Volume 4, Chapter 66 – Ripples

A silver line flashed through the void. It was the flying vessel Bai Xiang was riding.

She lay inside the cabin in a more or less reclined position, constantly operating the jade talisman array panel and checking the screen before her to understand the vessel’s current parameters.

There was one habitual misconception that had to be corrected here: that the technology of the Illusory Realm planes was extremely backward.

In reality, that was not the case. The reason was obvious. The Illusory Realms were always drawing away the current civilization from the main world and merging it into their own vast network. When this kind of thing had been happening continuously, and for who knew how many billions of years, then that network they had built up, through the continual influx of new civilizations and new ideas, summarizing, advancing, and improving without end, was almost bound to develop in precisely that way.

Take Guo Rongzhi, for example. Bai Xiang’s second senior brother was unquestionably a genius in the ways of artifact-talismans and talisman formations. Before, he simply had no access to such things, so his talent had no chance to show itself. But after obtaining a great number of books taken as spoils from Bai Xiang, he immediately advanced by leaps and bounds in those fields. In just a few months, he had combined modern technology with them to build this “Raven Modified Void Vessel.”

The original “Raven Vessel” was one of Shenwu Heaven’s standard flying vessels. Its interior was nowhere near so complicated. It required nothing more than a jade talisman array panel to operate.

Guo Rongzhi, however, had merged jade talisman array-panel technology with modern technology and made the cockpit much more sophisticated. In addition to the array panel, there were display screens and computer assistance. He had even installed a few little games on the onboard computer, afraid Bai Xiang might grow bored on the journey.

If Guo Rongzhi could do something like that, then with so many people in the Illusory Realms, there was no reason no one there could do it.

Now that the passage was no longer blocked, Bai Xiang estimated that before long, many forms of main-world technology would make their way back into the Illusory Realm planes. When that happened, their path of crafting and tools would inevitably undergo a complete transformation.

If they could fully absorb not only the main world’s computer technology but even artificial intelligence technology, then perhaps something like Jade Spirit Mingxin would, in the future, become standard equipment for every cultivator.

With thoughts in her head that were enough to reshape the cultivation world, Bai Xiang came back to herself once more, only then paying attention to the images being transmitted from the screen beside her.

Those were recordings of the Illusory Realm outside. It was basically a stretch of total darkness, with not a single point of starlight visible anywhere. Only in places that looked unimaginably distant could one catch sight of hazy purple-green mists.

That, at least, matched the image Shenwu Heaven’s cultivators had of the place.

Because Bai Xiang had already seen it while examining memories, she was not particularly surprised now. While pulling up a side-scrolling fighting game to pass the time, she also wondered whether Xiang Xian had seen the note she had left behind.

She truly had not known that Xiang Xian had failed to cultivate a trait, but it was easy enough to tell that her master had recently run into some stagnation and trouble in her cultivation.

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Bai Xiang was not particularly good at lecturing people, so she could only give Xiang Xian another hint in that fashion.

Hopefully it had not been too direct. It would be best if Master had not been too discouraged by it.

Shaking her head inwardly, Bai Xiang really did feel that Xiang Xian had never lived all that transparently.

Of all the cultivators she had met so far, setting aside whether they had become enemies because of differing allegiances, most of them had possessed firm convictions.

Zhou Jing’an wanted to survive, and wanted to further restore the Qingya Sword Dao.

Yao Qingyuan, on one hand, wanted immortality. On the other, his main drive still came from resentment, from his unwillingness to accept having been exiled by the court all those years ago.

The demon freaks of the Demon-Immortal Dao and the Right-Self Dao sought to overturn the age of human rule and restore the former glory of the demon race. The people of the Feathering Sect were most likely trying to pursue the traces of the Xuandi and revive the Xuan Dynasty.

There was no need to mention Li Huiran. Even the people of Shenwu Heaven did not want to wait for Emperor Wu to die and then be destroyed along with the Illusory Realm. They were desperately seeking a chance, a way out. At the very least, they had that desire.

It was not that one absolutely had to “live for oneself,” as though it had to be taken to such a severe, even selfish, extreme.

It was simply that you had to have some proper aspiration and goal, did you not?

Whether that aspiration or goal was ultimately meant for oneself or not, one had to have something like that. Only then could one have the reason and the drive to keep going down this road.

Xiang Xian truly was the only cultivator Bai Xiang had ever met who lacked that kind of drive. Bai Xiang could not say that with complete certainty, but she truly could not tell what Xiang Xian wanted.

That state of mind might once have helped her greatly. While other cultivators were troubled by desire, and by the backlash of demonic power that desire provoked, Xiang Xian had always been able to suppress eruptions of demonic power with comparative ease.

But once she shifted over to the Path of Qi, that very point instead became a hindrance to her cultivation.

