Theoretically, the lifespan of the Xianzhou's long-life species is infinite, but the capacity of their memory is finite.
The emotional threshold of the long-life species continuously rises, and their memories grow thin and weary under the endless erosion of time, leaving behind only the most extreme and vivid sediments—which are almost invariably the painful and regretful dregs of memory.
The end for a long-life species is to no longer feel joy or happiness, with only the pain, regret, and hatred engraved on their hearts like scars remaining. Under these extreme emotions, their sense of self as a person begins to collapse. This is the beginning of the Mara-Struck.
This phenomenon has been recorded in other worlds as well. Just like Hua in the Elysian Realm, who possessed 50,000 years of memories. Because of a special condition, Hua had a photographic memory, so to prevent her own collapse, she would regularly delete memories that were unimportant to her.
Jing Yuan had never been Mara-Struck, but by reading the records of the Ten-Lords Commission, he knew that once one fell to it, five symptoms would appear: "Mutilation," "Defilement," "Wrath," "Transformation," and "Amnesia." These five symptoms didn't necessarily appear simultaneously. For example, Jingliu's symptom was clearly "Wrath"—a state of mind that generates resentment and a desire to harm others, with emotions fluctuating wildly between intense sorrow, joy, resentment, and anger.
But regardless of which symptom it was, it probably didn't include a scenario where one's deceased old friend would come to guide them on their deathbed, lead them out of the General's residence, and stop in front of a small alley.
Jing Yuan didn't know if this was normal. As mentioned before, Jing Yuan had never been Mara-Struck.
"…"
Jing Yuan stood before the alley, watching Baiheng's phantom form stop beside a strange woman.
When Jing Yuan came to a halt in front of the alley, the strange woman also turned her head.
Jing Yuan was certain he had never seen this person before, yet the way she looked at him gave him an extremely strange feeling.
"Long time no see, Jing Yuan," the woman said slowly.
Jing Yuan was still confused.
"You forgot to take off your glasses," Baiheng said, reaching out and removing the Disguise Glasses Jingliu had been wearing.
"Ah? Oh." In front of Baiheng, Jingliu displayed a rare, dazed cuteness.
Once Baiheng took off the Disguise Glasses, Jing Yuan, standing at the mouth of the alley, slowly widened his eyes.
"See? I told you Jing Yuan was the smartest among us. I used the properties of spiritrons to turn invisible and appear before him, and he got up and followed me without a second word. He obviously realized where I wanted to take him. Talking to smart people is such a time-saver," Baiheng chattered on in Jingliu's ear, praising Jing Yuan's intelligence.
"I, on the other hand, feel that… Jing Yuan seems to have completely misunderstood the situation," Jingliu said, looking at the dumbstruck Jing Yuan. His familiar formation blade had appeared in his hand, but his grip tightened and loosened, then tightened again, looking incredibly spasmodic.
"Hmm, how could that be? If you don't believe me, ask Jing Yuan… Huh? Jing Yuan, what's with that expression? The one that says you've steeled your resolve for something, only to realize it was all a misunderstanding, but now you can't relax because an even more incredible situation has popped up?" Baiheng tilted her head in confusion, looking at Jing Yuan's face, which was a canvas of complicated thoughts.
"…" Jing Yuan opened his mouth, but no words came out.
"Ahem… Little Jing Yuan, you should know about Jingliu's disciple, right?" Realizing she might have gotten something wrong, Baiheng tried to salvage the situation.
Jing Yuan nodded.
"And you know that Jingliu's new disciple can forge Curios, right?"
Jing Yuan nodded again.
"So, the moment you saw me, you should have known it was the work of Jingliu's disciple. And since I wanted to take you somewhere, you should have instantly figured out that I wanted to take you to see either Jingliu or her disciple, right?"
Jing Yuan fell silent.
In fact, Jing Yuan had been setting aside time every day to watch the advertisements, all in preparation for reviving Baiheng.
