Chapter 1691: When Making a Fool of Oneself Publicly to Vent Anger, The Setting Sun Arrives, The First Blood Kiss

Emperor Cangsheng… So that’s what it means.

Upon hearing Cangsheng’s words, the Five Domains fell silent. Xu Xiaoshou, before the Transmission Mirror, was equally silent, unconsciously nodding his head.

He had heard many versions of “Cangsheng” (Love for All Beings): from Li Fugui’s descriptions, from comparisons of combat power with Shen Yi, and from Dao Qiongcang’s occasional remarks. More often, they came from the songs of the Ten Honored Ones, or from fragmented legends and rumors circulating among the populace. These scattered pieces coalesced into Xu Xiaoshou’s subjective perception of “Cangsheng”: nothing more than someone with a bit of conviction, a bit of power, but essentially a mere dog of the Holy Divine Palace! That’s why Xu Xiaoshou liked to call him “Love Dog”!

But now, having listened to Emperor Cangsheng’s philosophy, Xu Xiaoshou suddenly realized that if he were to consider the problem from the other’s perspective…

“His Great Dao… doesn’t seem so bad?”

At the First Observation Platform in Feng Family City, in the midst of observers who were either silently contemplative or utterly bewildered, Dao Qiongcang looked around, arms crossed. His thoughts, at this moment, eerily mirrored Xu Xiaoshou’s, but he voiced them loudly and publicly:

“I am not confident I can defeat the Moon, North, Hua, Rao Way alone, but my Eye of the Great Dao has already glimpsed the catastrophe that declaring war on it would bring.” He paused, then added, “I believe it is time for me to take a stand.”

The silently crowded square was suddenly galvanized by these words. Tens of thousands of gazes turned simultaneously towards the speaker, a man dressed similarly to the Dao Palace Master, wondering what he was saying, with expressions ranging from embarrassment to bewilderment.

What is he doing? I’m cringing so hard my toes are curling!

A normal person, under the scrutiny of tens of thousands, might have died on the spot. But Dao Qiongcang felt nothing; he was utterly immersed in his role.

“I have never stood for the Holy Divine Palace; I have always stood for myself, and for all beings. Though the Holy Divine Palace has many flaws in the Eye of the Great Dao, its virtues outweigh its faults. So to outsiders, it’s as if I stand for the Holy Divine Palace.”

Everyone in the square gasped. Now, they all understood what this flamboyant fellow dressed like the Dao Palace Master was doing: he was impersonating Emperor Cangsheng—and it was audacious! What’s more, this audacious man’s “perspective of expression” was uniquely striking, like a parasite from Emperor Cangsheng’s belly, pulled into the Southern Domain, and now speaking.

“Recently, a group called the Holy Slaves emerged in the Five Domains. Their ideology is extremely arrogant, and their strength is formidable, but I still see no possibility of them replacing the Holy Divine Palace. Even if there were, even if the Eye of the Great Dao was mistaken, even if the Holy Divine Palace and the Holy Slaves were eventually equal in strength, fighting to the death, or if the Holy Slaves simply won… in the end, they would still have to confront the problem of the Moon, North, Hua, Rao Way.”

“The Holy Slaves’ leader is merely my equal. Even if their people unite, becoming stronger than me—even if they are ten or a hundred times stronger than me—can they truly surpass the Moon, North, Hua, Rao Way? A victory for them would be akin to no victory at all.”

After a pause, Cangsheng’s “parasite” clenched his fist slightly, as if grasping the very essence of wisdom. “Therefore, I have decided not to change my stance.”

Incredible… Around the square, people who had been watching him as if he were an idiot’s outburst, suddenly found clarity. He dared to say it! And what he said actually made some sense? After hearing Emperor Cangsheng’s profound and abstruse words, the previously vague understanding of Emperor Cangsheng’s true mindset seemed to have been perfectly articulated by this “parasite.”

“Hey, what’s your name? You’re interesting!”

“You! Replace Feng Zhongzui! You preach; I want to hear you!”

“Are there really ‘Love Dog’ enthusiasts? Who have studied him so deeply? I thought liking the Dao Palace Master and Lord Shou was unbelievable enough; there are actually people who like ‘Love Dog’?”

The square soon buzzed with quiet discussion. But the discussions were low, as people harbored a strange curiosity, eagerly anticipating what profound insights this madman might still offer!

Scrutiny… Dao Qiongcang analyzed Cangsheng’s words, yet his perspective was entirely that of Xu Xiaoshou. What would attention bring me? Shame? Embarrassment? Discomfort? Essentially, these are mere emotional or spiritual fluctuations. Bei Huai might benefit from this, but Xu Xiaoshou isn’t that type… Dao Qiongcang had studied Xu Xiaoshou. The latter liked to grandstand. A normal person in a quiet crowd of thousands might not even dare to be the first to break the silence. Even Dao Qiongcang, in speaking this time, had made a certain degree of mental preparation. Xu Xiaoshou acts freely; is it merely his personality? Does he deepen his understanding of the Great Dao and gain significant insights every time he grandstands? Is it merely a coincidence?

