Dongfang Bubai, Ximen Chuixue, Dugu Qiubai, and Zhang Sanfeng. With the four cloud beasts, Gu Hai felt slightly more assured about Borderless Heavenly Capital’s safety.
After all, Gu Hai would soon be bringing people into the Asura Secret Realm. Due to the Classic of the Dao and Virtue, Borderless Heavenly Capital would become the focal point of the world. At that time, countless experts would come. If there was no defense, the city would inevitably suffer.
After making arrangements for the four cloud beast experts, Gu Hai dismissed the officials. Then, he headed into the palace with Gu Qin.
“Gao Xianzhi, have you made the arrangements I asked for?” Gu Hai asked as he walked.
“Your Majesty, this subject has already made arrangements for the trusted men. We are just waiting for Your Majesty’s command. There is a total of eight hundred thousand soldiers, all of whom have fought with this official before. Furthermore, the Embroidered Uniform Guard has investigated them all. There is absolutely no problem with any of them,” Gao Xianzhi replied seriously.
Gu Hai nodded. “Alright.”
“Your Majesty, what will you have these trusted people do? Aside from the army, you also asked for a number of city lords, officials, and Embroidered Uniform Guards. What for?” Meng Tai asked curiously.
“Don’t ask what you should not,” Gu Hai said.
Gu Hai could not speak about the Asura Secret Realm for now.
The group walked quickly to a large palace hall.
“Imperial Father, the Unborn Man is inside,” Gu Qin said gravely.
Gu Hai showed a grave expression as he nodded. Then, he waved.
Everyone waited outside while Gu Hai entered.
Creak! The doors to the palace hall closed.
Two types of energy revolved in the hall, one white and one black. A man in black-and-white robes sat cross-legged in the center.
“Unborn Man?” Gu Hai said with slightly narrowed eyes.
The black-and-white-robed man raised his head slightly and looked at Gu Hai. This man was the Unborn Man. However, he gave off an aura of decay from his body at this moment.
“Gu Hai, you returned very quickly!” the Unborn Man said with some surprise.
“Quick? It’s still alright. When I heard that you arrived in Borderless Heavenly Capital, I immediately returned.” Gu Hai nodded.
The Unborn Man looked at Gu Hai in confusion. “When you heard that I arrived in Borderless Heavenly Capital? Hah! I arrived just three months ago. Three months? That is only sufficient for the Han Nation’s people to send the news to Heavenly Court City, right? Yet, you are already back?”
“My Han Nation has a special means of sending information,” Gu Hai said.
“Oh?” The Unborn Man revealed a trace of puzzlement.
“Alright. Let’s not waste time on this question. You came to Borderless Heavenly Capital and told Gu Qin that you found Wanqing?” Gu Hai stared at the Unborn Man with some excitement.
The Unborn Man took a deep breath. After a moment of silence, he nodded and said, “Yes. Wanqing’s heavenly soul and mortal soul are in my hands. All that is left is the earthly soul. I traveled to countless places in the nether realm over the past few years and finally found it.”
“Where is it? Did you bring it back?” Gu Hai asked anxiously.
The Unborn Man remained silent for a while. Then, he shook his head and said, “I currently do not have that capability.”
“Oh? Why? There is something you cannot do?” Gu Hai said.
“That’s why I came here to brainstorm with you,” the Unborn Man sighed.
“What is the situation?” Gu Hai asked.
“Wanqing is in a path of reincarnation secret realm. I…I cannot enter,” the Unborn Man said with a bitter smile.
“A path of reincarnation secret realm? Which path of reincarnation secret realm? How did you know?” Gu Hai asked.
“A soul saw Wanqing enter it. However…”
“However, what?” Do you not know which path of reincarnation secret realm? Did you not go in?” Gu Hai frowned.
“I was stopped,” the Unborn Man said bitterly.
“Who can stop you?” Gu Hai asked in surprise.
“Houqing,” the Unborn Man replied bitterly.
“A houqing zombie? One of the four zombies types?”
