Chapter Index

    Pfft—

    Lu Jing sprayed a mouthful of wine all over Half-Diviner’s face.

    “Lu Shiyi!” Half-Diviner said angrily.

    “Sorry, sorry!” Lu Jing waved his hand while coughing. “What did you just say? Shi… Shi Wuluo really eloped with Young Master Chou?”

    Half-Diviner wiped the wine from his face and nodded.

    Just listen to that. The Eighty-one Peaks of Taiyi were on their way, and at this critical juncture, he had run off with their Little Martial Ancestor. Never mind Lu Jing; even Monk Budu wore an expression that said, As expected of the Head of the Ten Shamans, an enemy to both gods and ghosts. The three of them stared at each other, speechless for a long moment, before Lu Jing was suddenly startled.

    “Wait a minute,” Lu Jing slammed his hand on the table, on the verge of tears. “Young Master Chou is so disloyal! He ran off with Shi Wuluo and left us in Zhunan… Shit, my dad and my brothers will be here soon! I was counting on him to take some of the heat for me. Now that he’s gone, how am I supposed to stand up to them? I’m going to get skinned alive and taught a lesson, aren’t I?”

    “Amitabha,” Monk Budu had wanted to say that he and the others could provide some cover, but then he remembered that the other ten young masters of the Medicine Valley’s Lu family were said to be extraordinarily capable. The words on the tip of his tongue changed to, “Young Master Lu, do not worry. This humble monk will recite a few scrolls of the Rebirth Sutra for you, free of charge.”

    “Bah!”

    Monk Budu calmly accepted the scolding, twirling his Buddhist beads as he pondered, “I wonder where Benefactor Chou is headed? If he’s going to the Southern Borderlands, the journey will likely not be easy.”

    “Why do you say that?” Half-Diviner asked.

    Monk Budu hesitated for a moment. “Eighteen years ago, the Thirty-Six Overseas Islands, which had cut off contact with the Twelve Continents for many years, clashed with the immortal sects. It nearly escalated into an all-out war. The reason for it seemed to have something to do with Benefactor Chou. My master once told me that the immortal sects and the Thirty-Six Islands signed a secret pact at that time. The key point of the contract was that Benefactor Chou must remain at Taiyi and was forbidden from returning to the Witch Clan.”

    “Returning?”

    Half-Diviner was astonished.

    “I know about that,” Lu Jing said, sitting up straight. “Fatty Zuo said that Chou Bodeng was actually brought back from the Witch Clan by the Taiyi Sect Master.”

    “Speaking of which…” Half-Diviner hesitated. “My master also told me that the Witch Clan doesn’t enter the Central Plains not because they don’t want to, but because they can’t leave the Southern Borderlands. And whether the Witch Clan can leave the Southern Borderlands depends on one person. Uh… could it be that this person is Benefactor Chou?”

    The three of them looked at each other in dismay.

    Monk Budu found a piece of paper.

    “Let this humble monk sort it out.” Monk Budu wrote the character for ‘Witch’ on the paper. “First, the Witch Clan is trapped in the Southern Borderlands, and whether they can escape depends on one person. Eighteen years ago, the Taiyi Sect Master went to the Southern Borderlands and brought Benefactor Chou away. Shortly after, the immortal sects signed a pact with the Thirty-Six Islands.”

    He wrote ‘Immortal Sects’ and ‘Thirty-Six Islands’ on the paper, then drew an arrow between ‘Immortal Sects’ and ‘Witch Clan’.

    “As far as this humble monk knows, most immortal sects have a relationship with the Witch Clan like fire and water. Assuming Benefactor Chou is the key to freeing the Witch Clan… out of vigilance towards them, most immortal sects would likely support Taiyi in keeping Benefactor Chou confined, in exchange for the Witch Clan remaining sealed within the Southern Borderlands.”

    Half-Diviner and Lu Jing nodded, thinking his speculation made sense.

    “Next is the role the Thirty-Six Islands played in this matter.” Monk Budu pinched his chin. “This part is hard to say. Since the Thirty-Six Islands severed ties with the Twelve Continents, those guys have barely appeared here.”

