At the courier station, in a hall warmed by shoujin coal, Xu Yuanshuang took out a voice-transmission conch and used an arcanist’s secret technique to activate the magical artefact.
This voice-transmission conch was an extremely precious magical artefact. Her father, as a second rank arcanist, possessed an abundance of first-rate magical artefacts, but among them, only one pair of such long-distance voice-transmission devices existed.
Its value did not lie in the difficulty of its crafting, nor in the grade of the formation fused within.
Rather, the issue lay in the most basic raw material.
This type of voice-transmission conch was, according to legend, a creature with god-demon bloodline, although it was exceedingly diluted.
They could emit soundwaves inaudible to ordinary people, communicating with their kin thousands of miles apart.
However, the species was now on the verge of extinction, and the pair that her father possessed had been brought out from the Sitianjian all those years ago.
In the past twenty years, he had never managed to find another living voice-transmission conch.
“Senior Brother Ge…”
She called softly into the conch.
After more than ten seconds, Ge Wenxuan’s voice came from inside:
“Have you arrived in the capital? Give the voice-transmission conch to Ji Yuan.”
When refining a voice-transmission conch as a magical artefact, a special sound-transmitting formation was incorporated, so it could only transmit with another conch of the same kind.
To put it simply, it used an encrypted transmission, only able to communicate with another conch created in the same batch.
Xu Yuanshuang tossed the voice-transmission conch to Ji Yuan at her side, who scrambled to catch it and complained,
“There are only two voice-transmission conches in the whole of Yunzhou. What if it breaks…?”
He muttered as he brought the conch to his ear, reined in his smile and said,
“The delegation has arrived in the capital, but we haven’t seen Xu Qi’an.”
Ge Wenxuan mused,
“With his temperament, if he held the upper hand and was brimming with confidence, then today he’d probably hit you with an opening show of strength.”
Ji Yuan smiled and said,
“I heard something today, Xu Qi’an and the little emperor had a falling out, apparently over the peace talks.”
Ge Wenxuan asked in surprise,
“How did you find that out?”
For him, a newcomer in the capital with no foundations, to probe into palace affairs so quickly, could it mean the Great Feng court was so unstable it was on the verge of collapse?
Ji Yuan replied,
“Before dusk, Consort Chen sent someone to see me privately, claiming to be an old acquaintance of the National Teacher, and asked him to show mercy in consideration of their past ties when discussing peace.”
Ge Wenxuan was silent for a moment, then sighed,
“The National Teacher’s pawns are everywhere, truly omnipresent… hold onto Consort Chen, and find a way to draw more information from her.
“Besides, peace talks are only one objective. The other is to drive a wedge between Xu Qi’an and the little emperor, stir up chaos on top of chaos. While you’re at it, see if you can sound out Xu Qi’an to learn what cards he holds.
“Although the Jianzheng has been sealed, no one knows what fallback tricks he may have left.”
Ji Yuan chuckled,
“I can’t wait to meet this Xu, and vent my seventh brother’s anger for him.”
Ge Wenxuan said flatly,
“Know your limits, there are more important things at stake.”
Ji Yuan lightly fanned his folding fan and grinned,
“I know. Xu Qi’an will soon be meat on the chopping block.”
…
Fifteen li outside the west city gate.
Al-Asura… Xu Qi’an gazed at the tall figure ahead, clad in a red and yellow kasaya, his mind racing in all directions as inspiration flashed.
He had figured out a lot, and yet was now uncertain about even more.
“You’re Number Eight?!”
He kept a relatively safe distance, staring at the other man in astonishment.
Al-Asura played with a small jade mirror and spoke calmly,
“If not, do you think you could have snatched away Shenshu’s severed limb so easily that day?”
He gave a soft laugh,
“If I had gone all-out at the time, your head would have rolled within fifty moves, and then I would have sealed and slowly ground you to death.”
So he really had gone easy on me… Xu Qi’an let out a silent sigh of relief.
After Luo Yuheng’s reminder, he had suspected that al-Asura might have held back. Later, he’d discussed it with the Nine-tailed Fox and concluded: either this was a Buddhist trap, or al-Asura had his own scheme, perhaps hoping to seize a benefit and advance to the first rank.
Now it seemed, al-Asura did have his own plan, but it was not to ascend to the first rank, it was to help out a fellow group member.
How did Daoist Jinlian manage to recruit such a powerhouse, it’s just incredible. It’s like me, Silver Gong Xu, having made the Jianzheng my underling… I thought he was just a rather unorthodox Daoist with a thing for cats…
Xu Qi’an took a deep breath, filled with a thousand questions, and asked,
“Why did you do this?”
Al-Asura turned the jade mirror in his hand, gazed westward, his face expressionless, but his tone suddenly weary:
“The Buddhist Sect slaughtered your father, wiped out your clan, and brainwashed you into the most devout Buddhist disciple.
