Heaven’s Design Pavilion had ten branches in nine provinces. Each branch had established foundations. If it really was as Xi Ping guessed, the fact that the Xuanyin Mountains were soon to bite the dust would have spread throughout Great Wan’s nine provinces by now.

He was trapped in the Xuanyin Mountains, and his shifu had gone to the Land of Turmoil!

If Xi Ping had at first been worried about dragging Zhou Ying into this and hoped that he had already escaped from the Xuanyin Mountains, now he simply wanted to burn incense and pray to the heavens to let san-ge have left in time so he could get word out.

But just then, out of the corner of his eye, Xi Ping glimpsed the Dignitary of Fate suddenly turn his head toward the Sea of Stars, then actually abandon the peak masters locked in an unending squabble with the “great evil cultivator” on Moon Plated Peak as he turned tail and ran.

In the Sea of Stars, Zhou Ying knew that he had made too much noise pushing aside the star stones. He had been discovered.

He didn’t panic; he was only surprised that a person who had grown up listening to the voices of demons in the Impassable Sea could still be so ignorant. Since entering the way of clarity, every new piece of information he discovered had overturned everything he knew; each step had to be reconsidered.

The master of the Sea of Stars was about to return. Zhou Ying stood where he was, unmoving, upending all his previous suppositions, rapidly drawing conclusions about the current circumstances.

Then he took a nearly forgotten piece of reincarnation wood from his mustard seed and contacted Xi Ping: “Hold off Zhang Jue for me.”

His voice struck Xi Ping’s ears without warning, and Xi Ping nearly fell into a stupor. When he recovered he understood what Zhou Ying had said: this not especially powerful “master” had gotten a preview of some of the designs of heaven, and not only had he failed to leave this dangerous place, he had instead dashed straight toward the forbidden territory of the Sea of Stars!

Xi Ping had gone numb, and he suspected that his own true identity was the father of the heavens—apart from an unfilial son, what in the world could contradict all his wishes like this?

Before, san-ge had been all “Don’t you dare” and “You need a leash” at every turn, can’t do this and can’t do that either, as if he were a troublesome walking disaster. Yet after entering the way of clarity, the first words he said to him were, “Hold off Zhang Jue for me.”

Xi Ping didn’t know whether he ought to cry or laugh… It turned out that san-ge’s appraisal of his abilities was so high.

And Zhang Jue, as if appearing out of thin air, had already landed in the Sea of Stars.

Zhou Ying immediately wiped away all his thoughts and changed into mist, becoming one with the “fates” swirling all around.

Zhang Jue knew without thinking that it was him. Apart from Zhou Ying, the Xuanyin Mountains hadn’t produced anyone else with such a bizarre power. But Zhou Ying had entered the way of clarity; why would he suddenly trespass into the Sea of Stars? What had gone wrong with Duanrui’s Way of the Heart?

Reasonably speaking, however mysterious the power of an early stage established foundation might be, it still wouldn’t be able to deceive the eyes and ears of a shed skin. Zhang Jue only needed to extend his consciousness and pick through those “stars” to turn up that Zhou brat.

But that would mean breaking the rules, violating his oath.

Zhou Ying was above him, watching him, neither anxious nor self-satisfied, his clarity unstained. He seemed to be interrogating him: Today it seems that “there is a reason for everything.” If you break the rule and open your eyes, you will be able to examine everything in detail. Everything will have its reason. A “rule” is like a line drawn in the sand. Once you step over it, it becomes meaningless. High elder, this represents a millennium of cultivation—what will you do with it?

The two of them reached a temporary deadlock.

This brief pause was already plenty of time for Xi Ping on Moon Plated Peak to come up with a countermeasure.

“Peak Master Wen, help me out,” he said to Wen Fei through the reincarnation wood. “Say something aloud for me!”

After Wen Fei had heard out his request, he was strangely silent for a moment. “How many graves did Zhi Jingzhai have to dig up behind our backs to end up with you?”

Then all the ascended spirits saw Wen Fei, who had been all but invisible up to now, suddenly flash his fan and wave large writing into the air as though setting off fireworks: Stop arguing. A matter of such importance must naturally be settled by the Sea of Stars. Don’t you see that the elder has gone? Hurry up and follow!

Having said this, he “set an example” and flew toward the Sea of Stars.

The peak masters who had all been talking at once in a huddle finally noticed that the Dignitary of Fate Elder, who had been hanging in midair, was gone. Xi Ping took the opportunity to add a bewildering tactic and went after Wen Fei.

