Love Travels through Time (My father who traveled through time and space to cultivate immortality came back to pick me up) - Chapter 44
Chapter 44: Return to the True Body
“Third Master?”
The voice on the other side of the talisman remained steady: “It might just be a coincidence. No need to cause unnecessary complications. Silver Sand is in the past; it is no longer our target.”
The man in black couldn’t swallow his anger: “But even with the grudges tied to Silver Sand…”
The voice inside the talisman was entirely devoid of emotion: “We must prioritize. Things should be plotted slowly and deliberately.”
Encountering no further trouble along the way, Xiang Haikui and her group arrived safely back in Silver Sand.
Present-day Silver Sand was far livelier than it had been ten years ago. Before they even entered the city, passing townspeople bowed to her one after another.
Amidst a chorus of “Second Miss,” she returned to the City Lord’s Estate.
Having received the news, Xiang Heng prepared a table full of her favorite dishes and personally went out to the main gate to greet them.
The person he wanted to welcome wasn’t Xiang Haikui, but Yin Changli.
His daughter dared to order this giant figure of the Shanhai realm around like a servant, but he certainly didn’t have the nerve.
However, during the meal…
Bai Xingxian shelled a crab and handed it to Yin Changli.
Yin Changli handed it to Xiang Haikui.
Xiang Haikui handed it to Xiang Heng.
Xiang Heng somehow felt the simple joy of standing at the very top of the food chain.
Ignoring those hands—which shelled crabs and peeled shrimp legs for his daughter non-stop, so practiced it was almost heartbreaking—he inquired, “Little Kui, have you made up your mind? Are you really going to the royal capital?”
Xiang Heng was talking about the trip to the royal capital.
For the birthday of the King of Jinling, the major city lords and sects across the Central Continent all had to send representatives with gifts to pay their respects and express their “submission.”
Although Xiang Tianqing was currently in the royal capital, the nature of her presence was different; Silver Sand still had to send a dedicated representative.
Previously, Meng Xilou handled these matters, but this time it fell on Xiang Haikui.
Jingwen had sent word that the ten-year duel agreement was fast approaching, specifically naming her to show up.
Yet right now, she still hadn’t managed to contact her master, who didn’t even know about the duel.
“I have to go anyway. I’ve thought it all through—worst comes to worst, I’ll step onto the stage and fight him myself. I won’t be completely helpless at his hands like I was ten years ago. At the very least, I need to give the people of the royal capital a glimpse through me so they can get a sense of who my master is.”
After finishing her sentence, Xiang Haikui licked the grease off her fingers.
Mmm~ non-human species really are delicious.
For a meat-crazed enthusiast like her, the most direct benefit of cultivation was never having to worry about gaining weight again.
“Besides, I’ve been wanting to go see my senior for a long time.”
Although Yin Changli acted like a shell-peeling machine, intently focused on his current task, he was still paying attention to what Xiang Haikui was saying.
Hearing this sentence, his movements paused for a brief moment.
Xiang Heng had more worries on his mind.
“However, going to the royal capital isn’t like roaming the borders hunting monsters. It’s filled with top-tier experts, and the environment is complicated.”
Xiang Haikui knew that because Xiang Tianqing was currently in the royal capital, going there carried a significant risk.
Yet she had never once considered hiding. If she ran into them, she would gladly send them back to their hometown for free, just as she had done with Meng Xilou.
Of course, her father was also worried she might clash with Xiang Tianqing again.
Xiang Haikui couldn’t make any promises about that; she would try her best to avoid conflict, but she would certainly strike back if pushed.
She didn’t owe her anything.
~
After eating her fill, Xiang Haikui returned to her room to sleep and gather her energy. Early the next morning, she set out for the lands beyond Silver Sand Pass to slay the mirage demon, after which she would depart for the royal capital.
She and Bai Xingxian rode camels, while Yin Changli still rode that little alpaca.
Once they arrived in an uninhabited, desolate region, Yin Changli returned control of the body to Dao Chen.
Back then, Dao Chen’s original goal in coming to Silver Sand had been to release this ancient mirage demon; he was thoroughly adept at setting up arrays to draw it out.
“Stand back.”
After using the little black snake, Dao Chen tossed the snake jar to Bai Xingxian.
This was already their sixth time coming to slay the mirage demon, so Bai Xingxian was equally accustomed to the drill.
