Chapter 1168: Loss of Sanity
Qinglong slowly emerged from the front of the vehicle, glaring with wide eyes at the few remaining "Heavenly" members left in the room.
His murderous gaze made everyone lower their heads, not daring to meet his eyes. They felt that Qinglong must have overused his "Immortal Arts." Although his body appeared unharmed, his spirit had been severely damaged.
But what kind of person could push Qinglong to this extent?
Qinglong walked slowly over to Tian Shu, reached out, and grabbed the chair beside him, dragging it out with a loud scraping sound before sitting down heavily.
"Where is Tian Niu?" he asked.
"She..." Tian She started to say something but wisely lowered his head, sneaking a glance at Tian Shu.
All of Tian Shu's arrogance had been shattered by Qinglong's earlier palm strike. He no longer dared to be insolent.
At this critical moment, if he told Qinglong that "the bell was destroyed, Tian Niu went to handle it, and made a complete mess of things," who knew what the consequences would be?
Tian Shu was about to pretend he didn't know when he suddenly noticed a bizarre problem.
Qinglong, as a "Spiritual Listener"... hadn't he heard anything at all?
Even if the killing of Xuanwu was a small-scale incident, and the other party had used some method to cover it up, the destruction of the giant bell and the display screen... such a huge event, Tian Niu had even used "amplification" for it—why hadn't Qinglong heard it?
Tian Shu cautiously turned around and asked carefully, "Qinglong... where did you come from just now?"
Qinglong didn't answer, just staring at him with bloodshot eyes.
"Do I need to report my itinerary to you?" Qinglong asked.
"No... that's not it..." Tian Shu quickly shook his head.
Although Qinglong hadn't answered, it was likely that the place he had been active earlier was neither in "Peach Blossom Spring" nor on the "Train," which would have allowed him to block out all sounds.
Everyone kept their heads bowed, and no one spoke.
"Did someone come by just now?" Qinglong frowned and asked again.
After all, he felt that someone had cast an "Illusion Art" on the "front of the vehicle," otherwise his memory couldn't be so confused.
"No..." Tian She said slowly, "It's only been us here the whole time..."
"Strange. If no one came, then why are you all like this?" Qinglong spoke again, his voice sending chills down everyone's spines.
As soon as he finished speaking, he felt a commotion in his ears. He listened intently, and the entire "Peach Blossom Spring" was in chaos.
"What's going on down there...?" Qinglong turned his head to look at Tian Gou.
"This..." Tian Gou was stared at by Qinglong and could no longer remain silent, so he had to speak, "Just now, you were outside, and I thought you knew... The giant bell and the display screen were destroyed, and Xuanwu was killed too..."
Tian Gou blurted out the current situation in one breath, and Qinglong's eyes widened at that moment.
"What did you say... The giant bell and the display screen were destroyed?"
"Yes... and Xuanwu was killed too."
"Who destroyed them?" Qinglong asked again.
Tian Gou paused and then answered, "The giant bell... it seems it was destroyed by an organization called 'Ultimate Path'... But as for Xuanwu..."
"'Ultimate Path'...?" Qinglong squinted, pondering for a few seconds. "The apple's brain didn't have this information yesterday. How could it... such a huge event, did 'Ultimate Path' suddenly decide on it?"
"Apple...?"
Qinglong slowly stood up, thinking about this strange matter. The giant bell and the display screen were originally built by the "Participants." Now that they were destroyed, it wasn't a big deal. Next time, he could find some people with the same abilities to rebuild them.
But why did these people do this?
Just a sudden riot?
"So Tian Niu went to handle this?" Qinglong asked again.
"Yes..." Tian Gou nodded.
"She can't handle it," Qinglong said. "But her attitude is commendable. If all the 'Heavenly' members were like her, even if they occasionally talked back to me, I wouldn't mind."
Upon hearing Qinglong's words, Tian Shu continued to keep his head down and said nothing.
"Tian Gou, keep an eye on their movements. I suspect this won't end here." Qinglong then turned to Tian She and said, "Tian She, see if you have any usable 'Natives' on hand, calculate how long it will take to rebuild the giant bell and the display screen, and build an identical bell at the original location as soon as possible."
Tian She, after hearing this, lowered his head and asked with slight confusion, "Forgive me for saying this... is it necessary to build such things at the original location? We could actually build them directly on the Train..."
Qinglong immediately reached out and grabbed Tian She by the collar, almost lifting him off the ground.
"Tian She, what are you saying?" Qinglong asked.
"I..."
"How can it be just for us to see?" Qinglong's bloodshot eyes stared at Tian She. "What is the most important thing for us?"
"The most important thing..."
"The most important thing is to give them 'hope'..." Qinglong squeezed out a serene smile even as the veins bulged on his forehead. "Without the 'Giant Bell,' there is no 'hope.' As the ruler here, how could I bear to see everyone live with self-abandonment and no goals? This great love I have for the world... you... understand?"
"I... I understand..." Tian She nodded frantically, like a chicken pecking at rice. "I understand everything... I'll go count the suitable candidates immediately..."
"It must be exactly the same."
Qinglong laughed angrily and squeezed his hand onto Tian She's glasses. With just a slight force, cracks appeared on Tian She's lenses.
"If there's the slightest mistake in this matter, I'll grind these glasses into your eyes. Understood?"
"Yes..." Tian She kept his eyes tightly shut and dared not nod, only repeatedly muttering "I understand" with his mouth.
At that moment, Qinglong suddenly thought of something and turned back to look at Tian Gou. "Who did you say died just now?"
"Ah... I said... Xuanwu is dead..."
"Oh." Qinglong nodded expressionlessly, turned back to Tian She, and said, "Xuanwu was such a useful thing. Go make another one for me. This time, I want to take away all his rationality, so he can never defy me for all eternity."
Tian She trembled with his eyes closed for a moment, then said, "But without rationality... it will definitely be very dangerous..."
"If it's very dangerous, you can stay there as a funeral offering," Qinglong said again. "Back then, Baihu didn't kill you, and Xuanwu didn't kill you either, which means although your skills aren't great, your luck isn't bad, right?"
"Y-yes..." Tian She nodded.
"So use that luck of yours to keep wandering among the 'Divine Beasts.' Get lost."
Qinglong released his hand, and Tian She almost stumbled and staggered out of the room.
Watching his retreating figure, Qinglong turned back to the remaining "Heavenly" members and said, "You'd better keep your eyes wide open too, always be on guard for what might happen. If there's any slip-up in this disturbance, I'll make every one of you here accompany me to the grave."
Everyone was startled at these words. Then, not daring to remain seated at the round table, they all stood up, greeted Qinglong, and dispersed to attend to their tasks.
Qinglong stood in place with a livid expression, trying to regain his rationality. But inexplicably, many strange memories seemed to be drifting into his mind.
Not only did his rationality not return, but it became even more chaotic.