Chapter 63: Fierce Battle Spirit, Immortals Moved

So many demon corpses... Could it be that an internal conflict among the demon race has forced the bird demons of Mount Qi to migrate on such a massive scale, leading them to fly right up to the imperial court?

Ye Qiansheng said thoughtfully, "Mount Qi has always been a peaceful habitat for the demon race; how could there be such a large-scale internal strife? It would be wonderful if we could find a minor demon that has gained spiritual awareness and ask it a few questions..."

Hearing her words, Zhou Wuqing stepped forward, channeled his divine sense to scan the surroundings, and suddenly slashed across the empty air. A wisp of clear breeze swept from his fingertips, roaring past a nearby patch of bushes.

The frightened chirping of a bird rang out, and a hiding bird demon was caught in the current of wind, pulled out of its hiding place in the bushes, and dropped right at his feet.

The bird demon looked somewhat like a sparrow, but was several times larger than an ordinary one—about half the size of a human's arm. Its plumage was the same crimson red as the demon corpses all around.

Tossed to the feet of Zhou Wuqing, it still spun around in a daze, taking quite a while before it finally made out the figure before it, instantly terrifying its feathers into standing entirely on end.

"Immortal spare my life! Immortal spare my life! I had no intention of spying on you..."

The crimson sparrow begged for mercy repeatedly. It seemed to have gained spiritual awareness only recently, and still stumbled somewhat when speaking human words.

"Are you also a minor demon of this place?" Zhou Wuqing asked, "What happened on Mount Qi?"

"My clan has inhabited Mount Qi for generations, for several thousand years. But not long ago, three fiends arrived, claiming to act under the orders of the Buddha, and seized the blessed land of Mount Qi for themselves. All the demon clans that resisted, including my own, were slaughtered to the last..."

It was clear that the sparrow's cultivation was not particularly high. Although it could now speak human tongue, it spoke vaguely and in fits and starts, allowing them to catch only the general outline.

Yet these few rough fragments alone were enough to command the attention of the two people before it.

"Acting under the orders of the Buddha?"

The sparrow nodded, confirming the statement, which caused the expressions of the two to turn serious at once.

As early as the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Buddhism had already evolved from a mere sect into a full-fledged religion. During the anti-Buddhist campaigns of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the Jiuli Immortal Alliance wiped out the majority of Buddhist influence within its borders. However, sustained by the power of faith, Buddhist disciples proved impossible to eradicate completely, sprouting anew like grass fires in spring, resurfacing every few years.

Now, the influence of Buddhism had apparently infiltrated Mount Qi. Taken by itself, this news might not seem significant, but once connected with a series of recent rumors, the entire matter became extraordinary.

Months prior, the Immortal Alliance had received word that the quasi-Empress Wu Zetian had begun recruiting male consorts within the palace, regardless of their social standing. Dozens of handsome men had been granted audience with her one after another.

Ordinarily, this was of little consequence; after all, which former sovereign of mankind did not possess three thousand beauties in the inner court? The empress keeping male favorites nowadays was merely a repetition of history. As long as state affairs were not neglected on that account, the Immortal Alliance would not interfere in such trivialities.

Yet amid these reports, a name called Xue Huayi caught their attention.

According to the official memorials, this Xue Huayi was originally a Buddhist monk who had recently appeared by Empress Zetian's side to serve as a male favorite. He won the deep favor of the sovereign, who appointed him the Duke of Liang and bestowed upon him various critical posts. Furthermore, Xue Huayi widely disseminated Buddhist scriptures such as the *Cloud Sutra* and posted images of Buddha everywhere within the imperial court, making a strong push to build momentum through Buddhism.

All of this genuinely alarmed the Immortal Alliance.

Indulging in male favorites alone was not a problem, nor was it a problem even if those favorites happened to be monks.

The reality, however, was that someone was attempting to implant Buddhist faith into the imperial court of the Great Tang, showing clear signs of rivaling the Daoist arts of the immortals. For the Immortal Alliance, this was akin to brandishing a blade right under their noses, making it difficult not to suspect whether he was backed by Buddhist forces with the intent of bewitching the Sovereign of Mankind.

If this were true, the Buddhist forces of the Central Plains had likely sprouted new branches once again, developing to a considerable degree.

Following that, the Immortal Alliance dispatched a message to Empress Zetian, demanding a thorough investigation into the monk Xue Huayi and the Buddhist forces behind him. Not long after the imperial decree was issued, Xue Huayi was stripped of his status as a male favorite and sent back to White Horse Temple.

