Volume 5, Chapter 35 – Secret Plotting

With darkness as its base, swirls of purple and green mist slowly gathered around an ancient palace suspended in the void.

The palace was built entirely from black timber, with layers of platforms and steps paved in blue bricks. At the middle level stood a bluestone square. On either side of it rose twelve corridor pillars carved with extraordinarily intricate images and symbols. Looking closely, they seemed to depict certain figures.

Scattered here and there, a few humans and yao-folk in long robes could be seen moving about. No matter how ugly their appearance or how loathsome their faces, all the yao-folk here conducted themselves with perfect courtesy. Whenever they met, they cupped their hands and exchanged greetings.

“The legendary Dao-Void Academy, the true birthplace of the Dao-Void Methods.”

A young man who looked to be in his twenties leaned against a railing, gazing down at the square from one of the pavilion buildings.

“If I ever had the chance to come to a place like this under normal circumstances, I’d definitely study hard,” the young man said, frowning with worry on his face. “But according to the news from outside, Di Xiang has already broken through Sir’s blockade… If she reaches Yujing, then my clansmen…”

“You brat, I didn’t think you had this much loyalty in you.”

A pitch-black shadow suddenly flew out from behind him, landing at his side and turning into a powerfully built old man over three meters tall. The moment he appeared, he mocked him. “Back then, your clansmen never wanted you to sit in this position, yet you’re still willing to think for their sake?”

“That’s not quite right.” The young man’s eyes flickered slightly. “Given the current situation, it’s not a question of whether I’m willing to think for them. It’s that I have no choice but to face the issue of Di Xiang.”

“If I tell her I have an old grudge with my clansmen, will she let me go? I don’t think so.”

“It is precisely because we’ve already reached a situation where only one side can survive that I need to preserve those former ‘enemies.’”

“Because from the moment she returned and revealed that kind of power, we became a single community of fate.”

“Some things that were impossible to negotiate in the past can now be discussed.”

“Haha! Brat, putting everything else aside, that shameless mind of yours really is perfect for this seat!” The burly old man burst into hearty laughter. “Excellent! It proves I, Yuan Qi, really didn’t misjudge you!”

Just then, the hazy aura above the palace suddenly split open, forming a spiral ripple.

Before anyone could react, a black figure descended out of nowhere onto the small square. Fair-skinned and dressed in a brown Daoist robe, he was none other than the slovenly Daoist who had previously clashed with Bai Xiang.

“Master!”

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“Master!”

At the sight of the Daoist, everyone in the square dropped to their knees in obeisance.

With a lift of the Master’s hand, it was as though a gentle force arose beneath their knees and forcibly raised them back up. Without waiting for them to see him off, he strode toward the pavilion building.

Master seems to be in a bad mood?

Some of the disciples who had been holed up in the palace for a long time exchanged glances, unsure what was going on.

The Daoist quickly ascended the building and went straight to the young man by the railing.

“Yao Sheng,” the Daoist said, “Di Xiang and I have already met in Yujing. I failed to stop her, and she slaughtered nearly your entire Yao clan.”

At that point, he paused, intending to observe the young man’s reaction.

But the young man, Yao Sheng, gave no reaction at all. His expression remained as calm and steady as before, as though the two of them were merely discussing the weather.

“The collateral branches had their heads blown apart by a single sword strike, while the direct line was flayed to death by her sword qi,” the Master continued. “That even included your father, the one who became a monk. You do not care?”

“Master.” Yao Sheng smiled and said, “This student has a question for Master.”

“Speak.” The Master nodded.

“Where is my honored ancestor now? Is she still enshrined in Qianyu Palace as usual?”

At that question, the nearby “Yuan Qi” frowned slightly, while the Master revealed an approving smile.

“Your ancestor is an ancient great demon called the ‘You Clan.’ It can lodge itself within all things, drift with the current, and conceal deadly intent.”

“The ‘You Clan’ can even use that method to trick a ‘Shiling’ into devouring it, and then begin gnawing outward from inside the ‘Shiling’ until those giant worms are completely eaten away.”

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“A being like that naturally would not be discovered by Di Xiang so easily.”

“So Ancestor is still alive.” Yao Sheng nodded. “Then I have no need to worry too much.”

“Explain your reasoning.”

The Master asked the question, but his tone was that of an examiner testing a student.

“Ancestor will protect us.” Yao Sheng’s tone was extremely certain. “If my guess is correct, most of the people Di Xiang killed in Yujing were fake bodies molded through the demon-puppet art.”

“Those fake bodies were not only flesh and blood, they were even implanted with memories similar to those of the people they imitated.”

