This was obviously a Murim-wide conspiracy that the seer wanted no part of. However, the demon, on the other hand, grew and grew and grew as large as a tree.
Poison would no longer work, and neither would guns and grenades. And it would be impossible to take out this 2-story-tall moving tree.
His skin grew as tough as iron and turned rock-brown. Except for a humanoid shape, the thing had lost all its human-like features. Not just the physical ones, but it had also lost its mind and senses. It was berserk around the encampment. Maddened, it threw its fists and legs around.
Cao Tang was in no condition to fight. He had made a pretty sizable little crater in the ground where he lay. And the other two of the party members came to and got ready to make a last-ditch effort to destroy the thing.
Just as things were looking horrible for them, the sky started filling up with martial kings and martial masters. Hundreds came to defeat this 'evil and demonic' creature that had emerged out of nowhere and was threatening the 'entire' Murim.
"Ah, people are here. We will be safe now," Li Hua said, exhaling all her stress.
"What? No," the seer said with an expression that said, "Are you stupid?" "Here is what goes down. One guy goes, 'Ah, the Cloud Sect.' And the other guy will be like, 'Ah, the Golden 9 Hawari Sect. We can't let them have all the glory. We must hunt the creature first.' And then there will be another guy who would be like, 'Ah, I will let them do all the work and then reap the benefits.' Basically, in short, what I am trying to say is a lot and lots of infighting. We should save ourselves and not rely on them."
What the seer said was true. It didn't take a genius or seer to predict something like this. At least not normally. But this was Murim and its inhabitants were stupid and lacked any and all forms of wisdom and critical thinking capacity.
[A few moments later]
"Hohohohoho, I hope that Cloud Sect elder will stand back and let us hunt this foul creature in the name of justice," said the Golden 9 Hawari Sect elder.
"Hohohohohoh, surely you jest. This territory comes under the Cloud Sect, and therefore, we shall hunt this creature as it is our duty and responsibility," said the Cloud Sect elder.
And so the two old men bickered.
It wasn't just two sects; it was a hundred sects that had rushed into the scene, all arguing among themselves.
"Shut it, you just want the glory. The people are what's important," one man shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Yes, that is correct. Please proceed to slay the beast," some guy said, and the man had cold feet.
Soon enough, the verbal conflict escalated and turned into an actual conflict between the sects. It was now a battle royal.
"You Iron Lung Sect motherfuckers, courting death. How dare you to disrespect our Heaven Asura Sect? I will kill you all." It was no longer possible to discern which dialogues belonged to whom.
"Ah, junior brother, your sect is not worthy of your loyalty. Why don't you come to join our Sky Phoenix Sect? All your senior sisters, including me, will love to have you." No one needed to check whether the guy took her offer or not because he obviously did, like absolutely anyone else.
Soon enough, everybody was fighting everybody except for the creature itself. And the seer's predictions were once again true.
This very fundamental circumstance was a foreign concept to Liu and Li Hua. To a layman, it was an obvious scenario. But it was a phenomenon that the people of Murim would not think twice about unless it was pointed out to them.
And of course, the seer was the only one who could ever point out the sheer severity of this very mundane everyday occurrence that happens Murim-wide.
It is like realizing that every single person has kicked a pregnant woman. Infants kicking their mom are such mundane occurrences but devastating when pointed out.
The seer and his party were able to just up and leave the vicinity of the monster, thanks to all the tiny insects that were buzzing around and drawing its aggro. The seer's party was, in the end, lucky, and they were indeed safe, although for very different reasons.
The party headed back towards the city.
While Cao Tang was completely accustomed to the seer and his tactics and his occasionally shared disturbing facts and predictions, Liu still had trouble accepting things.
"Is this how it is? Do people's lives not matter? Since when has it been like this... It's always been like this! Am I blind? How did I not notice this before? You don't need special abilities to know. It's like when you go shopping for some snack you like. The price is always the same. It has always been the same. No surprise if you pay in advance without asking for the price. You already know what it is." Liu blabbered on like a madman.
Liu was having a complete breakdown. Within the past few days, not only had he compromised his engagement, but he had also almost killed innocents, and his two other partners were madmen who, in fact, went around committing carnage.
On top of all that, the seer was constantly causing him to rethink everything he had learned throughout his entire life: his morals, his martial arts, his basic concept of how the world is... everything... was coming apart in his mind.
This was not a big surprise to the seer, who had seen shit like this happen all the time. What did surprise him, though, was when Liu said, "How am I alive... I... should be dead?" It was just a statement he spoke during his constant blabbering as he contemplated everything and was losing his sanity on his knees.
His girlfriend was making constant attempts to pull him out of his head, constantly attempting to soothe and comfort him, while the seer stood there shocked and horrified. With his eyes wide open and sweat rolling.
That statement had more depth than it seemed, and the seer seemed to have recognized it.
This was something he didn't predict. He could never possibly predict it. It was extremely shocking to him. All his time in Murim had been predictable. Very little surprised him. Neon was both afraid and excited by the monstrosity he had very unintentionally birthed. It was to him like seeing an AI attaining self-awareness right before his very eyes.
Liu was not just breaking down. He was reconstructing himself, making himself anew. The pressure on Liu's mind was too great to keep him conscious.
While one fell, the other just stood still. The only movement that followed this moment was the seer picking him up and laying him down beside Cao Tang. The caravan pulled ahead while not one but two lay inside one of the carriages. Two cacoons that were yet to hatch.Two that were amidst metamorphosis.