You’re joking… you’re joking!?
Xu Qi’an really wanted to grab Zhao Shou by the collar and question him loudly.
A long time ago, Xu Qi’an had already known that the Confucian Sage had sealed the Warlock God and the Gu God, but sealing the Buddha was something he had never imagined.
No one had ever mentioned this before.
Even though he was now strong enough and had come into contact with many high-level cultivators, and even Dual Cultivated with Human Sect Leader Luo Yuheng,
Yet until today, no one had revealed to him any intelligence related to this.
Perhaps, it’s not that no one told me, but that no one knows about it. A sudden flash of inspiration came to Xu Qi’an’s mind.
At present, those who know this secret, besides the Buddhist sect, are probably limited to Zhao Shou, the strongest Confucian… though this doesn’t have anything to do with rank, more that Zhao Shou had inherited the Confuciana tradition, so he obviously would have also those secrets buried by time… Using this as a starting point, Xu Qi’an began to make associations, and suddenly understood much that had previously baffled him.
*According to the intelligence Baiji relayed to me from the Princess of the Wanyao Kingdom, five hundred years ago, the Buddhist sect helped Emperor Wuzong usurp the throne, and a Bodhisattva was killed by the first Jianzheng. At the time, I didn’t even question why the Buddha didn’t intervene…
“A first-rank expert is extremely precious in any faction, even the most critical pillar. Even if the Buddhist sect is full of experts, it would not be able to withstand such a loss.
“Additionally, three hundred years ago, the Great Feng broke its word and turned on the Buddhist sect, and the Confucians wiped out Buddhism. The Buddha still did not intervene. So that’s why, turns out he had already been sealed.”
Xu Qi’an instantly thought of many things, then asked, “Did the Confucians destroy Buddhism back then because of this?”
If the Confucian Sage had sealed the Buddha, the relationship between the two sects was obvious.
“You could see it that way.” Zhao Shou sipped his slightly bitter, fragrant tea.
“No, that’s not right!” Xu Qi’an suddenly thought of something, shaking his head repeatedly:
“If the Buddha had been sealed, then what about the Sixty Year Extermination of the Yao of five hundred years ago? I’ve heard that the Master of the Wanyao Kingdom, the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox, was at the half-step Martial God level, her combat strength was overwhelming, even Bodhisattvas couldn’t defeat her.
“In the end, it was the Buddha who personally intervened and destroyed her. If the Buddha had already been sealed, then who killed the Master of the Wanyao Kingdom, who destroyed the Wanyao Kingdom?”
Zhao Shou gently shook his head:
“I don’t know the specific details. This should be the Buddhist sect’s greatest secret.”
Xu Qi’an was instantly disappointed, fell silent for a long time, and then probed,
“During my travels in the jianghu this time, I went to Leizhou and had considerable dealings with the Buddhist sect. I discovered something quite intriguing.
“At Leizhou’s Sanhua Temple, there is a magical treasure called the Stupa tower, and its owner is the Dharmapara Bodhisattva. This Bodhisattva has been missing for over three hundred years.
“Dean, what do you make of this?”
The Dharmapara Bodhisattva had disappeared for over three hundred years, and the Buddhist sect’s Vaidurya Bodhisattva had gone looking numerous times with no success.
Several points here were rather interesting:
Where had the Dharmapara Bodhisattva gone? What was the reason he hadn’t returned to Ananda? Or perhaps, he was somehow restricted, unable to return to the Buddhist sect or be found.
Then, what kind of being could trap a first-rank Bodhisattva?
Zhao Shou pondered, then said seriously, “Ningyan, I am a scholar.”
“What?” Xu Qi’an did not understand.
“Fortune-telling is not my expertise.”
“…”
Xu Qi’an promptly dropped the topic and threw out another question: “Was the Daoist Venerable also sealed by the Confucian Sage?”
