![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
[fic] Beep beep beep~ (part 4)
Fandom: Cultivation Chat Group (novel)
Characters: White Two, Song Shuhang, Lady Onion, Senior White, Nine Provinces Number One Group
Rating: T
A certain mysterious senior joins the chat group. Oh, and so does Lady Onion. Set during some vague time after ~chapter 1592
Beep beep beep~
Chapter 4: Senior Sober Scholar’s OP cultivation technique
At this time, Young Master Phoenix Slayer gathered up his courage and wrote, “Seniors, if I could interject, I have a few questions. Shuhang, didn’t you say the guy who attacked the scholarly faction was the same one corrupting people with Netherworld energy, like Senior Skylark—and that guy is the [beep, beep, beep~]? Senior Beep, are you really that guy’s rival?”
Although the words “ruler of the Netherworld” got censored, everyone knew what those words were supposed to be. It wasn’t that none of them had realized the implications—particularly once Skylark had jumped in—but that Young Master Phoenix Slayer was the first to ask about it more directly.
Song Shuhang quietly consulted with Senior White Two before he answered, “Yeah, Senior [beep, beep~] is...an existence no weaker than that guy.”
This was approaching the limit of what Senior White Two’s censoring technique would allow him to say.
Song Shuhang had also never revealed exactly how strong his mystery senior was before now, letting the rest of the group come to their own conclusions about it. However, this was how Senior White Two had directed him to answer just now.
Senior White Two then added, “How else do you think I could bring you guys in and out of the Demonic Tribulation Realm so casually? To answer your question, little kitty cat, there’s no one in this universe who could be that guy’s rival other than me.”
No one said anything for a long time. Although most of the group had already guessed that his level of strength must be something absurd, it was still quite shocking for him to declare it so openly.
More than a few of them had the brief thought, Is little friend Shuhang’s mystery senior actually some Wielder of the Will?!
However, it wasn’t a thought any of them took seriously. What was indisputable was that he was an expert of the Netherworld. It was unlikely that he would be both.
Eventually, Young Master Phoenix Slayer continued his inquiry: “Then, if you don’t mind me asking, Senior, why would someone as strong as you join our chat group?”
Senior White Two smiled and replied, “Finally, you guys are asking the right questions.”
Young Master Phoenix Slayer: “😳”
Unexpectedly, this senior had been waiting for someone to ask him why the heck he was even here?
Beep beep beep: “First of all, Shuhang reminded me there are a few fellow daoists in this group that I had already been meaning to contact. It’s more convenient to have a way of contacting all of you at once.”
Xuan Nu Sect’s Skylark: “Hehe. 😈😈😈”
Beep beep beep: “However, he also told me about your group’s custom of “equivalent exchange”, and how the seniors will occasionally hand out little tasks and rewards to help out the juniors. I find this very interesting! It turns out the custom of this group suits my tastes very much. In fact, little friend Shuhang and I have had this kind of relationship for a long time...although he still hasn’t managed to tell me a single satisfactory joke as payment for any favors. 😒”
Tyrannical Song: “Haha...”
Beep beep beep: “Therefore, I would like to extend this relationship to all of you. If I need something in the main world that’s inconvenient for me to get, I might ask for it in the group. Of course, I’ll reward you accordingly, as anything I might be interested in won’t be easy to retrieve.”
Beep beep beep: “Likewise, you’re all free to ask me for a favor, but you’ll have to bring me something fun or interesting in return, and it’s better if it’s something of a relatively high level. I also accept jokes as payment, but I’ll be the one to decide how many or if they’re even good enough. I’ll remind you all that the joke Fellow Daoist Yellow Mountain told me back then was only barely a pass, and I was being very generous with my scoring.”
In other words, it might be impossible to come up with payment that would satisfy this senior, but if someone was able to, the favor they could obtain from him would be nothing to scoff at.
True Monarch Northern River: “Senior, could you give an example of something you might find “fun or interesting”? That way, we’ll be less likely to waste your time with something that isn’t good enough.”
Beep beep beep: “That’s reasonable. Let’s put it this way...if it’s something you think would satisfy Fellow Daoist White, there’s a good chance I’ll also be interested in it. Our tastes are very similar.”
