Origin Lake Sect.
At this moment, Chen Pingxi and Zhou Qin were standing in front of Elder Ming Leishang in the latter's study room.
"Mei Shufang," Chen Pingxi said as Elder Ming Leishang continued to read the report in his hand. "She is a newly debuted core disciple of the Vermilion Bird Sect – someone completely unheard of before this."
"It sounds like you were already aware of her existence even before the report came out?" Elder Ming Leishang asked.
"I can guess which member she is. In fact, I did sense an overwhelming threat from one of the party members right from the start," Chen Pingxi said. "That is why I decided not to join in the fight."
Back then, right at the end of the duel between Crimson Sword Cheng Kai and Infernal Claw Quan Hui, a member of the Vermilion Bird Sect had rushed out to protect Quan Hui, forcing Cheng Kai back just as he was about to deal the deciding blow.
Such an overt display of strength instantly brought the second core member of Quan Hui's party into the limelight.
But even before that, Chen Pingxi had already noticed this person in their midst.
"So, that's why..." Zhou Qin nodded in understanding.
During the final fight against Quan Hui's party, Chen Pingxi had specifically told him to sit out of the battle. That was the case even though their involvement would likely have been enough to tilt the tides in their favour.
You underestimate them too much. Things are not as simple as they might seem.
Chen Pingxi had told him this back then, and it was only now that he finally understood her reason behind saying those words.
Damn it, he still had a lot to work on!
"This means that the party from the Vermilion Bird Sect probably never would have lost if the group battle continued," Chen Pingxi thought out loud. "Right from the very beginning, there had always been only one way to claim victory in this situation – beating them in a conditional duel and forcing them to retreat on their own accord."
"And that is exactly what happened..." Zhou Qin added. "Even though she might have sufficient strength to turn things around, this Mei Shufang could only order a retreat since Infernal Claw Quan Hui had already lost in a fair duel."
"Are you saying...?" Elder Ming Leishang prompted.
"I believe we are all thinking the same thing," Chen Pingxi said. "The one acting behind the scenes, Zhao Yunxiao, might have already seen through everything from the start and thus arranged for such an outcome. By doing so, he has truly helped the Black Tortoise Sect send a very strong message not just to the Vermilion Bird Sect, but to the other three great symbol sects as well!"
"San Wanfan's party and Cheng Kai... who else did you say were under his charge back then?" Elder Ming Leishang enquired.
"There are two other parties – one led by Huo Bubai and the other by Nuo Qianling," Chen Pingxi answered. "I have looked into their reports as well. Huo Bubai's party made a flawless run, but there is nothing special about that since he had been clocking similar results in the past years. As for Nuo Qianling's party, the report is rather dubious."
"Dubious? In what way?" Elder Ming Leishang frowned.
***
Black Tortoise Sect – Sect Library.
"Still sticking to the earlier story?" Zhao Yunxiao scoffed as he read through the report on the Wei Group led by Nuo Qianling.
After hearing from Lu Zhiying, he decided to spend the rest of his day at the Sect Library.
It had already been a week since the closing of the Four Symbols Mystic Realm, so it was about time that the scribes had completed the full reports. These were reports that not only include the perspectives of the Black Tortoise Sect, but also information gathered from other factions.
Or at the very least, it would include what everyone was willing to provide.
Going through these reports was something that he had been doing on an annual basis, fuelled by the belief that possessing the most updated information on the mystic realm was necessary if he wanted to dispense with the duties of an observer in the most effective manner.
Now that he heard from Lu Zhiying that the reports were already out, going through them seemed to be the best way to spend the day in a non-strenuous manner.
And in the full report submitted by Nuo Qianling, it was stated that they had fought off wave after wave of monsters while trying to retrieve the remains of a past disciple. Unfortunately, the appearance of a Serpent Mammoth eventually resulted in their failure to do so.
...As if anyone would believe that was the true reason behind their desperate struggle.
