HomeGuardians of the DafengChapter 115: The Fate Regulator

Chapter 115: The Fate Regulator

[Four: The Witch God has emerged!]

In the palace’s Imperial Study, Huai Qing’s fingers tightened around the Earth Book fragment.

Although she had mentally prepared for this long ago, seeing Chu Yuan Chen’s message still made her heart slowly sink. Her limbs grew cold as emotions of pessimism, fear, and despair welled up.

The battle in Lei Province was already intense, barely managing to delay the enemy. The situation overseas was even more perilous, with Xu Qi An’s fate unknown. What did Great Feng have now to stop the Witch God?

Though the Witch God was the last to break free from its seal, it would benefit like a fisherman from fighting snipes and clams.

True, the Buddha and Witch God were rivals, but don’t count on manipulating the “enemy of my enemy is my friend” principle. Even if they could convince the Buddha to retreat and Great Feng’s supernatural forces could redeploy northeast to obstruct the Witch God, it would merely be robbing Peter to pay Paul.

The result would be the Buddha’s unstoppable advance from the east, and the situation wouldn’t improve at all.

“Inform the Cabinet and the Night Watchmen’s Office — the Great Calamity has arrived!” After a long while, Huai Qing spoke mechanically to the Chief Palace Eunuch below her.

The Great Calamity has arrived… The Chief Palace Eunuch’s face turned deathly pale as if plunged into an ice cellar. His body trembled slightly as he raised his shaking arms, silently performed a ceremonial bow, and withdrew with a deep bow.

In Wenyuan Chamber.

In the conference hall, several Grand Secretaries including Qian Qing Shu and Wang Zhen Wen sat at the table. These white-haired men furrowed their brows, their grave expressions making the atmosphere heavy.

The Chief Palace Eunuch glanced at them and asked hesitantly:

“If this humble servant may ask, do the lords have any strategies to break this deadlock?”

His true meaning was: Could Great Feng still be saved?

He asked the Grand Secretaries rather than Huai Qing both because he dared not upset the Empress and because she might not have an answer either.

Of course, as the Empress’s confidant who had attended previous supernatural conferences, the Chief Palace Eunuch understood the situation’s urgency quite clearly.

When the agitated Qian Qing Shu heard this and was about to rebuke him, Wang Zhen Wen spoke first:

“When Night Watchman Xu returns, the crisis will resolve itself.”

His expression was certain, his tone composed. Though his face was grave, he showed no panic or despair.

Seeing this, the Chief Palace Eunuch’s heart steadied. He bowed with a smile and said:

“This humble servant must visit the Night Watchmen’s Office. I shall take my leave.”

As he bowed, his mind recalled Night Watchman Xu’s past achievements and feats, including reportedly reaching the unprecedented Half-step Martial God rank in the Central Plains’ martial arts history.

Strong confidence welled up in his heart. Though still somewhat uneasy, he was no longer anxious.

Wang Zhen Wen watched him leave, then finally let his expression collapse. He tiredly pinched his brow and said:

“Even if we cannot escape the Great Calamity, this official hopes the capital and various provinces can maintain stability until the final moment.”

And stability required steady hearts.

Zhao Ting Fang said with unconcealed worry:

“The Empress’s confidants all have faith in Night Watchman Xu, not to mention the common folk. If we don’t panic, the capital won’t descend into chaos.”

After the new round of reshuffling following the Empress’s ascension, the Grand Secretaries who were promoted or retained might not all be of noble character, but at least they had no major personal failings and possessed deep cunning and schemes. Thus, facing such a dire situation, they could maintain a degree of composure.

If this were during the Yuanjing era, the court and country would already be in turmoil with people living in fear.

Wang Zhen Wen said:

“Using the pretext of investigating Western Region spies, close the city gates, clear out guests from inns, taverns, and brothels, impose a curfew, and cut off rumor spreading channels.”

Not many knew of the Great Calamity, but neither were they few. Information leaks were inevitable, so these measures were to prevent news from spreading and causing panic.

As for the provincial administrative offices, they had received secret imperial edicts months ago, especially those provinces near the Western Region and Northeast.

Their orders were to evacuate entire territories when the smoke signals rose.

