"Beibei, do you know what you're saying?"
"Now, step down at once!"
The Nine Sacrificial Divine Envoy sharply reprimanded, flustered, truly unable to fathom why Beibei dared to speak like this.
Many Half-Saints in the square were also terrified, casting astonished glances. A mere white-robed Dao Master, openly rebuking the Great Emperor of All Beings... and even his 'dog'? If she were Gou Wuyue, she would at least be a peer, and it would be somewhat understandable. But she had only recently taken office and was just a young girl. How dared she?
Everyone knew Beibei harbored resentment towards the Great Emperor of All Beings. After all, she had been made to act like a puppet, following commands like 'sit' and 'stand' like a small dog in front of the five regions, utterly losing face. But everyone later learned that Xu Xiaoshou was the one manipulating things from behind the scenes. They had thought the situation had turned around, but no one expected Beibei to bring up old grievances at such a sensitive moment and choose to erupt.
"Great Emperor of All Beings, please calm your anger!"
Before the other Saints could react, and even before the Great Emperor of All Beings showed anger, Half-Saint Qin Duan, seeing the situation was dire, quickly stepped forward to speak on Beibei's behalf: "Beibei is just a young girl who is temporarily confused. There's no need for the Great Emperor of All Beings to bother with her. In my opinion..."
He hadn't finished speaking when he was interrupted by a sneering voice: "What a good old dog, only good at licking people's boots!"
Who was speaking? Qin Duan was furious and turned to look. Everyone was staring dumbfounded in the direction of Bei... Beibei? Was Beibei speaking again? Qin Duan was bewildered, his mind a mess. Hadn't he just been trying to help her?
But Beibei pointed her Imperial Sword, aiming it at Qin Duan from afar, and shouted indignantly: "Given your nature as an old dog, at this moment you should either stay hidden or make some sarcastic remarks. You shouldn't be speaking well of me. If you're truly so kind, why didn't you speak up for the innocent Feng family members? Why didn't you speak up for Feng Zhongzui? Is it because he's unknown that you look down on him? Instead, because my name is Beibei, and my surname is Bei, even my farts smell sweet? If I say something wrong, must you, Qin Duan, rush forward to cover up my lies? But did I say anything wrong?" Beibei squeezed her eyes and mouth, her face full of disdain. "The emperor isn't worried, but his eunuch is."
"You!" Qin Duan was nearly overcome with rage, almost spitting out old blood. His hand trembled uncontrollably as he pointed, unable to utter a single word.
"You what, you!" Beibei snapped. "Dare you utter a single insult against those of us surnamed Bei? You dare point your finger at me? You're defying Heaven!" Beibei stomped her small foot and sharply commanded the old Half-Saint: "Put that finger down!"
Qin Duan flinched, instinctively lowered his hand, and hid his entire arm behind his waist, appearing extremely constrained.
"Indeed, an old dog. A single word from a mere little Sword Immortal like me can make an old Half-Saint like you jump. Did your Sainthood make you a dog? Not a single hard bone in your whole body, you're even worse than Jiang Buyi." Beibei's words became relentless and cutting. She rolled her eyes, sneering and muttering. Her voice was neither too loud nor too soft, just enough to reach the ears of the Saints on the Sacred Mountain and be heard by spectators in the five regions through the Transmission Mirror.
The entire hall fell silent.
Not only the people on the Sacred Mountain were surprised by Beibei's sudden 'rebellion,' but spectators from the five regions also found the situation incredibly strange.
"What act is this?"
"Has Sword Immortal Bei been captivated by Master Shou's charisma? Has she defected?"
"Could she be controlled..."
"Are you stupid? Master Shou was shattered by an arrow on the Sacred Mountain. Are you implying that Master Shou, who is in the Southern Region, is remotely controlling Beibei?"
"You all don't think Sword Immortal Bei is weak, do you? She practices the Myriad Sword Art, and her spiritual power is very strong. She's only weaker than Lord Ai Cang Sheng and Master Shou on the Sacred Mountain. For others, it's really not certain who can withstand the Imperial Sword Heaven's Release."
"But no matter what, Qin Duan, as the revered patriarch of the Xianyi Qin family, didn't dare utter a single sound after Beibei's scolding. Isn't this Sainthood too humiliating?"
"Look at his face, it's turned purple!"
Feng Zhongzui, at the edge of the battlefield, dared not say a word, only quietly magnified Qin Duan's face. It must be said that at this moment, Qin Duan, to an unaware observer, might have seemed like he was possessed by a ghost beast and about to mutate. After Beibei finished scolding him, his face was flushed purple, and his old face had nowhere to hide. His entire body trembled like a sieve, his Saint power wanting to surge but not daring to, his rage wanting to erupt but not daring to. He was a contradictory entity of utter shame.
