Me! Cleaner!.

Chapter 1248 The Escapee

So that's how it is... No wonder the Star Lord values ​​fun so much; it turns out he was worn down by the endless wandering of the astral creatures.

Looking down at the amused donkey reminiscing about the past with long sighs, the Lord of All Spirits remained silent for a moment before asking with a rather complicated expression:

"So you deliberately gave me this opportunity, allowing me to connect the astral plane and the spiritual realm, just for fun?"

"That's not true."

"???"

Crunching the carrot in his mouth, the Star Lord answered happily:
"Just as you are thinking about my astral roots, I am also thinking about your spiritual realm... Unlike the empty and boundless astral realm, where wills arrive, people arrive as well. The spiritual realm, which connects everyone's wills, is simply too wonderful for me."

If I could control the spiritual realm, I could go wherever I wanted to have fun, and even create whatever kind of fun I wanted… Hiss… Can you understand that kind of joy?”

No! wrong!

Looking down at the eager-looking donkey, the Lord of All Spirits' pupils suddenly contracted, and almost instinctively began to withdraw his consciousness, trying to sever the link between his spiritual realm and the astral plane.

However, something terrifying happened. She didn't know when it started, but the barrier between matter and spirit, which should have been insurmountable, became more fragile than the carrot in the mouth of the Star Lord. It was directly shattered into pieces by countless starlight trailing comet tails.

Countless stars converged from all directions, coalescing into a magnificent, indescribable celestial waterfall that roared down from reality into the spiritual realm, instantly replacing the blurred boundaries formed by mist and covering the entire edge of the spiritual realm.

it's over...

As he sensed the Astral Roots enveloping his entire spiritual realm and relentlessly eroding it from the outside in, a look of despair appeared in the eyes of the Ruler of All Spirits.

"Are all of these... part of your plan?"

Looking down at the donkey below, whose size had increased dramatically since it entered the spiritual realm, now larger than a small mountain, the Sovereign of All Spirits gritted his teeth and questioned:
"Your so-called 'going to have some fun' was all a lie? The reason you wanted to go to the real world with Number 4 was just to lower my guard, then sneak into the Hanging Star Gorge and walk into your trap?"

"That's not entirely true... at least not entirely."

As if remembering something interesting, the Star Lord's body trembled slightly, and then he let out two cheerful braying sounds.

"A trap is a trap, but fun is fun... Haha, you have no idea how funny it was over there. Although no fight broke out, when Number Four sneaked in to investigate, he was mistaken for an illiterate person and dragged to class because he couldn't read."

For the first two months or so, he did nothing but hang out in a class with dozens of little kids, and even had to share a dormitory with them at night. And the little devil sleeping in the bunk above him kept wetting the bed, hahaha… How can you not laugh at something this funny?”

"..."

"Fine, I knew it would turn out like this."

Looking at the utterly humorless Lord of All Spirits, Lezi Donkey couldn't help but sigh helplessly. He then wiped the smile from his face and smacked his lips, saying:

"I won't ask you about Number 12's situation. Judging from your current state, you've definitely absorbed the entire Ascension Realm, and Number 12 has probably already been killed by you."

Sigh, we descendants of the original lineage are really something else. It's always one of us killing the other or the other harming us. As long as one person is focused on completing the ultimate mission, the others will start scheming against each other to protect themselves. It's so boring every day...

"Alright, that's enough. At this rate, you'll probably be done for with Number 12 in a few minutes. Any last words?"

"Have!"

Gazing up at the countless stars that were frantically washing over the spiritual realm like a reversed celestial river, and at the Star Sovereign who had taken his place in the sky and was now overlooking the entire spiritual realm, the Sovereign of All Spirits pursed his lips and questioned:

"Since you're prepared to seize the spiritual realm and confident that I can't resist, why did you ask me before whether we should go to Number 3 to seize the source of dreams?"

"Because that would be very interesting."

The Star Lord sat cross-legged on a star that had expanded countless times, and sighed with some disappointment:

"Number 3 is one of our Root Descendants... um... it's hard to say whether he is a Root Descendant or not, but among all those who have mastered the Root, I think he is the most interesting one, with countless sources of amusement."

