After Transmigrating into an Evil God - Chapter 2

A wooden corridor frame built from timber soaked in tung oil, with thick old vines climbing up it. The brownish old branches sprouted fresh green tender leaves.

Now was not the season for it to bud, but nourished by the spiritual mist of these past few days, it had surprisingly produced flower buds the size of rice grains.

Li Chi walked through beneath the vine corridor.

This old vine was at least five hundred years old, covering the frame densely and tightly, making one anticipate what it would look like when it bloomed.

He only hoped that by then, he would still be able to dwell here peacefully.

Li Chi shifted his gaze from the flower buds hidden beneath the leaves and looked toward the end of the vine frame.

There, at some unknown time, a figure had appeared, standing quietly in wait.

Was he the master of this place? Or was he, like Li Chi himself, a temporary resident?

Li Chi sensed no malice from him, yet neither could he perceive the man’s own aura. This person seemed to have suddenly appeared here, merging completely with the atmosphere of the entire old manor. Li Chi hadn’t even noticed when he had entered the Li Manor.

To merge with the surrounding environment and remain undetectable—this in itself signified great power. Moreover, Li Chi had clearly been restraining his own aura all along, yet this person seemed to have known he was here from the start, which was why he had come to wait here in advance.

Li Chi’s heart was already on guard, though his expression remained unchanged as he continued walking toward the man at an unhurried pace.

Just as Li Chi was about to speak upon reaching him, the man suddenly bent down and bowed, effectively cutting off Li Chi’s words.

“The Manor Spirit of Li Manor pays respects to the High God.” The Manor Spirit slowly prostrated himself, his heart filled with considerable unease.

Although this deity’s aura was faint and nearly imperceptible, the Manor Spirit understood clearly that this was because the other party had restrained his aura.

The Manor Spirit had sensed the deity’s aura fluctuating from injuries a few days prior—it was an aura vast and steady as the sky itself. If such a deity were to become angry, wouldn’t it be as terrifying as the heavens collapsing?

For these three days, the Manor Spirit had been concealing his own aura. This grand estate was his very body, and hiding his existence was a simple matter. The Manor Spirit had thought he had done well, but now he had encountered this deity.

The deity walked through the courtyards and corridors with his aura contained to the utmost, his every movement in harmony with heaven and earth. If not for seeing the deity’s physical form with his eyes, the Manor Spirit would have been completely unable to detect his presence, even though he was walking within this very estate.

Compared to the deity, what did his own meager abilities amount to? One skilled in concealment would naturally also be skilled at detecting concealment. Even though the Manor Spirit had tried his utmost to hide himself, in this deity’s eyes, perhaps he was as transparent as fire in the darkness?

Upon this realization, the Manor Spirit suddenly felt a chill rise in his heart. Had his existence long been detected by this deity?

The deity approached slowly through the green vines, his countenance calm and indifferent, his eyes vast and boundless, seeming to reflect all things in heaven and earth, yet also seeming to reflect nothing at all. He saw the Manor Spirit, yet his gaze remained so tranquil it didn’t stir even the slightest ripple.

So he had indeed been discovered long ago, hadn’t he? The other party had long since detected his presence, yet he had hidden to the side, secretly observing all along…

The Manor Spirit’s heart trembled.

Manor Spirit… Li Chi suddenly understood.

Upon hearing this term, he comprehended what kind of existence this was.

The Manor Spirit was the estate itself—no wonder he could merge completely with the surrounding aura. Given this, his sudden appearance here to wait made sense.

A building that had developed spiritual consciousness—such an existence made Li Chi somewhat curious. He looked the Manor Spirit over and asked, “It seems the ethereal yet steady aura that permeates this Li Manor originates from you?”

“Yes. I apologize for not paying my respects sooner.” The Manor Spirit replied, becoming even more cautious in his heart.

His aura merged with Li Manor, and Li Manor’s aura merged with the mountain forest. What incredibly powerful and keen perception would it take to detect the difference?

Li Chi hadn’t thought that deeply. Seeing that the Manor Spirit before him had a friendly attitude and proper manners, he relaxed somewhat.

Since the ethereal yet steady aura enveloping the estate had always been present, it meant the other party hadn’t intentionally concealed himself—it was just that Li Chi himself severely lacked common knowledge of this world and had failed to recognize it.

This made Li Chi even more cautious. If he hadn’t been able to recognize the Manor Spirit, he might have overlooked other spiritual beings as well. This estate might not be as completely abandoned as he had thought.

He was planning to temporarily reside here to evade his enemies, so he needed to understand the situation here. He had to be more careful. The Manor Spirit surely knew this place like the back of his hand, but Li Chi couldn’t completely trust him yet, and the Manor Spirit might not be willing to reveal everything.

If only he had the ability to thoroughly understand the situation of this estate.

The moment this thought stirred, Li Chi suddenly felt his perspective shift.

It was as if he had suddenly transformed into formless cloud and mist, enveloping the entire Li Manor. Everything within his coverage was clearly visible, audible, and perceptible.

He could see every carving and painting on the walls and beams, smell the fresh, moist scents of grass and earth, feel the cool softness of spring water and the rough hardness of stone slabs… and the flowing spiritual energy.

This was his divine consciousness, Li Chi realized.

