Chapter 1567: Person from the Mirror

"They withdrew? All of them?"

Inside the Jin army's imperial command tent, Taishu Xiong and Taishu Feihua both shot to their feet, astonishment written across their faces.

Tao Lue reported, "Yes. Elder Hei Shi suddenly took his people and ran. He left without even saying a word. This old servant went to look personally. Every last person on the Sacred Venerable's side is gone. Not one remains. They all vanished at once."

Taishu Xiong and Taishu Feihua looked at one another, completely at a loss.

The two hurried outside and went to inspect the situation themselves.

There was no mistake.

Hei Shi and the others truly had left. Every last one of Wu Chang's people had disappeared.

In other words, they were free.

Yet the whole thing felt inexplicable, so sudden that instead of relief it left a faint unease in their hearts.

...

Maolu Villa, in Qingshan Commandery.

The true Maolu Villa. The original site.

As for the other places where Maolu Villa's people had stayed over the years, their own side referred to those as Maolu Annexes. Only outsiders habitually called them Maolu Villa as well, never bothering to distinguish between villa and annex. To them, it was nothing more than a name.

Outside the villa, beside a grave mound, Niu Youdao stood quietly with his sword planted before him.

The tree beside the grave had grown taller and stronger over the years. Its crown spread like a great canopy, casting shade over the solitary mound.

The villa itself was somewhat deserted. There were few people inside or out. Many had yet to return.

Guan Fangyi, for instance, had gone off to settle her private affairs. Shang Shuqing had taken the Crow General army to assist Shang Chaozong in the war, while Zhao Xiongge had also been dispatched by Niu Youdao to accompany the army, mainly to protect Shang Chaozong and the others. At this stage, Niu Youdao did not want any more accidents.

He had specifically warned Zhao Xiongge as well: protect them, and nothing more. Do not interfere in the fighting. From now on, Nascent Soul cultivators were no longer permitted to intervene in secular warfare.

The villa might have looked quiet, but almost all the strongest cultivators beneath Heaven were now inside it.

One could just as well say that Niu Youdao had detained them there.

Yun Ji drifted over lightly.

She looked at the grave mound, then sighed. "Regretting that she didn't live long enough to see you achieve success and fame?"

Niu Youdao said, "Success I can accept. Fame, forget it."

He turned and asked, "Where's Hongniang? Why hasn't she come back yet?"

Yun Ji said, "Didn't you send her to the Demonic Sect to bring Feng Guan'er here?"

Niu Youdao said, "How many days has it been? Does bringing one Feng Guan'er back take this long?"

Yun Ji smiled. "She sent a message. She said she's accompanying Nantian Wufang to settle a few matters with the Demonic Sect. He left the sect too hastily before, so she's going with him to make a clean handover of everything."

"..."

Niu Youdao was speechless, his expression strange.

Yun Ji asked, "What's that look for?"

Niu Youdao sighed with feeling. "She got abducted by another man that quickly?"

Yun Ji could not help laughing. "Weren't you the one who said Hongniang lives for matters of love and romance? Besides, you're the one who brought them back together. Of course those two are going to spend some time enjoying each other's company now. Don't worry. She'll come back to see you."

Niu Youdao smiled and shook his head.

His gaze swept across the surroundings.

"After all these years away, we've finally come back."

Yun Ji looked around as well.

Her whole body felt light and relaxed.

It was nothing like those years when they had hidden cautiously, forever wary of danger. Now they were truly at ease, finally free to live as they pleased.

The place itself was small, yet it now stood unrivaled beneath Heaven.

It perfectly answered the saying written within the villa:

A mountain need not be high; with an immortal, it is renowned.
Water need not be deep; with a dragon, it has spirit.

There was no longer anything here they needed to fear.

Comfort spread across Yun Ji's face, followed by emotion. "It feels good to be back."

The moment the words left her mouth, both of them looked toward the villa gate almost simultaneously.

Yuan Gang was striding toward them.

