Chapter 512: 129. The Secret of the Gods
“Where are you going to get off? We need to go back to the sea; we can’t carry you for long.”
At this moment, on the broad and calm sea, the shadow floating on the surface like a small island was the partner of the whale people from deep under the sea, a companion sea beast.
However, neither Gouwen nor Xu really needed the companion sea beast to alleviate the pressure from their curses, so this sea beast was likely borrowed from some other sleeping whale person.
Gouwen looked at the sea ahead and turned back to ask the passengers who had boarded afterward.
Upon hearing his words, the four subhumans sitting on the wrinkled skin of the sea beast glanced in unison at the human lying on the ground, fast asleep.
That woman was sleeping in a very ungraceful manner, lying spread-eagle in a “big” shape, welcoming the gentle sea breeze and the calls of seabirds. She had unconsciously fallen into a deep sleep. Gouwen called her a couple of times without any response, while Xu’s face grew increasingly foul. Gouwen could tell that his wife had almost had enough and would prefer to return to the sea at this point; he guessed she already regretted letting these guys come on board.
Looking at the few silent subhumans, all waiting for the sleeping human to speak, Gouwen couldn’t help but ask, “How do you all know this… Ying Zheng or whatever his name is? A human, a brain demon race, a lion race, a werewolf race, and an elephant person from Dragon Tail Island?”
The brain demon named “Leirica” sighed, raised her hand, and said, “Let me talk. I’ve spent the most time with this guy… I was originally a translator for a large tribe on the Dragon Heart Continent, and this guy is a human slave caught by that tribe. Then the chieftain gifted all the slaves, including her, to me. This guy convinced me to leave with her to see the outside world… Even though I didn’t want to stay there originally, coming out with her was definitely my biggest mistake!
“The other three I met on Dragon Tail Island. The lion race couldn’t find any male lions in the tribe, so she coaxed him out under the pretense of finding him a husband. In the end, I see her meeting women the most every day; she’s almost turned into a lesbian. The werewolf is a warrior from their tribe, and, well, I don’t even know why she mindlessly follows this guy around.”
The werewolf snorted, replying sullenly, “For gold and jewels.”
Leirica couldn’t be bothered with her, as if without that human, their bond had faded pitifully. “And this most brainless elephant, originally the prince of an elephant tribe, ran away just because he didn’t want to get married. What a fool!”
The elephant person roared in anger at the brain demon, “I am now my father’s pride. I warned them that there might be disaster in the south and to leave quickly. I saved all my people!”
“Yeah, not a single one of them listened to you. If it weren’t for us listening to this guy and bringing the snake people over, they’d still be happily staying!”
The elephant person lowered his head and tugged at his nose, falling silent.
Gouwen supported his chin, somewhat speechless. He had figured out that this group was mostly tricked out by this human, but if it were just that, they wouldn’t have stayed by her side for so long. Especially the brain demon, they had been out for a year; if they wanted to backtrack, they would have returned long ago.
“So your next step is to listen to this person called… um, Qin Shi Huang or Ying Zheng?”
“Who gives a damn what name she’s called! She was called Hong Zhong before and sometimes something like Alter… you trust her, and you’ll be tricked out of your pants sooner or later.”
“Then what is her real name?”
“Don’t know.”
“Don’t know?”
“She didn’t say. We didn’t bother to ask; it’s that simple. But based on my experience, even if you ask, the answer will probably be something unreliable like Little Spirit. It’s fine; you can call her ‘crazy’ or ‘pervert.’ We don’t care.”
After all that time together, you don’t even know her name?
“Abba Abba…”
The human woman sleeping soundly smacked her lips, comfortably rolled over on the beast’s back, and continued to sleep. That annoying look made Xu really want to kick her off.
To be honest, this woman was really brave, sleeping so carelessly beside the person she had just stolen from. Wasn’t she afraid Gouwen and Xu would kill and rob her?
Just as Gouwen was distressed about how to deal with it, a suddenly quick and slow flapping sound of wings came from the sky behind him. The sea breeze mixed with a cold air brushed against Gouwen’s back, causing him to momentarily freeze.
He turned his head and suddenly saw Neceria, panting and pale, dropping from mid-air to the edge of the sea beast, seemingly exhausted from flying. As soon as she landed on the back of the sea beast, she lay there like a salted fish, motionless.
“Neceria!”
Gouwen hurriedly slapped his head, amazed.
Bad news, it wasn’t until this moment that he remembered there was still a phoenix named Neceria in his team. Additionally, it seemed she had also fled with them, but both Mikhail and Gouwen had completely forgotten about her, as if she were transparent.
“Neceria?”
