I’ll Definitely Play the Stand-in Villain-Chapter 101 : Truly a Reincarnated Exiled Immortal, Beiyu’s Daughter of Fortune

Chapter 101: A True Reincarnated Celestial—The Favored Daughter of Beiyu’s Fate
Dust surged and scattered. As Shen Tian was flung away and crashed heavily to the ground, silence fell once more before the imperial capital’s city gate.
The people of the Demon Suppression Prince’s Mansion stared at Shen Tian, who had completely lost consciousness, for a long time without a word. Shen Jingxiao’s expression was darker and more severe than ever before, nearly losing control of his temper.
“Your Highness…”
After a brief pause, everyone snapped back to their senses and hurriedly went forward to help Shen Tian up.
At this moment, Shen Tian looked utterly miserable. His eyes were tightly shut, his face swollen, and blood continuously poured from his mouth. On the ground, blood was mixed with shattered teeth.
Clearly, Shen Yanzhou’s strength earlier had not been excessive; otherwise, it would not have been as simple as being slapped into a pig-faced state.
“Shen Tian is still the heir of the Prince’s Mansion. Shen Yanzhou, why did you strike him with such vicious force?”
A clan elder who was checking Shen Tian’s condition finally could not suppress his anger and cursed aloud.
Shen Yanzhou’s robe was spotless, his bearing transcendent, appearing at that moment like a celestial descending upon the mortal world.
He smiled faintly. “Fourth Uncle, could it be that you didn’t see clearly just now? He was the one who struck at me first, shouting that he would kill me. I only acted in self-defense—already holding back quite a bit.”
“In broad daylight, to openly assault a Chilin Guard thousand-household commander—what does the law of Great Qian say about that?”
At those words, the clan elder who had wanted to continue berating him froze, forcing his words back down.
A duel was one thing—but an open assault on a Chilin Guard officer? That was far harder to explain away.
Shen Jingxiao’s expression grew darker still as he gazed at Shen Yanzhou, his voice low.
“It seems Zhou’er has made further progress. You’ve even managed to master a high-grade Daoist art in such a short time.”
Others might not have noticed, but he had seen it clearly. In that instant earlier, Shen Yanzhou had clearly invoked a Daoist technique—vanishing into the void itself—to easily evade Shen Tian’s sword strike.
That realization filled his heart with even more gloom.
The Daoist art of “Void Escape,” derived from a grand divine ability, was classified as a Third-Rank technique under the standards of Great Qian.
That meant it was a spell normally only wielded with ease by Third-Rank Daoist masters who had reached the realm of Unity.
Yet Shen Yanzhou, at such a young age, had already mastered it so easily—could he truly be a once-in-ten-thousand-years Daoist prodigy?
“How did Shen Yanzhou vanish into thin air like that?”
On the city wall, Crown Prince Xia Chongming looked down upon the scene below, still visibly shaken by what he had just witnessed.
“Your Highness,” came the reply.
“It should be the Daoist art ‘Void Escape’—entering the void, leaving no trace. It’s a high-level Third-Rank technique.”
“Once used, ordinary martial cultivators cannot even approach.”
The Daoist-robed attendant at his side was breathing heavily, his tone filled with disbelief.
“A high-level Third-Rank technique?”
“How many Daoist cultivators in the imperial capital can even perform such a spell?”
Though Crown Prince Xia Chongming was no stranger to the cultivation world, his voice still carried astonishment.
The attendant pondered carefully, then counted on his fingers before replying in awe:
“Your Highness, apart from the deputy sacrificers of the Bureau of Immortal Inspection, fewer than five people at most could use it. Even the two vice deans of the Daoist Courtyard cannot perform this technique.”
Crown Prince Xia Chongming’s breathing grew rapid, his gaze toward Shen Yanzhou burning hot.
“Could this man truly be that so-called reincarnated celestial, born solely for the Dao? To perform a Third-Rank Daoist art while still at the Sixth-Rank realm?”
The Daoist attendant gave a wry smile.
“Had I not seen it myself, I wouldn’t have believed it either. Young Master Shen truly seems like a reincarnated celestial. I’ve heard he’d never studied orthodox Daoist arts before—meaning he must have learned this high-level technique within the past few days…”
“Truly one born solely for cultivation…”
Even Xia Chongming was at a loss for words now. For the first time, genuine admiration stirred in his heart.