Zhao Shou shook his head. “The Daoist Venerable is the most mysterious among the Beyond-rank experts. He attained enlightenment in ancient times, and before the Confucian Sage was even born, the Daoist Venerable had already vanished.”
In this case, the Daoist Venerable’s disappearance had hidden implications, and it was definitely linked to the mysterious disappearance of the Heaven Sect’s Heavenly Venerable… Xu Qi’an shifted his thoughts and said carefully:
“Could he have already died?”
“That possibility cannot be ruled out.” Zhao Shou adopted a scholarly posture:
“From what we know, besides Confucianism, the lifespan of Beyond-rank experts is virtually endless, it’s impossible for them to die of natural causes.
“But the Daoist Venerable has been missing for thousands of years, with not a single trace found.
“An elder once analysed that the Daoist Venerable encountered some calamity he couldn’t overcome back then, and in order to survive, he was forced to split himself into Three Purities in a single breath.”
Xu Qi’an gave his own opinion: “That guess seems quite reasonable. As long as one incarnation survives, he can attain immortality. The Zhenbei King is a case in point.”
Zhao Shou said solemnly: “But in the end, he still could not escape misfortune. Heaven Sect’s incarnation mysteriously disappeared; Earth Sect’s incarnation suffered karmic backlash; Human Sect’s incarnation was tormented by karmaic fire and perished in a heavenly tribulation.”
“Which elder made that guess?”
Xu Qi’an was shocked. The side effects of the Daoist Three Sects were an extremely high-level secret.
The karmaic fire plaguing the Human Sect was fairly widely known.
But the karmic backlash suffered by the Earth Sect was something even Wei Yuan hadn’t known. It was only after Daoist Zilian was killed by Yang Yan’s spear that Wei Yuan gradually deduced the Earth Sect Daoist Leader had problems.
It was only after Xu Qi’an’s infiltration as a double agent that he learned the Earth Sect Daoist Leader had fallen to karmic backlash and into the devil path.
And the mysterious disappearance of the Heaven Sect’s Heavenly Venerable was an even deeper secret than that of the Earth Sect.
Zhao Shou smiled. “That elder was called Daoist Jinlian.”
“…”
Xu Qi’an’s mouth twitched. No, his real name was Orange Cat.
He took a deep breath and finally asked, “What was the reason the Confucian Sage sealed several Beyond-rank beings?”
For this question, not only did Zhao Shou not answer straight away, he also didn’t immediately refuse. He was silent for quite some time before reluctantly saying,
“If it could be talked about, Wei Yuan would have told you in his letter long ago.
“It’s not that we’re being deliberately mysterious, it’s just that if we speak of it, it will influence someone’s plans, and will be instantly blocked.”
This was more or less a direct instruction.
The Jianzheng!
The Jianzheng was also making plans about this matter?
Xu Qi’an’s face gradually grew solemn. He had always thought that the Jianzheng’s greatest plan was to deal with Xu Pingfeng and save the Great Feng.
Now it seemed, the old schemer’s calculations involved even more, reaching up to Beyond-rank matters.
That made sense. Both the Warlock God and the Buddha sought to invade the Central Plains, and the Jianzheng and the Great Feng’s fortune were symbiotic. In other words, the Beyond-rank beings were the Jianzheng’s true enemies… Once Xu Qi’an finished organizing his thoughts, he agreed with Zhao Shou.
“That’s enough, I have nothing else to answer you.”
Zhao Shou ended the conversation, sighed, and pinched his brow. “Those three fellows outside should just about be done fighting.”
He waved his hand, dissipating the barrier enveloping the pavilion.
The next moment, Xu Qi’an sensed a surging, powerful aura outside. He felt as if the righteous spirit of the entire Qingyun Mountain was boiling over like a tsunami.
“Let’s go!”
Zhao Shou swept his arm, stirring up a streak of clear light, and left with Xu Qi’an.
The scene flickered, and in a flash, the two found themselves at the mountaintop. Looking into the air ahead, they saw three Great Scholars: one holding a brush, one clutching a book, and one grasping a paperweight.