Regardless, whether they were retrieving a corpse or a treasure, it had nothing to do with him. As a mere observer, it was not like he would have had a stake in the rewards anyway.
Instead, he was more interested in the monsters they encountered and how they dealt with them.
It would appear that, be it the method to defeat the Red-Eyed Skeleton Ghouls or the process of melting the black ice, they worked as he had thought. That was all he needed to know.
One by one, Zhao Yunxiao read the reports in great detail, including that of the participants who had not been under his charge.
There was lots of information packed within these reports, but no great differences from the preliminary reports that had been revealed prior.
Of course, that was excluding San Wanfan's report.
Defeating a party led by a core disciple was already significant enough, but defeating a party led by two core disciples of the Vermilion Bird Sect? This was a feat that would directly catapult him into the limelight!
Hopefully he could take advantage of this momentum to stay at the forefront.
During his stay at the sect, Zhao Yunxiao had seen many geniuses rise rapidly through the ranks, only to fall from grace not long after.
With how recklessly San Wanfan had acted during the opening of the Four Symbols Mystic Realm, Zhao Yunxiao did not believe that San Wanfan would be able to stay in the limelight for long.
Of course, just like the previous matter, it had nothing much to do with him either way.
He did not dwell on it for too long. Instead, he turned his focus to mapping out the differences from the previous years, slowly refining his understanding of both the mystic realm and how to handle similar situations should they happen again in the future.
Time passed quickly as he was lost in the reports, and it was already nightfall by the time he returned to his residence.
He checked on the cauldron of boiling herbs and nodded in satisfaction. The medicinal bath was ready.
Now then, it was finally time for the main event.
Zhao Yunxiao lit an incense at the altar and decided to meditate for half an hour to regulate his condition.
Unfortunately, his trip to the Armed Ape Tower did not yield any secret tips or hints with regard to attacking the Mind Gate. Neither did he get the blessings from the Zodiac Tree that would have probably helped in the process.
If only he had not been knocked out during the Tribulation of Combat... perhaps he would have at least been able to gather some helpful information from the other disciples on the final night.
Just any small tip that could improve his chances by even 1% would be greatly appreciated!
Come to think of it, the twelve zodiac spirits in the Zodiac Tree had been the Zodiac General's guardian spirits, so surely they would possess such information as well.
It was all the Heaven's Descent Bowl's fault for shutting them up before they had enough time to even finish their words!
If it were ever possible for the Heaven's Descent Bowl to return the avatars of the zodiac spirits to normal, he would not even ask for the blessings anymore. Instead, he just wants to get as much information out of them as possible.
As the guardian spirits of Zodiac General Long Shiqian, the information on their bodies was probably worth far more than the blessings. Even if not suited for attacking the Six Gates of Self-Actualisation, just tips on body strengthening in general would suffice as well!
Tremble-!
Hmm?
Zhao Yunxiao's eyes shot open, his meditation disrupted by an unexpected yet familiar sensation.
At this moment, his spatial pouch suddenly activated without his control, and a ceramic bowl flew out from within.
White background with prints of blue waters and blue clouds – this was undoubtedly the Heaven's Descent Bowl that he knew.
But there was also something different about it this time.
For the first time since the bowl had fallen into his hands, the prints on the bowl were moving.
The blue waters seemed to be flowing along the bottom of the bowl, creating a sea that was well and alive. The blue clouds transformed as they moved, as though they were being moulded by weather changes in the skies.
Next, the blue clouds started raining into the sea below.
The sea level did not rise because of the rain, and neither did the clouds reduce in size. Instead, four water pillars rose from the blue sea, rising all the way up to the mouth of the bowl, reaching around it, and flowing into the bowl itself.
Within the Heaven's Descent Bowl, a strange blue liquid started to appear.
"This...!" Zhao Yunxiao blurted out in surprise as he felt essence energy being drawn out of his dantian, feeding directly into the treasure bowl.
Was the Heaven's Descent Bowl actually trying to absorb him now?
