Chapter 285: Fish Twelve and Fish Nineteen

The northern desert, despite being a vast expanse, felt even colder in the depths of winter, with the wind and sand seemingly more chilling than usual. The already significant temperature difference between day and night became even more extreme in winter. Although it didn't snow, the severe cold after nightfall could truly freeze a person to death. Therefore, bonfires burned everywhere in the military camp.

Inside the main command tent, Ye Jinglan stood beside a large sand table, which simulated a map of the northern desert.

He continuously read through letters, placing a marker on the sand table after finishing each one. In a short while, a corner of the sand table was covered with markers. "Han Ya Du can be ruled out," he said. "The Blazing Ruins aren't there right now..."

As he spoke, he walked towards a corner, where he saw Qi Miaoxuan lying on a bed, wrapped in a blanket. A small brazier burned nearby, with a pot of wine simmering on it.

Ye Jinglan asked, "Old Qi, are you really sure that the Blazing Ruins are stationary right now, not moving?"

Qi Miaoxuan pursed his lips. "Certainly," he said. "The movement of the Blazing Ruins is cyclical. They appear once every forty years, and after each appearance, there's a ten-year silent period. During this period, once you find the location of the Blazing Ruins, you can just focus on excavating."

Ye Jinglan slowly said, "Good to be certain. At this rate of searching, we should pinpoint its location within half a month at most."

Qi Miaoxuan poured a cup of wine. "I told you, kid, there's no need to be so anxious," he said. "We're ruling things out one by one anyway; who knows, we might even find it tomorrow. Leave the professional work to the professionals. The grave robbers and geomancers are the main force. You should eat and drink; why make yourself so stressed?"

As he spoke, Qi Miaoxuan handed the wine cup to Ye Jinglan.

Ye Jinglan took the cup. "You don't know why I'm tense?" he said. "You're what I fear the most!"

"What's wrong with me?" Qi Miaoxuan asked. "I haven't done anything. I just want to kill the Fire Kirin. For everything else, do as you please. We don't have any conflicts of interest, so what are you afraid of?"

Ye Jinglan said in a deep voice, "For someone like you who has lived for hundreds, even thousands of years, I can't fathom your thoughts with a human mind. You don't consider yourself the same species as us. You see us no differently than we see ants. Do people need to consider profit to kill an ant or step on one? They just do as they please. So, who knows if you'll suddenly decide to do something on a whim?"

Qi Miaoxuan waved his hand. "You really don't need to think that way," he said. "I won't deny what you said makes a lot of sense, but you still have to do what needs to be done, right? If I truly decided to do something on a sudden whim, do you think you could stop me? You can't change it, so why think so much? You might as well relax... Hmm?"

At this point, Qi Miaoxuan suddenly let out a soft "Hmm?", abruptly raised his head, and a faint smile appeared on his face. "Good news, Ye Jinglan," he said. "You have help arriving!"

Ye Jinglan asked, puzzled, "What do you mean?"

Just then, a soldier outside the tent suddenly called out, "General Ye, someone has arrived outside the camp, claiming to be Gu Mo, the Great Hero."

Ye Jinglan was slightly startled, then looked towards Qi Miaoxuan.

Qi Miaoxuan chuckled. "Why look at me?" he said. "Your good brother is here, aren't you going to meet him?"

Ye Jinglan said in a deep voice, "If Gu Mo and I are together, aren't you afraid we'll turn against you? And with the Fire Kirin and the Plague God, don't you feel any pressure?"

Qi Miaoxuan waved his hand. "If you could truly make me feel threatened, I would be very happy."

Ye Jinglan asked, "Aren't you surprised why Gu Mo would come here?"

Qi Miaoxuan chuckled. "Isn't it obvious? You told him, didn't you? You must have told him my identity as well."

"Aren't you angry?"

"What's there to be angry about?"

Ye Jinglan said nothing more, turned, and left the tent. He quickly reached outside and saw Gu Mo, carrying a long sword, in the distance. He hurried over and asked, "Why are you here?"

"Why shouldn't I be here?" Gu Mo countered with a light laugh.

Ye Jinglan retorted, annoyed, "Didn't I make it clear in my letter that this situation is very dangerous? You, Gu Mo, aren't the sentimental type. What's wrong? You're not, perhaps, into men, are you? Can't stand to see me in danger?"

"Get lost," Gu Mo said. "Of course I have my reasons for coming. Do you know that the Fire Kirin and the Plague God are wanted criminals? Countless dynasties, from ancient times to now, have put bounties on them. You know me; I have no resistance to wanted criminals!"

