Day and night tour

Chapter 475 Borrowing a Knife
"Is the magician a director, or a fraudster?"

Zhou Xuan's almost insane remarks caused the engineer's little brain to shut down.

Her understanding of "Human Play" was not achieved overnight; it began in ancient times, followed by nearly two thousand years of imprisonment, during which she frequently reflected upon it.

During this time, she would ponder the intricacies of magic tricks whenever she had a spare moment. After much thought, she finally came to a conclusion—the magic trick master was the most powerful swindler in the Kingdom of Jing.
These people can create elaborate plays that can even fool the gods.

"If one reaches the stage of 'God of Drama on Earth,' the techniques of magic tricks might even be able to deceive gods, celestial beings, and even the will of the gods."

This was the engineer's deepest thought—her speculation about the abilities of the human gods stemmed from the most basic religious logic of the Jing Kingdom: the higher the level of incense offerings, the better the effect of the methods.
If the first five incense sticks were enough to deceive the gods, then it wouldn't be wrong to deceive the Heavenly Venerable and the will if one cultivated to the point of nine incense sticks.

However, Zhou Xuan wanted to tell her that she was wrong!

"Engineer, you're wrong, terribly wrong."

"What's wrong?" the engineer asked Zhou Xuan.

Zhou Xuan suddenly opened his eyes and said, "Your understanding of the power of the magician is wrong... or rather... the ancestors of the magician's hall in the past all misunderstood the source of the magician's power."

"So many people are wrong?"

"Yes, so many people are wrong."

Zhou Xuan tilted his head back. Having figured out the key to the Caixi opera, his mental state stabilized, and he returned to his usual calm and composed demeanor.

He said in a low voice, "It's precisely because those people are mistaken that they can't produce a master capable of burning nine incense sticks."

"It's precisely because you, Teacher Gong, were wrong that I, the opera performer you taught me, haven't even burned the ninth incense stick."

"So where did we go wrong?"

If it were anyone else, the engineer would likely be unconvinced; she believed no one understood the art of color painting better than her.

But since the person who questioned her was Zhou Xuan, her attitude became very proper, as if she were humbly seeking guidance—after all, Zhou Xuan had done too many things since joining the Caixi Hall.
The Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts, the Encirclement and Slaughter of Bifang, the Colorful Play that Fooled the Rat King and the Fish Monk—all these top-tier anomalies—were completely fooled.

One story after another made the engineer completely admire Zhou Xuan.

Zhou Xuan said, "The magic trick is not a deception, but a performance! The magic trick master's power comes not from deception, but from a good show."

"I don't quite understand that."

“A good show can inspire and guide people. I once read a history book that said when two armies were at war, one side would sing a sad song about the enemy’s hometown, which caused the enemy’s homesickness to surge and their morale to collapse.”

Zhou Xuan said, "If that scene weren't a tragedy, but a play with visuals and sound, vividly portraying the faces of the soldiers' hometown's children, wives, and parents, then..."

The morale of that side's soldiers will only deteriorate further; they will have no will to fight.

"That's the power of theater."

At this point, Zhou Xuan said emphatically, "A good show can incite panic, but conversely, it can also unite people's hearts."

"Therefore, the power of the magician does not come from incense offerings, but from the hearts of the people, from the hearts of tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of ordinary people."

"So, the techniques of the magicians are similar to those in the 'Book of Willpower,' the 'True Scripture of the Valley,' and even the 'Spiritual Aggregation' of our Flesh and Blood Divine Dynasty?"

After Zhou Xuan's continuous guidance, the engineer felt enlightened, his thinking became more active, and he began to apply what he learned to other situations.

Zhou Xuan strongly agreed with the engineer's statement. He sighed and said, "I have a senior uncle who used to be the top storyteller in Mingjiang Prefecture. If he hadn't gone astray, he might now be a leading figure in the storytelling world."
His name is Mr. Feng, and he was the one who guided me to the "Book of Willpower."
Mr. Feng possessed profound attainments in the practice of incense and deity worship, and had unique insights in many aspects. He once said, "Although the Kingdom of Jing is a country where theocracy reigns supreme, the most powerful force lies hidden among the people."

Upon hearing this, the engineer thought that Mr. Feng was quite a remarkable person and said, "There are so many capable people in the Well Kingdom."

