Covert Operation

Chapter 20: Covert Operation

On the journey back from Wind Burial Valley, Taiyi flew at a leisurely pace.

It wasn't that he couldn't fly faster—with his cultivation at the peak of Grand Unity Golden Immortal, if he truly unleashed his escape technique, he could traverse the Great Wilderness from one end to the other in half an hour. But he had things on his mind, and flying fast wouldn't calm him down.

The fight with Di Jiang was over, and he needed to ponder it.

Not the moves themselves. He felt he hadn't revealed any flaws in his techniques; in fact, by incorporating Lin Yuan's tricky fighting style, his attack patterns were even more refined than the original Eastern Emperor's brute force. What he was pondering was the "performance" aspect.

Had he nailed that surge of wild energy?

When he retreated, did his demeanor of "I'm not losing, I just can't be bothered to waste time with you" resemble the original him?

As he flew past the foothills of Buzhou Mountain's eastern slope, the moon had just reached its zenith. Taiyi stopped, hovering in mid-air, and spread his right hand in the moonlight.

A ball of fire "whooshed" to life in his palm.

It was golden-red, but upon closer inspection, something was off—dark red was mixed within the flames, and gray-black ripples twisted at the edges of the fire. This was what had mutated after the Blood Fiend was integrated into it; he privately called it "Chaos True Sun Fire."

The fire burned quietly, illuminating a radius of ten feet.

There was a stream below the cliff, its babbling water making the night even quieter.

Taiyi stared at the fire for a moment, then suddenly clenched his fist.

"Buzz—"

The flames instantly collapsed, condensing into a pill the size of a jujube pit in his palm. It was dark gold, with three rings of patterns rotating on its surface: the outermost ring was the golden-red sun pattern, the middle ring was the dark red Blood Fiend pattern, and the innermost ring was the gray-black Chaos pattern.

Three flowers gathering at the crown, five energies converging in the core. This was the mark of a Grand Unity Golden Immortal.

But his three flowers were… rather crooked.

Others' three flowers were wisps of clear energy, flowing with Dao charm, clearly cultivated properly. His three flowers? The top one was a golden-red lotus, which seemed decent enough; the left one was a dark red Lycoris radiata, extremely sinister; the right one was a gray-black Chaos Lotus, which made one's heart palpitate just by looking at it.

The System called this "Pseudo-Grand Unity Peak." Taiyi felt he wasn't as powerful as before.

On the surface, his realm was stable. His flowers bloomed to twelve petals, his True Sun Fire was perfected, the Chaos Bell was in hand, and his combat power could contend with early-stage Quasi-Saints.

But in reality?

Taiyi opened his hand, and the pill dispersed back into flames. He raised his hand and pressed his brow—it throbbed faintly. It wasn't a physical injury, but a discomfort deep within his soul.

Lin Yuan's consciousness and Eastern Emperor Taiyi's memories, these two "souls" had not yet fully merged. The compatibility was currently stuck at 71%. Pushing it any higher, each percentage point would require painstaking effort.

The most critical issue was the control over his power, which had a delay.

About 10% to 20%. When he willed something, his body would react a beat later. It wasn't noticeable normally, but in a life-or-death struggle, that half-beat could be the difference between life and death.

"Still need to grind it out," he muttered, extinguished the fire, and continued flying eastward.

Around midnight, he entered the range illuminated by the Sun Star.

That familiar warmth enveloped him, and the True Sun Fire within his body began to circulate on its own, as joyous as a fish returning to water. Taiyi deliberately slowed down further, allowing himself to be immersed in the light of the Sun Star—this body was, after all, nurtured within the core of the Sun Star. Returning here felt like coming home.

His hidden injuries were visibly healing.

By the time he flew past the South Heaven Gate and stepped into the thirty-third heaven, the sky was already turning white.

The guarding celestial soldiers and generals, upon seeing him, hastily saluted. Taiyi waved his hand and didn't use the main entrance—that required checking jade talismans and registration, which he didn't have the patience for now. He passed through a side cloud path.

