Volume 4, Chapter 117 – Purple Qi (2)

“It really is Governor Fang’s official seal.”

Bai Xiang examined the seal carefully and confirmed that it did not look forged.

The seals and insignia of Great Yu officials all followed strict conventions. One rank used bronze inlaid with jade, another used silver inlaid with jade, another used gold inlaid with jade. The seals representing their own hand were no exception.

For a high official like Fang Xiaochun, the official seal was made from an essence unearthed from meteorite ore beyond the heavens. It was like jade and yet not jade, warm, smooth, and sturdy, and extremely difficult for others to counterfeit by technical means.

She then unfolded the letter and read it carefully, discovering that it was signed by someone named Xu Changze. In the letter, he described the terrifying things he had seen.

[Night gatherings of the masses, driven like livestock.]

That line meant that someone had rounded up many of the common people of Qiyun Circuit and herded them through the streets like animals.

[In a courtyard stands a great formation. At its center is placed a great refining furnace, so large that fewer than ten men could not encircle it.]

[Hidden from view, I saw demonfolk cast earth into the flames, then use demonic arts to extract the essence-blood of people, mixing it in and refining Purple Qi.]

Did that mean someone was conducting some kind of evil sacrifice in the middle of the night?

Bai Xiang frowned as she read. The description reminded her of how Yao Qingyuan had once sacrificed the blood-souls of countless commoners and opened spring-eyes all across Qizhou.

Was this not exactly the sort of method Blood Soul Heaven excelled at?

What was going on with Taixu Monastery? How had it become entangled with things that used methods like these?

As she continued reading the letter, Bai Xiang also kept thinking.

Judging from the wild cursive strokes at the end of the letter, along with the bloodstains on the page, this Xu Changze was probably already dead.

Bai Xiang still remembered him. He was one of Fang Xiaochun’s deputies, serving in the Qizhou government as an Inspector Commandant.

When that office had first been established, it had been a very special one, empowered to act in the emperor’s name to supervise the officials. In modern terms, it was roughly equivalent to some kind of privileged investigative task force, one specialized in handling corruption and dereliction of duty.

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But times had changed, and so had the office. In the present day, the Inspector Commandant was simply a deputy official at the prefectural level. Bai Xiang had even met him before when she had visited the Qizhou State Chancery.

The reason?

Naturally, the reason was that from a certain generation of Yu emperors onward, the imperial position had itself been seized by betraying and usurping one’s lord.

When the emperor and the imperial clan had done something so wolf-hearted and dog-bellied, so utterly beneath beasts, was this office of oversight still supposed to be exercised?

The reason filial piety came before loyalty in Great Yu was also because of those betrayals in its history. Some people knew perfectly well that they had no right to boast freely of loyalty and valor.

After asking Li Sheng for a few more details, Bai Xiang did not immediately send her to help Wang Ran.

Li Sheng flew too slowly.

Better to wait a bit and have her ride with her on the flying vessel later.

What Bai Xiang cared about more was the “refining of Purple Qi” mentioned in the letter. That made her think of the purple-gold dragon aura she had once seen on Liu Yong.

If one wanted to speak of history and archaeology, then among all the people under her command, Monk Zhuye was unquestionably the most knowledgeable. Bai Xiang did not even bother giving him any more time off. She immediately summoned him and asked whether he knew what that purple-gold dragon aura was.

Monk Zhuye’s black skin also counted as an unusual appearance in Li Sheng’s eyes.

He was black in a way that seemed to shine, black in a way that seemed to gleam. Even the beard on his chin, if examined closely, looked like fleshy tendrils.

Li Sheng was somewhat startled when she saw him, but Bai Xiang said nothing, so she did not act rashly.

Monk Zhuye was equally wary of speaking in front of outsiders.

He glanced at Bai Xiang.

Bai Xiang said directly, “Peak Master Li is not an outsider. Speak freely. There is no need to hold back.”

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Li Sheng, standing by, had still been wondering why Bai Xiang’s bearing seemed even weightier these past few days, so much so that it almost gave her the illusion of standing before the imperial presence itself, when she heard Monk Zhuye say, “To inform Your Highness…”

What?

This time Li Sheng was truly shocked.

She stared wide-eyed at the bald monk, then at Bai Xiang, her mouth parting slightly, her mind going completely blank.

Monk Zhuye then laid out everything he knew and told Bai Xiang that it was most likely the legendary Returning-to-Origin Purple Qi.

“I told Your Highness before that the essence of the tribulation struggle is the struggle for the dragon. You have probably already guessed some of it yourself. Correct, just as Your Highness thought, the people Blood Soul Heaven has been capturing recently should all be people who carry Returning-to-Origin Purple Qi.”

