Chapter 1635: Plotting Against Wuji
“I’ve mentioned it to you before. Back in the Dao Palace, the four most divine objects were the Young Lord, the meditation cushion, the azure lamp, and the horsetail whisk.”
“The presence of a colleague I sense here is none other than the Young Lord himself!”
Bai Shuyue’s trust in the Immeasurable Wall had plummeted. “Even if it really is him from the Great Change Palace,” she said doubtfully, “I doubt you had much to do with him, did you? Borrow his divine power... can you truly borrow it just by asking?”
The Immeasurable Wall coughed, its massive single eye swiveling around. “A direct approach certainly wouldn’t work. Of course, it requires a certain finesse.”
“That Young Lord... he may not have learned much of the Saint’s abilities, but he certainly picked up his temper. He’s always spouting nonsense like, ‘First there was Tai Yi, then came the Immortals; Wuji was even before Tai Yi.’ In reality, though...”
The Immeasurable Wall’s tone dripped with sarcasm. “The immortals only respected him because of the Saint. If he weren’t the Saint’s disciple, no matter how special he was, he would have been captured and refined into a magic treasure long ago. And yet, he’s so smug about it, completely oblivious.”
Bai Shuyue was puzzled. “Still, for this Wuji to make such a bold claim, he must have some special abilities. He was the Young Lord of the Dao Palace, after all, while you were just a tile from the gate. Do you really dare to plot against him?”
Challenged by Bai Shuyue, the Immeasurable Wall grew disgruntled. “What do you know? I’ve disliked him for ages. I just never dared to act because of the Saint’s might, so I only ever schemed in my mind.”
The Immeasurable Wall declared proudly, “With careful planning against his carelessness, pinning down a minor figure like Wuji will be as easy as reaching for something in my pocket.”
Bai Shuyue nodded. “Very well. I shall wait here, then, for the good news of your swift success. Off you go!”
The Immeasurable Wall’s expression instantly froze. It pressed its manifested, oversized head close to Bai Shuyue and said with a sheepish grin, “I may have a brilliant plan, but I can’t do it alone. I need a helper.”
“Now, don’t be so quick to refuse. Hear me out.”
The image of the single-eyed head shattered, reverting to its original form. A dim green light glowed on the Immeasurable Wall, revealing a scene of undivided chaos.
“Speaking of which, the Young Lord does have grounds for his pride. Do you know what ‘Wuji’—the Infinite—truly is?”
“Born at the head of the Dao, formed before the Dao. Preceding all things, its nobility is beyond words. In this world we inhabit, all the myriad Daos must yield and make way for him. You could say that without even lifting a finger, just by standing there, the Young Lord is practically invincible.”
As it explained, the proud, solitary figure of the Tiandu Grandmaster appeared within the shifting images on the Wall. With Wuji’s appearance, it was as if the chaotic heavens and earth parted for him. His “nobility” was plain to see.
“And you still want to go after him? Isn’t that seeking death?” Bai Shuyue stared at Wuji’s figure, her brows furrowed in a frown.
“Hehe, just keep listening. While this is his greatest strength, it is also his greatest weakness. The Young Lord is naturally of unspeakable nobility to the Daos of our world. But as for the Daos of other worlds...”
“I wonder if you’ve ever heard the saying, ‘To some, I am but a barbarian’?” the Immeasurable Wall chuckled.
Though she didn’t know the exact meaning of the phrase, Bai Shuyue was no fool. After a moment’s thought, she understood.
“You’re saying Wuji’s nobility has no effect on the Daos of other worlds?”
“Precisely!” the Immeasurable Wall responded with excitement.
In the projected image, a thick stone pillar suddenly appeared, swinging down towards the proudly standing Wuji.
Wuji yelped, his face filled with terror as he instinctively raised his hands to block. But how could he possibly stop it?
He took the blow head-on, and his figure instantly shattered.
“You have treasures from other worlds inside you?” Bai Shuyue finally realized.
“Hmph, hmph, hmph,” the Immeasurable Wall hummed smugly.
Then it lowered its voice. “The Great Change Palace was built by the Saint himself. Most of the materials were sourced locally. But there were a few supporting pillars that came from other lands!”
“I didn’t know their origins at first.”
“But these pillars have been extremely difficult to digest inside my belly all these years. That’s when I started to guess the truth.”
As it spoke, the Immeasurable Wall slowly spat out a brilliant, golden-lit jade pillar.
It was only a fragment, missing both ends, yet it was still over a hundred meters long.
The surface of the jade pillar seemed to have once been engraved with patterns, but they had become blurred and indistinct after years of digestion by the Immeasurable Wall. Yet, the pillar’s sacred aura was in no way diminished.
“This pillar was one of the main supports in the innermost chamber of the Saint’s palace, the Great Change Hall. Though originally an inanimate object, it developed a trace of spirituality after being bathed daily in the Saint’s aura.”
