The All-Seeing Eye

In the dance classroom filled with plaster casts and flesh, Hei Jing stared blankly at the large, five-colored parrot prostrating itself on the ground: What... what is going on?

She did not immediately respond to the five-colored parrot's request.

"Your name is Da Luo?"

The five-colored parrot stood tall, puffing out its chest. "Yes, my name is Da Luo!"

Hei Jing: "Were there two people who came in here just now?"

Da Luo: "Reporting to Your Majesty, first one human came in, then two more humans, a total of three humans."

Hei Jing: "What did they come here for? Tell me everything you know."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Da Luo lived up to its name, its voice loud and resonant, its small mouth particularly eloquent. In a flash, it recounted everything it knew like pouring beans.

Just as Hei Jing had anticipated, the three people were all cultists of the Joyful Cult. Because the Joyful God idol had a green snake tail, and the doctrine stated that the god liked to bring vitality and life to the earth in spring, the Joyful God cultists highly respected the color green. And a large portion of their members also used snake names as titles. For example, the three people who came today, the female's title 'Lu Man Ba' was a type of snake name.

Their purpose in coming here was for Da Luo. They intended to make Da Luo submit to the Joyful Cult and work for them, but Da Luo would rather die than comply, so it was imprisoned here.

And the idol in the shrine was not merely a simple wooden carving, but possessed the ability to bewitch. They placed the idol opposite Da Luo, partly to suppress it, and partly to attempt to manipulate the god by bewitching and polluting Da Luo's spirit.

Hei Jing interrupted Da Luo. "Can Joyful Cult cultists use idols to manipulate bizarre tales?"

She had indeed never heard of this from the Investigation Bureau. Recalling the idol in the bizarre tale factory, she believed this statement by three parts. Did the Investigation Bureau know about this? Or did the Investigation Bureau know, but she was not yet qualified to access those confidential documents?

"Yes, the people of the Joyful Cult are all unscrupulous, especially fond of using this method to achieve their goals." Da Luo's crest feathers stood on end as it spoke angrily about the scattered plaster casts on the ground.

"This stupid one was so easily bewitched. It couldn't even distinguish friend from foe, helping humans deal with me. The Joyful Cult used it to both guard me and prevent humans from discovering this place."

"The Joyful Cult is purely wishful thinking. I am not this stupid one. I am a noble bizarre tale; how could I befriend humans? Let alone submit to a carved wooden idol, humbly serving humans. This is truly an insult to my avian dignity!"

"But these humans are truly too despicable. They imprisoned me here, separating reality from the dream realm. I was suppressed by this idol, all my power used to resist the idol's bewitchment and pollution. I had no strength to escape at all. I didn't even dare to commit suicide, fearing that in the moment of near-death unconsciousness, I would be polluted."

"Not only that, the most infuriating thing is that they have to come find me once a month, threatening and coaxing me to agree with them. As long as I refuse, that Chameleon tortures me."

"Three months! Your Majesty, do you know what I've been through these three months? Those beasts... especially that Chameleon, he... he's truly not human!"

Da Luo spoke with such emotion that it couldn't help but raise a wing, attempting to wipe away tears.

"He has the ability to absorb power. Every time, he takes the opportunity to take a long, deep suck from me, draining me until I'm dizzy and lightheaded, truly more hateful than mosquitoes! I'm trapped here, already without a chance to replenish energy, and he still drains my power. Although these three times haven't fundamentally harmed me, if this continues, I will certainly grow weaker and weaker."

"I can't escape, and I can't die. I don't even have anyone to chat with. I occasionally sing a few painful songs to express my longing for freedom, and this stupid plaster statue looks at me like it's eaten shit!"

"But now it's good, Your Majesty has arrived, all my hardships are over. Your Majesty, indeed, heaven never bars the way for a bird. This old servant has finally waited for you! I, Da Luo, swear that from now on, I will be loyal and devoted, willing to be loyal to Your Majesty. Long live, long live, long long live Your Majesty!"

Da Luo pressed close to the golden silk birdcage, its eyes misty with tears, looking pitifully at Hei Jing.

"So... Your Majesty, can you please take pity and move that idol away, releasing me?"

Hei Jing, Your Majesty, Ye Yu: ...

Hei Jing said impatiently: "Alright, no more nonsense, I'm not patient enough to listen. If you want to pledge allegiance to me, then first honestly introduce yourself clearly. What is so special about you that the Joyful Cult would spend so much effort on you?"