“Not just. He is the houqing zombies’ ancestor—Houqing, the first houqing zombie, Lady Houtu’s younger brother. He is one of the overlords of the nether realm. He guards one of the entrances and prevents anyone from entering. That is his personal domain. I tried making a move several times but could not enter. He even managed to injure me,” the Unborn Man said with a bitter smile.
“Houqing, Lady Houtu’s younger brother? Is he very strong?”
“Yes! Furthermore, he has refined that entrance. No one can break it open without his permission. Houqing is a very strange person. He does not show respect to anyone in the world—neither in the land of the living nor in the nether realm. No, there are only two people whom he would compromise for,” the Unborn Man said while recalling.
“Two people that he would compromise for? Who?”
“One is Lady Houtu. The other is Jiang Ba,” the Unborn Man said.
“Ba? The ancestor of the hanba zombies?” Gu Hai suddenly raised his eyebrows.
Gu Hai had seen Ba make a move a few times. She was incredibly extraordinary; she even swallowed up the Slaughter Heavenly Emperor and the entire Divine Blood Army.
“Yes. Back then, Houqing once participated in an enormous war in the south of the Divine Continent. Houqing and Jiang Ba were generals of opposing sides; they were opponents. Over long battles, Houqing slowly fell in love with Jiang Ba. Unfortunately, Jiang Ba was not interested in him. No victor emerged from their war despite its long duration. However, for some reason, Jiang Ba cursed herself and turned into a hanba zombie. She even abandoned that war. Then, Houqing also abandoned that war and cursed himself, turning into a houqing zombie. So, if Jiang Ba is willing to ask, Houqing would be willing to let us in no matter how much he treasures that path of reincarnation. As for Lady Houtu, since Lady Houtu is his sister, he probably would let us in as well,” the Unborn Man said gravely.
A stalemate with Ba?
Gu Hai immediately gained a sufficient understanding of Houqing’s strength.
“How about finding Ba? Or Lady Houtu?” Gu Hai frowned.
The Unborn Man showed a bitter smile as he shook his head. “My line of inheritance has offended them both.”
“Oh?” Gu Hai said.
“By this point, there is no need to hide anything from you anymore. Which lifespan cultivators in the world do you know of?” The Unborn Man looked at Gu Hai.
“I once heard that lifespan cultivators had eight lines of inheritance. Four lines cultivate life and are named after the cardinal directions—north, south, east, and west. Four lines cultivate death and are named after the four seasons—spring, summer, autumn, and winter,” Gu Hai answered with uncertainty.
He looked at the Unborn Man curiously. The white-robed lifespan cultivators cultivate life, and the black-robed lifespan cultivators cultivate death. What is going on with the Unborn Man’s half white and half black?
The Unborn Man looked at Gu Hai and nodded. “You are right. Lifespan cultivators plunder lifespan from heaven. They are destined to be alone and to die horrible deaths. This has always been the case. The younger a life lifespan cultivator is, the closer he is to death. The older a death lifespan cultivator is, the closer he is to death. This has always been the case before me.”
“What about you?” Gu Hai asked.
“I am called the Unborn Man, a man that is not born yet, a person who never changes,” the Unborn Man replied.
“Oh?”
“My line of inheritance has two masters. One is Lifespan Ximen, and the other is Lifespan Qiufeng. When it is time for lifespan cultivators to pass on to the next generation, they die strange, miserable deaths. They would die without a burial, and their souls would scatter, a terrible death. Hah! Lifespan Ximen and Lifespan Qiufeng thought highly of my physique back then and inducted me into my cultivation. They wanted to break this curse, so they got me to cultivate life and death simultaneously. This resulted in my neither-human-nor-ghost appearance,” the Unborn Man said bitterly.
[TL Note: Ximen means west gate, and Qiufeng means autumn wind.]
“Lifespan Ximen? Lifespan Qiufeng? You inherited two lines of inheritance?” Gu Hai marveled.
The Unborn Man nodded. “Half life and half death, merging life and death. If I can merge them, I will be changed, breaking the lifespan cultivator’s curse of a terrible death. If I cannot, my death will be even more miserable than my two masters’. Anyone connected to me will die without a burial. That’s why I left Xiaoyue back then. That’s why I am called the Unborn Man. I am a man who has not undergone transformation and rebirth yet.”
