Chapter 1727: The Myriad Manifestations

This was merely the tip of the iceberg when it came to the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon.

Fortunately, this was not the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon’s true body but merely an avatar. If an avatar was already so powerful, it was unimaginable just how powerful its true body must be.

The Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon’s enormous maw grew larger and larger, seemingly covering the entire sky, until it finally swallowed the three of them.

Having entered the emotionless state, Zhou Mengyao showed no trace of panic. She continued operating the Heavenly Blade to resist the corrosive power of primordial chaos.

With the Longevity Stone Heart, Qi Xuansu remained as composed in the face of crisis as ever. Using the Taiji Eight Trigrams Mirror, he established a second line of defense, reinforcing any gaps and weaknesses.

Su Yuanzai devoted all his strength to piloting the multi-decked ship, steering it toward the unknown ahead of them.

However, it still felt as though they were plunging deeper into an abyss, entering the very body of the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon.

All of a sudden, an enormous black vortex abruptly appeared ahead. The multi-decked ship instantly lost control, like a tiny boat caught in a tsunami, utterly powerless to determine its own course as it was sucked into the vortex.

At that moment, Qi Xuansu saw countless fragments of space and time, each depicting the journey of different living beings from birth to death. All manner of emotions—love, desire, hatred, greed, anger, delusion, and obsession—surged toward him in a frenzied torrent.

Immortals could withstand such a terrifying torrent of chaotic thoughts. Manly Immortals, who had already achieved the unity of man and spirit, were the most resilient toward such tactics. So long as one could not destroy their body, one could not affect their soul. Godly Immortals were naturally adept at stripping away and isolating the various desires and obsessions contained within incense power, so dealing with this was not particularly difficult for them.

Pseudo-Immortals still possessed some ability to resist, but Heavenly Beings below the Pseudo-Immortal stage would likely have their souls shattered and their true selves obliterated by the torrent of emotions, reducing them to walking corpses. They might even be twisted into indescribable forms of existence.

In the blink of an eye, Su Yuanzai abruptly exploded. However, there was no flesh or blood. There was also no sign of the soul or the Three Corpses leaving his body.

It turned out that this was actually an avatar. It was different from a Three Corpse Incarnation and a Corpse Liberation Incarnation. When the avatar exploded, all mechanical components and intricate mechanisms scattered in every direction. The materials were all exceptionally valuable, suitable for forging flying swords or magical treasures, with some materials even being fit for refining semi-immortal objects. Yet all of them had been used to construct this avatar, which showed just how high its specifications were.

Then, under the corrosion of primordial chaos’ power, these materials rapidly lost their luster and soon disintegrated into nothingness.

Most crucial of all was a core resembling a gemstone. At first, it could still emit light, but it quickly went dark.

Zhou Mengyao recognized it at a glance. “The Myriad Manifestations Body!”

Qi Xuansu was puzzled and could not help but ask, “What’s that?”

Although the situation was exceedingly perilous, Zhou Mengyao still managed to transmit a wisp of divine thought to Qi Xuansu, allowing him to instantly understand what the Myriad Manifestations was.

When the creation project was abolished, apart from a small group of extremists who defected from the Daoist Order and established the Eight Tribes, those who remained were mainly dispatched to either the Huasheng Hall or the Tianji Hall.

The Huasheng Hall inherited most of the creation project’s achievements, including the Longevity Stone Heart and the like. Strictly speaking, Jianxiu Mountain, the Ghost Kingdom, the Sakka, and the Three Yin Beings also fell within the Huasheng Hall’s jurisdiction and constituted the core strength of the Quanzhen Sect. However, this portion was personally overseen by the Earthly Preceptor, while the Huasheng Hall Master was relegated to the sidelines. For this reason, the Earthly Preceptor was also privately known as the Great Sage of the Huasheng Hall.

This was nothing unusual. The Ciji Hall was nominally responsible for matters concerning ghosts and gods. Besides the notoriously undesirable posting at the Requiem Division, the Thirty-Three Heavens should also fall under the Ciji Hall, as well as True Lord Taiyin’s divine kingdom. All of these were technically within the Ciji Hall’s jurisdiction. In reality, however, its Hall Master had no authority to interfere with them whatsoever. These were personally overseen by the Heavenly Preceptor, so the Heavenly Preceptor could likewise be called the Great Sage of the Ciji Hall.

