Chapter 262: Chapter 262: Taoist Platform War God Heng Ba
System Notification: You have a new task!
System Notification: Please locate the "Emperor’s Pet" War Spirit in the Spirit Realm and tame it.
Chen Pingping, just stepping into the academy, felt his heart thrill with excitement.
It’s here! Finally, it’s here! A new task.
He examined the details carefully. Hmm? Emperor’s Pet? War Spirit? Just the name sounds so domineering, indicating that this Spiritual Beast possesses extraordinary combat power. If he could tame it, wouldn’t his realm soar swiftly upward?
Chen Pingping couldn’t contain his excitement.
The growth of Lao Huang and Hei was achieved through the gradual accumulation of days; he couldn’t rush it. Although there had been rewards over the years, they were but a drop in the ocean for advancing his Emperor Tao Realm.
Forget about the Devouring Sky Beast; who knows how much it needed to eat? It was just too expensive to keep. The last one, the Earth Chicken, a Descendant of the Ancient Phoenix, is currently in a stable condition. With a Heaven Tao Divine Weapon to chew on, it’s making daily progress. My own realm has also progressed from Emperor Tao Second Heaven to Fourth Heaven, not too shabby... Of course, having a new task is the best. Regardless of the state of the Spiritual Beast, once tamed, there will be a plethora of rewards.
"Why are you smiling?" Lan Xiuzhi came over.
"Nothing!" Chen Pingping replied.
"You’re acting strange," she said, scrutinizing Chen Pingping. "Do you like Liu Yeqing?"
PFFT!
Both of them internally spat blood.
After all, being just seventeen or eighteen years old, she didn’t have much understanding of love and romance. However, she always thought Chen Pingping and Liu Yeqing made a good match. Wouldn’t it be nice if they became Tao Companions?
Lan Xiuzhi then added, "Tonight, you two should sleep together!"
Both: "..."
The Earth Chicken glanced over obliquely.
Hei, the puppy, cocked its head.
There were many people in the academy, both men and women. As they walked, many greeted Lan Xiuzhi before hurrying away, seemingly unwilling to get too close to her.
Lan Xiuzhi sighed in resignation, "See? With an ominous physique like mine, this is the kind of treatment I get. Ordinary folks avoid me like the plague."
That was precisely why she cherished her friendship with Chen Pingping and Liu Yeqing so much. She felt that anyone willing to interact with her was risking their life, and she was deeply touched by this.
Chen Pingping thought nothing of it, remarking, "What’s ominous in this world? It’s just a mirage that evolved from the end of a nightmare."
Lan Xiuzhi was moved. "Pingping, you really have a way with words. If I were a bit older, I would marry you."
Chen Pingping: "..."
Besides those greeting Lan Xiuzhi, quite a few others were sizing Chen Pingping up. They were curious to see what the fellow challenged by Jinchan looked like.
They were disappointed. Apart from his looks, there didn’t seem to be anything special about him.
Soon, they arrived at the heart of the academy: a small, rather run-down square. The stone slabs on the ground were almost decayed, with many broken and overgrown with weeds. It looked like it hadn’t been repaired in a long time.
In the center of the square stood a grey-brown Taoist Platform, seven or eight meters in diameter and one meter high. From a distance, it looked exceedingly ordinary, like part of some abandoned place. But upon closer observation, one could detect intense fluctuations pervading the air around the Taoist Platform.
That was the Tao, the Law. The Saintess didn’t think much of it. To her, it was merely an ancient Taoist Platform teeming with powerful Tao, which was not unusual.
But Chen Pingping, standing beside her, felt his heart suddenly pound as his eyes fixed intently on the Taoist Platform.
Familiar fluctuations.
He extended his Divine Sense, only to be blocked by the Tao surrounding the Taoist Platform. Chen Pingping fell into deep thought.
It was unclear how much time had passed when he finally snapped out of it. Many young people from the academy had gathered behind them. A man in green stepped forward and chuckled, "Fellow Daoist, did you perceive something?"
