Shen Shu’s words struck the four Transcendent experts’ hearts like heavenly tribulation.

The strike caused Xu Qi An and the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox’s expressions to change drastically, their eyes widening, all traces of their Transcendent bearing and demeanor vanishing.

Even Arhant Due, typically as calm as an ancient well with supreme self-control, now lost his usual composure, raising his head to look at Shen Shu as if he were a madman.

“Buddha…”

Asura muttered, and looking carefully, one would notice his pupils were unfocused.

Clearly, like the other three, he had been stunned by this “heavenly tribulation.”

If Shen Shu was Buddha, then who was Buddha? Who was the Asura King? What was the relationship between Buddha and the Asura King?

“No, this is impossible, this can’t be…”

The silver-haired demon beauty shook her head while muttering: “Shen Shu can’t be Buddha, he won’t be Buddha. Something must be wrong.”

Though the timing was inappropriate, Xu Qi An wanted to say:

Your Highness, you’re like a pitiful woman who discovers her boyfriend is her long-lost brother.

Of course, this comparison wasn’t quite accurate.

It should be: Shocking! The one who killed my mother turned out to be my father!

Or: Shocking! The great villain turns out to be my father!

Hmm? The great villain is my father?! Xu Qi An’s expression gradually stiffened.

“Amitabha, Amitabha, Amitabha…”

Master Due pressed his palms together, continuously chanting Buddha’s name, his lips moving rapidly, speaking extremely fast, as if only this could calm the tumultuous emotions in his heart.

“The Great Reincarnation Divine Appearance reveals past and present lives. Master Shen Shu remembered his past affairs, but unclearly, and because his obsession was too deep, he desperately wanted to complete himself, leading to his berserk state and loss of control.”

Xu Qi An’s voice was clear as he said: “Bodhisattva Guangxian understands Master Shen Shu very well, it seems he also knows his true identity.”

Arhant Due’s chanting paused, freezing for a moment.

Asura’s expression slightly stiffened.

After this observation, Xu Qi An asked: “Master Shen Shu, what else do you remember?”

Shen Shu sat cross-legged, pressing one palm together in prayer, his tone confused but calm:

“I… can’t remember…”

I seem to understand why Shen Shu’s head was personally sealed by Buddha… Xu Qi An’s heart stirred, the complete memories must be within the head.

At this time, he heard the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox take a deep breath, composing herself before looking at Asura and asking:

“When did the Asura race come into being?”

Asura answered without needing to think:

“They existed since the God-Demon Era. Within our Asura race, there’s a legend that we are the ancestors of the Western Region humans. Those weak clan members were driven out of the tribe, and scattered throughout the Western Region, evolving into the Western Region humans.

“But in Western Region human legends, the Asura race are humans possessing god-demon bloodlines. In ancient times, Western Region humans aligned with powerful gods and demons for survival, sending beautiful maidens to mate with them, giving birth to the Asura race.”

The silver-haired demon’s beauty showed some disappointment, falling silent.

From an evolutionary perspective, the Western Region humans’ legend seemed more plausible, though in this world without reproductive isolation, evolution theory itself couldn’t stand…

Your Highness thinks Buddha is the Asura King, and the Asura race originated from Buddha? However, although the Asura race existed in ancient times, this doesn’t contradict Buddha and the Asura King being the same person… Xu Qi An remained silent.

The Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox looked toward Master Due, her tone ice-cold:

“Master Due, have you ever seen Buddha?”

Arhant Due remained silent.

In the current situation, Her Highness and Asura have been strongly impacted, losing their will to fight… Xu Qi An said in his clear voice:

“Master Due, you’ve witnessed tonight’s events and Bodhisattva Guangxian’s actions. You should know Master Shen Shu wouldn’t lie.

“If he truly is Buddha, then this matter can’t be described merely as ‘classified.’ What exactly happened to Buddha, why is Shen Shu Buddha, what role did Buddha play in the demon-sweeping battle five hundred years ago?

