Chapter 1985: Memory

In the Apricot Realm, within the Crystal City, lay the intelligence headquarters of Mùzǐ Lǐ.

The completely enclosed space was like a large bottle, and inside, everything was uniformly black and white, exuding an aura of extreme solemnity.

Affixed to the ceiling of this bottle-like space were luminescent pearls with recording capabilities, emitting a gentle glow that wasn't dazzling, illuminating the busy figures scurrying back and forth below.

"Excuse me, thank you, I'm looking for Sister Yuán."

"Big Head, I've sent you the jade slip via table formation; remember to ping me in fifteen minutes."

"Thirty-one, come quickly!"

"Candied sweet potatoes, spicy ox tongue, rabbit haunch."

"Who moved my number 763? I told you not to mess up the order of this batch of communication bead arrays! Damn it!"

"Ā Bèi, 666, add more locks..."

Hundreds of figures moved between the foreground and the distance.

The sounds, rising and falling, were a mix of understandable and unintelligible, likely their exclusive encrypted languages.

Some were roaring curses, some were taking medicine to recover their energy, and some were urgently contacting various strongholds on the Saint God Continent while wiping sweat, completing their tasks...

"Ugh."

Xiǎoxiǎo choked on her saliva, then blinked, coming back to her senses.

One hand clutched the purple braided hair hanging over her chest, the other held the neatly arranged purple jade slip. She gazed at the busy crowd in the distance, feeling as though she were in a dream.

"I actually joined 'Mùzǐ Lǐ'..."

Just half a year ago, Xiǎoxiǎo was still on the Barren Isle of Death, under the jurisdiction of the Huācǎo Pavilion in the Southern Region of the Saint God Continent, competing with over a thousand other blood cultivators, all eighteen years old, for the sole "Blood Cultivator's Flag."

Just a month ago, Xiǎoxiǎo, the new Blood Cultivator who had garnered significant attention in the Southern Region intelligence community, had only just completed her training in the abilities and qualities of Huācǎo Pavilion intelligence personnel, and had just received the extensive imprinting of Huācǎo Pavilion's intelligence data.

Afterward, Xiǎoxiǎo, who hadn't truly recovered from her former life of surviving on the barren island, constantly facing danger, was assigned the role of deputy team leader. She took charge of the high-risk information organization, urgent intelligence processing, and liaison work with the Mùzǐ Lǐ headquarters in the Apricot Realm, which was considered a crucial task within the Huācǎo Pavilion's Ninth Team.

Just three days ago, Xiǎoxiǎo was an ordinary blood cultivator, only eighteen years old, who knew only of the Apricot Realm and Mùzǐ Lǐ, revered their great names, but never imagined being able to enter or join them.

Yes, Xiǎoxiǎo had always believed this; she was a very ordinary intelligence worker.

After all, compared to the legendary figure in the intelligence world, "Master Lǐ," she, Xiǎoxiǎo, was not even a speck of dust.

But yesterday, as a deputy team leader, Xiǎoxiǎo was once again exceptionally promoted, this time directly into the Apricot Realm, joining the Mùzǐ Lǐ Intelligence Department Headquarters.

Unlike other ordinary promotions, after this leap, Xiǎoxiǎo's identity information was encrypted and destroyed. From now on, she would only obey the orders of one person.

"Master Lǐ..."

The busyness belonged to other Mùzǐ Lǐ members, not Xiǎoxiǎo.

Turning around, in this vast headquarters space, the only object that transcended the black and white palette, a coral throne that should have been located in the Crystal Palace, was right beside Xiǎoxiǎo.

On the coral throne lay a person with a pale face, looking as if their essence and spirit had been drained, their appearance unremarkable, seemingly dozing off.

Xiǎoxiǎo, however, knew that this was the "King" among the thousands of new and old generation blood cultivators present, a legendary figure in the entire Saint God Continent's intelligence community, the sole ruler of the new generation of dark forces, almost comparable to the former Fénqín Head.

"Master Lǐ..."

Xiǎoxiǎo held the jade slip with both hands and called out respectfully once more.

Lǐ Fùguì lifted his eyelids, squinting obliquely. Seeing the dazed little girl, he sat up straight.

The sleepiness seemed to vanish instantly, and Master Lǐ became extremely serious, his gaze fixed on the jade slip on her chest.