He must draw Shen Yanzhou under his command.
Meanwhile, before the city gate, a wave of astonishment spread among the crowd.
Among the many nobles and powerful families who had witnessed that scene, several who were familiar with Daoist magic had already recognized what Shen Yanzhou had performed.
A Third-Rank spell!
In the Bureau of Immortal Inspection, only a few deputy sacrificers could perform such a spell with ease.
But every one of those deputy sacrificers was a figure who had cultivated for decades—if not centuries.
And yet Shen Yanzhou was so young.
The sensation caused by this Third-Rank technique was even greater than that stirred by Shen Tian’s use of Tantai Yuxian’s famed sword move earlier.
The geniuses of the Dragon-Tiger Institute had fallen completely silent, unable to utter a single word.
“As expected of Little Grandmaster—his talent truly defies heaven.”
“With just a flick of the wrist, he cast a high-level Third-Rank Daoist spell… and still seemed to be holding back…”
The Daoist Courtyard disciples could not help but murmur in awe, wholeheartedly convinced of their “Little Grandmaster.”
……
Shen Yanzhou, for his part, had entirely anticipated the surrounding reactions. This was precisely the effect he wanted. Otherwise, he would not have deliberately displayed the “Void Escape Art.”
There were many ways he could have countered Shen Tian’s earlier sword strike.
After all, he was the “Reincarnated Celestial.” Now, surely no one would doubt that identity again.
“Your Grace had better send Shen Tian for treatment soon. Since his head seems to be afflicted, it’s best to cure it early.”
“If he suffers another episode like this in public, it may not end as simply as a crazed outburst.”
“With so many nobles and ladies in the capital, if he were to offend the wrong one someday, it might be much harder to clean up.”
Shen Yanzhou smiled faintly at Shen Jingxiao as he spoke.
Shen Jingxiao’s face darkened, his gaze deep as he looked at Shen Yanzhou. He said nothing more, merely waving his hand to the clan elders behind him.
“Take Shen Tian back to the mansion.”
Today, instead of returning home in glory, Shen Tian had been publicly humiliated by Shen Yanzhou.
Shen Jingxiao could already imagine how the various factions of the capital would laugh at the Demon Suppression Prince’s Mansion.
That the so-called “True Heir” was far inferior to the “False Heir,” that the Demon Suppression King himself had been blind…
At this moment, his heart overflowed with regret.
Had he known it would come to this, he should have snuffed out Shen Yanzhou in the cradle.
Now, all these troubles were born of that blindness.
Before the city gate, silence lingered.
The nobles who had originally intended to step forward and congratulate the prince for “setting things right” halted awkwardly, watching as the Prince’s Mansion entourage carried Shen Tian away, their carriages fading into the distance.
Only after that grand procession vanished around the corner did conversation gradually resume.
“What a spectacle today. I thought the return of the True Heir would be a joyous affair—yet the people of the Prince’s Mansion looked as though they were at a funeral…”
“This True Heir doesn’t seem to live up to his name.”
“What was the Demon Suppression King thinking?”
An elder in a dragon-embroidered robe spoke with amused curiosity.
His words made many turn pale—wasn’t he afraid someone from the Prince’s Mansion might hear him?
But soon they recognized the speaker—a high-ranking royal kinsman of formidable seniority.
Even Crown Prince Xia Chongming, still atop the city wall, hurried down to pay his respects.
“How strange. This isn’t what the Demon Suppression King told me.”
“Was today’s event intentional, or merely an accident?”
Divine Martial Marquis had originally intended to bring his daughter Zhao Qingchan forward to offer congratulations, but now he could only remain where he was, watching the Prince’s entourage recede into the distance.
“Daughter,” he said suddenly, “is it possible that the Demon Suppression King deliberately had the True Heir act mad and foolish in public, to sully himself on purpose?”
Zhao Qingchan was momentarily stunned.
Her gaze returned from the city gate, her voice soft.
“Father means…the True Heir feigned foolishness to avoid attention? But why then did he strike at Shen Yanzhou—and reveal the signature sword move of the Sword Immortal from the Ten-Thousand-Mile Sword Court’s Pure Pavilion?”
