Eternal Night

Chapter 645 Refining Process
"...I guard all things, do you seek all spirits?"

"...I want them all!"

"...Then come here yourself!"

In a daze, Wu Pifu vaguely heard this conversation, but the language was definitely beyond his understanding. Moreover, with each faint glimpse of these few words, negative thoughts surged wildly within his mind, almost collapsing, and even the tiger he had swallowed could not stop him.

But at that moment, a bolt of azure lightning suddenly entered his sea of ​​consciousness, treating the tigers as nothing and the sea of ​​consciousness's own defenses as nothing, and was about to surge into the deepest part of his sea of ​​consciousness with a single strike.

This lightning was different from the lightning Wu Pifu had encountered. It possessed both the high temperature and explosive power of natural lightning and supernatural forces. What was most terrifying was its form of azure lightning that ignored the defenses of the body and mind. It looked like lightning, but it was actually something else entirely, something that transcended the body and mind.

However, since the azure lightning had to penetrate deep into the sea of ​​consciousness, as soon as it entered, it immediately caused the negative energy in the sea of ​​consciousness to surge wildly, actually clashing with the azure lightning.

Enraged by the obstruction, Qing Lei transformed into a large azure dragon deep within Wu Pifu's consciousness. Wisps of lightning swirled around it, and its body was formed by a dense web of intricate patterns. Although not large, it possessed a majestic aura and was the most powerful dragon form Wu Pifu had ever seen.

It was as if a real dragon had entered the sea, but it was fighting against the sea. Although it was only within the sea of ​​consciousness, Wu Pifu was extremely shocked by what he "saw".

Though confined to a small space, it reveals the birth and death of the universe!

This is Wu Pifu's understanding of the clash and exhaustion between the Azure Dragon and the infinite negativity. Although it exists within the size of a mustard seed, it truly feels like the birth and death of an infinite universe.

Although the net of heaven and earth that formed the Azure Dragon was small, and only a part of the net of heaven and earth within this boundary, it truly revealed the boundless foundation of the Heavenly Court. Every single strand was composed of even smaller talisman inscriptions, and each talisman inscription was composed of countless more densely packed stars. If one were to examine it further, each of these stars was actually a galaxy, containing billions of stars and countless planets. And if one were to examine it even more closely, there might even be beings or people on those planets and stars...

That's terrifying.

A flower is a world, a tree is a Bodhi tree, Mount Sumeru is hidden in a mustard seed, and heaven and earth are contained in a grain of sand!

The net of heaven and earth is a billion times more terrifying than Wu Pifu imagined; it is just like a real dragon, soaring through the heavens and earth when it is in full force, and disappearing without a trace when it is hidden.

However, the one that was at odds with this Azure Dragon was no pushover either. The endless negativity overwhelmed everything, no matter how small or complex the world was, or how much could be contained within a mustard seed. All of it was reduced to nothing.

As soon as the Azure Dragon entered the sea of ​​consciousness, the rampaging negative backlash surged up and engulfed it. Even though the Azure Dragon kept churning and its azure aspirations were lofty, it was of no use. The magnitude of the negative influence in the sea of ​​consciousness exceeded the limits of its aspirations and status by many times. In an instant, the Azure Dragon completely dissipated into the endless negativity, but it also caused the rampaging negativity to gradually subside and was eventually suppressed by the tigers.

All of this seemed complicated, but it all happened in an instant. When the heavenly thunder struck and the dust rose, the battle of creation and destruction of the universe that took place in Wu Pifu's sea of ​​consciousness had already come to an end.

Wu Pifu was completely unharmed. Even disregarding the bonus from the title of "commoner," his physical defense was already ridiculously strong. In particular, the acquisition of the True Martial Indestructible Body martial art allowed his physical body and internal energy to continuously cycle on their own. This was almost passive, and he was passively improving his all-around physical defense characteristics at an extremely slow rate. At least so far, there was no sign of an increase in his upper limit.

What's truly terrifying about this heavenly lightning is its attack on the soul and true spirit. However, it was directly cleared away by the negative influences in his sea of ​​consciousness, so it had no effect on him at all. Not only that, it even cleared away a negligible portion of the negative influences in his sea of ​​consciousness, which was an unexpected bonus.

