Su Fu looked at Chesia in surprise. “You learned pretty fast.”
“Of course!” Chesia lifted her head proudly. “I’ve been with you for so long; I have to make some progress, right?”
Su Fu laughed instead. She crossed her arms and said slowly, “Have you ever heard the saying ‘things don’t happen a third time’?”
Chesia froze. “What do you mean?”
“The first time, we robbed Yuanshi Tianzun’s Yuxu Palace. The second time, we took advantage of their lack of preparation to snatch Laozi’s Taiji Diagram.” Su Fu spread her hands. “Do you think they’ll just sit there and let us steal from them a third time?”
“Ah?” Chesia tilted her head. “They shouldn’t… but they haven’t discovered it’s you. Isn’t Grandmaster Tongtian taking the blame for everything?”
Su Fu shook her head without explaining much. Instead, she directly tried to walk two steps in the direction of Mount Jiuxian.
In the next second, a single white butterfly flew into her field of vision. She was about to speak, but then—*whoosh*—swarms of white butterflies all flew toward her. It was like a storm of butterflies, instantly flooding the entire sky.
Su Fu: “…”
‘Wait… what’s wrong with this quill? Making so many white butterflies, is it afraid I won’t see them?’
She helplessly rubbed her forehead and looked at Chesia. “Do you see it now?”
Chesia’s entire snake body went rigid as she screamed, “My god! A dead end?! That means if you go, death is certain! That’s why the white butterflies appeared! It’s a trap!”
The white butterflies danced in the sunlight, surrounding Su Fu and Chesia with a beauty that was heart-stopping.
“That’s right.” Su Fu took two steps back, watching the sky full of white butterflies slowly dissipate and turn into shimmering sparks, vanishing between heaven and earth.
“The two Saints are already on guard. This time, I’m afraid they’re using Yin Jiao as bait specifically to catch the person behind the scenes. Although I act covertly, the goal can’t be hidden—it’s all to get treasures. Thinking from their perspective, if I were a Saint, I would fish this way and then arrest the culprit on the spot. However, I suspect they currently believe the mastermind is Grandmaster Tongtian.”
“Then what do we do?” Chesia was a bit dejected. “Are we just going to let these treasures go?”
Su Fu chuckled softly. “We’re just not taking them *now*. When the Immortal-Slaying Array begins and the waters get muddied, the Chaos Umbrella, Coin of Falling Treasures, and Hunyuan Jindou will all be on the field. Whatever treasures there are, we’ll take them all then.”
Chesia’s eyes lit up, and she nodded heavily in deep agreement. “Makes sense!”
She sighed in amazement. “These people are truly wicked. You’re fishing for me, I’m fishing for you…”
Su Fu: “…”
‘I reasonably suspect you’re talking about me.’
—
At Mount Jiuxian, Yin Jiao descended the mountain with great majesty.
Yuanshi Tianzun and Taishang Laojun were hidden to one side, constantly monitoring the movement around him, waiting for Shen Gongbao to appear. However, from Mount Jiuxian to the Xiqi Military Camp, Yin Jiao’s path was completely unobstructed. He even successfully met Jiang Ziya and became a member of the campaign against the Shang Dynasty.
“Strange…” Yuanshi Tianzun’s brow furrowed tightly. “Shen Gongbao actually didn’t appear?”
He had originally thought Grandmaster Tongtian would send Shen Gongbao to intercept and persuade Yin Jiao to defect, just as he had done with Yin Hong. And yet, he didn’t come?
Laozi, on the other hand, looked thoughtful and murmured, “Perhaps… we guessed wrong?”
“Impossible!” Yuanshi Tianzun didn’t suspect his guess at all. Instead, he snorted coldly. “It must be that Tongtian is too cunning. He must know we are lying in wait here, so he won’t show himself! Besides him, who else would dare move our treasures?”
Laozi: “…”
“No!” Yuanshi Tianzun felt that he had to find a way to get all his treasures back. Since Tongtian wasn’t making a move now… then he would add more fuel to the fire. He didn’t believe Tongtian could remain calm!
Laozi opened his mouth as if to speak but ultimately just let out a soft sigh.
***
Xiqi Military Camp.
Su Fu saw that Yin Jiao had successfully entered Xiqi and stayed quite honestly for a period of time. In the blink of an eye, several days passed, until the Xiqi army moved forward and was about to attack Golden Chicken Ridge.
“Wait… Golden Chicken Ridge?”
Upon receiving the news, Su Fu’s expression instantly became subtle. “Kong Xuan?”
She remembered that the one guarding Golden Chicken Ridge was Kong Xuan, right?
“Kong Xuan?” Chesia tilted her head. “Is he very powerful?”
Su Fu explained, “The first peacock in heaven and earth to achieve the Way, and also… the son of the Phoenix.”
Chesia gasped. “Then doesn’t that mean he’s your…?”
Su Fu: “…”
According to the plot of the Investiture of the Gods, it had indeed reached this stage. After the successive deaths of Zhaogongming, the Three Xiao Sisters, and Wen Zhong, the final trump card of the Shang army was this Kong Xuan, whose Five-Colored Divine Light could brush away anything. After this, a battle between Saints would break out. Because Guangchengzi had insulted the Sect of Interception, Grandmaster Tongtian would open the Immortal-Slaying Array and point his sword at the Saints.
