Chapter 1585: Schemes in the Xu Palace, Strategies in An; Unchanging to Respond to Changes, the Dao of the Firmament

Utter silence!

In a dim room where only a sliver of light seeped through the window cracks, barely illuminating the floating mist, two large buckets sat side by side. Thick steam rose, carrying a pungent medicinal aroma.

Cough...

Soon, a cough broke the quiet, followed by bubbling sounds from the bucket on the right, and a voice emerged:

" Bai Zhou has made his move, stepping into the game himself."

"It's clear that Ba Zun An doesn't want to cooperate, and Xu Xiao Shou doesn't either."

"Most creatures in this world are like that, I suppose—faced with choices of one or two, they always try to force a third option."

"Little do they know, they can never escape the calculations of Tian Ji behind it all."

With a splash, the medicinal liquid spilled from the bucket and hit the floor, transforming into sheets of paper cranes.

The paper cranes skittered forward across the ground for a short distance before collapsing back into blank square sheets, lying limp on the surface.

A figure rose from the bucket.

He turned toward the left, placing his hands on the rim of the bucket as if to support his weight and lift his head.

No luck.

He could only let his armpits bear the load, allowing his upper body to slump down naturally until his waist caught on the rim, at which point his upper body flopped over the edge like a limp piece of paper.

As his head neared the ground and came to a stop, he spoke with a smile:

"You think so, right?"

Bubbling...

The bucket on the left also produced a few bubbles, and a flawless face with skin like ice and jade slowly surfaced from the water.

But as his hands brushed through his wet hair in that moment, the face took on a pinkish tenderness, like that of a human infant's skin.

Dao Qiong Cang swept his long hair forward over his left chest, took a deep breath of the steamy, medicinal air, and with a look of enchantment on his face, closed his eyes and sighed:

" Nan Yu is truly a fertile land..."

From the right, the figure slumped over the bucket rim laughed again:

"As per your foresight, the most dazzling Tian Ji flower has bloomed across the mountains and wilds of Nan Yu's sinful soil."

"Fertile land."

"Oh, right, slip of the tongue... Nan Yu's fertile land."

The room fell quiet for a moment, then the slumped figure asked: "Have you already met with the Sheng Nu prime seat?"

"Indeed, we traveled together for a while, and got along..." Dao Qiong Cang pondered for a second, opened his eyes with a smile, "very harmoniously."

"Are they heading to Xu Yue Hui Gong?"

"Exactly."

"They went to Xu Yue Hui Gong once before, and Bai Zhou, the palace master, was still wary and refused to cooperate. Now that Bai Zhou isn't there, they're going again..."

"Excellent, so what's the reason?"

The slumped figure hesitated, and since no further question came, he said: "I guess they're planning to challenge those above them."

"Ha ha ha..."

Dao Qiong Cang burst into laughter, and after a long while, waved his hand: "From now on, skip those four-character phrases... Ba Zun An's plan is indeed to first build goodwill with the war faction and the conservative faction, using that to force Bai Zhou to submit."

"Why? Don't they have Xu Xiao Shou?"

"You need to think from his perspective. Ba Zun An has already failed once, so this time, he can't allow any surprises. And as for me, Xu Xiao Shou..." Dao Qiong Cang narrowed his eyes, "I'm just too unpredictable."

"So?"

"So, when we meet again, he must have full certainty, distributing all potential obstacles and reclaiming that city he lost over thirty years ago."

Pausing, Dao Qiong Cang loosely clenched his fist: "Something tied with a rope is never as secure as something held in your hand."

After saying that, he clicked his tongue, as if unaccustomed to spelling things out so clearly.

Gazing at the fist hanging in the air, a look of hatred quickly crossed his face, his eyes fierce as he suddenly straightened his chest and threw a punch, springing up from the bucket:

"This time..."

His momentum halted abruptly.

After tucking his exposed thumb inside his fist, he shouted passionately into the air:

"I'll seize back everything I've lost!"

The sealed room grew awkwardly quiet.

Dao Qiong Cang glanced sidelong at the slumped figure, who could only stare blankly at the bucket rim, and with a pout, he sat back down into the liquid, sullen.

" Si Tu ah..."

No response.

Dao Qiong Cang paused: " Nan Gong You Shu!"

