Volume 5, Chapter 120 – The Assault

Meanwhile, the main world was gripped by growing panic.

Compared with Void Tribulation, celestial changes and earthly upheavals did not count as a major calamity. Some of those changes were dangerous, yes, but the Federation had obtained sacred-weapon methods, while Great Xia had obtained the arts of Refining Qi. The overall caliber of living beings in the main world had therefore risen dramatically compared with the previous epoch, so dealing with this kind of natural disaster was not especially difficult.

Not many people had died. The damage was mostly to some city walls and settlements. The repair work that followed would have to take the altered terrain into account, and even some of the planned overland routes would need major changes.

That was not the real cause of the public unease. The real cause lay elsewhere.

“This is the fifty-eighth one already…”

In the main hall of the Listening-to-Rain Tower, Bai Zhuqing sat on the seat to the left, with a computer and a large pile of memorial documents spread out on the desk before her.

For the past two days, she had been dealing with emergency state affairs. Those tasks were nothing other than the strange incidents erupting across various regions in the wake of the earthquakes and collapses.

If they had been ordinary Demon Pools or Void Demons, Great Xia’s Demon-Suppression Directorate would have been enough to handle them. But judging from the reports coming in, quite a few of the strange incidents now breaking out across the land had already gone beyond the Directorate’s capacity.

Take the screen she was looking at now, for example. It showed that the Eastern Sea Commandery was suffering from a “red-light calamity.” The red light appeared only at three in the morning, behind a certain mountain to the east. Anyone who saw it, regardless of cultivation, would become dazed and soul-stricken, then stagger over the mountain like a walking corpse in pursuit of the light. But when people were sent to search the next day, they found nothing at all. There was simply nothing behind that mountain.

It was not that Bai Zhuqing did not understand the implications. Only yesterday, she had assigned two Origin Realm cultivators who had newly pledged themselves to her to the Eastern Sea Commandery: one named Zhang Xiuyi, the other Gai Ren.

Both had switched to qi cultivation after the first year of Zhengyuan and broken through to the Golden Core. After that, they had studied on their own and remained stuck at that level for many years, unable to advance. Only later, after hearing Bai Xiang expound the Dao and stepping into a new stage, had they finally chosen to come over. Their loyalty and ability were both highly reliable.

With two people like that working alongside the local Demon-Suppression Directorate, even a great-demon-level voidfiend should have been manageable. But twenty-four hours had already passed since they went over, and no word had come back. The “red light,” on the other hand, was still appearing according to its usual pattern.

“There is definitely some evil force at work behind that red light, and the root of its power may even lie above the Origin Realm.”

Bai Zhuqing settled the nature of the matter, typed up her response, and issued orders requiring all local residents to stay behind closed doors and observe restrictions. Demon-Suppression Directorate cultivators were to travel in pairs and make as much use of qi arrays as possible to resist the enchantment together.

“Ah… troubles like this are the hardest to deal with.”

After handling that matter, before she could even turn to the next report, Bai Zhuqing pressed a hand to her forehead and murmured under her breath.

If it were a concrete enemy, that would be one thing. With Great Xia’s newly unlocked technology tree of qi talismans and qi arrays, they could still fight even if Bai Xiang was absent.

Reаd оn КαtRеaԁіոgCafе

But this kind of disaster involved seduction by higher powers and Illusory God techniques. Even newly advanced Origin Realm cultivators could not withstand it. Calamities like this were the hardest to guard against, and qi talismans and qi arrays were of limited use in dealing with them.

The key problem was their number. Nearly a hundred had appeared overnight.

Even after reading and processing reports until now, she had only gotten a little more than halfway through them.

If things kept going at this rate, the defensive situation would become very ugly.

“Zhennan and Xiajing are stable, at least. There have not even been any large-scale terrain changes in the surrounding areas.”

“Fortunately, it is not as if we had no contingency plans. These strange incidents had previously been raised under the name of ‘Demon God Temples,’ and the court had drafted preliminary responses long ago, so we can still hold things together for now.”

“But there are just too many. If Elder Sister doesn’t come back in time…”

Bai Zhuqing was nursing a headache over that very issue when a report came from outside the hall: Yu Daoyong was requesting an audience.

“Let him in at once.”

Bai Zhuqing had also wanted to ask Yu Daoyong about the construction progress of the Demonic Aura Observation Towers.

Judging from the feedback received so far, the towers’ effectiveness had far surpassed expectations. An invasion by a Demon Pool in southern Zhennan had been prevented through early detection, and in that regard, Yu Daoyong had rendered great service.

Yu Daoyong entered.

He was dressed in the same bizarre half-and-half style as ever: Daoist robes underneath, with a bright yellow safety vest thrown over them.

