Uncovering the Conspiracy

Xu Qi'an put on his robe and climbed alone to the Eight Trigrams Platform.

The autumn wind is bleak, like tiny knives piercing the skin.

He saw the back of the Great Feng Guardian God again. Unlike before, when he sat leisurely at his desk, this time, the Supervisor stood with his hands behind his back on the edge of the Eight Trigrams Platform, looking towards the direction of the Imperial Palace.

"What is your 'intention'?" the supervisor asked.

"Jade Shattered!"

Xu Qi'an gave a straightforward answer.

"Jade shattered."

The supervisor slowly pondered these two words, then smiled and nodded, "It matches the characteristics of the Heaven and Earth Slash, so it wasn't in vain that I delivered this ultimate technique to you."

You old silver coin. Xu Qi'an had already guessed this, but this was the first time he had received the supervisor's acknowledgment.

The supervisor then asked, "Do you know the origin of 'Heaven and Earth Slash'?"

Xu Qi'an shook his head.

"He came from a first-rank martial artist who tried to break through the cage of heaven and earth with his sword, and then he perished," the supervisor said with a smile.

That means he used the wrong weapon. If he had used an axe, he might have succeeded. Even in such a terrible situation, Xu Qi'an couldn't help but complain to himself.

"What's a first-rank martial artist called?" He seized the opportunity to fill in the gaps in his knowledge and voiced his curiosity.

The supervisor shook his head. "Back then, when the Confucian sage divided the realms and classified the major systems into nine ranks, he left the first rank of Martial Artist blank and did not give it a name. Interestingly, the Confucian sage named the super rank of Martial Artist Martial Artist Martial God."

"What's even more interesting is that, based on the experience of the Gods and Devils era, while first-rank martial artists are extremely rare, one or two have always emerged in the long history of hundreds of thousands of years. Only a Martial God has never appeared."

This is indeed quite interesting. The rank that has already appeared is left blank for the Confucian Sage, while the rank that has not appeared before is named "Martial God" by the Confucian Sage. A series of question marks flashed through Xu Qi'an's mind.

At the same time, he pondered why the supervisor had given him "The Heaven and Earth Cleave"; he couldn't possibly expect him to cleave the cage of heaven and earth with a single stroke.

"I'm not Pangu," he muttered to himself, then said, "Could you tell me about Joan of Arc? I have a few questions."

Why say that? It's a downer!

The supervisor shook his head, his tone as if a passerby had stepped in dog poop on the street and exclaimed, "Holy shit!"

Then they walked away with a look of disgust.

The supervisor waved his hand, and a milky-white pill floated in front of Xu Qi'an: "Eat this pill, and your injuries will heal quickly."

Xu Qi'an took the pill and swallowed it, then took a few steps forward and said, "Supervisor, I have only one request for you."

Cloud Deer Academy.

A flash of light appeared, and a figure in white led Xu Qi'an to the foot of the mountain. The figure in white faced the stone steps, with the back of his head facing Xu Qi'an.

"Thank you, Senior Brother Yang."

Xu Qi'an offered his sincere thanks to the "King of Persuasion," saying, "I'll invite you to a brothel for drinks sometime."

"There's absolutely no need for that!"

Yang Qianhuan snorted coldly, and vanished in a flash.

A moment later, he reappeared, staring intently at Xu Qi'an with the back of his head. "If you can find a terminally ill Imperial Academy of Music, I might consider it."

Why was it that Xu Qi'an, the terminally ill Imperial Academy of Music, couldn't understand how his senior brother Yang could have such a strange sexual fetish?

Does he like to give girls acupuncture?

Seeing that he didn't speak, Yang Qianhuan took it as a yes, tilted her head back twice to nod, and then disappeared.

"Senior Brother Yang is always so strange; his thought process is different from ordinary people," Xu Qi'an muttered.

Thinking about that alchemy fanatic who was always thinking about causing trouble, that pitiful wretch trembling in fear, and that gourmet, he suddenly felt completely at peace.

Xu Qi'an looked up at the mountaintop and slowly began his ascent.

He had just reached the halfway point of the mountain when he turned his head and saw an old scholar with disheveled white hair and a faded, starched robe sitting in the pavilion by the stone steps.

Dean Zhao Shou.

"You've arrived!" Zhao Shou said with a smile.

Xu Qi'an ignored the joke, sat down by the pavilion, thought for a moment, and asked, "Does the Dean know about the late Emperor Joan of Arc?"

Zhao Shou remained silent for a long time. "Before the expedition, Wei Yuan mentioned this to me, but at that time he wasn't sure."

Duke Wei was indeed aware of this. Even without concrete evidence, he had no shortage of speculation. Despite this, he still insisted on attacking the main altar and sealing the Witch God.

He stated in the letter that this matter involved a secret beyond the highest level.

