397 Cathulhu Prepares for Next Journey
Chapter 397 – Cathulhu Prepares for Next Journey
DING
<Attention, dear players. The servers will undergo maintenance for 12 hours for the upcoming updates. All players will be disconnected from the servers. Please log out from the servers to protect your game data.>
BEEP
Countless regular players vanished from the game worlds, except the permanent residents, Solomon Ghosts, and transmigrated humans.
The time of the game worlds stopped flowing. All soulless NPCs stopped moving. Beacons of light descended upon every transmigrated player and permanent resident.
Everyone under the beacons vanished. They were automatically teleported to the new game worlds that Solomon had prepared for them. Only the soulless NPCs were left behind.
Countless beacons of light shone upon the cave on Gnoll Island. They penetrated the physical cave and entered the isolated pocket dimension. Then, they shone upon the people inside.
One of them landed on Xiaomao while he was meditating in his house. The angel opened his eyes and looked up.
DING
<You will be transferred to the game world number 18. This world’s level cap is 5,000. If you raise your level further than the cap, you will be automatically transferred to the next world.>
BZZZ
<ERROR! Unrecognizable data signature!>
<Unable to transfer!>
The beacon of light faded. Xiaomao frowned and snorted.
“What a waste of time, munya. I have something else to do.”
Xiaomao deeply exhaled as he sank his consciousness to his dantian universe.
.
In Xiaomao’s dantian universe, the endless grassland planet was still there, positioned as the center of Xiaomao’s universe. It was also a unique star, independent from the laws of physics and extreme gravity forces.
When Xiaomao arrived, he gazed at the three weird butterflies in the grassland. They were the only butterflies that Xiaomao couldn’t share his senses with.
Two of them were black butterflies with hard shells. As for the other one, it was bigger than every butterfly Xiaomao had seen. The one-meter-tall black butterfly still had a cat face, but she was a scary-looking black cat.
Furthermore, Xiaomao could see their names. The big one was Lilith. As for the other two, Lilim and Levy followed the giant around as if they were her underling.
These three butterflies suddenly emerged from Xiaomao’s feathers and entered his dantian universe without permission. He was about to confront them, but the light beacons interrupted him. After the light beacon’s effect was canceled, Xiaomao returned his attention to the urgent matter.
Lilith carried three soul orbs with her. She placed it on the ground and bowed to Xiaomao and introduced herself.
“My name is Lilith, the former ruler of the Netherworld Realm. These two are my subordinates. Forgive me for intruding on your universe, Xiaomao.”
Xiaomao gazed at the three orbs and the trio. He didn’t trust them yet, “Why are you here? Did Solomon send you, munya?”
“You don’t remember me at all, do you?”
“Let me guess. You’re one of my mothers, munya?”
“Correct. We three are your stepmothers.”
“…”
Xiaomao didn’t believe in them. However, he sensed a faint connection between him and them. Moreover, their aura had the same scent as Hopea and others.
Since Lilith, Lilim, and Levy stayed here as butterflies, Xiaomao could easily remove or destroy them with a thought. Thus, he decided to investigate further.
“And, what are you doing here in my dantian, munya?”
“I’ll be honest with you. We are being punished for betraying your father’s trust. He sent us here to be your mentor and guide you through the immortal stages. Also, we’re veterans, and we are masters of compound elements.”
“Is that so…”
Xiaomao pursed his lips. He wondered if he should buy their stories.
However, Lilith gave him an offer that he couldn’t refuse, “If you allow us to live here until you become a deity, we will teach you a way to resurrect your subordinates. Your father asked us to bring the soul of Shepherd, Alice, and Madoka here and coach you on how you can utilize your lifespan and universe laws to your advantage.”
“W-W-Wait a minute! Hold on a second! They’re what, munya?!”
Xiaomao rushed to the orbs. He picked them up and looked at them. Then, he slapped his forehead.
He just offered Lu Bu’s soul to Mu-Nyang, but he didn’t recognize these souls. He blamed himself for being dumb.
They were indeed the souls of his retainers!
“S-So, can I really resurrect them?”
Lilith politely bowed, “Yes, as long as you accept us as resident of your dantian universe, we will do everything in our power to make you a proper deity… even if you demand us to be a life cauldron.”
Life Cauldron was a term for dual-cultivation partners, who would sacrifice their cultivation base to their man. Usually, they instantly grew old and died after the deed.
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He helped Lilith up, “Don’t ask me to be my cauldron whatsoever, munya! You’re my stepmother, and I’ll respect you like my real mother. Just… tell me how to resurrect my friends, munya!”
Lilith was relieved. She smiled at him, “First, I’ll teach you about karma strings and karma calculations. It’s going to be a long lecture before we put it into practice.”
“Okay! Teach me, sensei!”
Levy and Lilim’s eyes got brighter. They rested behind Lilith as they also listened to the lecture.
.
.
