Chapter Ninety: The True Spirit of Magic

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My thanks to everyone for the recommendation votes. Here is a chapter of nearly four thousand words!

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The path of Three Lives differs from reincarnation in that it does not pass through the six realms of rebirth. There is therefore no true distinction between past life, present life, and future life, which was why the elder sister had used three broader, if somewhat awkward, terms to explain it.

Liu Ping had also studied it before. Such ancient arts, resembling a single breath dividing into three pure embodiments, could manifest three bodies at once in battle, and could also switch freely between the original body and the others. To be reborn without passing through the six realms was also different from body-snatching; after the replacement, one’s strength remained unchanged. It was a peerless art of survival, immortality, and combat in one.

Liu Ping had long suspected that this beast hide had something to do with the White Emperor, but without proof he could not be certain.

Now that his elder sister had confirmed it, he could not help feeling a surge of anticipation. If the White Emperor could create such wondrous arts, then how formidable must his inherited techniques be?

Taking the beast hide, Liu Ping closed his eyes and quietly tried to comprehend it.

Suddenly the world lurched and spun. Alarmed, he opened his eyes at once, only to find that he was no longer in his elder sister’s room.

All around him, above and below, stretched a river of stars made up of countless glittering points of light, dazzling beyond measure and filling the entire void.

It was as though he had come into the universe itself. There was no gravity; he floated silently in midair.

Instinctively, he studied his surroundings. Those "stars" seemed to possess an indescribable charm. As he looked at them, he could not help but become entranced, staring blankly, and for an instant it felt as though even his soul might be drawn away.

He abruptly came to himself, quickly narrowed his eyes, and a chill of sweat broke out down his back.

That had been perilously close; he had nearly sunk into it.

"This isn’t the universe... It should be the inheritance space of that beast hide. These so-called stars are probably spells that have awakened spiritual essence."

Liu Ping murmured to himself. He was no longer the ignorant beginner he had once been. After observing for only a moment, he had already reached a conclusion.

"Still, the number of these spells is truly astonishing. People always say that there are a thousand kinds of spell and ten thousand kinds of great dao, and that those numbers do not refer to actual quantities but to the limitless and the endless. But this is a bit too monstrous, isn’t it? Truly worthy of the White Emperor’s inheritance! So domineering..."

Stars shimmered densely in every direction, innumerable and impossible to count. There had to be more than a hundred million of them by now.

"Elder sister said that all these spells have awakened spiritual essence, and that I cannot choose them; they must choose me... Somehow that feels rather unpleasant, and oddly strange."

"Mm... exactly what feels strange?" he pondered.

"Oh, right. It’s like being a hired companion... letting these spells pick and choose at will. If they like me, they choose me; if they don’t, they don’t."

"Tsk tsk. Vulgar, perhaps, but that metaphor really is apt!"

Amused by his own dry humor, Liu Ping laughed aloud and cried, "Hey there, all you grand spell lords! You can hear me, can’t you?"

"If none of you speak, I’ll take it as a yes. Listen up: I am a mighty transmigrator! An opportunity must not be missed! Once gone, it never returns! When you pass this village, there’s no such shop ahead! One day I’ll stand as king and tyrant, shake the world, blaze with passion, and make this life worth living! So what are you waiting for? Come on over!"

As he spoke, he spread his arms, ready to receive those spells as they fell into his embrace...

Unfortunately, not a single one came.

"What? Not even a little face? That’s harsh."

Liu Ping froze, then gave a wry smile. "So I really can’t show off after all."

Lowering his head, he thought again. "These fellows don’t buy that act? Let me think... do I need to perform a few moves? Show them my talent?"

"What does transmigrator mean?" A clear, pleasant voice suddenly came from behind him, startling Liu Ping. He turned at once.

Standing behind him was a peerlessly beautiful少女 in armor, gazing at him with keen interest. Her features were flawless, almost beyond perfection. Her eyes were exceptionally clear, faintly carrying a trace of stern killing intent, giving her an air of unspoken authority. She had a head of red hair, flowing wildly through the air, incomparably imposing. The armor on her body was engraved with countless spiritual patterns and talismanic scripts, radiating a suffocating pressure.

"You are?" Liu Ping did not answer. Instead he stared at her in shock, a terrible guess rising in his heart. Could she be...

