Volume 4, Chapter 43 – The Congratulatory Gifts

Before anything happened with Liu Yong, Bai Xiang was in the main hall receiving a group of envoys from the Illusory Realms.

Most likely because her fearsome reputation had already spread, the envoys from Taixu Monastery, Qinglan Immortal Sect, Mingyuan Temple, and Lishan Sword Sect were not the young prodigies who had been showing off all over the net lately. Instead, they were all middle-aged or elderly cultivators whose realms were solid but whose potential was clearly all used up.

“Lord Bai has ascended to the high seat at the mere age of double nine. In the centuries to come you are sure to advance even further, with hopes of reaching the Tongsheng Realm…”

Below the main seat, a Daoist with long hair and a goatee bowed politely to Bai Xiang as he spoke, bending low while the attendant behind him presented a gift tray.

“This Spirit-Washing Wine and Spirit-Linking Wood are delicacies and treasures famed across the realms, produced by our Taixu Monastery. We now offer them as congratulatory gifts, to congratulate Lord Bai on holding this Dao region and presiding over mountains and rivers.”

This old man really had no shame.

Watching from above, Bai Xiang actually found him somewhat entertaining. Even her eyelids couldn’t help twitching.

They had clearly realized there was basically no prior relationship to draw on, and even trying to get closer to her was hard to justify.

After all, they couldn’t very well congratulate her on annihilating Shenwu Heaven’s invading army, could they?

No matter how you said it, that would sound wrong. So they could only find some other excuse, cut in from the topic of her inheriting the dojo and attaining Immortal Venerable, put on a show of praise, and then present some precious gifts completely out of proportion to the supposed cause.

Just that behavior, those words—if a young person tried to do it, they’d probably be cringing hard enough to curl their toes into the floor. Yet this old “Feng Xuzi” could keep a straight face and act completely serious, as if offering tribute to an emperor. His cultivation in “keeping face” really had reached a high level.

“And our Qinglan Immortal Sect as well.”

Not to be outdone, a beautiful woman beside him stood up the moment she saw a Shenming disciple carry off the tray with the Spirit-Washing Wine and Spirit-Linking Wood. She practically shoved Feng Xuzi aside, then bowed deeply to Bai Xiang.

“Our sect has no particularly renowned specialties. We instead present a full set of artifact talismans and manuals, and five sets of flying boat designs.”

The beautiful woman wore a blue ancient-style dress. When she lifted her head, her expression was tense and solemn. “Together with some of our recent actions… I hope Lord Bai understands where our sect stands.”

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Shameless.

Feng Xuzi’s expression changed at once, and he shot her a look full of contempt and jealousy.

Damn it. Back at the door he’d only been focused on comparing gift choices, trying to see whose offering was more valuable, and had completely forgotten that Qinglan Immortal Sect had gone and picked the fake Yuming Sword Dao.

Now which dojo didn’t know the truth, that the real Yuming Sword Dao had long since merged with Shenming, and that Elder Xiang Xian, who sat a peak for Yuming, was Bai Xiang’s own master?

Handled on its own, the matter of Qinglan choosing the fake Yuming wasn’t that noteworthy. But once you factored in this relationship, it somehow turned into Qinglan Immortal Sect “standing up for the old Yuming” on purpose.

This was flattery taken to the realm of perfection. They had learned to slap the cow on the other side of the mountain.

“Amitabha.”

With a Buddha-name chant, a lone, towering, fat monk to the left rose to his feet. Just his height was around two and a half meters. His dark blue and ocher monk’s robe was frayed and torn at the hem, stained and filthy, yet he seemed unbothered. With a kindly face and bare chest, he smiled at Bai Xiang and pulled a rolled scroll from his wide sleeve.

“This humble monk, Mibu, represents Mingyuan Temple in congratulating Lord Bai on attainment. I specially present fifty Void Demon Visualization Charts, which Lord Bai may examine at leisure.”

Void Demon Visualization Charts?

At those words, not only were the other three envoys startled, even Bai Xiang was a bit surprised.

To explain it, you had to go back to the connection between Dao-Void Methods and the Yu people’s Sword Dao… Since the latter was known to be an imitation and borrowing of the former, the two systems were bound to share some common ground.

For example, the basic pursuit of the power of Loss of Order—demonic power—its accumulation, and the pursuit of controlling the rules of a Demon Pool, or “void demons” as the Illusory Realms called them, refining that power into a mighty divine ability under one’s own control before one attained the Dao.

Then naturally, just as there were Demon Pool Visualization Charts, there would be Void Demon Visualization Charts.

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From what Bai Xiang knew, because the Illusory Realms of the Upper Realm were closer to the cosmic void, with some outer shards frequently scoured by Void Tribulations, the Demon Pools that existed in those places were far more terrifying. That was why they had earned the title “Void Demons.”

Even if she didn’t use the charts to cultivate, the information recorded in them alone was invaluable.

After all, the Upper Realm wasn’t the main world, and the Demon Court wasn’t a true imperial government. They barely managed to keep the order of the realms from being shattered and couldn’t possibly force every sect and dojo to hand over their visualization chart archives for shared reference.

Yet these archives were often directly tied to whether disciples on tempering journeys could recognize a Void Demon at first glance, identify its type and corresponding weaknesses. They were life-or-death resources that determined survival rates in the field.