When he reached the pair, both looked him up and down.

His skin seemed even more golden than before.

Niu Youdao asked, "Recovered?"

Yuan Gang nodded. "Recovered."

He could indeed hear again.

The vigor had returned to his eyes as well.

Yun Ji clicked her tongue. "You monkey really are... I don't even know how to describe you."

Niu Youdao said, "If you're recovered, come out with me."

Yuan Gang nodded. "Mm."

Yun Ji asked curiously, "Where are you going?"

Niu Youdao had no intention of saying yet.

Then a deep clang of a bell sounded from inside the villa.

Anyone familiar with Maolu Villa knew what it meant.

Mealtime.

The monks inside had rung the bell.

Before long, a figure hurried out through the villa gate.

Yuan Fang, dressed in monk's robes and looking every inch the solemn man of the Dao, peered left and right. The moment he spotted them, he scurried over eagerly, bowing and scraping.

"Master Dao, it's time to eat."

Niu Youdao smiled. "Now that I think about it, ringing a bell inside the villa really is a little strange."

"Yuan Fang, I'm preparing to build you the largest monastery beneath Heaven. Choose any place beneath Heaven you like. Once you've decided, tell me."

With that, he led the two beside him away in long strides.

Yuan Fang stood frozen.

Then he slowly turned and stared at Niu Youdao's departing back.

Suddenly he covered his face with both hands and began sobbing.

After so many years, the wish he had carried for so long was finally about to come true.

But he soon wiped away his tears with one sleeve, pressed his palms together toward Heaven, and silently muttered a prayer.

Then he gathered up his monk's robes and ran after Niu Youdao and the others, chattering eagerly about what was being served for the meal.

...

Among rolling desert dunes, a swelling mound suddenly burst apart with a thunderous crash.

An enormous sand scorpion drilled out of the ground.

Niu Youdao and Yuan Gang stood on its back.

They looked around, then up at the sky, confirming that they had indeed arrived in the Fifth Domain.

Yuan Gang gave a series of guttural calls.

The sand scorpion immediately adjusted direction, spread its legs, and raced across the desert.

Before long, the familiar pyramid appeared in their field of vision.

The sand scorpion charged all the way to its base and stopped.

Niu Youdao raised his head toward the summit.

Yuan Gang knew this was why they had come, but still could not resist asking again, "What are we here to see?"

Niu Youdao said, "I've read Li Ge's Handwritten Notes—the Demon Canon. I've always felt there was something hidden behind the information Li Ge left behind."

Yuan Gang asked, "A feeling?"

Niu Youdao nodded. "Anyone else who read the Demon Canon wouldn't think twice about it. But I am the so-called Person from the Mirror mentioned inside it. You and I came here because of that ancient bronze mirror in the tomb."

"Others might assume that a Person from the Mirror would naturally carry out Li Ge's wishes because that was how Li Ge arranged things. But I know perfectly well there is nothing natural about it."

"No matter who came through that mirror, he'd probably ask the same question: why should I do what you, Li Ge, tell me?"

He turned to look at Yuan Gang.

"Yet the Demon Canon shows no trace of any coercion or punishment aimed at the Person from the Mirror."

"Who would willingly risk his life just because of a few words she left behind?"

"And it isn't merely a matter of taking risks. The Person from the Mirror who arrives in this world is expected to follow her instructions, sever the passages between the Five Domains, and trap himself inside a single domain."

"If it were you, what would you think?"

Yuan Gang fell thoughtful. "It is suspicious."

Niu Youdao said, "That's precisely where Li Ge was clever."

"Some things don't need to be written plainly. That keeps them secret, while the person who needs to understand will naturally understand."

"Others can't see the intention behind the notes, but once the Person from the Mirror reads them, he is certain to have this question."

Yuan Gang raised his head toward the pyramid. "Master Dao, you suspect Li Ge left her explanation here?"

