A butterfly condensed from thin mist fluttered lightly in spirals. After circling deftly above Xu Qi’an and the nine-tailed fox a few times, it transformed before them into the figure of an old man with a long beard, long hair, and wide sleeves drifting in the air.
The Jianzheng!
Xu Qi’an was surprised, yet not surprised at all. He quickly rose and cupped his hands with a smile.
“Half a year since we last met, I trust you’ve been well, Jianzheng?
“I was just worrying about how to rescue you, or how to bypass Desolation and speak with you.”
His manner was exceedingly humble. Although the Jianzheng was now merely a “mere Master of Heaven’s Mandate”, respecting the old and cherishing the young was Silver Gong Xu’s nature, just like freeloading.
The Jianzheng had suffered his setback in early winter. Now it was late spring of the following year, nearing early summer. It had been about half a year.
The Jianzheng stood with his hands behind his back and gave a snort.
“Haven’t you seen this old man has been driven into a dead end? What do you mean, well!”
I was only being polite… Xu Qi’an habitually mocked the old schemer in his heart, while keeping his respectful tone unchanged.
“What brings you here, sir?”
As he asked this, Xu Qi’an had the feeling that the cards were about to be laid on the table. He had a premonition that on this island, the Jianzheng would finally be frank with him.
As for what would be revealed, it would most likely be about gods and demons, about the great calamity to come.
And also the old schemer’s later arrangements, plans, and so on.
The Jianzheng sighed.
“Do you know what sort of place this island is?”
“This is an ancient battlefield of gods and demons. Forbidden zones formed from their falls are everywhere here, and fragmented spiritual essence fills the place.”
The nine-tailed fox answered in Xu Qi’an’s place.
The Jianzheng nodded. “To be precise, this place was the final battlefield where the gods and demons met their end, and also the beginning of that end. The true reason for the fall of the gods and demons lies in the centre of the island.
“The reason Desolation came ashore this time was for one particular thing on this island.”
Xu Qi’an and the nine-tailed fox asked at the same time, almost by instinct:
“What thing?”
The Jianzheng shook his head slightly and said:
“Something that can’t be described in words. Once you see it, you’ll naturally know what it is.”
The secret behind the fall of the gods and demons lies in the centre of the island, and it’s some kind of object? Wait, that descendant of the gods and demons on Silkworm Island had told me that the ancient gods and demons perished because They suddenly went mad, fought one another, and in the end brought the age of gods and demons to an end.
She didn’t say it was over some object… Xu Qi’an frowned and said:
“Desolation came here not to return to His peak? To recover Beyond-rank strength? Or rather, that object can let Him return to His peak.”
This was rather different from what he had expected.
He had assumed that Desolation had travelled all the way to the Island of Gods and Demons in order to regain His former peak, build up His power, and contend against the three Beyond-ranks on the continent of Jiuzhou.
He had not expected it to involve an even greater secret.
“Recovering His peak is one of His aims. That does not conflict with taking that item.” The Jianzheng looked around him. “Desolation was one of the most powerful god-demon of antiquity, possessing Beyond-rank battle strength. In the great war among gods and demons, because He had made too many enemies, He became the target of their united assault.
“Though He ultimately survived by luck, His spiritual essence was damaged, and He never returned to His peak.
“He disguised Himself as a descendant of the gods and demons and slaughtered everywhere. Later, the Daoist Venerable drove Him out of Jiuzhou, but He still never stopped slaughtering the descendants of gods and demons, all for the sake of repairing the damage in His spiritual essence and returning to Beyond-rank.”
The nine-tailed heavenly fox asked:
“By devouring different spiritual essences, one can repair one’s own spiritual essence?”
She was not especially shocked. She had long known both that something had gone wrong with Desolation’s true body, and that He had never stopped slaughtering the descendants of gods and demons.
“That is His innate divine ability. The spiritual essence He devours can be transformed into His own spiritual essence, thereby mending the damage. In a sense, the essence of all spiritual essence is the same.” The Jianzheng looked at Xu Qi’an and smiled. “Unfortunately, descendants of gods and demons are of too little use to Him. Just as for you, ordinary third rank experts are of no benefit whatsoever. And you only wish to advance to half-step Martial God, whereas what He wants is to return to Beyond-rank.”
Xu Qi’an’s heart stirred.
“When you told me just now to throw out that bone, were you trying to force Him to absorb its spiritual essence?”
The Jianzheng nodded.
