Calamity of Tomorrow

Meanwhile, Zhou Bai found himself suddenly grasped by Gu Lan's hand, and hearing what the other person was saying, he figured out the situation at hand.

'Another one who wants to use me to chop people up.' Seeing the excited look on the other's face, Zhou Bai curled his lips and thought of the new ability he'd gained from the Ignorance - Fool star point.

In Zhou Bai's mind, he recalled the detailed description of 'Ignorance - Fool': 'As long as he keeps believing my lies, his wisdom will decrease. The more unbelievable the lies, the more his wisdom will decrease, and the higher his belief, the greater the reduction of his wisdom will be.'

So then, Zhou Bai activated the 'Ignorance - Fool' ability and said directly, "Who are you? Why are you capturing my Nine Realms Flying Sword?"

While speaking, the power of his Primordial Spirit and otherworldly forces suddenly erupted, and the ferocious power almost broke free from Gu Lan's grasp.

Azure Dragon Claw!

Gu Lan was taken aback, his extended right hand transformed, becoming a dragon claw, firmly gripping the flying sword, and just in time, Zhou Bai retracted his power, calming down within the dragon claw.

To Gu Lan's surprise and delight, he looked at the flying sword in front of him: "A sword that operates without a wielder? And there was a voice just now? Could this be the Nine Realms Flying Sword? Does it possess an Artifact Spirit?"

Zhou Bai: "Indeed, I am the Nine Realms Flying Sword. Who are you? Why did you capture me?"

A flicker of joy appeared in Gu Lan's eyes, and he secretly thought: 'I didn't expect such good luck, to find a Nine Realms Flying Sword so soon after entering this secret realm.'

Gu Lan's wisdom -20

Zhou Bai immediately felt the successful activation of Ignorance - Fool, a sense of superiority in wisdom arising in his mind, and it began to fade little by little; he knew that when this feeling of superiority completely disappeared, it would mark the end of Gu Lan's reduced wisdom duration.

'Damn... This skill is so domineering and useful. The duration seems to be about 5 or 6 minutes.'

Gu Lan, with an assertive tone that brooked no opposition, said, "I am a seventh realm cultivator from the Heavenly Court's Plague Department, Gu Lan. I'm here to complete a mission for the Plague Department that concerns the survival of humanity and the safety of the Heavenly Court. Nine Realms Flying Sword, since you are a man-made magical treasure, come and assist me in this mission."

Zhou Bai, mimicking Christina's tone, said, "Sure, since it's for the greater good of the human race, I'll definitely support you."

Gu Lan, who was ready to coerce and suppress with both soft and hard tactics, as well as with the power of Primordial Spirit, was suddenly left speechless at that moment.

He unexpectedly looked at the flying sword in his hands, finding its response surprisingly straightforward and not as rigid and inflexible as he had imagined.

Gu Lan's wisdom -10

Gu Lan's sea of consciousness started to become a bit chaotic, and without realizing, his thinking became slower.

However, such changes in wisdom are almost impossible for the person himself to notice.

Thinking about the sudden appearance of Zhou Bai, Gu Lan asked, "Who is your master? Is he outside? Did he use his Primordial Spirit to control you to fly in here?"

Zhou Bai said, "I have no master. My previous owner has long been dead, and I have been sleeping here in this space for many many years, until I finally encountered you, a living person."

"As for who my previous owner was, people called him the Heart Demon old man."

"Heart Demon old man?" Gu Lan exclaimed in shock: "The number one demonic figure from 500 years ago?"

500 years ago, the Heavenly Demons had not yet emerged, and the battles between humans and demons, and the conflicts between the righteous and the evil had not yet concluded. At that time, the old man known as Heart Demon was infamous across the world, using his Divine Skills of the Water-Tiger Dark Evil to kill countless righteous cultivators.

Gu Lan had also read about these in the secret records of the Heavenly Court.

Zhou Bai: "Correct. If you don't believe me, look. The Heart Demon old man laid an array on me that allows me to summon the Water-Tiger Dark Evil from the void at any given moment."

As the Catastrophe Domain opened...

Gu Lan frowned: "But there's no Water-Tiger Dark Evil here?"

Internally Zhou Bai cursed: "Is this guy an idiot? To have no hostility towards me already? Coming across a Nine Realms Flying Sword in such a strange place, how could you have no hostility? Could it be that his wisdom has decreased too much?"

Gu Lan: "Nine Realms Flying Sword, what's going on? There's no Water-Tiger Dark Evil here."

Zhou Bai: "..."

The next moment, Zhou Bai directly unleashed the power of his swordsmanship. An explosive gravitational force burst forth right above Gu Lan's face.

With a deafening boom, Gu Lan's head tilted backward slightly, and his body became covered in layered dragon scales. His face underwent a transformation, appearing like a dragon head as the attacked Gu Lan glared at Zhou Bai with hostility.

"Nine Realms Flying Sword, why did you attack me?"

But then he saw strands of black mud rising from his feet.

Zhou Bai: "See, this is the Water-Tiger Dark Evil of the Heart Demon old man."

Gu Lan reached out and felt the black mud, finding it black and ugly, slippery and greasy, and it continued to erode his Primordial Spirit power.

Gu Lan was alarmed and finally believed Zhou Bai: "Is this really the Water-Tiger Dark Evil?"

