Chapter 123: Casting the Sage Down into the Mortal World

Third Reflection.

Li Shun opened his eyes once more.

Without the slightest hesitation, he immersed his consciousness into the Fangcun space, using the Lengshan Venerable to repair the Threefold Self-Reflection stone statue as quickly as possible.

At the same time, he explained everything that had happened to Li Qing.

Although Li Qing was overwhelmed with guilt, his brother's life came first.

Under the cover of darkness, he quietly carried Li Shun out of the city on his back.

To prevent Li Qing from also having his mind clouded by the tribulation's baleful aura and losing his sense of direction, Li Shun personally guided the journey from his brother's back.

The vast majority of his divine sense remained hidden within the Fangcun space, leaving only a tiny portion outside to determine their bearings.

From time to time, that sliver of divine sense would emerge to make sure they had not strayed off course.

With Li Qing traveling at full speed, they soon reached the border of Yunguan County.

The sky had yet to brighten.

'There's still some time before Zuo Yan appears. This time, we should be safe.'

With escape finally within reach, Li Shun could not help letting out a quiet sigh of relief.

But...

At that very moment, a figure appeared without the slightest warning.

Blocking the brothers' path.

"Who are you?" Li Qing demanded, instantly on guard.

Li Shun, however, felt his breathing stop.

His heart nearly ceased beating.

Because the man standing before them...

Was Zuo Yan.

Staring at the two brothers with amusement dancing in his eyes, he chuckled.

"You two... where do you think you're running?"

Without answering, Li Shun made his decision instantly. Raising his brush, he wrote in a single stroke, 'His mind wanders. Though he sees, he does not perceive. Though he hears, he does not comprehend!'

At the same instant, as if the two brothers shared one heart, Li Qing's blood and vitality erupted. His bones crackled with piercing shrieks as his body transformed into a sword, slashing straight toward Zuo Yan.

"Ridiculous."

Zuo Yan uttered only those two words.

Immediately, both brothers froze in place.

Although Zuo Yan had yet to overcome the Owl God Seizes the Food Tribulation, he was still a peak Celestial Phenomena cultivator.

The gap in strength between him and the brothers was simply too vast.

They had no room to resist.

With effortless ease, Zuo Yan captured them both.

Looking at Li Shun and Li Qing, who hung motionless like insects tangled within countless invisible threads, a flash of excitement suddenly appeared in his eyes.

"You two... are hiding a secret."

"Speak."

"Why did you suddenly decide to flee?"

Threads of bizarre, blood-colored aura immediately seeped into Li Qing's body.

Li Qing let out a muffled cry of agony as violent convulsions wracked his entire body.

As for Li Shun, because nearly all of his consciousness remained hidden within Fangcun, he felt very little pain.

He had employed this same method before when enduring brutal torture in Lengshan County.

But this time...

A sharp gleam flashed across Zuo Yan's eyes as he stared fixedly at Li Shun, as though he had discovered something.

'Damn it...'

'This lunatic!'

Li Shun no longer dared hold anything back.

He forcibly activated the Threefold Self-Reflection stone statue.

This was the first time since transmigrating that he had attempted a reset beyond the Threefold limit.

Fine cracks spread rapidly across the stone statue like a spider's web.

It looked as though the statue would shatter completely at any moment.

Li Shun consumed five stalks of Lengshan Venerable in succession before finally stabilizing the situation.

'I examine myself thrice each day!'

An immense and boundless power suddenly erupted from Li Shun's body.

The restraints imposed by Zuo Yan instantly dissolved into nothingness.

His face filled with horror as he stared at the phantom image of the high crown and Confucian robes manifesting behind Li Shun.

Before he could react...

He was already swept away by the reversing current of time.

Fourth Reflection.

In the darkness of the night, Li Shun abruptly opened his eyes beside the grave, his expression incomparably grim.

'Zuo... Yan!'

He nearly ground his teeth to pieces as he silently uttered the name.

He had originally believed that, even trapped within a Celestial Phenomena tribulation, the time-reversing power of the Threefold Self-Reflection would allow him to eventually find a way to survive.

What he had never anticipated...

Was that someone like Zuo Yan actually existed.

A complete madman.

Not only did he use the lives of an entire county as nourishment for his own breakthrough...

Even after successfully advancing into the Creation Realm, he still had no intention of sparing them.

He intended to slaughter every last one of them.

Li Shun simply could not comprehend Zuo Yan's way of thinking.

'I couldn't even escape. He personally waited at the border of Yunguan County.'

Only after a long while did Li Shun finally calm himself.

'No.'

'Relying on just Li Qing and me, there's no way we'll ever escape.'

'If we want to survive, we'll have to place our hopes on Duan Jiuzhang.'

