Beginning with the Ubume Bird
Chapter 665 - Chapter 665 Chapter 51 The Eight Sufferings (Part 2)

Chapter 665: Chapter 51: The Eight Sufferings (Part 2) Chapter 665: Chapter 51: The Eight Sufferings (Part 2) “`

Seeing Li Yan escape in a hurry, Feng Yi was annoyed, with an indistinct gloom lingering in his mind.

At the spot where Li Yan had been, a man about two meters tall, with rippling muscles, struggled out of a crack, standing on thin air. His skin was pitch-black like ink, with only the vague outlines of facial features. His body was devoid of any clothing or hair, his smooth muscle curves resembling a work of art, with even the details of his manhood tremblingly visible.

The pitch-black man looked around and then glared at Feng Yi angrily, “Where is Zhao Jianzhong? Where’s the core? Are you toying with us?”

Feng Yi didn’t reply, simply shrugging his shoulders.

“The person just now, was a Renegade, right? Should we chase him?”

From another crack, a face with a head full of meaty buns peeked out.

Feng Yi blurted out without thinking, “Chase him! Kill him!”

Just as the meaty bun man was about to move, the crack suddenly shrank abruptly. He used his hand to prop against the closing fissure, his chubby palm wrestling with it, making sounds like burning flames gasping for air.

“Better not, this fruit has rotted too severely. Any slight movement from you, Muni, would hasten its descent into the Leaf Sea. We only have five minutes, no time to worry about such trivial characters.”

The speaker was a teenage nun, with a head bald as a peeled egg, void of hair. She wore a dark blue, wide monk’s robe, with arched eyebrows like ink and red lips with white teeth–a perfect beauty in the making. She walked out of the crack, barefoot, and the swirling clouds in the sky paused, all sounds of wind and flowing water vanished, leaving the drab sparrows to spread their wings, frozen mid-air.

Feng Yi couldn’t help but argue with her, “Your ‘trivial character’ has messed up our entire plan.”

“It was you who messed up our plan,” the pitch-black man said darkly.

Feng Yi spread his hands, “What could I do? Yan Fu has already detected me. If I slow down even a tad, Hou Tu would definitely forcibly close the Root Stem Channel of this fruit, trapping me like a turtle in a jar. Let me be upfront, if I get caught, before being handed over to Su Ling, to seek a quick death, I will spill all of Sifan’s secrets. By then, the situation will be even more unmanageable.”

“You!”

“Forget it, he has a point.”

The nun changed tack, “But, you’ve been here for several months; you shouldn’t have come away with nothing, right? If it is truly so, guess how much better your fate will be than falling into the hands of Yan Zhao Club? Come on, tell us, what exactly happened? You have two minutes.”

Feng Yi pointed at Qian Wu, “He is my biggest gain.”

——————————–

The cold sea breeze gushed into Li Yan’s lungs as he held his breath, letting his body fall through the thick clouds and into the sea, finally splashing up high waves.

Once the clouds dissipated, revealing the moon, it took a long while before a black dot emerged on the sea surface.

Abandoning Qian Wu was a necessary evil. After all, Driving the Nine States could not carry living people. If he had not made a decisive decision, Li Yan might have found himself unable to leave at all.

“Ha~ha~”

Li Yan floated on the sea surface in the shape of a cross, his chest rising and falling sharply, his hair wet and indistinguishable from sweat or saltwater.

“Attention all Yan Fu Renegades, the mass of the fruit identified as Earth Jiazi No. 259 has exceeded its limit. Entrance to this fruit’s Root Stem Channel has been closed. Overweight Yan Fu Renegades have five minutes to exit this fruit; otherwise, they will sink into the Leaf Sea with the rotting fruit that has detached from its Root Stem!”

“Any overweight Yan Fu Renegades must exit this fruit within five minutes; otherwise, all Yan Fu Renegades will sink into the Leaf Sea along with the rotting fruit!”

“You are a member of the Yan Zhao Club, under these circumstances, you have the right to return immediately. Countdown is five minutes.”

A bright blue countdown suddenly popped up in front of Li Yan, starting to tick down on its own.

Whether it was bidding farewell to Chairman Rong, driving to the funeral home’s Yang Zheng, or Ren Ni, Jin Ye, and even Cha Xiaodao staying at the office, every member of Yan Zhao Club received the Earth Endurance’s warning, demanding that one among them leave within five minutes, until the fruit’s bearing capacity was restored.

Li Yan did not choose to return, merely staring at the numbers.

“`

4:59, 4:58…

Time ticked away second by second, and the others watched silently, as no one was eager to leave in such an unclear and perplexing situation, but there were exceptions.

