A visit to the Shaman God Cult

The next second, he put aside his insignificant emotions and the information Wei Yuan had given him flashed through his mind.

His birth mother was named Ji Baiqing, the younger sister of the Lord of Qianlong City. She was skilled in both Martial Dao and cultivation, holding the eighth-grade Qi Refinement and seventh-grade Qi Consumption levels respectively. Twenty-one years ago, after returning to Qianlong City from the capital, she was imprisoned and never left her residence.

He took a deep breath, stepped into the courtyard, and gently knocked on the closed door.

There was a moment of silence in the room, then a gentle female voice, suppressing excitement and tinged with nervousness, came through:

"Come in, come in."

No one had visited this place in so many days; she guessed who it could be.

Xu Qi'an pushed open the door, the first thing he saw was a wall covered with an ink painting. Tall stands stood on either side of the painting, with two evergreen potted plants on them.

On the left is a four-panel screen, and behind the screen is a bathtub.

A beaded curtain hung down on the right, behind which was a round table and a bed. A woman dressed in a plain-colored dress sat at the round table, and the air was filled with the fragrance of sandalwood.

She had a round face, an oval shape that could express both joy and anger, and very delicate eyebrows and eyes, but with a faint sadness in them. Her lips were full, and her hair was tied up in a high bun.

She is not young, but her beauty has not diminished in the slightest, which shows that she was a rare beauty in her youth.

If I inherited her looks, I wouldn't need a rebirth pill to improve my genes. As Xu Qi'an scrutinized her through the beaded curtain, the woman behind it was also looking at him, her eyes brimming with tears, and she whispered:

"Ningyan?"

The way he called out "Ningyan" was incredibly natural and smooth, as if he had practiced it countless times in private.

Xu Qi'an hesitated for a moment, but still couldn't bring himself to say "mother," so he just gave a blank "hmm."

Ji Baiqing was somewhat disappointed, but then said with a hint of hope:

"Come to the table and talk."

"Okay!" Xu Qi'an lifted the curtain and sat down at the table.

Throughout the process, the woman kept looking at him, her gaze sweeping over him from his face to his chest, and from his chest to his legs, as if she wanted to make up for all the attention she had missed over the past twenty-one years.

Unfortunately, no matter how carefully she looked at it, she could never make up for the missing twenty-one years.

When two people who should be closest to each other, yet are also the most unfamiliar with each other, sit together, the atmosphere inevitably becomes a little awkward.

The mother and son sat for a while, then Ji Baiqing broke the silence with a sigh:

When you were born, you were still an infant. Twenty-one years have passed in the blink of an eye, and you've grown up so much.

Her eyes held both joy and regret. In this era that values the eldest son, the affection that normal parents have for their first child is incomparable to that for their later children.

Xu Qi'an thought for a moment and said:

"Since you fled to the capital back then, why did you return to Qianlong City?"

Ji Baiqing's eyes dimmed, and she said in a low voice:

"Xu Pingfeng stole half of the Great Feng's national destiny. The Supervisor only needs to kill you to return the national destiny to the Great Feng. I'm afraid the Supervisor will discover my identity, so I dare not stay any longer."

"Furthermore, I have ruined Xu Pingfeng's and the Lineage's grand plan. They need someone to vent their anger on. If I don't go back, I might force them to take desperate measures. In that case, not only will you be in danger, but it could also implicate your second brother and sister-in-law."

"Perhaps the supervisor has been watching you from the Eight Trigrams Platform all along." Xu Qi'an nodded and hummed in agreement.

Ji Baiqing looked at him, hesitated for a long time, then silently clenched her fists and whispered:

Do you... do you hate me?

Xu Qi'an thought for a moment, then shook his head and said:

"I hate Qianlong City and Xu Pingfeng, but I don't hate you."

Just those words brought tears to Ji Baiqing's eyes. She cried, yet smiled, as if a long-cherished wish had been fulfilled and a knot in her heart that had been untied for many years had been untied.

"For twenty-one years, I have thought of you every moment, yet I am also afraid to see you, afraid that you will hate me."