"Hmm?" The slumped figure finally reacted, as if trying to lift his head, but still half-submerged in the bucket, he seemed to lack the strength.

"I also want to go to Xu Yue Hui Gong. Do you think Ba Zun An has left by now?"

"Probably... yes?"

"Can't you calculate it?" Dao Qiong Cang said irritably, "Have you caught the decadent spirit of Nan Yu's fertile land since coming here?"

"Uh..."

"Are you a big goose too?"

The slumped figure, Nan Gong You Shu, truly didn't know what had upset Dao Qiong Cang. He wriggled like a snake and shrank back into the liquid. "I've been busy every moment since coming to Nan Yu."

Dao Qiong Cang hadn't even opened his mouth to continue scolding.

Nan Gong You Shu poked his head out from the liquid and handed over a crumpled, dry scroll of paper: "This is a propaganda flyer."

Dao Qiong Cang raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

"It was touched by the storyteller's saliva, without any defenses."

Dao Qiong Cang's eyes flashed with keen light as he drew the balled-up paper toward him. Indeed, it had fresh saliva on it, still warm.

"I don't know what you can do with this, but I feel it should be useful." Nan Gong You Shu poked his head out and then retreated.

"Only the storyteller's?"

Dao Qiong Cang glanced back with a question, knowing that Ba Zun An was now like a piece of rotten wood and had been accompanied by someone in Nan Yu all along.

Since Nan Gong You Shu had seen the storyteller and obtained his bodily fluid without detection...

Was there a possibility...

"Here."

The slumped figure extended his hand, offering a severed wrist.

Dao Qiong Cang's pupils dilated in disbelief. "You cut off Ba Zun An's hand?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized it was too fantastical, not realistic at all.

Because the hand clearly had five fingers.

"This is my hand." Nan Gong You Shu said.

What's the use of your hand... If it were anyone else, they might have said it outright, but Dao Qiong Cang just let his gaze flicker with expectation.

Nan Gong You Shu evidently had a knack for building suspense, dragging it out with irrelevant chatter for a long time before Dao Qiong Cang finally heard the words he most wanted:

"It's also the hand that 'nearly touched Ba Zun An'."

Dao Qiong Cang opened his chest and pulled out an exquisite sky-blue jade box. He tossed the saliva-soaked flyer inside, then carefully placed the severed hand in as if it were a treasure, closed the lid, and put it back in his chest.

Only then did he look up: "Well done!"

A smile spread across Nan Gong You Shu's face.

It was rare to hear such pure and absolute praise from his father.

He clearly remembered that since his birth, his father's expectations of him had always been the strictest.

In total, his father had complimented him six times: four "not bad" and two "passable."

The phrase "well done" was something Nan Gong You Shu had once thought his father hadn't even learned—it was harder than the thirty-six styles of Tian Ji.

Apparently, it was just that he hadn't done enough before.

"You've traveled with Ba Zun An before, so getting something similar shouldn't be that simple, right?" Nan Gong You Shu asked curiously.

"It's different." Dao Qiong Cang shook his head slowly. "With defenses up versus without, it's worlds apart. He guards against me more strictly than against Hua Chang..."

"What do you plan to do with it?" Nan Gong You Shu asked out of curiosity.

"Tian Ji..."

"This is something I got for you!"

"Fine." Dao Qiong Cang nodded in satisfaction, acknowledging the threat, and changed his wording: "Actually, it might not even be used, and I hope it won't be."

Nan Gong You Shu felt like he'd heard something but also nothing at all. Helpless, he returned to the main topic:

"You want to go to Xu Yue Hui Gong? By my calculations, Ba Zun An should have left by now... What are you going there for?"

"What do you think?"

"It seems like I'm the one asking you?"

"But I want to test you."

"Uh... You also want to cooperate with Xu Yue Hui Gong?"

"Not quite accurate."

"You want to disrupt their cooperation with Ba Zun An?"

"Also not quite accurate."

"You..."

"This isn't suitable for elimination; you need to consider all factors, like Bai Zhou not being home, Ba Zun An possibly having already cooperated with both factions, and the variables if Xu Xiao Shou returns."

Nan Gong You Shu fell silent.