The battle was fierce and intense.
Are you sure you are not joking?!
Xu Qi’an really wanted to grab Zhao Shou by the collar and question him loudly.
A long time ago, Xu Qi’an had already known that the Confucian Sage had sealed the Warlock God and the Gu God, but sealing the Buddha was something he had never imagined.
No one had ever mentioned this before.
Even though he was now strong enough and had come into contact with many high-level cultivators, and even Dual Cultivated with Sect Leader Luo Yuheng of the Human Sect,
yet until today, no one had revealed any relevant intelligence to him.
“Perhaps, it’s not that no one told me, but that no one knows about it.” A sudden flash of inspiration came to Xu Qi’an’s mind.
At present, those who knew this secret, besides the Buddhist sect, were probably limited to Zhao Shou, the strongest in Confucianism… This had nothing to do with rank, but because Zhao Shou had inherited Confucianism, he must have also inherited those secrets buried by time… Using this as a starting point, Xu Qi’an began to make associations and suddenly understood much that had previously baffled him.
According to the intelligence Baiji relayed to me from the Princess of the Wanyao Kingdom, five hundred years ago, the Buddhist sect helped Emperor Wuzong usurp the throne, and a Bodhisattva was killed by the first Jianzheng. At the time, I didn’t even question why the Buddha didn’t intervene…
A first-rank expert is extremely precious in any faction, a critical pillar. Even if the Buddhist sect is full of experts, it would not be able to withstand such a loss.
Additionally, three hundred years ago, the Great Feng broke its word and turned on the Buddhist sect, and the Confucians wiped out Buddhism. The Buddha still did not intervene. So that’s why, turns out he had already been sealed.
Xu Qi’an instantly thought of many things, then asked, “Did the Confucians destroy Buddhism back then because of this?”
If the Confucian Sage had sealed the Buddha, the relationship between the two sects was obvious.
“That’s one way to look at it.” Zhao Shou sipped his slightly bitter, fragrant tea.
“No, that’s not right!” Xu Qi’an suddenly thought of something, shaking his head repeatedly:
“If the Buddha had been sealed, then what about the Sixty Year Extermination of the Yao five hundred years ago? I’ve heard that the ruler of the Wanyao Kingdom, the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox, was at the half-step Martial God level, her combat strength was overwhelming, even Bodhisattvas couldn’t defeat her.
“In the end, it was the Buddha who personally intervened and destroyed her. If the Buddha had already been sealed, then who killed the Queen of the Wanyao Kingdom, who destroyed the Wanyao Kingdom?”
Zhao Shou gently shook his head:
“I don’t know the specific details. This should be the Buddhist sect’s greatest secret.”
Xu Qi’an was instantly disappointed. He fell silent for a long time, and then probed,
“During my travels in the jianghu, I went to Leizhou and had considerable dealings with the Buddhist sect. I discovered something quite intriguing.
“At Leizhou’s Sanhua Temple, there is a magical treasure called the Stupa tower, and its owner is the Dharmapara Bodhisattva. This Bodhisattva has been missing for over three hundred years.
“Dean, what do you make of this?”
The Dharmapara Bodhisattva had disappeared for over three hundred years, and the Buddhist sect’s Vaidurya Bodhisattva had gone looking numerous times with no success.
Several points here were rather interesting:
Where had the Dharmapara Bodhisattva gone? What was the reason he hadn’t returned to Ananda? Or perhaps, he was somehow restricted, unable to return to the Buddhist sect or be found.
Then, what kind of being could trap a first-rank Bodhisattva?
Zhao Shou pondered, then said seriously, “Ningyan, I am a scholar.”
“What?” Xu Qi’an did not understand.
“Fortune-telling is not my expertise.”
“…”
Xu Qi’an promptly dropped the topic and threw out another question: “Was the Daoist Venerable also sealed by the Confucian Sage?”