"Ah, it's Xiǎoxiǎo."

Blood Cultivator Xiǎoxiǎo, the foremost person on Death Origin Island.

She completed the Huācǎo Pavilion's death-level training for intelligence personnel from level one to eighteen in just one month, a process that normally takes three years.

Then, in four months, she fully digested the Huācǎo Pavilion's exclusive intelligence pills, imprinting every piece of intelligence information sent and received by the Huācǎo Pavilion over the past thirty years into her mind.

What level of prodigy was this?

To put it this way, Lǐ Fùguì still hadn't fully digested the vast amount of data in those pills, and sometimes had to rely on tools to look things up.

As a result, before bringing Xiǎoxiǎo into the Apricot Realm with the intention of training her as his successor, the first thing Lǐ Fùguì did was to visit Shòu Yé’s clone in the Crystal Palace.

He had Shòu Yé’s own eyes verify whether Xiǎoxiǎo was a Heavenly Mechanism Puppet and if there were any traces left by Dàojiōngcāng on her.

The answer was no.

Xiǎoxiǎo, a Shēnbái body, a once-in-a-million spiritual power Saint Body, whose spiritual power was naturally different from ordinary people.

Shòu Yé’s evaluation even stated that this person was suitable for cultivating Thorough God’s Mind and would definitely master "Mind."

"All evaluations from level one to eighteen were historically first, unparalleled in combat power at her level, unparalleled in keenness, and she even excels at the most difficult information processing..."

Lǐ Fùguì looked at the dazed little girl in front of him, the comprehensive evaluation of her flashing through his mind.

Amidst his envy, he could only sigh in the end, giving her a Shòu Yé-level evaluation: a先天 Intelligence Saint Body.

Comparing oneself to others can be infuriating.

Why don't I, Lǐ Fùguì, have such talent?

But Shòu Yé’s instructions were important, so Lǐ Fùguì quickly regained his composure. As he took the jade slip, he casually said, "Only fifteen minutes, and you've processed everything?"

"Mhm!"

Xiǎoxiǎo nodded emphatically.

After a pause, she nodded emphatically again, adding, "Processed it all."

Flaws certainly existed...

But being inarticulate for an intelligence agent was both a bad thing and a good thing. Given her origins from Death Origin Island, perhaps in about three years, that bloody experience would fade.

Lǐ Fùguì didn't mind. He took the jade slip and pressed it to his brow. While digesting the information, he waved his hand, "You summarize it as well."

"Mhm!"

Xiǎoxiǎo nodded emphatically, appearing still in a state of reverie, but actually thinking.

After a moment, she nodded emphatically again, adding:

"Master Lǐ's task for Xiǎoxiǎo was: to collect strange occurrences of 'memory confusion' from various regions of the five realms of the Saint God Continent, list them in the 'Memory Paradox' jade slip, and provide a summary."

"Xiǎoxiǎo found a total of three locations, two of which involve forbidden names and need to be replaced with 'Hall Master Dào.'"

Three locations... Lǐ Fùguì thought to himself, if you can gather so much information and get accurate answers in fifteen minutes, your brain is already comparable to Hall Master Dào's. "Elaborate."

"Understood, Master Lǐ."

"The first memory anomaly appeared in the 'Heavenly Mechanism Divine Cult.'"

"The Heavenly Mechanism Divine Cult was highly active in the Southern Region, specifically after Hall Master Dào abdicated."

"As of now, shadows of Heavenly Mechanism Divine Cult missionaries have also appeared in major cities and strongholds in the Northern, Eastern, and Central Regions, and they have attracted the interest of many spirit refiners."

"According to Xiǎoxiǎo's past understanding, the Heavenly Mechanism Divine Cult actually only emerged in the last few years, but when Xiǎoxiǎo tried to check the exact time and location again, she couldn't find them."

"You don't have them in your mind either?" Lǐ Fùguì interjected.

"No," Xiǎoxiǎo shook her head.

"You kept the 'Anti-Dào Guidance Bead' given by Shòu Yé on throughout, didn't you?" Lǐ Fùguì remembered something.

"No," Xiǎoxiǎo shook her head again.

After a pause, seeing that Master Lǐ had no more questions, Xiǎoxiǎo nodded emphatically again and continued:

"According to the latest historical records, there are several other places that explicitly state the Heavenly Mechanism Divine Cult originated in the Saint Ancestor Era."