    “The Thirty-Six Islands and the immortal sects had always minded their own business before this. Their sudden mobilization was clearly related to the Taiyi Sect bringing back Benefactor Chou,” Half-Diviner analyzed. “I just don’t know if they have a grudge solely against Benefactor Chou, or against the Witch Clan… uh, it’s also possible they have a grudge against both…”

    “Wait!” Lu Jing raised his hand. “Hold on, can someone tell me what this ‘severing ties between the Thirty-Six Islands and the Twelve Continents’ is all about?”

    “…”

    Monk Budu and Half-Diviner were speechless for a moment.

    “Benefactor Lu, how much do you know about the Thirty-Six Islands?” Monk Budu asked with a sigh.

    “Um…” Lu Jing searched his memory, hesitating. “I heard the Thirty-Six Islands are all different. Some call themselves nations, and the people there are strange. Some are born able to breathe fire, some have large holes in their chests, some have human faces and bird bodies, some are as giant as the Kuafu, and some are only as long as a palm…”

    Your knowledge of the Thirty-Six Islands is basically limited to the stories your nanny told you as a child, isn’t it… Monk Budu thought to himself.

    “What!” Lu Jing felt a little uncomfortable under their gazes and retorted defensively, “This young master doesn’t go out to sea. What does it matter to me if they have human faces and bird bodies or bird faces and human bodies!”

    Half-Diviner smoothed things over. “Young Master Lu isn’t wrong. The Thirty-Six Islands are also known as the Thirty-Six Overseas Nations, and their customs are all different. It’s just that, it’s said that during the Middle Antiquity, the Thirty-Six Islands and the Twelve Continents were connected by sea bridges. The people of the continents and islands could travel freely between them. But at the end of the Middle Antiquity, for some unknown reason, the Thirty-Six Islands severed the sea bridges and no longer had contact with the continents. Although the overseas islands and the Eight Prefectures Immortal Sects were both fighting against the Great Wilderness, their relationship became strained from then on. The Thirty-Six Islands only send representatives to participate in the necessary sun and moon observations during the Immortal-Demon Alliance Meetings, and otherwise, they ignore each other.”

    “Participate in sun and moon observations?”

    Lu Jing’s brow twitched. He thought to himself, This year’s celestial orbits were thrown into chaos by Young Master Chou… he even unbound one of the suns… In that case, don’t the Thirty-Six Islands have an excuse to cause trouble?

    Monk Budu drew a line between ‘Immortal Sects’ and ‘Thirty-Six Islands’, and another between ‘Thirty-Six Islands’ and ‘Witch Clan’, putting a question mark on each line.

    “This humble monk doesn’t know why the Thirty-Six Islands severed the sea bridges, but I did attend one Immortal-Demon Alliance Meeting and met their representatives,” Monk Budu said with a frown. “Based on my impression from that one time, I feel that the people of the Thirty-Six Islands are hostile towards the immortal sects, towards all cultivators.”

    “So, the immortal sects were willing to support the Taiyi Sect in keeping Benefactor Chou, not only out of fear of the Witch Clan but also out of fear of the Thirty-Six Islands?” Half-Diviner speculated.

    Monk Budu nodded. “In that case, it’s hard to judge the motive for the Thirty-Six Islands’ return to the continents eighteen years ago. Just as the Daoist said, it could be because Benefactor Chou has a grudge with them, or because they have a grudge with the Witch Clan, or both.”

    “Wait.” Lu Jing noticed a problem. “Young Master Chou is only just eighteen, right? How could he have made an enemy of the Thirty-Six Islands the moment he was born, eighteen years ago?”

    Monk Budu patted Lu Jing’s shoulder. “Benefactor Lu, don’t you find it strange? Young Master Chou is only eighteen, so where did all that karmic obstruction come from? That amount of karmic obstruction isn’t something that can be accumulated in a mere eighteen years.”

    Lu Jing was stunned.

    “Young Master Lu,” Half-Diviner couldn’t bear it anymore and spoke up, “there is actually a forbidden art that can steal yin and yang, reverse life and death, and reshape a body.”

    Lu Jing froze, then suddenly jumped up.

    “Isn’t it said that death is like a lamp being extinguished?” His tone was unusually anxious. “If a person is dead, how can life and death be reversed?”

