Chapter 791: Locking Onto the Source!
Time passed. It was now only a day before the big showdown between the Xeno-Immortal School and the God-Merging School. On the surface, things seemed calm in the imperial capital. However, the dao seed that had been sent by the governor of Heavenbright County to serve as evidence was causing a big storm to build. Right now, it was apparently the calm before the storm, and the atmosphere in the city was as changeable as clouds and waves .
Everyone was waiting and watching. They were watching the emperor, and they were watching the Xeno-Immortal School.
The Xeno-Immortal School was wrapped up in controversy both inside and outside the Imperial University. Now that their tower had been locked down, the previously bustling school of thought was like a night cactus that only blooms once . It was back to how it had been for so long before.
People who had started practicing the Xeno-Immortal School’s techniques were now stewing in anxiety, and didn’t dare to reveal their true identities.
Many organizations were just waiting for the emperor to issue a dharmic decree. It was easy to imagine that when the dharmic decree came out, the Xeno-Immortal School would hit rock bottom. Their revival would be at an end, and they would end up even worse than before.
Their previous decline could be chalked up to changing times. But now their cultivation methods were linked to an incident in which the souls were extracted from millions and millions of humans. That matter had been placed right out in the open, and now all of humankind was paying attention.... And everyone agreed it was a crime against humanity. That was especially true considering that the evidence seemed incontrovertible.
It was actually the day before the appointed debate between the God-Merging School and the Xeno-Immortal School that a dharmic decree was released, which was what everyone had been expecting.
“The Xeno-Immortal School’s tower is hereby unsealed, and they’re permitted to prove themselves in a dao debate with the God-Merging School!”
Some people were surprised by the decree, while others had expected it.
The Xeno-Immortal School had been around for a very long time, since the founding of the Imperial University, in fact. They had a very storied history. What was more, from ancient times until now, there had been many human cultivators who cultivated Xeno-Immortal techniques. Though the school of thought fell into decline, the truth was that it had created many connections with other human organizations over the years. In fact, it was impossible to say how many people were loyal to the school in their heart. It seemed entirely conceivable that the decree was made for the sake of multiple parties. What was really happening beneath the surface would only be known by certain extraordinary people.
The various deep connections the Xeno-Immortal School had made throughout the years were what bought it a chance. A chance to prove the school’s innocence.
Around evening on the day before the dao debate, the Xeno-Immortal School’s white tower in the Imperial University slowly opened. Since the schoolmaster had been confined inside, he was the first to appear. His gaze made him seem a lot older than before as he stood there quietly looking up and down the street in the Imperial University.
Many surrounding students noticed what was happening and looked over. They had mixed emotions in their eyes. Some looked disgusted, some sympathetic, some angry, and some hesitant.
After a short time passed, the schoolmaster turned and went back inside, where he sat down in the main hall to wait. Time passed by. No students entered the school. The schoolmaster’s eyes seemed blank, but in their depths burned a fiery defiance.
***
In the evening outside the Imperial University, a cold winter wind blew. It sounded like a poem, or weeping, or cursing. It swept over the ancient city walls, seemingly intent on scraping the streets free of dust and snow. With it came a sensation of bitter coldness that reached everyone in the capital. The wind was like an old poet, lamenting about the history of heaven and earth. Either that, or it was an emotionless observer, silently recording all the sorrow in the world.
As the winter wind blew in the middle of night, a figure as dark as ink joined the poetry. The wind just barely defined the outline of a shadowy figure who was rapidly approaching a building near Grand Prince’s mansion. The darkness cloaked that individual, and the cold wind masked his aura. As a result, he went completely undetected as he appeared in front of the building.
This was Xu Qing, who had just returned to the capital. As he stood there, he cast his senses out.
Xu Qing had used god magic to peer into the past of that black-cloaked figure from Words of Truth. However, what he had seen was only a tiny fragment, an image of the figure worshiping on an altar. He hadn’t been able to see the object of worship. He just knew that this person was from Words of Truth. That said, after investigating the two Xeno-Immortal School students who were now dead, Xu Qing knew that, in addition to Words of Truth, there was someone that had been referred to as the ‘employer.’ Perhaps the word ‘employer’ was a deliberately mystifying word choice.
Also, the black-cloaked individual used my soul thread connection and hidden divine will to unleash a mutagen I found familiar. And then there was the snort, whose voice I also found very familiar....
Eyes narrowing, Xu Qing pushed the door open and walked into the room. It was pitch black inside. However, Xu Qing could see clearly despite the darkness.
The room was utilitarian, with only a bed, table, and chair. On the table was an oil lamp.
Seeing that, Xu Qing closed his eyes and reviewed what he had learned via the soulsearches and god magic. Based on what he could tell, this was the very location where a meeting had taken place a month before.