The Sun Palace was located at the easternmost end of the Heavenly Court.

As he landed, two personal guards in front of the palace gate snapped to attention. Taiyi glanced at them. The younger one's lips moved, as if he wanted to say something.

"Where is Fei Lian?" he asked.

"Replying to Your Majesty, the Commander is training troops on the training grounds," the older one replied, bowing.

"Have him come after he's done."

"Yes!"

He passed through three courtyards and entered the main hall. The hall was empty, with only a meditation cushion placed in the center—the original owner felt excessive decorations were unnecessary; a place to meditate was enough.

Taiyi didn't rush to sit. He first walked to the west wall and pushed open the small window facing the Sun Star.

Golden-red morning light streamed in, falling on his face, warm and comfortable. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and the Blood Fiend energy that had been agitated by the fight within him slowly calmed down.

Only then did he begin his internal scan.

In his dantian, the Chaos Bell floated quietly. The three layers of sun restrictions on the bell's surface were stable, and it was currently absorbing and expelling True Sun Fire, illuminating the entire dantian as if it were daytime. The dark red Blood Fiend patterns around the bell's edges wriggled slightly like living things—the Battle Fiends absorbed during the day had been completely digested and converted into Chaos-colored energy, settling deep within the bell.

The artifact spirit transmitted a vague thought, as if it were dozing after a full meal.

"Quite picky," Taiyi muttered inwardly. It disdained ordinary malevolent energy, only accepting Battle Fiends born from fighting, imbued with killing intent and obsession. Where would he find such things in the future? He couldn't possibly pick fights with people every day, could he?

After checking the Chaos Bell, he began to assess his own condition.

There were three minor injuries in his meridians, caused by the shock of his direct confrontation with Di Jiang. They weren't serious; he could recover with two hours of meditation. The True Sun Fire circulated smoothly, and his cultivation at the peak of Grand Unity Golden Immortal was as stable as an old dog—in fact, due to this practical combat, his control over power had improved by half a point.

But therein lay the problem.

He raised his right hand, palm facing up, and a thought moved through his mind.

Golden-red flames "whooshed" to life, instantly condensing into a three-foot-long flame spear. The spear's body was smooth, its tip sharp, appearing perfect.

But Taiyi frowned.

Too slow.

My thoughts formed flames into spears, but there was a gap of about a tenth of a breath. It wouldn't be noticeable normally, but in a life-or-death situation, that tenth of a breath could be a fatal flaw.

He dispersed the spear and tried with his left hand.

This time it was even slower, about a fifth of a breath.

"As expected..." he muttered.

His left and right hands had different levels of control over his power. His right hand was the Eastern Emperor Taiyi's dominant hand, and his instincts were still there, causing less delay. His left hand was Lin Yuan's accustomed hand, and the delay was more significant.

This was the consequence of his personalities not being fully integrated.

While he was pondering, footsteps sounded from outside the hall.

They were light, but each step was as steady as if measured with a ruler—it was Fei Lian.

"Your Majesty." Fei Lian stopped outside the hall.

"Enter."

The curtain was lifted, and Fei Lian entered in silver armor, kneeling on one knee. "This humble general pays his respects to Your Majesty."

"Rise." Taiyi didn't look up. "How is the training of the soldiers?"

"As Your Majesty commanded, I have selected three thousand elites to specialize in combined attacks and escape techniques." Fei Lian stood up, his back straight. "Three days have shown results. A squad of thirty can perform escape techniques at a speed comparable to an early-stage Grand Unity."

"Mm." Taiyi nodded. "What's the latest from Wind Burial Valley regarding the Witch Race?"

"Scouts just sent back news." Fei Lian took out a jade slip from his bosom. "After Di Jiang returned to Pangu Hall, the various tribes of the Witch Race have intensified their patrols, especially along the routes from Buzhou Mountain to the Heavenly Court. The number of hidden sentries has tripled. Also..."

He paused, lowering his voice. "The Houtu Tribe is accelerating their preparations for the ritual. Our inside source reports that they have invited twelve ancient steles from the depths of the earth's veins. These steles are inscribed with sacrificial texts from the Chaos era."