"There are a lot."

Zhou Xuan said, "Now, thinking back to what Mr. Feng said, the most capable skills in the Jing Kingdom are almost all the arts of guiding the people's hearts."

He sighed softly and said, "So, based on my current understanding, the gods are not in the heavens, but reside in the hearts of every ordinary person who buys groceries, cooks, drinks wine, and buys rice."

Miss Wall urged from the side, "Ah Xuan, what you said is very insightful, but the performance on stage is still going on, and that fake incense-offering Taoist priest is eyeing us menacingly. Our situation is extremely precarious. Therefore, what we need to do is figure out how to reach the realm of 'Human Drama God'."

“No need to think about it anymore, I’ve figured it out,” Zhou Xuan said confidently.

"You figured it out so quickly?" Miss Wall was a little stunned, secretly thinking that Zhou Xuan's efficiency was a little too high.

The engineers were even more curious about how one could reach the realm of a human god of drama.

Even if it's just a guess, she wants to hear it carefully.

“Boss Xuan, when I was locked up in Dongshi Street, whenever I was bored, I would think about how to reach the realm of the God of Drama in the human world. I’ve been thinking about it for so many years, but I haven’t come up with a solution. Now that you’ve figured it out, I’m a little itchy to do it. Can you tell me about it?”

"of course can."

Zhou Xuan said, "Our previous idea was that after burning the eighth incense stick, we would start burning the ninth incense stick, and then we would naturally reach the progress of 'God of Drama in the Human World'."

However, once the eighth incense stick has burned out, the ninth incense stick will not burn.

"That's right, how can we reach the realm of the gods in the mortal world if the incense isn't completely burned?"

"The god of drama among mortals is not created by burning incense," Zhou Xuan said decisively.

"How did it come about?"

"When the countless audience members in the play call out to the God of Drama on my stage, the God of Drama will naturally appear."

"A God of Drama, a call from all the audience?"

"Yes, when everyone is extremely eager for an unprecedented deity to appear in the play, the deity will appear—this play god is the embodiment of the fervent emotions of all the people."

Zhou Xuan's words still sounded ambiguous to the engineers.

The engineer sighed and said regretfully, "The biggest drawback of language is that it can never take you to where you really want to go. If Boss Xuan understood the way our Blood and Flesh Divine Dynasty communicates consciousness, then I would be able to understand your thoughts 100% right now."

"It doesn't matter if you can't understand my thoughts for now. Soon, you will be able to see it for the first time—the God of Drama on Earth."

Zhou Xuan said with a smile, "If it is a human drama god, it has amazing power in the stage I set up. I want to have a go with that fake incense-burning Taoist priest and try to keep him in the stage."

Isn't that imposter fond of "pretending"? Then don't leave, stay on this stage forever and indulge your acting addiction.

Miss Wall's eyes sparkled as she listened, and she said, "Ah Xuan, Ah Xuan, you're so domineering, Ah Xuan, Ah Xuan, you're so captivating, but—what will happen if you can't get rid of that fake incense-offering Taoist priest?"

"If I cannot kill the incense-offering Taoist priest, and the priest realizes his true identity has been exposed, then he will take action and kill all the day and night wandering gods in Mingjiang Prefecture, as well as those two god-level beings—the Longevity Cult Leader and the Crippled Monk."

In short, he wanted to kill everyone on the stage to ensure his secret wouldn't be exposed.

Zhou Xuan said, "Given his level of influence, I believe he can accomplish it."

Upon hearing this, Miss Qiang shrank back in fright and said, "Ah Xuan, there's a saying in your Jing Kingdom: 'Trying to steal a chicken but losing the rice instead.' But in today's matter, if we fail to steal the chicken, we'll lose more than just a handful of rice."

Zhou Xuan reached out and lightly flicked Miss Qiang's forehead, saying, "How could I not know the dangers involved? However, I am a flexible person. I will only act if there is a sure chance. If there is no chance, why would I force it?"

"At worst, we'll let that fake Taoist priest go—we'll keep to ourselves."

Zhou Xuan had already made preparations for both scenarios.

"Alright, let's watch the show later. I'm going to the stage now."

