Whose Mind Monkey Is Cao Qianqiu?

The Cui clan was called a thousand-year aristocratic clan, but in truth, its line had stretched across nearly two millennia. The formidable might of such an ancient lineage did not depend on the brilliance of any single preeminent figure. Rather, it sprang from the colossal foundation amassed by the entire clan over the vast span of ages, like the subterranean roots of a towering ancient tree—unassuming from the outside, yet fathomlessly deep. Having endured in the mortal world for nearly two thousand years, the Cui clan sent numerous descendants each year into the outer realms, the esoteric sects, and the Newborn path. They had their own people embedded within all the major orthodoxies, among whom immortal seeds and grandmasters were far from scarce. Indeed, tracing back several generations, ancient worthies from their clan had even become patriarchs of certain cultivation paths. It could be said that this clan, standing resolute for two thousand years, had established a mature and extensive system. Its ties with the outer realms and the esoteric sects were profoundly deep and tangled—a colossal monolith that was extraordinarily difficult to shake. Hence the saying: "Dynasties flow away like water, but aristocratic clans are cast in iron." Against such a backdrop, Lu Zizai did not hesitate in the slightest, accompanying Qin Ming straight toward the Cui clan. "Senior Brother Lu, besides the *Golden Crow Illuminates the Night Classic*, I also discovered new chapters in the other remnant scriptures," Qin Ming transmitted his voice through the wind and snow. Lu Zizai had been beyond reproach toward him, repeatedly protecting his safety and offering shelter and care. Now Qin Ming wanted to repay him. As fellow travelers on the Newborn path, he hoped Lu Zizai could grow even stronger. At first, this did not capture much of Lu Zizai's attention. After all, a few new chapters held little reference value for someone at his level. Yet very quickly, his expression changed. Someone as brilliantly gifted as he, who aspired to forge new frontiers and blaze new trails, was struck with outright shock. Setting everything else aside, take just the four jade book pages: acclaimed as one of the three most difficult true classics of the immortal path, everyone knew how severely fragmented it was. How did it now seem complete? Lu Zizai stood dumbfounded, watching dense clusters of tiny figures leaping before his eyes, and seeing an ancient, unadorned Eight Trigrams Furnace surrounded by vast arrays of characters, its flames scorching the heavens. Immersing himself within, he observed the spiritual clash of wills on the first page. Was that second page the process of refining a mind monkey into medicine? Lu Zizai was entranced. The continuation of this true classic threatened to completely captivate him; these new chapters held immense reference value for his cultivation. In a daze, he seemed to glimpse the depths of layered mist, where creatures like the ?? lay concealed, among others. Had this touched upon some deeper truth? *** In the outer pure land, Helian Zhaoyu was deathly pale. Swaying slightly, he stepped out of the blessed land where spring flowers bloomed and walked onto the frozen plain where yesterday's great battle had taken place. Instantly, the freezing gale battered him relentlessly with pellets of snow, making his body stumble. He had already taken precious medicine and reset his broken bones, but he was still far from recovered. This time, both his body and spirit had suffered a devastating blow. He could hardly believe he had suffered such a crushing defeat. Experts from the Helian clan followed behind him, fraught with worry that he might never recover from this setback. Helian Zhaoyu had come to "reconstruct" the battle. There was much about the fight he could not fathom. Could Qin Ming truly be more formidable than those celebrated historical figures? He walked forward, reviewing yesterday's clash step by step. He analyzed incessantly, "reconstructing" the scenes of bloodshed and "amplifying" his own performance from the previous day. Yet after running the deductions, he was still utterly defeated. This plunged him into despair, filling him with a sudden sense of utter powerlessness. Snowflakes fluttered down as the north wind howled. Helian Zhaoyu felt a chill at heart, freezing to the very marrow. Suddenly, he noticed another figure standing amidst the fluttering goose-feather snow on the frozen plain, seemingly sensing something. Had someone else come here to "reconstruct" the fight just like him? Helian Zhaoyu cut through the wind and snow. Drawing somewhat closer, he recognized from a distance that it was actually Li Qingxu. "What are you doing here?" Helian Zhaoyu was haughty, having little regard for Li Qingxu, for he had heard that this man had suffered defeat after defeat and had already earned the moniker "Li the Defeated." Li Qingxu was very polite, saying, "Brother Helian, though you lost yesterday, there was glory in your defeat. Your fourfold inner landscape and your fused