Wei Chengxiang rapidly destroyed the note and poured a beam of spiritual energy into the arrays of the huge whale. “Your Highness! Xuanwu’s appearance has disturbed Lingyun Mountain’s Cauldron of Nine Dragons. We cannot remain here. Hurry!” 

The Miah were plotting something, but Xuanwu was evidently confident in his ability to withstand them. If the rumor about his boundary having fallen wasn’t incorrect, then he must have had some other chance encounters over the years… No matter who was plotting against whom here, none of the people caught in the middle would come to a good end. 

The Queen Mother of the West’s eye twitched, but matters were now out of her control. Several great ascended spirits had been swept into the huge waves in a blink by Xuanwu. 

In a flash, she only had time to give a push, flinging the huge whale ship far away from the battlefield. 

The whale ship only had a brief encounter with the huge waves, and the better part of the arrays on the ship were destroyed by the brutal spiritual energy. The feet of Wei Chengxiang and the others on the ship all left the ground as they flew up. All kinds of precious Southern He antiques were smashed into a pile of fragments. 

Nearly everyone aboard this ship was a former citizen of Southern He who followed the Queen Mother of the West. Cries of alarm rose in wave after wave: “Her Highness!” 

“Hurry, hurry and turn the ship around!” 

“Wei-laoban, turn back! Turn back!” 

“We can’t turn back. Sixty percent of the ship’s arrays have been destroyed. It’ll break apart if we take another hit. Without a ship, those waves so much as touch you, you’ll all die,” Wei Chengxiang said calmly, rapidly inspecting the huge whale ship’s condition. “Since she tossed you out, it means she wants you to escape with your lives. You…” 

A red-eyed bodyguard interrupted her: “Abandoning one’s master is a dereliction of duty. Better to die for loyalty! There is no need for an outsider to get involved!” 

Wei Chengxiang turned and fixed her eyes on him. “What, will ‘loyalty’ shed tears of gratitude for you?” 

“You dare!” 

“If your princess had been ‘morally upright’ and died for her country back then, all of you would be Turmoilers by now.” Wei Chengxiang had been responsible for looking after the whale ship’s arrays during the whole trip. Now she skillfully repaired a few key arrays and ordered the ship to return to its base. 

The whale ship quickly steered towards the east of the South Sea. Wei Chengxiang locked in the arrays and didn’t continue to dispute with the others. She turned and vanished, coming to the prow of the ship. 

A half-immortal’s consciousness didn’t dare to probe outward. She could only look out through the “whale’s eyes.” On the sea, she saw billowing waves rising to the sky. She couldn’t find the Queen Mother of the West’s figure anywhere. 

Wei Chengxiang stuck her hand into the mustard seed she carried and closed her eyes briefly: before she came, Tai Sui had given her two things. As long as she didn’t go looking for death, she would certainly have no problem escaping. 

Her country had never been vanquished. Along the course of Jinping’s Grand Canal, her friends and family were no longer to be found on either bank. Let it be vanquished. If it was vanquished, that would be just as well. It was hard for Wei Chengxiang to understand the thirst these people of He felt to restore their nation. There was always a barrier between her and them. 

But the Queen Mother of the West had always treated her well, despite knowing very well that there was another power behind her. 

Wei Chengxiang knew her own worth. Apart from having some extra sources of information, the usefulness an open-eyed half-immortal could have for an ascended spirit master were very limited. She didn’t even have the qualifications to be a maid. The reason that this couple kept her around to carry out tasks was only that she had coincidentally slaughtered White Amaranth, and there was some good karma between them. 

Just now, when she had thrown the whale ship out of the battlefield, the Queen Mother of the West—Yang Wan—had done very well by her. 

Loyalty, filial piety, justice, and virtue—these were things her grandfather had carved into her bones with his life. A person only had to be worthy of them. 

After a moment, a little boat made of a rolled-up willow leaf left by the whale ship’s secret back door, holding Wei Chengxiang. It was an ascended spirit grade immortal tool—the same one General Zhi had used to protect Xi Ping when the great demon of the East Sea had emerged. A crack had been smashed in the edge of the willow leaf by the Tai Sui Qin. Later, Master Lin had returned it to the furnace and repaired it. Now its grade was a level higher. 

