After An Jing sent out his message, it was in the very early hours of the morning.
The moonlight faded, the stars gradually disappearing, and shadows of the green paulownia trees slowly materialized from the darkness. A figure stood erect on the mountaintop, overlooking the clouds, mists, and rosy sky below, listening to the pure nonsense coming from the otherworld through the mirror.
"Hey, this kid, really has a foul mouth."
Raising an eyebrow, the figure did not get angry over An Jing’s declarations and threats but rather smiled: "There are too many well-behaved kids in the young generation, just a bunch of thorns, rare are those as spirited as An Jing, not bad at all."
And just beside this figure, in the shadows brought by the dawn’s light, a wisp of black smoke floated up: [He has ’Fragment of Subdue Evil’ on him... Even the ’Will of Subdue Evil’ is on him... Fulfill your contract]
This black smoke was undoubtedly the Heavenly Demon, but the figure did not care even a bit, counterarguing, "That’s not our contract, Heavenly Demon. You are to extend my life or help me breakthrough. For this, I will cover for your actions in Dust Li... That is our contract, with no extra clauses."
[If you aid, naturally there will be new rewards]
"I only want a life extension or a breakthrough, did you hear the transmission? An Jing is in the suburbs around Red Tower City, if you want him, you’ll have to fetch him yourself."
[You must keep it secret, continue covering for our actions... this is part of the contract]
"Hmm, I can manage that. But frankly, do you really still have the strength to capture An Jing? With so many Great Heavenly Demons and their avatars completely annihilated, I’d say it’s very unlikely."
[That is none of your concern]
In a simple and tidy study room, a figure handling government affairs suddenly paused, then softly smiled: "This kid, quite decisive after his Martial Meridian, this arrogant demeanor really reminds me of Chenyin back then."
"But he picked the wrong time to be arrogant." On the other side, a person who seemed like an assistant commented with an almost icy critique: "A foolish decision, An Jing has exposed his identity and location, even if he could disguise himself as another person, our scouts will definitely find him soon."
"Not to mention, his destined time has passed, he no longer has much destiny on him, according to court studies, this is precisely the most vulnerable, the easiest moment for Heavenly Dao to reclaim him—because their most important tasks have been completed, the remaining positions are naturally reclaimed quickly, and assigned new Divine Mandates."
"Don’t rush." The soothing voice comforted but carried an irresistible undertone: "Is this statement from the court, or from the Divine Sect?"
"From the court. The Imperial Court is very interested in ’Subdue Evil’. After all, there are many of them, but not many can be called Heavenly Swords, and the one An Jing has should be the one that annihilated Bitter Silence... adequate as the foundation for Heavenly Martial, the core of an entirely new platform in the North."
The assistant’s tone softened, suggesting that this person was not only of the Da Chen Dynasty but also of the Tianyi Demon Sect: "And the sentiment in the sect is, An Jing is clearly not that simple; he is definitely not a normal Divine Mandate, and there are even some special speculations to verify."
"So this time, what tasks do the two sides have for me?" the soothing voice asked, and the assistant nodded: "No need for you to act personally, there are plenty of agents around for that, they will handle it naturally."
Deep within the Visible Empty Mountain Range.
In a shadowed valley concealed by mountaintops, standing before a Secluded Pool that seems to lead directly to the Underworld and Netherworld, a figure silently watched, ignoring the continuous jingle of bells behind him.
Not until he observed the transformations in the deep pool did the figure activate the bells, allowing the sound waves to spread and form a human figure.
"What? Not enough to act against Mingguang Dust, even leaving none of his disciples untouched? That’s a bit too much, isn’t it?"
And the soundwave-formed human figure adorned in armor, gleaming with silver light, was clearly a Silver-Armored Divine General, evidently controlled by someone behind, plainly spoke: [According to the Heavenly Book, if Mingguang Dust breaks through to Great Heaven’s Sanctification and ascends to Divine Mandate in Embracing the Void, it would lead to ’Sun and Moon Without Light’ of the Bright Mirror Sect]
[Sun and Moon refer to brightness and Haotian. The Bright Mirror will shatter and be lost, Lord Cheng Guang will die of old age due to the loss of the Haotian Mirror Fragment, and the Bright Mirror Sect will completely decline from being the strongest Middle Gate of the North Mysterious Sacrifice Continent, even arguably the Middle Gate with the most potential to break through to the Upper Gate, becoming a weak Middle Gate with only two Manifesting Holy True Monarchs, with one True Monarch even being a mole from the Taiming Sect]
"Whether I die or not doesn’t matter,"
The shadow gazing at the reflective Secluded Pool of the Netherworld spoke in an even tone, yet forcefully, "I know all this. You also mentioned, according to the Heavenly Book, Mingguang Dust in the future will have a chance to unify the North of the North Mysterious Sacrifice Continent, becoming the undisputed lord of the Northwest region."
"After the complete destruction of Da Chen, he might even stabilize the local order, bringing Bright Mirror Sect back to its peak, and even potentially breakout through Lingxiao, becoming one of the contenders for Heavenly Ancestor, competing with the lords of Southern Demon Countries, the new king of Yu Yao Country, and the Holy Maiden of Tianyi Demon Sect."
"But then, the Bright Mirror Sect will no longer be the Bright Mirror Sect, I can’t accept this future, and besides, you have failed."
[This is not a failure]
The Silver-Armored Divine General spoke: [The prophecy of the Heavenly Book goes , if left untouched, it is most likely going to advance towards the correct conclusion, but too many interventions, on the other hand, will cause various unexpected events]