Beep beep beep: “Otherwise, you could always ask Shuhang. He’s got a pretty good idea what I’ll be interested in by now.”
“Cannons,” Song Shuhang interjected immediately. “Senior Northern River, if you have some kind of magical cannon, that’s something Senior [beep, beep~] would like. The bigger and more powerful, the better.”
Beep beep beep: “Haha, that’s true, I do collect cannons. However, my collection is very large. It might be difficult to find one that I haven’t seen before.”
Sure enough, this was also something that conformed with Sage Monarch White’s tastes.
Although in Senior White’s case, he liked anything as long as it could explode magnificently~
When the Bright Moon Appears: “Senior, can we make a request right now? I have several rare magical treasures here to use as payment.”
When the Bright Moon Appears: “However, I only want to know if Senior thinks it’s even possible to help me. If it’s impossible, I won’t bother Senior any further.”
At this time, the mysterious scholar made another valiant attempt to make his presence known in the chat.
Unfortunately, Lady Onion posted at the same time, and he was ignored again.
Eighth Cultivator of True Virtue, Lady Onion: “Senior [beep, beep~], do you have any way to get my root free of the enlightenment stone?”
Even Senior White had been unable to pull her root free. However, Senior White Two’s strength was second only to the Wielder of Heaven’s Will, so she believed that if anyone were able to do it, it would be him.
Senior White Two replied, also still in the chat, “Sure, but how are you going to pay for it? Don’t even think about trying to pay me in jokes. I’m not accepting any jokes from you.”
Lady Onion sighed and wrote, “😢 Nevermind, Senior, I’ll stay this way for now.”
To be honest, Lady Onion had already mostly given up on the idea of freeing herself from the enlightenment stone. It was actually pretty beneficial for her to have it with her literally every second of the day, and between Song Shuhang not really needing it anymore and her own lack of desire to leave anyway, it wasn’t the leash it had once been either.
She wasn’t planning on being stuck to it for the rest of her life or anything, but she wasn’t in a hurry to get free of it anymore.
Sitting on the bed between them, Song Shuhang looked up at the sky.
Why do you need to have this conversation in the chat? You’re sitting in the same room. You can just talk to each other.
“Senior, could it be that even someone as strong as you can’t notice me? 😭” said Fellow Daoist When the Bright Moon Appears.
His heart felt thoroughly rent. If even someone strong enough to be the rival of the ruler of the Netherworld Realm couldn’t notice him, then what hope did he have for the future?
But then, finally, Northern River’s Loose Cultivator—who was the only reliable person in the group besides little friend Shuhang—wrote in the chat, “Oh? Scholar, when did you come online? I almost didn’t notice you.”
“I have been here the whole time,” the mysterious scholar answered.
He had the sudden urge to change his nickname to “the Bright Moon is very tired and wants to retire”.
Speaking of...the scholar remembered that he had chosen this nickname specifically to remind his fellow daoists of his dao name. However, why was it ‘Bright Moon’? Shouldn’t he have chosen something like ‘When the Shining Sun Rises’?
Perhaps he really should change it?
“Hm? Who is this little daoist?” Senior White Two murmured. He had also finally noticed Scholar Bright Moon’s presence in the chat.
How strange...although this fellow daoist said he had been there all along, Senior White Two didn’t have much of an impression of him. Curious, he scrolled back through the chat.
Sure enough, this fellow daoist had been there all along!
He had even already tried to directly address Senior White Two before now, right at the beginning. However, Senior White Two didn’t remember seeing either this message or any of the others.
“Interesting!” Senior White Two pointed to the mysterious daoist’s messages on Song Shuhang’s screen and asked, “Shuhang, who is this fellow daoist?”
“’When the Bright Moon Appears’...huh? Is this really one of the seniors in the group?” Song Shuhang frowned down at the chat.
If he was really one of the seniors in the group, then why did Song Shuhang have no impression of him?
That username did sound vaguely familiar, though...
