“Hey, someone is in heat again.”
Mu Nanzhi said sarcastically.
Counting with her fingers, it had been nearly a month and a half since the last time they practised dual cultivation. She had thought that Luo Yuheng would not seek out Xu Qi’an for dual cultivation any more.
She secretly felt delighted.
But she had not expected that, in the end, this old cow eating young grass would come to Xu again for dual cultivation. She was nearly forty now, could she not have a little shame?
As for herself, who was only a few years younger than Luo Yuheng, of course she could not be considered an old cow.
The princess consort had always considered herself a little fairy.
Luo Yuheng’s expression turned cold. Looking at Xu Qi’an, she said with concern,
“Xu Lang, I can sense her hostility. Mu Nanzhi is the number one beauty of the Great Feng, I really have no confidence in competing with her for a man.”
Speaking up to here, a trace of fear flashed in her eyes:
“In order not to let you leave me, I think it’s better to sell her to a brothel and let her become a worn-out woman, that way you won’t fancy her any more. No, sell her first to the Strength Gu tribe.”
As she spoke, she raised her hand and clasped Mu Nanzhi’s wrist, dragging her outside the house.
You’re being far too cautious. No, hang on, the people of the Strength Gu tribe have different tastes, they don’t fancy pale girls… Xu Qi’an hurriedly snatched his Flower God back, and said gravely,
“National Teacher, proper business comes first.”
Mu Nanzhi nestled in Xu Qi’an’s arms, her lashes fluttering, her eyes full of fright, and with a trembling voice said,
“She… she really wants to sell me to a brothel…”
Having known Luo Yuheng for years, she could tell whether Luo was joking or not.
“She’s not in a normal state right now, not the usual National Teacher.” Xu Qi’an explained via voice transmission.
The Luo Yuheng before them was “Little Fear”. She feared everything; because she was afraid, she acted cautiously.
Every morning when she awoke, even though they had dual cultivated the night before, she insisted on doing it again. After lunch, she would drag Xu Qi’an into the room once more for dual cultivation.
Her reasoning was that even though the karmic fire could be suppressed and refined through dual cultivation, as long as there was any possibility of it erupting, one must not be careless.
A 98% probability that it wouldn’t erupt was, rounding up, tantamount to a certainty it would. Absolutely logical!
Luo Yuheng knitted her delicate brows and shook her head:
“Xu Lang has seen her true face, as have I. A calamity like that, if left in the world, is a disaster.
“I cannot stand by and watch her seduce my man. Ruining her is the best solution.”
All seven personalities are mad… Xu Qi’an couldn’t be bothered to argue reason with a personality that would only exist for one day, and simply agreed:
“Rest assured, I would never betray the National Teacher.”
Luo Yuheng gently shook her head:
“I don’t believe you, unless you swear never to touch her or love her in your lifetime.”
Ah… Xu Qi’an couldn’t help but glance at Mu Nanzhi.
But the Flower God’s reincarnation was no pushover, she broke free from Xu’s embrace and sneered coldly,
“Fine, you have the final say today. Whichever brothel you want me sent to, just send me there.”
With that, she raised her wrist and removed her bracelet.
Her beauty was the Flower God’s greatest weapon. She had absolute belief that no man could resist her charm. Any man who had seen her true face could never allow her to be sent to a brothel.
The moment she took off her bracelet, the humble room of the Strength Gu tribe was instantly brightened.
Baiji stupidly raised her head, staring at the beauty no words or language could describe.
Or rather, if the word “beauty” had been made for anyone, it must surely be for the woman before them.
She was gorgeous without being vulgar, alluring without a hint of the demonic, flawless features were only the most basic standard; her face exuded an intoxicating charm, her aura was inescapably bewitching.
Even a peerless beauty like Luo Yuheng, who came with her own “buff”, paled in comparison beside her.
“She can’t be sold to a brothel, she’s mine!”
Baiji raised her paw and slapped it down hard, declaring fiercely.
Her childish yet fierce roar startled Xu Qi’an back to his senses. He quickly grabbed Mu Nanzhi’s wrist and put the bracelet back on, and sent a voice transmission to Baiji:
“Didn’t you say you had proper business? Is the Nine-tailed Fox looking for me?”
“Yeah!” The little white fox half-drunkenly, half-alertly replied.
