Message from Three Teachings

Chapter 36: Three Sermons Transmit Messages

The morning light of the Sun Palace filtered through the carved window lattices, casting dappled shadows on the warming jade bed.

Taiyi slowly exhaled a breath of stale air and slowly opened his eyes. The lingering haze in the depths of his golden irises had dissipated, replaced by his usual sharpness, though now tinged with an undeniable weariness.

Twenty-seven days had passed since he had crushed the jade token.

He sat up, a subtle stiffness still present when he moved his left shoulder. Although the shattered shoulder blade had been reshaped, the newly formed tissue at the junction of the meridians had not yet fully adapted to the overbearing nature of the True Sun Fire. He cupped his right hand, and a wisp of golden-red flame appeared in his palm, about ninety percent pure. The flame was stable but lacked the effortless fluidity it possessed at its peak.

He silently assessed his condition. The foundation of his peak Grand Unity cultivation remained, but his actual combat power was likely only seventy percent of his full strength. While the corrosive effects of the Blood Fiend Power had been purged, they had left an indescribable "mark" deep within his meridians, like cracks on a dry riverbed. They were harmless in normal times but could become a hidden danger if he exerted himself to the fullest.

"Your Majesty, Eastern Emperor," the maid's gentle voice sounded from outside the door. "Mr. Bai Ze is waiting in the side hall."

"Please show him in."

Taiyi donned his casual attire and slowly walked out of the sleeping quarters. His steps were still a little unsteady, but he no longer needed support.

In the side hall, Bai Ze stood before the jade screen displaying the star map, gazing up at the flowing trajectories of the celestial bodies. Hearing footsteps, he turned, his gaze lingering on Taiyi for a moment before he nodded slightly. "It seems Your Majesty has recovered faster than anticipated."

"I'm not going to die," Taiyi said as he sat down behind the jade desk, gesturing for Bai Ze to sit. "Have you had any success with your efforts these past few days, sir?"

Bai Ze took a green jade slip from his sleeve and placed it on the desk without handing it over directly. He tapped it with his fingertip. The surface of the jade slip glowed faintly, projecting a few lines of flowing text:

"The identities of the three ambushers have been confirmed. They are Great Witch Panshi of the Mountain Department under Di Jiang, Great Witch Cangji of the Green Wood Department under Gou Mang, and Great Witch Lanbo of the Black Water Department under Gonggong. Among them, Lanbo perished three days ago in an internal conflict within the Witch Race. His death was peculiar, suggesting he was silenced.

Taiyi's gaze sharpened. "Was Lanbo the one skilled in tracking secret arts?"

"Precisely," Bai Ze nodded. "Lanbo's bloodline inherited the 'Water Mirror Tracing Shadow' Divine Ability of the Gonggong lineage. If he were alive, perhaps he could have traced some remnants of the Sea of Blood teleportation array."

"And the other two?"

"Panshi is in seclusion due to severe injuries, and Cangji has been transferred to defend the depths of Buzhou Mountain, making him temporarily inaccessible." Bai Ze paused. "However, I learned through the Demon Race's embedded informants that the Houtu Tribe explicitly opposed this ambush, Xuan Ming's attitude is ambiguous, and Di Jiang has suppressed all dissenting opinions."

Taiyi's fingers tapped absently on the edge of the jade desk. The Witch Race was not monolithic; this was a point that could be exploited. But the more pressing matter was—

"What about the Sea of Blood?"

"Completely sealed," Bai Ze said gravely. "Since Your Majesty's departure, Minghe has sealed the Sea of Blood under the guise of 'going into seclusion for enlightenment.' The Asura Race has withdrawn all external passages. My attempts to inquire through several covert channels have all been blocked. However..."

He tapped the jade slip again, projecting a second piece of information: "According to the Heavenly Court's monitoring records of spatial nodes throughout the Great Wilderness, three days before Your Majesty's attack, the ancient teleportation array on the edge of the Sea of Blood experienced three abnormal energy fluctuations. The characteristics of these fluctuations were different from normal maintenance, more like... someone was debugging the array, or performing some temporary 'enhancement'."

Taiyi's pupils contracted.

He quickly replayed the events of that day in his mind: stepping onto the teleportation array, injecting magical power, the array patterns lighting up, space beginning to distort... The entire process seemed normal, but there was indeed a half-breath delay at the moment of activation, and the spatial fluctuations during the teleportation process had a subtle, chaotic rhythm.

At the time, he had attributed it to the array being old and in disrepair. Now, he realized—

"Someone superimposed a tracking mark on the array the moment it activated," Taiyi said slowly. "It wasn't pre-arranged, but they calculated the exact moment I stepped onto the array and acted in sync with its activation. This way, the mark completely merged with the teleportation spiritual light, making it extremely difficult to detect."