One hour later in the game world, another ray of light landed on Xiaomao. This time, the game messages were different.
DING
<According to the Protagonist’s exception, Player Xiaomao will be transferred to the special game world.>
<You will be transferred to the game world number 28. This world’s level cap is 9,999. If you raise your level further than the cap, you will be automatically transferred to one of the original game worlds, which all deities can access.>
<Due to the special exceptions, you may bring your comrades along with you. However, you must store them in your dantian universe before the transfer.>
<The teleportation will begin in one hour. Please be ready by then.>
“…”
Xiaomao reopened his eyes. He ignored the messages and stood up.
RING
Butterfly Lilith also emerged from Xiaomao’s dantian universe in the form of a semi-transparent Dao Avatar spirit. She transformed into her original appearance, wearing a white gothic dress.
Lilith read the messages and suggested, “Let’s gather your friends and wives in your dantian universe. We’ll continue our lessons when we manage to find a safe location in the new world.”
“Okay!”
Xiaomao rushed out of the house. As soon as he came out, he found Lucky, Andrew, Peter, James, John, Nymph, and Undine waiting for him. The beacons of light also fixated on them, but none of them were sent away yet.
Lucky pouted, “Master! The system is telling me that we can tag along with you if we enter your dantian universe. What’s the dantian universe, by the way?”
John was in his full gear. He raised his staff, “Let me join you on your journey, master! The game says that you’re a main character or something. Let me take part in your grand adventure!”
Peter and Andrew smacked their chest and raised their hammers. Without saying anything, they expressed their desire to join the party.
James knelt and gazed at Xiaomao, “I’m weak. I might be useless in fights. But please, take me with you. Let me serve you and redeem myself!”
Nymph smirked, “Are you ditching your wives behind? We haven’t had romantic sex yet. It’s not fair for Undine to hog you for herself! Take me along, and I’ll give you all my legendary items in my shop!”
Undine giggled, “Our level is almost the same now. Let’s go together, Xiaomao. I’ll fight alongside you.”
Xiaomao looked at everybody. He was proud of them as they were the original friends he had. However, he didn’t see other guardians around.
Undine noticed Xiaomao’s look. She explained, “Mimir is looking after Taotie. Ifrit is taking care of the evolving guardians, and Mary is busy teaching the beast folks about the dungeon. They might not be able to come.”
“I see.”
Xiaomao bitterly smiled. He took several deep breaths, accepting the fact that he wasn’t that close to the seniors.
“Alright, munya. Mother Lilith, can you teach me how to bring living people to my dantian universe, munya?”
As soon as Xiaomao said that, everybody gazed at the black-haired demoness in a white gothic dress in astonishment. They couldn’t believe that one of Xiaomao’s mothers was already with him.
Lilith’s words were audible to everybody.
“First, everybody here must make an oath. You must swear by your Dao that you will live and die for Xiaomao’s sake, regardless of the situation. When a crisis arises, you will be the first to fight for his sake. When he is sick or troubled, you must be there for him. When he is sad or depressed, you must be there to encourage him. At the lowest point of his life, you must rescue him with all your power. He is your master, and he is your life! Can you swear with your dao oath that you can do that?”
Everybody was stunned. The boys were speechless for several seconds.
However, someone instantly made their vow. Undine and Lucky spoke in unison.
“I do!”
“I do!”
Nymph came back to her senses. She stuttered, “M-Me, too!”
Following the girls, the boys smacked their chests and made their oath.
Seeing how unified Xiaomao’s subordinates were, Lilith was envious. She nodded at them in approval.
“Good. Very well, then. Xiaomao. Touch their karma strings that connect to you. Remember what I taught you?”
“I know, munya.”
Xiaomao instantly found the boys’ karma strings. As they were weaker than him, he could sense their emotions, thoughts, and aura even though he didn’t look at them. Their karma strings were also glowing in bright gold light, inviting him to touch them.
Xiaomao touched the golden karma strings. Then, he could sense their souls.
He closed his eyes and made a vow, “I promise that I’ll treasure you. I will never abandon you or throw you away. I will not put you in harm’s way for no reason or for my selfish desire. I will do whatever it takes to ensure your safety. I will share wealth, joy, and happiness with you. There is no I but we! I promise that I’ll be the greatest lord for your sake!”
The boys shed tears of pride and joy. They transformed into a streak of light, entering Xiaomao’s dantian.
Xiaomao gazed at Undine and Nymph next. He brightly smiled at them.
“Come to think of it, munya. None of you have a proper name yet, right? Since we’re husband and wife, I can’t just call you by your racial name, right? It’s racist, munya.”
Undine nodded, “Then, name me.”
Nymph sweated profusely, “Err, that’s a bad idea.”
“Why?”
“Don’t you remember how terrible Xiaomao’s naming sense is?”
“…”
It was too late. Xiaomao had some names in his mind.
“From now on, I’ll call you…”