As lightning struck and the city walls collapsed, Lin Daiyu, who was in Shengjing City, suddenly turned around, her face deathly pale, and cried out from afar, "Brother!"

Amidst the shouts, Lin Daiyu could no longer care about chasing the fleeing members of the Wild Boar Skin Tribe. She turned and rushed towards the lightning-struck city tower. At this moment, the fleeing members of the Wild Boar Skin Tribe were also shocked by the change in the sky. Many of them even showed wild joy on their faces. However, when they looked at the collapsed city tower, the rising dust suddenly dissipated, as if wiped away by an invisible hand. Everyone saw the dead fish-eyed boy soar into the sky, and at the same time, a voice resounded throughout Shengjing.

"Daiyu, you get rid of these inhuman beings yourself, I'm fine!"

Before he could finish speaking, Wu Pifu had already gone far away.

The shock on Lin Daiyu's face finally subsided. She glanced back at the stunned and bewildered nobles in their boar skins, and her face immediately showed disgust. Everyone saw her shake her head slightly, then raise the large pillar again and charge forward, continuing the merciless slaughter.

On the other side, Wu Pifu soared into the sky, following a faint sense, and rushed straight towards a certain direction. However, after flying hundreds of thousands of meters away, he still could not find that trace. It was just moving towards the pass in a faint way.

"...Are souls truly spirits?"

Wu Pifu had anticipated this, just like the eunuch he had been tracking before. The senses were faint and extremely weak, and he couldn't find any trace of him. If he were to escape without a trace, he would never be able to locate him again.

But this time Wu Pifu was prepared. All his current skills seemed useless against the True Spirit of the Soul, except for one extraordinary power that seemed worth trying...

"Overlord and domineering!"

Wu Pifu's eyes widened, and he unleashed his Conqueror's Haki to its maximum. In an instant, the world lost its color, the clouds in the sky were completely dispersed, and the earth and rocks below began to crumble inch by inch. Countless insects, rats, ants, and beasts began to stir. Within the range of this Conqueror's Haki, the faint sense seemed to fluctuate slightly, but that was not enough...

"Super Brain World!"

The entire world instantly turned black and white, and everything around it froze. But the faint sense was still moving forward, as if the speed between it and Wu Pifu was relative.

But precisely because of this, this faint sense immediately became apparent, and Wu Pifu directly faced out with one palm while shouting loudly.

"My grandson is here too!"

With a roar, a dragon-shaped burst of energy erupted from Wu Pifu's palm, rushing straight toward the faint sense.

This vague sensation seemed to be constantly shifting, neither here nor there. Only when the Conqueror's Haki and the Super Brain World were simultaneously enveloped did a trace of leakage appear. Just as the dragon-shaped energy rushed forward and was about to completely envelop this hidden spot, a gourd and a bowl were suddenly thrown out from the hidden spot and collided with the dragon-shaped energy.

With a deafening roar, the dragon-shaped energy, incredibly powerful, slammed into the two suddenly appearing objects, carrying them forward. But in an instant, both objects shattered simultaneously, and an invisible wave appeared. The dragon-shaped energy was annihilated at the same time, and then the hidden point also vanished without a trace in the instant of the explosion.

Wu Pifu stood there dumbfounded, as if he had seen something that shocked him. After a long while, he finally managed to utter through gritted teeth, "This is the Heavenly Court's method? This is the true Heavenly Court's method? Damn it, you son of a bitch!"

Wu Pifu was about to retaliate, but after the dragon energy triggered the heavenly lightning to destroy it, he vaguely sensed some kind of danger in the sky. This prevented him from acting, and he only glanced coldly around a few times before flying back to Shengjing.

Lin Daiyu, with her keen senses, immediately noticed the returning Wu Pifu. Overjoyed, she fought even more fiercely. But no more miracles occurred with those wild boars with rat tails. No matter what they did, it was all in vain. They either closed their eyes and waited to die, or hacked wildly, or committed suicide immediately. The killing continued from day to night, and from night to the early hours of the next day...

Lin Daiyu immersed herself in the hot spring, washing away all the blood from her body.