Every hundred households formed a village, ten villages formed a pavilion, and ten pavilions formed a township, with village chiefs, pavilion chiefs, and township chiefs responsible for civilians under their jurisdiction, all coordinated by county magistrates.

Of course, the actual situation would be more complex — civilians might refuse to evacuate, and officials at various levels might forget their duties in the face of calamity.

But these things couldn’t be helped.

For the court, saving as many as possible was all they could do.

Qian Qing Shu said softly:

“Do what we can, and leave the rest to heaven’s will!”

Hearing this, the Grand Secretaries simultaneously looked south, rather than north where the Witch God was sweeping in.

Night Watchmen’s Office.

When South Palace Qian Rou rushed up Haogi Tower with her sword at her waist, full of anxiety, she found Wei Yuan wasn’t in the tea room.

This made her swallow back words like “Foster Father, what should we do?” After brief contemplation, South Palace Qian Rou strode to the observation deck left of the tea room and looked toward the palace.

Phoenix Rest Palace.

The Empress Dowager was in good spirits, reclining on a couch reading a book, with tea and pastries laid out on a small table before her.

The room was warm as spring, and the Empress Dowager wore bright palace garments, her eyebrows lightly painted, her beauty enough to topple cities, making her appear even younger.

As she put down her book and lifted her teacup to taste it, she suddenly noticed a figure outside the door wearing a navy-blue robe, with graying temples and refined features.

“Why have you come?”

A smile unconsciously spread across the Empress Dowager’s face.

Wei Yuan usually didn’t visit Phoenix Rest Palace in the morning unless it was his day off.

“I had nothing pressing to do!”

Wei Yuan sat down beside the couch, holding one of the Empress Dowager’s hands, and said gently:

“I wanted to spend more time with you.”

The Empress Dowager first frowned slightly, then relaxed, adjusted her sitting position, and softly leaned into his embrace with a quiet “mm.”

They tacitly drank tea, read books, occasionally chatting, enjoying the peaceful moment.

Perhaps their last moment together.

Lei Province.

A dark red fleshy substance, like an apocalyptic flood, submerged the land, mountains, and rivers.

Shen Shu’s black dharma body continued retreating. Since the initial engagement, he and Great Feng’s supernatural experts had retreated nearly a hundred li.

Though desperate, their blockade could only slow the Buddha’s consumption of Lei Province, not stop it.

Without aid from a Half-step Martial God-level expert, Lei Province’s fall was only a matter of time.

If he remembered correctly, seventy li further back was a city. He didn’t know if its civilians had evacuated — no, everyone couldn’t have left… Li Miao Zhen looked over at A Su Luo and Kou Yang Zhou locked in mortal combat with the Bodhi Tree.

She glanced at Zhao Shou and others who kept buffing Shen Shu but hovered on death’s edge, at risk of being ambushed by the Lapis Lazuli Bodhisattva at any moment.

She watched Luo Yu Heng repeatedly target Guang Xian only to return empty-handed as the Lapis Lazuli Bodhisattva rescued him time and again.

Anxiety gradually rose in her heart, making her think of Xu Qi An who had sailed overseas.

You must survive… As these thoughts flashed through her mind, that familiar heart palpitation returned.

Li Miao Zhen moved her thoughts and summoned the Earth Book fragment. Her eyes scanned it briefly before her expression suddenly changed, and she blurted out:

“The Witch God has broken free of its seal.”

Though her voice wasn’t loud, it caused both sides of the fierce battle to pause, then separate by tacit agreement.

Then A Su Luo, a blood-soaked but exhilarated, Golden Lotus Daoist with exhaustion showing in his eyes, and Heng Yuan with his broken right arm, all took out their Earth Book fragments to check the message.

Number Four Chu Yuan Chen’s message materialized on the jade stone surface.

The Heaven’s Society members’ hearts sank, their expressions growing grave.

Their reactions made supernatural experts like Zhao Shou and Yang Gong’s hearts grow cold.

What they had most feared had still come to pass.

The Witch God had chosen this moment to break free of its seal, when the Central Plains’ defenses were at their weakest, it had broken free from the Confucian Saint’s seal.

“So it is at this moment…” Bodhisattva Guang Xian muttered softly.