He had thought his father was just acting on a whim.

Wanting to go to Xu Yue Hui Gong simply because Ba Zun An had gone there.

It wasn't impossible—outsiders saw him as stern and unsmiling, but his father always had a playful side; he was just a child at heart.

But it turned out this was another grand scheme; he must have been planning it for a long time!

After deep thought, Nan Gong You Shu finally uttered a word:

"Dao Bu?"

Dao Qiong Cang smiled without speaking, rose from the bucket, stepped out, draped on his white robe, and walked barefoot to push open the door:

"The time has come."

"Next time, remember to factor in the location of our conversation and the fact that Tian Ji Shen Jiao has grown stronger."

"I don't like repeating myself, and I certainly don't like doing things twice."

The door creaked shut.

Nan Gong You Shu stared blankly at the empty bucket.

He didn't know what had angered his father this time or why he left so suddenly, all because of...

One word: "Dao Bu"?

Soaking in the bucket, Nan Gong You Shu pondered for a long time and could only pinpoint the issue to the one true person in Dao Bu.

"Of course, Xuan Ji Ban Sheng burned herself out with her new role's three fires, and it did interrupt Father's overt plans."

"The matter of Dao Bu must have been a significant blow to her."

Compared to himself, Nan Gong You Shu felt that Dao Qiong Cang's affection for Yu Zhi Wen was more like true fatherly love.

He would amuse her in her infancy; guide her growth in her girlhood; soothe her emotions and praise her progress, though sometimes in an unconventional way...

But at least, that was some of the rare, genuine, uncalculated care from "Dao Qiong Cang"!

The Dao Bu affair had been plotted for years; it could have reached a perfect conclusion while also serving as a more meaningful lesson for her.

Yet, due to unforeseen factors, it was abruptly exposed at an ill-timed moment in an ill-timed way.

This created the opposite effect, like ripping open a scar—it must have hurt.

"And he must feel guilty about it, right?"

But Yu Zhi Wen was too insignificant to affect the bigger picture; she wasn't even his real daughter.

In the current grand scheme, he had no extra time or energy to mend or compensate for their relationship.

Yet, without compensation, that thing would linger like a tiny thorn in the finger—small enough to ignore, but occasionally painful and uncomfortable.

Nan Gong You Shu thought it over and activated the communicator by his ear:

"Check on Dao Bu's prime seat, Yu Zhi Wen—get her current whereabouts..."

"No, all intelligence!"

Stepping out of the narrow cave, Dao Qiong Cang paused and looked back.

A plaque hung above the cave, bearing the crooked characters "Tian Ji Shen Jiao."

Yes, this was the headquarters of the largest emerging force in Nan Yu, Tian Ji Shen Jiao.

The true core members numbered only four.

The leader, Nan Gong You Shu; himself, Dao Qiong Cang; and waiting outside because they couldn't fit in the cave, the already impatient Wei Feng and Gou Wu Yue.

"Finished chatting?" Gou Wu Yue leaned against a tree, hugging his sword and glancing up as the person emerged.

Wei Feng was more direct: "I can hardly imagine why we couldn't find a better place. What is this all about?"

He pointed at the rundown cave mouth. "Tian Ji Shen Jiao has a luxurious headquarters, with all sorts of elders, protectors, and offerings..."

Wei Feng yearned for the long-lost Jiang Hu life; the future his companion had described sounded quite lavish.

But Dao Qiong Cang shook his head: "Though the five domains are vast, this is our only foothold." He pointed at his feet.

Then, turning to Wei Feng: "After the flowers bloom, there is withering—all is illusion."

Seeing the other two didn't agree, Dao Qiong Cang said no more, waved his hand as if to suggest a trip to Xu Yue Hui Gong.

But just then, his ears twitched, his gaze sharpened, and he looked toward the distant sky. "Finally..."

"Finally what?" Wei Feng stepped forward.

"Someone is looking for me." Dao Qiong Cang narrowed his eyes, unable to clearly see the person's face. After a moment's thought, he said, "I need to step away for a bit."

"Where are you going now?" Gou Wu Yue frowned.

"To a place closer to him."

"What about us?"

"Relatively speaking, you'll be farther away."

"That's not what I mean, old man says..."

"Wait."

"Wait again?"

