"How could you possibly know?"
I stared quietly at Xu Fu, somewhat surprised. Even Emperor God didn’t know that Old Tom had arrived.
"Of course I know. Heh heh."
For a moment, Black Moon came to mind, but then I realized it wasn’t him. Xu Fu and Black Moon hadn’t had any direct contact, and Black Moon seemed afraid of Old Tom. There was no way he’d immediately conspire with Xu Fu.
"The people from the Nether Syndicate are old friends of our Immortality Society. I’ve faced off against that little cat many times. Naturally, his scent is etched deep in my soul. So, the moment you appeared, within seconds, I caught that cat stink."
As Xu Fu spoke, he stepped right up to me, raising a hand. I watched in shock as blue light surged from my body’s surface, and in an instant, the entire space was wrapped in that blue glow.
"Ha! It’s been centuries since we last met, hasn’t it?"
With a swish, I heard the sound of a blade slicing through the air. It was Xu Fu—he drew the Sevenstar Abyss, laughing madly, and darted past me as a shadow. Just as I started to turn, I heard a crisp clang.
As I turned, I saw Xu Fu’s sword striking Old Tom’s brownish cat-headed cane. What I saw next stunned me—the cat on the cane came alive, opened its mouth, and bit down on Xu Fu’s sword.
"I still remember, you little cat—years ago, you betrayed our base to the Underworld. That was you, wasn’t it?"
Old Tom didn’t say a word. He just smiled kindly, gripping his cat-headed cane without moving. Around Xu Fu, a current of energy surged, his sword creaking and glowing with faint blue light.
"It truly is a fine sword. Xu Fu, you’re still alive."
"The blessed always survive, don’t they? Little cat, we treated you with respect back then, but you turned around and bit us instead."
I could feel the air around us starting to distort. The power radiating from Xu Fu grew stronger, the creaking intensified, and the whole space rumbled with vibrations.
I watched quietly from the side. When Xu Fu fought me before, he must have been restrained somehow, and he was quite weak then. But now, Xu Fu was incredibly strong.
"Who knows who’s after my life? Heh. Xu Fu, a man must keep his word. Back then, you broke your promise first, so you can’t blame me. If you only care about your own gain, that won’t work, will it?"
Suddenly, my eyes widened as I saw a faint blue shadow flicker in the air. Xu Fu had already flown out, crashing into the wall with a bang. His sword shot up, and he crouched defensively, arms crossed.
"You’ve grown this strong? All these years I’ve been away from the living world, little cat."
"What was that just now?"
I was stunned. Now, Xu Fu’s entire body was covered in faint blue streaks, crystal clear, like shimmering blue threads.
"Don’t move, Xu Fu. You’ll die."
As Old Tom spoke, there was a crisp clang as he drove the cat-headed cane into the ground.
"You don’t have to tell me, little cat. Heh, so much space has already vanished. Impressive—victory decided in an instant. But if I get back, I might not lose to you."
"Maybe."
Old Tom spoke, while Xu Fu remained motionless. Then Old Tom walked toward me.
"Xu Fu, though I can’t kill you, I can trap you in this world forever."
"You..."
Suddenly, the cat-headed cane behind Old Tom erupted with blue light. Bathed in the glow, Xu Fu’s limbs seemed out of control as he was flung toward the cane.
I saw blue orbs rising—ten in total. Gradually, they transformed into ten large characters above Xu Fu’s head.
"What are you trying to do? Ah..." Xu Fu roared, looking at me.
"Zhang Qingyuan, stop this guy now, if you want to..."
Suddenly, my eyes widened—Xu Fu’s voice vanished completely.
"Quiet. Heh. Qingyuan, don’t listen to his nonsense. Keeping him trapped here is far better than letting him slip back to the living world and making things even more complicated."
Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding, Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin—ten large characters, the Ten Heavenly Stems.
Old Tom spoke, stepping closer to Xu Fu, who was suspended in midair, his hands and feet seemingly bound by something invisible. He whimpered, but couldn’t make a sound.
I watched quietly, but deep down, I hoped Old Tom would stop. After all, the Immortality Society is my greatest enemy—I have to defeat them with my own hands. A faint sense of reluctance stirred inside me.