A problem arose. Simply pondering a problem is useless. Dao Qiongcang was always a man of action. He chose to put it into practice immediately! His words were still novel, captivating attention with every utterance in front of thousands, just like Xu Xiaoshou.

“The Holy Slaves have a branch called Heaven’s First Tower. Its leader is Xu Xiaoshou. I know Xu Xiaoshou. I once shot an arrow for the Holy Slaves during the Eight Palaces event. Details of the process aside, the result was the first time the Evil Sin Bow failed to kill a Xiantian. All signs indicate the Holy Slaves will be a formidable opponent, as will Xu Xiaoshou. As expected, today he stands against me, seeking revenge for that arrow.”

At the First Observation Platform in Feng Family City, the main event was no longer the battle on the Holy Mountain, but the one-man show below the platform. Awesome! This “Dao Palace Master” was truly eclectic! No doubt, he could impersonate the Dao Palace Master’s flamboyance, understand Cangsheng’s heart, and accurately discern Lord Shou’s emotional state—he must have thoroughly studied all three of them!

“Can Lord Shou and ‘Love Dog’ truly not coexist peacefully?” The world finally went wild, and someone soon asked, “I want to see him join the White Robes and work for Bei Bei, or join Heaven’s First Tower and blast the Holy Mountain. I look forward to that.”

Dao Qiongcang smiled towards him, gently, slowly, and expressively shook his finger in a negative gesture. His single gesture sent everyone into a frenzy of toe-curling and foot-stomping, nearly losing control, yet he remained completely immersed in his role.

“This young man carrying the mirror possesses great courage. I’ve decided to tell him what I truly think. Others might not believe me, but these are truly my thoughts. The Moon, North, Hua, Rao Way and the Holy Divine Palace already represent the optimal model. Even if the Holy Slaves win, and the first generation of Holy Slaves are good, what about generations from now—a hundred, a thousand years down the line? When the Holy Slaves become another Moon, North, Hua, Rao Way, and Heaven’s First Tower becomes another Holy Divine Palace, who can guarantee that their descendants will perform better than the current ones?”

“Even a strategist like Dao Qiongcang has said: ‘Dynasties wane after three generations’… Yes, the Holy Divine Palace isn’t perfect, but in the Eye of the Great Dao, there is no perfect path. In my view, it’s rather good.”

Upon hearing this, those in the square who had been watching with amusement as if at a monkey show, were all startled. What this “parasite” said truly had some substance!

“My name is Cangsheng. My Eye of the Great Dao not only sees the Way but also sees extremely far into the future. Actually, for me to change my stance, you, Xu Xiaoshou, and your Holy Slaves, must not be equal to me, but tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of times stronger than me, strong enough to instantly obliterate both the Holy Divine Palace and the Moon, North, Hua, Rao Way. If so… then my changing stance would be entirely meaningless. So, returning to what I said before, I will not compromise.”

Dao Qiongcang looked at the questioner. “The game of the brave has never offered a second choice.”

—Only battle!

Everyone understood his meaning. For some reason, everyone suddenly found this “Dao Qiongcang’s” words very convincing. Perhaps because he played the charlatan so well; or perhaps because his conclusion, derived by tracing the process back from the result, perfectly aligned with Lord Shou’s call to “fight” and Cangsheng’s declaration of “war.”

“Good!” Someone shouted, wanting to ask more. Everyone noticed that the middle-aged man impersonating the Dao Palace Master had vanished. The First Observation Platform was confused. But soon, people’s memories of the impersonator’s identity quickly blurred, as they became engrossed in pondering his words.

At the edge of the square, Dao Qiongcang was still standing there; he hadn’t moved even half a step. “Skeptical voices, scrutinizing gazes, expressions of admiration, and amused mindsets…” Dao Qiongcang stroked his chin, summarizing, still immersed in character, but not the character perceived by outsiders. He was thinking. Thinking about Xu Xiaoshou’s problem. The source of this person’s eccentricity, and how he would achieve victory next.

“Perhaps, this is the very question?”

“Very good, now, only one question remains!”

