Clear light rose in waves from Xu Pingfeng’s body. With a few flickers, he passed through the pitch-black deep sea and saw the great submarine rift.
He wore a robe as thin as a cicada’s wing. It wrapped around Xu Pingfeng like a membrane, allowing the white-robed Arcanist, whose primordial spirit was on the verge of dispersing, to breathe freely underwater while keeping the terrifying water pressure at bay.
A water-avoidance robe!
What Arcanists lacked least were magical artefacts. They could adapt to all kinds of environments and never had any real weakness.
And even if they did, they could just keep spending silver on refining artefacts.
In the dim seabed, the water swayed. The great rift was like a monster’s gaping bloody maw, waiting for lost fish to throw themselves into its trap.
Xu Pingfeng opened his palm and glanced at the glow given off by the snow-white scale. Guided by the scale, Baidi was below.
The scale carried the aura of Baidi’s soul. This was the basis that allowed Xu Pingfeng to transmit messages to Baidi across a thousand miles.
Xu Pingfeng looked up. He could sense the earthly immortal and the first rank martial artist staring at him through the endless ocean, yet they feared the monster within the seabed rift and did not rashly enter the water.
“I’ll never be driven into a dead end.”
Xu Pingfeng muttered softly. Wrapped in clear light, he took out a night pearl radiating brilliant white light and entered the seabed rift.
The white glow swiftly fell, swallowed by the endless darkness.
After an unknown length of time, Xu Pingfeng’s feet touched silt. At last, he had reached the bottom of the seabed rift.
Holding the night pearl high, he walked for a while. At the edge of the bright, blazing light, a huge and indistinct outline vaguely appeared.
After walking another hundred or so paces, Xu Pingfeng finally saw the tip of the iceberg of the monster.
What appeared before his eyes was a face very much like that of the human race, but rougher and uglier in detail. On top of its head were six slightly curved long horns. Its head alone was as tall as the capital city’s wall.
And if the six long, upward-curving horns were added, it was twice the height of the wall.
The six curved horns were covered in innate, wondrous patterns. With Xu Pingfeng’s current status, he could tell at a glance that they contained the laws of the Great Dao.
If these patterns could be fully comprehended, they could be developed into immensely powerful formations.
But he abruptly shut his eyes. Precious though those patterns were, they were too dangerous, like a bottomless whirlpool that had nearly swallowed his already weakened primordial spirit.
Very strong, unbelievably strong… Although the monster before him had fallen asleep, Xu Pingfeng could still estimate that it was far stronger than Baidi.
“You’ve come.”
A vast, ethereal voice entered Xu Pingfeng’s mind directly.
“Xu Qi’an drove back Agaruka Bodhisattva. We lost,” Xu Pingfeng said in a low voice, examining the “human face” as he spoke. “So this is your true body?”
“Merely a grievously wounded body. Back then, when the Daoist Venerable expelled us from the continent of Jiuzhou, I fought him and was nearly killed. My injuries still haven’t healed even now.”
Desolation’s voice sounded again.
Xu Pingfeng neither believed nor disbelieved him, and said:
“As long as the Great Feng doesn’t fall, the Jianzheng won’t die. Your goal of refining the gatekeeper is difficult to achieve.
“As things stand, the best plan is to avoid their sharp edge and wait a hundred years. Once Xu Qi’an dies of old age, we can make a comeback and overthrow the Great Feng in one stroke.”
At that moment, a light chuckle came from one of Desolation’s curved goat horns.
“Teacher Jianzheng, are you very pleased with yourself?” Xu Pingfeng stirred his primordial spirit and sent a divine thought transmission. “The Xu Qi’an you supported successfully advanced to first rank and became one of the few supreme experts on the continent of Jiuzhou. Meanwhile, my plan to refine the fortune of the Central Plains and advance to Master of Heaven’s Mandate has had to stop.”
The Jianzheng’s calm voice came back, likewise through divine thought transmission:
“Wei Yuan has been resurrected, hasn’t he.”
Xu Pingfeng fell silent for a moment, then gave a cold snort.
The Jianzheng laughed.