A sharp meow echoed through the empty space, unnervingly clear. Then, twelve beams of colored light shot up from the ground.
"Gui gestates Jia, called Zi..."
Suddenly, I saw a squeaking mouse appear within the black beam of light.
"Ji gestates Geng, called Chou..."
With a low moo, I looked over and saw that next to the Rat, the Ox had appeared. I swallowed hard.
Old Tom crouched, his hands moving faster and faster as he manipulated the ritual.
"Yi gestates Ding, called Yin. Yi gestates Bing, called Mao. Ji gestates Xin, called Chen. Ding gestates Ji, called Si. Ding gestates Wu, called Wu. Wu gestates Geng, called Wei. Xin gestates Gui, called Shen. Xin gestates Ren, called You. Wu gestates Xin, called Xu. Gui gestates Yi, called Hai..."
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In an instant, the forms of the twelve zodiac animals appeared in their respective beams of light. Faint blue rays wove between them, forming a shape I’d seen before—the red cords Blind Granny once used to change my fate, now forming a huge blue flower. Xu Fu’s face contorted in pain, his mouth open in agony.
Old Tom straightened up, stepping toward the completed formation, smiling as he stared at Xu Fu suspended above the cat-headed cane.
"Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches... Celestial Epoch Formation..."
With a crisp clang, I heard a piercing sound—like metal struck. Instantly, everything in the sky rushed to bind Xu Fu’s body. His eyes widened in terror as he screamed.
"You’ll regret this, Zhang Qingyuan, if you let this guy go..."
There was no more speech. I swallowed, watching as a small, pale blue crystalline cat sculpture—just palm-sized—descended slowly from the air, sitting on the ground with wide eyes, like it was made of crystal.
With a snap, Old Tom caught it in his hand and tossed it to me. I caught it immediately—it really looked just like a crystal cat ornament, heavy, with nothing unusual about it. It was just an object.
"Alright, Qingyuan. For the next few centuries, you can rest easy. To break this formation, you’d have to destroy half of the Twelve Earthly Branches—otherwise, it can’t be undone."
I swallowed hard, hearing a hissing sound—it was Spirit Snake. He transformed into a fierce serpent, emerging from my body in an instant, then took on my appearance. I realized there was a strange power inside Spirit Snake’s body.
"Lord Spirit, it’s been a while."
Old Tom bowed respectfully to Spirit Snake.
"Are you sure this is wise? Sealing him here, your formation forcibly draws on the power of the Twelve Earthly Branches, forming an overwhelming force that traps everything inside. To break free, you’d have to kill half of the twelve Saints, but there’s a catch."
Old Tom nodded helplessly. Then Spirit Snake glanced at me—I knew neither of them would tell me anything.
"Alright, Qingyuan, take this thing to the place where people live below and set it down anywhere you like. Ordinary folks have almost no chance of breaking this formation."
Looking at the crystal ornament in my hand, I couldn’t help but feel a little desolate inside.
"Sigh, Qingyuan, let it go. Maybe this is just your luck. The little cat came here, and for him to use such a powerful sealing formation is no easy feat. Right now, your chances of defeating Xu Fu are basically zero."
I nodded. With a whoosh, Spirit Snake returned to my body. With one hand, I dragged Old Tom—both of them vanished from sight, back into my instinct space.
After a long while, I willed myself onto a street, then walked into an alley, placed the crystal ornament on the ground.
After one last look, I turned and raised my head.
"That’s it. Is this really the right thing to do?"
But just then, a strange laugh echoed in my mind—it was Xu Fu. I clutched my head, staring at the crystal ornament on the ground.
"Xu Fu, is that you?"
But aside from that bizarre laughter, there was no other sound. As I prepared to leave, the strange laugh came again.
"Zhang Qingyuan, heh, I can already sense your failure. Heh, just wait and see. That old man isn’t as harmless as he seems. Is he really kind...?"
"What exactly are you trying to say?"
"Forget it, there’s no point in saying more. Zhang Qingyuan, soon I’ll fall asleep in this formation—maybe I won’t wake up. Heh, I look forward to seeing you in a few centuries, or maybe just a few days. Heh."