Chapter 1737: Choices
Jiang Aijian laughed awkwardly before he said, “The White Emperor is broad-minded. I’m sure you won’t hold a grudge against me, right?”
Bai Zhaoju studied Jiang Aijian carefully. The way the other party talked and behaved had changed greatly compared to when he was impersonating Qi Sheng; it made him feel slightly uncomfortable. He naturally preferred the confident way that Qi Sheng, or Si Wuya, spoke and carried himself. Finally, he said, “That’s not necessarily true. After all, I’m so human, and I’m not exempt from feelings such as anger…”
Jiang Aijian waved his hand and said, “Please don’t. At the very least, I came to return Zhi Ming’s divine soul pearl to you. It’s very tiring for me to pretend to be him. Moreover, in terms of talents, I may not necessarily lose to him.”
No matter how Bai Zhaoju looked at him, he did not think Jiang Aijian looked very talented.
Lu Zhou, who had remained silent all this time, finally said, “This person is like my eyes and ears in the golden lotus domain. You can rest a.s.sured in terms of his ability.”
Upon hearing this, Bai Zhaoju nodded. How could someone who gained the approval of the Unholy One be without abilities? Moreover, clearly, they had a long history, and their relations.h.i.+p was not ordinary. With this, he changed the topic and asked, “What do you plan to do next?”
Lu Zhou said, “Since I’ve returned to the Great Void, I’ll naturally take back what I’ve lost.”
“Ming Xin has the Templars and the ten halls supporting him. It won’t be easy to deal with him,” Bai Zhaoju said with a sigh. After carefully counting, there were not many talents on their sides. The opponents had the cultivators from all of the ten halls.
Jiang Aijian shook his head and said with a smile, “I disagree. The news of the Unholy One will soon spread throughout the Great Void. At that time, the ten halls will start taking sides. All these years, I’ve been impersonating Qi Sheng so I know a thing or two about the ten halls. On the surface, they obey the Sacred Temple, but in reality, they’re all very dissatisfied. Moreover, the owners of the ten Great Void Seeds are all Senior Ji’s disciples, and they’re now the commanders of the ten halls. Who knows, we might have all ten halls on our side?”
Bai Zhaoju was still very worried. “No matter what, until the time comes, we still don’t know how they’ll choose.” After a pause, he asked Jiang Aijian, “Do you know why Ming Xin is able to remain undefeated for 100,000 years?”
Jiang Aijian said, filled with convictions, “No matter the reason, he’s no match for Senior Ji.”
Bai Zhaoju glanced at Lu Zhou before he said, “I’m not underestimating Brother Ji. It’s just that Ming Xin is confident for a reason…”
Lu Zhou was rather curious so he said, “Tell me about it.”
“Ming Xin has a lot of treasures, and just one of them is enough to change the outcome of a battle,” Bai Zhaoju said.
Jiang Aijian nodded in agreement upon hearing this.
Lu Zhou had also suspected this. Ming Xin was not moved by treasures such as the Hourgla.s.s of Time or the Great Void Token. He even gave them to the people below him to use. It was obvious the treasures in his possession were not simple.
Bai Zhaoju continued to say, “The only supreme treasure that belongs to Ming Xin that everyone knows about is the Scales of Justice. The scales can change its size. It can sense the balance between heaven and earth. It’ll know as soon as there’s an imbalance. It was originally placed in front of the main hall in the Sacred Temple to show the temple’s authority and might. It was also used to guide the ten halls and the Templars. After the imbalance, Ming Xin took back the scales. The second function is that any cultivator who fights against its owner will be forcefully balanced by the scales…”
The first function was easy to understand, but the second was rather confusing.
“Forcefully balanced?” Jiang Aijian asked, perplexed.
“For example, the gap between our strength is like clouds and the mud. However, if you own the Scales of Justice, my strength will be reduced to that of Dao Saint, which is your cultivation. This is ‘fair’ and ‘balanced’. Do you understand now?” Bai Zhaoju said.
“d.a.m.n! It’s so magical?!” Jiang Aijian cursed as his eyes widened in surprise.