“After entering the island, He had already devoured a certain amount of spiritual essence bit by bit, and had reached a bottleneck. If He continued devouring more, He would need to fall asleep in order to digest it. He did not want to sleep, so He could only stop devouring.”
So that was it. I was wondering how that bone could possibly suppress Desolation… Xu Qi’an brought the subject back on track and asked:
“What exactly is this Island of Gods and Demons? Why was it hidden within the Guixu, and why has it resurfaced recently?”
The two pointed ears on top of the silver-haired fox enchantress’s head instinctively pricked up, though she herself did not notice it. She simply stared intently at the Jianzheng.
“I cannot answer your first question.” The Jianzheng first shook his head, then continued, “As for why it surfaced, you should already know. The fall of the gods and demons was the first great calamity. Now the second great calamity is about to arrive, and the cause of the former destruction was connected to it…”
The Jianzheng spoke calmly and evenly.
Yet on hearing such a world-shaking secret, both Xu Qi’an and the nine-tailed fox felt their hearts race, even a little unsteady.
Xu Qi’an lowered his voice, his expression graver than ever before.
“That thing… is the so-called great calamity?!”
He had never been so close to the truth.
At the same time, an intense curiosity surged up in him. He wanted to know at once what exactly that thing on the island was.
The Jianzheng pondered for a moment, then slowly nodded.
“You could say that.”
Xu Qi’an felt that the Jianzheng had not finished speaking, but wisely did not press further.
“Impossible!”
The nine-tailed fox shook her head and retorted:
“If that thing on the island really is the so-called great calamity, then the Gu God, the Warlock God, and Buddha would not sit idly by without the slightest reaction.”
Xu Qi’an looked towards the Jianzheng. After a brief silence, the latter smiled.
“The two great calamities are not the same. That thing on the island is indeed the core and key of the great calamity, but it belongs to the first great calamity. And in that one, in the age of gods and demons, there was no gatekeeper.”
“What is a gatekeeper, and what is being kept?” the nine-tailed fox asked, voicing the doubt in Xu Qi’an’s own heart.
“When you reach the centre of this island and see it, you’ll naturally know,” said the Jianzheng.
Xu Qi’an looked at the nine-tailed fox and saw a vein bulging on the smooth forehead of the fox spirit. She was clearly furious inside, but forcing herself to endure it.
You’ll get used to it. Arcanists are just that punchable… he muttered inwardly.
That included the Jianzheng and his disciples. Well, except the mascot glutton and the unlucky one.
“The key and core of the second great calamity is fortune, isn’t it?” Xu Qi’an fixed his gaze on the Jianzheng.
“That’s right.”
This time, the old schemer gave a definite answer.
“So Buddha, the Warlock God, and the Gu God, those three Beyond-ranks, never sent anyone overseas?” the nine-tailed fox asked in sudden understanding.
If the Jianzheng tried to keep her guessing again, then once she returned to Jiuzhou, she would burn down the Stargazing Tower in one fire.
The Jianzheng shook his head.
“Aside from the Gu God, the other two do not know this island exists. This is a secret known only to the gods and demons.”
I thought Beyond-ranks knew everything… Xu Qi’an probed:
“Jianzheng, is this why you deliberately let Desolation seal you? Was your real scheme also for the thing at the centre of the island?”
The Jianzheng sighed.
“I truly did suffer a reversal in the gutter. I was wholly unprepared. Ah, old age, old age…”
As if I’d believe a word of that!
Xu Qi’an knew the taboos of a Master of Heaven’s Mandate, so he did not pursue it. He glanced at the nine-tailed fox and said:
“You came to me because you want me to stop Desolation’s plan and seize that thing on the island.”
The Jianzheng nodded.
“If that thing falls into Desolation’s hands, all is lost.”
“Didn’t you say that thing was part of the first great calamity and unrelated to the second?” the nine-tailed fox argued.
The Jianzheng explained placidly:
“It was the key to the first great calamity, but that doesn’t mean it is useless now. Whether the first great calamity or the second, their essence is the same. Only the method has changed.”
So in the end, we’re going to have to fight this out no matter what… If the essence of the two great calamities is the same, then why did things change before and after? Because of the appearance of the gatekeeper? Xu Qi’an said helplessly:
“But you saw what happened just now. Even joining forces with the queen, I wasn’t a match for Him.”
The Jianzheng replied unhurriedly:
“What do you think is most important when fighting Desolation?”