“Bodhisattva Guangxian knows about this, do other Bodhisattvas know? Could this be related to Bodhisattva Faji’s disappearance? And why keep it from you and Asura? Aren’t you curious about all this?”

Due showed hesitation, slowly saying:

“This is a Buddhist sect matter of great importance. This seat will return to inquire about the situation.”

Xu Qi An challenged:

“How can you ensure Bodhisattva Guangxian will tell you!”

…Due fell silent for a moment, then sighed:

“You’ve convinced me.”

After a pause, he spoke in a low tone:

“This seat attained rank thirteen hundred years ago. Buddha gave teachings once every sixty years, so this seat only saw Buddha once. After that, Buddha never appeared again. The Bodhisattvas said the world’s karmic fires were heavy, and Buddha used his supreme rank to quell these fires for the world. Thus he entered deep sleep.”

Well well, you brought me back to the Western Region as a Buddha’s son to help Buddha quell karmic fires… Xu Qi An not only disbelieved but mentally scoffed.

The Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox suddenly turned her head, looking at the fair-faced boy:

“You once said Buddha was sealed by the Confucian Sage.”

Xu Qi An nodded:

“The timing matches.”

Through Arhant Due, they confirmed the matter of the Confucian Sage sealing Buddha. The Cloud Deer Academy had twelve hundred years of history, founded by the Confucian Sage’s great disciple, and the Confucian Sage only lived to eighty-two.

This indicated that the time when the Confucian Sage sealed Buddha was around twelve hundred years ago.

Due had attained his rank thirteen hundred years ago and saw Buddha within sixty years, after which Buddha went into “seclusion.”

“The Confucian Sage sealed Buddha?!”

Due was slightly startled, staring at Xu Qi An:

“What does this mean?”

Xu Qi An thought for a moment, then revealed the information Zhao Shou had told him to Arhant Due.

At present, exchanging information benefits both parties.

Due muttered:

“If so, then who subdued Shen Shu five hundred years ago?”

The Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox pondered for a long while before turning to look at the seven or eight-year-old boy:

“What do you think?”

Regarding the matter of Shen Shu and Buddha, she knew Xu Qi An understood many inside details and had conducted secret investigations. In terms of solving cases, the Nine-Tailed Fox trusted Xu Qi An very much.

Asura and Due naturally also knew of Xu Qi An’s reputation, and upon hearing this, immediately looked over.

Xu Qi An didn’t respond immediately, thinking for a long time before saying:

“Before that, can you tell me how to remove the Great Reincarnation Divine Appearance’s erosion?”

Currently, he was just an elementary school student wrapped in adult clothes, as tall as the Taiping Blade.

Due examined him:

“With your rank, you should be able to remove it yourself in two days.”

Will I regress to an embryo in two days… Xu Qi An was somewhat worried but not panicked because although his age had decreased and his cultivation was severely weakened, he remained at the Transcendent level.

He hadn’t noticed his blood essence was depleted—for a Transcendent martial artist, as long as blood essence remained vigorous, there wasn’t a major problem.

“If we can figure out several questions, we can unravel the mystery of Shen Shu and Buddha.” Xu Qi An said in his clear childish voice:

“The Confucian Sage sealed Buddha over a thousand years ago. Five hundred years ago, Buddha acted to subdue Shen Shu and kill the Ten Thousand Demons Nation’s queen. So, how did Buddha act through the seal? That’s the first question.

“Shen Shu claims to be Buddha, but he has an Asura body. So what’s the relationship between the Asura King and Buddha? That’s the second question.

“Third question: When did Shen Shu appear?”

Due and the others fell silent, pondering these three questions.

“Five hundred years ago, Buddha acted. I saw the Mahavairocana divine appearance.” Due slowly said.

He quickly added:

“The Mahavairocana divine appearance is unique to Buddha, foremost among the Nine Great Divine Appearances.”

