Chapter 391

Inside the Eastern Sea Prince's mansion, Master Sima Wu Yue, dressed in furs, dismissed his attendants and casually picked up a stick of sinking-water incense, lighting the mermaid candle lamp beside his desk.

Amidst the lingering fragrance, he picked up a Daoist scroll and read it intently. After an unknown amount of time, the mermaid candle flickered, as if a candle flower had suddenly burst into flames. Only then did Master Sima Wu Yue raise his eyes and look toward a patch of shadow that the candlelight could not reach. Something seemed to be wriggling slightly in the shadow; one had to observe carefully to notice that a patch of absolute, light-blocking darkness had been added there.

Someone in the shadow spoke: "It is rumored that mermaid fat burns with vitality, and under its light, one stands upright without a shadow, capable of breaking all invisibility spells. As long as there is vitality nearby, it will cause the candlelight to flicker."

"When your great-grandfather Master Sima Yan was on the throne, to guard against assassins, he burned mermaid candle lamps throughout the palace. The light shone through the entire sleeping hall, bright as a great fire day and night, visible even from the opposite side of the Xuanwu Lake. Every day, it consumed more than five shi of mermaid fat. To curry favor with him, the officials of the Eastern Sea Commandery imposed heavy taxes and levies, forcing the fishermen and commoners of the Eastern Sea Commandery to capture and kill mermaids while risking extreme danger just to survive."

"The mermaid clan has been friendly with humans since ancient times. In the Eastern Sea Commandery, mermaid women married fishermen, and mermaid men lured human women, becoming a common practice. Since Master Sima Yan imposed the mermaid tax, the humans and mermaids of the Eastern Sea Commandery have killed each other, and the number of human tragedies that have occurred is countless. For many years, our Demon Sect had no foundation in the Eastern Sea Commandery, but because of Master Sima Yan's decree, we gained dozens of disciples of mixed mermaid and human blood, and each one is determined to sever all emotions and desires—truly excellent material for the Demon Path."

The person in the shadow sighed: "Truly, harsh government is fiercer than the Demon Path!"

Master Sima Wu Yue's eyes narrowed slightly, and he sneered: "Since when has the Demon Path learned to be hypocritical like the Daoist Sect? And besides, why is it you who came this time?"

This person's status in the Nine Heavens Sect was even higher than that of the black-robed man. He was originally the undisputed leader of the group of Demon Sect true transmissions for this operation, but because he loved to be sarcastic and speak in riddles, Master Sima Wu Yue deeply detested him and had sent word to the Demon Sect to have them send someone else. If not for some major event, this person should not have appeared again.

That person said sarcastically: "Why can't it be me?"

"The fellow responsible for communicating with you messed up and got killed!"

"The sect carefully considered it and found that compared to speaking nicely, strength is more important to avoid ruining our Demon Sect's major affairs. So they changed and sent me to talk to you for a while!"

He walked out of the shadow, a slouching youth. As he passed by the curio shelf, he casually and shamelessly swiped a cherished plaything from Master Sima Wu Yue's shelf. He stuffed a foot-high red gold coral into his sleeve, and the sleeve didn't even bulge, then he sat down casually in front of Master Sima Wu Yue.

Master Sima Wu Yue's eyelid twitched. He was naturally not the type of person to disregard the big picture for the sake of a plaything and fall out with this person; he just simply couldn't stand this person's behavior.

"Little Ji Zhen!"

Master Sima Wu Yue gritted his teeth in hatred.

Little Ji Zhen didn't care about his fierce look and continued comfortably: "Speaking of which, it's also a joke. To strictly guard against assassins, Master Sima Yan burned mermaid fat as lamps, and because of this, he attracted real assassins, dying before he could take the step to the Primordial Spirit. Now, only his Yin Spirit remains in the world, lingering on—truly, the heavens are clear!"

Master Sima Wu Yue said coldly: "The path to the Primordial Spirit is one of no return, extremely difficult to achieve. Since ancient times, countless talented Daoist and demonic figures have fallen at this hurdle. My great-grandfather was just one of them. What is there to laugh about?"

