Sun Wukong was a stone monkey, wielding the Sea-Stabilizing Needle originally forged by Yu the Great. He usually kept it in his ear, pulling it out when needed. With a shake in the wind, it would instantly grow as thick as a bowl’s rim, perfectly maneuverable at will.
The Wukong before them now was a genuine ape, while the bronze figure was one of the twelve bronze statues cast by the first Emperor of Qin. It too could be stored in the ear and taken out at will, shaken back and forth—but clearly, its size did not change at all.
“Why do you keep shaking it?” Bi Zhen asked in puzzlement. “Could this bronze figure actually be something Xu Fu used as a fan?”
Mei Qing smiled bitterly. Bi Zhen hadn’t witnessed the bronze figure’s former might. If it were truly used as a fan, a single slap could send half of Jieshi flying.
Whether this bronze figure was indeed the one Xu Fu had summoned, Mei Qing had no certainty. Although when he first obtained it, the treasure cauldron within his body had slightly responded, no matter how hard Mei Qing tried to probe or stimulate it, the bronze figure showed no reaction whatsoever.
“I’m not sure whether this is truly the bronze figure Xu Fu once summoned,” Mei Qing said after multiple attempts, temporarily giving up on further testing. “Its appearance is identical, but it’s much smaller. Moreover, I can’t sense any energy or presence from it at all.”
Zhang Shisan nodded. Naturally, when he first saw the bronze figure, he had also tried various methods to investigate it, but to no avail.
“But the power I witnessed when Xu Fu summoned the bronze figure was truly terrifying,” Mei Qing continued, his expression still haunted.
As Mei Qing slowly recounted his uncontrollable experience after the bronze figure appeared, both Bi Zhen and Zhang Shisan couldn’t help but show alarm. Later, when he described how the three of them had entered the cauldron, schemed against each other, and finally how Mei Qing had used their mutual distrust to gain the upper hand and escape, Zhang Shisan couldn’t help but show admiration, while Bi Zhen beamed with pride, holding Mei Qing’s hand and praising him enthusiastically.
“Unfortunately, I still miscalculated one move. I thought that no matter what, Zhang Liusun wouldn’t dare to act inside, but in the end, I overlooked one key point,” Mei Qing said with a bitter smile.
“What did you overlook?” Bi Zhen blinked her eyes in curiosity. “I think your reasoning was sound. No matter what, he shouldn’t have acted inside—after all, even if he could harm both of you, once the gate closed, he’d be trapped again. Where would he find someone to help him forge a new body?”
Mei Qing replied, “I forgot one thing—Liu Liu was still inside. From the beginning, once I arrived at the Jieshi cave dwelling, Liu Liu had already become useless. But Zhang Liusun didn’t kill him. Later, during the conflict, I also forgot about this person. In fact, even if Zhang Liusun harmed both Xu Fu and me, although he himself couldn’t escape, he could use the cauldron and bronze figure to send Liu Liu out and manipulate him to complete the creation of his new body.”
After hearing this, both Zhang Shisan and Bi Zhen nodded. Zhang Shisan then asked with some confusion, “But Zhang Liusun mentioned earlier that the child-cauldron was taken out by a cauldron-slave. What exactly is this ‘cauldron-slave’? If it’s another person, perhaps he had another way to send someone else out of Jieshi. Also, since Liu Liu was able to bring you into Jieshi, that must have been Zhang Liusun’s doing. It seems he must have other means of entering and exiting.”
Mei Qing shook his head. “I don’t think so. The cauldron-slave should be a person, but it was only through a chance occurrence that Zhang Liusun managed to control him and turn him into a cauldron-slave. At least from what I know, Zhang Liusun can no longer find another cauldron-slave as he did last time. As for Liu Liu, he was simply bewitched by Zhang Liusun’s magic, and Zhang promised to teach him techniques in return. That’s why Liu Liu secretly built altars in the seven locations Zhang Liusun specified. These seven places are the outer array’s seven key nodes. Once the altars were built and nourished over time by the essence of sun and moon, Zhang Liusun would be able to break through the Jieshi array and escape.”
“How do you know all this?” Bi Zhen looked at Mei Qing with concern. “Did you just guess?”
“No, I just know. It’s like after I woke up, my head was suddenly filled with a lot of things. I don’t know why, but I just know it’s like this,” Mei Qing said, tilting his head.
Zhang Shisan tugged at his beard, somewhat gloomily saying, “You’re just not like any normal person. It’s impossible to know how many secrets you’re hiding. What about that Sweetie girl? Was she also part of Zhang Liusun’s plan—using blood-stained paper horses and men as sacrificial offerings for the stream goddess?”
Mei Qing shook his head. “That has nothing to do with Zhang Liusun. It was the work of someone from the Incense Sect. The method of enchanting paper figures and summoning evil spirits seems familiar somehow, but I can’t recall exactly. However, there must be someone else behind the Incense Sect directing things. Those few guardian elders we captured wouldn’t have dared to pull off such a massive scheme on their own.”
Zhang Shisan nodded. “After that Laughing Maitreya fell into our hands and was frightened by the old baldy, he spilled everything. He was brought here by a mysterious person and forced to come. He was only in charge of maintaining order and overseeing mining operations, but knew little about the actual plans. The Qianjin Smelting Yard was mostly filled with zombie puppets. Unfortunately, except for this Laughing Maitreya, the others escaped before we could capture any more living witnesses.”
Mei Qing thought for a moment and asked, “Mining? Could it be that the Incense Sect was also trying to forge something?”
