321: Maggots

"Little friend, does it benefit you in any way to persistently provoke me?"

Looking at the Yao Sovereign who finally spoke after holding it in for a long time, Zhou Yan couldn't help but curl his lips upward again.

"Perhaps it's for the emotional value; it feels quite satisfying."

"You... you should show some respect to your Senior."

The Yao Sovereign was choked by these unreasonable words but still forced himself to continue.

"However, I want to make a deal with you now."

"And what is the price?"

Zhou Yan's tone remained indifferent.

He wanted to see to what extent this old fellow, who had been lurking and watching, had recovered his wits.

"Actually, my background is quite tragic... I came from a cold and humble origin; the Human Race detested me, and the Yao Race despised me."

"Your origin shouldn't be cold and humble; that thing should be quite warm, as I recall."

The Yao Sovereign fell silent again for a while.

Zhou Yan kept provoking him without stopping. He really wanted to come out and punch the other party, but he couldn't right now. He could only play deaf and mute and continue his story.

"The hardships of a Loose Cultivator and the pain of discrimination made me cherish my life beyond measure."

"Therefore, the calamity of the Yao Sovereign was not my fault at all; the title of Yao Sovereign was also forced upon me."

"Otherwise, how could I be so foolish as to go to war with so many people? Wouldn't that be throwing my life away for nothing?"

"So I want to make a deal with you. I can assist you in reaching the Undergoing Tribulation stage, as long as you resurrect me."

"You can even ask your Mahayana Senior about the events of that year. He will surely recognize me and allow you to help me resurrect."

Zhou Yan showed a contemplative expression and finally said in a low tone.

"If they are cold-bodied Yao Beasts, would their feces not be warm anymore?"

"It wouldn't; only a few... To hell with your *!"

Hearing the cursing coming from his backpack, Zhou Yan simply put on a pair of high-tech sunglasses he had obtained from Taiyi City.

Although they were useless, they looked very cool.

He muted the sound, basked in the sun on his lounge chair, and watched the swarm of censored characters popping up in the other party's speech bubble, a pleasant smile appearing on his face.

A quarter of an hour later.

"It seems you're really not up to it. Your current state has quite an impact on your intelligence; you don't even have many insults. You only cursed for less than fifteen minutes." Seeing the speech bubbles slowing down, Zhou Yan added another line.

Sure enough, the Yao Sovereign started cursing again.

"*****!"

Another quarter of an hour passed.

After checking the other party's status, Zhou Yan turned on the sound.

[Will of the Yao Sovereign (Exhausted)]

[Quality: Legendary]

It seemed that this quality corresponded to the other party's spirituality.

Being able to speak so much seemed to consume quite a bit of spirituality.

It was just that because his spirituality was too low, he couldn't control his anger.

So what would happen if his spirituality was full?

Zhou Yan didn't think more about it and spoke to the Yao Sovereign.

"Alright, alright, Senior, don't be Life Qi. If you die of Life Qi, I'll be satisfied."

"Your Life Qi should be mostly gone by now. It's time for us to have a talk."

The other party didn't speak.

"By the way, what is your name? How should I address you?"

The other party didn't speak.

"Then I'll just call you Old Maggot. If you don't speak, I'll take it as your consent."

The other party didn't speak.

"Let me guess what you're thinking."

"Once you return to the Sect and go to see your Old Ancestor, telling him my name, all the humiliation I've suffered won't be a problem anymore."

"Once he hears my name, I can complete some schemes through that deceased Mahayana."

Zhou Yan lowered his voice, imitating the Yao Sovereign's tone.

"Then let me think, what schemes do you have?"

"For example, communicating with other means of resurrection you have hidden in the world?"

This time the silence didn't last long. Old Maggot finally answered.

"So you know everything and are just purely amusing yourself with me?"

"Not entirely."

"At least I really wanted to hear you tell some stories to relieve my boredom."

"But your goal was too clear; you went straight for the Mahayana and didn't want to tell a single good story."

"Plus, I had already vaguely sensed that you had long since awakened."

"Since you woke up long ago, why didn't you speak when Senior Yu Kou was here? Why wait until now when you've recovered quite a bit to let me find him? Isn't it because you've gained some confidence?"

After hearing Zhou Yan's words, Old Maggot's tone also turned cold.

"I did not lie to you."

"The calamity of the Yao Sovereign truly had nothing to do with me. I was merely a vessel."

"The real culprit who triggered that disaster was Alias."

Zhou Yan was somewhat surprised this time.

It wasn't surprise at who the real culprit was, but surprise that the other party had awakened so early.

He had first discovered something was wrong with the Yao Sovereign after reaching the Nascent Soul stage, when he had the Power of Law to protect him and could sense that faint prying gaze.

