Chapter 272: Chapter 267: The Worries of Creating Heaven
Late into the night.
The bright moon hung low in the west, and its pure light shone into the Heaven and Earth Furnace, casting a frost-like hue over the scarlet mountain walls.
A point of pure white rose in the moonlight, and Tianxuan walked out unhurriedly from among its beams. She had changed into an elegant white palace dress, both luxurious and stunning with its long hem trailing behind her, and her graceful figure mesmerized the present elders Tianquan and Yuheng, making them lose focus.
"So slow," Elder Kaiyang huffed, breaking the beautiful atmosphere.
Elders Tianquan and Yuheng immediately glared back in anger.
"Kaiyang, as the master of the Artifact Pavilion, you have always been in charge of the Heaven and Earth Furnace. With such an anomaly appearing here now, have you discovered anything?" Elder Tianquan slowly said.
"For the Sword Discussion Conference, you even displayed the Xuanyuan Sword; we see it as a matter of public interest and have thus administered a lighter punishment as a warning; we’ll consider it the past," Elder Yuheng said indifferently, "However, the Drought Demon Ba’s awakening due to the Sword Discussion Conference has caused an anomaly, and this cannot simply be overlooked."
"Punish him by making him endure the earth fire beneath the Xuanyuan Sword, and keep watch over the forbidden area at all times," Elder Tianquan added.
"That’s too harsh. It would be better to send him to mine in Shoushan; not resting until a million pounds of red copper is extracted," Elder Yuheng suggested.
The two elders went back and forth, pressuring Elder Kaiyang considerably.
"Enough, enough," Elder Kaiyang waved his hand in front of his nose, appearing unable to take it anymore, "You two fools, cut it out. That foolishness is enough to suffocate someone."
"I brought together the Sword Discussion Conference, wasn’t it just to awaken the Xuanyuan Sword? And this time, the Sword Discussion Conference also favored Tianxuan’s disciple; you didn’t see how strange that butterfly was. Without me, could Jiang Li have obtained that Dao Artifact?"
Not mentioning Jiang Li was one thing, but once Jiang Li was brought up, Tianxuan got angry.
She gave Elder Kaiyang a sidelong glance and said casually, "Let’s stick to a lighter punishment as a warning then. Continue to punt the boat for the disciples, but this time, don’t wear the bamboo hat."
The implication was clear: Elder Kaiyang would have to punt the boat with his face revealed.
"Hiss—" Elder Kaiyang gasped in shock.
In his life, Kaiyang didn’t have many likes or dislikes, except that he cared deeply about his reputation. Or rather, he cared about his reputation among his peers but was utterly shameless towards enemies.
Now, Tianxuan was directly threatening his dignity, which for Elder Kaiyang, felt worse than enduring the earth fire; it was physical suffering.
"Very well."
"Elder Tianxuan is compassionate. Kaiyang, you should remember this kindness," the two elders naturally applauded.
Elder Tianpeng, who had no interest in Tianxuan, also enjoyed seeing Elder Kaiyang embarrassed, nodded with a smile, showing his approval.
As for the remaining Elder Tianji, he was guarding the Thunder God of the Taiping Sect, ensuring that no one took advantage of the situation to abduct him. With today’s changes, it was hard to say whether someone would stir up trouble.
With that, the punishment for Elder Kaiyang was set.
After venting a little by chastising Elder Kaiyang, Tianxuan’s gaze fell on the mountainous giant sword, focusing on the single crack in the rock layer.
She was now at the same spot where Jiang Li and the others had been observing the Xuanyuan Sword, facing the side of the blade branded with Gods, Demons, Immortals, and Devils, and could clearly see exactly where that crack was situated.
’Chi You... on the side of Chi You, the Xuanyuan Sword is about to receive a new imprint.’
Elder Tianxuan noticed the faint traces as new simple lines appeared on the Xuanyuan Sword, as if outlining some sort of form, ’Is it trying to copy Jiang Li’s appearance of the Divine Farmer? If so, then the anomaly is likely meant to help Jiang Li unlock the Divine Farmer’s appearance.’
’No wonder, this scoundrel was able to indirectly work the Five Vile Qi with his Innate Qi, as it turns out the Divine Farmer’s appearance has been further unlocked, and the ’Qi Tomb’ text has also improved. However, this imprint is too shallow; it’s just a beginning and was clearly interrupted. The scoundrel might not have moved the Five Vile Qi simply due to advancement in the ’Qi Tomb’ text...’
Elder Tianxuan turned these thoughts over in her mind, quickly guessing the cause of the anomaly.
"How is it?" Elder Kaiyang asked eagerly, "Among us, you know the Xuanyuan Sword best. Is Jiang Li also of the Ji Family lineage?"
If Jiang Li also bore the Ji Family’s bloodline, then Elder Kaiyang’s frustration could be alleviated somewhat.
At least this would mean it was a matter of lineage, not that Jiang Li’s sincerity had brought about a change in the Xuanyuan Sword.
Alas, to Elder Kaiyang’s disappointment.
"The Ji Family bloodline may have branched out, but the Xuanyuan Sword has always been in the hands of the direct lineage, constantly nourished. Even if no one could wield the sword, it still wouldn’t submit to others," Elder Tianxuan shook her head and continued, "And all direct lineage descendants are recorded. Jiang Li and his relatives are not among them."
For whatever reason, Tianxuan didn’t plan to reveal her speculation; she would let others believe that Jiang Li’s sincerity had triggered a miracle.
This was difficult for Elder Kaiyang to accept.
"However, the reality is that the Xuanyuan Sword shows signs of awakening, and that crack is precisely because the sword body itself has moved," Tianxuan said, looking towards the crack.
This slightly improved Elder Kaiyang’s mood.