Zhang Shisan shook his head. “When we broke into the formation, you had already been taken away. Although we captured Laughing Maitreya, the commotion alerted others. Soon after, countless zombies and wild ghosts swarmed out. By the time we cleared them out, the mine had already been destroyed, leaving no evidence behind. We still don’t know exactly what they were trying to do inside.”
Mei Qing said thoughtfully, “I’m afraid it must have something to do with this cauldron inside me. It’s strange—so many things seem connected to this cauldron. Ever since Zhen’er stole it out at the beginning, then it mysteriously ended up inside me, strange incidents have kept happening.”
After hearing this, both Zhang Shisan and Bi Zhen wore expressions of deep thought.
This cauldron was indeed very strange. According to Mei Qing, it was a child-cauldron born from the treasure cauldron Xu Fu had forged using metal from all nine provinces of ancient China. Later, it was obtained by Zhang Liusun, who split off part of his soul to cultivate within the cauldron, using it as a magical tool to forge a new body.
Although everyone agreed that Mei Qing was not the child-cauldron’s creation, there must be some inexplicable connection between him and the cauldron. From the very beginning, Mei Qing’s cultivation technique had led him to the cauldron’s side. Then the child-cauldron had automatically entered his body, greatly enhancing his cultivation. This already hinted at some unknown secret.
Later, when Mei Qing was taken into Jieshi, Zhang Liusun insisted he was his own clone. When Xu Fu summoned the mother-cauldron’s bronze figure, Mei Qing was drawn into the cauldron uncontrollably. Inside the cauldron, his cultivation advanced again, freely interacting with the mother-cauldron’s true energy. Finally, when Mei Qing forced the cauldron out of his body, after awakening, the cauldron had inexplicably returned to him.
This series of bizarre events left Mei Qing’s mind in chaos.
“Could it be… that I was actually forged from the cauldron?” Mei Qing inwardly resisted this terrifying thought, yet couldn’t help recalling the strange aspects of his origins. Thinking about how he had lost both parents at a young age, was born mentally impaired, and then suddenly became lucid with a mind full of strange ideas—already inexplicable enough. Reflecting on his entire cultivation journey filled with inexplicable phenomena, and how both Xu Fu and Zhang Liusun had immediately recognized him as Zhang Liusun’s clone upon first sight, Mei Qing’s heart was in turmoil.
Zhang Liusun and Xu Fu were both extraordinary figures, possessing unmatched insight and vision. If both agreed on something, there must be a reason.
“A Qing, don’t think too much about it. You don’t remember what happened after you fainted, right? Why don’t we wait a few days until you’ve recovered, and then my master and I will accompany you back into the Jieshi array to check things out ourselves,” Bi Zhen said, noticing Mei Qing’s fluctuating expression. Knowing his concerns through their shared thoughts, she tried to comfort him.
Mei Qing hesitated and said, “But maybe it’s not necessary. I barely managed to escape last time. Going back in would be like a lamb walking into a tiger’s den…”
Zhang Shisan laughed, “Don’t worry. Zhang Liusun and my master are roughly of the same generation, and they even have some old friendship between them. Although Zhang Liusun has a bad temper and went his own way, he still holds some regard for the Celestial Sect. Besides, we’ll be well-prepared. Even if we can’t win, we should still manage to retreat safely.”
Mei Qing opened his mouth as if to speak but finally said nothing.
From what Mei Qing had seen, both Zhang Liusun and Xu Fu were extraordinary cultivators beyond ordinary comprehension. Although Zhang Shisan was also a formidable figure among cultivators, compared to the former two, he was still somewhat inferior. If the three of them really faced those two, there would likely be less than a ten percent chance of victory.
But Mei Qing couldn’t bring himself to say that. No matter how he described Zhang Liusun’s and Xu Fu’s fighting abilities, the fact remained that he had escaped from both of them alive. If even a mere disciple could return unharmed, wouldn’t Zhang Shisan, as the master, certainly be capable as well? Therefore, Mei Qing knew he couldn’t voice such thoughts, and even if he did, Zhang Shisan’s stubborn nature would never allow him to listen anyway.
Since the three had already made their decision, they didn’t discuss it further. Because Mei Qing had suffered great exhaustion, Zhang Liusun let him rest and recover. Cultivators generally had much greater stamina than ordinary people, but after going through such a life-and-death ordeal, Mei Qing’s recovery would still take time. Moreover, he had experienced many things, gained broad insights, and his cultivation had advanced significantly, all of which required time for reflection and summarization.
Thus, life returned to a state of calmness. Mei Qing practiced in his room and often discussed cultivation insights with Zhang Shisan. However, what he now spoke of often surpassed Zhang Shisan’s knowledge. As their conversations progressed, both would often nod in sudden understanding, leaving Zhang Shisan pulling at his beard so much that he lost dozens of hairs.
While discussing with Mei Qing, Zhang Shisan also gave some guidance to Hou Shen. Although Zhang Shisan wasn’t a martial arts expert, his extensive experience and broad vision allowed him to offer valuable insights. Hou Shen, although possessing a master who had taught him worldly martial techniques, lacked guidance regarding his supernatural abilities. With Zhang Shisan’s instruction in cultivation techniques—whether through direct teaching or inspirational methods—Hou Shen gained considerable benefits.
As for Bi Zhen, she initially spent all her time with Mei Qing. Later, however, Zhang Shisan mentioned that Mei Qing’s current state was unstable and unsuitable for dual cultivation. Bi Zhen realized that physical closeness with Mei Qing might stir emotions and disrupt his mental balance. To help him stabilize his mindset, she gradually reduced her contact with him, which frustrated Mei Qing to no end, leaving him helplessly grinding his teeth in annoyance.
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