Chapter 1970: The Fiend Races’ Plan
The crowd was startled. They looked at Zu An as they belatedly remembered that he was the regent for the Fiend races too. Previously, they had thought that he was simply a figurehead, figuring, Who knows what kind of madness that little Fiend Empress was up to? Or maybe she was just feeling lustful?
But after witnessing Zu An’s strength as of late, they'd started to think that it was right for Zu An to be humankind’s regent. Consequently, when they thought about his position in the Fiend races, it didn’t seem as if he was just a figurehead either.
Zu An nodded, saying, “With a stronger enemy before us, it’d be wise for humans and fiends to put aside our differences and deal with the otherworldly monsters. I’ll find a chance to liaise with the fiends. From an objective standpoint, they suffered many casualties and shed much blood suppressing the monsters emerging from the Netherworld Seal, and their sacrifices are a huge reason why we’re still able to spend our days peacefully.”
Had anyone else said those words in the past, they would have been suspected of colluding with the fiends. However, with Zu An’s current standing and the current circumstances, there was no need for him to worry about such trivialities.
The others smiled awkwardly. They had fought with the fiends for so many years that it was hard for them to agree to such a thing.
However, Liu Ning nodded, saying, “The regent is right. I have looked up to the little Fiend Empress for some time now, and we are in a similar plight too. We should find an opportunity to meet up and discuss the possibility of a partnership between our races.”
Bi Qi’s eyebrows shot up. Liu Ning is taking on the airs of the empire’s ruler, but Linglong is the true empress here! However, the little Fiend Empress had also recently lost her husband, which meant that she was indeed in a similar position as Liu Ning, so he decided not to say anything.
Zu An felt goosebumps. What are those two women going to talk about? I can’t imagine the hell that will be unleashed if they learn about their relationships with me. Even so, Liu Ning’s request was reasonable, so he had no choice but to agree, saying, “I’ll relay your stance to the other side.”
“I nearly forgot. The Heart-Devouring Demon Spiders can control corpses as their puppets. I don’t know how many of them have slipped into our ranks, so we’ll have to tighten our checks,” Zu An added as he eyed those present. “I suggest we start from the empire’s upper echelons, since they can cause more destruction if they fall under the monsters’ control.”
Pei Zheng, Bi Qi, and the others were startled. “There’s no way we could have been taken over by those parasites!”
Ji Dengtu chuckled from the side, remarking, “Why not? The Heart-Devouring Demon Spiders have unconventional means. You might be powerful cultivators, but you were previously unaware of their existence, so it wouldn’t be surprising if you fell to their ambush.”
Liu Ning nodded in agreement. She asked, “Your words made sense, but how can you tell whether a person has been parasitized?”
“You’ll have to ask him. He’s the only one who has discovered whether a person has been parasitized by a Heart-Devouring Demon Spider or not,” Ji Dengtu said as he pointed to Zu An.
“It’s easy. You just have to infuse your ki into an individual’s body, and you’ll be able to tell if they're alive, or if their heart has been taken over by a demon spider,” Zu An replied.
Pei Zheng frowned, saying, “That won’t be easy to pull off. The person accepting their ki will have their cultivation and hidden aces exposed. On top of that, they'll be vulnerable in the process, and they won’t be able to protect themselves if the other side attempts to harm them.”
Zu An frowned. This was a problem. While he could discreetly check a person’s body, it would be ridiculous if he had to manually do so for everyone. There had to be a proper procedure for it. It would be hard to conduct checks if others had such reservations.
Just then, Yan Xiangu spoke up, saying, “It’s not that hard to resolve this issue. We can have the academy’s physicians perform the check. If we just check the heart and minimize the ki infused to the lowest degree, we can minimize the harm to the individual.”
Liu Ning turned to Ji Dengtu and asked, “Physician Ji, what’s your take?”
The others turned their attention to Ji Dengtu too. Clearly, these powerful nobles of the capital knew about Ji Dengtu’s relationship with the old libationer.
“He’s right, but I don’t have that much time…” Ji Dengtu replied with a troubled voice.
Liu Ning interjected, “That’s good enough. The academy has a good reputation, so the cultivators of the world will be more inclined to trust you. I’ll leave this matter to Master Yan and Physician Ji then. Come up with a plan as soon as possible.” The academy was technically under Zu An’s jurisdiction, but given their relationship, she didn’t think he would be displeased by her overstepping her boundaries here.
“All right,” Yan Xiangu said with a nod.
Ji Dengtu panicked. “But I…”
Yan Xiangu looked at Ji Dengtu, saying, “Second brother, our master has passed away, and the world is now facing a threat from the monsters. It’s time for you to shoulder your responsibilities.”
The only person in this world who could curb Ji Dengtu was his first brother. He hung his head in resignation and sighed, saying, “Alright.”
Liu Ning smiled in satisfaction, then said, “Physician Ji, I’ll be troubling you to check those present here.”
Ji Dengtu rubbed his hands together as a smile suddenly emerged on his lips. He said, “Let’s begin with Your Majesty then.”
Eunuch Lu immediately stepped forward and glared at him with hostile eyes. There’s no way I’d allow another man’s dirty hands to sully my goddess!
Ji Dengtu was startled.
