Chapter 167: New Era of Divine Spirits

Li Ye was certain Chaotic Heaven Silk had recovered its memories.

But no matter what he asked, Chaotic Heaven Silk wouldn’t say.

In many novels, a Great Power would sense it the moment their name was spoken. Perhaps that was what it was worried about.

Li Ye used to treat novels as just that—novels. But now that the things in them were becoming real, he could no longer treat them as mere fiction.

Since it was unwilling to speak, Li Ye didn’t press the matter.

It was just as it had said: the Ancient Era had been shattered to pieces. What good would asking about it do?

It would be best if all those Ancient Great Gods were dead. That way, he might have a chance to become a Great God himself. He wouldn’t have to worry about some unbeatable demon or Immortal suddenly jumping out of a dark corner during one of his travels and swatting him dead with a single slap.

But Li Ye knew it was basically impossible for all the Ancient Great Gods to be dead.

After all, even Michael had left behind a small Divine Format in an attempt to possess a new body and be reborn.

The Great Gods probably had even more ways to resurrect themselves!

Not even a ghost would believe that there wasn’t someone pulling the strings behind the Demon Suppression Tower and Pandora’s Box.

Having truly witnessed the power of monsters and demons infused with Demon Qi, Li Ye now understood. The master of the Demon Suppression Tower couldn’t possibly be unaware that the Demon Qi had regained their memories. He had to be doing this on purpose, allowing all of this to happen.

It was just as Chaotic Heaven Silk had said: this was a new era, and anything could happen.

The more he learned, the more Li Ye’s mindset unknowingly shifted. He was no longer just thinking about struggling to survive.

…

By the time Li Ye returned to the mainland, the Undead Calamity had already subsided.

Just as he had predicted, without the protection of the Undead Mist, the Undead were no match for the Tri-Race Alliance, no matter their numbers.

Most of the lesser Undead were burned away by the sun, while the greater Undead retreated back underground during their clashes with the humans.

The Purifying Cloth and Fiona played a decisive role in the war against the Undead.

After all, the Purifying Cloth carried a curse effect. And while Fiona had lost her Demon Whip, her skills remained, and she now wielded a Bone Whip born from the Skeleton Monarch.

With a single crack of her whip, she easily turned many of the Undead to her side.

The Bone Whip was incredible. It combined the properties of a demon artifact, Divine Power, and the Power of the Dead. It could self-repair, was immune to Undead skills, and enhanced its wielder’s Magic. It was already taking the shape of a Divine Artifact.

The lesser whips spawned by the Bone Whip were far weaker but still retained many of its properties, and Fiona wielded these as well.

Now, the former Desire Celestial Maiden had completely redeemed herself. She had become a hero to humanity and had even established the Celestial Maiden Sect, a religion dedicated to her worship…

…

Of course, the greatest credit went to Aragon. After all, he was the one who had lured away the Skeleton Monarch and led it into humanity’s forbidden zone.

For ten thousand years, almost no one had ever returned alive from the ocean.

During the three months Li Ye was away fighting the two bosses, the populace believed he had sacrificed himself. They mourned him spontaneously, and Elsa took up the banner of the Holy Guard Sect, becoming its second Sect Leader…

When Li Ye returned, the entire nation erupted in celebration.

Aragon’s reputation instantly reached its zenith. If this world had a system of faith-based power, Li Ye would have already ascended to godhood.

…

「The front line.」

Fiona asked cautiously, “Aragon, is there any Demon Qi left in this world?”

Without her demon artifact, she could no longer sense Demon Qi.

“There’s none left. I killed them all.” Li Ye handed the Bone Whip back to Fiona. “You can live freely in this world now. No one will bother you again.”

“Thank you.” Fiona fell silent for a moment before thanking him sincerely. “Even if other Time Travelers come here, I won’t reveal anything about you.”

“It doesn’t matter anymore.” Li Ye waved his hand with a smile. He hadn’t cared since he’d guessed that the big shot behind the Demon Suppression Tower probably knew everything anyway. ‘Besides,’ he thought, ‘the more outstanding I perform, the greater my rewards might be in the future!’

“Is there anything I can do to help you?” Fiona asked.

“Help me promote the Purifying Cloth,” Li Ye said, glancing at her and tearing off a few meters from the roll. “You can also have a Cursed Whip…”

…

「For the rest of his time there.」

Li Ye continued to promote the efficacy of the “roll of paper,” gathering Demon Qi for Chaotic Heaven Silk.

Chaotic Heaven Silk worked tirelessly without complaint, unafraid of hardship or filth, and helped him throughout the entire process. In return, he was happy to help Lord Ling accumulate more Demon Qi to fuel its growth.

Of course, Li Ye also hoped to unlock a few more Derived Skills in the process.

Unfortunately, by the time he left, the “roll of paper” still hadn’t managed to unlock a sixth Derived Skill.

Still, five Derived Skills was already quite a lot.

…

Li Ye’s “return” in front of everyone served to complete the lie he had spun from the very beginning.

It truly cemented Aragon’s status as a legend.

No.

By the time he “returned,” he was no longer Aragon, disciple of Gandalf.

He was Aragon the War God, Aragon the God of Life, Aragon the God of Purity…

…

「Li Ye Returned.」

After going through the long-awaited procedure, he met with Yang Feng once again.

Yang Feng looked much older than before, but his face lit up with excitement when he saw Li Ye. “I knew you’d make it back! Quick, tell me, what did you bring back this time?”

“An entire world’s worth of Magic, I suppose,” Li Ye said with a smile. “And a few treasures from the Magic World.”

“So, you entered a Magic World this time?” Yang Feng asked, stunned for a moment.