Riding along with Yang Zheng and sitting in the passenger seat, Mo smacked his lips and coughed to test the waters, “With a Renegade appearing, such a significant event, perhaps we, who rank in the third and fourth seats, shouldn’t add to the trouble. Maybe we should…”

“No way.”

Yang Zheng decisively refused: “Just now, they announced the arrival of seven Renegades. Each of the Eight Sufferings possesses a complete inheritance and meets or exceeds the standards of the Six Ministries. Among us, only Yu Shiqie has this kind of strength. It’s like when an elevator is at full capacity; although we may not be able to help, if we were to get off now, Yu Shiqie and Mr. Zhao would be in a very passive situation.”

Mo stroked his chin: “After we return, we could call others from the Yan Zhao Club.”

“This fruit is already very fragile. Unless a walker of the Four Emperors’ level uses their true body to block the Root Stem Channel, no one else would make it in time to assist. Now all we can do is wait for Mr. Zhao’s voice message.”

After he finished speaking, Yang Zheng glared at Mo: “You’re not planning to be a deserter, are you.”

“You can’t say that…”

Mo responded dryly.

Just then, everyone’s cell phones lit up. They all picked up their phones to see a text message from Zhao Jianzhong.

“Hold on until the last ten seconds. If the fruit has not recovered by then, everyone must return immediately.”

Upon seeing this message, Mo’s eyebrows twitched.

Finally, time came down to the last ten seconds.

The countdown continued.

Mo opened his mouth, and Yang Zheng pressed down on his shoulder: “Wait until the last three seconds.”

Mo scratched his head vigorously.

As the countdown neared its end, faces flashed before Li Yan’s eyes–including that of Judy, a very charming woman who seemed to be saying something to him with a lift of her eyebrow–

He suppressed the faint reluctance in his heart. The words ‘return’ had already reached his lips when suddenly, the voice of Earth Endurance spoke in Li Yan’s ear!

“Quality has returned to normal limits, but the overloading behavior has greatly accelerated the decay of the fruit! The Root Stem Channel can no longer withstand the arrival of new Yan Fu walkers. Please complete all Yan Fu events and return as soon as possible.”

“Repeat: The Root Stem Channel can no longer withstand the arrival of any new Yan Fu walkers. Please complete all events and return as soon as possible.”

Did the people from Sifan leave? Or was it some other Yan Fu walkers?

Yang Zheng let go of his hand, and Mo’s expression became very conflicted. He understood that even though the fruit’s carrying capacity had returned to normal, it didn’t mean that Sifan had disappeared.

This fruit was still extremely dangerous!

Hearing the announcement, Li Yan finally breathed a sigh of relief, a deep sense of fatigue flooding his mind. It even made Li Yan consider just sinking to the bottom of the sea to sleep for a good while.

Back in Yan Capital, Li Yan had witnessed the emergence of a rift in the air when Sifan appeared. He still remembered that chilling, crushing feeling, as if he might explode into pieces at any second.

To this day, Li Yan had learned to exchange a few moves with Feng Yi, but facing the vigorous black arm that extended from the rift, he still had no desire to resist, not even the slightest reduction in the sensation of being torn apart. In fact, his heightened senses only made it worse…

“…”

Li Yan sat up, surrounded by the pitch-black sea. He was approximately two thousand kilometers from Hong Kong Island. If he went any farther, Li Yan knew he wouldn’t be able to pinpoint his exact location and might get lost.

The sea was very quiet, with almost no sound of the tides.

Li Yan thought for a moment, pulled out his phone, and pressed the dial button for a name in his memo.

“Hello?”

“You’re actually still alive? Now I don’t have to worry about explaining to Mr. Zhao.”

Yu Shiqie squatted by the cracked road, holding a phone in her hand. She had actually come alone to the front of the funeral home where Sifan had descended; besides some civilians attracted by the explosion, there were only two policemen maintaining order.

As for Feng Yi and Qian Wu, let alone the other people from Sifan who had come in droves, their whereabouts were now unknown.

“Miss, please step back. It’s very dangerous here, and a collapse could happen at any moment.”

A tall policeman walked over and advised Yu Shiqie..

“Alright, officer, I’ll leave right away.”

Yu Shiqie smiled at the officer.

The policeman’s heartbeat quickened, and he felt heat on his face.

Yu Shiqie turned to leave, bringing the phone closer, and Li Yan’s voice came from the speaker, mixed with some sound of the tides: “Of the eight people from Sifan who came, the weakest were from Six Ministries. Be careful yourself. Any news from Mr. Zhao?”

“You really have a way with words, no wonder women are drawn to you wherever you go.”

Even at this juncture, Yu Shiqie did not forget to tease Li Yan.