The interview ended. Feng Zhongzui, unable to withstand the pressure, promptly returned to mid-air. Carrying the mirror, he was broadcasting the scene of the Saints departing from the Holy Mountain, narrating as he broadcasted:

“The great battle is surely destined to unfold in the Dead Sea. Now, the Half-Saints on the Holy Mountain are all entering the Dead Sea to await orders. Unexpectedly, the Holy Divine Palace, despite possessing the Holy Slaves’ ‘Sleeveless’ (referring to a powerful and perhaps enslaved faction), failed to seize the initiative. Instead, the usually passive Lord Shou rose to become the true master of this game. His appearance time determines when the battle begins, but conversely, Emperor Cangsheng dictated the battle’s location. I can only say, Lord Shou and Emperor Cangsheng are mutually checking each other, yielding no ground, both striving with all their might!”

After a pause, Feng Zhongzui clucked his tongue, saying with emotion: “Brothers, the Dead Sea is a forbidden zone of the Holy Mountain, a secret among secrets. I heard it holds villains like Wuxiu and Wuyue… *cough cough*, I mean, formidable experts. Anyway, I won’t be able to enter and broadcast any internal footage for you all.”

“But it’s already a great honor. I never imagined I’d be able to commentate on the initial phase of this war between Lord Shou and Emperor Cangsheng, let alone speak so much and still be alive. But the most unexpected thing is that I even qualify to commentate on this grand event. Maybe no one expected that this war wouldn’t be fraught with twists and turns, but instead, everyone would confront each other openly.”

As if remembering something, Feng Zhongzui let out a laugh, lowering his head and whispering: “To be greatly disrespectful, it was actually somewhat predictable, wouldn’t you say? After all, the Dao Palace Master isn’t even on the Holy Mountain anymore… Can a mere minor figure like me discern the grand scheme? Hehehe!”

Parting was difficult. But survival brought joy. Seeing that most of the Half-Saints had already departed from the square, Feng Zhongzui knew without hearing that the spirit refiners on the other side of the mirror must be going utterly insane. After all, the most anticipated moments couldn’t be broadcast! But what came next couldn’t be resolved with a mere drink in front of the Flower Moon Tower. Even sacrificing the entire Feng family wouldn’t grant him the privilege of broadcasting even a single drop of the Dead Sea… Feng Zhongzui shuddered, turned, and likewise wished to depart, not daring to be the final lone brave figure. Who knew how immense the pressure would be, to be the last to leave while being watched by the Eye of the Great Dao!

But before he left, he caught a small detail in his peripheral vision. He delayed deactivating the Transmission Mirror and swiftly shifted the view.

“Brothers, stop shouting, it seems there’s something happening!”

“Xu! Xiao! Shou!”

A desperate, ill-timed roar halted the departing Half-Saints and drew the full attention of the Five Domains. Everyone was astonished; indeed, something truly was happening. It was Half-Saint Qin Duan! At this crucial moment! His hair had turned white, and he could speak again! His anger arrived belatedly, so much so that the people of the Five Domains had to take a moment to recall that he was enraged due to being slapped by Qiu Gu, by Gui Ji, the Nine Sacrifices Envoy, and by Xu Xiaoshou’s mockery. He had suppressed it for a long time, but upon regaining consciousness, unable to vent on Gui Ji, the Nine Sacrifices Envoy, he could only unleash all his fury in this single roar.

“This… this…” Feng Zhongzui’s mind raced, and he understood something: “Could it be that during the time I was asking Emperor Cangsheng questions, Qin Duan had heard nothing because he was preoccupied with repairing his soul damage?” Only this could explain why he spoke so ostentatiously even after Emperor Cangsheng had made his final decision. And only if he was still in that initial stage, feeling he had Emperor Cangsheng’s backing, would he dare to step forward and compel Lord Shou to sign a Half-Saint contract with him. Unaware that at this moment, everyone had tacitly chosen to disregard Lord Shou’s irresistible puppet manipulation technique, he foolishly rushed out, seemingly to remind the world that he was still alive, wasn’t he?

Qin Duan not only forcefully announced his timely return and anger to the Five Domains, but at this moment, his murderous intent spread unbridled towards anyone whose gaze he perceived as mocking. His eyes were bloodshot, glaring at Feng Zhongzui high in the air, and he was the first to lash out:

“You insolent brat, how dare you directly address a Half-Saint by his name!”

The sky thundered with a resonant shock. Feng Zhongzui bled from all seven orifices, sent flying backward, nearly losing his grip on the Transmission Mirror. He was utterly dumbfounded. He never imagined his first injury during his broadcast wouldn’t be from the lingering aftermath of Lord Shou and Emperor Cangsheng’s battle, but because he had dared to directly call a Half-Saint by name? Smart as Feng Zhongzui was, he immediately grasped the crucial point, but at the same time, his composure shattered:

“No, Senior, I wasn’t mocking you! You needn’t cripple my frail self with a single word to assert your might and salvage your dignity, shattered by Lord Shou’s trickery, need you? Whose sins am I paying for? Why did this terrible ordeal befall me?”

