Chapter 111: The Transformation of Threefold Self-Reflection

The Sacred Capital.

The Directorate of Celestial Observation.

At the peak of the Observation Tower.

A little girl who looked no older than seven or eight lay sprawled in the shape of a starfish across an enormous cloud bed, sleeping soundly without a care in the world. The bed was woven from some unknown heavenly treasure, as soft and weightless as drifting cotton.

Her tiny body sank deep into its surface. Every now and then, a silly smile appeared on her face, with a glistening strand of drool hanging from the corner of her mouth. The bed did not rest upon the ground. Instead, it floated lazily through the air like a wandering cloud, aimlessly drifting around the tower's summit.

A closer look revealed that whenever the bed shifted position, faint constellations shimmered and vanished within the surrounding void.

The top of the tower was deathly quiet. Only the little girl's gentle, rhythmic breathing echoed softly through the air.

Suddenly, a snow-white hound no larger than a fox leaped out of the void.

It landed lightly upon the cloud bed beside the little girl and enthusiastically licked the drool from the corner of her mouth.

"Xigua... quit bothering me. Let me sleep a little longer..."[1]

The little girl mumbled sleepily. Without opening her eyes, she waved her chubby little hand, trying to push away the persistent puppy.

Yet her eyelids felt as though they had been glued shut, refusing to open.

Just then, an elderly man with snow-white hair and beard stumbled frantically onto the tower summit, nearly crawling as he rushed forward. His steps were unsteady, his face filled with panic.

"Martial Grand-Aunt! Something terrible has happened!"

His voice was shrill, as though the heavens themselves had collapsed.

The little girl instantly opened her eyes, shoved Xigua aside, and sprang off the cloud bed.

While still suspended in midair, she delivered a solid kick squarely into the old man's face.

Boom!

The old Daoist did not even have time to scream before he was blasted backward, crashing heavily into the distant barrier.

The little girl shouted in her childish voice, "How many times have I told you not to interrupt my afternoon nap?! Why can't you ever remember?"

"Woof! Woof! Woof!"

Standing proudly atop the cloud bed, Xigua barked triumphantly in the direction the old man had disappeared, looking as though it were cheering on its master's victory.

"You be quiet too!"

The little girl casually swung another slap through empty air.

Xigua's excited barking stopped instantly.

"Awoo..."

The little dog let out a pitiful whine before immediately wagging its tail again, trying to curry favor.

A moment later, the old man climbed back up while clutching the clear footprint still imprinted across his face.

The little girl stood barefoot upon empty air with both hands planted on her hips, putting on the airs of an elder despite her appearance.

"Now then. Tell me. What has you so flustered?"

Rubbing his bruised face, the old man still looked terrified.

"An... an Otherworldly Celestial Demon... It's an Otherworldly Celestial Demon..."

The moment those four words were spoken, every trace of irritation from being awakened disappeared from the little girl's face.

"What?!"

She let out an earth-shaking cry.

Both of her chubby little hands shot upward.

In an instant, the pristine white tower summit dissolved into nothingness, replaced by a miniature map encompassing the entirety of Great Qian.

Mountains and rivers stretched across it for countless miles.

Every magnificent landscape lay within view.

Near the lower portion of the map, a blood-red point of light flickered conspicuously.

Each pulse of crimson seemed to make the hearts of the two atop the tower beat just a little faster.

"My lifespan's gonna be shortened!"

"It's actually real!"

"How is this possible?!"

"An Otherworldly Celestial Demon actually managed to sneak in?"

The little girl stood there blankly for a moment.

Then both hands frantically clawed at her own hair.

Within moments, it had become a complete bird's nest.

"My lifespan's gonna be shortened..."

"For more than five hundred years nothing like this has happened, and it just had to happen during my watch?"

"Does this mean my easy days are over?"

She muttered to herself, still unable to believe it.

"Martial Grand-Aunt... should we immediately report this to the Left and Right Chancellor's Offices?"

The old man asked cautiously.

"Of course we have to report it."

"Before Master left, the one thing he specifically instructed me to watch for was the arrival of Otherworldly Celestial Demons. Even though nothing's happened for over five hundred years..."

