Chapter Sixty-Nine: The Divine Mirror of Time and Space

The elder sister, who had just come to her senses, was already enveloped in a swirl of purple mist. “Trying to run? Today is the day you die! Liu Lang, get out of my way! You’re just a mere human, what can you do? I’ll spare your life, now scram…” Her tone was laced with utter disdain for Liu Lang.

Qin Qing, witnessing this scene, was rooted to the spot. She tried to use her temporal loop to escape, but just as she was about to activate it, a cloud of black miasma trapped her in place.

“Haha, Brother Poison’s miasma is truly effective! It isolated her instantly! Hahaha!” Two young men emerged from the far end of the narrow corridor—one in a brown shirt, the other in a red T-shirt. They were none other than Young Master Poison and Young Master Blood.

“Brother, that little girl has brought us so much trouble. I didn’t expect we’d finally run into her here. Let’s hope nothing unexpected happens,” Young Master Poison said uneasily to his companion.

The seductive woman shrouded in purple mist twisted her lips in a snarl. “You two filthy things, trying to steal my prey? Want me to deal with you both right now?”

“Who are you? Not convinced? Come on, let’s see if I don’t drain you dry,” Young Master Blood retorted, drawing his dagger defiantly.

“Little bug! Courting death!” In an instant, Young Master Blood was pinned to the ground by a surge of purple mist, unable to move no matter how he struggled. Young Master Poison, standing nearby, was so terrified he stood frozen, his entire body trembling.

Liu Lang, meanwhile, looked on with a sneer. “Ziyu, don’t be so arrogant! My One Qi Sect fears no one. Take this!” He reached out his hand, and a mirror about twenty centimeters in diameter appeared, radiating a golden light like the very sun of heaven and earth.

“You are…? Elder of Time and Space? Impossible!” Ziyu’s shock was evident, but she quickly regained her composure. “So what if you’re the Elder of Time and Space? This world has long since lost its spiritual energy. If you force the Celestial Mirror of Time and Space, you’ll perish along with it! But I’m different. I’ve already changed my source of power!” By this, Ziyu meant she had become a demon, cultivating by consuming the souls of otherworldly beasts—her method of cultivation was the same as Bruce’s.

“If you’re not convinced, come and try!” Liu Lang showed no concern about his dwindling spiritual energy. He poured his pure power into the Celestial Mirror, and its golden light blazed forth.

“Liu Lang… you…” Trapped in the black miasma, Qin Qing could see everything clearly. The man she had always refused turned out to be an Elder of Time and Space.

“Ugly thing! Let her go, or I’ll kill you right here!” Liu Lang’s authority as an elder left Young Master Poison utterly bewildered.

“Don’t be afraid of him. Today is the day he dies!” Ziyu backed him up. “Now, capture that woman!”

“Alright!” Young Master Poison muttered a string of incantations. “Capture!” The black miasma engulfing Qin Qing, along with Qin Qing herself, was sucked into the black poison vial in his hand.

All this happened in a flash. With a shout of “Time and Space Break!” Liu Lang unleashed the Celestial Mirror’s brilliant light, rescuing Qin Qing. “Go! They mean us harm!” Liu Lang roared at her.

“But you… I can’t leave you behind! We agreed to watch a movie together,” Qin Qing protested, refusing to go, worried about Liu Lang.

Pale-faced, Liu Lang turned back. “Go! I may not last much longer. I’ve fought this battle eight times already; my spiritual power is nearly spent. I must save you this time! Go, be obedient! The Sect Master of the One Qi Sect is waiting for you!” With a final incantation—“Heaven… Rend”—a portal opened in the air. Liu Lang shoved Qin Qing through it. Young Master Poison, twenty meters away, couldn’t get close, and Ziyu, ten meters off, had no time to react before the rescue was complete.

“Filthy thing, go find her! I’ll deal with this Elder of Time and Space myself!” Ziyu commanded Young Master Poison.

Reluctantly, Young Master Poison took Young Master Blood and left, grumbling, “Who do you think you are! If it weren’t for your suppression, we’d have finished you ourselves by now!”

“Go now! She can’t have gone far. Use your powers—it shouldn’t be difficult!” Ziyu shrieked, nearly mad with rage. The two young men bolted, certain that if they didn’t, Ziyu would turn on them next. Neither wished to die.

“Damn it, what a rotten day—first that girl fooled us, then the Elder of Time and Space, and now Ziyu! Brother, let’s just quit. I can’t take it anymore,” Young Master Blood whined.

Annoyed, Young Master Poison smacked him on the back of the head. “Scared? Is she scarier than Young Master? If you don’t want to die, hurry up and find her!” The blow jolted Young Master Blood awake—fooling around meant certain death, a fate uglier than a bug’s.

Meanwhile, Ziyu’s white dress had turned purple; she gripped a long violet whip, gazing at Liu Lang blocking her path. She laughed. “Liu Lang… oh no, Elder of Time and Space, aren’t you pitiful? Today you’ll die, and Qin Qing will never love you. She only has eyes for that Bright Brother, your sect master. How could your time-space domain ever compare to the nobility of the Mountain-Sea Mirror? You’re just a tagalong. Once, you were one of the Ten Great Elders—so proud and powerful. Now you’re nothing but a commoner. How pathetic!”