Although Hei Jing was unclear how much manpower the Joyful Cult had used when planning the Jin Yang Xiehe Hospital incident, on the surface, there was only one Grade Five Dai Xiao.

But this parrot just said that when they captured the god, the Joyful Cult mobilized many people to besiege it. The three people who just left, apart from a Grade Three minion, the other two, 'Lu Man Ba' and 'Chameleon', were both Grade Six experts. Not only that, besides being suppressed by the idol, there was also a Grade Six bizarre tale guarding the door. This standard was simply higher than Director Cui's treatment.

Considering that Hei Jing didn't have much combat experience, Director Cui had become a benchmark in her mind, to be used whenever needed. Thinking that Director Cui would be very touched to know that Hei Jing still remembered him so fondly after his death.

"Good, Your Majesty." Da Luo puffed out its fluffy chest, striving to show its best side.

"My name is Da Luo. In human classification, I am a Grade Six mobile bizarre tale. This year, I just turned six years old. My favorite foods are walnuts and chestnuts, and my most hated food is worms. My favorite colors are the five colors of feathers on my body. Most..."

Seeing Hei Jing's eyes dangerously narrow, Da Luo immediately shrank its neck and quickly changed the subject: "Actually, I was originally Grade Seven, but the Joyful Cult dug out more than half of my core item, and my strength severely regressed. Currently, I am only Grade Six. But even so, my ability is still very useful."

"I named my ability the All-Seeing Eye. I can penetrate the collective subconscious sea of all things, thereby peeking into the secrets of all things. But because my ability is limited, when facing an existence stronger than me, I can only see a few fragmented consciousness imprints."

"And when you pushed the door and entered, I saw the consciousness imprints on you... Hei Jing, Lan Ni, Mr. System, high-grade bizarre tale, King of Bizarre Tales, master of the Silent Council. And the Symbiote of All Things."

Da Luo looked at Hei Jing with reverence, then respectfully bowed its head. "Please forgive me, I did not intentionally peek into Your Majesty's secrets."

Fear Value +250
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......

Hei Jing's body slightly paused, her dark eyes widening slightly. "What else did you see? Tell me everything you saw."

Da Luo continued somewhat timidly: "Ye Yu, eighteen years old, Grade Six superhuman, Grade One investigator, new student in the first year of the education department at Jin Yang University..."

Da Luo rattled off several imprints at once, making Ye Yu tremble. Only now did she realize that when she faced this bird, her tightly covered cloak had been stripped bare!

And she finally understood why the Joyful Cult had gone to such great lengths to subdue this bird. Its ability—the All-Seeing Eye... was truly terrifying!

Hei Jing: "You call me King? Do you think I am the King of Bizarre Tales?"

"This is not what I feel, but what I saw." Da Luo said respectfully: "I have met many powerful peers, and I have also observed the domains of Grade Nine bizarre tales from afar. Although they were very strong, I, at Grade Seven, could still see some of their imprints. I have never seen imprints on them similar to Your Majesty's."

"Consciousness imprints are not only Your Majesty's self-affirmation of your identity, but also the recognition of the subconscious of all beings in the world for Your Majesty in some aspect. On Your Majesty, there are consciousness imprints related to the King, extremely clear, which proves that many people wholeheartedly recognize Your Majesty's qualification to be King!"

Ye Yu: ... Your "many people" wouldn't be Hu Kai Liang, Zhao Yan Chun, and those she tricked into becoming crippled, would they?

Hei Jing showed an interested look: "Tell me more specifically about your ability."

Da Luo hadn't yet noticed the danger. As soon as it heard Hei Jing's attitude soften, it immediately excitedly recounted its situation.

Because all its skill points were invested in the All-Seeing Eye ability, Da Luo's attack and defense power were both very low. At Grade Seven, it could still defeat some Grade Sixes, but at Grade Six, it could only be defeated by other Grade Six bizarre tales and superhumans.

Fortunately, the god could traverse between the consciousness sea of all things and reality, which greatly increased its survival rate. If it couldn't win, it would flee. It also hid some of its core items in the consciousness sea. If its true form died in reality, it could then use these core items to resurrect in the consciousness sea.

Theoretically, if no one found and destroyed the core items it hid in the consciousness sea, then Da Luo could live forever. This was also why it faced Chameleon in such a way, preferring death to submission, because it fundamentally wasn't afraid of death.