Holding the snake jar, he led the camels further away.
Before long, Tian kuang began vibrating inside the sword case, signaling that the mirage demon had arrived.
The mirage demon was sealed within the quicksand array and invisible to the naked eye.
Only by closing one’s eyes and spreading out spiritual awareness could one sense the surrounding air surging with energy waves—rising and falling layer upon layer, like sheer curtains swaying in the wind.
The mirage demon was inside the window while they stood outside.
Neither side could see or touch the other, as if existing in two parallel worlds.
However, while the mirage demon could not come out, they could step inside.
“Are you ready?”
Dao Chen bent down, picked up the alpaca, and asked Xiang Haikui.
Over the past ten years, Dao Chen had come to understand Xiang Haikui’s style of doing things completely, and following them had brought him immense benefits.
Yin Changli’s universal compassion had caused his Tianren Sword Realm to jump three tiers in a row—faster than the progress he made over two hundred years of bustling about pretending to be a white lotus saving people.
Leveling up just by lying back in the sea of consciousness felt so good that he almost didn’t want Yin Changli to recover.
“No problem!”
Xiang Haikui held her sword, recalling her past experiences of repeatedly being beaten to her knees.
“We’re definitely killing it this time!”
“Then let’s go.”
Dao Chen chanted a set of array incantations.
Their bodies began to turn translucent, fading directly into the interior of the quicksand array.
It was still the same desert beneath their feet, except a monster had appeared before them.
It looked as though a giant vat of quicksilver had been poured into a human mold, with faint facial features visible on its face, making it distinguishable as male.
Its voice was neither male nor female, sounding like a eunuch: “You’ve come to court death again.”
Xiang Haikui pointed the tip of her sword at it.
“Don’t get too arrogant, you old monster!”
The mirage demon folded its hands behind its back and took two steps forward toward her sword.
“Talk after you manage to cut me!”
The mirage demon had been imprisoned for countless years, leaving very little of its power intact.
The reason Xiang Haikui couldn’t defeat it was simply that she couldn’t land a hit.
It had no physical form; it was merely a mass of light. When it coalesced into shape, it could be harmed by the power of the five elements.
However, the moment danger appeared, it would instantly disperse and melt into the surrounding light, rendering even Xiang Haikui’s flood dragon form useless.
“This time, it’s not us fighting you—it’s this.” Dao Chen habitually uttered a Namo Amitabha, setting the alpaca down on the ground.
Xiang Haikui patted the alpaca’s head.
“That’s right! This is the divine beast I traveled over mountains and seas to find, specifically meant to counter you!”
The mirage demon looked at the alpaca with curiosity.
It was in no rush to attack Xiang Haikui. After five fights, Xiang Haikui couldn’t kill it, but it couldn’t capture Xiang Haikui either.
It asked, “Is this a camel or a sheep?”
“An alpaca.”
The mirage demon had never seen nor heard of one.
“It counters me? It hasn’t even opened its spiritual aperture—it’s just an ordinary mount, isn’t it?” It let out a cold sneer, “Stupid girl, what tricks are you trying to play?”
Seeing that it was preparing to strike and blast the alpaca to death, Dao Chen also sneered coldly, “So facing a mount that hasn’t even opened its spiritual aperture, a dignified ancient demon like you—who was once the overlord of this desert—doesn’t even dare to spare its life a moment longer?”
Hearing this, the mirage demon pulled back its hand.
“Fine. Let’s see what abilities it has—let it use them.”
“Baa-baa, go!”
Xiang Haikui patted the alpaca’s rear rhythmically three times like a secret signal, driving it forward.
The mirage demon was merely curious; faced with a mount devoid of spiritual intelligence, it didn’t bother to put up any defense at all.
The alpaca clattered toward it on little trotters, raised its head, and spat with a loud *ptooey!*
The mirage demon froze for a second before realizing it had just been hit squarely in the face with spit.
Spit?!
The mirage demon was stunned once more, followed by an explosion of a blood-curdling scream: “Ahhh!”
*Now’s the time!*
Dao Chen used the Buddhist prayer beads to circle the alpaca, sweeping it out of the quicksand array and leaving the battlefield entirely to Xiang Haikui.
Xiang Haikui brought her sword down in a ferocious slash!