Unfortunately, he was a bit too cautious. He probably feared that I, like Number 1, was also thinking about completing the ultimate mission, so he kept his distance from me and was on guard against me from beginning to end.

"But if you could fight him, and I'd step in to save the day and hold you back when he's in trouble, then maybe he'd be willing to get a little closer to me."

"You...so you mean..."

"What I mean is, if you're even more ambitious and really planning to cause trouble for Number 3, then I'm willing to play along and pretend for a while longer."

After interrupting the Sovereign of All Spirits, the Sovereign of Suspended Stars said with regret:
"It's a pity you're too cowardly. When I asked you if you would go after Number 3, you didn't even dare to say a word of politeness and skipped the question altogether... It seems that your 'Deer Spirit' avatar is really terrified of him, to the point that you don't even have the courage to fight him head-on."

"..."

Courage? What courage? The courage to be eaten?

After listening to Lezi Donkey's grumbling, even though he was on the verge of death, the Lord of All Spirits almost laughed out of anger.

Back when Number 3 had nothing, he was able to devour Number 7, who had mastered the source of dreams, in the dream world. Now that he has 70% of the source of dreams and is also holding the essence of the Pure White Mother's source, do you think I can handle him?
If he actively enters the spiritual realm and wants to cause me trouble, I am not afraid of him. But if I leave the spiritual realm and confront him in reality, what difference is there between that and simply giving myself away?
"I'm too lazy to waste my breath on your nonsense!"

Knowing that the Star Lord brought this up now to see his utterly remorseful expression and to amuse himself, the Myriad Spirits Lord, whose body was mostly shattered by starlight, looked up at the giant donkey eye in the sky and said:

"Number 2, I have one last question!"
Although you are significantly stronger than me, after killing Number 12 and obtaining the Dream Source from Number 1, in terms of the source alone, I am definitely no weaker than you! How did you manage to do that?

Upon hearing this, the Star Lord blinked.

"You want to ask me how I tricked you? Why, even though you control the mental realm, do you have no ability to resist at all?"

"Correct!"

The Sovereign of All Spirits, his body riddled with holes from the starlight, nodded, his eyes filled with unwavering determination:

"For the sake of us being fellow countrymen, let me die knowing why!"

"can."

After thinking for a moment, the Star Lord tapped his donkey head and answered earnestly:
"The reason you failed is because you took my Astral Roots."

"..."

"and then?"

"That's all. That's all." "..."

That's it? It's that simple?
"Isn't this enough?"

Looking at the bewildered Sovereign below, Lezi Donkey couldn't help but ask curiously:
“That’s my origin; it would be so easy to tamper with it.”

Not to mention, I guessed your plan. I knew you were going to break into my Star of the Hanging Horns and steal the Source while I was in the mortal world. So, turning the tables on you is just a piece of cake, isn't it?

"But...but..."

"But you clearly checked and confirmed that the source of the theft was not problematic before choosing to absorb it, right?"

"right……"

The Lord of All Spirits asked in bewilderment:
“I have confirmed repeatedly that those astral roots are absolutely harmless.”

"It's harmless, and there's no problem."

The Star Lord chuckled and said:
"I didn't do anything too complicated. I just left a small 'opening' in the source. When you take my source and start connecting the spiritual realm and the astral plane, I can use this harmless little opening to continuously pour in more astral source."

"And I am the supreme ruler of the Astral Roots, while you are focusing a great deal of energy on mending the spiritual realm. Therefore, as long as the Astral Roots being infused is vast enough to exceed your control, everything will naturally become as I desire."

"But why is the Astral Root in your possession so vast?"

Looking around at the omnipresent, hazy starlight that almost completely filled the entire spiritual realm, the Sovereign of All Spirits said with a puzzled expression:

"Even if the Astral Root is the largest of the fourteen Roots, this quantity is still simply..."

"I took it from myself."

"???"