Bai Zhaoju nodded. “This is one of the reasons why he’s so powerful.”
After a while, Jiang Aijian frowned again. Then, he said, “That’s not right. If that’s the case the scales are useless against me. It’ll either elevate my cultivation to his, which is impossible, or it’ll demote his cultivation until it’s like mine. In that case, he might not be a match for me!”
Bai Zhaoju smiled and said, “Naive. Do you think he’ll use the scales on himself if it’s unfavorable to him? He can use it however he wants.”
Jiang Aijian was enlightened upon hearing these words. He cursed inwardly, ‘d.a.m.n! That’s a f*cking cheat!’
Jiang Aijian smacked his thigh and complained, “If he uses some random lackey to balance me, I’ll be dead! Doesn’t this mean he’s invincible?”
Even Lu Zhou did not expect the Scales of Justice to have such a function. ‘No wonder he looks down on the Hourgla.s.s of Time and the Great Void Token. If it’s really as Bai Zhaoju said, then Ming Xin’s strength has truly exceeded everyone’s expectations.’
Bai Zhaoju said, “These are only two known functions. No one knows if it has any other functions. Moreover, apart from the Scales of Justice, who knows what other treasures he possesses? No one has seen him use them. The Sacred Temple is too powerful, after all. There’s no need for him to personally make a move. Brother Ji, you were in the Great Void from the beginning so you know more.”
Jiang Aijian turned to look at Lu Zhou and thought to himself, ‘You’re really amazing! Even Ming Xin didn’t leave the Great Void at all, but you went to stay in the golden lotus domain. You must have wanted to experience the life of the common folks, right?’
Lu Zhou shook his head and said, “I don’t know about the Scales of Justice.”
Bai Zhaoju said skeptically, “Brother Ji, you don’t know about it?! Then, Ming Xin really hid it very well. Before the Great Void ascended to the sky, Ming Xin indeed never used the scales. After the Great Void ascended, he suddenly brought the scales out and suppressed the ten halls…”
Jiang Aijian asked curiously, “Then, where did he get his treasures from?”
Bai Zhaoju said, “I’m afraid no one knows. However, there was a rumor. I don’t know if it’s true or not. Back when the land split, Brother Ji was focused on studying the shackles of heaven and earth so he didn’t realize that the world had changed. At that time, Ming Xin seized the chance and went to the Great Maelstrom.”
“The Great Maelstrom?” Jiang Aijian asked.
“That’s the center of the Endless Ocean. It’s said that the currents there are so strong that weak cultivators can’t even go close,” Bai Zhaoju explained.
Jiang Aijian asked, “Senior Ji, have you been there as well?”
Lu Zhou searched the Unholy One’s memories. Unfortunately, he did not find anything relevant. He knew the Unholy One must have been there, but he just did not possess those memories.
Bai Zhaoju continued to say, “I suspect he found all his precious treasures there…”
“The world is really filled with wonders. Humans will always be like frogs living at the bottom of a well,” Jiang Aijian said with a sigh.
“My words are to remind Brother Ji to be careful. Now that Brother Ji’s ident.i.ty has been exposed, it’ll be even more dangerous. I’m afraid it’ll be difficult to rely on the ten halls to stand at the top of the Great Void,” Bai Zhaoju said.
Jiang Aijian nodded and said, “In that case, I must quickly find a place to hide. Farewell, both of you!”
Bai Zhaoju: “?”
Lu Zhou: “?”
Bai Zhaoju stopped Jiang Aijian. “Wait. If you want to leave, you must bring Qi Sheng back.”
“He’s fine. He’s staying in the Evil Sky Pavilion now. Si Wuya is really lucky to have met you,” Jiang Aijian said with a smile.
Bai Zhaoju recalled the poem that Yue Yangzi brought out during the commanders’ compet.i.tion when he heard the name Si Wuya. Soon after, a shocked expression appeared on his face as realization dawned on him. He asked, “So Qi Sheng’s also Brother Ji’s disciple?”
Jiang Aijian shrugged and spread his arms. His expression seemed to say, “What do you think?”