Returning to Canglan, Plotting Against the Palace of Light

"The Gate of Myriad Demons opens in twenty years. Who knows if we can hold out until then?" A look of reminiscence showed in He Wu's eyes. "With the Divine Soul artifact left behind by Honored Master, what is there to fear from the Venerable?" Ling Yayi—who was Nangong Dagou—was as flippant as ever. "But... under the Venerable's command are ten thousand Sovereigns from the Myriad Demons Realm." He Wu swallowed hard at that point. Ten thousand Sovereigns—the sheer number sounded terrifying. The entire Liufeng Realm didn't even have that many Sovereigns combined. Not to mention that the Northern Lands were already stronger than the Southern Lands. Stationed here, there was no way they could hold out for long. Hearing this, Ling Yayi's expression grew solemn. "Twenty years from now, Honored Master will come here. I wonder... *Sigh*, much as I want to see Honored Master, I still hope he doesn't enter." The Blood Lord was formidable, a born sacred being. Given enough time, Honored Master might well have surpassed the Venerable with her Slate of Fate. Yet that Venerable fought dirty, colluding with the Myriad Demons Realm to recruit nearly ten thousand Sovereigns under her command. How could they possibly fight this? If ten thousand Sovereigns struck all at once, even the White Emperor would kick the bucket! Their Honored Master was powerful, but not *that* powerful. Granted, his origin divine ability could be called a Sovereign-slayer. Once cast, inner demons burst from the bodies of Liufeng Realm's Sovereigns, leaving them utterly defenseless. However, those ten thousand-odd Sovereigns hailed from the Myriad Demons Realm. Honored Master's origin divine ability wouldn't be able to instantly kill them. "Palace Master of the Heavenly Heart Palace, do you hope Honored Master enters?" Ling Yayi looked toward Ning Tao. If there was anyone in this world Honored Master held in his heart, it was Ning Tao. Ling Yayi had given up on Honored Master remembering his name anyway. Even if he did, he would remember Ling Yayi, not Nangong Dagou. He Wu looked at Ning Tao as well. Ning Tao gripped her blood-red longsword, her gaze vacant and clear. "Part of me does, part of me doesn't." Canary might want him to, but she did not. Meanwhile, deep within the fortress. Bai Ze sat motionless deep underground. His body was like lapis lazuli, luminous and flawless. Countless images from the Mirror of Myriad Demons flashed through his mind. Pain flickered in his eyes, and a wisp of black qi rose silently. Just then, the Heartless Lotus gave off a faint glow, dispelling the wisps of black qi emerging on his forehead. A touch of clarity returned to Bai Ze's eyes. "I must stop dwelling on this. The pressing matter... is dealing with the crisis of Shang Yanran and the Myriad Demons Realm first." After a dozen breaths or so, a Grand Sovereign walked in. "White Emperor, of late, the Venerable's offensives have abated somewhat. They are laying siege without attacking. I wonder what her intentions are." Bringing this up, the Grand Sovereign looked deeply worried, unsure whether this was good or bad. Besieging without attacking meant they were safe in the short term, with no need to send people out to suffer casualties or die in battle. However, if the Venerable launched an all-out assault, it would be a devastating blow. Likely none of them here would be able to withstand it, and the Liufeng Realm would be in grave danger. Bai Ze's gaze shifted before he sighed helplessly. "Is she... waiting for Honored Master?" In twenty years, the Gate of Myriad Demons would open. Honored Master would definitely enter through it. "Yanran... slaughter cannot resolve demonic monstrosities," Bai Ze murmured with a long sigh. After Buddha turned into a fiend, the Archdemon was sealed away behind the Gate of Myriad Fiends. Yet in the hearts of mortals, demonic monstrosities multiplied. As more and more demonic monstrosities appeared, this world would fall into total madness. Once they reached a critical mass, all living beings in the Liufeng Realm would have no way to survive. In his eyes, Shang Yanran had gone to the Northern