Taking a deep breath, Li Shun walked beneath the stalk of golden wheat standing before the granary.

He reached out and touched it gently while attempting to transmit his thoughts through it.

'Senior Duan, I have a way to lure the mastermind into revealing himself!'

He repeated the message several times.

Only then did Duan Jiuzhang's somewhat weary voice answer.

'You have a way?'

Li Shun immediately explained his plan before adding another warning.

'Senior, that blood water you previously gathered and purified from the granary... I'm afraid there's something wrong with it...'

"Hm? You actually figured that out?" Duan Jiuzhang gave a bitter laugh.

"Unfortunately... you're too late."

Li Shun's heart immediately sank.

"But it doesn't matter."

"Go ahead and try."

"If you truly can force him into the open, we may still have a chance to win."

Li Shun knew there was no other choice.

Once more, the two brothers set out beneath the cover of night.

This time...

The unexpected happened again.

Before they had traveled very far, an invisible force suddenly lifted them into the air.

Zuo Yan silently appeared ahead of them.

"So..."

"You intend to lure the snake from its hole?"

"Heh, heh, heh."

"I've shown myself."

"Duan Jiuzhang... where are you?"

Before his words had even finished, Duan Jiuzhang appeared beside Li Shun.

His face was pale as he stared at Zuo Yan with utmost solemnity.

"So it really was you."

Zuo Yan let out a cold laugh.

"Good."

"I've already grown tired of this game of cat and mouse."

"So..."

"You shall become the final sacrifice before my breakthrough!"

Endless black qi burst from Zuo Yan's body, transforming into a foul-smelling black storm that completely surrounded the three of them.

While suppressing Duan Jiuzhang, Zuo Yan leaned close to Li Shun's ear, his voice tinged with madness.

"You little brat..."

"It seems you're hiding quite a few secrets."

"Why is it that you've suddenly become enlightened, knowing so much?"

"No matter."

"In a little while..."

"I'll take my time dealing with you properly."

"Hahaha!"

Zuo Yan's malevolent voice continued to echo beside his ears, sending a chill crawling through Li Shun's heart.

'He actually seems to know about the conversation between Duan Jiuzhang and me?'

'It must be because of that poison!'

The oppressive aura of the Celestial Phenomena realm left Li Shun completely unable to move. All he could do was pray that Duan Jiuzhang would emerge victorious.

Yet deep down, he already knew the truth.

The odds were almost nonexistent.

The Owl God Seizes Food Tribulation that had descended upon Yunguan County was Zuo Yan's tribulation for breaking through to the Creation realm. At the same time, it was also a deadly trap he had meticulously woven for every one of his prey. Once someone became entangled within it, escape seemed all but impossible.

As expected, the outcome did not change.

Duan Jiuzhang spat out a mouthful of blood as his body plummeted from the sky.

As for the victor, Zuo Yan descended before Li Shun with the gaze of a hunter who had found an especially fascinating piece of prey.

Just as he was about to speak.

Li Shun gave him no opportunity.

'I examine myself thrice each day!'

The Fifth Reflection.

This time, Li Shun made no reckless move.

Instead, he repeatedly simulated every possible path of survival within his mind.

Yet no matter how long he pondered, he could not find a single feasible solution.

'If I could return to the very first day I entered Yunguan, there might still be hope.'

'But now... it's already too late.'

'Duan Jiuzhang has already been poisoned. The web of tribulation Zuo Yan painstakingly wove has completely taken shape...'

An overwhelming sense of helplessness filled Li Shun's heart.

'Could it be... there truly is no way?'

Then, as though something had suddenly occurred to him, his expression unexpectedly calmed.

'Why do you have to force me?'

'I only wanted to live an ordinary, peaceful life...'

Li Shun closed his eyes and sat down cross-legged, no longer making even the slightest attempt to flee.

Thus, history unfolded exactly as it had during the First Reflection.

Duan Jiuzhang fell from the void, gravely wounded.

Zuo Yan successfully overcame the Owl God Seizes Food Tribulation and advanced into the Creation realm.

Still unsatisfied, he continued crushing every surviving life throughout the city with a single finger.

Duan Jiuzhang's eyes were split wide with fury, yet he could do nothing to stop him.

It was then that Zuo Yan's attention was drawn to Li Shun, who had remained calm from beginning to end.

"Why aren't you afraid?" Zuo Yan asked from above, genuine curiosity in his voice.

"Why do you have to force me?"

Li Shun did not even bother looking up. Rather than answering, he returned the question.

"Hm?"

Zuo Yan was momentarily taken aback.

"I only wanted to live a peaceful life."

Li Shun repeated the same sentence.

Zuo Yan laughed.