Ye Jinglan rolled his eyes. "Old Gu," he said, "this isn't a joke. I know you're the strongest martial artist in the world, but that 'strongest' refers to humans. This time, what we're facing aren't human. You..."

"Enough," Gu Mo said, waving his hand to interrupt Ye Jinglan. "Since I'm already here, let's cut the nonsense. Is Old Qi in? I want to see him!"

"He's not human either," Ye Jinglan said.

"If he were human, I wouldn't even be interested!"

As Gu Mo spoke, he strode into the military camp.

Ye Jinglan watched Gu Mo's retreating back, smiled helplessly, and without further ado, quickly caught up, leading Gu Mo into his tent.

As soon as he entered the tent, Gu Mo saw Qi Miaoxuan sitting on the bed, smiling.

"Impressive," Gu Mo said, cupping his hands to Qi Miaoxuan before sitting by the brazier. "Old Qi, you've really hidden yourself well!"

Qi Miaoxuan waved his hand, chuckling. "Not really," he said. "You, young man, have surprised me too. I used to think you might have a slight chance of becoming the strongest in the world, and even then, it would be decades later. I never expected you to achieve it in just a few years. Impressive!"

Gu Mo chuckled. "You've lived a long time and seen a lot, so I have a few questions I'd like to ask you."

"You're quite direct," Qi Miaoxuan chuckled.

"It's just a few questions, anyway," Gu Mo said. "If you're willing to answer, I benefit. If not, I lose nothing. Why be polite, right?"

Qi Miaoxuan smiled. "Ask away!"

Gu Mo asked, "Honestly, is there any way to kill Bai Yujing and the Heart Demon, those two?"

Qi Miaoxuan looked at Gu Mo with some surprise. "It seems you know quite a lot," he said. "Well, how should I put it? Theoretically, entities like the Heart Demon and Bai Yujing cannot be killed. After all, their life forms transcend the human realm. However, in this world, nothing is truly absolute. I know of two ways to kill them. The first is to acquire power on the same level as theirs. It's like when you slew Ling Xiao, the strongest of the previous generation, on Dragon Tiger Mountain; theoretically, as an Ascended Realm primordial spirit, he couldn't be killed, but you used your primordial spirit to kill him. So, it's the same for Bai Yujing and the Heart Demon. However, these two existences surpass the Ascended Realm, so they naturally require power beyond that."

Ye Jinglan, who was nearby, didn't know exactly what the Heart Demon and Bai Yujing were, but he understood their conversation and asked, "What kind of power is on the same level as Bai Yujing and the Heart Demon?"

Qi Miaoxuan chuckled. "Taboos, of course. The Human Realm Dragon Vein, the Samsara Mirror, the Reverse Scale Blade. And, of course, it's highly likely that there are other undiscovered things in the world that are just as powerful as these forbidden entities."

Ye Jinglan asked, "Can you kill them?"

Qi Miaoxuan thought for a moment. "Certainly I can," he said. "However, I have no reason to act against them, and I can't find them, just as they can't find me."

With that, Qi Miaoxuan looked at Gu Mo again and asked, "Do you have anything else to ask?"

Gu Mo asked, "Do the Heart Demon and Bai Yujing have true forms?"

"They do."

Qi Miaoxuan said, "However, their true forms are virtually impossible to find because they manifest as conscious projections. For example, the Heart Demon: theoretically, all qi practitioners have the chance to encounter it, but what they see is always a clone of the Heart Demon, including the one guarding the Heavenly Gate."

Qi Miaoxuan paused. "Actually, Ye Nantian of the Moon Worship Sect, with the Undying Gu he cultivated, had a feeling somewhat similar to the Heart Demon. He could switch between his true form and clones at will. If Emperor Jiang hadn't used a trick to confine Ye Nantian's true form within Jiang Ruoxu's body, he wouldn't have been killed so easily. So, even I can't kill the Heart Demon or Bai Yujing, because I can't trap their true forms in a fixed location. As for tracking, they can sever ties with their clones at any time, making them untraceable."

Gu Mo was well aware of the difficulty of tracking them. Earlier, on Penglai Island, when he used the Dao Heart Demon Seed technique to control the Great Island Master and Second Island Master, Bai Yujing had directly severed its connection.

Gu Mo pondered for a moment, then asked, "Third question: Is the Celestial Realm real or fake?"

"It should be real," Qi Miaoxuan said. "I can't give you a precise answer to that question because it's secondhand information for me. It might be the 'Beyond Heaven' mentioned among the Thirteen Taboos."

"Beyond the Heavenly Gate?"

"I don't know, because I've never seen the Heavenly Gate."

