Chapter 00073: Formless
# Formless
Chapter 73
Novel: Above Destiny
Chapter 73: Formless
"Wow, he shouts so loudly!"
As the little ox and horse galloped away in a frantic escape, Ji Jue couldn't help but turn back to express his astonishment.
In the back seat, Xiao An nodded in admiration, "His voice is truly impressive."
He sat behind, inspecting the iron pieces he had stored in a secret compartment of the little ox and horse.
To his surprise, it wasn’t just his own iron pieces—Ji Jue’s previously stored gun and ammunition looked as if they had been refreshed.
Faintly, the mark of Shang Shan appeared in the dim light, and all the materials, strength, and properties had undergone enhancements thanks to the embers and the blessing of the Ruins.
Brother Furnace was indeed Brother Furnace.
After just a spin in the furnace, he had casually lent a hand, resulting in these weapons reaching the level of alchemical weapons.
Their stability and durability improved considerably; they were fully replenished!
This basic skill alone surpassed Ji Jue by a hundredfold!
"Ah, what a pity," Xiao An sighed in disappointment.
"If I had known, I would have put the Dark Star in as well."
The Dark Star was the weapon hidden in his sleeve.
Unlike the other iron pieces, it was about twenty centimeters long, half transparent with a murky coloring that obscured its material.
There seemed to be faint blood traces flowing inside, but when Xiao An held it, it lacked the strength and toughness of steel; rather, it felt astonishingly soft.
Ji Jue had never touched it, not because Xiao An was stingy, but because its seemingly ordinary edge could effortlessly cut synthetic steel into pieces.
If Ji Jue were to play with it and accidentally swing it toward his neck, it would be quite a spectacle.
It was said that the An family favored such weapons, which, under the enhancement of projection techniques, could achieve incredible precision and effects.
After all, in these times working at the Desolate Gathering, lacking skills made it difficult to survive.
Moreover, one had to keep others obediently listening.
A certain level of intimidation was a must.
“What’s the pity?” Ji Jue remarked without turning his head as he tapped his own forehead. “Aren't I here? Besides, if I can't handle it, I can always take it as homework and ask the teacher later!”
That’s one good thing about being a student; when faced with challenges in their field, they can always call for their teacher to help solve their problems.
“Right! Then I'll have to trouble you, Ji Jue-ge,” Xiao An said, his eyes lighting up in delight.
The sparkling reflection in the rearview mirror seemed to promise that Ji Jue-ge would definitely get it right.
This, however, made Ji Jue feel a bit pressured.
"Hey, Xiao An... don't you think your expectations of me might be a bit too high?" Ji Jue's face twitched a little.
"You're already a lvl 5 master! I'm just a novice with zero experience; I don’t even have a matrix. I'm really not that awesome!"
“No, you're really awesome, no, extremely awesome!” Xiao An adamantly shook his head and earnestly said, "You’re way stronger than I am.”
"With a single hand, you could probably beat me several times over, right?" Ji Jue forced a smile.
"Being able to fight and kill doesn’t mean you're strong. If winning meant being the strongest, then I wouldn’t ever quarrel with my sister or run away from home."
Xiao An looked up at the wind, staring at the rift before them.
"Sister Wen is amazing, Old Zhang is also amazing, and Painting Sister can be very impressive at times. Ji Jue-ge, you’ve been strong since I met you."
"Why is that?" Ji Jue was almost amused.
"Because you know what you want to do," the boy answered as if it were the most obvious thing.
"When Painting Sister talked to me, I just knew you must be super amazing—knowing what you want to do, what kind of life you want to lead, and then moving forward without hesitation to confront those who try to stop you, even if it might end up with your death. I believe that kind of person is definitely much stronger than I am."
“…”
Ji Jue fell silent, sighing after a long while.
"Is that all there is to it? Doesn’t everyone think about the life they want to lead?"
Xiao An shook his head, "Not me."
"I don’t know what I want to do in the future, nor do I know how to live my best life. But I didn’t want to work with my family, which is why I ran away."
Xiao An sighed, "Originally, both my hands were supposed to be chopped off, too, apart from my left leg, but my aunt intervened for me. If I don’t find what I want by the time I turn eighteen, I’ll just have to go home to work. If I don't do well, and don't return, my hands will really be cut off."
"…But you still have three or four years, right? Just take your time to find it."
Ji Jue fell silent for a moment before suddenly saying, "Don’t worry, I've got your back. Even if you can’t find the life you want by then and still don’t understand, I won't just stand by and watch while they cut off your hands."
“Uh, Sister Wen actually said the same thing,” Xiao An looked at him earnestly. “But Ji Jue-ge, you can’t win against Sister. You’d die.”
“…”
Why is this kid so blunt with his words?
Ji Jue, with an annoyed look, tapped his forehead again.
