Chapter 379: Chapter 98: Schrödinger’s Wushan
"Everyone at the top is so dedicated to their work; no wonder those under them are so good at causing trouble.
The Lu King was attacked by Da Feng and Zaochi from the Nineteen God Demons, which forced him to turn to the Ghost Path to save his life, thereby triggering a severe drought in Yong Province. Then, the Great Venerable sealed the Emperor, stepping in to take the fall, allowing all parties to dissociate from the Emperor’s disaster and igniting their ambitions.
Even before the great drought in Yong Province, there was the Heluo God taking the opportunity to invade the Dinghu Sect.
The Devil God Sect always appears at the forefront of troublemaking, leading the charge, and even after the dust settles, they are eager to take the blame, truly a source of chaos."
"Can’t we start with me?" Gongsun Qingyue, who had been listening for a while, couldn’t help but ask.
Those capable of meddling with time and space, leaving even Tianxuan and the Imperial College Sacrificial Officer at a loss on how to act, are most likely using the Great Venerable’s Dao Fruit Divine Skills.
There are many strange and varied Dao Fruit Divine Skills in this world, indeed, some are difficult to counter, but there’s absolutely none that cannot be unraveled.
If there were, then the solution would be to deal with the person possessing that Dao Fruit.
There’s no need to truly resolve the Great Venerable completely, just to place him in a disadvantageous situation, such as getting injured, which might make the excluded Emperor visible to capture and, thereby, find a way to break the spell.
"I have considered this as well, but after thorough thought, trying to use this method to unravel the divine skills of the Great Venerable is as difficult as ascending to the heavens," their Master replied.
Tianxuan shook his head, "The Great Venerable is not like the Emperor, whose life is about to end and who is experiencing Dao Fruit rejection. He is undeniably the strongest in the world. To defeat him as the Emperor was defeated is simply impossible. Moreover, his divine skills involve Cosmic Light, extremely elusive, making it exceedingly difficult to find him. Do you know where the headquarters of the Devil God Sect is?"
Jiang Li and Gongsun Qingyue shook their heads.
"All forces secretly cultivate loyal followers capable of handling Demonic Attribute Dao Fruits, making them infiltrate the Devil God Sect; our Sect is no exception. The headquarters of the Devil God Sect is actually no secret to the higher echelons of Sects," Tianxuan said slowly, "It’s located in the Three Mountains of Liangzhou Province, right above Wushan."
"Wushan?" Jiang Li raised an eyebrow, "Wasn’t Wushan destroyed by the hands of a powerful being over two hundred years ago?"
Just as the Four Heavenly Kings have five members, the original Three Mountains also had four, the fourth being Wushan.
However, it became the Three Mountains because Wushan was razed to the ground.
The land of Wushan was vast. If a new force had emerged on the ruins of Wushan, it should have been well-known all over the world by now. How could it be known only to the higher-ups of the various forces?
"Wushan has indeed been destroyed," Tianxuan said with a faint nod, "Therefore, the headquarters of the Devil God Sect is on top of Wushan as it was over two hundred years ago."
"This!!!" Jiang Li nearly couldn’t help but gasp, "Can the Great Venerable travel back to the past?"
With his keen perception, of course, he could understand the implication in Tianxuan’s words.
It wasn’t that the headquarters of the Devil God Sect existed on Wushan two hundred years ago, but that the Great Venerable had founded the headquarters on Wushan over two hundred years ago.
The headquarters of the Devil God Sect didn’t exist in the present, but in the past, which is why even though it was so evident, ordinary people were unaware of its location.
’No, that’s not right, if it were truly above the past Wushan, then the people from the past would definitely know it.’ Jiang Li thought again.
"Theoretically, traveling back to the past is possible, as long as the Great Venerable possesses the power to reverse the entire world... including himself," Tianxuan refuted Jiang Li’s guess, "For the Great Venerable, reversing the time of a certain object or even a person is indeed feasible, provided that the object being reversed is weaker than him. But to go against the flow and return to the past is like reversing the years of the entire world, including himself. How could the world, which is always greater than him, be weaker than him?"
Just as God cannot create a rock that He cannot lift, the Great Venerable cannot reverse the world that is always stronger than him, even if he becomes the strongest being in the world.
This is because the Great Venerable is within the world itself.
Tianxuan slightly elaborated, then continued, "He is not traveling back to the past; instead, he is recreating Wushan and hiding the newly emerged Wushan in a space similar to a Cave Heaven Blessed Land, as if throwing Wushan back into the past. The Great Venerable’s mastery of magic is acclaimed as the best in the world, not even the Awakened or Daoist Lords can match him."
"Understood, Schrödinger’s Wushan."
Jiang Li suddenly realized.
The Great Venerable did not have the capability to go back to the past, but he could reverse Wushan to its state before destruction and then use his magic to hide it, making it seem as if it still exists in the past.
Thus, the headquarters of the Devil God Sect is like being established in the past, widely known among all parties, yet inaccessible to outsiders.
Listening to this, it might not sound as exaggerated as traveling back in time, but it was still shockingly astounding.
And such a Great Venerable is not the first in the world, there were actually five who could be his equals... no, it should now be four, as the Emperor has been excluded.
’What kind of view exists... at the heights of supreme power?’ the Karma Collection displayed Jiang Li’s admiration, and he couldn’t help but ask, "Reversing time by more than two hundred years, couldn’t the Great Venerable resurrect the dead?"
