I Am Loaded with Passive Skills - Chapter 3408: 1693: The Heavenly Sky reaches far, mistaken silhouettes of the daughter, swallows and orioles among the flowers inquire of the qin servant

Chapter 3408: Chapter 1693: The Heavenly Sky reaches far, mistaken silhouettes of the daughter, swallows and orioles among the flowers inquire of the qin servant

Cold Palace Emperor Realm, Desolate Mountain.

The Desolate Mountain lives up to its name—bereft of vegetation, utterly barren.

As far as the eye can see, there are only jagged rocks and craggy sand. The entire mountain range is engulfed in relentless, swirling dust storms, making one wonder if an entire civilization has hidden itself within.

In the deepest and most forbidden part of the Desolate Mountain, Yue Gongli was desperately attempting to reconstruct his physique.

But no matter how he exhausted all the Holy Medicine Ah Si had given him, his efforts to condense a new body ended in failure.

“This is bad—really bad!”

Yue Gongli was on the verge of collapse.

This was his 368th attempt at rebuilding his body, and it had failed.

Even the medicine that Ah Si had so thoughtfully prepared for him had run out back on his 18th failure—Ah Si had been considerate enough to anticipate that he might fail up to 17 times!

How absurd was that?

Yet reality only ever proves to be more absurd.

Could it be that his innate talent was truly lacking? Or perhaps the heavens themselves had destined his demise, refusing to let him reconstruct his body in this Broken Land?

“Elder Dao the Flamboyant, this must be your handiwork, right?!”

Yue Gongli howled at the sky, filled with a boundless desire to return to the Shengshen Continent and tear that wretched troublemaker into pieces.

He had suspected it as early as their time in the Divine Relics, when Dao Qiongcang had “helpfully” offered to help him reconstruct his body. Yue Gongli was certain the man had left behind some sort of backup plan.

And sure enough, upon his return to the Shengshen Continent, Yue Gongli didn’t even dare remain in the Central Region for long, instead fleeing directly back to the Cold Palace Emperor Realm to save his own skin.

He had even gone to the trouble of selecting this Broken Land—the Desolate Mountain!

No matter how unpredictable Dao Qiongcang was, surely even he wouldn’t be able to bypass the entanglement of this place’s chaotic, decayed laws to continue interfering with Yue Gongli’s self-detonation and reconstruction.

Self-detonation was pure and simple, the process remarkably smooth.

For that fleeting moment of release, Yue Gongli’s soul ascended heavenward. It hurt like the deepest agony conceivable, but it was also an unparalleled kind of euphoria.

“This was my first self-detonation—and it will also be my last.”

“The body and skin are gifts from one’s parents, and forsaking them brings nothing but shame.”

“And you, Dao Qiongcang, just you wait—I’ll make sure you pay dearly for this!”

At the time, Yue Gongli had been so full of confidence, gripping tightly to the determination to start anew from the ground up.

But while self-detonation was easy, the following process of reconstructing his body was fraught with obstacles at every turn.

Sometimes it was an issue with the intricate details of the reconstruction process itself that led to failure; other times, the bodies he managed to create turned out unsatisfactory—flawed in significant ways, forcing him to start over once more…

“This is the second time, and it’ll also be the last of the two.”

“This is the third time. As the saying goes, ‘third time’s the charm.’”

“This is the ninth time. Nine is the ultimate number—it can’t possibly fail again, right?”

“Two-hundred-and-fifty attempts… surely it can’t still…?”

Boom!

Yue Gongli exploded again and again, subjected himself to pain over and over.

The first time had been exhilarating; every subsequent failure and explosion only brought unrelenting torment.

He just couldn’t figure it out!

Even if Dao Qiongcang had left behind some sort of contingency, could it really extend its reach across the Desolate Mountain to interfere with him? Why bother doing so now of all times?

How boring is that!

If you’re going to pull that card, wouldn’t it be better saved for some truly critical moment in the future?

Why use it now—just for fun?

By the time Yue Gongli had failed for the 399th time, he had essentially wrung himself dry. Even his soul body had become pitifully weak and frail.

No longer able to suppress the madness in his heart, Yue Gongli’s soul sound erupted in every direction, but it couldn’t escape the confines of the Desolate Mountain:

“Dao Qiongcang, I will kill you!”

…

“Has Young Master Li not finished yet?”

Outside the Desolate Mountain, just beyond the boundary Yue Gongli had drawn before entering Death Seclusion—a line he had explicitly instructed everyone not to cross—more than a dozen people had gathered.

Aside from an old man in his twilight years at the center, most present were maids from the Tingyu Pavilion.

When the news had spread that Young Master Li had finally had enough and gone off to self-detonate, everyone rejoiced at the rare opportunity for a break. Regardless of how insane the content of the message might be, the fact itself was seen as good news.

But even when called back from their supposed downtime, no matter how disgruntled they felt inside, the maids did their best to outwardly display concern and worry.

“Please don’t worry, Elder Hui. Since Young Master Li had the confidence to self-detonate and even went as far as to draw this boundary to keep us away, it surely means he’s… um… confidently prepared!” one maid replied.

“Mm, Young Master Li is always measured in his actions. We need not worry too much.” Another maid stifled a yawn but still managed to make light of the situation, “Honestly, though, this would all be easier to take if we could just go back to sleep.”

“Young Master Li sealed himself away in Death Seclusion; self-detonation is certainly no small affair… Perhaps this is all a calculated strategy. Perhaps he’s deliberately waiting for someone with ill intentions to trespass, just so he can catch them red-handed—he is rather suspicious by nature—uh, I mean, resourceful!”

“Yes, yes, Young Master Li is brilliant as always!”

Chirping like sparrows, laughing like swallows—so noisy!

Besides, with Young Master Li not even present here, who exactly are you trying to flatter? Aren’t you addressing me right now?

The elderly man called Elder Hui—Yue Gonghui—listened to the incessant chatter around him and felt like the noise was about to inflate his head until it burst.

Such commotion!

How could Yue Gongli possibly tolerate this?

There had long been rumors within the Cold Palace Emperor Realm that the maids of the Tingyu Pavilion were each as beautiful as celestial beings yet sorely lacking in patience.

He had seen their beauty, indeed.

But their lack of patience? That, too, he had experienced firsthand today.

I, an esteemed Hall Order of the Guardian Spirit Hall, personally came here to consult with Young Master Li—surely this indicated the presence of something significant.

And you’re telling me… he’s idly passing the time by self-detonating over some trivial scheme?

Who in the Cold Palace Emperor Realm dares harbor malicious intent?

Even if someone did, they wouldn’t be so foolish as to cross that line and court death!

—Even without a physical body, Young Master Li’s strength is far beyond anything an ordinary demi-saint could dream of contending with!

Suppressing his own frustration, Yue Gonghui said, “I’m not concerned about Young Master Li’s safety. I just want to know—how much longer will this take?”

“That, we can’t say.”

“Last time, when Young Master Li said he was going to Shengshen Continent to have some ‘fun,’ we all assumed he was sneaking off as usual. Not one of us knew he had gone at the Hallmaster Dao’s invitation to serve as the Red Coat Ruler of Dao.”

“Exactly, exactly—he never tells us anything! He doesn’t even take us along when he’s having fun. Elder Hui, whatever urgent matter brought you here, you might as well hold it in. There’s no point telling us.”

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