this universe?"

"Today, that Onmyoji from the Gojo Family, and that old man from the Jūyaku Clan, both said I was an outsider… Yes, I am indeed an outsider. So if I really get fifteen silver coins, why wouldn't I just go home?"

This definitely qualifies as one of the things Sasa fears most.