Niu Youdao looked up as well. "This is the formation eye of the Five Domains Stellar Grand Formation. It's the central point from which the grand formation is activated, and the first critical step in severing the passages between the Five Domains."

"If this place offers no explanation, then why should the Person from the Mirror continue? Why should he willingly trap himself inside a single domain?"

"If there is an explanation, it must be here."

Yuan Gang asked, "How do we find it?"

Niu Youdao reached into his sleeve.

When he turned his palm over, the Stellar Command Token lay in his hand.

A moment later, Niu Youdao flashed into the air and drifted toward the pyramid's summit.

Yuan Gang leapt after him, landed halfway up the pyramid, and then climbed swiftly from level to level, bounding upward at remarkable speed.

Niu Youdao had barely been standing on the summit for long when Yuan Gang arrived beside him.

Niu Youdao studied the flat stone platform for a moment.

Then he swept his sleeve.

A surge of power cleared away the dust and sand, revealing the recessed slot beneath.

Niu Youdao held the Stellar Command Token over the slot and compared the two.

The size matched perfectly.

Even the raised and recessed patterns on the token seemed to correspond with those inside the slot.

Yet he did not place it in immediately.

Yuan Gang could see that he was hesitating, clearly considering something.

He stayed silent and did not disturb him.

He trusted Master Dao to make the wisest choice.

At last, Niu Youdao drew a deep breath.

With a sharp click, he pressed the Stellar Command Token into the recess until the two fit perfectly.

He slowly released his hand.

From time to time, he examined the token for any changes, then swept his gaze around the surroundings.

Yuan Gang did the same.

Both remained alert, carefully observing everything around them.

Suddenly Yuan Gang whipped his head toward the token.

His voice sank. "Master Dao, something seems wrong."

His senses were extraordinarily sharp.

He had detected something.

Niu Youdao raised one hand to stop him.

There was no need to say more.

Niu Youdao had sensed it too.

He could feel the energies of Heaven and Earth faintly surging within the pyramid, washing through the Stellar Command Token.

As that flow of primal energy grew increasingly distinct, wind seemed to rise around them.

Clouds began gathering.

The gale whipped their clothing into violent snaps.

Both men looked up.

Gray-white mist was condensing out of nowhere overhead.

It grew denser and denser, slowly darkening into rolling black storm clouds.

Deep rumbling sounded within them.

The sky darkened.

The rumbling in the clouds swelled into rolling thunder, while flashes of lightning flickered continuously inside.

Suddenly—

CRACK!

A dazzling bolt of lightning tore across the sky and struck directly toward the top of the pyramid.

Again?

Niu Youdao was badly startled.

He had experienced that once before, and it had been anything but pleasant.

He and Yuan Gang immediately threw themselves away from the summit and leapt down to evade it.

BOOM!

Before either had landed, both turned their heads.

The bolt had struck the pyramid's summit exactly.

It did not chase them.

Both men relaxed slightly.

Yuan Gang landed halfway down the pyramid and stopped fleeing, raising his head to watch.

Niu Youdao had gone farther.

He landed on the sand below and looked upward.

The sand scorpion that had brought them here had already been terrified into burrowing frantically beneath the desert and fleeing.

After the first bolt, more dazzling lightning followed.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

Bolt after bolt struck the summit in rapid succession, as though the lightning were being poured directly into the pyramid.

At last the pyramid itself seemed to awaken.

A deep humming tremor began running through its entire body.

As the lightning strikes grew faster and denser, the shaking intensified.

Then, amid a heavy subterranean rumble, the pyramid actually began to sink.

The earth shook.

The desert trembled.

The spectacle was astonishing.

Yuan Gang, still standing halfway up the pyramid, looked quickly from side to side.

At last he leapt away, struck the sand, rolled, sprang back to his feet, and ran to Niu Youdao's side.

The two stood shoulder to shoulder, watching the pyramid sink slowly into the desert amid thunderous rumbling.

[End of Chapter 1567]