Yun Zhi was the foremost master of Daoist arts in the contemporary world. This was not only due to her extraordinary talent in the Dao, but also owed greatly to her years of diligent study in the Scripture Pavilion, where she had comprehended ten thousand techniques.
Reasonably speaking, even if there was a spell in the world she could not cast, she should at least have heard of it.
Staring at the arm that was still spinning in circles, Yun Zhi remained silent. Searching through her vast knowledge and memories, she still could not tell what spell her Junior Brother was cultivating.
She sighed softly, stepped forward, grasped Lu Yang's wrist, and pulled him out of his own palm.
"Hoo—hoo—*gag*—"
Once out, Lu Yang swayed unsteadily. Seeing double, the world spinning around him and his brain completely scrambled, he could barely stand, leaning against a coiling dragon tree as he dry-heaved.
Cultivators at the Golden Core stage could avoid dizziness caused by spinning by adjusting their internal organs, but that required deliberate practice. How could it compare to Lu Yang, who had instantly spun into a frenzy without any time to buffer or adapt?
"A self-contained space within the palm... Are you learning a divine ability similar to Buddhist Kingdom in the Palm?" Yun Zhi discerned some clues.
Lu Yang shut his eyes and steadied himself, resting his forehead against the trunk of the tree before feeling somewhat better.
"It's... it's Universe in the Palm, taught to me by the Fairy. I've only learned the rough basics."
Recalling Lu Yang's particular knack for learning, Yun Zhi had a fair guess as to what had just transpired.
Mid Golden Core stage—not bad. It seemed that during her absence, her Junior Brother had been cultivating diligently.
*Whoosh—*
Yun Zhi gently blew a breath toward Lu Yang. Like a spring breeze brushing across his face, Lu Yang's head instantly cleared, and he returned to normal.
"Eldest Senior Sister, you're back?"
"Yes."
Lu Yang glared at the Immortal Fairy, who was watching the show inside his spiritual space. *Look at Eldest Senior Sister! The moment she returned, she freed me from spinning. Now look at you! For as long as I was spinning out here, you were laughing in there!*
The Immortal Fairy averted her gaze guiltily.
At first, she had intended to stop Lu Yang, but when she saw how fun he looked spinning around, she had simply watched with wide, eager eyes.
"Hurry up and ask about my patent royalties!" How could Lu Yang let the Immortal Fairy off so easily? He took the initiative to let her possess him.
The Immortal Fairy tried to resist, but she was no match for Lu Yang's persistence and was forced to take over his body.
"Girl Yun, finished questioning that Tribulation Transcendence cultivator from Great Yu?" the Immortal Fairy asked boldly, deciding to adopt a roundabout tactic.
"The questioning is done, and there were several findings. The person backing him is the second Imperial Preceptor of the Great Yu Dynasty, though his exact cultivation level remains unknown. The second Imperial Preceptor instructed him to test the power and function of the Great Xia Dynasty's national destiny, which was why he dispatched two ancient Body Integration cultivators to clash with the Governor of Qingzhou.
"Had Junior Brother not summoned me over, he would have succeeded."
The Imperial Preceptor system of the Great Yu Dynasty had been one of the root causes of its downfall, but it was undeniable that during the empire's early days, the system had played a crucial role. The first two Imperial Preceptors in particular were peerless geniuses with world-shaping capabilities who had stabilized the situation and led Great Yu to prosperity and strength.
Those two held pivotal status in Great Yu, and through word of mouth over the ages, they had become figures bordering on myth.
"Unfortunately, the second Imperial Preceptor only maintained one-way contact with him, so he has no knowledge of the preceptor's whereabouts.
"As for how many Tribulation Transcendence cultivators from Great Yu have awakened, he does not know either. However, judging from the mission assigned to him by the second Imperial Preceptor, he is certainly not the only one. Aside from him, there is at least one more.
"He possesses quite a bit of intelligence regarding Great Yu's Body Integration cultivators. This matter has already been handed over to Junior Brother Dai and the Great Xia Luoshui Guards. However, those Great Yu cultivators are exceptionally cautious; having likely observed the situation at the Grand Qingzhou Festival, they may have already fled. Exactly how many can be apprehended will come down to luck.