This is a natural hot spring pool, with a huge rock blocking the center of the pool. Even so, Lin Daiyu's face was still flushed, whether from the hot spring or something else, it was hard to tell.

"...Brother, why did you suddenly leave Shengjing today?" Lin Daiyu asked curiously.

Wu Pifu paused for a moment, then thought for a moment and didn't hide anything: "I discovered that the Heavenly Court was walking on the ground, so I chased after them, but unfortunately, these two rats escaped."

Lin Daiyu asked in surprise, "They actually managed to escape from my brother's clutches? Are they that amazing?"

Wu Pifu was also soaking in the hot spring. His face was grim as he said, "No, these two rats aren't very strong, but they have some special methods..."

When Wu Pifu mentioned rats for the second time, Lin Daiyu finally understood what he meant. She asked, "So they're not human? Are they monsters or something?"

Wu Pifu said in a deep voice, "I don't know what their true form is, but they are definitely not human... Do you know what so-called magical artifacts are?"

Lin Daiyu thought for a moment and said, "I seem to have read some books that mention it, but I don't understand it. Could you explain it to me, brother?"

Wu Pifu took a deep breath and said, "I don't know much about it either, but based on what I've read in novels, I think there are generally three types of magical treasures. The first is various innate spiritual treasures, born from various laws of heaven and earth; the second is those forged from various precious minerals or spiritual objects using profound methods; and the third is those condensed from profound Taoist and immortal techniques. Basically, these are the magical treasures I know. However, the magical treasures used by these two Heavenly Court officials are not these three types..."

Lin Daiyu became even more curious: "What are those? What kind of magical artifacts do they use?"

“…The human soul!” Wu Pifu said in a chilling voice, “Those two magic treasures are both made of human souls, but they are different from the evil cultivators I killed before. The extraordinary powers of the many evil cultivators I killed in the past did not actually use the real soul, but the spirit and consciousness, that is, the negative side of a person. But these two magic treasures are different; they are completely composed of souls.”

Lin Daiyu naturally couldn't understand.

Wu Pifu then explained: "An intelligent life is composed of three parts: the physical body, the spirit and consciousness, and the soul and spirit. The extraordinary system is also composed of these three. For example, the Chinese martial arts and the Human Immortal Martial Arts that I teach you are extraordinary paths in the physical body. In addition, there are also extraordinary paths in the spirit and consciousness and the soul and spirit. However, compared to the extraordinary paths in the physical body and spirit and consciousness, the extraordinary path in the soul and spirit is extremely rare. At least so far, I have only encountered one."

Lin Daiyu pondered silently for a moment before asking, "So, brother, you think those two Heavenly Court attendants used human souls and true spirits as materials to forge magical artifacts, is that right?"

"It's not that I think so."

Wu Pifu's cold voice rang out: "Instead, it's a confirmation. I exchanged blows with these two Heavenly Court attendants. They released this magic weapon, and when I shattered it, the two magic weapons instantly returned to their true spirit form. I sensed that terrifying emotion being released, so I'm certain."

Lin Daiyu fell silent; she even felt a chill run down her spine.

The Heavenly Court... what a lofty and grand term! The divine messengers it dispatched actually used human souls to forge artifacts. Just that alone made her tremble uncontrollably.

"What is your plan, brother?"

Without hesitation, Wu Pifu said, "Continue west, south, and east. There's no Heavenly Mandate Dragon Qi in the western Tibetan region, but there's probably a little in the south, and definitely in the east. Shatter them all and see if those two Heavenly Court officials dare to come out again. If they don't, fine. But if they do, then their mission must be related to the Heavenly Mandate Dragon Qi of this world. After that, we'll take the Emperor to Mount Tai for the Fengshan ceremony. By then, the Heavenly Mandate Dragon Qi will have changed drastically, and I'll see what they do then!"

Lin Daiyu hummed in response, unsure of what to say, feeling utterly bewildered.

That noon, Wu Pifu brought Lin Daiyu back to the capital. Because he was in a hurry, he stopped pretending and went directly to the palace with Lin Daiyu. He threw the heads he had brought with him to the emperor and told him that he could send troops to the border.