Yet it still couldn’t escape its fate of carrying ants bound for danger. 

Xi Ping received Wei Chengxiang’s new coded message: No sign of the Heartless Lotus. The ascended spirits are no match for Xuanwu. 

The Cauldron of Nine Dragons left the mountains. Lingyun’s great mountain array was in turmoil, all the spiritual energy in the mountains like a swaying swing. 

Xi Ping quietly seized this moment to activate a reincarnation wood seed. 

The quickly sprouting seed was crammed into a corner of the Lingyun Mountains’ dense rainforest. It broke through the earth, spiritual light lashing over its trunk, shaking off the “natural fertilizer” of the spiritual beasts. The next moment, it abruptly stood up and turned into human form, which, without disturbing a single leaf, disappeared amid the rainforest. 

Though he knew intellectually that spiritual energy could make him cleaner than anything, emotionally, Xi Ping still couldn’t get past this concern. “I’m dirty, I’ve lost my purity. Truly I’m enduring humiliation for the sake of this mission.” 

“Enough, don’t be unreasonable.” Zhou Ying’s consciousness was hidden in a reincarnation wood amulet he had with him. As he used his paramount spiritual sense to quickly inspect the interstices of Lingyun’s great mountain array, he casually said, “When you were little, on Plowing Day, you rolled around in the mud a farm cow had just defecated in, clutching its leg. The adults couldn’t stop you. There were all kinds of things in that mud.” 

Xi Ping held himself up as one of the rare male beauties of the world, his charm unmatched. He absolutely couldn’t acknowledge that he had done such a thing. “Impossible!” 

“They couldn’t get your hair clean and had to shave it off,” said Zhou Ying. “You were balder than the Heartless Lotus. I still have a picture of your august countenance then. I’ll have Bai Ling print some copies and give them to you.” 

Zhi Xiu: “…” 

How fortunate that Xuanyin Mountain stipulated that disciples could only join when they were sixteen or over. The ancients had been wise. 

“Wait,” Zhou Ying suddenly said, “the inscriptions here have been altered.” 

The Lingyun Mountains had eight major peaks. Originally, they had been evenly split among the Xiuyi and Miah. In recent years, as the power of the Miah had waned, all the Miah cultivators had been crowded onto an out-of-the-way little peak, Miah cultivators of the medicine and toolmaking ways living in the same place. Spiritual beasts that could consume tree seeds were pretty much all small herbivorous spiritual beasts, usually used as materials for making tools and elixirs. The place Xi Ping had snuck into was precisely the domain of the Miah. 

Miah disciples with varicolored hair and eyes were keeping watch at the foot of the mountain, taking strict precautions. There was nothing unusual along the outer perimeter of the peak, but the protective array laid out with inscriptions inside had subtly fallen out of step with the great mountain array. It saved Xi Ping from doing any tampering himself. 

“A fly can’t sting a seamless egg.” Zhou Ying sighed. “As expected, the Miah already intend to rebel. Lucky you. Follow the interstices between the inscriptions to enter, I’ll tell you where to go. Remember to use your protective spiritual energy to keep your smell firmly under wraps. Lingyun’s cultivators generally have their spiritual sense in their mouths and noses. Don’t get upwind of them.” 

Xi Ping bristled. “I don’t stink!” 

“That’s right,” said Zhou Ying, “you smell lovely. You’re a human-shaped piece of ambergris.” 

In the space of these few words, Xi Ping’s figure had flashed. He followed the cracks in the inscriptions to enter. He soon found that Zhou Ying’s instructions were superfluous, because the higher he went, the fewer people he saw. The three palaces of the Miah ascended spirits at the summit of the mountain were empty. There were only some traces of an array left behind in an empty space on the ground of the main palace. 

“I used the upheaval of the great mountain array to sneak in, and they used the upheaval of the great mountain array to sneak out,” Xi Ping whispered. “Isn’t that a coincidence?” 

Just then, a voice from the distant South Sea came to his ears. 