Xu furrowed his brow, looking at the phoenix and sizing up this female phoenix.
Gouwen quickly explained the situation of this phoenix who had run away from Tree Continent.
“You all went to Tree Continent?”
“Ah, that’s right… although I went there once before going to the Holy Realm, I ended up going a second time.”
“What did you go to Tree Continent for?”
“Uh, testing poisons?”
Xu raised an eyebrow, and before he could ask further, Gouwen rushed to Neceria, concern etched on his face.
“Neceria, oh my gosh, I’m so sorry I forgot you. How are you doing?”
Neceria trembled all over, and after pausing for a moment, she raised her pale face, still expressionless, and weakly said, “I’ve been… following you all… but it seems none of you noticed me… I called out to you earlier, but you didn’t… hear me… I just kept flying behind you… I almost couldn’t… fly anymore…”
After saying this, she buried her face in the ground, as still as a corpse, seemingly worn out.
Gouwen forced a pained smile, then said, “Sorry, please rest well.”
“…”
Neceria did not reply, maintaining her previous posture.
Gouwen turned his head with a bitter smile to look at his wife. He sat down and started discussing how to get the passengers above down.
Although this human hadn’t woken up, her companions seemed indifferent to where they would be sent; if nothing else worked, they might as well drop them off at the edge of the Dragon Heart Continent.
“After we finish dropping them off, we’ll head home?”
“Ah… well…”
“Maybe we’ll have to wait a bit longer. My friends have spread out. After such a big incident on Dragon Tail Island, neither the Holy Realm nor Tree Continent would let it go easily. Honestly, in my life, it’s the first time I’ve seen several demigods team up. The consequences of this incident are serious, and the responsibility heavy. We don’t have to worry, but the safety of others…”
“…so why not go back and ask that guy? He might know some information.”
“That guy” referred to the Lord of the Gods, Ramastia.
“Right! How could I forget this! Although the Lord of the Gods can’t interfere with the world, he really does know a lot. It’s just that right now, we can’t hear his voice at sea… Honey, you need to restore your relationship with the Lord of the Gods; weren’t you able to hear him speak at sea before?”
“Heh… so, once we drop these five guys back at Dragon Heart Continent, you’ll obediently come home with me.”
“Yes, my lady wife.”
Just after he finished speaking, a cold, icy hand patted his shoulder from behind.
Gouwen turned around in a daze and unexpectedly saw Neceria staring at him expressionlessly. Her silent expression seemed to ask, “You all went back to the sea. What about me?”
Oh, heavens, how did he forget about this person again?!
Even after she just got on board?
Is my memory really that poor?
No, wait…
Is Neceria’s presence naturally this low?
But when he and Fisher had seen her on Tree Continent, they thought she was stunningly radiant—in terms of Fisher’s point of view.
“I’m sorry, Neceria… Don’t worry, once we send them back, I will also send you home.”
Yet what surprised Gouwen was that after hearing this, Neceria, after a moment of silence, actually shook her head.
“I… can’t go back yet.”
“Can’t… wait, what do you mean?”
“…literally, I still have things I haven’t completed. This is a command my mother gave me when I left.”
Recalling this, Gouwen suddenly remembered that when they had actually come out of Tree Continent, Neceria indeed had the chance to return. However, when they had asked her, she only mentioned something about “guidance of destiny”…
Additionally, her strangely low presence had raised Gouwen’s curiosity.
He even dared to bet that if she left his sight, he would quickly forget her again unless she engaged him in conversation…
“What exactly is going on? Can you tell me?”
Neceria maintained her previous expression, pressed her lips together while casting a cautious glance at the people behind them. Gouwen understood her meaning and glanced at Xu.
Xu stood motionless, but around them, all sound seemed to fade away—the sound of the waves, the wind, conversational voices, plunging into a dead silence, as if only the three of them were the source of sound.
“Okay, now only the three of us can hear. This is my wife; you can trust her as much as you trust me. This is her use of [curse]; don’t underestimate this ability. Once this curse is activated, even the Lord of the Gods’ voice can be blocked outside.”
This use is too strange…
Neceria thought to herself.
But looking at the two in front of her, after a moment of silence, Neceria finally spoke, “My mother gave me something when I left. She said that my leaving the tribe is crucial for the phoenix, so I need to complete the task before returning. There are many dangers along the way, but that thing my mother gave me seems to have protected me, and the specific methodology is… it seems that none of you have noticed me? Even death and destiny are like this.”
Gouwen and Xu exchanged looks, their eyes filled with surprise.
Regarding the matter of not noticing her, Gouwen had already experienced it somewhat, but even he hadn’t expected that even death and destiny wouldn’t notice her?
