The hall was dark and solemn.
Millennia upon millennia...
Zhang Fusheng’s brow twitched violently. A Grandmaster and an Influential Grandmaster, though longer-lived than ordinary people, would only live up to two hundred years!
Millennia upon millennia.
How long has this woman been alive to have lived until now??
No wonder her attire and mannerisms exude an ancient charm...
She is undoubtedly more than just an Influential Grandmaster. No wonder she dares to plot pulling down the God of Plague!
A faint smile curled at the corners of Mingyue’s mouth, suddenly turning cold.
A strand of aura abruptly enveloped Zhang Fusheng, pressing down on him with a force far surpassing that of Shi Zhengyuan from before!
The key is that when he first faced Old Shi, he was rely a Third or Fourth Refinent minor martial artist. Now, he had reached the Thirteenth Refinent, nearing the level of a Martial Arts Master!
This woman is far stronger than Old Shi.
"Let ask you this."
Mingyue spoke gently:
"I’ve heard that a month ago, Young Master Zhang was still an ordinary person, but now, how is it that you could even defeat Niu Dali, who was endowed with the power to devour gods?"
Though her tone was gentle,
Zhang Fusheng dared not be the slightest bit negligent or relaxed, and almost instantaneously, he responded.
"To speak frankly... Miss Ming Yue, I have decent talent, especially in the White Bone Observation. Back then, after only half a day’s practice, I had already achieved great success, earning my master’s favor."
He continued without changing his expression:
"About half a month ago, when I went to Dragon Boat City, I was still at Second or Third Refinent, yet on my return, I had reached the Twelfth Refinent."
"Oh?" Ming Yue asked lightly, "Might I inquire what enabled such profound changes in you, Young Master Zhang?"
"I encountered soone in Dragon Boat City."
Zhang Fusheng replied calmly:
"Shi Zhengyuan."
"Shi Zhengyuan?" Ming Yue slightly furrowed her brow, glancing at Black Eye, who recalled for a mont and then quickly answered:
"I know him. He was once an Influential Grandmaster of the Ling Mountain faction but vanished along with its decline, so decades ago."
Ming Yue seed contemplative, once again directing her gaze at Zhang Fusheng:
"Please continue, Young Master Zhang."
Zhang Fusheng blended truth with falsehood:
"Seeing my talent in the White Bone Observation, he believed I was an Arhat or Bodhisattva descended to this world and thus gifted many treasures."
"Among them was a White Bone Lotus Seed, which added a century of spiritual accumulation for , enabling to achieve Minor Perfection in the White Bone Observation instantly."
Black Eye and Old Ghost Chai widened their eyes. Minor... Minor Perfection?
Zhang Fusheng didn’t waste words; at the Minor Perfection level, one couldn’t affect reality but could draw others into their Divine Realm,
Of course, he dared not draw the self-proclaid millennia-lived Miss Ming Yue, so with a thought, he pulled Black Eye and Old Ghost Chai into his realm.
In the blink of an eye, the scenery before them changed from the hall to a vast wilderness.
Once the divine realm dissipated, they returned to the hall.
There was a mont of silence.
Old Ghost Chai swallowed hard, astonished and envious, sighed:
"It truly is a Divine Realm..."
Miss Ming Yue nodded slightly:
"You indeed conceal deeply. I couldn’t detect a hint of the Divine Realm in you. It seems the credit goes to your cultivation in the White Bone Observation."
She comnted:
"This technique is indeed one of the four fundantal Contemplation Techniques of the Ling Mountain faction, possessing profound wonders... Yet, re Divine Realm wouldn’t have helped you achieve the Twelfth Refinent, correct?"
Zhang Fusheng answered honestly:
"There was more; Shi Zhengyuan possessed a supre treasure called the ’Nine-Ring Scepter’."
Miss Ming Yue’s hand trembled slightly:
"Nine-Ring Scepter??"
She looked a bit lost, gestured for him to continue.
Zhang Fusheng went from nine parts truth to seven parts truth and three parts fiction:
"Shi Zhengyuan activated the Nine-Ring Scepter to provide protection, claiming it could... prevent from being poisoned?"
He reminisced about stories from his past life, fairy tales involving the Nine-Ring Scepter,
and even mixed in the Brocade Kasaya, continuing:
"Shi Zhengyuan also said that this Nine-Ring Scepter had absorbed abilities from other supre treasures,
not only keeping safe from toxins but also preventing from suffering the tornts of Hell or the hardships of malicious curses."