Zhao Shou shook his head. “The Daoist Venerable is the most mysterious among the Beyond-rank experts. He attained enlightenment in ancient times, and before the Confucian Sage was even born, the Daoist Venerable had already vanished.”
In this case, the Daoist Venerable’s disappearance has hidden implications, and it’s definitely linked to the mysterious disappearance of the Heaven Sect’s Heavenly Venerable… Xu Qi’an shifted his thoughts and said carefully:
“Could he have already died?”
“That possibility cannot be ruled out.” Zhao Shou adopted a scholarly posture:
“From what we know, besides Confucianism, the lifespan of Beyond-rank experts is virtually endless, it’s impossible for them to die of natural causes.
“But the Daoist Venerable has been missing for thousands of years, with not a single trace found.
“An elder once analysed that the Daoist Venerable encountered some calamity he couldn’t overcome back then, and in order to survive, he was forced to split himself, one qi transforming into three purities.”
Xu Qi’an gave his own opinion: “That guess seems quite reasonable. As long as one incarnation survives, he can attain immortality. The Zhenbei King is a case in point.”
Zhao Shou said solemnly: “But in the end, he still could not escape misfortune. The Heaven Sect’s incarnation mysteriously disappeared; the Earth Sect’s incarnation suffered karmic backlash; and the Human Sect’s incarnation was tormented by karmaic fire and perished in a heavenly tribulation.”
“Which elder made that guess?”
Xu Qi’an was shocked. The side effects of the Daoist Three Sects were an extremely high-level secret.
The karmaic fire plaguing the Human Sect was fairly widely known.
But the karmic backlash suffered by the Earth Sect was something even Wei Yuan hadn’t known. It was only after Daoist Zilian was killed by Yang Yan’s spear that Wei Yuan gradually deduced the Earth Sect Daoist Leader had problems.
It was only after Xu Qi’an’s infiltration as a double agent that he learned the Earth Sect Daoist Leader had fallen to karmic backlash and into the demonic path.
And the mysterious disappearance of the Heaven Sect’s Heavenly Venerable was an even deeper secret than that of the Earth Sect.
Zhao Shou smiled. “That elder had the Daoist name Jinlian.”
“…”
Xu Qi’an’s mouth twitched. No, his daoist name is Ginger Cat.
He took a deep breath and finally asked, “Why did the Confucian Sage seal these beyond-rank experts?”
For this question, not only did Zhao Shou not answer straight away, he also didn’t immediately refuse. He was silent for quite some time before saying helplessly,
“If it could be talked about, Wei Yuan would have told you in his letter long ago.
“It’s not that we’re being deliberately mysterious, it’s just that if we speak of it, it will influence someone’s plans, and will be instantly blocked.”
This was more or less a direct instruction.
The Jianzheng!
The Jianzheng is also making plans about this matter?
Xu Qi’an’s face gradually grew solemn. He had always thought that the Jianzheng’s greatest plan was to deal with Xu Pingfeng and save the Great Feng.
Now it seemed, this LYB’s calculations involved even more, reaching up to Beyond-rank matters.
That’s true… Both the Warlock God and the Buddha seek to invade the Central Plains, and the Jianzheng and the Great Feng’s fortune are symbiotic. In other words, the Beyond-rank beings are the Jianzheng’s true enemies… Once Xu Qi’an finished organizing his thoughts, he agreed with Zhao Shou.
“That’s enough, I have nothing else to answer you.”
Zhao Shou ended the conversation, sighed, and pinched his brow. “Those three fellows outside should just about be done fighting.”
He waved his hand, dissipating the barrier enveloping the pavilion.
The next moment, Xu Qi’an sensed a surging, powerful aura outside. He felt as if the righteous spirit of the entire Qingyun Mountain was boiling over like a tsunami.
“Let’s go!”
Zhao Shou swept his arm, stirring up a streak of clear light, and left with Xu Qi’an.