Zhou Xuan strode away.
The engineer wanted to leave with Zhou Xuan, but Miss Wall stopped him: "Engineer, wait for me, I want to go too."

"You can't go."

The engineer said, "Boss Xuan set a rule on the stage: each side cannot send more than four people to fight."
"Now, there are four of us: me, Boss Xuan, Mr. Yun, and Li Shanzu. If you go any more, it will be overcrowded... If there are too many people, the stage will kill the extra people, like this."

The engineer made a chop-like motion and sawed back and forth on the back of Ms. Wall's neck, scaring her half to death.

"Oh dear, why do you like to scare people so much?"

Miss Wall said with obvious disdain, "I just wanted to go and take a look. I wasn't interested in it before. Otherwise, you don't have to go, let me go instead."

"You're taking my spot? No way! I've been waiting for the God of Drama for over two thousand years, I absolutely have to see it."

The engineer refused to budge, but Miss Wall's consciousness, like a snake, bound itself to the engineer's body and then quickly merged with him.

"Ah Gong, you're so stupid! People of the Flesh and Blood Divine Dynasty can merge their consciousness!"

"..." The engineer realized that he had stayed in the Well Kingdom for too long and had almost forgotten the characteristics of the Flesh and Blood Divine Dynasty.

"Let's go, let's set off and see the god of drama among mortals."

Miss Wall issued commands, while the engineer, like a drunkard, staggered out of the secret realm—her consciousness had only recently merged with Miss Wall's, and her control over her body was still not very agile; she was working hard to tame her limbs…

……

The capital city, Dunjia Mountain,

At the highest peak of Dunjia Mountain, the butcher sat with his knife across his side.

Blood was everywhere in the mountains, as vast as the sea and as deep as the river, staining the blue stone steps leading up the mountain red.

The butcher was gazing into the distance, his gaze directed towards Xiejia'ao in Mingjiang Prefecture.

"We still need to wait, we need to wait a little longer."

The butcher, who resembled a demon god, spoke to himself in a very gentle tone.

"Butcher, what are you waiting for?"

A clear sound pierced the air.
A middle-aged woman dressed in luxurious clothes slowly descended from the sky.
Her beauty goes without saying; even the most composed man in the world would be captivated by her looks.

The stripes on her dress swayed gently in the wind, adding a touch of ethereal beauty to her appearance.

Her bare, jade-like feet stepped onto the gravel in front of the butcher, and she spoke softly.
"Butcher, regarding the calamity at Wuwen Mountain back then, 'Di Zi' was also very apologetic. He spoke with you privately, saying that he had no choice but to send people to wipe out Wuwen Mountain."

"The Calabash Taoist informed on us, and Di Zi knows that it was Tan Pei from Wuwen Mountain who killed Young Master Linming of Tianqiong. The people of Baiyujing in Tianqiong also know this."
The Skyfire Clan in the heavens are people we cannot afford to offend.

The woman's voice grew even softer, gentler than the night breeze. "You've killed the people of Dunjia Mountain, and you must also slay the sect leaders to avenge the grudges of that year. Once you've avenged them, you can leave. Leave the capital and go wherever you want."

"Madam Kong, where else can I go? Where is my hometown again?"

The butcher tilted his head and asked the woman a question.

This woman was none other than the wet nurse of "Di Zi"—Madam Kong.

Madam Kong said with a smile, "Your butcher is still here, and Wuwen Mountain is still here. How can it not be your hometown? Your spark has not been extinguished yet, and Wuwen Mountain may rise from the ashes."

"You're advising me to leave because you're afraid I'll seek revenge?"

“That’s not a problem,” Madam Kong said. “The ‘Earth’ is located deep within the Imperial Observatory, which is impregnable. You, the butcher, cannot get in.”

"Then why are you advising me to leave?"

"Di Zi has guessed what you're up to. You want to borrow a knife, the sharpest and most unparalleled knife, for Zhou Xuan—but Di Zi doesn't want you to lend that knife."

Madam Kong smiled brightly, but there was some resentment in her heart.

She sent Zhao Youting, a master of escape techniques, to capture Zhou Xuan, not for Zhou Xuan's sake, but to force out the witch god behind Zhou Xuan.

Both she and Di Zi wanted to see just how much of the witch god's power he possessed at his peak.