Divine consciousness was a perception far more vast and refined than the five senses of the human body, and under this perception, the Manor Spirit’s existence was clearly discernible.

The Manor Spirit only felt the deity’s previously restrained aura suddenly release, like a boundless and infinite sky.

The heavens moved vigorously, carrying the sun and moon, bearing wind and clouds. All things lived beneath the sky, never feeling there was anything overwhelming about it—but what if the sky descended before a specific person?

The Manor Spirit lowered his head, not daring to look directly at the deity before him.

He felt that magnificent aura envelop him. The Manor Spirit didn’t find anything improper about Li Chi’s use of divine consciousness to examine the estate. Since the deity had settled here, he naturally needed to understand the situation of this place.

During the previous three days when he hadn’t shown himself, the deity hadn’t used divine consciousness to force him to appear, but had instead walked around to understand this place, obviously having already detected that this wasn’t an ownerless abandoned estate, which was why he hadn’t used divine consciousness to investigate.

It was just that at the time, he had been both amazed by the deity’s aura and greedy for the spiritual mist from his cultivation, his mind already in chaos, which was why he hadn’t realized this sooner and had instead acted flustered at every turn.

The Manor Spirit had originally appeared to prevent the other party from approaching Li Manor’s storehouse, but now, having manifested his spiritual form and felt the deity’s released aura, he truly understood how powerful the other party was.

As for Li Manor’s storehouse… if the other party wanted to take something, could he really stop him?

After sweeping through Li Manor once, Li Chi withdrew his divine consciousness. Besides the Manor Spirit, there were only a few wild beasts with budding spiritual awareness here—no other spiritual beings existed.

However, when Li Chi’s divine consciousness swept past a certain underground area nearby, he encountered some resistance. The resistance wasn’t strong, and even through the barrier, Li Chi could determine there were no other spiritual beings’ auras inside.

This was sufficient. The Manor Spirit had treated him with courtesy, and he wasn’t the kind of villain who would forcibly pry into others’ secrets. Moreover, he wanted to lodge here for a period of time.

But after Li Chi withdrew his divine consciousness, the Manor Spirit took the initiative to say, “That is the Li clan’s storehouse. Before the Li clan members left, they sealed away the things they couldn’t take with them, and I was also commanded to guard this place.”

Li Chi had already given up on investigating that room, but now his interest was piqued again upon hearing this.

“Are there any books inside?” Li Chi asked. He was currently ignorant about this world, and books were the simplest and most efficient way to fill in the gaps.

After receiving the Manor Spirit’s affirmative reply, Li Chi continued, “May I borrow these books to read?”

The Manor Spirit agreed directly. Books containing secret teachings and inheritances had long been taken away by the Li clan members. Though the books left here were precious, there was nothing that couldn’t be shown to others.

“Then I thank you in advance,” Li Chi said with a smile.

The Manor Spirit hastily demurred. He was merely a small spirit of objects. After the Li clan’s departure, he had already declined to this state. If not for the nourishment from Li Chi’s circulation of spiritual energy over the past three days, he probably couldn’t even maintain his physical form now.

“I am Li Chi, and I wish to temporarily borrow this place to reside for some time,” Li Chi said.

“Please make yourself at home. These rooms have been uninhabited for many years,” the Manor Spirit said, his expression dimming somewhat. “There are many untidy places in the estate. Though I am the Manor Spirit, I lack the power to clean them. Please forgive me.”

“A place to rest is sufficient,” Li Chi smiled, then asked, “Do you know what that altar is about?”

The Manor Spirit replied, “The Li clan was originally a great family, but five hundred years ago, for unknown reasons, they suddenly began to decline. Their descendants became increasingly few, and their cultivation talents grew progressively worse. The Li clan couldn’t find the cause and had no choice but to seek help from deities. But after seeking out almost all the gods, they still couldn’t solve this problem. Later, somehow they learned of a divine name, so they built an altar and made sacrifices to this deity, hoping to solve the problem, but…”

The Manor Spirit shook his head.

The Li clan’s worship had failed, which was why they left their ancestral land over two hundred years ago, hoping to find a solution elsewhere.

“Who did they worship?” Li Chi asked.

The Manor Spirit shook his head. “Though I am the Manor Spirit, I too have limitations. Spirits of objects can have their souls searched, so when the Li clan was here, they made arrangements in the estate. I don’t know many secret matters.”

Li Chi felt somewhat disappointed. The deity the Li clan had worshipped back then might have been his original identity. But since the Manor Spirit didn’t know, this matter would have to be set aside for now. The most urgent thing at present was to heal his injuries and restore his power—investigating his identity could wait until then.

Li Chi asked the Manor Spirit about the conditions of the surrounding mountain forest and learned that there were only some minor demons in these mountains. The Manor Spirit didn’t know about more distant places, as he couldn’t leave here. What he knew were old stories from over two hundred years ago when the Li clan members were still here, things he had heard from their conversations.

Li Chi thanked him and prepared to return to his cultivation, but just as he turned to leave, he suddenly felt a coolness beneath his left eye, and then saw several thread-like lines, gathering and dispersing like mist, extending from the Manor Spirit’s body into the void, connecting to who knows where.

Li Chi paused slightly.