Seized by the System

After both gods have departed, Vigilante A swiftly teleported himself to the mountain peak and faced the Grandmaster before he could disappear.

Shang Qingshan’s face was massive. Sir System would not lift his head to look at him as it was tiring for the neck…

“Isn’t that the Venerable Dragon God? Thank you so much for looking after my disciples in these past few days.” The giant face relaxed.

“You’re welcome, after all, you’ve paid for it…” Sir System was always politically incorrect with his words. “I want to ask you something.”

“Oh, let me guess.” The face on the mountain peak smiled. “I believe you want to know the two gods’ keys to reaching illumination?”

“Mm, absolutely. Please enlighten me.” Vigilante A replied calmly.

“It’s simple. The God of Plagues studies the cell biology of this realm and intends to become the Origin of Life. He’ll never have the chance to evolve life again on Earth, so he must travel to other planets to do so. However, no matter what he does, he needs the blessing of the Origin of Time and Space if he wants to become a god in this realm.” The face on the mountain peak explained.

“The Origin of Time and Space?”

“Oh, I forgot to explain. The consciousness of the Origin of Time and Space is still at a burgeoning stage. One of its main components is the Earth’s Heavenly Axiom. Hence, as long as the Heavenly Axiom disagrees with the God of Plague’s plan, he’ll never become a god in his lifetime.” The giant face clarified.

Vigilante A shook his head. “I already know about these matters. I’m sure the God of Plagues has a way to obtain this blessing. The Heavenly Axiom is always unpredictable and I doubt this will stop him.”

“Hmm, you have a point, Venerable One. The Heavenly Axiom does not discriminate between good and evil, and neither does it care about one’s background as long as the outcome is beneficial to it. However, to become the Origin of Life, the God of Plagues can’t just control the reproduction of cells and the evolution of life. Life on Earth didn’t simply begin from nothing but from an extraterrestrial meteorite. If it wants to go through the evolution process again, the same piece of extraterrestrial meteorite needs to be found. As for this meteorite’s place of origin, I’m the only who can know about it.” The face on the mountain peak relayed smugly.

“Oh, may I know about its location?” Vigilante A asked.

“Hehe, Venerable One, you’re putting me in a tight spot. If I reveal the location, the God of Plagues will undoubtedly know about it. As long as I keep mum, it’ll never find it and it’ll never become a god. It’s a thousand times more difficult to become a god in this realm than in the Upper Realm. A philosopher once said that one must keep his mouth shut to avoid disrupting the status quo. The Origin of Time and Space leans towards the Path of Technology in this realm which is based on facts and evidence and which can be duplicated and promoted, instead of mysterious and unpredictable paths of the Upper Realm.”

Shang Qingshan refused to let the cat out of the bag. Vigilante A did not press him any further but enquired. “I see. As for the Moon Goddess’ key to reaching illumination, I believe it’s the Azure Mountain controlled by you, Your Excellency?”

“Exactly, but I’ll not let her succeed.” A devilish look flashed across the huge face.

“In that case, I wish you all the best.” Vigilante A gave a cordial remark and left.

The face on the mountain peak did not say anything to make his visitor stay, as if he did not require Vigilante A’s help.

…

After leaving the Azure Mountain, Vigilante A returned to the Black Dog’s hiding spot. He gave a few words of encouragement and gifted two bottles of pills before departing.

Carefully, the Black Dog stored the pills inside the white jade ring on its hind leg. It caught a glance, by accident, the White Fox staring at the pills eagerly. It pondered for a moment and, suppressing its reluctance, took a pill and offered it with both paws.

“This is the Dragon Clan Honey-flavored Pill painstakingly crafted by my master. It’s non-existent in the Upper Realm and this is the only one available in this realm. Long-term consumption provides many magical benefits such as fortifying the soul and improving one’s endowment. You may try one, Sister White.” The Black Dog offered.

The White Fox was skeptical. It had never heard of such a pill. It had consumed many types of magic pills, but how did this pill fare in comparison with the previous ones?

It accepted the pill and popped it into its mouth.