"In between, after experiencing the eras of various ancestors like War, Dragon, Heaven, and Sword, the Heavenly Mechanism Divine Cult and Heavenly Mechanism Arts once declined, but the inheritance was not lost and continued until the current Spirit Refining Era, rising with Hall Master Dào."

Strange...

Lǐ Fùguì frowned.

His memory was excellent, though not as good as Xiǎoxiǎo's, but he clearly remembered this wasn't the case.

The Heavenly Mechanism Divine Cult, a year or two ago, he had never even heard of it.

Heavenly Mechanism Arts had always only recognized Hall Master Dào's as orthodox; others in the Southern Region practiced unorthodox, unspeakable methods.

How did Heavenly Mechanism Arts suddenly become an inherited tradition?

"Huābào!"

Lǐ Fùguì waved a hand behind him, calling over a middle-aged man. He asked, "You're from the Southern Region; you even went there on a mission a while ago. Let me ask you, what is the status of the Heavenly Mechanism Divine Cult in the Southern Region?"

Huābào, the bearded man, was startled by the question. He obviously hadn't expected such a simple question and almost laughed out loud.

Upon realizing that Master Lǐ was asking the question and knowing it must have a deeper meaning, he thought carefully before answering:

"Boss, the Heavenly Mechanism Divine Cult has always been the overlord of the Southern Region. Even when the Art Gold Sect was around, it still held the upper hand."

"Even the Fēng family, didn't they provoke someone from the Heavenly Mechanism Divine Cult before? That Fēng Zhōngluò was directly beheaded, but the Fēng family made no move in the end, they just grit their teeth and endured it."

Are you messing with me, you bastard... Lǐ Fùguì almost slapped him, but after calming down, thinking that this was a task given by Shòu Yé and concerned Hall Master Dào, he turned back and asked:

"Who is Fēng Zhōngluò?"

Huābào chuckled, about to speak.

But then he saw Master Lǐ turn his head and cast a cold glance, immediately scaring him into silence, swallowing his words.

Xiǎoxiǎo turned to check the jade slip, but Lǐ Fùguì stopped her: "I didn't tell you to leave. First, use your brain. Who is Fēng Zhōngluò?"

Xiǎoxiǎo stopped her movement. After thinking seriously, she said with some confusion, "Xiǎoxiǎo doesn't know. Xiǎoxiǎo was just about to check..."

"You don't know?" Lǐ Fùguì's voice rose a few tones.

"Xiǎoxiǎo, I'll go check right away!"

Lǐ Fùguì touched his chest, his heart inexplicably quickening. In fact, he didn't know Fēng Zhōngluò either. In fact, he was touching the "Anti-Dào Guidance Bead" given by Shòu Yé, which he always carried with him.

Shòu Yé's original words were: As long as you don't actively turn this thing off, let alone that showy old Taoist, none of the Five Realm Ancestor Gods can guide you!

At the time, Lǐ Fùguì asked: What if I turn it off?

Shòu Yé laughed: Either I appear and save you, or I don't appear, and you go see the King of Hell.

The implication was that the only unexpected outcome would be encountering Hall Master Dào or an Ancestor God-level enemy, and the bead being shattered by someone else.

In other words, wearing this close to the body was a life-saving charm!

Lǐ Fùguì had been wearing it ever since.

He firmly believed that he hadn't been guided, so there was no such person as Fēng Zhōngluò in his mind, which necessarily meant that such a person did not exist in the world.

After all, the Fēng family of the Southern Region, from newly born babies and abandoned illegitimate children to every single person on the Fēng family genealogy, Lǐ Fùguì knew by heart.

"You tell me," Lǐ Fùguì looked at Huābào.

Huābào then said tremblingly, "Fēng Zhōngluò is Fēng Zhōngzuì's biological younger brother, of the Fēng family's 'Zhōng' generation. Master Lǐ doesn't know?"

Although terrified, relying on his experience accumulated while working under Master Lǐ, Huābào dared to question a bit: "Master Lǐ, don't play with me. Huābào doesn't have the guts of a leopard, and I'm afraid of such mysterious things."

"Get out of here."

Lǐ Fùguì ignored the fellow and turned to look at Xiǎoxiǎo, who had returned.

The dazed little girl's expression was clearly still unsettled. She nodded muttering:

"What Master Huābào said is correct. The information is indeed recorded that way."