“I came to report on the construction progress,” he said as soon as he entered, making his purpose clear. “The three observation towers are now basically complete. We only need the Imperial Court’s approval before we can expand construction to other regions.”

There was not much to discuss there, and Bai Zhuqing approved it on the spot.

“…Do you have some other issue?”

Rеαⅾ оո КαtRеаԁiոgСafe

When she looked up again and found that Yu Daoyong had not left, Bai Zhuqing could not help feeling suspicious. Quietly, she slipped her hand beneath the seat cushion and wrapped it around the cylindrical hilt of the Qingwu Sword.

In theory, these key ministers had all offered up their true spirits to Bai Xiang. Betrayal should have been impossible.

But Bai Zhuqing had long since become accustomed to this kind of precaution.

She did not trust other people.

Other than Bai Xiang, no one in the world could ever earn her absolute trust.

“I guessed that the Imperial Court is short on manpower right now, so I took the liberty of overstepping a little.”

Yu Daoyong nodded and raised one sleeve. “You can come out now.”

What was this?

Bai Zhuqing frowned as she saw something rather familiar jump from his sleeve to the floor: a fluffy little white fox.

Before Bai Zhuqing could get a better look, the white fox lifted its head and cast her a glance. Its tail swayed behind it, then abruptly split from one into nine blurred afterimages. Wrapping around its body, they transformed it into the figure of a woman in a green dress.

“…Zhu Qingluo?!”

Bai Zhuqing recognized her at once.

Why had she come here?

“Since Zhengyuan began, the world has undergone great upheaval.” Zhu Qingluo first bowed to Bai Zhuqing, then spoke in a very formal manner. “Qingluo has now come with the White-Ginseng Spirit Fox clan to pledge allegiance to Great Xia. May I ask whether Great Xia is willing to take us in?”

Bai Zhuqing narrowed her eyes and looked at Yu Daoyong.

Yu Daoyong, still smiling cheerfully, said, “She went to Pilgrimage Mountain and confirmed that her clansmen were not there, so she realized Fang Yang had no support among the people.”

“After that, she spent quite a bit of time searching everywhere, all so she could find her clansmen and bring them here to pledge themselves.”

Rеaⅾ οո ΚαtRеaԁіnɡСаfe

“So… I was wondering whether the Chief Administrator is taking in new people?”

Of course they were.

Bai Zhuqing shot him a glare.

Zhu Qingluo’s character had been tested through Void Tribulation. She could more or less be counted as an old ally, so there was naturally no reason to refuse.

Bai Zhuqing immediately arranged lodgings for her. As for her post, she would temporarily be placed under the Heaven-Monitoring Directorate, and once Bai Xiang returned, a separate department could be set up for her.

In truth, Bai Zhuqing already had a plan in mind.

A new Edification Directorate had previously been established, and its duty was to examine and purify displaced people and refugees.

Among that broad population, of course, there were also demonized humans and demon beasts in hiding. The demon-beast portion could be separated out on its own, and if Zhu Qingluo was willing, it could be placed under her supervision.

Demons purified by qi methods were no longer truly demons.

They should be called auspicious beasts, immortal beasts.

If such a department were to be opened, then perhaps it should be called the “Auspicious Immortals Directorate.”

While Bai Zhuqing was deep in thought, Zhu Qingluo was also observing her.

Who would have thought that the little girl who knew nothing back then would now have grown into someone so composed?

She sighed inwardly.

And yet I… I have only been avoiding him all this time.

I knew all along that he was following behind me, but I could not be sure… whether I still had the right to see him.

Rеaⅾ oո КаtRеаԁіոɡСafе

For a moment, the atmosphere in the hall fell silent. Bai Zhuqing was just about to say something when, all of a sudden, the entire Shenming Mountain trembled, and a strange “red light” shone into the sky outside the hall.

What was that…?

Clutching the sword hilt, Bai Zhuqing shot to her feet.

It had actually chased them all the way here???

“I was wondering who had sent those two. So it was only some little girl.”

Along with the words, a gaunt old man with red hair and a red beard appeared in the hall.

He was unbelievably thin, with sunken cheekbones like a skeleton, as if he had gone hundreds or thousands of years without a full meal.

Yet his eyes were bright and piercing, the bloody light in them so dense it seemed ready to drip out. Looking at Bai Zhuqing and the others, he let out a sinister cackle. “A servant of the Demon Court as well? Oh… it has been many years, and Fang Yang that old bastard’s reach has grown this long?”

“Who are you?”

Bai Zhuqing steadied herself and demanded the answer.

“I am ‘Yuxiu,’ with the Daoist title ‘Guangsha.’”

The old man nodded.

“I think this place of yours is quite nice.”

“Why not hand it over as my dojo and let me have my fill?”

“In your dreams!”

Bai Zhuqing let out a cold laugh, and the Qingwu Sword flashed from its sheath at her waist.