Chapter 1149 — After Leaving the Cave, Who Can Match Him?

In the White Emperor Heavenly Palace, Crown Prince Qingzong was at his wit's end. Word had come from the Nine Provinces that nine of its Ancient Gods had been slain, and no one even knew who the killer was; and the Three Pillars of Heaven Ancient Gods had vanished into thin air. The White Emperor had only just led his great army away from the Western Heaven when a calamity of this magnitude broke out. If the White Emperor returned, he would surely berate him for his incompetence and his want of ability, and whether he could still hold his seat as Crown Prince was an open question. "Your Highness, word has come from the Nine Provinces: the spirit-energy translocation bridge leading from the Nine Provinces to the Heavenly Court has been destroyed, and Lord Haotian's disciple, the Star Lord Tusikong, Jing Baichuan, has been found dead in the Yunluo Heavenly Palace..." The divine general bearing the report hesitated, then said, "Not one of the gods and demons who accompanied him survived, and the Yunluo Emperor's disciple has vanished as well..." "Jing Baichuan is dead?" Crown Prince Qingzong's head nearly burst. "Will someone tell me what on earth has happened in the Nine Provinces? Why has such chaos been raised? Where are the Three Pillars of Heaven Ancient Gods?" The divine general shook his head. "There is no trace of the Three Pillars of Heaven. But the deity who guards the spirit-energy translocation bridge says he once saw the Three Pillars of Heaven Ancient Gods enter the bridge and come to our White Emperor Heavenly Palace..." At that very moment a divine being came hurrying forward and reported, "Your Highness, the disturbance in the lower realm has just been traced: it was the Three Pillars of Heaven Ancient Gods who came to the White Emperor Heavenly Palace, slipped down to the lower realm in secret, and devoured people in a village there." "Those three scoundrels! Those old fools with no sense of what matters and what does not!" Crown Prince Qingzong flew into a rage and slapped the table. "Of all times! And they still come to my domain to eat people! Summon them! I mean to ask them who it is that is slaughtering at will in the Nine Provinces!" The divine being hesitated, then said, "The Three Pillars of Heaven are dead..." The fury in Crown Prince Qingzong's breast was doused by this news and went out entirely. He dropped onto the throne behind him and murmured, "Dead?" The divine being said, "The Three Pillars of Heaven Ancient Gods died outside a town in the lower realm. The deity charged with overseeing the lower realm says he saw heavens upon heavens expanding outward, layer beyond counting, with a celestial sphere hanging at their zenith. Within those heavens treasures were as thick as stars, and with them the Three Pillars of Heaven were blasted to death." Crown Prince Qingzong had never heard of such treasures. He shook his head and said, dejected, "Father God commanded me to guard the Western Heaven. The Heavenly Court conscripted him to attack Taixu; the Black Emperor, the Azure Emperor, and the Red Emperor were conscripted as well. The Heavenly Court even sent out the Ten Guards and armies from every quarter. And now this has to happen too, with twelve Ancient Gods slain in the Western Heaven. The blame for this is no small matter, and it cannot be hidden..." His head split with pain. The divine being ventured, "Your Highness, should this be reported to the Heavenly Court?" "It must be reported to the Heavenly Court. It cannot be hidden at all!" Crown Prince Qingzong said decisively. "Have the Heavenly Court's Divine Constabulary take the field and find out who did this! And seal off every spirit-energy translocation bridge within our borders at once! The man who killed the twelve Ancient Gods is still in the Western Heaven, he has not left. We must keep him there!" The divine being was about to depart when Crown Prince Qingzong suddenly called him back. "And one more thing: have word sent at once to every Ancient God in the Western Heaven, telling them to set out immediately for the White Tiger Heavenly Palace!" The divine being hurried away. "The man who killed the twelve Ancient Gods is exceedingly powerful, and those several dozen heavens must be a treasure of tremendous might. With the White Tiger Heavenly Palace to guard it, and several dozen Ancient Gods of the Western Heaven besides, he should not be able to force his way into the White Tiger Heavenly Palace." Crown Prince Qingzong paced back and forth, then abruptly clenched his teeth, turned, and strode out, thinking, "I must go myself to the place where the Three Pillars of Heaven Ancient Gods died, and see whether any traces were left behind!" Yet he was cautious too: he summoned a hundred or so personal guards, all of them the finest gods and demons of the Western Heaven, to escort him. Crown Prince Qingzong then took off his robes, changed into the garb of a personal guard, and hurried out of the White Tiger Heavenly Palace with the rest. He had just stepped out of the Southern Heavenly Gate when he happened to see a young man leading a Dragon Qilin past not far away, coming to the spirit-energy translocation bridge. On the Dragon Qilin's brow stood a little green sparrow, plump and round. The gods and demons guarding the translocation bridge had already sealed it, yet they seemed not to see this man at all, and let him walk up onto the altar. Crown Prince Qingzong was astonished, and something stirred in his heart, when just then, from the Dragon Qilin's ear, a tiny monster emerged, shaped like a Tubo but countless times smaller. The little Tubo stood at the edge of the Dragon Qilin's ear-hole, stretched, yawned, and suddenly caught sight of Crown Prince Qingzong. In a fluster it cried out, "Eek!" The Dragon Qilin and the young man turned their heads, and their eyes met Crown Prince Qingzong's. Crown Prince Qingzong knew something was wrong. With an angry shout, banner after banner unfurled behind him with a swish, eight great banners planted at his back, flapping and clattering! He urged on the Azure Blood Rusted Banner Scripture, but at that moment his gaze met the young man's. "A great expert of the Lingxiao realm. No wonder my divine consciousness could not beguile him." Crown Prince Qingzong heard the young man's voice. It seemed very near, yet it grew ever more distant. His awareness turned hazy, his expression vacant. "My attainments in divine consciousness are not high enough. Had I reached the level of the Divine King Gong Yun, he would not have seen me. But since I have noticed him, I can work my art upon him." The voice grew more and more indistinct. Crown Prince Qingzong felt his thoughts stiffening by degrees, as though he were slowly turning to wood, and his memory of the young man was fading away as well. Only a song came drifting to him, rising and falling in cadence, its meaning profound. "The Rotten Axe-Handle True Formula works wonders that reach the gods; a single game, how many springs has it seen? Since I left the cave, my hand has had no match; where a man may be spared, spare him." The song ceased. Crown Prince Qingzong shook his head and started awake from his daze. He looked suspiciously at the spirit-energy translocation bridge, then at the men behind him. "Why was I urging on the Azure Blood Rusted Banner Scripture as though facing a great enemy? I must have been too panicked." He could not help laughing at himself. He dispersed the Azure Blood Rusted Banner Scripture and shouted, "You soldiers there, seal the spirit-energy translocation bridge at once!" The soldiers guarding that bridge hastily pulled themselves together and ringed the bridge round. Suddenly another spirit-energy translocation bridge lit up, and the divine being he had sent out earlier came hurrying back with several Ancient Gods. Crown Prince Qingzong said in surprise, "So soon?" The divine being bowed and said, "Your Highness, this servant was gone ten days, and I a