But this didn't mean it was powerful in the consciousness sea of all things. In fact, the consciousness sea was an endlessly surging, unfathomably deep, mysterious realm, a terrifying and bizarre collective consciousness of all things. It was extremely, extremely, extremely dangerous!

Whether Da Luo was Grade Six or Grade Seven, when it traversed within, it was like a small boat... No, it should be said, a leaf floating on the water. When the wind and waves were calm, it could still catch its breath. Once the consciousness sea stirred even a ripple, it could be swept into the abyss of the consciousness sea!

Hei Jing: "Is there anything scary in the abyss of the consciousness sea?"

Da Luo's beady eyes showed deep fear. "There are many things, I know, I don't know, I can't explain... But the most terrifying is only one kind: it is not any physical entity. It is the deepest fear that all beings have continuously accumulated over the long flow of time since the world was born, a fear of all things, of the unknown darkness..."

"Even Grade Nine bizarre tales or Grade Nine human powerhouses cannot withstand that dense fear condensed over endless years. So, once we fall into the deep layers, whether it's our physical body or consciousness body, we will directly dissolve, turning into bubbles of fear."

"If we're lucky, the bubbles will one day float up, and the bubbles will burst in the outer layer of the consciousness sea. The consciousness sea regions of the unlucky ones nearby will be polluted by it, and in their dreams, they will once again recall those ancient fears."

"If we're unlucky, then the bubbles will forever drift in the deep layers of the consciousness sea, becoming a part of the fear condensed at the bottom of the deep sea. In human terms, it's probably soul dispersion, never to be reborn."

Da Luo thought of that possibility and couldn't help but shiver. It couldn't imagine what terrifying extent the fear accumulated by all beings since the world's birth had reached.

It also didn't dare to think how terrifying and painful it would be when billions of years of accumulated fear suddenly shattered its brain, when its entire consciousness body vanished. It only knew that it absolutely, absolutely, absolutely did not want to experience this kind of torment!

"Consciousness sea..." Hei Jing's expression also became serious. She suddenly spoke of a nightmare she had experienced not long ago.

Hearing Hei Jing's description, Da Luo immediately confirmed that the sea in Hei Jing's dream was the collective consciousness sea of all beings. The consciousness sea was not the real world; there was no sunrise or sunset, no changing seasons.

It was eternally a night sky with two golden full moons, and a corner of the horizon bathed in a brilliant sunset glow, as beautiful as its five-colored feathers. Da Luo had once met a Grade Nine bizarre tale in the consciousness sea, and heard her say that there were also four giant pillars supporting the sky at the four corners of the horizon. But the consciousness sea was too vast and turbulent; Da Luo had never reached the other boundaries and couldn't confirm whether these four giant pillars existed.

Speaking of this, it secretly glanced at Hei Jing, then somewhat guiltily admitted that the nightmare Hei Jing had experienced was probably related to it. In the first few days it was imprisoned here, it had risked being polluted by the idol to force itself to sleep, forcefully pushing out a trace of power that, following its dream realm, infiltrated the middle layer of the consciousness sea, polluting the consciousness sea region of the human closest to it.

This trace of power would not cause any harm to humans; it would only cause them to have nightmares, and through the dream realm, continue to pollute the consciousness sea regions of nearby humans, causing more people to have nightmares. At the same time, if the person who had the nightmare told others about it, it would also plant a seed in the consciousness of others, and sprout in their sleep.

This kind of thing didn't have much lethality, but the danger was very high. The middle layer was too close to the deep layer. In that sea area, bubbles could often be seen continuously rising. And countless murmurs and whispers would crowd into one's mind. If one was slightly inattentive, their consciousness would be twisted and polluted, a sense of being obscured. Staying there for too long, one would become drowsy and, unknowingly, could sink into the deep layer.

Therefore, Da Luo usually only operated in the outer layer of the consciousness sea. This time, it was trapped and had no other choice, so it took a desperate risk. It was only a pity that it miscalculated one thing: its 'ghost story' had been released for a month, but before it spread widely, the students went on a two-month summer vacation.

A bunch of students, like wild horses unbridled, happily roamed the world. Even if they had nightmares, no matter how strong their curiosity, they had no time to explore the Art Building. After all, what good person would go back to school during summer vacation for no reason? Even if students were bored enough to dig for manure at the village entrance, they wouldn't want to go back to school!