    “Indeed, death is like a lamp being extinguished. But what if he isn’t human?” Monk Budu said hauntingly.

    “Although Young Master Chou doesn’t act very human a lot of the time, you don’t have to slander him like that, you bald donkey, do you?” Lu Jing’s mind was a mess, and he blurted out nonsense.

    “This humble monk is not slandering Benefactor Chou,” Monk Budu said. “Death is like a lamp being extinguished because after a person dies, their soul enters the miasma, their spiritual intelligence dissipates, and their memories are incomplete. Hence the saying, ‘A dead soul has no form, the person of old is no more.’ But what if he isn’t human? What if he’s a god?”

    Lu Jing froze.

    “When a god dies, the spiritual intelligence and memories of their divine soul are not lost. This is known as ‘a god dies, but the spirit remains.’ Theoretically, if the divine soul is intact, it is indeed possible to be reborn,” Half-Diviner said in a low voice. “It’s just that the cost is too great, the difficulty too high, and it goes against the way of heaven and earth. Plus…”

    Plus, gods could be transformed into Heavenly Soldiers. These Heavenly Soldiers were powerful and coveted, so people would even go so far as to kill gods to take their spirits and forcefully refine them into evil weapons. How could they possibly go to great lengths to resurrect a god?

    Half-Diviner paused, not voicing the remaining half of this cold and despicable truth.

    “I see.”

    Lu Jing lowered his head and sat back down.

    A moment later, he was suddenly startled awake again. He whipped his head around to look at Monk Budu, his face filled with terror. “Wait? What did you just say? Chou… Young Master Chou is a god?”

    Monk Budu hummed. “A guess, just a guess. This humble monk is only guessing.”

    “…How… how is that possible?” Lu Jing asked with difficulty. In truth, he also knew something was off, whether it was the karmic obstruction, the excessive strength, or even the ability to command the Golden Crow… But, aside from certain moments, Young Master Chou was a standard profligate, wasn’t he? He engaged in cockfighting and dog racing, ate, drank, and made merry, and loved to laugh and cause trouble.

    The Chou Bodeng who instigated them to fly kites on top of a flying boat in the middle of the night, the Chou Bodeng who cheated at dice for money without batting an eye, the Chou Bodeng who had more mischievous ideas than anyone—how could he be a god who had once died?

    “It’s just a guess,” Monk Budu said with a shrug. “But other than that, there doesn’t seem to be any other explanation.”

    The three were quiet for a while.

    “No wonder you said the road back to the Witch Clan would be difficult for him.” Half-Diviner suddenly remembered something, reached into his clothes, and pulled out a small wooden box. “Right, before Benefactor Chou left, I ran into him, and he tossed me this.”

    “What is it?”

    Lu Jing and Monk Budu both leaned in to look.

    Half-Diviner opened the wooden box. Inside was a fragment of golden light, stained with blood. Four words were hastily written inside the box: Give to Mountain Sea.

    “What is this?” Lu Jing asked.

    “It looks like…” Monk Budu identified it with some uncertainty. “It seems to be a piece of the shattered Heaven-Herding Rope that he intercepted. He wants us to give this to the Mountain Sea Pavilion, perhaps because it’s related to Kongsang altering the orbits of the sun and moon? When we were calculating the sun’s orbit and the moon’s track before, didn’t he mention that the celestial orbits were abnormal?”

    For a moment, Lu Jing didn’t even know what expression to make.

    “Is he an idiot?” Finally, Lu Jing couldn’t help but slam the table. “He’s already left, free and clear, yet he’s still worrying about so much? Isn’t he tired?”

    Neither of the other two spoke.

    The surface of the Cangming Sea rose and fell.

    ***

    The seas of the Twelve Continents were divided into inner and outer seas. The inner seas, like the Cangming Sea and the East Sea, were connected to the continents. The outer sea, also known as the Vast Ocean, encircled the Twelve Continents. The Thirty-Six Overseas Islands formed thirty-six nations, becoming the boundary of the mortal realm. Because of the outer sea and the Thirty-Six Islands, the Twelve Continents were also known as the “Central Plains.”