Taiyi took the jade slip and scanned it with his divine sense. The contents were mixed, including terrain maps, troop deployments, and rubbings of a few incomplete sacrificial texts. The script was crooked and squiggly like crawling earthworms, but he recognized it instantly as the "Chaotic Divine Script" used by the Chaos Demon Gods.

The System popped up in his sea of consciousness:

[Detected fragment of taboo knowledge]
[Record it?]

"Record it," Taiyi murmured. The rubbings in the jade slip vanished instantly, and a new line appeared on the System panel: [Fragment of Chaotic Incantation (1/12)].

"Anything else?" he asked.

"Yes." Fei Lian hesitated. "Mr. Bai Ze came by half an hour ago and left a message."

"Speak."

"He said..." Fei Lian repeated cautiously, "'The heavenly secrets are becoming increasingly chaotic, like looking at flowers through fog. If Your Majesty has a plan, you must be extremely cautious, for the fog may contain not only flowers, but also snakes.'"

Taiyi narrowed his eyes.

Bai Ze's words were almost explicit. Heavenly secrets are chaotic—that was his doing. Every time he signed in, the System used forbidden power to stir the threads of karma, making it so that even a wise man like Bai Ze, who specialized in divination, couldn't see the future clearly.

Snakes in the fog... was he referring to the Heavenly Dao? Or something else?

"I understand." Taiyi waved his hand. "You may go. Continue monitoring the Witch Race. Report any unusual activity immediately."

"Yes!"

Fei Lian bowed and retreated.

The hall fell silent again. Taiyi sat down cross-legged and began to regulate his breathing.

Two hours later, his hidden injuries were completely healed.

He opened his eyes, a flash of golden-red light passing through them before they returned to clarity. He stood up and walked to the window. The sun was already high in the sky, its golden light bathing the Sun Palace.

It was time.

"System, that mission at Pangu Hall, can I accept it now?"

[You can accept it anytime]
[However, it is recommended that the host be fully prepared]
[Current estimated success probability: 47.3%]

Not even fifty percent. Taiyi curled his lips. "What if I add the Time-Space Stasis I just comprehended?"

[Probability increased to 58.6%]
[Still considered high risk]

"That's enough." Taiyi turned around. "Accept the mission."

[Special Mission 'Provocation at Pangu Hall' has been activated]
[Mission Requirements: Sign in at the core restricted area of Pangu Hall and leave a mark that will enrage the Witch Race]
[Time Limit: Seventy-two hours]
[Failure Penalty: Heavenly Dao attention significantly increased]

The panel popped up, listing the mission details. Taiyi scanned it, having a clear understanding—the System was forcing him to go big. Not only did he have to sneak in and sign in, but he also had to leave a mark, as if fearing the Witch Race wouldn't know who had been there.

How malicious.

He liked it, though.

After accepting the mission, Taiyi began to ponder how to tell Di Jun about it. Simply saying, "Brother, I'm going to the Witch Race's sacred ground to court death," was out of the question; he needed an excuse. As he was thinking, there was movement outside the hall again—this time not footsteps, but a gentle yet undeniable pressure.

Di Jun had arrived.

Taiyi took a deep breath, wiped the calculating look from his face, and replaced it with a weary expression, as if he had just finished meditating. Just as he settled onto the cushion, the hall door was pushed open.

Di Jun wasn't wearing court attire, just a simple, plain crimson and gold robe, carrying a food box in his hand. Upon entering, he first scanned Taiyi's complexion, his brow relaxing, "Your injuries aren't serious?"

"Superficial wounds," Taiyi grinned. "That brute Di Jiang has a heavy hand, but he couldn't hit a vital spot."

"Still putting on a brave face." Di Jun walked closer, placed the food box on the ground, and lifted the lid. Inside was a steaming bowl of soup, smelling of herbs. "Bai Ze said your soul was shaken, so he asked me to bring this—made with Solar Essence and Soul-Nourishing Grass. Drink it while it's hot."