Bai Ze's expression became solemn. "To achieve this, one not only needs an intimate understanding of the structure of that ancient teleportation array but also a mastery of spatial laws to the point of 'effortless control.' Throughout the Great Wilderness, there are no more than ten individuals with such attainments. And among them, one who was near the Sea of Blood and capable of acting at that specific time..."

The two exchanged a glance, the answer becoming obvious.

"Minghe," Taiyi uttered the name, his voice calm, but a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. His mind began to retrace the details of that day: every word Minghe spoke in the Sea of Blood palace, every expression, the rhythm of the Sea of Blood's energy flow... and most importantly, the location of that teleportation array.

That ancient teleportation array was located on the edge of the Sea of Blood's sphere of influence. Nominally a public node, it had been guarded and maintained by the Asura Race for hundreds of thousands of years. Minghe would have had countless opportunities and time to tamper with it.

More importantly—

"He didn't need to act personally," Taiyi suddenly opened his eyes. "He only needed to leave a 'backdoor' in the core of the array in advance. When I activated the array, the 'backdoor' would automatically trigger, superimposing the mark. The entire process wouldn't even require him to divert his attention."

Bai Ze pondered, "In that case, Minghe had already anticipated Your Majesty's movements?"

"Perhaps not anticipated, but waited," Taiyi shook his head. "His waiting for me in the Sea of Blood was a test in itself. A test of my intentions, my condition, and also... the path I would choose when I left."

He paused and continued his deduction. "There are many external passages from the Sea of Blood, but the preferred route for a quick departure without leaving obvious traces would be that ancient teleportation array. Minghe only needed to prepare something on all possible routes, and one of them was bound to work. And in fact, I did choose the teleportation array."

Bai Ze's expression grew even more solemn. "Such a scheme... Minghe's ambitions must be considerable."

"His ambitions have always been considerable," Taiyi said indifferently. "As long as the Sea of Blood does not dry up, Minghe will not die. He has plenty of time to lay his plans and wait for a suitable opportunity. And this ambush might be the first chess piece he has placed."

Just as they were speaking—

"Dong—"

The sound of a bell rang out without warning.

It did not propagate through the air but resonated directly within the soul. The sound was ancient, distant, carrying a majesty that pierced all barriers. It came from the depths of chaos beyond the Thirty-Three Heavens, instantly spreading to every corner of the Great Wilderness.

Taiyi and Bai Ze stood up simultaneously.

The bell rang nine times, each peal carrying a deeper and more profound Dao rhythm. As the lingering resonance of the ninth chime slowly dissipated in their consciousness, a clear message naturally emerged:

In thirty-three days, Zixiao Palace will open, preaching the Way of the Quasi-Saint. All who are fated may attend.

"The third sermon," Bai Ze took a deep breath and looked at Taiyi. "Your Majesty, the time..."

"Thirty-three days is enough," Taiyi interrupted him, a complex light flashing in his golden eyes.

Almost the instant the bell rang, the depths of his soul trembled violently—not with a system notification, but a deeper sense, as if some slumbering Taboo had been awakened by the Heavenly Dao's bell. Immediately, fragmented images, chaotic thoughts, and a broken "memory" surged into his mind:

It was a scene of Zixiao Palace, with six futons arranged, Hong Yun rising to yield his seat, Zhun Ti weeping and pleading for a position... The threads of karma in the image were tangled like a mess, and at a certain critical juncture, with just a gentle nudge—

[...The karma of the futon... at its most intense... a gap can be seized...]

Fragmented thoughts flowed through his consciousness. Taiyi steadied his mind and quickly organized these fragments. This was not the System issuing a quest, but rather a form of "precognition" or "deduction" capability carried within the Origin of the "Forbidden Sign-in System," passively triggered by the stimulus of the Heavenly Dao's bell.

He closed his eyes, rapidly digesting the information.

Zixiao Palace, preaching, futons, karma... A thought, bold to the point of madness, took shape in his mind.

"Your Majesty?" Bai Ze noticed Taiyi's strangeness.

Taiyi opened his eyes, his expression returning to calm. "I'm fine. The bell just aggravated an old wound. A moment of adjustment will fix it."

He sat down again, his fingertips lightly tracing patterns on the jade desk. He was unconsciously sketching out the deduction trajectory that had appeared in his mind while organizing the fragmented information.

"I must attend this sermon," Taiyi said slowly, his tone leaving no room for doubt. "Not only must I go, but I must sit in the front row, with honor."

Bai Ze frowned. "But your injuries, and the Styx, the Witch Race..."