No, that's not it.
The treasure had been activated somehow!
But the energy expenditure required for this activation... it's extremely high!
Zhao Yunxiao hurriedly pulled out a few spirit stones. Biting his lower lip in reluctance, he directly crushed the spirit stones, allowing the energy within to flow freely through his spiritual meridians to fuel the sudden increase in energy output.
Spirit stones were definitely precious, but this was the first time that he had managed to activate the Heaven's Descent Bowl.
Who knew when he would be able to do so again?
Now that he had the chance, he definitely had to see for himself what the Heaven's Descent Bowl was actually capable of!
The blue liquid rose quickly within the bowl, filling it to the brim in no time.
And out came twelve streams of blue liquid, gliding through the air like serpents before landing on the floor in front of him.
One by one, each of the blue streams took on the form of a huge blob before starting to transform.
Before Zhao Yunxiao's very eyes, twelve familiar figures appeared – albeit in a different form this time. Twelve humanoids, each possessing a different animal head, their entire bodies semi-translucent as they adopted the properties of the strange blue liquid.
The avatars of the zodiac spirits – blue liquid edition.
These blue avatars stood facing Zhao Yunxiao, looking at him with their hollow blue eyes.
Next, a wave of energy erupted from each of the twelve blue avatars, all of them rushing straight into Zhao Yunxiao's mind through their mutual connection to the Heaven's Descent Bowl.
And for the second time in three days, Zhao Yunxiao was directly robbed of his consciousness.
***
Birds could be heard chirping as they danced around the treetops of the Bloodwind Forest. The calming sound of water could be heard from a gentle stream passing through the pristine prairie.
Here, spiritual fruits were abundant, with more than enough to fill the stomachs of entire factions.
It was a peaceful retreat for animals, monsters, and spirit beasts alike.
But wait, Bloodwind Forest?
How did he know the name of this place?
And wasn't that the name of the forbidden forest to the north of Duyuan Empire?
As Zhao Yunxiao was contemplating that, he felt his body move.
No, perhaps that was not quite the right way to describe the situation.
Firstly, the body was not his. He could not control anything at all as 'his' body moved, and could only act as a mere spectator that was experiencing everything that was coming through 'his' body's senses.
Secondly, it was not just one body. He was experiencing the perspectives of twelve different individuals at once, all of them resting at different spots of the prairie. This would have been a strange sensation for most, but not for Zhao Yunxiao who was used to controlling multiple clones at once.
With twelve different viewpoints, it was not difficult to quickly determine everyone's respective locations and thus see for himself what 'he' looked like through the lenses of the other 'hims'.
The avatars of the twelve zodiac spirits.
Or perhaps they were not avatars this time?
The majestic tiger spirit sunbathing on the grass, the nonchalant boar spirit walking aimlessly around the prairie, the mighty ox spirit grazing away, the playful dog spirits chasing one another around...
Peaceful spirit beasts coexisting with the other inhabitants of the forest. After having faced their vicious avatars, such a scene was akin to a dream.
Step-!
All of them looked up at once, towards the entrance of the prairie where footsteps were drawing nearer.
They stopped what they were doing, watching the entrance warily. It did not take long before a young man appeared before their eyes.
Sporting natural brown hair that reached down to his shoulders, the young man's eyes were bright and full of vitality. Most significantly, he was dressed in a familiar outfit – the disciple robes of the Armed Ape Tower.
"Who dares intrude into the Zodiac Prairie?" the rooster spirit roared, his voice sending powerful shockwaves that assaulted the young man.
The young man responded by raising two fingers in front of his face. This simple action created a burst of energy that instantly dispelled the oncoming sound attack.
"Armed Ape Tower, Long Shiqian," the fearless young man introduced himself with a confident smile. "I have long heard of the famous zodiac spirits of the Bloodwind Forest. So today, I have come all the way to ask you to be my guardian spirits. I'm sure that, together, we will be able to take on the world, with nothing that can stand in our way!"