Xu Qi’an answered without a moment’s thought:
“The power to smash Him apart with one punch.”
The Jianzheng snapped angrily:
“It’s the ability to escape with your life!
“Coarse martial artist.”
“Coarse martial artist…” The nine-tailed fox at the side silently mouthed the words in agreement.
“With your current battle strength, you are not enough to contend with Desolation. Nor do you need to defeat Him. You only need to snatch that thing from His hands. Therefore, sneak attacks and swift escapes are of the utmost importance. So…”
The Jianzheng paused, looked around, and smiled.
“You need the power of this space.”
The space they occupied was filled with shattered, constantly shifting forces of space.
“First, I am going to give you a magical artefact!”
With that, the Jianzheng stretched out his right hand and grabbed at the void. Visible ripples appeared in the air, like the surface of water disturbed from stillness.
The Jianzheng fumbled about for a moment, then pulled something out of the void.
It looked like a transparent glass sphere. Inside it was a black vertical pupil, with twisted blood vessels extending from its edges.
“An eyeball?”
Xu Qi’an guessed that it had been formed from the spiritual essence of some god-demon from back then, the same sort of thing as the fire-attributed spinal bone.
The Jianzheng ignored him and turned to look at the nine-tailed heavenly fox. With his idle left hand, he made a grasping motion towards her.
The nine-tailed fox felt a sudden pain in her scalp, as though someone had yanked hard at her hair.
Then she saw a tuft of her white fur torn free by the Jianzheng, floating lightly towards the wretched old man.
A small tuft of silver-white hair drifted towards the glass sphere. The instant it touched it, a blindingly hot flame rose in the Jianzheng’s palm, and the two objects swiftly distorted, as if iron billets were melting.
They fused together, intertwined together, and in the end became a wrist cord.
The wrist cord was woven from silver-white hair, strung with a glass bead the size of a thumbnail. Within the bead lurked a black vertical pupil, but the blood vessels were gone.
The Jianzheng tossed the cord bracelet to Xu Qi’an and said,
“Drip blood on it to make it yours.”
Any magical artefact that required blood to acknowledge its master was, at the very least, a peerless divine weapon. Ordinary magical artefacts were merely tools, and tools could be used by anyone, so there was no need for any acknowledgement.
And just like that, a peerless divine weapon had been born.
If Senior Brother Song saw this alchemy of the Jianzheng’s, would he cry with envy… Hmm, or perhaps he’d sneer at it instead, saying such alchemy had no soul… Xu Qi’an took the cord bracelet, forced out a bead of blood from his fingertip, then with curiosity and anticipation, smeared it onto the glass bead.
A few seconds later, he successfully established a “connection” with the artefact and grasped its function.
It was a magical artefact with a single effect. It had only one ability, spatial transference.
Of course, a single ability didn’t mean a simple one. Spatial transference had many applications, such as teleportation, spatial cutting, taking objects from afar, and so on.
Spatial cutting couldn’t injure Desolation, but Xu Qi’an could cut the space It occupied and send It far away.
However, this move could only be carried out as a sneak attack. Once the other side was on guard, all It needed to do was move quickly to break the move.
“With this, our confidence in snatching food from a tiger’s jaws really does increase greatly,” Xu Qi’an said.
But the Jianzheng shook his head.
“No. In a normal state, it’ll be very hard for you to snatch food from right in front of It. You still need a sufficiently powerful helper to create an opportunity for you.”
He looked towards the Nine-tailed Fox.
The latter frowned repeatedly and snorted.
“I can’t do it.”
She had a premonition that after the lesson just now, the next time Desolation saw her, It would kill her first and get rid of the irritating fly.
The Jianzheng looked at her with a smile.
“The resting place of the Qingqiu Fox is also on this island.”
That meant the incomplete spiritual essence of the Qingqiu Fox would also still exist.
I remember that the spiritual essence of the Nine-tailed Heavenly Fox can be inherited. Those of the same race can seize each other’s spiritual essence. The fox spirit’s chance to advance to first rank has arrived… Xu Qi’an was delighted and turned his head to look at the Nine-tailed Fox.
Light suddenly burst from the silver-haired demoness’s eyes.
The Jianzheng asked with a smile,
“Are you satisfied with this transaction?”
The Nine-tailed Fox took a deep breath, calmed the agitation in her heart, then said after some thought,
“If I can advance to first rank and gain control over the innate divine ability of the Nine-tailed Heavenly Fox lineage, then our chances really will be much greater.”