“You mean…”
“Yes, the person called the Trans, Margaret has completely mastered the Loom of Fate and has fused with the Authority of Death to sacrifice all lives in the Ideal Nation. She should have known, to some extent, what will happen in the future. She can see through all of Fisher’s attacks. If it weren’t for the Loom not being able to see Tang Ze, who is also a Trans, it might have been a bit dangerous at that time…”
While recalling prior events, Neceria emotionlessly explained to them both, “But apparently, she didn’t notice me at all. Even though she noticed you and those mythical beings outside. The threads of death afterward also completely treated me as if I didn’t exist. I found it puzzling. Sometimes I even felt like I was stripped from the world and didn’t exist, but when I tried to steal one of the tears from the World Tree, I actually got it.”
Gouwen furrowed his brow; this bizarre power was truly beyond his imagination. But why would a phoenix race with such a terrifying ability want to remain there, oppressed by elves?
“You phoenixes… are you really this incredible?”
“It’s not that we phoenixes have it; that thing isn’t ours, nor is it from my mother…”
At this point, Neceria’s expression finally showed a visible change. She glanced around, feeling insecure even though she was currently shrouded by Xu’s curse, as if fearing someone would overhear.
“I… my mother previously made a deal with some secret being. I’m not clear on the specifics of the deal, but in short, that being should be very powerful. Because after that, my mother secretly entered the Mythical Rank, but no one ever discovered it, not even when Mist and Phoenix came over. The item my mother gave me came from that secret existence.
“When she left, my mother placed that item on me and told me that although this journey would be very dangerous, that thing would help me through difficulties. Moreover, this journey is very important for the phoenix race, and this is the last part of the deal which she can no longer fulfill, so she needs me to help. I absolutely cannot return home until the mission is completed, otherwise, it will bring about utter disaster.”
Gouwen squinted and muttered in unison with Xu, “A new chaos…”
Neceria pressed her lips together, casting a cautious glance at the two of them, and hastily asked, “Is it the one… from the Ideal Nation?”
Gouwen shook his head and said, “No… it’s not. Well, in fact, the forces from outside our world are collectively referred to as [Chaos] because they are not compatible with the operational rules of our world. But to be precise, they are all different things. The power you possess is different from those of the trans folks; yours is… um, gentler? But those chaotic powers from the trans people before they erupted were pretty gentle as well.”
“In general, powers that can be referred to as [Chaos] are ranked above true gods and are much stronger than ordinary true gods. Neceria, you need to be very careful when dealing with such existences. This reminder is something you should keep in mind, as based on our previous experiences of always forgetting you, it is very likely that after today, we will again be influenced by the power within you and completely forget.”
Neceria grew nervous; it was only now that she realized what kind of deal her mother was engaging in. Although nothing had happened for so long, indicating that this hidden existence was different from the previous chaos, she dared not gamble and had to understand more.
“Are there also levels of strength among deities?”
“Of course, otherwise why would Lord Ramastia be called the [Supreme God]? Unlike other deities, He holds two authorities, one being [Life], while the other remains unknown. But He has told us that [Authority] is a nature in itself rather than a singular entity, which is why there can be other forms of life existing outside the world.”
“The more authorities, the stronger the deity? How… how can I confirm what kind of authority the being I’m trading with my mother possesses, and how can I determine if they are friendly?”
Gouwen smiled helplessly, raising his hands and said, “It probably means the more authorities one has, the stronger they are; we don’t know. As for how to confirm… the answer is, unless they are as friendly as Lord Ramastia and tell you how many authorities they have, you can only possibly determine by witnessing a deity’s true form. But believe me, you won’t want to meet them, nor will you have the chance.”
“The true forms of deities hide secrets; beings below demigods who see a deity’s true body will be cursed. You should know that Pandora’s eyes are blind because her creator, the Heavenly Lock, seems to be with the true god Ouyun every day, guarding the boundary of matter…”
“As for how to determine if they are friendly, that’s even more difficult. We don’t fully comprehend our own world, let alone those deities that come from beyond it. If one had to say, it would depend on one’s luck. If you’re lucky enough, they might be friendly. If unlucky, well…”
Neceria remained expressionless, lowering her head in thought. For some reason, Gouwen felt she seemed somewhat helpless and dejected.
It was no surprise, for even he and his tribe had been terrified when they suddenly heard Ramastia’s voice, and that was the mother of this world, the greatest creator—considered a mother figure. Now, what was descending upon Neceria was of an unknown origin, which could not help but evoke a fear of the unknown.
