Witch Wind

Chapter 375 The Heavenly Contract (Part 2)

The fortune teller muttered incessantly.

His temperament seemed to have been worn down by the long years that 'normal people' could not describe, becoming somewhat too bland. He would say a few words, then take out something to eat a couple of bites, and then say a few more words.

He spoke slowly and deliberately, and Xing Tianli listened very attentively.

The three women, including Zhong Nu and Hei Lie, also gathered around the octagonal well, listening to the fortune teller's mutterings. Liu Jing, being quite friendly, took out a jar of old wine and tossed it into the well. After receiving a smile from the fortune teller, Liu Jing then tossed him a pair of pig's trotters, two pig's ears, a pig's tail, and a braised pig's liver…

Hmm, Liu Jing threw down a whole set of pig armor.

The fortune teller's eyes were practically glowing green—Liu Jing's jar of old wine was nothing special, just ordinary pear blossom white wine brought from Pinghai City. It wasn't very strong and was the kind of wine that poor scholars in Jiangnan used for drinking, bragging, and showing off their knowledge.

But this whole set of pig-like tricks was enjoyed by the Heavenly Calculator, who was shaking his head with delight. It was just a pity that he didn't have a tail, otherwise his tail could have been whipped around so high it could have flown away.

"Ah, this is wisdom." The diviner ate until tears streamed down his face: "In all these years, this is the most delicious food I have ever eaten, ranking in the top thousand."

"Indeed, only the most intelligent races would be so bored as to focus on the taste of food."

“Ah, I haven’t tasted anything this delicious since those eight races with the same wisdom as you disappeared… I tried to make it according to their recipes… uh…”

The fortune teller slapped his own cheek, howling and crying, rolling on the ground in agony.

"Even dogs won't eat the food I make myself, it's so awful, even dogs won't eat it!"

Xing Tianli almost collapsed.

He said in a low voice, "Your name is 'Heavenly Calculation,' you should be a smart person, how come you can't even make something delicious following a recipe?"

The Calculator pulled out a pink bib embroidered with mandarin ducks playing in the water from who-knows-where. He wiped away his tears, placed the bib under his bottom, made it up again, and sipped his pear blossom liquor and ate his braised pig's tail. "How strange," he said, "just because I'm called 'Calculator,' does that mean I'm smart? Your question is completely illogical."

"Dogs have such a sensitive nose that they can smell scents that most living creatures can't. Are dogs very intelligent?"

"Some birds can directly sense changes in the angle of the Earth's magnetic field and use this to navigate to find their habitats thousands, tens of thousands, or even more far away...Are they very intelligent?"

"Look, the animal I'm eating right now, a pig? Ha, they can smell fungi with a special aroma seven or eight feet underground. This is something mortals can never do. Does that mean pigs are smarter than mortals who can cook such delicious food?"

Xing Tianli's eyes widened.

The three women, Liuluan, Liuxing, and Liujing, exclaimed in unison, "So..."

The fortune teller sighed softly, opened his mouth wide, and swallowed a whole jar of pear blossom liquor, jar and all. He then reached out to Liu Jing, who tossed him a jar of Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor).

The fortune teller nodded with a broad smile: "That's right, I'm just a pig with a little bit of ability... I know a lot of things, and I've never seen any species that knows more than me... But I know so much because of some of my... talents!"

"This talent is innate and has absolutely nothing to do with my intelligence!"

He touched his smooth toad skin and laughed, "Look, I'm completely hairless..."

"I did not possess the wisdom to match my talent. I... because of my dullness and stupidity, I made a terrible mistake, a mistake that is almost impossible to make amends... because of my mistake, in the boundless expanse of time and space, there was the Black Abyss, and there I was!"

With a sigh, he leaned against the well wall, gazing intently at the sky. He sipped his Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor) slowly, and a melancholic air, like that of a down-on-his-luck middle-aged man who had endured decades of hardship and suffering, flowed from him, almost tangible, filling the entire well.

Liu Jing blinked and tossed a braised lion-head goose down with great sympathy.

The Celestial Calculator cheerfully caught the Lion-Headed Goose and took a big bite of its leg with a 'crunch'—He exclaimed, "Delicious! It always brings joy. So, you'll get used to it. Although there's not much to do in this Black Abyss, once you get used to it, it becomes quite interesting."

He continued his narration.

About ponds and mayflies.

Ponds vary in size, and the origins of life vary in strength. Therefore, those lucky mayflies that spread their wings and soared into the sky to see the distant scenery are quite different in strength.

The weakest mayfly is probably a quasi-saint level being.

These mayflies, having been fortunate enough to take to the air, witnessed the magnificent real world and incredible grandeur. Like all mayflies that have gone through this stage, they eagerly flapped their wings and plunged into the boundless expanse of space and time.

These kinds of mayflies die as quickly as they leave the pond.