“If he wished to feign disgrace, why expose his foundation? Isn’t that contradictory?”
That question left the Divine Martial Marquis equally stunned. Indeed—it made no sense.
Could it be the True Heir truly suffered from madness?
At the same time, Wu Ruyue was also filled with shock and confusion. She had not expected that Shen Tian’s personality would have changed so drastically in such a short time.
“Captain, was that Daoist art you used just now really the Third-Rank ‘Void Escape Art’?”
“I knew it—following you guarantees a boundless future. Even in the Bureau of Immortal Inspection, there are few who can cast such a spell!”
Seeing Shen Yanzhou return from outside the city, Li Yunpeng, Zhou Yang, and several other hundred-household officers quickly gathered around him, their words full of praise and admiration.
Wu Ruyue also approached, looking at the composed Shen Yanzhou, unable to help but ask,
“That person earlier—was he truly Shen Tian? He seemed so different.”
Shen Yanzhou smiled. “Without a doubt. As for why he’s like that—I’m not sure. Maybe he did it on purpose.”
“On purpose?”
Wu Ruyue was taken aback, then thought of Shen Yanzhou’s own previous act of self-deprecation and concealment.
Could it be that after returning to the capital, Shen Tian had tried to imitate him—staging this scene deliberately?
……
The True Heir’s return to the capital soon became the hottest topic in the city. Many had high hopes for him, believing he might carry the same brilliance the Demon Suppression King once had in his youth.
Some noble houses had even prepared to visit in person.
But what happened at the city gate left everyone dumbfounded. The news even reached the palace, where within the Hall of Cultivated Mind, Emperor Mingde himself fell into deep thought.
“Could Shen Jingxiao have orchestrated this spectacle on purpose?”
Even the Emperor could not help but suspect it.
Who would make such a grand show of welcoming home the True Heir, only to lose face publicly?
It truly did not seem like something Shen Jingxiao would do.
“Your Majesty,” said Wei Gong, bowing low, a stack of secret s in hand,
“this old servant has already sent men to investigate the True Heir’s background. It appears he first surfaced years ago in the Southern Border, where he served as a young deputy officer in the army and was taken in as the Demon Suppression King’s adopted son, highly valued.”
“Additionally, about a month ago, Shen Tian returned to the capital with Wu Ruyue. There was conflict at the Wu Residence between him and His Highness Yanzhou. After His Highness was abducted at Hidden Moon Mountain, Shen Tian also went missing.”
“Later, for reasons unknown, he ended up in the hands of Luofu Cloud Cavern in the Southern Border. The Demon Suppression King spent great resources to rescue him.”
“According to the generals stationed in the South, Shen Tian may have feigned madness and disgrace to mislead others—but it’s also possible, as the King claims, that he truly suffered a head injury…”
Emperor Mingde nodded slightly.
“So when Shen Tian disappeared, it was at the same time Yanzhou was taken?”
Wei Gong smiled faintly.
“From all the information gathered, that seems to be the case. His Highness Yanzhou likely already knew that Shen Tian was the True Heir, while he himself was merely a stand-in. Thus, he deliberately acted as bait, drawing Shen Tian to Hidden Moon Mountain. This old servant suspects His Highness had long been in contact with the people of Luofu Cloud Cavern, laying this trap in advance.”
Emperor Mingde’s face also revealed a faint smile. “Indeed bold—brave and shrewd.”
“His Highness Yanzhou is meticulous of mind; not only is his wit and strategy extraordinary, but his martial and Daoist talents also stand unrivaled beneath heaven. To display a Third-Rank Daoist art today truly astonished the entire Imperial Capital,” Wei Gong praised sincerely.
“This child has inherited his father’s gift in martial arts and his mother’s talent in Daoist cultivation.”
“Had he not been delayed by Shen Jingxiao, and received proper guidance from a master, attaining Fourth Rank in both the Martial and Daoist paths by now would not have been difficult.”
Emperor Mingde’s gaze softened in gratification.
“The former sect master of the Taiqing Immortal Sect presented Us with a ‘Heaven-evading Pearl’ during Our birthday celebration, did he not? Find an appropriate time and reason to give it to Yanzhou.”