Even an ascended spirit peak master could not go into the Sea of Stars without being summoned, and Wen Fei’s wave of the fan had made all of them think they had missed the Dignitary of Fate’s summons. Seeing that even the evil cultivator Xi Ping had run off, what else was there to hesitate over? Therefore, they went in pursuit like a swarm of bees.

The Dignitary of Fate rarely called people down into the Sea of Stars. If he absolutely had to call them, he would make preparations ahead of time. First he would lay down an array to stabilize the Sea of Stars, to keep the disciples from getting tangled up in “destiny” connected to them.

But everything was happening too quickly now. He didn’t have time for any preparations.

While the Dignitary of Fate Elder was facing the difficult interrogation Zhou Ying had put before him, the two co-conspirators Xi Ping and Wen Fei, yanking and prodding, herded the masters of the thirty-six peaks into the Sea of Stars like mindless oxen.

The ascended spirits made much bigger “ripples” descending into the Sea of Stars than Zhou Ying had. Each ascended spirit was a “colossus.” They had lived for centuries or even a millennium, had countless disciples under them whether direct or of record, and could be tied back to the fortunes of their families. These big families held either resources or some form of power. With a single cough, one of them could change the fates of countless ordinary people—it could be said that these people represented the fate of the whole nation of Great Wan.

By the time the peak masters came to their senses, it was already too late. As soon as they came in contact with the Sea of Stars, all the countless ties with connections to them came to surround them, “swallowing” these completely unguarded people. When a person falls into a tangled skein, the more they struggle, the deeper they’ll be ensnared. These stars brought with them a windstorm; they collided with each other frantically. Even if you didn’t struggle, you would still be pulled in. The whole Sea of Stars turned as chaotic as a pot of porridge, with star stones rolling everywhere.

Someone thought that this still wasn’t enough. The music of the Tai Sui Qin soon sounded, playing a confounding tune learned from some evil cultivator. Hearing the music, the peak masters and the Sea of Stars, already turned upside down, nearly went to pieces.

Zhang Jue had no more attention to spare for Zhou Ying. He hurried off to settle the turbulent Sea of Stars.

At the same time, Xi Ping landed.

Before jumping down, Wen Fei had furtively given him a dose of “return to unity powder.” If this wasn’t the by-product of some failed elixir, then it had been made by this malicious stutterer with the intention of harming people. After taking it, all your senses would be firmly sealed, turning you into a block of stone. Never mind the stars filling the sky, if someone came up and stabbed you to death, you’d have no idea how you had died.

“That’s not true,” Wen Fei corrected him, speaking through the reincarnation wood directly to his consciousness. “When you’re about to die, your spiritual sense will let you know.”

Xi Ping said, “…That’s nice of it.”

Lin Chi put in a word: “Have you left your vital qin outside? What will you do now?”

“I don’t have my vital qin on me. That qin was a copy. It’ll lure Old Man Zhang away,” Xi Ping said. “San-ge, keep an eye on how far the three of us are from dying! Report any missing limbs!”

Wen Fei said, “Who are you talking to?”

No sooner had he spoken than he heard Zhou Ying’s voice in the reincarnation wood: “Zhang Jue alone will not be able to suppress the storm raised by all the peak masters. He’s too busy to attend to anything else. You three are already at the bottom of the Sea of Stars. You’re relatively safe at present.”

Wen Fei: “…”

These two evil brats really were related!

“Your Highness Prince Zhuang,” said Lin Chi, “what are you doing at the bottom of the Sea of Stars?”

Zhou Ying answered unhurriedly amid the windstorm: “Investigating the origin of the ‘heavenly edict’ you received.”

“What is it?”

“You must have guessed most of it,” said Zhou Ying.

Lin Chi paled. Wen Fei and Xi Ping simultaneously opened their mouths, then simultaneously closed them—to begin with, they had been able to say the terms “Ways of the Heart” and “Ways of the Heart of common origin” as they liked; but now that they had a definite answer, it was as if something had placed a silencing talisman on them. They couldn’t say a word.

Lin Chi was anxious. He thought, Fortunately I have the Unbound Furnace to keep me aware.

Wen Fei thought, So inheriting a Way of the Heart comes with this kind of danger.

Xi Ping took a glance inward at his own spirit. What the hell was a Way of the Heart?

Zhou Ying looked on, not speaking—he couldn’t say anything, and even if he could, no one would have believed him.

These three were already uncommonly clear-headed. They could transcend the prison holding the vast majority of people on earth. Yet this close to the truth, they were still limited by their hearts and only saw the danger others were in.

“My cultivation is weak,” Zhou Ying said. “Please lend me a hand. Do not let the ‘ghosts’ here haunt the human world.”