On average, they don't survive in the void for more than 100,000 years... Some unlucky ones even find that the ponds that nurtured them were originally very secluded and difficult for outsiders to fathom, but when they took to the air, the fluctuations of their power were like the reflection of a mayfly's thin wings in the sunlight, always attracting the attention of other powerful creatures.

These unfortunate creatures were killed the moment they stepped out of the pond.

Along with them, their mother world was either destroyed, plundered, or gathered together by forbidden laws and turned into farms for raising slaves, livestock, and goods.

There are also powerful mayflies.

Some mayflies have surpassed the level of quasi-saints and half-saints, reaching the level of true saints. Moreover, they are senior saints who have made many progress on the path of sainthood.

These saints often do quite well in the void.

Probably out of a billion powerful mayflies, three to five will stand out and achieve a true dimensional leap, elevating their life form to a level that ordinary creatures could never fathom.

These powerful mayflies, through their migrations, often drive the migrations of their own kind as well.

From then on, in the boundless expanse of time and space, another powerful and dominant force rapidly rose to prominence.

"These lucky mayflies, they don't understand, they know nothing at all... Hehe, if they were mayflies, if they were strong enough mayflies, this would actually be the most carefree, relaxed, and beautiful moment in their long life journey..."

"If they are content to be powerful mayflies, other mayflies cannot threaten them at all, and those truly powerful and terrifying beings do not bother to crush them... In fact, those truly powerful 'beasts' are too powerful, and the dimensional level they stand on is too high, so they do not need to search carefully, and they cannot even discover these tiny mayflies."

Xing Tianli nodded thoughtfully.

This is the truth.

In ancient times, those colossal beasts that roamed the heavens and earth only fought with other beasts of the same level. They were too lazy to bother with those tiny flying insects that could be killed with a single breath—what was the point of killing these tiny flying insects? Absolutely not. They wouldn't even be enough to fill a gap between their teeth; on the contrary, they would only expose their own existence.

Boundless space and time.

A pitch-black jungle.

Xing Tianli recalled the 'dark jungle theory of the universe' that had many supporters in his previous life—the entire universe is a cruel, bloody, dark jungle where people kill and devour each other to protect themselves.

All civilizations are both prey and hunters.

No one dared to light the fire, no one dared to fire the first shot.

Any civilization that dares to do this will instantly become the target of countless other covetous civilizations, and will be torn to shreds in an instant by attacks that come from nowhere.

So, if you're willing, or if you're timid, then be a beautiful and graceful mayfly, slowly soaring between heaven and earth—there are quite interesting things to do there too…

But I was never willing to give up.

However, there are always those who dare to be bold.

Having already soared several meters above the ground, those self-proclaimed extraordinary mayflies would always do their utmost to fly even higher—and to fly higher, they needed to become stronger. So, they trained desperately.

So, he ate voraciously.

So, its body grew larger and larger, and its strength grew stronger and stronger... Finally, one day, after undergoing some mysterious, unpredictable, and 'transformation tribulation'-like tempering, the mayfly was reborn and transformed into a 'beast'.

'Beast' is the name that the astrologers use to refer to beings from higher dimensions.

It's a rough and straightforward name, yet it fully represents the most important characteristics of beings at this level.

What is a beast?

A little white rabbit with red eyes is a beast.

A hyena that sneaks around and likes to attack a flower from behind is a beast.

A pack of wolves, howling and galloping across the snowy plains, relying on the strength of their group, even intimidating powerful individual wild boars and bears, is naturally a beast.

So, raise your head and look up at the sky. Beyond the nine heavens, there is a dragon that swallows clouds and spits mist, appearing and disappearing, capable of stirring up giant waves, controlling wind and thunder, and easily turning the ocean into mulberry fields. Of course, it is also a beast.

However, above the dragon, there is the Golden-Winged Roc that feeds on the dragon... Isn't it a beast?
The mayfly, which could have lived a carefree and easy life, struggled and transformed into a powerful 'beast'—what awaited it was certainly not the blessing of heaven and earth, but most likely the claw of a passing giant beast that casually slapped it down.

Your size is large enough, and the aura of flesh and blood is rich enough, making it worthy for those passing giants to open their mouths and, with a gracious attitude, absorb all your weak flesh and blood, and all your life, into their great and powerful bodies.

That's a beast!

The fortune teller muttered incessantly.

There are two kinds of beasts.

One type is the 'sit-in beast'—naturally indifferent and too lazy to cause trouble. They are generally born 'beasts,' meaning they were nurtured by countless ages and spaces. At birth, they were already incredibly powerful 'beasts' with few natural enemies.

Because of their strength and the absence of natural enemies, these 'beasts' generally have a good temperament, and some of these 'sit-in beasts' are even very 'helpful'.

The survival philosophy of this "sit-in beast" is: I was born of this land, so I'll stay where I was born and won't move. Anyway, don't bother me, and I won't bother you either. Let's just live in peace.

A sudden inspiration struck Xing Tianli, and he remembered the World Mother Tree.

Isn't this a typical 'sit-down beast'?