"The only discrepancy is that Fēng Zhōngluò died half a month ago, having accidentally fallen off a cliff. After his body was recovered, it was cremated by the Fēng family."

Lǐ Fùguì's head buzzed. In other words, no one could be found to verify it, only a name remaining in "history"?

After a long silence, he looked at the little girl in front of him and commanded:

"From now on, wear the 'Anti-Dào Guidance Bead' at all times. You are not allowed to turn it off actively."

"Once I record that your bead has been turned off, I will immediately assume you've been taken over. Do you understand?"

Xiǎoxiǎo's body trembled, and she nodded emphatically: "Mhm!"

"Furthermore, during our future conversations, if anything I say differs from the memories in your mind, you must remind me."

"Mhm!"

"And your current memory will be considered correct."

"Mhm!"

"All discrepancies, no matter how small, are to be listed in the 'Memory Paradox' jade slip."

"Mhm... huh?" This time, Xiǎoxiǎo couldn't nod emphatically. "Master Lǐ, if we count that way, the things to be recorded in that jade slip won't be just three."

Lǐ Fùguì knew well how immense this workload would be, after all, they were confronting Hall Master Dào.

But there were only two beads, and he had just narrowly escaped death. His body was still recovering, and his spiritual power wasn't strong. The heavy burden could only fall on Xiǎoxiǎo's shoulders.

Moreover, the young girl Xiǎoxiǎo was new to the world, full of energy. With great power comes great responsibility. Clearly, she could do it. Anyway, if he asked, the answer was always "Mhm."

Lǐ Fùguì simply took a deep breath, settled the matter, and said, "First, tell me about the three important ones you found."

"Oh..."

Xiǎoxiǎo's spirit seemed to have been suddenly drained a bit, but she quickly regained her serious expression and said:

"The second 'memory paradox' is directly related to the first, concerning the belief of the Heavenly Mechanism Divine Cult."

"The Heavenly Mechanism Divine Cult, from ancient times to the present, has only worshipped one Ancestor God, called 'Dao Ancestor.'"

"According to Xiǎoxiǎo's understanding, there has been no such 'Dao Ancestor' in the five realms from ancient times to the present, so I infer that the Heavenly Mechanism Divine Cult worships a fictional Ancestor God."

"However, according to the latest historical records, there are clear records that during the Art Ancestor Era, among the Ten Ancestors, there was indeed a Dao Ancestor."

If it weren't Xiǎoxiǎo standing before him, Lǐ Fùguì would have long slapped any professional intelligence agent who dared to speak such empty words and confuse right and wrong to this extent, and then cremated their body just like Fēng Zhōngluò.

Lǐ Fùguì suppressed his wildly twitching eyebrow and asked with a cold face, "If there's a Dao Ancestor among the Ten Ancestors, then who's gone?"

"Time Ancestor."

Although Time Ancestor had little presence, Time Ancestor genuinely existed.

During the Art Ancestor Era, which was Suìyīn, Time Ancestor even showed his face... Hmm?

Lǐ Fùguì was stunned. Did Time Ancestor show his face?

He carefully recalled and found that in all historical records, Time Ancestor seemed to only have a name, with no specific deeds recorded.

Dao Ancestor even left behind a Heavenly Mechanism Divine Cult. In contrast, Time Ancestor was so absurd that his authenticity needed to be supported by the concept of "Empty Regret"... Hmm?

Wait a minute!

Why did I have such an absurd thought, "Dao Ancestor even left behind a Heavenly Mechanism Divine Cult?"

That thing is fake!

Fake!

Lǐ Fùguì pinched his brow, sighed weakly, and grew more worried.

He felt that relying solely on the bead given by Shòu Yé, rather than mastering Shòu Yé’s Intent Dao... any contact would inevitably invite strangeness. The memory infiltration of Hall Master Dào was simply impossible to guard against!

"You continue."

"Mhm!"

Xiǎoxiǎo nodded emphatically, already back to her energetic state, though her eyes remained vacant:

"Master Lǐ, Xiǎoxiǎo hasn't finished the second point yet."

"In the fragmented records within the Huācǎo Pavilion concerning the Void Island Civilization, Xiǎoxiǎo found that the Void Island Civilization never acknowledged 'Time Ancestor' as an Ancestor God."