Gouwen smiled slightly, shifting the topic, and asked her, “What does that thing look like? Can you show us? Maybe there will be some clues… Also, what is the task your mother gave you?”
Neceria looked at him with an unreadable expression and shook her head, “I’ve never seen that thing either. My mother only said it’s on me, but I have never discovered it. The task my mother spoke of is that when it is discovered by others and leaves me, I will be able to return to the Tree Continent.”
“Ah?”
Gouwen scrutinized Neceria from head to toe as if trying to see through every inch of her, hoping to discover that ‘thing’ hidden on her.
But before he could begin, Xu punched him, and once he was brought down, she crossed her arms and looked at Neceria, saying, “I haven’t found anything on you; it might be hidden, just like you were earlier.”
“…I see. I understand now. In that case, please leave me temporarily on the Dragon Heart Continent. Once it leaves me, I will return home by myself.”
“Still…”
Gouwen covered his head as he sat up, looking somewhat troubled as well. This task was a bit difficult; the key is that it couldn’t be postponed. If they left Neceria, it was possible they would forget her in an instant, let alone offer help…
Just as the three of them—Gouwen, Xu, and Neceria—were lost in thought, a pair of hands suddenly slipped through Neceria’s wings, hugging her from behind and grasping at her chest…
“Ah, so big.”
“!”
Neceria’s pupils contracted, and she quickly fluttered her wings. This action sent the person hugging her flying off, and she “ow” sounded as she spun like a top on the back of the sea beast before “thud” hitting her head against a dorsal fin that was as hard as a rock protruding from the sea beast.
“Hiss… so painful… hehehe, but worth it… so soft… what type of subhuman are you? I’ve never seen one before?”
The woman with long black hair wiped the blood from her nose, then sat up with a grin, her hidden eyes sparkled so brightly beneath her bangs that they scared Neceria.
Encountering a lunatic!
But Gouwen and Xu exchanged amazed glances, for at that moment, the voices of the subhumans behind them had still not reached them, and the sounds of the waves and sea breeze were entirely absent.
They should not have been able to hear any sounds due to Xu’s “curse,” yet this Trans was…
“You are?”
“Hello, hello! Let me introduce myself. I’m a girl who likes girls, rather shy and timid, and until today I lived a mundane life. After seeing you, my heart started to race uncontrollably, and this might be what love feels like, making me unable to forget. All in all, although it’s a bit presumptuous, I wonder if you could take off your clothing so I can study you… ooooh!”
Before she could finish her sentence, Neceria reached out, expressionless, and pushed the human who was pouting and trying to get closer to her away.
“Y-you, stay away from me…”
Neceria was indeed a Fourteenth Rank existence. Even though this human woman was quite strong, compared to her, it was still not enough. Therefore, she easily pushed the human woman away, who landed on the ground.
Afterward, Neceria quickly placed a hand over her chest and retreated several steps, watching the human woman vigilantly as if this girl was more terrifying than the previous chaos and death.
The woman covered her head, taking a deep breath, muttering, “Ah, sister, your strength is quite heavy, but that’s fine; I’m not sleepy at all now… Hey, sister, wait…”
As the human woman raised her head to look at Neceria closely, she suddenly froze.
After scanning Neceria from top to bottom, she pointed at her and said, “Sister, don’t you see? You have a huge tentacle on you…”
“Tentacle?”
Everyone was slightly taken aback, thinking this woman had lost her mind again, but she stood up, approaching Neceria with confidence as she said, “Ah, a really strange tentacle. It’s golden, and there are… uh, what is it? Eyes or bubbles? It’s wrapped around your neck and head; can’t you tell? Let me show you…”
The human woman quickly reached out her hand, and Neceria didn’t dare move, allowing the human woman’s hand to reach for her neck.
But just as the fingers got close, in the human woman’s eyes, the strange tentacle coiled around Neceria’s neck suddenly opened a swarm of tightly packed eyes, shimmering with deep golden light like a starry sky.
The eyes scrutinized the human woman before revealing a very satisfied expression. The next moment, it suddenly “popped” and released its hold on Neceria’s neck, lunging toward the human woman in front of her.
“Ahhhh, what is this, ahhhh, so disgusting! Help! Ahhh! Stay away, retreat! Ahhhh!”
To the others, the human woman suddenly fell over, rolling on the ground as if an astonishing vitality had erupted from within her, tumbling over the back of the sea beast.
Gouwen and Xu stared blankly at the lively gem rolling on the ground, seeing nothing and not understanding what happened, so they quickly turned to Neceria beside them.
They saw her previously expressionless face was now completely blank, followed by numerous cracks appearing across her features like a shattering glass.
Her expression slowly became vivid, and a drop of hot tear slid down from her eyes.
