Number One Under Heaven: Li Shishi

It is currently the year 1115.

The war between the Great Song and the Liao Dynasty remained at a stalemate, and the situation was extremely complex.

On the one hand, the Liao Dynasty's political center was too dispersed due to the Five Capitals system, and the Khitan nobles were fragmented. On the other hand, it also had to face the crisis of the Jurchen tribes gradually unifying and starting to stir up turmoil.

Several years ago, a Jurchen tribal alliance leader named Wanyan Agu began training his troops and developing production, determined to break free from the rule of the Liao Dynasty and launch an attack on Liao.

Four years ago, Emperor Huizong of Song of Song sent the powerful eunuch Tong Guan to the Liao Dynasty to learn about its political situation. He learned of Emperor Tianzuo of Liao's debauchery and political corruption, as well as the deep hatred the Jurchens harbored towards Liao. He began to consider the feasibility of crossing the sea from Dengzhou and Laizhou to establish friendly relations with the Jurchen Tribe and agree to attack Liao.

However, due to the limitations of the era, Zhao Ji's own personality and abilities, and the bloated administrative system, this matter was like an item added to a shopping cart in a certain year and month; it might not even be cleared out by the time it was taken off the shelves, and it had no immediate impact on the current tense war.

The Great Song had long been weak and complacent.

The weakness of the policies from above, coupled with the past massacres of military officers' families, has led to extremely low morale among the generals. Defeats are as commonplace as eating and drinking; they have become numb to it all.

With both sides beset by internal and external troubles and engaging in mutual procrastination, the war has reached a bizarre stalemate.

Therefore, the scene that Su Qing'an and Fu Hua encountered after arriving in this place could be described as peaceful.

Now.

A bustling restaurant in a city.

The boy tapped the table with his fingers, causing the white teapot on it to tremble and float. He tilted the pot and poured tea into two porcelain cups, filling them to about half full. He glanced at the dishes on the table, his expression turning wistful.

Although five years was within the acceptable range they had envisioned, it was still enough to bring about tremendous changes to the world. In such a chaotic world, this period of time was already quite long.

Jiang Rongyue might still be on Mount Taixu, but Li Shishi would never choose to stay at Fuyun Temple for five consecutive years.

Su Qing'an understood her vision and had also heard some of her complaints.

She once said that Shenzhou alone is vast enough, but a person's energy and time in a lifetime are only a short twenty or thirty years. While there is still energy left in this life, one must carefully plan one's travel routes.

Li Shishi is a person who cherishes time very much.

Her reasons for staying at Fuyun Temple to cultivate were twofold: first, she was somewhat reluctant to part with Susu, who had brought her out of the Capital City; and second, she knew that her abilities were insufficient to navigate the chaotic world and that she needed to engage in some cultivation.

However, given that Su Qing'an has been gone for such a long time, without having received Ji Xuanyuan's inheritance, it is estimated that Su Qing'an's cultivation progress had already stopped several years ago.

The [Immortal Decree] that Li Shishi cultivates is the version that Su Qing'an deliberately deduced using his Manas consciousness to show her the furthest possible progress. He knows that if she doesn't increase the transformation and accumulation of her state of mind, or improve her Honkai Energy cultivation, she will at most encounter a bottleneck that she will find difficult to overcome in her entire life after half a year of diligent cultivation.

Under these circumstances, and since the young man had failed to detect any budding romance between Jiang Rongyue and Li Shishi, he could find no reason why they would still be stubbornly guarding Mount Taixu. He took a sip of tea but showed little interest in touching the several high-quality dishes on the table.

This body is that of a frail human, but it possesses a strange digestive system.

To be honest, I reckon the nutrients from the food that the Courtesan and Rongyue fed me back then haven't been used up.

Even following the normal three meals a day is nothing more than satisfying one's appetite.

If it weren't for some unexpected events, the two of them wouldn't be in such a leisurely mood to sit and eat in the restaurant.

Su Qing'an asked:

"Hua, can't you still sense their current location?"

The girl lowered her eyes to look at the red string on her fair wrist.

This is the manifestation of Udu-dust, and it was also the compass she originally intended to use so that she could immediately find the two of them when she came out.