The square was silent for more than ten breaths. Half-Saint Qin Duan remained completely silent for more than ten breaths. The whole world seemed to be feeling awkward on his behalf. In him, the world could no longer discern a single drop of dignity belonging to a Half-Saint. Yet, whether out of fear of death or something else, Qin Duan endured silently, as if his tongue had been cut out.
Finally, Qiu Gu couldn't bear it anymore. After all, he understood the principle of 'when the lips are gone, the teeth feel cold.'
"Sword Immortal Bei..."
But just as the title left his lips, Qiu Gu froze for a moment, then came to his senses. Damn it, what did this have to do with 'when the lips are gone, the teeth feel cold'? Why did I step out? Am I sick?
"And you, you turtle bastard! I didn't even want to talk about you!" As expected, Beibei's target immediately shifted, and she started scolding him directly. Perhaps it was because she had been toyed with by Ai Cang Sheng before, or perhaps because she had been confined by Xu Xiaoshou for too long, but she was now a powder keg, ready to explode at the slightest spark: "You cultivate to Half-Saint just to gain this ability to mediate and smooth things over? Is your innate Golden Body and Saint Bones meant for you to become a coward, sticking your head in at crucial moments, and feeling smug just because you blocked one arrow from Ai Cang Sheng? Is this what a Half-Saint is?"
Beibei pointed her Imperial Sword, and Half-Saint Qiu Gu almost shrunk his head into his chest. He wanted to retort, but he didn't know what kind of temper this girl was displaying, and the thought that her surname was Bei... Hiss! She really can't be provoked!
"Is this what a Half-Saint is?" Beibei didn't let up. She pointed her Imperial Sword back at Qin Duan, who still dared not respond, remaining silent as a cicada in winter. "Every single one of you standing here, do you even deserve to be called Half-Saints?" Beibei's Imperial Sword swept across all the Saints present, including Fang Wenxin, Zhong Yuanzi, and the Nine Sacrificial Divine Envoy. Except for Ai Cang Sheng and Xi, everyone bowed their heads. Everyone found it strange, wanting to ponder the details, yet also feeling there was no need to, as Beibei's scolding was entirely justified. She was merely speaking her mind...
Ai Cang Sheng gripped his bow, then relaxed his grip. The corner of his mouth slightly lifted, then his expression quickly returned to an unruffled calm. In the eyes of the people from the five regions, this meant that even the Great Emperor of All Beings had nothing to say and didn't want to offend Beibei! As a result, Beibei's demeanor became even more unrestrained. She turned, faced the Transmission Mirror, and angrily declared:
"Before, I didn't understand what Xu Xiaoshou was so arrogant about, or what the Saint Servants and the First Heaven's Tower were rebelling against. Today, standing behind him, I finally fully understand." She paused, pointed her Imperial Sword behind her, her small face flushed red, and roared deafeningly: "The backbone of Sacred Mountain Guizhe was severed by Yu Tu's sword more than thirty years ago! Sacred Mountain Guizhe's confidence has been utterly eroded by Dao Qiongcang over the past three decades! Now, the only one still truly standing here is the seated Ai Cang Sheng. All the seemingly standing Saints are nothing more than kneeling slaves!"
Oh my goodness... Feng Zhongzui was so startled that the Transmission Mirror shook, and the hairs on his forearms stood on end. Everyone in the five regions also felt a chill run down their spines, unable to believe that Sword Immortal Bei had suddenly erupted and could say such things. Had she... been possessed?
But it wasn't over yet! After scolding everyone on Sacred Mountain Guizhe, Beibei then turned her attack towards the five regions, directly addressing all the Spirit Cultivators currently watching her, striking them with a blunt truth: "All the Spirit Cultivators across the continent cultivate until death just to become Half-Saints. Then, those with temper go to imprison themselves in a corner, and those without temper come to be dogs for my Bei family! The ultimate destination for Spirit Cultivation students is the Saint Palace, and for cultivation students, it's the Dead Sea. What's the difference between the Saint Palace and the Dead Sea? No difference! One produces 'glossy trash,' and the other holds 'failed trash.' Both are trash, so where's the distinction? And you!" She pointed at the mirror, chuckling coldly: "From your initial ten-stage Spirit Cultivation, through Innate, Grandmaster, Throne, Half-Saint... You don't even know about the ten-stage Saint Emperor realm. All your efforts, all your sweat, busting your brains, are just to become 'glossy trash'! And if you fail, those who can enter the Dead Sea become 'failed trash.' If you can't even enter the Dead Sea, you can only be 'incomplete trash'!" Beibei scoffed repeatedly, spewing 'fragrant' insults that sprayed across the entire audience.