"Your Majesty, you can begin preparations for the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai. It will take some time to travel from here to Mount Tai. If we prepare slowly, it will probably be at least several months later. I can't wait. In the next few days, my sister and I will resolve all the hidden dangers in the west, south, and east. My request is simple: after we resolve the surrounding hidden dangers, you must carry out the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai within five days. Can you do that?"

Wu Pifu didn't mince words and spoke directly to the emperor.

The emperor was looking at the heads, first at their hairstyles, then at their skin and features, and was initially pleased. However, upon hearing this, he was stunned and couldn't help but ask, "Why the rush? Even if we were to perform the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai, it would be a momentous event for all time. It shouldn't take more than ten days or half a month, or even three or five years. Could it be... there's some hidden reason?"

Wu Pifu was too lazy to speak. He was already furious with those two Heavenly Court officials, and he was suppressing his killing intent with his willpower.

Seeing this, Lin Daiyu immediately grabbed Wu Pifu with one hand, fearing he might do something crazy. At the same time, Lin Daiyu didn't know what to say, so she simply followed Wu Pifu's example and told the truth: "Your Majesty, we encountered Heavenly Court agents. They are good at hiding and actually escaped from my brother's hands. We can't find them for the time being. I guess only a major change in the Mandate of Heaven can force them out."

"What?"

The emperor was completely dumbfounded. He asked in a daze, "What Heavenly Court? What major change in destiny?"

Lin Daiyu then explained in detail what she had heard from Wu Pifu.

What about this world being the mortal realm of the Heavenly Court? What about countries and races possessing the aura of a dragon? What about the Wild Boar Skin Tribe beyond the Great Wall also possessing dragon aura? What about the Heavenly Court's officials being bad people, using human souls as materials for forging weapons?

The emperor's already shattered worldview was broken once again. Although he was reluctant to believe it, the two exceptions, Wu Pifu and Lin Daiyu, were right in front of him, so he dared not believe them completely, nor did he dare not believe them at all.

Wu Pifu, growing impatient, directly addressed the emperor: "You don't actually think this Heavenly Mandate Dragon Qi is something good, do you? Admittedly, this Heavenly Mandate Dragon Qi can protect the royal family and national officials from the erosion and attack of evil curses, but it is completely different from the Heavenly Mandate Dragon Qi you are thinking of. This thing will control some destined people, making them born, grow, and die according to a fixed fate, like characters in a novel who cannot escape, which is what is called being manipulated by fate."

Wu Pifu sensed that the emperor was still somewhat dismissive, and even had some strange thoughts and ideas after hearing about the Heavenly Mandate Dragon Qi. Wu Pifu shook his head and said, "How foolish, Your Majesty. Think about it. If an individual is bewitched and imprisoned by the Heavenly Mandate Dragon Qi, do you think you are an exception? No, you are among them, and even your country and your people are among them! Let me tell you the truth, if it weren't for us siblings, your dynasty would only have about twenty to thirty years left at most. Then the Wild Boar Skin Tribe would break through the pass and enter. No matter how you struggle, you will ultimately perish."

The emperor's expression turned solemn, but he still harbored many doubts.

Wu Pifu chuckled. He suddenly thought of a very "famous" line from Dream of the Red Chamber: "It's not just you who will perish; the entire dynasty may be reduced to a vast expanse of white, utterly clean."

For some inexplicable reason, when the Emperor and Lin Daiyu heard the words "a vast expanse of white, truly clean," a strange premonition and palpitation simultaneously arose from the depths of their hearts. They couldn't explain it, but it gave them a sense of destiny.

Because of this inexplicable premonition, the emperor suddenly began to believe it, and he couldn't help but ask, "Would the Wild Boar Skin Tribe really enter the pass and then occupy this land?"

