Transmigrated back into the body of her child self, can the mighty Celestial Bing Meilu survive in a Xianxia world all the while staving off the advances of arrogant young masters and wannabe protagonists alike?
Why is life so hard for the Icy Beauty?
Any corrections or criticisms are welcome, I hope you enjoy Chapter 59: I demand to see Xi Fu!
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Xia Xuefeng's eyes widened at Bing Meilu's declaration. She looked down at the key in her hand in confusion.
"Wha-what do you mean? What is this thing? What Karma?"
Bing Meilu sighed, a faraway look in her mind. At least Bing Meilu now had a very good idea why Devils from the Underworld were so interested in the Jade Sparrow World.
'Somewhere in this plane... lies a sealed fragment of the ancient devil-god Grand Emperor Blacksky... and someone is trying to free him!'
"They say luck is fair. Perhaps having received something as valuable as the Anthem of the Crucified meant you had to find something equally dangerous. If not for me, you'd never have had the chance to be involved in this. For that, I can only give you my condolences."
"Condolences? You're scaring me..."
"I'd normally say something like danger and opportunity are two sides of the same coin, but in this case, it honestly would have been better if you never found that key..."
Karma like this could even follow one through the Six Dao's of Reincarnation until it was fully settled. Escaping this fate was essentially impossible. It had to be overcome and resolved.
"Please stop with the vaguery! What the hell is this thing? Why is it so dangerous?" Xia Xuefeng begged.
"Somewhere in the Jade Sparrow World, a fragment of an ancient Devil-God is sealed. That is a key to their tomb." Bing Meilu said. "And... it's already tied to you karmically. Your fate has become entangled with it... What exactly will happen as a result of that is yet to be seen, but it will certainly be dangerous."
It explained why a Devil would be willing to pay the immense price to send Aiwa to this world with a Sealing Mark. Most likely, they were trying to create a loyal agent, someone powerful enough to free the fragment that lay in the Jade Sparrow World. That itself was not unusual, given Grand Emperor Blacksky was a Devil-God aligned with the First Blasphemy. The Pit had never given up on its ambition, not even after its Four Kings were struck down
The blood cultivator's face went white. "Why didn't my Karmic Merit warn me about picking it up? Normally it reacts in the presence of demonic objects..."
"Simply put, the Heavens of the Jade Sparrow world are not qualified to condemn this being. They lack authority. To warn you in that way would to be to imply the Jade Sparrow World considers this being an enemy... and it is not prepared for such Karma."
Bing Meilu studied the characters on the key more closely. It was a crude rendition of Heavenly Dao runes, the natural language of providence. Only the first two sentences were somewhat legible, the rest far too garbled.
'Let ye be warned, for below lies the prison of Grand Emperor Blacksky. That is a place forbidden to life.'
Of the rest, the characters legible said something about 'task' 'seal' and 'High Wei'. Inferring somewhat, Bing Meilu could guess that the High Wei dynasty had been tasked by the Dao of Heaven to guard the seal of Grand Emperor Blacksky and that they wished anyone who found the key to return it to them.
Of course, The 'High Wei' Dynasty mentioned was older than ancient history at this point.
The current era was commonly called the 'Second Tetrarchy', after the Four Hegemons who ruled the Jade Sparrow World. Before that was the 'First Tetrarchy', the era before the Kunpeng Emperor's Hold had overthrown and replaced the Hegemon of the Shattered Shell Continent. That itself was already so long ago that people had forgotten the name of the destroyed Hegemon.
Before the First Tetrarchy had been the Era of the Grand Coalition. In this era, humanity was divided between countless fragmented powers, fighting for their survival against the invasions of demons, devils and Sea Beasts.
And finally, before that was the Classical Era, in which the High Wei, alongside nine other dynasties, ruled the human race.
Even Bing Meilu knew barely anything about the High Wei and the Classical Era of the Jade Sparrow World, and she had spent time studying its history as an Immortal. It would be surprising if more than two or three old monsters in the current era had history books that mentioned the names of things so ancient to the world's populace.
"The Sealing Mark of the blood god reacted to its presence and drew me towards it...That's why I picked it up..."
Xia Xuefeng explained the mental effect, how no one else had seen the key, how even she had not seen it until the Sealing Mark reacted and guided her to it.
Bing Meilu nodded, considering the possibilities. Her own Crystal Providence Absolute Tome had reacted to the presence of the key. However, where Xuefeng had guided her to it, Bing Meilu's cultivation seemed to simply acknowledge the presence.