Xu Qi'an pondered for a moment and asked, "Why did Duke Wei seal away the Witch God?"

Zhao Shou did not answer him directly, "Have you ever heard the legends about the Gu God that circulate among the Gu tribes of Southern Frontier?"

Xu Qi'an frowned, and Lina's words immediately came to mind:

The prophet of the Heavenly Gu Clan foretold that the Gu God would eventually revive, bringing unimaginable disasters to the Nine Provinces world, turning the entire Nine Provinces into a world of Gu.

Xu Qi'an was startled. Now he knew that the Witch God had also been sealed by the Confucian Sage, and the Gu God had also been sealed by the Confucian Sage. So, according to the legend of the Gu God, if the Witch God were to break the seal, would it also bring a similar disaster?

Is this why Duke Wei was willing to risk his life to seal the Witch God? Xu Qi'an took a deep breath and asked:

How much do you know about Joan of Arc?

"I have been living in seclusion on Clear Cloud Mountain for many years, and I don't know much about the late emperor's affairs. Although Wei Yuan has realized that Zhen De might still be alive, he hasn't had time to investigate yet." Zhao Shou paused, then analyzed:

"But based on his behavior, we can speculate to some extent about his motives."

Xu Qi'an waved his hand:

"I understand him better than you do. Joan of Arc's entire goal was immortality, no, it should be to become an immortal emperor."

"Duke Wei once told me that war shakes the nation's fortune and affects its foundation. The more battles one loses, the more severely the nation's fortune is depleted, until the nation perishes."

The logic is not hard to understand: if a country keeps suffering defeats, keeps losing people, and keeps having its territory invaded, it will eventually perish.

Zhao Shou nodded and took over the topic. "So Joan of Arc colluded with the Witch God Cult to kill Wei Yuan, attempting to wipe out the entire army of 100,000, in order to destroy the destiny of the Great Feng Dynasty."

"The armies of Yan and Kang attacked Yuyang Pass in an illogical manner, also for the purpose of slaughtering Xiangzhou, Jingzhou and Yuzhou and destroying the destiny of Great Feng."

"Now, his unwillingness to grant Wei Yuan posthumous honors is not merely for the sake of such honors; he wants to use this to characterize the war as a crushing defeat. In this battle, the Great Feng lost, with nearly all of its 100,000 troops wiped out. As long as this is announced to the world and the people believe it, it will also shake the very foundation of the nation's destiny."

Xu Qi'an nodded; this was not hard to understand.

He looked at the cynical dean, frowning. "I have a question, but before that, I need to ask one: can weakening one's luck to a certain extent negate the universal Principle that 'good luck cannot grant immortality'?"

"I understand what you're trying to say. If it's just a small amount of luck, it won't be bound by the rules of heaven and earth. But it's different for Joan of Arc. Unless the Great Feng Dynasty is destroyed, he will still be the ruler of a country, and his lifespan will inevitably come to an end. He won't live longer than ordinary people."

Zhao Shou gave a reply in a very confident tone.

"I see, "Xu Qi'an frowned and said, "Then my theory of infinitely weakening luck and breaking the rules of heaven and earth is invalid."

"If that's the case, what exactly is he trying to do? Hmm, all members of the royal family have a destiny, and Joan of Arc, as the empress, has the strongest destiny. Does he want to destroy his country and exterminate his race in order to break free from the shackles of destiny?"

"But this contradicts Emperor Yuanjing's apparent thirst for and attachment to power."

The two immediately fell silent and did not speak again.

A few minutes later, Zhao Shou said, "I have a guess."

Xu Qi'an immediately sat up straight, adopting a listening posture. "Please go on."

Zhao Shou slowly said, "Joan of Arc and the Witch God Cult joined forces to annihilate 100,000 troops and kill Wei Yuan. The former was to destroy the Great Feng's fortune, and the latter was to protect the Witch God. Both sides got what they wanted in this cooperation."

"So, why did the Witch God Cult later send troops to attack Yuyang Pass with such urgency? If it was merely to retaliate against the Great Feng, given the Witch God Cult's current dire situation, a truce would have been the wisest choice."

"Victory and defeat are common occurrences in war, and revenge can be sought at any time; there's no need to fight so desperately. If it's for allies or promises, well, between two countries, there are only interests, not feelings."

Xu Qi'an's eyes lit up, and he vaguely grasped something. "There must be an irresistible temptation within this, one that the Witch God Cult cannot resist."

Zhao Shou showed a look of aptitude for teaching and continued:

"According to what you said, Joan of Arc's goal was to become an immortal emperor. So, what method could allow him to both be an emperor and live forever? Let's put it another way, and you might understand."

"You understand the ruling structure of the three kingdoms under the jurisdiction of the Witch God Cult, right?"

