Chapter 112: The Sage as Nourishment

'I examine myself thrice each day.'

This was the supreme divine ability of the Confucian path.

Only a Sage, in other words, an expert who had reached the Heaven-Earth Realm, could wield it.

At the close of a day, the caster could reflect upon everything that had occurred, reverse the flow of time, and return to the very beginning of that day.

The so-called "thrice" did not literally mean three times.

Rather, it was figurative.

It signified multiplicity, abundance, and repetition.

Once the divine ability was activated, everything beneath heaven would be affected by the reversal.

Even the Sage who cast Threefold Self-Reflection was no exception.

The same was true for every other Heaven-Earth Realm expert in the world.

The Heaven-Earth Realm itself was divided into lower, middle, and upper grades, with strength varying accordingly. Yet so long as one remained within the Heaven-Earth Realm, none could escape the influence of Threefold Self-Reflection.

“After time resets, only the memories of the one who activated the divine ability remain intact. Everyone else's memories are reset along with time.”

“However, there are exceptions.”

“If there is another Confucian Sage in the world, they too will retain all of their memories.”

“As for the other Heaven-Earth Realm experts, at most they can vaguely sense that time has been reset, yet they still cannot remember what transpired before it.”

“Aside from that...”

At this moment, Li Shun absorbed the torrent of knowledge flooding into his mind like a man dying of thirst finding sweet rain, like a starving man devouring food.

The profound and incomprehensible divine technique that had once resembled a heavenly scripture beyond mortal understanding now became instantly clear to him.

A single glance was enough to comprehend it.

A single lesson was enough to master it.

It was as though an actual Confucian Sage stood before him, withholding nothing as they passed down everything they had learned.

What was being imparted was not merely the divine ability itself.

It was also the Sage's experiences.

The Sage's memories.

'To hear the Dao in the morning, one may die content in the evening.'

Li Shun's divine sense had become almost completely immersed within it. He could no longer spare even the slightest fragment of attention elsewhere.

He had the distinct feeling that...

If this continued indefinitely, he would inherit everything contained within the Threefold Self-Reflection stone statue.

The Sage's memories.

The Sage's divine abilities.

All of them would become his own.

He would become a living Confucian Sage.

Unfortunately...

As the strand of Heaven and Earth Xuanhuang Qi he had seized was rapidly exhausted, this terrifying process of learning, or more accurately, stealing, came to an abrupt halt.

The violent turbulence within Fangcun instantly subsided, returning to its former tranquility.

Meanwhile, Li Shun's heart was filled with lingering regret.

His consciousness still lingered before the Threefold Self-Reflection stone statue, unwilling to leave.

“If only there had been a little more...”

Only after a long while did Li Shun forcibly suppress his reluctance and begin reviewing the bizarre events of the day.

Everything had proceeded normally at first.

But from the moment he encountered Ge Linfeng's stone statue and saw the Xuanhuang Qi of Heaven and Earth coiling around it, events had spiraled completely out of control.

“One thing is certain.”

“The Xuanhuang Qi of Heaven and Earth is of immense value to Fangcun... and to me.”

“It can open new regions within Fangcun. It can also help me conquer territory, forcibly digest those two Sage puppets, and turn every one of their divine abilities into nourishment for myself.”

“But... what exactly is this Xuanhuang Qi of Heaven and Earth? To possess such miraculous properties...”

Previously, neither Li Shun nor even Fang Xun had ever heard of such a thing.

Li Shun carefully recalled every detail from the moment he had attempted to collect the Xuanhuang Qi.

“At first, I truly was able to forcibly draw a strand of Xuanhuang Qi into Fangcun.”

“But Ge Linfeng's stone statue, or perhaps the Xuanhuang Heaven and Earth itself, reacted with astonishing speed.”

“In the blink of an eye, the Xuanhuang Qi became as heavy as a thousand mountains, making it impossible to collect. Even more...”

“Dark clouds gathered, and heavenly punishment descended. Because of my act of theft, I became someone whom the Xuanhuang Heaven and Earth deemed worthy only of death.”

Recalling that scene still caused Li Shun's expression to change slightly.

“Even if Duan Jiuzhang hadn't intervened, there was no way I would have survived.”

“Duan Jiuzhang... a Celestial Phenomena Realm expert.”

“He called me an Otherworldly Celestial Demon.”