“This Returning-to-Origin Purple Qi is similar to the treasures of upholding order. It too is an incarnation of the primary order, a fragment of the primary order. The difference is that treasures of upholding order are condensed into concrete objects, while Returning-to-Origin Purple Qi is scattered within certain fortunate individuals. There are even rumors that it is scattered within their souls.”

Bai Xiang frowned. “Carrying Returning-to-Origin Purple Qi is equivalent to carrying a treasure of upholding order?”

“It is not the same.” Monk Zhuye shook his head. “Returning-to-Origin Purple Qi comes in two kinds. One is extracted from a region’s earth-veins, what some call drawing out the dragon vein. The other belongs to the human soul.”

“The former can be extracted and refined by various methods. The latter cannot be refined. Ordinarily, refining the former is done in order to pour it into the latter, deepening the foundation of Purple Qi that the latter possesses.”

Bai Xiang asked again, “And what happens when that foundation deepens?”

“It becomes more favored by the primary order,” Monk Zhuye said. “A dynasty established with such a person as its core will find it easier to seek resources in troubled times. Roughly speaking, it means there is a boost to heavenly fate and fortune.”

So in essence, it was about supporting a puppet emperor.

Bai Xiang immediately grasped the core of it.

Take the Yu Emperor Sacred Dynasty. On the surface, its core appeared to be the imperial clan of the court, but what about in truth?

Do not forget that according to the historical findings, there was a great demon behind the court.

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That demon was clearly the final victor of the last tribulation struggle, the one who had won the struggle for the dragon. Whether it existed independently outside the court or had completely merged into the bloodline of the Yu emperors over these years, it was still the true greatest beneficiary. The imperial clan was merely the puppet it had fostered.

That meant Liu Yong was probably that kind of person as well.

And he likely carried quite a bit of Purple Qi too. That alone would explain why he had repeatedly encountered great fortunes when he was still obscure and insignificant.

Not only had he obtained Qin Wuyang’s sword and inheritance, he had also repeatedly turned danger into safety afterward.

That was all fortune, heaven’s mandate resting on him.

Now that really was interesting…

Bai Xiang thought further and came to feel that if what was happening in the Qi lands was indeed “drawing out the dragon vein,” then the people or forces carrying it out were not necessarily acting under instructions from Blood Soul Heaven.

Because this was a standard procedure in the struggle for the dragon.

It was not just Blood Soul Heaven. It seemed everyone played this way. If so, then perhaps it was not impossible to understand why Taixu Monastery would do such a thing.

No.

It still did not seem right.

Carefully recalling some of Daoist Fengxu’s words and actions, Bai Xiang still did not make a final judgment. She directly had Monk Zhuye bring out the flying vessel. He would remain behind with Xiang Xian to guard the dojo, while Bai Xiang herself would set out with Li Sheng to provide support.

Before leaving, Bai Xiang avoided Li Sheng and found Zhuye alone, asking him, “Back in the day, what was the story of Returning-to-Origin Purple Qi in Great Xuan?”

Monk Zhuye gave a bitter smile and shook his head. “There was no story.”

“No story?”

“Because the idea of humans and demons ruling together was something heaven and earth could not tolerate,” Zhuye said plainly.

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“Think about it, Your Highness. If the order of the main world were to manifest with its own will, would it allow the incarnation of disorder, that is, demonic power, to continue existing in the world?”

“It would not.”

“The primary order loathes demonic power. It loathes even more the pollutants born of demonic power, namely the demon race. Great Xuan’s ideals were rejected not only by the many demon races, but also failed to gain the recognition of the primary order.”

“That is why it fell into ruin so quickly. There were reasons for all of it…”

So that was it.

Bai Xiang narrowed her eyes.

So in the eyes of the primary order, Great Xuan’s ideal was even more extreme than the demon race itself, even more threatening. It went so far as to interfere with heavenly fate and try to alter the destiny of an imperial dynasty. That was why Emperor Feng had ended up attacked from every side and had finally fallen into utter isolation and betrayal.

No one had supported him.

Not even the heaven and earth that had birthed and raised him had supported him. It wanted to destroy him with an attitude even harsher than that directed toward disorder itself.

Bai Xiang said nothing to that. After exchanging a few more words, she shut the cabin door, and the flying vessel turned into a streak of silver light and shot away.

But although she had shown no outward reaction, Monk Zhuye could still sense the faint trace of killing intent in her eyes after she heard the answer.

“Her Highness is one who holds herself very high and proud indeed.”

The dark-skinned monk gazed at the night sky, shaking his head with a sigh.

“Ah.”

“I did not want to tell her this so early.”

“I just don’t know whether it’s a good thing or not.”