"If their souls are not scattered, he might be able to do so," Tianxuan answered, "It’s been over two hundred years since Wushan was destroyed, and its remains are still here, but the soul of a person is extinguished just moments after death, either naturally or devoured by the Five Vile Qi. Moreover, the stronger the beings he confronts, the more energy his divine skills will consume, and the Cosmic Light Divine Ability is not invincible. For example, if the Emperor were in his prime and his power surpassed that of the Great Venerable, he would not fear his divine powers at all."
Unfortunately, the Emperor was severely weakened, and he might have also suffered an unfair, sneak attack.
Now thinking about it, the Emperor’s condition seemed similar to the hidden situation of Wushan Mountain.
Both involved combining divine skills and magic to achieve a state that appeared to be from the past, undisturbed by the present, existing between being and nothingness.
If even those of the third grade couldn’t decipher Wushan’s magic, naturally they couldn’t do anything about the measures the Great Venerable had placed on the Emperor.
At this, both Jiang Li and Gongsun Qingyue fell silent. The storm was approaching, and they, too, felt the pressure.
The order of the Great Zhou that had stood for hundreds of years was about to be disrupted, and what was to follow would be an era of great upheaval, like the torrential floods that wash sand away. Who might perish in this current, including Jiang Li, and including Gongsun Qingyue.
"Following that, you shall temporarily focus on your cultivation within the mansion," Tianxuan instructed, "The Southern Heavenly Department has already been retaken by Ji Lingguang, but Wan Dingtian and Xiang Huaiyi are still at large. When the Heavenly Mechanism is fully clear, I shall personally undertake divination and take action before they are captured. Until then, it’s best you do not leave the estate."
Both nodded.
Afterward, Tianxuan seemed a bit weary, and with a wave of his hand, Jiang Li prepared to take his leave, but Gongsun Qingyue remained seated, motionless.
"..."
Jiang Li’s eyes twitched slightly as he picked up the little red dog that had been kneeling beside him and, with subtle, slow movements that wouldn’t interrupt others, left the pavilion.
The doors slowly closed behind him as he departed, as if an invisible hand was pushing them.
And inside the hall, the atmosphere seemed to possess a moment of silence... as well as gravity.
"What’s the matter?"
Tianxuan’s infinitely graceful body relaxed, no longer maintaining a dignified posture. Resting her cheek on one hand, she looked at Gongsun Qingyue with a hint of teasing in her smile and said, "Qing Yue, do you have something more to say to your master?"
Gongsun Qingyue looked at Tianxuan with a profound gaze. As their eyes met, it seemed as though an invisible undercurrent stirred, "I heard that after the fight with the Emperor that day, Master was injured and only recovered with the help of Jiang Li’s transmission of Innate Qi. Even then it took three days and nights of Breathing Control."
Three days and nights ah, a man and a woman alone together, and neither unattractive, indeed possessing the looks of heavenly beings, especially her master, whose appearance was unparalleled in this world, and who also carried an inviolable aura. To say that Jiang Li had no thoughts in his heart, Gongsun Qingyue would not believe it.
Unless Jiang was an eunuch... No, even if he were an eunuch, facing her master, his heart would probably ripple with thoughts.
"So you look at your master with the eyes of a cat that’s been caught stealing a taste?"
Tianxuan faced that profound gaze and calmly said, "I can also tell you that since then, I’ve been spending day and night with my obedient disciple. Jiang Li had said he wanted to meet you as soon as possible, but it was I who stopped him."
Gongsun Qingyue felt her head grow heavy, and sparks of fire seemed to flash over her body.
"Are you anxious?" Tianxuan chuckled softly, "Jealous?"
The sparks turned blue.
The jealousy and the crisis of being cuckolded made Gongsun Qingyue confront the authority of the old demon while her past experience of besting Tianxuan once had given her great courage.
Then, Tianxuan’s gaze suddenly sharpened, she sat up straight, radiating the majesty of a master and said, "Over such a trivial matter, you arranged for your master to be rumored dead and spread it throughout the city. Should I praise you for your filial piety?"
Gongsun Qingyue’s aura weakened.
"Jiang Li, a duck that was almost stuffed into your mouth, with you neither daring here nor there, refusing to swallow it—while you are unsatisfactory, you dare to be jealous of your master?"
Gongsun Qingyue’s aura weakened again.
"Now I tell you, I did it on purpose, my pupil. Are you wanting to challenge your master?"
Gongsun Qingyue’s aura fell to its lowest point.
With one effort you make progress, a second fails, and at the third, you’re exhausted. With a mixture of attack and put-down, Tianxuan effortlessly suppressed Gongsun Qingyue thoroughly.
But after being suppressed, Gongsun Qingyue’s previous jealousy dissipated. The way Tianxuan acted merely confirmed her suspicions.
For Tianxuan to posture like this, exacting retribution on her disciple, seemed quite ordinary.
As a disciple, Gongsun Qingyue knew her own master to be someone quite petty.
Even Confucius, were he to meet Tianxuan, would have to say, "Only women and petty men are difficult to raise."
If Tianxuan appeared weak, it would instead make Gongsun Qingyue suspicious of whether her master had indeed done something wrong against her.
"To repay your filial devotion, I shall reward you by having you copy the ’Yin Talisman Scripture’ three hundred times."
Tianxuan’s retribution was not yet over as she lightheartedly added, "I’ll give you three days to finish copying the scriptures for me. You’re not allowed to use magic, not allowed to ask for help from your fellow disciples, and not allowed to be ambidextrous like them."
Gongsun Qingyue, defeated and withered.