When he and Yu Chang had signed a blood covenant back then, he had given that little boy toy from Chu a piece of reincarnation wood so he could contact him at any time. 

Yu Chang had called for him before, and Xi Ping had ignored it. When Yu Chang spoke again this time, he sounded even more hard-pressed than the first time. “Tai Sui, whether you’re the mantis or the oriole, allow me to warn you, if all of us die here today, you’ll be the target of all the great spiritual mountains!” 

In the South Sea right now were five great ascended spirit evil cultivators: there was a sword cultivator each from the north and south; there was the Emperor of the East Halberd with its claim of “I bring the storm”; there was a medicine cultivator who carried her own poisonous miasma, and there was the offering who could travel through shadows and pass through any opening… Put together, while they weren’t perfectly coordinated, at any rate they weren’t holding each other back; but they could hardly put up a fight. They were simply held down and beaten by Xuanwu. 

This was the greatest master of Sanyue, who would only be hard-pressed facing a full moon sage. 

The vanished Wangge Luobao’s true body appeared dozens of li away. The vicious force in the seawater had yet to disperse; it brushed over the protective spiritual energy surrounding him. 

As soon as he showed himself, he was immediately caught by the shed skin consciousness, brimming with might. Xuanwu’s frightening ghastly whiteness began to emerge on the surface of the sea. 

Without any hesitation, Wangge Luobao formed a two-handed seal. Out of nowhere, densely-packed giant kelp appeared on the surface. 

The white shadow immediately permeated the giant kelp. Cluster after cluster of the giant kelp sticking up dozens of zhang high withered and rotted. Just then, a big fish flew out of the water. It opened its mouth and snatched up Wangge Luobao. 

All of this had taken only a moment. In a flash, there was almost nothing left of the huge kelp being swallowed by the white shadow. The big fish just managed to disappear in the seawater before the giant kelp fell. 

Like an illusion. 

Wangge Luobao knelt on one knee inside the fish’s mouth. He had lost the ease of the “sea god.” 

He was covered in seawater and cold sweat indistinguishable from each other. His legs had even gone a little weak. 

The big fish that had taken him in its mouth was called a “next life spiritual fish.” In Miah folklore, it was a kind of fish god that could carry people to the world that came after death. Only the dying who had fallen into the deep sea could see it—only the best cultivators among the Miah knew that the “fish god” of legend really did exist. 

The scales of the next life spiritual fish were very thick. They couldn’t be pierced without the cultivation of an ascended spirit or above. The body of the fish could block out spiritual energy and consciousnesses, and cultivators couldn’t track it. Moreover, this was the only one left in the world. It was a secret treasure the founder Tianbo had left behind for the Miah… It was so ancient it was like a stone on the point of crumbling. There was a smell of decay in its mouth. Its lifespan had nearly come to an end. 

Inside the mouth of the next life spiritual fish was space to hold four or five people. As soon as Wangge Luobao entered, a face protruded from the inside of the fish’s mouth. 

The protruding face was fused with the surrounding flesh of the fish. At first glance, it seemed to be an ulcer in the big fish’s mouth. The features weren’t especially distinct. There was only a pair of unusually protuberant grey-blue eyes. The face urgently asked, “Wangge, what’s happening?” 

“Clan leader shishu.” Wangge Luobao recognized him by the look of his eyes. He evened out his breathing with difficulty. “The Heartless Lotus and that most mysterious Tai Sui have yet to appear. Of the major guests I invited, only five have come, fewer than we anticipated. Xuanwu came too soon. The strength of his cultivation far exceeds my expectations. I even think that it doesn’t seem as though his boundary has fallen. I’m afraid those ascended spirits won’t be able to hold out until the Cauldron of Nine Dragons arrives.” 

Just then, two other faces emerged in the fish’s mouth, one with amber eyes, one with dark brown eyes. 

The Miah clan had originally had a shed skin, a master of the way of toolmaking. He had taken a clear-cut stand against Moon Plated Gold at the outset and had specifically debated with Lancang Mountain because of this. Since the spiritual mountains had formed, this was the only time a clash between masters had come close to a “frivolous debate.”  While it had ended at that, after returning, the Miah elder had sunk into a lengthy seclusion—the same sort of “seclusion” as Xuanyin’s Dignitary of Code and Sanyue’s Xiang Rong. 