He wasn’t surprised, having already guessed this Transcendent would break free at this crucial moment. The reason was simple — Sixth-Rank witch doctors were called diviners, and the Witch God possessed the ability to seize opportunities.

Bodhisattva Guang Xian pressed his palms together, chanting Buddha’s name with a smile:

“Everyone, you have two choices.”

Li Miao Zhen and others looked over.

Guang Xian continued slowly:

“Convert to Buddhism, and the Buddha will forgive your transgressions, granting you immortal life and an imperishable body.”

“Or, withdraw from Lei Province, ceding these tens of thousands of li of territory to our Buddhist sect.”

“Foolish delusion!” Luo Yu Heng commented icily.

Guang Xian said mildly:

“You have no other choice. Hmm, perhaps you’re still hoping Xu Qi An will return from overseas to turn the tide like last time?”

“Though a Half-step Martial God is undying and indestructible, it depends on who they face. He’s confronting two Transcendent Realm experts overseas and can barely protect himself. Perhaps Huang and the Gu God are already heading for the Nine Provinces.”

The Bodhi Tree spoke arrogantly and domineeringly:

“It seems converting to Buddhism is your only path to survival.”

“The other three Transcendent Realm experts won’t necessarily spare you.”

A Su Luo sneered:

“Fine, if you and the Bodhi Tree commit suicide right here, this seat will consider returning to Buddhism.”

Li Miao Zhen glanced at Shen Shu and the Buddha’s endless battle in the distance, then withdrew her gaze and said with a cold smile:

“I rushed to Lei Province to block you not for personal grudges, not for fame or profit, and certainly not for immortality. It’s because Heaven and Earth are heartless and treat all things as straw dogs.”

Golden Lotus Daoist stroked his beard and smiled:

“Well said about Heaven and Earth being heartless and treating all things as straw dogs. This poor Daoist has spent a lifetime accumulating merits and only knows that humans have seven emotions and six desires, must experience life’s eight sufferings, and never thought ‘Heaven’ should have these.”

Du E pressed his palms together, face full of compassion, voice resonant:

“Amitabha, all beings suffer, but living beings are not playthings in a cage. Buddha, the sea of suffering is boundless, but turning back leads to the shore.”

Yang Gong snorted:

“Establishing the heart of Heaven and Earth is our Confucian school’s duty. This official disagrees with Transcendent Realm experts overstepping their bounds.”

Kou Yang Zhou nodded slightly:

“This old man feels the same.”

They stood here not for themselves, nor the people of a single country or region.

It was for all living beings in the Nine Provinces, for future generations, for the direction after Heaven and Earth evolved to the third stage.

At this moment, Zhao Shou transmitted:

“Everyone, I have something…”

Overseas.

Xu Qi An, his five senses and six perceptions blinded, couldn’t detect any danger but was caught between two Transcendent Realm experts, under attack from both front and back.

Above was the Gu God, and below was Huang, while he currently fought with the Seven Fatal Gu for control of his body.

He only needed a few seconds to suppress the Seven Fatal Gu and crush its consciousness, but the two Transcendent Realm experts wouldn’t give him that time.

The Buddhist Treasure Pagoda rose again, with the Giant Eye bracelet on its spire. Just as the Pagoda Spirit was about to activate the Giant Eye and repeat its previous trick, it suddenly lost perception of the outside world.

It too had been blinded.

The Gu’s God could even blind magical treasures.

Most fatally, the Pagoda Spirit couldn’t inform Xu Qi An of its predicament, to let him know the teleportation had failed.

At this moment, Xu Qi An, having lost perception of the outside world, exploded his qi mechanism underfoot and actively crashed toward the Gu God above.

“Bang!”

Unable to fully control his body, the Half-step Martial God collided with the Gu God in a mutually destructive manner.

The Gu God’s iron-hard enormous body was slightly stunned by the impact.

But because Xu Qi An couldn’t gather power or mobilize enough qi, the collision broke his bones and tendons, splitting his skin and flesh.

The force of their impact rang like a great bell, shaking heaven and earth.

In the end, the Gu God gained the upper hand, quickly adjusting and beginning to gather power. Its massive body’s muscles bulged, about to smash Xu Qi An into the vortex, but just then, the muscles on the Gu God’s surface exploded, its tendons snapping one by one.

