As the box opened, its contents were revealed to everyone present.

Inside was a torso—lacking arms, legs, and head—yet it was the most complete body of Shen Shu that Xu Qi An had ever seen. Worth mentioning was that the torso’s lower region was wrapped in an ultra-short beast-hide skirt, which inexplicably reminded Xu Qi An of that thunder-mouthed monkey he’d seen on television years ago.

“The ten-year term has not yet arrived. Why have you awakened me?”

The torso awakened, slowly “standing up” and hovering before everyone. Then it contained its aura.

“Master Shen Shu, this servant opened the seal by Her Majesty’s command. We have a request,” Ye Ji bowed respectfully, feeling greatly relieved as the pressure lifted.

Shen Shu’s torso slowly rotated halfway, as if surveying everyone in the cave, until it saw Xu Qi An…

The two black dots on its chest suddenly split open, transforming into a pair of eyes. A terrifying aura leaked out again, causing Ye Ji and the White Ape to step back repeatedly, their faces pale.

“You carry my aura. A part of my body is parasitic within you.”

The torso’s nipple eyes stared intensely at him, its chest cavity producing thunderous sounds.

“It’s a right arm!”

Xu Qi An replied calmly. He didn’t sense any strong hostility or malice from this torso, indicating that its personality was “gentle,” similar to his right arm.

“Demon-Sealing Nails…”

Shen Shu’s torso examined him and said, “You’re an enemy of the Buddhist sect? Hmm, that makes you my friend. Your cultivation is not bad, foundations are solid. You’re a good warrior. We should drink together sometime.”

Drink together… Xu Qi An glanced at the bowl-sized scar on its neck, momentarily unsure how to respond. Still, its personality seemed decent, somewhat bold, and straightforward—unlike that psychopath in the tower who kept screaming about killing all day.

“Master, he is the helper Her Majesty invited,” Ye Ji explained their arrangement to Shen Shu’s torso. “Asura guards the Southern Dharma Temple. His power is terrifying, and we cannot handle him. Therefore, we wish to ask you to remove his Demon-Sealing Nails ahead of schedule.”

Shen Shu’s torso agreed readily: “No problem, but removing the Demon-Sealing Nails will greatly deplete my power. Afterward, I’ll need a batch of essence blood to replenish the loss.”

Ye Ji nodded: “This servant understands.”

In the Ten Thousand Mountains, beasts were the least scarce resource. They could even raid small cities and towns to plunder the essence blood of those Western Region people.

A thought occurred to Xu Qi An, and he asked, “Master, can you reside within my body, just like the severed arm?”

This way, he could freeload off the divine power of Shen Shu’s torso.

“No, you have Demon-Sealing Nails in your body. I cannot reside there.”

Shen Shu’s body gave a negative answer.

So that’s how it is, indeed no loophole to exploit… Xu Qi An shook his head in disappointment. It seemed he would have to personally confront Asura after all.

“Senior, which two Demon-Sealing Nails can you remove?”

The nipple-eyes stared at him for a moment before the chest cavity rumbled with laughter: “Those two are still in your body.”

Very good, I truly am a child of fortune. If this happens again, I’d have to suspect the fortune within me is fake… Xu Qi An turned to instruct everyone, “All of you, leave the cave.”

Then he looked at Shen Shu’s torso: “Please help me remove the Demon-Sealing Nails.”

After Sun Xuanji, Ye Ji, Guardian Yuan, and the female demons withdrew from the cave, a vortex collapsed in Shen Shu’s chest.

The vortex rolled, causing great winds to whip through the cave, making Xu Qi An’s long hair dance wildly.

Crack!

Golden arcs of lightning jumped from the vortex, causing the cave to flicker between brightness and darkness.

Bzzt… Golden lightning shot from the vortex’s center, splashing onto Xu Qi An’s lower abdomen, where the Demon-Sealing Nail corresponded to the Ren Meridian.

From an observer’s perspective, the golden lightning formed a long cord, connecting Shen Shu’s torso and Xu Qi An.

The vortex spun faster and faster, its pulling force growing stronger, causing the golden lightning cord to tighten, tugging at the Demon-Sealing Nail.

Buddhist chants echoed in Xu Qi An’s ears—he knew these were the incantations for unlocking the Demon-Sealing Nails.

During the previous two removals of Demon-Sealing Nails, both the Compassionate Arhat and Shen Shu’s left arm had chanted to assist.

Xu Qi An secretly memorized it, but after trying, he discovered that chanting alone couldn’t unlock the Demon-Sealing Nails.

As the Demon-Sealing Nail was gradually pulled out, his face twitched violently, and bean-sized sweat drops rolled down like rain.

Once again, he tasted the agony of his flesh being torn apart.