"Hmm... The Spectral God's Sealing Mark may be interested in the fragment of the devil god in this plane. Perhaps they were allies?"
"A-allies? Bing Meilu... you didn't give me the cultivation technique of an evil god, did you?" Xia Xuefeng asked, mouth agape in shock.
"..." Bing Meilu shrugged. "That's a subjective question. Whose to say what good and evil are? However, even I do not know much about the history of the ancient gods. I cannot say for certain why the Sealing Mark reacted the way it did."
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Long, long ago, before even the emergence of human cultivation culture, so long ago it could not even be said to be part of the current concept of 'time', war raged through the Heavens.
Supposedly, a war caused by the only Blasphemy even greater than the emergence of human cultivators, a battle set off with the first sin in history. There were only loose and fragmented stories left over from that ancient conflict which had left the corpses of deities strewn about like cannon fodder. Countless gods died, heavenly beings erased in a way even beyond the idea of death. Nothing was left of those slain gods, not even their names.
But there were exceptions.
The Crystal Providence was said to have once ruled over all Yin. While she was long dead, her exploits forgotten, there was a piece of her legacy left. The Crystal Providence Asolute Tome had endured throughout the ages, passed down through a lineage of female Yin cultivators until it reached the hands of Bing Meilu.
The Blood-Moon Spectral God too was forgotten, until Bing Meilu's junior sister, Ruan Hua, looted his Anthem of the Crucified from a fragment of an ancient battlefield.
There was, however, a being from that era not forgotten at all, a God whose legend had survived the passing of eons.
Nothing was known about Grand Emperor Blacksy's life or achievements, his allegiance or origin. He was remembered because, unlike countless others, he still lived, if you could call it that.
Trillions and trillions of fragments, torn to shred, each sealed in a mortal plane across the vast endlessness of the Ether. Over the ages, a handful of the fragments had escaped their confines and caused a stir in the higher planes.
How powerful the 'Grand Emperor' must have been, to survive such a terrifying conflict, was frightening to even think about. It was even more frightening to realize, despite such incredible power, there was someone capable of crushing him to pieces and sealing him away. Was that the 'Peak' that all cultivators aspired to? Even imagining such a thing consolidated Bing Meilu's Dao heart. One day, she would surpass even that being.
It seemed that one such piece of the devil god was sealed in the Jade Sparrow World. This was something Bing Meilu had not discovered in her first life. The presence of the fragment was certainly not something 'caused' by her reversion, a being on the level of Grand Emperor Blacksky could not be affected by such a thing. It was most likely it had always been here, but having lacked a divine inheritance so early in her first life, Bing Meilu had not been qualified to become involved in its Karma.
'Even in the Paragon realm, I fell to a plot of Devils from the Underworld. Xia Xuefeng was surely become a piece in their plans now, being the Key's possessor. If she can overcome that calamity, she'll become a true expert.'
This revelation posed several questions for Bing Meilu. Had her reversion in time been planned by the beings of the Underworld? Was it their intended outcome the whole time, and she just a puppet on their string?
Bing Meilu shook her head. It was unlikely. The Sealing Mark had given Aiwa a quest to kill her, so her interference in the Bird Talon Continent was likely an unexpected or unwanted vector in the plotting of those fiends from the Underworld.
'But if not for my reversion in time, the various changes could not have happened, so there would never have been an opportunity for someone like Aiwa to exist... Perhaps he was never meant to succeed in killing me? He may have been sent to get close to me and act as a spy instead?'
Bing Meilu was definitely getting a clearer picture of the enemies opposing her, but there was still much she didn't understand.
If she had been supposed to return herself in time, how could that Devil know about a secret technique of the Crystal Providence Absoluite Tome that had never been revealed? What would they have done if she had not reversed time?
Was the Devil she had dealt with in her first life even the same force as the one pulling strings in the Jade Sparrow World?
Perhaps most importantly of all, should Bing Meilu even intervene to stop the release of Grand Emperor Blacksy's fragment? It wasn't like her to get involved in the enmity between the Pit and the High Heavens.
'In the end, I still need to know a lot more before I can take decisive action,' Bing Meilu narrowed her eyes. 'But if I am being used as a pawn, I can only take this second chance to become far stronger than I ever was in my first life, and show this 'puppet-master' that Bing Meilu always repays her enemies a thousandfold. Of course, if I fail, I can only blame myself for having been too weak.'
"So... if it's so dangerous, what do I do?" Xia Xuefeng asked.