“Oh! I remember now, it’s Scholar Sober Star. No, wait—” Song Shuhang quickly checked his contacts. “—I mean, it’s Scholar Drunken Moone. Right, the pronunciation of his name should be similar to this...although I also left myself a note to call him Drunken Sun for now. Did the scholar forget his own daoist name?”
Although Song Shuhang had left himself this note, he didn’t remember making it nor why he had noted this down in the first place.
However, he could make an informed guess, given what he knew of the scholar’s cultivation technique.
“Scholar Drunken Star? It’s a good name—eh?” Senior White Two blinked and touched his mouth. Even though Song Shuhang had just said this daoist’s name, he already couldn’t remember it clearly?
Song Shuhang looked at him in surprise. “Senior White, even you can’t remember his name properly?”
Senior White (main world version) had said once that he also had trouble remembering the scholar’s name.
Now even Senior White Two was having trouble remembering him? Just how OP was Senior Sober Scholar’s cultivation technique that it could affect Senior White and Senior White Two the same way it affected everyone else?
“Yeah, I can’t seem to remember it too well,” Senior White Two said. He pinched his chin, staring down at the chat in thought. “What is the origin of this fellow daoist, do you know?”
Song Shuhang shook his head. Not only was he impossible to remember, but Senior Drunken Sun’s background was also a mystery to him.
“Then, what do you know about what’s causing this effect?” Senior White Two asked.
“Well, from what I remember, Senior Scholar practices a cultivation technique that has the special effect of reducing his ‘presence’,” Song Shuhang explained. “It’s kind of like the effect of the small black room. You can’t remember his name, you won’t notice he’s there, and if you do notice him, you’ll forget about him again not long after.”
“So it was a cultivation technique...” Senior White Two murmured to himself.
Song Shuhang smiled a little. It looked like Senior White Two's interest had been piqued. Senior Scholar was really going to profit this time...
Eventually, Senior White Two wrote in the group, “Fellow Daoist When the Bright Moon Appears, what is it you want to ask of me?”
“Senior, you did notice me after all. 😭😭😭” The mysterious scholar was very moved. He continued, “Senior, I would like to ask if you know of any way for me to strengthen my ‘presence’. Or, at the very least, some way to make it so others will remember my name?”
He asked Senior White Two the very same thing he had asked the Still Pond of Wisdom back then. The mysterious scholar had not yet given up on there being a solution to his problem.
In fact, he was even more desperate for a solution now, because back then, he had still been at the True Monarch realm and had some chance of others remembering him. Now that he had advanced to the Seventh Stage Realm, his ‘presence’ had all but disappeared.
Senior White Two replied, “Practice diligently, and when you reach the Eighth Stage and show your divinity in front of the masses, no one will be able to forget your name. That effect lasts for a whole year, so don’t waste it!”
In the end, Senior White Two answered in the same way that the Still Pond of Wisdom had back then, too.
The mysterious scholar felt bitter tears well up in his heart.
When the Bright Moon Appears: “😭😭😭 Is there really no hope for me...?”
Beep beep beep: “Haha, I’m just kidding. Shuhang says this ‘lack of presence’ is the result of a cultivation technique, is that right?”
When the Bright Moon Appears: “Yes, that’s right.”
Beep beep beep: “Unfortunately, I don’t have a solution to your problem, because I’ve never heard of a cultivation technique with this kind of effect before. However, I’d be willing to look into it for you.”
For a moment, the mysterious scholar was too shocked to reply. He had been prepared to accept that even this powerful senior couldn’t do anything for him and he really would have to just wait until he became a Profound Sage...but unexpectedly, this senior was actually willing to research it for him?!
“Thank you, Senior!” Scholar Rising Sun exclaimed happily. “I’ll send you a list of those treasures. You can choose as many as you think is fair, and if you don’t like any of them, I still have others you might find suitable.”
“Don’t bother, I’m not interested in your treasures,” Senior White Two said. “What I want is your cultivation technique.”
He was still keeping his eye out for methods he could use to play around in the main world without alerting the current Wielder. His imitations of the Almighty Merchant—no, Virtue’s special sheet were pretty good, but if he could use some sort of technique, it would be even better.