However, upon initially arriving in the Proper World, she discovered that the two remaining Udu-dust had lost their connection with her.

This is an extremely abnormal phenomenon.

Theoretically speaking, the reason why the Udu-dust on the two people outside the world was in a disconnected state after Fu Hua entered the World Bubble was entirely because the time they were in was different. Even though time was passing on both sides, the result was still relatively static.

As the Divine Key consciousness, Udu-dust does not possess the ability to connect with other feathers despite the barrier that is like a state of paradox.

But once back in their Proper World, things are a completely different story.

In theory, Udu-dust was fully capable of contacting the feathers within the Sea of consciousness of the two individuals, enabling them to communicate and quickly ascertain each other's situation, thus reaching the conclusion that they would meet again in a short period of time.

However, the current situation is clearly not developing as smoothly as expected, so the two can only choose to stay for a while, gather some information, and then return directly to Mount Taixu to see if the other is still there or if any information has been left behind.

After all, the villagers near Mount Taixu have no contact with the outside world, and even if there are newcomers, they are few and far between. It would be better to stay in this city and find out the necessary information before discussing anything else.

She nodded slightly and replied:

"Cannot be sensed."

"There are two possibilities. One is that Shishi and Rongyue both chose to Udu-dust in the depths of their Sea of consciousness. The other is that during this trip to the [Lostbelt], some factor caused a problem between the feather and its original body."

Su Qing'an nodded without speaking; Fu Hua, out of respect for both of them, had granted each other the appropriate permission.

If the other party is willing, it is indeed possible to achieve a result similar to a disconnection.

But this was clearly just a low-probability hypothesis, and he couldn't think of any major event that could cause such a huge discrepancy between the two that would lead him to choose to keep it sealed away.

In comparison, the second option is more reasonable.

Both of them tacitly avoided mentioning a third possibility.

That is, Li Shishi and Jiang Rongyue either encountered a powerful enemy they could not defeat and have died or been imprisoned in some kind of place that isolates them from the outside world.

But putting Li Shishi aside, Jiang Rongyue is not someone who can be killed in this era. Before the Honkai begins to stir up real waves, she is a special existence beyond the scope of the system.

This was still in the eyes of the Immortal Chi Yuan. For Su Qing'an, who could see the truth and essence behind the so-called Stigmata ability, Jiang Rongyue, who possessed this ability, certainly bore a tragic fate, but she also possessed a potential that even future S-rank Valkyrie could not match.

Worldly schemes and tricks are meaningless to it.

The young man was certain that Jiang Rongyue would not die before her natural lifespan ended.

But... if we consider the nature of that ability, can lifespan truly be a constraint?

If one cannot become that person, then why has one never heard of their name in later eras?

Su Qing'an ignored these abruptly appearing details and asked:

"Could you try using the Udu-dust technique to pinpoint the keywords '[Li Shishi]' and 'Jiang Rongyue' and search for information about this city that people know about it?"

"The passive rendering of the Manas consciousness cannot actively step out of the Soul Hall; the efficiency is too slow."

The girl nodded in agreement, and the red string on her fair wrist swayed, from which thousands of crimson feathers of light surged forth, spreading throughout the city like dandelions carried by the wind.

At this point, with no network of connections to leverage, the two could only rely on the unique characteristics of Udu-dust and Mona Shi to conduct a large-scale search.

Fortunately, the results were good. Fu Hua received the definite news very quickly. Her expression was very subtle after receiving all the information, as if she had heard something unexpected.

The girl considered her words carefully before speaking:

"Rongyue and Shishi should be fine, at least that was the case three years ago."

"Not long after we left, the two of them together established a sect called [Chaoxian] in the area near Mount Taixu, and in a short time they transformed a small town into the sect's territory."

"There are also members of [Chaoxian] in this city. Through his memories, I know that in the rumors within the sect, Jiang Rongyue, as the Sect Master of Chao Xian, is known as the disciple of the immortal who left no trace. The sect's purpose is related to me."