"For now, all you can do is become stronger. You're not qualified to get rid of the key or to use it yet. If you wish to be uninvolved in this life, then you must try and reach Immortal Ascension. When you ascended to an Immortal Plane, nothing tied to the mortal world, including this Key, can come with you. However, that is a temporary solution. When you die, the karma will follow you through reincarnation, over and over. You'll be brought back to the Jade Sparrow World and find the Key. In the end, the Karma must either be resolved, or you must reach the Deathless Realm and sever yourself from it."
"How would I resolve the karma"
"I'm sure there are many ways, but the simplest would be, of course, to just use the key."
"Why would I ever want to free some sealed devil god? I'm not as stupid as the people in old wives' tales who accidentally free an ancient evil because of greed or stupidity!" Xia Xuefeng scoffed.
Bing Meilu idly wondered if the trope of those myths was intentionally seeded to create a cultural warning for Grand Emperor Blacksky, should High Wei ever fall. It wouldn't be the first time common myths were entered intentionally.
"Who knows? Perhaps you'll change your mind one day. All I can say for now is to focus on your cultivation. The Anthem of the Crucifed is by no means weak. You've yet to even scratch the surface of its potential. If you want to survive this calamity, you'll need unmatched power."
"Yes, mistress," Xia Xuefeng nodded resolutely, a sharp glint in her eyes.
There was no better motivation for cultivation than the ever-present pressure of a threat to one's life. Knowing she was involved with something so terrifying, Xia Xuefeng rushed off to cultivate.
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Bing Meilu sat in meditation, Spiritual Energy flowing into her Meridans and pouring into her Dao-Platforms to be refined. She suddenly raised an eyebrow.
'Someone is... cursing me?'
A nearly invisible Yin qi latched onto her, threads stealthily tangling through her apertures. It was a curse created by someone at least in Nascent Soul. The cursed Yin Qi would subtly slow her cultivation and even cause heart demons and mental imbalance that could cause her death. It could also be from someone stronger using a weak technique. No ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator would have been able to notice the curse, or purify it even if they did.
Sadly for the caster, no one in the Jade Sparrow World was safer from curses than Bing Meilu.
The Crystal Providence Absolute Tome was the legacy of a God who ruled over Yin. Let alone the lowly Great Flock Realm, below the current gods, it was not a stretch to say that if Bing Meilu claimed to be second in the understanding of the Dao of Yin, no one in the entire Ether would dare claim to be first.
Her own Yin qi condensed into threads that weaved through the curse in a complex pattern. Within moments, she had completely taken control of the curse. It would be different if it were the actual offensive move of a Nascent Soul, but by definition, a curse was a subtle attack unconnected to its master. They were essentially autonomous programs, akin to formations or arrays. Otherwise, it would be too easy to track down the caster.
Being a simple program of the Jade Sparrow world, she could easily decipher and take control of it, like using a master key on a poorly designed lock.
For a moment, Bing Meilu considered what to do next. She could absorb the Yin energy for her cultivation... but another idea occurred to her. She could simply leave the disabled curse inside her. Then, whenever she needed to, couldn't she just toss a Nascent Soul-level curse at an enemy.
Bing Meilu blinked as a plan occurred to her.
'Would it be good if I got more people to curse me?'
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"Xi Fu! Come out and see me!" a shrill voice resounded through 'Bing Meilu's Slave Hall', which had once been the Crimson Dragon Hall.
A man in a wheelchair stood at the front of the faction base, face filled with anger. It was Hong Hui, whose legs had been blown off by Xi Fu's Cloud Carving Spear. Bandages covered his perpetually bleeding lower half.
"Captain Xi Fu is uh, busy..." an outer circle slave said.
"Too busy to heal my legs? It's been a goddamned week! He was supposed to do it the moment he got back!"
"Look, um, Xi Fu hasn't left his room since he got back. He told us not to disturb him for a few weeks."
Hong Hui blinked in realization.
"You're... You're telling me that manwhore has left me crippled for a week! ...So he can have an orgy?!"
The outer circle member shifted uncomfortably.
"Well, I'm not not saying that?" he volunteered.
"That- he can't do this to me..."
"Xi Fu's in Core Formation now. I think he can do whatever he wants," the slave shrugged. "But don't worry. Even he can't keep it up for several weeks straight. I'm sure he'll come to heal you when he's done."
Hong Hui stared up at the sky despondently, eyes blank. Why even live?
He slowly rode his wheelchair away.