“Pride and conceit were always your greatest weaknesses. At such a young age, you stepped into the realm of second rank Arcanists. You thought yourself clever and regarded all the heroes under heaven as beneath notice.
“And now you’ve been driven into a corner by your own flesh and blood. How does it feel to be in such a sorry state?”
The Jianzheng’s words were like a blade thrust into Xu Pingfeng’s chest. Veins bulged on his forehead and the skin of his face twitched.
“You still want to make a comeback? If you don’t die, do you think Xu Qi’an and Luo Yuheng will leave?” the Jianzheng said with a laugh. “Given Xu Qi’an’s hatred for you, you won’t escape. Even if Desolation shields you, he’ll fight you both to the death.”
Desolation fell silent.
…
Luo Yuheng’s fine brows drew together.
“Don’t be careless. You said Baidi’s true body was ‘Desolation’, but why did it return to Jiuzhou wearing Baidi’s skin? If its true body had descended, we could never have advanced to first rank.”
Xu Qi’an pondered for a moment.
“That means something went wrong with its true body, or it wasn’t convenient for it to return to Jiuzhou.”
If it was the former, then all was well. They could try to kill Desolation. If it was the latter, then things would be much more troublesome.
“Let’s probe first,” Xu Qi’an said.
Luo Yuheng gave a soft “mm”. A pitch-black “Water Aspect” floated from above her head and dived into the sea, swiftly circling beneath their feet.
At once, a whirlpool ten metres across appeared on the sea’s surface. It rapidly expanded and in the blink of an eye became fifty metres wide. The sharp tail of the whirlpool was like a blade, twisting as it stabbed into the seabed.
Very soon, through the centre of the whirlpool, Xu Qi’an saw the seabed, and saw the great rift.
By that time, the whirlpool stirred up by the “Water Aspect” had already expanded to a hundred metres in diameter, a magnificent sight.
As an earthly immortal, Luo Yuheng was no weaker in underwater combat than any descendant of water-attributed gods and demons. Even if Baidi’s body were still there, Luo Yuheng would not have feared fighting it in the water.
Seeing this, Luo Yuheng raised the iron sword in her hand. A soaring sword aura burst from the gleaming blade, and at once a layer of blazing fire coursed along it and burned fiercely.
A spiral current wound itself around the hand with which she held the sword, spinning faster and faster, faster and faster.
Xu Qi’an was not idle either. He lightly clenched his fist, twisted his waist, and drew his right arm back. Surging qi gathered into his fist, and the rising qi distorted the air.
Compared with Luo Yuheng’s splendid, immortal-like methods, the gathering force of a first rank martial artist seemed plain and unadorned.
…
Within the great rift.
Xu Pingfeng suddenly raised his head and saw a twisted, enormous whirlpool forcing apart the seawater as it bore down upon the great rift.
Through the centre of the whirlpool, he vaguely saw Xu Qi’an and Luo Yuheng each gathering power. Their killing moves were about to descend in an instant.
Behind him, the sleeping Desolation kept its eyes shut, while its mouth slowly opened. A mass of pure, resplendent power brewed within it.
On the sea’s surface, the spiral current around Luo Yuheng’s sword hand reached its utmost limit. She threw the sword in her hand and shouted:
“Go!”
With a whoosh, the spiral current was like a booster fitted onto it, propelling the iron sword wreathed in scorching flames towards the centre of the whirlpool.
The sword’s momentum was swift and sharp, combining the speed of the power of the Wind Aspect, the explosive force of the Fire Aspect, and the fierce killing power of the Human Sect’s swordsmanship.
Beside her, Xu Qi’an threw the punch he had been charging for so long.
The force of the punch was heavy and vast, like a mountain collapsing, like a tsunami. The seawater that accidentally brushed against it hissed and instantly vaporised.
At the same time, from between Desolation’s interlocking fangs, that resplendent light burst forth.
The pitch-black great rift was illuminated as brightly as day.
Boom!