Xu Qi'an said in a deep voice:

"If I hated you, I wouldn't have spared Xu Yuanshuang and Xu Yuanhuai's lives in Yongzhou."

"I know, I know," she said, her face streaked with tears.

A few minutes later, she composed herself, wiped away her tears with a handkerchief, and said:

"Now that the Qianlong City faction is devastated by casualties and the Yunzhou army is falling apart, Xu Pingfeng and my elder brother can no longer rise to power and no longer pose a threat to your safety. However, he is ultimately only a second-rank Warlock. You must be wary of him now that you have driven him to the brink."

To be honest, she was unwilling to mention such immoral acts.

But between her husband and son, she chose the latter without hesitation. The former was an arranged marriage, and over the years, she had been utterly disappointed in Xu Pingfeng, even hating him to the core.

Xu Qi'an was born after she carried him for ten months; he was her eldest son. The difference in their importance is self-evident.

Therefore, fearing that Xu Pingfeng might retaliate in secret, he had no choice but to speak up and give a warning.

Xu Qi'an said calmly:

"He's dead, and the Lord of Qianlong City is dead too. I killed him with my own hands."

Ji Baiqing stared blankly at him, her face glazed over. After a few seconds, she said in a trembling voice:

"Really?"

Xu Qi'an gave a blank "hmm," and then saw her expression change from blank to complicated, making it difficult to describe her specific emotions.

After a long time, she asked in a low voice:

"What about Yuan Shuang and Yuan Huai?"

"He's being held at the Bureau of Astronomy!" Xu Qi'an said.

Then silence fell again, and Ji Baiqing sat there blankly.

Xu Qi'an stood up and said:

"I'll take you back to the manor tomorrow. You can stay in the capital from now on. Your aunt hasn't seen you for twenty years."

He believes that his biological mother needs some space to be alone, a time to say goodbye to the past and remember it.

A glimmer of light finally flashed in Ji Baiqing's colorless eyes, who remained in the capital.

Xu Qi'an left the courtyard and went straight to the Nightwatchers's dungeon. In the dark and damp interrogation room, he saw Nangong Qianrou, whose face was full of gloom and who was unable to be satisfied.

Beside the charcoal brazier lay a mangled, bloody human figure.

The government offices throughout the capital were filled with generals of the Yunzhou army. Not all those who surrendered were spared punishment; in fact, even ordinary soldiers were to be tattooed and exiled.

"Keep an eye on my birth mother, don't let her do anything foolish. I'll come pick her up tomorrow."

Xu Qi'an gazed at the beauty he hadn't seen for half a year.

To be honest, he had really forgotten about Nangong Qianrou. The most troublesome thing about the technique of shielding heavenly secrets is that it is related to cause and effect, but not so much to the grade.

For example, if Sun Xuanji blocks a random passerby, then even if Xu Qi'an is a martial god, he won't remember that passerby.

Because he had absolutely no connection to the random passerby, and there was no cause and effect between them.

Xu Qi'an and Nangong Qianrou had a normal working relationship, with little connection between them. On the contrary, it was the veteran employee Song Tingfeng who felt a sense of disconnect when he saw the torture instruments invented by Nangong Qianrou in the dungeon.

"What does this have to do with me? Whether she lives or dies is none of my business."

Nangong Qianrou scoffed.

Unlike others, he experienced Xu Qi'an's rise and a series of glorious deeds, and his mindset changed naturally.

Nangong Qianrou was unable to develop a sense of awe or reverence for the little silver gong in a short period of time.

Xu Qi'an, recalling how Nangong Qianrou had often mocked him and acted arrogantly because of her fourth-grade cultivation, said:

"If anything happens to her, I'll send you to the Imperial Academy of Music to entertain guests. Even Duke Wei can't save you then."

Nangong Qianrou's expression changed, and she let out a cold snort.

Xu Qi'an left the dungeon and went to Chunfeng Hall for a short rest. He had a cup of tea with Li Yuchun, then went to find Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao to arrange to listen to music at the brothel the next day.