Taiyi took the bowl. The soup was hot, warming his hands. He lowered his head and took a sip. The mixed taste of bitterness and sweetness spread in his mouth, flowed down his throat, and soothed his meridians with every pass.

"It's delicious," he said.

"If it's delicious, drink more," Di Jun sat opposite him, his gaze fixed on Taiyi's face. He watched for a while before speaking, "Taiyi, tell your brother the truth."

The soup bowl paused halfway to his lips. Taiyi looked up, "Hm?"

"Lately..." Di Jun chose his words carefully, "have you been planning something? Something big."

The hall fell silent for a moment.

Taiyi slowly put down the bowl, ripples disturbing the surface of the soup. "Why do you ask?"

"I'm your brother," Di Jun said calmly. "I've watched you grow up. If you frown, I know what you're thinking. In the past few days, you've frowned more than you have in the last three hundred years."

Taiyi fell silent.

He looked down at the soup in the bowl, steam rising and blurring his vision. The guilt in his heart resurfaced, churning in his stomach. But the act had to continue, the path had to be walked.

"Brother," he looked up, his eyes serious. "I sensed something at Buzhou Mountain."

"What?"

"Deep within Pangu Hall, there's a fluctuation of a rare treasure," Taiyi spoke slowly, each word seemingly weighed. "The aura is terrifyingly ancient. I suspect... it's a true legacy left by Father God during the creation of heaven and earth, not the trinkets the Witch Race currently worships."

Di Jun's expression changed. "You want to take it?"

"I do," Taiyi didn't flinch. "But I can't take it by force. Pangu Hall is the Witch Race's sacred ground; forcing our way in is tantamount to declaring war. My intention is... to sneak in and investigate first."

"Nonsense!" Di Jun suddenly stood up, his sleeves creating a gust of wind that nearly knocked over the soup bowl. "Do you know what kind of place Pangu Hall is? The core of the Twelve Capital Gods and Fiends Formation! Even if you can evade the Witch Race, can you evade the restrictions? That place repels non-Witch Race bloodlines as if throwing someone into a pot of boiling oil!"

"That's why we need to prepare," Taiyi also stood up, his eyes blazing. "I have the Chaos Bell to protect me, which can withstand the repulsion. Bai Ze gave me a Void-Escaping Talisman to retreat immediately if things go wrong. Moreover..."

He paused, lowering his voice. "Brother, the Witch Race's recent actions are suspicious. The scale of the Houtu Tribe's recent sacrifice was too large. I suspect they are also eyeing the legacy—if they get it first, and the Twelve Capital Gods and Fiends Formation advances further, will the Heavenly Court still have a chance to survive?"

These words struck Di Jun's weak spot. His expression flickered between indecision. He paced the hall a few steps, then suddenly stopped. "What's your chance of success?"

"Fifty percent," Taiyi answered truthfully. "But if we don't go, it's a hundred percent loss."

Di Jun stared intently at him, his gaze seeming to pierce through him. After a long moment, he let out a long sigh and took out a crimson and gold jade pendant from his robes, pressing it into Taiyi's hand.

"This is condensed from my Origin blood essence," Di Jun spoke quickly, as if afraid he'd regret it. "Crush it if you're in danger, and it can summon thirty percent of the Great Zhou Heavenly Stars Formation's power to protect you—but it can only be used once. After using it, I will be severely injured. So, don't use it recklessly unless it's a matter of life and death."

The jade pendant was scorching hot in his hand. Taiyi could feel the surging power within it, and Di Jun's unreserved concern.

His throat tightened. "Brother..."

"No more nonsense," Di Jun turned his face away. "If you're going, go quickly and return quickly. Three days, just three days. If you don't return within the time limit, I will personally lead the army to flatten Buzhou Mountain—and I mean it."

He turned and left. At the doorway, he paused, not looking back. "Finish the soup, and leave the bowl here; someone will collect it."

The hall door closed.

Taiyi stood in place, clutching the scorching jade pendant, for a long time.

