Chapter 146 - 145: Touching Stone into Gold

Chapter 146: Chapter 145: Touching Stone into Gold

"AHHHH!"

Outside Jade City.

Fiona whipped her leather whip, her eyes red as she screamed hysterically, looking completely crazed. "Why?! I knew he was up to no good! He already has everything, so why does he have to hunt me down and wipe me out? Does he want to kill me that badly? Desire Celestial Demon, Fury... just listen to the stupid name he gave me!"

At her feet lay a corpse, dead as a doornail.

Jade City wasn’t on Li Ye’s route, so Fiona had been lucky enough to escape disaster. But when news of the Desire Celestial Demon reached Cedar City, she was still scared half to death.

Aragon had brought this crisis upon her, and she had already been working hard to explore the whip’s abilities.

Besides working at the Gentleman’s Club, she would also sneak out at night, passing through walls and households like a thief, going deep among the countless homes to deliver warmth and blessings to the common folk who lived their days in fear.

She let them experience the pinnacle of pleasure.

She had lived through two worlds, and her incredible skills allowed her to do these things without anyone being the wiser...

But it was for this very reason that when news of the Desire Celestial Demon reached Jade City, the City Lord immediately reported it to his superiors.

Fiona hadn’t awakened any skills in this world.

But she possessed a skill from her previous world: Auditory Enhancement. The entirety of Jade City was under her surveillance.

When she heard the City Lord send someone to deliver intelligence to Cedar City and also dispatch people to capture her, she fled the city in advance and killed the messenger he had sent out.

Auditory Enhancement allowed her to avoid any danger.

But Fiona also knew that while she could kill one messenger, she couldn’t kill all of them. The news would get out eventually.

What would she do then?

Should she really do as Aragon said and seek refuge with the Undead?

The Skeleton Monarch would be more than happy to have her deliver herself to his doorstep!

’We’re all Time Travelers, so why is he trying to hunt me down and exterminate me?’

Fiona stood in the snow, looking all around her. The future felt bleak. Perhaps she was truly going to die in this world.

"You fool, giving up is for cowards," the Little Leather Whip said languidly. "You think he’s trying to harm you, but he’s actually helping you."

"How is he helping me? I can’t even go back to Jade City now!" Fiona said, dejected.

"What can you accomplish in Jade City? Continue being their top girl?" The Little Leather Whip was frustrated with her misfortune and angered by her lack of ambition. "Your influence would just be limited to Jade City, and hardly anyone would even know about me. But look at the Purifying Cloth—even the beggars on the street know its name now."

"I’ve already been working hard," Fiona said sheepishly. "At least the men of Jade City know what you look like and are infatuated with you."

"And what good is that?" the Little Leather Whip snorted. "The City Lord was one of your regulars, but did he hesitate for a second when it was time to sell you out?"

"..." Fiona’s expression changed. "Men are so unreliable."

"Is your head filled with nothing but men?" the Little Leather Whip said. "Aragon has already paved the way for you."

"What way?" Fiona asked.

"The Desire Celestial Demon," the Little Leather Whip said, emphasizing each word. "You just need to solidify this title, let more people know of my existence, and your power will naturally rise with the tide. Didn’t he say you’re a spy sent by the Skeleton Monarch to disrupt the alliance from behind? Why not make that identity a reality?"

"How?" Fiona asked.

"Let more people know of the Desire Celestial Demon’s existence," the Little Leather Whip said. "Give your image a concrete form. Let everyone know you’re a woman who wields a whip. No, it doesn’t matter if they know about you, but they must know about me. They must know my name—the Whip of Desire."

"Is your name the Whip of Desire?" Fiona asked.

"It’s the most fitting name," the Little Leather Whip said. "At least it sounds much better than Fury."

"Alright, what exactly should I do?" Fiona asked.

"Move from city to city, and bring ruin and disgrace upon the nobles and royals within them," the Little Leather Whip said. "Let the name of the Desire Celestial Demon resound throughout the world."

"If I do that, Aragon will definitely come after me," Fiona said.

"That’s better than being completely powerless when he does," the Little Leather Whip snorted. "If you can catch him off guard and kill him, letting me devour the Demon Qi of that roll of paper, I’ll become more powerful than ever. I might even be able to defeat the Skeleton Monarch."

"Okay!" A glint of excitement flashed in Fiona’s eyes. "I’ll give it a try."

...

Many hands make light work.

With a host of Alchemists and architects working together, the headquarters for the Holy Guard Sect was built in a mere ten days.

The core symbol of the Wenda Alliance was a watch, which, relatively speaking, looked somewhat impressive. ⅇℓ.

But the Holy Guard Sect’s was something you couldn’t bear to look at directly.

Atop the pointed roof of the Holy Guard Sect headquarters sat a sculpture of a pure white roll of paper.

The roll of paper was modeled after the Purifying Cloth in Li Ye’s possession. Not only was it depicted as used, but it even had a section dangling down.

At the entrance to the Holy Guard Sect stood statues of Aragon and the Twelve Saintesses.

Aragon was depicted with black hair and black eyes. In one hand, he held the Seven Magic Elements, and in the other, a roll of paper. He gazed into the distance, his expression firm yet benevolent.