Amidst the azure sky, a wisp of auspicious cloud drifted seemingly slowly but actually swiftly, finally returning to Jingshan City in no time.

Nalan Tianlu gazed at the desolate Jing Mountain in the distance and sighed:

"Jingshan ranks eighth among the blessed lands of the Nine Provinces. It is a place of outstanding natural beauty and spiritual energy. Before the expedition to Shanhai Pass, this mountain was lush and verdant, teeming with auspicious birds and beasts, and even ancient jade ginseng."

"I never imagined that returning to my homeland would result in such a state."

The spiritual power of Jingshan was completely drained by the great wizard Salun Agu. It was originally meant to be used to empower Joan of Arc and help her kill Wei Yuan.

Unexpectedly, Wei Yuan summoned the Confucian sage, who countered the deadly move.

Seabirds soared in the distance, gliding close to the surface of the sea, sometimes swooping down to catch their prey.

Looking at the shimmering sea, Dongfang Wanrong asked in surprise:

"Life has appeared in the sea?"

Her most recent visit to Jingshan City was on a mission to the Western Regions to welcome back the Rain Master Nalan Tianlu.

Dongfang Wanrong clearly remembers that at that time, the nearshore area was deathly still, with no fish or shrimp in the sea and no birds in the sky.

Upon hearing this, Nalan Tianlu glanced at the sea.

Soon, he descended on auspicious clouds and landed with his disciples on the cliff edge overlooking the sea.

Salun Agu, dressed in a simple linen robe and with half his face covered by a white beard, had been waiting for a long time and said with a smile:

"Jingshan City has an owner."

Nalan Tianlu was originally the city lord of Jingshan City.

"Greetings, Great Wizard!"

Nalan Tianlu bowed and then got straight to the point:

"Has the God of War calculated the exact time of the great calamity, and its details?"

Salun Agu shook his head slightly, gazing at the high altar in the distance, and on the altar, at the young man wearing a crown of thorns:

"The day the Witch God breaks the seal, he will know everything."

Nalan Tianlu didn't ask any further questions, and sighed:

"Xu Qi'an has actually advanced to the first rank of martial artist. Since the Martial Sect, no first rank martial artist has appeared in the Central Plains for five hundred years."

Upon hearing this, Dongfang Wanrong, who had been standing respectfully to the side, was momentarily dazed.

She first met Xu Qi'an on her way to Leizhou, when her younger sister, Dongfang Wanqing, had a conflict with him.

At that time, Xu Qi'an was under a seal, and even Wan Qing couldn't defeat him.

In just four months, he became a first-rank martial artist.

Dongfang Wanrong felt as if she had witnessed history, and a sense of vicissitude and melancholy welled up in her heart for no reason.

Salun Agudao:

"I'm right. Xu Qi'an, like the Confucian Sage, is most likely a person born of the opportune moment. I've lived for thousands of years and still can't understand the Central Plains. There are only three people in this era who were born of the opportune moment."

Nalan Tianlu Dao:

Which three people?

"Wei Yuan, Xu Pingfeng, and Xu Qi'an," Salun Agu said. "Of the three, only Xu Qi'an has reached this point. If he had advanced to the first-rank martial artist six months earlier, the Witch God Sect would most likely have been wiped out of the Nine Provinces after the Battle of Jingshan City."

Nalan Tianlu did not refute.

Dongfang Wanrong was taken aback, and mustered her courage to say:

"Great Wizard, is a first-rank martial artist truly this powerful?"

She found it hard to believe that the Witch God Sect, which lost the Battle of Shanhai Pass, was not as prosperous and powerful as the Buddhist School of the Western Regions, which produced many masters.

However, the Witch God Cult is not weak; it has two third-rank Spiritual Wisdom Masters and a first-rank Grand Witch Master.

At this moment, she saw her teacher Nalan Tianlu beside her, her expression suddenly changed, and she turned to look up at the sky.

Following his gaze, Dongfang Wanrong saw a figure walking step by step through the void, as if walking on stone steps.