If the sorcerer is not capable enough, then she and "Di Zi" will have to work together to seriously consider how to deal with the sorcerer.

With this on their minds, Madam Kong and Di Zi naturally didn't want the butcher to lend Zhou Xuan a knife.

If Zhou Xuan had taken the knife, killing the Five Styles of the Buddhist Kingdom and the disciples of the Escape Technique Sect would have been too easy. So why would the Witch God have shown up?
"I will definitely borrow this knife, no matter who comes."

"Butcher, do you think there are no capable people in this vast capital city?"

Your knife can easily slay cats, dogs, and pigs, but it can't slay a true dragon.

Madam Kong's words carried a strong sense of threat.

Her hands hung naturally at her sides. She turned to the side, her lips close to the butcher's ear, and whispered sweet nothings.

“Mr. Tu, once you’ve avenged your grudge, leave. The capital city is a place where dragons and tigers roam. It may not have much else, but it has plenty of real dragons. If a real fight breaks out, even if you are a god of unparalleled talent, you will perish in this city.”

“I’m not leaving. And I also want to tell you that today, I’m not the only one who’s come. I’ve brought help too.”

"Oh?" Madam Kong frowned her beautiful eyebrows.

"Pah, pah, pah!"

The butcher clapped his hands and shouted, "Old man, stop watching the show."

"Alas! The past cannot be changed, it is considered fate; the future can still be changed, it is considered impermanent."

An old man dressed in an old Taoist robe rode out of the void on a large black donkey and smiled at Madam Kong.
"Madam Kong, you say there are many true dragons in the capital. I wonder if I, an old Taoist priest from out of town, can subdue all these true dragons in the city?"

Madam Kong tried to keep her expression calm and to warm her tone, but when she spoke, her voice still lost some of its composure and became rather cold.

"Everyone in the entire Jing Kingdom knows the power of the incense god. Why bother with such a small feast and make a joke of our capital city?"

Madam Kong added, "However, you are a Taoist priest who worships incense, and you are also a god-level figure. For a god-level figure to take action in the mortal realm, the price may be quite high."

"No matter how big the stakes are, I will stand up for the little butcher this time."

"I owe the butcher for the calamity at Wuwen Mountain back then."

The incense-burning Taoist priest usually seemed a bit lazy, but this time, his face was serious, clearly indicating that he was determined to help the butcher.

Madam Kong dared not say more, fearing she would offend the Taoist priest, so she said, "Since the Taoist priest has come forward, then let the butcher borrow this knife. But butcher, remember what I just said: leave the capital city after tonight."

"We'll talk about it after tonight," the butcher said coldly.

Madam Kong was rebuffed, but with the incense-burning Taoist priest beside her, she couldn't lash out. She could only turn and leave, giving the butcher a resentful glare as she went.

"Now that woman is gone, there's no one to stop you from borrowing a knife for Zhou Housheng."

The incense-burning Taoist priest told the butcher that from the moment the butcher encountered the gourd-carrying Taoist priest on the road, to the time he entered the capital city government, and then to the bloodbath at Dunjia Mountain, he had always been secretly protecting the butcher.

However, the Taoist priest had no idea what kind of knife the butcher wanted to lend to Zhou Xuan.

"That witch said you wanted to borrow a knife, what kind of knife did you lend to Zhou Housheng?"

The incense-burning Taoist priest asked.

Di Zi was already skilled in prediction, and his position at the Imperial Observatory—a remarkable institution—greatly enhanced his divination abilities.

Therefore, Di Zi naturally knew what kind of knife the butcher wanted to borrow, but the Taoist priest could not deduce it.

"The old incense burner, the power of the state of Jing, how many roads are there?"

"Sixteen routes," the incense-burning Taoist priest said.

Wuwen Mountain's swordsmanship imitates the stance of the Well Country, and the entire swordsmanship consists of sixteen stances.

Therefore, the deity behind Wuwen Mountain is called "Sixteen Forms".

"No, it's Route 17."

"That's what the butcher said."

"Where did this 'seventeenth road' come from? This old Taoist priest is quite well-read; don't try to fool me."

"Originally there was no Route 17, but tonight, the power of Route 17 in the land of Jing will be revealed."

The butcher said, "I'm usually clueless and slow to perceive other things, but I'm never wrong when it comes to the emergence of new sword techniques."