But looking at the other party's tone, he must have awakened shortly after Zhou Yan first got the benefits and the other party turned into an item.

It seemed Mahayana was indeed troublesome.

"It doesn't matter. Mahayana is too far from me, and the unknown is always the most troublesome."

"Perhaps the disaster really wasn't caused by you, but they killed you and didn't let you recover. You should think about the reason yourself."

"And you indeed know quite a few of my secrets."

"So, for safety's sake, have you thought of your last words?"

"Hmph, a mere brat. Do you even know what Mahayana is?"

"My means of resurrection are not limited to this one."

"Even if you can truly destroy this wisp of my will, I will still return. When that time comes—"

The voice came to an abrupt halt.

The Yao Sovereign, who originally had a mocking tone, suddenly fell silent.

Because the warm Old Maggot had turned into a cold bound item.

[Will of the Yao Sovereign]

[Quality: Legendary]

Description: A will that has lost its will. It is now just an ordinary memory, recording a tip of the iceberg of the Yao Sovereign's glorious life.

"I didn't expect it to actually work."

Zhou Yan looked at the Will of the Yao Sovereign, whose description had changed after being bound, and had some different views on the System.

He had learned of this method when he first bound the book he brought back from the Royal Treasury out of boredom.

After binding, that book was ruined.

Just as version incompatibility turns some text and items into purple-black squares, that book full of taboos had directly become a useless book stitched together from purple-black squares.

He had accidentally messed up a clue that might concern the truth of the world, and he had been heartbroken for a long time back then.

Only then did he realize that many things would be very different after being bound or appraised.

Just as the Flying Immortal Art he learned was different from the Flying Immortal Art he picked up, a bound Spirit Stone was also different from an ordinary Spirit Stone.

So as early as when Zhou Yan sensed the abnormality through the Law of the Heart, he had already entertained the idea of using this method to deal with the other party.

It was just that the other party never spoke, and Zhou Yan couldn't be sure of his true state, fearing to alert the enemy.

But now it was different. The other party had taken the initiative to jump out, moving from the shadows to the light. Zhou Yan's Power of Law immediately had a use, starting to detect and interfere with him.

Perhaps because the other party was still in the backpack and didn't realize that Zhou Yan had already expanded his Nascent Soul Domain, he was quickly affected by the Power of Law.

After multiple attempts, Zhou Yan was still only able to affect him but couldn't wipe him out. Even the influence just made the other party spend more breath cursing him.

And this gave him two new realizations.

First, all are ants beneath the Law. It's not without reason that the old Laws are suppressed by the new Law.

Even an incomprehensible existence like a Mahayana, in this state, could only manage to not be wiped out, but could not negate the means used with the Power of Law.

Second, Mahayana is truly ridiculous.

He hadn't even figured out what the System was himself, yet the other party was actually able to survive in the System's backpack and even transmit information to Zhou Yan.

And this was merely a wisp of will.

If he had really told the news to Yu Kou like some naive fool, who knows if the other party would have established a timeline anchor.

At that time, if he pulled a move where, because a Mahayana in this era knew of his existence, he could trace back through the timeline and forcibly manifest a small part of himself in the world to aid his future resurrection.

When he became a Saint and the Sect Master explained that voice which spread through the Three Realms, he understood that Mahayana might truly be able to do such ridiculous things.

When that time comes, whether Senior Yu Kou's long-deceased Mahayana Senior could stop his methods was really hard to say.

Then he would have truly caused a great disaster.

Fortunately, the System was also unfathomable. Even with such a low version, it could actually wipe out the other party's will.

Although he came up with the idea and thought it was feasible, after actually succeeding, he still developed some strange feelings toward the System.

What exactly is the System?

To what extent can it eventually reach?

A wisp of Mahayana will could escape its influence, yet it could also easily affect such a high-level existence.

At least for now, it shows that its status might not be far from that of a Mahayana.

But does this also mean that it itself might be the resurrection method of some great power?

"Sigh, forget it, forget it. I'm penniless right now; I'd better not think about these things."

"This isn't something a small Nascent Soul like me should consider."

"According to novel tropes, falling out with the System is something for the Late Stage."

"Moreover, this System is so dilapidated. Maybe before I even discover it has a problem, it will have already been phased out by me."

"Then let me first see what good things my respected Old Maggot has left for me."

Zhou Yan calmed his mind, rubbed his hands together, and began to study the remaining memories.

Just like that formatted book, although it was full of garbled code, some information remained after all. Even if it was just some nonsense complaining about the unfairness of the Heavenly Dao, at least there was something left.

Then this formatted Yao Sovereign should at least be able to leave something behind, right? What if I can pull out some Divine-Grade Cultivation Technique?"