“Even if Di Xiang was born with a full and overflowing soul and has truly mastered the Xuandi Scripture, enough to search souls and extract the memories of the dead, that trick would still be enough to conceal the truth from heaven itself and make her turn around and return to Eastern Xia.”

“Good.” The Master smiled and nodded, offering Yao Sheng only that single word.

Then he looked toward Yuan Qi. “Senior of the ancient clans, what do you think?”

“With a Sage before me, I dare not accept the title of senior.” Yuan Qi stepped back and bent slightly toward the Master, giving him a somewhat stiff formal salute.

“I, Yuan Qi, am nothing more than a single strand of soul left behind by the ancient human race. My true body perished long ago. I only have what I have today thanks to the Master’s help.”

“As for this boy, he has talent and studies diligently. Meeting the Master truly is his blessing.”

“Your family ancestor probably did not pass the demon-puppet art on to you, did she?” The Master turned to Yao Sheng. “How did you guess it?”

“Ancestor excels in the path of parasitism,” Yao Sheng said softly. “I simply thought this art was very similar to a certain type of voidfiend.”

“What kind of voidfiend?”

“Spirit-Vein Demons.”

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So that was the reason?

At the side, Yuan Qi suddenly understood.

That’s right. Back then, I was wondering why not a single Spirit-Vein Demon dared run toward Yujing. So it turns out they were born from Ancestor Yao Yu? Her hidden pieces planted inside Blood Soul Heaven?

If I remember correctly, one branch of the Sacred Weapon Clan run by the Blood Lord also fused with Spirit-Vein Demons, right?

And adding those under control in Eastern Xia, doesn’t that mean the seemingly weakest Northern Yu regime is actually eroding the Federation and Eastern Xia in silence? Hell, maybe it’s already finished eroding them?

Yuan Qi kept a stern face and said nothing.

The era in which the ancient human race established itself was far too early. Void Tribulation had not yet given rise to demonic power. The “monsters” in his memory were all merely possessed of immense brute strength, and only rarely were there any who specialized in such schemes and trickery.

If the brat had not pointed it out, even he would have been deceived!

And when he thought that thing had almost certainly parasitized Yao Sheng’s bloodline as well, and might normally be listening in on every conversation between him and Yao Sheng, Yuan Qi felt the hair on his body stand on end.

“How far have you read in the Twelve Dao-Void Scriptures I gave you?”

The Master was clearly very satisfied with Yao Sheng and began questioning him about his studies.

“Replying to Master, I am nearly finished reading the first volume.”

“For your talent, that is somewhat slow. You are still being distracted by outside concerns.”

“Yes. This student does not dare ignore the threat posed by Di Xiang.”

“Compared to people like us, Di Xiang truly is an anomaly.” The Master frowned. “The birth and death of all things is the principle of heaven’s cyclical order. For that very reason, the Dao-Void lineage born from Loss of Order governs the world from the standpoint of order. That is also the truth I realized only after being trapped in the ‘Void Years’ before, wasting away half my life there.”

“But Di Xiang…” He shook his head. “She is too extreme.”

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“Then Master has no way to punish her?” Yao Sheng asked.

“She appears to have stepped into the Saint Realm through the physical body.” The Master glanced at Yuan Qi beside him. “Against someone like that, even if you can beat her, you cannot kill her. It is not worth the cost.”

“What about the Northern Sea ruins?” Yao Sheng suddenly lowered his voice. “If Ancestor could awaken the thing inside and make use of parasitism…”

“No!”

The Master cut him off sharply.

“There are countless varieties of ancient demons. If the You devours the Shiling, then there must be something that feeds on the You. Add to that the mutations brought about by the tides of Void Tribulation… You must be cautious!”

On those last few words, his eyes locked onto Yao Sheng’s face, yet his gaze seemed to pass through him and look at someone else, at Ancestor Yao Yu, hidden away from sight.

“So it still couldn’t be hidden from a Sage~”

Veins spread across Yao Sheng’s face, and suddenly a woman’s voice came from him, soft and delicate. “Don’t worry~ this servant knows where the limits are~ everything I’m doing with these experiments is for the sake of helping the Sage achieve the Great Dao~ I wouldn’t dare push the project forward on my own~”

So she really was there!

Yuan Qi stared, eyes wide, looking at “Yao Sheng” as if he were a monster.

“…Your plan is very good.” The Master stared fixedly at “Yao Sheng.” “Use the demon-puppet art to trick her into going back. From then on, you can hide in the shadows and wait for a chance to act.”

“And I… I will try to contact the Blood Lord and see whether I can align with him to suppress this person.”

“Otherwise, if we allow her to continue growing, who knows whether she will…”

The Master narrowed his eyes and made the final decision.

“Before dealing with the great threat of the Demon God, this hidden danger must first be eliminated.”