After confirming the changes above, the crowd moved below, stepping on the arc-shaped stone platform and surrounding the Earth Fire Spring Eye for observation.
The signs of the Xuanyuan Sword’s awakening were a cause for celebration, but the awakening of the Drought Demon Ba was a major event.
Not to mention that the Drought Demon Ba had already become consumed by evil, its significance alone was not to be neglected.
Elder Tianxuan swung her large sleeves, and layers upon layers of array plate illusions appeared, rotating around the Xuanyuan Sword. In a flash, countless scenes appeared before Elder Tianxuan’s eyes, as if her gaze could penetrate through the river of time to observe the events that had previously taken place, this time from an overlooking perspective.
However—
A quarter of an hour later, Elder Tianxuan put away the array plates and said, "There is no anomaly."
"No?" All the elders furrowed their brows in unison.
"In fact, even if someone were to use their methods from outside, it would be practically impossible to get past both the Xuanyuan Sword and the Yinglong Dao Fruit and disturb the senior Drought Demon Ba, unless..." Elder Tianxuan’s eyelids drooped, concealing the unusual look in her eyes, "unless there is another party within the forbidden area collaborating."
"How could that be possible?" Elder Kaiyang shook his head.
There was only one Drought Demon Ba within the forbidden area; surely it could not be the Drought Demon Ba itself coordinating the act?
But as two of Elder Tianxuan’s followers, Elder Tianquan and Elder Yuheng picked up on the implications hidden in her words.
"Does Senior Sister have a suspect in mind?" Yuheng inquired.
"There is one person who perhaps could do it," Elder Tianxuan said. "The Drought Demon Ba actually has the God and Monster attributes, and unlike other Dao Fruits that are compatible with various Categories, the God and Monster attributes of the Drought Demon Ba are incompatible and repel each other. The God attribute’s Drought Demon Ba is the Heavenly Maiden, while the Monster attribute’s Drought Demon Ba is a Demon Monster, and only one of the two can exist."
"The senior Drought Demon Ba from eight hundred years ago accommodated the Divine side. However, during the battle in Yong Province, someone used Great Divine Power to forcibly insert the Monster part of the Dao Fruit into the senior Drought Demon Ba, leading her to become consumed by evil. If they were able to leave behind a method within the Dao Fruit, perhaps they could bypass the Xuanyuan Sword to awaken her."
Elder Tianxuan’s gaze was deep and distant as she scanned the surroundings, trying to spot the other people who had been here before, "If the awakening truly happened through such means, then the one who initiated the awakening should be among us, and might even be..."
"The Heavenly Will and Da Huan," Elder Kaiyang said in a grave voice, "The anomaly appeared only after the sword waves from the collision of the twin swords touched the Xuanyuan Sword."
That meant the opponent’s method might very well be concealed within the twin swords.
Considering this possibility, all the elders showed a readiness to act.
But in the next moment, they dismissed the idea of directly seeking out both parties.
Without evidence, based solely on speculation, what reason could they present to demand cooperation from both parties? Moreover, the Sword Discussion Conference was currently at a stalemate. The Retro party was refusing to admit defeat. If this issue arose now, the Retro Party might use it as a pretext to further deny the situation and, at the same time, drag the Dinghu Sect into the mess.
Whoever was behind this was truly insightful, knowing that they couldn’t stir up any waves within the Dinghu Sect and opting for such a method to achieve their goal.
Without confronting the Dinghu Sect directly, and without really doing anything major, they merely awakened the Drought Demon Ba for a short while.
And the reason for doing so was most likely that.
"Creating heaven, huh..." Yuheng muttered under his breath.
"Last time, the Devil God Sect failed to achieve their goal, did they succeed this time?" Elder Tianquan’s gaze was heavy as he turned towards Elder Kaiyang.
That suspicious look made Elder Kaiyang feel a chill run down his spine.
He quickly defended himself, "I am not a spy. If I were a spy, I would not need to use the Sword Discussion Conference as a smokescreen. Isn’t this place as good as mine if I wish to come?"
After all, Elder Kaiyang had lived in the Heaven and Earth Furnace for five years. Wouldn’t it be easy for him to stir up trouble if he wanted to?
"It’s just a guess, don’t take it too seriously."
Elder Tianxuan also spoke up, "Next, we should send those two factions away as soon as possible to avoid them starting a fight in Dinghu. Afterwards, we’ll escort Thunder God Lei Kun to the Divine Capital."
The other elders exchanged glances and agreed in unison.
They knew that Elder Tianxuan had anticipated the worst-case scenario already. Escorting the Taiping Sect’s Thunder God Lei Kun to the Divine Capital was to make preparations.
Afterward, the elders dispersed, leaving the Heaven and Earth Furnace to make their preparations.
Upon leaving, Elder Tianxuan took one last glance at the sky, the image of Gongsun Qing Yue’s violent episode surfacing in her eyes.
Without a doubt, it was the Monster side of the Drought Demon Ba that caused Gongsun Qing Yue’s body to lose control. Therefore, although this guess was only speculation, it was indeed possible.
What’s more, Elder Tianxuan has made such a speculation precisely because she had experienced the loss of control firsthand.
Keep in mind that, at that time, it was she, Elder Tianxuan, who was controlling the body, yet even she could not stop the rampaging "Gongsun Qing Yue," resulting in Jiang Li...
A faint blush crept onto her face beneath the veil, Elder Tianxuan bit down on her silver teeth, feeling an accumulation of frustration in her heart, and the more she thought about it, the angrier she became.
The worry of a possible leak of a secret, along with the humiliation she had suffered, made her quite displeased.
’Maybe I should deal with that sinful disciple a bit.’
Since she was feeling displeased, she might as well channel her displeasure into disciplining her disciple and find her happiness there.