After thinking for a moment, he gave this instruction.
The Heaven-evading Pearl was a peerless Daoist treasure capable of concealing one’s aura and eluding divinations—it was said to deceive even the heavens themselves. If such a thing appeared in an auction, it would surely provoke reclusive old monsters wandering the world to reveal themselves in contention.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Wei Gong replied, but soon found himself troubled.
“His Highness Yanzhou is far too astute. To gift him such a precious treasure might arouse his suspicion.”
They could hardly grant it to him merely because he happened to step into the ranks of the Chilin Guards the next day—would that not make others suspect he was the Emperor’s illegitimate son before entering the palace?
Emperor Mingde’s eyes curved in amusement. “How you make it seem reasonable is your problem. I only care for the result.”
——
Within the Demon Suppression Prince’s Mansion, the atmosphere was anything but joyous over the true heir’s return—it was stifled and oppressive instead.
All the guards and maids scarcely dared breathe, each sensing the storm-cloud expressions of every clan elder, as though they might erupt in fury at any moment.
In Emerald Bamboo Courtyard, Princess Consort Yu Chenyu listened to her maid Lv Ping’s , her lips curling slightly. “A disgrace. The face of the Demon Suppression Prince’s Mansion—he’s utterly thrown it away.”
Lv Ping dared not speak nor even ask whether the princess consort referred to the true heir or the false one.
In the study, the Demon Suppression King Shen Jingxiao’s expression was as dark as still water. The desk before him bore deep handprints where his palm had pressed down.
“To dare lay such hands upon my Tian’er—Luofu Cloud Cavern, this king shall never forgive you.”
“Convey my order: under the pretext of purging demonic beasts, have Li Hu and the others lead thirty thousand Demon Suppression troops into the Hundred Thousand Mountains.”
“If Luofu Cloud Cavern dares resist—kill without mercy.”
——
Shen Yanzhou returned with Li Yunpeng and the others to the Thousand-Household Division, parting ways with Luo Qiushui midway.
Regarding Shen Yanzhou’s mastery of the Void Escape Art in under three days, Luo Qiushui’s reaction was far calmer than the rest.
To her, her junior brother was, after all, the “banished immortal” their master had long spoken of. Such talent was hardly surprising.
She had no interest in the conflict between the Demon Suppression Prince’s Mansion and her junior brother. Instead, she pondered how to further refine the “Art of Reversing Yin and Yang” that Shen Yanzhou had mentioned.
“Senior’s senior sister really is the youngest elder of the Daoist Courtyard, huh? Looks younger than my own daughter…”
“Mind your tongue! That’s the commander’s senior sister—an existence on the level of the Daoist sect’s great-uncle generation.”
A Hundred-Household Officer muttered as he watched the young Daoist priestess depart, only to be hastily elbowed by a comrade.
Shen Yanzhou paid them no mind.
“Any progress in the recent investigation?” he asked as he approached Wu Ruyue.
“A little. I’ll stake out the western district again tonight. They say a remarkable courtesan arrived from Lin’an Commandery.”
“I’ll see if I can learn more. The new brothel there seems to have connections to a Daoist sect,” Wu Ruyue said thoughtfully, then smiled as she noticed his interest.
“A Daoist sect?”
“Could it be an immortal descended to the mortal world?”
Shen Yanzhou chuckled, suddenly intrigued. Having gathered plenty of negative emotions today, perhaps an evening’s diversion would do no harm.
Idleness begets leisure—listening to songs in the pleasure houses.
“I heard their style is quite different from that of Vermilion Bird Street. Even high-ranking court officials frequent the place,” Wu Ruyue said softly, as though wary of offending someone.
“Oh? How so?” Shen Yanzhou asked.
“Their singers and courtesans dress unlike ordinary women of the red dust—some wear Confucian scholars’ robes or Daoist feathered gowns and jade crowns, serene and elegant. I’ve even heard some boldly impersonate the wives and concubines of court ministers. A few renowned courtesans there are adept at illusion and enchantment…”
“Also, those singers wear gauzy skirts and stockings as thin as cicada wings—their dances are strange yet captivating, easily ensnaring men’s hearts.”