"Very well. Then let's see whether you have the ability to do so."

His voice turned icy.

As he spoke, Zuo Yan narrowed his eyes and slowly extended a finger toward Li Shun.

The next instant, he intended to crush Li Shun as effortlessly as pinching an ant to death.

It was at that very moment...

"The heart gives rise to Fangcun."

Li Shun suddenly murmured.

Zuo Yan's movement paused ever so slightly.

"Fangcun?"

"Cast the Manifestation into the Mortal World!"

Li Shun showed not the slightest hesitation.

His voice was cold, devoid of even a trace of emotion.

The instant the words Cast the Manifestation into the Mortal World entered his ears, an indescribable terror exploded within Zuo Yan's heart.

Having only just broken through into the Creation realm, both his body and soul began trembling uncontrollably.

It felt as though an unimaginable calamity was about to descend upon him.

'How is this possible?'

The thought struck Zuo Yan as utterly absurd.

Who in all of Yunguan County could possibly threaten him now?

He was a Creation realm cultivator!

Across the entire Great Qian, there were only a handful of Creation realm experts. Every one of them occupied positions of supreme authority within the imperial court.

Why would such an existence ever appear in this remote backwater?

Besides, even if another Creation realm cultivator truly descended here, with his current cultivation, preserving his own life would hardly be difficult.

Countless thoughts flashed through Zuo Yan's mind as he desperately tried to steady himself.

But...

It was completely futile.

Not only did the trembling fail to subside, it became increasingly violent.

Gradually, Zuo Yan realized that what welled up inside him was not merely fear.

It was reverence.

As though standing before the boundless Great Dao itself, he found himself unable to suppress the overwhelming urge to prostrate himself in worship.

'What... exactly...'

Zuo Yan gritted his teeth, his heart filled with terror and bewilderment.

Then he saw it.

A figure had appeared above him at some unknown moment.

Its form was vague and indistinct, impossible to discern clearly.

Yet it seemed to carry the weight of heaven and earth upon its shoulders.

"..."

"A Sage?"

At that instant, it felt as though countless bolts of heavenly thunder exploded simultaneously within Zuo Yan's mind.

His face filled with utter disbelief.

The terror in his eyes instantly transformed into despair and incomprehension.

"The Sages have not appeared for hundreds of years... Why would one suddenly come here?"

At the same time...

The Sage's judgment descended.

New Calendar, Year 573, Fourth Day of the Third Month. Zuo Yan underwent the Owl God Seizes Food Tribulation in Yunguan County, intending to sacrifice the county's living beings. Duan Jiuzhang intervened. Zuo Yan failed to advance and perished, his body and Dao both extinguished.

The Sage's figure raised a brush and wrote those few lines of small script.

Zuo Yan stared blankly at the characters floating above him.

Then, as though realizing something, he abruptly looked down at his own body.

It was becoming transparent.

That which had already become an established fact beneath heaven...

Was instantly rewritten.

In a single moment, light and shadow shifted several times.

As though quietly departing once the task was complete, hiding both merit and fame, the Sage's figure vanished without a trace.

Then...

Yunguan County.

Li Shun. Li Qing. Duan Jiuzhang.

Along with the countless people who had already perished within the tribulation...

All reappeared once more.

Duan Jiuzhang stood frozen for a brief moment.

Then a new memory flooded into his mind.

"Fortunately, we managed to stop Zuo Yan from successfully overcoming his tribulation and advancing. Otherwise, Great Qian would have gained yet another unstable Creation realm cultivator. And who knows how many more people in Yunguan County would have died."

"Brother?!"

Just as Duan Jiuzhang sighed with relief, Li Qing's alarmed cry interrupted his thoughts.

For some unknown reason, Li Shun had collapsed unconscious without warning.

...

Sacred Capital.

Within a hidden estate.

Inside a secret chamber, several figures were discussing something.

"Oh?"

"Zuo Yan failed his tribulation?"

One of them suddenly looked toward the direction of Yunguan County, surprise flickering across his face.

"As expected of one who walks an unorthodox path. Failure is hardly unexpected."

"In that case, Li Shun is not the one with the [Ingenious Creation]."[1]

"He was originally nothing more than a labor corvée worker from Lengshan who happened to awaken the Mu Clan bloodline. He was never our primary suspect to begin with."

"Then our attention should now turn to Fang Xun's side."

As though it had merely been an insignificant interruption, the few people present quickly moved past the topic and continued their discussion.

---

[T/N (1) : I'm using "ingenious" for qiǎo (巧) right now. I might adjust this translation later if its exact meaning in this context becomes clearer, since the word carries a wide range of meanings like skillful, exquisite, wondrous, and masterful craftsmanship.]