Since then, the circumstances of the Miah in Southern Shu had changed dramatically. At present, only three unremarkable ascended spirits remained among Lingyun Mountain’s Miah cultivators—the blue-eyed clan leader belonged to the way of toolmaking, and the other two were medicine cultivators. 

Among the inner sect established foundation disciples, the Miah represented less than one in ten, and the outer sect walkers in the mortal world, the Dragon Subduing Knights, only accepted Miah on the Three Islands. 

And even in the Miah’s homeland of Southern Shu’s Three Islands, those who held power in the Dragon Subduing Knights were still Xiuyi who had been transferred there. 

Now, the three Miah masters who had escaped from Lingyun Mountain in the confusion had become “ulcers” in the fish’s mouth, all of them surrounding Wangge Luobao. 

The amber-eyed medicine cultivator spoke: “The Cauldron of Nine Dragons has already left the mountains. The Xiuyi’s Li Dui is escorting the Cauldron of Nine Dragons. He can handle Xuanwu. Don’t panic. They only need to hold out for a short while.” 

Opening the South Sea Hidden Realm would take enough spiritual energy to unseal its long-sealed entrance. Whether it was Xuanwu or Lingyun’s elder, a shed skin must die today. And the South Sea Hidden Realm had always been a part of the Lingyun Mountains. Once it was opened, the Cauldron of Nine Dragons would naturally submit. If they could only take hold of the Cauldron of Nine Dragons, the Miah would have their own spiritual mountains. Once the Lingyun Mountain Range on the main island lost its divine tool, it would be nothing more than an abandoned spiritual stone mine. 

Wangge Luobao said, “I’m afraid that a short while won’t be…” 

Before he could finish, the seawater once again rose into huge waves. Even the invisible next life spiritual fish was thrown out onto the surface. With a hum, there came an enormous quaking, nearly raising a tidal wave in the South Sea. 

The Emperor of the East’s halberd and the swords of the Snow Wolf and Lord Guang’an collectively slipped from their hands! 

The blue-eyed Miah clan leader spoke decisively: “Notify the Three Islands. Order all the clan’s cultivators to set off at once.” 

For a moment, Wangge Luobao suspected that the clan leader was too far away for him to hear clearly. “Who…who should set off?” 

Weren’t all the Miah cultivators on the Three Islands half-immortals in the Dragon Subduing Knights? 

Could half-immortals approach an ascended spirit battlefield? 

Never mind “reinforcements,” this couldn’t even be called “delivering food.” After all, half-immortals didn’t even have an essence. There was hardly any spiritual energy to be squeezed out of them. They couldn’t be used as spiritual stones. 

The dark brown-eyed medicine cultivator sighed. “This action concerns the survival of our clan. We must not lose. Established foundation pills were sent out ahead of time. Among the clan members in the Dragon Subduing Knights on the Three Islands, there are sixty-four clan members in all whose spiritual bones are complete. The clan leader has ordered them all to enter the way of beast-taming… Sixty-four people, precisely the number of people there were when Shu’s ancestors activated the spiritual beast tide, driving out the demons and overthrowing the tyranny of the Shamanic Way…” 

Wangge Luobao couldn’t resist interrupting: “Elder, where did we get so many beast-taming Ways of the Heart?” 

“Naturally from the clan’s martyrs,” the blue-eyed clan leader said. “No need for you to worry about it. Just do what you need to do.” 

Wangge Luobao immediately understood what he meant—the Miah had been squeezed out of the way of beast-taming for many years. Though there had been some beast-taming ascended spirits in the past, there weren’t nearly enough to go around for over sixty people—in other words, it was likely that the Ways of the Heart the clan leader had brought out all belonged to established foundation cultivators! 

Established foundation cultivators themselves had little experience, and if they had gone no further than an established foundation before passing away, it was most likely that their Ways of the Heart were insufficiently steady. How could you let later generations inherit Ways of the Heart like that? 