“If you were in my place, what would you have done?”
Done their mothers… Xu Qi’an considered and asked,
“When you enter buddism, the four desires become empty, how did you deceive them?”
Al-Asura smiled,
“What if I told you that the Sovereign of the Wanyao Kingdom intentionally killed me back then?
“She knew the asura clan’s past. Although by then, we had become the most devoted disciples of Buddhism, so long as we could shed the effects of ‘all desires are empty’, the asura clan could reclaim its true self.
“And death was the only way.”
Xu Qi’an pondered,
“And at the time, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva used the ‘Dharma Aspect of Great Reincarnation’ to reincarnate fallen Buddhist experts for cultivation anew, so naturally, he would not stand idly by while you, a top second rank, perished.
“So, you became the holder of the Earth Book fragment before you returned to your post?”
al-Asura nodded slowly,
“Daoist Jinlian told me he could judge the fortune of a person, and said I possessed tremendous fortune, which was why he entrusted me with the Earth Book fragment.
“But I think he probably guessed I had something to do with the Buddhist Sect.”
Upon hearing this, Xu Qi’an nodded, then quickly shook his head,
“He didn’t guess, he investigated. After handing you the Earth Book fragment, he probably investigated your family history for eighteen generations.”
As he spoke, he thought of how, after handing him his Earth Book fragment, Daoist Jinlian had operated undercover in the capital for a while, investigating and observing him.
During that period, Daoist Jinlian managed to uncover about half the secrets behind his origin as a young Bronze Gong.
The rest had been shielded by the Jianzheng.
Xu Qi’an remembered Daoist Jinlian once saying, ‘You are an important chess piece for the Jianzheng.’
Had it not been for the Jianzheng’s protection, apart from the transmigration itself, Daoist Jinlian might even have found out the colour of ‘Xu Qi’an’s’ underpants.
Of course, a treasure as precious as the Earth Book naturally could not be given away lightly. Daoist Jinlian’s investigation and observation of the bearer was only to be expected.
Al-Asura continued,
“Afterwards, I stayed in seclusion cultivating, until I saw through to my true self and understood my past, then returned to the Buddhist Sect.”
Xu Qi’an spotted a bug and asked in puzzlement,
“If that’s so, how did you hide it from the Bodhisattvas? In the Southern Marches, you deliberately let me take Shenshu’s severed limb, there’s no way the Bodhisattvas would have ignored that.”
If he returned to the Buddhist Sect, he would certainly have been brainwashed.
Even if he had not, surely al-Asura’s performance during the incident in the Southern Marches would have raised their suspicions.
Al-Asura smiled at this and said,
“As I just said, Daoist Jinlian knew I was connected to the Buddhist Sect. So, do you really think he’d hand the Earth Book fragment to someone utterly loyal to Buddhism?”
Xu Qi’an vaguely grasped something and pondered,
“You mean…”
al-Asura did not keep him guessing, but answered calmly,
“Before I returned to my original position, he taught me Daoism’s ‘One Qi Transforms into Three Purities’ technique.”
No wonder… Xu Qi’an’s pupils widened slightly.
“The ‘returned’ al-Asura is indeed the most devout Buddhist disciple, joining the Buddhist Sect, all desires are empty. But the other al-Asura isn’t, he’s my true self, who hates the Buddhist Sect. One man becomes three; when I split myself, I am still the real al-Asura, a completely independent individual. Even the Bodhisattvas can’t detect this.
“When three become one, then when I merge with the other al-Asura, he enables me to see my true self and break free from the effect of ‘all desires are empty.’
“Of course, the ‘One Qi Transforms into Three Purities’ technique is too profound, and I can only create one avatar for now, but that is enough to serve as a ‘coordinate.’”
al-Asura smiled,
“Do you understand now?”
So that’s how it is. This explains all the doubts. Daoist Jinlian had mentioned a few days ago, after confirming Number Eight came out of seclusion, he must have known Number Eight’s identity, and that the final sealing nail in my body would have a solution. Yet he deliberately kept it to himself and let me worry for days, was this revenge for how I’d repeatedly made him doubt his life since his return from seclusion?
Some people look like kindly seniors on the surface, but behind your back, they’re just petty orange cats… Xu Qi’an suddenly understood and probed,
“Then your purpose in coming to the capital this time…..?”
al-Asura raised his brow ridge, though he had no eyebrows, and answered flatly,
“Of course, I’m here to help you remove the last sealing nail.
“The Jianzheng has already been sealed. If I don’t help, you and the Great Feng are finished.
“In which case, my revenge against the Buddhist Sect will come to nothing, just like drawing water with a bamboo basket. But this also means I won’t be able to remain hidden in Ananda any longer.”