“Try telling it to shrink!”
Bai Shuyue did as instructed, and the jade pillar instantly responded to her will, transforming into a perfectly sized jade staff. Though she was unskilled with staff techniques, she could faintly sense that just by wielding it, relying on the pillar’s own power, she could unleash unimaginable destructive force.
For a Dao Integration cultivator of the Xuanhuang Realm, a mere graze would be fatal.
However, Wuji was still a disciple of a Saint from the Immortal Realm. For Bai Shuyue, who was only at a mortal’s level, to ambush him...
Even with the aid of a foreign object, the chances of success were infinitesimal.
“That’s why we need to cooperate!”
Seeing Bai Shuyue still hesitating, the Immeasurable Wall pressed on, unwilling to give up. “I’ll go visit him under the pretext of seeing an old acquaintance. Then, I’ll deliberately say something to shock him. While he’s distracted, you’ll leap out from my belly and give him a good whack on the head.”
“You have to understand, the Young Lord relies on his innate characteristic and looks down on all other beings from the bottom of his heart. He would never imagine I’d have the guts to launch a surprise attack. Besides, apart from the Dao of Wuji, his other divine abilities are utterly ordinary. If you practice well, once you get close, even if he reacts, he’ll be no match for you.”
The Immeasurable Wall offered assurance after assurance.
Then, it began to passionately extol the benefits of succeeding.
“If you can refine the Great Dao of Wuji, the predicament of this realm can be broken in an instant.”
“You could choose any suitable place to cultivate and would no longer need to study this so-called New Method...”
Bai Shuyue was, after all, susceptible to persuasion.
Unable to resist the Immeasurable Wall’s relentless coaxing, which went on for many days, she finally agreed.
“This is the Heaven Overturning Staff Art. I’ve forgotten where I learned it, but rest assured, it’s an exceptionally powerful divine ability. Paired with the jade pillar I gave you, brandishing it truly holds the power to overturn heaven and earth!”
“Of course, the most crucial part is that first strike. It must be fast, precise, and ruthless...”
This staff art was clearly no ordinary mortal technique.
It seemed to contain the ultimate principles of wielding the Dao through a staff. With Bai Shuyue’s aptitude, even with the Immeasurable Wall’s assistance, it still took her a full three years to achieve a basic level of mastery.
“Right, to prevent you from being intimidated by the Young Lord’s presence, it’s best we get you properly attired,” the Immeasurable Wall mused, sizing up Bai Shuyue before they set off.
With that, it spat out a conical bamboo hat and a straw raincoat for Bai Shuyue to wear.
Both items looked tattered and worn, and they emitted an unpleasant odor. But the Immeasurable Wall, which had produced them, wore an expression of extreme reluctance.
It was far more cautious than when it had given her the jade pillar.
“You have to give these two back to me when you’re done,” it muttered under its breath.
Bai Shuyue found it somewhat amusing and nodded in agreement.
The moment she put on the hat and raincoat, the world around her felt completely different.
Because in past cycles, Bai Shuyue had experienced all sorts of bizarre and grotesque deaths, even having the memory of being pinned by golden needles and dissected alive.
Therefore, living in the Xuanhuang Realm, Bai Shuyue was actually in a state of extreme anxiety.
This was true even though she knew she possessed the ability to be constantly reborn.
But this time, her awakening seemed to have taken longer. All the uncertainties had only deepened her unease.
But now...
Hiding under the conical hat, wrapped in the straw raincoat, all the anxiety in her heart vanished!
An incredibly strong sense of confidence welled up within her.
Even if storms raged and floods consumed the world outside.
As long as she wore this outfit, the tempests of the outside world could not harm her!
“This...”
“This is no illusion!” the Immeasurable Wall continued, as if sensing Bai Shuyue’s thoughts.
“This hat and raincoat were the daily attire of a frequent visitor to the Great Change Palace in the past. This person enjoyed watching the spectacle of Dao Annihilation devouring the mountain and sea. He would often don this hat and coat and personally venture into the tide of Dao Annihilation to observe the world’s destruction...”
Just a few simple sentences sent a chill down Bai Shuyue’s spine.
“Though they’re a bit worn from his prolonged use, they still retain some remnant rhyme of ‘Eternity’. They’ll be more than enough to block the Young Lord’s aura!” the Immeasurable Wall said with great confidence.
“Eternity... could that be the name of another Saint?”
“No, no,” the Immeasurable Wall quickly shook its head. “In the vast Immortal Realm, from ancient times to the present, there have only ever been three Saints. But ‘Eternity’... he was perhaps only half a step away from achieving Sainthood. He interacted with the Saints as an equal.”
“When Saint Tai Yi was still around, he was a frequent visitor. I, too, once received his guidance...”
The Immeasurable Wall seemed to drift into a memory, falling into a rare moment of silence.