If he could use this special cultivation technique as a base, he might be able to come up with something very interesting~
When the scholar didn’t reply right away, Senior White Two continued, “I’m going to need to have a good understanding of that cultivation technique anyway, if you want me to research a solution to your presence problem. I’m also very interested in this technique that can even influence a special existence like me. How about it? Are you willing to trade me that technique?”
“Yes, I’m willing!” the mysterious scholar finally replied. If it was for the sake of restoring even a little bit of his presence, he was willing to trade almost anything.
“Great! Send me your coordinates. I’ll drop by in a couple days. 👍” said Senior White Two.
Afterward, he navigated around his phone with a bit of a smile and murmured, “Mm-hm, I obtained a pretty good harvest today...”
“Ahaha,” said Song Shuhang.
Half an hour later.
Senior White made his way upstairs to Song Shuhang’s room on the fourth floor.
As he approached the door, he clearly heard Song Shuhang’s voice wail, “Arrrrgh, Senior White! You stole all my vegetables!”
“Hehe.” The Netherworld's White’s voice also carried through the door. “If you want to keep your vegetables, you have to be faster than that~”
“That is so unfair. You’ve only had this stupid game for like ten minutes!”
“You’re just too slow, Shuhang! Okay, you said little friend Northern River is the reigning champion of the group? I’ll go camp his farm next~”
“Senior White, you also have to be careful that the other seniors aren’t camping your farm.”
“Hehe, they wouldn’t dare!”
Senior White lightly knocked on the door and let himself in without waiting for an answer.
The three of them—Song Shuhang, Lady Onion, and the Netherworld’s White—were still gathered together on the bed. At this time, Song Shuhang had fallen backward on the bed and was clutching his phone over his anguished looking face. Netherworld White had a very relaxed expression on his face as he scrolled through his phone with one hand and propped his chin up on the other. Lady Onion’s phone was laid out on the bed and she seemed to be playing some kind of rhythm game. Her whole body swayed back and forth as she smacked the screen with her little onion sprout arms.
“Shuhang, I need to retrieve something from one of my treasure houses,” Senior White said as he stepped inside the room. “Do you want to come along? As long I remembered correctly which treasure house to look in, it shouldn’t take too long.”
“Sure!” Song Shuhang jumped to his feet and tucked his phone away.
However, Lady Onion was still in the middle of her rhythm game and he couldn’t collect the size-reducing purse without interrupting her.
While he waited for her to finish the level, Song Shuhang asked, “Senior White, what kind of thing are we going to retrieve?”
“Hmm, I remembered that some time ago, I happened to find a small item with a faint aura of ‘time’. At the time, I could only store it away, but now I’m interested in trying to research it,” Senior White answered. Then he turned to the second White and said, “Fellow Daoist White Rabbit, you’re also welcome to come along. If you see anything you like, maybe we can make a trade.”
Senior White Two sent Song Shuhang an absolutely scathing glance.
However, even that annoying nickname couldn’t ruin his current mood. Senior White Two thought for a moment, then he tucked his new phone away and got up as well.
“Sure, I’ll come. I feel like I’ve still got a bit more time to play around in the main world today.” Senior White Two stretched his arms above his head as he added, “That reminds me, I still owe you some compensation for those heavenly tribulation nuclear bombs I took away a while ago. Why don’t we make a trip to one of my treasure houses after?”
Senior White smiled and clapped his hands. “Sounds like a plan! In that case, let’s use the Universe-Piercing Flying Shuttle 2.0. I’ve made some improvements to it since last time.”
Senior White Two’s eyes lit up, and he immediately moved to follow Senior White out. The two of them were already chatting happily about the improvements Senior White had made to the shuttle before they had even reached the stairs.
“Seat belts! Senior Whites, you absolutely have to add some seat belts!” Song Shuhang called after them.
Senior White gave him a thumbs up, but otherwise, it was impossible to tell whether they had heard him or not.
Song Shuhang sighed and went back to collect Lady Onion and his size-reducing purse.
“I feel like I’m going to experience death again today,” he muttered to himself.
But in the end, he still left the room and hurried to catch up with the two Senior Whites.