Due to the miscalculation of time, Da Luo's plan died prematurely for two months. Fortunately, school started in September, and fortunately, the person who came was Hei Jing.

Otherwise, if an ordinary student was truly led here by a nightmare, they might not necessarily be able to save this bird, and instead, it was very likely they would die at the hands of those plaster statues.

Hei Jing felt that this bird's words were probably not lies. In that case, she had probably fallen into the middle layer of the consciousness sea earlier. Those whispers all came from the subconscious of all beings.

Fortunately, Qiao Huan Xi's single shout had woken her. Otherwise, she feared she might never have woken up. Recalling the situation in her dream and Da Luo's obvious fear of the deep layer of the consciousness sea, Hei Jing felt a chill in her heart.

At the same time, she fell into new contemplation. This All-Seeing Eye ability was truly too cheating. This parrot had stripped away all her secrets with just one glance. She absolutely couldn't let it go.

But this bird seemed to have an immortal attribute. If she killed it, although she could gain this All-Seeing Eye ability, she would certainly make an enemy of it. Not to mention anything else, once it resurrected in the consciousness sea, what if it loudly exposed her secrets to the entire world in the real world?

By then, if the Lie Jin Syndicate discovered that she had no one behind her, the Investigation Bureau felt that she, claiming to be the King of Bizarre Tales, harbored ulterior motives, and the Joyful Cult, which already had a grudge against her for her repeated disruptions, might also take advantage of the chaos to break free from her control. At that point, several factions would besiege her alone. Would she even survive then?

So, she couldn't release it, nor could she kill it... Hei Jing looked up at the five-colored parrot in the golden silk birdcage.

"If you've seen the 'Symbiote of All Things' imprint on me... If you truly want to pledge allegiance to me, then I can give you an opportunity. I just don't know if you're willing."

"I am willing! I am willing to become a symbiotic member of Your Majesty! I am willing to become a part of you, to become your outer eyes and outer ears! To become your extended arms and legs!"

Da Luo rattled off a long speech. Although it felt good to speak its mind, its mouth was also tired. At this moment, seeing the majestic and cold queen finally relent, it excitedly puffed out its chest again, solemnly promising.

"I hereby promise, in wealth or in poverty, in sickness or in health, I am willing to revere Your Majesty my entire life. My love for you... Ah, no, my loyalty to you will never fade until death!"

Hei Jing: Your words are beautiful, but... which wedding ceremony did you copy that vow from?

Hei Jing: "Speak, how do I release you? Smash this idol?"

Da Luo immediately interjected: "No, no, this idol is not an ordinary carved wooden statue; it cannot be casually smashed. Your Majesty only needs to use this cloth to cover its eyes or the entire idol."

Hei Jing took out the red velvet cloth from the birdcage and walked towards the shrine on the high table. On the shrine sat the wooden idol, surrounded by incense smoke.

From afar, the idol resembled a man and woman in passionate embrace. However, the two pairs of eyes on their heads were slightly lowered, lost in passion. From up close, the snake tails below the idol coiled upwards, the upper half of their bodies elongated into twin heads, four arms, and four breasts, with one male and one female head. The entire carving showed no signs of拼接, it was a single block. The hard wood had a sheen, looking very precious.

If someone knowledgeable in wood materials were here, they would recognize that this idol was carved from a single block of precious red wood. But Hei Jing did not understand wood materials.

So, at first glance, she only felt that this idol had a promiscuous and bizarre appearance, but after looking at it for a long time, she felt that its demeanor became increasingly dignified. Those lowered eyes, lost in passion, also seemed to gain a hint of compassion for all beings. The sweet scent of incense smoke seemed to grow heavier.

"Your Majesty." Just as Hei Jing focused her gaze, Da Luo's voice suddenly woke her.

"Although Your Majesty does not have the twin-snake coiled imprint on you, the idol's pollution towards you is very low, but still try not to look at this idol too much, to avoid being affected."

"Mm, alright."

Hei Jing realized her state just now was not right. Although she suffered no harm, she was still startled in her heart. She quickly used the red velvet cloth to cover the bizarre idol.

Her vigilance was already much higher than ordinary people's. But just now, she had naturally appreciated it, even feeling that the ugly idol was becoming more beautiful. And her sharp brain had not noticed that her behavior had any problems; this was the most terrifying thing.