"I? I am..." The girl rested a hand against her forehead, thought for a moment, and said, "I am the 'spell lord' you were calling for. But I’m not a lord. By your human classification of gender, I should be a woman. That’s it, yes. Exactly that!"

"Spell true spirit?!" Liu Ping was startled, his eyes widening in disbelief!

It was no surprise for a top-tier magical treasure to possess intelligence. But if a spell could give birth to wisdom, that would be beyond heaven-defying!

Although the spells all around him had become living things, their so-called spirit was merely a kind of instinct for choosing the aura they liked. It was utterly different from this girl's unmistakable wisdom, the difference between cloud and mud. That also meant the spell within her must be something of absolutely terrifying power!

Not only had it produced intelligence, it had even taken on such an unparalleled beauty and appeared before his very eyes. What an immense blessing this was! No, not blessing—fortune, fortune! A tremendous fortune!

"Spell true spirit? That works too." The armored girl nodded and asked, "By the way, you still haven’t answered my question. What exactly is a transmigrator?"

Liu Ping could not help but smile bitterly. Too much talk leads to slips of the tongue. He would never casually reveal those three words again in the future; it would be bad to invite unnecessary trouble. Even if this world had no such phrase, and he could make up whatever meaning he liked for it, he would not let it slip from his mouth so carelessly again.

After a moment’s thought, he said, "A transmigrator is someone whose fate is full of twists and change, someone not fixed by heaven’s decree. If I don’t quickly go on to slay gods and kill Buddhas, seize kingship and dominate the world, then I’ll be letting down all transmigrators."

The armored girl curled her lip disdainfully. "Just a heavenly reincarnate, nothing more! You think I don’t know? Slay gods and kill Buddhas? You?"

Liu Ping shook his head. "I’m a little different from a heavenly reincarnate."

The armored girl snorted. "I think you’re the same."

"Fine, then same it is." Liu Ping surrendered with utter shamelessness, then asked, "Miss Spell, would you like to come out with me?"

Since the girl had taken the initiative to appear, there was a fifty-percent chance that she had chosen him. He could not help feeling hopeful, and unconsciously held his breath as he waited for her answer.

The armored girl shook her head. "No! You’re too weak!"

That blunt refusal left Liu Ping speechless. The reason being too weak wounded his pride all the more, but he still asked unwillingly, "Not even a little room to reconsider?"

The girl said, "Room to reconsider? None. You haven’t cultivated the White Emperor’s innate life art, have you? Hmm? Your technique should be the Supreme Essence Treasure Record, right? That’s not bad either. Let me think..."

Liu Ping’s heart leaped. Seeing her thoughtful expression, perhaps there really was room for negotiation? He had no idea what price that would require.

He said nothing, waiting quietly for her to continue.

"Tell me a joke," the girl said, blinking as a sly look flashed in her eyes. "Make me laugh, and I’ll go out with you!"

"A joke?" Liu Ping stared, his expression odd. He had thought he would need to pay a steep price to earn this girl’s approval, but he had not expected it to be nothing more than telling jokes. This was far too absurd, far too casual! You’re a top-tier peerless spell, and you’ve even developed intelligence—surely you can’t be this easy to deal with?!

"What? You don’t want to?" the armored girl asked, her delicate brows rising sharply, the mighty aura she emitted making Liu Ping’s heart pound with danger.

"I do! I do!" Liu Ping answered hurriedly.

He had no idea how many years this girl had spent in this world; her strange temperament was only to be expected. For now, he would endure it. Once she acknowledged him and he turned the tables to become the master, he would make her understand that he was not someone to be bullied so easily...

At the word master, Liu Ping unconsciously indulged in a brief fantasy, only to be pulled back to reality by the girl’s clear voice.

"Go on."

"Mm... all right. There was once a tiger, and a snake bit it."

"The tiger got angry and wanted to stamp the snake to death. It chased and chased, all the way to a small river, and the snake slipped into the water."

"The tiger waited on the riverbank, thinking, little brat, I don’t believe you’ll never come out. Before long, a turtle poked its head out from the water, and the tiger rushed over and pinned it down. ‘Little brat, you think I wouldn’t recognize you just because you put on a vest?’"

