Chapter 242: Chaos and Separation

“Then everything about my father, the story of Master Maoyang and all those events, were all orchestrated by Zhang Liusun, right? It was all designed to have the Emperor meet my grandmother, so that… you would be born?” Bi Zhen asked, her eyes flickering with curiosity.

Mei Qing nodded somewhat gloomily: “Indeed. The so-called Master Maoyang was actually Zhang Liusun possessing the body of A Nu. Although he meticulously planned everything, he made two miscalculations regarding Fan Wentai.”

“Firstly, Fan Wentai’s ambition.”

“Originally a fisherman’s son, Fan Wentai initially harbored no grand ambitions. However, as his cultivation rapidly advanced under Zhang Liusun’s guidance, and he continually defeated masters from various sects, especially since his ideology gradually aligned with Zhang Liusun’s, it was only natural for his disposition to change over time. Initially, under Zhang Liusun’s control, he dared not entertain any improper thoughts.”

“At that time, Fan Wentai, under the guise of Mei Hua Zhen Ren (Plum Blossom Immortal), had already taken several disciples and led them to challenge various sects. I believe this was not only a deliberate attempt by Zhang Liusun to test new cultivation methods, but more likely motivated by Zhang Liusun’s own interests.”

“At that time, although the Celestial Master Sect was still the leader of Daoism, its influence had greatly declined compared to earlier days, especially when Zhang Liusun was the Grand Master of the Xuanjiao sect. Seeing his life’s work deteriorating, Zhang naturally felt dissatisfied. Moreover, being an ambitious person by nature, even after changing identities, he still sought to change the situation, hoping to once again unify the Daoist sects under his leadership. The actions of the Mei Hua sect were actually paving the way for his future return.”

“But all his plans had to be realized through Fan Wentai’s identity. This inevitably exposed Fan Wentai to the underlying purposes, naturally fueling the expansion of his ambitions.”

“The second thing Zhang Liusun didn’t foresee,” Mei Qing paused, struggling slightly as he continued, “was related to my mother. He never imagined that Fan Wentai would develop improper desires toward her.”

“Zhang Liusun would never allow Fan Wentai to ruin his grand plan of creating a new physical form, so tensions between them began to rise. You should have heard from Liu Xing about that period when Fan Wentai’s behavior was extremely strange. The real reason was due to their constant conflicts. When Zhang Liusun entered Fan Wentai’s body to arrange matters, he acted according to his own design; but when Zhang Liusun returned to A Nu’s body, Fan Wentai would behave very differently, even addressing Mei Wuduo as ‘Mei Ji’ (Plum Concubine).”

“In that case, everything my father mentioned about Master Mao Yang and the events were all orchestrated by Zhang Liusun, just to ensure that… the Emperor would meet my mother-in-law, and… give birth to you?” Bi Zhen blinked her eyes and asked.

Mei Qing nodded with a hint of sadness, “Exactly. That Master Mao Yang was actually Zhang Liusun, who was manipulating Anu’s body. Although he had planned everything meticulously, he made two miscalculations regarding Fan Wentai.”

“The first was Fan Wentai’s ambition.

Originally, Fan Wentai was just a fisherman’s son with no grand ambitions. However, as his cultivation advanced under Zhang Liusun’s guidance and he continuously defeated various masters, especially because his thoughts began to merge with Zhang Liusun’s, his nature gradually changed. This was only natural. Initially, he was under Zhang Liusun’s control and dared not entertain any improper thoughts.”

“At that time, under the guise of Master Plum Blossom, Fan Wentai had already taken on several disciples and led them to challenge various sects. I believe this approach, besides being Zhang Liusun’s way of testing new cultivation methods, was also motivated by Zhang Liusun’s consideration for his own interests.”

“At that time, although the Celestial Master Sect was still the leader of Taoism, its influence was much diminished compared to when Zhang Liusun was the leader of the Profound Sect. Seeing the decline of the empire he had once built, Zhang Liusun was naturally dissatisfied. Being an ambitious man, even after changing his identity, he still sought to change the situation and restore the glory of unifying the Taoist sects. The actions of the Plum Blossom Sect were actually paving the way for his future resurgence.”

“But his methods had to be implemented through Fan Wentai’s identity. This inevitably exposed Fan Wentai to the purposes behind these actions, naturally fueling Fan Wentai’s growing ambition.”

“And the other thing Zhang Liusun did not anticipate was related to my mother,” Mei Qing paused, struggling to speak, “He never expected that Fan Wentai would develop improper feelings for my mother.”

“Zhang Liusun would not allow Fan Wentai to ruin his grand plan of reshaping his body, so conflicts began to arise between them. You must have heard from Liu Xing that Fan Wentai behaved very strangely during that period. The real reason was the constant conflicts between them. When Zhang Liusun entered Fan Wentai’s body to arrange matters, he acted according to his own designs; but when Zhang Liusun returned to Anu’s body, Fan Wentai would behave very differently, even referring to Mei Wuduo as ‘Mei Ji’.”