Lands and triggered the North-South Accord precisely to eliminate the world's demonic monstrosities through slaughter. He did not support it, yet he could not stop it. He had always believed that slaughter could never resolve demonic monstrosities. There had to be a better solution. "Master... it would truly be best if you did not enter the Gate of Myriad Demons." ... Beyond the Gate of Myriad Demons, inside the Myriad Demons Palace. Shang Yanran wore a plain white robe. Her eyes were narrowed in a half-smile that was not quite a smile. The Sovereigns gathered within the palace trembled in fear. "May the Venerable punish me! It is this subordinate's fault for failing to guard the Mirror of Myriad Demons properly and allowing the White Emperor to seize it!" Purple Eye, a dignified Grand Sovereign, was kneeling unceremoniously on the floor, his back shuddering. The Mirror of Myriad Demons was one of Shang Yanran's treasures. "Hehe..." Shang Yanran chuckled aloud, frightening Grand Sovereign Purple Eye even further. "What crime have you committed? If I hadn't let him have the Mirror of Myriad Demons on purpose, how could he have gotten his hands on it?" Grand Sovereign Purple Eye froze for a moment, keeping his head bowed, not daring to utter a word. Shang Yanran waved a hand in annoyance. Only then did Grand Sovereign Purple Eye hastily scramble up and leave with a sigh of relief. Within the immense palace, only Shang Yanran remained. Her eyes seemed half-smiling yet not smiling, half-weeping yet not weeping. She muttered to herself, looking thoroughly sorrowful. "Husband, in that illusion, it was clearly your life and mine." Her sorrow turned into madness. "Why? I killed with you, died with you, and in the end... when you woke up, you wanted to kill me?" "Why... weren't you willing to let me even look at your precious treasure?" "In the end, will you deliver me, or will I... have you?" A flicker of greed passed deep within Shang Yanran's eyes. Bai Ze was the Buddha, the true Archdemon! And she... was the demoness, though demoness was merely one of her identities. Back when Qi Yuan had stepped into the Gate of Myriad Fiends, the illusion he plunged into consisted of the Archdemon's countless lifetimes. It was only that Qi Yuan had taken the role. Qi Yuan had been in the Gate of Myriad Fiends, while Canary had been in the Gate of Myriad Demons. In the past, she had accompanied the Archdemon through lifetime after lifetime of bringing ruin to the world, only for the Archdemon to achieve sudden enlightenment and seek to execute her. All her schemes had come to naught. "Great Sun Radiant Buddha Son!" "Great Sun Golden Lotus!" The greed in Shang Yanran's eyes grew even more intense. The Great Sun Golden Lotus was the sarira relic left behind upon the Great Sun Radiant Buddha's passing. If she obtained the Great Sun Golden Lotus, her true form would be reshaped into a golden body of flawless lapis lazuli. This golden body was indestructible, impenetrable to any divine harm. Once mastered, the python and sparrow could devour the dragon, and the Liufeng Realm she had schemed over for years would truly be swallowed by her, becoming her ultimate playground. "For the sake of this world, you had better give the Great Sun Golden Lotus... to me!" ... Inside the City of No Return. Qi Yuan sat there quietly. The broken sword in his hand steadily harvested demonic monstrosities. A helpless look showed in his eyes. "It's easy to go from frugality to luxury, but hard to go from luxury to frugality. What kind of bullshit demonic monstrosities are these now?" Nowadays, there weren't even Sovereigns on the conveyor belt. All that appeared were Terrestrial Myths, mixed with a few Nation Protectors. Accustomed to gorging on fine wine and meat, Qi Yuan felt profoundly uncomfortable with this sudden downgrade. Finishing his complaint, Qi Yuan flicked his wrist, and an ancient stone slab landed in his hand. This slab was a sub-slate of the Slate of Fate, also known as the Slate of Deceit. [Sub-slate of the Slate of Fate: its spirit has perished, buried at the hands of Buddha.] Every day, Qi Yuan would take out the Slate of Fate to take a look, checking whether