Chapter 227: Chapter 227 Pillow Talk
Lou Yan Zhi, currently wielding his sword in search of the Insect Clan, keenly detected the sense of being watched.
He raised his eyes and looked towards the furthest northern edge of the Mist Continent, his gaze piercing through the red fog emanating from the Insect Clan.
Immediately, he changed direction and flew towards the Demon Territory on his sword.
Seeing Lou Yan Zhi leave and return so abruptly, everyone was momentarily stunned.
Caicai, hands akimbo, confidently spoke: "You just went to Mist East to look for the Insect Clan, didn't you?"
It didn't install surveillance on Lou Yan Zhi.
Instead, it had received the system's notification of Lou Yan Zhi's points increase.
"Yeah, ran into two stragglers." Lou Yan Zhi, recalling the small group of Insect Clan he wiped out, nodded and said.
"Just two? That's not like you?" Caicai replied, puzzled.
Based on Lou Yan Zhi's usual habits...
One couldn't quite determine his exact motives.
However, when it came to dealing with the Insect Clan, Lou Yan Zhi either didn't leave his abode at all....
Or, if he did, he wouldn't return without annihilating at least ten thousand of them.
"Found something far more interesting," Lou Yan Zhi said cryptically, his gaze shifting northward.
Lou Yan Zhi wasn't a fan of maintaining a "persona."
But having played the role for over a decade, he was now well-practiced in it.
The crowd followed his line of sight.
When they realized it was towards the Northern Territory, an ominous feeling
arose.
"What's this 'interesting' thing?" Xiao Jinsheng asked.
Though, in his mind, a suspicion had already formed.
"Far north. I need to take a look." Lou Yan Zhi replied.
Saying this, he had already begun walking toward the warship he had left stationed in the Demon Territory.
Flying on his sword was simply too much of a time sink.
If he piloted the warship, he could even grab a nap en route.
He had a sense that whatever had been watching him was an intelligent lifeform.
By using the Insect Clan's warship, even if a conflict arose...
Any grudges or retaliation would be directed at the Insect Clan anyway.
Lou Yan Zhi came and went in such a hurry that Xiao Jinsheng didn't even have the chance to remind him that both he and Li possessed Domain Superpowers and could teleport him halfway there.
"He's not... going after the Terminal, is he?" Xiao Jinsheng asked Caicai.
Caicai drooped its green stalk in contemplation.
It was mulling over a singular question:
If Lou Yan Zhi went head-to-head with the Terminal, who would ultimately win?
Its conclusion: the Terminal had the home-court advantage on the Mist Continent.
Whereas Lou Yan Zhi was an outsider to the Mist Continent.
Unless the Terminal was also an outsider...
Otherwise, in his current state, with his Superpower Level capped at Fifteen Stars, Lou Yan Zhi really couldn't defeat the Terminal.
Reluctant to spend points opening a video feed...
Caicai directly sent a system notification to Lou Yan Zhi: "Heading to the Northern Territory? Don't go; you can't beat the Terminal."
Lou Yan Zhi: It picked a fight with me first.
Caicai: You're not even from the Mist Continent. Your power doesn't come from Star Stones, and it feeds on Star Stones, not people. When exactly did it provoke
you?
Lou Yan Zhi: Its gaze. I didn't like it.
Lou Yan Zhi: Anyone who dares to look at me like that doesn't even deserve the chance to be reborn.
Caicai fell silent.
Frankly speaking, if Lou Yan Zhi weren't saddled with a novice system, he'd have
been zapped by lightning plenty of times by now.
With the overpowered persona Lou Yan Zhi played...
Even Caicai sometimes wanted to punch him.
Arrogant much!
Go fight it then!
Let's see you drag the Terminal down already, so Xiao Jinsheng and his people
can stop dealing with threats on all fronts.
Still, it was one thing to think it.
In reality, Caicai didn't dare let Lou Yan Zhi confront the Terminal for real.
Caicai: You get back here.
Lou Yan Zhi: Back here?
Lou Yan Zhi: Don't tell me how to do things.
Caicai: ...Come back, I'm begging you.
Lou Yan Zhi: I suppose I'll humor you.
The familiar silhouette of an Insect Clan warship appeared in the Demon
Territory.
Hearing the commotion, a tiny demon peeked its head out through the walls, pointed at Lou Yan Zhi, and began whispering furtively.
