When calm, Feng Xi resembled a pure young maiden. The divine light around her had receded, yet her skin retained an extraordinary whiteness. The veil was very thin, making her well-defined jade nose and lips faintly visible, arousing a strong desire in others to lift it and glimpse her face.
She handed the jade box to Zhang Ruochen, glancing around before saying, “The arrays in this cave mansion are not particularly reliable.”
Her jade hand drew a cyan jade talisman from her sleeve and cast it out.
“Whoosh!”
A talisman realm enveloped the entire cave mansion.
Zhang Ruochen opened the jade box and looked inside, surprise appearing in his eyes.
Within lay an ancient iron token.
The token was forged from divine material, bearing the characters “Taiji”.
Feng Xi had been observing his expression all along.
Zhang Ruochen picked up the token, examined it, and said, “This… is the thank-you gift? It seems rather ordinary.”
“This token is far from ordinary. It has great origins.”
A fervent light burst from Feng Xi’s eyes as she said, “Since senior hails from the Taoist sect, you must know of the ancestor of Taiji Taoism, the Innate Dao Lord?”
Zhang Ruochen replied, “Naturally, this is known to all! The Innate Dao Lord forged the divine artefact Dao Soul Platform, left behind the divine technique Innate Taoist Law, and his legacy endures eternally with boundless merit.”
Feng Xi said, “This Taiji Token was left by the Innate Dao Lord himself! Fewer than ten remain in existence. Over endless ages, the divine power on the tokens has long dissipated, unable to suppress the gods. To other cultivators, its value may be limited. But to Taoist cultivators, it is a priceless treasure.”
Zhang Ruochen looked at the iron token in his hand in astonishment, carefully stroking it. Indeed, he discovered some unique Taoist traces upon it.
“Such a precious item. Why give it to this poor Taoist?” Zhang Ruochen was puzzled, feeling that Feng Xi must have ulterior motives.
Feng Xi gazed at his slightly aged face and said, “This junior merely feels that this may be returning it to its rightful owner.”
Zhang Ruochen’s expression remained calm as he met her lively and compelling eyes. At this moment, where did she resemble a pure maiden? From the beginning, she had been probing him, strategic and profoundly shrewd.
Zhang Ruochen said, “We are both gods. Let us dispense with senior and junior titles. Simply Taoist friends. What harm in that?”
A gleam appeared in Feng Xi’s eyes. “In that case, does this mean you admit to coming from Taiji Taoism?”
Perhaps because of his connection to Feng Yan, Zhang Ruochen harboured little caution towards Feng Xi. He removed the sword wrapped in black cloth from his back and handed it to her.
Feng Xi accepted the sword, lifting the black cloth, and exclaimed in shock, “Qingping Sword!”
The Qingping Sword was not a divine artefact, but its former owner had been immensely renowned. Moreover, his fall had occurred only two hundred thousand years ago, not overly distant in time.
Zhang Ruochen said, “This poor Taoist did not originate from Taiji Taoism, but from the Two Forms Sect. Yet it shares the same source. Shangqing was my master. In that dire battle at the end of the Middle Ancient era, this poor Taoist survived only by luck.”
The old yellow ox was tethered by divine ropes to a pillar in the cave mansion, unable to open its mouth. It merely watched Zhang Ruochen, its large bovine eyes showing much white.
Zhang Ruochen added, “By the way! How did Friend Xi guess that this poor Taoist is a cultivator from the Kunlun Realm?”
“Taoist arts!”
Feng Xi held the Qingping Sword in both hands, returning it to Zhang Ruochen, and said, “In the world, there are only four sacred grounds of Taoism: Doushuai City in the Tianchu Civilisation, the Five Elements Temple in the Heavenly Court, the Feng clan in the Pangu Realm, and Taiji Taoism in the Kunlun Realm. Other Taoist forces all branched out from these four sacred grounds.”
“The reason these four can be called sacred grounds is not merely because of numerous experts or vast influence.”
“The more important reason is that each has its own unique inheritance and distinct understanding of Taoist thought. This includes strengths in techniques, Taoist arts, and divine abilities.”
“Though the Five Elements Temple was founded by ancient Taoist sages from the Pangu and Kunlun Realms, over the years, it has long formed its own system.”
“This system emerged from the fusion of Pangu and Kunlun Taoist thought.”
“When you helped the Feng clan Great Saints resolve the corpse poison, the Taoist arts you displayed might lead True God Feng Qi to suspect you hail from the Five Elements Temple. But I saw no traces of Feng clan Taoist arts!”
“Unrelated to Feng clan Taoist arts, and since even Feng Qi does not know your identity, you are very likely a god from the Kunlun Realm. A Kunlun Realm god deliberately concealing himself also makes logical sense.”
Zhang Ruochen let out a long sigh. “Please, Friend Xi, help conceal my identity.”
“No need for you to mention it. I already know.”
Feng Xi’s expression shifted, appearing somewhat melancholic. She said, “In truth, before the Middle Ancient era, the Kunlun and Pangu Realms had very close ties, considered an alliance of interests. Just within my Feng clan, multiple gods fell in battle outside the Kunlun Realm. Upon seeing the Qingping Sword, it was actually I who truly breathed a sigh of relief, allowing my tense nerves to relax somewhat.”
Zhang Ruochen feigned confusion, asking, “What do you mean by this?”
Feng Xi looked worried. “The corpse clan army suddenly appearing behind the starry defence line. Do you not find this strange at all?”
Zhang Ruochen replied, “This is not impossible! There are always some undiscovered wormholes that can bypass the starry defence line.”
“Even so, this operation by the Feng clan cultivators was extremely secretive. How could the corpse clan army know of it?”