"Ha ha ha!" It was not the girl laughing, but Liu Ping himself. Laughing and laughing, he saw the girl’s cold gaze and abruptly choked, then hurriedly corrected himself. "No, no, I told it wrong. It was a turtle that went into the water, and when it came out, it had become a snake. The tiger said, ‘Take off the vest and I’ll still recognize you!’"

"Ha ha ha ha..."

Liu Ping laughed again, but when he met the girl’s icy stare, he suddenly felt like a clown.

"That really hurts my pride," he muttered under his breath. He had thought this would be easy, that he could make the girl laugh, but reality was not looking promising.

Still... no fear!

Liu Ping had cultivated the Technique of Reflection. Worst came to worst, he could recite every hilarious joke collection he had ever read in his past life and see whether the girl laughed or not.

"Mm, let me tell another... A little dog climbed onto my dining table and crawled toward a roast chicken. I angrily said: if you dare do anything to that roast chicken, then I’ll dare do anything to you! In the end, the little dog licked the chicken’s backside..."

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Still no laughter. Fine, I’ll keep going.

He had thought there was no need to worry, but the situation remained grim. There were not many jokes suited to this age, and Liu Ping had already told seventy or eighty of them in succession, yet the girl’s lips had not even twitched...

How discouraging.

Fortunately, though the girl’s gaze was still cold, she now looked like a listener. Liu Ping simply sat down cross-legged and began telling other stories instead.

"This is a very long story, so listen carefully."

"Once, Sun Wukong escorted Tang Sanzang to the Western Paradise to obtain the scriptures... but halfway there, he conspired with the Ox-Demon King to kill Tang Sanzang and stole the Moonlight Treasure Box. The Bodhisattva Guanyin rushed over upon hearing the news, intending to eliminate Sun Wukong so he would not bring harm to all living beings."

"Tang Sanzang, compassionate at heart, was willing to exchange his own life. Thus Guanyin ordered Wukong to be reborn as a human five hundred years later to atone for his sins."

"That was the beginning. Five hundred years later, beneath the Five Great Mountains, the desert wind and sand howled endlessly, and the Ax Gang received a strange female guest named Chun Thirteen Madam..."

"...Tang Sanzang shouted, ‘The Moonlight Treasure Box is a treasure! Throwing it around will pollute the environment. What if it hits a child? Even if it doesn’t hit a child, it’s bad to hit flowers and grass!’"

"...Tang Sanzang was tied up, and at that moment of grave peril, a crash of thunder suddenly split the sky. Tang Sanzang was stunned, then shouted, ‘Thunder! Rain! Gather the laundry!’"

It was the tale of A Chinese Odyssey. Liu Ping had watched that film more than a dozen times in his previous life, and even without the Technique of Reflection, he could recount it effortlessly.

Jokes and sorrow, helplessness and laughter, all mingled together. The ending had been guessed, yet not the final outcome.

As he spoke, the armored girl could not help becoming absorbed.

When Liu Ping finished, the girl let out a faint, wistful sigh, as though regretting something.

Liu Ping smiled and continued telling stories.

After he had finished one story after another, the armored girl finally said, "All right, all right, that’s enough."

Liu Ping blinked. "Then are you willing to come out with me?"

"Of course." The armored girl nodded. "After hearing so many of your stories, how could I not go with you? What is your name?"

"Liu Ping." Joy rose in him as he answered.

"Quickly master me. Once you have learned this divine and demonic descent and use it, that will be the day we meet again." The girl smiled, then turned into a point of light and rushed toward Liu Ping.

Just as he was about to catch the light, she suddenly stopped in midair and released a streak of brilliance that pierced the heavens, drawing one of the distant "stars" over to her!

"I nearly forgot Little Feather!"

Then two points of light shot into the crown of Liu Ping’s head.

His body shuddered slightly. He opened his eyes abruptly, and beside him his elder sister was looking at him with concern.

"How is it?" asked Drunken Red Dust.

Liu Ping nodded. "I feel very good."

His expression was somewhat strange, for he had come to understand something...

It turned out that from the very beginning, the appearance of that spell true spirit had been meant to choose him and leave with him. The so-called request that he tell jokes was only because she had not spoken with anyone for a very long time and wanted to chat more, to hear more stories, nothing more.