At that moment, her body seemed to lighten tremendously, as if shedding an extremely heavy burden; at that moment, she seemed to revert back to the dazzling Phoenix elder from prior, no longer forgotten or ignored.
But perhaps none of this mattered; what truly mattered was that she could finally go home.
“I can return to the Tree Continent!”
“Ah, that’s great.”
Gouwen smiled slightly and said so.
Xu quietly lifted the curse she had placed beside her; although the other subhumans did not understand what had happened, it seemed they were noticing for the first time that there was such a beautiful subhuman here, causing them to glance at the tearful Neceria.
Everything was so beautiful, like the end of a story.
Oh, but at this moment, it seemed everyone tacitly ignored the human woman who was still rolling on the ground, crying and struggling. Perhaps even if they knew, no one would want to bother with her?
She clutched the increasingly approaching sticky tentacle with both hands, yet could not stop it from coming nearer.
If past sins truly had retribution, perhaps now was her moment?
“Ahhh, don’t come over! Ugh! So disgusting! I don’t want tentacles! Retreat! Retreat! I want a subhuman girl! Waaaah, let go of me!”
It was during this process that no one noticed that the human woman was becoming increasingly peculiar.
That tentacle quickly disappeared entirely. Unlike the one coiled around Neceria, this tentacle seemed particularly fond of the human woman, rapidly vanishing from her body, making it impossible for her to retract it even if she wanted to.
“Truly satisfying!”
“Hahaha, you also have today!”
“You’re killing me with laughter.”
“Sister, are you alright?”
Her companions all walked over with broad smiles to witness her misery as she lay on the ground, looking as if seeing her suffer made them all very happy. She angrily slapped the ground and said to her nearby companions, “Just you wait; you all definitely won’t end up well!”
Although her face didn’t show it, from the corner of her eye, Gouwen noticed the scene occurring over there.
He quickly realized that this human woman was likely a very special person. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have discovered the strange thing on Neceria nor would have experienced such a situation after retrieving it like Neceria did.
He walked over to the hopeless human woman lying on the ground and bent down to her, saying, “Hey, give me a specific name.”
“What? Crush on sister?”
The woman had been in immense pain just moments ago, but the second she saw Gouwen approaching, she turned slightly, smiling as she said.
At that moment, Gouwen remembered the evaluation her companions had given her: she was bisexual.
Xu’s killing gaze seemed palpable as it shot over, and he sighed, speaking to her in an exceedingly calm tone, “Are you crazy? What you said earlier is indeed reasonable; that thing counts as your medical fee. This time I saved you and took it back. But I also saved some of your companions; don’t tell me you still owe me?”
The woman’s expression froze slightly, then she closed her eyes and played dead, waving her hand dismissively, “Ah, just throw them away; they were laughing at me earlier.”
“You brat!”
Nearby, Lirika wanted to punch her, but the next second, the woman sat up with a grin as if she didn’t care that the strange tentacle was wrapped around her at all.
She really had a lot of guts, this human woman.
“Alright, alright, I’ll count it as I owe you four favors; afterward, I’ll repay you. By the way, do you want to become sworn siblings with me?”
“…Why become sworn siblings?”
Lirika scoffed and responded, “Because once we become sworn siblings, we don’t have to repay favors.”
Seeing she was exposed, the woman chuckled and reached out her hand to Gouwen, saying, “No matter what, from today we are acquaintances. Nice to meet you, Gouwen.”
With his wife still present, Gouwen dared not take her hand and merely nodded, gritting his teeth, “Hello, Subhuman Girl Enthusiast.”
Unexpectedly, she very seriously corrected him, “First of all, I am not a Subhuman Girl Enthusiast; secondly, you can’t hold hands. Can we let your wife replace that? I would really like to hold her hand again if you don’t mind, hehe.”
“You’re insane! Stop right there! Let’s see if I don’t thrash you!”
Gouwen was enraged and stood up to hit her, but she turned and ran off, looking like a pig that wasn’t afraid of being boiled.
At a distance, Xu watched the human woman leading the way and the enraged Gouwen chasing after her. For some reason, Xu, who usually had a strong possessive desire over her husband, felt no stirrings at that moment.
She didn’t see the woman as a threat; she just thought she was a bit abnormal.
Of course, if she were more normal, she wouldn’t have seen that strange tentacle.
Sighing, she sat atop the head of the sea beast and patted its head, indicating it to head towards the Dragon Heart Continent.
The commotion continued behind them, against the sea breeze, and Xu’s lips slowly curled up as she finally resignedly commented, “A bunch of lunatics.”
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(Chapter finished)