The black-cloaked man had sat right there talking to three students from the Xeno-Immortal School. He had fiddled with the lamp while he spoke. No one present had seen his face.
Eventually, Xu Qing opened his eyes, walked to the spot where the black-cloaked figure had been seated, and sat down. He waved his hand, and an oil lamp appeared in front him, lit.
In the flickering, hazy darkness, Xu Qing reached out to fiddle with the flame. Sending some violet moon power out from him, he was able to insert some of his own mutagen into the lamp. Gradually, the lamp’s flame grew stronger, until it seemed that it was on the verge of becoming alive.
That was another power of the gods. Mutagen could invade living beings. But it could also bring things to life, at least to an extent. That was why so many new species came into existence in Revered Ancient after the broken face arrived. It was the same with the core parts of forbidden regions. For example, the forbidden region outside the scavenger basecamp back in South Phoenix was actually formed from a zither that came alive.
Xu Qing was now using that same method to bring this lamp to life. It was true that no one in this room had seen the face of the black cloaked figure. But... this lamp had seen that face.
This was magic that ordinary people couldn’t pull off. That and rifling through time were things that almighty individuals might be able to imitate. But what Xu Qing was doing right now was something that only gods could do.
The lamp’s flame grew stronger and danced back and forth with more intensity. Eventually, the flame started to split apart. Tentacles of flame spread out, and eventually, facial features became visible. It was clearly very unstable, as it was already trembling and cracking apart.
Xu Qing’s fingers stopped moving.
“Show me the face of the black-cloaked figure from a month ago. Now!”
The flame trembled violently as if it wanted to speak. But Xu Qing’s words were like a dharmic decree that couldn’t be ignored.
The lamp was starting to melt, though the fire still burned brightly. Then, just before the lamp faded from existence, the last bit of fire... revealed a face. It was the face of an old man, ancient, plain, and unfamiliar.
As far as Xu Qing could remember, he had never seen this person before. The face became very clear in the fire, but then the flames faded away. It was as if the fire had spent all the life force it acquired when coming to life. Now it was sinking into oblivion.
However, the significance of this moment was profound for Xu Qing as he leaned forward and looked closely at the face. Specifically, he was looking at the eyes! And that was because he saw four people reflected in the eyes!
What was especially noteworthy was that the four figures from this month-old image were different from what Xu Qing had seen while soulsearching. During his soulsearch, and when he used the god magic, he only saw three students from the Xeno-Immortal School. But in reality... when you included the black-cloaked figure, there had been five people present in the meeting.
There was one more than he was seeing now.
The three Xeno-Immortal students couldn’t see that fourth individual. Only the black-cloaked figure could see him, thanks to some mysterious connection between the two of them. And because of that, Xu Qing was able to see the same thing when he used this unusual technique of his.
The additional figure wore a long white robe, as well as the mask of the Imperial University. He seemed unfamiliar. And yet, there was a certain charm or grace in his eyes that cause Xu Qing’s killing intent to surge. The look in this person’s eyes was something Xu Qing had seen on his very first day in the Imperial University, when he saw the schoolmaster of the God-Merging School. From that moment on, he had been suspicious about that schoolmaster. Now, when he combined the sound of that familiar cold snort from earlier, plus the look in this person’s eyes, a very clear answer occurred to him.
The schoolmaster of the God-Merging School really is... Bai Xiaozhuo!
He waved his right hand, causing the flames to wink out, and casting the room back into darkness.
“You’ve been watching for a while now,” Xu Qing said. “Ready to show yourself?”
His voice echoed into the room, then faded away. A few breaths of time passed. Then, someone spoke from the corner of the room in a raspy voice.
“Just what I would expect of Region Lord Xu. Not only did you find this place, but your other methods... are astounding to say the least.”
A black-cloaked figure stepped out of the shadows. It looked exactly like the other black-cloaked figure in every respect.
Xu Qing turned to look at him.
“You’re not him,” he said calmly. Based on what he could sense, this black-cloaked figure was a different person.
“I’m not. But I might be in the future.”
The black-cloaked figure stood there looking at Xu Qing for a long moment. His facial features were a blur. He seemed to be taking the situation very seriously, as was Xu Qing. The black-cloaked figure extended his right hand, within which was a jade slip that he put down in front of Xu Qing.
“My employer is Seventh Prince. All the proof is in there. I’ve already organized it all for you. You can decide what to do with it.” He turned to walk out, and he began to blur.
Meanwhile, Xu Qing’s killing intent was burning. Ignoring the jade slip, he looked at the rapidly disappearing cloaked figure. He already had a theory about who this person was.
“If you have time,” Xu Qing said, “go back and say hi to Ningyan.”
The black-cloaked figure shivered and looked over his shoulder at Xu Qing as he faded from view.