Wangge Luobao’s eyes opened wide. “Shishu, do you take our clan members to be disposable goods?” 

“If cultivators die, more can be fostered!” the clan leader interrupted him. “Did you know that Zhaoye has issued a ‘Material Decree’?” 

“What…” 

“On the surface, it says that evil has proliferated in recent years and the black market has run wild. The prices of spiritual beast and medicinal herb treatments are irregular. Southern Shu wants to bring every spiritual beast farm within the nation’s borders under the control of the immortal mountains, for the immortal mountains to sell under a unified system—including the Three Islands in the sea. Do you know what that means?” The Miah clan leader’s glaring eyes nearly popped from the fish’s mouth. “It means that in the future, the Miah will be like those Turmoilers. They will serve them as slaves to raise spiritual beasts, be bought and sold like animals, with no one to investigate even if they’re beaten to death in the streets. We can’t even protect our own homeland! The Xiuyi have gone too far. Our clan has come to a fatal pass, do you understand?” 

As they spoke, Wangge Luobao’s spiritual sense had already been touched. He whipped his head around in astonishment. Through the spiritual fish’s eyes, he saw hundreds upon thousands of “flying arrow gulls” diving towards the South Sea. Enormous gold-armored zhengs leapt out of the water. Terrestrial spiritual beasts stood on the backs of avians and waking dragons. Oppressive spiritual energy extended to the horizon—the spiritual beasts on the Three Islands, driven by cultivators who had forcibly established foundations, had all come out, blotting out the sky and covering the earth. They really did block the waves on the South Sea. 

They…as well all those that came before and after them, were swept by knife light. Flesh and blood flew, the cultivators and the spiritual beasts indistinguishable. 

The Miah clan leader said sternly, “Think of how your father raised you! Think of how your clan educated you! Wangge…” 

“Clan leader,” Wangge Luobao said very softly, “I know all of that. But where are you?” 

The Miah clan leader hadn’t expected that he would dare to talk back. For a moment, he was stunned. 

Then Wangge Luobao smacked the spiritual fish’s mouth. The three faces in the spiritual fish’s mouth suddenly disappeared. Then, under his orders, the big fish charged towards the battlefield. 

A face appeared out of nowhere on the lotus flower earring hanging from his ear. “Tsk-tsk, the Miah clan. No wonder outsiders think you people are lowly. Even your own clan leader uses your clan members as cannon fodder.” 

“Be quiet.” The earlier “helpless panic” had vanished from Wangge Luobao’s face. He gently tapped the lotus flower on his earring, then said in his sing-song voice, as though throwing a cute tantrum, “So you see, we need to change clan leaders.” 

Zhuoming laughed loudly. 

Amid his laughter, the next life spiritual fish’s mouth suddenly opened. Wangge Luobao appeared out of nowhere amid the chaos and gave a long whistle. 

He was an ascended spirit beast-taming cultivator. He simply steamrolled the battlefield. The spiritual beasts directed by the Miah all instantly slipped their masters’ control, stopping in unison. 

Wangge Luobao whistled again. The legendary fish god appeared on the surface. He flipped over and landed on the back of the next life spiritual fish, projecting his voice outward: “Tell the clan leader and the elders that I do not agree—I do not agree to using the blood of my clan members to purchase this hidden realm!” 

He extended his hand. A flute fell into his palm. Wangge Luobao played a few brief, sharp trills. There was a rumble from the bottom of the sea. He had summoned a flood dragon out of nowhere. The clouds massed overhead. 

He had suppressed the spiritual beast tide single-handedly. The spiritual beasts turned their heads in droves, picked up their dumbfounded masters in their mouths, and retreated outside the ring of battle. 

“And I also do not agree to turning the guests I invited into bait.” Wangge Luobao leapt into the battle and blocked one of Xuanwu’s blows coming towards the Queen Mother of the West. There was no time for him to clean the blood from his lapels. 

Lord Guang’an caught the Queen Mother of the West and looked towards the Miah ascended spirit in midair. 

“The Miah were born of this earth. We are not a lower class of person!”