This thing, even a single branch is billions of light-years long, and countless enormous star clusters, like dust, slowly revolve around its colossal body. Its roots and branches pierce through countless dimensions and countless world barriers, and its magnificent form covers an immeasurable amount of space and time.

He is undoubtedly a powerful yet peaceful 'land beast'.

Well, to be frank, it's also a 'sit-in beast' with not much intelligence—a natural-born Wood element, it only has this one lineage of talent, and can't even learn the most basic 'turning stone into gold' spell!
Tsk tsk, even the worst celestial being could do that.

The world's mother tree cannot even learn the art of turning stone into gold.

He didn't even have any accompanying spiritual treasures. His first treasure in life was the giant mirror that Mr. Morality taught him to make—a mirror with a diameter of billions of light-years!

Xing Tianli always felt that Mr. Morality had dug a huge pit for the Mother Tree of the World!

You're asking a big guy with pure wood attributes who can't even learn the art of turning stone into gold to clumsily forge a killing weapon based on the 'Western Taibai Gengjin Qi'?
Uh!
Of course, Xing Tianli wouldn't dare say that the Moral Master was unkind. He must have had his own reasons—for example, this just benefits Xing Tianli, who has already gained so much from the World Mother Tree!
The 'sitting beast' is cute, honest, simple, and harmless... If one has the chance to meet a sitting beast, it is the greatest blessing a living being can have.

However, compared to the 'rare' and 'uncommon' 'seated beasts', 'predatory beasts' are more common.

Not all beasts are born strong and naturally raised... Many beasts grow step by step from a weak stage through constant predation and evolution.

When these beasts become powerful enough to run rampant, predation becomes their very nature.

Found the prey.

Kill the prey.

Devouring its prey.

Once discovered, they are like maggots clinging to a bone, relentless and determined to destroy their prey completely.

“In recent years, about ten kalpas ago, a ‘predatory beast’ was born. They called themselves ‘mechanical overlords’, and there were thirteen of the most powerful ‘beasts’ in total, leading countless followers and wreaking havoc in immeasurable time and space.”

Xing Tianli shivered.

'Mechanical Overlord'?
Isn't that the force behind Maria's mechanical legion?
They were actually 'predatory beasts', and their most powerful 'beasts', the so-called rulers, numbered thirteen in total?
“Once a predator grows up successfully, it becomes a nightmare, a nightmare for many civilizations.”

"As far as I know, in the past ten great kalpas, there were more than 100 million once powerful civilizations, including the most powerful mayflies and beasts, which were completely destroyed by them."

The fortune teller drank the last drop of Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor) and swallowed the entire liquor jar.

Liu Jing tossed in another jar of Zhuyeqing liquor. The fortune teller sniffed the aroma, stuck out his thick tongue, and smacked it with a 'smack': "This liquor is really good. Although it's a bit weak, it has a unique charm... Hey, where were we?"

Frowning, the fortune teller ate a piece of Nine-Turned Intestine and sighed, "If things continue like this, according to my estimation, these 'Mechanical Overlords' are very likely to evolve into 'Annihilation Beasts' within this great calamity."

"They have lost control, they have gone completely mad... The predatory beasts' war is for the purpose of strengthening themselves, for the purpose of constantly devouring and evolving... Therefore, predatory beasts will only attack beasts of the same level in order to obtain enough nutrients for evolution."

"But the Annihilation Beasts, their ultimate goal is no longer evolution, or rather, evolution, becoming stronger, and reaching higher dimensions is just a means, a tool... Their goal is to destroy everything. They don't just attack beasts, they don't even spare the weakest mayflies, or even small fish and shrimp."

"Such an Annihilation Beast, an enemy of countless time and space, what a detestable creature."

The fortune teller spat out a mouthful of saliva in annoyance, then smacked his lips as he took a large bite of braised pig liver: "Uh, you, you understood, right? With your intelligence, understanding what I'm saying isn't difficult."

Xing Tianli pursed his lips.

Is it really that hard to understand such a small amount of information?
"Well, that's all I have to say about mayflies and beasts... You have the aura of an extremely powerful beast on you. But you encountered it and are still alive and well, which shows that it was a ground beast."

"You also possess the aura of the mechanical overlords... You've encountered them?"

The fortune teller shook his head: "You're really unlucky... But how come you're still alive and well? It's clear you didn't encounter those thirteen beasts... So, the luck you have here is indeed strong and intense enough."

"Then, let's sign a contract."

The Celestial Calculator extended his hand towards Xing Tianli: "Creatures like you, with sufficient fortune and intelligence, I have always been willing to sign a special contract with you... I will do my best to help you grow... and when you become a powerful enough beast... help me!"

"help you with what?"

Xing Tianli frowned as he looked at the astrologer. He didn't think he could help this mysterious and eccentric fellow.

"Help me get out of this!"

The fortune teller sighed softly, "Please help me to be completely free, I beg you."

(End of this chapter)