"According to his confession, the most dangerous person under his command is someone named True Monarch Zhonggu. His cultivation is not particularly remarkable, but he wields a damaged Ten Thousand Soul Banner. Originally, the banner was intact, but unfortunately, he failed to preserve it properly during his deep slumber. Over the vast passage of time, the banner gradually deteriorated, allowing the vicious ghosts inside to escape and terrorize the world.
"In the thirty-thousandth year of the Great Xia calendar, Liangzhou suffered a ghost scourge. Vicious ghosts ran rampant, plunging the populace into misery. No one dared venture outside at night, and across the vast expanse of Liangzhou, ghosts lurked everywhere. The imperial court dispatched massive forces before finally suppressing the calamity. Regrettably, the court was unaware of the resurgence of ancient cultivators back then and did not consider that possibility, so the root cause of the ghost disaster was never uncovered.
"That ghost scourge was likely caused by True Monarch Zhonggu's Ten Thousand Soul Banner; the timeline roughly lines up.
"True Monarch Zhonggu is currently repairing the banner, which requires a foundation of massive amounts of bloody aura and wronged souls to complete.
"And to obtain such vast amounts of bloody aura and wronged souls, slaughter is inevitable.
"That he is currently repairing the banner implies he has already found a source for this slaughter, yet we have not received any intelligence regarding it.
"If we cannot locate him quickly, once the Ten Thousand Soul Banner is fully restored, it will be too late even if we capture him. Driven into a corner, he might destroy the banner in a desperate gamble, releasing all the vengeful spirits to ravage an entire province."
By the end, Yun Zhi's tone grew unusually heavy.
Lu Yang: "..."
Immortal Fairy: "..."
*Why does this True Monarch Zhonggu sound so familiar?*
The Immortal Fairy hesitated for a moment before asking, "What does this True Monarch Zhonggu look like?"
Venerable Calamity had already confessed the appearances of all his subordinates. Yun Zhi snapped her fingers, and a puff of smoke drifted out, gradually coalescing into an elderly face that was exceedingly familiar to both Lu Yang and the Immortal Fairy.
A withered old man who looked as if he hadn't had a full meal in days, clutching a tattered banner.
"It really is him!" Lu Yang and the Immortal Fairy blurted out in unison.
"You know him?" Yun Zhi was puzzled. True Monarch Zhonggu was an ancient Great Yu cultivator who had remained hidden in the shadows; they had not even confirmed which province he was hiding in. Where could the two of them have seen him?
The Immortal Fairy adopted an air of profound composure, looking like some far-sighted grand figure. She pressed and flexed her fingers as if performing complex calculations, though it resembled an epileptic seizure more than anything else.
"This Immortal pinched her fingers in divination and deduced that a demonic cultivator was causing trouble in Liangzhou. Thus, I dispatched my subordinate, the Nether Heavenly King, to oversee the operation, joining forces with the Nine Nether Cult to vanquish demons and exorcise evil. We tracked down this villain, captured him, and presented him to the Nine Nether Cult as a token of friendship between our two cults!"
Yun Zhi mentally translated: *For reasons unknown, the Grand Elder and Vice Cult Master Shi already captured Venerable Zhonggu, while Lu Yang and the Immortal Fairy merely watched from the sidelines the entire time.*
The exact process did not matter; as long as he had been caught, that was what counted.
Yun Zhi cupped her fists. "Dou Tianzun's foresight is truly astounding."
Smug with triumph, the Immortal Fairy shot Lu Yang a slightly provocative glance.
"There is also a small matter regarding Lu Yang that this Immortal wishes to ask you."
"Senior, please go ahead."
"Lu Yang applied for a patent for flying cars, and the Fifth Elder said the patent royalties were already handed over to you. Why haven't you given them to Lu Yang?" As the Lord of the Heavenly Court, the Immortal Fairy was not the least bit polite to the Cult Master of the Heavenly Court Cult.
Yun Zhi seemed to recall something, her tone calm and indifferent.
"So it was that matter."
"Why didn't you give it to him?"
"I forgot."
Chapter 393