divine pure land were truly breathtaking, showing the caliber of an Earth Immortal." After a night of quiet contemplation, stirred by inspiration, he had risen early to come here and study yesterday's great battle. He was seriously pondering a question: if he were established in the realm of Embracing Simplicity, could he use the advantage of a higher realm to completely suppress Qin Ming while in his "sage state"? Helian Zhaoyu was not the least bit appreciative; the phrase "glory in defeat" grated harshly on his ears. "A battle of this level—are you even qualified to study it?" he asked coldly. As Cao Qianqiu's personal disciple, Li Qingxu was in no way intimidated by him in terms of status alone. Hearing this, his face darkened immediately. "Did I offend you in any way?" "Battles of this realm are not something you can touch yet. Leave at once!" Without question, Helian Zhaoyu's attitude was a slight against Li Qingxu. Yet the latter did not lose his temper. Instead, Li Qingxu sneered and said, "I have clashed with Qin Ming myself. Though I lost more than once, I did wound him once—even if back then, my victory was not won fairly..." With that, he turned away with an easy flair and left. Snowflakes drifted down; Helian Zhaoyu felt utterly miserable and sick at heart! *** The battle Qin Ming fought outside the pure land naturally spread, its detailed accounts arriving on the desks of the major organizations at once. Undoubtedly, a clash between such top seeds drew extraordinary attention. However, with heavy snow blanketing the skies, the news did not travel that fast; only figures of real power could learn of it immediately. Within the Palace of Heavenly Gods, an important faction of the esoteric sect, Great Grandmaster Wang Jingyan wore a smile across his face, thoroughly pleased with his arrangements from the day before. He had readily agreed to let Qin Ming examine the remnant scriptures and had even invited a peerlessly graceful divine maiden to accompany him. The atmosphere had been harmonious, and the relationship between the two parties could be described as exceptionally cordial. It could be said that both host and guest had thoroughly enjoyed themselves. How unlike the people of the outer pure land, who had actually challenged their guest—that was simply an offense. The key point was that the immortal seed had ended up suffering a miserable defeat. Wang Jingyan, the Great Grandmaster of the esoteric sect, chuckled. "They didn't even think. That's the 'Upright Ape Demon King' who slaughtered over a dozen heavenly demon seeds on the Plain of Divine Demise, whose fame shook the Western Realm! For an immortal seed in the third realm to dare challenge him—they've lost all substance and face alike." He felt the pure land's people were truly unwise. Yet very soon, he could no longer smile. Because the latest report landed on his desk: A top divine seed challenged Qin Ming and suffered a crushing defeat. After reading the details, he was so infuriated that he repeatedly cursed, "Scoundrels!" He felt the people of the outer pure land were utterly shameless, actually spreading false news. "That Helian Zhaoyu... seems to truly cultivate our esoteric sect's arts as his primary foundation," his personal disciple remarked. Wang Jingyan wanted nothing more than to slam the table. "He's a seed of the Yuxian Sect! Why didn't they say so usually? The moment he loses, he suddenly becomes a divine seed of our esoteric sect? That old thief Ling Canghai is shameless to the extreme!" Outside, intelligence gatherers from various organizations were also bewildered: Had Qin Ming fought an immortal seed or a divine seed? Wang Jingyan ordered, "Hurry and clarify this! We refuse to take the fall for the outer pure land's disgrace!" Regardless, this battle was bound to stir up immense waves. *** "Truly worthy of being called a heavenly book, one of the three most difficult true classics of the immortal path!" Lu Zizai exclaimed in admiration after reading it. He stood in the wind and snow for a long time. He still had no clue regarding the last two pages, which would require time to study. However, he had gained some insights regarding the first two jade pages. After pondering, he murmured, "It really is possible that Cao Qianqiu is a mind monkey." Qin Ming was dazed. If this were true, it would trigger a massive earthquake. If a formidable patriarch of the immortal path were merely a mind monkey severed from someone else, it was truly terrifying. Qin Ming could not help asking, "Who could his true body be?" Lu Zizai said, "It cannot be determined right now, because too many years have passed. If Old Cao truly has a true body behind him, it must be an ancient monster." The trajectory of Cao Qianqiu's youth could be traced, so in the past, no one had ever thought of linking him to a mind monkey. The crux of the matter was that when a mighty expert severed a mind monkey from their spirit and reshaped a physical body for it, unless someone told it, the mind monkey would believe itself to be an independent entity, oblivious to its origins. Lu Zizai