Before Ziqiong could respond, Xu Bai put on an air of being unable to hold back, asking with apparent bewilderment, "This transaction is of monumental importance, so it is understandable that Senior would step forward in person. However, with your formidable strength, hiding your identity should have been child's play. Why..."
"Aren't you afraid that after learning of this, our Heaven-Overturning Society might turn around and blackmail you?" Xu Bai's gaze burned as he stared intently at Ziqiong.
Ziqiong replied placidly, "Blackmail? Heh, do not misunderstand. Although I have come on behalf of the Five Elders Association this time, that signifies nothing.
"I am merely running an errand."
Ziqiong acted completely secure and fearless, an attitude that left Xu Bai somewhat unsettled with doubt.
"There is no need for surprise. When all is said and done, the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals belongs to the Dharma-Transmitting Heavenly Venerable. And from start to finish, I have remained loyal to no one but the Venerable Herself. As for the rest, they are trivial matters of no consequence.
"As the saying goes, the Great Dao encompasses fifty, and Heaven derives forty-nine. The Heavenly Profound Mirror desires to perceive all things in the world, so it is only natural that things beyond its control will also exist.
"Otherwise, this 'New Heaven' would be imperfect."
Ziqiong tilted his head back, gazing up at the sky, and explained in an unhurried manner.
"So even if the Heavenly Venerable learned of what I am doing, She would not blame me. Perhaps She might even reward me.
"Hmph, but those mundane mortals might not necessarily understand my intentions anyway."
Though it was merely a few brief sentences, the amount of information packed within was terrifying. Once those words were spoken, Xu Bai fell into deep thought.
"Until you attain that realm, knowing too much is not necessarily a good thing," Immortal Venerable Ziqiong spoke shortly after, breaking Xu Bai's train of thought.
With a flick of his finger, he tossed over the Kongming Stone Mother containing the traded supplies.
This time, no contract was established.
Evidently, he possessed absolute confidence in his own strength, unafraid of any cheap tricks Xu Bai might try to pull.
Nevertheless, following protocol, Xu Bai inspected and verified the inventory of supplies inside the Stone Mother before handing over the fifty agreed-upon Terminal Discs.
"This is the first batch. The remainder will have to be delivered gradually over time," Xu Bai explained.
The fifty Terminal Discs were not kept in a storage space. Instead, like sheets of thin paper, they were stacked together.
With a shift of thought, they would separate on their own, becoming distinct individual objects.
Ziqiong took one of the discs into his hand to examine it.
After a moment, he said pensively, "It looks utterly unremarkable, yet it can shield against the Heavenly Profound Treasure Mirror's perception..."
"Intriguing."
Putting away the Terminal Discs, Ziqiong then instructed, "For future transactions, someone else will coordinate with you. If your Heaven-Overturning Society encounters any sudden emergencies, you can also look for Liu Wenyu.
"However, try your best to avoid associating with me. While I do not care..."
"If those people set their sights on you, even my intervention won't save you."
Immortal Venerable Ziqiong's figure gradually faded. Just as he had arrived, his departure was equally abrupt.
"Senior, in the face of the Heavenly Profound Mirror's aggressive advance, why has the Five Elders Association repeatedly backed down? Why have they not taken the slightest countermeasure?" Xu Bai asked just before Immortal Venerable Ziqiong vanished entirely.
Ziqiong gave no verbal reply, merely casting an imperceptible glance up at the firmament.
Then, he disappeared.
"Huh?" Xu Bai looked up at the sky as well.
Moments later, he shuddered in sudden realization.
This "heaven" was clearly not referring to the Heavenly Profound Mirror.
Immortal Venerable Ziqiong had said that from start to finish, he remained loyal to the Dharma-Transmitting Heavenly Venerable.
Then his parting gesture was self-evident.
It was not that the Five Elders Association did not want to retaliate.
It was simply that with the Dharma-Transmitting Heavenly Venerable present, they did not dare.
In Xu Bai's mind, the visionary scene of Mr. Bai's sigh involuntarily surfaced once more:
"Ahead, the immortal path cannot be trod; the Dharma-Transmitting Heavenly Venerable sits above."
Xu Bai instinctively clutched his fists. *In the previous life, perhaps because of Chuanfa's departure, Ziqiong leaned back toward the Five Elders Association and became an outright spy.*
*Yet in this life, because I used the "Chaos" mantra to lure back Chuanfa, who had already departed, Ziqiong still adheres to his rather unique stance. He hasn't become a complete spy for the Five Elders Association.*
Having sorted through the ins and outs of the matter in an instant, Xu Bai felt many more questions surface.
Namely, Chuanfa's true objective.
If her ultimate goal was transcendence—to depart from the Xuanhuang Realm...
...then even if she cared deeply about the "Chaos" mantra, after returning and searching in vain, she should have chosen to leave once more.
Yet a considerable amount of time had passed since then.
The Dharma-Transmitting Heavenly Venerable still seemed to linger in the Xuanhuang Realm, showing no signs of leaving.
*It seems the Xuanhuang Realm holds special significance for Chuanfa. It cannot simply be abandoned at will.*
*Furthermore, the Heavenly Profound Mirror's ascension in this lifetime must have received Chuanfa's personal consent. She needs the Heavenly Profound Mirror to complete its metamorphosis, yet she tacitly permits potential loopholes...*
*The Heavenly Dao has flaws. Thus, she must also impose limits upon the Heavenly Profound Mirror.*
...
Countless conjectures flashed across Xu Bai's mind in an instant.
Even though this body was favored by heaven and earth and endowed with extraordinary talent, it still felt like gazing at flowers through a fog; he simply could not fathom Chuanfa's intentions.
His thoughts somewhat chaotic, he returned to Tianling City, only to be summoned by Nangong Shirong.
"Lately, there seem to be some bad rumors circulating within our territory. Go handle it," Nangong Shirong said, uttering only this cryptic line.
Ordinarily, Xu Bai was merely the Tianliang Province Liaison Emissary.
When it came to rumors and gossip, it was entirely logical for either the Garrison Court or the Martial Practice Hall to step in. Yet strangely, Nangong Shirong had quietly entrusted the matter solely to him.
Xu Bai understood in a flash.
This affair was not to be blown out of proportion; it had to be dealt with quickly and cleanly.
It was precisely because Nangong Shirong valued Xu Bai's competence that he assigned the mission to him.
When a superior gives an order, a subordinate naturally cannot refuse.
"Rest assured, my Lord. Your subordinate will certainly handle it properly." Cupping his hands, Xu Bai lifted his head and gave his assurance.
After departing under the other's watchful gaze, Xu Bai asked around and finally learned what the "bad" rumor Nangong Shirong spoke of was all about.
As it turned out, within Tianliang Province, a cultivator named Peng Qing had suddenly gone mad just before his death, flying erratically everywhere.
As he dashed about recklessly, he rambled incoherently.
He claimed that he was supposed to have a lifespan of five hundred years, yet now, having lived for less than four hundred, his life was coming to an end.
There had to be some villain who had forcibly sliced away the upper limit of his lifespan out of thin air.
Cursing and swearing, Peng Qing dropped dead on the spot under the watchful eyes of the crowd.
Furthermore, his manner of death was ghastly: bleeding from his seven apertures, he seemed to age hundreds of years in an instant.
His appearance transformed from that of a middle-aged cultivator into a decrepit, decaying old man in the blink of an eye.
Chapter 759