Liu Ning smiled and said, “I believe the regent won’t hurt me, so I’ll have the regent check me instead.” She generously raised her hand toward Zu An.
Meanwhile, Pei Zheng’s mind began whirring into action. The empress is leading by example so we’ll allow Zu An to check us too, but Zu An is too strong. He’ll see through our cultivation and our secrets. That won’t do.
Pei Ming had a similar thought in mind. It’s still better to let Ji Dengtu check us. We know that old man isn’t interested in power.
Bi Qi pondered the matter as well. The empress is trying to win Zu An’s favor. Haa, it’s a pity Linglong’s cultivation is too weak, so she’s unable to rush here right away. Otherwise, we could have stopped her.
Zhao Yuan thought, I can’t allow Zu An to check my body, though Ji Dengtu is fine. But why does the empress trust Zu An so much? Is she not worried about exposing the secrets of her cultivation?
These wily old foxes were trying to read too deeply into the situation, so they couldn’t have imagined that the empress had no such intentions in mind—she simply wanted Zu An to touch her body. The others didn’t think the empress and Zu An could have a romantic relationship, since they were from different generations.
The only one who hit the nail on the head was Zu An himself. She’s wild. Trying to flirt with me in front of so many people? Interesting.
Zu An walked over and pretended to check her condition. The truth was that he had even explored her most confidential secrets, so there was no reason for him to probe the secrets behind her cultivation. Unlike before, Eunuch Lu didn’t step forward to stop Zu An, instead choosing to step aside.
Ji Dengtu was startled. Why? Is it because he’s better-looking? He had no choice but to check on the other old men. In the end, it was proven that they were all clean.
Liu Ning heaved a sigh of relief, saying, “It’d appear the monsters haven’t breached deep into our ranks yet. It’s not too late to guard against them. All of us will undergo regular checks from now on.”
The crowd nodded. Ji Dengtu had held himself back from inspecting their cultivation earlier, so the group of them thought that this course of action was still acceptable. They understood that their current standing was built on the foundation of human supremacy; their wealth and power would mean nothing if the monsters took over their world. After a rough talk, they rushed back to the capital. There were many finer details that required discussion with those from the other departments of the imperial court before coming up with a proper plan. It was likely they would be busy from this day onward.
It was then that Ji Xiaoxi shyly spoke up, saying, “Big brother Zu, I need to stay here a little longer.”
“Why?” Zu An asked, startled. He'd thought Ji Xiaoxi would be eager to leave this place after the horrors she had just witnessed.
Ji Xiaoxi pursed her lips as she glanced at Yao Fang and the others’ bodies. She said, “I want to bring them back and give them a proper burial. They saved me.”
If not for the academy’s students protecting her, she would have already died to the Purple Flame Ghost. She hadn't thought they would end up meeting their eternal rest here.
Zu An sighed, saying, “It’s my responsibility. I am the academy’s libationer. I should have been the one to bring them back.”
The problem was that he couldn’t bury them here. It would be tragic if other Heart-Devouring Demon Spiders roaming in the area took over their corpses and exploited their bodies.
Zu An turned to Yan Xiangu and said, “I intend to erect a monument in the academy. Students will no doubt lose their lives fighting against the monsters. We’ll inscribe their names on the monument to ensure that they're remembered, as well as to encourage the living. Yao Fang and the others were the first to discover the monsters, so their names ought to be inscribed on the monument too.”
“Thank you, big brother Zu!” Ji Xiaoxi cried.
Yan Xiangu narrowed his eyes. Ji Xiaoxi was young and didn’t know better, but as a veteran in the capital, he knew that erecting a monument was no small matter. It was unlikely that the imperial family and the imperial court would agree to it, as this had always been one of the imperial family’s special privileges. Zu An was the only one with the standing and influence to push such a thing through.
Thus, Yan Xiangu bowed to Zu An and said, “I’d like to thank the libationer on behalf of tens of thousands of students.”
Even Ji Dengtu dropped his usual hostile attitude and respectfully bowed toward him.
Zu An was taken aback. He hadn’t expected them to have such a huge reaction. He quickly supported them and said, “I’m only doing what I should.”
Ji Dengtu and Yan Xiangu exchanged gazes. They had previously thought it was ridiculous to allow a youth to become the academy’s libationer, but from the looks of it now, Zu An was a good libationer.
Zu An and the others found the two surviving students and brought them back to the academy, together with the corpses of those who had died in the tragedy.
Shortly after they left, a few faint silhouettes appeared in the sky, as if unfathomable beings were peeking into this world.
“Who could have thought the arrogant War Priest would die in this world?”
“No one could have known there would be such a powerful being in this world. It’s unlikely we would have fared better than the War Priest with our powers restricted by the world. Damn it. It’s unlikely that this world’s barrier will unravel anytime soon.”
“We have to change our plans. A direct invasion will be tough. We should find a way to weaken this world’s barrier first.”
“Indeed. The best way to weaken a world’s barrier is to induce a war, stoke a pandemonium, or cause calamities. We can send some of the weaker but smarter ones in to incite chaos.”
“That’ll still take decades at least.”
“That’s no more than the snap of a finger to us.”
“It’s decided then.”
…
Those silhouettes then vanished as if they had never appeared.
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