She answered instinctively.

But a moment later, her eyes darted about, and she suddenly changed her mind.

"Wait!"

Her voice rose sharply, stopping the old man in his tracks.

"Ahem."

She put on an unusually serious expression.

"The Grand Supervision Heavenly Mirror hasn't been repaired in hundreds of years. It could be malfunctioning."

"An Otherworldly Celestial Demon is no trivial matter."

"I have to see it with my own eyes before I can be certain."

The old man lowered his head respectfully.

"Martial Grand-Aunt speaks wisely. Then... when will you depart?"

As though worried she was merely brushing him off, he secretly raised his head and glanced at her.

The little girl's face immediately turned red.

"Don't look at me like that..."

"I'll leave right now, alright?!"

Pouting, she bounced back onto the floating cloud bed.

Once again she lay flat in the shape of a starfish.

The summit of the Observation Tower instantly blurred into illusion as the cloud bed sped away like a shooting cloud.

A brilliant trail of starlight stretched across the sky behind it.

Amid that glittering wake, faint snores could already be heard once again.

"...Sigh."

Watching the cloud bed disappear into the distance, the old man let out a soft sigh.

The timid expression he had worn before the little girl vanished completely.

In its place emerged an unfathomable depth, as dark and inscrutable as an abyss.

"An Otherworldly Celestial Demon?"

"Interesting."

His gaze fell upon the crimson point still blinking endlessly within the Grand Supervisory Heavenly Mirror.

With a gentle tap of one finger, the projection rapidly magnified.

Scenes unfolding within Lihuo County instantly filled the Observation Tower.

The old man performed a quick divination with his fingers and seemed to immediately grasp the identities of everyone within the vision.

"Li Shun..."

His eyes flickered thoughtfully.

Meanwhile.

Guling Commandery.

"My lord seems rather distracted. Have these past few days of official duties exhausted you? Perhaps you should get some rest."

Zheng Zhi asked quietly.

Fang Xun did not respond for a long while.

It was as though he had completely lost awareness of the outside world.

Only after some time did he slowly come back to himself.

"It's nothing."

"I merely recalled a few things from the past and became distracted for a moment."

Fang Xun shook his head and dismissed Zheng Zhi.

Soon, only Fang Xun remained inside the study.

The expression on his face once again became vacant.

It was as though all of his thoughts had left his body, leaving behind nothing but an empty shell.

Within the Fangcun space.

An unprecedented storm was sweeping through.

All because of the single wisp of Xuanhuang Qi of Heaven and Earth that Li Shun had seized earlier from Lord Ge's statue in Lihuo County.

The endless white mist surrounding the outer edge of Fangcun churned violently.

It was as though some ancient primordial beast was rampaging within.

The portion of Fangcun that could be developed was slowly expanding outward.

Although the process was exceedingly slow, one fact was beyond doubt.

The Fangcun space was growing.

An even more astonishing transformation was taking place within its core.

Previously, the core region had been divided into three equal domains.

But now, the territory occupied by Li Shun was forcefully expanding toward the domain containing the [Threefold Self-Reflection] stone statue.

Leading the charge was that strand of Xuanhuang Qi of Heaven and Earth.

The amount Li Shun had seized had already been minuscule to begin with, and it was being consumed at a terrifying rate throughout the expansion.

Yet as Fangcun continued to grow, an overwhelming flood of information poured into Li Shun's mind.

Every bit of it concerned the divine ability of [Threefold Self-Reflection].

"The 'three' in I examine myself thrice each day..."

"So that's what it means."

"It was never meant to be taken literally."

"It doesn't refer to three times..."

"It refers to multiple reflections?"

Li Shun murmured to himself as sudden enlightenment dawned upon him.

...

[1]:- Xigua (西瓜) literally means "watermelon" in Chinese.

Author's Note:

I actually settled on this plot point before I even started the novel on May 1st, and I already knew another author would be writing something somewhat similar about a month earlier. It was honestly a little awkward, so I deliberately kept certain settings hidden during the early chapters. Now I don't have to worry about that anymore. Haha.