◁◁ Chapter 3: Heavens! It’s really that senior!
Chapter 5: Chat Log Only Extra ▷▷
Characters: White Two, Song Shuhang, Lady Onion, Senior White, Nine Provinces Number One Group
Rating: T
A certain mysterious senior joins the chat group. Oh, and so does Lady Onion. Set during some vague time after ~chapter 1592
Chapter 4: Senior Sober Scholar’s OP cultivation technique
At this time, Young Master Phoenix Slayer gathered up his courage and wrote, “Seniors, if I could interject, I have a few questions. Shuhang, didn’t you say the guy who attacked the scholarly faction was the same one corrupting people with Netherworld energy, like Senior Skylark—and that guy is the [beep, beep, beep~]? Senior Beep, are you really that guy’s rival?”
Although the words “ruler of the Netherworld” got censored, everyone knew what those words were supposed to be. It wasn’t that none of them had realized the implications—particularly once Skylark had jumped in—but that Young Master Phoenix Slayer was the first to ask about it more directly.
Song Shuhang quietly consulted with Senior White Two before he answered, “Yeah, Senior [beep, beep~] is...an existence no weaker than that guy.”
This was approaching the limit of what Senior White Two’s censoring technique would allow him to say.
Song Shuhang had also never revealed exactly how strong his mystery senior was before now, letting the rest of the group come to their own conclusions about it. However, this was how Senior White Two had directed him to answer just now.
Senior White Two then added, “How else do you think I could bring you guys in and out of the Demonic Tribulation Realm so casually? To answer your question, little kitty cat, there’s no one in this universe who could be that guy’s rival other than me.”
No one said anything for a long time. Although most of the group had already guessed that his level of strength must be something absurd, it was still quite shocking for him to declare it so openly.
More than a few of them had the brief thought, Is little friend Shuhang’s mystery senior actually some Wielder of the Will?!
However, it wasn’t a thought any of them took seriously. What was indisputable was that he was an expert of the Netherworld. It was unlikely that he would be both.
Eventually, Young Master Phoenix Slayer continued his inquiry: “Then, if you don’t mind me asking, Senior, why would someone as strong as you join our chat group?”
Senior White Two smiled and replied, “Finally, you guys are asking the right questions.”
Young Master Phoenix Slayer: “😳”
Unexpectedly, this senior had been waiting for someone to ask him why the heck he was even here?
Beep beep beep: “First of all, Shuhang reminded me there are a few fellow daoists in this group that I had already been meaning to contact. It’s more convenient to have a way of contacting all of you at once.”
Xuan Nu Sect’s Skylark: “Hehe. 😈😈😈”
Beep beep beep: “However, he also told me about your group’s custom of “equivalent exchange”, and how the seniors will occasionally hand out little tasks and rewards to help out the juniors. I find this very interesting! It turns out the custom of this group suits my tastes very much. In fact, little friend Shuhang and I have had this kind of relationship for a long time...although he still hasn’t managed to tell me a single satisfactory joke as payment for any favors. 😒”
Tyrannical Song: “Haha...”
Beep beep beep: “Therefore, I would like to extend this relationship to all of you. If I need something in the main world that’s inconvenient for me to get, I might ask for it in the group. Of course, I’ll reward you accordingly, as anything I might be interested in won’t be easy to retrieve.”
Beep beep beep: “Likewise, you’re all free to ask me for a favor, but you’ll have to bring me something fun or interesting in return, and it’s better if it’s something of a relatively high level. I also accept jokes as payment, but I’ll be the one to decide how many or if they’re even good enough. I’ll remind you all that the joke Fellow Daoist Yellow Mountain told me back then was only barely a pass, and I was being very generous with my scoring.”
In other words, it might be impossible to come up with payment that would satisfy this senior, but if someone was able to, the favor they could obtain from him would be nothing to scoff at.
True Monarch Northern River: “Senior, could you give an example of something you might find “fun or interesting”? That way, we’ll be less likely to waste your time with something that isn’t good enough.”
Beep beep beep: “That’s reasonable. Let’s put it this way...if it’s something you think would satisfy Fellow Daoist White, there’s a good chance I’ll also be interested in it. Our tastes are very similar.”