The moment the light touched the iron sword, it exploded at once. Tens of millions of tonnes of seawater boiled. An earthquake struck the seabed. The soft mud layer within dozens of li was heaved up at the same time, and the silt that had settled for over a hundred years turned into grey smoke that rushed skyward. In an instant, the clear seawater became a murky soup of mud.
The great rift where Xu Pingfeng was collapsed, and huge rocks came tumbling down.
He swiftly teleported to one side, then saw the iron sword burning with fierce flames pierce through the muddy water, trailing a magnificent, dazzling tail of fire as it stabbed into the forehead of the sleeping monster.
The iron sword sank only halfway in before exhausting its force.
At that moment, the peerlessly overbearing fist intent followed close behind. Along the way, the muddy current vaporised one after another. The fist intent struck the sword hilt and drove the remaining half into the human-faced, goat-bodied monster.
The sleeping monster’s eyelids twitched violently, as though it were about to wake.
Xu Pingfeng felt a lurch in his heart, and his scalp went numb. A terrifying pressure rose with the monster’s rousing, a pressure even Agaruka Bodhisattva did not possess.
It was somewhat similar to the Confucian Sage’s heroic soul and the Great Sun Tathagata Dharma Aspect.
On the sea’s surface, Xu Qi’an and Luo Yuheng exchanged a glance. Both saw the shock in each other’s eyes.
Now that they were already first rank, they understood even more clearly and directly than Xu Pingfeng just how terrifying this pressure was.
Xu Qi’an had never seen the Confucian Sage’s heroic soul or the Great Sun Tathagata Dharma Aspect, but he had seen Shenshu with only his head missing before he fully reassembled, and he had seen how terrifying he was in his berserk state.
Now, from Desolation’s aura, he sensed a power of the same level.
This was a power infinitely close to Beyond-rank.
What’s going on? Is Desolation’s true body really this terrifying? Xu Qi’an’s heart tightened.
Just then, he, Luo Yuheng, and Xu Pingfeng heard a cracking sound.
One of the curved long horns atop the human-faced, goat-bodied monster’s head snapped.
The innate patterns on the curved horn lit up. It devoured everything around it, including seawater, light, the power of water spirits, and more, like the legendary bottomless abyss that swallowed all things between heaven and earth.
It was just such a horn that had once killed the Jianzheng in Qingzhou and sealed his primordial spirit within the horn.
Desolation had paid a price, deliberately snapping off one horn to deal with Xu Qi’an and Luo Yuheng.
This was the “weapon” of one who had once been Beyond-rank, the means by which it had roamed unhindered through the ancient age. It contained its innate divine power and was the embodiment of its spiritual essence.
The broken horn slowly floated up, its tip aimed at Xu Qi’an and Luo Yuheng.
At this moment, alarm bells rang madly in Xu Qi’an’s heart. Apart from a martial artist’s danger sense, he had a vague feeling that this strike could not be dodged.
Because of the special nature of a earthly immortal, Luo Yuheng perceived it even more clearly. She “saw” mysterious and strange runes rapidly spreading, transforming into a “whirlpool” that swept up everything, and that included them.
“I once heard a descendant of the gods and demons say that Great Desolation’s innate divine power is to devour all things. The more powerful creatures it devours, the stronger that innate divine power becomes,” Xu Qi’an said in a low voice.
Luo Yuheng frowned and said nothing. This innate divine ability of Desolation wasn’t a spell in the usual sense, and her golden body couldn’t resist it.
I Didn’t expect its true body to be this terrifying… Xu Pingfeng thought to himself, secretly wary.
But the stronger his ally was, the better it was for him.
How else could they fight an earthly immortal and a first rank martial artist?
Buzz!
Space suddenly shuddered, like a pierced curtain. The broken horn shot out, aimed straight at Luo Yuheng and Xu Qi’an.
With the broken horn as its core, mysterious and eerie patterns turned into a surging vortex, a vortex that devoured everything.
Golden light flickered in Luo Yuheng’s eyes. Just as she was about to meet the broken horn head-on, her belt suddenly tightened. Xu Qi’an pulled her back a little.
“Stay aside.”
Not giving Luo Yuheng a chance to get angry, he dived down and clasped the broken horn with both hands.