It was certain that an honest fellow like the Black Dog would not deceive it. It believed that Prince Charming would not possibly recruit a bad dog as an ally.

Soon, a look of delight spread across the White Fox’s face.

After consuming the pill, it could taste a tinge of sweetness within its soul.

This meant that the pill’s active ingredients had spread directly towards its soul. The pills it consumed previously were incapable of such an effect. They could only make the physical body sense the taste, but not the soul.

Most alchemists would not waste their efforts and ingredients to do such a thing.

No wonder the Black Dog treasured it so much. In the Upper Realm, this type of pill could only be compared to those pills crafted by the saints and given to their disciples.

What was the situation like in the Lower Realm? Like a wasteland, devoid of resources with numerous tasks waiting to be done. Prince Charming was able to cultivate magical objects like that in this barren land. It had been right about him.

It was increasingly pleased with Vigilante A.

“Hey, you’re right. After consuming it, I feel one step closer to restoring my human form.” The White Fox eyed the Black Dog’s white jade ring and asked. “Little Black, I bet you have stored a lot of similar pills in that spatial talisman of yours?”

“Mm, yes, Sister. All these years, I’ve traveled the world with my master and cleansed the Earth of all evil-doers. I’ve put in much effort and made my mark, so it’s natural that I have acquired a lot of rewards.” The Black Dog felt proud at first, then realized something and added cautiously. “Nevertheless, they are reserved as dowry for my future bride, so I can’t give them to you, Sister.”

“Eh…” The White Fox was slightly embarrassed. Its intentions were too blatant and even that dumb dog could sense it. No doubt that greed exposed one’s flaws easily.

It hastily changed the subject. “Listen to yourself, do you really think I can’t get a hold of your pills? When I head back, I’ll introduce one of my sister’s to you. You just have to prepare the dowry.”

“Ah, that sounds great.” The Black Dog’s eyes lit up. It pondered for a while before offering one of the bottles of pills reluctantly. “I can’t let you be a matchmaker for nothing, Sister. Please accept this gift as a token of my appreciation.”

The White Fox finally accepted the gift eagerly and nodded. “You might be darker than others, but you have a good heart and you’re rather wealthy too. If my sister marries you, I’m sure both of you will make a fine pair and she’ll have a happy life.”

The Black Dog was euphoric and leaped around in joy.

It smiled to himself. ‘Oh, Old Yellow, you might have found your love earlier, but you have forever missed the opportunity of getting a girl from the Spirit Fox clan!’

This was what they called a “late-bloomer”.

The White Fox did not mind and contemplated for a while. Most Spirit Foxes wanted to shapeshift into humans and refused to remain as beasts. It had to look for a clan member who preferred to be a beast instead of shapeshifting.

Although such a circumstance was rare, it knew of someone who hated the idea of becoming a human.

With that, its relationship with Prince Charming was a step closer.

“That’s a deal. I’ll go back and pester that sister to descend earlier. You stay here and keep watch.”

“Alright, go then, Sister. I’ll work hard to support the family.” The Black Dog rediscovered a motivating factor to work diligently and made its promise.

“Good, I shall leave now.” The White Fox ran away in a split second.

“Sigh, it looks like Sister’s powers haven’t been restored. At least it has my master to look after it. It’s better off than us.” The Black Dog observed the White Fox’s departure, shook its head and sighed.

After that, it picked up the pair of binoculars and continued to monitor the Azure Mountain.

Just when it assumed that it was going to be a long day, after a while, it witnessed movement at the Azure Mountain yet again.

A man’s figure could be seen appearing at the side of the mountain and staggered down the mountain.

“Strange, I thought the men at the Azure Mountain, aside from Gu Buwei, were struck by illness?” The Black Dog was puzzled.

This info was given to it by its master. Perhaps the master made a mistake?

It observed closely through the binoculars and discovered something of note.

“Oh, it’s a male spirit, no wonder he isn’t ill. He did get something good out of his misfortune. Life sure is strange.” This struck a chord with the Black Dog as it thought about its personal experiences.