“I sent people to acquire two of them and invited Immortal Officer Gu to examine whether some special refining technique was involved—something that could charm the mind…”
While saying this, Wu Ruyue’s tone grew slightly embarrassed, her cheeks pink. She had no idea how such indecent trends had begun spreading.
“So diligent—even bringing out ‘uniform temptations’ now.”
That was Shen Yanzhou’s first reaction upon hearing it.
But soon he realized—this plot felt familiar. Wait, hadn’t this event occurred later in the storyline? This clearly had the marks of Beiyu’s influence!
Wasn’t this supposed to happen only after the Empress’s birthday banquet, when the envoys of Beiyu arrived?
Among those envoys was a commercial prodigy named Chanzi Jin, right hand of the Beiyu Empress, responsible for the empire’s finances, her enterprises spanning countless trades.
If he hadn’t known the original plot so well, Shen Yanzhou might have suspected she was a transmigrator.
Things like distilled liquor, soap, and silk stockings had all spread from Beiyu—and all originated from her.
Indeed, the original story described her as extraordinary—a true “daughter of fortune,” blessed with brilliant commercial insight.
In the later arc, when all fortune became the Dao and all paths led to enlightenment, she achieved First Rank by “entering the Dao through commerce.”
During the Empress’s birthday, Beiyu had sent envoys as a gesture of goodwill. Chanzi Jin disguised herself among them under the pretense of studying Great Qian’s customs, when in fact she sought to plant the roots of Beiyu’s commercial alliance within the empire.
“What style are those sheer skirts and stockings?”
Shen Yanzhou asked, wanting to confirm whether that woman had already arrived in the capital.
He remembered clearly that her designs always bore a tiny cicada-wing motif.
If the new brothel in the western district was supported by her, then the Beiyu envoys must have already entered the Great Qian Imperial Capital ahead of schedule.
“They’re… very thin, smooth to the touch, like misted gauze…”
Wu Ruyue, unable to describe it properly, could only lead Shen Yanzhou to see for himself.
Inside the interrogation room of the Thousand-Household Division, Shen Yanzhou saw at once the two pairs of stockings laid on the desk.
Smoky black, thin as cicada wings, faintly glossy—about forty denier by his estimation.
Following him in, Wu Ruyue’s face flushed. To her, such garments worn on women’s legs were far too private. Wasn’t it indecent to inspect them so openly?
“Were they washed?” Shen Yanzhou asked, though he did not touch them.
“They’re new—never worn,” Wu Ruyue shook her head.
“As expected—it’s her design. No mistake. She’s already here in the capital.”
Shen Yanzhou’s gaze fell upon a small motif near the heel—a cicada with folded wings.
“Is there something special about them?” Wu Ruyue asked curiously. She had examined them herself and found the material unusual—delicate yet easily torn—not the work of a refined artifact.
“Mm. Nothing special, really.”
“Maybe… just breathable,” Shen Yanzhou replied.
“Ah?”
Wu Ruyue blinked, her glossy lips parting slightly—had she misunderstood everything?
“Gu Ruoxi examined them too, didn’t she? What did she say?” Shen Yanzhou asked suddenly.
Wu Ruyue’s expression turned awkward, her cheeks redder still. How was she supposed to say that Gu Ruoxi had told her to put them on herself and show Shen Yanzhou to find out?
Seeing her flustered look, Shen Yanzhou could easily guess what Gu Ruoxi had said.
With Wu Ruyue’s innocent mind, she surely had no idea what stockings were really for.
Still, his gaze involuntarily drifted toward her long, slender legs. Among the women he knew, only Fu Yuying rivaled her height and figure—years of martial training had made her limbs particularly straight and shapely.
“What… what are you looking at?”
Wu Ruyue noticed his gaze, her face burning hotter as she reflexively pressed her legs together.
“Nothing.”
Shen Yanzhou smiled. “Tonight, I’ll accompany you on the stakeout in the western district.”
……
At the same time, far away in Northern Desert Prefecture.
The Ten-Thousand-Mile Sword Court, Pure Pavilion.
In the mist-covered lotus pond behind the mountain, spiritual light rippled faintly, vitality flowing everywhere. A twin-tailed girl gazed at it in anticipation.
