When Li Na’s message arrived through the earth book, Xu Qi An felt a mixture of confusion, wariness, and surprise.
The wariness was inevitable—anyone would be alert upon learning their sister had caught the attention of the Gu God.
His confusion and surprise stemmed from a simple question—what could the Gu God possibly want with Ling Yin? Surely it had better things to do?
Luo Yu Heng unwrapped her long legs from his waist, shifting to support herself on her knees. Her expression grew serious as she reminded him:
“The Gu God can glimpse fragments of the future.”
Xu Qi An understood her meaning—Ling Yin wasn’t the Gu God’s true target. He was!
With the Great Calamity approaching, the Gu God, as a Transcendent being with the power to see fragments of the future, might have glimpsed Xu Qi An in those visions.
After all, Xu Qi An was no longer an insignificant figure, but a true First-Rank Martial Warrior who could represent all of the Central Plains.
He would undoubtedly play a role in the coming calamity, so it wasn’t surprising that the Gu God had “foreseen” him.
Xu Qi An withdrew his left hand from Luo Yu Heng’s waist and used his finger to write a message:
[Li Na, ask Chief Long Tu to check if the crack in the Sage of Literature’s statue’s forehead has spread.]
If the Gu God’s power could leak out and affect beings in the outside world, the seal must be weakening.
[Five: Father has already checked. The crack in the Sage’s statue has indeed grown larger. Father says it has spread down to the chest.]
Li Na had first informed her father Long Tu about Ling Yin’s strange situation. After Long Tu discussed it with the clan leaders, they went together to check the Extreme Abyss and discovered the statue of the Sage was increasingly unstable.
[Three: What does Chief Long Tu think about this?]
[Five: Father is very angry. He says the Gu God is trying to steal his disciple.]
The members of the Heaven and Earth Society who saw this message were bewildered.
[One: What did you say?]
Her Imperial Majesty Huai Qing couldn’t help but ask for clarification.
[Five: Ling Yin says the Gu God has been teaching her cultivation in her dreams. Father thoroughly examined her body but found no signs of corruption from the Gu God.]
Li Na explained the situation in detail. Recently, Ling Yin had dreamed of a giant insect that taught her combat daily but rarely spoke, only revealing its identity as the “Gu God” on the few occasions it did communicate.
[Five: But strangely, not only is Ling Yin’s body fine, but she hasn’t made any progress in cultivation either. The elders suspect she might simply be having ordinary dreams.]
[Eight: There are no such coincidences.]
Asura interjected with a message:
[It would be best to check the Southern Borderlands. A Transcendent’s methods cannot be taken lightly—the absence of abnormalities might be the greatest abnormality. By the way, who is Ling Yin?]
[Five: Ling Yin is my disciple and Xu Ning Yan’s sister.]
[Eight: For the Gu God to take interest in her, she must be an extraordinary genius.]
No, she’s a child whose stupidity defies comprehension… Chu Yuan Zhen silently commented.
In a certain sense, Ling Yin does have extraordinary talents… Huai Qing offered a fair assessment.
Not very bright, but she has an incredibly strong fate—one of the rarest I’ve encountered… Daoist Jin Lian’s first thought was of Ling Yin’s destiny.
This reminded her of Zhong Li, the Diviner’s fifth disciple.
Zhong Li’s misfortune affected those around her, whether friend or foe.
However, two types of people were immune to the misfortune she attracted: those blessed with good fortune like Xu Qi An and those with strong fates like Ling Yin.
After the Heaven and Earth Society members discussed the matter further, Xu Qi An wrote:
[Li Na, how does the Gu God’s power in the Extreme Abyss compare to when I left?]
[Five: It’s several times more concentrated. The chiefs have to clear out powerful Gu insects and beasts every three days.
[Even then, it’s impossible to catch all the powerful Gu creatures. The Extreme Abyss is vast, and some always slip through. Grandmother says we might see Transcendent-level Gu beasts within half a year.
[And every time a Transcendent Gu insect or beast appears, we inevitably lose a chief. The entire Gu tribe is deeply worried.]
My Seven Absolutes Gu is close to reaching the Transcendent level. This trip to the Southern Borderlands will be a chance to gain something from the Gu God… Xu Qi An wrote:
[I’ll head to the Southern Borderlands today.]
After putting away the earth book fragment, Xu Qi An looked at the beautiful face close to his and smiled:
“Want to come to the Southern Borderlands together?”
Luo Yu Heng shook her head. “I’ve just advanced to Earthly Immortal. With the battle between Heaven and Humanity approaching, I need to seclude myself to stabilize my realm.”
As she spoke, she stood up.
“Pop~”
With the sound, Luo Yu Heng bit her lip, swallowing back a gentle moan.
I understand—while you’re in seclusion, I’ll need to come to the temple daily for dual cultivation… Xu Qi An had become quite adept at understanding the psychology of proud, mature women.
Both the Flower Goddess and his aunt were this type.
Practice makes perfect.
For Luo Yu Heng, dual cultivation was also a way to quickly stabilize her realm and increase her spiritual power. The effects weren’t as good as before, since they were both approaching the peak of power. But it was still better than cultivating alone.
…
Xu Qi An didn’t immediately leave for the Southern Borderlands. Instead, he first visited the palace, meeting Huai Qing on the observation deck of the second floor of the “Welcome Spring Pavilion.”
Her plain palace dress and hair fluttered in the wind. Her temperament remained as cold and immortal-like as ever, but unlike before, this princess now carried an air of supreme authority.