Thinking of this, and connecting it with his identity as a transmigrator, Li Shun's thoughts momentarily stalled.

“Otherworldly Celestial Demon.”

“The literal meaning isn't difficult to understand.”

“But the implications behind those words are enough to send chills down one's spine.”

“Could it be... besides me, there are other transmigrators in this world?”

“And Great Qian seems far from unfamiliar with these so-called Otherworldly Celestial Demons. In fact, it appears to regard them with extreme hostility.”

“If that's true, then this is terrible news for me.”

“The moment my identity as an Otherworldly Celestial Demon is exposed, I'll probably become the target of everyone under heaven.”

“Hmm... that foolish kid Li Qing, though... he's someone I can trust.”

Remembering how Li Qing had learned his true identity as an Otherworldly Celestial Demon and still chosen to risk his life against a Celestial Phenomena Realm expert, warmth unconsciously rose within Li Shun's heart.

“Perhaps I should treat that kid a little better.”

“So far... he's the one person I can trust the most.”

For the remainder of the day, Li Shun devoted himself to contemplating how he could obtain even more valuable information during the upcoming Second Reflection.

...

Hour of the Pig.

Lihuo County, Jiuyi Commandery.

A streak of light tore across the distant heavens before circling above the county city for quite some time. Only then did it descend like a falling meteor, landing before Lord Ge's Shrine.

The ruins that had been reduced to broken walls and rubble that very afternoon had somehow been completely restored in less than half a day.

Not the slightest flaw could be seen.

A little girl leaped down from a floating cloud couch, her large eyes vigilantly scanning the surroundings.

“This should be the place.”

“But why can't I find even the slightest trace of the Otherworldly Celestial Demon?”

She seemed somewhat puzzled as her chubby little fingers rapidly formed calculations.

Yet the more she calculated, the deeper her brows furrowed.

Just then, a figure approached from the distant street. It was none other than Duan Jiuzhang.

“This humble official, Duan Jiuzhang, greets the Great Siming!”

Although the little girl appeared to be no more than seven or eight years old, Duan Jiuzhang showed not the slightest trace of disrespect.

Instead, he bowed with the utmost reverence.

The little girl said nothing.

She merely gave a faintly arrogant nod before once again immersing herself in calculations.

After another fruitless attempt, she finally spoke in an irritated tone.

“So it's you, Little Duan.”

“I remember you're supposed to be in Qing Province these days. What are you doing here?”

Duan Jiuzhang's expression remained perfectly calm.

“My son has served as the Prefect of Jiuyi Commandery for several years and has not returned home during that time. This humble official has missed him greatly.”

“Coincidentally, there was an old matter in the neighboring Zhuya Commandery that required my personal attention, so I stopped by to visit him on the way.”

The little girl's large eyes swept back and forth across Duan Jiuzhang before she asked,

“Then have you noticed anything unusual happening here recently?”

Duan Jiuzhang cupped his hands respectfully.

“Thanks to His Majesty's boundless blessings, Lihuo County has enjoyed favorable weather, peace, and prosperity. Nothing unusual has occurred.”

The little girl raised an eyebrow, suspicion appearing in her eyes.

“Really? Nothing at all?”

Duan Jiuzhang answered without the slightest hesitation, even sounding somewhat alarmed.

“Absolutely nothing unusual. Even if this humble official possessed heaven-defying courage, I would never dare deceive the Great Siming.”

Hearing this, the little girl closed her eyes and began another lengthy series of calculations.

Only after a long while did her tightly knitted brows finally relax.

Her entire body seemed to lighten as she patted her chest and let out a long sigh of relief.

“So the Great Heavenly Mirror of the Directorate was simply malfunctioning.”

“What a false alarm!”

“What a waste of my precious sleeping time!”

As though she had been granted a pardon, the little girl happily jumped onto her floating cloud couch once more.

“Good thing I ran into you, Little Duan. Otherwise, I'd have had to conduct an even more thorough search.”

Looking down at him from above, she casually said, “I'll count this as a merit for you. The next time you return to the capital, you may collect a Longevity Pill from the Directorate of Celestial Observation.”

Duan Jiuzhang's face immediately lit up with delight.

“Many thanks, Great Siming!”

The little girl waved her hand dismissively, no longer lingering.

Riding her cloud couch, she drifted away into the distance.

Duan Jiuzhang, meanwhile, returned to his usual solemn expression.

“Longevity Pill...”

“Hmph!”