Beside her, a middle-aged beautiful woman was tense and uneasy, muttering softly, “If this Rebirth Art of the Pure Lotus succeeds, Little Tian will have a chance to return to the mortal world. But if it fails, his soul and body may both be destroyed, vanishing forever.”
As soon as her words fell, fortune seemed to stir within the air. The clear, cloudless sky suddenly grew thick with black clouds, and bolts of lightning in the shape of dragons slashed across the heavens.
The daylight dimmed in an instant.
The middle-aged woman’s expression changed; she quickly pulled the twin-tailed girl away, avoiding the center of the lightning tribulation.
“This is a Shapeshifting Tribulation…”
“The Pure Lotus Fetal Platform was originally a nascent demon about to take form. At the moment of its transformation, a Daoist expert forcibly stripped away its life essence, refining it into a heavenly treasure. It contained boundless vitality and was one of the materials used to craft the legendary Grand Rebirth Pill—that which could bring the dead to life.”
“In the past, when my master debated Dao with that Daoist expert and won, the man admitted defeat and gifted him this treasure.”
“Tian’er switched his cultivation method and, with the aid of the Pure Lotus Fetal Platform, once his practice succeeds, he will possess the Pure Lotus Body. In a sense, it is equivalent to a great demon’s transformation—his physical form will be even stronger.”
“Moreover, the Nine Deaths Divine Dragon Transformation was a technique created by an ancient being who comprehended the carp’s transformation into a dragon. It requires undergoing nine deaths—nine life-and-death tribulations—and with every nirvana-like rebirth, one’s strength advances further.”
“This time, Little Tian nearly perished between life and death. Now that he has perceived the mysteries of rebirth, cultivating this technique might allow him to succeed in multiple transformations at once.”
The middle-aged woman’s voice trembled with excitement as she looked at the thunderbolts striking down one after another.
The Nine Deaths Divine Dragon Transformation was a technique found by Tantai Yuxian within an ancient ruin. Its grade was unknown, and no one had ever succeeded in cultivating it.
Tantai Yuxian herself had once declared that it was impossible for any living being to complete its cultivation.
Now, after Shen Tian had survived a crisis of reincarnation and was remaking his body, it happened to align perfectly with that technique.
As thunder roared and the heavens darkened, the area became a field of lightning—sometimes filled with destruction, sometimes radiating vitality anew.
The middle-aged woman’s anxious heart slowly calmed.
After about half a stick of incense’s time, the clouds above the lotus pond dispersed. Though the surroundings were in disarray, a vibrant life force spread outward. From within the pond, a refined young man stepped forth, bare-chested and covered with lightning marks.
“Finally succeeded.”
“I have been reborn—and mastered a technique even my master once said no living being could complete.”
The young man murmured to himself, his eyes gleaming with light. A primordial, ferocious aura emanated from him, like that of an ancient great demon reborn.
“Brother Shen Tian, is that you?”
The twin-tailed girl cried out in excitement.
The youth was indeed Shen Tian, reborn in a new body. Looking at the two waiting on the shore, he casually wrapped himself with a lotus leaf and landed, saying, “Qiao’er, Wet Nurse, I’ve succeeded. Not only have I rebuilt my body, but I’ve also cultivated the Nine Deaths Divine Dragon Transformation. My strength now surpasses what it once was.”
“That’s wonderful!”
The two were overjoyed.
Shen Tian took a deep breath, steadying his emotions. This trial between life and death had refined his very heart.
Under the thunder tribulation, his soul had been tempered and strengthened—and unexpectedly, he sensed the remnant of another fragmented soul.
Originally, he could only vaguely perceive its presence.
But now, with eyes closed, he could clearly sense where his original body lay.
He even saw the scene of his father, Shen Jingxiao, greeting him outside the Imperial Capital—only to be humiliated when Shen Yanzhou appeared.
Unfortunately, he could not yet meet his father in this new form.
Shen Yanzhou’s power had grown too great; Shen Tian had no choice but to avoid direct confrontation. For now, while the enemy was in the open and he in the dark, he would prepare quietly.
“Shen Yanzhou, I’ll make sure you learn that letting me live was the last mistake you’ll ever make.”
He gazed in the direction of the Great Qian Imperial Capital, his eyes glimmering with boundless killing intent.
