Chapter 431 - 431: This Guy... Is He For Real?

Translator: CinderTL

Gazing at the luminous blue orb radiating light from Mu Qing's palm, Feng Qi fell into deep thought.

His suspicion that the blue orb was a miracle item wasn't just a hunch.

In the previous villain arc, during his time growing up with Old Mist, the latter had been ambushed by Blue-skinned Assassins on multiple occasions.

According to known intelligence, Blue-skinned Assassins only target beings possessing miracle items.

Old Mist was clearly unaware of this fact, but Feng Qi, having experienced multiple timelines, was well aware of it.

Back then, he had already speculated that Old Mist might possess a miracle item.

What's more, Old Mist didn't even know he possessed this miracle item.

He had always believed that the fragmented bloodstone he seized during the bloodstone escort mission was his first miracle item.

After piecing together all the clues, Feng Qi felt he might have found the answer.

Old Mist carried a miracle item within him: the faint blue orb of light nestled in Mu Qing's palm. It had remained hidden within the Lord of the Mist's primordial blood core.

This was also why the Blue-skinned Assassin had repeatedly targeted the Lord of the Mist.

Their true objective was the miracle item within Old Mist—the blue orb of light.

As for the item's function, Feng Qi suspected it was related to willpower, enabling one to create power from nothing through sheer force of will.

Old Mist's indomitable will to defy death, combined with this miracle item, had allowed him to repeatedly resurrect from the brink.

However, this remained merely a hypothesis. The true nature of the item and its effects would require further investigation.

As he accepted the blue orb of light from Mu Qing and examined it closely, another question arose in his mind:

Why was this miracle item inside Old Mist, yet he remained unaware of its existence?

The question plunged him into deep thought.

As he carefully observed the blue, shimmering orb in his hand, a sudden insight struck him.

He recalled Old Mist's speculation when he had inquired about the origins of miracle items. Old Mist had suggested that these items were likely manifestations of the Pillar God's primal power, as only the Pillar God possessed power that transcended the laws of nature.

However, Old Mist had emphasized that this was merely his personal theory, lacking any concrete evidence to support it.

Now, reflecting on it, he began to believe Old Mist's theory might be correct.

Old Mist had once mentioned that the rise of the Mist Clan was linked to one of their ancestors.

The first founding ancestor of the Mist Clan had been a slave laborer, bred and kept by a Domain Powerhouse. His sole purpose in life was to toil in the dark, sunless depths of spirit mineral mines, ceaselessly providing spirit ore resources to his enslavers.

One fateful day, his ancestor accidentally unearthed a piece of ore stained with the Pillar God's primordial blood.

Unable to resist the allure of the Pillar God's power, the ancestor greedily slurped it up, thereby acquiring a portion of the Pillar God's power.

His subsequent growth followed the classic protagonist template.

He advanced rapidly, established the Mist Clan, and led his clansmen to overthrow the Domain Powerhouse that had enslaved them. At their peak, the Mist Clan ruled over several domain field worlds, with countless other races reduced to their slaves.

This suggests that the bloodline of the Mist Clan carries a latent power inherited from the Pillar God.

Moreover, this power is extremely difficult to manifest.

Despite being separated by countless generations from the first ancestor, Old Mist might still have inherited the Pillar God's power. That single drop of primordial blood, passed down through generations, eventually evolved into the blue, faintly glowing orb he now held—a miracle item.

If this hypothesis is correct, it would explain why Old Mist was unaware of the miracle item within him.

After all, miracle items inherited through bloodlines exist from birth, growing alongside their host rather than being implanted externally. They are fundamentally different from bloodstones acquired later in life.

When the Lord of the Mist abandoned his primordial blood core to escape Old Day City with Old Mist, he lost the divine power that sustained him and perished.

If this theory holds true, the Lord of the Mist might have survived had he retained his blood core. Even with grievous injuries, he likely would have resurrected.

However, this remains a conjecture based on limited information. The true answer requires further investigation.

Clutching the blue, faintly glowing orb, he turned his gaze to the lifeless body of the Lord of the Mist.

Stepping forward, he took the Lord of the Mist from Mu Qing's hands.

One day later, deep within the snow-covered forest, 31 kilometers from the Old Days Supply Zone.

Heavy snow fell, bending the branches of nearby trees.

The surrounding landscape was draped in silver and white, shimmering under the brilliant starlight.

The snow had been cleared from a patch of ground deep within the forest, and the surrounding trees had been felled to create an open space.

A stone tablet stood at the center of the clearing, engraved with the four large characters: "Lord of the Mist." Below, the inscription read:

Brother: Feng Qi.

Before the tombstone, a bonfire crackled and swayed. Feng Qi periodically snapped off branches and fed them into the flames.

Mu Qing and Liu Yue stood a short distance behind him, silently watching.

The branches crackled and popped as they burned.

The tombstone was now laden with various fruits and foods—offerings Feng Qi had purchased from the supply zone to honor the Lord of the Mist.

In the previous timeline, Old Mist had once told him with a smile:

"Our Mist Clan has a tradition very similar to humans—worshipping our deceased ancestors and relatives, and offering them food."

Old Mist had also said, "Death isn't true oblivion. Being forgotten is."

The Mist Clan frequently worshiped their deceased clansmen and relatives to ensure their memories remained alive. This way, the spirits of the departed would never fade, continuing to protect the clan's growth.

In addition to this, Mist Clan rituals included another custom:

Eating the offerings presented to the deceased.

This practice carried two symbolic meanings:

1. Consuming the offered food allowed them to receive the protection of their departed loved ones and clansmen.

2. Sharing food with the dead demonstrated respect for them.

Therefore, after each worship ceremony, the Mist Clan would feast heartily on the offerings, creating a joyous atmosphere. They firmly believed that their deceased kin still existed, merely accompanying them in a different form.

The dead must never feel they were being treated differently.

At that moment, Feng Qi pulled paper money from his backpack and began tossing it into the bonfire.

"Old Mist, I'm sorry for what happened to you in that timeline. I'll burn extra paper money for you. Even if I don't know if there's really an afterlife, better safe than sorry..."

As he murmured, he burned all the paper money to ashes.

The gray ashes swirled, mingling with the white snowflakes, creating a somber atmosphere.

Watching Feng Qi mutter to himself, Mu Qing and Liu Yue, standing nearby, wore solemn expressions.

Though they hadn't experienced that timeline themselves, they understood the immense sacrifices Old Mist had made for Feng Qi.

Three hours passed.

Just as Mu Qing and Liu Yue were about to approach Feng Qi and suggest he leave, they saw him reach out and grab the offerings placed before the Lord of the Mist's tombstone. He began devouring them with gusto, a smile spreading across his face.

Mu Qing: ...

Liu Yue: ...

Unfamiliar with the Mist Clan's sacrificial customs, they froze in shock.

In Star City's sacrificial traditions, consuming offerings was considered disrespectful to the deceased, especially when done with a smile.

"This guy... is he for real?" Liu Yue finally blurted out, breaking his long silence.

"Maybe it's a Mist Clan custom?" Mu Qing offered awkwardly. "Either way, Feng Qi must be a true friend."

(End of the Chapter)

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