The scene flickered, and in a flash, the two found themselves at the mountaintop. Looking into the air ahead, they saw three Great Scholars: one holding a brush, one clutching a book, and one grasping a paperweight.
The battle was fierce and intense.
The one holding the book was Zhang Shen. He said in a deep voice:
“An army of thousands enter the world!”
The military treatise in his hand burst forth with dazzling light, conjuring phantasmal figures in the air: some rode fine steeds and wielded sabres, some were clad in armour and carried spears, and others operated cannons and crossbows.
What kind of technique is this? Xu Qi’an was startled.
“Zhang Jinyan is using the spell ‘laws follow commandments’ to summon the armies from the military treatise. In essence, it’s the same type of support technique as ‘retreat one hundred li’, but much more refined,” Zhao Shou explained.
“Why can’t I achieve this when I use spells?” Xu Qi’an was green with envy.
“You can only apply the most basic uses. As a non-Confucian, you wouldn’t be able to deploy such exquisite spells,” said Zhao Shou.
Under Zhang Shen’s control, the phantom troops surged forward, cavalry and infantry charged at Li Mubai, while the artillery bombarded Chen Tai.
On the other side, Chen Tai wielded his brush, writing swiftly in the void, but what he drew was not words, but phantom figures of armoured riders, sabres in hand.
He had freeloaded off Zhang Shen’s spell.
This was the ability of a sixth-rank Confucian, one could record others’ spells and abilities, and use them as one’s own.
The phantoms summoned by Chen Tai split into two groups as well, one to exchange cannon fire with Zhang Shen, and the other charging at Li Mubai.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The cannons roared in unison, airbursts blossoming mid-air, the momentum terrifying, like rolling thunderclaps.
Their power is much weaker than genuine magical cannons, and laying siege would be difficult, but they’re more than enough for slaughtering enemy soldiers on the battlefield. What’s more, these are spell-conjured phantoms, far more cost-effective than the Church of the Warlock God’s corpses…
Still, this probably can’t be maintained for long, and can’t be cast without limit…
Xu Qi’an could not help but admire them, Confucians seemed to have no real shortcomings, except for their short lifespans.
Li Mubai held his paperweight, sweeping it broadly in great arcs, dispersing both waves of attacking troops into pure clear light.
“Hmph, is knowing military texts?”
Li Mubai gathered righteous spirit on the tip of his tongue, rousing his righteous energy, and declared:
“No books may be used here; no brushes may be used here.”
The books in Zhang Shen’s hands were instantly sealed by an invisible force, preventing him from summoning more troops.
The same thing happened to the brush in Chen Tai’s hand, he could write nothing further.
Seeing this, the two immediately gathered their own righteous spirit and said, “No magical tools permitted here.”
They simply excluded magical tools from the battlefield.
Li Mubai snorted coldly: “Fine then, let’s have a proper fight with ‘laws follow commandments’, and see whose righteous energy is deeper.”
Righteous energy could resist the effect of ‘laws follow commandments’.
Whoever’s righteous energy was exhausted first, lost.
“I’m not so easily bested myself.”
“Tonight I’ll make you both admit defeat.”
The two expressed their determination one after another.
“No levitation permitted here.”
“No talking permitted here.”
“Li Mubai, bark like a dog.”
“Zhang Shen is my son.”
“Bastard! Chen Tai cannot wear clothes…”
“Are you gentleman fucking courting death? Your belt strings have snapped.”
Seeing the situation deteriorate rapidly, Dean Zhao Shou finally stepped in. He strode forward and declared loudly:
“No fighting in the Academy grounds.”
A ripple of clear light spread from the Hall of the Lesser Sage, covering the entirety of Qingyun Mountain.
Within Qingyun Mountain, Zhao Shou was able to borrow the power of the Hall of the Lesser Sage. Previously, this power had been suppressed by a stele erected by Lesser Sage Cheng.