"How so?" Lǐ Fùguì became interested. This was a bit absurd. Why didn't he remember any information about the Void Island civilization in Huācǎo Pavilion's data?

Xiǎoxiǎo said, "The Void Island Civilization believes that Saint Demon Medicine Ghost Art, Sword Dragon War Dao Heaven, these are the Ten Ancestors of the Saint God Continent recognized by the Void Island. Time Ancestor is an 'External Ancestor.'"

An External Ancestor, what kind of thing is that?

Xiǎoxiǎo, researching these things all day, won't you be affected too?

"Huābào!"

Lǐ Fùguì pointed behind him, and the bearded Huābào came over again. "Master Lǐ."

"Now, immediately, tell me, who are the Ten Ancestors in your mind?"

Huābào said without thinking: "Saint Demon Medicine Ghost Art, Sword Dragon War Dao Heaven... The rhyme of the Ten Ancestors circulated on the Saint God Continent, it's catchy."

"Get out!!!"

Are you sick... Huābào shuddered, covering his ears and running away.

Xiǎoxiǎo finally realized the problem, the horror of this task, and why Master Lǐ valued it so much.

It wasn't that the history of the Saint God Continent had a problem.

It was that the memories of the people in the Saint God Continent, and those in planes connected to the Saint God Continent, all had problems?

The Dao Ancestor, born out of thin air, gained an inheritance and squeezed into the ranks of the Ten Ancestors?

And the Time Ancestor, who had always had a weak presence, was even squeezed out of this world in the memories of people like Huābào from the Southern Region?

"Tell me about your third point."

Lǐ Fùguì felt a chill down the back of his neck. He touched the protective charm bead to regain his footing. "You said this third 'memory paradox' is unrelated to Hall Master Dào?"

"Mhm!"

Xiǎoxiǎo nodded emphatically.

After a pause, she nodded emphatically again, adding, "That's right, Master Lǐ. I've collected a large amount of information and found peculiarities about the 'Nine Seats of the Saint Slaves.'"

Came right to the headquarters of the "Saint Slaves"?

Lǐ Fùguì's heart tightened, but he remained silent, awaiting what followed.

Xiǎoxiǎo pointed at the jade slip in his hand and said, "There are a total of ten people in the Nine Seats of the Saint Slaves, but there are two strange points."

"Firstly, Xiàokōngtóng of Cānyuè Immortal City, some资料 explicitly record that he was the Tenth Seat who took the Saint Slave token."

"Other资料 show that he never took a token at all, and observing his past actions, he acted in secret without a commander's order. This makes Xiǎoxiǎo puzzled."

Lǐ Fùguì himself came from the former Huācǎo Pavilion. Others might not know these secrets, but how could he not?

Xiàokōngtóng had no token!

He was merely a registered disciple of Bāzūn Ān, acting on his behalf to collect famous swords!

"Remember, no token." Lǐ Fùguì said decisively, "What about the second?"

"Mhm!"

Xiǎoxiǎo nodded emphatically: "It's about a person named 'Luójǐng.'"

Luójǐng, who was that?

Lǐ Fùguì was stunned.

Xiǎoxiǎo said, "When I was searching for information on the Nine Seats of the Saint Slaves, the name 'Luójǐng' kept appearing in my mind, but I couldn't remember who he was, and there was no record of such a person."

"Finally, after gathering all the Saint Slaves, I found that I had no permission to access the information for the Sixth Seat of the Saint Slaves, so I wanted to ask Master Lǐ, who is Luójǐng, and is he the Sixth Seat of the Saint Slaves?"

What "Luójǐng"?!

The Sixth Seat of the Saint Slaves was responsible for intelligence work in the Western Region's Great Desert, directly commanding the entire 'Great Desert Ridge' organization.

Who the Sixth Seat was, others might not know, but how could I not know?

"Hiss!"

Lǐ Fùguì thought for a moment and realized he couldn't remember the name of the Sixth Seat of the Saint Slaves. He was certain he had seen and asked about it!

"Who was it again?"

"Anyway, it's not 'Luójǐng'; I have no impression of such a person."

"Right, his code name has a 'six' in it, and another character, what was it..."

At this thought, Lǐ Fùguì pondered deeply.

Then, his pupils trembled, and his voice followed suit, shaking with uncertainty, his expression filled with terror:

"Six... Dào...?"