any useful information appeared. To his surprise, the information he received today caught him off guard. "The Slate of Fate has an artifact spirit?" Qi Yuan pondered. "Where is it now?" Qi Yuan hadn't had many entanglements with the Slate of Fate, but they had crossed paths a few times. "Is it you... stirring up all this trouble?" Qi Yuan's gaze turned profound. There were still twenty years until the Gate of Myriad Demons opened. Guarding the City of No Return was practically foolproof. Twenty years here equated to two days back in the Canglan Realm, so he could log off once. Of course, before logging off, matters here had to be settled. "During these twenty years, I need to focus on farming and churn out a few more Sovereigns. "After all, the enemy has ten thousand Sovereigns, while the Blood Palace only has thirty thousand. I don't feel safe at all." Qi Yuan lacked a sense of security. It was just like when he was back in the Divine Light Sect, feeling oppressed by the terrifying Palace of Light. He had shivered in fear, unable to sleep at night. Only by manufacturing more Sovereigns could he feel secure. "Big Bro, what you asked for has been handled!" Chen Huan strode in, looking thrilled. After returning from the White Emperor Palace, Qi Yuan had officially become the foremost hegemon of the Liufeng Realm—the Blood Lord. This time, following Qi Yuan's orders, Chen Huan had issued a Blood Order! A proclamation to the world: demons were invading through the Gate of Myriad Demons; any Terrestrial Myth could come to the City of No Return to hear the Blood Lord preach the Dao, step into the Sovereign realm, defend the Liufeng Realm, and campaign against the Gate of Myriad Demons! "How many people do you reckon will come to our Blood Palace?" Qi Yuan asked. "At least fifty to sixty thousand, I'd say?" Chen Huan guessed conservatively. The Liufeng Realm actually had a massive number of Terrestrial Myths. One could say it was ridiculously high, far more than a world like the Liufeng Realm should possess. "Fifty to sixty thousand... Barely enough to piece together an army of one hundred thousand," Qi Yuan muttered. "Hopefully I won't make a laughingstock of myself like the War God of the Great Ming." If that happened, his reputation would be utterly ruined. Listening to Qi Yuan spouting incomprehensible words, Chen Huan could only chuckle foolishly. One hundred thousand Sovereigns? He had never dared dream of such a thing! What kind of grand spectacle would that be?! "Big Bro, when we march against the Gate of Myriad Demons, how about naming me a Grand Marshal so your younger brother can leave his name in the history books?" "No problem." Qi Yuan nodded. Minor details like that were easy. Humans naturally had a bit of vanity; it was completely normal. Chen Huan said excitedly, "Victory will be ours! We'll bar the Myriad Demons Realm from our gates!" Hearing that, Qi Yuan suddenly tensed up. "Disaster!" "Big Bro, what's wrong?" Chen Huan grew anxious as well. "If I recall correctly, when I was preaching earlier, was there a Sovereign named Wang Zhen?" "There seems to be... Big Bro, what about him? Is there something wrong with him?" Chen Huan asked hastily. "Don't let him come on this campaign," Qi Yuan said gravely. "...Is he a spy?" Killing intent flashed in Chen Huan's eyes. "No, his name is inauspicious," Qi Yuan explained. "If Wang Zhen comes along, wouldn't I truly turn into the War God of the Great Ming?" Chen Huan was struck speechless. He had tried so hard, but why could he never keep up with Big Bro's train of thought? Qi Yuan, on the other hand, felt that his decision was extraordinarily wise. Back on Blue Star, the Great Ming's War God, Zhu Qizhen, egged on by the Directorate of Ceremonial's seal-holding eunuch Wang Zhen, had personally led an army of two hundred thousand on an expedition, only to be crushed by thirty thousand enemy troops, with Emperor Zhu Qizhen captured alive—an event known in history as the Tumu Crisis. How eerily similar was his impending march against the Gate of Myriad Demons to that disaster? "Anyone named Wang Zhen will not be permitted to march with our army!" Chen Huan declared. Qi Yuan threw