Pop… With the sound of the Demon-Sealing Nail separating from the flesh, the qi in his dantian surged like a tide, rushing out uncontrollably, demanding release.

Xu Qi An’s arms suddenly thrust outward. “Boom!” The qi raged through the cave, causing the entire mountain to shake violently.

Outside the cave, Ye Ji, Sun Xuanji, and the others felt the ground trembling beneath their feet.

Whoosh…

Terrifying gales rushed out along the tunnel, “spewing” out torches and debris.

Sun Xuanji extended his right palm, gently pushing forward.

A formation composed of clear light, shaped like a tortoiseshell, stood before everyone, blocking the powerful wind that could “blow” to death any martial artist below the sixth rank.

So powerful… Red Tassel Guardian, Green Wood Guardian, and other demon clan members secretly marveled.

Inside the cave, after this round of release, Xu Qi An stabilized the qi in his dantian, followed by resurgent power.

Bang!

He clenched his fist forcefully as if crushing the air itself.

“The thickness of the qi and physical strength have been greatly enhanced. The qi gained from dual cultivation with Little Aunt finally has a place to be used… Hmm, with my current strength, combined with the perfected Diamond Spirit Technique, I can dominate either Du Nan or Du Fan. Even in a two-against-one situation, I could maintain an undefeated position.”

After devouring Asura Diamond Du Fan’s blood, his Diamond Spirit Technique reached perfection, allowing him to fight one-on-one with a Diamond.

Now he could dominate a Diamond.

“In terms of pure physical strength, I shouldn’t be inferior to Asura now, right? Even if slightly weaker, the gap wouldn’t be too large. After unlocking another Demon-Sealing Nail, my strength can advance another step. However, Asura is also an Arhat… Well, I have other methods too. Keeping him occupied shouldn’t be a problem.”

Collecting his thoughts, Xu Qi An cupped his hands toward the greatly weakened Shen Shu torso and said:

“Please continue, Senior.”

Shen Shu’s torso followed the same procedure to unlock the second Demon-Sealing Nail. After Xu Qi An stabilized his chaotic qi, it praised:

“Your foundation is stronger than I imagined. If all Demon-Sealing Nails were removed, your strength would approach grand perfection. It seems you were originally in this realm.”

It meant that Xu Qi An was originally at the grand perfection stage of the third rank but was sealed by the Demon-Sealing Nails.

“The Buddhist sect rarely has to use Demon-Sealing Nails. Your identity must be unusual. Young one, how many hundred years have you practiced martial arts?”

Practice duration: half a year… Xu Qi An cupped his hands:

“All told, a year and a half.”

Shen Shu fell silent for a moment, then slowly said: “Don’t joke with me like this.”

“Junior has no reason to joke with you about this,” Xu Qi An said.

Shen Shu’s torso spoke in a confused tone: “You’re not lying, but this is impossible.”

Xu Qi An told the truth: “Junior carries half the national fortune of the Central Plains Dynasty.”

Shen Shu’s torso counter-questioned: “And then?”

Do I need to spell this out… Xu Qi An grumbled internally, then said:

“Those blessed with great fortune are heaven’s favorites, able to transcend mortality in a short time. Though dramatic, it’s not that extraordinary, right?”

His current achievements were inseparable from his talent, effort, and the care of some elders.

Xu Qi An attributed all miraculous encounters to fortune’s sake.

“I only know that those who gain fortune cannot achieve immortality—more precisely, those bound by national fortune. That’s why there are no long-lived emperors in the mortal realm.”

Shen Shu paused, its breast eyes staring at him:

“I’ve never heard of someone blessed by fortune ascending to transcendence in just a year and a half.”

Xu Qi An frowned and said:

“Perhaps national fortune differs from personal fortune?”

Shen Shu counter-questioned again:

“If so, why couldn’t successive emperors achieve transcendence in a year and a half? Why is it possible for you alone?”

Xu Qi An was stunned: “This, this…”

His instinct was to say that the founding emperor and Martial Emperor of Great Zhou were the same.

But then he realized something was wrong because although both emperors later ascended to the first rank, that was many, many years later.

And they had started from the third rank.

He steadied himself and cupped his hands: “Junior doesn’t know. Junior has one question to ask.”

“Speak.”

“The founding emperor of the Central Plains’ Great Zhou Dynasty was the third rank before ascending the throne. After becoming emperor, he achieved first rank. A hundred years later, his grandson rebelled and usurped the throne, following the same pattern,” Xu Qi An spoke rapidly:

“What’s wrong with this?”

“Nothing’s wrong, but why do you think their achievement of first rank was due to fortune’s blessing?”