"No, no. Although there are many great cultivators who fell before the Primordial Spirit, few are as 'legendary' as Master Sima Yan! It's still worth talking about..."

Little Ji Zhen winked and said: "After all, in the eight hundred years of the Southern Jin, how many great achievements of supernatural power have there been? Besides Wang Wang Xizhi creating supernatural power with the 'Lanting Preface' a hundred years ago, there is only the 'Guangling Stop' from five hundred years ago!"

"Ji Kang's melody has become a lost echo. Under the suppression of the Central Lands' number one Primordial Spirit, Master Sima Yi, he severely wounded the then-reigning Martial Emperor Master Sima Yan, who was about to achieve the Primordial Spirit—how magnificent!"

The veins on Master Sima Wu Yue's forehead throbbed, but he heard Little Ji Zhen continue to talk endlessly: "Master Sima Yan violently taxed mermaid fat, causing countless mermaid families in the Eastern Sea Commandery to be broken and killed, and they killed each other with the fishermen. But because of this, he alarmed the most beautiful and kind dragon girl of the Four Seas Dragon Clan—the Pavilion Master of Changle. In the past, during the Cao Wei period, the Dragon Clan sent people to congratulate the Wei Emperor on his birthday. Because this woman was intelligent and had an extraordinary bearing, she was titled 'Pavilion Master of Changle' by the then-Wei Emperor, and three thousand li of sea area outside the Eastern Sea Commandery was designated as her fief. She also regarded the mermaids and fishermen in her fief as her subjects. Seeing the two clans killing each other, she was heartbroken, so she decided to take on a human form, infiltrate the Southern Jin, and assassinate the tyrant Master Sima Yan!"

"The dragon girl assassinating the king—her name has been passed down through the ages!"

"And because she was intelligent, she had extraordinary attainments in music. She played a melody under Mount Mount Huiji and met a soulmate. Ji Kang and the Pavilion Master of Changle met under the mountain, heard each other's zither music three times, but because of various coincidences, they missed each other. Only at the very end, with the matchmaking of the then-Zhang Tian Shi Xu Xun, were they able to meet."

"The dragon girl came to assassinate the king, but by a twist of fate, she fell in love with Ji Kang. Three assassination attempts were all blocked by him, and many magnificent events occurred during that time... Master Sima Yi is truly worthy of being the Central Lands' number one Primordial Spirit. Even with Xu Xun and the Dragon King putting aside their past grievances and joining forces, they could only barely contend with him, who was blessed by the national destiny. In the end, to save the dragon girl, Ji Kang voluntarily accepted death, which also moved people. Before his execution, he played the ancient melody 'Nie Zheng Assassinating Han Gui' taught to him by the dragon girl, which evolved into the supernatural power 'Guangling Stop'..."

"That day, the zither music echoed through Jiankang, Master Sima Yan vomited blood incessantly, his heart pulse was severed, and he rushed to impact the Primordial Spirit, finally failing at the last hurdle!"

When Little Ji Zhen reached the most enjoyable part, he actually took out a wine skin, took a sip, and looked at Master Sima Wu Yue, whose face was turning blue, with a smile.

Master Sima Wu Yue gritted his teeth: "Little Ji Zhen, what do you mean by saying this?"

"Don't you think this story is very similar to today's situation? Master Sima Yan burned mermaid fat to guard against assassins, and because of this, he attracted real assassins. Now that his Yin Spirit remains, he still wants to come back to life. Perhaps on the day he takes that step, he will still be able to hear 'Guangling Stop' echoing in this Taichu Palace, never to fade away as a lost echo?"

Little Ji Zhen laughed out loud!

Master Sima Wu Yue could only suppress his anger. Little Ji Zhen's status was by no means comparable to that of the black-robed man. He could threaten the black-robed man, but he could not threaten Little Ji Zhen, so he could only say with a gloomy face: "Little Ji Zhen, did you come here just for this alarmist talk?"