Whoosh!
The eerie and terrifying cyclone suddenly swelled. Xu Qi’an was like a moth flying into flame, no longer able to break free from it.
The broken horn was half as tall as a city wall. Compared to it, Xu Qi’an’s body wasn’t even like a moth, but a fly, a fly skewered by a sword.
The skin on his hands rapidly peeled away, exposing fresh red sinew and muscle, and that too began to strip away at speed.
His qi and life force drained rapidly, seized by the cyclone.
In the great rift on the seabed, Xu Pingfeng watched this scene and his eyes lit up.
Baidi’s divine ability had truly exceeded his expectations. From the look of it, it seemed Xu Qi’an was about to suffer badly.
“Don’t come over!”
Xu Qi’an barked at Luo Yuheng, who wanted to step forward and help. Grinning, he said:
“Watch carefully. I’ll show you the brute strength of a first rank martial artist.”
As his words fell, the robe on Xu Qi’an’s body exploded apart, revealing a strong, spotless white body. Lines of smooth yet fierce muscle were laid bare before Luo Yuheng’s eyes.
The muscles all over his body writhed soundlessly. Terrifying strength travelled from his calves to his thighs, then to his waist, pushing layer upon layer until it reached his arms.
“Ahhh…”
Xu Qi’an threw back his head and let out an earth-shaking roar.
Two beams of golden light shot from his eyes, piercing the vault of heaven.
The entire ocean boiled. Vast tracts of seawater surged and rolled high into the sky, spraying white foam.
Dark clouds churned across the heavens, lightning flashing through the cloud layers. It was a vision of the end of the world.
Luo Yuheng was startled. In her unique field of vision, all the elemental forces of heaven and earth had fallen into disorder, as if something that didn’t belong to this world had appeared and caused an error in the order of the Great Dao.
Luo Yuheng looked at Xu Qi’an again, and “saw” the elemental forces avoiding him in fear, not daring to touch his body. Even the eerie, mysterious patterns spreading from the broken horn were being forced back little by little.
She couldn’t help recalling a rumour she’d once heard about martial artists.
The ultimate state of a martial artist was to cultivate only the self, to have no exchange with the outside world, and to become a world unto oneself.
Crack!
Amid a crisp cracking sound, countless tiny fractures spread across that ram’s horn, half the height of a city wall. Before that, the mysterious patterns blanketing the surroundings had already collapsed first.
Crack!
The tip of the horn shattered completely, forcibly snapped off by a first rank martial artist through sheer brute strength.
The cyclone that devoured everything vanished with it.
The curved horn rapidly dropped back, falling towards the great rift on the seabed and returning to Desolation’s forehead. The broken section joined seamlessly, as though it had never snapped off, but the horn tip broken by Xu Qi’an was difficult to restore.
Xu Qi’an stood proudly between sky and sea. The flesh on both his hands was gone, leaving only ghastly white bone. His aura was no longer at its peak, faintly on the verge of falling back to second rank, though his rank itself was still first rank.
Taking a deep breath, Xu Qi’an bared his teeth and roared towards the seabed:
“Kill him!”
His roar rolled like thunder.
In the great rift on the seabed, the patterns on the horn atop Desolation’s head suddenly lit up. Whoosh, a cyclone sprang forth in response.
Kill me? Xu Pingfeng’s heart clenched, and by instinct he tried to cast a teleportation spell.
But it was too late. The cyclone enveloped him and pinned him where he stood.
Then his flesh and blood rapidly peeled away, turning into pure spiritual power and being swallowed into the centre of the cyclone.
Desolation’s sigh echoed through the great rift:
“Yunzhou’s grand cause is already lost. You’re not as important as you thought you were…
“My spiritual essence is damaged, and I don’t wish to wake completely yet. Compromise is my best choice. The strength of a first rank martial artist far exceeded my expectations…
“Wait a hundred years for Xu Qi’an to die of old age? There’s no time. The torrent of the age has already begun to surge, and the great calamity is approaching…
“You’re too weak. You’re not qualified to be my ally. Only first rank can take part in the great calamity.