At this point, Asura suddenly said:

“Back then, I couldn’t hold on until Buddha acted, as I was killed by the Ten Thousand Demons Nation’s ruler. Unless you witnessed Buddha appear, you can’t be certain the Mahavairocana divine appearance came from Buddha.”

As he spoke, he glanced at the silently sitting Shen Shu.

This self-proclaimed “Buddha” was certainly present then—who could say he couldn’t use the Mahavairocana divine appearance?

The Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox shook her head:

“There must have been a Beyond Grade expert participating then, otherwise who could have sealed Shen Shu?”

Xu Qi An made a final summary:

“Good, what we can confirm now is that Beyond Grade experts acted that day, including Buddha. Now for the second question, what’s the relationship between the Asura King and Buddha?”

The Nine-Tailed Fox and Xu Qi An looked toward Asura.

The ugly handsome and martial Asura King’s son pondered for a moment before saying:

“I never saw him. The Asura King was suppressed by Buddha in Arantha when I was very young. According to clan legend, Buddha wanted to spread scriptures to the Asura race, but the Asura King disagreed and arranged a duel with Buddha.

“He never returned after that. Later, Buddha personally descended upon the Asura race, and the clan members converted to Buddhism.

“But some clan members still refused to submit, so they fled their homeland and fought against the Buddhist sect for hundreds of years. I grew up during that time, replacing my father to become the Asura race’s strongest warrior.

“Until I encountered Bodhisattva Garuda, was defeated by him, and then realized Buddhist dharma, entering monkhood, understanding all is emptiness.”

Speaking thus, he pressed his palms together and bowed his head devoutly, chanting: “Amitabha.”

The Asura King and Shen Shu aren’t the same person… Xu Qi An stroked his chin, looking at Due, asking:

“When did Shen Shu appear?”

Due recalled for a moment, saying:

“About seven hundred years ago. He was originally a warrior monk with world-class talent who achieved the Vajra divine appearance. Later, he began converting to the Chan Master system, making a great vow to convert the Southern Border demons to Buddhism.

“Then he left Arantha and disappeared. After that came the demon-sweeping war.

“Looking at it now, his original identity was fake—he was the Asura King.”

Setting aside the Buddha identity for now, being the Asura King couldn’t be fake, this Asura divine blood couldn’t be wrong.

Xu Qi An analyzed:

“Buddha suppressing the Asura King came first, the Confucian Sage sealing Buddha came later, and about three hundred years after that, a warrior monk appeared. This warrior monk was the Asura King. His great vow was to convert the Southern Border demons to Buddhism.

“But for some reason, the demons didn’t convert to Buddhism, instead fighting the Buddhist sect to mutual destruction, and the Asura King also betrayed the Buddhist sect. Thus Buddha acted to seal him. Five hundred years later today, the Asura King says he is Buddha.

“There are too many unclear links here, contradictions everywhere, but if we overturn one confirmed fact, the situation might reverse.”

Asura looked at him:

“What do you mean?”

Xu Qi An looked back at Asura:

“You never saw the Asura King, none of us has seen the Asura King, so who can guarantee Shen Shu must be the Asura King?”

Due’s white eyebrows trembled violently.

Asura’s expression was stunned.

The Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox seemed thoughtful.

Xu Qi An continued: “What if Buddha, to break free from the seal, refined the Asura King’s blood essence and recreated a body, then cultivated anew? As for making the great vow, that was probably just an excuse.

“What Buddha truly wanted was the Southern Border demons’ destiny, which could help him break free from the Confucian Sage’s seal.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox shook her head in rejection:

“The Buddhist sect has already achieved its goal. If it were as you say, Shen Shu would have long since returned to being Buddha.”

Xu Qi An grinned:

“What if that Buddha in Arantha is someone else?”

This simple statement made the three Transcendent experts’ hair stand on end, their hearts suddenly alarmed.

If so, Shen Shu’s claim to be Buddha would have a very good explanation.

