To be honest, she wanted to go to Yuē Mountain.
Now, all the major sects had set up restrictions against the demon race at the foot of their mountains. For her to secretly sneak back to Gufeng Mountain to see Gu Baiying would be harder than ascending to heaven. Secretly going to Yuē Mountain was different—perhaps she could not only see Gu Baiying, but also Meng Ying, Tian Fangfang, and the others. She wondered how Hong Su was doing now. The cultivation world shouldn’t make things difficult for a small human girl. But with Hong Su’s temperament, she might have had a falling out with the sect and left the Taiyan Sect in anger. The Yang family of Yue City would probably distance themselves from her, and for a small girl to survive in Duzhou alone wouldn’t be easy, no matter how one thought about it.
Going to Yuē Mountain, she could see old friends. She had many people she wanted to see and cared about, and many questions that could all be answered during this trip.
But the problem was, once she faced off against Gui Yansheng and the Demon Extermination Army, could she retreat with her whole body intact?
She couldn’t act based on hot blood alone; otherwise, she might become a burden before even rescuing anyone.
Over these two years, the Qin Chong seed had completely grown into a large tree within Zanxing’s body. The tree bore fruit, then withered, with branches, leaves, and fallen fruit turning into tree mud that completely merged with Zanxing’s spiritual roots, repairing all the spiritual roots that had been damaged by the Ten Thousand Killing Formation, leaving no gaps.
However, her Golden Core still had not reformed, because Zanxing’s Demon Lord bloodline had awakened.
Being of the demon race, she could no longer use the cultivation methods of the cultivation world, including all the inheritances that Qinghua Xianzi had given her—they were all useless. She began an entirely new method of cultivation. That “Peerless Heart Sutra” was indeed a strange book, but when Zanxing practiced the heart sutra to the last page, she discovered that the words covering the final page were not part of the heart sutra’s content.
She extended her hand, and a tattered paper book immediately appeared in her palm. Zanxing turned to the last page, still seeing the familiar scrawling handwriting, with crooked words written above:
“In my youth, I cultivated immortality, climbing toward the great Dao, with spiritual roots refined and clever, talent outstanding and extraordinary. By chance, I found an opportunity, but was trapped in this place. Unable to find a way out, I simply cultivated where I was. Today’s heaven and earth great Dao has only two paths—immortal and demon. Ascending becomes immortal, falling into the abyss becomes a demon. Yet both paths have insufficiencies. I write this heart sutra, a path neither demon nor immortal, a body with spirit but no essence. If one achieves the right fruit, then one exists outside the rules of heavenly Dao, first among the sages of the three realms.
My spiritual roots are already cast, so I cannot succeed in cultivating this heart sutra. Therefore, I place this heart sutra here, waiting for one with fate. Heaven births all things, with humans being precious. I wish all cultivators under heaven to be brave in trying new things. If climbing mountains does not stop due to dangers, then one will surely reach the high peaks. The Dao exists in emptiness, harmonizing with nature—only then does one know that my fate is not determined by heaven.”
The last sentence was written with great effort, stroke by stroke, extremely neat, as if containing enormous expectation:
—Fellow cultivator, I wish you good luck.
Zanxing took a deep breath.
This “Peerless Heart Sutra” was written by an unknown person, but judging from this person’s self-narration on the last page, it was the product of passionate creation after being trapped somewhere. There was no previous cultivation experience from predecessors, and even the author himself couldn’t cultivate it due to his spiritual roots. The Heart Sutra’s master also didn’t care whether the content recorded in this book had problems or not, peacefully placing this book somewhere to wait for someone with a fate to arrive.
This book was probably later picked up by someone, but because the cultivation conditions were too harsh, and that sentence “if forcefully cultivated, it goes against principle, heaven will strike with thunder and lightning, causing immediate death on the spot” was too frightening, the “fated person” never took action. Later, it changed hands many times, until someone fell into a sacred tree trap in a treasure storage place and turned into flower fertilizer. Mimi retrieved it from a pile of bones, and only then did this heart sutra see the light of day again.
If Zanxing hadn’t been desperate in the Extreme Ice Abyss that day, she wouldn’t have thought to cultivate this three-no heart sutra. And she had indeed suffered “heaven striking with thunder and lightning.” Fortunately, Mimi swallowed the tribulation clouds to help her safely pass through; otherwise, she might have “died immediately on the spot” by now.
She had practiced this heart sutra to about seventy or eighty percent completion, but without predecessors to explore the path, she didn’t know if continuing to cultivate this way would have problems, how powerful it ultimately was, and what her chances of victory would be when fighting against Gui Yansheng and the Demon Extermination Army.
Rain silk from outside drifted through the unclosed window into the hall, wetting the soft, snow-white blankets on the long couch.
On the spread book pages, the last page was covered with writing, as if the writer was anxious and hurried, rushing to go somewhere else and hastily writing. Zanxing’s gaze fell on the four characters “wish you good luck.”
Mimi turned over, her tail lazily falling on the soft couch with irregular rhythm, like the dull sound of bells in the quiet rainy night.
After a while, Zanxing extended her hand and put the “Peerless Heart Sutra” back into her Qiankun Bag.
Good luck… she smiled slightly.
Bad luck comes to an end. Speaking of it, her good luck should be coming too.
……
Early the next morning, Zanxing went to Yaoming Hall.
Bujiang was sitting on the high seat, looking at Heishi City’s account books from the past two months. The golden account books were stacked higher than a person. The old steward who used to review the account books had been killed by Gui Yansheng. Now, only Bujiang has reviewed all the taxes and expenditures of the entire city.
Seeing Zanxing enter, Bujiang paused: “You’ve decided so quickly?”
Zanxing answered: “I’ll go to Yuē Mountain.”