Wu Pifu continued, "And that's not all. They slaughtered people from north to south, such as the Three Massacres of Jiading, the Ten Days of Yangzhou, and the migration of people from Huguang to Sichuan. Moreover, they were both arrogant and insecure, ruling over a large clan with a small one. Therefore, from the very beginning, suppressing the people's hearts and minds was their national policy. Literary inquisitions never stopped, and there was even the saying 'Keep your head, lose your hair; keep your hair, lose your head.' In the more than two hundred years that followed, they signed more than seven hundred treasonous treaties, bowing and scraping to the invading foreign tribes. On average, they signed more than two treasonous treaties every year. There were also famous sayings such as 'Use the resources of China to please foreign powers' and 'Better to give to foreign countries than to our own slaves,' which caused the sinking of China to the point of near irreversible ruin..."

The emperor was initially puzzled, but the more he listened, the more terrified and furious he became. Finally, he roared in fury, sweeping everything off the table. At that moment, guards tried to rush in from outside the study, but the emperor roared and screamed, "Get out! Don't come in without my order!!"

All the guards immediately stopped and quickly sealed off the entire outer courtyard of the study.

At this moment, the old eunuch, while weeping, picked up the items on the ground: "Your Majesty, please calm down, Your Majesty, please calm down. This hasn't happened yet, has it? Besides, with the Lin twins, this will certainly not happen again."

The emperor was already convinced by this point, because the intuition he felt was too strong. The intense sense of déjà vu made him want to immediately draw his sword and kill someone. His eyes became bloodshot, and he even bit his lip until it was split. He said in a hoarse voice, "Minister Wu, do you have any advice for me?"

Wu Pifu sighed inwardly, confirming another conjecture. He then said, "I don't know what can change this, but we have already slaughtered the Wild Boar Skin tribe. I'm afraid the Heavenly Mandate Dragon Qi will change again. If the north doesn't work, it will come to the south; if the south doesn't work, it will come to the west, the east, or some distant place... Therefore, the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai can completely change the Heavenly Mandate Dragon Qi. This is the only method I can think of. First, I need to kill those two Heavenly Court officials; second, you can also use this to change the fate of China."

The emperor remained silent for a moment, simply sitting in his chair and gazing up at the sky. After a long while, he suddenly said, "Minister Wu, I didn't realize it before, but as soon as you mentioned it, many images inexplicably flashed through my mind. I can't quite describe what they were... It was as if there was a scene of chaos and war, and apart from this old servant, I couldn't see anyone else. In the images, I seemed to be charging into the inner palace with a sword, hacking and slashing indiscriminately. In the end, this old servant accompanied me to the mountainside, where I hanged myself from a crooked tree... Do you think this is true or false?"

Wu Pifu didn't say anything, but simply bowed to the emperor and then pulled Lin Daiyu out of the study.

Just as he was about to leave the room, the emperor's voice suddenly rang out: "Do whatever you wish, my dear minister. Within five days... once you have cleared the surrounding area, I will surely appear at the Fengshan Terrace on Mount Tai within five days!"

Wu Pifu didn't say anything, but pulled Lin Daiyu up into the sky.

Lin Daiyu seemed to be deep in thought, yet her face remained blank.

Only Wu Pifu finally confirmed some truth about this world...

This world contains both truth and falsehood...

Just like the novel *Dream of the Red Chamber*, the dynasty in the novel is always vague and not deliberately stated. At the same time, the emperor and the government are also vague, and it is not explained whether it is compared to the Ming Dynasty or the Qing Dynasty. Therefore, many readers consider it to be a fictional dynasty.

However, Wu Pifu also remembers that some people found another interpretation from clues in Dream of the Red Chamber.

Dream of the Red Chamber is a cyclical world, and all the people in it, including the dynasty and the emperor, are actually a kind of cyclical hell for the dead who started in the Ming Dynasty. They are filled with resentment, obsession, and inability to escape.

It's repeating the process of the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, where "the vast expanse of white land was truly clean"...

Perhaps all of these are true.

The Heavenly Court was encroaching on this world, repeating the cycle again and again, constantly deepening its erosion. At the same time, it was manipulating the fates of some special souls, "cooking" and "refining" them in a way that Wu Pifu did not yet understand, ultimately turning them into either vessels or medicines for the Heavenly Court's use.

Flying high in the sky, Lin Daiyu suddenly trembled all over.

"Brother, are we... a fake?"

Wu Pifu remained silent for a long time.

(End of this chapter)