Chapter 99 Part 2

"Sending down divine punishment is not as simple as you think. Balance is the way of heaven. Without exception, the Upper Realm cannot directly interfere with the mortal world," Zhou Chen analyzed.

"Just like the previous demon beast incident, Chengming could only achieve his goals through Tianyan Sect. Once divine punishment descends, it affects not just a certain person, but possibly the entire pattern of the continent. Therefore, apart from the heavenly tribulation produced by the Dao itself, if the Upper Realm wants to create divine punishment, it requires nine Golden Immortals to exert force simultaneously. The Heavenly Emperor alone cannot accomplish it."

"If it's not divine punishment, there are only two possibilities. One is that Chengming couldn't wait any longer, so he directly placed a restriction on Qinghe through Qingyan. The ability to make a Nascent Soul cultivator unknowingly lose their cultivation may not exist in the mortal world, but that doesn't mean the Upper Realm can't do it."

"There's another possibility, which is that the demon race has intervened. If that's the case, then things are even more complicated."

Zhou Yin said, "The edict was fake?"

"No," Zhou Chen shook his head. The identity and status he held meant that he could understand more inside information than others. "The edict was received by Qinghe ten years ago, and it shouldn't be fake. At that time, the demon race didn't know about the Upper Realm's scheme. However, with the demon race's methods, they could have easily accomplished Qinghe's death this time."

Zhou Yin said, "This doesn't benefit them much."

Zhou Chen laughed, "You're judging demonic nature based on human nature. Human nature does not act without benefit, seeking fortune and avoiding misfortune. But when the demon race does things, they have always acted on their whims. They don't care about benefits. Their goal is to stir up a pool of spring water, then fish in troubled waters and watch the Upper Realm eat dirt. That's enough for them. That's why I pulled the demon race into the water."

Zhou Yin let out an "en" sound, "The Upper Realm won't let this go."

Zhou Chen said, "Ah Yin, don't you blame me for letting the demon race intervene? No matter who wins or loses, the human race of the continent will inevitably suffer."

Zhou Yin calmly said four words: "The balance of the Dao."

Even without the demon race, with the Upper Realm's style of viewing the human race as ants, the situation of the human race wouldn't be much better. Now that the two sides were in a stalemate, smart people would seek survival from the cracks.

If the human race had always been at a disadvantage, then even without external forces, they would eventually perish. Cultivators needed to learn to follow the flow, go against the current at the appropriate time, and see through these matters more thoroughly to avoid falling into demonic obsession.

Zhou Chen grinned from ear to ear, "My Ah Yin is truly brilliant as ice and snow!"

His hands began to get restless again, showing signs of setting a prairie ablaze.

Zhou Yin said, "Five more sweet and sour carp at night?"

Zhou Chen instantly stiffened.

Zhou Yin ignored him and took out the Rosy Cloud Hairpin from his Sumeru Ring.

Since parting with Yun Zong, he hadn't had a good look at this item.

Releasing his fingers, the Rosy Cloud Hairpin didn't fall, but floated lightly in mid-air, surrounded by a purple-red rosy glow that added a touch of gorgeousness to its ancient and simple style.

Zhou Chen examined it with him, not forgetting to complain, "I guess Nüwa simply couldn't think of any other designs at the time, so she directly took the hairpin from her head and merged it with a part of the Painting of Mountains and Rivers. Her taste is really not great!"

Zhou Yin neither agreed nor disagreed. He reached out and felt around the Rosy Cloud Hairpin. When his fingers moved to the pointed end of the pin, he accidentally pricked himself. The wooden pin, which looked round and blunt, immediately drew blood.

Zhou Chen, with sharp eyes and quick hands, immediately grabbed Zhou Yin's hand back and lowered his head to suck on his wound.

The Rosy Cloud Hairpin suddenly slowly enlarged, eventually reaching about half a zhang in length, just the right thickness to grip in the hand, like a walking stick.

But that was all. The two of them looked at it for a long time, and even Zhou Chen couldn't see anything unusual. Zhou Yin then shrank the Rosy Cloud Hairpin and put it back into his Sumeru Ring.

Zhou Chen said, "Now we have four out of six. There are only two left - the Lingji Pearl and the Yellow Springs Lamp."

Zhou Yin asked, "Do you know where they are?"

Zhou Chen said, "I don't know about the Lingji Pearl. I have a vague impression of the Yellow Springs Lamp. I seem to have heard Li Ying mention it somewhere. Oh, you don't know Li Ying yet. His original form is a Bai Ze. When you meet him, don't be fooled by his honest and simple appearance. That guy is full of dirty tricks and always bullies honest people like me!" The topic began to deviate.

You, honest?

Zhou Yin did not express any opinion.

After resting enough, the next day, Zhou Chen dragged Zhou Yin out to the streets, claiming to absorb more essence of the sun and moon.

Outside the inn where they were staying was a commercial street. Many merchants traveling between Dongyue and Canghe gathered here. Sometimes there were even people from Beichang, and quite a few cultivators, but most of them were cultivators below the Core Formation stage.

The Rejuvenation Pill and the Moongazing Agate allowed them to conceal their appearance and cultivation. Thrown into the crowd, they would not be recognized. But the sight of two grown men holding hands was really too strange, frequently attracting many turned heads.

However, many people just looked a few more times and that was it. After all, who would carefully observe two ordinary-looking middle-aged men?

To be precise, Zhou Chen forcibly grabbed Zhou Yin's hand and wouldn't let go, while Zhou Yin had always done as he pleased and wouldn't take other people's thoughts to heart. So Zhou Chen succeeded and was very satisfied.

"Candied hawthorns, three coins a skewer! Buy more and get freebies!"

Zhou Chen stopped in front of the red, sweet-smelling candy.

Zhou Yin: "..."

Zhou Chen: "Do you give freebies for buying two skewers?"

The young man selling the candied hawthorns smiled, "Sorry, you have to buy three skewers to get one free!"

Zhou Chen looked at Zhou Yin.

Zhou Yin looked elsewhere.

Zhou Chen pretended not to see and turned his head in high spirits. "Then give me three skewers!"

"Sure thing!" The young man nimbly took four skewers and wrapped them in a paper bag. "Here you go!"

"..." Zhou Yin paid.

"Perfect, one skewer for you, one for me, and two for Little Black and Little Gray." Zhou Chen took out a skewer and brought it to Zhou Yin's mouth.

Zhou Yin slightly turned his head to the side, avoiding it. "I'm not eating it."

In his two lifetimes combined, he had no leisure to eat this kind of thing. Moreover, as soon as he smelled that sweet fragrance, Zhou Yin felt a bit nauseated.

Zhou Chen leaned close to his ear and whispered, "I get it, you must want me to feed you mouth-to-mouth!"

Zhou Yin looked at him.

Zhou Chen smiled very innocently, "Here, have a taste."

Zhou Yin took the candied hawthorn, but didn't eat it.

Zhou Chen had already walked over to another stall.

"Ah Yin, there are plum blossom cakes here, hurry and get some money!"

Zhou Yin: "..."