Seeing Lou Yan Zhi come and go twice in a short period, the crowd remained
silent.
"On the Mist Continent, our adversaries aren't just the Insect Clan but also the Terminal," Xiao Jinsheng reminded.
"The Northern Territory is the Terminal's domain-easy to enter, hard to exit." Xuan Jiu spun his fan and cautioned, "Brother, how many stars are you at, to be
this daring?"
"Not high, just Fifteen Stars right now," Lou Yan Zhi replied.
Xuan Jiu snapped his fan shut, visibly frustrated.
Despite having already heard this answer from Caicai once...
And even though Lou Yan Zhi's own response was five stars lower than what
Caicai had initially said...
There was something about hearing it firsthand that still stung.
The Mist Continent's maximum Superpower Level was Eleven Stars...
Not to mention that Beastmen who reached Twelve Stars wouldn't survive.
"The Terminal you mention-it has powerful desires."
"When it was watching me, I could sense it. It acts instinctively, following its emotions and mood... like a living being."
"In that way, it's somewhat worthy of capturing my interest," Lou Yan Zhi said.
At this moment, Peng Qin and Ming Huaxin, who were looking for Xiao Jinsheng,
happened to be present.
Hearing these words, Peng Qin immediately frowned.
Ming Huaxin rubbed her nose, whispering to Peng Qin, "Why do I feel an urge to
punch him every time I hear him talk?"
After merely a few sentences, it always derailed into something absurd.
Peng Qin nodded, delivering a sharp critique: "He's a bit of a show-off."
Xiao Jinsheng's group, aware of the persona Lou Yan Zhi had to maintain,
tolerated the conversation as best as they could.
But as they listened, the more off it all felt.
Lou Yan Zhi finally said, "The Terminal you speak of reminds me of something I
encountered in the Cultivation World."
"Its combat prowess doesn't conform to standard Level-based systems."
"When it was observing me, I used my Divine Sense to observe it, too."
"If evaluated by Superpower Level, the Terminal is at Fifteen Stars. It's also weakened by the Mist Continent's defensive restrictions."
"If judged by its domain-emotions and desires-its power is immeasurable. Its strength varies depending on its target."
"The more one fears it, the stronger it becomes."
"In the Cultivation World, something like the Terminal would be classified as a
Heart Demon."
"Can it be explained like that?" Xiao Jinsheng, who had been listening intently, asked proactively: "So does that mean if we have no fear or
"Not at all." Lou Yan Zhi sneered dismissively, then asked Xiao Jinsheng in
return:
"You..."
His gaze swept from Xiao Jinsheng, passing over everyone present: "Or are you
all truly confident that your hearts are devoid of desire?"
Even he, as a cultivator, couldn't guarantee his own heart was free of desires and
unaffected by emotions or Heart Demons.
The Terminal, in the context of the Cultivation World, was simply another
manifestation of a Heart Demon.
Under Lou Yan Zhi's scrutinizing glance, everyone looked pale and unnerved.
Lou Yan Zhi raised an eyebrow, his expression irritatingly smug: "Let's just say none of you have desires."
"Do remember that I already mentioned the Terminal's Superpower Level is
Fifteen Stars."
"You..." Lou Yan Zhi clicked his tongue and glanced over their strength. "Are too
weak."
"It's not about them being weak!" Caicai retorted in defense of Xiao Jinsheng and
his Beast Husbands.
"On this world, any Beastman who reaches Twelve Stars gets their Star Stone
extracted and killed by the Terminal."
"No one survives past Twelve Stars-how can they even talk about growing stronger then?"
Caicai's defense made Lou Yan Zhi furrow his brow.
He countered, "Why are you so eager? Am I your Host or are they?"
Bringing up the topic of being a Host made Lou Yan Zhi reflect on his own
desires.
His greatest desire was to unbind himself from Caicai, this system.
And to live a life of carefree cultivation.
"Work with me, and I can fulfill your wish to grow in power."
"All I ask is for you to convince Xiao Jinsheng to bind the system."
Sweet whispers at the pillow's edge, Xiao Jinsheng wouldn't refuse, right?
After all, there were nine of them.
That meant she could hear it whispered nine separate times. Lou Yan Zhi suddenly felt this plan was far easier than asking Xiao Jinsheng
himself.