    On the Vast Ocean, a giant boat rode the waves, a red lantern hanging from its bow, dispelling the fog for kilometers around.

    At first glance, the ship seemed magnificent, with tiered pavilions and ornate, flying rafters. But upon closer inspection, one would find that the lanterns hanging from the bow were actually two demons, and what propelled the ship forward were not sails or oars, but rows of skeletons on either side of the hull, treading the waves and carrying chains. The “people” on board, aside from the two at the very front, all wore their caps askew, had green faces and long fangs, and possessed multiple legs and monstrous hands—they were all demon ghosts, ineptly mimicking human behavior.

    Like monkeys in hats.

    Absurdity mixed with terror.

    A large bird, drawn by the light, folded its wings and landed on the deck at the bow. An ape’s hand, like ebony, reached out and deftly untied a message tube from the bird’s leg. In the scarlet firelight, the paper of the letter had an eerie, deathly pallor.

    “He actually left?!”

    The speaker was a giant ape, bare-chested and burly, sitting cross-legged on the bow like a small, black mountain. As it spoke, faint flashes of lightning flickered from its mouth and nose.

    “What?”

    The “person” in black robes and a white cap, lying languidly to the side and holding a bamboo slip, asked lazily. Compared to the giant ape, this black-robed figure was handsome, with long eyebrows and fine eyes. His appearance alone could be called remarkable, but the residual scales at the corners of his eyes and the white horn on his forehead were clearly not human.

    “The Taiyi Sect let him go.” The giant ape ground its top and bottom rows of teeth together, making a grating sound. The large bird beside it was startled and tried to fly away, but he snatched it, and with a crunch, stuffed it into his mouth. He chewed on it bloodily, venting his anger and resentment. “Not a single word these immortal sects say can be trusted!”

    An island faintly appeared in the miasma.

    It was a very strange island. Peach blossoms were in full bloom, birds flew, and butterflies danced. It was so tranquil it didn’t seem like an island that should appear on the Vast Ocean.

    “There’s nothing to be surprised about,” the black-robed, white-capped figure said, putting down the wood in his hand and standing up. His tone was playful and mocking. “If even the Taiyi Sect had abandoned him, it would have been a bit too tragic.”

    The giant ape was still furious.

    The black-robed figure patted its forearm. “Alright, we’re about to enter the illusory world. Be careful not to wake the Fire-Hater Race, and instead get trapped in His illusory realm yourself.”

    Only then did the giant ape calm down.

    The black-robed figure waved his hand to stop the boat, then disembarked and walked toward the dream-like peach blossom forest. Just before entering, he stopped, tilted his head back, and watched the pink petals flutter down. “The illusory world of the Scripture Woman and the Moon Mother was their clansmen working from sunrise to sunset, with the sounds of chickens and dogs echoing. The illusory world of the Fire-Hater Race is a vast peach forest in eternal spring, with no summer or winter… I just wonder, what will your illusory world be?”

    With a sarcastic smile, he stepped into the peach blossom forest.

    ***

    Monk Budu was right; the road back to the Witch Clan was indeed not an easy one.

    The Witch Clan was located in the Southern Borderlands, while Zhunan was in Qing Province. Between Qing Province and the Southern Borderlands lay Yong Continent. From the moment Shi Wuluo took Chou Bodeng from Zhunan, immortal sect teams had been pouring into Yong Continent.

    Although the Mountain Sea Pavilion had refused the other immortal sects’ demands for strict inspections of all who entered and exited, using the excuse that “the previous Pavilion Master died at sea, and the current Pavilion Master is overcome with grief and has not yet awakened from a deep sleep. As the Pavilion Master is not awake, we dare not make any rash decisions,” the other immortal sects, guided by the celestial orbits of the Kongsang Hundred Clans, still cast a wide net and set up numerous checkpoints along the border of Qing Province, within Yong Continent.

    With the power of the entire world gathered to besiege the two of them, it was as if they had grown wings but still could not fly.

    Strangely, however, ever since Shi Wuluo and Chou Bodeng left Zhunan, all traces of them had completely vanished from the immortal sects’ sight.

    Like a drop of water falling into a lake, they disappeared without a sound.

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