“But at that time, Zhang Liusun was still able to control the situation, so everything proceeded according to plan. Master Mao Yang entered the Prince Xingxian’s residence, and Mei Wuduo also came into the Prince’s view due to a series of strange events. However, when everything seemed to be going smoothly and Master Mao Yang retired to his cave, he found that Fan Wentai was becoming increasingly difficult to control.”

“Their conflicts intensified with my birth. Looking back, it seems that when Fan Wentai took my mother out of the Prince’s residence, it indicated that he was no longer the submissive cauldron slave he once was. His cultivation had matured, and the Plum Blossom Sect was gaining influence. The period when Zhang Liusun, disguised as Master Mao Yang, left gave Fan Wentai too much time. As a result, after my mother sent me away and he subsequently passed away, the differences between Fan Wentai and Zhang Liusun were irreconcilable. Zhang Liusun had no choice but to temporarily halt his plans and return to the mountains to resolve the conflicts between them.”

Mei Qing sneered and said, “Although it seemed like a conflict of interests on the surface, I believe that back then, both of them were gradually falling into chaos. Although they knew who they were, their thoughts and concepts continuously merged and infiltrated each other, but due to mutual distrust and hatred, they stubbornly refused to submit to each other. However, the confusion and bewilderment in their hearts must have severely affected their cultivation, even their sanity. Otherwise, Zhang Liusun would not have given up searching for me at that time and chosen to return to the mountains to cultivate.”

“But he did not expect that returning to the mountains to cultivate would not solve the problem but instead give Fan Wentai an opportunity to plot against him.”

“After Wuduo’s death, Fan Wentai harbored deep hatred for Zhang Liusun. Moreover, although many things were done by Zhang Liusun, they were all under the name of Master Plum Blossom. As long as Fan Wentai eliminated Zhang Liusun, he would be the only true Master Plum Blossom in the world, free to do as he pleased. Under such circumstances, Fan Wentai naturally focused all his thoughts on how to eliminate Zhang Liusun.”

“But this was easier said than done, as he was constantly under Zhang Liusun’s surveillance. How could he even think of taking action? Besides, all of Fan Wentai’s skills were taught by Zhang Liusun. Although Zhang Liusun was confined to Anu’s body and his cultivation could not progress, he was still not someone Fan Wentai could easily deal with.”

“But after years of influence, Fan Wentai had improved and came up with an unimaginable solution—to have his own disciple kill him!”

“What?” Bi Zhen exclaimed in surprise, “Are you saying that the plot by Shao Yuanjie and Tao Zhongwen to kill Fan Wentai was actually… orchestrated by Fan Wentai himself?”

“Exactly. But what he wanted to kill was actually Zhang Liusun, who was attached to his body. However, this is indeed hard to imagine,” Mei Qing nodded, “And he did not directly command it; instead, he used threats and inducements.”

Bi Zhen shook her head, “This is madness. Who would have thought that someone would devise a way to murder… himself?”

“Haha, indeed, the world is full of strange things. It seems Fan Wentai put a lot of thought into it, both to incite his disciple’s greed and murderous intent, and to ensure that Zhang Liusun would not notice. The cauldron was definitely deliberately revealed to his disciples, and there might have been other methods as well. In the end, he succeeded. His disciples used Zhang Tianshi to create a misunderstanding, leading to a battle between the two. Fan Wentai was fully aware, but Zhang Liusun was not. Although Zhang Liusun did not intend to fight to the death, he certainly wanted to see the cultivation level of the contemporary Celestial Master. However, at the critical moment, Fan Wentai suddenly extracted his own soul from his body and fled into Anu’s body, which had become an empty shell after Zhang Liusun left. As a result, Zhang Liusun was trapped in Fan Wentai’s body, ensnared by the formation set up by Shao Yuanjie and Tao Zhongwen.”

“Fan Wentai took over Anu’s body and returned to his cave, only to find that the cauldron he had hidden earlier was missing. Believing it to be the work of Shao and Tao, he chased them back to the capital but found no trace of the cauldron. Unwilling to give up, Fan Wentai, taking advantage of an audience, abandoned Anu’s body and took over Duke Guo Xun’s body, thus going into hiding. Shao Yuanjie was severely injured in the ambush and soon passed away. Duan Chaoyong also came to the capital shortly after and coincidentally encountered Fan Wentai, who was impersonating Duke Guo. At that time, Duan had already placed the cauldron in Yongping. Duke Guo, unaware that Duan had stolen the cauldron, instead wanted to support him as an ally, hence recommending him to the court.”

Bi Zhen listened, somewhat disheartened, and said, “Actually, Duke Guo was a very good person. No wonder he became increasingly arrogant and reclusive later. It turns out… he had long been harmed by Fan Wentai.”