Still shrieking in agony, the panicked mirage demon tried to melt into the light, but it was a step too late—the sword energy sliced its quicksilver body clean in two!
Immediately after, both halves melted into the light together.
Xiang Haikui focused her mind and held her breath. Her sword energy was already embedded in its aura; the instant it moved, she would perceive it.
Come to think of it, she had Dao Chen to thank—he was the one who discovered that while the mirage demon didn’t fear the power of the five elements, it was deathly afraid of filth.
However, she couldn’t exactly hurl filth at it—just like slashing it with a sword, it would simply dodge.
So after racking her brains, Xiang Haikui thought of the alpaca.
Alpacas possessed a unique skill: whenever they were unhappy, they spat right in your face.
There were no alpacas in the Central Continent, nor any records of them. The mirage demon shouldn’t recognize one, let alone know its special skill.
Using it to catch the demon off guard was truly as good as it gets.
As for how Xiang Haikui knew where to find an alpaca—since this cultivation world shared a similar geography to Earth, if Silver Sand in the Central Continent had camels, then the Western Continent bound to have alpacas.
Traveling across mountains and seas, she had actually managed to find one.
Moreover, this particular one possessed the strongest spitting ability and the longest range of them all.
Picking it out from over ten thousand alpacas and running stress-training simulations for it with a transformed mirage demon—life had been ridiculously hard for her.
*Phew…*
Sensing the sword energy, she slashed down once more in that exact direction.
The mirage demon let out a painful screech.
“You can’t escape within this quicksand array!”
“How despicable!”
“All’s fair in war.”
This mirage demon had to be killed—not just for the boss to absorb its demon aura, but because leaving it in Silver Sand would eventually become a disaster.
Before it was sealed, this mirage demon had been exceptionally twisted in its killing methods, using illusions to torment its victims.
For instance, to a person dying of thirst, it would project the illusion of an oasis, teasing their desire for survival until they died right on the edge of reaching it.
Now, even after being sealed for so many years, it remained completely unrepentant—it naturally had to be eliminated.
Xiang Haikui recalled how in her dream, after it escaped, if her father hadn’t gone mad and slaughtered everyone in the desert, this monster would have been the one to do the dirty work.
The mirage demon barked fiercely, “You think you’re qualified to kill me?!”
Xiang Haikui stood on high alert, knowing it was about to go all out with a ultimate move!
The sun overhead seemed to be swallowed up in an instant, plunging heaven and earth into pitch blackness.
A sudden strain of music floated into Xiang Haikui’s ears, accompanied by faint, distant laughter.
Gradually, the laughter grew increasingly uninhibited. She felt a deep discomfort in her eyes, as though something had been tied over them.
Reaching up to touch her face, she found her eyes were actually covered with a strip of cloth.
She tore it off in one motion—and her eyes nearly popped out of her sockets!
She knew the mirage demon’s ultimate move would likely involve illusions. Judging by how it exploited a “dying man’s” craving for “water,” the illusion she fell into would probably be tied to desire.
She had been guessing what she might see in a realm of desire.
Never in her wildest dreams did she expect to see a room packed with handsome men of every charm imaginable!
Xiang Haikui was dumbfounded—it truly was an array of “slender and full-figured beauty,” covering every type imaginable.
There were idols she used to be obsessed with back in her modern days, male magazine models she had drooled over, and, of course, her upperclassman.
“Keep going, why stop?” She couldn’t control herself as the words escaped her mouth.
Then, just like a dream, she began playing hide-and-seek with these handsome men, having the time of her life.
*Xiang Haikui, wake up!*
She repeatedly urged herself to snap out of it. This illusion was far too terrifying—it was definitely influenced by the dragon race’s nature! It seemed her recent worries had been entirely justified!
She felt utterly panicked, yet simultaneously found it novel and thrilling—a tangled mess of anxiety and excitement.
A short while later…
*Oh boy, holding one in each arm feels way too amazing!*
*Princess Shanyin must have lived such a blessed life!*
Suddenly, however, her arms wrapped around a bone-chilling icicle.
Pulling down her blindfold for a look, she saw none other than Yin Changli.
Yin Changli had a subtle curve at the corners of his lips. Though his eyes looked like they were smiling, an endless array of icicles had piled up beneath them, ready to shoot out and pierce her to death at any moment!