That was the capital city where divine authority superseded imperial authority. Xu Qi'an, of course, knew this and replied:

"Their ruler controls the military, while their ministers control the political power. Above them, a third-rank Spiritual Wisdom Master maintains the balance, but usually does not interfere in military or political affairs."

Zhao Shou stood up, walked out of the pavilion, looked northeast, and said quietly, "The kings of the Three Kingdoms were actually vassal kings. The real central government was Jingshan City. The real emperor should be the great shaman Salun Agu."

"But Salun Aggu has lived for thousands of years."

Boom!

It was as if a bolt of lightning had struck Xu Qi'an's mind, leaving him dumbfounded and trembling all over.

Salun Agu is the Grand Wizard and the highest leader of Jingshan City. For more than a thousand years since the Witch God was sealed, he has been the true leader of the Witch God Cult, with a status equivalent to that of the emperor of the Central Plains Dynasty.

Salun Agu is a first-rank master who has survived from ancient times to the present.

"Does the Dean mean that Joan of Arc wants to emulate Salen Aggus, no, to become a second Salen Aggus?"

The shock in Xu Qi'an's eyes gradually subsided, and his tone became calm:

"Yes, as long as Great Feng is turned into a vassal state of the Witch God Cult, he can become the second Salun Agu. Salun Agu governs the three northeastern kingdoms, and he, Joan of Arc, can govern the thirteen central states."

"He is still the emperor, the only difference being that there is now a sorcerer god above his head. But the sorcerer god has been sealed away, and no one can restrain him. Even if the sorcerer god is unsealed, that super-grade sorcerer can let Salen Agu rule the Northeast, and he might very well let Joan of Arc rule the Central Plains."

"Joan of Arc's cultivation level is at least second rank. Such a master is given the utmost respect by the Witch God Church. For the Witch God Church, turning Great Feng into their vassal state is something that the founding emperor of Great Feng promised and something that the Witch God Church has always dreamed of."

"Therefore, their urgent attack on Yuyang Pass, in coordination with Joan of Arc, aimed to shake the fortunes of the Great Feng Dynasty. This perfectly explains the actions of Joan of Arc and the Witch God Cult. I can understand that they wanted to turn the Central Plains into a vassal state of the Witch God Cult, and that they first needed to weaken the fortunes of the Great Feng Dynasty. But how exactly did they do that?"

"The concept of destiny is mysterious and unpredictable, but the outstanding figures of the Central Plains are a tangible reality. If the people disagree, they will surely rise up in rebellion, regardless of whether it's the Witch God Cult or Buddhist School. But perhaps this is exactly what the Witch God Cult wants to see?"

He continued his neurotic rambling while looking at Zhao Shou, seeking his opinion.

"Our guesses are the same. As for how to turn the Central Plains into a vassal state of the Witch God Cult, that may be another secret of the Superb Rank, which I do not know. At least the Confucian Sage did not leave a single word, so we can only explore it ourselves," Zhao Shou said in a deep voice.

"How can a sorcerer who gathers the fortune of the three northeastern kingdoms achieve immortality?" Xu Qi'an frowned.

"No one has ever said it, nor is there any written record, that the Witch God condensed the fortune of the Three Kingdoms of Northeast China. Perhaps the Supervisor can answer this question for you: the cultivation of Warlock is related to fortune. The Supervisor has lived for five hundred years, and the Warlock System originated from the shaman."

Zhao Shou replied in this way.

So, even a top-tier wizard can manipulate fate like Warlock? Xu Qi'an paused for a moment, staring at the cynical dean:

"I've come this time to retrieve what Duke Wei left me."

Zhao Shou didn't nod, but looked at him and asked, "Have you made up your mind?"

Xu Qi'an nodded slowly. "I didn't understand why the Supervisor always stood by and watched coldly. He was clearly capable, but he did nothing. Especially after I learned about Joan of Arc's existence, I couldn't understand it and even resented him."

"After Duke Wei's death, I felt like I was in dire straits, with nowhere to retreat. During that time, I thought about many things and reviewed many details. Suddenly, I realized that the answer had actually been given to me all along, but I just hadn't realized it yet."

As he spoke, he gazed at a certain spot atop Clear Cloud Mountain and sighed, "The Qian Zhong has already given me the answer."

Only good fortune can defeat bad fortune.

Confucian School cultivation is related to destiny. That second-rank Confucian scholar, carrying the people's resentment, smashed the dragon vein of the Great Zhou Dynasty, resulting in the country's demise and the death of the man.

The chief eunuch's attempt to kill Zhen De was like striking a dragon vein with Qian Zhong.

Everything, good and bad, was destroyed.

Zhao Shou slowly swept his sleeve across the stone table in the pavilion, and a brocade box appeared on the table.

"This is what Wei Yuan gave you," Zhao Shou said with a smile.

PS: 15,000 words achieved before midnight.