Mei Qing sighed, “Fan Wentai, having grown up in poverty and been treated as a cauldron slave by Zhang Liusun, although he later emerged as Master Plum Blossom, was essentially a puppet, outwardly glorious but inwardly humble, inevitably leading to extreme actions. Look at his methods, all based on conspiracy, even more inferior compared to Zhang Liusun’s methods back then.”

Bi Zhen nodded and asked, “What happened next? How did that inkstone come into play?”

Mei Qing sighed, “Fan Wentai and Tao Zhongwen did not expect that Zhang Liusun, trapped in Fan Wentai’s body, had not died. However, both his body and soul were severely damaged. After Zhang Liusun escaped, his mind was even more unclear, forgetting many Taoist techniques—I suspect that Fan Wentai might have indeed mastered some unique secret techniques, gaining much advantage during their fusion. Otherwise, it’s hard to imagine Zhang Liuson suffering repeated losses in his conflicts with Fan Wentai.”

“In any case, Zhang Liusun’s memory was fragmented at that time. To repair his body and restore his Taoist techniques, he recalled from his earliest memories that after annihilating the Shenxiao Sect, he had seized the Shenxiao Sect’s thunder techniques scriptures. After keeping a copy for himself, he had presented the original as a gift to the imperial palace, stored in the palace’s treasure vault. Although he had forgotten these techniques, he still remembered the location of the treasure vault.”

“The current imperial palace was expanded based on the former Yuan Dynasty’s palace. Although the front halls were mostly newly built, the underground treasure vault in the rear palace still followed the original design. Although Zhang Liusun knew the orientation, given his condition at the time, he was unable to break into the palace to retrieve the Taoist scriptures. Helpless, he had to find another way, no longer using cultivation methods, but instead gathering a group of tomb raiders and thieves to dig a tunnel and retrieve the two boxes of Taoist scriptures.”

“But he forgot one thing: the body he was inhabiting was originally Fan Wentai’s. He never expected that Fan Wentai was also in the capital, and even more, as a Duke. Fan Wentai discovered that Zhang Liusun was still alive and, though surprised, did not act himself. Instead, he leaked the information to Tao and Duan.”

“As a result, Zhang Liusun walked into a trap and was unable to escape the Heavenly Fire Formation.”

“Fortunately, at the last moment, Zhang Liusun finally found something in the treasure vault that could temporarily house his soul.”

“It was an inkstone, an inkstone from Duanzhou that had been presented as tribute—the Seven Star Inkstone.”

“As time passed and I was born, the conflict between the two intensified. Looking back now, Fan Wentai must have already taken my mother out of the mansion, indicating that he was no longer the obedient servant he once was. His cultivation had matured, and the Mei Hua sect was gradually gaining strength. The period when Zhang Liusun, disguised as Master Maoyang, left, gave Fan Wentai too much time. When my mother sent me away and he died shortly after, the rift between Fan Wentai and Zhang Liusun must have become irreconcilable. Zhang Liusun had no choice but to temporarily halt his plans, return to the mountains, and first address the conflict between them.”

Mei Qing said this and gave a cold laugh: “Superficially, it seemed to be a conflict of interests. However, I believe that back then, both had already gradually fallen into chaos. Although they knew who they were, their thoughts and ideas continuously blended and infiltrated each other. Yet, due to mutual distrust and hatred, they refused to submit to each other. Privately, their inner confusion and bewilderment must have seriously affected their cultivation, even impacting their mental clarity. Otherwise, Zhang Liusun wouldn’t have abandoned the search for my whereabouts at that time and instead chosen to return to the mountains for cultivation.”

“But he didn’t expect that returning to the mountains wouldn’t solve the problem, but instead gave Fan Wentai an opportunity to scheme against him.”

“After Wuduo’s death, Fan Wentai harbored deep hatred for Zhang Liusun. Although many things were done by Zhang Liusun, they were all under the name of the Plum Blossom Immortal. As long as Fan Wentai could eliminate Zhang Liusun, he would become the only true Plum Blossom Immortal in the world, free to do as he pleased. In such circumstances, Fan Wentai naturally focused all his thoughts on how to get rid of Zhang Liusun.”

“But although this may seem easy to say, Fan was constantly under Zhang Liusun’s surveillance, so how could he easily take action? Moreover, all of Fan’s cultivation techniques were taught by Zhang Liusun. Although Zhang, confined within A Nu’s body, found it hard to make any progress in cultivation, he was still no match for Fan Wentai.”

“However, after years of influence and cultivation, Fan improved and came up with an unimaginable method: having his own disciples kill him!”

“What?” Bi Zhen exclaimed in surprise. “Are you saying that the plot by Shao Yuanjie and Tao Zhongwen back then to kill Fan Wentai was actually orchestrated… by Fan Wentai himself?”