Gu Lan's wisdom -20

Zhou Bai: "Didn't I tell you? This was a special array set by my previous owner, the Heart Demon old man, when he created me. However, it can only summon the Water-Tiger Dark Evil from the void when I attack an opponent."

"I didn't mean to attack you just now; it was necessary to activate the Water-Tiger Dark Evil."

Gu Lan nodded. "So that's how it is."

Gu Lan Wisdom -5

The continuous hits to wisdom had suppressed Gu Lan's thought processes to an unprecedented degree, almost turning everything into a blurry mess in her mind, as if the whole world had also become much simpler.

At this moment, Gu Lan's view of the world seemed even simpler and clearer: black was black, white was white, and there were no longer any kinds of conspiracies or schemes.

Gu Lan looked at the flying sword and directly voiced her ambition and desire, "Execute... Executioner Sword, let me refine you next, to enhance my combat ability and help me complete this mission more effectively."

Zhou Bai said, "Gu Lan, now's not the time to talk about this. Your situation doesn't look good. Haven't you noticed your IQ has dropped?"

Gu Lan: "I... me? My IQ has dropped?"

"Yes," said Zhou Bai. "It must be something strange about this space. If you stay here too long, your IQ will drop. We need to figure out a way to protect your IQ."

Gu Lan: "No... no way, I... I... I feel very clear-headed."

"Look at you, you can't even speak clearly. What clear-headedness are you talking about?" Zhou Bai said. "I think this space is clearly distorted. The distortion spreads from the outside air, you breathe it in, and it affects your brain."

"Don't believe me? See if your eyes are getting blurry? That's the distortion in the air affecting your eyes."

Gu Lan didn't believe it: "My eyes aren't..."

But the next moment, he widened his eyes to see the flying sword turn into a mosaic. He rubbed his eyes vigorously, but it was still a mosaic, and tears kept streaming out. After ten seconds, everything he saw had turned into a mosaic.

"Look, look!" Zhou Bai said. "This is the distortion spreading to your eyes, stimulating your tear glands and making you cry. Your IQ was lowered this way, too."

Gu Lan became panicked and afraid: "I... I... I... you... you..." Finally, she looked at herself in disbelief: "No... no... How could my IQ have dropped?"

"Still don't believe it? Let me tell you, this blurriness is just the beginning. As the distortion intensifies, after your IQ drops, your nerves will also get affected, and you'll start to harm yourself uncontrollably."

Gu Lan denied it: "Self... harm myself?"

Then, Gu Lan suddenly saw a few extra words on the body of the sword and began plucking feathers uncontrollably, stuffing them at the flying sword while doing so.

"You see? You see? You've started pulling out your own feathers, stuffing them on me. You still say you're fine, and your IQ hasn't dropped?" Zhou Bai urged anxiously.

With a mournful expression, Gu Lan stammered, "I... I really do have a problem. Has my IQ really dropped?"

Gu Lan Wisdom -25

Gu Lan looked urgently at the flying sword: "Execute... Executioner Sword, what am I going to do now?!"

Zhou Bai pondered, "At this point, the only thing I can do is expend my own strength to shield you from the distortion in the air." As he spoke, Zhou Bai had already covered the other with the Guihai Black Evil.

"How do you feel now? Doesn't it feel much better once the distortion is blocked?" Zhou Bai asked.

Gu Lan beamed with joy, "My eyes... my eyes aren't blurry anymore. And... and I no longer feel the urge to pluck feathers."

"That's right, because the distortion in the air has been blocked by the Guihai Black Evil, and your body is better again. Your IQ has also returned."

Gu Lan: "Thank... thank you so much, Executioner Sword."

Gu Lan Wisdom -15

Watching Gu Lan, who was being harvested for luck by the Guihai Black Evil while continuously thanking him, Zhou Bai couldn't help but sigh, "Ah, a once overbearing and cunning celestial cultivator has been turned into a kind person with a few words from me, regaining the innocence of his childhood; truly a meritorious deed."

Zhou Bai felt the steady stream of superiority in his heart gradually ebbing away and thought to himself, 'To keep this guy's intelligence low, I have to keep lying to him. But with his intelligence now, he'll believe anything I say.'

Moments later, feeling a sense of superiority dissipating, Zhou Bai said to Gu Lan, "I'm explosively handsome."

Gu Lan Wisdom -10

"Let's go, Gu Lan. I'll help you complete the mission and explore this space," Zhou Bai said.

...

Inside the Heavenly Demon's temporary base, a wolf-headed figure sighed with relief, thinking, 'It looks like the Executioner Sword's power consumption is too great without any replenishment, and it's been easily suppressed by Gu Lan. But I wonder what they were talking about for so long.

Did Gu Lan use her intelligence to fool the Executioner Sword, convincing it to help with her mission?'

Recalling his own communications with the Executioner Sword, and judging by the sword's tendency to be easily persuaded to help, he thought it was very likely.

On the other side, Xu Dela and Gorinich were also communicating over their network.

Xu Dela: "Zhou Bai was just outright suppressed?"

Gorinich: "These cultivators seem unaware that Zhou Bai can perform Primordial Spirit Emergence. But based on our previous encounters with him, Zhou Bai's direct combat ability isn't strong. Without relying on those aberrant abilities, either of us could easily kill him."

Xu Dela: "So he was caught off guard by a 7th Realm cultivator and suppressed directly before he could use his aberrant abilities?"

-------

Thank you to "Ronin Dan" for the generous tip.