Finally, holding her sword, she gently raised her small hand, gazed into the distant sky, and said: "Even the loftiest are no more than the Ten Thrones, and the strongest are inferior to the Eight Elders... They are still crippled, missing fingers, or lamenting lost limbs. How can we transcend? Since we cannot transcend, why were we born? Why cultivate the Dao?" Beibei frowned, lowered her head, and after deep thought, said: "Perhaps, it's just to become a Saint Servant." The hearts of everyone in the five regions were filled with a profound heaviness.
Just then, Beibei suddenly looked up, breaking into a smile that revealed her two small canine teeth: "Of course, I'm not. Only you bunch of trash are. Because my surname is Bei! The Bei of Moon-North Flowing Radiance Dao!" After she finished speaking, she raised both hands, holding them straight, then twisted them into a wave motion along with her Imperial Sword, all while humming a cheerful tune and singing and dancing: "Oh Beibei, Beibei!"
In front of the Transmission Mirrors across the five regions, a group of Spirit Cultivators had collectively risen to their feet. These not-so-young individuals stared at the adorable little white-robed girl dancing in the mirror before the five regions, utterly lacking any Sword Immortal demeanor. At that moment, they couldn't cry even if they wanted to, nor could they laugh. Everyone's bodies were rigid, their expressions twitching unnaturally, clearly at a loss for what to think. Before Beibei's words, no one had truly grasped the ultimate goal or meaning of cultivation. Some had indeed thought about it. It should be said that ninety-nine percent of people had considered it at the very beginning of their cultivation journey. But after going through various twists, turns, and trials, the final outcome they envisioned would never have been 'trash' or 'Saint Servants.'
"But, is that truly not the case?" At that moment, after Sword Immortal Bei's words, everyone suddenly realized, as if what she said was not without reason? The Grand Void was considered the ultimate destination of this world. Half-Saints were called transcenders of the mundane. Yet, powerful figures like Qin Duan and Qiu Gu, in front of such an eccentric young girl who would twist her hands, sing, and dance before the mirror, dared not even breathe heavily. Why? Because her surname is 'Bei'? Moon-North Flowing Radiance Dao? They'd heard of it, but what was it? Oh, the Five Great Saint Emperor Families! So if the end of the path was to be a dog for these five families, then what was the purpose of cultivation? To be a dog? To go through a process just to reach an outcome, does that mean the meaning is meaningless?
"No!""It shouldn't be like this!""It can't be like this!"
Some clutched their heads, muttering distractedly. Some clutched their chests, feeling something hot and restless within their bodies. They helplessly looked up, gazing again at the Transmission Mirror... Beibei in the mirror was dancing like a clown. The Spirit Cultivators in front of the mirror stared for a long while before realizing it was just a mirror. Beibei wasn't a clown. I was.
"Impossible!" Some people touched upon something, their minds flashing with 'Saint Emperors,' 'status,' 'guidance,' 'forgotten memories'... Soon, many people clutched their heads, demonic energy erupting from their bodies, as if Beibei's words had shattered their Dao hearts, causing them to succumb to qi deviation.
"Madness!""Everyone's gone mad!"
Sword Immortal Bei was dancing... The people watching the dance were falling into a trance... The clear-minded observers, upon hearing Bei's rebellious words, actually found them reasonable... If this isn't madness, then what is?
"I...""We..."
Those in front of the mirrors in the five regions who could still remain clear-headed turned to look at each other, exchanging glances. For a moment, everyone felt that either the world had gone mad, or Beibei had gone mad, or they themselves had gone mad. In short, at least one of them had to be insane! Otherwise, how could this situation exist? Its very presence signifies impossibility!
"How is it impossible?" Master Shou's voice suddenly entered their ears at this moment of shattered dreams, and everyone looked up. The Transmission Mirror of the five regions was split into two halves. On the Sacred Mountain's half, after Beibei finished dancing, she snapped back to reality, her small face flushing crimson, and her eyes suddenly filled with terror.
"Ah—" She screamed, clutching her head, and her Imperial Sword fell to the ground in fright. At that moment, she could only cover her head, uttering incoherent sounds for a long time, not knowing what to say to make amends, and even less why she had made such blasphemous remarks earlier.
"Heh." On the Southern Region's side of the mirror, Xu Xiaoshou merely chuckled softly, his hands moving from outside the mirror into the frame. Everyone watched the spiritual threads flowing from Master Shou's fingertips, seeping into the Dao Principles of Heaven and Earth, and fell into deep thought. Then they heard Master Shou eloquently say: "On Void Island, Dao Qiongcang imparted the Art of Heavenly Secrets to me. In the Divine Ruins, Dao Qiongcang taught me the method of puppet string manipulation. Now he has allied with me, giving me the truth of the world, and I am making it public. How do you feel about that?"