Miss Ming Yue was slightly moved:
"Do go on."
Zhang Fusheng spoke offhandedly:
"He made consu so unknown treasures, a vermilion fruit, a peach that was rotting, yet still glimred with radiant drops, and another fruit resembling a baby’s arm..."
"Afterward, inexplicably, I attained the Twelfth Refinent."
Miss Ming Yue sighed softly:
"Shi Zhengyuan? It seems he is no longer just a grand figure, but has achieved the Innate Realm, excavating many wondrous treasures from different dinsions through that divine realm."
"Speaking of which, where is he now? You must have anchored so vision of a different dinsion with the Nine-Ring Scepter, correct?"
"Miss Ming Yue’s insight is remarkable."
Zhang Fusheng spoke with assurance:
"Senior Shi Zhengyuan was on a journey; after eting , he ventured off to who knows where."
"He considered as a Living Buddha or Living Bodhisattva, saying I must endure nine tribulations to return to my rightful place, thus he wouldn’t shield my path."
"As for the anchor, I’ve anchored to a Danxia Divine Mountain."
Miss Ming Yue nodded lightly:
"Impressive. So Young Master Zhang had such fateful encounters; now many things can be explained."
She turned her head, fixing her gaze on the delicate young man:
"I won’t hide my intentions. I sought you out to have you do sothing — obtain the Sea-Stabilizing Divine Needle Iron from your grandmaster."
Zhang Fusheng felt relieved, knowing he’d passed this hurdle.
As long as Miss Ming Yue doesn’t et face-to-face with Old Shi directly, this lie won’t be uncovered for now — and especially since Old Shi treated him well,
Zhang Fusheng hadn’t revealed Old Shi’s true identity, rely saying he was traversing the world and they happened to et in Dragon Boat City.
He simply nodded:
"To be honest, Miss Ming Yue, I ca to the Lower Three Districts with the hope of seizing the opportunity to acquire the Sea-Stabilizing Divine Needle Iron, to trade with the Western Sect for a way of escape from the Jiangzhou Forbidden Land."
Miss Ming Yue nodded once more:
"Even within our sect, things are not peaceful; there are overt and covert struggles, and many have sought out other disciples and descendants of Yuan Feidao."
"I will fully support you."
Zhang Fusheng cupped his hands in gratitude:
"Thank you, Miss Ming Yue. I am curious, why doesn’t the Western Sect simply defeat my grandmaster and seize the Sea-Stabilizing Divine Needle Iron directly?"
Miss Ming Yue shook her head:
"No one knows where he’s hidden the Sea-Stabilizing Divine Needle Iron. We can only quietly wait for him to pass it down."
With that, she slowly stood up:
"Since I asked Young Master Zhang a question, it’s only fair for Young Master Zhang to ask one. The previous small matter doesn’t count—do you have any other doubts, sir?"
Zhang Fusheng took a big sip of calming tea and thought seriously.
He could sense that no matter the question, this Miss Ming Yue would probably answer him truthfully.
After a mont’s pause,
Zhang Fusheng took a deep breath:
"I do have a big doubt. Isn’t the God of Plague one of the deities revered by the Western Sect?"
"If that’s the case, why does the Western Sect want to...?"
The light silk on Miss Ming Yue fluttered slightly,
she smiled and corrected:
"Young Master Zhang is mistaken. It’s not the Western Sect that wants the God of Plague to fall from position, it’s just ."
Zhang Fusheng swallowed hard.
Miss Ming Yue paid it no mind and continued:
"The Six Great Martial Arts Realms are not the limit; above them lies the domain of the deities."
"But reaching beyond the Six Great Realms doesn’t an one becos a deity—divine positions are fixed."
She spoke softly:
"Many divine positions and celestial positions are predetermined; when one falls, another can ascend to the divine position."
Zhang Fusheng’s mind was shaken, yet it suddenly seed self-evident.
Those Immortals and Buddhas from different dinsions, perhaps as he suspected, are occupying celestial positions illicitly.
Celestial positions are naturally limited.
"So that’s how it is..." Zhang Fusheng sighed.
Miss Ming Yue seed particularly in the mood to talk, providing a bit more insight:
"Among the Four Major Sects, only the deities revered by Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism occupy the divine and celestial positions."