Xu Qi’an asked,
“What is the innate divine ability of your lineage?”
What sort of innate divine ability required one to reach first rank before it could be controlled?
“The Nine-tailed Heavenly Fox, as the name suggests, is of course related to tails.” The silver-haired demoness’s smile suddenly grew somewhat complicated as she said,
“My mother was also a Nine-tailed Heavenly Fox, and she also had nine great elders by her side. Yet not a single one survived. Do you know why?”
Xu Qi’an shook his head. Looking at the complicated expression on the Nine-tailed Fox’s face, he instinctively felt there was a trap hidden in this.
The silver-haired demoness considered her words for a moment, then said quietly,
“Because foxes have nine lives! Only after all nine great elders died did my mother die. Once a Nine-tailed Heavenly Fox reaches adulthood, it splits into nine divided souls that merge into the nine tails. This is the rudiment of the innate divine ability.
“Once one reaches first rank, the nine tails go a step further, changing from incarnations into substitutes. The role of the substitutes is to die in place of the main body. In other words, a first-rank me has nine lives.”
The tails die in place of the main body… The joy in Xu Qi’an’s heart suddenly disappeared. In a deep voice, he said,
“Then the tails that die…”
The Nine-tailed Heavenly Fox said flatly,
“They naturally die. However, so long as the main body does not perish, a new tail can grow every hundred years. But the newly grown tail has no connection whatsoever to the previous one. As far as the previous tail is concerned, she truly dies.
“That is why I and the nine tails address each other as master and servants, rather than sisters.
“If we were sisters, there would inevitably be feelings. Once there are feelings, there will be sorrow, and one would only seek out trouble for oneself.”
Xu Qi’an was silent for a long while before saying,
“It can’t be Yeji, Baiji, Qingji, or Xueji.”
He knew all four Ji. There was no need to speak of the first two, and even with the latter two, there was some bond. If the Nine-tailed Heavenly Fox had to let them “die”, Xu Qi’an could only ensure that these four Ji remained safe and unharmed.
“All right!” The silver-haired demoness gave her promise.
Her face was expressionless, making her seem incomparably cold, but Xu Qi’an, who was familiar with her usual sly manner, knew that the Nine-tailed Fox did not truly feel nothing for her nine sisters, nor were they truly only master and servants, with no other bond.
How truly cruel… He slowly let out a breath.
…
The imperial palace.
In the imperial garden, in a pavilion.
Huaiqing, wearing a plum-coloured palace dress, sat by the round table, pinching a white Go piece between her slender jade-like fingers, frowning and saying nothing.
After a long while, she helplessly dropped the piece and conceded defeat.
“We have lost.
“It’s all Xu Ningyan’s fault. After playing against him for so long, our Go skill has declined badly indeed. As expected, one who keeps company with ink is blackened.”
Sitting opposite her, Wei Yuan wore a gentle smile.
“Weren’t Your Majesty rather happy those few days?
“You even stopped handling state affairs, spending all day thinking about playing Go with Xu Ningyan. Your servant had thought Xu Ningyan’s skill at Go was superb, that it had stirred Your Majesty’s competitive spirit.”
Without letting it show, he glanced at Huaiqing’s dress. It was also after that period that Huaiqing had changed back into wearing dresses again.
The change in her state of mind there was not something to be spoken of to outsiders.
Huaiqing was intelligent enough to naturally hear the teasing and banter in Wei Yuan’s words. She said flatly,
“Duke Wei ought to take the Empress Mother out of the palace soon, lest when the matter is exposed in future, the court historians write a line in the annals of history, ‘The eunuch usurper Wei Yuan brought chaos to the inner palace.’”
Wei Yuan’s expression did not change.
“Your Majesty, Zhujiu of the northern Yao clans gave his reply the day before yesterday. He is unwilling to involve himself in this so-called great calamity. If we continue to force him, then he’ll take the Yao and barbarians and head far away to the bitter cold lands of the North Pole.”
Huaiqing stopped at the proper point and did not continue their mutual wounding. She said with a cold laugh,
“He does at least know his own limits.”
The Yao and barbarians had already completely withdrawn from the political stage of Jiuzhou. Embracing a lie-flat mentality, they had lost all ambition to compete for supremacy.