Even when sects sent “intelligence” as gifts, they would rarely offer actual scrolls. Even if they did, it might be just a handful at most. For Mingyuan Temple to start at “fifty charts,” this level of generosity would shock people even in the Upper Realm.

Crafty monk.

Feng Xuzi and the blue-dressed woman were both green with envy.

They could more or less guess that, despite how many scrolls Mingyuan Temple had sent, the ones dealing with truly classified Void Demon data weren’t that many. Most of it was probably fairly standard material—Void Demons frequently encountered while traveling the Upper Realm, just powerful enough to cause minor trouble for disciples on tempering journeys.

But material like that, every major sect had it.

Laid out on the table, it wasn’t actually worth that much. However, Shenming Sword Dao had “just entered the world” and was desperately short on channels of information in this particular area.

It really was habitual thinking that killed you. Why hadn’t they thought of this?

“Master has given this much thought.” Bai Xiang’s brows eased slightly. “Attend. Serve Master Mibu some tea and let our guests taste our Dao’s tea as well.”

Disciples immediately came forward with tea trays, first serving tea and water to Mibu. Only after he had been properly attended to did they turn to the other envoys.

It wasn’t that Bai Xiang was deliberately playing favorites. In terms of importance, Mingyuan Temple’s gift really did outweigh the others.

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One had to understand that, though she had read quite a few residual soul memories from Void People and Void Demons, those individuals had either been renowned cultivators from major dojos or minor demonfolk and rogue cultivators who had chosen to depend on them. Normally sheltered by major dojos, they rarely needed to go out and face Void Demons themselves. Their knowledge in that area was actually quite limited.

Even if she compiled all the Demon Pool and Void Demon information scattered throughout their soul fragments, she still couldn’t piece together fifty complete charts. Most of it was broken and incomplete, with far too many gaps that Bai Xiang would have to fill in herself.

And as Void Tribulations drew closer to the main world and Loss of Order phenomena grew more intense, it was entirely foreseeable that, as celestial changes repeated and rampant plant overgrowth spread, Demon Pools worthy of being called “Void Demons” would not be far behind.

Bai Xiang could not become a nanny for every dojo disciple and kin, shielding them every moment. When trouble came, they would largely have to solve it themselves first.

Seen in that light, Mingyuan Temple’s fifty scrolls were far more than simple “materials.” They were things that could, in the future, save many Shenming disciples’ lives.

They deserved this level of courtesy.

The atmosphere in the hall truly relaxed after that. Bai Xiang exchanged polite small talk with the envoys and learned, among other things, that the blue-dressed woman’s name was Jing Lanyu, and that she was the master of Ge Xi, the Qinglan disciple who had picked “New Yuming.”

Bai Xiang also realized that these Upper Realm dojos had almost no racial boundaries or prejudice left.

Of the three, the one who looked most obviously “Daoist,” Feng Xuzi, was actually a demon. Jing Lanyu, though she masked it well, couldn’t fool Bai Xiang; at minimum, she was a half-blood of both races.

Mibu the monk was the trickiest. Just his massive frame hinted at his true form. Seven or eight times out of ten, he had to be a rhinoceros demon or elephant demon of some sort.

And none of them had any particular resistance to befriending Shenming.

It seemed that, after many years under the Demon Court’s rule, prejudice on this front had already faded a great deal in the Upper Realm. Only extremist groups like Blood-Soul Heaven still clung stubbornly to their “humans are food” doctrine.

Thinking this, Bai Xiang’s eyes shifted to the last envoy—a wiry old man who, like Mibu, had come alone.

“I am Xu Heqing of Lishan Sword Sect.”

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“Congratulations to Immortal Venerable Bai on her attainment. I present my master’s calligraphic works as tribute.”

The old man wore an orange-yellow Daoist robe patterned in black, his long hair gathered into a topknot. At his waist hung a black-leather sword and a Cloud-Pattern Rousing-Lion Heaven-Patrol Jade Pendant. In his hand he held a white-hair Buddha whisk, doing his best to maintain the image of an immortal-boned Daoist.

But, to be blunt, his face was a problem.

His cheekbones were high and his chin was pointed, giving him a ratty, sharp-mouthed look. That alone would have been fine, but his eyes were also extremely narrow and small, and when you added in the three tiny mustache tufts he had carefully cultivated, Bai Xiang didn’t even have to guess. She could tell at a glance that beneath his skin was a rodent spirit.

She had left Xu Heqing for last mainly because he had acted so arrogant from the moment he arrived.

Keeping him hanging was Bai Xiang’s way of issuing a warning, but he still hadn’t figured out the situation.

He hadn’t adjusted his gift either. It was nothing more than a shabby piece of calligraphy, and then he still had the nerve to put on that face.

What, did he not know what he was here for?

Because the whole thing was so out of line, Bai Xiang didn’t get angry. Instead, she was curious where this Lishan Sword Sect got its confidence.

“Beyond the gift itself, I have a message for Immortal Venerable Bai as well.”

Before Bai Xiang could speak, Xu Heqing had already started muttering.

“Some things do not belong to you. Forcing yourself to hold them may invite disaster.”

“Immortal Venerable Bai is still young and must recognize the great trend of the world, lest you ruin your own future.”