Chen Huan an appreciative look. "You truly understand me." Chen Huan broke into a beaming smile. By now, he no longer harbored thoughts of calling Qi Yuan his foster father; calling him Big Bro was far better. After all, among those joining the Blood Palace now, none dared call Qi Yuan 'Big Bro'—they all wanted to call him foster father or godfather. Even Senior White Crane, whom Chen Huan used to look up to with awe, was now a generation below him. "I'm logging off to attend to a major matter. Remember to recruit more Terrestrial Myths!" Qi Yuan's expression turned serious again. He had a premonition that this game would soon be beaten. Then he would have to directly face the terrifying Palace of Light. He had to persevere with his plan; only then would he stand a ghost of a chance against the Palace of Light. Pity he couldn't bring people out of the Liufeng Realm. Otherwise, he would have dragged his thousand-man suona troupe out to camp right outside the mountain gates of the Palace of Light, blasting suonas every day to usher them into the afterlife! Taking Xiao Jia with him, Qi Yuan found a spot, dug a large pit, embraced Xiao Jia, and leapt inside. When the scenery shifted, Qi Yuan returned to his familiar wooden hut. Innumerable memories and images flooded his mind like an avalanche. Qi Yuan felt a splitting headache. "Forget!" He immediately activated his origin divine ability, the Great Oblivion Heart Scripture. Only then did the memories quiet down, easing his headache considerably. "The Great Oblivion Heart Scripture really is wonderful stuff. If I returned to Blue Star, I'd definitely be the greatest doctor in the world, pulling in a million a month, marrying a rich, fair beauty, and reaching the pinnacle of life." Used on an Alzheimer's patient, it would make them forget they had dementia, restoring them to normal. It was simply a miracle cure. "Sure enough, the origin divine ability I comprehended is still here." "And that Divine Soul artifact..." Qi Yuan felt a resonance. If he wished, he could even summon that blood-red longsword engraved with the Virtual Realm Sovereign's Inner Demon Summons. Right now, however, the people at the Gate of Myriad Demons still needed that sword to face the enemy, so naturally he wouldn't do so. Putting the game's affairs out of mind, Qi Yuan began seriously plotting against the Palace of Light. "In the game, I learned a useful trick: posting to slander the Palace of Light!" Back then, the Mystic Maiden of the Purple Sky had constantly smeared him as an Archdemon. After slaying her, he had absorbed the essence of her tactics and learned the art of smearing. "I need to post complaints on the Divine Flower Society board. But I don't have any alt accounts." Qi Yuan was very cautious. One shouldn't use a main account to curse people out; if he was discovered, he'd be finished. An alt account? He didn't have one! "Junior Sister, save me!" Qi Yuan yelled, running out of the wooden hut. Inside the thatched cottage, Jiang Lingsu opened her eyes, looking thoroughly resigned. "Eldest Martial Brother, what happened?" "Junior Sister, do you have any alt accounts for posting on the Divine Flower Society board? An emergency, a total emergency!" Qi Yuan pleaded anxiously. Jiang Lingsu stared at him. "Speak human!" She couldn't understand a single thing he was saying. "Alt accounts! Smurfs!" Qi Yuan explained repeatedly. It took dozens of breaths before Jiang Lingsu finally grasped what he meant. "What do you want... alt accounts for?" Jiang Lingsu asked, then added, "Never mind, I won't ask. I can give you a few. "However... these accounts don't come cheap. How will you repay me?" Qi Yuan was overjoyed. "Junior Sister, you truly are a living Bodhisattva saving the suffering." His junior sister was simply a golden thigh who granted every request. "How about I renovate your thatched cottage and upgrade it into a high-end, classy wooden hut like mine?" Qi Yuan pondered seriously. The corner of Jiang Lingsu's mouth twitched. "Anything else?" Qi Yuan leaned in stealthily. "I have some insider news to share with you." In his previous life's stock market, leaking insider information was a crime. Qi Yuan