The true Buddha fell along with the Ten Thousand Demons Nation during the Demon Sweeping of the Sexagenary Cycle, while the current one in Arantha was an impostor using Buddha’s title.

Xu Qi An continued:

“This would explain why Shen Shu’s great vow was to convert the Southern demons, yet it turned into the Demon Sweeping. This wasn’t Buddha’s original intention, but someone was pushing for it behind the scenes.

“Shen Shu’s opposition to the Buddhist sect back then was his resistance against that being. To verify this hypothesis, we need to understand what sparked the Demon Sweeping.”

Everyone looked toward Arhant Due, who slightly shook his head.

Even a Second Grade Arhat didn’t know—this undoubtedly strengthened the possibility of Xu Qi An’s conjecture.

“The second possibility is that Shen Shu and Buddha are the same person. Over seven hundred years ago, Buddha initially broke free from the seal, and refined the Asura King’s blood essence, thus becoming Shen Shu. However, they developed different views on handling the Southern demons. This led to the current situation.

“Buddha ultimately won, occupying the Ten Thousand Mountains of the Southern Border, finally breaking free from the Confucian Sage’s seal. But Shen Shu’s existence forced him to personally seal him, thus entering deep sleep.”

Xu Qi An offered his second theory.

He wasn’t guessing blindly, but gradually deducing based on currently available clues.

Xu Qi An even felt the second possibility was more likely because the severed arm in the Pagoda Treasure had once said Buddha was an untrustworthy villain.

Arhant Due shook his head:

“One person splitting into two—the Buddhist sect isn’t the Dao sect, we don’t have such divine abilities. The Three Great Ranks and Nine Great Divine Appearances can’t achieve such things.”

If you put it that way, then the truth behind this matter is even more complex… Xu Qi An said:

“Verifying the second guess is very simple. When Arhant Due returns to Arantha, check if the Confucian Sage’s statue is still there. Well, try to find the Confucian Sage’s statue.

“If the statue is still there, then the first guess is correct. If the statue isn’t there, or can’t be found, then it’s the second guess.”

Arhant Due and Asura exchanged glances, slightly nodding.

My cultivation has dropped to early Third Grade now, Asura is slightly stronger than me, and Due remains at Second-grade level, but Her Highness’s injuries aren’t severe, and we still have Bear King—our side has slightly better odds. As for Shen Shu, he’s withdrawn himself…

If we fought, it would likely end in mutual destruction… Xu Qi An said:

“Well then, shall we part ways?”

Due exchanged another glance with Asura before nodding:

“Farewell!”

Very good, everyone’s survival instinct is decent, reaching Transcendent isn’t easy… Xu Qi An sighed in relief, immediately mounting the Pagoda Treasure and vanishing into the void.

The Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox’s tails extended from her waist, wrapping around Bear King and Shen Shu as she walked through the air, quickly disappearing.

Soon after, the Ten Thousand Demons Nation’s demon soldiers began withdrawing, returning to the deep mountains and ancient forests.

…

In a hidden cave somewhere.

Night Lady held a tender, adorable baby girl in her arms, with White Lady standing on her shoulder, as they hurried through the tunnel into the cave.

Torches blazed in the cave, black smoke escaping through cracks in the ceiling. Three more tunnels led deeper inside from the cave’s inner wall.

This was one of the Ten Thousand Demons Nation’s strongholds in the Southern Border, called Thousand Cave City.

Caves and tunnels spread throughout the mountain’s interior like a spider’s web.

Outside, poisonous insects, fierce beasts, miasma, and densely distributed rivers provided cover, making it very well-hidden and never discovered.

Finding the demon race’s hidden strongholds in the Ten Thousand Mountains, covered in primitive forests and treacherous mountains and rivers, was almost impossible.

Entering the cave, Night Lady saw the beautiful and noble Her Highness sitting cross-legged on a stone seat, meditating with closed eyes.

