Gathering Fate

Why would the Buddha attack the Central Plains at this time?!

Upon hearing the Shenshu message, Xu Qi'an was overwhelmed with doubt and unease.

If the Gu God were to head north and devour the Central Plains, it would be understandable for the Buddha to take the opportunity to act, because at that time, he and Shenshu would have to split up. Although a single Half-Step Martial God could contend with Transcendent Rank, he was no match for Transcendent Rank.

But now, the Gu God has sailed south to the sea, and the Shaman God is still sealed away. There's no one cooperating with the Buddha, so what's the Central Plains?

"I am facing Him at the border, but we have not yet clashed."

Shenshu's second message arrived.

"Understood. If the Buddha makes a move, inform me immediately."

He first replied to Shenshu, and then sent a message in the Earth Book chat group:

[Three: Shenshu just informed me that the Buddha and he are at a standoff on the border, and may clash at any moment.]

One stone stirs up a thousand waves!

Upon seeing this message, the member of the Heaven and Earth Society felt a jolt of unease.

Then, just like Xu Qi'an, surprise and confusion surged up. Why did Buddha choose to attack the Central Plains at this time?

[Four: Something's not right. The behavior of both the Buddha and the Gu God is suspicious.]

The strange behavior of the Gu God remains unexplained, and the Buddha's mysterious invasion of the Central Plains has put immense psychological pressure on the members of the Heaven and Earth Society.

Your opponent is Transcendent Rank, and you're in danger when you can't figure out what Transcendent Rank is up to.

[Part 1: Have the Gu God and the Buddha formed an alliance?]

At this point, Huaiqing, drawing on his experience and perspective on court intrigue, offered a bold conjecture.

Everyone was startled. Putting aside their status as the Gu God and the Buddha, just looking at their actions— the Gu God immediately went to sea after awakening, Buddha subsequently attacked the Central Plains —what did this signify?

The Buddha is helping the Gu God restrain Great Feng.

If it weren't for the Buddha's intervention, Xu Qi'an would have already set sail.

What does the Gu God intend to do by setting sail? This question once again arose in everyone's minds.

[Nine: Regardless of what the Gu God intends to do, the Buddha is the most pressing issue right now. Let's stop the Buddha first. This humble Daoist has already set off for Leizhou.]

That's right, the Buddha is the knife at your throat; blocking the Buddha is more important than anything else.

[One: I beg you all, Ningyan, please have the Gu Race leaders go and help as well. Without the Shaman God Cult interfering, they should be able to play their role.]

Xu Qi'an replied with a "good," and immediately informed the Gu Race leaders of the Buddha's movements. Just as he was about to lead the Gu Race leaders to Leizhou, Huaiqing's message arrived:

[Question 1: What do you think you need to do right now?]

"Of course it's to resist the Buddha, what else could it be?" Xu Qi'an's heart stirred, and he tentatively asked:

[Three: What does Your Majesty mean?]

[One: Shenshu and Buddha are only at a stalemate on the border; they have not yet gone to war. Moreover, I have already relocated the people of the twenty-four counties of Leichu to the heart of the Central Plains. Even if a war breaks out, Shenshu will have room to fight and retreat simultaneously.]

The message had barely finished when the next one immediately followed:

[Part 1: The Gu God has broken free of its seal. It is wartime now, and the battlefield is constantly changing. There is no time for you to dawdle.]

There was a pause on the other end, as if they had mustered their courage, before the message was relayed:

[One: What you need to do now is to gather your Fate and prepare for your advancement to Martial God. Don't wait until the opportunity to advance to Martial God appears before belatedly gathering your Fate; even Transcendent Rank might not give you that chance.]

This message, densely packed and repeated over and over, contained only two words: "Dual Cultivation!"

"Your Majesty truly has confidence in me. Perhaps I only need the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn?" Xu Qi'an silently made a self-deprecating remark, replying succinctly:

[Three: I'm going back to Beijing now.]

He immediately picked up the conch shell and conveyed to Shenshu the message of stalling for time and retreating while fighting.

Then, the leaders of the Gu Race were sent to Leizhou first, while Heaven Gu Granny, who was not good at fighting, chose to stay in the town and lead her people north to seek refuge.

After giving his instructions, he raised his wrist, making his large eyeball light up, and then teleported away.

In the distant imperial palace, in the imperial study.

Huaiqing's jade-like hand trembled as she tossed Earth Book, her cheeks burning. Taking a deep breath, she looked at the palace maid beside her and gave the order:

"I wish to take a bath."

As she spoke, she could hear her heart pounding wildly.

Chu Prefecture, Sanhuang County.

The narrow, potholed dirt road was littered with human and dog excrement. Li Miaozhen, carrying a flying sword on her back and bags of loose silver in her hands, walked through the dilapidated slum.