The High-Cloud Quintet could never return to what it once was—that was a fact. But not being able to go back and not feeling nostalgic were two different things.
The word "resurrection" had always been filled with charm, becoming an enduring topic of conversation precisely because everyone has something in their heart they wish to reclaim.
But Jing Yuan had never imagined that besides the Revival Games, there was another way to bring back the dead!
Whether this was Chen Li's doing, Jing Yuan didn't know. But he knew for sure that he had truly seen a ghost today!
"Wait a moment, I need to send a voice message to the Curio Forger." Although he didn't know what kind of Curio Chen Li had forged this time, through Baiheng's words, Jing Yuan could clearly grasp one thing.
Chen Li had successfully shattered his composure once again!
Theoretically, upon encountering the Xianzhou's wanted criminal, Jingliu, Jing Yuan should carry out her arrest. But theoretically, Baiheng shouldn't be revived yet either.
So why stick so rigidly to that theory? It would just negate the miracle this Curio has brought about!
---o---
"...I received a 60-second voice message from Jing Yuan," Chen Li said.
"So?"
"But I don't dare to listen to it," Chen Li said, shaking his head.
60 seconds was the maximum length for a voice message, but it probably wasn't Jing Yuan's limit.
Of course, Jing Yuan wouldn't swear or anything; after all, Baiheng's successful summoning was a good thing. And appearing before him as a ghost was Baiheng's own idea, so that couldn't be pinned on Chen Li.
But Chen Li still didn't dare to listen.
Because he was afraid Jing Yuan would discuss with him the overly sensitive topics of turning the Ambrosial Arbor into a life seed and making the Xianzhou stand up.
Jing Yuan might believe that Chen Li could solve most problems, but as the General of the Xianzhou, he also had to consider the safety of his people.
Both of those topics sounded outright illegal!
"What's there to be afraid of? It's not like you did anything wrong. Besides, if you showed Jing Yuan this Curio right now, you could make him kowtow to you," Herta said nonchalantly.
"It's not that I'll do anything bad, it's just that the four companions I brought to the Xianzhou are each a real piece of work," Chen Li sighed.
Elysia was still hanging in the sky above the Xianzhou. Mobius and Vill-V were both dangerous elements.
Yae Sakura was undoubtedly the least troublesome for Chen Li; she had only beaten up Yanqing.
However, given that Yanqing was Jing Yuan's disciple, that was indeed enough to give Jing Yuan a headache.
As for the [Mengyin Shen] Curio… he would bring that up later.
Right now, Jing Yuan should be pleasantly surprised.
It would be better to talk prices after Jing Yuan had calmed down.
At the very least… Chen Li was determined to leave his own indelible mark on the Xianzhou, for instance, with a 'Mengyin Day'!
This matter was non-negotiable.
Just as Herta had said, the Xianzhou could not refuse this Curio.
And just as Vill-V had said, what forger wouldn't leave a backdoor in the items they created?
Therefore, Chen Li needed the Xianzhou Alliance to understand exactly who needed whom.
Without the Xianzhou, Chen Li would go on with his daily life, forging Curios every day.
But if the Xianzhou learned of this Curio's effect and couldn't obtain it, every day would surely be like having a hundred claws scratching at their hearts.
It wasn't that Chen Li wanted to make things difficult for Jing Yuan or the Xianzhou Alliance. He just felt that he would inevitably do some rather extreme things in the future, so he was just giving the Xianzhou a little vaccination in advance.
The Xianzhou Alliance had an excellent reputation throughout the cosmos, but that was only in the places that could be seen.
In the unseen corners, there would always be some slimy,陰暗爬行, little people.
Even on the Luofu, which was so well-governed by the Divine Foresight General Jing Yuan, there was Dan Shu, the acting Master of the Alchemy Commission, secretly creating a new Disciples of Sanctus Medicus on the left, and the Vidyadhara Elders colluding with the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus on the right.