Wei Yuan set down the Go piece, picked up the teacup at hand, took a sip, and said,
“In truth, in the future trend, although third-rank beyond-mortals are extremely powerful battle strength, they are of no help to the overall situation. If he doesn’t wish to get involved, then let him be. He need only obediently make good the money and grain the Great Feng is owed.”
Huaiqing nodded in agreement and asked,
“What movement is there from the Church of the Warlock God?”
“None. They are waiting for the Warlock God to break free of the seal. Before that, there shouldn’t be any action,” Wei Yuan said.
“And the Western Regions?” Huaiqing asked again.
“According to the intelligence sent back by our agents, the wealthy and powerful nobles of the Western Regions have basically already set out for Ananda. They believe that the Buddha’s appearance in the world is to deliver all living beings, and that everyone can attain a Phala.
“It is a once-in-a-millennium opportunity.”
Wei Yuan smiled.
“If we wished to send troops to attack the Buddhists, now would be an excellent opportunity.”
“It would be meaningless.” Huaiqing shook her head. “What does Duke Wei think of this matter?”
Wei Yuan did not think before replying,
“After Shenshu’s head was taken back, the Buddhist sect no longer needed to divide its efforts to suppress it. And just as the great calamity is approaching, what does Your Majesty think the Buddha’s next step will be?”
Huaiqing likewise did not think.
“To make arrangements.”
Wei Yuan continued,
“Therefore, this Buddhist Dharma Assembly is the Buddha’s arrangement.”
Huaiqing had long since thought of this and followed up naturally,
“So we must think of a way to sabotage the Buddhist Dharma Assembly?”
That was what troubled her.
Xu Ningyan was not in the Central Plains, and the Nine-tailed Heavenly Fox, a pillar-like figure, was also absent. The Great Feng and the Southern Marches had both suffered a major reduction in battle strength. Even if Shenshu recovered to his peak state and led the beyond-mortal experts of the Great Feng, it would still be impossible to defeat the three Bodhisattvas under the Buddha’s command.
Wei Yuan smiled and said,
“Sometimes, to devour an enemy force, one doesn’t necessarily have to confront it head-on. Cut off its provisions and cut off its reinforcements, and you can equally force them into a dead end. Your Majesty must learn to look at problems from different angles.
“We can set aside the Buddhist Dharma Assembly and think only about the Buddha, or what a Beyond-rank wants.”
Huaiqing’s heart stirred and she blurted out,
“Fortune!”
Wei Yuan’s smile widened.
“Then can we not boldly guess that the Buddhist Dharma Assembly is the means and method by which fortune is gathered?”
Seeing Huaiqing frown and nod, Wei Yuan continued,
“Once we know this enemy force’s weakness, we can cut off its provisions.”
Huaiqing’s eyes lit up.
“How do we cut them off!”
Wei Yuan’s gaze suddenly sharpened.
“The Buddhist monks are limited in number. They cannot govern the vast Western Regions, nor can they control the countless common people. And while the noble class is travelling to Ananda, the strength of governance in every kingdom and city will inevitably decline.
“What the court must do is not stop the Buddhist Dharma Assembly, but seize this opportunity to secretly support Mahayana Buddhism, divide the faith of the people of the Western Regions, and expand its scale. Then we stir up the people of the Western Regions to migrate to the Central Plains.
“Weaken the fortune of the Western Regions.”
Huaiqing sighed in admiration.
“One skilled in strategy ought to plan for all under Heaven.
“We will support Duke Wei with all our might. We will spare no effort, even to the extent of exhausting the strength of the nation.”
Wei Yuan smiled.
“Though Your Majesty is a woman, your boldness far surpasses that of the sovereigns of past ages.”
…
Somewhere on the island of gods and demons.
Xu Qi’an and the Nine-tailed Fox stood at the edge of a certain forbidden area. Looking at the illusory naked beauties ahead, swaying their waists, he said with complete sincerity,
“Please do let me accompany you.”
The silver-haired demoness, with lascivious sounds filling her ears, frowned and said,
“No. I’ll go in by myself. If I go in with you, this kingdom lord’s intact body, preserved for five hundred years, will be in danger.”
Xu Qi’an said irritably,
“Listen to yourself. As if I’m not also untouched.
“Mere seductive beauty can’t tempt this Silver Gong.”
Shameless… The Nine-tailed Heavenly Fox rolled her eyes and said,
“I’m afraid you’ll take the chance to molest this kingdom lord.”
As they bickered, the two walked forward shoulder to shoulder and entered the region where the Qingqiu Fox had fallen.
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