The Twelve Saintesses were also draped in all sorts of toilet paper ornaments, showcasing their lofty status and the abundant holy favor bestowed upon them.

As for the Holy Guard Sect itself, decorations made of rolled paper hung down from the entrance, and the flower baskets were filled with flowers folded from toilet paper. In short, it was a world of pure white, resembling both a memorial hall and a public restroom...

It was hard to tell if the feeling it gave off was one of filth or purity.

It was a good thing Li Ye didn’t need to eat or relieve himself. Otherwise, upon seeing the Holy Guard Sect, he would have felt compelled to go inside and use the restroom, no matter what.

In fact, when he saw his own statue, Li Ye had complained internally, ’If the statue wasn’t standing but sitting on a toilet, it would be even more fitting.’

In the first world, his image was that of an athlete with his foot on a soccer ball, and the mural depicted him delivering a dirty kick to his own teammate.

In the second world, he wore a watch, a Nascent Soul floated behind his head, and his Sword Qi was stabbing at his teammate’s kidney.

In this third world, he simply looked like a constipated man in a desperate hurry to use the toilet...

Sigh!

Li Ye sighed. ’If the people of these worlds ever learn the truth in the future, I wonder how they’ll see me?’

But for now, he had to do this. It was the only way to increase his power.

’As for what other people think, I can’t worry about that right now!’

At least in the eyes of the world, toilet paper truly represented sanctity. It was like how weddings in Korea can look like funerals; as long as they themselves thought it was normal, that was enough.

...

The construction of the Holy Guard Sect was complete.

Witnessed by the three emperors, Li Ye completed the coronation ceremony and became the first Pope of the Holy Guard Sect.

「At the same time.」

The toilet paper developed by the Great Alchemist Brian finally entered mass production.

With these two events combined, the Demon Qi of the roll of paper soared once again.

And Li Ye gained a new Derived Skill.

Touching Stone into Gold: You possess a golden finger that can turn stone into Gold, and can also reverse the process.

This was true Touching Stone into Gold.

Silicates, calcium carbonates—no matter the material, as long as a stone was touched by his index finger, it would instantly change its properties and become glittering Gold.

Beyond that, the skill had no other use. He couldn’t even change the properties of a tree.

’Many myths and legends have a form of magic for Touching Stone into Gold, but I don’t know why I would awaken such a Derived Skill. Is it because I turned toilet paper into a hard currency, giving it monetary attributes?’

Looking at the pile of gold before him, Li Ye fell into deep thought. ’In the end, Gold is just a mineral. Earth’s reserves might be small, but there’s plenty of it in the universe!’

’What the hell is the use of this skill?!’

"This skill’s greatest use is probably turning Sun Wukong from a Stone Monkey into a Golden Monkey," the roll of paper mocked him in his mind. People are in high spirits on happy occasions, and compared to the dejected Little Leather Whip, it was in an excellent mood. "It could also turn Lady Shi Ji into Golden Jiniang Fairy..."

"If I turn Lord Great Sage into a Golden Monkey, would he still have his original Divine Abilities?" Li Ye suddenly asked.

"..." The roll of paper was stunned. "That question has stumped me. But, you could give it a try. If you succeed, then your skill would be incredible. One finger to seal any demon related to stone. You’d be the Great Sage’s bane..."

"Is the Great Sage still alive?" Li Ye asked.

"..." The roll of paper was stunned again. A moment later, it spat out three words, "I don’t know."

Li Ye’s ears twitched. He stopped talking and looked toward the door.

A moment later, guided by Elsa, Floyd arrived before him.

"Your Holiness, I have failed." After bowing to Li Ye, Floyd spoke with a dejected expression. "I tried many methods, but I was unable to divine the whereabouts of the other two outsiders. Furthermore, in my Divinations, the Skeleton Monarch doesn’t appear to be an outsider."

Floyd had a scarf made from the Purifying Cloth around his neck and a belt made from the Purifying Cloth around his waist. This, combined with his mournful face, made the corner of Li Ye’s eye twitch involuntarily.

Although he was the one responsible for their attire, seeing it always made him feel uncomfortable.

"Mm, I understand. You can stop looking," Li Ye said lightly, waving his hand. "You can focus more of your energy on finding the fragments of the Angel’s Heart. You could also try to divine the outcome of a battle between me and the Skeleton Monarch."

"Yes." Floyd breathed a sigh of relief, bowed to Li Ye once more, and departed.

"What is it?" Li Ye asked, turning to Elsa.

"Your Holiness, we’ve found the Desire Celestial Demon," Elsa said. "After she was discovered in Jade City and escaped, she has been moving between various towns and cities.

"She wears a tight, black leather outfit and a mask that covers her eyes, and she wields a long whip. In full public view, she carries out punishments on the City Lords and powerful figures of various places, lashing them with the whip in her hands.

"The powerful figures she lashes become debauched and completely lose themselves to desire.

"The local guard armies have been dispatched to hunt her down, but her fighting skills are formidable. It seems she’s also a Full Element Mage, though not as powerful as Your Holiness.

"However, she possesses the powerful Whip of Desire, and she has killed all the guards sent after her.

"The corpses of the dead guards are stark naked and covered in whip marks, but even in death, their faces are frozen in blissful smiles..."