After Yi’er Bu finished speaking, Xu Qi’an, who was “seeing” from the bow of the boat, was struck dumb as if hit over the head. His pupils dilated slightly, and his expression instantly became vacant.

“If there’s nothing else, this Spirit Master will take his leave,” Yi’er Bu said flatly, withdrawing his gaze and preparing to depart.

“Wait!” Xu Qi’an slowly exhaled and asked, “Was the First Divine Observer originally from Xiang Province?”

Though his exterior remained calm as he asked this, his heart secretly tensed.

Yi’er Bu frowned. “How would I know? And even if I did, why should I tell you?” After taking this opportunity to rebuke Xu Qi’an, he turned and left.

Under the somewhat scorching sunlight, Xu Qi’an sat silently at the bow.

“What’s wrong?” Mu Nanzhi called out from the other end of the boat.

Due to their familiarity, she could sense something was off about Xu Qi’an’s state. He should have been happy after obtaining the materials needed to resurrect Wei Yuan, yet he sat there in a daze.

Xu Qi’an let out a breath, collected himself, and said, “Remember the matter of the Chai family tomb map?”

Mu Nanzhi tilted her head, thinking: “The Chai ancestors were tomb guardians, but later the family was massacred because of the tomb map. The only… child was sold as a slave in the Southern Borderlands, then returned to Xiang Province and established the present-day Chai family.”

She spoke haltingly, struggling to recall the details.

Xu Qi’an asked again, “Then who do you think that tomb belongs to?”

Mu Nanzhi replied coquettishly, “How would I know!”

Bai Ji chimed in with her dulcet voice: “Exactly!”

Xu Qi’an said with a mix of sighs and exhales, “What if I told you the First Divine Observer was named Chai Xinjue?”

Mu Nanzhi and Bai Ji simultaneously tilted their heads to the left, expressions bewildered and adorably confused.

He couldn’t tell if they failed to recall who the First Divine Observer was, or if they simply didn’t understand his meaning.

After all, information about the First Divine Observer was obscured by heaven’s mechanisms, but due to the fractured nature of history, people couldn’t completely forget him.

“The tomb’s occupant is the First Divine Observer,” Xu Qi’an revealed directly.

At this, Mu Nanzhi and Bai Ji’s eyes both grew wide and round.

“So Chai Xing’er is a descendant of the First Divine Observer?” Mu Nanzhi thought Xu Qi’an was talking nonsense and showed her disbelief: “How is that possible? The surname Chai is quite common—it could be coincidence.”

“It could be a coincidence!” Bai Ji echoed.

Xu Qi’an shook his head. “There are many people with the surname Chai, but very few would attract Xu Pingfeng’s attention. The world doesn’t have such coincidences.

“Moreover, the First Divine Observer died five hundred years ago during the Martial Emperor’s rebellion. While we can’t prove the Chai family has five hundred years of history, there’s no contradiction in the timeline.”

Looking at the chronology: The Chai family were originally tomb guardians before abandoning that role and settling in Xiang Province. Later, because someone coveted the tomb map, the entire Chai family was massacred, and the only child was sold into slavery in the Southern Borderlands.

Over a hundred years ago, that child returned to Xiang Province and became the ancestor of the present Chai family.

This meant the Chai family’s history couldn’t be less than two hundred years.

So there was no contradiction in the timeline.

“I always wondered why Xu Pingfeng would take an interest in such a small martial arts family. Compared to him, a Second-Grade Spirit Master, the Chai family were mere ants. After learning about their mysterious tomb map, I began to wonder why this tomb would catch Xu Pingfeng’s attention.”

Xu Qi’an massaged his brow: “Later, I thought Xu Pingfeng had contacted the Corpse Valley Sect leader, seen the map through him, and traced the line back to the Chai family.”

It took Mu Nanzhi a long while to digest his words before she frowned and asked, “Isn’t that the case?”

“While that possibility can’t be ruled out, there might be another explanation!”

Xu Qi’an’s expression turned somewhat grim.

“Perhaps Xu Pingfeng learned about the tomb from the five-hundred-year-old lineage, knowing the Chai family were the First Divine Observer’s tomb guardians. There are just a few details I haven’t figured out yet.”

