Chapter 1751 - 1054: Movement and Stillness

A group of people moved into action, from designing traps to disguising the scene, then collecting those Blast Stones that hadn’t been triggered yet to rearrange them....

They’d been busy for an entire day and still hadn’t finished.

Late at night, outside the tent, Sui Yi sat on a stone stool, a bonfire in front of her.

She used a branch to sketch the entire layout of the tomb on the ground, pondering how to refine it further...

Su Zimu sat down and handed her a bottle of water.

"Thanks."

Sui Yi thanked her. Su Zimu looked at the diagram on the ground and pondered for a while.

"You don’t seem to be treating Shura as a truly mortal enemy."

"Hm?" Sui Yi turned to look at her and smiled. "I’ve always vaguely felt that ever since Nine Thousand Years Ago, there’s been someone hiding in the shadows.... From my falling-out with her, to the opposition between the Human Race and the Divine Race, there’s been a hand pushing everything from behind... Later I entered the Ninefold Demon Tower, I was unaware of everything. The more I recovered my memories, the more I felt I was sinking into a whirlpool..."

"Not just you. All of us are like that."

Su Zimu figured that this "all of us" likely included people like Jhiang Chenyu as well.

"Honestly, I don’t quite understand why you absolutely had to enter the Ninefold Demon Tower back then."

Sui Yi froze for a moment. After a while, she looked at Su Zimu.

"Take a guess."

Eh?

Su Zimu couldn’t help laughing and crying at the same time, yet from Sui Yi’s fine brows and eyes she still made out a hint of something unfathomable.

"Let’s start with why she set up the Ninefold Demon Tower in the first place. It comes down to two possibilities: One, she hated you, so she punished you. Two, she hated you, but wanted to protect you. And your entering the Ninefold Demon Tower also boils down to two reasons: One, you regretted it and felt guilty, so you willingly went in. Two, you understood the reason behind it, so you still went in willingly."

The firelight shone on Su Zimu’s face as she spoke: "Pair those four reasons front to back, and combined they still only yield four outcomes...."

Truly a top-student way of thinking; even her math was in play.

Sui Yi absently traced the diagram on the ground with her branch. After a moment, she said, "I feel like the crux of your four possibilities boils down to just two points: first, she hated me; second, I went in willingly."

Su Zimu didn’t smile. She only lowered her voice slightly and said, "If the person I loved fell in love with someone else—someone far inferior to myself—I would hate them too."

"And for you to go in willingly can only mean that whatever you feel for Jun Yuqing is nowhere near what you feel for her."

Faced with such a precise conclusion, Sui Yi didn’t deny it; she only looked a little wistful.

"If I could do it over, I’d never let her grieve because of me."

Her voice was like a glowworm in the night, vividly bright yet fragile and faint, as if a single breath could scatter it into dust.

——————

After two days of busy work in the Rose Jade World, everything was finally set. Next was figuring out how to have this world be ’accidentally’ discovered, thus luring in the Gluttony claws of those various powers....

Of course, people like Gong Jiu also had to withdraw. Otherwise, if those Masters discovered that someone was already here, wouldn’t that be confessing everything without a fight?

Yet Gong Jiu and his group also couldn’t publicly be tied to Sui Yi and the others, lest the sudden appearance of a whole batch of people arouse suspicion and prompt investigation.

As for Sui Yi, naturally she had to go back.

The two groups separated.

Two days later, the news began to spread like wildfire. Not only were the people of the Dragon and Ape Sects restless, but even those Outer Region Masters who had remained behind in the Dragon Ape territory, rooting themselves there in hiding, all grew agitated. Once they confirmed the true existence of the Rose Jade, they began investigating, and just that faint trace of clues was enough for them to be utterly convinced. They started contacting people from all sides, gathering their forces to head to Rose Jade. Less than a day later, they formed a special Formation and sent the news beyond the Domain....

All the rumors revolved around a single point—the most powerful Dominator’s mind-sacrificed sword finally had a solid lead!