"As for the Pantheon made up of many small evil cults, do you know what kind of gods they worship?"
Zhang Fusheng sincerely made a gesture of respect:
"I would like to hear more."
Miss Ming Yue smiled faintly and said:
"The Pantheon worships those who have reached the Seventh and Eighth Realms but have not achieved a divine or celestial position. In so sense, they are the true Evil Gods."
Zhang Fusheng expressed his gratitude solemnly once again.
It was not just for show; it was genuinely heartfelt,
for he knew that what Miss Ming Yue casually spoke of were likely earth-shattering secrets.
If not for today’s encounter, who knows how long—how many years—it might take for him to understand.
"Divine position...celestial position..."
Suddenly, Zhang Fusheng was startled.
Since Miss Ming Yue initially intended for Niu Dali to ’devour the god’ to vacate the position of the Plague Emperor...
She must be doing this to benefit soone standing in the domain of deities who lacks a divine or celestial position.
Who could it be?
Could it be,
herself?
Zhang Fusheng felt a wave of coldness explode from his tailbone, sweeping through his entire body in an instant.
"Alright."
Miss Ming Yue’s elegant voice echoed lastly:
"Take Young Master Zhang down to rest. Since Yu Chengzhong and Li Qiuhua seem to be familiar with Young Master Zhang, let them continue as undercover agents for the Investigation Bureau. There’s no need to expose them outright; it could also conveniently leak so false information to the Investigation Bureau."
"Yes!" Old Ghost Chai and Black Eye responded in unison, while a bitter smile appeared on Zhang Fusheng’s face.
He had just been pondering whether Uncle Yu and Aunt Li could truly remain undercover in front of this mysterious existence, and then...
Indeed.
In a daze, guided by Old Ghost Chai, Zhang Fusheng entered a room beside the hall, a room untouched by the strands of flesh and blood,
He closed the door and slowly lay on the bed, letting out a long sigh.
"So terrifying..."
Zhang Fusheng’s eyes flickered with uncertainty. Although promised that after the divine descent in three days, he would be sent out of Jiangzhou,
he felt no relief.
Just as he had predicted, leaving Jiangzhou this way would attract the Western Sect’s attention.
In fact, it wouldn’t just be the Western Sect. This Miss Ming Yue, suspected to be above the Sixth Realm, seed to be an ancient monster who had lived for countless millennia, just short of a divine or celestial position!
"But...sothing still feels strange."
He frowned. Earlier, he dared not look too much at Miss Ming Yue, let alone make eye contact, fearing she might detect anything,
Though he sensed sothing odd now, he couldn’t quite pinpoint it.
Oh well.
"Gate of the Past, I’m counting on you!!"
Zhang Fusheng closed his eyes, as if taking a nap after exhaustion, yet his thoughts had already subrged into the Divine Realm.
In the Divine Realm, as usual, he took a stroll through the Five Mansions Temple, seeing the ink characters on the Tao Scripture had changed again.
[That guy Plague is descending in Jiangzhou, and since he’s there, why not use his flesh and blood to forge my Blood Shrine?]
[If you still refuse...]
[I shall have to seek you out]
Zhang Fusheng’s lips quivered as he stared at every stroke on the Taoist Scripture, suddenly spitting out:
"If you’re so powerful, why not set up your own Blood Shrine? Why do you need ?"
"Idiot!"
Zhang Fusheng chuckled, now certain beyond doubt that this person was just a squatter in Zhen Yuanzi’s celestial position, naturally showing no good will,
What Blood Shrine, what Magic Altar, taking for a fool?
If I really set up the Blood Shrine and crafted the Magic Altar for you, would my life still be intact? May I ask?
He turned and left, using the Bridge of Heaven and Earth ford by the contract, suddenly stepping into the Eight Sceneries Palace.
Then, he scurried to the Gate of the Past, peeking through the crack.
"High-dinsional perspective, open for !"
"Let see what exactly is strange about you?"
Beyond the crack, the dark and chaotic scene was suddenly stained with vibrant colors, revealing monts from earlier in the hall.
Old Ghost Chai, Black Eye, and that Miss Ming Yue,
They all unfolded and presented themselves before Zhang Fusheng in an indescribable form.
"Whoa!!"
(Considering whether to change the update ti to noon; midnight feels a bit like the underworld—also, asking for monthly votes, hehe!)
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