Beep beep beep: “Otherwise, you could always ask Shuhang. He’s got a pretty good idea what I’ll be interested in by now.”
“Cannons,” Song Shuhang interjected immediately. “Senior Northern River, if you have some kind of magical cannon, that’s something Senior [beep, beep~] would like. The bigger and more powerful, the better.”
Beep beep beep: “Haha, that’s true, I do collect cannons. However, my collection is very large. It might be difficult to find one that I haven’t seen before.”
Sure enough, this was also something that conformed with Sage Monarch White’s tastes.
Although in Senior White’s case, he liked anything as long as it could explode magnificently~
When the Bright Moon Appears: “Senior, can we make a request right now? I have several rare magical treasures here to use as payment.”
When the Bright Moon Appears: “However, I only want to know if Senior thinks it’s even possible to help me. If it’s impossible, I won’t bother Senior any further.”
At this time, the mysterious scholar made another valiant attempt to make his presence known in the chat.
Unfortunately, Lady Onion posted at the same time, and he was ignored again.
Eighth Cultivator of True Virtue, Lady Onion: “Senior [beep, beep~], do you have any way to get my root free of the enlightenment stone?”
Even Senior White had been unable to pull her root free. However, Senior White Two’s strength was second only to the Wielder of Heaven’s Will, so she believed that if anyone were able to do it, it would be him.
Senior White Two replied, also still in the chat, “Sure, but how are you going to pay for it? Don’t even think about trying to pay me in jokes. I’m not accepting any jokes from you.”
Lady Onion sighed and wrote, “😢 Nevermind, Senior, I’ll stay this way for now.”
To be honest, Lady Onion had already mostly given up on the idea of freeing herself from the enlightenment stone. It was actually pretty beneficial for her to have it with her literally every second of the day, and between Song Shuhang not really needing it anymore and her own lack of desire to leave anyway, it wasn’t the leash it had once been either.
She wasn’t planning on being stuck to it for the rest of her life or anything, but she wasn’t in a hurry to get free of it anymore.
Sitting on the bed between them, Song Shuhang looked up at the sky.
Why do you need to have this conversation in the chat? You’re sitting in the same room. You can just talk to each other.
“Senior, could it be that even someone as strong as you can’t notice me? 😭” said Fellow Daoist When the Bright Moon Appears.
His heart felt thoroughly rent. If even someone strong enough to be the rival of the ruler of the Netherworld Realm couldn’t notice him, then what hope did he have for the future?
But then, finally, Northern River’s Loose Cultivator—who was the only reliable person in the group besides little friend Shuhang—wrote in the chat, “Oh? Scholar, when did you come online? I almost didn’t notice you.”
“I have been here the whole time,” the mysterious scholar answered.
He had the sudden urge to change his nickname to “the Bright Moon is very tired and wants to retire”.
Speaking of...the scholar remembered that he had chosen this nickname specifically to remind his fellow daoists of his dao name. However, why was it ‘Bright Moon’? Shouldn’t he have chosen something like ‘When the Shining Sun Rises’?
Perhaps he really should change it?
“Hm? Who is this little daoist?” Senior White Two murmured. He had also finally noticed Scholar Bright Moon’s presence in the chat.
How strange...although this fellow daoist said he had been there all along, Senior White Two didn’t have much of an impression of him. Curious, he scrolled back through the chat.
Sure enough, this fellow daoist had been there all along!
He had even already tried to directly address Senior White Two before now, right at the beginning. However, Senior White Two didn’t remember seeing either this message or any of the others.
“Interesting!” Senior White Two pointed to the mysterious daoist’s messages on Song Shuhang’s screen and asked, “Shuhang, who is this fellow daoist?”
“’When the Bright Moon Appears’...huh? Is this really one of the seniors in the group?” Song Shuhang frowned down at the chat.
If he was really one of the seniors in the group, then why did Song Shuhang have no impression of him?
That username did sound vaguely familiar, though...