She expertly tossed the silver into the houses on either side, and amidst the gratitude of the ragged poor, she moved on to the next house.

For the Flying Swallow Heroine, there are many kinds of chivalry: one is to eliminate evil, another is to teach people how to fish, and the third is to help those who cannot survive to live.

She's doing the third option now.

Teaching a man to fish is something the imperial court does; an individual's power is too insignificant to teach every starving and freezing poor person how to make a living.

Soon, she arrived at a dilapidated courtyard at the end of the alley. Pushing open the rotten wooden door, she saw a gaunt boy sitting by the well, sharpening a knife. Beside him sat a girl of about ten years old, her face sickly pale, coughing occasionally while covering her mouth.

"Sister Miaozhen!"

Upon seeing Li Miaozhen arrive, the little girl stood up happily, while the boy didn't even look up, merely pursing his lips.

Li Miaozhen patted the little girl's head, stuffed the silver into her hand, and smiled:

I'm leaving.

The boy paused for a moment while sharpening his knife.

"Where is Sister Miaozhen going?" the little girl asked, her face full of reluctance.

"Let's do something big," Li Miaozhen said with a smile.

"Then will you bring it back?"

"I'm not coming back." Li Miaozhen shook her head and looked at the boy:

"You little brat, be a good person from now on. You stole when you were a kid, so you'll rob when you grow up. If you dare to make me suffer the consequences, I'll kill you with my Sword Control from a thousand miles away."

"Take a look through that martial arts manual I gave you when you have time; it's a treasure trove of martial arts written by Silver Gong Xu."

The boy, with a rebellious look on his face, said coldly:

What happens to me in the future is none of your business.

The boy was a habitual offender who made a living by stealing and occasionally robbing. One time, he stole from Li Miaozhen, Flying Swallow Heroine, seeing that he was still a child, beat him up severely.

It was later learned that the boy had a sickly younger sister who couldn't live a happy life, and he became a pickpocket to pay for her medical treatment.

Li Miaozhen cured the little girl's illness and sent her money every few days, allowing the brother and sister, whose parents had died in the war, to survive.

"Whatever you want."

Li Miaozhen didn't waste words with him. She knew that the boy wasn't a bad person at heart. His coldness towards her was because he was in love and Simu for her.

But she was already used to it. Having roamed the martial world for many years, which young hero didn't admire the Flying Swallow Heroine?

Li Miaozhen waved her hand and flew away on her Sword Control.

The boy suddenly stood up, took two steps, and then lowered his head with a gloomy expression.

There is a piece of paper.

The little girl opened the bag containing the silver and found a small note next to the loose silver, but she couldn't read.

The boy snatched the note from the girl's hand, unfolded it, and read:

Do good deeds and don't worry about the future.

He silently clenched his fist.

Azure Dragon Temple in the capital city.

Hengyuan, who was leading the Chan Master in the temple to assist the Arhat Du'e in writing the scriptures, received a report from the disciples in the temple.

"Abbot Hengyuan, news has come from the palace that something has happened in Leizhou," the young monk in a blue robe announced loudly.

Hengyuan and Du'e exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with solemnity.

Hengyuan said to the monks who were looking over from inside the meditation room:

That's all for today.

Two golden beams rose from Azure Dragon Temple and disappeared to the west.

The capital city.

Inside the palace, Xu Qi'an appeared. He looked around and found the ornately decorated outer hall empty, without any palace maids or eunuchs.

Even the imperial guards stationed outside the palace were withdrawn.

Stepping onto the soft carpet embroidered with cloud and crane patterns, he passed through the outer hall and came to the small hall, which was also empty.

Xu Qi'an continued walking without stopping. After passing through the small hall, a yellow silk curtain hung low in front of him, and on the other side of the curtain was the Empress's boudoir.

He lifted the curtain and went inside.

The room was extremely spacious, with a small study on the east side, furnished with a large rosewood desk and tall bookshelves on either side.

To the west is a soft couch, with two pheasant-tail fans, also known as ceremonial fans, standing on either side.

In addition, there are display shelves for various antiques and jade artifacts.

Directly opposite the entrance is a six-panel screen, behind which is the dragon bed.

Xu Qi'an stopped in front of the screen and whispered:

"His Majesty!"

"Hmm," came Huaiqing's voice from inside.

Xu Qi'an immediately went around the screen and saw the large and magnificent dragon bed, the quilt and pillows embroidered with dragon patterns, and Huaiqing sitting on the edge of the bed in royal robes.

The king's everyday attire was naturally men's clothing, but she had applied makeup, drawn her eyebrows, and put on bright red lipstick.

Coupled with her aloof yet dignified demeanor.

It's simply stunning.

Upon seeing Xu Qi'an enter, Huaiqing, who was sitting on the edge of the bed with his legs crossed, kept his eyes straight ahead, his back straight, maintaining his imperial demeanor.