He glanced at Luo Yuheng, whose face had grown even darker, her eyes filled with deeper fear, and whispered urgently,
“Summon her.”
Only a shark could deal with a shark.
Baiji gave an “oh”, jumped out of Mu Nanzhi’s arms, landed steadily on the ground, looked at Xu Qi’an, lifted her paw towards the simple square table, and said sweetly,
“Put me up there.”
Xu Qi’an did as asked, placing Baiji on the table. She curled up, her soft foxtail covering her body.
Seconds later, a powerful will descended. Baiji slowly opened her eyes, a misty light wafting from her left eye.
She glanced round at the three in the room, scrutinised Xu Qi’an, and smiled sweetly:
“You look a little anxious.”
Her voice was gentle, magnetic, and pleasing to the ear, it was the voice of the Nine-tailed Fox.
How could I not be anxious? The fish in the pond are about to start fighting… Xu Qi’an glanced at Mu Nanzhi and Luo Yuheng, saw that both were shooting hostile looks at the Nine-tailed Fox, and knew that his plan to shift the conflict had worked.
He said calmly:
“Your Highness, what business do you have with me?”
“I shall be returning to Jiuzhou soon. You may wait for me at the Hundred Thousand Mountains.” The Nine-tailed Fox smiled.
Xu Qi’an pondered for a moment and analysed:
“With the Buddhist sect’s current presence in the Southern Marches, I doubt a single al-Asura would be able to stand against us. Is there a chance that Du’e and Samantabhadra might also join the battle?”
Baiji crouched on the table, looking sweet and adorable, but when she spoke, her voice was that of a mature woman:
“Thanks to Silver Gong Xu’s might, the Buddhist sect lost an Arhat and two Vajras. Agaruka is in Qingzhou holding back the Jianzheng. If the Buddhist sect wants to protect the Hundred Thousand Mountains, Du’e will certainly go.
“As for Samantabhadra, I expect him to send an aspect.”
Xu Qi’an raised his eyebrows:
“Only one aspect?”
The Nine-tailed Fox laughed charmingly: “Samantabhadra sits in Ananda, and hasn’t left for five hundred years. What do you think he is guarding?”
Guarding the sleeping Buddha. If that’s the case, it would be easier to take back the Hundred Thousand Mountains, and then I can support the southern Yao to oppose the Buddhist sect… Xu Qi’an inexplicably felt as if he was taking part in shaping history.
The “Sixty-year Extermination of the Yao” was recorded in the annals of history, and what he was about to do was to add an unexpected twist to that history.
Many years later, future generations might write in the history books:
Five hundred years after the Sixty-year Extermination of the Yao, with the help of Silver Gong Xu Qi’an of the Great Feng, the southern Yao drove the Buddhist sect out of the Southern Marches and reclaimed their homeland!
The Nine-tailed Fox immediately turned her gaze to Luo Yuheng, narrowed her eyes and smiled:
“The Human Sect Daoist Leader is also going to help us Yao? Tsk tsk, as expected of you, taking one of the strongest female cultivators in all of Jiuzhou into your harem.”
No, you’re asking for trouble, how can you tease Luo Yuheng like this? Xu Qi’an muttered inwardly. Observing Luo Yuheng’s expression and seeing her cold face and refusal to respond, he said helplessly,
“No, the National Teacher will go into seclusion for a few days and will not join the battle in the Southern Marches.”
For him, it was of utmost importance for Luo Yuheng to calm the karmic fire as soon as possible and transcend the tribulation to become a terrestrial immortal.
With a first-rank sword cultivator guarding the realm, only then would the Great Feng remain stable.
Before that, any battle that could destabilise Luo Yuheng’s “balance” was an unnecessary risk.
The Nine-tailed Celestial Fox nodded in mild disappointment.
“Don’t go yet, Your Highness. I have some important information here. Are you interested in a trade?”
Upholding the belief that knowledge is wealth, Xu Qi’an meant to sell the conversation between the Gu God and Baidi to the Nine-tailed Celestial Fox.
They were all experts at the beyond-mortal level, and no one could fail to be interested in such a secret.
The Nine-tailed Celestial Fox gave a light laugh:
“That depends on whether your news is worth my attention.”