"Then I'll just make you a pair of prosthetic hands! I've already watched the bionics videos three times these past few days. By the time it happens, it wouldn't interfere with you playing the violin or pipa!"
"Right!" Xiao An's eyes lit up again as he grabbed his sleeve.
"Then I’ll have to trouble you for that, Ji Jue-ge!"
So does that mean you've already given in to the idea of having your hands chopped off?!
Your family is quite strange, little bro!
Ji Jue felt a surge of frustration he couldn't express, but just as he found a safe place and prepared to stop, he suddenly felt Xiao An’s hand press against his shoulder.
“Be careful.”
He said, “Something is watching us.”
Ji Jue froze for a moment and followed his gesture.
In the distance, in the half-collapsed apartment building, behind a shattered wall panel, a shadow flitted by, peeking cautiously.
Through the zoom of the binoculars, the figure’s face became so clear.
It looked like a middle-aged man, scruffy, dressed in rags, akin to a homeless person.
Yet his face was distorted; on the right side, several eyes were scattered chaotically, blinking.
His arms had also grown two extra sections, long and dragging along the ground.
Cautiously peeking over.
Feeling the vigilant gaze from the two, he panicked and turned to flee.
"Wait—"
Xiao An’s hand lifted to aim, but Ji Jue pressed it down.
They let the figure run far away until it vanished from sight.
Xiao An retracted his hand, looking at him in confusion.
"Ji Jue-ge, that wasn't a human."
"I know."
Ji Jue recalled the man’s eyes, filled with lingering vigilance and fear, and somehow he remembered Brother Furnace's final words: "If there is still a chance... please show us mercy once more."
At the time, Ji Jue was baffled and had no time to ask for clarity.
Now it seemed this was the meaning?
Would Brother Furnace, after being endowed with a soul, feel compassion and pain for the plight of these puppets?
“Forget it.”
He shook his head and twisted the throttle.
"Anyway, it poses no threat to us. Let’s just leave it be. Let’s find a new campsite."
The little ox and horse vanished once more into the gradually collapsing and crumbling city.
Disappearing out of sight.
.
Meanwhile, in another underground space, only mutilated puppet remains lingered in the darkness.
The monsters entrenched here after the mutations were thoroughly cleared without mercy.
In this vast indoor space, besides the small house in the corner and a pot gradually boiling on the stove, there was no other activity.
Several figures sat motionless on chairs, their eyes hollow.
Regardless of age or gender, other than their breathing, there was no trace of vitality left.
Until the sound of footsteps drew near, and someone pushed the door open, carrying a huge bundle, a cheerful smile on their face.
The nine individuals immediately stood up and rushed forward to help him unload the package, sorting through the tools, crops, and even prisoners inside the bundle…
During this process, the smirk on the newcomer’s face evaporated.
What remained was a hollow calm.
"Just a bunch of poor folk."
The ten individuals bent down to survey the loot on the ground, uniformly shaking their heads, their voices overlapping in a bizarre tremor.
And among the items they brought back, the most notable was a living person wrapped in eerie bandages, unable to struggle.
All dissipated spiritual energy was sealed within.
And when the bandages were unwrapped, a pale face filled with terror was revealed.
“W-wait, please…”
Before the words were finished, the ten individuals surrounding him took a deep breath.
In that instant, the shrill screams were cut off.
A crimson aura rose from the person on the ground, flowing into their mouths, absorbing life, spiritual essence, and even the soul itself.
Gluttonously devoured in a lavish feast.
And on the ground, the person who had been struggling suddenly withered, turning into a pile of bones.
They were already finished.
And a similar crimson glimmer emerged from the eyes of those ten, rising and converging, faintly revealing a blurry figure in the void.
Like a flayed corpse.
The solidified soul was enveloped in crimson, and one could vaguely make out every fragment of a face writhing upon each strand of crimson, composed of pieces of the spiritual essence and souls of countless individuals.
And in an instant, those ten collapsed as if shattered, falling to the ground.
Only the figure in mid-air examined its limbs, silently sighing.
"They're all just a bunch of regular folks, of no significant use."
The being known as the Invisible Dragon Feast Shepherd sighed softly, sensing the gap in souls, his expression one of regret.
"Only a small half came in; this place indeed holds mysteries."
He had originally planned thoroughly, intending to split his soul and conceal it across twenty or so individuals.
Yet unexpectedly, upon the moment the rift opened, less than half managed to enter.
However, as a Chosen One who had already reached the rebirth stage, he indeed bypassed the restrictions of the rift by splitting his soul, entering this world!
Now that he had come in, he could seek opportunities for recovery.
For others among the Chosen, having half of their soul missing could be a deadly injury.
But for one who had delved into the Heart of Transformation and Evolution for many years as an Invisible, this was completely manageable.
(End of chapter)