“However, you cannot hide. If lifespan cultivators really have such a curse, there is no point in hiding,” Gu Hai said.
“Indeed. Hah! This is the world’s punishment on us,” the Unborn Man said bitterly.
“Since you cannot hide, then why not face it head-on? The people close to you will die miserably because of you. Are you willing to fight for them with everything you have, protecting them at the risk of your life?” Gu Hai looked at the Unborn Man.
“Huh? What do you mean?” the Unborn Man asked.
“Wanqing is my wife, my family. You are Wanqing’s father. Thus, I would like to ask you to remain in my Han Royal Dynasty and face this curse of fate together. What do you think?” Gu Hai asked.
“Hah! You want me to submit to you?” the Unborn Man said coldly.
“Not submit, but ally. I have already offended Heaven and have nowhere to run. Do you dare to take a gamble with me?” Gu Hai said.
“What?” the Unborn Man exclaimed.
Although it was subtle, how could the Unborn Man not hear the tone of rebellion in Gu Hai’s voice?
“If I can do it, perhaps I can help you break the curse?” Gu Hai said with a smile.
“What a joke! With just you?” The Unborn Man naturally did not believe it.
If it were Long Zhanguo saying it, the Unborn Man might still believe it. However, who was Gu Hai? Gu Hai was just a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator. Yet, Gu Hai was speaking such bold words?
“I will give you that which you desire first. You cultivate life and death and are trying to merge them. Although I don’t understand how to do that, I do understand that life and death are opposing attributes, like the Yin and Yang of Taiji. And, I am the best in the world at the Taiji Dao,” Gu Hai said seriously.
“What bold words! You are the best in the world?” The Unborn Man simply did not believe it.
Whoosh!
Gu Hai took out the Classic of the Dao and Virtue. When he took it out, a bright Taiji diagram appeared in the air, displaying the conception of Yin and Yang in perfect harmony.
“This is the Classic of the Dao and Virtue, which I wrote at the Ten Thousand Sages Convention. I can lend it to you to study. What do you think?” Gu Hai said with a smile.
“The Classic of the Dao and Virtue?” The Unborn Man found this strange.
As he carefully received it, the aura of perfect harmony poured into his body.
“This… How can this… How can this be superior to the Supreme Ascendant Scripture’s conception…?!” the Unborn Man exclaimed in shock.
“The Supreme Ascendant Scripture is not perfect yet.” Gu Hai shook his head.
The Unborn Man remained silent as he held the Classic of the Dao and Virtue. Only after a while did he say, “Are you not afraid that I will snatch your Classic of the Dao and Virtue?”
“If you run away with it, then I misjudged you,” Gu Hai said with a smile.
The Unborn Man fell silent again. After a while, he nodded. “I’ll take a look first.”
“Based on what you said earlier, you are Lifespan Ximen and Lifespan Qiufeng?” Gu Hai changed the topic.
“Lifespan Ximen had offended Jiang Ba. Lifespan Qiufeng had offended Lady Houtu. So…,” the Unborn Man said bitterly.
“That is to say, we can’t get help from Houtu or Ba?” Gu Hai said.
“Indeed. I do not know if there is any danger in the path of reincarnation that Wanqing entered. I have fought with Houqing a few times, but…I could not do anything. That’s why I came to consult you. You are quite smart. Do you have any ideas?” the Unborn Man asked worriedly.
“If I borrow the Heaven Splitting Ax, would that…” Gu Hai looked at the Unborn Man.
“Borrow the Heaven Splitting Ax? How can that be possible?” The Unborn Man appeared skeptical.
“I’m asking if it would work or not,” Gu Hai said.
“If we have the Heaven Splitting Ax, I can push back Houqing. However, how could it be possible?” The Unborn Man remained skeptical.
“Just wait here patiently, then. Wanyu will bring the Heaven Splitting Ax to my Borderless Heavenly Capital in three months,” Gu Hai said.
Chapters for June: 14 / 30
Remember, release rates are lowered and we are just doing 30 a month (daily chaps) now.
