Chapter 0: 60. The Falling Prison Stele Descends
“What do you mean, all here?”
“Nothing,” Qin Gou took a deep breath, trying to calm his heartbroken state.
Shangguan Ju thought for a moment and said with a gentle smile, “Fellow Daoist Qin, are you worried that the ranking on the Heavenly Devil Ranking will bring trouble to A’yuan? It’s fine. When we act under another identity, we have a special disguise to conceal our true faces. Moreover, A’yuan is very cautious and has always used the alias ‘Yi Ye’ when dealing with the outside world.”
“Trouble? How dare they?” Qin Gou did not look up, his gaze still fixed on the scroll in his hand.
This inadvertently spoken sentence almost made Shangguan Ju mistake herself for seeing Ye Qishuang again. It turned out that the habit of Palace Lord Ye speaking with a gentle and kind smile while saying a series of strong and arrogant remarks originated from this!
“Then perhaps, Brother Qin, you believe that being listed on the Heavenly Devil Ranking is ultimately not very glorious?” Shangguan Ju reached out and pointed to the location of Mad Rabbit’s name, continuing, “But Brother Qin, look. The reason Rabbit was listed on the Heavenly Devil Ranking was by borrowing the power of a perilous place to defeat another mighty figure on the Heavenly Devil Ranking. She has not committed any heinous crimes nor is she wanted by anyone. It is only because of her background in the Burial Soul Mound, which has many blood feuds, and being one of the Twelve Branches that caused widespread fear, that she was listed on the Heavenly Devil Ranking along with ‘Shou Shu’, ‘Zui Niu’, and others.”
“Shangguan makes sense!” Hearing this, Qin Gou looked up, unable to help but feel a surge of emotion, “If that’s the case, this matter indeed has nothing to do with A’yuan. All the mistakes lie in the very rules of the Heavenly Devil Ranking!”
“Yes, that’s what I think.” Seeing that Qin Gou seemed to have resolved his inner turmoil, Shangguan Ju nodded with satisfaction and smiled.
However, Qin Gou’s finger suddenly pointed to the third position on the Heavenly Devil Ranking and said as if it were obvious, “Thinking about it this way, perhaps there are also major problems with the ranking of that Wench Kong Ling!”
Shangguan Ju blinked in surprise, her smile instantly freezing. “The Demon Race’s Grand Princess Kong Ling? No, no, Brother Qin, that’s a bit…”
“That wench is exceptionally kind and gentle!” Qin Gou suddenly looked at Shangguan Ju with a sincere expression.
“Are you sure?”
To describe the Demon Race’s Grand Princess, known as ‘Evil Spirit Reborn’, as kind and gentle, Shangguan Ju couldn’t help but feel a shiver.
But looking at Qin Gou’s incredibly kind eyes at that moment, Shangguan Ju could only rub her nose and guess, “Brother Qin, have you had any contact with this Grand Princess? Then perhaps, the Heavenly Devil Ranking has indeed encountered some deviation?”
“It must be so!”
Qin Gou became even more animated, nodding incessantly. It was less like convincing Shangguan Ju and more like finally convincing himself. He said seriously, “And Qishuang Wench’s second position as the Heavenly Devil, what is this ‘Curse God Ancestor Ye’, it sounds terrible! How great a grievance is this? How can the Heavenly Devil Ranking slander someone’s reputation like this?”
“Is, is that so?” Shangguan Ju’s face was full of suspicion.
Qin Gou immediately retorted, “Did Qishuang cause the massacre of the entire Star-Shifting Pavilion without reason when she came this time?”
Shangguan Ju shook her head with a bewildered expression.
Qin Gou crossed his arms and nodded with great satisfaction, “See, how righteous! I love it!”
Shangguan Ju’s dark circles were almost turning white on the spot from anger, and she exclaimed in disbelief, “Brother Qin, can your standards be any lower?!”
Qin Gou finally focused his gaze on the first position on the Heavenly Devil Ranking, “Of course, Zhao Xinting is definitely no exception!”
“Oh.”
“Shangguan doesn’t believe me again?”
“Brother, I believe you so much!” Shangguan Ju’s eyes were glazed over, and she nodded mechanically and forcefully.