“Ziyu, spare me your nonsense! You and Qingyu together murdered the sect master and the other nine elders. In the end, you were abandoned by your lover, and now you want to use Qin Qing to curry favor with him? Aren’t you the pitiful one? From what I’ve heard, there’s a girl named Misty Rain who still has feelings for him… but you, what are you?” Liu Lang retorted, ridiculing Ziyu in turn.

“Shut up! Qingyu has always been mine! He only turned against me because of you people—your One Qi Sect and your hypocritical ways!” Ziyu cried out, “Mutual Destruction!” With a sweep of her violet whip, it transformed mid-flight into a nine-headed serpent, each head baring venomous fangs as it lunged at Liu Lang.

Liu Lang, wielding the Celestial Mirror, spun aside, dodging deftly. “Petty tricks, Ziyu. I advise you to give up—we’ve fought eight times already. I know your every move!”

“Despicable! But even so, you’ll still die today! You should know, if this keeps up, your spiritual power will be exhausted, while I merely need to consume a few beast souls,” Ziyu declared, speaking the truth. After all, eight battles and she was still alive—she hadn’t lost yet.

“Time and Space Stasis!” Liu Lang hurled the Celestial Mirror skyward. From the light it cast, time itself froze—Ziyu included.

“Clever, but since you know this trick won’t work, why bother? Beast souls, come forth…” Ziyu spat out four beast souls. They circled her frozen form protectively. As phantoms from another realm, they were immune to the stasis of this world.

Liu Lang realized this Ziyu was more cunning than in the previous eight encounters. Her aim was to wear him down, to sap his strength until he perished.

Ziyu twitched a finger, sensing Liu Lang had released the stasis. She taunted, “What now? Figured it out? It won’t help—you’re still going to die. Once you’re dead, your sacred mirror will be mine, and that girl will be trapped for good! Hahaha…”

“Don’t celebrate too soon! Even if I die, I won’t let you succeed!” Liu Lang’s resolve was firm. The Celestial Mirror could seal Qin Qing’s fate; he could not allow it to fall into their hands. “You think I’ll hand you the mirror?”

“No! But I can take it by force. Once you’re dead, it’s mine!” Ziyu replied coldly, as if Liu Lang were no more than an insect to be squashed. Fueled by the power of countless beast souls, she had no fear of this weakened elder. To her, Liu Lang was already a dead man.

“Go, army of a million spirits!”

“What? This… impossible! The Soul of Mountain-Sea was destroyed! How can this be?” In Liu Lang’s eyes, a horde of fiendish beasts appeared. His Celestial Mirror could no longer hold them back.

“Farewell, Elder of Time and Space!” Ziyu laughed.

“You’ll never get your hands on the Celestial Mirror!” In agony, Liu Lang clutched the mirror to his chest, inscribing incantation after incantation upon it. Both he and the Celestial Mirror vanished into the folds of time and space.

“Hmph! Old fool, running away again! But this will be your last time! When I find you, I’ll feed you to the beasts!” Ziyu spat venomously, then disappeared as well.

……

“What would you like to order? Go ahead, anything! I’ve only got three thousand, Senior Sister, you first,” Wu Ming declared, determined to splurge. “Oh right, Senior Sister, order some spicy shredded potatoes for me—an appetizer!”

“Alright, one spicy shredded potato for you,” Ling Mei replied with a grin. “I’ll have the West Lake Deluxe Pot, the Plum Blossom Sea Cucumber, Braised Camel Palm in Abalone Sauce…” She rattled off her choices, swallowing her saliva as she went.

“I want the wolfberry-black chicken and softshell turtle stew—great for the health!” said one disciple.

“Oh, and the crab and radish hotpot is delicious!”

“Don’t forget the prawn and shredded radish pot—the texture is wonderful.”

Wu Ming could only close his eyes and weep silently. He’d never even heard of half these dishes, let alone tasted them, and today he was footing the bill for this band of debt collectors. Being sect master was a thankless job. All he could do was sigh, “I’ll have a bowl of noodles with minced pork sauce.”

Laughter erupted. “Noodles with minced pork? Junior Brother, this is a five-star hotel! Even the potatoes are a stretch. Don’t be so rustic! You’re here to indulge! Don’t worry, you’re the sect master—just enjoy yourself,” Ling Mei said, shooting him a sly glance that left Wu Ming baffled.

“Wait, aren’t I the sect master?” Wu Ming asked.

“Ah, Junior Brother, while we’re eating, you’re just my dear little brother. When it’s time to pay, you’re the sect master. That way you won’t feel so bad—you can enjoy yourself.” Ling Mei’s logic was pure sophistry.

Wu Ming heaved a deep sigh. “Ah… what a burden!”

His companions ignored his plight, gleefully arguing over what to order. “I want this, you want that,” the room buzzed with excitement.

“Alright, that’s settled—twenty dishes in all,” Ling Mei announced with a cheerful grin.

Wu Ming’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. “T-t-twenty dishes?!?” He looked as if he might faint.

Ling Mei continued to comfort him with a smile. “Relax, Junior Brother. I calculated everything—no more, no less, exactly three thousand. Oh, and your potatoes are complimentary—no charge.” She boasted of her thriftiness, showing off to Wu Ming.

Around them, the group chattered like starved ghosts about how they would devour the feast to come. Poor Wu Ming, the only dish he ordered was free—truly a pitiful sight.