...Xiao Bai really didn't find this place, that's a good thing.

Su Ming'an stretched lazily, contacted Ming and Shadow; Shadow was at the Death Cantor's camp, and there was no news from Ming yet.

Xi Li spoke in the cave: "When will you take me to see the sea of flowers?"

Su Ming'an was stunned, the question was really abrupt, but he still replied: "I don't think I ever said I'd take you... but if you want to see it, I'll take you there when we have some free time."

"Hmm." Xi Li looked into his eyes and suddenly said, "You always look at me with a probing gaze... you surely aren't using me as inspiration, are you?"

Su Ming'an shook his head: "Why would you think that?"

He's not Sique, constantly using others as inspiration and taking anyone's joys and sorrows as material.

Xi Li lowered her head, then suddenly lifted it, her gaze darkened a bit: "I hate it the most when others lie to me."

Su Ming'an glanced at her; she was timid before, and now she showed this aggressive gaze, like a wolf in sheep's clothing. He couldn't tell whether this was her true nature or if her emotions were just volatile.

He checked the system time; there was still a while before twelve o'clock: "I certainly wouldn't lie to you."

Xi Li looked up at him.

"Alright, let's wait for the Disciple Game to start at twelve, we..." Su Ming'an stood up and suddenly felt a roughness in his throat.

It wasn't just a dryness, but he felt... his throat had become stiff.

At the same time, this stiffness rapidly spread throughout his body, from his throat to his arms, then to his legs... His foot slipped, he fell forward, and collapsed on the wind-swaying grass blades.

A new icon appeared on the life bar at the top left corner:

...

[DEBUFF: Petrification Curse (In cursed state, cannot move or speak).]

...

He instantly realized—it was the water Xi Li gave him, there was something wrong with it.

But this didn't make any sense; first, Xi Li had no reason to harm him, her favorability was high, and he was her savior. Secondly, his Shadow State was immune to curses, and Xi Li's power was beneath his, making it impossible for her to successfully curse him.

Considering all factors, he drank Xi Li's Spiritual Spring Water to test the protagonist's Golden Finger strength, but...

The logic simply didn't add up; Xi Li had no reason to harm him.

The barrage of comments immediately started:

[Here it comes! Here it comes!]

[I told you, white-haired ones are always yandere, and this time I guessed right!]

[Hierarch, you must be prepared when choosing among six options; from ancient times till now, the painful experiences tell it all, no white-haired person is normal.]

[No, Xi Li seemed pretty normal, why did she suddenly start acting crazy?]

[Press 1 to support breaking the white-hair addiction.]

[Save him, save him, ah, Su Ming'an can't fall here! Where's Noel, where's Yuanyuan? In such a large Luo Washa, not even one teammate encountered; this instance is too big, even billions of adventurer players entering can't make a splash.]

[They encountered, she's underwater.]

[...]

"Clack, clack, clack."

Footsteps came from behind, Xi Li directly walked to his side and squatted down, her white hair drifting on his cheek, her pupils aligning with his.

"Tell me… the reason." Yet, Su Ming'an instead felt relieved. If Xi Li had held back and stabbed later, that would have been more dangerous. At least now he could find out why, and he still had a trump card to use at discretion.

She examined him, reached out her hand, and smoothed his hair on his cheek, her movements slow. Instinct told Su Ming'an something was amiss, but he couldn't think of it at the moment.

She supported his shoulders, pulling him onto her back:

"Let's go back first, back... to our hometown."

...

Asass Hell.

A heatwave permeated the air, gray-black buildings stood tall, and numerous faint ghosts floated in the flowing river.

The terrain was rugged, hot torrents gushed from the cracked ground, and towering stone walls were covered with ancient runes and curses. Similar to the surface plane, there were streets and a kingdom here, also steam and gears, but instead of humans and beastmen, there were demons with crimson feet and spiral horns, half-demons, wraiths, bone artisans, and witch monsters.

A demon statue stood in the center of a square, erect in a fountain red as blood, that was of a scantily clad female Third-level God, wearing a mandala flower wreath on her head, paired with a damaged black rose on her shoulder, holding a piece of black-gray silk.

The inscription on the monument below bore the name [Deceit Demon Evelyn Tanados Agrina], presiding over [Betrayal, Romance, Deceit, Flowers], ranked twenty-first in sequence. She governs traitors, spies, thieves, and mistresses. Lives in the evil faction unashamedly praised her promiscuity and cunning as a "virtue" and sincerely believed it to be a compliment.

