Chapter 1843: Demonic Body (I)

Fine snow drifted through the chilly spring air like wisps of cotton. The land lay beneath a pale haze of yellow and white. A man in a white feathered robe sped along on the wind, passing settlements of every size below him. Flat terrain stretched as far as he could see.

This region lay north of the prefectures occupied by the Great Mahayana Dharma Realm. Beyond an ancient city wall stood a mighty city, its palaces and towers all yellow and white, with black-and-yellow banners planted everywhere.

Its name was Shengle. This city had a long history. It had originally been the territory of the Tuoba branch of the Xianbei people, whose founding ancestor, Tuoba Xigeyi, had settled there. Only after Tuoba Changming was granted the surname Yuan and rewarded by Wei did the city rise and stand tall to this day.

By the time Tuoba Ci arrived on the wind, he had reached the edge of the traditional Xia territories. This region lay outside Great Zhao's jurisdiction, belonging instead to his Tuoba clan's Dai State. Shengle remained its capital.

He descended on the wind into a black-and-yellow hall, where someone approached to pay his respects.

Tuoba Ci asked gloomily, "How much longer before we can enter?"

The cultivator appeared to have a considerable cultivation, yet treated him with deference. He hastily bowed and answered, "The grotto heaven's Profound Foundation has shifted six divisions and is now aligned with the position of obscurity. There is still quite some time to wait…"

Tuoba Ci exhaled, his expression still dark. Guangchan's death had little bearing on Tuoba Ci. Something else had driven him to hurry all the way from Jianghuai to Mobei.

The [Black Soul Mara Dharma Body].

Li Zhouwei's [Black Soul Mara Dharma Body] was not particularly powerful and showed little sign of nourishment from blood offerings. Although the Tuoba Family was now the only prominent lineage of Boundless Essence, the Dao had flourished in ancient times. It would hardly have been surprising if he had found this cultivation technique in some forgotten corner.

Yet Tuoba Ci could not possibly mistake the familiar aura emanating from that dharma body. He knew with absolute certainty that Li Zhouwei was cultivating his clan's own version.

This was a terrifying discovery. After a moment of shock, Tuoba Ci had immediately pretended nothing was amiss. He had also lost all interest in the rest of the battle, his mind consumed by suspicion.

The Tuoba Family's inheritance was sealed within its grotto heaven, and [Shengle Heaven] had been isolated from the world for years. Even its occasional openings to admit people were kept extremely secret through the use of an inherited dharma relic, allowing it to remain disconnected from the manifest world. Those dharma bodies and divine abilities were concealed within the dharma relic itself. There was even less chance of them ever going missing!

After a moment of silence, he asked, "Has my father returned?"

The cultivator nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes… Lord Wei is here."

Tuoba Ci had only asked in passing, so the unexpected news surprised him. He hastily straightened his clothes and headwear, strode forward, and pushed open the hall doors. Sure enough, two men sat at the head of the hall.

The man on the left wore white and carried himself with distinction, while the solemn-looking man on the right wore black. A game board stood before them, its black and white stones locked in battle.

Tuoba Ci laughed heartily as he stepped inside and said, "Lord Wei, how leisurely you are!"

Wei Xuanyin glanced at him, but before he could speak, the other man shot Tuoba Ci a look and grinned. "You brat… Have you finally learned that there is always someone better?"

Tuoba Ci promptly took his cue. However troubled he had been earlier, he now appeared relaxed and good-humored, saying with a smile, "Extraordinary! Simply extraordinary! That White Qilin killed Guangchan with a single axe strike!"

The father and son played off each other, but Wei Xuanyin took no offense. He shook his head with an amused laugh and said, "We have not seen each other in years, Fellow Daoist Qiye, and you have already crossed the Purple Mansion Threshold. Why are you still playing such games? It seems my long tenure at the helm of the Pavilion of Profound Order has only made us more distant."

His words brought a laugh from Tuoba Qiye as well. As the reigning King of Dai's own brother, he held an exalted position. His divine abilities had advanced considerably, and he felt he no longer had reason to fear Wei Xuanyin.

He said, "Does it not pain you either, Lord Wei? Will the Tao Family… simply stand by?"

Holding a white stone, Wei Xuanyin replied, "I tried to dissuade him three times. The Tao Family was present for the first two. The last time, he still insisted on returning to Jiangbei, so I could only let him have his way. I had thought there would be a fourth chance, but he did not live to see it. As for the pain you speak of, fellow Daoist… I am not the one who should feel it.