By the same logic, the Shibo Hall was essentially the Imperial Preceptor’s personal domain. The Shibo Hall dealt with worldly affairs, responsible for conducting trade and possessing the largest fleet and a vast array of industries. Half of the Daoist Order’s flying ships and two-thirds of its ironclad ships were under the Shibo Hall’s control. Yet its Hall Master had no real authority over them, as they were personally controlled by the Imperial Preceptor. As such, the Imperial Preceptor could also be known as the Great Sage of the Shibo Hall.

Compared with the Huasheng Hall, the Tianji Hall seemed rather overshadowed. Aside from constructing flying ships and administering the 24 neighborhoods of Jade Capital, only its Phoenix and Dragon Eye Series ammunition were particularly renowned.

In truth, the Tianji Hall had not been idle over the years. Inspired by the Westerners’ arcane alchemy and the Steam Evangelical Sect, the Tianji Hall had secretly launched the Myriad Manifestations Project as a counterpart to the Eight Tribes Project inherited by the Huasheng Hall. The Tianji Hall sought to create Immortals through machinery and human ingenuity.

However, the Tianji Hall had never managed to overcome the limitations of the Major Rebirth. It could not complete the final step of transcending the mortal and thus failed to accomplish the grand feat of manufacturing an Immortal.

Yet the entire project had not been in vain. It had already progressed as far as the Pseudo-Immortal stage, resulting in the Myriad Manifestations Body. Its underlying principles were similar to the Corpse Liberation Incarnation of a Corpse Liberation Immortal, and the method of controlling it was likewise similar. However, it eliminated the need to condense a Corpse Liberation Incarnation, while its power remained constant. This was in line with Tianji Hall’s philosophy that their creations could be used immediately regardless of one’s cultivation. One could say that it had been specifically designed for practitioners of the Earthly Immortal and Heavenly Immortal lineages.

As a senior figure of the Quanzhen Sect, it was not surprising that Zhou Mengyao knew the inside story. Though Qi Xuansu was Sage Donghua’s disciple and a newly appointed Omniscient Sage, he was still unaware of many secrets because he had risen to prominence too quickly. These secrets were not deliberately kept from him, but rather, if he did not make an effort to learn about them, no one would proactively bring them up either.

If Qi Xuansu were to ask the Tianji Hall Master about this, the latter probably would not conceal the matter from him. But if Qi Xuansu never asked, there was simply no reason for the Tianji Hall Master to seek him out of his own accord and tell him about the Myriad Manifestations Project.

This brought about another question. How could Su Yuanzai, a member of the Zhengyi Sect, possess the Quanzhen Sect’s core secrets?

Zhou Mengyao transmitted another wisp of divine thought. “It was Su Yuanyi’s doing. Don’t forget, Su Yuanyi once briefly served as the Huasheng Hall Master, and the Huasheng Hall has always had extremely close ties with the Tianji Hall. The Huasheng Hall also participated in the Myriad Manifestations Project. Besides that, the current Tianji Hall Master is also a member of the Zhengyi Sect.”

Qi Xuansu finally understood. This involved the alliance between the Quanzhen Sect and the Zhengyi Sect.

In ancient times, when feudal states formed alliances and negotiated peace, besides marriage alliances, they also exchanged hostages as a means of establishing mutual trust.

The Zhengyi Sect and Quanzhen Sect had adopted a similar approach. The marriage between Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu counted as a marriage alliance. If Sage Donghua and Sage Cihang could also end up together, that too would count as a marriage alliance at the highest possible level.

Surely, no one could expect the Heavenly Preceptor and the Earthly Preceptor, at their age, to enter into a marriage alliance. That would be something of a joke. Moreover, although the two appeared amicable on the surface, they had been at odds with each other behind the scenes, and Qi Xuansu was merely one piece in their ongoing contest. Even taking the most extreme hypothetical and assuming the two actually did marry, it would be a picture far too beautiful to be real. After all, one was a descendant of a Godly Immortal, while the other was a descendant of a Great Witch. They would have to sleep with their eyes open, terrified that the person sharing their bed might suddenly put a blade through them.