Shen Shu said: “Your understanding of fortune’s blessing is problematic, too simplistic. Those blessed by fortune differ from ordinary people in every way, manifesting in all aspects.

“But in your eyes, it seems fortune’s blessing must lead to transcendence, must lead to rapid cultivation progress.

“Indeed, those blessed by fortune gain benefits in cultivation, experiencing continuous good luck, but it only ever serves as an auxiliary role, helping you avoid detours on the path of cultivation.

“But if you believe fortune’s blessing alone can achieve transcendence, even first rank, then you’re overestimating fortune and underestimating first rank.”

Xu Qi An’s pupils slightly dilated.

“You still harbor secrets, waiting to be uncovered. Unfortunately, my memories are incomplete, so I cannot offer much advice.

“But there are two questions worth pondering. First: Where did the national fortune in your body come from? Second: Compared to those emperors similarly blessed by fortune, what’s different about the fortune within you?”

The national fortune within me was infused by Xu Ping Feng, and different from ordinary emperors because it was refined.

Yes, Shen Shu was right. All along, Xu Ping Feng had been concerned about the speed of my cultivation advancement.

Think about it—if he knew that those blessed by fortune were destined to transcend mortality and achieve first rank, with Xu Ping Feng’s cunning, why would he support that lineage from five hundred years ago? Wouldn’t it have been better to support me directly?

A first-rank warrior was enough to dominate the Great Zhou territory.

What did this indicate? It showed that he knew fortune could enhance cultivation and bring continuous miracles, but not to such an exaggerated extent.

Therefore, compared to a martial arts prodigy, the thousands of troops in Dragon City were more suitable for cooperation.

This meant that fortune indeed helped with my cultivation, but there must be another reason for my current level of achievement.

This reason should still be related to fortune, but not solely to fortune.

Xu Qi An remained silent for a long while before slowly exhaling:

“Senior, do you know the inside story of that Buddhist-Demon war five hundred years ago?”

“Forgotten.”

Shen Shu’s torso spoke in a deep voice: “I only remember the moonlit moments with the sovereign. They were wonderful.”

The old tree spirit guessed correctly—Shen Shu was the Demon Emperor’s lover? Xu Qi An was shocked.

“Besides these, what else do you remember?”

The response was a long silence. After quite a while, Shen Shu’s torso slowly said:

“We had a child, a lovely little fox. She is now the leader of the Southern Demons…”

Holy shit… It had been a long time since Xu Qi An had cursed, but this news was truly earth-shattering.

The Nine-Tailed Fox was Shen Shu’s daughter? Shen Shu’s daughter?!

But something wasn’t right—Guardian Green Wood had said that Her Majesty was a pure-blooded Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox. How could she be Shen Shu’s daughter?

No, back then Green Wood Guardian was just a minor demon. Regardless of his status, he was still a minor demon, and might not have known many inside details.

But Shen Shu had no reason to lie to me.

Shen Shu and the Demon Emperor were lovers and had a daughter; the Buddhist sect destroyed the Demon Empire, yet Shen Shu was from the Buddhist sect; Shen Shu had made an unknown deal with Buddha… Holy shit, the implications were terrifying!

Xu Qi An’s heart pounded wildly.

“Senior, do you remember your identity?” he probed:

“I mean, your identity within the Buddhist sect.”

“I… don’t remember.”

Shen Shu’s torso muttered: “I only remember the time spent with her, only remember that Buddha killed her back then. I can’t remember anything else.”

This might be why his temperament was relatively gentle, without so much negativity… Xu Qi An didn’t ask further.

…

On the Grand Canal, aboard a three-masted warship.

After lunch, Young Master Xu sat at his desk, holding a brush, earnestly writing his first family letter.

Aunt worried about her son having accidents, so she required him to write a family letter every two days.

“Mother, life drifting on the canal makes me somewhat uncomfortable.”

Writing such colloquial family letters also made Young Master Xu uncomfortable, but considering his parents’ literacy level, such letters would be easier for them to understand.

“However, Ling Yin particularly enjoys being on the ship. Besides not being very clever, she seems to have no weaknesses.

“I heard from colleagues that the situation in Qing Province is very favorable. The imperial army has forced the rebels into continuous retreat, so don’t worry—your son will return victorious soon.

“Take good care of yourself in the capital, don’t worry about me. With Big Brother looking after Ling Yin, she’ll be fine too.

“If the family encounters trouble, remember to consult with Ling Yue. Though Ling Yue’s wisdom doesn’t match a tenth of yours, more people mean more ideas.

“Ling Yin hasn’t suffered any grievances on the ship. The soldiers like her very much, praising her as worthy of being Big Brother’s sister, matchlessly brave, able to hold off ten thousand…”

Young Master Xu thought for a moment, crossed out this line, and rewrote:

“Praising her as worthy of being Big Brother’s sister, clever as ice and snow, surely to become a refined and educated lady in the future…”

After finishing the letter and waiting for the ink to dry, he stuffed the paper into an envelope.