“Devouring you is a good choice for me. Fortune and spiritual essence are equally important, and you’re a Fortune refiner!”
Amid Desolation’s muttering, Xu Pingfeng’s body slowly dissolved. His face was full of despair, and his primordial spirit shook with a furious roar:
“No, you can’t kill me, don’t kill me…”
That unwillingness and resentment were so thick they seemed almost tangible.
He suddenly looked up. Through the centre of the vortex, he saw Xu Qi’an coldly looking down on his ugly state.
“The thing I regret most in my life is not strangling you to death back then.”
Xu Qi’an raised a hand, condensing qi into a long spear, and said slowly:
“Today, I’ll kill you.
“I’ve heard only of punishing the tyrant Zhou as a mere man, never of murdering a father.”1
He hurled the qi spear with force, and it pierced through Xu Pingfeng’s chest.
Xu Pingfeng’s body completely broke apart, and his primordial spirit was extinguished.
This peak second rank Fortune refiner had seemingly never expected to meet his end in such a way.
Driven on by his eldest legitimate son, he died at the hands of a descendant of gods and demons.
…
The churning seawater slowly calmed, and the dark clouds covering the sky dispersed.
Xu Qi’an stood suspended in the air, back bent, panting violently.
The reason he’d gone to receive Desolation’s horn on purpose was partly because he didn’t want Luo Yuheng to take the risk, and partly because he wanted to “beat it into submission”, to make it understand one thing:
You may be very strong, but if I stake my life against yours, you’ll still have to wager your own life.
When he’d looked through the vortex stirred up by Luo Yuheng and seen the sleeping Desolation, judging that there really was something wrong with its true body, Xu Qi’an had settled on this plan.
And he’d known it would work.
The core was the same as when Agaruka Bodhisattva withdrew from the Central Plains. Why should I pay such a heavy price for an ally?
Especially an ally whose cause is already lost.
From the moment the Yunzhou army was utterly defeated, the relationship within their triangular alliance had in fact already become unstable, because in the short term they no longer had a common objective.
Sure enough, when he crushed Desolation’s horn and showed an attitude of fighting to the death, Desolation chose to compromise.
“Our karmic ties are settled. Past grievances and old affairs are written off in one stroke!”
Xu Qi’an spread his arms to the azure sky, as though embracing a new life.
Luo Yuheng’s brows and eyes softened. For the first time ever, she revealed a faint, gentle smile that was hard to detect.
Then she seemed to think of something, frowned, and said:
“Is the Jianzheng dead or alive?”
Xu Qi’an froze for a moment.
“Probably… alive? Forget it, leave him be.
“Just a mere Master of Heaven’s Mandate, not much use.”
The Jianzheng definitely couldn’t be saved now, and Xu Qi’an felt that if you were going to worry about anyone, don’t worry about that old sly fox.
You never knew what he was plotting.
…
In the pitch-black seabed, where one couldn’t see a hand before one’s face, the huge body floated in the water and drifted farther and farther overseas.
Its eyes were closed, as if asleep, drifting away with the current.
From within one of the curved ram’s horns came the Jianzheng’s sigh:
“I told you, he won’t stop until he kills his birth father, but you just had to try your luck. Now look how comfortable you are.
“Another corner of spiritual essence gone.”
Desolation said lightly:
“Arcanists taste quite good. My power has grown stronger again.”
The Jianzheng chattered on:
“The great calamity is near, and you’re still going overseas?”
Desolation’s vast and distant voice came:
“Do you want to know what’s overseas? I’ll take you somewhere. I need to prepare for the coming great calamity.”
…
Luo Yuheng looked at the purple-robed middle-aged man in her palm and said:
“Turtleback Island has quite a lot of stored grain and silver. We can just take it back to ease the court’s shortage.”
Xu Qi’an raised a blood-streaked finger bone and poked Luo Yuheng’s tender cheek, laughing:
“National Teacher, I’m badly injured. I urgently need dual cultivation to heal.”
Luo Yuheng kept a straight face and spoke in a businesslike tone:
“I’ve already become an earthly immortal. There’s no need to mention dual cultivation again. There is no longer any relationship between us as man and woman.”