When the white-haired Xi Li, wearing a floral dress and carrying Su Ming'an on her back, came to this place, many undead creatures cast their gazes at her, though mostly with awe and fear, rather than desire for a weak girl.

She walked among the bizarre creatures, slender-bodied and pale-skinned, completely at odds with the backdrop, but no one dared to stop her, as if she had great fame in this place.

Su Ming'an continued in a cursed state, tongue stiff, fingers unable to move, yet he wasn't panicked, calmly observing the surroundings. Compared to being stuck in the cave all along, the current situation was actually better; at least there was information.

This was his first time leaving the surface plane and stepping into another plane.

Luo Washa's Five Planes were divided into [Sun and Moon], [Sky Mist], [Surface], [Underground], [Hell]. They were habitats for Deities, Dragon Clan Celestials, Insect Race species, Humans, Elves, Beastmen, Blood Clan, Sea Clan species, Gnomes, Dwarves, Mechanics species, Demons, Ghosts, and Undead Race species respectively. If Luo Washa were likened to a game, it would roughly be [Surface is the Newbie Village, Underground is level 30-50, Hell is level 50-70, Sky is level 70-90, Sun and Moon is the max level 90-100] map segmentation, very clear.

He suddenly arrived from the Newbie Village to a high-level map of level 50-70, like illegally crossing borders. As if the Newbie Village tasks were not yet finished, he hadn't acquired the best iron sword in the village or formed a brave team, and was captured by the Demon King.

"...Deep sea devil fish, 1 Var currency per fish!" Beside the street, a Death Knight in black armor was peddling.

"...Burrowing insect eggs and acid, 5 Shar currency per bowl, original flavor, welcome to taste!" A Stone Sprite was attracting customers in front of the stall, stirring a pot of soup resembling cabbage meat soup with a ladle, a mix of white and green.

"...Caged Shepherd is recruiting! As long as you are deranged enough, possessing enough mad-personas, you are welcome to join! Praise the Demon Mother God Isabel!!" A ghost with seven or eight heads floated past, echoing faintly.

"...One of the eight protagonists: New Demon King Left Elder Alger is recruiting servants, offering lich reincarnation service upon death, lifetime without rest, excellent blessings!" A Molten Monster handed out flyers, shouting as it sent out heatwaves.

"...Interested in learning about our Lands of Radiance and Times' Shepherd, Spirit of the Lighthouse, Master Sique? Welcome to join the Genesis Alliance, receive a photograph of Master Sique upon joining..." This was a bat monster displaying a photograph.

Su Ming'an was intently observing, the sights of the Hell Plane were truly fascinating, petrified lizards covered in spikes, withered demons wrapped in vines, half-bodied demonic centaurs, and hellhounds breathing fire were everywhere...

"Look, look, who's back!" At this moment, a demon with a pot cover on its head came over, its eyes blood-red, demon horns spirally coiling. It is said that the longer the demon's horns, the nobler the bloodline.

He walked to Xi Li, glanced at the Su Ming'an on her back, then hurriedly withdrew his gaze, as if fearing Xi Li would think he coveted the prey, opened his arms, and exaggeratedly welcomed: "Our beloved Princess! Welcome back to the land of freedom! Your brother, our revered Demon King Amber, has been waiting for you to come home for ages!"

...Ah?

Su Ming'an was shocked. He didn't expect Xi Li's identity to be so multifaceted, being from the last generation of the Rin Clan, a White Fox, and a princess of the Hell Plane?

Although this isn't contradictory, she might be a Demon Princess with a bit of White Fox bloodline and then was chosen as a Rin Clan...

White hair is indeed uncommon.

Fortunately, he didn't listen to Wu Yi, who said Xi Li's story was boring, when clearly it's very interesting.

"Move aside," Xi Li said blandly.

"The Gate of Wanderers is still a long distance from the Royal City. You'll have to pass through the Flame River, Ming River, and Obsidian Mountain. Shall I directly help you teleport back?" the demon said with a smile. Xi Li had emerged from the portal between planes—[The Gate of Wanderers], located at the edge of hell, far from the Royal City.

Xi Li thought for a moment, reluctantly, "Alright, Right Elder, please do it."

The Right Elder bowed, gesturing in a circle with his fingers, and a red light suddenly appeared.

"Shua!"

When the light stopped, the surroundings became suddenly quiet.

Xi Li landed on the ground, standing on a red carpet.