Kong Xuan was indeed very powerful. As the first peacock to achieve the Way since the Opening of the Sky out of Chaos, he possessed an extremely formidable innate Godly Power: the Five-Colored Divine Light. It was known as “the light that can brush away all things.” Whether it was magic treasures or people, as long as they were struck by the Five-Colored Divine Light, they would be pulled inside without any ability to resist. He was invincible.
Even Lu Ya was powerful, right? He was suspected to be the last Golden Crow, but as soon as he saw Kong Xuan brush the Five-Colored Divine Light, he fled immediately. Then there was Randeng Daoren; at that time, he held the Sea-Fixing Beads and went into battle with full confidence. In the end, his Sea-Fixing Beads were brushed away directly.
In other words, Kong Xuan was the nemesis of the Sea-Fixing Beads. In fact, he was the nemesis of all magic treasures and characters.
Chesia listened with curiosity. “Then how did Kong Xuan finally lose? Did a Saint step in? Don’t tell me it was that old bastard Yuanshi Tianzun again…”
“Actually, no.” Su Fu shook her head and explained, “Kong Xuan has a unique background. He is the son of the Phoenix, and since the Phoenix Clan had already experienced the Great Desolation calamity, he is actually not on the list for the Investiture of the Gods. Yuanshi Tianzun had no reason to intervene. The one who finally came was actually Zhunti Daoren of the Western Sect.”
Chesia suddenly understood. “I get it! The Western Sect took the opportunity to fish in troubled waters and took Kong Xuan to be a mount! The first peacock in the world—how stylish and strong!”
“That’s right.” Su Fu nodded.
Speaking of which, the Western Sect really did pick up scraps everywhere during this war of Investiture of the Gods. They were almost better at it than she was.
“Zhunti is a Saint, after all. Even though Kong Xuan’s Five-Colored Divine Light can brush away everything, what happens after things are brushed inside? Zhunti allowed himself to be brushed inside first and then used his own dharma body to break the Godly Power. With the phrase ‘Fellow Daoist, you have a destiny with my West,’ he forcibly converted him into his mount. Later, Kong Xuan was also titled the Peacock Great Bright King of Buddhism. To put it nicely, he’s a guardian; to put it bluntly, he’s a mount and a thug.”
After hearing this, Chesia became a bit anxious. “That won’t do! If Zhunti takes him, won’t that increase the enemy’s strength?”
“Of course it won’t do.” Su Fu cleared her throat. “*Ahem*, although Zhunti is a Saint, Kong Xuan carries my Phoenix bloodline. How can I allow someone else to forcibly take him as a mount?!”
Chesia: “…”
“…You’re really acting the part.”
Su Fu glanced at her sideways and said righteously, “What do you mean ‘acting’? I am currently the reincarnation of Yuan Feng of the Phoenix Clan, and Yuan Feng herself has even descended with the Godly Power of Nirvana. In this world, I am his biological mother!”
She said with an air of integrity, “As a mother, how can I stand by and watch my child be ridden by someone else?! I have a responsibility and an obligation to rescue him from that sea of suffering.”
Chesia: “…”
“If you say so… then Kong Xuan must have helped Zhunti a lot later on?”
“That’s right.” Su Fu composed herself and explained, “After Zhunti subdued Kong Xuan, he would call him out to help during both the Immortal-Slaying Array and the Ten Thousand Immortal Array. He indeed caused Zhunti’s combat power to skyrocket. You should know that when Grandmaster Tongtian fought Laozi one-on-one, he could still last a few rounds. But facing the combination of Zhunti and Kong Xuan, he was actually beaten into a miserable retreat twice!”
Chesia was shocked. “That’s so exaggerated? A Quasi-Saint can actually double a Saint’s combat power?!”
“Otherwise, why do you think the Western Sect was so active in picking up scraps?” Su Fu sneered. “The Five-Colored Divine Light can not only brush away all things but can also amplify the power of a Saint’s dharma body. Zhunti was originally just one of the two Saints of the Western Sect, slightly inferior to the Sanqing. But with Kong Xuan, he could even suppress Tongtian.”
“Therefore, I cannot possibly give such a strategic-level combat force to the Western Sect!”
Chesia suddenly thought of something and asked curiously, “Wait a minute. I just noticed something. Why does Grandmaster Tongtian always get ganged up on?”
“Who can say?” Su Fu spread her hands. “That is the power of having a ‘just cause.’ Because of the phrase ‘Heaven’s mandate is with Zhou,’ the Chan Sect not only gained a reputation advantage but also had people coming from all directions to help. Tongtian can only take the beating then.”
“In short, Kong Xuan is a massive combat asset. We absolutely cannot let Zhunti snatch him away.”
Chesia hesitated. “But Zhunti is a Saint. How do we snatch him?”
Su Fu looked at Chesia in wonder and said, “Who said I’m going to take him by force? What is the most important thing when picking up scraps? Timing! I only need to seize the time gap between when Kong Xuan appears and before Zhunti arrives. Then I’ll intercept him early. I refuse to believe that once the Phoenix appears, Zhunti can still be so shameless as to forcibly convert someone to be a mount in front of their mother! Isn’t that just bullying a child who doesn’t have a mother?”
Chesia couldn’t help but complain, “But your ‘resurrection’ as a mother is a bit too sudden…”
Su Fu: “…Don’t worry about that. If Zhunti really is that shameless, I have another plan. In any case, we’re all scavengers here; it just depends on whose move is faster and more accurate. Now, first, I must write a letter to my son.”