“Oh! I remember now, it’s Scholar Sober Star. No, wait—” Song Shuhang quickly checked his contacts. “—I mean, it’s Scholar Drunken Moone. Right, the pronunciation of his name should be similar to this...although I also left myself a note to call him Drunken Sun for now. Did the scholar forget his own daoist name?”
Although Song Shuhang had left himself this note, he didn’t remember making it nor why he had noted this down in the first place.
However, he could make an informed guess, given what he knew of the scholar’s cultivation technique.
“Scholar Drunken Star? It’s a good name—eh?” Senior White Two blinked and touched his mouth. Even though Song Shuhang had just said this daoist’s name, he already couldn’t remember it clearly?
Song Shuhang looked at him in surprise. “Senior White, even you can’t remember his name properly?”
Senior White (main world version) had said once that he also had trouble remembering the scholar’s name.
Now even Senior White Two was having trouble remembering him? Just how OP was Senior Sober Scholar’s cultivation technique that it could affect Senior White and Senior White Two the same way it affected everyone else?
“Yeah, I can’t seem to remember it too well,” Senior White Two said. He pinched his chin, staring down at the chat in thought. “What is the origin of this fellow daoist, do you know?”
Song Shuhang shook his head. Not only was he impossible to remember, but Senior Drunken Sun’s background was also a mystery to him.
“Then, what do you know about what’s causing this effect?” Senior White Two asked.
“Well, from what I remember, Senior Scholar practices a cultivation technique that has the special effect of reducing his ‘presence’,” Song Shuhang explained. “It’s kind of like the effect of the small black room. You can’t remember his name, you won’t notice he’s there, and if you do notice him, you’ll forget about him again not long after.”
“So it was a cultivation technique...” Senior White Two murmured to himself.
Song Shuhang smiled a little. It looked like Senior White Two's interest had been piqued. Senior Scholar was really going to profit this time...
Eventually, Senior White Two wrote in the group, “Fellow Daoist When the Bright Moon Appears, what is it you want to ask of me?”
“Senior, you did notice me after all. 😭😭😭” The mysterious scholar was very moved. He continued, “Senior, I would like to ask if you know of any way for me to strengthen my ‘presence’. Or, at the very least, some way to make it so others will remember my name?”
He asked Senior White Two the very same thing he had asked the Still Pond of Wisdom back then. The mysterious scholar had not yet given up on there being a solution to his problem.
In fact, he was even more desperate for a solution now, because back then, he had still been at the True Monarch realm and had some chance of others remembering him. Now that he had advanced to the Seventh Stage Realm, his ‘presence’ had all but disappeared.
Senior White Two replied, “Practice diligently, and when you reach the Eighth Stage and show your divinity in front of the masses, no one will be able to forget your name. That effect lasts for a whole year, so don’t waste it!”
In the end, Senior White Two answered in the same way that the Still Pond of Wisdom had back then, too.
The mysterious scholar felt bitter tears well up in his heart.
When the Bright Moon Appears: “😭😭😭 Is there really no hope for me...?”
Beep beep beep: “Haha, I’m just kidding. Shuhang says this ‘lack of presence’ is the result of a cultivation technique, is that right?”
When the Bright Moon Appears: “Yes, that’s right.”
Beep beep beep: “Unfortunately, I don’t have a solution to your problem, because I’ve never heard of a cultivation technique with this kind of effect before. However, I’d be willing to look into it for you.”
For a moment, the mysterious scholar was too shocked to reply. He had been prepared to accept that even this powerful senior couldn’t do anything for him and he really would have to just wait until he became a Profound Sage...but unexpectedly, this senior was actually willing to research it for him?!
“Thank you, Senior!” Scholar Rising Sun exclaimed happily. “I’ll send you a list of those treasures. You can choose as many as you think is fair, and if you don’t like any of them, I still have others you might find suitable.”
“Don’t bother, I’m not interested in your treasures,” Senior White Two said. “What I want is your cultivation technique.”
He was still keeping his eye out for methods he could use to play around in the main world without alerting the current Wielder. His imitations of the Almighty Merchant—no, Virtue’s special sheet were pretty good, but if he could use some sort of technique, it would be even better.