Gu Mo nodded slightly. "Alright, last question. It's about Old Ye. Did you place a restriction on him?"

At this question, Ye Jinglan also looked at Qi Miaoxuan expectantly.

Qi Miaoxuan, however, shook his head slightly. "No, why would I place a restriction on him?"

Gu Mo asked, "You implanted Kirin blood and replaced his bones with Kirin bones. Aren't you afraid he'll harbor ill intentions?"

Qi Miaoxuan chuckled. "I told him a long time ago: we simply have a transaction. I don't need his loyalty; I'm merely experimenting with him, and he needs power. That's all there is to it; it's a trade between us. Harbor ill intentions? We were never of one mind, so there's no such thing as 'ill intentions.' At most, he might try to kill me. If he could truly pose a threat to me, I'd be quite pleased. Besides, it would only expose my identity, which has no effect on me. I can change identities at any time and continue to wander the human world. The only reason I adopt various identities is to avoid being disturbed by my longevity, not because I fear anything. Whether it's mortal dynasties or martial arts holy lands, none of them can harm me. So, if people learn that someone can live forever, then they learn!"

Gu Mo thought for a moment. "What you said actually makes a lot of sense."

As soon as he finished speaking, he immediately touched Ye Jinglan's forehead, quickly examining his limbs, bones, and meridian system, then used his primordial spirit to inspect Ye Jinglan's mental body.

"He really didn't use any tricks!"

Qi Miaoxuan lay on the bed, chuckling. "No need," he said, looking at Gu Mo. "Gu Mo, for instance, if you created a martial art right now and casually pulled someone off the street to test it, to see if there were any problems with it, would you need to find a way to control that person before you dared to experiment on them?"

"That's true."

Gu Mo slowly poured a cup of wine. "Then, can you tell me why you want to experiment with the Kirin's power, and why you must kill the Fire Kirin?"

Qi Miaoxuan chuckled. "To pursue greater power, isn't that obvious? I've been experimenting with how to absorb and control the Kirin's power. Now that it's succeeded on Ye Jinglan, and I've found a method, it's time to kill the Fire Kirin!"

As he spoke, Qi Miaoxuan tilted his head and looked at Gu Mo. "What, are you interested in the Kirin's power? I can share some with you when the time comes. How about I help you absorb the Kirin's power?"

Gu Mo waved his hand. "Just let me kill the Kirin; I don't need anything from it."

Qi Miaoxuan asked, puzzled, "What's the reasoning behind that?"

"The Fire Kirin is also a wanted criminal!"

Qi Miaoxuan was slightly stunned, then slowly said after a while, "You really have a... special fondness for wanted criminals!"

"Are you a wanted criminal?" Gu Mo asked.

Qi Miaoxuan shook his head.

Gu Mo pouted. "What a shame, then."

Qi Miaoxuan was speechless.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you!"

Late at night, in the northern desert, a band of horse bandits was desperately fleeing on horseback. These were the notorious Eighteen Great Bandits who had risen to prominence in the northern desert over the past year or two. Each was a formidable martial artist, responsible for numerous major crimes in the region.

However, these eighteen bandits were incredibly cunning and operated unpredictably. Utilizing the vast uninhabited areas of the northern desert, even the combined forces of the Northern Desert's Six Gates Division and the local martial arts world had failed to eradicate them. This only made the eighteen bandits more arrogant, leaving provocative messages like "What can you do to me?" in blood after every crime.

Yet, on this cold night, only twelve of the eighteen bandits remained, several of them wounded. All were in a panic, furiously whipping their horses forward.

"Hurry!" yelled the burly man leading the group, his eyes filled with hope. "Once we reach the canyon ahead and hide among the boulders, that kid won't be able to catch us!"

The others beside him also saw a glimmer of hope.

However, at that very moment, in front of the canyon entrance, under the cover of night and amidst the swirling sand, a figure slowly appeared. It was a swordsman in black, wearing a bamboo hat. Under the pale moonlight, the swordsman slowly raised his head, revealing a young boy, whose face, though weathered, still held a hint of youthful innocence.

This was none other than Yu Shijiu, the renowned Flying Swordsman of the Northern Desert martial arts world, who had once received guidance from Gu Mo, the current strongest martial artist in the world. Even the sword in his hand was a gift from Gu Mo.

Upon seeing Yu Shijiu, all twelve bandits immediately reined in their horses, terror etched onto their faces.

"Scatter and run!"

At the lead bandit's command, the other eleven didn't hesitate, spurring their horses to scatter in all directions.