pondered. Over so many years, experts had crowded the outer realms, and certain patriarchs had permanently vanished, entering the depths of the night mist world. He searched his memories, trying to match an identity. Lu Zizai sighed. "If that person severed the mind monkey—Cao Qianqiu—back in his youth, and ever since, his true body has kept a low profile and remained dormant, then that is truly terrifying." Undoubtedly, if such a person truly existed, his cultivation would be unimaginably dreadful, and his ambition at the very least would be to step into the realm of Earth Immortals! Qin Ming spoke up, "Could it be a master from the former Sacred Land branch over in the demon civilization? After all, their side was the first to comprehend the *Heart Subduing Classic* from the four jade book pages." Lu Zizai's heart jolted. "If you put it that way, I also thought of an extreme possibility." Qin Ming asked in surprise, "There's an even more unbelievable candidate?" Lu Zizai nodded. "Yes. Back then, someone else also had contact with an even more fragmented heavenly book—or perhaps the *Heart Subduing Classic*." Qin Ming's eyes widened as several figures surfaced in his mind. Wearing a look of disbelief, he said, "That... surely that's impossible!" He already knew which figures Lu Zizai was referring to: the silk book method patriarchs! "Cao Qianqiu is so wicked, whereas the old patriarchs who developed the silk book method..." Qin Ming paused slightly. He had briefly encountered one of them, but knew nothing about the others. Lu Zizai explained, "A mind monkey is the 'impurity' in a being's spirit—hyperactive emotions, intense yet useless desires. That is why it was severed, serving as a peerless crucible of medicine meant to propel the true body's cultivation in the future!" Thus, no matter who the primary figure was, the severed mind monkey could easily turn evil, being an aggregation of negative, stray thoughts. After careful consideration, Lu Zizai said, "I believe the probability of Cao Qianqiu being the mind monkey of a silk book method patriarch is less than ten percent. The probability of him coming from the demon civilization is twenty percent, while the probability of him originating from the immortal path itself is seventy percent." "Senior Brother Lu, do you have a suspect in mind?" Qin Ming asked. Lu Zizai replied, "Not quite, but I vaguely feel that back then, a certain person should not have died young." Qin Ming had never imagined that the fragmented four jade book pages could actually lead to the mystery of Old Cao's identity. Lu Zizai said, "In the esoteric sect, there is a peerless powerhouse who wanted to refine several great Perils outside Yujing. He was truly a ruthless figure, extraordinarily formidable. Back then, there was a youth on the immortal path who seemingly could rival him, yet for reasons unknown, he withered away before his time." *** Outside, news was fermenting. The great battle on the snowfield outside the pure land established Qin Ming's prestige and glory as a preeminent seed. At this moment, the core leadership of the Cui clan had also received the latest intelligence. Everyone present frowned in silence, and the atmosphere instantly turned rather somber. Braving the wind and snow, Qin Ming and Lu Zizai had already drawn near to the Cui clan, a thousand-year aristocratic family! Ahead, vast clusters of grand buildings stood tall and majestic, like celestial palaces fallen onto the mortal realm. Before the Cui clan estate, golden studs were arranged in neat rows upon vermilion gates, glistening like stars twinkling in the night. "Who goes there? Halt immediately!" As soon as Qin Ming approached, someone shouted to stop him. "Qin Ming!" he announced his name. Three years had passed, and the old gatekeepers had long since been replaced. "Qin... Ming?!" Evidently, those guards knew who he was, and looks of shock surfaced immediately on their faces. "Qin Ming? It really is you!" At that moment, two direct-line youths of the Cui clan happened to walk out from within the estate. First came astonishment, followed by undisguised delight. One secretly transmitted his voice: "If the clan elders learn he came knocking on our door of his own accord, they will definitely be thrilled and overjoyed! From now on, all our troubles will be gone!" He signaled with his eyes for someone to go report while keeping a smile on his face, intending to steady the youth before him. The other youth was far more cautious, whispering a transmission: "Don't you dare act rashly. His status is somewhat different now—when the time comes, this might turn out to be a fright instead!" "It'll be fine. We just have to keep him here until the old men arrive. This ought to be a huge credit to our name!" the youth from the Cui main lineage responded secretly. In fact, several major organizations across the outside world had been closely monitoring Qin Ming's movements over the past two days. Upon receiving secret intelligence suggesting Qin Ming might be heading straight for the Cui clan, a huge sensation erupted immediately.