705 Dont You Hate Her? (1/2)
The soul's murmurs were gentle and brimming with love. There was no hint of confusion or doubt despite the question it was asking. It was as if the Night Immortal King wasn't confused about why his wife Zi Yue had done something so terrible to him. It was as if he was voicing regret over a relationship's end because of what had happened. His murmurs were like a pair of invisible hands, weighed down by regret and loss as they tried to caress an absent wife's face gently and smoothen her hair against her cheeks.
Even after suffering an injury that an ordinary person would have found unimaginable, he seemed to still only harbor thoughts of longing for his wife…
Wang Baole couldn't understand the Night Immortal King. However, he vaguely remembered something he had read when he had still been a young boy. What came next, after a love so deep?
The answers varied. Perhaps it was longing, perhaps it was duty, perhaps it was pain, or perhaps, it was the disappearance of one's soul.
Wang Baole was silent. He wasn't the Night Immortal King, he couldn't feel what the latter was feeling, but his eyes were dark with emotions. He couldn't tell if his compassion for the Night Immortal King was because of what had happened to the latter, or because he could sense the blind love the latter still held!
Wang Baole didn't spend time finding out if there were other emotions hidden within the Night Immortal King's soft murmurs. He wouldn't know that the unique qualities of his Dark Art had enabled him to see this lingering wisp of soul. His tiny blood sacrifice and the spell he had cast had helped as well.
Wang Baole shook almost immediately after the brief murmuring passed. His eyes no longer saw the wisp of the Night Immortal King's true soul. He could only see the murky soul of the newborn.
\”Zi Yue?\” An unfathomable light appeared in Wang Baole's eyes. He turned to his side suddenly. Little Missy had materialized. She stood next to Wang Baole, her eyes filled with bitterness and an intense sorrow as she looked at the Night Immortal King.
Wang Baole didn't speak. He remained at Little Missy's side silently. A long while later, the Night Immortal King began to shake. He seemed to be trying to shake Wang Baole's Dark Art off. He began to howl. It was then that Little Missy said quietly, \”Baole, lend me one of your lotus seeds.\”
Without any hesitation, Wang Baole activated his devouring seed, causing the green lotus within to sway. A single lotus seed fell and landed in Wang Baole's hand.
It wasn't real. The lotus seed was a mere illusion, translucent in form. Wang Baole held it before Little Missy.
\”Thank you,\” Little Missy whispered. She took the lotus seed, then transformed into a soft sliver of light that darted into the Night Immortal King's forehead. A brief moment later, the Night Immortal King trembled and stopped struggling. He quieted down, then slowly shut his eyes, as if he had fallen into a deep slumber.
Wang Baole watched the scene before him in quiet contemplation. He waited silently. An hour passed. It was then that a ghostly light appeared on the Night Immortal King's forehead, and Little Missy reappeared next to Wang Baole. Exhaustion lined her features. The sorrow she had displayed earlier had morphed into a fury tinged with sadness.
\”Zi Yue was the first friend I made in the Vast Expanse Dao Palace,\” Little Missy whispered after a long period of silence.
\”On her wedding day, when she got married to Lord Zhou's disciple, Chen Mofeng, I gave her a gift. It was a powerful artifact my father had given me.
\”The most powerful Dao in the Vast Expanse Dao Palace was the Star-Seeding Dao. My father praised it endlessly when he first read about it. Lord Zhou had practiced the Star-Seeding Dao. Passing it down from one person to the next was extremely difficult. In each generation, there could only be one successor. The successor had to possess his predecessor's Soul Seed…\”
\”Chen Mofeng was Lord Zhou's only disciple. He was the next master of the Star-Seeding Dao in the Vast Expanse Dao Palace!\” Little Missy said, then stopped speaking. She seemed unable to continue.
\”Baole, I know why you are here. You want to test if the lotus can be used to control him. Unless you truly have to, please don't disturb Senior Brother Chen's rest… I'm tired…\” Little Missy's voice grew increasingly faint. Finally, it vanished completely as she returned back into the mask. It was as if she had returned to a deep sleep. Or perhaps she had simply lost herself in contemplation as she wondered about the horrors that a person was capable of committing.
Wang Baole stood there for a long time. Finally, he sighed. Little Missy had guessed his objective correctly. He had intended to verify the connection between the lotus and the Night Immortal King. He had wanted to know whether he could control the Night Immortal King. He didn't know the details of the Night Immortal King's past, nor did he know what Little Missy had done after entering the Night Immortal King's forehead. However, he could make some guesses from what Little Missy had said.
The Never-Ending Clan invaded. Before Lord Zhou fell in battle, he passed the Star-Seeding Dao down to his disciple, Chen Mofeng. Chen Mofeng shouldered a heavy responsibility but fell victim to his Dao partner's viciousness. His brain was extracted for his memories, his heart dug out for his soul, his Dao destroyed and robbed of his cultivation. They were used to refine a Soul Seed so that his Dao partner could gain the necessary qualifications to practice the Star-Seeding Dao. Wang Baole stared long and hard at the slumbering Night Immortal King.
Zi Yue's methods were vicious and cruel. She seemed to want to prevent the Night Immortal King from awakening. Of course, she had no idea that the Night Immortal King didn't harbor any hatred towards her. He only had feelings of longing for her… Wang Baole sensed the connection between the lotus seed and the Night Immortal King. He sighed. The pity in his eyes disappeared. He turned and left the cave, appearing outside, in midair in the next moment.