"For some reason, people outside seem to think that Rongyue's martial arts are inferior to Shishi's. According to the rumors I collected based on keywords, Shishi is the deputy sect leader of [Chaoxian], and is now recognized by the martial arts world as the Number One Under Heaven the world, with the nickname [One Sword Sinks the River]."

Su Qing'an paused in her tea-sipping motion, her mood suddenly becoming quite complex.

Others may not know Senior Sister Shishi true skill level, but how could he not know?

Even if she had refined the [Immortal Decree] to its peak, inherited Ji Xuanyuan's Stigmata, mastered the Void Sword Qi, and successfully condensed her sword heart, she still couldn't withstand a single sword strike from Jiang Rongyue when she got serious.

Moreover, given the past conditions, it would have been difficult to achieve such an ideal outcome. Li Shishi's martial arts talent was only considered decent, and even with the inheritance of the Stigmata, it was unlikely that she could make rapid progress within a few years.

The reason why I was able to quickly rise to the third-rate level was mainly due to the empowerment of the Manas consciousness, which was essentially no different from cheating.

I can probably make it to the second tier in the martial arts world now, but I'll pass on the Number One Under Heaven and [One Sword Sinks the River].

Fu Hua was clearly curious about this as well. She continued searching for related information and finally said:

"The origin of this title seems to be related to a Great Demon known as Zhujiu Yin three years ago. Upon its birth, it devoured the armies of both the Liao and Song dynasties, and then continued to breach cities along the border, committing atrocities and causing countless deaths and injuries."

"At that time, the imperial court was exhausted from dealing with external propaganda, so it issued an imperial edict to the martial arts world. Many masters who had cultivated Qi techniques well set off together to slay demons, but none of them returned."

"Finally, Li Shishi One Sword Sinks the River, cleaving the current and creating a deep abyss in the middle of the Yangtze River system, causing Zhujiu Yin to perish both physically and spiritually."

"At first, many people didn't believe it, but later, when curious onlookers came and saw the abyss that had been split open, they were all speechless."

"This nickname and the title of 'Number One Under Heaven' became incredibly popular around that time, and it has remained firmly established ever since."

Su Qing'an thought for a moment and almost immediately guessed the truth.

First of all, Li Shishi can probably do this in her next life, so let's just leave it at that for this life.

If that abyss was indeed cleaved open by a sword, then it could only have been done by Jiang Rongyue.

He said:

"It's probably Rongyue who played it for her Senior Sister Shishi."

"Perhaps this is the result she wanted. After all, having a name here would be quite impressive for Senior Sister Shishi when she travels the martial world, and it would make things much easier."

Based on what Fu Hua said earlier, [Chao Xian] was probably a large force that Jiang Rongyue spontaneously established for the sake of the Immortal Chi Yuan. Li Shishi publicly declared that she came from here and was related to the immortal. In addition, when her memories were not fully recalled and she was immature, she made a declaration to the Capital City. People probably believed that she was the Number One Under Heaven.

The girl's lips curled slightly, and her eyes softened, showing both joy at hearing news of the two of them and a touch of amusement. She said:

"During the first two years after we left, Rongyue and Shishi seemed to be inseparable."

"It is said that Li Shishi always carried an old brass sword in her arms, and a finely crafted bronze sword with a blade tucked at her waist, named—Demon Slayer."

"I think that [Demon Slayer] is probably the transformed form of Rongyue's mass-produced Divine Key. Otherwise, it's hard to explain why that [Demon Slayer] would automatically fly out of its sheath to kill the enemy whenever she encountered a situation that required her to take action."

Su Qing'an could almost picture the scene.

A girl in red was holding the Xuanyuan Sword. Apart from pretending to be full of murderous intent and nonchalant, she was leisurely slacking off. Meanwhile, Jiang Rongyue, who seemed to have nothing to do, pretended to be doing nothing but secretly trying to manipulate the Heaven and Earth Qi to fight on her behalf.

Therefore, it's not surprising that Chi Yuan would say that [Demon Slayer] is Rong Yue's sword.

After all, compared to conventional worldly weapons, mass-produced Divine Key that resonate with one's own will are more suitable for creating such a scene and are less likely to be exposed.