"Precisely because of that, I must go even more," Taiyi looked up, a determined light burning in his golden eyes. "The Eastern Emperor of the Demon Race was attacked and severely injured. If I dare not even show my face at Zixiao Palace, how will all beings in the Great Wilderness see it? How will those wavering forces choose? And how will Di Jiang and the Styx press their advantage?"

He paused, his voice turning cold. "I want everyone to see – the Eastern Emperor Taiyi is still alive, and he will walk before Dao Ancestor Hongjun to hear him speak of the path of the Quasi-Saint."

Bai Ze was silent for a long time, then finally bowed. "This subject understands. I will arrange the most suitable guards and contact fellow Daoists Fuxi and Nuwa in advance to ensure mutual support during the sermon."

"Thank you."

Bai Ze took his leave. The side hall returned to silence.

Taiyi sat alone behind the jade desk, his gaze falling on the patterns he had unconsciously drawn – the lines were chaotic, but if one looked closely, the distribution of six points and the intertwined karmic trajectories connecting them could be vaguely discerned.

He extended a finger and lightly touched one of the karmic lines.

Deep within his sea of consciousness, those fragmented "premonitions" surged again, corroborating his deductions. Gradually, a vague plan of action took shape in his mind: the timing, the location, the method, the possible chain reactions...

But it wasn't enough. Zixiao Palace was the core radiation zone of the Heavenly Dao, Dao Ancestor Hongjun sat on a high platform, and the candidates for Sainthood were gathered. To do something in such an environment without being suppressed on the spot required more meticulous preparation, and even more so, a "prop" that could temporarily distort appearances under the Heavenly Dao's pressure.

He thought of the forbidden items in the System's exchange list, but immediately dismissed the idea – those things would likely be detected by the Heavenly Dao the moment they were used in Zixiao Palace. What he needed was a more concealed, more "legitimate" means.

Taiyi closed his eyes and began to search the memory vault belonging to the Eastern Emperor Taiyi. The Great Dao of True Sun Fire, the mysteries of the Chaos Bell, the secret techniques of the Demon Race's inheritance... Suddenly, a sealed memory surfaced:

It was a long time ago, before he and Di Jun had established the Heavenly Court and were traveling the Great Wilderness. They had discovered half a broken stele in an ancient ruin. The inscription recorded a secret technique for distorting perception and confusing heavenly secrets, the principle of which was to use one's own Dao rhythm as a guide to temporarily imitate the "disordered state of the Heavenly Dao." At the time, he thought the technique was strange and of little practical value, so he only noted it down and did not study it deeply.

Now, thinking back—

Taiyi's eyes snapped open, and True Sun Fire flowed around his fingertips, sketching the secret runes recorded on the broken stele in the air. The patterns formed by the golden-red flames flickered in the air, emitting a chaotic rhythm that was out of sync with the Heavenly Dao of the Great Wilderness.

"This is it," he murmured to himself.

The secret technique itself was not powerful, even considered a chicken rib – it could only distort perception within a three-foot radius, and its effect on truly powerful beings was limited. But in the special environment of Zixiao Palace, at the moment when karmic entanglement on the futons was most intense, this insignificant distortion might become the fulcrum to tip the scales.

In the next twenty-five days, he needed to accomplish three things: recover his injuries to over ninety percent; completely master this secret technique of distorting perception; and deduce every detail of his actions in Zixiao Palace, including all possible variables and contingency plans.

Taiyi took a deep breath, stood up, and walked back to the sleeping quarters.

He sat cross-legged on the warming jade bed, but instead of immediately circulating his energy to heal, he closed his eyes and began to repeatedly simulate and deduce in his mind: from the moment he stepped into Zixiao Palace, the position of every step, the choice of every timing, every possible accident...

The sun wheel outside slowly shifted, lengthening his shadow.

The hall was silent, with only countless possibilities colliding, evolving, and being screened in his sea of consciousness. Lin Yuan's modern logical thinking, combined with the Eastern Emperor Taiyi's profound understanding of the Great Wilderness's laws, perfectly merged at this moment, jointly constructing a meticulous plan targeting the Heavenly Dao's predetermined fate.

Three hours later, Taiyi opened his eyes. A hint of fatigue flashed in the depths of his eyes, but more so was a calm confidence.

The plan had taken shape. The rest was to refine it to perfection in the coming twenty-five days and adjust his body to be able to execute it.

He looked up at the window, his gaze seeming to penetrate the layers of palaces and reach the chaos beyond the thirty-third heaven.

Zixiao Palace, Hongjun, candidates for Sainthood, the Heavenly Dao's predetermined fate...

"This time," Taiyi murmured, a nearly mad curve forming on his lips, "we'll play a different game."

Outside the hall, a sea of True Sun Fire churned ceaselessly, and in the eternally burning flames, it seemed to sense a storm that was about to arrive.