remained extremely cautious. "What news?" Jiang Lingsu's interest was piqued. "The Palace of Light... is finished!" Qi Yuan whispered conspiratorially. "Huh?" Jiang Lingsu blinked in bewilderment. "A peerless prodigy is preparing to move against the Palace of Light. In less than three months, they're doomed. "Hurry up and borrow a massive sum of spirit stones from the Palace of Light right now—you'll definitely make a fortune. "I know several big shots who each borrowed hundreds of thousands of spirit stones straight from the Palace of Light." Qi Yuan invoked Iceberg Overlord Woman to bluff. "Are you serious?" Jiang Lingsu was astonished. Why hadn't she heard any wind of this? "One hundred percent true. If I'm lying, I'm a puppy!" Qi Yuan said earnestly. "Then I'll trust you this once. I'll go borrow a few hundred thousand spirit stones at usurious rates from the Palace of Light to spend as pocket money," Jiang Lingsu said casually. Hearing that, Qi Yuan nearly broke down. "Junior Sister, how about investing some in me?" Hundreds of thousands of spirit stones, and that was just pocket money? In an instant, Qi Yuan understood why Daozi scavenged through her trash every day. His junior sister's trash heap was simply wealthier than his entire home. How could the gap between two people be so vast? Having obtained several jade slip alt accounts from Jiang Lingsu, Qi Yuan felt very smug. "I must craft several formidable alter egos for myself!" "Every single persona will curse the Palace of Light to high heaven and pile pressure onto them!" With that in mind, Qi Yuan registered several accounts. He wracked his brain to come up with several suitable pseudonyms: Demon Lord of Seven Desires, Blood-Robed Sword God, Mad Daoist... "The Mad Daoist doesn't quite match my disposition, but I should design some personas completely unlike me so they'll never connect them to who I am." Qi Yuan mentally praised his own cleverness. Using the Blood-Robed Sword God account, he entered the Divine Flower Society forum. "Oh my, why are there so many clickbait shock-titles now?" The first time he visited the forum, the titles had all been proper and conventional. Now, a sea of posts started with 'Shocking!'. It was so tempting that Qi Yuan almost clicked into them to see what had happened. Remembering he had serious business to attend to and couldn't waste time scrolling, Qi Yuan gathered his thoughts and made his first post: *"Sword God Returns Home to Find Daughter Living in a Doghouse; the Palace of Light Truly Goes Too Far!"* *"I am the Blood-Robed Sword God. I once campaigned for Cuiyun Continent, shedding blood and sweat to defend our lands.* *"A month ago, my transmission jade slip rang. The moment I answered, I heard my daughter weeping in grievance!* *"...* *"When I returned home, I discovered my adorable daughter was actually living in a doghouse!* *"And the cause of all this was none other than the Palace of Light!* *"They provoked the Hundred Nations Blood War, casually abused the common folk, and seized my immortal's cave! For I, the dignified Blood-Robed Sword God who bled and sweated for Cuiyun Continent, to find my daughter living in a doghouse!* *"I, the Blood-Robed Sword God, swear to demand justice for this!"* After posting, Qi Yuan quickly logged into another alt account to bump the thread: *"The Palace of Light has done every evil deed under the sun. I, too, am a rogue cultivator from the Hundred Nations.* *"Although my title is Demon Lord of Seven Desires, I am kind-hearted; I wouldn't even kill a chicken, and I take care of a flock of stray chickens.* *"This time, an envoy from the Palace of Light arrived in our nation, took a liking to the chickens I raised, and snatched them away to boil and eat.* *"What they stole wasn't my chickens—they stole my family!"* Having posted, Qi Yuan reread his work carefully, feeling more and more pleased with himself. He felt his literary flair was so brilliant that back on Blue Star, he could easily land a job as the editor-in-chief of the People's Daily. "I need to pick up the pace." Qi Yuan mused, deciding to mobilize the power of the Four Emperors of Divine Flower to get them bumping his posts as well.