He said:

"Rongyue's reason for doing this, besides making it easier for Shishi to travel the world, is probably more to make herself seem somewhat incomplete."

Fu Hua pondered for a moment and said:

"The concept of [Pilgrimage to the Immortals] is related to me, but Rongyue did not directly use our relationship for any publicity. Her approach is undoubtedly religious, yet she has turned the four words 'Immortal Chi Yuan' into a symbolic, almost cultural, thing."

"She does not require all those who join [Pilgrimage] to submit to the Chi Yuan, who is regarded as a deity."

She did not demand that her followers bow down to the immortals and obey their every word.

"She was merely proclaiming my existence and deepening the assimilation of cultures, yet she also advocated that people need to rely on themselves and cannot wait for the mercy of immortals."

Her thick eyelashes drooped as she gazed at the tea in her cup, which was as still as a windless lake, and she whispered:

"Chaoxian, Chaoxian."

"To avoid making me feel displeased, Rongyue chose the most difficult path."

"That's why she didn't want to be seen as omniscient and omnipotent, or as an immortal in the eyes of her followers. So she deliberately created a relative deficiency in martial arts, using Shishi as a cover."

Su Qing'an said calmly:

"She wants you to take over."

"It's more accurate to say that Rongyue's personality dictates that building up her power is solely for this purpose."

"In the original timeline, she shouldn't have done anything similar in your memory. Otherwise, given her abilities and unique characteristics, it would be normal for the power she carefully built to continue indefinitely."

[Foresight], [Immortality], [Ascending Tower State], and [Longevity], which is theoretically attainable by anyone who is willing.

Jiang Rongyue is a gem whose psychological flaws have caused her to be buried in history and remain unknown to this day.

Based on the current information, given the girl's personality, in her initial trajectory, as the cyst in her chest continued to expand, she would find no meaning in living and choose to follow the tide, turning into a pile of yellow earth.

But if she wanted to, she could completely replicate Otto's achievements, or even surpass them.

For example, Su Qing'an knows that the other party is completely unsuitable to be a leader and builder of a power.

But the result is that in just five short years, [Chaoxian] has become famous throughout the world.

While he was somewhat worried that the other party might be overspending, he couldn't help but admire the remarkable results.

Judging from Hua's reaction, the other party even respected the bottom line of the two and regarded it as their own principle.

Developing power under such constraints is virtually impossible.

Just imagining it made Su Qing'an's scalp tingle, and he suddenly realized a problem.

Could it be that Jiang Rongyue has been constantly overusing her abilities for the past five years?

In the past, because he was not very certain about the other party's abilities, he had never directly expressed his judgment to the other party.

Before leaving, because he didn't realize that the other party would choose to help Chi Yuan in this way, he didn't blurt it out.

Now, however, the young man felt it was necessary to make Jiang Rongyue realize the true nature of her abilities and the real price hidden behind them.

Even if this is an extremely cruel truth, if the other party doesn't realize the seriousness of the problem, it's unlikely that her personality will make her think there's any need to stop.

Su Qing'an took a deep breath; she had completely lost her appetite.

"I believe we need to find the melting moon immediately."

"Whether it's the sword that plunges the river into the river and stops its flow, or the way she develops [Chao Xian], it all far exceeds her true capabilities."

The Immortal Chi Yuan remained silent for a moment, clearly realizing this as well. She then searched for relevant information again, frowning as she said:

"According to the information retrieved by Udu-dust, Rongyue has appeared less and less in the outside world since two years ago. In the few times she has been seen, she was always in a specially made wheelchair, surrounded by her followers, and she was holding the [Demon Slayer] sword in her arms. The outside world believes that Li Shishi planted a tremendous sword energy in it to guard against villains."

"It seems that Shishi has gone on a journey and is not interfering much in the affairs of [Chaoxian], and we don't know where she is now; Rongyue's health has deteriorated a bit; in addition, there's the problem of Udu-dust being inexplicably lost..."

The girl suppressed her unusually restless thoughts and calmly said:

"The Chao Xian City established by Rongyue is near Mount Taixu. I'd like to go there and take a look first."

Su Qing'an responded:

"Good."

He was also very curious.

What exactly happened in the past five years?