Wen Fei immediately asked, “So what do we do about the information that has already reached Heaven’s Design Pavilion?”

“I figure Lao Pang also can’t hear the ‘heavenly edict,’ but there were many others with him at the time.” Xi Ping spoke in a very optimistic tone to keep up morale. “These people know the inside story. When they hear the ‘heavenly edict,’ they’ll probably realize that something’s not right. Telling Lao Pang will amount to the same thing as telling my shifu. I’ve thought about it carefully, and I don’t think it should be a big problem. He’s much more reliable than we are. Don’t worry.”

The walkers in the mortal world who had buried Jinghua Village had by now returned to Jinping.

The Kaiming Department could repair the residences of mortals, but they couldn’t repair the Azure Dragon Towers. The former locations of the seven towers were empty.

The Azure Dragon Towers had existed for the purpose of stabilizing the Dragon Vein. They would no longer be needed. All Pang Jian could do was cancel the routine night shift and send his disoriented subordinates back to the head office to rest. That night, a number of established foundations woke with a start from meditation one after another; those who hadn’t been meditating also felt their spiritual senses quake. Each person’s first reaction was to charge out to find General Commander Pang. As soon as they went out, they bumped into their colleagues, then ran into Pang Jian, who had just returned from Guangyun Palace.

Pang Jian had escorted the remains of the fourth prince Zhou Xi back to the palace. Over a decade ago, he had personally taken this young man to the Latent Cultivation Temple; now he had personally sent him off.

In great Guangyun Palace, his insane father was dead and gone, and his anxious older brother was so frightened he had no attention to spare to lament. He had only gone through the motions of mourning, then pulled Pang Jian aside and repeatedly asked him to confirm Guangyun Palace’s safety. Only his grey-haired old mother was so overwhelmed with grief for him that she wished she were dead. How would she wear away her twilight years?

He had been a prince born to an imperial consort of the Lin clan in Great Wan’s Jinping. Among his contemporaries, no one had managed a better reincarnation than Zhou Xi; he might have been called the favorite of the heavens. Yet even he had noiselessly died young on the boundless immortal path like this… What would become of all other living creatures?

Pang Jian had walked in the mortal world for over a hundred years. Though he had seen his fill of life and death, his heart was still heavy. He failed to notice his colleagues’ unease—the streets were full of uneasy Kaiming Cultivators; with one of General Zhi’s accompanying plants growing in the courtyard of the Kaiming Department’s headquarters, many people walked with unnatural stiffness going in and out.

A number of established foundations were about to speak at once, but when their gazes met in midair, they all fell silent without prearrangement. Each with a different expression, they waited for someone else to speak.

“Why are you all hanging around outside in the middle of the night? Can’t calm down to meditate?” Pang Jian said without so much as looking up. “Daily lessons are also rest. When you encounter a major event, it’s much easier than closing your eyes and forcing yourself to sleep. You could say it’s the greatest benefit of cultivation. Be content with your lot, everyone.”

Someone tentatively said, “General commander…are there any instructions?”

Pang Jian thought that he meant instructions from the palace and the court. He thought, Instructions my ass, they’re practically hugging my leg and begging for milk over there. Zhou Ying must be the one who’s adopted.

He didn’t respond, only waved a hand somewhat wearily and returned to the general commander’s residence.

Behind Pang Jian, the blue-clotheser established foundations exchanged veiled looks. Their initial panic had calmed, and they had sensed something uncommon: this generation of walkers in the mortal world had virtually all grown up listening to stories of General Zhi, but…the heavenly edict had given a warning directly to the cultivators’ spiritual senses, branding Zhi Xiu as a traitor to the cultivation world.

This was the heavens above them.

Someone spoke first: “It seems that everyone above the established foundation boundary has received it.”

“But General Zhi…”

“Didn’t you understand General Commander Pang? Stay dumb and say nothing. Anyway, we are under pressure from a shed skin. It isn’t surprising that we can’t tell our fellow cultivators the truth.”

Some walkers in the mortal world exchanged some ambiguous sentences. Suddenly, someone sighed quietly. “We’ve worked so hard to cultivate for so many years, given up so much…”

The blue-clothesers followed this person’s gaze to look at Wang Run—the walker in the mortal world who had just laid his wife and children to rest in Jinghua Village.

“Who would willingly accept that the immortal path has been severed?”

Just then, some established foundations who hadn’t been down in the Territory Map came rushing outside, heading toward Jinping City.

“Are they…acting without approval?”

“On the surface, General Commander Pang has always been a staunch supporter of Flying Jade Peak…”

Meanwhile, Xi Yue, who had received orders to watch the house, was exchanging a blank look with the little kitten—he already had the array needed for a half-puppet to establish a foundation prepared. He only needed Xi Ping to guide him. He could accomplish the rest himself.