The whole world was stirred!

Dimensional Realm.

The vast outer ring of the Star Domain was encircled by a terrifying Primordial Spirit seal. Although it looked fearsome even now, compared to Nine Thousand Years Ago it had grown so thin that no one knew by how many times. Now, one could faintly glimpse the Dimensional Realm within—its immensity and its strength....

And in that powerful core region, a woman with ink-black hair draped loosely over her shoulders lounged lazily on a soft couch, leaning on gold-and-jade cushions, gazing at the still waters outside the window.

Lazy was only how it appeared. In truth, she was very focused, holding a piece of top-grade jade and delicately carving it with Xiao Dao....

Within this Huah Mei room, jade carvings were everywhere—ten thousand upon ten thousand, of all kinds of beautiful jade. Yet it was this woman who was truly flawless in beauty, though her brows and eyes were solitary and desolate. If she were still capable of gentleness, what kind of person must live within her mind?

Perhaps it was that jade carving.

"My Lord, word has come from the Dragon Ape forces. There is news about the Divine Ancestor’s sword."

Xiao Dao suddenly flicked up. The woman who had been so focused turned her face. From that previously gentle, intent figure surged a terrifying, intense aura.

She didn’t speak. There was no need to ask if it was confirmed, because the people under God’s Jasper would never dare deliver unconfirmed information before her eyes—unless they were courting death.

After a long moment.

The kneeling man finally heard her voice.

"Seize!"

"Kill!"

Seize the sword, and kill all who contest it!

Of course, the one to carry out that slaughter would definitely be the Emperor’s Vessel Spirit Body she had brought back and secretly nurtured!

——————

The Dimensional Realm was a world unified under the Divine Race, filled entirely with Divine Race, naturally with no one to rival them.

But the Three Realms Origin was far more diverse. Beneath the Divine Race, the Wizard Tribe had faded into near silence; yet Nine Thousand Years Ago the Human Race rose to prominence. In the nine thousand years that followed, with the Divine Race sealed away, the Human Race entered its golden age. All the strongest of the Human Race were in the Dimensional Realm, like the protagonists of Hell’s Wan Ge—Human Race not yet fully awakened.... If there were many such people?

How terrifying would that be?

At this time, in a certain marsh within the Three Realms Origin—Ghost City.

A man whose body seeped with black miasma, skin pale like a corpse yet bearing a refined and handsome face, was reading a secret letter in his hand.

"City Lord, this sword concerns the core power of many worlds. The Divine Race and Shura surely won’t let it go. They’re already mobilizing people to head over....."

The man looked back, glancing at the group of Ghost City officials standing below.

"Ah, so what you mean is, you want me to back off?"

"This subordinate wouldn’t dare."

"Nine thousand years ago, the Divine Race reigned supreme, the Wizard Tribe was unrivaled. In these nine thousand years, if our Human Race keeps thinking we’re still on top and doesn’t harbor any greed, then in the future we’ll never have our day in the sun again."

"That sword is the turning point!"

The City Lord’s voice was cold and ghostly. His palm flipped, and the letter burned to ash.

Specks of ash drifted to the ground.

On the other side of the horizon line, opposite the Ghost City, lay a land shrouded in white light.

It was an unimaginably magnificent city.

And also a nation.

"Snake Marsh Ghost City will move... even if our Celestial Lapis City doesn’t, they’ll still come looking for trouble... But we also need to be wary of those Dark Realm people... I hear they found someone with an awakened bloodline?"

"Yes, but they don’t seem to care much, so there’s been no news."

"Is that so." The man in white robes turned his Thumb Ring, lost in thought.

"Which only means this is what they’re really taking seriously."

"That bloodline has a problem."

"And it seems the High Priest has returned? That’s going to be a pain..."

The High Priest also represented an entire era.

Meanwhile, in another area of the Three Realms Origin, a place that could be called Peerless—Xuan Ya.