If the Heavenly Preceptor and Earthly Preceptor really were sharing the same bed while harboring different ambitions, then it would be the Imperial Preceptor who would lose sleep over it.

Since the Daoist Order had nominally abolished the hereditary system, actual hostages were no longer so important. Thus, the two sides instead chose to exchange positions. Members of the Quanzhen Sect would take up posts within the Zhengyi Sect’s sphere of influence, while members of the Zhengyi Sect would take up posts within the Quanzhen Sect’s sphere of influence.

Thus, Sage Cihang of the Zhengyi Sect briefly served as the Huasheng Hall Master, while Ning Lingge of the Quanzhen Sect briefly served as the Tiangang Hall Master, becoming Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu’s former superior and matchmaker.

Later, after a personnel shuffle, Sage Cihang returned to the Tiangang Hall, completing the arrangement whereby the Three Great Halls corresponded to the Three Daoist Heirs. Ning Lingge then went to the Ciji Hall to serve as its Hall Master.

Since the newly appointed Huasheng Hall Master, Xu Dacheng, came from the Quanzhen Sect, the Tianji Hall Master had to be someone from the Zhengyi Sect.

The current Tianji Hall Master was named Baili Zhenye. The Baili family’s ancestor had been among the first 36 Omniscient Sages during the Holy Xuan Era. But now, the Baili family was no longer comparable to even the Yan family.

Baili Zhenye’s courtesy name was Zhi Ye, which meant governance. From his name alone, one could tell that after the decline of his family, his elders had placed great hopes upon him, hoping that he would revitalize the clan and restore it to its former glory.

Qi Xuansu had also met this Hall Master once at his wedding and had gained some understanding of him.

Baili Zhenye had grown up in poverty, and his family circumstances had been quite difficult. Although he had been far better off than Qi Xuansu in his early years, all he really possessed was the name of a past illustrious clan. The support this afforded him was nowhere near what Madam Qi had provided for Qi Xuansu. It was also far inferior to what Zhang Yuelu had enjoyed before receiving the Heavenly Preceptor’s recognition. It was said that Baili Zhenye had met Sage Cihang by chance. Sage Cihang thought highly of him and took considerable care of him, frequently lending him a hand and growing his career. She had played a major role in several of his crucial promotions.

As such, Baili Zhenye had always remembered Sage Cihang’s kindness and regarded her as an elder sister. In private, the two simply addressed each other as elder sister and younger brother. Many people even said that Baili Zhenye could be considered a member of the Su family. This was the depth of the Su family’s foundations, far surpassing those of the Yan family. It was also one of the key factors supporting Sage Cihang’s position as the second-in-command of the Zhengyi Sect.

Su Yuanzai and Baili Zhenye could be considered Sage Cihang’s younger brothers. As such, the two men had a good relationship by association. Through this connection, everything now made sense. After all, Baili Zhenye still had the authority to lend a Pseudo-Immortal-level Myriad Manifestations Body to Su Yuanzai. It was too minor for the Earthly Preceptor to personally oversee.

Zhou Mengyao and Qi Xuansu did not expect that crafty old fox Su Yuanzai had actually prepared a contingency in advance, using the Myriad Manifestations body in place of his true body.

Zhou Mengyao said, “When Gong Fu first entered the pocket realm, it was definitely his true body. He must have grown suspicious after seeing that pregnant White Lotus Sect man and switched to a false body at the last moment. In that case, we can only rely on ourselves now.”

Meanwhile, at the Main Altar of the White Cloud Sect, Su Yuanzai was sitting cross-legged in meditation. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open, and cold sweat seeped from his forehead. His complexion was slightly pale.

The White Cloud Sect Leader and Holy Maiden Tang Ling were both keeping watch nearby. Upon seeing this, they immediately rose to their feet and asked with concern, “Sage Su, are you alright?”

Su Yuanzai waved his hand to indicate that he was fine and murmured to himself, “Could this be the Cloud God?”