“Your Highness, please save Clear Lady…”

Night Lady’s voice suddenly halted. Drawing closer, she noticed a five or six-year-old child sitting cross-legged on a rush mat beside the bed.

Above the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox’s buttocks, that short fox tail unconsciously twitched as she opened her eyes, saying indifferently:

“No matter, she’ll recover tomorrow.”

Receiving Her Highness’s response, Night Lady finally relaxed, then repeatedly looked at the child, probing:

“Young Master Xu?”

The boy blinked innocently and turned to ask the Nine-Tailed Fox:

“Mom, who is this woman?”

The Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox smiled:

“A child bride your mother raised for you.”

Eight fox tails suddenly shot out, wrapping around Xu Qi An, with one tail moving to undo his waistband.

“Your Highness, we can talk this through.”

Xu Qi An said sincerely.

The Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox continued smiling:

“Added another ‘mother.’

“A mother spanking her son is heaven’s law and earth’s principle.”

In the end, she didn’t remove Xu Qi An’s pants, but her tail delivered a hard slap to his bottom.

“Young Master Xu, when can you recover?”

Night Lady hurried over with the baby, her bewitching fox eyes showing worry.

“I’ll naturally recover in two days.”

Xu Qi An sighed: “Have the demon race’s guardians steady the various demon troops. In three days, we’ll reclaim Demon Mountain.”

Night Lady didn’t stay long, leaving through the tunnel she came from with the baby.

Xu Qi An scanned the cave’s simple furnishings, saying softly:

“Did Your Highness ever plan to attack Arantha, retrieve Shen Shu’s head, and help him fully revive?”

The Nine-Tailed Fox said indifferently:

“Whether your two theories are right or wrong doesn’t affect my plans. Shen Shu won’t pull out the Demon-Sealing Nail for now. Though it weakens his battle power, he remains invincible unless a First Grade appears.”

“If Guangxian comes in true form, we’ll proceed according to the original plan. If it’s just an avatar, with the Demon-Sealing Nail in place, Shen Shu shouldn’t go berserk anymore,” Xu Qi An said.

After speaking, he rose to leave.

“Where are you going?”

The Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox asked.

“To treat Floating Fragrance to some enoki mushrooms.”

Xu Qi An left without looking back.

…

Ten days later.

Night Lady and Clear Lady sat in the South City’s barbican as bird demons landed and took off from the city walls, bringing or carrying away letters.

“Two Elders, Black Wind City in the west has been taken. We eliminated twenty thousand enemy troops from the Western Region, captured eight hundred prisoners, and there were a hundred and fifty thousand civilians in the city. How should we handle this?”

“Make the prisoners of war slaves, properly settle the civilians, for now, waiting for the war to end. If any civilians dare to secretly cause trouble or resist, kill without mercy.”

“Two Elders, White Wall City in the north has been recaptured by Western Region forces, and all demon soldiers garrisoning the city were annihilated.”

“Block White Wall City’s supply lines, surround but don’t attack for now, wait until Inspector Xu is free to deal with it.”

“Two Elders, when Bear King attacked Wo City on the eastern line, he accidentally fell asleep, and over a hundred thousand Western Region people in the city won’t wake up. Our forces took the city without losing a single soldier, but no demon dared enter the city.”

“Pass this intelligence to Her Highness, let her decide…”

…

After twenty days of warfare, the Western Region armies led by Bodhisattva Guangxian, Venerable Asura, and Arhant Due ultimately couldn’t overcome the demon race. They withdrew from the Southern Border, retreating to defend the Western Region.

The demon race annihilated one hundred and eighty thousand Western Region troops and captured thirty thousand enemy soldiers and six hundred and twenty thousand civilians.

The day after the Western Region garrison withdrew from the Southern Border, the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox gathered the demons at Demon Mountain to announce the restoration of their nation.

The demon race, who had wandered for five hundred years, returned to their homeland.

Later history books called this day the “Southern Demon Renaissance.”

And in all this, a martial artist from the Central Plains played a crucial role.