Everyone's hearts trembled. So that was how it was. This 'truth' was actually told to Master Shou by the Dao Palace Master, so its credibility was almost ninety percent. Master Shou's fingers moved slightly, and spiritual threads surged from his fingertips. In the Central Region, Beibei's expression suddenly froze, her hands straightened again, and she began dancing the wave dance. "Oh Beibei, Beibei!" It's him! In that instant, everyone in the five regions understood: "It really was Master Shou playing tricks! He wasn't lying!" After quickly realizing this, everyone's hairs stood on end, and they felt a chill of dread. He was in the Southern Region, yet he could use the Art of Heavenly Secrets to control Beibei, who was in the Central Region? The distance between them wasn't just a room, a city, a county, or a realm; it was an entire region! Moreover, the one he controlled wasn't a mortal, a low-level Spirit Cultivator, or someone with an undeserved reputation, but Sword Immortal Beibei in white!
"When did Master Shou..." The onlookers were speechless, and those who heard pondered. It seemed Master Shou was always like this: one moment you weren't paying attention, and *whoosh*, he'd ascended another major step. He never progressed gradually; he achieved things in one go. Others needed to learn slowly, from crawling to walking to running. He could fly from the start, and then with a change in his Dao, he became capable of everything!
"This is puppet string manipulation. The Central Region's Saint God Heaven and the Southern Region's Land of Sin might seem far to everyone, but to the profound mysteries of space, they are merely a stone's throw away." Master Shou in the mirror stopped his graceful finger movements, no longer displaying his prowess. Beibei then stopped her energetic dance, clutching her head in terror. He looked at the camera with a smile, and then changed the subject, discussing other matters: "Dao Qiongcang treats me well, but he has his own agenda. We are not on the same path, so you don't need to break your illusions; you can still admire him. I am a Saint Servant, and I'd say I'm a very pure one. Before, I didn't know what Saint Servants primarily did. The Saint Divine Palace was already governing the continent very well. Was the meaning of Saint Servants' existence to incite continental turmoil, to make people live in misery?"
The people in front of the mirror fell into thought. Everyone had seen Master Shou's unreliable side, but it seemed to be the first time he was speaking so frankly and intimately.
"I was much luckier than you; I quickly found the answer." Xu Xiaoshou smiled, shook his head, and sighed: "Before I even made my debut, Saint Servant Wuxiu—that is, Sang Qiye—planted the Cinder Flame Seed in me. As soon as I left the Spirit Palace to begin my life's trials, I ran into Eight Honored Elder, the Saint Servant Leader, who insisted on giving me an answer. Am I some kind of chosen prodigy that all of you must select me?" Master Shou helplessly spread his hands, his expression somewhat mischievous, as if boasting. Yet, the crowd could instead discern the heavy burden of having their path chosen beforehand, being forced to crawl forward with effort, as if pressed into the ground.
The image shifted slightly. Some glanced at the Transmission Mirror showing Sacred Mountain Guizhe and found that even the Great Emperor of All Beings had ceased all movement, neither attacking nor speaking. From the moment Beibei's 'mutation' began, he had listened quietly, without a single movement that suggested he wanted to interrupt Master Shou. Some of the older generation recalled. From the time he gained fame as one of the Ten Thrones, until he joined the Saint Divine Palace, and seemingly even now, Ai Cang Sheng's stance had never been for the Saint Divine Palace, or for the Saint Servants, or for anything else. He stood for himself. True to his name, his stance was that of 'All Beings.' He had previously sided with the Saint Divine Palace because the Dao Palace Master was there, and in his eyes, there was no hope to be found in the world's dark forces—thus, the Saint Divine Palace was roughly equivalent to 'All Beings.' Now, Master Shou was in the Southern Region, speaking eloquently, his influence seemingly already overshadowing Saint God Heaven. So, it seemed Ai Cang Sheng no longer solely equated to loving the Saint Divine Palace? The mirror's image shifted again, with only minor adjustments, but it drew people's attention from Ai Cang Sheng back to Master Shou. At this moment, no one yet noticed how Feng Zhongzui, the one manipulating the mirror behind the scenes, was exerting his power.
Even the Great Emperor of All Beings listened intently, and naturally, the people of the five regions listened earnestly as Master Shou continued: "Eight Honored Elder told me that what the Saint Servants want is freedom. I think there are many kinds of freedom. The kind he desires is sought after by very few individuals. Most people will never reach his height, or the height of the Ten Thrones. So, if they can't achieve absolute freedom but only relative freedom, what's the harm in that? To gain this relative freedom, sacrificing some liberty in exchange for the protection of the Saint Divine Palace, that's perfectly reasonable! So, does the Saint Servants' pursuit of freedom become meaningless?"
The people of the five regions held their breath, clearly having taken in his words. This was Master Shou's previous answer. They remained silent, awaiting Master Shou's current answer.
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