His blue robe embroidered with cloud patterns fluttered in the wind, his hair was tied up with a jade crown, and he wore cloud-patterned boots. He had a handsome appearance, like both a noble young master and a banished immortal.

Xu Qi'an and Dongfang Wanrong's pupils contracted.

No sooner had we mentioned him than he appeared.

Salun Agu squinted and said calmly:

What are you doing here?

His tone was calm, and his voice was not loud, but Xu Qi'an, standing in the distant sky, seemed to hear him clearly and responded with a smile:

"I heard that a first-rank martial artist can sweep through all the major forces, so I came to test my skills."

He... he wants to destroy Jingshan City?! Dongfang Wanrong's face turned pale, and she subconsciously moved closer to Nalan Tianlu, only to find that her teacher's expression was extremely solemn, as if facing a formidable enemy.

Xu Qi'an took a step forward.

Buzz!

He crashed headfirst into the wall of air; the entire area within a hundred miles of Jingshan City was resisting him and refusing him entry.

Salun Agu placed one hand on his waist and suddenly pulled out.

Snap!

A dark shadow swept across the sky and lashed Xu Qi'an hard, tearing his blue robe open to reveal his flawless white flesh.

"Ouch, that hurts a little."

Xu Qi'an laughed and said, "Why don't you continue and see if this God-Slaying Whip can extract my Primordial Spirit?"

A first-class martial artist possesses a perfect harmony of essence, energy, and spirit, leaving him without any weaknesses. Even wizards and Daoist School skilled in the realm of Primordial Spirit would find it impossible to unleash his Primordial Spirit.

He braced himself against the invisible barrier with one hand, his arm muscles bulging violently and tearing his sleeve.

Boom! A surge of energy erupted, destroying the "momentum" that heaven and earth had gathered. Space itself was like a mirror, shattered by the violence of the martial artist.

The gale-force winds whipped up by the air swept across Jing Mountain, blowing Dongfang Wanrong away. The entire mountain shook violently, cracked, and scattered rocks.

Snap!

Suddenly, Salun Agu's robe ripped open at the chest, revealing whip marks. His pupils glazed over slightly, as if he had lost consciousness for a moment.

The Primordial Spirit is in turmoil.

Xu Qi'an swooped down, crashing into Jingshan City like a meteorite.

During the incident, his chest suddenly caved in, revealing an exaggerated injury, but he recovered in an instant.

This was a curse cast on him by Salun Agu.

As a seasoned first-grade Grand Wizard, injuring a martial artist of the same level is no problem. However, given the terrifying endurance of martial artists, this injury is practically negligible.

Salun Agu extended his right arm, shielding himself. In that instant, he seemed to merge with the Jing Mountain beneath his feet, becoming invincible and unbreakable.

This is one of the two great abilities of the great wizard:

First, borrow the power of heaven and earth.

They can draw power from heaven and earth and use it for their own purposes, and can unlock different states based on unusual phenomena in heaven and earth.

It rushes like fire in the wake of a volcanic eruption, swift as wind and thunder in the face of thunder and lightning, and imbues the mountain with an air of mystery.

Boom!

Xu Qi'an did not hesitate and crashed into Jingshan, collapsing half of the main peak. A landslide occurred, and soil and rocks fell down one after another.

In Jingshan City, figures rose into the air, and wizards fled frantically, keeping their distance.

They stared in horror at the collapsed Jingshan Mountain.

Salun Agu remained standing in the same spot, without moving an inch, but the mountain beneath his feet collapsed, leaving him floating in mid-air.

Using the mountain's terrain for defense, but failing to hold off Xu Qi'an, he unleashed the Great Wizard's second ability, assimilating with "heaven and earth," leaving a projection in place.

This is the best way to save your life in the world.

The drawback is that it can only be used a limited number of times and cannot be used indefinitely. The interval between each use is three breaths, and at most fifteen breaths. After that, the true body will return to the projection location. At this time, it is easy for a martial artist to ambush it.

The great wizard couldn't gain the slightest advantage in front of him... Dongfang Wanrong, hiding in the distance, witnessed this scene and felt a chill in her heart.

Rumble!