Another three years and you’d have become a peak second rank of Buddhism… Xu Qi’an mentally grumbled, but was actually in a very good mood.
al-Asura suddenly recalled something and said,
“Oh, yes, when the Jianzheng was sealed, there was a Great Sun Tathagata Dharma Aspect that appeared in Ananda. The Buddha intervened.”
“You’re sure it was the Buddha?”
Xu Qi’an was greatly shocked.
At the same time, this solved one of his previous puzzles: the Beyond-rank behind Yunzhou was the one in Ananda.
The Jianzheng had not lost in vain.
“In that case, during the extermination of the Yao five hundred years ago, the Great Sun Tathagata Dharma Aspect that appeared finally makes sense.”
Al-Asura picked up the thread,
“When the war in the Southern Marches ended and I returned to Ananda, I secretly investigated with Arhat Du’e, and discovered some clues.”
He immediately related to Xu Qi’an the breathing he’d heard in the Demon-Suppressing Ravine, and the cry for help from the meditation grove.
Fuck… Xu Qi’an felt a long-lost tingle at his scalp.
Out of those two places, one must contain Shenshu’s head, most likely in the Demon-Suppressing Ravine. With the Confucian Sage’s statue destroyed, its seal must have vanished as well.
So what was the plea for help in the Bodhi tree?
al-Asura saw that he was deep in thought and waited patiently for a while before asking,
“What’s your opinion?”
He knew Xu Qi’an had exceptional insight and intuition in such matters.
Xu Qi’an thought for a moment and said,
“First, according to our second guess at the time, the Buddha and Shenshu are the same person, just different aspects.
“The Confucian Sage’s statue has been destroyed, and the seal is lifted. This fits with the events five hundred years ago.”
al-Asura nodded,
“You said before, if the Confucian Sage’s statue was destroyed, then the second guess would be fact. But how do you explain the cry for help?”
Xu Qi’an paused between each word,
“The Dharmapara Bodhisattva of the Buddhist Sect disappeared more than three hundred years ago, didn’t he?”
At that moment, al-Asura’s pupils shrank abruptly, his aura ever so slightly unstable.
Xu Qi’an continued,
“Of course, that’s just speculation, there’s no proof. We can’t yet confirm whether the second guess is the truth. If in fact it’s the first, then this is even more complicated.
“But in any case, now isn’t the time to peel away the Buddha’s mystery.”
Al-Asura agreed,
“The time isn’t right.
“I’ve come east but still haven’t met Daoist Jinlian. Let’s not waste any more time. After I remove the sealing nail for you, I have to leave the capital.”
Xu Qi’an immediately summoned the Stupa tower and brought both of them into the second level.
In this second layer, rows of Vajra statues glared fiercely, and a solemn oppressive aura pervaded the space.
Chai Xing’er sensed the newcomers, opened her eyes, and curiously sized up the nearly nine-foot-tall al-Asura.
At a glance, he was clearly a Buddhist. Despite his ugliness, he exuded heroic grandeur.
“The final sealing nail is at the Juque acupoint in the Ren meridian. It’s one of the four sealing nails I can remove. You are quite lucky.”
al-Asura scrutinised him, nodding slightly.
“Let’s begin!”
Xu Qi’an said.
He had chosen this place to remove the sealing nail mainly because the old monk spirit of the tower would be there to watch over him. If al-Asura tried anything, the old monk and he together could grapple with this young Asura prince.
Al-Asura extended his right forefinger and gently pressed it on the Juque acupoint.
An arc of golden lightning lit up at his fingertip, linking with the sealing nail.
Xu Qi’an closed his eyes, hearing resounding Sanskrit chants, while a stabbing pain shot through his Juque acupoint.
“Hah!”
al-Asura growled low. His fingerbone suddenly thickened, and bulging muscle lines appeared all over his powerful body.
The sealing nail was drawn out bit by bit… During this process, al-Asura gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his temple, cheek muscles twitching slightly.
The golden lightning bathed the entire second layer in radiant brilliance.
Ding!
At last, the sealing nail was completely extracted, clattering to the ground.
al-Asura’s aura rapidly declined, his chest heaving as he panted violently, clearly exhausted.
In the ensuing silence, Xu Qi’an slowly opened his eyes.
The vital energy gained from dual cultivation, the qi he had so painstakingly cultivated, in this moment flowed through his Ren and Du meridians, completely revived, suppressed no more.
It was as if a primordial, slumbering giant beast had awakened, its overwhelming strength instantly suffusing the entire space.
Rumble!
The Stupa tower shook fiercely, as if restraining a beast that surpassed its limits.
On the third floor, the old monk tower-spirit narrowed his eyes and muttered,
“Such profound foundations…”
Amid what felt like the end of days, with heaven and earth quaking, Chai Xing’er lay prostrate on the ground, her body trembling, her heart thumping ever harder in her chest, feeling it might explode at any moment.
Third rank perfection!
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