"The Tao Family still had some affection for him and may make things difficult for Lanyan. But asking them to take revenge on someone for a family member who joined the Buddhist Dao? They have upheld their principles for years. They cannot bring themselves to do such a thing."

Tuoba Qiye understood his meaning. After some thought, he asked, "Do you mean this matter will simply be dropped, Lord Wei? Surely the Great Mahayana Dharma Realm must at least say something?"

Wei Xuanyin placed a stone and said, "Fachang has been sent out again… the message is quite clear. The Great Mahayana Dharma Realm truly has little recourse for the moment. As for Jianghuai… they and Mount Dayang have begun stepping back, waiting for an opportunity.

"In any case, the matter involving the Great Desire Dao is nearing its conclusion."

Tuoba Qiye shook his head and sighed. Wei Xuanyin glanced at Tuoba Ci and said, "There is, however, something I came to ask you, fellow Daoist."

Tuoba Ci froze for a moment. Suddenly, the Grand Daoist Master's face seemed to come into sharp focus, those eyes as calm as still water fixed directly on him.

"You fought him yourself, fellow Daoist. Does the King of Wei's demonic body come from your family's Dao lineage?"

The question struck like a boulder cast into a tranquil lake, sending a chill through Tuoba Ci's heart. Wei Xuanyin's words were so direct that he did not dare answer.

Only after the black-robed man seated above nodded did Tuoba Ci reluctantly reply, "My lord, it is the [Black Soul Mara Dharma Body]!"

Still, his answer was evasive. Wei Xuanyin's expression held no menace, yet conveyed an authority as calm as still water. "Then I am curious. How did your family's highest Dao inheritance fall into his hands?"

Tuoba Ci narrowed his eyes. "You are not the only one who wants answers, Lord Wei! Otherwise, I would not have rushed back north from Jianghuai!"

Noticing something amiss in Wei Xuanyin's expression, Tuoba Qiye began to grasp the implications. He immediately said softly, "Our family's [Black Soul Mara] does not share its origins with the present [Great Pass Azure Soul]. Our roots have always lain under Devil Ancestor Changsu. What the Lesser Yang Devil Monarch cultivated back then was also [Great Pass Azure Soul].

"The [Black Soul Mara Dharma Body] is indeed one of our family's Fundamental Dharmas, but Emperor Wu obtained it by chance before attaining the Dao and took it up… It has circulated elsewhere in the world as well… How can you conclude that our family secretly took out a secret technique and gave it to him?"

Wei Xuanyin sneered. "Conclude…? I know this dharma body has circulated, but did Emperor Wu not refine it further after attaining the Dao and leave behind an inheritance? Your family's version already differs from the original Mara Dharma Body. The one he possesses now is yours. Why play these games with me?"

Neither man had expected their family's dharma body to have been studied so thoroughly. Both fell speechless as the Grand Daoist Master of the Pavilion of Profound Order rose and began pacing with his hands behind his back.

His gaze grew colder as he said, "Consider your answers carefully, fellow Daoists… These questions do not come from the Pavilion of Profound Order."

He stated quietly, "I, Xuanlou[1], have come under orders."

Wei Xuanyin rarely referred to himself as Xuanlou. Tuoba Qiye visibly paled at those words. Despite being a Grand Daoist Master, one of the most powerful wielders of divine abilities in the manifest world, he grew flustered.

He stepped back, yielding the place of honor, and pleaded, "I only just learned of this myself… Emissary, please grant us some leniency… Give us a little more time…"

Tuoba Ci reacted just as quickly. Alarm swept every other expression from his face, and he dropped to his knees almost at the same moment, kowtowing without a word. With a single sentence, the dignity of Tuoba Qiye, Tuoba Ci, and the entire Tuoba Family, descendants of Liang and heirs to a True Monarch, was shattered beyond recognition.

Wei Xuanyin showed no surprise. Standing above them, he narrowed his eyes and said, "Now that you have thought it through, speak."

"Well…" Tuoba Qiye fell silent for a moment, then gritted his teeth and continued, "Emissary… this humble cultivator truly does not know. But why would our family help Bright Yang? Even if we wished to, why give him our own Fundamental Dharma to flaunt before the world? What could our family possibly gain from that? Someone must be framing us!"

His expression shifted as he said quietly, "Perhaps part of our inheritance was lost… But even if it was, allowing him to cultivate one or two dharma bodies, surely it does not warrant this…"

1. Dao title of Wei Xuanyin. ☜