The soup had gone cold.

He tilted his head back and gulped down the rest, wiped his mouth, and his eyes regained their sharpness.

The plan was a success.

At midnight, in the secret chamber of the Sun Palace.

Taiyi sat cross-legged in the center of the formation's eye, beginning his final state adjustment.

First, he scanned his Dantian internally.

Three flowers appeared as phantoms above his head: a golden-red lotus in the center, a dark red shore flower on the left, and a gray-black chaos lotus on the right. The three flowers rotated slowly, shedding wisps of Dao rhythm to nourish his soul.

The Five Energies circulated within his chest and abdomen: Heart Fire, Liver Wood, Spleen Earth, Lung Metal, and Kidney Water—what should have been pure and peaceful Five Element energies now carried a chaotic hue, a sign of the Blood Fiend's power seeping in.

This was his current cultivation state: outwardly a peak Grand Unity Golden Immortal, but inwardly infused with too many things that shouldn't be there. The Blood Fiend of a Chaos Demon God, the power of the Taboo System, and the soul mutation from his transmigration.

The combat power he could unleash could indeed contend with a nascent Quasi-Saint.

However, the price he had to pay was far greater than that of a normal cultivator.

Taiyi took a deep breath and formed hand seals. In his sea of consciousness, the Chaos Bell trembled slightly, its chime rippling outwards, drawing all three flowers and five energies back into his body. The infiltration he was about to undertake could not have the slightest leakage of aura.

Then, he began to check his equipment.

The Chaos Bell had already been withdrawn into his sea of consciousness for nurturing and could be used at any time.

The power of Blood Fiend settled deep within his meridians. Once activated, it could put him into the "Chaos True Body" state within three breaths, but at the cost of his physical body beginning to collapse after those three breaths.

Bai Ze's Void-Escaping Talisman was stuck on the Danzhong acupoint on his chest, and Di Jun's jade pendant hung from his waist. The latter was scalding hot to the touch, and he could clearly feel the immense power contained within the drop of essence blood.

[System, enable navigation]

[Pathfinding...]

[Optimal infiltration route generated: Depart from the northeast corner of the Thirty-Third Heaven, use the projection of the Sun Star for cover, detour around the edge of the Northern Darkness, and cut in through a fissure in the earth's veins on the shaded side of Buzhou Mountain]

[Estimated arrival time: One hour]

[Warning: Witch Race patrol density is extremely high. Stealth is recommended throughout the entire journey.]

This system is quite useful, hehe.

Taiyi closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

When he opened them again, the hesitation and guilt in his eyes were gone, replaced by a calm, cold glint.

He stood up and didn't use the door. The north wall of the secret chamber had a hidden window that led directly to the sea of clouds outside the palace. He pushed open the window, and the night wind rushed in, carrying the unique, crisp chill of the Thirty-Third Heaven.

He glanced back at the secret chamber he had stayed in for three days: the cushion, the empty bowls, and the star chart on the wall.

Then, he leaped forward, transforming into a golden light and disappearing into the night.

As he passed the Star-Gazing Platform, he caught sight of Bai Ze still standing there, gazing up at the chaotic, star-filled sky. His moon-white figure appeared slender in the night wind, yet as steady as a rooted pine.

Their eyes met for a moment in mid-air.

Bai Ze nodded gently, drawing an ancient blessing rune over his chest with his right hand.

Taiyi also nodded, his golden light accelerating, tearing through the clouds, and speeding towards the northeast.

Below, on the roof of the Demon Master's Palace.

Kunpeng stood with his hands behind his back on the eaves, his black robe almost blending into the darkness. He watched the departing golden light, a playful curve forming on his lips.

"Pangu Hall... Eastern Emperor Your Majesty, this move of yours is truly risky."

The night was still deep.

The wind was still strong.

The golden light was like an arrow, shooting towards the most ancient and dangerous land in the Great Wilderness.

And waiting for him there was not just Pangu Hall.

But also a confrontation that had been set in motion long ago--

A narrow encounter.