If he could use this special cultivation technique as a base, he might be able to come up with something very interesting~
When the scholar didn’t reply right away, Senior White Two continued, “I’m going to need to have a good understanding of that cultivation technique anyway, if you want me to research a solution to your presence problem. I’m also very interested in this technique that can even influence a special existence like me. How about it? Are you willing to trade me that technique?”
“Yes, I’m willing!” the mysterious scholar finally replied. If it was for the sake of restoring even a little bit of his presence, he was willing to trade almost anything.
“Great! Send me your coordinates. I’ll drop by in a couple days. 👍” said Senior White Two.
Afterward, he navigated around his phone with a bit of a smile and murmured, “Mm-hm, I obtained a pretty good harvest today...”
“Ahaha,” said Song Shuhang.
Half an hour later.
Senior White made his way upstairs to Song Shuhang’s room on the fourth floor.
As he approached the door, he clearly heard Song Shuhang’s voice wail, “Arrrrgh, Senior White! You stole all my vegetables!”
“Hehe.” The Netherworld's White’s voice also carried through the door. “If you want to keep your vegetables, you have to be faster than that~”
“That is so unfair. You’ve only had this stupid game for like ten minutes!”
“You’re just too slow, Shuhang! Okay, you said little friend Northern River is the reigning champion of the group? I’ll go camp his farm next~”
“Senior White, you also have to be careful that the other seniors aren’t camping your farm.”
“Hehe, they wouldn’t dare!”
Senior White lightly knocked on the door and let himself in without waiting for an answer.
The three of them—Song Shuhang, Lady Onion, and the Netherworld’s White—were still gathered together on the bed. At this time, Song Shuhang had fallen backward on the bed and was clutching his phone over his anguished looking face. Netherworld White had a very relaxed expression on his face as he scrolled through his phone with one hand and propped his chin up on the other. Lady Onion’s phone was laid out on the bed and she seemed to be playing some kind of rhythm game. Her whole body swayed back and forth as she smacked the screen with her little onion sprout arms.
“Shuhang, I need to retrieve something from one of my treasure houses,” Senior White said as he stepped inside the room. “Do you want to come along? As long I remembered correctly which treasure house to look in, it shouldn’t take too long.”
“Sure!” Song Shuhang jumped to his feet and tucked his phone away.
However, Lady Onion was still in the middle of her rhythm game and he couldn’t collect the size-reducing purse without interrupting her.
While he waited for her to finish the level, Song Shuhang asked, “Senior White, what kind of thing are we going to retrieve?”
“Hmm, I remembered that some time ago, I happened to find a small item with a faint aura of ‘time’. At the time, I could only store it away, but now I’m interested in trying to research it,” Senior White answered. Then he turned to the second White and said, “Fellow Daoist White Rabbit, you’re also welcome to come along. If you see anything you like, maybe we can make a trade.”
Senior White Two sent Song Shuhang an absolutely scathing glance.
However, even that annoying nickname couldn’t ruin his current mood. Senior White Two thought for a moment, then he tucked his new phone away and got up as well.
“Sure, I’ll come. I feel like I’ve still got a bit more time to play around in the main world today.” Senior White Two stretched his arms above his head as he added, “That reminds me, I still owe you some compensation for those heavenly tribulation nuclear bombs I took away a while ago. Why don’t we make a trip to one of my treasure houses after?”
Senior White smiled and clapped his hands. “Sounds like a plan! In that case, let’s use the Universe-Piercing Flying Shuttle 2.0. I’ve made some improvements to it since last time.”
Senior White Two’s eyes lit up, and he immediately moved to follow Senior White out. The two of them were already chatting happily about the improvements Senior White had made to the shuttle before they had even reached the stairs.
“Seat belts! Senior Whites, you absolutely have to add some seat belts!” Song Shuhang called after them.
Senior White gave him a thumbs up, but otherwise, it was impossible to tell whether they had heard him or not.
Song Shuhang sighed and went back to collect Lady Onion and his size-reducing purse.
“I feel like I’m going to experience death again today,” he muttered to himself.
But in the end, he still left the room and hurried to catch up with the two Senior Whites.
Chapter 5: Chat Log Only Extra ▷▷