"Greatest One, I know that my existence is a thorn in many people's side, but you can't just grab me out of nowhere and haul me up like some common burglar. God-Children have rights," Hengye Baxian said. Xinzi ignored his protest, motioning for the Zhen-body to return to the Ancestral Hall.
This time, they didn't hesitate to seal the "suspect's" cultivation base, leaving Baxian helpless before Xinzi's whims.
"Hi, big bro," Xinzi said, waving his hand as a show of goodwill.
"Hi, Zhen'er, can I still call you Zhen'er? Or is that out of line?" Baxian seriously asked.
"What do you think?"
"I don't know what to think. You've just destroyed the mortal shells of 13 Night Spirits and captured their Venerable Souls for unknown purposes. More importantly, you're making your original body do an awful lot of moves. Are you not worried about the Thousand-Faced Shadow reporting your every action to your Divine Mother? If I didn't know better, I'd think that you'd gone insane." Though Hengye Baxian maintained a composed look and level tone, one could detect the concern hidden in his voice.
"And what makes you think that I've not?"
"What?"
"Serious question. I don't know the answer to this either, so how can you tell that I'm still sane?" Xinzi asked, speaking with such a straightforward and pensive look that Baxian had to acknowledge he wasn't playing tricks on him.
"Well...that's a fair question. But I called you Zhen'er, and you haven't blown my head off my neck. You didn't pick your victims at random and severely weakened the Central Domain while still giving Taiyang Yuan a way out. So, I suppose that you're still thinking somewhat rationally."
'But for how long?' Baxian kept this thought to himself. In Night Flower City, the pair had no reason to hold their tongues, yet as he faced this version of Xinzi, although Hengye Baxian tried to treat him as he always did, he still had some reservations.
In the Zhen-body, the Heavenly Dao functioned as intended. But in the monk, the integration took some unpredictable turns. Baxian didn't know what constitution Xinzi's monk body had achieved. Demonic, divine, holy? A combination of opposing forces? He had no idea, but without a shred of doubt, that constitution resisted the influence of Heaven's Will, bringing forth a clash that could very well devastate Xinzi's sanity.
The summary execution of 13 Night Spirit juniors was the clearest proof of the problems to come, and as the clash between the Heavenly Dao and Xinzi intensified, Baxian couldn't tell what would become of his Zhen'er.
"Fair. But somewhat isn't enough. When My Divine Self goes back to the Eastern Continent, My Divine Self has to make sure that no one can see through the changes."
"What did you just call yourself?" Baxian's eyes narrowed at Xinzi, his ears twitching as if refusing to register what they'd just heard. Outside of the Zhen-body, Xinzi never used this form of address with Baxian—or anyone that he cared for, really. In that instant, and against all his beliefs, Baxian made a decision.
"Oh...my bad. See? This is the type of mistake that I need you to help prevent. You, Baxian, know me better than most and can help me prepare a role—a character—that will be a 99% match for who I usually am. That's why you're here. As for the Thousand-Faced Shadow, don't worry about it. Its eyes have been sealed shut by the Heavenly Dao."
"The Heavenly Dao? Wait...don't tell me...Zhen'er, she made you cultivate the Supreme and Unfeeling Grand Dao?"
"Oh, Baxian, don't act as if you hadn't figured it out already. You—we—are better than that. We will call it Heavenly Dao for short. Two words to say the same thing seems a lot more efficient than five," Xinzi smiled as he said this, making Baxian gulp in discomfort.
"True, I did. It's obvious really, and you call it however you want to, but Zhen'er, this situation...doesn't scare you? Yongye knows all that the Heavenly Dao can offer you, knows that it can block her sight, knows that her true body can never descend on this world—at least not until it has been filled with Higher Principles. It's you—you—that the Eternal Night relies on to conjure enough Divine Rules to give the main clan access to this world, and she's fine with letting the Heavenly Dao take root in you?"
"Why wouldn't she? Yongye likely already has countermeasures figured out, and is only waiting for the right time to make her move."
"Zhen'er, you have to close the Divine Channels. In this world, your original body is already an invincible existence and has more than enough strength to destroy the Divine Channels. You just have to shut them down, and you don't have to worry about Yongye's true body. Afterward, we can slowly solve the Heavenly Dao problem."
"Oh Baxian, I didn't peg you for the naive type.
First, shutting down the Divine Channels isn't as easy as you think.
Second, my original body's Dao Foundation was built on the Hundred Shackles of the God-Emperor, meaning that Yuemi, or anyone that cultivates the Hundred Virtues of the Queen Mother, can suppress it. I can kill Yuemi, but who is to say that we don't have 300 Yongye avatars in the Great Desolation World?
Third, my Divine Spark is still shackled. Yongye imposed those shackles, gave me to tools to remove as many locks as I need to—depending on the situation—but likely has hidden safeguards to guarantee that she can possess the spark whenever necessary.
Last, but never the least, the Dark Eye of Heaven. Baxian, besides sealing the Glorious Eye of Heaven and causing wanton destruction, what can the Dark Eye of Heaven do?" Xinzi asked in a calm, serious tone.
"I don't know."
"I don't either. Throughout all realms of existence, there might not be five people that know the answer to this question. Heck, some of them are not even people. So, we're lacking crucial information, do not have our backyard secured, can suffer attacks at any time, fall to the enemy's hidden plots, and you want me to provoke them now? No...patience Baxian, we will make our move, and when we do, they won't have a chance to counterattack."
"E...enemy?"
"Yes, to this day, I have never considered harming that sweet mother of mine, I just wanted to be free.
But she insists on having her way, on pushing me intolerably. I am not a fan of nuisances, and since Yongye is determined to be one, I have no choice but to fight back. It won't be easy, but we will prevail. In the meantime, big bro, time to rehearse my role: Abbot Xinzi of the Liberation Temple," Xinzi said, the words forcing Baxian to restrain a sigh.
'Farewell Zhen'er, I hope to see you again soon.'
Hengye Baxian didn't know that Xinzi possessed a Bloodshifter Heart and therefore had access to all his thoughts. Thankfully for him, these thoughts never stepped into treasonous territory—or Baxian's life ended here.
When Xinzi realized that he was fully prepared to execute Baxian at the first stray thought, a voice pealed at the back of his mind:
'If even Baxian can be butchered at will, who can you not kill?'
...
Afterward, Baxian did as he was told, helping Xinzi prepare for his Dongli folks by pointing out mistakes and moves that the monk wouldn't usually make. Needless to say, there were things that Baxian couldn't give pointers on, things like Xinzi's intimate behavior with his girls. Here, the Night Flowers chimed in, helping Xinzi erase or at least take notice of as many behavioral defects as they could.
Baxian and the Night Flowers did a fantastic job, but neither side could find satisfaction in their task. The Night Flowers, especially, couldn't digest their Abbot's transformation, with many of them wishing that he had not put them in the confidence.
"I can't blame you; 'Ignorance is Bliss.' It's in moments like this that that mortal saying gets all its meaning. Those Dongli girls must have been born with matchless good fortune. Otherwise, how is it possible that when things take such a shocking turn for the worst, they can still avoid the short end of the stick?" Reading the Night Flowers' emotions through their facial expressions, Baxian whispered.
Subsequently, Xinzi gave them all divine gifts, then opened a portal straight to Green Leaf Village.
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