“That’s right. It was dangerous, but I came out unscathed,” Li Ye nodded.

“Did your own power increase?” Yang Feng asked.

“No.” Li Ye shook his head. “As you know, I cultivate Spiritual Power. It’s not compatible with Magic Elements.”

“That’s a real shame,” Yang Feng sighed, then offered some comfort. “But don’t feel too bad about it. Coming back alive is what counts. Remember Pang Feng and Cao Jieming? Neither of them made it back from their last world. Now, the only ones who have survived three worlds are you and Song Jiani.”

“Yeah…” Li Ye let out a lonely sigh. “The Demon Qi is getting stronger. If we can’t increase our own strength quickly, things will only get more difficult. What’s Song Jiani’s status?”

“She’s on her fourth world’s mission,” Yang Feng said. “The demon artifact she took was a Fun House Mirror. Her last mission was in a Xianxia World. While there, she performed a Dissipating Skill and started her cultivation from scratch. Her current realm is a bit weaker than yours—she’s at the Divinity Transformation Realm.”

“The Divinity Transformation Realm?” Li Ye paused, stunned. “What Derived Skill did she awaken?”

“Teaching and Instructing.” Yang Feng paused for a moment. “She teaches disciples. The faster her disciples improve, the faster she levels up. That was the key to her reaching the Divinity Transformation Realm. As long as she can find talented disciples, her power will just keep climbing…”

“There’s no limit to the number of disciples?” Li Ye asked.

“No limit,” Yang Feng said with a wry smile. “It might just be the most powerful Derived Skill in the entire Demon Hunting Bureau. If she makes it back alive from this current world, her realm will probably surpass yours.”

“Let’s hope so,” Li Ye said with an unconcerned smile, then asked, “What about the Team Emblem? Did it return?”

“It didn’t return.” Yang Feng shook his head bitterly.

Li Ye froze.

Damn!

‘So the Team Emblem already found a world that suits it?’

“Li Ye, I’m sorry.” Seeing Li Ye staring into space, Yang Feng said apologetically, “You know this sort of thing is bound to happen…”

“It’s fine,” Li Ye said, shaking his head.

Now that he had more powerful skills, he wasn’t too broken up about losing a “teammate.” As long as the principle of “my teammate’s misfortune is my good fortune” still applied, he was fine.

Chaotic Heaven Silk had said that Sun Wukong’s journey to the west was really about opening up an interstellar travel route.

If the Team Emblem had entered a world with interstellar travel capabilities, then there was a ninety percent chance it would never return.

That was perfectly normal.

After all, the Team Emblem was a demon artifact, not a Time Traveler. It only needed to empower itself; it didn’t need to switch between different artifacts to acquire new Derived Skills like the Time Travelers did.

Chaotic Heaven Silk had once speculated that the Team Emblem’s original form might have been Nuwa’s Demon-Calling Banner. Li Ye refused to believe a being like that would perish so easily…

“What about the wristwatch?” Li Ye asked.

“That was taken, too.” Yang Feng gave an embarrassed laugh. “The demon artifacts used by Time Travelers who make it back alive are in high demand now. The new recruits are convinced those artifacts will bring them good luck. Even the one Song Jiani used was taken. The Ruler and the razor you didn’t pick last time were also chosen.”

Hah.

Li Ye scoffed internally.

‘A bunch of idiots.’

‘The demon artifacts brought back by Time Travelers had probably all recovered their memories and accumulated a dense amount of Demon Qi. How could they possibly allow themselves to be obediently commanded?’

‘The moment they found a suitable world, they would likely sever their connection to the Demon Suppression Tower and never return.’

But as of now, Yang Feng still had no idea that the demon artifacts were sentient, and Li Ye had no intention of revealing that fact.

‘If the Demon Suppression Tower itself wasn’t talking, why should he?’

It was best to just let things run their course.

“Li Ye, what skills did you awaken this time?” Yang Feng asked.

“Binding with Ropes and Morale Like a Rainbow.” Li Ye concealed three of his new Derived Skills, explaining the effects of only those two to Yang Feng.

“This ability of yours to awaken two Derived Skills every time is truly enviable!” Yang Feng said, looking at Li Ye. “By my count, that means you have six Derived Skills now!”

“What good are six skills if none of them are true life-savers?” Li Ye said. “This time, I only got lucky because two other Demon Qi entities started fighting each other, and I managed to slip through the cracks. Otherwise, I’m afraid I wouldn’t have made it back either.”

“Luck is a part of strength, too,” Yang Feng said with a smile, then he froze. “Two Demon Qi entities *again*?”

“Yeah,” Li Ye nodded.

He recounted the story of how he had posed as Gandalf’s disciple after arriving and promoted toilet paper throughout the Otherworld, but he concealed Fiona’s involvement and the fact that he used Praise of Life to conquer the two bosses.

Praise of Life was far too ridiculous; he instinctively didn’t want anyone to know he possessed such a skill.

Even so, Li Ye’s legendary tale left Yang Feng breathless with amazement. “You truly are the Demon Hunting Bureau’s strongest Time Traveler. If all goes well, this mission of yours will become another classic case study.”

Li Ye just gave a slight smile and said no more. Compared to his last return, he was far more reserved.

After all, he had entered a Magic World and hadn’t gained any new personal abilities. There was nothing to show off.

“How long are you planning to rest this time?” Yang Feng asked.

“I’ll transcribe the Magic, then leave immediately,” Li Ye said. “The longer I stay on Earth, the stronger the monsters in the Otherworlds become. Every day I leave earlier is another day’s advantage. The escaped Demon Qi grows far too quickly.”