“What details?” Bai Ji asked in her crisp voice.

Xu Qi’an didn’t respond.

First: What was Xu Pingfeng seeking in the First Divine Observer’s tomb? The First Divine Observer was dead—what value could his tomb still hold?

Second: The First Divine Observer died in the Martial Emperor’s rebellion, and it was uncertain if his remains were preserved. Was it truly the First Divine Observer’s body buried in this tomb?

—

In Jingshan City, Saren Agu, wearing a hemp robe, climbed the stone steps to the sacrificial platform.

On the vast platform stood two statues facing each other. One wore flowing robes with wide sleeves, had a youthful face, and bore a crown of thorns.

The other wore ancient scholar’s robes with a scholar’s cap, one hand behind his back and the other resting on his lower abdomen.

Saren Agu approached the Shamanic God statue, bowed slightly in respect, then began muttering, with phrases occasionally audible:

“White Emperor… Gatekeeper… First Divine Observer… something’s wrong with it…”

After speaking, Saren Agu lowered his head in a listening posture.

A few seconds later, Saren Agu raised his head, slowly narrowing his eyes, and muttered to himself:

“In the Great Wilderness, there is only one…”

—

In the Western Regions, in Alantu.

Bodhisattva Guangxian, appearing as a young monk in kasaya robes, sat cross-legged under a bodhi tree.

Bodhisattva Liuli, with hair like a waterfall, dressed in white robes and snow-white bare feet, held a jade flask.

The flask’s “rope” was a tiny black snake, its tail hooked around the flask’s handle, its head pinched between Liuli Bodhisattva’s fingers.

“Are you certain the Gatekeeper is the Divine Observer?”

Liuli Bodhisattva’s voice was melodious but devoid of emotion.

“The Garuda Tree said so,” Guangxian Bodhisattva smiled with hands clasped: “In this one’s view, it’s ninety percent certain.”

The two Bodhisattvas had only recently learned of the concept of the Gatekeeper from the news Garuda Tree Bodhisattva sent from Qing Province.

Liuli Bodhisattva nodded, her tone flat: “Whether it is or isn’t doesn’t matter.”

She handed the jade flask to Guangxian Bodhisattva, saying: “Be careful, don’t harm the dharma-protecting dragon.”

As she spoke, she gently stroked the black snake’s head.

Guangxian Bodhisattva pinched the small snake, pressing its belly between thumb and forefinger, then stripped upward. The black snake suddenly stiffened, appearing extremely pained, its crimson mouth snapping open to spew a cloud of fragrant blood mist.

The blood mist didn’t disperse but rather wafted gracefully into the golden bowl before Guangxian Bodhisattva.

Guangxian Bodhisattva released the tiny black snake, then took up the jade flask, tilting it to slowly drip a pale golden water droplet.

Liuli Bodhisattva tenderly cradled the tiny black snake in her palm, carefully nurturing it.

The golden bowl rippled with “gold-red” light, spreading in circles.

Guangxian Bodhisattva lightly tapped the golden bowl with his finger, softly saying:

“Rise!”

The gold-red intermingled radiance rose from the bowl like fireflies or flowing silk ribbons, floating toward the depths of Alantu.

In an instant, a blazing sun rose from within Alantu, radiating golden light in all directions.

At the mountain’s foot, the faithful prostrated themselves, hands clasped in prayer, foreheads touching the ground as they praised the Buddhist miracle.

—

After the White Emperor appeared, water elements in the air increased dramatically. The sea of clouds churned and surged, colliding and layering upon itself, giving birth to thunder.

The cloud sea beneath the Divine Observer and others transformed into thunderclouds brewing with lightning.

The White Emperor’s azure vertical pupils fixed upon the Divine Observer, whose white robes fluttered in the wind. Its voice remained as deep as ever:

“The Gatekeeper doesn’t perish easily. If you are the Gatekeeper, what does that make the First Divine Observer?”

After meeting with Saren Agu, I received an answer that was somewhat satisfactory yet full of paradox.

The First Divine Observer’s various unusual behaviors indicated he was the Gatekeeper, but if he was the Gatekeeper, how could he have died so easily?