Simultaneously, the Immortal Alliance launched a rigorous search for traces of Buddhism throughout the entire territory of the Great Tang. Now, those very traces had surfaced in the seemingly unrelated domain of the Mount Qi demons, making it impossible to ignore.

Coupled with the frequent disappearances of commoners near Mount Qi reported lately, the entire affair grew all the more suspicious.

"Lead the way. We are going into that blessed land to take a look," Zhou Wuqing told the crimson sparrow.

Upon hearing this, the sparrow shuddered from head to toe, its feathers fluffing up in sheer terror as it hopped up and down on fluttering wings.

"Those three fiends are incomparably formidable. Previously, even with our entire clan exerting its utmost strength, we were no match for them. If the immortal goes there now, it will likely spell doom. You'd better flee quickly..."

"I have yet to see anything I cannot defeat," Zhou Wuqing caught it by the feathers at the back of its neck with one hand and tossed it back to the ground. "Just lead the way."

The sparrow seemed momentarily stunned, glancing behind at Ye Qiansheng. She stood quietly in the background, offering no objection, as if silently endorsing the words.

The sparrow looked back and forth between Ye Qiansheng and Zhou Wuqing several times, still hesitating. "Those three fiends are truly terrifying. I'm afraid..."

With a sharp crack, a flicker of flame flashed right before its eyes, missing its feathers by a hair's breadth.

The sparrow jumped in fright. "I—I'll lead the way, I'll lead the way..."

The flame vanished, and its bristling feathers smoothed down accordingly. Looking back and forth between the red-robed Daoist and the others with a mixture of terror and dread, it reluctantly beat its wings, took flight, and headed deep into the mountain path.

"Daoist Friend Ye, you may stay here to cleanse yourself and keep watch over the situation."

Zhou Wuqing instructed Ye Qiansheng beside him. Seeing the latter nod in acknowledgment, he leapt into the air, closely following behind the sparrow. The man and the bird advanced side by side, plunging deep into Mount Qi.

......

......

The off-road vehicle came to a halt before the final mural in the series. Cheng Xiaomeng pressed against the car window, staring intently at it.

In this scene, the sky glowed a fiery red as if ablaze, and beneath the firmament lay rolling mountain ranges. A red-robed back and a bird with crimson plumage strode side by side along the grand mountain avenue, at the end of which sat the three towering fiends, high above.

"To annihilate the three fiends and avenge her kindred, Her Majesty left Mount Qi, where she unexpectedly encountered an immortal outside the mountains."

Pointing at the mural, the peacock synchronized its explanation for the researchers of the Super-Research Institute.

"Her Majesty was single-minded in her determination to restore Mount Qi. Even when facing the overwhelmingly powerful three fiends, she felt not a shred of fear. Moved by Her Majesty's fierce and blazing battle intent, the immortal resolved to accompany Her Majesty back to Mount Qi to face the three fiends directly!"

The carload of people stared fixedly at the mural. Though lacking the meticulous detail of human artisans, the grand and majestic composition still allowed those outside the painting to feel its peerless domineering aura.

"We've seen plenty of legends where phoenixes are moved by humans and bestow blessings upon them, but in this demon realm, it turns out to be the immortal bestowing blessings upon the phoenix. It's truly fascinating."

One researcher stared at the mural. "A fierce battle intent that moved an immortal... This phoenix is truly worthy of the title of Demon Emperor, possessing a genuine imperial bearing."

Beside him, Cheng Xiaomeng fell into deep thought.

When she first heard the demon realm legend of the "immortal and the phoenix," she had merely assumed the phoenix had formed a fateful bond with some supreme practitioner. But now, with these murals and stories to consider, the tale had grown rather suspicious.

Let us temporarily assume that this "immortal" was a supreme cultivator. Ordinarily, aside from specialized demon-tamers, if most cultivators encountered a demon and did not slay it on the spot, it was already considered an act of benevolence. Yet this immortal chose to assist the Demon Emperor upon their very first meeting... If it were truly just because he was moved by her willpower, wouldn't that be a bit too philanthropic?

Something felt amiss... She gazed at the murals one by one, sinking into deep contemplation.

*Note 1: In actual history, Xue Huayi fell out of favor roughly one to two years after Wu Zetian ascended the throne. Here, the timeline has been advanced slightly for the sake of the plot. Please be gentle, history buffs.*