While he was deep in thought, his Divine Sense had resonated with the Taoist Platform. The entire platform had shaken, emitting strong fluctuations and dazzling Divine Brilliance. The senior members of the academy had all been alarmed, and many young geniuses had flocked here, the man in green clothes among them.
"No," Chen Pingping answered.
"Actually, the one who left the Taoist Platform was not an ancestor of our academy, but a passerby," the man in green explained. "He was heavily injured at the time and used the academy to heal before leaving this Taoist Platform as a parting gift."
"What was his name?" Chen Pingping asked.
"Heng Ba."
"What a strange name," Lan Xiuzhi couldn’t help but remark.
The man in green continued, "So many years have passed, and the Taoist Platform has remained. Yet, no one has been able to comprehend the Tao and Laws within it, let alone achieve resonance. You are the first."
Is that so? Chen Pingping was bewildered, gazing at the ancient Taoist Platform. Just now... what happened? I don’t know anything; my mind is a blank. It’s like someone was roaring...
Driven by curiosity, Chen Pingping approached the Taoist Platform step by step. This time, it did not repel him. He stepped onto the Taoist Platform and stood there quietly.
His mind and Divine Sense completely relaxed as he began to feel the Tao within. Suddenly, a sharp BANG echoed beside his ear, and it felt as if an invisible black hole in space had swallowed his consciousness.
"My Lord, is it you?" a low, hoarse voice asked from the pitch-black emptiness where nothing could be seen.
Chen Pingping did not speak.
"Heng Ba has followed My Lord’s instructions, guarding the Spirit Realm, but... they were too strong. Heng Ba was no match for them... Heng Ba..." The voice choked with emotion as it spoke.
"My Lord..." the voice cried sorrowfully.
"I am not," Chen Pingping stated.
He didn’t know where this sense of familiarity came from, nor why this person called Heng Ba was addressing him as ’My Lord.’ I was born on the Heaven Martial Continent. Before I started cultivating, I was just a wandering poet, exposed to the elements.
Heng Ba exclaimed, "Impossible! You are My Lord! You possess My Lord’s energy fluctuations! How... how could you not be?"
I have it? What do I have? A dog, a chicken... everything else was a system reward.
Chen Pingping furrowed his brow. "How long have you been alive?"
"I... I don’t know!" Heng Ba’s voice trembled.
"What is your Lord’s name?" Chen Pingping asked again.
"Wen... Wen..." The voice stuttered for a long moment, unable to recall the full name.
Yet, that single syllable made Chen Pingping turn deathly pale.
Wen? Wen Yuqing?
Chen Pingping gasped, "Is your Lord a woman?"
"Yes!" Heng Ba replied.
"But I’m a man," Chen Pingping said, staring into the darkness.
"I know... Perhaps My Lord fell into Reincarnation and changed genders... I don’t know... I..." The voice suddenly broke in anguish, and mournful cries echoed through the dark world.
Chen Pingping waited a long time until Heng Ba calmed down. Then, he asked, "Where does your Lord come from? Why are you guarding the Spirit Realm?"
He had always suspected his master, Wen Yuqing, had impressive origins, and it seemed he was right.
Heng Ba said, "I don’t know... I’ve forgotten... I... I want to see My Lord."
"Do you truly wish to see her?" Chen Pingping asked, referring to Heng Ba’s Lord.
"Yes!"
Chen Pingping nodded. He took out a Paper Talisman and, after a moment’s hesitation, crushed it.
But this time, Wen Yuqing did not appear.
He lowered his head, an uneasy, ominous premonition creeping into his heart.
In the darkness, Heng Ba began to agonize again, roaring continuously, "Kill! Kill! I am War God Heng Ba! You ants dare to touch My Lord?! Death without mercy!"
"Dugu! Protect My Lord! Quick... you must all leave!"
"Damn them! They all deserve to die!"
"I am War God Heng Ba, ordered to suppress the Spirit Realm!"