Creating a God

Footsteps echoed against the gloom of the pavilion's lowest level as Xu Yuan made his way unhurriedly toward the upper floors. Once the veil of mystery was lifted from the unknown, little remained to inspire fear. After hearing the analysis from Lou Ji and Luo Xiran, he was naturally no longer as worried about the plague developed by Wanyao Valley as he had been before. Were this world populated solely by mortals, the outbreak of such an illness would indeed be a sweeping catastrophe across the land. But so long as cultivators stood above them to keep things in check, these things could not stir up any real storm. Compared to the aberrant ghosts of ten thousand years ago, this plague was practically a plaything. Humans stood as the chief of all creation because they possessed sapience, reasoned thought, and restraint. Yet those afflicted by the disease, while retaining their sapience, lost all capacity for forbearance, knowing only indulgence, revelry, and reckless pleasure-seeking. Xu Yuan was inclined to dub it the hedonist plague. The only aspect truly worth noting was its bizarre transmission through the permeation of bodily fluids. Even so, as long as cultivators took proper precautions, guarding against it was not particularly difficult. They could use Source Qi, cultivation arts, or even suit up in heavy armor. And heavy armor was hardly expensive in Great Yan. Even second-line troops like the Shengshan border army were fully equipped with heavy plate, their necks shielded by gorgets, to say nothing of elite forces like the Black Scale Army and the Beifeng Army. Beyond array-inscribed armor that clad them to the teeth, they were equipped with iron visors protecting their faces. At this thought, Xu Yuan paused slightly, a strange look flashing through his eyes. As the excavators of the Ten-Thousand-Corpse Pit and the creators of this bizarre plague, Wanyao Valley could not possibly be ignorant of this fact. In standard warfare, the Northern Border sects might give the imperial elites some trouble, but throwing a mob of infected hedonists at them would be nothing short of handing over free military merit. A frown knitted his brow over the puzzle, but Xu Yuan soon let out a soft sigh. "Changtian," Before his breath even settled, a mildly teasing male voice called out, "Sighing all the time is hardly a good habit, you know~" "..." Xu Yuan lifted his gaze in silence. A man clad in a gold-trimmed white python robe stood backlit at the head of the spiral stairs, arms crossed over his chest, idly holding a fine folding fan acquired from who-knew-where. Xiao Sanzi. Xu Yuan looked away and resumed climbing the steps, asking quietly, "What brought you out?" Li Junqing curled the corner of his lips and murmured, "Hard not to come out when those two beauties of yours made such an earth-shattering commotion." With that, he walked down to meet Xu Yuan, leaned in close, and asked with an air of secrecy, "Changtian... judging by the traits of that young woman in the palace dress, is she the Saintess of the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion? Could you teach this prince how you managed to tie a woman of that standing so securely to your side?" Xu Yuan glanced at him and gave a faint laugh. "That's not particularly difficult, but with that face of yours, it's probably impossible in this lifetime." "..." Li Junqing clicked his tongue, not looking the least bit annoyed, and fell into step alongside Xu Yuan. "Fair enough. A prince of my modest standing could hardly handle such an exalted beauty anyway. But Changtian, was that sigh just now because of the bizarre plague in the Northern Border?" "..." Xu Yuan cast a mildly surprised glance at the Third Prince. Seeing that look, Li Junqing smiled smugly, snapping his folding fan open with a crisp clack to wave it gently. The light breeze stirred his long hair and his gold-trimmed white python robe, oozing theatrical poise. "Though the Beifeng Army and your Black Scale Army clamped down on the news, this prince does control a portion of the Imperial Shadow Guard after all. I know a thing or two about the Northern Border's affairs." Xu Yuan stared at the costly folding fan in his hands and gave a skeptical hum. "Oh? You planted an insider among our Black Scale Guards?" Li Junqing did not deny it. With a low chuckle, he said, "Show some understanding. Chief Lou hasn't exactly been shy about planting spies in my imperial family's Imperial Guard either." "You certainly are straightforward." "Changtian, we're brothers bound by everything but blood. Speaking to you, this prince naturally has no need to hide anything." "..." Xu Yuan once again marveled inwardly at the sheer thickness of the man's skin, then pointed toward the dull, rhythmic thuds echoing from above. "Enough. If you have business, spit it out." As they spoke, the two had reached the entrance to the upper three levels. The cramped, gloomy surroundings shifted in an instant, giving way to bright opulence. Hearing this, Li Junqing promptly switched his form of address, grinning broadly. "Elder Brother... does Chief Lou have a way to resolve this thing?" Xu Yuan scoffed, not answering directly. "Why do you care?" Li Junqing switched forms of address yet again, probing cautiously, "Brother, you should be able to figure this out, shouldn't you? "The Sect Alliance using this plague won't affect our court's elites in the Northern Border in the slightest. Compared to facing normal northern sects, our imperial armies would suffer even fewer casualties against those infected people." *The Sect Alliance...* It seemed Li Junqing did not know the medicine originated from Wanyao Valley and had nothing to do with the Sect Alliance. Keeping his thoughts to himself, Xu Yuan walked along the soft beast-fur carpet and replied casually, "That is indeed true. A disciplined, iron-clad army going up against an undisciplined rabble of cultivators is bound to be a one-sided slaughter." At that point, Xu Yuan seemed to realize something and suddenly gave a low laugh. "Oh, so you're worried the Sect Alliance is deliberately handing military merit to your second brother to cement his standing?" "..." Having his motives seen through brought a flicker of awkwardness to Li Junqing's face. He coughed lightly and added, "Ahem, of course not. What concerns me most is the prospect of the northern sects' industries being utterly destroyed by those infected. "Besides, against such a ruinous scheme from the Sect Alliance, whoever steps forward to resolve it will become the greatest hero of the Northern Border." "..." Hearing that, Xu Yuan glanced sideways at Li Junqing, a thoughtful look entering his eyes. Things were indeed as Li Junqing had said. While the plague could not threaten the imperial armies, once Wanyao Valley deployed it on a massive scale, the Northern Border would become a living purgatory on earth. And in such a crisis, whoever stepped forward would be hailed as the savior of the realm. The instant the pieces of information clicked together, Xu Yuan narrowed his eyes. He suddenly understood what Li Zhaoyuan and Wanyao Valley were trying to do. What an immense game of chess... Had he lacked the memories of his past life, even if Lou Ji suspected a connection between the hedonist plague and Wanyao Valley, uncovering the truth behind Wanyao Valley would have taken a very long time. In fact, the leads might easily have gone cold due to critical gaps in intelligence. In his past life playing Cangyuan, when players investigated the various secrets of Wanyao Valley's Ten-Thousand-Corpse Pit, the clues had been riddled with massive gaps and fractures. Had it not been for a principled mole among the higher-ups dropping crucial hints, even players with an omniscient bird's-eye perspective would have struggled to locate the Ten-Thousand-Corpse Pit. And if Lou Ji failed to uncover the source of the hedonist plague before the Northern Border conflict drew to a close, Li Zhaoyuan and Wanyao Valley's scheme would almost certainly succeed. To stem the raging tide as it collapsed, to prop up the grand mansion as it tilted. What they wanted was to manufacture a god. The entire Northern Border, sects and common folk alike, were merely bait and fodder for their deification project! Or...?