“Your Majesty rarely wears her old clothes since ascending the throne. What’s the occasion for such leisure?”
Xu Qi An sat casually by the table, picking up a date to eat. His brows furrowed:
“Why does this date taste strange? It’s a bit, a bit…”
Without turning around, Huai Qing laughed softly:
“Does it taste somewhat like horse meat?
“These are meat dates offered by Minister Song. They say the date trees grew from horse corpses—one horse can nurture three hundred jin of meat dates. The war just ended, and horse carcasses were piled like mountains. I thought it would be wasteful to just bury them, so I had Minister Song handle it.
“Now the meat dates have been sent to the porridge stalls, distributed with porridge to disaster victims. They’re quite filling.”
…Xu Qi An silently spat out the date pulp and rinsed his mouth with tea, saying:
“I’m about to head to the Southern Borderlands. Has Your Majesty prepared the compensation for the Gu tribe warriors?”
Huai Qing shook her head.
Xu Qi An then relayed Er Lang’s strategy to her.
“Not bad!”
Huai Qing immediately expressed approval: “The Astronomical Bureau is rolling in wealth, and the ritualists don’t lack silver. Taking some from them for emergency use is quite reasonable.”
So, Huai Qing wrote a letter for Xu Qi An, which essentially said:
The position of the Diviner is crucial, and I cannot treat it lightly. We need to select a worthy talent of high virtue who can command respect and contribute to both the court and the common people. As it happens, there is a matter…
After receiving the letter, Xu Qi An went to see Wei Yuan, informing him of his purpose in traveling to the Southern Borderlands and expressing his concerns about the Gu God.
Wei Yuan suggested visiting the Cloud Deer Academy before heading to the Southern Borderlands.
The reason Ling Yin showed no abnormalities might be because the Gu God had concealed them using the “Moving Stars and Changing Constellations” technique.
Therefore, they should borrow the Lesser Sage’s Scholar’s Crown and the two papers recording the “Divination Art” and “Words Become Law.”
First, use the power of Words to Become Law to forbid the power of Moving Stars and Changing Constellations, then use divination to examine Ling Yin.
Any problems would be immediately apparent.
The enhancement from the Lesser Sage’s Scholar’s Crown would ensure the dispersal of the Moving Stars and Changing Constellations power, as well as increase the strength of the shaman’s divination.
The Gu God was still sealed, after all. That thin strand of power leaking through couldn’t possibly resist the Lesser Sage’s artifact.
Additionally, Wei Yuan told him to be prepared to return empty-handed.
He believed that given the Gu God’s status if it truly wanted to corrupt or scheme in secret, it wouldn’t let the Gu tribe discover it so easily.
So this time, it was likely to be a false alarm without any complex underlying plot.
…
Southern Borderlands.
On the outskirts of the Extreme Abyss, Grandmother Gu and the other Gu tribe chiefs emerged with grave expressions after completing a purge.
Their concerns came from two aspects:
First, the Sage’s seal was increasingly unstable, and the Gu God’s breaking free was imminent.
This was undoubtedly a disaster for the Gu tribe. Throughout generations, the Sky Gu tribe’s prophets had all left predictions that “when the Gu God emerges, the Nine Provinces will become a world of Gu.”
Sealing the Gu God was the Gu tribe’s eternal mission and goal.
Second: The Gu God’s power leaking from the Extreme Abyss was unprecedentedly concentrated.
If left unchecked, the Extreme Abyss’s territory would first expand, contaminating the surrounding normal areas into “Gu” territory. Moreover, the number and probability of Transcendent Gu beasts appearing would rise accordingly.
One Transcendent Gu beast might require the chiefs present to risk their lives to eliminate it.
Two would severely wound the Gu tribe, and if three appeared, the Gu tribe would have to prepare for mutual destruction.
In countless years past, such a situation had never occurred.
“Grandmother, is this the Great Calamity you spoke of?” asked the enchanting Luan Yu, her carefully groomed eyebrows furrowed tightly, all traces of her usual charm gone.
“Compared to what’s coming, this is merely a glimpse of the Great Calamity,” Grandmother Gu replied, then turned to Long Tu:
“The little girl shows no abnormalities?”
Long Tu answered:
“No abnormalities. She eats and sleeps well, and is currently helping build a dam for the tribe. She can already carry five hundred jin of stone.”
With such strength, she could kill a Qi Refinement realm martial artist with one punch, and even a Qi Practicing realm expert would lose half their life.
Grandmother Gu continued:
“Has Silver Bell Xu been notified?”
Long Tu nodded and brought the topic back: “How should we handle the Extreme Abyss? We can’t do anything about the Sage’s seal, and we can’t solve the high concentration of Gu God’s power?”
At this, the Gu tribe chiefs and elders fell silent, their faces full of worry.
The calm and rational Heart Gu Master Chun Yan said:
“If the Gu tribe’s population increased tenfold, we could solve this problem.”
The solution was simple—directly absorb the Gu God’s power.
But Gu Masters had their limits and couldn’t absorb endlessly. The Gu God’s power needed to be “filtered” by their innate Gu before the human body could absorb it, which effectively prevented mutation and madness.
Gu insects and beasts, however, didn’t need this process.
They could absorb the Gu God’s power directly, though at the cost of becoming slaves to that power and losing their rationality. Of course, the insects and beasts wouldn’t care about such things.
“Or if each tribe could produce another Transcendent,” Chun Yan added.
That would mean seven Transcendents… The Gu tribe chiefs and the elders beside them shook their heads slightly.