Chapter 193 – Plot

The Palace of the Eastern Dynasty was shocked by the rumours of Immortality.

“Is that true? You cannot joke with such a thing.”

“Of course! Pingyao witnessed it too. If her Earth of Chaos didn’t sense it, we wouldn’t have known that Xuanyuan has the Vajrapani Earth.” Jiwu was determined to drag Pingyao into this.

“That’s right. He came out of the Nightmare Swarm and killed two of my closest guards and twenty four Heavenly Sea Guards. I suspect that he has more than just the Vajrapani Earth. Maybe he has even gotten the secret to immortality as well!” Haiya added venomously.

An hour later, someone sent for the Princess Pingyao.

“Pingyao, does the man Xuanyuan truly control the Vajrapani Earth?”

“The Earth of Chaos did feel it. It should be the Vajrapani Earth, indeed.” Pingyao frowned with dismay but told the truth nonetheless.

“This is serious. From this day onwards. You are not allowed to tell any other people about this. Haiya, bring me to the place where he killed your guards. The Emperor has ordered. He wants to know what happened that day.”

A day later, a few elders of the palace arrived at the place where Xuanyuan fought the guards. They casted a spell to see the past!

“It’s true! Xuanyuan came out of the Nightmare Swarm. No one comes out of there safe and sound! He acquired the Vajrapani Earth. Maybe he has something about the Immortality Technique.”

“The girl with him was indeed the daughter of Bai Qisha. But we still need more proof about the Immortality Technique.”

“Agreed. Xuanyuan and Bai Yunniang went in separate ways after this. She should know what he acquired.”

When the result of this investigation returned to the palace, the Emperor himself stood up, unable to contain his excitement. He immediately arranged a visit to the Master of Taibai, Bai Qisha.

“Your majesty! What do you need from me?”

“My friend! I won’t attempt to be subtle. I came here to see your daughter, Yunniang. There’s something I need to confirm with her.” The Emperor said gently.

“Oh? What would that be? You need not trouble yourself, your majesty. Did Yunniang do something wrong?”

“No! However, she went into and came out safely from the Nightmare Swarm. I’d like to know something regarding the Immortality Technique. I understand that Taibai trades fairly so I will exchange the information with a fair price!”

“What? She went into the Nightmare Swarm! And the Immortality Technique!” Bai Qisha was clearly surprised. “I’ll summon her here.”

Bai Yunniang arrived at the Taibai Hall a day after.

“Father, what’s the rush? Why did you call me here?”

“You did not tell me you went into the Nightmare Swarm. We’ll talk about that later. First, come here, his majesty would like to meet you.”

“Greetings to his majesty.” Bai’s heart was beating quickly from nervousness. Xuanyuan was being targeted. She would do all she could to save him from trouble.

“I’ll be straight forward. I need to ask you about a man name Xuanyuan and his companion. Have you seen anyone or anything related to the immortal when you went into the Nightmare Swarm?”

“Yes.”

Bai Qisha widened his eyes. The Emperor’s voice quickened.

“What did he acquire?”

“A hundred jin of Source Energy of All Ghost, a giant mine with source energy and the Vajrapani Earth.” Bai confessed.

“That’s all?” The Emperor asked.

“And the promise of three requests he could make to the Nightmare Ghost as a reward for saving him and purifying the soul of the Vajrapani King…”

“What? The Nightmare Ghost is still alive? And he purified the soul of Vajrapani?”

“Yes, Xuanyuan said something strange about Buddhism then the Vajrapani King called Xuanyuan ‘your honourable’! Xuanyuan even asked about someone called ‘Hanuman’.” Bai was trying to boost Xuanyuan’s reputation.

“Hanuman! How does he know about Hanuman?” The Emperor’s voice trembled. “The Vajrapani King called him ‘your honorable’. Who is he?”

“I only know he’s the Body of Five Elements and he’s the one I like. I hope your majesty wouldn’t hurt him.” Bai Yunniang told her honest thoughts.

“Of course not! As the Emperor of the Dynasty, I must investigate thoroughly before I act. You don’t have to worry.”

“Your majesty, you can check my memories since this is a serious issue. I understand that your majesty and many highnesses would like to prolong your life so you should investigate every single detail!” Bai emphasized.

“There’s no need for that. You’re the daughter of Qisha. I trust every word you say.”

“Please do. I don’t want to leave anyone suspicious and cost the life of the man I like.” She said seriously.

“Well, if you insist. I’ll have to offend. Please forgive me, Yunniang and Qisha.”

“Indeed, Yunniang was telling the truth. The Nightmare Ghost is still alive! So immortality is real? It seems to have close relationship to the Temple in the West…” The Emperor whispered to himself. After a while, he gave Bai Qisha a fighting ring. “Thank you, Yunniang, for clearing my doubts. You can open your mind to me for the man you love and I appreciate that you did. If the two of you have the good fortune to be wed, I’ll initiate the ceremony. Even if he’s a member of the Fighting Dragons Sect, I would still be willing.”

“Thank you, your majesty. We’ll talk about this later.”

“Then I’ll leave you.”

“You’ve grown some nerves. Going into the Nightmare Swarm for a man? You grew up to be shrewd!” Bai Qisha scolded his daughter but his next sentence was much gentler. “But he seems to be a great talent. The Body of Five Elements, huh? I’ll have to meet him. If you like him enough, then you can find an opportunity to tie the knot.”

“Father! What are you talking about? I don’t even know if he likes me.”

“What? Marrying you will be the greatest honour to be bestowed upon him!”

“If you keep saying something like that, I won’t ever talk to you.”

“Alright. You’ve grown up so you know what to do. Just be careful.”

“I will. Now, give me.”

“What?”

“The fighting ring his majesty gave you.”

“Why do you need it?”

“I gave him all the information so I deserve it.”

So a potential conflict was prevented. Xuanyuan didn’t have the Immortality Technique but the three promises from the Nightmare Ghost would make his enemies miserable.

The Vajrapani King respected him which erased the hostility from the Eastern Dynasty because that implied Xuanyuan would cut his ties with the Fighting Dragons Sect and go to the Temple of Sukhāvatī. The Temple of Sukhāvatī did not establish a relationship with the Eastern Dynasty but it’ll surely be a powerful ally. It owned half of the Western Lands. The royalty of the East would want to befriend Xuanyuan to establish that tie.

Haiya and Jiwu, who wanted to use this as an excuse to eliminate Xuanyuan was dumbfounded to hear that the royal decision regarding Xuanyuan was to “befriend him. If that’s not possible, don’t be his enemy.”

“What happened? This is not how it’s supposed to go.” Jiwu gasped.

“Who cares. I’ll spread the rumour in secret. Even if the Eastern Dynasty spares him, others won’t.” Haiya had another plan.