The altar trembled, and a surge of black energy burst forth from the stone statue wearing a crown of thorns, condensing into a blurry human face in the sky, coldly looking down at Xu Qi'an.

Wizards in the distance worshipped in the sky, shouting, "Wizards, slay the enemy!"

Crack! Xu Qi'an twisted his neck, the bones making a sound. He looked up at the witch god in the sky and grinned:

"Try killing me."

The sorcerer god merely looked down indifferently.

Salun Agu sighed:

"Speak, what brings you here?"

"Just here to collect some interest and gather some intelligence." Xu Qi'an didn't make another move, standing amidst the rocks. "What is this Great Calamity? What does your Witch God Sect know about the gatekeeper?"

Salun Agu pointed to the human face in the sky and laughed:

"If those are the two questions, then ask Him yourself. If you're looking for some information, then I do have something I can trade."

Xu Qi'an remained noncommittal.

Salun Agu said:

"In ancient times, there was a Gods and Devils called 'Great Wilderness,' who was of the same rank as the God of Gu and survived the great upheaval. However, his spiritual essence was damaged, so he disguised himself as a descendant of Gods and Devils and hid overseas."

"The White Emperor is the Great Wilderness?" Xu Qi'an raised an eyebrow.

So "Great Wilderness" wasn't a descendant of Gods and Devils, but a genuine Gods and Devils, once on par with the Gu God? No wonder its true form was so terrifying, far surpassing even the first-rank. No wonder it cared so much about the gatekeeper and the so-called Great Calamity, because it was a participant in the great upheaval of that time. Xu Qi'an suddenly understood many things.

"This intelligence isn't valuable enough."

Xu Qi'an stretched his limbs and said:

"Continue!"

The thorny crown on the head of the witch god statue suddenly flew up, turning into a streak of dark light, and landed on the head of Salun Agu.

In an instant, the great wizard, wielding the God-Slaying Whip and wearing a crown of thorns, seemed to have become the ruler of this world.

He chuckled and said:

"Can!

"It's been many years since I've smoked a first-rank martial artist. Let me show you what it felt like when I made Emperor Gaozu run all over Northeast China after smoking him."

Xu Qi'an chuckled and pulled out a Confucian hat, putting it on. In his left hand he held a Zhenguo sword, and in his right hand a Taiping saber.

He chuckled and said:

"Anyone who runs away is a coward!"

The next day.

In the morning mist, Xu Qi'an, Song Tingfeng, and Zhu Guangxiao left the brothel feeling refreshed. Xu Qi'an mounted a graceful mare and rode with the two men toward the Nightwatchers's office.

Last night I spent my time in a brothel, listening to music, drinking, and watching a play—a rare moment of leisure.

He no longer touches ordinary women, for fear of tiring out beautiful women.

Zhu Guangxiao paid the bill.

Song Tingfeng complained:

"The imperial court hasn't paid salaries for two months, Ningyan. If this continues, you'll have to treat us next time."

Xu Qi'an said expressionlessly:

"Oh, then I won't go to brothels anymore."

"..." Song Tingfeng cursed.

"A dignified first-rank martial artist, yet so stingy."

If you have to pay to go to a brothel, then you lose the fun. Xu Qi'an ignored him, his mind replaying yesterday's battle with Salun Agu.

"Sigh, it's really hard to determine a winner between those of the same rank, let alone a matter of life and death. Fortunately, he was the one who was made the grandson yesterday, not me." He muttered to himself, wiping his face and switching Xu Erlang's face back.

Given his current status and position, it's definitely not appropriate for him to go to a brothel anymore.

Next time, I plan to go to the brothel with my second uncle's face on my back.

Upon entering the Nightwatchers's office, he went straight to the small courtyard and saw his birth mother.

Ji Baiqing smiled gently when she saw him arrive as promised.

"I haven't seen Xiaoru for twenty years. I don't know if she still recognizes me as her sister-in-law."

The faint sorrow between her brows had faded, as if she had bid farewell to the past and been reborn.

PS: This chapter is 5200 words long, so I'll add a short one as a supplement.