Chapter 418
Whispers Abound (II)
I ran.
I ran so fast I felt kind of funny about it, but I had to run. What if they did decide to read deeper into what I said and had that old ghost in the woman come out to imprison my soul, too? I couldn't take that chance! But... I also couldn't stay silent over what I saw in her status. Per it, she only had a scant few years left to live 'competently'. That was the literal word system used.
Now, it could be my turn to read deeper into something I shouldn't, but 'living competently' heavily implies full mental faculties. And not living that way implies... well, the opposite. Though it was perhaps a 'smarter' choice to just leave it be, I'd been making 'smarter' choices more frequently for a while now. For once, I chose to make a human one.
It was only when I was back at the inn that I realized I hadn't seen much of the city before sprinting back; alas, I was here now and as such just went back up to my room. Nobody else was here--I could feel it--with them having scattered across the city. Where exactly? I couldn't quite tell.
Once back in the room, I poured myself a glass of wine and sat by the window yet again. The act felt... human, almost, compared to my life here so far. And it allowed me to close my eyes for a moment and think back to that window. I honestly thought spending 1,000 was an insane act I'd be regretting all my life, and though I do regret it, I also... don't.
[--Creator's Eyes used]
[Warning: Target is under the protection of a high-tier Soul-Veil. 1,000 CP consumed to bypass Sage-Grade obfuscation...]
That was the first time anything like that ever happened. My best guess as to why it was ten times more expensive is that the spirit in the young woman had greatly upgraded the 'veil' since we last met, whether broadly or just for me.
[Partial Analysis Commencing...]
[...]
[Target: Xing Yahui]
[Age: 23]
[Talent: ???]
[Cultivation Realm: Mid-Spirit Manifestation Realm (Disguised: Mid-Foundation Establishment Realm)]
[Cultivation Method: Scripture of the Penitent Immortal (low-Divine/Incomplete)]
[Cultivation Arts: Heaven-Severing Thread (peak-Myth), Myriad Ghost-Step (low-myth), Soul-Pillar Meditation (peak-Jade)...]
[...]
[Traits]
[Waning Lamp (???) -- the target's life force is not her own. She has inherited 'Shattered Longevity.' For every step she takes toward immortality, her wick burns twice as fast. She carries the countdown of a predecessor who died before their time]
[Architect's Burden (Legendary) -- she bears the weight of a Great Foundation. There is a faint, resonant frequency between her soul and the Order of the Sages. To those who know the song, the smells of the beginning--and its original sin]
[Prophetic Scion (???) -- obsessed with the ripples of fate. Her eyes are constantly turned toward the 'vague inclinations' of the world, making her prone to following ghosts rather than reality]
[Vessel of the Exile (???) -- her meridian pathways have been widened by force to accommodate a presence far greater than an ordinary body can hold. This has caused permanent Scarring of the Source]
Stolen from Freewebnovel, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
[Other traits remain hidden]
[...]
[Assessing Suitability...]
[--ANOMALIES DETECTED. Seven anomalies have been detected. Host can only view information on one]
[...]
[Anomaly: a parasitic symbiosis of the Soul. A Caged Sun resides within the Iron Ring]
[The Recreant's Reliquary: Deep within the target's spatial ring resides a shattered, Imperial Soul. Once a luminary of the Upper Realms, this entity was excised by the Mandate of Heaven for the crime of staining the Dao. It had fallen to the lesser realms, seeking redemption through the creation of a Holy Scripture. Nearing the death of its mortal coil and preparing to enter Nirvana, it had instead been plotted against and sealed into a crude, iron ring, where its soul had been continuously eroding for tens of thousands of years.]
[...]
[Unique Physique Detected: Mortal Cradle of the Fallen (Ancient, Cursed) -- a physique born of long-term exposure to Sage Qi. Her body is slowly being terraformed into a suitable vessel for a soul that lost its original divinity. Increased cultivation speed ultimately puts a ceiling to her path]
[...]
[Unique Bloodline Detected: Dust of the Empyrean (???) -- traces of the Original Will reside within her bloodline. It was what allowed the bonding between the target and the trapped soul]
[...]
[Recommendation: The target is a Dead End. Her Master's presence is currently acting as a spreading poison. To save the target and prevent the Master from unintentionally shattering the girl's foundation, Host must provide Distilling Moon Jade of at least Heaven-grade.]
[Note that the Jade will not heal the Master but merely act as a buffer, allowing the two souls to coexist without one corrupting the other into extinction]
[Warning: The Master has recognized Host's gaze; at its wits' end, it is seeking a miracle. It is recommended that the Host approach further interactions with care. The Order it created is currently searching for it, and it is just the same searching for a way to hide from the very monsters it created]
[...]
[Final Assessment: a tragic marionette dancing on the strings of the Fallen. The target is an unwilling heir to a legacy of betrayal and corruption. She is the key to dismantling the sword tearing the world asunder, for in her she carries the answers to the questions the host will have to answer. If not helped, the target is destined to die before turning 35]
My lips quivered as the words got stuck in my throat.
As always, the system was vague--but I could piece together a thing or two from it.
Thus far, I've come across two distinct instances of 'Sage' and 'Sages'--one being the shadowed things culling the young in pursuit of Life Qi, and the other being directly from my own status window. The ancient order that had once practically bred Emperors and Empresses.
All this while, I thought them wholly disconnected; after all, the word 'sage' itself has an inherent meaning that can be twisted in any direction one wants. Sort of like there are likely thousands of sects with the word 'Sword' in them, there ought to be at least a few dozen orders with the word 'sage' in them.
But, having read Xing Yahui's window, there's now a creeping doubt in me that the two mentions of sages I've come across are more intricately linked than possibly anyone recognizes. Though it's simply my interpretation based on the system's vague nuggets of wisdom, I'm fairly certain that the spirit trapped in the young woman's spatial ring was once a 'Sage'--part of the ancient order said to have once reigned over the Seven Heavens.
And, from the sound of it, she was exiled and found her way here--where, seeking redemption, she formed another Order of the Sages.
The very one that we had been coming across practically ever since we left the Spirit Sword Sect.
There was just one tiny twist that didn't quite align with it all: the system mentioned she was an Imperial soul, which suggests that she was an Empress when alive. But Sages are closer to me--struggling to cultivate, rather than trailblazing it.
Then again...
There are always exceptions. She could really just be one of those.
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