The twelve men dispersed into twelve shadows under the moonlight, the sound of hooves crushing gravel mingling with the whistling wind. Yu Shijiu's wrist gave a slight flick, and his Green Peak sword shot out of its sheath like lightning. Its blade gleamed with a cold silver light under the pale moon, and even before it was fully drawn, a wisp of chilling sword energy had already ripped through the sandstorm.

He didn't even move his feet, simply standing at the eye of the sandstorm at the canyon's mouth, the black veil on the edge of his bamboo hat fluttering in the airflow. The next moment, sword light, like a startled swan piercing the night, transformed into twelve overlapping cold stars, weaving an impenetrable net of light amidst the swirling sand.

The whistling wind abruptly grew sharper, as if sliced in two by the sword's edge.

The sword light darted between the wind-blown sand and moonlight. With every slight turn and forward thrust of Yu Shijiu's wrist, a figure would abruptly halt. Some were pierced through the brow, others through the heart, or cleaved diagonally in two, rider and horse alike. In just a few breaths, the twelve fleeing shadows fell one by one into the sand, like kites with their strings cut.

The last remaining lead bandit abruptly turned his horse, screaming hysterically, "Yu Shijiu, I'll fight you to the death..."

With a soft clang, a flash of white light streaked by, disappearing into the howling sandstorm.

The lead bandit continued to ride forward, but his head had already fallen to the ground.

Silence fell upon the great desert.

Yu Shijiu, sword in hand, proceeded to collect the heads. He swiftly severed all twelve and wrapped them up. Then he whistled, and a fine horse galloped out from the canyon. In the baskets on either side of its back were three more wrapped heads in each.

"Eighteen. All here!"

The young man placed the twelve fresh heads into the baskets, then swung onto his horse and rode forward under the moonlight.

The night deepened to an inky black, and the fierce winds, laden with grit, scoured the Gobi Desert into a wailing, ghostly realm.

Yu Shijiu rode his reddish-brown horse, his cloak flapping wildly in the wind, the sword at his waist trembling slightly with the horse's movements. His fingertips tapped the copper ring on the saddle. Suddenly, his nostrils flared—the scent was not the earthy smell of wind-blown sand, but a sweet and cloying odor, a mix of deep-sea decaying algae and blood, like the eerie aroma given off by aged corpse oil melting over a fire.

The moment he looked up, he saw a rift open in the clouds in the northwestern sky. It wasn't moonlight pouring through, but a dense, impenetrable mass of black mist plummeting vertically downwards.

The mist did not appear naturally formed; its edges surged like living tentacles, emitting a pungent, sulfur-like odor. In mid-air, it coalesced into a monstrous vortex, hurtling down directly towards him.

"Playing tricks!"

Yu Shijiu let out a low cry, sharply kicking the horse's belly with both legs. The reddish-brown horse reared in pain, but he had already used the momentum to twist his waist and leap, his figure tracing a silver arc in the air.

The sound of the Green Peak sword leaving its sheath was ripped apart by the gale. In an instant, sword intent soared to the sky; hundreds of sword energies erupted from his wrist, like a galaxy inverted or silver chains spanning the heavens, weaving an impenetrable net of light that cleaved towards the black mist.

The sharp hum of the sword energy tearing through the air made the sand grit rattle and fall, and even the swirling sandstorm was forced to burst outwards by this sword intent.

However, the anticipated collision did not occur.

The instant the sword energy touched the edge of the black mist, the ink-like mass suddenly expanded, enveloping him entirely like a monstrous maw swallowing the sky.

The stars, moon, and sandstorm before his eyes instantly vanished, replaced by a dim world as thick as gruel. All around him were surging walls of mist, and everything he touched felt cold, wet, and slippery, as if he had sunk into the muddy depths of a thousand-year-old cold pond.

The sword energy he unleashed, as soon as it left his body, was like snowflakes dropped into boiling oil; with a few hissing sounds, it was swallowed by the black mist without a trace, leaving not even a ripple.

The sound of the wind, horse neighs, and rolling grit were all shut out.

Yu Shijiu spun with his sword raised, but only saw swirling grey-black mist of varying densities before him. Every sword stroke was like striking empty air, and his powerful internal energy, hitting the mist walls, was like a clay ox entering the sea.

This was no mere mist; it was clearly a cage woven from invisible shackles, shrouding his sword intent, his senses, and even his breath in a deadly, dim silence.

However, Yu Shijiu remained exceptionally calm and composed, continuously swinging his long sword while also carefully observing the environment within the black mist.

Just then, a dull, hollow voice suddenly echoed behind him: "Gu Mo's sword isn't this weak."

Yu Shijiu whirled around to see a figure in a black robe. In the darkness, its face was indistinguishable.