Seeing the Divine Observer hadn’t answered, the White Emperor continued:

“After the gods and demons perished, I kept wondering: if anything in this world could symbolize the Way of Heaven, what would it be?

“Would it be the spirits of flowers, birds, fish, insects, grass, and trees? The gods and demons? Humans and Yao? Today’s various systems?

“No, none of these.”

The White Emperor shook its head, enunciating each word:

“It is destiny!

“The fall of gods and demons was heaven’s mandate.

“The rise of humans and Yao was also heaven’s mandate. Including now, as the Yao decline and humans gradually come to rule the Nine Provinces continent.

“This too is heaven’s favor, humanity’s time to flourish. And all of this revolves around destiny.

“Of the two great systems related to destiny, the Confucians absorb destiny, becoming one with it. Thus Confucian scholars cannot achieve immortality—this is the lesser way.

“But Spirit Masters are different. Spirit Masters refine destiny, commanding it. Fate Masters are one with the nation; when the nation falls, they die, and conversely, they live as long as the nation. Binding oneself to those favored by heaven’s way—this is the greater way.

“Therefore, I have reason to suspect the First Divine Observer was the Gatekeeper. He received heaven’s favor, thus establishing the Spirit Master system.”

Xu Pingfeng and Garuda Tree Bodhisattva listened silently.

The Divine Observer’s expression remained composed as he sat before the chessboard, showing no joy or anger.

“But as I said before, the Gatekeeper doesn’t die easily, yet you killed the First Divine Observer. So I wondered, perhaps from the beginning, the First wasn’t the Gatekeeper.

“What truly received heaven’s favor was the Spirit Master system, not the First. After establishing the Spirit Master system, his mission was complete, and then the real Gatekeeper—you—personally took the stage.

“So your true identity holds quite some secrets.”

After speaking, the White Emperor gazed intently at the Divine Observer.

The Divine Observer returned its gaze, smiling: “If you want to know, come try yourself.”

The White Emperor’s vertical pupils flashed with a fierce light.

Boom!

Lightning flashed in the cloud layer, followed by a “whooshing” sound in the void as a hundred-zhang-high, phantom black wave rose behind the Divine Observer.

It crashed down toward him violently.

This was pure water spirit force condensed together—the White Emperor’s strike had nearly drained all the water spirit force within a hundred li.

The Divine Observer slowly stood, standing proudly motionless. As the giant wave crashed down, his right hand reached back, extending into the phantom black wave.

Then his right arm yanked sharply, pulling out a pitch-black sword that seemed solid.

Behind him, the black wave collapsed and crumbled.

An Alchemist!

Ordinary alchemists refined steel and tools.

Top alchemists refined magic weapons and divine arms.

Peak alchemists refined how to crossbreed humans and horses.

At the Divine Observer’s level, he refined the elements of heaven and earth, rearranging and recombining at the microscopic level.

If he wished, he could easily turn stone into gold.

Using the water spirit force his opponent had gathered to refine a water spirit sword was certainly within an alchemist’s domain.

“Return it to you!”

The Divine Observer slashed backward with the sword.

The water spirit sword struck only an afterimage—the White Emperor’s true form appeared before the Divine Observer, right claw raised, striking out with a simple yet profound claw attack.

Boom boom boom… The void seemed to collapse under this strike.

“Ding!”

From an angle, viscous black sword light darted out from the void.

It had transmitted back.

At the same time, this sword strike, concealed from heaven’s mechanisms, silent and fierce, slashed into the White Emperor’s waist.

The sword light exploded into pure water spirit force, while the White Emperor transformed into a white shadow flying backward. Its four paws “gripped” the void, sliding back several dozen zhang before neutralizing the strike’s force.

The White Emperor gazed at the distant Divine Observer, its deep voice slowly saying:

“It’s been a long time since I fought an enemy at your level. Interesting.”

As the words fell, two dharma bodies condensed above Garuda Tree Bodhisattva’s head.

Beneath Xu Pingfeng’s feet, a circular array three zhang in diameter lit up, complete with the Ten Heavenly Stems, Twelve Earthly Branches, Five Elements, and Eight Trigrams.

Three peak masters surrounded the Divine Observer for the kill!