If a single Xianzhou Luofu was already so full of "talent," one could only imagine the entire Xianzhou Alliance…
From this perspective, what HooH the Equilibrium did wasn't wrong. The long-life species couldn't be allowed to live forever without any checks.
The existence of a single long-life individual wasn't a problem, but if an entire species consisted of long-life beings, trouble was bound to occur.
So, Chen Li was considering whether to introduce a cleansing mechanism to the Xianzhou…
Or perhaps let the Aeon of Equilibrium put in a little more effort.
Fortunately, for now, the highest echelons of the Xianzhou—the generals and the marshal of the Alliance—seemed to be sane.
Because they could live for many years, and with the big daddy Lan, the Aeon of the Hunt, watching over them, the main direction of the Xianzhou Alliance wouldn't stray…
But there were always some high-to-mid-level officials who weren't normal.
They were either spies, brain-dead, or just plain fucking idiots.
"The Mara-Struck of the Xianzhou people, the Lunacy of the Foxians, the Draconic Malediction of the Vidyadhara… the [Mengyin Shen] can treat them all. Comparatively, the incidence of Draconic Malediction is lower, but if you add a Curio that can transform other species into Vidyadhara…"
"Hmm, are you planning to take control of the Xianzhou? Or become its other big daddy?" Herta turned her head, having heard Chen Li muttering to himself.
"Not really. In this world where you can only compare who's less rotten, the Xianzhou Alliance is at least better than the Interastral Peace Corporation. And since I've created the Curio, I have to be responsible for it. If the Xianzhou can't create a positive miracle after obtaining it, then I don't mind taking back the extra boon and giving them a punch. I will make this clear to the Xianzhou Alliance," Chen Li said.
A heavy-handed response after the fact that wasn't written into the contract is called a backstab.
A heavy-handed response after the fact that is written into the contract is called having zero tolerance for bullshit.
"As a complete outsider like you, you should have this kind of 'it's just a collaboration' awareness. If a genius can't do as they please, then what's the point of being a genius?" Herta nodded in strong agreement.
Herta knew that Chen Li needed positive miracles to obtain Miracle Crystals.
If, after lending a Curio to someone, they failed to meet his demands, it was perfectly normal for Chen Li to take it back. After all, the rent he charged was truly cheap.
Just as Herta had never believed that picking out a few or a dozen Curios from the Herta Space Station to give to Chen Li was enough to truly buy the Curios he forged for her.
Herta felt that even if she gave the entire Herta Space Station to Chen Li, it wouldn't be enough to buy a single use of the [Key of Fateful Invitation] that could summon an Aeon.
Therefore, Herta had always considered Chen Li giving the Curios into her hands a collaboration, not a sale.
But some people just couldn't recognize the facts.
And it was precisely because the rent Chen Li demanded was low that he had the right to do as he pleased.
Otherwise, look at the Vidyadhara. They signed a covenant of joint governance with the Alliance, suppressed the so-called "Plagues of Abundance," and accumulated countless merits just to obtain autonomy over the Fanghu Xianzhou.
By that logic, it wouldn't be excessive for Chen Li to trade this Curio for enough wealth to fill half a Xianzhou.
Autonomy over a Xianzhou? Chen Li didn't want it. Because if he did that, he would be the one getting the short end of the stick.
After all, with this Curio, the average lifespan of the Xianzhou people could be increased by at least 200 percent, and they would maintain a youthful mentality!
A long-life species unburdened by the Mara-Struck is a true long-life species.
Chen Li felt that Jing Yuan really needed to learn from Huaiyan. As the legendary king of withstanding pressure, how could he only handle it for 700 years?
The capable should do more work; Jing Yuan should shoulder more!
Huaiyan, the general of the Zhuming Xianzhou, was said to be over 3,000 years old and still serving as general, having retired and returned to service several times.
This proves that 3000 is the prime age to make your mark!
A useful general should be worked to death! Then make him win the Revival Games, and once he's revived, keep on using him!
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