"No!" Little Ji Zhen stood up and said calmly: "I came here to tell you that that piece of trash failed. The target near Jiankang has already been refined, but the sect killed another true transmission for this and re-refined a Nine-Child Mother Heavenly Demon. So, you don't have to worry about the plan not being launched on time."

"What?" Master Sima Wu Yue said in shock and anger: "Hasn't Wang Longxiang already been lured away?"

"Wang Longxiang did indeed go to kill the son of the River God, fighting a dragon in the Great River for two days, killing it with one sword—truly possessing the style of Xu Xun!" Little Ji Zhen praised: "But when that piece of trash went to the Xin family, he was still killed by a rogue cultivator surnamed Li who happened to be involved..."

"A rogue cultivator?" Master Sima Wu Yue said anxiously: "A rogue cultivator could kill a true transmission of your Nine Heavens Sect? Since when has the Demon Sect become so useless?"

"I don't believe it either, but the same surname Li, the same rogue cultivator—didn't Li Er once subdue a dragon with a sword? After playing with your Master Sima family's ancestor, he escaped calmly? Maybe he is Li Er in disguise?" Little Ji Zhen spread his hands and joked.

"You might as well say that the Daoist Academy detected our scheme, sent Wang Longxiang, and still felt it wasn't enough, so they secretly sent another true transmission!" Master Sima Wu Yue sneered: "Li Er has already fled to the ends of the earth. Someone has seen him once overseas. I think he doesn't dare to step into the Central Lands again. And how could he and Wang Longxiang get together? Although they are not enemies, they should be like water and fire..."

"It's possible! Anyway, this person's sword technique is indeed not bad, quite worth watching. Of course, before Wang Longxiang left, he might have left some means to help him."

Little Ji Zhen said: "You should know that Wang Longxiang is arrogant! To be valued by him and befriended, this person must be extraordinary!"

Master Sima Wu Yue stood up and went to the window, standing with his hands behind his back: "We must find out this person's identity. If he is a true transmission of the Daoist Academy, it means the Daoist Academy knows quite a lot. Although the three Zhang Tian Shi cannot interfere in court politics, this matter is a taboo. If the noble clans and the Daoist Academy join forces..."

His face turned completely gloomy: "If he is really just a rogue cultivator, we must warn him, preferably forcing him to leave the Central Lands... A mere rogue cultivator, not messing around overseas, does he not know whose world the Central Lands is?"

"Also, you lost someone on your side. Is there any danger of the plan being leaked?"

Little Ji Zhen said calmly: "He doesn't know much, just some preliminary planning. The real key and the time of launch are only known to the ancestor. Neither you nor I know, so how could it be leaked?"

"That's good!" Master Sima Wu Yue stood up to see him off: "This time it was your side that made a mistake, and I have to clean up the mess for you. I hope this doesn't happen again and again... If the big event is ruined, neither of us will have a good end!"

Little Ji Zhen laughed twice, turned into a shadow, and left freely.

After he left, Master Sima Wu Yue summoned a eunuch and asked for information about Wang Longxiang's whereabouts and the rogue cultivator surnamed Li. After seeing that Wang Longxiang had beheaded the dragon and then appeared in the Daoist Academy's Chaotian Palace market with the rogue cultivator surnamed Li, Master Sima Wu Yue put away the letter talisman, casually unfolded a portrait attached to the back, and identified it for a long time.

After confirming that the young cultivator standing side-by-side with Wang Longxiang in the painting did not resemble any of the Three Mountains true transmissions.

He changed into casual clothes, brought his close attendants, boarded the cloud carriage in the mansion, and said: "Go to the Chaotian Palace!"

Little Ji Zhen hid smilingly in the shadows of the alleys in the Imperial City, watching the cloud carriage leave the Eastern Sea Prince's mansion. He sighed in a low voice: "Heh... that person's sword technique is not just 'not simple'; his writing stirs the wind and rain, and his poetry makes the ghosts and gods weep. Can the 'Guangling Stop' in his sword technique send another piece of trash from the Master Sima family to their doom? Hehe... truly interesting."