Just one glance, just a casual look, and she was already affected...

Hei Jing turned her head, her gaze sweeping over the plaster ballerina statue lying face up on the ground, whose heart she had just dug out. Its lower abdomen had a twin-snake coiled imprint carved on it. She then looked at the golden silk birdcage's horizontal bar and the top of the iron cage. They also had twin-snake coiled carvings.

Before, she had only considered these a type of symbol and decoration. Now, hearing Da Luo's words, she realized that this was a method to assist the idol's spiritual pollution.

She was both fortunate: So the Joyful Cult still needed to carve the twin-snake coiled imprint onto the target's true form to manipulate and pollute them through the idol. This threshold significantly increased the difficulty for the Joyful Cult to manipulate bizarre tales, preventing their power from expanding.

And also wary: She didn't have the twin-snake coiled imprint on her, yet just glancing at this idol had unknowingly affected her. If the Joyful God used similar methods against her, could she resist this terrifying spiritual pollution?

Da Luo didn't know what Hei Jing was thinking in her heart. As the idol's pollution towards it was blocked by the red velvet cloth, it eagerly rushed out of the opened birdcage. It joyfully cackled and soared in the air.

"Wahahaha, I'm out! I'm finally out!"

Hei Jing silently watched, clutching her mirror scythe. Just now, this parrot had submitted to her. She could have manipulated her parents' shadows to directly devour it into her body. But she didn't do that. Instead, she redundantly used the cloth to cover the idol, allowing Da Luo to fly out on its own. This was because she wanted to see if, given a chance to escape, this parrot would break its promise and directly flee.

Until now, her only intelligent symbiotic bizarre tale was Wu Xi, a cat, and she had ambushed him while he was severely injured. Da Luo clearly also possessed very high intelligence, was the same Grade Six as her, and its ability was clearly closely linked to consciousness.

So, no matter how much Hei Jing coveted its ability, she didn't dare to casually devour it alive. After all, in nature, it was not uncommon for large snakes or fish to die from their prey struggling in their stomachs after being swallowed alive.

If this bird was only feigning submission, and actually harbored ulterior motives, then she would immediately attack. Regardless of whether she could kill it or whether her secret might be exposed, it was better than being counterattacked by her prey.

Fortunately, Hei Jing did not misplace her trust in the bird this time. The bird, having regained its freedom, did not fly into the vast sky, but slowly landed on the wooden floor in front of Hei Jing. It excitedly and humbly bowed its head, willingly entering another prison.

Hei Jing felt quite a bit of goodwill towards this bird. This time, she no longer hesitated and walked towards Da Luo. The large parrot was then excitedly swallowed by the shadow.

Very quickly, Ye Yu established an invisible link with Da Luo. Ye Yu, lying on her dorm bed, opened her eyes wide.

She and Hei Jing simultaneously heard Da Luo's excited voice in their minds: [Your Majesty, I feel you! Hello? Your Majesty, can you hear me?]

Ye Yu was about to respond when she suddenly heard the wooden door being pushed open. Hei Jing abruptly turned her head and saw that outside the door stood the cloaked man and the mysterious person who had left and returned, along with the hunched 'Lu Man Ba' whom Da Luo had mentioned earlier.

Hei Jing, a ruthless person, wasted no words. The moment she identified them as enemies, her figure flashed. Her silhouette swept towards the door like a whirlwind, raising her scythe and striking directly at the nearest hunched 'Lu Man Ba'.

Before, she hadn't attacked because she didn't know the details and wanted to understand their intentions. Now that she knew from Da Luo that the strongest among the three were the two Grade Sixes, she naturally had fewer reservations. First, she would intimidate them, then force information about the Joyful Cult out of them!

Chameleon and the cloaked man also reacted quickly. One swiftly pulled Lu Man Ba backward, while the other conjured a large snake to take Lu Man Ba's place in receiving the scythe's blade.

The next second, the large snake was cut in half, and the sharp tip of the scythe also grazed the cloak of Lu Man Ba, who was hastily retreating.

Lu Man Ba's cloak was cut with a large gash, and the green iron mask was cut in half by the silk. As the mask fell to the ground, a few drops of fresh blood and some gray-green scales could vaguely be seen on the ground. Hei Jing had originally intended to launch a follow-up attack, but seeing Lu Man Ba's face hidden beneath the mask, her movements paused slightly.