Since the stele had cracked, the Hall of the Lesser Sage had broken free of the seal.
With the Academy’s power in his grasp, Zhao Shou’s combat power on Qingyun Mountain was no less than a second-rank. If he had the Confucian Sage’s carving knife and the Lesser Sage’s Confucian crown as well, even a first rank would be hard pressed to face him.
Zhao Shou continued, “The three of you, three days of confinement in your rooms.”
After a thought, he added another “rule”:
“No composing or titling poetry for the next three days.”
But I can…
“Shameless old thief!”
Amidst the angry shouts of the three Great Scholars, they were forcibly turned into clear light and cast deep into the Academy.
That’s it? Xu Qi’an hadn’t had his fill and could only bow in regret:
“I shall take my leave.”
“I won’t see you out.” Zhao Shou nodded.
…
He found Mu Nanzhi, who was cradling the little white fox and watching the commotion along with the Academy scholars in the plaza, and left the mountain together with her.
They rode the little mare back to the capital. Once inside the city, Xu Qi’an asked her,
“Home, or Xu Manor?”
Mu Nanzhi thought for a moment, then said, “Home.”
Xu Qi’an bought some groceries at a street market and took her back to that little courtyard. The flowers and plants in the courtyard had long since withered, it had been uninhabited for more than a month and seemed rather cold and desolate.
Yet Mu Nanzhi felt a sense of joy and comfort at returning home.
“There’s plenty of firewood left at home, just no charcoal. I’ll go buy some later. Bathe yourself in hot water tonight, I have other matters…”
Mu Nanzhi’s face instantly darkened, and she sneered coldly:
“So Silver Gong Xu is off to rendezvous with the National Teacher again?”
Not the National Teacher, it’s another fish… Xu Qi’an explained with an utterly straight face:
“I’ve just taken over the Nightwatchers from Liu Hong, and there’s a lot left to handle.”
Mu Nanzhi was unconvinced and scoffed, “Silver Gong Xu, what does the National Teacher taste like?”
Ah, she’s quite smooth… Xu Qi’an sighed. “Forget it, I’ll stay to keep you company tonight.”
At this moment, he suddenly felt a deep longing for the Daoist technique of One Qi forming Three Purities.
The sun set, the sky slowly darkened to deep blue.
Candles glowed inside. Black smoke drifted from the kitchen chimney.
Mu Nanzhi casually prepared a few small dishes. Judging by Baiji’s transition from excited anticipation to bitter disappointment, one could sum up her culinary skills.
“If you don’t want to eat, then don’t.”
Mu Nanzhi said coldly.
Baiji was delighted at this, and, as expected, did not eat.
Creak… bang… The door opened and shut again. Mu Nanzhi returned to the table with a dark face and ate her rice in silence.
Outside, the little white fox propped herself against the door, her two little paws patting the door plaintively.
“Auntie, let me in, let me in.”
She called out in grievance.
Xu Qi’an thought, This child really has no sense of self-preservation.
After dinner, Xu Qi’an heated water for the greatest beauty of the Great Feng to bathe, while he simply rinsed himself off with cold well water.
Bath over, it was well and truly night outside.
Mu Nanzhi sat at the table, cuddling Baiji, silent.
After the candle burned halfway down, she grew drowsy, fighting to keep her eyelids open, yet still stubbornly refused to sleep.
Xu Qi’an wrapped her in his arms, whispered, “I’m here, I’m always here.”
So she drifted into a deep sleep.
Comments for this chapter. You will need a GitHub account. Please follow all terms and conditions of GitHub issues and maintain etiquette in the comments. Cookies are required for this functionality.
If you want to talk with other readers about Nightwatchers (or other cultivation type books) you can join our cultivation groupreading discord server!
I also have a Kofi, which for legal reasons is definitely for supporting my digital art only (promise!): ko-fi.com/yanxin ... plus I guess server space isn't free, and I don't want to put ads/trackers... ever, so thank you if you do!