Zhang Ruochen said, “What if the wormhole’s position happened to lie on the route the Feng clan cultivators took, a sheer coincidence?”
“Such coincidence?”
Feng Xi shook her head. “Even if so coincidental, why did True God Feng Qi, Lord Jiaoyu, and the Nine-Tailed Heart Fox happen to pass by here as well? Too many coincidences!”
“You suspect our own side? If so, did this poor Taoist not also happen to pass by?” Zhang Ruochen said.
Feng Xi replied, “I do not wish to suspect our own, but ever since boarding the divine wood warship, I have felt uneasy. Moreover, when True God Feng Qi acted to annihilate the corpse clan army, he wiped them out a bit too thoroughly. As if destroying evidence!”
“You should understand that in the world, methods to drive and control corpses are numerous. With the starry battlefield erupting, for Feng Qi and the others to capture a batch of corpse clan troops, refine and control them for their own use would be effortless.”
Zhang Ruochen pondered inwardly that she had been vigilant all along. He then took out a divine source, saying, “Actually, he did not wipe them out completely!”
“This is the divine source of that corpse clan false god?” Feng Xi looked at Zhang Ruochen.
“Correct!”
Feng Xi quickly used mental power to probe the divine source.
Zhang Ruochen said, “It is useless. When Feng Qi handed this divine source to me, he had already refined it. No traces of corpse control remain.”
Feng Xi had been somewhat disappointed, but after carefully considering Zhang Ruochen’s words, her heart stirred greatly. “Do you mean that Feng Qi refined this divine source?”
“Exactly! In trying to be clever, he outsmarted himself, only drawing more suspicion!” Zhang Ruochen smiled.
Feng Xi frowned. “But why could I not detect traces of refinement?”
Zhang Ruochen said tactfully, “Because Feng Qi is an upper god, while you are a lower god.”
Feng Xi’s expression turned odd, realising she had asked a foolish question. She soon regained composure. “In that case, it truly was their doing. I never expected that, with the starry defence line in such dire straits, gods in the rear would engage in such filthy dealings. For profit, they disregard everything.”
“If it were merely for profit, that would be better. I fear…”
Zhang Ruochen spoke halfway, his gaze turning towards the cave mansion doors. “Someone comes to probe us. Later, say you came to seek guidance on Taoist arts from this poor Taoist.”
“Whoosh!”
The cave mansion doors opened.
Zhang Ruochen’s deep, resonant voice rang out. “Since you have come, please enter!”
When Feng Qi stepped in, Zhang Ruochen had already stored the Taiji Token and Qingping Sword. He sat with Feng Xi beside a stone table, tracing the Innate Eight Trigrams diagram on the tabletop with his finger, discussing something.
“So Xi God is here as well.” Feng Qi laughed heartily.
Feng Xi said, “Mr Feng Qi arrives at the perfect time. As disciple of Yu God King, your Taoist arts must be profoundly deep. I am seeking guidance from Friend Yellow Ox on some mysteries of the Innate Eight Trigrams. Why not join us?”
Feng Qi sat down, saying solemnly, “Discussing the Way can wait. We have plenty of time ahead; we could explore together for three to five years. But right now, there is a more urgent matter.”
Feng Xi asked, “Does Mr Feng Qi refer to those corpse clan armies?”
“Precisely!”
Feng Qi looked worried. “How did the corpse clan army appear behind the starry defence line? How did they know the route by which the Feng clan Great Saints transported resources? Until these are investigated clearly, this god’s heart cannot rest.”
Feng Xi replied, “Even worrying achieves nothing. We previously used mental power and divine souls to scan the nearby star regions and found no spatial wormholes.”
“As for within the Feng clan, I will certainly investigate thoroughly.”
Feng Qi slammed his palm on the stone table, humming coldly. “The corpse clan is cunning. They must have hidden the spatial wormhole.”
Zhang Ruochen sat motionless like an old monk in meditation, staring at the Innate Eight Trigrams diagram on the table.
Feng Qi glanced at him, saying with full respect, “Actually, this god came for a matter requiring assistance from Friend Yellow Ox.”
Zhang Ruochen showed no warmth, saying stonily, “What matter?”
Feng Qi said in a low voice, “Speaking of it, this relates somewhat to Yin Shang corpse poison. The Heavenly Fox Granny of the fox clan was injured by the corpse clan leader, the Three Evils Emperor Lord, on the starry battlefield about thirty years ago. The Three Evils corpse poison in her body has yet to be fully removed.”
“Even though the fox clan spent vast divine stones to invite two great gods from the Western Heaven Buddhist Realm and Paradise Realm, using Buddhist golden light and power of light to purify, they could only clear ninety percent of the poison, preserving Heavenly Fox Granny’s life. Fully removing the Three Evils corpse poison is as difficult as ascending to heaven.”
“The three evils entwine the body, invading soul and flesh endlessly.”
“But I saw Friend Yellow Ox’s rather unique method of resolving Yin Shang corpse poison. Perhaps you can help Heavenly Fox Granny dispel the remaining poison.”
Zhang Ruochen did not know if Feng Qi spoke truth or falsehood, suspecting he wished to invite Heavenly Fox Granny to probe his background.
Zhang Ruochen said, “What level of cultivation does Heavenly Fox Granny possess? With this poor Taoist’s meagre skills, how could I qualify to resolve her corpse poison? Why not invite an Immeasurable Realm Buddhist venerables or the Lord of Light?”
…
I’ve been saying I’d go live, but updates couldn’t keep up, so it got delayed!
This afternoon!
Around 2 PM this afternoon, I’ll directly live-stream coding, so it won’t delay things. Everyone can see how two fingers press the keyboard and just how slow the typing speed is.
If during the stream I unconsciously mutter the plot or hum songs randomly, please don’t laugh at me.