Xiao Shuang led the surrounding attendant demon cultivators out of the great hall. Zanxing sat down in a chair, and Bujiang put down the account book in her hands: “Won’t you think about it more?”
“There’s nothing to think about.” Zanxing said, “Gui Yansheng has had the Xiaoyuan Pearl for two years. His cultivation must have greatly increased. Your Demon Lord essence power has severely diminished—you’re not his match, otherwise you wouldn’t have been imprisoned in the Extreme Ice Abyss originally. In the entire Demon Realm, only I can step forward. Besides,” Zanxing glanced at that stack of account books: “If you go to Yuē Mountain and I stay in Heishi City, what would I do? I can’t read account books.” Good heavens, surely she couldn’t have cultivated immortality only to still be unable to escape the fate of a desk-bound worker.
The Demon Empress was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing. She stood up and walked down the steps. Walking to Zanxing’s side, she said, “Alright, although I guessed that you would agree, I didn’t expect it to be this quick. This decisiveness and temperament already have the shadow of Heishi City’s next master.”
Zanxing coughed lightly: “Where is Yuē Mountain?”
“Yuē Mountain is in the westernmost part of Duzhou. Very few people from the cultivation world set foot in that place because there’s nothing there.”
“If there’s nothing there, why would Gui Yansheng appear there?” Zanxing was puzzled.
“Because there’s the Wulun Pagoda there.”
“Wulun Pagoda?” Zanxing thought for a moment: “I’ve never heard of it.” She had read quite a few books about various places in Duzhou in Taiyan Sect’s library, but had never seen anything written about this pagoda.
“The Wulun Pagoda was built by monks five hundred years ago, constructed with the five wheels of earth, fire, water, wind, and space. Each wheel tower corresponds to one trial. Passing one wheel gains the harvest of that wheel’s trial. A hundred years ago, there were already cultivators who passed four wheels and took the harvests of the first four wheels. Each wheel tower has only one treasure. Once someone passes the trial and takes the treasure, that wheel tower becomes empty. Even if someone else comes and passes the trial, there’s nothing to take.”
“The first four wheels?” Zanxing noticed the key point in her words: “What about the fifth wheel?”
“No one can pass the fifth wheel.”
Zanxing was startled: “For five hundred years, not a single person could pass?”
“Yes, there have been geniuses who entered the fifth level, but ultimately didn’t come out. Several hundred years ago, some people still went to challenge the Wulun Pagoda, but later, gradually, no one dared to go up. So these years, very few people have visited Yuē Mountain.” After pausing, Bujiang continued: “Gui Yansheng going to Yuē Mountain is mostly for the fifth wheel trial of Wulun Pagoda… For hundreds of years, no one has dared to attempt the fifth wheel, yet he shows no fear. He truly is a madman. If not for his unpredictable moods, even I would admire his courage.”
Zanxing thought for a moment: “What is the reward for the fifth wheel trial of Wulun Pagoda? Since he’s so desperate, the treasure must be very generous.”
Bujiang shook her head: “I’ve never heard.”
Zanxing fell silent. After a while, she perked up: “No matter what, I must make this trip to Yuē Mountain. But, mother, will I be going alone on this trip?”
Weren’t they overestimating her a bit?
Bujiang laughed: “How could that be? One Gui Yansheng is a fierce demon, and one Demon Extermination Army uses underhanded methods. How could you, a young girl, handle them? I’ve selected some people to go with you. These people are all demon race elites. If you can’t win, they can at least ensure your safe retreat. Oh, right, Xiao Shuang will also go with you. You’re not familiar with demon race subordinates, so with Xiao Shuang at your side, I’ll be much more at ease. Zanxing,” she sighed, “this trip sounds simple, but is full of crises and dangers. You must take care of yourself. In life-and-death moments, don’t think about righteousness. You are a disciple of Taiyan Sect, but you are even more the master of Heishi City.”
Zanxing said, “I understand.”
After talking for quite a while longer, Zanxing finally left. After Zanxing left, Xiao Shuang walked in from outside the hall.
Bujiang sat on the high seat, looking at the thick stack of account books in front of her, not knowing what she was thinking.
Xiao Shuang stepped forward and took out from his chest a wooden slip inlaid with a pigeon-egg-sized red gem: “Your Highness, the personnel for this trip to Yuē Mountain have been selected. Please review them.”
Bujiang’s gaze turned to fall on the wooden slip in Xiao Shuang’s hands, but she didn’t reach out to take it, only speaking thoughtfully: “Xiao Shuang, you’ve spent so much time with Zanxing. What kind of person do you think she is?”
“Little Palace Master is broad-minded, decisive in handling matters, with more than enough benevolence but insufficient authority.”
“You’re quite honest,” Bujiang glanced at him with a half-smile. “Aren’t you afraid that if Zanxing knew you spoke of her this way behind her back, she’d charge you with disrespect?”
Xiao Shuang also smiled: “Little Palace Master is compassionate and won’t care about such small matters.”
“She is compassionate,” Bujiang’s expression became wistful: “Her father and I only gave her the grace of birth but not of raising, yet we’re forcing her to take over such a mess. She agreed, and from our first meeting in the Extreme Ice Abyss, she’s never had any complaints about me. If this isn’t a bodhisattva, what is?”
Xiao Shuang gently consoled: “The past is over. Whether it’s Little Palace Master or Your Highness, you should both look forward.”
“It would be good if she could truly look forward in all things.” Bujiang sighed: “You know why I’m having you go to Yuē Mountain together. The little girl is sentimental, but now her status is different, and everything from the past is different. She has an innocent heart, but human hearts change easily. When old friends meet, things and people will inevitably have changed. I don’t want her to be heartbroken. You know what to do.”
Xiao Shuang bowed: “This subordinate understands.”