This girl seemed to have completely entered a state of detached emptiness.
Qin Gou asked in confusion, “But why does your expression suddenly look like you’ve aged ten years?”
Shangguan Ju felt like crying but had no tears. “I just want to say, if your words just now were to spread and be heard by someone with ill intentions, they might also be able to ‘honorably ascend’ the Heavenly Devil Ranking themselves!”
“Ascend the Heavenly Devil Ranking? Shangguan, you underestimate me too much.” Qin Gou deliberately glanced elsewhere.
Shangguan Ju’s expression startled, and she chuckled teasingly, “That’s right, I almost forgot. Brother Qin is a prominent figure on the Saint Immortal Ranking of this generation!”
“Still underestimating me.” Qin Gou patted Shangguan Ju’s shoulder with a gentle smile, “When the time is right, I’ll give you a huge surprise.”
At this moment, Shangguan Ju’s expression suddenly changed.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’ve received a summons from the Artifact Spirit senior and need to go find Rabbit immediately to perform a special spirit art together, so that the Artifact Spirit senior can descend,” Shangguan Ju said seriously.
“Descend?” Qin Gou exclaimed in surprise, “What Shangguan said earlier wasn’t that the Falling Prison Stele Artifact Spirit agreed to let me meet it, but that it intends to come in person?”
The two left the cave dwelling, talking as they walked.
Shangguan Ju patiently explained, “The Artifact Spirit senior intends to appear at the Star-Shifting Pavilion through ‘corporeal descent’, which is one of its miraculous abilities. In fact, the Artifact Spirit senior’s soul body is already almost indistinguishable from a cultivator’s divine soul. It only needs a flesh and blood body to cultivate autonomously… However, it has never been interested in this.”
Hearing this, Qin Gou nodded thoughtfully, “Indistinguishable from ordinary people? That’s quite unusual.”
Before long, the two found Qin Yuan. She seemed to have also received some kind of summons. Without needing Shangguan Ju to explain, she walked into a quiet room and sat down cross-legged with Shangguan Ju, closing her eyes and reciting spirit incantations.
During this process, to avoid exposing his identity, Qin Gou was wary that the Falling Prison Stele might have already learned his true appearance through some special means. In an instant, using the power of the Faceless Hermit, Qin Gou transformed into the appearance of ‘Liang Tiantian’.
Threads of frighteningly eerie and sinister atmosphere echoed within the quiet room. A blurry phantom image, about half a person’s height, quickly solidified within Qin Gou’s line of sight, soon transforming into an evil and strange black stone tablet, enveloped in an ancient and desolate aura, deeply embedded in the ground.
The stone tablet was inscribed with many characters, but they seemed to have become blurred due to the passage of time, adding to its mysterious and unfathomable nature.
“Artifact Spirit senior,” Shangguan Ju stood up and cupped her fists.
“Sick Tiger.”
A voice from the Falling Prison Stele echoed within the quiet room. Like most artifact spirits, it was a pleasant female voice. The reason for this was probably that in the Cultivation World, male cultivators were generally more obsessed with the art of artifact refining.
“Does the target assigned to you back then have any substantial progress?”
Shangguan Ju said with difficulty, “Not yet…”
“Useless!” The Falling Prison Stele’s voice instantly became extremely majestic and cold. “I see your lazy nature as Sick Tiger has already penetrated your bones. What use is the Burial Soul Mound to you?!”
“Please, please forgive me, senior,” Shangguan Ju immediately bowed with great shame, performing a deep curtsy.
“Bunny, where is she?” The Falling Prison Stele completely ignored Shangguan Ju and instead asked Qin Yuan beside her, “Last time, you said you already knew the general whereabouts of the target. Have you formally gone to fight it?”
“I’m too lazy to go,” Qin Yuan blinked her clear, watery eyes and said very honestly.
“Ah? Hmm… It’s fine, no rush.”
Just as Qin Gou thought the Falling Prison Stele Artifact Spirit would rage like it did with Shangguan Ju, its indifferent and ruthless voice instantly melted like ice and snow, becoming warm, affectionate, virtuous, and amiable. It was like a benevolent and loving mother who cared for her daughter in every way, doting on her.
“Precious, as long as you are happy, don’t tire yourself!”