Terrified out of her wits, she fell backward, landing flat on her butt on the ground.
“B-Boss…” Feeling as though she’d been plunged into a cellar of ice, she looked up trembling as Yin Changli bent down slightly. The long hair that originally draped over his back slid across his shoulder, falling onto her.
He let out a fake smile and said, “So you want to play Princess Shanyin? Well, I’d rather play Emperor Wu of Han.”
(T/N: Princess Shanyin (Liu Chuyu) of the Liu Song dynasty is famous in Chinese history for her insatiable appetite for male beauty and her legendary harem of young, attractive men.
Emperor Wu of Han (Liu Che) is famously linked to the idiom “Hiding Jiao in a Golden House”. According to legend, when he was young, he promised that if he could marry his childhood love, A’Jiao, he would build a grand house made of pure gold to keep her safely inside.)
With that, he pinched one of her ears and yanked her straight up from the ground.
The scenery shifted instantly, returning to the palace inside the little black sphere. The grand palace—already magnificent—transformed entirely into a dazzling golden house, locking her inside and throwing away the key!
Xiang Haikui: [Save me.jpg]
I’ll never dare again, Boss!
Seeing her trapped in a deep illusion, the mirage demon coalesced into shape, preparing to deal her a fatal blow.
Yet Xiang Haikui suddenly opened her eyes, executing a rapid “Z” shaped slash in the direction it was pouncing from!
Right up until the moment it died, the mirage demon never figured out how she had broken out of the illusion so abruptly.
After securing the soul essence, Xiang Haikui wiped the sweat from her forehead. *Honestly, that illusion had too many absurdities to even begin complaining.*
—
Once the quicksand array was broken, Bai Xingxian saw the glowing soul essence dancing in her palm and cheered happily, “You actually pulled it off!”
Xiang Haikui didn’t say a word, stepping forward to meet them.
Dao Chen had already yielded control of the physical body back to Yin Changli, who walked forward while leading the alpaca.
“You’ve worked hard.”
Xiang Haikui didn’t bother responding to him either. Tossing the demon core into the snake jar, she said after a moment with a voice full of hope, “Senior, try sensing it again.”
Yin Changli nodded, reaching out his hand to cover the snake’s body.
He should technically be able to return to his physical body now, though it was still just a tiny bit short.
Returning now would mean the injuries on his body would likely bring him intense discomfort.
Yet, unwilling to let her down again, he decided to return to his true body first—at least to let her see the progress.
“I’ll try.”
He closed his eyes.
A stream of black light flew out from Dao Chen’s spiritual platform, dropping straight into the snake jar.
Xiang Haikui and Bai Xingxian stared unblinkingly at the little black snake.
After fifteen minutes, the snake’s body seemed to twitch slightly.
The two held their breath in anticipation.
The little black snake twitched twice more before its body suddenly vanished from inside the jar.
Startled, the pair looked over to see Yin Changli in his human form appear out of thin air on a boulder a dozen yards away.
Before they even had time to celebrate, they saw him stumble forward and backward, collapsing to the ground.
“Uncle!”
“Senior?”
The two quickly hurried forward.
However, Bai Xingxian was yanked back by Dao Chen beside him.
Dao Chen shook his head at him, winking repeatedly to drop subtle hints.
Failing to understand in the slightest, Bai Xingxian asked anxiously, “What’s wrong?”
In the time he was held back, Xiang Haikui had already stepped forward.
“Senior?”
His memories had likely not returned yet.
The boss had made it crystal clear in the jade slip earlier: his physical body had to be nurtured back to health first, followed by his consciousness.
Yin Changli lay half-inclined on the boulder, resting his head on his own arm.
His cloud-like long hair spread beside him like a peacock’s tail.
Raising his head with great effort, his perfectly defined brows knit tightly in a deep frown; lacking the strength, he collapsed back down again.
Adopting the posture of a delicate, sickly beauty, he tremulously extended his other hand toward her.
The long sleeve slid down, exposing a smooth arm.
Xiang Haikui had originally intended to help him up, but taking one look at his sharp, slender fingers, her movement paused.
In the end, it was Bai Xingxian who ran over to support him.
Xiang Haikui feigned ignorance of the disappointed little look in his eyes, thinking to herself: When you pinched my ear just now, you certainly weren’t lacking any strength!