But that person was like this every time. From the Latent Cultivation Temple to the Resurrection Vortex, he would always toss him aside at the critical moment. All his years of pursuit and questing seemed to have been meaningless. He would always be like the kitten, only fit to be a little toy whose company could relieve boredom.

He had become a cultivator because of Xi Ping. It was ironic that after all these years, only in the Kaiming Department and Heaven’s Design Pavilion did he have the feeling of being useful.

Just then, Xi Yue received a summons from a colleague, notifying him to go out on patrol.

Patrols and standing duty at the towers were Heaven’s Design Pavilion’s routine business. The losses among the cultivators had yet to be counted, but they must have been grievous. It was only to be expected that they would be shorthanded. Xi Yue restrained his emotions and didn’t overthink it; he quickly put away his reincarnation wood, changed into his blue robe, and went to report to the general office.

As soon as he left Dangui Lane, he saw a number of colleagues coming toward him. Xi Yue went over, entirely unguarded. “How are we splitting the areas?”

“You’re going to the Lingyang… Let me take a look.” One of his colleagues seemed not to remember clearly. He took out a roll of paper and went through it.

Xi Yue reached out a hand to take it. “Give it to me…ugh!”

Under cover of the roll of paper, his colleague had attacked him without warning.

A spirit-severing awl stabbed directly into the array core just below Xi Yue’s navel—this was the critical point of his arrays, know only to those closest to him; every half-puppet’s was different. Had they not faced mortal danger together, a person certainly wouldn’t know this vital secret.

Xi Yue’s pupils contracted. His half-puppet body couldn’t move.

At the same time, another person formed a search talisman and aimed it at Xi Yue.

Xi Yue’s mustard seed, the reincarnation wood amulet, and the seeds in his pocket all fell out. The established foundation blue-clothesers burned the amulet and the seeds to ashes, simultaneously sealing Xi Yue’s mouth.

A blue-clotheser met his appalled gaze and unconsciously looked away. He softly said, “Forgive me. The heavenly edict has been issued, we cannot disobey. Xi-xiong…”

“Don’t waste words. Someone might be listening. This kind of thing cannot get out.” Another blue-clotheser stepped forward and, seeming very friendly, hooked an arm around Xi Yue’s shoulders and half-pushed, half-pulled him away. He whispered to Xi Yue, “You’re only a half-immortal, and you’re only an adopted son. This doesn’t have anything to do with. Even if the immortal mountains hold you accountable after the fact, we’ll do our best to protect you.”

A half-puppet’s body was abnormal. Xi Yue’s field of vision was far wider than an ordinary person’s. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw some blue-clothesers heading toward the Yongning Marquis Manor. His eyes nearly burst from their sockets.

For “important locations” like Dangui Lane and Guangyun Palace, though the majority of the repair work had been done by the Kaiming Department, there had been walkers in the mortal world taking part.

Heaven’s Design Pavilion knew that the Marquis Manor hadn’t yet had time to put down a new array.

Xi Yue struggled against the talisman, forcing breath out of his throat: “Aren’t you…scared of…General Zhi…and…”

“We are scared. We’ve heard that people with accompanying plants can use them to instantly cross vast distances. We would all be dead at the least touch. The waters of the Yongning Marquis Manor are very deep. It could even block the great evil cultivator who invaded the city. We all saw that array and that sword aura.”

“Then how can…you…dare…”

The gaze of the blue-clothed walker in the mortal world was extremely upright and honorable. He looked straight into Xi Yue’s eyes. “When the Territory Map fell, we did not receive the heavenly edict immediately. It is clear to see how powerful a shed skin evil cultivator is—he can even hoodwink heaven and earth. Since the heavenly edict could now be issued, it shows that now is the best opportunity. A rapid response is our vocation—little friend, don’t you remember? We walk in the mortal world, uphold the will of heaven above, protect the common people below, do not cravenly cling to life, do not fear death.”

Xi Yue remembered that the reason he had stayed in Heaven’s Design Pavilion with Pang Jian at the very beginning was because of the drive that had been passed down through Heaven’s Design Pavilion for a thousand years.

“This is our way. Even if we should be killed by those of the evil way, even if our enemy is the person we looked up to in our youth…” That blue-clotheser said. “Heaven comes to Great Wan’s aid. Do not worry, we will not carelessly harm mortal lives.”

There were people who had spent a century protecting this city day in and day, risking their lives, upholding the morality they believed in.

Xi Yue felt that it was extremely absurd.