After a pause, Yu Shiqie continued, “Too many insects can crush the fruit. Earth Jiazi No. 259 was already teetering. It couldn’t possibly handle eight Renegades unless they want to perish along with us. I’m planning to have everyone who walks Yan Fu come to the office for a meet-up; at least let’s figure out who among us is left, who left earlier following Mr. Zhao’s message, and then we can think about the Renegades’ problem.”

“Good, when?”

“Now.”

“I’ll be there shortly.”

“Okay.”

Li Yan was bobbing up and down on the sea’s surface.

Yu Shiqie looked towards the devastated funeral home, with the crowd still buzzing with discussion.

“Sifan… who came this time?”

Three minutes earlier.

“I understand.”

The little nun nodded after listening.

The man cloaked in darkness crossed his arms: “In the end, all you got was the Life Fiend from the Ten Evils Grand Defeat and this old man, right? But Zhao Jianzhong’s absence during Heavenly Jiazi-Nine is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! And you just let it go to waste?”

“No!”

The little nun’s eyes shone brightly after listening to Feng Yi’s account.

“Feng Yi, you did great; I underestimated you before. Sorry.”

The man with black paint tilted his head: “All because of this old man?”

“Alter fate on behalf of Heaven, Myriad Assembly of Humanity’s Prime, maybe this is even more valuable than the core of Yan Fu. And Feng Yi has resolved a big doubt of mine from the past, concerning Yu Shu and that new Taishuai from the Yan Zhao Club. It all makes sense now. Let me think…”

The little nun fell silent, her eyes growing brighter as she spoke. She seemed to hold a high position, as everyone waited quietly for her to give the orders.

After a good while, she clenched her tiny fist as if she had made up her mind: “It’s set. We’re leaving this fruit immediately; if we drag on any further, we all risk sinking into the Leaf Sea. Let the Yan Zhao Club and Zhao Jianzhong have the secret of the core. Having Qian Wu is enough for us.”

The man cloaked in darkness knitted his brows: “This might be…”

The man with the meat bun hairstyle remained silent, and surprisingly, it was Feng Yi who spoke first: “I object; we can’t go.”

The nun glanced at him indifferently: “I’m in a good mood, so you’d better think carefully before speaking.”

Feng Yi sneered and sat down on the ground: “Don’t start thinking you really are our leader. I said I object; we cannot leave. The blackhearted with the dirty mouth has a clean heart; he’s right, now is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!”

The nun fixed Feng Yi with a gaze: “Since you have merited, say everything you want to say all at once.”

“Two minutes later, the Root Stem Channel will be completely sealed, and we don’t all need to leave; we just need to ensure we aren’t exceeding the fruit’s carrying capacity. Zhao Jianzhong only brought Yu Shiqie with him. If I were to use an overloaded elevator as a metaphor, we can definitely leave enough people to confront Zhao Jianzhong head-on.”

“That’s what you wanted to say.”

The nun’s eyes contained a trace of cold blood-red.

“Yes, but there’s more, if possible. Killing the Ten Masters’ absolute core, the spiritual leader of Yan Zhao Club, Zhao Jianzhong, would obviously be best. If not, I want to negotiate terms with Zhao Jianzhong. Exchange the Life Fiend in my possession for Mr. Braided’s corpse.”

As soon as the words were out, the atmosphere on the scene turned incredibly bizarre.

Time trickled away second by second, and it was now less than two minutes before sinking into the Leaf Sea.

The man cloaked in darkness was the first to speak: “Good idea! I’ll stay behind.”

“I agree as well.”

The man with the meat bun hairstyle said blandly.

“Ridiculous~” the little nun murmured quietly: “Do you think you lot are qualified to negotiate terms with the Human Master who obliterated a generation of Sifan and completely changed the landscape of Yan Fu for the past century?”

Feng Yi just smiled, silent. But a profoundly deep and ancient voice came through the black fissure.

“Ah Feng, of course you’re not qualified, but she is.”

The nun looked towards the fissure.

“Appointed by the Sifan Master, first among the Eight Sufferings, Wu Yin Flourishing. The only one promoted to Five Directions Elder in Daqian Yanfu over the past two years, you are qualified to negotiate with the Human Master.”

The nun’s eyes remained narrowed: “And why should I do this?”

“If you bring back Ai Bieli’s corpse, from then on, your position as the leader of the Eight Sufferings will be secure.”

The voice from the fissure was devoid of any emotional fluctuation.

“Is that just your opinion, or what do others think?”

Feng Yi spoke again before anyone else: “I swear by the Yellow River Water God that as long as you can retrieve our father’s body, Wu Yin Flourishing will be the leader of the Eight Sufferings.”

The others expressed their agreement one after another.

After a moment of silence, the little nun’s face suddenly bloomed with a pear blossom-like smile.

“It’s a deal then, don’t you dare go back on your word.”