He thrust his sword out suddenly, instantly striking the black-robed figure's glabella. Then, his heart jolted, for he felt no resistance, as if he had pierced thin air.

Then, in the next instant, the black-robed figure's hood fell back, revealing a humanoid mass of mist.

Yu Shijiu's long sword simply passed through the misty figure's head.

Yu Shijiu's pupils constricted slightly, and a burst of sword intent erupted as he sharply rebuked, "Don't even think of swaying my will!"

Instantly, sword energy surged, and sword intent hummed. His sword was faster than lightning; in a flash, he unleashed dozens of strikes, hacking at the humanoid black mist from various intricate angles. Yet, all sank into it without a trace, finally converging into one swift thrust aimed directly at the black mist figure's forehead.

This sword carried the intent of destruction.

At this moment, the previously unmoving black mist figure finally stirred, slightly raising a hand, also made of black mist, to clamp Yu Shijiu's sword. "This sword has some potential," it said, "but it's still light-years away from Gu Mo's sword."

Yu Shijiu tried to pull his sword free with force but couldn't. He said coldly, "Great Hero Gu is the strongest in the world. How could I, Yu Shijiu, possibly compare? To possess even one ten-thousandth of his swordsmanship is my lifelong pursuit!"

The black mist figure said in a deep voice, "That won't be enough to protect the Fire Spirit Tribe!"

Yu Shijiu was startled and retorted, "Who exactly are you, and what do you know?"

The black mist figure said, "What you know, I know. What you don't know, I also know. Yu Shijiu, like you, I am also a Guardian of the Fire Spirit Tribe. My name is Yu Shier!"

Yu Shijiu exclaimed, "You're that traitor? You're actually still alive!"

Yu Shier said, "I am no traitor. I never betrayed the Fire Spirit Tribe or the Fire God. It wasn't me who stole the tribe's most precious treasure back then; it was an immortal who injured the Fire God and intended to take the treasure. I had no choice but to take the treasure first, both to try and preserve it and to lure away that immortal, thereby protecting the Fire Spirit Tribe. For these past few centuries, I have also been secretly guarding the Fire Spirit Tribe!"

Yu Shijiu asked, "Then why are you reappearing now?"

Yu Shier said, "Because the crisis has arrived. The army recently sent by the court to the northern desert, under the guise of border defense, is actually searching for the location of the Blazing Ruins. And the immortal who injured the Fire God all those years ago is among them. He intends to strike at the Fire God once more, and our Fire Spirit Tribe will be exposed to the world. Yu Shijiu, the crisis of destruction for the Fire Spirit Tribe and the Fire God is upon us. With your current strength, you cannot protect either the Fire Spirit Tribe or the Fire God."

Yu Shijiu asked, puzzled, "Is the Fire God from our tribal legends real?"

"Of course," Yu Shier said. "The blood of our Fire Spirit Tribe can bring the dead back to life and regrow flesh on bones. Throughout their lives, they are free from illness, disaster, and injury, and their lifespan is never less than a hundred years. Moreover, every sixty years, a highly gifted guardian with extraordinary cultivation talent is born. This is the Fire God's blessing."

Yu Shijiu said in a deep voice, "This isn't a blessing; it's a curse. It's the curse that prevents our Fire Spirit Tribe from ever knowing peace, generation after generation!"

Yu Shier said, "I know. I've been researching for centuries and have found a way to eliminate this curse. However, I still need some time. But now, that immortal has returned, bringing an army with him. Once they pinpoint the location of the Blazing Ruins, they will forcibly break through the formation and enter. At that point, both the Fire God and our Fire Spirit Tribe will face utter annihilation. The Fire God will be killed, and our tribe members will be hunted, becoming highly sought-after elixirs for everyone in the world. Every single one of us will be raised in captivity, enduring a life where death is a release they cannot find, and survival is a torment."

Yu Shijiu's expression grew solemn. He didn't feel much about whether the legendary Fire God was alive or dead, but he clearly understood that once their Fire Spirit Tribe was exposed to the world, their lives would be a thousand times more terrifying than Yu Shier described.

Yu Shier continued, "For now, we must first temporarily evade this calamity. Afterward, I will extract the Fire God's blessing from our tribesmen's bodies, allowing them to live normal lives."

As he spoke, an egg-sized purple elixir bead slowly floated out of Yu Shier's hand. "This is the ultimate source of poison," he said, "which I spent three hundred years condensing, gathering all the strange poisons in the world. Take it to the Blazing Ruins and give it to the chieftain. Have him place this item into the core of the Void Array. At that time, the Void Array will become my domain, and within it, no one will be my match."