A woman was listening to her subordinates report, her expression a bit strange.

"So, the Divine Race, Shura, Snake Marsh Ghost City, Dark Realm, Celestial Lapis City, and that place even we Xuan Ya, after exhausting every trick, still couldn’t sniff out—ended up being discovered by a few little punks drifting in the starry sky on a busted boat who had no choice but to crash land?"

Uh...

Though her words were downright sarcastic, the facts really were just like that.

Talk about painful.

"Heh... truly..."

The woman seemed at a loss for words. She only snipped off a flower branch with her scissors, her bearing graceful as she instructed, "With something like this landing in Big Sis’s eyes, she’ll probably chop off a bunch of servants’ heads... Oh well, how about I go take a look in person this time."

"It is The Dominator’s sword, after all..."

She had just finished speaking when the person below her stammered, "The Governor just issued an order, saying only some freeloaders are allowed to go as naked eyes to scout for intel. Under no circumstances is he letting you go and take risks."

"Take risks?"

The woman froze, then grew uneasy and suspicious: is there a catch to this news? Could it be that Shen Zhiyue isn’t dead?

If she isn’t dead, then the ones going to seize the sword are definitely doomed, aren’t they?

There was also talk of the High Priest being involved...

Damn it, a High Priest who entered the Ninefold Demon Tower is still alive, and even re-cultivated to the Heavenly Venerate realm—if that’s possible, then Shen Zhiyue might very well be alive too, and living more than comfortably.

Add in all the love-hate entanglements between those two, and this is just insanely dangerous.

She immediately put the scissors down.

"I need to find Big Sis and calm my nerves properly."

As soon as she left, the person kneeling on the ground breathed out in relief and subconsciously looked up, only to see that flower plant, now bare with nothing but a stump left. He couldn’t help grousing inwardly: Dear heavens, that’s the 250th plant this month!

A real Assassin of flowers and grasses!

————————

The barrier of the world was weakening, and together with the opening of the transfer Gate of Heaven—

Masters from the Outer Region worlds were descending one after another. Of course, some were returning.

Sui Yi was resting and recuperating at home, because all of Dragon and Ape Sects knew that a Heavenly Venerate Master from another world had descended, hunting for something. The Literati who used to laugh and chat freely, the students who used to joke and banter—now all walked on eggshells, no one dared to act rashly. Add to that the way people judged character by one’s aura; they all knew Sui Yi didn’t like noise, so almost no one came knocking to bother her anymore.

Which led to a certain Teacher becoming "even less popular" than before, her doorstep growing desolate, nearly deserted.

But today a guest suddenly came. Not her guest, of course, but someone for next door at Zhi Wen’s Home.

Unfortunately, no one was home next door. Sui Yi’s senses were keen as ever; she knew Zhi Wen had gone to attend Zhi Xin’s award ceremony for the academy competition today. Zhi Xin had performed excellently, so the old man had gone roaring over full of energy, even heading out a Shichen earlier—otherwise he would have gone together with Sui Yi.

But now there was no one at home, and a guest had arrived. As a neighbor, Sui Yi would at least give them a heads-up, so she opened the door.

"Zhi Wen went to Purple Sky Academy."

The man was a bit unfamiliar, but he was tall, with a broad, square face, very masculine.

Thinking back, she’d never seen Zhi Wen with a relative like this before.

The young man turned his head and saw Sui Yi, momentarily stunned.

His reaction was pure and simple—pretty much the same for men and women: no one could avoid spacing out a bit when they saw Sui Yi’s true face.

He was at least well-mannered and quickly recovered, then bowed his head in salute.

"Greetings, miss. I’m Zhi Yuan, one of Zhi Wen’s relatives. I just got back from out of town."

He really did stop looking at Sui Yi after that.

Still, his way of speaking didn’t have the stale, pretentious air of some noble young master, nor that sharp, fake edge—there was instead a faint military aura to him.

Eh? So it’s this guy...

After all, she was still living in his house.