This made its body, which was gathering power, deflate like a punctured balloon, missing this fleeting opportunity.

The emptiness in Xu Qi An’s eyes was restored to clarity. He grabbed the Buddhist Treasure Pagoda, and the Giant Eye on its spire immediately lit up, teleporting him away from the pincer attack of the Gu God and Huang.

He dared not underestimate the two Transcendent Realm experts in the slightest. The Gu God had witnessed his method of breaking through the “blinding,” so using the same trick now meant it must have a way to prevent his teleportation.

Therefore, when blinded again, he didn’t count on the Buddhist Treasure Pagoda to save him.

That collision just now was his way of saving himself, using self-destruction for self-preservation.

As for why he crashed into the Gu God rather than Huang, it was naturally choosing the lesser of two evils.

Though both the Gu God and Huang were Transcendent Realm experts, there was a fundamental difference between them. The Gu God possessed seven great Gu arts, had many techniques, was more flashy, and harder to deal with.

But correspondingly, its killing power was weaker.

In contrast, Huang had only one innate divine ability, and this kind of extreme specialization was what made it most terrifying.

Even though Xu Qi An was now a Half-step Martial God, he wasn’t confident he could survive Transcendent Realm Huang’s innate divine ability.

He grabbed the Seven Fatal Gu at his neck, forcibly tearing it out along with the flesh. He initially wanted to crush it directly but changed his mind and couldn’t bear to. After killing the intelligence within the insect body, he infused qi to seal it.

Without the Seven Fatal Gu, I’ve become a crude martial artist again… In his regret, Xu Qi An took out the Seven Fatal Gu and casually tossed it into the Earth Book fragment, then looked at the message.

[Four: The Witch God has broken free of its seal.]

Xu Qi An’s scalp tingled.

While he struggled here, unable to think of a way to rescue the Supervisor, back in the Nine Provinces, the Witch God had broken through its seal.

“Heavenly Lord, this disciple begs you, please help Great Feng.”

Under the Celestial Sect’s memorial arch, Li Ling Su’s voice had grown hoarse from shouting, but still no one responded.

“Stop shouting.”

A sigh came from above.

Li Ling Su looked up to see it was his master, Daoist Xuan Cheng.

As if grasping hope, he said urgently:

“Master, Master, please quickly beg the Heavenly Lord to help. This Great Calamity is extraordinary, he’ll regret not acting.”

Daoist Xuan Cheng shook his head, saying expressionlessly:

“I cannot influence the Heavenly Lord’s thoughts. Since the Heavenly Lord declared the mountain closed, he naturally won’t act. Even if you kneel here until death, it won’t help.”

“Go back, and don’t make noise.”

With that, the emotionally detached Daoist Xuan Cheng turned and left, not sparing his disciple a glance.

Just as Li Ling Su was about to call out to stop his master, he felt that familiar heart palpitation and hurriedly took out his Earth Book fragment to look:

[Four: The Witch God has broken free of its seal.]

The Witch God has broken free of its seal… Li Ling Su stood dumbfounded, his expression blank, face gradually turning pale. Then, veins bulged on his forehead, his facial muscles twitched, and the hand holding the Earth Book fragment clenched until veins popped out.

Palace.

Wearing her crown and dragon robe, Huai Qing stood by the lake, silently meeting the gaze of the spirit dragon in the water.

The auspicious beast in the lake seemed uneasy, its black button-like eyes watching the Empress with wariness, hostility, and pleading.

“Gather fate for me,” Huai Qing said softly.

The spirit dragon, its head emerging from the lake, shook its head forcefully. It let out a deep roar as if threatening the Empress.

But Huai Qing only coldly met its gaze, coldly repeating her previous words:

“Gather fate for me!”

“Roar!”

The spirit dragon raised its long tail, venting its emotions by slapping the lake surface, raising towering waves.

After its impotent rage for a moment, it raised its body high, opening its long jaws.

Streams of purple qi seeped out from the void, surging toward the spirit dragon’s mouth. Within the purple qi were profound elements that Huai Qing’s mortal eyes couldn’t see, but she could sense them — it was fate!

The spirit dragon was absorbing fate, this was its innate divine ability as a “fate regulator.”

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