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Bai Xiang still had confidence in Xiang Xian, and she did not trouble herself over it for long. Very quickly, she immersed herself in the game.

The silver line continued to cut through the void.

Silent and soundless.

Stirring up ring after ring of invisible ripples.

Meanwhile, Daoist Fengxu returned to Taixu Monastery’s out-of-state outpost, ordered his attendants to lay out a formation diagram traced in the same silver powder, and ignited it with demonic power.

That silver powder came from a kind of void ore. Ore tainted by the power of Loss of Order would take on an “extreme hue,” and could be used as material for arranging void formation diagrams. The finest examples were also extremely precious cultivation resources.

The “Black Crystal Sacred Venerable” in Shenming Sword Dao’s possession, if that crystal were contaminated a little more deeply by demonic power, would also begin transforming toward that kind of “extreme hue.” That was why Daoist Fengxu considered black crystal so valuable.

If they could produce something like that, he would only conclude that Shenming Sword Dao secretly controlled a void crystal vein in the middle of transformation.

And naturally, the reason he lit the formation diagram now was not to make the journey back. He was merely using one of Taixu Monastery’s secret arts to pass information to the other side.

The fact that they had not tried to save this bit of material by imitating Shenwu Heaven and using human lives to fill the gap already showed that Taixu Monastery had some sense of responsibility. At the very least, it was not one of those evil factions that worshipped Loss of Order.

So the silver flames burned.

As time passed little by little, before long, the figure of a young Daoist appeared within the flames.

“Fengxu?” The Daoist seemed to have been waiting for news from this side for quite some time. The moment he saw Daoist Fengxu’s figure, he hurriedly asked, “How did it go? Were you able to establish a connection with them?”

“The gift was delivered.” Daoist Fengxu nodded. “But as for whether it will actually have any effect… I cannot guarantee that.”

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He also mentioned that the Qinglan Immortal Sect and Mingyuan Temple had gone to deliver gifts as well. Along the way, he brought up the disturbance that had taken place at Lishan Sword Sect, saying it seemed that someone had tried to abduct a disciple of Shenming, and that there was no telling what scheme lay behind it.

“That is normal.” The young Daoist did not seem surprised.

“What we can think of, others can naturally think of as well.”

“Just wait. As time passes, more and more people will do this sort of thing. We have already taken the initiative. Reaching this point is enough.”

“Senior Brother,” Daoist Fengxu said frankly, “that Sovereign Bai may be astonishingly strong, strong enough to suppress a Tianfu Mountain Dao Executor even when he carried a Dao armament. But never mind the great taboo she has violated by creating a new method. Just the Xuandi Scripture she carries…”

“I know what you are worried about.” The young Daoist shook his head. “This sort of approach, according to human custom, would be called ‘hedging one’s bets on both sides,’ would it not?”

“We have only paid some treasures that cannot decide the greater tide, together with a display of attitude.”

“If we can gain a nonaggression pact from a sovereign for so little, then we are actually the ones profiting.”

So we really are still watching and waiting now?

Only then did Daoist Fengxu fully grasp his senior brother’s thinking.

He estimated that all of Taixu Monastery, together with those factions that had sent gifts to Shenming Sword Dao, were all watching and waiting, waiting to see what fate awaited Shenming Sword Dao after the Dao-Void Martial Exercise.

If the outcome turned toward the good side, then their gifts would not have been sent in vain.

If it turned toward the bad side, then they could hardly be blamed for being ruthless and cold.

“People all say you are crafty, but in my view, your thinking is still rather simple.” The young Daoist shook his head at him. “Sending you over there was also meant to temper you through experience. You should learn the human way of thinking. They may be far more cunning.”

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After talking a while longer about the current situation, and making it clear that all sects and factions were presently following the Sacred Court’s movements and waiting for the martial exercise to begin, the young Daoist changed the subject and spoke of how matters on their side were far from peaceful.

“No one knows what madness has taken Blood Soul Heaven lately. They have recruited a batch of wandering Immortal Venerables and have been snatching people and goods everywhere, yet for some reason no one can make sense of what use the things they are taking could possibly have.”

That was what the Daoist said.

“Some of their operations have been foiled, and the victims of those raids have also tried examining the objects of their kidnappings, but they mostly have not been able to make any sense of them.”

“Blood Soul Heaven truly is a blight upon this world.” Daoist Fengxu frowned as well when he heard that.

Though he was a demon, he did not approve of the actions of some of his own kind.

The principles of the Sacred Court suited him better.

Everything in this world truly did need order and proper bounds.

No one was permitted to act recklessly.

“Under the greater tide, every Dao is drawing in its strength.” The Daoist sighed.

“Those sealing their mountains are sealing their mountains. Those fleeing are fleeing.”

“If it is a doomed Illusory Realm like Shenwu Heaven…”

“Then it must be the most chaotic place of all right now.”