"Tonight, the seventeenth formation will appear in the Kingdom of Jing. I will use the gate of Dunjia Mountain to guide the seventeenth formation, then forge it into a sword and lend it to Zhou Xuan."

"That's what the butcher said."

"If there really are seventeen forms, then isn't it a waste of talent for Zhou Housheng to use this sword to kill the Supreme Master of Dunjia?"

The Taoist priest felt a pang of regret; it was a pity that this "Seventeen Forms" sword, upon its appearance, could only slay the Supreme Master of Escape Techniques...

"A famous sword is meant to slay a famous person."

"Hey, old incense burner, I feel like you're pretty famous. Otherwise, how about I lend Zhou Xuan a knife and have him use it to kill you?"

"You're a jinx, talking nonsense." The Taoist priest felt offended...

……

Mingjiang Prefecture, Xiejia'ao, Douchang Stage.

After Zhou Xuan emerged from the secret realm, he saw that the Heavenly King of Shock, one of the Four Forms of the Buddhist Kingdom, had already been decapitated.

His body was shattered into pieces and scattered all over the ground.

However, when Zhou Xuan looked at the fragments of the body that had once terrified the Heavenly King, he found that they had no flesh or blood, but rather resembled pieces of stone.

"What's going on?"

Zhou Xuan was in the secret realm with the engineer and Miss Wall, discussing how to reach the realm of "Human God of Drama," and he wasn't quite clear about the situation on the stage.

However, he couldn't ask openly, lest he arouse the suspicion of the Taoist priests.

Fortunately, Li Changxun was quite the gossip, practically a chatterbox, and he and Yun Ziliang kept talking about what had just happened.

"The people and ghosts in this Buddhist kingdom have so many tricks up their sleeves. In order to avoid having their incense offerings cut off, they actually took the initiative to kill the one who intimidated the Heavenly King."

"They probably knew him well, knowing that his level of influence was slightly lower than those Grandmasters of the Escape Technique... Those Grandmasters, after their influence was reduced, almost fell below nine incense sticks."
If those four Buddhists were to be punished, it would certainly take eight incense sticks to burn.

"If the Buddhists of the Eight-Incense-Stem-Long Kingdom were to fight against Xuanzi, they would be slaughtered like vegetables."

Yun Ziliang saw through the intentions of the Medicine Buddha and the others, and summarized for Li Changxun: "The death of one person to preserve the fighting strength of three people is a worthwhile deal for the people of the Buddhist Kingdom."

The Taoist priest chimed in, "These people from the Buddhist Kingdom possess both a ruthless spirit and an understanding of the principle of 'a brave man cutting off his own arm.' Their dominance of the starry sky over the years is indeed traceable."

Li Changxun scratched his head. He also sensed that the incense-offering Taoist priest was acting strangely today. This was supposed to be a deity of incense offerings, so why was he acting like a sycophant to the Buddhist kingdom? He hadn't been careful enough and had just given him a taste of his own medicine.

However, due to his status as a Taoist priest, Li Changxun dared not speak some things openly.

At this moment, Zhou Xuan remained silent, catching up on the "plot" he had missed while Li Changxun and Yun Ziliang were talking back and forth.

"Oh, if you lose the support of the audience on the stage, you will lose some of your incense offerings. In order to prevent the loss of incense offerings, the Four Forms of the Buddhist Kingdom forcibly killed the Heavenly King of Intimidation and used his corpse to block all the reduction in incense offerings."

Only then did Zhou Xuan realize why the body parts that had intimidated the Heavenly King had all turned into stone.

The incense smoke within his corpse was completely absorbed by the stage, so it naturally lost its spiritual energy and became a lifeless object, much like a stone.

"The third rule is about to begin."

Zhou Xuan thought to himself.

Inside the stage, he set three rules.

The first rule caused severe casualties for the Dunjia Sect and the Five Styles of the Buddhist Kingdom.

The second rule caused the four Supreme Masters of the Escape Technique to lose some of their strength, and also reduced the number of members in the Five Styles of the Buddhist Kingdom.

"But my third rule is different. It will not only not weaken your strength, but will also increase your cultivation."

Zhou Xuan thought to himself with a smile...

(End of this chapter)