“Qiao’er, Wet Nurse, I’m going to challenge the Sword Ascension Path of the Ten-Thousand-Mile Sword Court…”
“I will become the Sword Heir of this generation.”
“I will step into the Imperial Capital under a new, glorious identity—and reclaim everything that belongs to me.”
His tone brimmed with confidence and determination.
——
Negative emotions from Shen Tian +33 +35 +37…
Hmm?
Another wave of basic points?
In the main hall of the Thousand-Household Division at the Imperial Capital, Shen Yanzhou sat behind his desk, communicating with Fu Yuying in the Southern Border through a Transmission Jade Talisman. Unexpectedly, a surge of negative emotion arrived, making him pause.
“Oh? Looks like Shen Tian is stirring again. His body must be nearly reconstructed.”
Shen Yanzhou smiled faintly, adding one attribute point to his realm and saving two for later.
The True Explanation of Primordial Unity, second realm—Ten Thousand Transformations Returning to Flow—was also called the Realm of Shaping. What it shaped was the “form of the Dao embryo.”
Its four minor stages corresponded to: True Liquid Transformation, Opening of the Cosmos, Embryo of Myriad Arts, and Manifestation of True Form.
The first stage required frantically absorbing and refining various energies—spiritual qi, starlight, blood essence, even chaotic elemental qi—transforming them into Primordial True Liquid through the Dao Embryo of Chaos.
This process consumed immense resources and risked energy backlash.
Yet Shen Yanzhou clearly had no such concern. With his added points, he smoothly passed through the early phase of the first stage.
The Primordial Qi vortex within him hummed, drawing in vast amounts of heaven and earth spiritual energy.
The Thousand-Household Division occupied a vast area, but soon many of the Chilin Guards sensed the change in the environment—the very circulation of true qi within their bodies slowed.
“Why does it feel hard to breathe? Where did all the spiritual qi go?” someone muttered in confusion.
Not long after—
Shen Yanzhou’s martial realm reached the early stage of the Fifth-Rank, Mountain-moving Realm, while his Daoist realm advanced to the early stage of the Fifth-Rank, Thunder Law Realm.
“What’s the matter?”
Fu Yuying’s slightly puzzled voice came from the jade talisman.
“Nothing. Seems the wind outside blew away the spiritual qi for a moment,” Shen Yanzhou said with a faint smile.
“…” Fu Yuying clearly wasn’t in the mood for jokes.
“The Demon Suppression King has mobilized thirty thousand Demon Suppression troops to march into the Hundred Thousand Mountains—by name, to eradicate Luofu Cloud Cavern.”
Her tone grew heavy.
If it were only thirty thousand troops, the combined strength of the hidden sects in the Southern Border could still manage.
But now, with the target explicitly declared, those sects would fracture—some would surely retreat.
If more troops were later dispatched, the situation would only worsen.
“Two choices—fight, or flee.”
“As long as the green hills remain, there’ll be no shortage of firewood.” Shen Yanzhou rubbed his temples, feeling helpless.
The affairs of the Southern Border were too far away for him to intervene.
Fu Yuying fell silent for a moment, then sighed. “If we fight, the casualties will be terrible. But if we flee—where could we go? Luofu Cloud Cavern’s foundation has stood for a thousand years…”
For a hidden sect, such a calamity was fatal.
The Southern Border’s powers were too fragmented—each would fend for itself in crisis.
That was precisely why the Demon Suppression King had targeted Luofu Cloud Cavern first.
It would buy the other hidden sects a brief respite. Everyone knew this was only a temporary measure—but any moment’s breath of relief was still precious.
Shen Yanzhou rubbed the Sumeru Ring on his finger. He had already guessed that the Demon Suppression King would strike back in this way.
But he wasn’t overly concerned—only Fu Yuying among the Luofu Cloud Cavern’s members mattered to him.
As for the others, their lives or deaths held no weight in his mind. Back at Hidden Moon Mountain, when the time came, the elders and disciples of Luofu Cloud Cavern had abandoned him for their own safety.
Only Fu Yuying had chosen to stay and face disaster alongside him.
“I might have a way.”
“One that could force Shen Jingxiao to back off—but it requires you to come to the Imperial Capital yourself, as soon as possible.”
Suddenly, Shen Yanzhou’s eyes gleamed with resolve.