Xu Qi’an spoke in a low voice:
“Not long ago, Baidi, who once appeared in Yunzhou, visited the shaman clan to meet the Gu God, and asked three questions.”
A glimmer of clear light in the Nine-tailed Celestial Fox’s left eye flickered as she restrained her seductive demeanour:
“You have succeeded in piquing my interest.”
Xu Qi’an then recounted the conversation between Baidi and the Gu God to her.
After he finished, he smiled and said, “What reward do you intend to offer for this secret?”
“What a coincidence!”
The Nine-tailed Celestial Fox smiled enchantingly:
“When I was overseas, I too met Baidi, and from his mouth learned the reason why the bloodlines of gods and demons fled Jiuzhou all those years ago. It’s directly related to those three questions.”
Xu Qi’an’s face grew serious and he blurted out,
“What was the reason?”
Although the future generations often claimed that the era of gods and demons ended at the hands of mankind’s ancestors, and their descendants slaughtered all the bloodlines of the gods and demons, Xu Qi’an knew that after the fall of the ancient gods and demons, their descendants had ruled over Jiuzhou for many, many years.
At that time, though humans and Yao were rising, there were not yet any beyond-rank, and even first-ranks were rare.
It would have been difficult to resist the numerous bloodlines of gods and demons.
It just wasn’t as hopeless as in the era of the gods and demons.
But today, the continent Jiuzhou was indeed ruled by humans. The Nine-tailed Fox had said before that, in ancient times, the descendants of gods and demons suddenly left Jiuzhou en-masse and went overseas.
Luo Yuheng and Mu Nanzhi were also interested. The former, as one of the supreme powers in Jiuzhou, naturally paid attention. The latter simply liked gossip.
The Nine-tailed Celestial Fox enunciated each word clearly:
“They were expelled from Jiuzhou by the Daoist Venerable.”
Expelled by the Daoist Venerable… That was why Baidi wanted to know where the Daoist Venerable is… Why did the Daoist Venerable drive the descendants of gods and demons out? Did his mother also get eaten by them?
Also, what does the Gatekeeper actually mean? Is it related to the Daoist Venerable…
At that moment, Xu Qi’an felt as if lightning flashed through his mind, with ideas bubbling up like foam only to pop and disperse instantly.
He vaguely grasped at something.
This feeling was like investigating a case with insufficient clues, he had suspicions, but couldn’t confirm them.
At the same time, another thought occurred to him. If the Daoist Venerable had indeed fallen, was Baidi planning to return to Jiuzhou?
…
Provincial Administration of Qingzhou.
Inside the hall, Yang Gong sat behind the desk and listened as his advisers argued endlessly.
Two pieces of military intelligence had arrived from the frontlines: Wan County was besieged by twenty thousand troops, the Yunzhou army surrounding but refusing to attack, all three reinforcements sent for relief were wiped out.
The Qingzhou forces suffered heavy losses.
The situation in Dongling City was even worse and more complicated. Sun Xuanji and Ji Xuan had a huge battle, turning half the city wall into ruins.
Defending Dongling was no longer an issue, the city itself was already lost.
Now, the Qingzhou troops who had garrisoned Dongling had withdrawn from the city and were engaging the Yunzhou rebels in open battle, with both sides locked in stalemate.
Though they hadn’t been defeated yet, the Dongling defensive line was already gone.
“Ziqian!”
Li Mubai exhaled slowly:
“The reason the relief troops sent to Wan County were ambushed is that the rebel army has a flying beast corps. Before the scouts of the flying beast corps, our side has no secrets when marching.
“This is a deadlock.”
All the advisers fell silent.
The Great Feng had no flying beasts, essentially giving the skies to the enemy, every move would be under their watchful eyes, and defeat would be inevitable.
And the only way to counter the flying beast corps was with another flying beast corps.
Yang Gong pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled heavily:
“I’ve already sent an urgent report to the court, requesting to mobilise the Scarlet-tail flame eagles of Leizhou.”
One adviser said in disappointment:
“But that’s not nearly enough. How many Scarlet-tail flame eagles can Leizhou provide? The court sold them all to local merchants and noble families a long time ago.
“Besides, even if we manage to deploy them, how much combat power can they provide? Duke Yang, if we can’t suppress the enemy’s flying beast corps, subsequent operations will all be at a disadvantage.”
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