At this moment, two clear lights rose in the room, and Zhang Shen and Li Mu Bai, wearing scholar robes and square caps, suddenly appeared.

“Teacher, Sir Mu Bai?”

Xu Xin Nian was stunned, both surprised and delighted: “Why have you come?”

Zhang Shen stroked his beard and said:

“The situation in Qing Province is not good. Yang Gong wrote to the Academy Director for help. The Director sent me and Mu Bai to Qing Province as Yang Gong’s advisors.”

The joy of reunion immediately dissipated. Xu Xin Nian said solemnly:

“What did Purple Yang Hermit’s letter say?”

Li Mu Bai said: “The first line of defense at Qing Province’s border has been broken. Zi Qian ordered scorched earth tactics, gathering refugees and adopting a strategy of firm defense without sortie, waiting for reinforcements.”

Xu Xin Nian immediately spread out the map of Qing Province, examined it for a moment, and said:

“This plan is excellent.”

Qing Province stretched for ten thousand li, with sufficient strategic depth. Defending the border alone didn’t mean much.

For the Great Zhou defenders who held terrain advantage, the strategy of scorching earth and defending cities without sortie was also the correct choice.

Zhang Shen shook his head and sighed:

“Ci Jiu, don’t forget that the Western Region’s Buddhist army hasn’t entered the fray yet. If things go as expected, the Buddhist sect will soon send armies to attack Lei Province and other areas, using this to tie down the imperial court, forcing them to fight on two fronts.

“At that time, Qing Province will face a situation of ‘one palm cannot make a sound.'”

Li Mu Bai added: “Moreover, with refugees and bandits rising everywhere, internal instability makes the situation worrisome. Zi Qian had already anticipated this step and, after wracking his brain without finding a solution, finally wrote to the Director for help.”

Xu Xin Nian’s expression darkened.

…

At dusk, the sunset in the west.

The Demon Mountain was the core area of the Southern Ten Thousand Mountains. Though not particularly tall, it was exceptionally magnificent, like a giant lying on its side, stretching for dozens of li.

And this was just the main peak.

As one of the blessed lands of the South, Demon Mountain was spiritually rich and abundant in qi, nurturing generation after generation of demon clans.

Even now, the number of demons in the mountain remained vast, but with time, they had changed from masters to slaves.

The Buddhist sect ruled here now.

The Southern Dharma Temple was built on the mountain peak, the tallest building in the South.

After occupying Demon Mountain, the Buddhist sect launched massive construction, clearing trees and paths, and building a mighty city here.

Xu Qi An, wearing a cloak, walked the streets of “Southern” city, accompanied by Ye Ji, Sun Xuanji, and Miao You Fang.

They all wore similar cloaks.

“Squeak… squeak…”

Sharp monkey cries caught Xu Qi An’s attention.

At the street corner, someone was performing monkey tricks. A small yellow-furred monkey bowed to everyone, begging for money. If passersby didn’t give any, it would do somersaults, make faces, or kneel and kowtow.

“All untransformed minor demons.”

Xu Qi An took out a piece of broken silver and tossed it over. The yellow-furred monkey picked up the silver and kowtowed, its forehead hitting the ground with loud thuds.

Ye Ji’s eyes revealed sadness:

“Because untransformed minor demons are easiest to control.”

Demons came in two types. One was beasts that gained awareness and, through self-cultivation, gradually became greater demons.

Their offspring were born as demons, just like humans, naturally gaining awareness as they aged. This was the other type of demon.

The demons of Demon Mountain were mostly offspring of the former greater demons.

Though still in beast form, they possessed extremely high intelligence.

White Ji was an example.

“There must be transformed demons, right?” Miao You Fang asked.

“Of course there are, but they’re rare. Most serve as slaves in Buddhist temples or as mounts. Otherwise, they’re controlled by the city’s officials and nobles,”

Ye Ji said: “The Western Region’s officials and nobles keep transformed demons usually as battle slaves, with very few exceptions.”

“Very few exceptions?”

Miao You Fang pressed.

Ye Ji laughed coldly: “For instance, beautiful female demons become their playthings, and that’s considered good treatment. Those with worse treatment are sent to the army…”

She didn’t continue, but Miao You Fang could guess.

He fell silent for a while.

…

Atop the pagoda of Southern Dharma Temple, the massive Asura stood at the spire, looking down at the magnificent city under the night sky.

At some point, he withdrew his gaze and looked toward the shadows below the tower.

A cloaked and hooded figure had appeared there, silent and without a trace.