"If you can keep up, you can follow."

In the Si Xiang secret realm:

"Swoosh!"

A ongoing battle suddenly ended as the opponent was sent flying by the bald youth's blade.

By the mid-to-late stages of the trial, those who could enter the Sheng Gong were basically selected from those still pushing forward desperately.

Such a disparity in strength at this point was rare.

With the opponent gone, the area was empty.

The bald youth set down his great blade, knelt on one knee, and offered his hands in devout reverence, chanting:

"Great god, grant your technique!"

A hum...

Invisible waves surged.

The bald youth's head opened, and from it emerged Dao Qiong Cang in white robes and bare feet.

He was dressed casually, without the Tian Ji compass, and his white robe had no other adornments; even his black hair hung loose to his waist.

"Great protection technique."

Upon landing, he casually waved a hand behind him, restoring the youth who was on the verge of dissolving, bringing him back to his senses.

After a shudder, the youth stared blankly at the empty space ahead, unsure of what had happened.

Soon, he stood up, reclaimed his will to strive, and punched the air forcefully:

"Ha! This time, I'll definitely join Sheng Gong!"

At the entrance of the Dye Ming ruins under the Black Water Stream, a figure in white robes appeared at that moment.

"Still not working?"

Even here, so close to the Dye Ming ruins, Dao Qiong Cang still couldn't clearly see the person's face.

He frowned, his right thumb constantly flicking, his knuckles gleaming with golden light.

"Auspicious!"

But an auspicious sign—why would it require him to enter the Dye Ming ruins?

This place was notoriously ominous; he had calculated it years ago as a far more dreadful disaster site than Void Island.

Such an ominous place would be perfect for dealing with Ba Zun An; he had no desire to go in.

Otherwise, back then, he wouldn't have deliberately avoided the God-Slaying Official's pull and hidden on the Heavenly Ladder, letting Ai Cang Sheng scout the dangers first.

Now...

The auspicious sign demanded he meet the person.

But to meet them, he had to enter the ominous Dye Ming ruins first?

"Interesting."

Dao Qiong Cang's lips curved up. He smoothed the windblown hair from his temple behind his ear and cast another divination.

Still auspicious!

"From extreme negativity comes prosperity, from extreme prosperity comes negativity..."

Dao Qiong Cang stopped in his tracks, no longer wanting to proceed.

It wasn't that he only had the option of entering in person.

Rather, he was someone who respected fate and Tian Ji, and he was extremely patient.

He could roughly guess the situation in the Dye Ming ruins... or rather, the God's ruins now.

"Too Xu isn't getting involved, and among the Ban Sheng, only a few bear my mark."

"And those who could harm a Ban Sheng and trigger my mark are few and far between."

"First, lock onto Xu Xiao Shou."

"Good, if it's him, as long as it doesn't involve Tai Zai Ci, I don't need to see the others..."

His thoughts paused as Dao Qiong Cang gained some insight.

Accidents often happen when you least want them to.

Considering the worst case, Tai Zai Ci might already be gone, Xu Xiao Shou could have accessed the Bei Huai secret, or even his own...

Another divination!

Dao Qiong Cang lowered his eyes and intoned the result:

"Auspicious."

This was intriguing.

Unless it was a high-level Sheng Di or an ancestor god, who could interfere with his divinations?

And even then, the guiding force couldn't evade his detection three times...

That meant there truly was an auspicious element in it.

Those who overly respected Tian Ji often gradually became fearful of it.

Dao Qiong Cang wasn't that type. He knew that choosing to retreat now was the safest, most cautious decision.

But besides "retreat," there wasn't just "advance"—there was another path.

"Wait!"

Dao Qiong Cang stood with his sleeves hanging, turning into a stone statue at the entrance of the Dye Ming ruins.

He was a romantic.

He had left many "treasures" in this world.

When outsiders touched these treasures, they might get a response, or a joke, or a surprising reward...

Dao Qiong Cang knew that those who had worked hard to uncover a secret rarely chose to skip it outright.

Why does curiosity kill the cat?

Because human nature is to explore the unknown.

He wouldn't retreat or advance; he'd wait for the one who touched the surprise to decide—whether to open it or avoid it.

"And I, unchanging amid all changes."