After a long while, it came back to itself and continued, “Because Eternity wore them so often, these two items have been imbued with a hint of the Great Dao of Eternity’s rhyme. The immense sense of security you feel is precisely from this!”
“These are truly my most prized treasures...”
Bai Shuyue narrowed her eyes, trying to recall if she had seen these two items among the myriad treasures the Immeasurable Wall had released when it faced the Faceless Immortal in her previous life.
But at that time, she was too busy fleeing for her life to notice such details.
She could only assume for now that the Immeasurable Wall was not lying.
Fully attired and holding the jade pillar, Bai Shuyue calmed her mind, focused her spirit, and slowly went through the motions of the Heaven Overturning Staff Art one more time.
Once she had adjusted her state to its absolute peak and all preparations were complete, The Immeasurable Wall swallowed her in a single gulp.
It then transformed into a streak of light and stealthily flew towards the Source Dao Province of the Xuanhuang Realm.
“Huh? We’re about to do it, yet you’re not nervous anymore?”
Sensing the change in Bai Shuyue’s mood from within its belly, the Immeasurable Wall asked, puzzled.
Bai Shuyue smiled but didn’t answer.
“Even if I fail, at worst, it’s just another go-around.”
Before long, they arrived within the borders of Source Dao Province.
As the Immeasurable Wall slowly approached, a plain Daoist palace, previously hidden from view, inexplicably materialized in the sky.
“Hmph, he’s made it look quite impressive. Does he really think he’s a Saint?” the Immeasurable Wall grumbled to itself.
It shot out a beam of green light towards the Heavenly Capital.
“A servant from the Saint’s gate requests an audience with the Young Lord!”
The Heavenly Capital, which had been dormant for ten thousand years, awakened upon feeling the aura emanating from the Immeasurable Wall.
The gates of the Daoist palace swung open.
The Immeasurable Wall quickly slipped inside.
The layout of the Heavenly Capital was extremely familiar to the Immeasurable Wall. Following a well-trodden path, it arrived at the deepest chamber, where the Tiandu Grandmaster, Wuji, resided.
Pushing the door open, the first thing that met the Immeasurable Wall’s eye were two figures, one large and one small.
The smaller one was, of course, the Tiandu Grandmaster.
And the figure sitting cross-legged before the Grandmaster was...
“My Saintly Lord!”
Even though the figure was extremely blurry, the Immeasurable Wall, as a loyal gatekeeper, recognized its identity in an instant.
Its mind went completely blank, and it collapsed to the ground on the spot.
Hiding inside the Immeasurable Wall’s belly, Bai Shuyue had no concrete concept of the Saint and thus wasn’t nearly as terrified. Seeing its pathetic display, she silently scoffed.
But she didn’t dare make a sound, lest she be discovered.
She could only do her best to conceal herself, silently waiting for the moment to strike.
“Get up. Master left long ago. This is merely an empty shadow he left behind.”
The Grandmaster looked down at the trembling Immeasurable Wall, finding it somewhat amusing, and spoke slowly.
“An empty shadow?”
A thousand thoughts flashed through its mind. The Immeasurable Wall, which had already resigned itself to having its spirit erased and being turned back into a gate tile, was stunned by the Grandmaster’s words.
A moment later, it was flooded with relief.
“So it was a false alarm!”
Then, a wave of anger rose within it. “You audacious Wuji, how dare you use the Saint’s image to trick me and make a fool of me!”
It cursed the Grandmaster a thousand times over in its mind, but on the surface, it remained utterly respectful.
“My apologies for my unsightly behavior, Young Lord!”
That address, “Young Lord,” was extremely pleasing to the Grandmaster’s ears.
It felt as if he had returned to the days when the Saint was still present, and all the Immortal Emperors treated him with the utmost reverence.
“The destruction of the Immortal Realm happened a long, long time ago.”
“For us to meet again in the lower realm after all this time...” the Grandmaster said with a hint of melancholy.
“It is all thanks to the grace and protection of the Great Lord and Young Lord!” the Immeasurable Wall said without a hint of blush or falter in its heart.
The Grandmaster, however, was a little curious. “The Dao Annihilation descended so suddenly. Even I had a difficult time escaping. How did you manage to get away safely and survive until now?”
The Immeasurable Wall replied fawningly, “After cultivating under the Saint for so many years, I managed to learn a few meager survival skills. But I was severely injured in the process and have only just recovered after all this time.”
“The moment I regained consciousness, I sensed your presence nearby, Young Lord, so I rushed over to pay my respects.”
The Immeasurable Wall’s words were reasonable, and the Grandmaster nodded slightly upon hearing them, not asking any more questions.
In truth, the only reason he had awoken from his seclusion and opened his doors today was because the Immeasurable Wall was an object from his old home, the Great Change Palace.
As for the little tile itself...
He truly didn’t give it a second thought.
Comments