Feng Zhongzui didn’t even consider resisting. What use would resistance be? He, a mere Feng Zhongzui, against a Half-Saint? He only regretted his parents hadn’t given him a pair of wings. He flapped frantically, wiping blood from his person, and soared away from the mountain. The Transmission Mirror, amidst the holder’s frantic movements, automatically captured crucial moments, as if attempting to force something through. But when the mirror hurriedly swept over the Holy Mountain’s mid-slope, the people of the Five Domains still completely failed to notice a faint, orange glow, like the setting sun, flitting through their vision.

“Let the killing begin!”

“Yes, let the killing begin!”

“Haha, we want to see a fight, the kind where blood flows like rivers!”

The emotions of those before the mirror suddenly surged to a peak, regretting only that the battle was too late in coming, and finding Half-Saint Qin Duan’s emotional outburst entirely understandable.

“Hmph!”

“Hmph! Hmph hmph!”

Qin Duan breathed heavily, clenching his fists tightly. After crippling the disrespectful Feng family boy, he lowered his head slightly, his eyes glowing with a savage, crimson bestiality, as if ready to devour someone. He was extremely sensitive now. He also knew his state was certainly not right. But he absolutely could not accept that Qiu Gu, who had spun his head 360 degrees, was now acting as if nothing had happened, merely dusting off his hands and disregarding him to proceed to the Dead Sea. Furthermore, he felt it was a deep humiliation that his raging anger dared not be vented on the Gui Ji spirit body, the Nine Sacrifices Envoy, who had pierced him with the Dragon Painting Halberd and shattered his soul with a single slap.

Was this not humiliation? This was indeed humiliation! To have achieved Half-Saint status, yet be unable to express one’s rage—how could that be deemed “normal”? In truth, if they were to simply approach and apologize to me now, I wouldn’t erupt. But they…

He glanced sideways. Qiu Gu was obsequiously flattering Elder Fang and Elder Zhong, his expression utterly repulsive. In his world, the lives and dignity of others held no weight. The Gui Ji spirit body remained noble, still elegant, her swaying, graceful steps as she moved away with poise made one wish to rush forward and forcefully tear apart that feigned dignity!

“Am I even inferior to Jiang Buyi?!” Qin Duan roared, head tilted back, no longer able to suppress the towering shame that had transformed into murderous intent within his chest, and shot into the sky.

The world seemed to pause for his outburst. But even the falling leaves were tinged with mocking yellow. Even the whispering wind carried sounds of derision. The Transmission Mirror had just broadcast the foolish spectacle of him, a Half-Saint, being mercilessly toyed with. The Five Domains had witnessed it; it would undoubtedly become a laughingstock!

“Hiss, hehehe, hehehehe…”

Qin Duan’s old tears streamed down as he laughed bitterly, his vision of the Holy Mountain a crimson haze, everywhere stained with blood blossoms. He shook his head ceaselessly, muttering as if possessed, his incantations eventually escalating into a desperate, powerful roar:

“Utterly humiliated, utterly humiliated!”

“All of you, die! All of you, die!”

With a sudden turn! Feng Zhongzui, running and dodging, actually dared to secretly aim the Transmission Mirror at him! Am I, perhaps, so very laughable? As if a string had snapped, the world itself wasn’t fragile, but in that moment, Qin Duan was truly broken by a mere mirror. The final string in his mind snapped.

“Who gave you the audacity to unilaterally decide to broadcast the Holy Mountain?!” Qin Duan’s body glowed with blood-red demonic energy, and he vanished in a flash.

When he reappeared, the Transmission Mirror fell from the sky, tumbling and spinning, vividly transmitting to the Five Domains the demonic image of Qin Duan, holding Feng Zhongzui by the neck like a small chicken high in the air.

“Die!”

Everyone watched in horror. Qin Duan, however, simply stared blankly, his mouth stretched wide, laughing. He uttered a low “Oh,” and slightly tightened his grip. Feng Zhongzui’s eyeballs bulged, and his head was squeezed upwards like a meatball.

“Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die!”

Qin Duan’s demonic blood claws instantly pierced his own body thousands of times, as if to fully unleash a lifetime of humiliation. Until his body was completely shredded into bloody fragments, his movements ceased, and the head still spinning in mid-air happened to fall. With a side kick, the remnants of the corpse were utterly obliterated.

Powerful, invincible! My destiny is my own; life and death are within my grasp! The exhilarating rush of catharsis, however, only fueled a deeper craving. A thirst for slaughter! A thirst for blood!

“Hiss, hehehe, hehehehe…”

Qin Duan bent over, laughing maniacally, clenching his blood-soaked hands, as demonic energy surged from his body. Suddenly, he glared southward, swung his hand, and spat towards the Five Domains, his voice thundering like an explosive crack:

“Xu Xiaoshou!”

“Do you, of all people, truly deserve to humiliate me?!”