The stained glass cast oblique light, and in front stood the statue of a man with red hair draped over his shoulders. His gaze was sharp, holding a trident, with nine black-red pythons for legs, surrounded by wine and gold smoke leaves. He was the father of the current Demon King, the Third-level God, Great Devil Pollo, ranked fourteenth in the sequence, who managed [Disaster, Nightmare, Purgatory, and Alcohol]. He had witnessed Luowasha's millennia of glory. Unfortunately, he was severely injured in the War of Eden, backstabbed by his own son, and now is missing.

Su Ming'an had seen him—in the third-floor hospital of the first level of the Disciple Game, the Great Devil Pollo protected Su Ming'an momentarily. At that time, his chest was still bleeding, indicating his injuries hadn't healed.

Xi Li glanced indifferently and led Su Ming'an inside.

Luowasha's atmosphere of faith was extremely intense. Su Ming'an saw some priests in black robes and some demon children peeking around. It seemed that the more severe and dark the environment, the more people couldn't do without faith.

"There are four faiths in the Hell Plane, Demon Mother Goddess Isabel, Great Devil Pollo, Deceit Demon Evelyn, Plague Demon Alekxia," Xi Li suddenly said.

...A level 1 god, three level 3 gods.

Su Ming'an silently repeated these words.

"Initially, we all believed in Isabel, but there was a big upheaval in the Second Epoch. Have you heard of the most famous war of the Second Epoch, [The War of Independence]?" Xi Li said.

Su Ming'an was very interested and signaled Xi Li to continue with his eyes.

Xi Li, sensing something, said blandly, "You're well-read, you surely know, so I don't need to show off."

...I haven't heard of it!

Su Ming'an was flustered, since when was he well-read, what could a jellyfish know?

"In short, after that [War of Independence], the gods began vying for faith, even causing some jokes," Xi Li said:

"Luowasha's Twenty-seven Gods were originally the Twenty-five Gods. During that period, people gradually began to recognize the importance of 'human' centeredness. A pair of human sisters even pondered if they could steal the gods' authority and ascend as new gods."

...Is this similar to the Enlightenment movement?

Su Ming'an listened attentively.

"The good news is they actually succeeded. At the end of the Second Epoch, they broke into a Second-level God's temple and, during the lighting of incense during a ritual, took the God's Key from the altar—a symbol of divine authority."

"The bad news is that it was deliberately left there by the Second-level God, as he wanted to see if anyone dared to steal his authority. And that Second-level God's name was Kasadia."

Su Ming'an was speechless.

...Fun Demon, why are you everywhere?

He found that if you read through the hefty volumes of Luowasha's mythology, at least a third of the stories involved Kasadia, this demon was pervasive, creating mirth wherever it went.

"The two sisters, having obtained Kasadia's authority, ascended as gods. However, they couldn't possibly manage the authority of laughter. They suffered mental corrosion, and even now, two epochs later, they remain Kasadia's slaves, enduring emotional pain eternally," Xi Li said:

"Of the two sisters, one became the Deceit Demon Evelyn, and the other is the Master of Abyss, Lestory... The latter has already left the Hell Plane, presumably heading to the Surface Plane to manage the Blood Clan."

Having finished listening to this story, Su Ming'an hoped she would say more, but they had already reached their destination.

She didn't take him to see the Demon King but instead led him into a room, placing him on a wheelchair.

"...?" he asked her with his eyes.

"In a moment, the Disciple Game will begin. I can't prevent you from participating, but I can push you through the game... in this state," Xi Li leaned down, saying blandly, "Tomorrow, we'll go to the flower sea."

...Why are you doing this to me?

Su Ming'an truly didn't understand. He assured himself that he hadn't wronged Xi Li in any way; why was she restraining him?

But he turned his head aside and suddenly froze.

A half-body full-length mirror was placed in the room, directly facing him.

He saw... his own hair color was...

Purple.

Golden pupils looked at the mirror in shock, long purple hair draped over his body, small wing-like flutters on his temples, handsome features, pale complexion, lips tightly pressed.

—How could he...

"...Because you lied to me. You just said you've never used me as inspiration," Xi Li's voice mingled with innocence:

"But every glance you gave me the other day was as if you were absorbing materials."

"You promised to teach me what friendship is, to take me to see the flower sea, but you clearly forgot about that. So, this is also something you taught me—that people without credit must be treated with force."

"Moreover, you still haven't answered why you harmed my brother a hundred years ago."

Su Ming'an stared in shock at his reflection in the mirror. He was certain, before his afternoon nap, he had still been Su Liujin, how could...

She turned around, her icy breath brushed past his ear, looking at him intensely:

"...So, it's time to repay."

"Sique Olivius."

...

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