“Exactly. But what he wanted to kill was actually Zhang Liusun possessing his body. This is indeed hard to believe,” Mei Qing nodded. “Moreover, he didn’t directly command them. Instead, he used various means of coercion and temptation.”

Bi Zhen shook her head: “He’s truly mad. Who would ever think that someone would plot to kill… himself?”

“Hehe, indeed. The world is full of strange things. I suppose Fan Wentai must have put in a lot of thought, inciting his disciples’ greed and murderous intent, while also finding ways to prevent Zhang Liusun from noticing. The cauldron was definitely deliberately revealed to a few of his disciples, and there might have been other methods as well. In the end, he succeeded. His disciples used the Celestial Master to create misunderstandings, leading to a confrontation between the two. Fan Wentai was already fully aware, but Zhang Liusun was unaware. Although he didn’t intend to fight to the death, Zhang Liusun probably wanted to see how powerful the current Celestial Master really was. But he never expected that at a critical moment, Fan Wentai would suddenly extract his own soul from his body and transfer it into A Nu’s body, which had become an empty shell after Zhang Liusun’s departure. As a result, Zhang Liusun was locked inside Fan Wentai’s body, trapped by the formation set up by Shao Yuanjie and Tao Zhongwen.”

“Fan Wentai took over A Nu’s body and returned to the cave dwelling, only to be surprised to find that the cauldron he had hidden beforehand was already gone. He assumed it was taken by Shao and Tao, so he chased after them back to the capital, but failed to find any trace of the cauldron. Fan Wentai was not ready to give up. Taking advantage of an audience opportunity, he left A Nu’s body and took over the body of Lord Guo Xun, thus going into hiding. Shao Yuanjie, severely wounded during the ambush, soon died and ascended. Later, Duan Chaoyong also went to the capital, coincidentally encountering the impostor Guo Xun, Fan Wentai. At that time, Duan had already placed the cauldron in Yongping. Guo Xun, unaware that Duan had stolen the cauldron, instead wanted to cultivate him as an ally, thus recommending him to the court.”

After hearing this, Bi Zhen said somewhat unhappily: “Actually, Lord Guo was a very good person. No wonder he later became increasingly arrogant and reclusive. It turns out… he had already been harmed by Fan Wentai.”

Mei Qing sighed: “Fan Wentai was born into poverty from a young age and was used by Zhang Liusun as a cauldron slave. Although he later emerged as the Plum Blossom Immortal, he was essentially a puppet. His outward appearance was glorious, but inwardly he was humble, which made his actions tend to be extreme. Look at his methods, all based on conspiracy, even more despicable than Zhang Liusun’s tactics back then.”

Bi Zhen nodded and asked again: “What happened later? What about that inkstone?”

Mei Qing sighed: “Fan Wentai, Tao Zhongwen, and others didn’t expect that the Zhang Liusun trapped inside Fan Wentai’s body didn’t die. However, both his body and soul were severely injured. After escaping, Zhang Liusun’s mind was unclear, and he even forgot many Daoist techniques. In fact, I suspect that Fan Wentai indeed mastered some unique secret methods, gaining many advantages during their fusion. Otherwise, it would be hard to imagine Zhang Liusun repeatedly losing to Fan Wentai in their struggle.”

“In any case, at that time, Zhang Liusun’s memory was incomplete. To repair his body and restore his Daoist techniques, he recalled his earliest memory of having destroyed the Shenxiao sect, looted their Thunder Magic scriptures, kept copies for himself, and presented the originals as gifts into the imperial palace. Although he had forgotten these techniques, he still remembered the location of the treasure vault where they were stored.”

“The palace of our dynasty was originally expanded from the palace of the previous Yuan dynasty. Although many of the front palace buildings were newly built, the underground treasure vault in the back palace still followed the original design. Although Zhang Liusun knew the location and orientation, given his condition at the time, he was unable to break into the palace to retrieve the Daoist scriptures. With no other choice, he had to find an alternative route, abandoning cultivation methods and instead recruiting a group of tomb robbers and thieves to dig a tunnel and retrieve the two chests of Daoist scriptures.”

“However, he forgot one thing: the body he was inhabiting was once Fan Wentai’s. He never expected that Fan Wentai was also in the capital, even serving as a Duke. When Fan Wentai discovered that Zhang Liusun was still alive, after his initial surprise, he didn’t act personally but instead leaked the information to Tao and Duan.”

“As a result, Zhang Liusun walked right into a trap, and this time, he could not escape the Heavenly Fire Formation.”

“Fortunately, heaven never seals off all paths. At the final moment, Zhang Liusun finally discovered something in that treasure vault that could temporarily house his soul.”

“It was an inkstone, a tribute inkstone from Duanzhou — the Seven-star Inkstone.”