Your good sister, the Flower God, said something similar before, then turned round and clamped my waist while moaning away… Xu Qi’an grumbled inwardly.
…
Donghai Commandery.
The lavishly decorated East Sea Dragon Palace.
In the inner hall, Dongfang Wanrong, wearing a tender green long dress and looking charmingly seductive, came in carrying a wooden tray. She set the tea down in front of Nalan Tianlu and said with a smile:
“Congratulations, teacher, on reshaping your body.”
Nalan Tianlu had greying hair and lean, refined features. He smiled and nodded.
Staring at his beloved disciple’s charming face, he suddenly sighed.
“I’d originally planned that after finding a way to restore my body, I’d send you to the Heaven Sect. Since that boy made you a promise of lifelong devotion, even if it meant offending the Heaven Sect, your teacher would still make him marry you.
“But just now, the Great Warlock sent me a message, summoning me to return at once to Mount Jing City.”
Dongfang Wanrong frowned.
“Why?”
Nalan Tianlu’s expression was strange. After pausing to choose his words, he said:
“The war in the Central Plains has already been settled. Xu Qi’an has advanced to first rank martial artist. The Great Warlock said that the Warlock God has issued a divine decree, summoning all Warlocks in the world back to Mount Jing City. You must go with them as well.”
Looking at Dongfang Wanrong’s bewildered expression, he said word by word:
“The great calamity is coming.”
…
Ananda.
Beneath the Bodhi tree, Agaruka Bodhisattva looked at Vaidurya Bodhisattva, robed in white as snow, with azure hair cascading like a waterfall, and said:
“Next, Samatabhadra and I will join forces to help you heal, so that you can recover your cultivation.”
Vaidurya Bodhisattva asked:
“You went to see Him?”
Agaruka Bodhisattva gave a soft “mm”.
“The great calamity of the age of gods and demons is coming. You all should make your preparations to face the great calamity.
“Also, Xu Qi’an has entered first rank and become the strongest martial artist in the world. The opportunity the Yao clan has been waiting for has arrived. Ananda will first face a military disaster.”
Vaidurya Bodhisattva and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, in the form of a young monk, both turned grave.
…
Qingzhou City.
The refugees in rags, unkempt and bedraggled, crowded at the city gate, listening to officials explain the contents of the notices.
“From today onward, Qingzhou will redraw the household registers. For anyone entered in the records, all past offences will be waived…
“From today onward, the court will open the granaries widely. Anyone who takes part in rebuilding Qingzhou will be allotted land. Before the autumn harvest, the porridge kitchens won’t be withdrawn.”
On those filthy faces, once numb and lifeless, the hope of a new life now shone forth, and light returned to their eyes.
Across all thirteen provinces of the Great Feng, the same notices were posted on every public notice wall.
The darkness was over, dawn had arrived.
…
The imperial palace.
Wearing dragon robes, the female Emperor, no less imposing than any man, ascended the high tower. What met her was a gentle spring breeze, cool but not biting.
She stood with her hands behind her back, slightly lifting her fair chin, a smile touching the corners of her lips.
To ordain conscience for Heaven and Earth,
To secure life and fortune for the people.
To establish peace for all future generations!
…
Tower of Noble Spirit.
Tap, tap, tap…
Amid slow footsteps, Xu Qi’an, wearing the uniform of a Silver Gong, climbed to the seventh floor and saw the familiar tea room, the familiar furnishings, and behind the tea table, the familiar dark azure-robed figure seated cross-legged.
The man with greying temples wore a smile, and said gently:
“You’ve come?”
Tears instantly blurred Xu Qi’an’s vision. He carefully straightened his clothes, and just as before, he bowed and cupped his fists.
“This humble subordinate greets Duke Wei!”
The world is full of fawning bones, only you remain as you ever were!
…
End of volume!
Zhou was the last (tyrant) king of the Shang dynasty. Partial quote from Mengzi, Liang Hui Wang (II) chapter, to describe how the people are important and the ruler not so; this book changes the quote to replace “ruler” with “father” ↩
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