Have you forgotten Mount Ring of Time?

Chewing happily on the sweet and crunchy carrot, the Star Lord explained with a cheerful smile:

"As long as you jump off the top of the Ring Mountain, you have the chance to go directly to different times. I was bored, so I jumped off and found more than a hundred versions of myself in different times."

After many rounds of fighting with them, with wins and losses, and although I nearly killed myself several times, I also managed to steal a significant amount of my own Astral Roots. After getting tired of wandering around, I simply jumped back out at some random time… Oh, right.”

Under the bewildered gaze of the Sovereign of All Spirits, the Sovereign of Suspended Stars added:

"Although I am me, I am not the me you know. After I came out of the Ring Mountain, the No. 2 you know came to take me down, but it was too weak and couldn't beat me. Instead, I caught it and put it in here and locked it up."

After raising its hoof and tapping the star fragments beneath it, the Star Lord grinned and said:
"I'm in a good mood today, so I can tell you something interesting. The number 3 you know probably isn't a true descendant of the original source."

"..."

"I didn't expect it?"

The Star Lord sat on the star fragments imprisoning his other self, crossed his legs, and said with a happy expression:
"In the more than one hundred different times I have seen, the fourteen of us who are descendants of the Root have changed very little, and the candidates have all been fixed. The only difference is this time."

So many things have changed over time, and Number 3 is no longer the Number 3 I knew. This is really interesting!

After recounting his discoveries in detail, the Star Lord said with anticipation in his eyes:

"The original Number 3 was interesting, but this Number 3... no, this imposter Number 3 is the most fun. I think he might even defeat Number 1 and take her place... um... something doesn't seem right?"

Seeing the Sovereign of All Spirits, who had been corrupted by the Astral Roots and was now unable to stand, and had collapsed to the ground, Lezi Donkey asked in surprise:

"You actually had a backup plan? Are you that clever in this timeline?"

"Wha...what?"

Isn't it you?

Looking at the Lord of All Spirits who still looked completely bewildered and was clearly unaware of the situation, Lezi Donkey blinked and then slapped his thigh.

"Damn it! When you got the Dream Source from Number One, did you not break your alliance with her?"

"Of course...no..."

The Lord of All Spirits, who was already on the verge of collapse, answered intermittently:

"The alliance I made with her... hmph... came at a tremendous price... she... she absolutely cannot harm me before I achieve my goal, is there something wrong with this alliance?"

"..."

What's the problem...? It's a huge problem!
After receiving a positive reply from the Lord of All Spirits, the Lord of Suspended Stars raised his hoof and slapped his forehead, a look of deep annoyance appearing on his donkey face.

The very concept of an alliance is a form of "interference" that can be traced back to its source!
Especially since this kind of covenant can bind the ruler, it must contain a part of the will of the covenant signatories. Since Number 11, that fool, entered the spiritual realm without breaking the covenant, it is equivalent to bringing in a part of Number 1's will as well.

Being discovered by Number One isn't even the most troublesome thing; the real problem right now is...

No wonder I always felt something was off about you.

Accompanied by a voice that both of them were familiar with, Frederica appeared in the chaotic mental realm, looking at the Star Lord with a surprised expression.

"So you weren't the real Number 2 after all, but an escapee who fled from the Ring Mountain... So you were the one who disrupted the 'order' and woken me up a while ago?"

Sigh... I've traveled through so many timelines without any problems, but I never expected to be tricked by an idiot in the end...

Ignoring Frederica's question, and looking at the stunned Lord of All Spirits opposite him, the Lord of Suspended Stars couldn't help but raise his massive donkey hoof and grind it down on him twice. Then, amidst the Lord of All Spirits' cries of pain, he turned to Frederica, who stood with her hands behind her back, and said with a helpless expression:
"Is catching hit-and-run drivers your job? So what are you going to do with me? Just kill me?"

"Don't rush this yet."

Frederica shook her head and asked with some curiosity:

"Could you tell me more about Lyon? What was he doing at other times? Why didn't he pretend to be Number 3?"

(End of this chapter)